I do not own the Teen Titans...
"Honestly Beast Boy, how could you be that stupid?!" The green changeling cringed as the verbal attack on him continued. "What part of 'he has a gun' did you not understand? What if you had gotten yourself shot?!"
"Awe, Rae... I didn't know you cared," he laughed awkwardly as he attempted to calm down the enraged empath before him. It wasn't working.
"Don't you dare call me Rae, you stubborn, irrational, completely senseless moron!"
Beast Boy smiled sheepishly as he set his hands on the table. "Hey, I'm alive."
"You're an idiot."
He continued to grin innocently as the purple-haired girl glared at him mercilessly. They had safely caught and turned in the man in the trench coat, which, in turn, saved the sales girl, and they even managed to finish their decoration shopping, but Raven was still furious. And Beast Boy knew she had every right to be. Rushing after a mad-man wielding a gun was definitely not the smartest thing to do, but the changeling didn't want the innocent employee to get hurt. And he certainly didn't want Raven to get hurt, which was the only thing running through his mind as he stared into the barrel of that gun.
Yes, he realized how cliché he was being. He literally looked death in the face, and still, all he could think about was Raven. Now, he had a lot more to think about; like what he actually thought of the beautiful empath. Whether he wanted to just be her friend, or possible be something more, he wasn't sure. And she definitely wasn't making it easy for him to decide.
"I can't believe you would be so reckless. Have you not learned anything these past three years?" she started to calm down considerably, but Beast Boy knew he was still in the dog house. "I mean, you weren't even using your powers! What were you thinking; that you're bullet-proof or something? Because you are not!"
"I... I trusted that you had my back," he responded shyly, earning a look of exasperation from the pale girl.
"Of course I had your back. We're teammates, Beast Boy."
The changeling really hoped Raven wasn't reading his emotions, because that statement had cut him deep. Teammates? he thought bitterly. Not even friends. No, we're just teammates. Awesome.
Raven didn't need her empathetic ability to realize she hadn't said the right thing. Before she could talk herself out of it, she gently reached over the food court table and took Beast Boy's gloved hands in her own. "No, we're more than that. We're... we're friends, Beast Boy."
The green boy stared in shock at their joined hands as her words echoed in his head. Slowly, he glanced up to meet her amethyst eyes. She looked truly concerned, and he could smell her anxiety. "I'm sorry, Rae. I... I wasn't thinking," he admitted as he gently squeezed her small hands in reassurance. Oh my god... she's holding my hand! We're holding hands! Wait- why is this happening?! Abort, ABORT! his mind screamed, but his grip only tightened as he started to wonder if he'd ever actually let go.
Raven opened her mouth to say more, but the sound of a muffled voice interrupted her. She quickly snatched back her hands, much to Beast Boy's disappointment, and removed her communicator from her pocket. "Raven speaking," she answered professionally.
"Are you guys okay?" the worried tone of their leader asked as his face appeared on the screen.
"We're fine," the pale girl replied monotonously. She then stole a glance at the green boy in front of her. "Everything is fine."
"No civilians were hurt?"
"No."
"And the perp was arrested?"
Raven rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Yes, Robin. And we bought the streamers as well."
This time Robin rolled his eyes, though due to his mask, Raven couldn't really tell. "Good, good. And fine. Whatever. Just get home, the both of you. Safely."
"Mmm hmm," she hummed casually as she closed her communicator. The empath then directed her sights on Beast Boy, who hadn't taken his eyes off her. "Time to go."
"R-right," he stuttered, quickly standing up and following the pale girl towards the exit as he silently rubbed his suddenly cold hands together.
"Oh friend Raven, this is most glorious!"
Raven forced a smile as she watched the ecstatic alien rummage through the shopping bags.
"I hadn't the idea that the 'red solo cup' came in blue! It is perfect for the party of surprises!" Suddenly the alien swept the empath into a bone-crushing bear hug. "And the streams of decorative paper will look wondrous!"
"I agree, Starfire. Cyborg will be, uh, pleasantly surprised," Raven replied in a gasp as Starfire released her.
The orange alien smiled brilliantly as the pale girl began removing the rest of the party decorations. "So... what day is the party?" the empath asked casually.
"Well, friend Cyborg's day of birth is next Wednesday, but friend Robin insisted the party should commence on Friday," Starfire answered cheerfully.
"So we have a little more than a week to plan everything?"
"It appears so; but do not fear, friend Raven! I have sent out the invitations, ordered the celebratory cake, and..." at this the alien leaned in close to the empath as she whispered "...paid friend Speedy the currency to purchase the alcoholic beverages."
Raven smirked in amusement at the great length the red-head was going to ensure the secret was kept. "That's great, Starfire. Do you know what Speedy is buying?"
Again, the alien looked around the room before speaking in a hushed tone, "He said he would bring over the samples on Monday, and we will choose the best ones."
"We're taste-testing different types of liquor, even though none of us have ever been drunk before?" Raven asked skeptically.
Starfire leaned in once more. "I have used the Google, and the most commonly consumed beverages were mixed with the vodka and the te-tequi-"
"Tequila?" the empath guessed.
"Yes! And I have insisted upon the Chartreuse, since it has become a key factor in the planning of this celebration," the alien smiled, clearly proud of her party-planning-prowess.
Suddenly the common room doors opened to reveal the half-robot/birthday-boy himself, along with a smiling green changeling.
"Eeeep!" Starfire squeaked as she flew towards them, pushing Cyborg back out of the room and cursing in her native tongue.
Beast Boy watched with amusement as the doors slid shut, leaving him alone in the common room with the empath. "Awe, man! We were gonna play Mega Monkeys!" he whined playfully.
"Help me hide all this and I'm sure Starfire will let Cyborg in the room," Raven suggested as she began bagging up the decorations.
Beast Boy casually sauntered over to the purple-haired girl, admiring her work. "I don't know, Rae. You seem like you can handle this 'cleaning' business by yourself," he teased as he hopped up and sat himself on the counter beside her.
A glare from the pale girl was his response.
"You know," he continued dreamily as he leaned in close to her. "You're going make a man very happy one day if you keep this up."
"Keep what up? Cleaning?" she replied incredulously while fighting back a blush.
Beast Boy only smiled mischievously as he swung his legs back and forth.
Raven rolled her eyes in annoyance. "If you're not going to help me, the least you can do is remove your butt from the kitchen counter."
The changeling ignored the empath and instead leaned back until he was lying on top of the counter.
The pale girl sighed in exasperation as she finished hiding the decorations in the cupboards. "You know, you're being disgusting," she mused aloud.
This enticed a response from the green boy as he sat up in defiance. "Hey! I'll have you know I shower every other day, now, thank you!"
"Really?" Raven deadpanned, though she was actually enjoying their banter.
"Yes, really. I'm not fourteen anymore, Rae; incase you didn't notice."
Oh, Raven had most definitely noticed. The changeling was now the same height as Starfire, leaving the empath with the title of the shortest one on the team. The extra training has paid off as well... the purple-haired girl observed- reluctantly, of course.
"Maybe not physically, but mentally? I'm not so sure if that part of you has matured," she replied in her signature monotone, though her eyes betrayed her mirth.
"I've matured physically, huh? Have... have you been checking me out, Rae?" Beast Boy smirked as he feigned disbelief.
Raven's face was once again graced with the presence of a fire-y red blush. "I've just merely observed that I no longer have to look down while speaking to you," she elaborated.
"Ouch. You know, that really hurts a man's pride," he replied, faux-hurt heavy in his voice, but a very real blush present on his face.
"How would you know?" she bit back.
Beast Boy arched his brows; the quick wit of the empath had always impressed him, and though he'd never admit it out loud, the pale girl was funnier than him. He also admired many of her physical qualities, though he wasn't foolish enough to admit that, either. But every now and then, he would work up the nerve to lightly flirt with her during their daily routine of harmless banter.
After a long pause from the changeling, Raven smirked triumphantly. She glided towards the common room doors slowly, soaking in her victory, but as she made her way though the exit, she looked back over her shoulder. "Seriously, though. Get off the counter," she ordered as the doors slid shut behind her. Beast Boy mimicked her silently, but before he knew it, a lasso of dark energy looped around his foot and pulled him to the kitchen floor.
"Ow!"
So this chapter kind of showed how confused Beast Boy is with his feelings towards Raven. He likes her, and finds her very attractive, but he's not sure if he's actually crushing on her. And he's not sure if he actually wants to crush on her, since she can be rather difficult.
I also tried to showed how much Raven does care for Beast Boy, even if it's just as a friend (for now). Like I said, their relationship is building slowly, so if you are waiting for them to profess their undying love, you might be reading the wrong story;) I'm trying to keep them in character as much as I can while also opening them up (especially Raven- it is very difficult to portray her sarcasm without making her seem rude; it's also really hard to make her flirt without her being totally OOC).
Anyways, let me know what you think! Leave a review or something, that'd be fab! And don't forget to vote on the whole CyBee/CyJinx, or even CyNoRomanticInterestsOnlyFriendshipsPlease!