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Beastboy's nap ended at 6pm exactly, when the two alarms he'd set four hours previously went off together. He couldn't afford to oversleep, not tonight. He made two sweeps of the city, leaving him the midnight and 3am patrols to finish off his responsiblities for the day. That meant he had two hours to prepare for his date with Raven, four hours to enjoy himself with the grey girl, and about 0 hours of sleep.

Eh, I can always guilt Rob into letting me nap through training tomorrow. Not like I haven't earned it with the extra Patrol

His pre-date game plan was the same as before. Shower, Holoring, mapping, wardrobe. He decided to take his time in the shower, and mentally go overt he evening. He had an unfortunate and dangerous habit of running his mouth off whenever the two tried to have a 'moment'- he shuddered to think what might happen on this date if he wasn't careful. Leaving aside the dangers of humiliation and physical pain that a half-demon sorceress might be capable of, Beastboy had to think of Raven. SHe had a crush on him- her first since the Bastard Crap Eating Worm Who Must Not Be Named, and everyone knew how well that one turned out. If he screwed up this date-by accidentally insulting her, or getting into an argument with her- it might do her some real damage.

So, he needed to do some thinking and he found he did his best thinking in the shower. He didn't know if it was the solitude, the steam, the water or the nudity (he suspected the nudity), but for some reason the shower made him feel like his brain worked better. As he let the warm water caress his body, he ran through various topics that Raven was likely to bring up and mentally went through what to say and what NOT to say.
''Hmmm... Past relationships. Don't bring up Lizard Boy or Terra. In fact, avoid whole subject. The Job: Avoid mentioning the whole End of The World thing, or the Joker. Focus on losers like Doctor Light or Control Freak...maybe not Control Freak. Other relationships, Robin and Starfire good, Cyborg and Jinx bad, Joker and Harley... interesting, good for a bit of fun if done right. Bring it up if possible'

After about thirty five minutes, someone banged on the door. Robin's voice called out "Beastboy! Get out of there! Other people need to use the shower!" So much for quiet contemplation.

Phase 2 was much easier this time around. Cyborg didn't even say a word, just handed over a fully charged ring. But Beastboy wasn't as clueless as he seemed; he could tell his metallic friend was even more hurt then the last time. Probably because Beastboy felt the need to conceal himself while he was with Raven, who knew him well. "I'm gonna have to have a talk with Cy. I mean, he's gotta be told what its like out there. Up 'til now he kinda hid away from the public, so someone's gotta explain things to him. Make sure he gets The Rules'

Phase Three, Mapping, was a bit tougher. Raven had sent word (via Cyborg) that she'd chosen Giacomo's, an upscale Italian restraunt. The surprise he'd chosen required open spaces and privacy, so he'd had to arrange a route that took them from the playhouse to the restraunt by way of the park. 'Let's see...twenty minutes travel time, allow ten to fifteen minutes for surprise...yeah, we should just make the ten o'clock reservation.'

Raven had told him that the place they were going to was only semi-formal, so he was able to use his selection from that morning. He had decided on a light gray suit, white shirt and a purple tie. He'd picked up a carnation boutonnier, feeling the splash of color would look good. He'd shined his shoes and double checked that everything was clean and fitted properly. He was glad he had a chance to dress up a bit; Raven had only ever sen him in his uniform (and a swimsuit that one time they went to the beach- 'heh she got a reeeaalll good look at me that time. She was SO staring') and probably thought he had no taste at all.

Finally, he was ready, with about fifteen minutes to spare. He walked into the common room to wait. Cyborg and Robin were there, playing a videogame. Both looked up as the changeling entered the room, and their eyes widened.
"Whoa, Beastboy" Robin said with a smile "Looking sharp. Way to go!"

"Yeah, nice threads man" Cyborg said, giving his friend a thumbs up "Who knew someone whose uniform in purple could clean up so good. That suit even looks good with the green!"

Beastboy smacked himself in the head "Dang! Thanks for reminding me, Cy." He slipped the holo-ring on and immediately became 'normal'. Cyborg sighed, resigned to his friend's need to hide himself but far from happy about it. Beastboy was green but essentially still human, and people gave him a hard time when he went out undisguised. What did that say about his chances?

Starfire flew into the room, floating higher than normal due to her extremely joyous mood "Oh! Friend Beastboy you look most elegant! I am so very pleased that you chose the formal attire." Furious whispering could be heard from just outside the doorway "Oh, yes. Ahem. Presenting...RAVEN!"

Raven swept into the room, and the world went away as far as Beastboy was concerned. She wore an elegant black gown, which was slit up the side up to her thigh, showing a pleasant view of her toned leg. She had on just the lightest touch of makeup, which somehow enhanced her natural features without covering anything. Her grey skin contrasted perfectly with the silver necklace she wore. She'd also swept her hair up into a small bun. On another girl it would have looked frumpy, but on Raven it was somehow more elegant and attractive. All in all she looked...

"Beautiful" he said aloud, his voice dreamy. Raven blushed, which combined with her coloring, looked odd indeed. Her eyes swept over her date, clearly approving of what she saw. Suddenly, her gaze turned critical.

"Give me your right hand." Her voice brooked no argument. When Beastboy placed his right hand in hers, she deftly plucked the holo-ring from his finger and threw it over one shoulder. Surveying her now green date, she nodded her head briskly. Without letting go of his hand, she turned to the others "We'll be back around midnight. Do not wait up."

With that they walked out the door.

- - - - - - -

The play was absolutely nothing like Raven had expected. She was familiar, of course, with Earth theater, being an avid Shakespeare fan. She was familiar with Azarathian theater, which tended towards minimalism and a focus on philosophy. None of which prepared her for the insanity of Les Farces Du Moliere. She stared wideeyed at the slapstick antics of the characters, while her date roared with laughter (along with everyone else in the theater). When it was over, Beastboy wiped his eys and led her out of the theater.

"See, Rae? What'd I tell ya? Slapstick on stage!"

Raven blushed slightly. 'He remembered my exact words from yesterday? Why can't his memory be this good when it comes to his chores?' "Okay, Beastboy you were right. So that's Beastboy one, Raven one thousand two hundred and three. Yay. Now, lets get some dinner."

"Hey, Rae, let's go through the park. Its a nice night out and there's no hurry."

As they walked through the park, Beastboy explained how he knew about the play. His fostermother- Rita Farr aka Elasti-Girl- had once been an actress and had often taken her 'son' to plays. She'd wanted to instill in him the same love for the stage that she had, but young Garfield found most theater boring. Eventually, she'd started taking him to farces which seemed to do the trick- the green boy found the wild comedies to be like cartoons brought to life. It had turned into one of ther favorite bonding activities. They'd even convinced Mento to come along once or twice; though the stodgy man would never admit it, he'd enjoyed himself.

Raven listened, amazed. There had actually been times when the Doom Patrol had been a real family to Garfield.

Suddenly, something on Beastboy chimed loudly. He reached into his jacket and pulled out a large, old-fashioned pocket watch. "Ah. We're right on schedule". Raven was puzzled. Espescially when Beastboy drew her close, and she heard music. She looked around and saw a small group of musicians seated under a nearby gazebo. They nodded to Beastboy and began to play a slow waltz.

Beastboy gave her a smile "Would m'lady care to dance? And before you say no, remember that we're all alone so no one will see and that I paid a fortune for this". Raven blushed, pleased to think someone went to all this trouble just to show her a good time. In her entire life, no one had ever done that- In Azarath, she'd been tolerated. During her time on Earth before the Titans, she'd been ignored. Most of her closest friends wouldn't even think of this. She nodded, and they began to dance beneath the moon and the stars. Raven took in the moment; everything seemed perfect. She savored it for a while before asking the question that she needed answered.

"So, Beastboy where did you learn to dance? Rita again?"

"Nope. Negative man. Larry thought I had the grace to be the next Fred Astair!"

"And yet he seemed so intelligent..."

"Hey! Are you saying I'm clumsy?"

"Beastboy, I've seen you literally trip over your own feet"

Beastboy sighed, acknowledging the hit. They danced on in silence for a few minutes. Then "Rae, we gotta go. Dinner reservations are for 10, remember?"

"...(sigh) Okay, let's go."

Beastboy ran over to the musicians "Thanks guys", and the pair headed off to dinner.

- - - - - - -
Dinner was a pleasant affair. Giacomo's proved to have a large non-meat menu, and Beastboy selected the Pasta Primavera while Raven had the spaghetti al dente. They made idle chat, with Beastboy watching his mouth. Raven found that, once he put some effort into impulse control, the changeling was very pleasant company. He even managed to introduce the whole 'Joker and Harley' topic. That alone provided for twenty minutes of talk, as well as associated humor. While Raven never actually laughed, she did smile a little, and Beastboy had the feeling she was working harder than normal to surpress laughter.

"...and the guy'd be all like "I'm sorry miss but I can't sell you cream pies if THAT's what you're gonna do with them! It'd violate Impure Use of Baked Goods clause of the Baker's Oath' Ha haa! Ah. So, enjoyin' yourself Rae?"

"Yes. I am"

"Well, how could ya not? I mean look who you're with; a smart, funny, incredibly handsome, brave, charming guy!"

"Gee. All that and modesty too." Raven droned, rolling her eyes. Inwardly she smiled. She knew this was just Beastboy playing around.

"You know it."

- - - - -

Finally the night came to an end. It seemed way too soon for both teens, but they knew it couldn't last forever. They flew back to the Tower, not too quickly. But at last they landed on the roof. Beastboy rubbed his head, wondering what he should do. Strangely it was Raven who broke the silence.

"I had a great time Garfield. Thank you." The grey girl then leaned over and kissed him on the cheek, before phasing through the roof.

Beastboy stood in shock before raising a hand to his cheek. "Dude."

A/N\

Joker next time, I promise.