Tip Nine—Closets should be avoided at any and all costs. (But then again, maybe they aren't so bad.)

Raven had been searching for the broom for over an hour. Starfire had shattered a vase when trying to put flowers in it, and though Raven offered to pick up the pieces with her powers, Starfire insisted on her need for a broom. (She had never used one before, and to her, the idea was thoroughly fascinating.) She had asked Starfire if she knew where the broom was, and she replied vaguely; "The closet, I believe."

It didn't occur to Raven until after she left the kitchen that the tower housed well over twenty closets. She'd already checked six of them, and was quickly losing her patience. She resolved that if she hadn't found the broom after checking one last closet, she would call it quits and simply use her powers to clean the mess. Starfire would simply have to get over it.

Raven opened the door to the sixth closet, which was on the fifth floor of Titan's Tower, and slightly roomier than the other closets. (Only slightly—it was a linen closet, and housed lots of towels, pillows, and blankets.) She didn't expect to find the broom in there, but the tower was full of surprises (case-in-point: waking up to a school of tuna fish on her bed, as well as a very guilty Beast Boy and Starfire).

She gave the closet one sweeping glance and, confirming the broom was not in there, turned around and prepared to return to the kitchen. However, before she could shut the closet door, Beast Boy stumbled around the corner and crashed—directly into her.

The pair went sailing backwards, into the linen closet. A blanket toppled over and fell onto Raven's head, and Beast Boy winced as the closet door slammed shut.

"Glorious." Raven grumbled, pulling the blanket off of her head. She reached for the handle of the closet, giving it a slight tug, only to have the entire knob slide off the door easily, straight into her palm. She stared at it in surprise, Beast Boy peering over her shoulder, eyes wide. "Wonderful."

"Gee, Rae, you're stronger than you look!" Beast Boy commented. Raven threw a glare his way.

"I barely touched it," She defended, "It was loose."

"Suuuuuuure, Ravie." He teased, earning an even harsher glare from his companion.

"Give me your communicator," She growled.

"Where's yours?" He asked. Her eyes narrowed. "Okay, okay, sheesh! Here you go." He fished it out of his pocket, and handed it over. She flipped it open, and sighed with frustration.

"No reception in here." She said plainly, tossing it back to him. "I'm going to try and make a mental connection with one of the others, to get us out of here." Assuming the meditative position, Raven shut her eyes and chanted her mantra under her breath, facing away from him. Beast Boy watched, making faces at Raven's back. After only a moment or to, her concentration had broken.

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me." She rubbed her temples tiredly.

"What? What happened?" He asked. Raven let out a long sigh before replying.

"Apparently, Starfire went with Cyborg and Robin to go grocery shopping, since I can't reach any of them in the tower." She explained. "They're too far away for me to reach this way. Unless you can think of something, we're stuck."

"I could turn into a gnat!" He suggested. Raven shook her head.

"Cyborg took every little thing into consideration when building this place," She replied, "There's not enough space between the doors and the floors for even the smallest of bugs to get through. He said it was to make sure no one could slip nano-chips or something into the tower." She paused a moment. "…But mainly, he just doesn't want to admit he's afraid of bugs."

"Dude! No way! Really?" Beast Boy asked eagerly. "Who know big, tough Cyborg was afraid of little, teeny bugs? That's hilarious!"

"It's no more hilarious that your phobia of laundry detergent."

"Hey! Don't mock my phobias. Something just isn't right about that stuff." Beast Boy defended. "So, Rae, what'cha wanna do?"

"I don't know about you, but I am going to take this opportunity to meditate." She replied evenly, crossing her legs beneath her.

"Aw, Rae, come on! I got nothing to do in here, and if you won't talk to me, then it'll be as bad as being in here alone!" He complained. "Please, Rae? Don't think I won't do the face. I'll do the face!" When Raven still failed to budge, he turned himself into a tiny kitten with big eyes, batting his lashes at her sadly.

"Oh, fine. I'll never get any meditation done with you around, anyway…" She gave in. "But don't think that even for a second I'll play any stupid games with you. Just because we're stuck in this stupid closet together doesn't mean we'll have some magical bonding moment together."

"You're killing me, Rae," He whimpered. "This is totally the perfect opportunity for stupid games and magical bonding!"

"Oh my God, you're getting dumber by the second."

"Every day!"

Nearly an hour later, Raven would have considered taking her eyes out one at a time by way of spoon rather than take another second of Beast Boy's endless rambling. He had talked her ear off about vegetarianism, his opinion on Cyborg's eating habits, and how the girls in Japan were a lot friendlier than the girls in Jump City were. ("I get it, though," He had boasted, "The girls here are too intimidated by my good looks. They're scared to approach me.")

"—and then the toad said; 'no, dude, I'm not a frog!' and the frog said—"

"Beast Boy!" Raven snapped. His mouth slammed shut, and he looked shocked at her interruption. "Why is it so important that you tell me these heinous jokes? Why is it so important that you bond with me at all?" He was quiet for a moment, and looked surprised by her outburst.

"Well, Rae, it's just that I've gotten to know all the others Titans really well. And I feel like I haven't gotten to be as close with you as I have with them." He explained. "And I think we could be really awesome friends, and you would really love to hang out with me, if you'd just give it a try."

"…Oh," Raven said quietly, unable to say anything else.

"And besides," He grinned at her, "I promised I wouldn't give up till you smiled, remember?" She felt her eyes grow wet, and she brushed at them absently.

"God," She whispered, "Why should that make me want to cry?"

"Maybe because you don't have anyone else who'd do that for you." Beast Boy suggested. "But don't cry, Rae, I didn't mean to make you sad. I'm supposed to be making you smile, remember?"

"I remember." She swallowed back the tears. "I think we could be close friends, too. I would like that." Beast Boy grinned widely at her.

"Hey, Rae? Would you ever maybe want to—"

"Rae? BB?" Cyborg's voice filled the hallway just beyond the door. "You in there?"

"We're here, Cyborg!" Raven called back. "The door is stuck!"

With sudden, great force; the door was kicked wide open. Cyborg stood on the other side of it, looking in curiously.

"Man, I don't even want to know how this happened. I'll see y'all at dinner."

After he had gone, Raven turned back to Beast Boy.

"You were saying?" She prompted.

"Huh? Oh. Nothing, really." He shrugged innocently. "C'mon, let's go get dinner."

"Okay…" Raven nodded doubtfully. She was almost certain she knew what Beast Boy was about to say—but she wasn't certain about whether or not she was happy he didn't get to say it.

Maybe they would have a future someday, she mused; but right now, they were good friends. That was all they really needed.

a/n: it is unforgiveable that i have taken so, so long to start posting again. my computer stopped allowing me to upload things for the longest time, and it finally began working again. i've been working dilegently to try and wrap up all my loose-ends with stories. this installment and the one before it were a bit more serious; but the light-hearted humor will make it's way back in soon enough. xoxo--musetta