Hey, everybody! Well, after that serious little adventure that everyone just had, it's time for some rest...and character development! Not to mention, that with said character development, will come another monkey wrench thrown into the machine, so to speak. But I'll let you read the chapter to find out what that is. Let's go!
DISCLAIMER: I don't own the Teen Titans, but I claim ownership of Nia and connected characters and plot points.
Chapter 12: BeastBoy's New Acquaintance.
Several days had passed, and nothing major had happened to the Titans since their last adventure, and Nia's retrieval. As such, the Titans had been fit to relax as the days past by without incident.
On this particular day, BeastBoy was sitting on the couch, Nia resting her head in his lap, while he stroked her hair gently. Meanwhile, he was occupied with teaching Raven how to play a video game. Now, normally, one would expect this to be a result of BeastBoy begging her to play the game, but this time, Raven had actually volunteered after watching BeastBoy play for a while. Although this shocked the other Titans, BeastBoy was rather certain he knew why she was doing this, given her confession back when he chased after Nia. Since then, BeastBoy's thoughts had been jumbled between the two girls ever since.
On the one hand, BeastBoy had been openly smitten with Nia since her arrival, that much was obvious. Her sweet innocence seemed to have captivated him quickly after she came. On the other hand, however, BeastBoy had had feelings for Raven that he kept hidden for several months, even longer. He had simply never acted upon them, because he thought those feelings weren't reciprocated. Of course, now it was obvious they were, so BeastBoy was in a mental turmoil.
But for the time being, BeastBoy would act natural and sort it out in his mind himself.
"Okay, so this button jumps, and this button makes him run faster." Raven said, holding the controller as if it was a dangerous alien device.
"Right, but don't make him run too fast, or you'll probably fall in a hole and die." BeastBoy replied.
"Okay. And I can jump on the bad guys to get rid of them?"
"Right. Except...for the ones coming out of the pipe, like you just did. They'll hurt you."
"Thanks for the warning." Raven said dryly.
"Just give it another try." BeastBoy said.
"Okay. And the mushrooms are...?"
"Get them. They make you bigger. Means you won't die with one hit."
"Oh. Just get as many as I can, right?"
"No, not that one!"
"What the heck? I shrank again! I thought you said the mushrooms were good!"
"Well, the ones with the skull will hurt."
"Again, thanks for the warning." Raven repeated dryly.
BeastBoy was going to say something, but at that moment, Robin walked over to them. "BeastBoy, from the looks of things, it's time to get some groceries again. And it's your turn this time." he said.
"Oh, okay." BeastBoy said, tapping Nia so that she would sit up and let him get off the couch.
"Should I come, too, Master?" Nia asked.
"No, that's alright, Nia." BeastBoy said, waving his hand nonchalantly. "Maybe you can help Raven play better."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Raven demanded.
BeastBoy chuckled a little. "No offense, Raven, but even with paws, Nia's better at that game than you are." he said, before walking out the door.
Nia tried to help Raven, who was scowling slightly after BeastBoy's little joke, but Nia could tell her concentration wasn't really on the game, and quite frankly, Nia's wasn't either. After a few moments, when the other Titans had left the room to do their own thing, Nia decided to ask a question that had been bothering her for some time.
"How do you feel about Master?" she asked.
"W-What?" Raven said, taken aback by the sudden shift in subject matter.
"How do you feel about Master?" Nia repeated, insistently. "I get the feeling you're more than just teammates."
Raven tried to think fast. "No...no we're just allies, that's all. There's nothing more that could go on..." she said, rather unconvincingly.
"Are you sure?" Nia said. Raven looked into Nia's eyes. There was no suspicion or demand in her eyes, just an innocent curiosity, one that a person couldn't resist to satiate. After a few seconds, realizing that her lies weren't going to get her away, Raven sighed. Moving closer, she whispered how she really felt into Nia's ear.
'I can't believe I'm telling her this!' Raven thought, as she pulled away from revealing her secret, looking down.
"So, that's how you feel..." Nia said.
"Yes..." Raven said. "...I understand if you don't want to think of me as a friend anymore..." she began, but stopped when she felt Nia's paw pat her lightly on the head.
"Okay! Then let's both try our best!" Nia said happily.
"W-What?" Raven said, dumbfounded.
"I love Master a lot, but that doesn't mean I would hate someone else who likes him. If he was happy with someone, so would I be. Even if I couldn't be his one and only, I will always be his pet, and that is more than enough for me. So give it your best, and I will, too!" Nia said, smiling.
"Nia..."
"But watch out. I'm not going to give up." Nia said, in a mock warning tone.
Raven couldn't help but smile. "I'm not going to, either." she said.
In that moment, a strange combination of an alliance and a rivalry was formed, all in the name of BeastBoy's affection...
Meanwhile, outside, oblivious to anything else, BeastBoy looked up at the sky.
"Oh, crap. It's gonna be pouring rain by the time I get out of the store, I just know it."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Indeed, by the time BeastBoy had finally finished his grocery shopping, there was a steady downpour of rain outside, soaking him the instant he stepped out from under any cover. He was prepared for a long, soggy walk back to the tower, but that was not what was meant to be.
As he walked, he heard the splashing noise of someone running very quickly in his direction from behind him. He turned, in time to see a figure run by, covered in a very dirty and tattered brown blanket, clutching something dearly, before rushing by him, and turning down an alleyway.
Immediately after that person appeared, two more chased after that person, shouting angrily about having been robbed. BeastBoy wasn't sure why, but he felt that the tattered person wasn't a vicious thief like these men were making it seem like. Dropping the bags he was carrying on the ground, he quickly ran in the direction the three people had went into.
BeastBoy found the person cornered in the alleyway, no way to escape as the two men came closer.
"Hey, hey, hey!" BeastBoy, running in between them, keeping things from getting too ugly. "What's the big deal here?"
"I'll tell you what the big deal is!" one of the men said.
"That person stole some food from us!" the other said angrily.
BeastBoy looked at the person that was cornered, and saw that the person was grasping what looked like a chicken leg. "It's just a little bit of chicken." BeastBoy said.
"But it was stolen."
"Okay, look, I've got some money. If I pay for it, it's like it never happened, right?" BeastBoy said, offering some money.
Both men eyed the money blandly, then snatched from his hand, muttering something that sounded like, "Fine."
BeastBoy sighed in relief, then walked over to the person that was cornered. "You okay?" he asked.
The person looked up and saw that it was a woman, with dark green eyes gazing at him. She had hair that was a gray color, like the actual color, and not the white color of elderly hair. Her was almost silver, like the gray fur that a cat would have.
"I'm...alright. Thank you." the woman said.
"Look. It's not a good idea to be out here in this kind of weather. Why don't you come with me? I'll find you somewhere dry to be." BeastBoy offered.
"But, I..."
"No excuses." BeastBoy said firmly. Taking the woman's hand, he lead her the way, remembering to grab the bags he had dropped first. "By the way, I'm BeastBoy. What's your name?" BeastBoy asked as he led her along.
"...Luna."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Back at the tower, it appeared that no one was around in the common room. BeastBoy realized that the day had gone by quickly inside the tower, and his grocery mission was started at a much later time than he thought. It was likely that the other Titans were in bed or something. BeastBoy quickly fetched a towel, which he handed to Luna. "Here." BeastBoy said. "Dry yourself off, or you're going to get a cold or something." he said.
"...Thank you." Luna said. She abandoned the shoddy blanket that had been covering her, and began drying off her body, dressed in a suit almost like a tight uniform, although there seemed to be a good bit of wear on the suit. It was then that BeastBoy noticed the woman had a tail and animal ears the same color fur as her hair. BeastBoy was a little surprised, and Luna seemed to notice where his gaze was stuck on. "I know. It must be strange to see someone who looks like I do." Luna said.
"No, that's not it." BeastBoy said honestly. "I was a little surprised, yeah, but I think it looks nice. Wolf, right?"
"Yes."
"Lone wolf? Or did you have someone with you before?" BeastBoy asked.
Luna looked down. "I did have someone...a boss...almost a master, you could say." she said.
"I see. Did you love him?" BeastBoy asked.
After a long pause, Luna said, "No. I did not, and he felt no feelings for me, other than what I could be used for. A warrior."
"No feelings at all? Didn't that make you sad?" BeastBoy asked.
"I was taught that feelings would only get in the way of my work. But..." Luna said, trailing off.
"But?"
Luna gripped the towel tightly, trying to hold back some emotions that were welling up inside her. "...but...I would have at least liked a pat on the head..." she said, her voice cracking slightly.
Looking at this woman in front of him, so strong yet so fragile, BeastBoy smiled gently, walked over to Luna, and patted her gently on the head. Luna looked up in surprise, but BeastBoy just continued smiling, stroking her hair gently. Luna closed her eyes, instinctively relishing the sensation.
"He doesn't know what he was missing. If it was me, I'd give you a pat on the head every day. It's the least you deserve." BeastBoy said kindly, before taking his hand back, and walking away. "You know, all the other Titans are probably asleep. If you want, you can sleep here tonight. I'll explain everything to the Titans tomorrow morning. They'll understand." he said.
"This is more than I deserve." Luna said.
"No way. Like I said, it's the least we could do for you." BeastBoy said, walking away.
With BeastBoy gone, Luna was left alone in the common room, left to her thoughts. The image of the green little Titan was still fresh in her mind, as was the sensation of him gently stroking her hair, a sensation she had never felt before, and desired, but never expected it. She placed her hand on her head, where BeastBoy had placed his.
She blushed as she whispered, "Thank you...BeastBoy."
To emphasize her feelings right now, her tail was wagging furiously, happily...
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AUTHOR'S NOTE
And that's the next chapter! Just when things are slowing down, and Nia and Raven have revealed where they stand in terms of BeastBoy, another monkey wrench gets thrown in the machine. I hope you all are ready, because things will change now, and, actually, things aren't done getting crazy. I know this phrase is getting a little old, but I have another monkey wrench ready, and...well, you'll have to wait for the next chapter to see what that is.
Also, I'm thinking that the next chapter also might be the last one. Now, before you panic, if you were about to, I just think that rather than extending this story, I can start another one, that carries on from this, as a sequel of sorts, that gets back to the roots of this story, that being a perverted humorous romance and harem comedy. That's what I'm thinking of doing, so are all of you okay with that? Because I'll let you know of what the sequel's name will be so you can immediately find it when it comes out. Just thought I'd give my readers a heads-up.
In the meantime, review! I hope you enjoyed the chapter! See you next chapter!
