A/N: I updated GB, so it's only fair I wrote another quick, fluffy one-shot. Next will be Hellfire.
You're the One
11. Majestic
It was somewhat of a depressing feat to realize that Beast Boy could count the amount of successful dates he'd had on his one hand.
Nonetheless, if he had to rank them, then this one was easily the cream of the crop. It topped the top of the list by the largest margin imaginable.
Had he known it would have gone so smoothly, he'd have thought to bring Raven out to the aquarium a lot sooner.
"It was clever of you to get us tickets for a late night admission, Gar," she'd complimented him, giving him a demure smile and shy glance to match.
He'd chuckled awkwardly, going along with the notion that he'd indeed scheduled their date so late on purpose. Of course, in true Beast Boy fashion, he'd simply forgotten to buy them until the day of, and these had been the last ones available for purchase.
He shuffled his feet and waved his hand dismissively, "I figured you hated crowds and all, so this way we got the whole place more or less to ourselves!"
Raven chewed on her bottom lip before making a bold move and grabbing his hand with her own. Her fingers clasped around his and she dragged him along with her, all the while avoiding his stunned expression. Garfield gulped and did his best not to pay attention to the warmth of her touch.
"Let's go," she urged, walking towards the massive doors of the infamous aquarium.
Like he'd expected, there was barely anyone in the dimly lit building at such a time on a regular, autumn weekday. Kids were fast asleep, adults had work the next morning, and then there were the Teen Titans, who were always on-call no matter what time or day it was. Nights like these were perfect for them, the quiet ones where there was no hustle and bustle of city life, and crime had decided to take a short hiatus. There were no people, no evil villains to stop, no teammates to aid.
Just Raven and Garfield.
In their civvies.
On a date.
Beast Boy was mesmerized by the way the dim lights filtered through the glass and the water before casting a reflection on her.
He found himself staring at her profile, all the while she stared at the aquatic creatures swimming in the tanks instead. Raven had never been what one would have called conventionally beautiful, but the more Beast Boy studied her, the more his heart fluttered in his chest. The glow in her violet irises gave them an unearthly appeal, like glittering purple gems beneath the clearest of water. Her hair appeared a darker shade of plum in the shadowy blue ambiance of the aquarium. The red gem in the centre of her forehead gleamed when the light bounced off the glass before her. Her lips were parted in awe as she studied the fascinating animals, and Garfield remained fascinated by her.
Overtop of them, a hefty Manta Ray rested on the transparent, tubular structure that made up the roof of the hall and joined the tank that were the walls. Raven stared up at it, marveled by it's impressive size. She spun about in the corridor, trying to catch different angles of the strange water critter in it's languid position. Little colourful fish swam past it, while a couple of sharks could be seen swimming overhead and into the conjoining tank, their sharp, jagged teeth laid bare for all to see.
"Do you have a favourite?" She'd asked him suddenly, snapping him back to reality.
Beast Boy's cheeks coloured when he noticed her eyes on him after he'd been shamelessly ogling her the entire time. He wanted to think that maybe she just hadn't noticed.
"Like, to shapeshift into?" He averted his gaze to the Manta Ray who still had not moved.
She shook her head, wisps of her straight, pixie cut hair moving with her. "Just in general. Is there a particular aquatic animal you like best?"
The question had taken him by surprise.
It hit him like a bag of bricks when he realized that he'd truthfully never put any thought into it. He was Beast Boy. He liked all animals, he could be any one of them if he wished it.
But a favourite?
"Huh," he started, his expression betraying his inner conflict, "I really don't know…"
Raven looked unappeased by his lack of an answer, but didn't press him on it.
"Do you?" He retaliated unexpectedly.
There was a devious glint in his jade green eyes, and his predatory grin was not doing anything to alleviate the impression he was leaving on her.
Raven jutted out her bottom lip in protest. "I…I can't say that I do," she stammered, looking away.
Beast Boy's smile grew wider. "Yes, you do," he insisted in a sing-song voice.
Her gaze shifted back to him in alarm. "What are you talking about, Beast Boy?"
In response, the green skinned changeling bit his bottom lip, waggled his brows at her, and then dashed off down the long, twisting hallway before she could think to stop him.
"W-wait! Where are you going?!" Raven called out after him, helplessly giving chase when he showed no signs of slowing down.
By the time he'd stopped, the room they'd entered was far darker than the others, the new tanks around them lit only by dim but colourful lights that painted the dark waters in indigo and violet hues. The scene felt otherworldly, like the guest was traversing the very endless depths of the oceans, or maybe even floating through the ominous expanse of space where no stars could be seen for miles. Raven paused as her eyes were drawn to the ethereal glow of the majestic beasts, because how could anyone miss them?
They were the only bright stroke of colour against the dark backdrop that was their home. Magnificent creatures, in varying sizes, bobbed along gently and slowly, their strange, luminescent bodies catching the strobes of light and casting them in shockingly bright pinks, blues, and lavenders. Their long tendrils followed them as they swam, like a curtain of silken lace dangling from their gelatinous bells.
Raven's breath seemingly hitched in her throat at the beauty before her. The room was nothing but tanks and tanks of just jellyfish.
Beast Boy stood by a pillar, giving her a smug look as she came to join him, her eyes flitting between every single one as they danced along behind the glass.
"The last mission we had with Aqualad, I remembered you getting sidetracked briefly by the sight of a jellyfish. The look on your face said it all; they're awfully cute little guys, aren't they?" He beamed proudly as he watched the same mystified look cross her features.
Her fingers came up to press delicately against the glass right as a smaller jellyfish floated on by.
"You…You knew?" She breathed, unable to mask her surprise at his perceptiveness.
Garfield put his hands in his pant pockets, growing more bashful the more he realized what the small act had meant to the empath. "Sort of a boyfriend's job to take note of these things…right?"
Staring at Beast Boy while she discovered something new about their relationship, Raven whispered, "I guess you've always been the one to notice things about me…It was you who knew about Malchior, you who dug into my past and discovered my birthday, you who…figured out I liked jellyfish…," she trailed off, reaching further into her mind for all the memories where Garfield Logan had been at the prime root of it.
"It was always you, Gar," she finalized, to both herself and him, violet orbs locking with emerald green.
Her birthday parties, the trip to the aquarium, his attentiveness to her most subtle of moods. Beast Boy was always the one who noticed things about her, and often noticed them first. How had she ever missed that? How had it taken her so long to realize it?
The changeling, not truly gleaning the seriousness of the matter, shrugged it off. "You are always the hardest person to read on the team. So, I guess I've always paid the most attention to you…"
Feeling as though it hadn't been enough, he then added, "It's probably how I started developing a crush on you, to be honest. That look on your face when that little dude swam on by, I couldn't help but think how much I wanted to make you look like that all the time. It's stupid and cheesy, I know. I'll shut up now." He delicately fingered the glass where a tiny, baby jellyfish bobbed along next to him.
His words were light and breezy, but the impact they had on her were astronomical. She stood there, floundering for words when none would come, drowning in the moment. There was a threatening bubble of emotion culminating within her, one she was having a hard time keeping under control.
Azerath have mercy, she wanted to reach out and kiss him more than anything in that moment.
Instead, just as she slowly extended her arms to cup his warm face between her hands, Beast Boy had shifted.
Raven, coming across air, quickly glanced down to the green blob laying on the floor by her feet. She nearly squealed as he reached a weak, green tentacle towards her.
The changeling, having deduced his girlfriend's affection for the soft bodied, umbrella shaped jellies, had manifested into one.
"Beast Boy!" Raven hissed his name in annoyance. "There's no water, you can't just turn into a jellyfish out of water!"
The boy morphed back, thankfully having worn his uniform underneath his normal clothes, just in preparation for such an event.
He smiled humbly and, feeling a bit chastised, said, "I ruined the moment again, didn't I?"
Raven replied with an exasperated sigh, placing her fingers on her temple. "Let's just go before someone questions us about the mess you left behind."
A/N: Short and sweet, as promised. BB just wants Rae to like him, after all. Silly kid doesn't realize she already does.