Chapter Ten
"Theraphosa blondi"
Unfortunately, Beast Boy seemed to be set on the whole scorpion idea. The entire time Raven was preparing for bed, he was ranting on and on about how great it would be.
"Oh, come on, Raven, it'll be so awesome! He'll never see it coming!"
"First of all, Cyborg doesn't have a real bed, so he'll see the scorpions. Second of all, if we somehow manage to hide them, he might get seriously injured," she muttered in reply. "We don't want to actually hurt him."
"He actually hurt us!" Beast Boy complained, following her down the hall.
"Not really," the empath grumbled. "Itching powder and ghost peppers only mildly irritate."
"He came close!" Beast Boy blustered.
"It's no prank if someone gets hurt. Besides, we only want to humiliate him."
"But-" Beast Boy was cut off as Raven forcefully pushed her door into his face. She could hear him loudly muttering outside, so much she caught something about continuing the argument tomorrow. She ignored the annoying chattering and grabbed a book from her shelf, opening it to the marked page and starting to read.
Sometime around eleven-thirty, Beast Boy gave up on trying to convince Raven and returned to his own quarters. Though the empath was rather relieved to be free of the endless sound, she felt a slight twinge of loneliness at the lack of his presence. She quickly tried to force it away, but it stayed throughout the night, relentless and bitter.
Raven was rudely awoken the next morning by Robin pounding on her door. She turned over and pulled her pillow over her head, trying to ignore the shouts of, "UP! COMBAT PRACTICE!"
Robin threw open the door, startling Raven and causing her to fall out of bed into a scruffy heap. "TIME TO TRAIN, RAVEN!" the boy wonder shouted before slamming the door.
Raven swore at him under her breath and picked herself off the ground. Throwing on her cloak and following her leader, she saw Beast Boy and Cyborg wiping sleep out of their eyes and stumbling down the hall. Starfire, however, seemed as bright and cheerful as always, and was flying through the air towards the gym in a manner of great joy.
"Friend Raven, are you not anticipating the rigorous conditioning of our fitness?" the alien asked, doing a flip in midair and continuing to their destination.
"I came close to sleeping in today," Raven replied, more to herself than the jubilant form of Starfire.
The four made it to the gym, where Robin was waiting. He immediately chose Beast Boy as his sparring partner, while Starfire claimed that she had been longing to work on her flexibility with the new balance beam. That left Raven to spar with Cyborg.
Unfortunately, Robin made the decision that today's training would be power-free. Though the empath was grateful that Cyborg couldn't use his strength, her strong suit was the ebony-colored energy she relied on. The winner of the fight was obvious.
Robin easily beat Beast Boy, and as simply as that, it was Raven and Cyborg's turn.
Raven started circling the mechanical teen, keeping her eyes out for possible weaknesses. Cyborg humored her tactic for maybe a second before charging.
Raven leaped out of the way and aimed a kick at his head, though she had to twist at the last second as he lunged for her foot. Every punch Cyborg threw at her she dodged, remembering that Robin once had told them all how. She was caught off guard, however, when Cyborg abruptly changed strategy and directed a kick at her midsection.
She didn't have enough time to dart out of the way, and was sent flying across the room with an audible hiss of pain. She heard Beast Boy approach her, as though to make sure she was OK after getting nailed in the stomach by a metahuman with super strength. Ignoring him, she pulled herself off the ground with a groan and made as if to charge.
Cyborg stepped out of the way and grabbed Raven by the hood, throwing her a considerable distance away from him. She ran at him again, this time aiming for his legs. She perhaps got within five feet of him before she was launched into the air again.
He doesn't want me to get near him, she thought. So if I do…
The empath whipped around and went sprinting in the opposite direction. She heard a murmur of surprise from Cyborg, but continued to run until she reached the end of the mat. She then turned and raced around in a circle until she was behind him.
Raven threw herself into the air and kicked Cyborg in the back, knocking the air out of him and sending the half-robot to the ground. He grunted in slight pain as he slammed into the mat, though she took no notice as she darted in front of him and landed a punch directly behind his neck. She heard Robin yell to stop from the edge of the mat and backed away from her opponent.
Cyborg groaned softly as he tried to pull himself off the mat. Starfire immediately flew over to help him up.
Raven tried to blink away the red haze in front of her eyes. Somewhere in her hearing, she heard Robin's voice murmuring, "I think that's enough training for you two."
If it was going to be such a short fight, why did you even wake me up in the first place? Raven thought angrily. She left the room in a huff, floating towards the main room with her fists clenched and adrenaline still pumping.
Beast Boy raced after her, and Raven felt tempted to throw him. All she wanted was to be alone.
To her surprise, however, Beast Boy didn't burst out about how she kicked Cyborg's butt. Instead, he loudly crowed, "I did it!"
"What are you talking about?" Raven asked.
"You know, how last night you told me we couldn't use scorpions and I didn't stop arguing with you? Well, I sort of…" He paused, looking up at her. His eyes widened at the look of angry confusion on her face. "...Came up with a compromise," he finished softly.
"What?" Raven muttered, irritated.
"Well, um, you can't tell him I told you this!" Beast Boy exclaimed in an exaggerated whisper. "I kinda said I would keep it a secret."
Raven shrugged. Her eyes widened as Beast Boy leaned in extremely close to her ear, his soft words almost tickling the skin, and a small blush spread across her face. "He's really scared of spiders," the changeling breathed.
The empath gave him a disbelieving look. "He is?" she asked dubiously.
Beast Boy nodded excitedly. "Like, really scared," he continued. "I mean, once I put a rubber spider on his computer, and he totally freaked out."
"So…?" Raven asked, though a smirk started to spread across her face.
"Well, I know this guy in town who breeds exotic tarantulas," Beast Boy finished. "Maybe he would let us have one for a day or two, just to get revenge. I mean, we'd give it back."
"Sounds like a plan," the empath smirked. "When can we visit him?"
"Maybe tomorrow. I was going to go visit him for prank ideas, anyway," the changeling mused.
"Great," Raven snickered. "Meet you outside tomorrow."
TT
Beast Boy was loitering around the door when Raven arrived. With nothing more than a nod from his female teammate, the two took to the air, Beast Boy swooping into the lead. Within minutes they were hovering outside a door that read Exotic Pets.
Beast Boy shifted back and pushed open the door, bowing slightly and gesturing for Raven to go first. The empath rolled her eyes, but cast him a thoughtful glance as she walked into the store. The changeling followed, hearing the bell clink behind him.
The store smelt of lizard and fish. Tanks and glass displays lined every wall, and a soft chirping from some cages in back could be heard. Raven's eyes fixed onto a gigantic boa constrictor slowly unwinding from his perch on a log. Though she felt rather exposed in the shop, Beast Boy was clearly at home as he walked up to the desk and asked for the man with the tarantulas.
A minute later, a tall man who looked as though he was in his 40's came out of the back. He instantly grinned at the sight of Beast Boy.
"B!" he chuckled, throwing the changeling into a one-armed hug. Beast Boy copied him before gently pushing the man away, a large grin spreading across his face.
"Dude, Parker, it's been like three months!" Beast Boy beamed.
Parker's gaze swept the room until it finally rested on the empath, who was looking into the parakeet cage rather awkwardly. "And who would this lovely girl be?"
"Oh, that's Raven," Beast Boy added. He grabbed his teammate's arm and pulled her over to where the tarantula breeder was standing.
Parker grinned at her knowingly. "Finally got a lady friend, eh B?"
Beast Boy's face turned bright red, and he stared at the floor. Raven's face nearly matched his. "Er… not really," the changeling murmured. Parker didn't look deceived, however. Beast Boy immediately changed the subject. "Um, anyway, we came because we wanted to borrow a theraphosa."
Raven's gaze swiveled to meet his. "A what?"
"A theraphosa, eh?" Parker asked, ignoring Raven. "Why would you want one of those beauties?"
"Oh, well, we're kind of in the prank war with our teammate, and he put chili seeds in our toothbrushes, and he's really scared of spiders, and we wanted a really good prank to get him back," Beast Boy managed to explain in the space of two seconds.
"Gotcha," Parker said. "Come on into the back."
Beast Boy immediately followed Parker, pulling Raven along with him. She leaned down and whispered into his ear, "Are you sure about this?"
"Positive," Beast Boy assured his friend.
"Here we are!" Parker announced, interrupting them. He made a grand gesture with his hands. Raven thought she might pass out.
The entire room was lined with tanks full of spiders. Little spiders, big spiders, spiders that looked like they should be featured on Stuntfest, spindly spiders, hairy spiders, spiders with pincers and spiders that were so big that Starfire could probably make a full meal out of one. Raven had never felt so sick in her life. She wasn't arachnophobic, but she really didn't like the eight-legged webspinners.
Beast Boy obviously had no problem with them. He walked up to a small terrarium in the corner, peering into the glass. Raven followed him, heart racing uneasily.
A purely enormous tarantula was hunched next to a little hidey-log, looking at the Titans with eight shiny eyes. Parker leaned over the two and asked, "That the one?"
"How old is he?" Beast Boy asked, touching a finger to the glass gently.
"She is perhaps a year old," Parker corrected. "Maybe one of the largest theraphosa blondi's we have in the shop."
"Could we borrow her for a day?" the changeling begged. "Pretty please?"
"With those poor mice on top?" Raven added, looking at a cage of feeder mice in the corner pitifully.
"Long as you bring her back without any injuries or anything," Parker replied. He reached into the cage and to Raven's horror, lifted the gigantic tarantula out. She stared at Beast Boy with dark, beady eyes.
"What does theraphosa blondi even mean?" Raven muttered in frustration.
Beast Boy looked over at her casually. "Goliath bird-eater."
Raven stared at him in near-terror. "You're carrying the cage home," she shivered.
"Aw, you scared?" the changeling teased, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. Raven kicked him in the leg, causing him to jump around on one foot, cursing the empath foully. She just shrugged. It was better than living with the knowing smile Parker was giving them.
The two Titans carried the giant tarantula home, hiding it under Beast Boy's bed. Raven then left, disgusted by how happy Beast Boy seemed with the ridiculously large spider. There would be enough time to properly see it when it was time to deploy the prank.
Which was directly before dinner.
Cyborg was running on the treadmill when Raven and Beast Boy snuck in, tarantula in hand. The changeling walked over beside him, attracting his attention by started what looked like a friendly conversation. As soon as Cyborg was concentrated on his green teammate, Raven took advantage and teleported the spider onto the bar on the treadmill.
Beast Boy continued to talk, keeping Cyborg's gaze until Raven flew silently up into the rafters and flashed him the all-clear. Beast Boy smiled up at her and waved at Cyborg, walking away.
Cyborg called a friendly goodbye over his shoulder and let his gaze travel back to the bar.
Raven had never heard ANY of her friends scream so loud. Cyborg looked like he was having some sort of panic attack, jumping and shrieking and swatting at the rail, where the poor spider was speeding away. The metallic teen let out another screech, scaring the theraphosa enough to launch herself into the air and land squarely on his face.
Beast Boy was nearly screaming with laughter, while Raven was loudly chuckling at the sight of Cyborg hysterically sprinting around the gym, treadmill forgotten. He eventually crashed into the wall, trying to bury himself in the plaster in the pure terror of trying to get the spider off him. Beast Boy shifted into a bird and ascended beside Raven, still letting out occasional bursts of laughter as his metal teammate bashed blindly at the wall. Unbeknownst to him, the spider was probably fifty feet away, running as fast as she could on eight legs.
Raven was still staring at the absolutely hilarious sight, until Beast Boy murmured, "You're smiling."
The empath looked over at him, a slight point of curiosity appearing in her eyes. "What?"
"Y-you're smiling!" Beast Boy nearly laughed.
And Raven was. A large grin had undeniably spread across her face, seeming to illuminate her features. Her expression was bright, and Beast Boy could hear the quick intakes of air from the empath's lungs as she laughed.
Raven didn't have time to reply as Beast Boy through his arms around her, nearly crushing her small body in a tight hug. Despite the display of affection, she could feel waves of unease coming off the changeling, worried about whether she would skin him alive or just throw him out of the rafters.
Needless to say, Beast Boy let out an astonished squeak as Raven returned the gesture, resting her forehead in his hair and holding him close to her body. He relaxed and let out a soft sigh. Raven could feel an almost unfamiliar emotion surging through her, warming every corner of her bloodstream and nearly making her giddy with happiness. Try as she might, she couldn't squash it down. A slight undertone of anxiety flowed through her for a moment, wondering if her powers would get out of control and injure somebody.
She pushed the worry away. Right then, she was just happy to be sitting in the rafters of the Titan's smelly gym, barely noticing that her toes were losing feeling as she held Beast Boy.
A/N: And the fluff revolution begins.
Needless to say, I had fun writing this chapter. That romance is finally starting to get off the ground. I thank you all for waiting so long. Being at camp really screwed my schedule up.
If you liked this, please leave a review. Also, I have new stuff up on my deviantART, for any of you who ever go on there. You can check it out if you want. I personally recommend "Beastly Joy", "Lunar Regrets" and "Ghost of the Wind".
I promise to write in the near future, but no promises on the actual date. Sorry, guys. Peace out!
-Montydragon