"Wooo, yeah! I'm no longer "Bonker Boy!"! the changeling flexed in his room mirror.
He admired his reflection, seeing that all of his body was back to normal.
Well, for the most part.
He neared the glass in disgust, "Eeeew! What's that, a pimple? Dude, if it's not one thing, it's something else. I want "Beastboy" free of six different animal body parts and pizza nuts."
The changeling was more than happy that he no longer had to tolerate the outlandish condition. In the mornings, Beastboy would struggle to hold a toothbrush with his slippery, stubby fins. The zebra legs often caused the teen imbalance, and as a result, he would stumble everywhere and knock things over while he was at it.
Additionally, his rabbit ears annoyed him constantly because of how they drooped down in front of his face. Beastboy managed well with the snake eyes and sheep torso, but the bird beak made eating, talking, and laughing extremely difficult.
Unfortunately, the shapeshifter had a share of teases from Cyborg and Robin as well.
At least, Starfire had some sympathy.
And Raven... she was the divide between both parties.
Yet another afternoon twisted about Jump City. The sun dappled its rays across the skies. Tender winds combed through the air, around buildings, and on people. Nature was giving citizens a quiet joy and calming effect.
Starfire was doing combat practice with Robin, and Cyborg was in the garage tinkering his car.
Beastboy was searching for Raven.
He left his room, trotted to her door, and knocked.
"Rae? Rae, are you in there?"
Silence.
"Hm, maybe you're in the common room." the green Titan walked out of the hallway.
The door swooshed open, revealing a vacant space.
Beastboy's eyebrows knitted in confusion, "Oookay, you're not leaving me with a lot of options here. You're either in your room, on the couch, in a library, or at a depressing café. Oh! I know exactly where you are." he dashed back to the exit door.
"I knew it." Beastboy walked onto the roof of the tower, finding his friend.
There she was, meditating in the face of the sun. Raven was situated in her signature floating lotus position. Her cloak and violet tresses swirled along with the sweet gusts of the afternoon. Her posture was straight, yet unflinching.
The view Beastboy had laid ahead of him was aesthetically pleasing, and he was grateful to be lucky enough to see it.
"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos. Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos..."
Beastboy cheerily jumped next to his teammate, "Rae, look, I'm back to normal!"
Raven snapped open her eyes, then glowered at Beastboy.
"Do you not understand the meaning of meditation?" she hissed through clenched teeth.
"Yes, it's to help you keep your cool and refrain from flinging me to another dimension."
"Someone's done their research." Raven deadpanned.
"Not really, I just know ya really well." he gently commented.
The Azarathian felt a shift in her aura. She began to sense a strong emotion from Beastboy, which disrupted her empathetic radar. While being bombarded with his sentiments, Raven attempted to sift through her own.
As hard as this was to take in so suddenly all at once, Raven interpreted that she was reflecting the same feelings to Beastboy.
Raven's head became light, then she took a seat on the edge of the roof.
"Are you okay?" Beastboy queried, following suit.
"Yeah, I'm just fine. Sorry for snapping at you like that earlier." she rubbed her temples.
"It's okay, I should have known better than to startle you like that."
"Like you said, you're back to normal. What are you going to do to celebrate?"
"Maybe play some video games, take a trip to the comic store, eat some pizza... the whole nine. But that can wait for later."
"That goes against everything I know about you." Raven fiddled with her fingers shyly, keeping her glance downward.
"What do you mean?"
"I was expecting you to have all of that done by now."
"Well, me too, but I actually... wanted to spend some time with you first." Beastboy chuckled, trying to hide his anxious character.
"Aw, really? That's nice of you."
Raven's heart warmed.
It felt good knowing that someone was considering her.
The demoness was still feeling a bit clouded in the head from the emotions flowing between the two of them.
Beastboy gazed out into the distance, "I was saying... I guess I know you better than I thought. The only thing that isn't clear to me is why you read so much."
"Reading... reading's like a therapy to me. Sure, meditation serves its own benefits. Reading does good for me, too. Sometimes when I can't meditate, I can rely on a good book to keep my mind off of stuff. Books are great, they bring you away from reality for a bit. That's why I grew to like it so much. Dealing with reality is hard for me, so I've always wanted to escape it."
"That's deep."
"Yeah."
Silence slipped between the pair, as they thought of something to say.
"Again, I'm sorry. Next time I will know better than to let my curiosity lead the way." Beastboy apologized.
"Will you, though?"
"Probably not." his fang stuck out as he smiled at the girl.
Raven chuckled, "That's what I thought."
Her laughter trailed off as her amethyst eyes hooked on Beastboy's jade ones.
His eyelids sank moderately whilst he observed Raven. His stare fell from her eyes, to her silver lips tinted with pink, then back up to her pupils. Beastboy's gloved hand folded Raven's hair behind her ear.
Beastboy closed his eyes, slanted in, and meshed their lips together.
Raven flinched from the contact as a new surge of emotion reigned in her mind. After a few seconds, Raven found ease and let Beastboy guide her. Her fingers began to shyly fondle in his nest of emerald hair. She didn't know exactly how to steer her tongue, but she tried her best.
More than anything, it was harder to keep her composure in one piece.
Beastboy kissed gently, cupping her cheek in his palm. Out of the billions of boys in this world that could have kiss Raven, the universe destined him to be the one. The changeling had a surmountable amount of euphoria exploding inside of him.
He could feel Raven shaking ever so slightly against him, but still tried to make sure that she knew she was safe where she was.
The kiss was parted slowly. The couple felt a tingling numbness in their lips and heat in their cheeks. Their minds were trying to descend from the unparalleled fantasy they recently experienced. Raven pressed her forehead against Beastboy, while her lips sketched a mellow smile.
Raven softly whispered to Beastboy, "I missed you."