Feeling as though he'd gotten kicked in the stomach, B.B.'s eyes widened, and he quickly gasped with alarm. "No. . .no, no, Raven. How could you even think that?! It took me forever and a day to finally get you to myself. . .Why in the world would I give you up? I made a promise to you, remember?" He asked as Raven sadly looked up at him out the corner of her eye. "I promised you on my 18th birthday, that I would never let you go. . ." He said, gently caressing the side of her cheek. Utterly touched, a tiny smile spread across her face.
"I didn't think you remembered that."
"What, are you kidding? Of course I remember! And I meant every word! So why in the world would I wanna break up." Now he briefly hesitated. Knowing inside that it was now or never, he swallowed hard, then timorously added, "When all I want to do. . .is spend the rest of my life with you?"
By the way her eyes slowly widened, B.B. knew she caught on to his hint. Marveling at him, Raven whispered, "Wait a minute, Gar. Did you just. . .propose to me?" Seeing her unnerved reaction caused him to chuckle,
"Well. . .Given the time . . .and place. . .This isn't exactly how I wanted it to go down." He specified, glancing over his shoulder at their gloomy surroundings. "But. . .yeah." he added, boldly managing to find her eyes. Now he blew out a relieved sigh. . .glad that it was finally out in the open. "Yes, I have. . ."
Staring at him with disbelief, her head slowly began to shake.
"I don't believe this. . .If that's what you've really been wanting to say, then why didn't you just come out with it, sooner?"
"A lot of reasons. . ." he muttered. "One being that you would've thought it was too soon. . .Or that maybe. . .we were too young. . ." Although deeply troubled, an eyebrow slowly raised from that last comment.
"Young? Gar. . .age has nothing to do with this." She stressed, as he gave her an uncertain glance. "You may be a little younger, but you don't act like a kid, anymore. You've grown up, alot. . ." She emphasized, watching as a pleased smiled crept over his face. "And frankly, if we're old enough to fight criminals, and take on killers, then I think marriage would fit into the puzzle. . ."
Now he watched as she put her head down. "But, I don't want you to be deceived either. I mean. . .look at me. Do you really know what you'll be getting?"
In that instant Beastboy knew exactly what she meant. Shaking his head, he gently reached forward, tilting her chin up until she was staring at very serious expression on his face. "Yeah. . .I'll be getting you, Raven. . .and not a demon seed from Trigon, if that's what you mean!" He said as she looked away. "We discussed this a good while back, and you know how I feel about that. It doesn't matter. . ."
"Well, it should. . .You're not the only one whose been thinking. I've been doing a lot of it too." Turning away from him, Raven walked out on the end of the balcony, until she was gazing out at the starry skies. "For as long as we've been dating, I never imagined us getting this close. But now that you want to get. . .closer, I'd have to wonder what it would be like. . .if we had children."
Out the corner of her eye, she watched as his eyes widened and his mouth fell open. As an embarrassed smirk crossed over his face, Raven could feel the heat rushing to her cheeks. Letting out a flustered chuckle, Beastboy nervously rubbed a hand on the back of his neck. "Whoa. . .Uh. . .I never really gave it that much thought." Determined to stay focused, Raven raised an eyebrow and replied,
"Well you'd better. . .because that will be a big part of our future." Now he watched as Raven's head lowered with shame. "And when it happens. . .chances are they could be just like me." Knowing exactly where this was going, Beastboy folded his arms, then nodded,
"Ok. Or. . .they could turn out like me." He asked as Raven gave him a confused glance. "With green skin, fangs, pointed ears. . .or worse yet. . . Just suppose you walk up to the crib one day, and find that our little tyke has morphed into a puppy. . .or a kitten!" Caught off guard by his playful, yet truthful analysis, Ravens eyes rolled upward as a low groan escaped her. Letting out a chuckle, B.B. nodded. "Hey, you know that could happen. And if they're born with my traits, would you be able to handle that?"
Giving him a hard glance, Raven shook her head and replied, "I'd rather worry about them morphing into little green animals, than little demons." She stressed, raising an eyebrow in a defiant manner.
Actually thrown off guard by that statement, Beastboy's head shook with exasperation. "Oh, Come on, Raven."
"It's true." She firmly cut off, giving him a hurt glance. "And you need to face that! Because no matter how far I've come, one thing about me will never change. I'll always have a part of Trigon inside of me. . .And it could manifest in them."
"So what if it does?" He argued, gently taking her by the hands. "It's all a part of who they are. And you can teach them to control it, the same way you have. But you shouldn't let that stop you from living your life, Raven. As far as I'm concerned, our kids will a new beginning for us. And will only be a part of you, and me." Cocking his head at her, Beastboy artfully raised an eyebrow and added, "I don't see Trigon anywhere in the middle of making them. . .Do you?" Catching on to his clever point, a grin uncontrollably crept over her lips.
"No. . ." She muttered, as he let out a bashful snicker.
"That's exactly my point. . ." Feeling the tensions lift, Beastboy shook his head and replied, "Look, you know it's not the genetic code that makes you who you are. It's what's in here that counts." He said, gently putting a hand on her chest. "And I told you before, that it's made you into a beautiful person, Raven. On the inside and out. Someone, who I want to marry. . .If you just give me a chance."
Now Raven watched as his hand dug into his pocket, until he pulled out a tiny black box. As he opened it up, Raven found herself marveling down at a shiny half carat marquise, surrounded by two smaller diamonds, and realized that she was actually staring down at an engagement ring! It brightly sparkled as he pulled it out of the box. "Oh, Gar. . .It-it's . . .so. . .beautiful."
Eyes lighting up, he smiled. "Really? I was hoping you'd say that. . ." Reaching for her trembling hand, he carefully slid the ring on her finger. "Whew. . .and it fits. . .Thank goodness." By this point, Raven was so speechless that she could only shake her head with disbelief.
"I-I don't know what to say. . ." Before she knew what was happening, Raven felt his finger gently press against her lips.
"Don't. . .Don't say anything right now." He whispered, as she stared down at her hand in a daze. "There's just too much of a distraction. . .and I know you got a lot to think about. But for now. . .just try it on for size. You know. . .to sorta get used to it. . ." he said as a smile slowly crossed over her face. "And when you're ready, get back to me. Ok?"
