BBRae Week: Day 3

Firsts vs Telling the Team

"Hey, Raven, when it comes to this bed, think I can stash my entire comic collection Undredal?"

The empath sighed wearily, putting down the catalogue she'd been holding into the shopping cart. "Really, Gar?"

The changeling grinned toothily, evidently proud of himself for such a clever play on the Swedish word. He was currently balancing on the front edge of the cart like a child while Raven helped push it forward. She responded with a nonplussed expression.

"Come on; that one was funny!" He whined, pouting at her.

Garfield then hopped off the cart and jogged towards the bedframe he'd been looking at. "Seriously; I like this one."

He quickly plopped onto the fluffy mattress, his lean frame practically sinking into the white puff of blankets and bedsheets.

"Yeah, sure, it's nice," Raven said dryly with a shrug of her shoulders.

Beast Boy bounced on the bed in excitement.

"It's also way out of our budget," she reminded him quite sternly, folding her arms over her chest.

He stopped moving, and gave her his best puppy eyes, knowing exactly how to disarm Raven's defenses. "Aw, this one isn't too bad, Rae. The Hasselvika, which by the way is really nice, has a price tag that's way more of a hassle." He winked at her while she rolled her eyes exasperatedly, and stifled a groan, pinching the bridge of her nose with thumb and forefinger.

"You do realize that's the price for just the frame, right? As in, we still have to buy a mattress, pillows, bedsheets, and covers, not to mention a blanket," Raven listed, ticking each individual item off on her fingers.

His smile fell the more she went on.

"Okay, first of all, try two blankets, seeing as how someone likes to hog all the covers when she sleeps. Second of all, psh, of course I knew that. But how much more expensive are sheets?"

Raven fixed her chilling, violet stare down at him before remarking rather coldly; "Expensive, Gar. Everything is expensive. We have to be smart about this. It's bad enough you splurged on the new place, we can't afford to buy all the nicest things on a whim."

Beast Boy cocked his head to the side, watching her curiously. He then deliberately licked his lips and took in a deep breath, choosing his next words rather carefully. "Well…I mean, I can," he finally confessed in a small voice.

Raven raised an inky black brow, her lips parting in question.

Garfield scratched at the back of his head nervously, unable to match her intense, icy gaze. "Money isn't an issue for me, Rae…I don't really like to talk about it because…I don't want people to like me just because I have money."

"Is this about your inheritance?" She asked rather bluntly.

When he stared at her, slack jawed and speechless, Raven sighed. "We've been dating for three years, Gar, and we've known each other for way longer. Did you really think I didn't know?"

When he blinked a few times in confusion, her expression softened, and she parked their cart next to the showroom display before joining him on the bed. He examined her profile with a heavy heart, but there was a ghost of a smile on her lips.

"If you don't have it figured out yet, I don't much care for material things. I was raised with very little, and learned to find the value in the world around me. I used to think a good book was better than any pair of fancy shoes or expensive dresses. Or, that I'd much rather spend my time in my room than on a beach somewhere at a resort…," Raven explained, her expression rather dreamy.

She then shyly spared him a glance, a strand of violet hair falling before her eyes. "That all changed when I grew up, when I found a home with the Titans…I realized that, all the finer things in life…they're only fine when you're sharing them with someone else…" Raven's fingers found his, and she squeezed them tightly beneath her own.

"Raven…," Garfield cooed her name, and it fell from his lips like honey.

He could have cupped her face and kissed her right then and there.

He would have kissed her, except for the fact that they were currently in a busy, bustling furniture store on a weekend, and Raven wasn't overly fond of public displays of affection.

"I don't care about the money, Gar. I want to experience this with you. I want to do this thing, whatever it is we're trying to do here, together. Even something as trivial as buying a new couch, or installing a new sink, or painting our living room. None of it is half as interesting when you're not in the equation…," Raven elaborated, her tone genuine in delivery. "Bottom line; I don't want you to make it easy just because you've got some fortune tucked away. We've spent all our lives doing things the harder way, and I don't think I'd change a thing."

Garfield hardly noticed that he'd been grinning like a fool the whole time until his face had started hurting. "You really wanna do this? Be frugal together?" He turned to look at her, cupping both her hands in his own.

Raven nodded exuberantly, and she had to push her hair behind her ears while trying to downplay the bashful smile that he'd coerced from her. "Of course," she agreed simply, "Let's find our own way, like we always have."

She stood up then, and proceeded to adjust her miniskirt and leggings. Then, she pulled him up by the hand and didn't let go. Her fingers tangled with his, and she used her dark magic to move the cart along instead, not caring for any strange looks the couple received. Gently, she rested the side of her head against his shoulder, linking her arm through his.

Beast Boy didn't think it possible, but somehow, he'd fallen even more in love with her than before; he couldn't take his eyes off her, and no matter what, his persistently stupid smile stayed fixed onto his face.

"So, when do you think we should break the news to the others?" He asked tentatively, knowing the subject matter was still a sensitive one with the empath.

Raven grimaced before regaining her cool composure once more. "Sooner than later…," she surmised uneasily.

Garfield sighed deeply. "That's what you said three months ago, Rae. Now, we've already got the place, and move-in day is next week. We need to tell them," he urged, using their interlocked hands to pull her closer.

"I…I'm scared," she admitted hesitantly, using her free hand to mask her eyes from view.

The cart stopped moving, and a few people had paused in their shopping experience to point out their presence. "It's the Titans!" A child shouted in excitement before his parents quickly hushed him, spared them a smile, and walked on.

Beast Boy waved before returning to address his distressed girlfriend. "Well, like you said, we're in this together. So, how about tonight, we get back to the tower and call up a meeting?" Beast Boy gently massaged her back, giving her a trademark smirk that would hopefully lighten the burden she was always convinced she carried on her own.

Raven bit down on her bottom lip, clearly struggling with the overwhelming emotions within her. She was conflicted about leaving behind the only true family she'd come to know, and so Garfield had allowed her to put off the inevitable for the sake of her comfort. He'd even offered to do it alone if she didn't want to. Naturally, she'd adamantly refused.

"Yeah, I suppose we have to…," she conceded ruefully, her eyes glassy as she stared down at the empty shopping cart.

Garfield opted to move forward first, maintaining his upbeat attitude the whole way. "I mean, it would make moving day a whole lot easier if Vic, Kory, and Dick showed up to help. Especially since you're not allowed to lift much these days," he added, sparing her a playful wink and a smile that lit up his verdant eyes. "Speaking of which, I do believe we've got one more showroom to visit before we make the final trip downstairs. Still got that pencil and paper handy, right?"

Raven nodded, pulling it out of the catalogue where she'd left it in the cart.

"Good. The Stuva is the one I really liked when I was checking out their website. I wanted to show it to you, see what you think." Garfield then barrelled straight through the aisle towards the next showroom of furniture, pushing the cart forward with him and leaving his girlfriend behind to follow at her own pace.

Raven shook her head, but couldn't help the infectious smile that resulted from Beast Boy's excitement.

With a hand subconsciously moving to the small curve of her belly, Raven didn't think that, of all the things they'd have to shop for, it was the crib that the changeling would have been anticipating the most…

-FIN