It was morning time in Titans tower and Cyborg was already in the middle of preparing breakfast. Raven was sipping her tea over the counter while Starfire, who was sitting on the couch, played with Silkie. Robin sat nearby, leaning his elbows on the counter and reading the newspaper. The smell of fried meat causing him to look up at Cyborg.
"Ham and bacon." Robin stated a slight smirk coming across his face. "I'm sure Beastboy will appreciate that."
"Hey man, it's not my fault the little grass stain doesn't eat meat," Cyborg replied. "Besides, would you really rather have tofu for breakfast?"
Robin made a face, which clearly stated that he didn't, and Cyborg smiled as he went back to cooking.
"Friends, it is nearing the time for friend Beastboy's arrival, is it not?" Starfire asked as she stood up from her spot on the couch and floated behind Robin.
"It's only 9:30," Cyborg said checking the time. "Beastboy shouldn't be up for at least another hour or two."
"You are certain?" Starfire asked with slight concern.
"Try and enjoy the peace and quiet while it lasts," Raven replied though she admitted that Beastboy had been less of a pest lately and her words were mostly a force of habit.
"Why so worried, Star?" Robin asked curiously.
"Are we not to be planning his party of surprise?" Starfire asked.
"It's surprise party," Robin corrected with a smile. "And I think we've got everything covered."
"Not like it's gonna be much of a surprise," Cyborg said. "He's only reminded us about his birthday a thousand times."
"Yes, I suppose. But celebrating ones day of birth is a most joyous occasion," Starfire replied. "I fear that if we are not properly prepared we may disappoint him."
Robin smiled at Starfire's concern.
"I'm sure everything will be fine Star," He reassured her. "And Beastboy will love it."
"How could he not?" Cyborg asked. "We got cake, ice cream, tofu, balloons, and lets not forget gifts."
At the mention of the word 'gifts' Raven paused in drinking her tea.
"Oh yes," Starfire said with an eager smile. "I am very excited about the giving of gifts. It is my favorite part."
"Well, I know he's gonna like my gift," Cyborg boasted. "The newest release of Mega Monkey Fighters V...he'll love it!"
"Do you mean him or you?" Robin asked with a small smirk.
"Both." Cyborg grinned back.
"Oh, I do hope he likes my gift as well," Starfire replied. "I had purchased it at the mall of shopping just last week with friend Raven."
Raven nodded, though she knew the trip hadn't done her any good at the time. Inwardly she sighed. It shouldn't be so hard to find Beastboy a gift; after all, he would probably like anything that she got him.
Starfire watched Raven as she stared down at her cup of tea in deep thought.
"Friend Raven," She asked in a calm and polite voice. "Might I speak with you in private for a moment."
Raven gave Starfire a confused stare but nodded as the two made their way to the next room. As the doors closed behind them, Raven turned toward her friend, inquisitively.
"Okay Starfire," she said. "What's this all about?"
"I noticed that you are troubled," Starfire replied plainly. "And I am wondering if you are concerned about your gift for friend Beastboy."
"I just haven't found anything yet," Raven replied in a low voice.
"I see," Starfire nodded. "You wish to get him something special."
Raven gave Starfire a strange look...
"I guess." She finally replied.
"Might I make a suggestion?" Starfire asked.
"Sure."
"If you wish to get him a gift that is from your heart." Starfire said, placing her hand on her chest. "Then you must know what is inside his."
Raven stared at Starfire for a moment, taking in what she had just said.
"You make it sound like I have feelings for him or something," Raven replied taking a defensive step back.
"Do you not?" Starfire asked with a confused look. "You two have seemed quite close as of lately."
"I'll admit, we've been getting along okay," Raven replied avoiding eye contact with Starfire. "But we're just...friends."
"Of course, that is what I mean," Starfire explained. "You two have become close friends."
"Oh" Raven replied feeling foolish...not only because Starfire hadn't been making that assumption, but because she had.
"How ...could I do that?" Raven asked. "Know what's inside his heart?"
Starfire smiled.
"You merely have to talk with him," She explained. "And if you are lucky, he will share a piece of himself with you."
Raven looked nervously to the ground...this sounded too much like something a girlfriend and boyfriend would do.
"Starfire..." Raven asked. "What do you consider Robin?"
Starfire blushed.
"I believe that he is my closest friend," She replied. "Why do you ask?"
"It's nothing...but maybe I'll just ask Beastboy what he wants."
Raven hated the idea, knowing that if she asked now, he would think she had forgotten.
"Perhaps you could wake friend Beastboy up now and ask him," Starfire suggested. "Since it is time for the morning ritual of eating."
"Yeah...I think I will," Raven nodded before walking away. "Thanks anyway Starfire."
-Outside Beastboy's room-
Knock, Knock .
"Beastboy...?" Raven asked. "It's time for breakfast."
There was no reply and she sighed, knowing he was probably in a deep sleep. She opened the door that Beastboy rarely ever locked and stepped inside. She was surprised to find that his bed was empty, the sheets scattered out onto the floor. She looked around but found no sign of him. Had he already gotten up without her knowing?
Sighing, she looked around, maybe she could find something that would give her a clue as to what kind of gift Beastboy would like. The room wasn't nearly as messy as it had use to be...he had cleaned it over a month ago and somehow had managed to keep it looking somewhat decent. The scattered pieces of trash and clothing, however. didn't give her much insight.
She walked over towards Beastboy's bed and looked down at his dresser. Part of her knew that it was wrong to go through his things, even if it was for a good reason, but another part of her hated the idea of having to ask him, and admit that she hadn't gotten anything yet.
Finally, she found herself bending over to open the bottom drawer.
Inside she found stacks of comic books...she picked one up and flipped through it's pages. 'A comic book?' she asked herself. 'No. I can do better'
She placed the comic back on top of the stack and opened the next drawer. She blushed as she looked down at a cluster of multicolored underwear's. Everything from poke-a-dots to little animals. 'Definitely not underwear' She told herself, quickly closing the drawer.
She hesitated as she opened the top drawer, not sure of what else she would find.However, when she looked inside, she found several different things; none of which were any cause for alarm. There was an album book, which Raven looked at first. Inside were several pictures of the Doom Patrol and Beastboy, but as the album went on, it was filled with pictures of the Titans.
Raven smiled slightly when she found a picture of Beastboy and herself. It had been taken a little after the teen titans had formed. It showed Raven sitting on the couch with her legs crossed and a book in her hand, looking over her shoulder with an annoyed expression at Beastboy, who was wearing a clown nose, and whom she remembered had been telling jokes at the time. Honestly though, it had been some fault of Ravens that Beastboy was so persistent about telling the jokes in the first place.
"Heh...you're kinda funny,' Raven said with a small smile.
'Dude, you think I'm funny,' Beastboy asked with sparkles in his eyes. 'I know some jokes!'
That had been the start of an almost endless serious of his failed attempts at humor...but somehow she could only smile at the thought.
As she went on, she noticed that several pages had been torn out...but upon seeing the next visible page she understood.
'Terra'
There she was with one arm draped around Beastboy's shoulder, both of them smiling. Of course, it was the only picture of her left, and so it was safe to assume that he had gotten rid of the others.
Raven put the album back and noticed with a frown that Beastboy had also kept Terra's butterfly hairpiece. Raven wasn't sure why this bothered her so much, after all, Beastboy had liked Terra a lot, and it shouldn't have been surprising that in some way he still did...or at least he thought about her often.
'I'd like for him to think about us that way' A voice inside Raven's head replied.
Raven shook her head slightly and her gaze turned to Beastboy's Doom Patrol mask. It had looked ridiculous, and in many ways had made him seem even younger than he was. She picked up the mask and noticed that a picture had been lying under it. Picking up the picture with her right hand, she let the mask slip back into the drawer.
Raven looked curiously at the photo...it looked kind of old, considering how the edges were folded and worn, but what had her truly curious was what she saw.
It was a man and a woman, both smiling warmly up from the picture, and a little-boy, no older than four, with blond hair and blue eyes standing between them, waving. She had never seen the people before, and she wondered why Beastboy kept a picture of them...it was obviously important to him...as was everything else in the drawer.
"Um...Raven?" Came Beastboy's voice from behind her.
Raven felt her body tense and her stomach tighten as she turned around to face the changeling. Strands of wet hair fell in front of his face, and so it was safe to assume he had been taking a shower, but now he stood there waiting expectantly for Raven to reply.
Raven could think of no words to justify herself...there she stood in front of Beastboy's open drawer with his picture in her hand. A part of her wished to just teleport out of the room, but she knew that he'd still want an answer as to what she was doing the next time he saw her. Raven had been caught...and she had not choice but to stay and face him.
"Uh...what are you doing in my room?" Beastboy asked with a questioning stare...he looked behind her. "And going through my drawers?"
Raven felt her face grow red...this must look really bad. Beastboy smiled, and even though he was still confused, he now seemed mildly amused by the scene.
"I'm not sure if I should be mad or flattered," Beastboy said, his grin widening...clearly he wasn't mad.
"I was just...looking for…" Raven could tell she was stuttering some but she couldn't help it. She had never been more ashamed and embarrassed.
"It's okay, Raven," Beastboy said causing Raven to blink in surprise. "I know why you're in here."
"You do?" Raven asked with some doubt.
"Yeah," Beastboy replied. "But ya know...all ya had to do was ask."
"Sorry," Raven said quietly. "I was going to, but you weren't here and I...I was ashamed."
"Ashamed?" Beastboy asked with a truly confused expression. "Why would you be ashamed? It's your book."
"My book?" Raven asked, matching Beastboy's expression.
"Yeah…the one I borrowed a few weeks ago," Beastboy said. "That is what you were looking for...right?"
"Oh...um…yes," Raven nodded feeling slightly relieved, she was off the hook...for now.
Beastboy smiled as he stepped forward, looking down at the picture Raven had forgot she still held in her hand. Raven watched as his smile faded and his eyes seemed distant and sad.
"Sorry," Raven apologized. "I shouldn't have been going through your things."
Beastboy seemed to snap out of his trance, and he looked up at her as he took the picture.
"That's okay," he said, but his voice was low.
As he looked back down at the photograph, Beastboy's brow furrowed and his eyes seemed reminisent once again. Raven found herself longing to know what memory lay rooted behind his intense gaze, and she felt compelled to ask.
"Who are they?"
Beastboy didn't even flinch, as if he had already been preparing himself for the question.
"My parents," he replied softly. "And me..."
Raven looked at the boy in the picture and then back up at Beastboy.
"Well...I mean, before I looked like this," Beastboy explained with an uneasy smile.
Raven nodded as Beastboy walked over towards his dresser and looked at the picture some more.
"They look nice," Raven told him, trying to be polite.
Beastboy had never mentioned his real parents to any of them before, and she barely knew anything about the accident that had caused his powers.
"They were," Came Beastboy's soft reply...his back still turned to Raven as he set the picture back inside the drawer.
'Were' Raven thought with a frown. 'that means they're...'
It shouldn't have surprised her that his parents were gone, since Beastboy did live with the Doom Patrol before he became a titan, but some how hearing him say it, sensing the sadness in his voice, made it all too real.
"Sorry," Raven found herself whispering. "What happened to them?"
Beastboy tensed and Raven, feeling guilty for having asked an obviously personal question, was about to apologize when he spoke up.
"They... they passed away a long time ago," Beastboy explained in a sad voice. "In a boating accident."
Raven felt a sudden wave of guilt and sadness wash over her, though not certain if it was her or Beastboy who was experiencing the emotion at the time. This was a very delicate subject for him, as it would be for anyone who had ever lost a loved one.
She thought again about the happy people smiling up from the picture, his parents, his family, the life he once had...gone. How old was, where did he go, what did he do, and a question almost too terrifying to even think...was he with them? If so, how did he recover from something so traumatizing?
She swallowed back the flood of questions swimming in her head. It wasn't right for her to pry so much into his business. She would be there for him when he was ready to tell her, and somehow she knew that he would.
"It's a nice picture," She finally said, her voice was calm, but inside she felt foolish.
Beastboy let out a sad sort of laugh as he wiped away some tears that had formed in his eyes.
"Yeah...it is nice," He replied in his normal tone, turning to face her. "It's the only picture I have of them. I like to look at it sometimes."
He glanced at the drawer again and reflected.
"Actually,...I haven't looked at it in awhile." He admitted, sounding guilty.
Raven opened her mouth to say something, perhaps even to change the subject, but he spoke before her.
"Oh yeah, your book!" Beastboy said, snapping his fingers as if the thought had just struck him.
He turned to his bed and reached under his mattress to pull it out.
"Well, here ya go," he said in an almost over cheerfull voice as he offered it to her.
"I only finished half of it," he admitted in a normal, but slightly embarassed tone. "Guess I'm not much of a reader."
Raven stared at the book for a moment.
"Keep it." she replied.
Beastboy looked confused. "I thought this is what you wanted."
"Yes, well..." Raven looked off to the side, not quite sure what had compelled her to just give it away. "I changed my mind. I want you to have it."
Beastboy looked at her strangely and then down to the book. "Thanks."
"No problem," She replied. "I also came up here to tell you that breakfast is done."
"I doubt Cyborg made anything I'd eat," Beastboy said. "But I am hungry."
Raven watched as he turned back to his bed as if he were going to place the book back under his mattress. Beastboy looked at the book for a moment and then turned towards his dresser instead, opening up his top drawer and placing it inside.
Raven smiled at the gesture...then she finally noticed something different about Beastboy. It was obvious really, but her previous situation had distracted her.
"Beastboy?" Raven asked. "Why aren't you wearing your uniform?"
Beastboy looked down, and indeed he was wearing a pair of loose fitting jeans and a black T-shirt, along with his usual gloves and shoes. It actually made him look taller.
'He looks good' the voice inside Raven's head told her, but she ignored it
"Oh yeah," Beastboy replied with an almost embarrassed smile. "I think something must be wrong with the washer, 'cause all my uniforms are kinda tight."
Raven nodded and blushed, realizing that she had noticed.
"I just figured I'd wear something a little more comfortable," he replied with a shrug.
Raven nodded again...it made sense.
"Okay, let's go," Beastboy said with plenty of energy. "Every second I spend here is time better wasted on arguing with Cyborg."
Raven sighed and rolled her eyes before following Beastboy out of his room.
'A gift from the heart' she thought to herself. 'Maybe I can do this after all'
-Next week at Beastboy's party-
Beastboy drooled, his mouth open slightly as he gazed at the vast amounts of vegetarian food and a big cake with green frosting.
"SWEET!" He exclaimed.
Unable to contain his excitement, he grabbed a fork and knife and began eating everything in sight.
"Beastboy wait," Robin tried to stop him before he got to the cake. "We haven't..."
His sentence fell short as Beastboy dived into the cake, flinging green frosting on the rest of his friends.
Robin sighed. "…sang Happy Birthday yet."
"Hehe...my bad, dude," Beastboy said with a sheepish grin, brushing the pieces of remaining cake off his t-shirt and pants. "It was real good though."
"I guess we'll have to take your word for it," Raven replied, brushing some forsting of her shoulder.
"See, I told ya he'd like the spread,"Cyborg announced proudly.
"No meat in sight," Beastboy noted giving Cyborg a grateful smile. "Thanks Cy."
"No problem man," Cyborg replied. "But don't expect the same thing this time tomorrow."
Beastboy laughed. "I won't."
"Oh this is so much fun," Starfire replied, a party hat atop her head. "Might we present Beastboy with his gifts now."
"Sounds like a good idea to me," Robin nodded.
"Bring on the presents!" Beastboy exclaimed.
"Dude, you are so gonna worship me after this," Cyborg replied handing him his gift.
Beastboy squealed in excitement as he ripped apart the packaging.
"DUDE!" He exclaimed. "Its Mega Monkey Fighters Five!"
Cyborg smirked.
"Yep," he said. "And don't think I'll go easy on you just 'cause it's your birthday."
"Easy on me?" Beastboy asked with a smirk. "Yeah right...just try not to cry when I beat you."
"Friend you must open my gift next," Starfire replied extending hers out.
Beastboy took it, but he seemed more careful then he had been with Cyborg's gift. Of course, with Starfire, you never knew what you'd get.
"A book of jokes," Beastboy said as he smiled brightly up at Starfire. "Thanks a bunch Star."
"Perfect," Raven replied dully. "That's all you need...more jokes"
Beastboy smiled at the comment and thanked Starfire again.
"Here you go Beastboy," Robin said handing him his gift. "I figured you could use this."
Beastboy took the package and shook it for a moment ...then he pretended to weigh it...then he placed his ear against it to listen.
"Dude, just open it!" Cyborg yelled.
"You can't rush these kinda things," Beastboy announced, lifting the lid off the nicely wrapped box.
He looked questioningly at it contents, but a smile slowly made a way to his face as he lifted it up.
"Dude...it's perfect," Beastboy said admiring his uniform.
It looked almost identical to his old Doom Patrol uniform except it had a yellow 'T' on the left side, right above where his heart would be.
"I plan on ordering more if it fits right," Robin told him. "I figured you'd want to keep the look the same, though. Now you'll have something to wear on missions."
"Yeah," Beastboy nodded setting the uniform back down into the box. "But you guys should really fix the washer so these uniforms don't shrink too."
"Um Beastboy," Robin replied. "There's nothing wrong with the washer."
"Dude, yes there is," Beastboy said. "If not, then how come all my uniforms shrunk?"
"Did you ever stop to think that you just out grew them," Raven asked calmly.
"Huh?" Beastboy looked lost. "Out grew them?"
"I hate to admit it man," Cyborg replied. "But you have gotten taller."
"I have!?" Beastboy asked standing up and looking at himself. "Robin stand up."
"Why?"
"Dude, I want to see how tall I am."
Robin smiled as he stood up...him and Beastboy were now face to face.
Raven couldn't hid her smile as she watched Beastboy eyes light up with excitement
"DUDE...I'M TALL!" He exclaimed doing a little dance. "Go Beastboy,..it's your birthday,...got taller,... go Beastboy.."
Starfire giggled.
"Okay," Raven replied. "I think that's enough."
"What's wrong Raven?" Beastboy asked with a taunting grin. "Mad cause you're the shortest member of the team now?"
"No." she replied ...she actually liked the idea of him being just a little taller.
"Come on, man," Cyborg complained."I've already got the game set up."
"What about Raven's gift?" Robin asked glancing at the empath.
"Oh yes, friend Raven still has her present to give."
Raven could feel herself tense up as all eyes fell on her and she reached out her small wrapped gift to Beastboy.
Beastboy smiled politely at her as he looked down and began unwrapping it.
His expression faded once it was open and Raven was afraid he didn't like it.
Cyborg stood up to get a better look.
"Looks like a picture frame," he said, giving Raven a confused glance.
"I...thought you could use it" she told him, looking down for a moment. "For a special picture."
Raven looked back up at Beastboy, who still seemed lost in thought as he traced the frame with his thumb for a moment.
"Thanks Raven," He replied in a soft voice. "This is...um...thanks."
"You're welcome," she said.
Beastboy looked up and gave her a soft smile, leaving the others to exchange confused expressions. It was clear to them that the picture frame obviously meant something to Raven and Beastboy, even if they didn't know what.
"Okay guys," Cyborg exclaimed. "Enough presents...it's time to Party!"
Raven looked away from Beastboy as he nodded eagerly to Cyborg and raced him over towards the game station.
She glanced over at the picture frame he had left laying on the counter and second-guessed her decision.
She shook the thought off and went to watch the two play the game. Maybe she would even root for Beastboy, after all, it was his birthday.
-Later that night-
Raven glanced at her clock...it was 11:35 and she still hadn't gotten to sleep. Maybe it was the day's early events that were keeping her awake. She was starting to regret the gift she had gotten for Beastboy, even though her had seemed to appreciate it. Knowing Beastboy though, he could have just been being nice. She sighed, determined to finally get some sleep when she heard a light knock on her door.
She was slightly surprised when she slid her door open to find Beastboy. He gave her a small smile as he fidgeted with his gloves.
"Hey Raven," he said.
"Beastboy," Raven addressed him. "What are you doing up?"
"Sorry if I woke you," he apologized. "I just wanted to...um...talk to you for a second."
Raven nodded and opened her door the rest of the way.
"Yes?" She asked, and she watched as Beastboy stared down at the floor for a moment.
Inwardly Beastboy was trying to find the right words...but he admitted that he really didn't know what he wanted to say to Raven. The only thing he did know was that he had spent the last hour and a half staring at the picture frame she had gotten him. He had, of course, put the picture of his parents inside and placed it next to his picture of the titans- but despite that, all he could think about was Raven...
"Well?" Raven asked still sounding rather patient.
"I just wanted to say that..." he paused. "I think that the picture frame is...um..."
Raven stared at him...he had come to talk about her gift...why?
"Sorry," Raven interrupted him. "I should have gotten you something else."
"No, no! That's not it," Beastboy replied hastily. "I'm really glad you got it, Rae."
Raven stared up at him, mildly surprised.
"I mean, Raven," he corrected himself. "That's what I wanted to tell you."
Normally, if Beastboy were to knock on her door at this hour and tell her something like that, she would have been angry and annoyed. Somehow though, she knew that she would sleep better knowing Beastboy had genuinely liked her gift. The realization of this was quite stunning in itself.
'Since when did I start caring so much about what Beastboy thinks' She wondered.
'Since you started thinking about him.' A voice teased.
Raven quickly disguarded the notion.
"Um, Raven?"
She blinked, realizing he was still standing in front of her.
"Oh..." Raven replied. "Is that all?"
'Am I trying to drag this conversation on?'
"Um...I'm not sure," Beastboy said with genuine confusion. "I just thought you should know that..."
Raven watched as he rubbed the back of his neck, something she had noticed he did when he got nervous. But ...why was he nervous?
Raven was about to ask when Beastboy looked back up into her eyes and she found herself without words. Since when did he have the ability to make her feel like she was frozen, unable to move away from his gaze; for that matter, when did his gaze ever feel this intense?
Beastboy took in a deep breathe.
"I wanted you to know it meant a lot to me," he finally said, and not waiting for her to reply, he quickly leaned over and kissed her cheek.
Almost immediately after his lips touched her skin did he pull away, looking more shocked at himself then Raven did...both blushing.
"I...um...I gotta go," he said, dashing away down the hall toward his room.
Raven stood there in her door way for a moment...bringing a hand up to her cheek and absentmindedly touching the spot he had kissed. She was shocked, afraid, embarrassed, and happy all at the same time -but much to her surprise nothing shattered...nothing broke...everything was fine.
No…everything was more than fine and she just couldn't understand why she felt that way.
'That was so great' the voice inside her head replied in excitement. 'He kissed us'
She shook her head...that voice...she had been hearing it a lot lately and always when she was around Beastboy. Raven sighed, realizing that in the morning the two will have pretended like it never happened. It was almost a relief in some way, and Raven told herself that Beastboy was just trying to show her that he was grateful and it meant nothing.
'But you want it to mean something, don't you?'
Raven shook her head again as she closed her door and got back into bed. She pulled the covers up and glanced at the clock, noticing it still wasn't mid-night.
"Happy Birthday Beastboy," Raven whispered as she closed her eyes, and sleep finally found her.
YAH... so happy...I really enjoyed writing this one. Once again Thank you secondrate for your help. Everyone please review!