A/N Well folks here it is. This one took a bit longer than I expected but everytime I sat down to write I just couldn't get myself to do it. Concluding stories is not my strongest point and as this one gets closer and closer to the end I'm having more trouble writing. I leave for college in a week so I'm trying my best to finish this up but it most likely won't be done by then. If that's the case my updates will probably be a bit more sporadic and so I apologize in advance for that. I'm very appreciative of all the support and reviews you guys have given me and I hope you continue to review!
Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans
Cyborg had almost made it back to his room when he remembered he'd forgotten to turn off the monitors in the med bay. After the short trek to the elevator and down into the med bay he switched off all machines and made his way back upstairs. As he was walking to his room however he heard a noise coming from the roof. Deciding to investigate, he stealthily made his way up the stairs and pushed the door open. He was shocked to see Beastboy and Raven laying on the roof side-by-side. It also appeared that Raven was… laughing? He was almost certain he had to be in a dream because none of it made sense. What happened next practically confirmed that thought. Raven sat up and kissed the little grass stain. Right after she rushed to the door and Cyborg pressed himself against the wall, hoping she wouldn't notice the huge glowing machine standing in the doorway. She rushed right past him and down the hall without acknowledging him. Cyborg quickly made his way down the stairs as well so as not to be caught by Beastboy. He was definitely going to have to confront the kid, but that could wait until morning.
Cyborg awoke at the end of his recharging sleep cycle as usual. He unhooked himself from the machine and stretched out a bit (not really a necessity but more out of habit). He made his way out the door and towards the kitchen. Somehow he was going to have to get the Changeling alone so he could talk to the little guy about last night's events. Cyborg smirked at the thought. Everything was working out perfectly. He thought back to yesterday morning when he and Raven had gone to get groceries.
After the event with Mumbo, Cyborg and Raven made their way to the grocery store. Cyborg usually enjoyed shopping with Raven because she caused the least amount of trouble. She knew exactly what to get and didn't throw random items into the cart like Beastboy and Starfire. Plus she didn't argue with the cashier like Robin. The two walked in and Cyborg grabbed a cart. They began their search for groceries when an idea came to cyborg. He though back to a few days ago and his conversation with Beastboy. He'd been too busy to enact his match-making abilities but now would be the perfect time.
"Hey Raven, how're you handling this whole body-switching experience?"
"Fine."
"It's not weird being in the little grass stain's body?"
"It's weird, but I'm handling it fine." Cyborg almost forgot how hard it was to have a conversation with Raven unless she wanted to have a conversation.
"Ya know I think he's pretty excited about it."
"Hm?"
"He gets to learn more about you or something. Are you learning anything about him?"
"We've talked a bit. I wouldn't credit the talk as being a result of the change though. I'm sure we would've gotten around to it someday."
"What'd you guys talk about?"
"You're being nosy."
"I'm just curious. It's exciting to see you two getting along so well. I don't think you've thrown anything at him at all these last few days."
"He's more tolerable in this state. He's forced to be less… annoying."
"You gotta admit though, you kinda like his annoying self."
"Hm."
"Not to mention that goofy grin and those pointy ears."
"Are you insinuating something?"
"I'm just saying that he's a good looking dude, I wouldn't rank him above me or Robin… or Aqualad… or Speedy… but anyways he's not bad looking!"
"If you think he's so handsome maybe you should date him." Cyborg practically gagged at the thought. "Ah… he's not my type. But maybe he could be your type?"
"How do you know I have a type?"
"Everyone does! I'm thinking you like the lanky guys."
"What's the point of this conversation, Cyborg?"
"I'm just trying to have a casual conversation, alright! I mean haven't you ever thought about it? With any of the Titans? I mean not me because you're like my little sister… and maybe not Robin because Starfire pretty much has claim on that…"
"That just leaves Beastboy."
"It's like it's meant to be!"
"Let's buy these groceries." Raven pushed the cart into one of the checkout lines and began placing items on the conveyor.
"You guys are practically going on a date later."
"Keep it up and an elephant might accidentally step on your car." Cyborg went quiet after that.
He had managed to plant the seed in Raven's mind and he felt like everything was falling into place. He felt proud of the little accomplishment and was shocked at how fast things were moving between the two. He couldn't help but feel a little sad though, it seemed everyone on the team was already paired up and that left him kind of alone. He had Sarah… but they decided to become just friends since it was hard to get together what with him being a hero. He hoped something would happen for him soon because it would get very lonely when the couples went on double dates out of the tower.
In the kitchen he began to cook breakfast. He figured he'd make waffles since they usually caused the least disagreement amongst the team; Raven had even managed to find vegan waffles at the supermarket yesterday for Beastboy. He grabbed the waffle iron from the cupboard below and found the waffle batter as well. The vegan waffles were pre-made so he would just heat them up in the microwave. He began preparing the meal and as usual Raven was the second one up. She walked in silently and started making her tea. She eyed the waffle iron before taking a seat at the table. If she'd seen Cyborg last night she wasn't going to say anything about it and he figured he should keep quiet for now as well. By the time he'd finished making the waffles Starfire had helped Robin into the kitchen and Beastboy soon followed. He plated the food and passed it out to everyone before sitting down.
"Thanks Cyborg, this looks good." Robin ate slowly, obviously still sore. Raven ate hers much faster, it was no secret that she loved waffles, and she even got a second helping.
"Are these vegan?" Beastboy poked at the slightly weird looking waffles.
"Raven found 'em yesterday at the market." Beastboy smiled at Raven who pretended not to notice. Cyborg couldn't help but notice how Raven was avoiding eye contact with Beastboy. He also saw that Starfire kept checking on Robin to make sure he was doing ok. Beastboy seemed a bit out of it this morning, probably deep in thought. Robin kept stealing glances at Starfire whenever she looked away. He couldn't help but feel a bit awkward at the table this morning. It remained relatively silent at the table as everyone ate. Cyborg was grateful when Robin finally spoke up.
"I think everyone should take the day off today. I'm obviously in no condition to fight and after our last two encounters with villains I think you guys deserve a break."
"That's all I needed to hear! Wanna play some video games, BB?"
"Ah… I might watch." Cyborg couldn't wait for Beastboy to be back to his normal self. He also hoped to get some alone time with the kid today so he could talk to him about last night.
"I'll do the dishes." Raven stood and grabbed her plate along with Beastboy's and Cyborgs and took them to the sink. Robin slowly finished up his breakfast as Starfire licked her plate clean. Cyborg and Beastboy made their way over to the couch and Cyborg looked for a good single player game to play. After sliding it into the game station he found a seat on the couch next to Beastboy and started up the game. The clinking of plates and the sound of water could be heard from the kitchen as Raven washed the dishes. Beastboy was quiet as Cyborg began playing the first-person shooter and Cyborg couldn't help but feel bad for the guy. Beastboy loved video games and this had to be the longest he'd ever gone without playing them. Cyborg heard the sink shut off and turned his head slightly to see Raven leave the room. Starfire and Robin had left right after breakfast so Cyborg and Beastboy were now alone. Cyborg paused the game and turned to look at Beastboy.
"What's up dude?" Cyborg decided to play dumb first and see if Beastboy would tell him about last night.
"What do you mean?" Beastboy seemed genuinely confused.
"You've been sort of quiet this morning; not really like yourself."
"I haven't been myself this whole week Cy."
"I know but I mean you seemed… extra quiet, like you were thinking really hard and well, I was worried. Too much thinking is dangerous for someone like you."
"I've just had a lot on my mind." BB didn't seem to notice the insult which worried Cyborg even more.
"Look dude, last night I was coming back from the med bay and I heard something coming from the roof. I went up there and I saw you… and Raven… together." Beastboy's cheeks turned bright red but he tried to play it off.
"We've hung out together before."
"Yeah but it wasn't just hanging out… I saw you two kiss."
"Cyborg I think you might have hit your head or something."
"I know what I saw BB, there's no avoiding it! Besides, you should be happy! Isn't this what you wanted?" Cyborg playfully punched him on the arm. Beastboy looked away from Cyborg, giving up the charade.
"Yeah but… what if she didn't mean to? What if she was just caught up in the moment and now she regrets it? What if she doesn't feel the same way! What if I'm an awful kisser!"
"Dude, calm down! You're overthinking this. Have you talked to her yet?"
"No I… I'm afraid… What if she pretends it didn't happen?"
"You won't know until you try. Plus you kind of have an advantage this time. Can't you like read her mind with those powers?"
"I can sense emotions… so kind of."
"Alright so you'll know how she feels for sure! You just gotta bring it up to her!"
"I don't know if I can do it."
"C'mon dude. Just don't think about it, that's your problem. Just do it!" Cyborg stood and hoisted his friend off the couch and onto his feet. He started pushing him to the door. "Tell me how it goes alright?" Cyborg shoved him through the double doors and hoped it would work out for the little guy.
Raven shut the sink off and headed out of the common room. She needed time to herself to think things over and with Robin waiving training today it was the perfect opportunity. She headed down the hall straight to her room and was greeted by the dark décor. She made her way over to her bed and sat down in her meditation pose. Even though she didn't need it, she still felt the urge to meditate throughout the day. She wasn't able to clear her mind however as hundreds of thoughts filled her head. What had she done last night? She had kissed Beastboy, on purpose. He was just being so nice to her… That wasn't the only reason though, was it? She'd been feeling some way towards him for a long time. She'd never admit it but he was kind of cute. No she couldn't afford to think that way. These feelings were only surfacing because she was in his body. They were free to roam now without her having to suppress them and they were taking over. She couldn't afford to have feelings like this when she was back in her own body. There's no telling what it would do to her powers. Raven decided the best thing to do now was to take a trip to Nevermore.
She climbed off her bead and walked over to her dresser where the mirror rested. She picked it up and stared into, the vortex soon pulling her into her own mind. She was swirling through the vortex for a few moments before she was deposited onto a grassy field.
She stood and looked around to see that her mindscape had changed, probably a result of the body switch. The area she now stood in was large and resembled a meadow which ran into a forest. A small creek separated the two areas and ran off towards a mountain. Everything here was much more alive and much more free. Everything was colorful and lively, it was actually a very peaceful place and didn't look like her mindscape at all. She wasn't sure if this change was a good thing or a bad thing just yet. Raven scanned the area for any sign of her emoticlones. The place was so vast she was afraid it would be hard to find them. She decided to head towards the forest first.
After walking a short stretch she noticed something up ahead. She quickened her pace and made her way to a clearing in the forest. The sun shown down perfectly on the area which was home to a large lake and a waterfall off the far corner. Swimming and playing near the lake were several Beastboy's; each one was dressed in a different colored uniform. She'd never seen all of her emoticlones interacting like this before. In her old mindscape they all had their own place and they stuck to it. Here they were all mixed together in one area, interacting and getting along. She hadn't predicted the switch would affect her emotions so much that it could change her mindscape too. She slowly walked forward, deciding it would be easiest to talk to Wisdom first. She searched the area for the brown emotion whom she found sitting on the grass next to Timid. She made her way over to the emotion and sat down. The emotion's large, violet eyes stood out against the forest green skin. Her eyes were soft and understanding. Wisdom was one of the few emotions Raven enjoyed speaking with as she often was the most understanding and gave the best advice.
"What's going on here?" Raven decided to ask about the imminent problem before delving deeper. The emotion's voice sounded just like Ravens, which she was grateful for because she didn't want to hear Beastboy's voice in her mind.
"This is a result of the body switch. You already knew that of course, you just want me to confirm it. Your emotions are allowed more freedom in Beastboy's bodies as his powers are not as closely tied to his emotions. They are still your emotions though, even if they may no longer look like you. Now, why are you here?" Wisdom's voice was soothing yet stern like a mother.
"I'm trying to understand something. Last night I… I kissed Beastboy and I don't know what to do about it or what it means."
"You're afraid. New emotions are surfacing because you are not suppressing them as much as you would if you had your powers. It's nothing to be scared of though, you should allow yourself to feel something every now and then. I think you ought to talk to an emotion you've never spoken with before: love."
"What?!"
"Don't be alarmed, love applies to many things. Romance is one of them but also friendship and family. You'll find your answer with her. She's the one in purple." Wisdom indicated to the other side of the lake where a purple-clad emotion was smiling and talking with several other emoticlones. Raven was not particularly excited to talk with this emotion, she had no real experience with this emotion and wasn't really sure what to expect. She made her way over to the emotion who was surrounded by other emotions dressed in pink, orange, dark green, and yellow.
"Love?" The purple emotion smiled up at Raven. "Can we talk?" Love stood and walked towards the edge of the forest; she eventually stopped and climbed up onto a flat rock and sat down. The rock allowed the perfect view of the lake as well as all of the emotions. Raven cautiously sat down next to her. Love shifted on the rock so she was facing Raven, her features were warm and happy, her eyes lit up with care. Raven found it almost hard to speak with the emotion who seemed to put off an aura that calmed Raven down and looking into her eyes almost made her forget what she was going to say.
"You're confused?" Love's voice almost didn't sound like Raven's. It was quiet and soothing with a hint of passion in every word.
"I-yes, I'm not sure what to do about Beastboy."
"You should do what your heart tells you."
"I came to my mind for a logical answer not one out of a chic-flick.
"Tell me what you're thinking, perhaps I can make it clearer for you." Most of Raven's emotions were able to sense her thoughts and feelings without her having to say them but they all had a habit of making her say them out loud anyway; it was both annoying and helpful.
"I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do. I kissed Beastboy last night and I want to know why I did it. I mean… he's always been kind to me but… I don't think of him as anything more than a friend-I can't think of him as anything more than a friend."
"Are you sure of that?"
"What?"
"Are you sure you only think of him as a friend?" Raven paused to let the statement sink in. Of course he was only a friend to her… right? But he was kind to her, and he often comforted her, and he thought of her when no one else did… could he be something more to her? No. He was too annoying, too reckless; but it was kind of cute in way… no that's not right. So maybe she kind of liked him more than she liked anyone else, that didn't make it a crush did it? Just because she thought about him… a lot… Alright so maybe she did like him but so what? There's no chance he liked her back. She was dark and creepy… he only did the things he did because he pitied her.
"I-I think I like him but, that doesn't change the fact that there's no way he could like me back."
"Why do you say that? Hasn't he always been kind to you? Hasn't he always done little things for you like comforting you when you were hurt? And he wants you to be happy so he must care for you right?"
"How do I know he's not just being friendly?" Raven looked away from the emotion.
"You have to tell him and hope for the best. There's no way to read his mind." Raven couldn't help be afraid of Love's words. What if he rejected her? What if he laughed at her and was disgusted by the thought? There's so many things that could go wrong, was it even worth trying to figure it out?
"I think I've got what I need. Thank you." Raven stood and headed back through the forest without another word. She had to do something, if she held back these feelings any longer she might explode. So what if he didn't like her back? Since when did she care so much about what others thought of her? Okay maybe she cared a lot but she was good at hiding it and it would be no different this time. At the end of the forest she followed the creek up towards the mountain where the forbidden door stood.
Cyborg shoved Beastboy through the double doors of the main room. They slid shut behind him and Beastboy stood there frozen. He was really going to do this. He was going to admit to Raven that he liked her. Oh but there was so many things that could go wrong… No he had to do it before it ate him alive. Beastboy slowly moved towards Raven's room, his pace becoming quicker and more determined as he got closer. He was going to do this, there was no turning back now. He stopped outside of Raven's door; his eyes travelled over the inscribed name. He mentally prepped himself for what he was about to do. Just don't think about it and it would be no problem. He reached out was about to knock when the door slid open to reveal Raven.
"Raven?"
"Beastboy?" They both stared at each other for several minutes, neither daring to speak first.
"I need to talk to you." Beastboy attempted to stand tall but was feeling incredibly small all of a sudden.
"Oh? Come in." Raven stepped back, allowing Beastboy to enter her room. Beastboy didn't move an inch however, as he stood in shock. Raven had just invited him into her room? No one went into Raven's room. "Beastboy?"
"Right." He cautiously stepped into her room and took in the surroundings. It was dark and creepy, just like he last remembered it. He was cautious not to touch anything this time and so ended up standing awkwardly in the center of the room with his arms straight at his sides.
"Do you want to sit down?" Raven gestured toward her bed. This was getting weirder and weirder. Beastboy slowly moved over and sat down on the dark purple sheets. He rested as little of his body on the bed as he could and so ended up teetering on the very edge. Raven gave him an indifferent look and sat down next to him. The two were silent once again. "Well?"
"Huh?"
"You said you wanted to talk?"
"Oh right. Raven I… like your sheets." Beastboy wanted to slap himself for being so stupid. "I mean I like… I like your bookshelf?"
"Are you done or would you like to continue complimenting my décor?" Beastboy let his head drop as he stood and headed towards the door. He couldn't do this, there was no way he could tell her. The words just wouldn't come out of his mouth. He stopped in front of the door as a thought came to him. Another stupid, crazy though but with his track record it might just work. He turned around to see Raven was already standing next to her bed. He quickly made his way over to her before he changed his mind and did the one thing he could think of doing. He kissed her. On hand slid behind her back, the other on her face as he pulled her in and kissed her. It was longer and more meaningful than last night's kiss and Beastboy was reluctant to pull away. Raven stared back at him, shock in her eyes.
"Raven I like you." She continued to stare at him at an apparent loss of words. All of the fear that had disappeared a moment ago was suddenly resurfacing. "Raven?"
"I-I like you too." Beastboy couldn't believe his ears. She felt the same way about him. A large grin spread across his face and he couldn't control his excitement. A loud crash behind him brought him back as he turned around to see Raven's bookshelf knocked onto the ground.
"Oh I didn't mean to do that!" Beastboy quickly went over to the bookshelf and set it back up against the wall. He did his best to place all the books and trinkets on the right shelves. Thankfully nothing was broken.
"Beastboy…"
"This is great Raven, I just have to control my excitement." Beastboy grinned at Raven who had replaced her shocked expression with her usual blank stare.
"Beastboy look… I like you but I… I can't afford to feel like that about you."
"What do you mean?"
"It… it would just be too complicated. I'm not an easy person to like and I don't know what it would do to my powers if I chose to act on them."
"It couldn't hurt to try though?" Beastboy's excited mood was slowly deflating.
"I-I don't know."
"Raven please, just give it a try? We don't have to tell anyone. It can just be like a trial run. Just to prove that you can be with someone and not have your powers go haywire. You are capable of feeling something Raven so don't hide it." Raven was quiet for a moment as she studied Beastboy. He was beginning to feel uncomfortable and wanted to take back some of what he said.
"Why do you try so hard?"
"Because I care about you." Raven turned and walked back to her bed. She sat down and looked up at Beastboy again.
"Ok."
"Ok?"
"I'll… I'll give it a shot. But you don't tell the others, not even Cyborg." Beastboy was about to protest but thought better of it. "Whatever it is we have… it's just a trial, ok? So don't push it too hard." A smile found its way back to Beastboy's face. This was really happening. He walked over to the bed and gave Raven a quick hug, one she actually returned, and then made his way out of her bedroom. Raven liked him back and that was all that mattered to him at the moment.
A/N Wow that took me a while to get out so I apologize. I'm not the best with romantic stuff but I hope it wasn't awful. This whole chapter was very relationship-heavy so I hope it wasn't too boring for you all. I had a lot of decisions to make in the writing of this chapter. I went back and forth for an hour trying to decide if Raven's mirror is connected to her mind or her powers and therefore if it should take her to her mind of Beastboy's mind. I could see it going either way but I'm glad with the decision I made here. Also I based the decision to make Wisdom the brown-clad emotion off several other stories I've read dealing with Raven's emotions. I know the Teen Titans Wiki actually identifies her as sloth and it's apparent in the Teen Titans Go! Comic book as well but I like the idea of Wisdom and Knowledge being separate emotions. Also I struggled a bit with the ending of this chapter so I may go through and re-write it later, I was in a rush to get this chapter out so if you see anything that needs improvement let me know!
