Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans, but hey, if you're offering... ;)
After the Titans defeated Trigon, the god of all evil, they obviously expected some things to change. Especially in regards to Raven.
They anticipated that she may open up a bit, having literally gone through the end of the world with them, and they were sort of right. By Raven standards, she was expressing herself a lot more, even if she was still the most subdued member of the team. They also thought she might hang out with them a bit more, and she did. She had the occasional sleepover with Starfire, she helped Robin with his research, and she worked with Cyborg in the garage more frequently. She even watched television with Beast Boy from time to time.
What they were not expecting, however, was her new... requirements when it came to sleeping.
It had started the very day they defeated Trigon. She had sheepishly admitted her desires to Robin late that night, a dark blush staining her face. He had obliged, and it had become sort of a thing. But obviously, Robin wasn't available every night. That was when she let Cyborg in on the secret. And one day when they were both busy, she reluctantly sought out Starfire. With almost everyone in the tower knowing, it was inevitable that Beast Boy would find out, but it had thankfully never come to the point where he was needed to perform the action himself.
Until, you know, this exact moment.
Raven was incredibly distressed. "Cyborg, are you sure you can't?"
Her robotic 'brother' patted her on the back sympathetically. "I'm sorry, Rae, but I gotta go over to Titans East right away. Bee says the boys broke something on the super computer, and now their security systems are playing up."
"And you're sure Robin and Starfire won't be back tonight?"
"Not unless you feel like staying up until two in the morning," sighed Cyborg. "They went out on a date somewhere, and knowing them, they'll 'lose track of time' again."
"Yeah..." Raven directed her gaze to the floor.
Cyborg rubbed her back soothingly. "I really am sorry, Raven. I'll do it now, before I go, if you want, but..."
"I won't be able to sleep this early, and I still have to meditate," she finished, staring out at the setting sun through the windows, "so it will be pointless."
He took a deep breath. "Look, Raven-"
"It's fine," she interrupted. "Just... would you mind, you know, asking him for me?"
"Sure, Rae." Cyborg playfully ruffled her hair. "I'll let BB know. You just go meditate."
"Thank you, Cyborg," she said softly. "Have fun at Titans East."
"And you have fun with-" He cut himself off, realising what he was saying. "Never mind. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"
Raven's lips curled into a false smile. "Okay. Bye, Cyborg."
The empath exited the room, no doubt returning to her own for some much-needed meditation. Cyborg watched her go, feeling a pang of guilt for the stress he knew he was putting her under.
"Hey, Cy! Up for a round of Mega Monkeys?"
Then again, he wasn't necessarily putting his green friend into a particularly great position, either.
"Uhm, actually, I gotta head over to Titans East tonight," he began warily, half-hoping that Beast Boy would clock where this was unavoidably heading before he had to explain it.
"Oh. Okay, dude. I get it." The changeling waggled his eyebrows suggestively. "You wanna visit Bee, right?"
Cyborg scoffed. "Like I'd leave you and Raven alone in the tower to visit her."
"Ha, c'mon dude, you're just denying- Wait, me and Raven? Alone in the tower?" His green eyes widened. "All night?" Beast Boy gasped. "Does that mean I've gotta...?"
"I'm afraid so, BB," he stated solemnly.
"But... But Cy, I don't know how!" Beast Boy exclaimed, clutching his hair in his fists. "I've never done it before, and we don't speak of it! What if I screw it up? She'll hate me! And then she'll tell Rob, and I'll be in trouble, and... and..."
"Yo, BB, calm down!" Cyborg placed his hands on his friend's shoulders. "It ain't hard, okay? You're just putting her to bed!"
"But I don't know how to!" he whined.
"Oh, come on! All you gotta do is tuck her in, kiss her goodnight, and turn off the lights. It's no big deal."
"K-kiss her?!" he shrieked fearfully. "I've gotta... kiss her?"
The half-robot groaned in frustration. "I'm not talking a full-on make-out session, BB, just a little peck. It calms her down or something, I don't know."
"And... you guys do that every night?" inquired Beast Boy, confused. He was aware that one of his team-mates had to put the empath to bed at night, but he had never actually been told what 'putting her to bed' included, for obvious reasons.
Grabbing the T-Car's keys from where he had placed them on the counter, Cyborg shrugged. "Well, yeah. Like I said, it's not some big thing. She just gets a little frightened and paranoid about being alone, so we've gotta reassure her that she's got people caring about her. Don't worry about it."
"Dude." Beast Boy stared his larger friend down. "You can't just tell me that I have to put Raven to bed, and then say not to worry about it."
"BB..." Cyborg sat beside his little buddy on the couch. "I know you've got a bit of a thing for Rae, but-"
"W-what?" stammered Beast Boy, his face glowing red. "I-I don't have a th-thing for R-Rae!"
Cyborg gave him a knowing look. "Sure. Anyway, just relax, buddy. She'll feel as confused about it as you do, but trust me, it's not as weird as it sounds like it's gonna be."
Suddenly, the half-robot's communicator beeped. He opened the message and read it, before blurting, "Wha- How can I be late if you only told me to come ten minutes ago?" Remembering Beast Boy, he composed himself. "Sorry, I gotta go. Bee's already on my case. Honestly, is she expecting me to travel at light speed or some- Never mind. See ya, BB."
As the doors of the common room slid shut, Beast Boy flopped back against the couch, groaning lowly. The boy's sharp ears detected a dull beeping, followed by an, "Aw, come on! Gimme a break, woman!"
He smirked. At least he wasn't the only one with a terrible night in store.
Raven lowered herself onto her bed, having completed a solid hour and a half of meditation. She felt calmer, but she wasn't kidding herself; she knew no amount of meditation was going to prepare her for the horrible embarrassment she was about to endure. She changed into her pyjamas slowly, savouring the dignity she had left, before sliding open her door and walking towards the common room.
He was sat with his back to her, playing something on the Gamestation. The only thing Raven recognised was the irritatingly catchy tune, and the stereotypical 'last-man-alive' storyline, but they could be from any of his mind-rotting games.
"Beast Boy," she spoke firmly, monotone in full effect.
He grunted in response, before apparently noticing who was addressing him, and pausing his game quickly as he turned.
"What's up, Rae?" he asked. He then spotted her pyjamas, and remembered his task. "You, uh, hitting the hay now?"
Raven nodded once, blushing a bright red, which he was no doubt matching. Well, at least we're both uncomfortable with this situation, he thought bitterly.
He allowed the empath to lead him to her room, which was a weird experience in itself. She opened the door and crossed to her bed immediately, seemingly expecting him to just follow her inside. Now that was weird. Beast Boy warily shuffled inside, glancing around at the interior, which hadn't changed since the last time he had seen the forbidden room. Meanwhile, Raven had settled into her bed, pulling her knees to her chest and loosely folding the covers over herself.
Beast Boy felt his palms grow clammy as she glanced over at him, motioning subtly with her eyes for him to come closer. Okay, just remember what Cy said, he instructed himself. He awkwardly moved towards her. Tuck her in, kiss her goodnight, turn off the lights. Tuck her in, kiss her goodnight, turn off the lights. tuck her in, kiss her goodnight, turn off the- Wait, couldn't she just turn out the lights with her powers? Focus, Gar! Tuck her in...
Finally making it to her bed, he hesitantly grasped the duvet. When she nodded once in confirmation, he spread it over her fully, pulling the edge up to her chin (while silently noting how adorable she looked staring up at him as she lay there), before carefully tucking her in.
K-kiss her goodnight...
He swallowed nervously, praying that he wasn't visibly sweat-dropping. The green boy leaned over Raven, watching her blush intensify with his own as he neared her. Closing the distance, Beast Boy shakily planted a kiss on the empath's lips. Recalling Cyborg's words, he pulled back quickly, and ran his hand across his forehead in relief. He turned around and walked back to the door, hand hovering over the light switch.
Turn off the- Huh?
The boy had just glanced over his shoulder to wish her goodnight, only to notice that Raven was nowhere to be found.
"Rae?" Uh-oh. "Rae!" Oh, no. This isn't good. "Raven?!" This really isn't good.
Panicking, he whipped out his communicator and called the first person he could think of. "Cyborg! Help!"
His robotic friend sighed. "For the last time, I'm not helping you beat level 50 on-"
"Not with that!" Beast Boy snapped, eyes wide. "I lost Rae!"
"You lost her?! How did you lose her?"
"I don't know! I did what you said, but she disappeared before I turned the lights out!"
"BB, what exactly did you do?"
He took deep breaths. "I tucked her in, I gave her a kiss, and then she teleported away!"
"Well..." Cyborg looked as befuddled as Beast Boy felt. "I honestly can't see what you've do to annoy her this time, BB."
"Me neither!" he exclaimed. "It wasn't even like she said anything either! And she could've done; I only pecked her, so she'd have been able to talk if she wanted to!"
"Wait a second... BB, did you kiss her on the lips?!"
Beast Boy furrowed his brows in confusion. "Yeah? Wasn't I supposed to?"
"No! That'll be why she bailed! Man, are you kidding me?"
"Dude!" shouted Beast Boy, outraged. "You told me to kiss her goodnight!"
"I meant on the forehead, not the lips!"
"Well, you didn't say that!"
"It seemed obvious!"
"It wasn't, dude!" The changeling massaged his temples. "Look, Cy, just tell me what I gotta do next."
"Find her! If I were you, I'd check either the roof or the- No, she probably wouldn't go to the garage if I wasn't there. Uhm... Maybe that cafe she likes?"
Beast Boy groaned. "That creepy, depressing one with the poetry? Let's hope she's on the roof."
Thankfully, Raven was indeed on the roof, but for once she wasn't arranged in a meditative pose. Instead, she was sat on the roof's edge, her knees supporting her chin with her arms wrapped around them. Beast Boy cautiously joined her, seating himself only when he was convinced she wasn't planning to throw him off the edge.
"Uh..." She didn't acknowledge that he had spoke, though really, he didn't expect her to. "You know, you really gave me a scare back there, Rae. Disappearing like that." He chuckled nervously. "It was, like, totally unexpected. You just... vanished."
She licked her lips before speaking, but didn't seem to realise she had done so. "Your actions weren't exactly predictable, either."
"In my defense, Cy didn't say that 'kiss you goodnight' meant 'kiss you on the head'!"
"Cyborg told you to kiss me?" Raven's voice was small.
Beast Boy looked up, and was somewhat surprised to actually meet her eyes. "Yeah. He said that was normal... Isn't it?"
"It is," she confirmed, "I just wasn't sure whether or not he'd tell you about that bit."
He bristled, more offended than he'd like to be about that comment. "Why not?"
"Well..." Raven trailed off. Her face betrayed that she had abandoned her earlier sentence, but she did say, "I figured he'd expect you to make some joke about it."
"Well, the thought of Robin tucking someone in and kissing them goodnight is pretty funny," he admitted aloud, "and I doubt I'll let Cy live that down, either. But I wouldn't make fun of you for it, Rae."
She cracked a little smile, a blush dusting her cheeks. "Thank you."
He stood, offering her his hand. "Ready for bed, Rae?"
"Yes," she said softly.
She took his hand, and he pulled her to her feet. Beast Boy held onto her hand as he led her towards the door, before opening it wide and allowing her to pass through first. Raven let out the quietest squeak of a giggle at his chivalry, but it was only audible in the changeling's enhanced ears. Knowing better than to mention it, he guided the pyjama-clad empath towards her room. Raven climbed back into bed, adjusting the abandoned duvet over her body. He finished the job, tucking her in once again. Then, inhaling a large breath, he pressed his lips to her chakra stone. Pulling back, he felt immensely reassured by the fact that Raven was still lying there , even smiling slightly. He ran his hand through her hair tentatively, before walking over to the door.
Fingers resting over the light switch, he softly called out, "Night-night, Rae."
And after he flicked the switch, plunging the room into darkness, he could've sworn he heard a quiet "Goodnight, Beast Boy," back.
Uhm... I don't even know where this idea came from :P I know having somebody tuck her in and everything is ridiculously OOC for Raven, but I guess I figured after the Trigon thing and, y'know, kinda dying, Raven might've got a little more insecure about being alone? Is that plausible?
Anyway, thanks for reading, and please review/follow/favourite! :)
