Chapter 8

The three hiding titans watched on in pure perplexity as Beast Boy and Raven disappeared into the kitchen. As exaggerated as their reaction may seem, this was the first time they had seen the two having a "decent" conversation –not to mention, seeing Raven laughing at Beast Boy's jokes, so one could almost let them off for acting the way they did.

Starfire smiled as she replayed the scene in her mind, she couldn't help but feel happy for the two but the smile vanished as quickly as it came; Raven's joy would be fairly short-lived if Robbin was thinking exactly what she thought he was thinking. She glanced over at him, pensive as he was, and she knew straightaway what their fearless leader was pondering about.

"Robbin..." She started softly, reaching for his shoulder and giving it a gentle rub. She struggled to find the right words to say and to make matters worse, a part of her –if only slightly- agreed with what she thought he was thinking as well. She kept drawing circles on his shoulders until Robin decided to speak.

"I hate to say it but we have to stop this before it goes any further." Starfire shut her eyes and felt her heart sink as her fears became reality. She thought about how unfair it was to not be allowed to be happy. To constantly be forced into an abyss of desolation just because people are terrified at the prospect of what may happen when you do as much as smile.

"Hol' up, what d'ya mean 'top it'?" At this point, Cyborg had caught on to the conversation and was fully aware of what Robin was trying to say and it wouldn't have taken a rocket scientist to read that he was not on-board with what the boy-wonder was saying.

"Calm down Cyborg. Let's be reasonable here, all feelings aside, we all know exactly what will happen when things go south with her."

"Reasonable? You hearin' yourself man? Hail Robin always the objective one. Do you even know how hypocritical you sound right now?" Cyborg shot back at him while Starfire stared into the distance knowing he was right. Before she and Robin were official there were claims that their relationship would hamper their professional responsibilities but Robin insisted that it wouldn't be the case and they all believed him with no assurance at all. Now there he was depriving the people that trusted him of same opportunity they gave him. "They were there for you when the only guarantee you gave them was your word! And now you just wanna march in there and tell two people who have worked so hard to do as little as tolerate one another to never speak to each other again because 'it's bad for all of us', is that it?" Cyborg's outburst caught him surprise, deep down he knew he wasn't being fair but the leader has to make the hardest choices and this was something that he had fully set his mind on doing.

"I know it seems unfair Cyborg but someone has to. The way she is now, her emotions are being banked and when it's time to cash out, the result may be catastrophic for not just the city but the entire world. We cannot risk that so we have to keep her in check." Starfire stared at her boyfriend and wondered whether he was willing to go up and beyond for her. If he would be willing to do the unthinkable even for a second if it were going to save her. A sad smile crept on her face as she knew he wouldn't think twice about saving the world –it was why they were here after all right? Still, it would be nice to be saved for once, knowing someone truly cares for you. Tear trickled from her eyes, down her cheek and shattered on the floor. Forgotten and unwanted, as if it were never there.

"Oh lord Robin she's not a rabid pet that needs to be kept on a short leash! She's your colleague. Your friend, or have you forgotten that already?" Words cut deep and Cyborg was twisting the knife in his chest with every statement that came out of his mouth. "Because if you haven't and still think of her as your friend, you would know that friends help each other. They don't abandon one another when one in a dark place and they don't certainly prevent each other from being happy."

"I'm sorry but as the leader of the titans I can't risk the lives of billions of people just for some teenage fantasy." Robin could barely recognize himself at this point; it was cold even for his standards. Starfire stood there wide eyed as Cyborg gave a sarcastic clap and shook his head in disbelief.

"Batman's very own, huh? Heart o' steel. You may have an organic heart but you're more robot than I'll ever be. If you were given the choice to save Star or the world, knowing acting a few milliseconds early is all it would take to save both would, but mistime that and you risk losing both of them, Tell me Robin, would you risk the world to save Star? Or would you watch as she perished, knowing you chose not to save her because her life isn't worth 'risking the life of people just for some teenage fantasy'?"

Robin was speechless. He couldn't muster the energy to reply how would he? He knew how he felt about Starfire but to weigh her worth against the world, that wasn't something he could just couldn't imagine doing. He turned to Starfire whose face was now a fountain of tears, eager for a response that never came. He reached out to hold her but she backed away and sprinted down the corridor, he sobs echoed all the way till she banged her door shut. "I didn't mean…" He spoke into an empty space.

"You've got issues man! I think you need som' counseling. I'll be outside getting some air. Chill out dude, don't be such a jerk all the time." And with that he left Robin alone in the dark hallway to reflect on what had just happened. He made his way into his room and fell onto his bed. He grabbed his Emergency burner phone and decided to call someone for advice.

====== In the Kitchen =====

"… and then all the presents dropped from the sleigh, oh man, I bet the elves got paid overtime for that one because there sure were a lot of unhappy kids that year." Beast Boy and Raven seemed to have been having the greatest time of their lives. Raven had labored herself into drinking three soy-milkshakes while listening to the changeling talk about the funniest Christmas movies he'd watched.

"Hold on a sec, so you mean to tell me that Santa Klaus and Father Christmas are one and the same?" Raven asked as sipped the shake she'd been nursing for the past ten minutes. She'd found talking to him somewhat liberating as there was plenty of things that they could talk about. Anything from falling apples to extinct dinosaurs was on the table and it felt good to talk about something other than her powers for once.

"Yeah, different cultures give him different names I mean look at the Greek and the Romans –they pretty much had the same gods, just with different names."

"And when did you start reading about mythology?" she said sarcastically as she twirled her straw.

"Who said anything about readin'? I watch movies. Books aren't the only source of information you know, plus it had a soundtrack tell me one book that comes with a soundtrack? Thought so." He folded his arms as he said the last part creating a lasting as-a-matter-of-fact effect. Raven responded by raising her arms showing she had surrendered and was no longer going to push the topic any further. She decided she was going to go on with the Christmas subject.

"I just don't get what the fuss for Christmas is all about. I mean it's just like any other day, except with more food, more noise and more snow. I mean kids go to such great lengths preparing for the visit of a guy that doesn't even exist!"

Beast Boy was shocked at her declaration. It was time to shower her with the Christmas spirit he thought. "Hey! Christmas isn't like any other day, it's special. It's a day you get to spend with the people that mean the most to you and you get to eat your fill with no one giving you dirty looks. It's a day of togetherness when you get to reflect of your year and get filled with anticipation as you get to open your present." One could almost see his eyes sparkle as described Christmas. "And Santa is very much real and you m'lady just made your way onto the naughty list, no presents for you I fear." He waved a spoon in her face as she played damsel in distress.

"Oh no! Santa doesn't want to give me a present. What on earth shall I do? Without my precious Christmas present my life is over, over I tell you!" She put her hand on her forehead and fainted dramatically. Beast Boy caught and knew she was taking a jab at him.

"Hey! Now you REALLY made your way into the naughty list, I mean I was willing to make a bribe and get you off the hook the first time but now, I'm letting you rot! Come here this is what Santa does to little naughty girls like you." He reached over to her side of the table and tried to tickle her. Beast Boy saw how calm and happy she was and couldn't help notice that this was the happiest he'd ever seen her, peaceful, graceful, beautiful.

"Hey! No… stop!" She managed to choke out between gasps and fits of laughter she decided she couldn't take it anymore and phased to the other side of the room to cool off. "Hey, I'm sorry for the whole Santa thing, jeez!"

"Hey, that's not fair, get back here."

"Nope, unless you promise you won't tickle me again."

"Okay. Scouts honor"

"I mean it, you gotta promise me."

"Okay. I promise." She slowly made her way back to the table, not fully trusting his words, and sat across him. She squinted her eyes at him seeking reassurance. Beast Boy just smiled and shook his head. "Honest. I'm not going to tickle you again." Hearing him say that had caused her to relax a bit but she was still on guard and would shuffle uncomfortably whenever she saw him move –even slightly. Beast Boy noticed this and would laugh every time she'd fall for it. He even moved on purpose just so that he could see her reaction. 'Priceless' thought.

"Hey I meant what I said. Come over her I wanna show you something."

Raven became suspicious of what his plan may have been and simulations were played left to right in her mind: maybe he would turn into an elephant and tackle her to the ground and tickle her. 'An elephant is too big to fit in here I suppose and no fingers' she felt pretty stupid even thinking about it.

"Come on, while we're still young Rae." He sounded so authentic, so innocent, but then again, changing was his forte –he might have been faking the whole thing. "Do I smell or something, come on get over here." She stared at him uncomfortably as she slothed her way through the other side of the table to him. "Congratulations! You are now officially a hundred years old!" he joked.

She sat next to him still feeling anxious and before she could say anything, she saw him with a slice of cake which he then plastered onto her face. She knew he'd conjure something but this was war. She too a glass of the leftover soy-milk on the counter and splashed it on his face.

"Oh it's on!" He reached and grabbed her pulling her into a hug, wiping most of the spilt drink on her cloak. "Apologize to Santa right now!" She pushed him away and smeared it on his face.

"Never!" And with that broke an all-out food fight between the two and the next few minutes were welcomed by grunts and groans of 'ahhh' and 'ooh' and a excess of other sounds.

Inevitably the food had finished and only Beast Boy had the last piece of ammunition –a bowl of spaghetti and meat balls. "Apologize or you gettin' a new hairdo. Raven did not want to think of the work she'd have to put to get the pieces, let alone the smell, out of her hair so she decided to yield.

"Okay I give up you win. Now put the bowl down before someone gets hurt." Raven was so in character that she'd forgotten you can't hurt someone with a bowl of spaghetti, unless of course, you hit someone with the bowl. To be honest she had never had a food fight before and this experience was very enjoyable because for once she felt… normal.

Beast Boy put the bowl down and towered over her. "Repeat after me: 'I am sorry Santa, I did not mean what I said, you are very real and I ask for your forgiveness." She definitely did not want to say that, anything but that. "I won the battle Rae, you are at my mercy. Or do we need to beef up the definition." She laughed mentally at his pun and decided to go o and just say it.

She cleared her throat to just for drama and recited the words, "I am sorry Santa, I did not mean what I said, you are very real and I ask for your forgiveness." It sounded more like a pledge to a dark cult than an apology but Beast Boy decided to let it slide.

"You didn't die did you?" Or you don't believe in that as well?" He offered her to pull her up and they both sat down.

"I'm sorry I just have to say it, I mean the concept of believing in a chubby man –who has been alive for centauries-, riding the sky every Christmas, on a reindeer sleigh, sneaking down narrow chimneys and delivering presents to every household in the world before Christmas doesn't fully register. It defies plenty of laws of physics and reality."

"First of all miss know it all, it's not at the same time; I mean Christmas in London is hours before Christmas in Tokyo so he's got the power of time zones to his advantage. Also you can punch a hole in the space-time continuum allowing you to move freely between dimensions without creating a black hole. I know a lot of people who could say that 'doesn't fully register' but you don't see me saying you don't exist." Raven was shocked. He'd just out smarted her, he out Ravened Raven! He let that sink in for a while before he went on. "Laws don't apply to people like us, he's very real. For all we know he could be just like you and me. I forgot the word they use. It's uh… Beta humans?"

"Meta humans." She corrected him. "Fair point I guess. So have you ever seen Santa?" She was slowing warming up to the idea of Santa actually being real. Who could blame her; he'd put up a great argument and she didn't have a lot of point to use to counter that.

"I thought I did once, but it was only Cy trying to play a prank on me by hiding my presents. So to answer your question, no, I have never seen him."

"So how can you be so sure he's real?" It was a valid question and Beast Boy knew it all hinged on the response otherwise he would be back to square one. Except that he never had any proof of his existence. She'd purposely backed him into a corner but he wasn't going to back down.

"Santa is an urban legend and if we would all get to see him as often as some annoying neighbor you can't shake off then he wouldn't be much of a legend now would he? But like most legends, they are built on the real thing and that real thing is the real Santa. Legend has it that if you are on Santa's list, if you leave warm cookies and milk under a Christmas tree with mistletoe, at exactly midnight he will come down and leave something special for you." At this point it was all hogwash to her but she wasn't going to burst his bubble. This day was just getting better.

"Really, is that so? And what would that be?"

"For you I think more positivity and an appetite would do. You had been nursing that shake for hours. Got me thinking I got mixture all wrong." He pointed at an empty glass jar.

She decided to play with him a little. "Yeah, I think I saw a toe nail in there… oh and I think there was a hair strand in there too, nasty. You can understand my disappointment here, I expected higher standards monsieur." She spoke in a terrible French accent, "if that were served on a date it would be a major deal breaker." She got so comfortable with him that she'd just blurted it all out without thinking about it. 'Oh Raven what was that all about'. Beast Boy couldn't care less about the comment his mind was on how cute she looked when she's flustered but as far as she was concerned, she'd crossed a line. "Hey… I-I didn't mean to p-pry… I just." He stopped her before she could say another word.

"What for, there was nothing wrong with what you said. But I do have a question, promise me you won't flip." She nodded, giving him the confirmation he needed. "Have you ever been on a date before?"

The question caught her unawares and was followed by a long silence. She looked at him with a 'really?' expression painted on her face.

"I didn't mean to be a bum. I was just curious that all."

"It's quite alright you weren't being a bum, a little nosey, but not a bum. If I ever went on a date you would have had known about it and between controlling my powers and preventing Armageddon, it's not like there was a lot of free time or anything. " He felt her voice crack. Obviously this was something that been bothering her for quite a while now and he cringed at the thought of her battling all this alone. She saw the reaction her confession had had on him and she decided to change the subject. "I've been a caged bird my entire life Beast Boy, cursed as an empath to feel the emotions of others while I let go of mine. I got used to it. But today I've felt more blessed and alive than I ever have and it's all thanks to you. She felt blood rush to her cheeks as she spoke, each word prompting more blood than the last. She couldn't muster the courage to look at him so she stared at her feet.

He took a deep breath and stared at her. His emerald orbs against her amethyst ones. Beast Boy had decided that he would no longer lie to himself. He knew how he felt and he had to say it or he would never forgive himself. "Today I've gotten to know you, the real you. The you that cracks uncle jokes, the you that sips on shakes slower than a sloth, the you I want the world to know: a funny, caring, smart and beautiful girl that my mind can't begin to understand because she is so much more than meets the eye." She could tell he meant every single word he said. She had never felt the way she felt. She thought it was her empath powers messing with her emotions but she began to realize that it wasn't her powers. It was him. He was why she felt so nervous and unease, he was why her hear let out a squeeze every time he looked at her, he was why she felt so happy today, he was what made her sane…normal. She gave him a genuine smile as tears rolled down her face. She knew what this meant. He cupped her face with his hands and run his thumbs across her cheeks, wiping her tears. "You're amazing Rae, there's no other way to put it and I can't begin to tell you how lucky I feel to know you."

She tugged at his shirt, with nothing else to say, tongue tied and blushing. She finally managed to say what he had been trying to say. "Hey, I'm n-not misreading things I'm I?" She couldn't even look at him at this point. She was finally free of the words that had strangled her for hours but she still felt trapped. She looked down and sobbed. "I would be lying to myself if I said I don't feel the same way but we can't be together, it's… not safe.

"Gosh Rae, let someone else worry about you for once. That's something we can work on later for now just focus on you and me. We've been through hell and back together, I won't lose you now. " he moved closer to her, not knowing exactly what he was doing but his feelings were in auto pilot and he couldn't care less about controlling them.

"I don't know what to say." She felt him lean closer, nervous, scared and confused. She knew what was coming next and was in two minds about it but her body let up and prepared for the prospect of what would come next.

"Then don't say anything…" it was barely a whisper and she hadn't a lot of time to think about it as he leaned in and planted his lips on hers. She'd always imagined how her first kiss would feel like, but this exceeded her expectations. The setting may have been off but the feeling was surreal, she slowly surrendered into the kiss as he held her close to him. Both novices at the task, it was rather sloppy but neither complained as they deepened it with undying passion. She pulled him closer as she thought of the word… 'Love' yes that's what it is. They slowly parted from one another, out of breath and breathing heavily. They laughed and went at it again. After parting their lips for the second time they decided to call it a night. A lot had happened. It was time to slow the pace with some good ol' sleep.

"Cy's gonna flip when he seen themes we've just made."

"Well let's not stick around to find out." And with that they both made their way out of the kitchen, his hand holding hers and hers holding his, and headed to their rooms. Beast Boy walked her to her door and planted a soft kiss on her forehead and gave her a hug.

"I love you Rae." He spoke as he stroke her hair.

"I love you too Beast Boy." She replied as she tightened her hold on him.

"So wait do I still call you Rae or should it be Bae? It rhymes too." She smiled at him for the last time that day as she stood on the door.

"Whatever gets you to shut up. Good night Beast Boy" She rolled her eyes as he mouthed 'I love you bae'. She shut the door and leaned against it. She bit her lip, reminiscing about how it felt, she touched he lips and let out a chuckle.

Beast Boy could almost feel himself skip down to his room he was ecstatic to say the least. Today had gone just right. As he opened the door to his room, he felt the tower shake –if ever so slightly. 'Earthquake?' he asked himself. He was so happy he shrugged the feeling aside.

AN: One more chapter to go. Your thoughts are very welcome. Don't be a stranger, review. I'm lost without your constructive criticism.