Author's note: Whoo! Chapter two is up! I hope you enjoy it!
It had been weeks and the Titans had heard nothing from Slade. Not that any of them but Robin would have noticed. Bo kept them so busy that they barely noticed anything else. Bo toddled around the tower babbling about anything and everything. He even sang, which the Titans loved. He loved to watch Cyborg and Beastboy play videogames and clapped as he watched the hover cars race around the tracks. He loved sitting on the kitchen counter as Starfire cooked something strange, dipping his little hands into her mixtures and sloppily sucking it from his fingers. He even liked sitting with Robin in his mission room, just sitting on the floor talking to himself, occasionally looking up and smiling at the Titans leader. His favorite was easily Raven. It was no secret that the pair shared a mother/child-like bond. Bo followed her around, cried when he knew she was leaving for a lengthy amount of time, and always screamed and stomped his feet when something didn't go his way, raising his arms towards her, his bottom lip sticking out until she picked him up. All of the Titans caught little peeks of Raven kissing him or making funny faces at him, but not one of them cherished these little glimpses of a side of Raven everyone longed to be part of as like Beastboy did. He had been walking down the hallway to his room one afternoon, digging inside the back of his jeans like all fifteen-year old boys do when he spied Raven from the crack of the open door of her own room, sitting on her bed across from Bo, her cape between them. She was currently wearing a black sweat shirt and jeans (after the first year in the tower, the Titans had started using the mission attire strictly for missions).
"Where's Bo?" She would ask excitedly and Bo would raise the cape, equally excited. When he yanked it down to reveal his grinning face, Raven would gasp and say, "There you are!" She then leaned over, knocking Bo over onto his back and smothered him in kisses, making him howl with ticklish laughter. The demon girl laughed too and hugged him tightly. "You little monkey."
Beastboy smiled, and he barely noticed after that he actually tried to catch her in these kinds of moments. He would purposely try and discretely hang around her when she had Bo with her, hoping she would flash that loving and beautiful smile.
Bo had also changed a lot in Raven. She was still sarcastic and moody, but the Titans had noticed a lot of it was a façade now. She actually went on outings with them now just to take the baby along. She stayed up late and watched movies with them just so she could hear Bo laugh and babble at the television. She was looser.
--
"Robin?" Cyborg walked into the mission room, yawning. "Man, it's nearly one in the morning! What are you still doing up?"
Robin ran a hand through his hair, frustrated as he stared at a computer screen. An eerie green glow emitted from it and Cyborg wondered if it hurt the other teen's eyes. Robin leaned back in the chair and said, "I just can't stop thinking of Slade. What was he planning with Bo? I just know he had a motive, but what?!" He pounded the keyboard. "What is he planning?!" He then slowly raised up and turned to Cyborg abruptly. "Do you think the child could be some sort of spy? Some sort of decoy?"
"What now?" Cyborg cocked an eyebrow. "The kid is still cutting teeth, be serious! Besides we've bathed him and he's pooped enough. He's not carrying any kind of spying device. I would have picked it up on my scanners, anyway." He pulled up a wooden kitchen chair and sat down beside Robin. He looked around and cautiously lowered his voice. "I've gotta agree with you, though. I think Slade's still up to something with that kid."
"He has to go," Robin sighed. " That's all there is to it. Slade's planning something bad, and none of us our safe as long as Bo's here." He stood up. "I'm just worried about Raven, I'm sure you've noticed how attached she's gotten to him."
"Well," Cyborg shrugged. "It is kind of hard to dislike a baby." He scratched his head. "But what are we going to do with him exactly? It's not like he has a family somewhere. We checked all of the possibilities, remember?"
"There'll be someone out there who wants him," Robin replied, leaving the mission room. "It's just going to be hard on the others. I'm not exactly sure how to go about doing it." He turned to Cyborg. "What if there was someone out there looking for him?"
Cyborg cocked an eyebrow at him. "I know where this is going, Man, and I don't like it. You know how I feel about deception."
"It might be the only way," Robin sounded annoyed. "C'mon, Cy, I need you on this one."
--
"Beastboy," Raven groaned as she walked into the kitchen where the other Titan was making pancakes. "Could you possibly be any slower?"
"I'm going as fast I can!" Beastboy retorted, flipping a pancake which turned out to still be runny, making a big mess on the griddle. He smacked his forehead and smashed the whole disaster with his spatula. "Stupid pancakes! They look done, but then they just melt all over the place and-"
"Settle down, Beavis," Raven said sarcastically, wriggling her in between the changeling and kitchen counter. "Let me help." She used her powers to remove the bad pancake and jerked the flipper out of Beastboy's hand. "You don't have to get so worked up over this. They're just pancakes."
"And that's coming from the girl who goes bananas if somebody drinks her tea?" Beastboy cocked an eyebrow and crossed his arms. He then uncrossed them and looked around curiously. "Where's Bo?"
"Still sleeping," Raven replied flatly. "He always sleeps longer when it's raining outside." She perfectly (and manually) flipped two pancakes and set them on a plate, covering them with a paper towel. She then poured some more batter on the griddle and set the spatula down. "Besides, it's only nine."
The two stood side by side, watching the pancakes bubble. It was strange to be alone with each other. Usually when it was just the two of them, they had Bo as well. One of the pancakes gurgled and the two Titans reached for the spatula at the same time, their hands brushing against each other. Raven quickly stepped aside and muttered, "Go ahead." She watched as the other Titan flipped the pancake successfully.
"So, um," Beastboy scratched his head. "What are your plans for today?"
"I don't know," Raven leaned against the counter. She flipped the other pancake and set it on the plate with the other hotcakes. "Why? Does Robin want us to do something?"
"Well, I figured you'd have something planned with Bo," Beastboy shrugged. "Do you have something planned with him?"
"Starfire wanted to take him to the movies," Raven said. "I guess that would give me some time to meditate or something." She walked over to the stove and put on a kettle of tea.
Beastboy kicked his barefeet against the linoleum floor awkwardly. "You wanna…I dunno, do something with me today?" When Raven gave him a funny look, he quickly added, "I mean, since it's rainy and we both don't have any real plans or…or something." When Raven said nothing, Beastboy laughed a little. "But, um, you know, you have to meditate so I, uh, I understand."
"What would you like to do?" Raven finally spoke. "If Starfire and Robin are taking Bo to the movies-"
"And Cyborg's going to visit the East Titans," Beastboy pointed out. "I guess it'll just…". He felt butterflies in his stomach. He and Raven were going to be at home alone.
"We could go out," Raven suggested sipping her tea. "It's raining, but not that hard."
--
Starfire and Robin were leaving to go to the movies right around the time Cyborg left to visit Bumblebee and the other East coast Titans. Starfire had dressed Bo in a little T-shirt with the Bat signal on it and khaki shorts. She giggled as Robin rolled his eyes and zipped up his sweater. He was also wearing a Batman shirt. Bo immediately spotted Raven and held out his arms, babbling as he did so. Raven took him without hesitation, and absent-mindedly began grooming his hair with her fingers.
"Thank you so much for letting us to take Bo the cinema of films!" Starfire told Raven. "I'm sure the three of us will have a glorious time seeing the Wall-e."
Raven handed her the baby back and said somewhat defensively, "He's not my kid." She then looked at Beastboy and then back at the other Titans. "I think we're going to to go out and do something too."
Starfire and Robin exchanged curious glances and Robin asked, "You and Beastboy?"
"Well, Cyborg's not here, and you two are doing something already," Beastboy chimed in helpfully. Like Raven, he did not care to fumble for explanations.
"Have fun then," Robin shrugged. "C'mon, Star, let's get out of here."
"You have his carseat?" Raven asked. "His cup? His diaper bag? I put some extra diapers in it just in case. Oh and if he starts to get cranky in the theatre, there's a little set of plastic keys in the left pocket of his bag-just give him those and he'll be fine. Let me go make him bag of cheerios really fast too-"
"Raven," Robin was trying not to smile. "It's alright. We got it." He turned to Starfire. "We do have the diaper bag, right?"
"Affirmative!" Starfire nodded vigorously, holding up the items. "I have checked the check-list Raven wrote and everything is in order."
The two Titans and the baby left and Raven floated over towards the window to see them climb into Robin's car Batman had bought him for his last birthday. She watched carefully, making sure they fastened the seat correctly and then turned to Beastboy, who was grinning at her. She frowned. "What?"
"You wrote a check-list?" He asked. "Dude, you're obsessed!"
"I am not," Raven argued. "I just don't know how good Robin and Starfire…okay, so I'm obsessed. Big deal. I'm the one stuck sitting the kid all the time." She knew Beastboy was dopey sometimes, but he wasn't stupid. It was no surprise he only stared at her after she said it.
"There's nothing wrong with caring for somebody, Rae," he told her. "I like Bo. Star likes him. Cy likes him. I think Robin likes him." He glanced at the microwave clock. "Anyway, if we wanna do something, we'd better start getting ready."
--
Beastboy, just as most boys, took about five minutes getting ready. He threw on jeans a T-shirt and brushed his teeth. However, despite her not being like other girls in every way, Raven took about an hour getting ready. She took a shower, blow-dried her hair, brushed her teeth, washed her face…she came into the living room wearing a black and white peasant-top shirt that fell down to her waist and a pair of dark capris. She immediately blushed when Beastboy saw her and explained quickly, "Starfire bought it for me last me week. It would hurt her feelings if I didn't wear it."
"I think you look nice," Beastboy shrugged, though he really thought she looked a lot better than nice. She looked gorgeous. "So, uh, what do you wanna do? I mean, where do you wanna go?"
"I don't know." Raven sat down on the sofa. "Where do you want to go?"
"Um…" Beastboy pondered this a moment. He thought about the movies, but that sounded too plain. Besides, if they had wanted to go see a movie they could have just gone with Robin and Starfire. "How about the boardwalk?" He suggested.
"It's raining," Raven pointed.
"Drizzling," Beastboy corrected her. "C'mon, it'll be fun! We can at least go through all the shops and stuff."
"Should we fly or take my car?" Raven asked, standing up.
Beastboy was already running around looking for her keys. "Your car, duh! It's raining!" Just as he spotted the keys on the counter, Raven used her powers to bring them to her.
"I thought it was drizzling?" She stared at him.
--
"This is drizzling?!" Raven growled as they tore across the boardwalk parking lot in the pouring rain.
"It's a light shower!" Beastboy retorted. "Forget this! Let's just fly!" He turned into a bird and flew ahead of her. Raven also took flight, and by the time they reached the covered balcony of the shops, they were both soaking wet.
Aside from the employees, there weren't very many people at the boardwalk at all. Beastboy and Raven walked along the balcony that was lined with shops, Raven wringing out her wet hair. They went into a toy store (Beastboy naturally gravitated towards toy stores) and he immediately began grabbing and playing with random display toys. Normally, Raven would be tapping her foot and asking if they could leave yet, but as she looked around, certain items caught her eye. She walked over to a bouncy-ball that was blue and sparkling. She picked it up and turned it over. It would be perfect for Bo. He loved to throw things and he loved anything that bounced.
"Think Bo would like this?" She said, turning to Beastboy, who was trying to ride a wooden horse.
"Uh, yah!" Beastboy took it from her. "He would totally go nuts over this!" Without another word he raced over to the counter and ripped out his wallet.
"I can pay for it," Raven frowned.
"Like you're the only one who gets to spoil him." Beastboy stuck his tongue out at her. Raven only rolled her eyes, but she smiled as she placed her own wallet back in her pocket.
As they walked out of the toy store, Raven cleared her throat awkwardly and said, "Thanks."
" 'Thanks'?" Beastboy raised an eyebrow. "For what?"
"Buying the ball, doofus." Raven grinned a little. "He's going to love it."
The rain died down into a light mist and the two Titans decided to walk around the boardwalk where the water licked the bottom of the railing violently from the wind. Raven leaned on the rail and stared out into the water. Beastboy did too. "You know," he said. "Even though it's wet and windy, it feels pretty good out here."
"Yah," Raven agreed, nodding a little. She then gasped as a gust of wind blew her shopping bag and the ball flew out into the water. "Oh!"
"I got it!" Beastboy hopped onto the railing and leapt into the water, transforming into a dolphin. He bounced the ball back up and Raven caught it. He then turned into a bird and flew back, finally returning to his true form and wringing out his wet (and sadly fairly new) American Eagle shirt.
"I could have just used my powers," Raven informed him. "But um," she actually chuckled. "That was cool."
Beastboy stopped trying to dry himself and looked at her. "It was?"
"Yah," Raven reached over and flicked a strand of wet hair out of his face. "It was."
--
They continued to walk around, and talked about Bo and the other Titans and Slade and whatever else they could think of. As they turned to go into an ice cream parlor, Raven's communicator beeped. She removed it from her pocket. It was Starfire.
"Oh, Raven!" Starfire sounded desperate. "There is trouble!"
"What's wrong?" Raven asked. "Is Bo alright?" Beastboy leaned over to look at the device too.
"He will not stop crying!" Starfire sighed, exasperated. "We have changed his diaper, he ate the chicken nuggets at the restaurant, we have given him the cheerios and the cup and the toy keys! We do not know what troubles him!"
"Is he squirmy? Does he keep rubbing his eyes?" Raven asked, thinking he might just be sleepy. After all, it was close to his nap time.
"We do not know," Starfire ran a hand through her hair. "We had to exit the cinema and now we are outside on a bench and- CAN YOU NOT HEAR HIM WAILING?!"
In the background, Bo wailed loudly. Raven sighed and massaged her forehead. "I guess Beastboy and I will go ahead and leave. Just take him back to the tower, okay?"
"Very well," Starfire nodded. "And thank you. I feel I will lose my mind if I am with him much longer."
The transmission ended and Raven and Beastboy looked at each other. "Well," Beastboy shrugged. "I had fun."
--
Little Bo was still crying when they returned to the tower. He was sitting on the floor, his face red and his nose runny from crying. He immediately spotted Raven and wailed louder, standing up and running over to her. Raven scooped him up and said in her monotone droll, "Hey, you. What's with the screaming?" She retrieved a tissue from her pocket and wiped his face.
"So what is the matter with him?" Starfire asked, holding an icepack to her head. "He has given me the aching of the head."
"He's just tired," Raven explained, taking the baby into the kitchen and fixing him a sippy cup of juice with her powers. "He's usually asleep around this time."
Beastboy walked over and held out his arms. "I'll put him to bed if you want."
"Sure," Raven handed him over to the other Titan and began digging through the child's diaper bag.
Beastboy bounced the baby slightly and said, going nose to nose with him, "Escucha, niño pequeño" He took the sippy cup from Raven and continued, "somos cansados de su griterío."
"What was all that?" Raven asked, her confused face matching Starfire's.
"That's what my mom used to tell me when I was little," Beastboy grinned, and then frowned. "I think."
"You speak Spanish?" Raven inquired.
"Yah, I'm half, you know." Beastboy shrugged. "A lot of people can't tell because I'm green now."
Raven had never even thought about what Beastboy looked like before he had gotten his powers. She followed Beastboy to her bedroom where the baby slept. He layed him down on the bed and handed him the sippy cup. "va a dormir, amigo."
Bo almost immediately conked out and the two Titans left the room quietly. Raven shut the door, then changed her mind and left it open just a crack. She looked at Beastboy and said, "I had a really nice time today."
"Ditto." Beastboy smiled.
To Be Continued…