Woohoo, update in relatively quick time!

First Date: Beast Boy and Raven go on their first date. It's shockingly unexciting.


Raven was genuinely surprised by just how discrete Beast Boy could be. When they began their relationship, Raven was prepared to check him at every turn. Beast Boy was emotional and boisterous and loud and he really, really liked touching for some horrifying reason that she couldn't comprehend. She suspected he would want to hold her hand and kiss her in public and parade her around with pride. She was ready for that, and accepted that a relationship with someone different from her meant hard work and discussion and compromise.

Instead, she found that Beast Boy appeared just as shy as she was. Yes, he had made the first move. He had asked her out on the date, awkward and stumbling with a bouquet of lightly scented flowers he had picked from the wilderness around the area. He wasn't exactly a florist, and the bouquet was small and eclectic but it was sweet and it was from him, and she really did like him, for all she teased. So she said yes. And then it was even more awkward.

She stood in her room and he stood in the hallway, and he asked, "Should we...wait to tell everyone?"

It stung much more than she thought it would, though Raven had thought him keeping everything a secret was one way this could go. "You don't want anyone to know you're dating me."

"No, no." He waved his arms in his frantic, over the top way. "No! Not that. I just thought that you wouldn't want anyone to know you were going out with me." He blushed and looked down at his feet. "I thought you wouldn't want to go out with me at all, Raven."

"But I like you." She hadn't meant to say it. She just blurted it out. Oh, Azar, blurting? She had only agreed to a date for all of two minutes and she was already blurting things out like an idiot. But at least Beast Boy was smiling and looking a little less awkward. That made it worth it, and that was how she knew she had liked him a long time. She had found for a while now that a lot of things were worth it if it ended with Beast Boy smiling.

"Really?"

"I said yes, didn't I?" she retorted, a bit amused by his incredulity.

"Okay. but...do you...want to tell people? It's okay if you don't." Beast Boy hesitated. "I like you a lot, but I'd feel pretty stupid if we went on one date and never went out again."

"True." She swept her hair behind her ear, thinking for a while. "Let's try it out first. We'll go on a date and see if we both find it enjoyable. If it is, we can talk to the team after. We can even wait, I suppose, if we think we need more time."

He nodded. "That's a good idea."

"It's going to be hard, Beast Boy," she said. Her voice was firm but it wasn't mean, she was careful of that. He was delicate, and she would hate to scare him off before they even got to the big issues. "We're going to fight. We're going to have different ideas about what our relationship is. Relationships are hard work regardless, no matter how much the people in them may like one another, and it'll be harder for us."

"I know. That's why I waited." He laughed a little, shaking his head. "I've been thinking about this since...a year after I met you? Maybe earlier. At first I didn't do it because I was sure you'd say no. And then there was...there was Malchior and Terra. I waited after that too. I hurt. You hurt. Sometimes I thought about going to you just to try to feel better but…"

Raven nodded. "It wouldn't have been a good idea. You made the right choice."

He smiled faintly. "I know how hard relationships are, Raven. I promise. And...I hurt a lot after Terra. I didn't know what to do. I cried a lot. I didn't want to do anything. I had to force myself out of bed in the morning. I felt stupid and worthless and-"

"You aren't. None of us saw-"

"I know. You don't have to." He sighed. "Raven, I never want to go through that again. I don't want you to go through it again. You know, I like you so much that it's worse to think about you going through it than me. But I'm going to try with you, because I like you, and because if I have even the smallest, tiniest, slimmest chance of being with you, I'm gonna try. I want to try, as long as you do."

She stared for a moment, sorting through the emotions rolling around her chest and tucking them away. Then, she took a deep breath and replied, "That was very impressive. Did you plan all that?"

"Some of it." Beast Boy laughed and blushed. She liked the red contrast against his green skin. "I've thought about this a lot."

"Have you thought about where you want to go?" He was staring at her now. "Don't tell me you put such much thought into asking me on a date and never thought about where we would go."

"Oh, I thought about it. I just can't remember." He leaned closer, examining her face. "You mean it? You're seriously going to come with me on a date?"

She managed to bite back a laugh, but couldn't stop her smile. Raven never expected someone would be so surprised she was willing to date them. "I don't know how many ways I can say yes, Beast Boy."

"Well, uh, you like that coffee house, right? Monty's? They've got tea and coffee and they play really quiet music and never have a band?" She nodded, and he looked relieved. "Okay, let's start there. We can go and drink and eat and talk and then if you're not sick of me we can go to a bookstore."

Raven was about to agree, then thought about it. She raised an eyebrow. "Those are all things I like."

"I like eating," he countered sheepishly.

"We can't just do things I like all the time." She thought for a moment. "What places you like to eat?"

He shrugged. "Almost everywhere has vegetarian stuff. Wherever you like." He stopped and laughed, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck. "I guess that's not what you meant. Uh...there's some places I like. We could go for lunch. There might be some music but it's not annoying. You could have a salad. You like salad."

"I do," she agreed. "Alright. We'll do that. We'll go have lunch. If it goes well, we can go to the bookstore at the mall - it has a comic book section if mine bores you. Something for both of us at both places."

"Yeah." He grinned. "You're good at this."

Her heart skipped a beat. "Thanks."

"So...tomorrow," Beast Boy said, still a note of nervous hope in his voice, like he was afraid she'd still back out. "We can head out at 11:30."

"I'll meet you at the bottom of the tower," she agreed.

He left and she stood for a while, staring at the spot he had been and feeling a little overwhelmed by it all. She had a date. With Beast Boy. Tomorrow. And, Azar help her, she was looking forward to it.

They didn't dress up for their date. Although superheroes never really had a day off, there were days where they took a break from powerless burglars and muggers where they could relax and wear civvies. Noon on a Wednesday was not one of those days, and so they wore uniforms - comfortable, flexible, recognizable uniforms.

"Think the news will say something?" Beast Boy asked, stretching his arms above his head.

"Probably. But it's not like we've never gone out in pair before. Unless we hold hands, I doubt the media will throw a fit over us." She eyed him carefully as she went through his stretches - it was like he was warming up for something. "Even if it goes well, I'd prefer not to hold hands in public. I'd appreciate it if you didn't try."

"Alright, making out and groping only, got it." He grinned and she didn't correct him. She gave a small smile back.

"Exactly."

Raven was rewarded with another bright blush. Beast Boy cleared his throat awkwardly and pointed to the city across the water. "Right, so, it's on 25th and 16th downtown. I can fly ahead of you, if you want directions."

"That's why you were stretching," she said. "I can take us straight there, as long as you don't mind."

He shifted from foot to foot. "If you want."

"We don't have to. It's why I asked. I know this," Raven raised her hand, glowing black with magic, "makes you uncomfortable."

"It's not me," Beast Boy emphasized. "It's, you know, all the animals. It makes a lot of them want to run. It just….I don't know. It feels weird. I mean, it's not that bad, and it's not...you're not weird, Raven, I-"

"It's fine." She paused. "You know, Robin dislikes it almost as much as you do. I've never met anyone who's enjoyed it. I'm not offended by your being uncomfortable, Beast Boy."

"It's faster." He shook his head. "Just do it. I can take it."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure."

She did. She would have liked to make it quicker for him, but there wasn't really a way. Instead, she simply hoped that the few brief seconds of being swallowed by black magic wouldn't be too uncomfortable. Judging by his face, which had the typical post teleportation look of biting into a strawberry that was softer than you liked, Raven assumed it wasn't too bad.

She asked him anyway to be sure. "Are you alright?"

"Yup." He smiled, then set off towards the restaurant. "So, I promise this place serves more than tofu."

"I know. There are few people in the world obsessed with soy as you." They came up on the restaurant, a place that proudly proclaimed it's vegan status and was filled with patrons with a wide variety of dishes in front of them. She shot him a look as they walked inside. "See? Most vegetarians eat a healthy, balanced diet of varied plant products, rather than using one plant and trying to make it taste like everything else."

"Hey, I'm better now." He laughed. "I'm a way better cook now. I make all kinds of delicious vegetarian and vegan dishes. That takes skill, Raven. That takes knowledge."

Beast Boy held the door for her, as he reached it first. He spoke to the hostess, as he reached her first. He slid into a booth, up against the wall, and Raven followed after. The rest was surprisingly normal. She wasn't sure what she expected from a date with Beast Boy, but it seemed like dates were supposed to be big. They were supposed to be interesting - that's how they always were in the books she read, or on television.

Instead, they talked about their movie night last week. Raven didn't enjoy it, as it was pure action. Beast Boy thought it was fun and stupid. They talked about Robin's training, and how both of them were unhappy with his recent insistence that they add more protein to their diets. They talked about how they both enjoyed their salads, but they both thought they prices were too high and they didn't want to pay for "organic" greens when regular greens at half the price tasted just the same. It was comfortable and easy and pleasant, and it felt like any other day out she had with Beast Boy.

Once the check was set down in front of them and the waitress had walked away, she leaned over the table and said, just above a whisper, "So...what makes this a date?"

He grinned as he grabbed the check. "Are you asking if I'm going to pay?"

"No!" she said, and was so embarrassed by the idea she snatched the check out of his hands to slide her own credit card into place, a slick rectangle of black with the yellow Titans logo stamped on the front. She stared down at it as she spoke, trying to will the blush away. "I just meant that it doesn't feel any different from usual."

"Well, dating's usually to get to know each other. We already know each other pretty well." Beast Boy shrugged. "I don't know. I guess the only difference is that we might hold hands or kiss or something later. Isn't that what a romantic relationship is? Like, best friends but with some romantic stuff?"

Raven set the check down and smiled weakly. "I'm not the best person to ask."

He swallowed. "Well, that's what I want. Is that what you want?"

"I don't know what I want." But his face started to fall, so she quickly added, "But I like the sound of that. I like being friends with you. I like the idea of...romantic things."

An awkward silence stretched between them, so she continued, "Why don't we go to the park? We can go for a walk and find somewhere away from paparazzi and hold hands."

He nodded. "Yeah, I like the sound of that."

Although their original plan had been the mall, they decided to go to the park instead. Dating hadn't been quite the adventure they planned, and both hoped that handholding might make everything feel a bit more like a date. Unfortunately, they couldn't walk around the mall hand in hand without flashing pictures from camera phones, news reporters, and a call from a very upset boss who was not informed of a workplace relationship.

They went to the park instead

Beast Boy's hand felt nice in hers. He had plucked off his gloves and slid one hand into hers, expectedly rough with callouses but surprisingly hot. When she asked him about it, he explained that he tended to run a few degrees hotter than most - having a metabolism as wild as his tended to produce a lot of excess energy. She asked if her hand felt cold to him. He said it was cool, pleasant like a lemonade on a hot summer day (albeit phrased a lot less poetically than that).

They had found a spot surrounded by trees, lingering in the bushes in a place they imagined was probably a frequent make out spot for teenagers, or, at the very least, a great hiding spot for children playing hide and seek. The listened to laughing kids and singing birds, enjoyed the shade and cool breeze, and occasionally shifted their grip of their hands, until they were too clammy and they had to let go.

He cleared his throat and glanced at her. "How was that?"

"Good." Raven paused. "And then sweaty. But it was good before then."

He rubbed his hand on his uniform, and she mimicked the action. "I know, uh, probably not today, but would you want to-"

"I'll kiss you next time," she said suddenly, worried that him asking to kiss her might be more than she could take. "We could go out a couple days from now for dinner. We'll get back to the tower when it's dark. We'll be able to get alone somewhere nice. It'll be romantic."

He laughed, but it was friendly. "I didn't know you were into that kind of thing."

"I didn't know either." She shook her head. "I don't mean there has to be candles and music, I just don't want to worry about anyone walking in, and I'd like it to be...If we waited until we could get alone tonight, and spent hours apart, it wouldn't be…"

"Natural?"

"Not exactly."

"If you don't know a word, I probably don't." He grinned and bumped his shoulder into hers, then stood and held out his hand to help her up. "But I get it. And I might put out candles and music. I think romance is cool."

"Of course you do." She grabbed his hand and allowed herself to be pulled to her feet. "And once you've proved to be romantic and a good kisser, we can finally tell the team."

"Finally?" He laughed. "Gees, Rae, this is only our first date."


So, as a bit of backstory for this one - I've actually only been in one romantic relationship. It's with the guy I'm about to marry in 11 months. I met him here on fanfiction, and by the time we actually met up and went on dates, I felt like I already knew him. In all honestly, I remember our first date primarily as terror, as I was going out with a guy I met on the internet and (as all kids born before 2000 know), if you meet someone on the internet they're almost certainly a murder-rapist.

He was in the Air Force so we conducted the vast majority of our relationship through text and Skype. We met for brief occasions every six months.

What I'm trying to get at is that I literally don't know how dates go at all. I tried to capture what dates with my fiance feel like - going out with your best friend. It's not exactly dizzying or jaw dropping, because none of it is especially new. I could be wrong, but I imagine after living with someone for several years like Beast Boy and Raven have, the exciting part is probably all in the romantic gestures and physical romance. By the time they've gotten to the dating stage, all the normal date conversations have been covered.

So, I hope this came out well and that my weird lack of dating but experience in a romantic relationship didn't create a weird, unbelievable fic.