Beast Boy opened his eyes, something he was pleasantly surprised by. After all, when somebody loses consciousness due to blood loss in an alley, they don't exactly expect to wake up. He was in a lot of pain, which made sense, all things considered. But he was familiar with pain; on a scale that included his time with Doctor Register, this rated as a five out of ten, six when he moved too suddenly.
"Dude," He moaned to nobody in particular. "What happened?"
"Nothin' good, Grass Stain." Vic answered, laying a hand on his shoulder. "Blood loss, fractures, burns… you're lucky to be alive." Beast Boy looked around the dark infirmary, seeing Raven in the bed next to his.
"Is Raven okay?" He asked the instant he saw her. "She's not hurt, is she?"
"Is Raven- Is Raven okay?!" Victor spluttered incredulously. "You have a brush with death and you're worried about her?" He shook his head, smiling to himself. "She's fine man; a couple bruises and a bad case of exhaustion." He smiled reassuringly. "She just needs a little rest, B."
"Healing me must've taken everything she had." Beast Boy murmured. "She said she wouldn't let me die." Suddenly, a spectre of recollection reared its ugly head. "Oh no…" He groaned.
"What's wrong, man?" His best friend asked, concern, possibly even panic, in his voice.
"I can't believe I told her all that!" The changeling whimpered.
"Told who?" Vic enquired, sounding equal parts worried and annoyed.
"Raven!" Beast Boy exclaimed.
"...Well damn, now I'm just curious." Victor shrugged. "So what'd you tell her, Grass Stain?"
"I told her that I love her." He groaned.
"Okay, Am I missing something?" Victor asked after a moment of confused silence. "Because I don't see what the problem is."
"She's gonna freak out when she wakes up!" Beast Boy exclaimed angrily. "I can't believe I just sprang it on her like that!"
"Seriously, B?" Victor scoffed. "You're worried that your girlfriend, the empath might not have been ready for you to use the 'L' word?"
"She probably wasn't ready for me to start talking about marrying her!" Beast Boysquealed.
"You're not wrong." Raven deadpanned.
"Raven?!" Gar squeaked "You're awake?"
"And that's my cue to leave." Vic muttered, leaving slightly faster than Gar felt was necessary.
"Did he seriously just bail on you?" Raven asked.
"Yep, he bailed." Gar confirmed.
"Some friend he is." Raven muttered shaking her head. "So… are you okay?"
"Not too bad," Gar shrugged, wincing as he did so. "I'm not doing too great, but I'll live. You okay?"
"Just tired." Raven replied simply. "You took my beating for me, remember?"
"Vaguely." Gar chuckled.
"Well… I guess we'd better address the elephant in the room."
"I can't shapeshift until I've healed properly," Gar stated bluntly. "Otherwise I'd be an elephant right now."
"Of course you would," Raven rolled her eyes. "Because Azar forbid you actually take this seriously."
"You want serious?" Gar asked, taking his girlfriend's words as a challenge. "Fine, let's get serious. We're in the infirmary, and Vic's probably eavesdropping, but who cares?"
"If he is, he'll regret it." Raven replied, a warning for their friend. After a moment, they heard the sound of an extremely heavy man running away on feet made of metal. "Victor's gone, and so is your excuse to avoid awkward conversations."
"Fine," Gar groaned; he really wasn't ready for this conversation. "What's first?"
"You nearly died." Raven said flatly. "You nearly got yourself killed being an overly sentimental idiot."
"They said they were demon hunters!" "Gar responded, trying his best not to let his irritation show. "They landed a hit on you, and I went kind of nuts, okay? It wasn't a conscious decision."
"It was one sloppy punch." Raven pointed out. "They weren't exactly cutting me to ribbons."
"My instincts didn't seem to care." Gar shrugged. "And honestly, I agree with them."
"It was stupid and reckless!" Raven snapped.
"And burning yourself out to heal me wasn't?" He shot back. "Besides, we both know that isn't the real issue here."
"You're right," Raven agreed. "It's not. When you were… injured, you said that you loved me." She blushed faintly; god, he loved that blush. It was something that the rest of the world didn't get to see, a moment of openness, a reminder that, around him, she felt comfortable letting her guard down almost completely. "And, well… did you mean it?"
"Can't you tell?" Gar asked, genuinely confused. "You're an empath, after all."
"I need to hear you say it." Raven said, almost pleading.
"I meant every word of it." Gar replied simply. "I love you, and I'll keep saying it as many times as you want me to."
"And the other thing?" Raven asked, her voice hopeful and her face terrified. "Did you mean that too?"
"...Screw it." Gar shrugged. "I wish I could've gotten this right, but hey, why start now, am I right?" He hoisted himself off of the infirmary bed, wincing as various body parts lodged complaints. "No time like the present." He felt the wound in his thigh reopen as he lowered himself to one knee. "Raven, I love you with all my heart. Will you marry me?" At first she was silent, and Gar felt himself beginning to worry that he might have made a mistake.
"Yes." She whispered. "Yes!" She threw her arms around him. "I love you too, so much it feels like I'm going crazy." She kissed him, soft and chaste. "Of course I'll marry you." Another kiss, considerably less innocent. "And if you weren't still injured, I'd rip that hospital gown right off of you and-"
"Rae, as much as I'd love to hear the end of that sentence," Beast Boy reluctantly interrupted his fiancee (fiancee!). "We've got an audience." He pointed to the door, where Kori, Dick and Victor stood.
"Oh no," Their leader smirked. "Don't let us stop you. Just pretend we're not here."
"Dude, it's 3 AM!" Beast Boy exclaimed. "Why are you guys even awake?"
"I asked Vic to tell me when you guys were awake." Dick replied.
"And I was awoken due to my being asleep beside boyfriend Richard after a vigorous session of lovemaking!" Kori offered cheerfully, causing Dick to blush to the roots of his hair. Kori had once told Beast Boy in confidence that she knew how much it flustered Dick when she was candid about the physical side of their relationship, which was why she was so candid about it in the first place.
"I was going to ask you for information on your attackers, but the debriefing can wait until morning." Nightwing said, clearly eager to change the subject.
"It sounds to me like you already got some debriefing done while we were out cold." Beast Boy snickered.
"And it sounds to me," Victor interjected. "Like Raven was planning to do a little debriefing of her own." Beast Boy could feel himself blushing.
"Oh, what glorious news!" Kori exclaimed, flying in and sweeping Beast Boy into a hug like a hydraulic press.
"Star," Raven said levelly. "If you don't mind, I'd rather you didn't suffocate my fiancee."
"Oh!" Starfire released him. "My apologies friend Garfield, I did not mean to cause you harm!"
"It's cool." Beast Boy croaked.
"I guess congratulations are in order." Dick began, smiling earnestly. "We're all happy for you."
"You won't be happy for long," Beast Boy snickered. "After all, you've got a lot of explaining to do when Star starts to wonder why We got engaged before you did." And just like that, their fearless leader went white as a sheet.
"I, uhh… I should go." Dick stammered nervously. "You guys need your rest." And with that, he bolted, with Kori in hot pursuit.
"Two down," Beast Boy smirked. "One to go."
"You ain't shiftin' me that easy, Grass Stain," Victor grinned. "Unlike Bird Boy, I don't turn tail and run from unexpected emotional intimacy."
"Vic," Raven began, her tone patient. "You know I care about you."
"Same to you, Rae," Victor smiled warmly. "You're like my little sister."
"I know," Raven nodded. "I'm counting on it. Because if you don't give us some privacy until morning, I'll begin to describe Garfield and my sex life." She sounded deadly serious. "In graphic detail."
"You wouldn't dare," Victor replied, narrowing his eyes. "That'd be getting way too personal, and you don't do personal."
"Gar does," Raven replied simply. "And I'm giving him permission to do so effective immediately."
Beast Boy grinned evilly as his best friend turned to face him, fear in his eyes. "You know I'll do it."
"You win, you win!" Vic shouted in a panic, backing out the door.
"We're way too good at messing with them." Gar noted.
"Absolutely." Raven agreed. "This sort of power is sure to corrupt us."
"You sure it hasn't already done that?" Gar shot back.
"You might have a point." She smirked. "So…"
"So…" Gar chuckled. "What now?"
"I'll be blunt;" Raven replied. "I'm thinking that I'd prefer a long engagement."
"Works for me," Gar shrugged, trying and failing to keep a huge, giddy grin off of his face. "I wouldn't want you to rush into anything."
"And I'll want to see this ring you've 'already picked out' before you buy it." She stated plainly.
"Makes sense." Gar nodded. "After all, you'll be the one wearing it."
"I suppose we'll have to tell Titans East and all the others." Raven said, seemingly going through an internal checklist."
"Heck, tell the villains while we're at it." Gar joked.
"But for now," Raven said. "I say we get some sleep in a bed that's actually comfortable. Mine, for example."
"It's like you read my mind." Gar grinned, throwing one arm over her shoulder.
"And just to be clear," Raven said, her tone carrying the merest hint of mischeif. "I retain the right to act on my previously-stated intentions vis a vis that hospital gown."
"Thank god I heal so fast."