Hello my dear readers, Foamy here! Truth be told, this story was quite a shocker to me. When I started writing it, it ran away from me into 3k-4k words of BBRae fluff. Now its almost 8k words ( nearly double last chapter!) And I have to say that I really enjoyed it. Even the ending. *snickers*
Now for reviews!
Kravinoff- No no no no and no. I will do my damnest to never let another story go berserk like that one did.
Bearhow- Heeeeeere's twenty! Also, got yer drama ;)
Kinggamer- thankee kindly :)
Luis519RS- I'm happy you enjoy it! Here, have another chapter!
Guest- I'm certain I know which user you are, so I'm hoping you enjoy this cupcake more *snickers*
Dark Azarathian- the spoiler was just a joke lol. This chapter, while not yet Comicon, quite directly ties into the next one in an unexpected manner.
I-scream-for-bbrae - again, spoiler was a joke *chuckles* I might as well tell you she doesn't confess this chapter. She gives him a hellavu clue though, and even better one in the future!
Azarath Cat- I imagined Star giving away bowls of Pudding of Sadness to homeless people and then them dying and I just couldn't stop laughing. I'm sick, I know.
Ignis Draconem- Ikr? Lol. Enjoy this chapter too!
Now to address two things. One, RPGPersona, I noticed you didn't comment on the last chapter (which is your norm) so don't forget to read it if you haven't! I'd hate for ya to be lost while reading this one lol.
Two, BEARHOW is responsible for suggesting the end of this chapter. He said I should add a little spice, so I did.
*evil laughter*
Anyways, read and review please! I love hearing from you guys and gals!
"Hey Cy?"
"Yeah BB?"
"Thanks for saving our butts man. I owe you big time."
Cyborg shook his head. "Nah man, you don't. I wasn't gonna quit til I found my little bro and sis."
Beast Boy grinned. "I know dude. Thanks."
The older Titan pat his best friend on the shoulder. "Anytime bro. You know that, just like I know you got my back."
The changeling nodded as they both settled back onto the couch in the common room. It was quiet in the tower for the time being. Raven was napping with Emelia in her room, Robin was taking a jog around the island, Fixit was in his basement per usual, and Starfire off somewhere with Martin.
It was only the day after Beast Boy and Raven waking up, but things had almost returned to normal in the tower. Beast Boy honestly thought Robin was going to grill him on what had happened, but to his surprise the boy wonder just wanted to talk. They sat and talked for a couple of hours about what had happened and what the changeling should have done. Robin thought the same thing Beast Boy did, that he should have been more prepared. But at the same time he was proud of his friend for making everything work so well and keeping himself and Raven alive. His exact words were:
"Honestly Beast Boy, on our team you are the only one who could have kept Raven alive for that long." Robin had said. "Starfire is immune to the pressure, yeah, but on a planet with atmosphere she has to breathe. She wouldn't have been able to take either of them out of there. Cyborg's battery would have died, not to mention his systems would have overloaded themselves trying to keep him warm. Raven would have frozen to death, if not drown. As for me? Well…I loathe admitting this, but I would have been next to useless. I've got some HotHands warmers in a pouch, but those wouldn't have kept us alive. You did well, Garfield. I'm proud of you."
Beast Boy had never been so humbled in his life.
That conversation had been earlier this morning, since Raven and he had spent the rest of the day before snuggling with Emelia. Strangely enough, Raven had been the one to suggest that. He didn't complain, of course. Raven smelled really good after she took a shower.
Although she was back to not looking at him again. Why, he didn't know.
But that was okay, he needed rest more than he needed anything.
"So what happened between you and Rae down there?" Cyborg suddenly asked.
The changeling looked up from where he had been staring at the floor in thought. "What makes you think something happened?"
The cybernetic man raised an eyebrow. "Don't play dumb with me bro. She was clinging onto your chest for dear life when I towed the pod to the surface."
Beast Boy stared at his best friend, his brother, for a good, long moment before he sighed. "You know, man, I'm not really sure."
Cyborg raised his only eyebrow.
"Yeah, yeah, I know, I was there, I should know what happened." Beast Boy shrugged. "But I really don't. We went from trying to stay alive to talking to pass the time to freezing to death. Somewhere in the talking part, things got weird."
"Weird? Weird how?" Cyborg asked, reclining back and propping one leg up on the other. The gamestation was on and they had their controllers, but it held no interest for them at this time.
"Well…she started asking me about my relationship with Rose and I gave her a few answers and then she asked what I would do if a different girl, like, not Rose, was interested in me. I didn't really have an answer to that and I told her that, saying that girls that find green shapeshifting hero's attractive are in short supply. Then she tells me that she can think of one. I thought she was talking about Terra and, well, might have snapped on her a little bit about it."
"You mean…you're over her?" The cybernetic young man asked carefully.
The changeling nodded. "Well, yeah. I mean, I could be her friend, but a relationship? No way. She already stabbed me in the back once. I won't fall for it a second time."
Cyborg nodded. "Okay. What'd Rae say?"
Beast Boy's face screwed up. "Well, that's where things got weird. She…well, she got upset."
An eyebrow raised even higher. "Raven got upset?"
"Yeah, it was frickin' weird man." Beast Boy nodded. "She said something about understanding how some people can't be forgiven for the things they've done and I told her she was wrong, that I could forgive Terra if she really meant it. Then Raven looked at me like I'd gone crazy and asked me who said anything about Terra. I pointed out that she did and she just started laughing at me."
"You got Raven to laugh?!" Cyborg said incredulously.
"I know, right?!" The changeling exclaimed. "I can't even get her to do that with my jokes and there she goes laughing like I'd told her the funniest damned joke in the world, which I haven't, by the way. Then she told me to go to sleep!"
"Maaaan, that's really weird." Cyborg shook his head. Beast Boy was inclined to agree with him. Raven had been acting weird for a while now. Well, he knew she was learning to feel more things and express them, but this was just…weird. It was the only way to describe it.
"Say BB…"
The changeling looked up. "Yeah?"
"You don't think she's…"
"Don't think she's what?"
"What if…she's starting to feel things…for you?" Cyborg said carefully. There was no telling how his buddy would react to such a thing, especially since he had a girlfriend.
Beast Boy stared at him like he'd gone mad for a few minutes before he scoffed. "Don't mess with my head like that man. Not cool."
Cyborg frowned. "I'm serious bro. She's been acting funky around you for a while."
The green teen shook his head. "Not possible, man. Raven takes a long time to come to terms with the things she feels. I mean, seriously, look how long it took her to open up to us? I'll be waiting years before she feels something for me, if she even does. And if she felt something now, she'd tell me. She just that kind of girl, ya know? Blunt and honest."
Cy stared hard at him. "You sure about that man? You been wrong about girls before."
Beast Boy glared at him. "Don't you have a car to go fix?"
Grumbling to himself about the idiocy of changelings, Cyborg got up and walked away. The T-car was in need of an oil change, afterall.
This left Beast Boy alone in the common room to think. He propped himself on the arm of the couch as he stared out into the bay. Was it possible that Raven felt something for him? If so, how? He hadn't done anything flirty or charming that he usually did with girls he was trying to impress. All he really did around her these days was try to be a good dad. So in reality, he wasn't doing anything that could attract a girl at all. And yet, Raven was progressively acting odder and odder around him. It was weird. Twice now she had periods where she wouldn't look at him, almost as if she were embarrassed about something. That was a weird thought because an embarrassed Raven always pulled up the hood of her cloak and walked away, which is something she hadn't been doing much. Yeah, she had moments where she raised her hood these days, but she hadn't walked away from something in a long time. He supposed that came from being more open to her emotions.
That's what it's got to be. He decided. She's acting funny because she's experiencing emotions better and she's trying to cope with it.
That doesn't explain the chicken and penny. A little voice in the back of his head said.
He frowned. No, I guess it doesn't. But then again, what friend doesn't keep the gifts their friends give them?
Are you sure she still thinks of you as a friend?
He didn't have an answer to that, so he just sat there quietly until the common room door opened.
"Beast Boy?" A sleepy voice said.
He turned and found a groggy eyed Raven standing there with a certain sleeping blonde girl in her arms. Raven was wearing a purple tank top and white sleeping pants, her hair more mussed than he'd ever seen.
"Hey Rae, what's up?" He called out as he got up and headed her way.
"Can you take her for a few minutes? I'm starving." Raven rubbed one hand across her eyes.
Cheezus Crust, Rae's so cute right now. The boy thought to himself as he took the sleeping child from her. "Yeah, sure. Go get something to eat."
"Thank you." The violet haired girl mumbled as she dragged herself to the kitchen. Beast Boy chuckled and settled down onto the loveseat nearest the kitchen. Emmy was fast asleep in his arms and already clinging to him. He knew they had almost scarred her for life with their abrupt disappearance and it tore his heart in two.
Listening to the sounds of cabinets opening and boxes/cans being moved around, he looked up and watched Raven search for food. Even in her half asleep state, she had this strange sort of grace to her, almost like a dancer. Starfire's movements where always sharp and quick, an obvious trait from her warrior heritage. Jinx's movements were either subtle or abrupt, depending on her mood. Pantha's were straightforward and slightly brutish. Bumblebee carried herself like the sort of confidence he saw in Cyborg. Argent moved rather oddly, almost like she just didn't care about what was going on. Kole moved in a carefree way too, but in a more positive manner. She was a few years younger than him, so it made sense that she was a bit more carefree.
But Raven? She moved like a dancer.
Granted, he had no idea if she had ever danced before. It was just the way she moved gracefully, one fluid movement leading to the next, even in her present state. She was a beautiful thing to look at.
Especially since she was bent over, looking in a cabinet for food.
If she ever catches me, I'm a dead man. He thought to himself with a chuckle.
"There's no food here." He heard her suddenly whine. "This is bullcrap, I'm starving!"
He cocked an eyebrow at her, surprised by her tone. Raven wasn't a whiner, but here she was doing it right in front of him. She must have been really hungry to talk like that.
He was even more surprised when she came over and sat right next to him, leaning on him somewhat.
"We need to go grocery shopping." She grumbled.
Beast Boy looked at her, noting the small bags under her eyes and the way they were slightly bloodshot. It was an unusual look on her, but it really spoke volumes about how tired she was.
"You look kinda wore out, Rae." He said carefully.
She tossed him half a glare. "Gee, you think? I only spent sixteen hours in the bottom of the ocean holding back several thousand pounds of pressure, then three days in a healing trance to cleanse myself of frost bite. Excuse me if it takes me a couple of days to recover all the energy I've spent up."
He couldn't help but to smile at her exaggeration. "Sorry, I just didn't know you were the hangry type."
Raven quirked an eyebrow at him. "Hangry?"
Beast Boy chuckled. "Yeah, it means when you're hungry you get angry."
"Hmph." Raven snorted. She knew she wasn't denying it, but she didn't care. The only thing she cared about right now was the growling in her stomach. She had never been a heavy eater but after times like the past few days she needed a couple of substantial meals to recuperate. Well, substantial by her standards.
"How about we go get something to eat?" Beast Boy said slowly a moment later.
Raven's eyes opened a little as she turned to look at him in surprise. He looked back at her, but his emerald eyes were unreadable. She hesitated to answer him.
That sounds like he's asking us out on a date! Happy squealed in her mind.
Don't be stupid, he's with that white haired trollop. Jealousy snapped.
No, he'll be all mine today. Affection sighed happily.
I'm more concerned with the food at this point. Brave muttered.
Agreed, sustenance is what we need right now, not flirtatious banter. Knowledge interjected.
We're all messy from sleeping, I don't want to go out in public like this! Timid murmured.
Like I give a damn what other people think, let's go eat! Rude huffed.
How about all you shut up before I snap you in half? Anger growled.
"Food sounds good." Raven said a moment later after her stomach growled quite loudly.
Beast Boy grinned before taking off with the sleeping Emelia. "Sweet, it's a date!"
It didn't occur to him what he said until he reached his room and laid Emelia down on the bed. He had a pair of clean pants half on when it hit him like a ton of bricks.
Holy crap, did I just say that?
Little did he know that he left a shell-shocked Raven still sitting on the loveseat, her jaw dropped and all of her emotions thinking the same thing.
Did…did he just…say it was a date?
When a fully dressed (and slightly shaken) Beast Boy arrived at Raven's door twenty minutes later, he wasn't entirely sure what he expected. He had thrown on a purple t-shirt and a pair of black jeans but wore his traditional silver boots, along with a purple skullcap. It wasn't cold or windy outside, but he didn't like his hair in his eyes when he was driving. Heck, he wasn't even sure when it got long enough to be in his eyes, but he never really paid attention to it anyways. He hesitated only once before knocking, wondering what it was he faintly heard Raven chanting on the other side.
When Raven opened the door, he had to do a double take.
Gone were the fatigued and bloodshot eyes, gone was the bedhead, and gone was the grumpy look on her face. Instead he found the clear eyed, pin-straight haired normal Raven he saw every day. Except that her hair wasn't short now, it was just starting to touch her shoulders. How had he missed that? He knew he wasn't the most attentive person, but still…
Hold on, what was she wearing?!
She was, in fact, wearing a black skirt that reached just below her knees. A skirt. He had never seen her in such a thing. On top of that she was wearing long sleeved dark green shirt that not only showed off a little bit of cleavage, but it also stopped just above her belly button. These were accompanied by a thick black belt with a big silver buckle, a pair of black punk boots, and black and dark green striped leggings.
To top it all off, there was a light blush on her face.
"So…I see that you're ready." She commented dryly as she planted her eyes off to the side.
"Uh…yeah." He said absentmindedly as he gawked at her.
"What?" She asked, still refusing to meet his gaze.
He shook his head. "Sorry Rae, but it almost looks like Jinx dressed you."
The blush got a little darker. "This outfit was a gift from Jinx, actually. I'm not entirely fond of showing my midriff off, nor do I care for boots or skirts. I'm not sure why I kept it."
"It looks good on you, Raven. Really." Beast Boy blurted out without warning. Both teens froze as they processed what he said. It was quiet for a few moments before he spoke up again. "I mean, it's nice to see you in regular clothes. You hide behind that hood too much, ya know?"
"Thank you. I will…keep that in mind." She said softly before approaching her companion and taking their snoozing daughter from him. She walked back inside her room and he waited in the doorway as she wiped Emelia's face of drool, brushed her hair, and changed her clothes. Garfield could hear Raven's stomach protesting the lack of food, but he waited patiently for her. She obviously wanted them to look nice for their family outing, so he was inclined to let her do as she pleased.
He couldn't keep the grin from his face as Raven fussed over what to dress their daughter in. He had never once suspected during their previous stage of friendship that Raven had a maternal side to her. While he did see Melvin, Timmy Tantrum, and Teether cling to her after the battle with the Brotherhood, he figured it was them latching onto her for safety since they knew her. He had never figured that they were attached to her or she to them.
"What are you grinning about?" Raven scowled at his leaning form in the doorway as she put a pair of black pants on the sleeping child before her.
"Nothing Rae." He chuckled. "Just amazed at how much of a good mom you are."
She paused. "You think so?"
"Well, from what little experience I've had with mothers, you're doing a great job." Beast Boy parroted at her, almost mimicking her words to him from some time back.
Raven rolled her eyes, but she couldn't help but to be secretly pleased. A small part of her always worried that she wasn't doing a good enough job with Emelia, so it assuaged her doubts considerably. If Beast Boy thought she was doing a good job, then that was perfectly fine with her.
Emelia ended up half waking up during her supposed wardrobe malfunction. Her little groggy violet eyes opened and she looked around whilst rubbing them.
"Mommy, what doing?" She mumbled.
"We're fixing to go out and eat." Raven pet the little girl on the head fondly. "I was trying to get you dressed, but I suppose it's fine that you woke up now."
"Ish daddy comin'?" Emmy yawned real big and teetered to the side a little.
Raven couldn't help but to smile. The way Emelia reverted into a simple five year old when tired probably the cutest thing about her. It showed the older empath that the little girl was actually just as normal as any other kid underneath that intelligent exterior and watchful eyes.
"Of course he is." Raven said softly, unable to hide her smile from her child. She finally chose a shirt, yellow with a purple flower on it, and put it on her daughter.
Emelia, bleary eyed, looked up at her mother and frowned slightly. "Well, 'chu can be excited for bof' of us, I wanna go back to sleep."
When Emelia woke up some time later, she found herself in her carseat in her fathers car. Rubbing her eyes, she look around to find them somewhere in the city. Her stomach growled.
"Mommy, I'm hungry." She called out.
She saw her mother's head turn to her father and grin. "See? Told you she'd be hungry when she woke up."
Her daddy scowled, but he was amused more than anything. "How could you have known that?"
"Like father like daughter." The older girl quipped. Her father chuckled.
"Mooommmyyy!" Emmy whined.
Her mother turned and looked at her. "I heard you, Emelia. We'll be at the restaurant in a few minutes."
"What are we eating?" The little girl asked with a sweet smile.
"Chinese food."
Emmy was confused. "What's that?"
"It has rice and noodles and chicken and vegetables and fish and stuff." Her father answered.
"We can't eat there then." The little girl stated matter of factly. Her mother looked at her as her father glanced at her in the mirror.
"Why?" They both asked.
"Because daddy doesn't eat meat?" Emmy said confusedly. Had they forgotten?
Seconds later both her parents filled with joy, further confusing the girl.
"That's very sweet of you to think of papa like that." Her mother said softly and smiled.
Her father beamed. "Don't worry, angel, daddy can eat from the salad bar and the rice and noodles."
"Okaaaaay." Emmy giggled.
Within minutes they pulled into a parking lot and her daddy stopped the car. She waited patiently for them to get out and her father unbuckle her. She couldn't help but giggle when her parents argued about who got to hold her, which her daddy won when he picked her up and set her on his shoulders. She giggled again into his hat when her mommy scowled at him.
"You better not drop her!" She said grumpily. "And duck when you enter the door!"
"Yes mama." Her daddy stuck his tongue out at her playfully.
Her mother glared at him before leading the way. "Come along then."
Both father and daughter giggled all the way to the door. Emelia could feel her mothers mild annoyance, hunger, and amusement all roiling inside her as they stepped inside, her father dutifully ducking them down as they entered. There were all sorts bright colors all over the place, along with-
"Daddy! Look, fishes!" She squealed happily as she pointed at a pool of water with brightly colored fish in there. A rocky waterfall was flowing into the pool, stirring up the water. Little plastic plants dotted around it, making it look really nice.
"Cool, a koi pond." Her father said, leaning over and looking in.
"What's a koi?" Emmy asked.
"It's a type of fish from Asia. Its used for decoration a lot cause they're pretty." He told her, always happy to tell his daughter more about nature. "It's a symbol of good luck too."
"Coooolllll!" Emmy watched as she spoke, seeing them swim around. There were two big ones and three little ones in there. They were all orange, white, and black too, making her think. "Daddy, can you turn into a koi fish?"
He stood up and rubbed his chin. "I'm pretty sure I can, though I've never tried. Let's see-"
"Don't even think about it." A rather familiar voice growled from behind them. Emmy and her dad both turned to find her mom standing there glaring at them.
"We're in a restaurant in public, behave yourself!" She snapped. Emmy giggled as her daddy hastily complied.
"Yeah, sure Rae, gotcha." He said submissively, his ears lowered.
Raven sighed and a small bit of regret flowed through her. "Sorry, I didn't mean to snap. I've developed a headache from hunger. Its not exactly pleasant."
"It's okay, Rae, really. I really do need to learn to behave in public." He chuckled. "Though I gotta admit dude, I've never seen you this grumpy about eating."
A bit more regret came from the older empath. "That's because I either bottled it up or didn't hesitate to lash out at you over nothing."
"Oh." It was all Emmy's daddy could say.
"Sorry." Her mother said again, a small spark of hope flickering in her aura. Emmy leaned down and whispered in her daddy's ear.
"I think mommy's hoping you'll forgive her."
He turned his head and looked up at her. "Ya think so?" He whispered back.
Emmy nodded and her father turned thoughtful. They moved up two places in line (they were next now) before he spoke again.
"Hey Raven?" He said quietly. Emmy watched her mom's head whip around, surprised that he didn't call by the other name.
"Yes?"
"I'll forgive you for that if you forgive me for being such a pest over the years."
Emelia actually heard her mother's heart stop beating for a moment before a gentle happiness filled her.
"Deal." Raven said softly, her small smile lighting her face up.
"How many?" The small lady with small eyes and long black hair said suddenly, looking at the trio expectantly.
"Two kids, one adult." The older empath said with a straight face as she turned around to face her. The lady looked at her in confusion, making Emmy giggle.
"Oh hardy har har." Her daddy said as he stepped forward. "Two adults, one child."
"This way please." The lady said, leading them away.
Emmy couldn't help but bury her face in her daddy's hat as they followed the lady. There were so many people in there and there were a lot looking at her and her parents. She didn't like it when people stared, it made her feel weird.
"What would you like to drink?" The lady said as they stopped at a table.
"Whatcha got?" Emmy heard her daddy say.
"Pepsi products, sweet tea, unsweet tea, water."
"Mountain Dew for me then." Emmy's daddy said. "What about you, Rae?"
"I'll try the sweet tea." Emmy's mommy said. "And Sprite for her."
Emmy heard the lady scribble something on paper then walk away. She could hear a lot of things: people eating, water running somewhere, people talking, stuff cooking. Everything she could hear she could smell too. This place was really busy and she didn't like it much.
Her daddy started moving again and this time they were headed for these funny looking tables with glass covers and lots of yummy looking food on them. She watched her daddy grab two plates and head for the table with a big salad on it. He made himself a big salad on one plate, tossing a few extra carrots on there. Then he walked over to Emmy's mommy.
"Dunno what to start her with." He said to her. The older violet haired girl had a decent bit of food on her plate as she lifted it up for Emmy to see.
"Do you see anything you want to try?" Her mommy said.
"Ummm…" Emmy looked at the plate. "The noodles and rice…this cake thingy…and some chicken."
"Lo mein, fried rice, a crab cake, and chicken on a stick, got it." Her daddy said before he started walking around and filling her plate. Emmy wondered where his plate had gone before noticing her mommy walk by with it.
They returned to the table a few minutes later and sat down. Emmy really didn't want to sit at the table with all the people staring at her, but she knew her mommy wouldn't let her stay where she was and eat. She grabbed the fork and started eating.
"So whatcha think?" Beast Boy said a few minutes later. Raven glanced up from her sushi roll at her daughter.
"I like the noodles and rice." Emmy said before slurping up another noodle. "The cake tastes funny and the chicken is yummy."
"I saw some chicken nuggets and French fries up there, do you want some?" Beast Boy asked, a grin on his face.
"Please?"
Raven watched her crush leave his half finished salad behind as he got up from the table and walked away. She couldn't help but to feel pleased that he would respond so quickly to Emmy's request. His behavior had been consistent with the little girl for months, which meant she really and truly was a priority to him. Raven had had a few fleeting doubts here and there, but he always managed to chase them off whether he knew it or not.
Raven couldn't keep the silly grin from her face as she finished off her sushi roll and sipped her tea.
"How's the tea?" Beast Boy asked as he sat back down and placed the plate of chicken and fries nearby.
"Terrible." Raven said unabashedly. "I don't understand why anyone would want to ruin perfectly good tea with sugar."
The changeling chuckled. "Some people don't like the bitter taste."
Raven gave a little shrug, indicating that she didn't care. Within a few minutes she had finished off her own plate and glanced up at him.
Only to find him staring at her, carrots jutting out of the top of his mouth like fangs.
"What are you doing?" She asked with a sigh, not really wanting to start an argument.
"I'm Count Carrotcula!" The changeling said with a faked accent, bringing his arm up in front of his face like he had a cape. Emelia giggled.
"Would you stop that?" Raven asked, growing slightly annoyed. "It's bad enough people are already staring at us, I don't want them talking about us too."
"A little late for that Rae." Beast Boy shrugged. "They have been since we walked in the lobby."
A frown formed on the empath's face. "Why didn't you tell me?"
He shrugged once more. "Sorry. People have talked about my green skin and fangs for years, I tuned them out a long time ago."
Raven stared at him for a long moment, just now realizing what kind of discrimination he had had to deal with while growing up. She bit her lip in thought before speaking slowly. "I'm sorry Garfield, I didn't think about that."
Yet again he shrugged. "It's fine, Rae. I got used to people bad mouthing me. That's kinda why I'm glad Emmy has normal skin, at least she can blend in with people. Even you could with the right crowd. But me? Nah, I'll always stick out like a…"
He trailed off, his mouth opening and closing with no words coming out as he stared at Raven in confusion. Raven looked back at him, herself confused at his sudden behavior.
"What?" She asked after a few minutes of silence.
"Did you…did you just call me by my name?" He asked slowly.
Raven's eyes widened as she realized that had indeed done that. Her mind reeled in shock, trying to figure out how she had done that as she tried to apologize. "I did, yes, and I'm sorry, I know you hate your name, but it just slipped out and-"
He interrupted her. "Why?"
Raven found herself at a loss for words for a moment.
Raven, repeat after me. Knowledge suddenly said in her mind. Raven took a deep breath.
Beast Boy, immensely curious as to why Raven had called him by his name, leaned forward to hear her answer.
"You've always been Beast Boy to me, and everyone else for that matter. It's who you are, a superhero, and a good one. But here, now, you aren't a superhero. You're in civilian clothes, in a public restaurant, with your adopted daughter and her surrogate mother, having a normal lunch. There are no powers, there is no crime, there aren't any bad guys. You're not Beast Boy here. I'm sorry about not asking for your permission to use your name beforehand, but then again, you very rarely use my name. So, I'm going to call you by your name at times like this because you're daddy to Emelia and Garfield to me, not Beast Boy. " She said without (externally) flinching. Internally, she was reeling at her own tenacity.
Twice in one day Beast Boy had found himself shushed more than any other time in his life.
He stared at his plate of food in silence for a moment before reaching up and removing his carrot-fangs. He set them on the plate and spoke quietly.
"Fair enough."
At first Raven was worried. He was emotionally numb beyond belief and it was easily discernable that he was in shock. As far as Raven knew, Rita was the only person who called him by his name. It was possible that only those closest to him had the permission to use it.
And Raven had just gotten his permission.
It wasn't until she started on her second plate of food that she noticed the little grin plastered to his face and the happiness in his aura.
Moments later both teens heard Emelia mumbled under her breath. "And here I thought daddy was your name…"
The remainder of their meal was quiet, as was the trip home. It wasn't a sort of tense, upsetting quiet, more of a happy acceptance kind of quiet. Emelia sat in the backseat humming to herself as her parents drove/rode up front. They reached the tower after a bit and, surprisingly enough, met the others removing groceries from the T-car.
"Friend Raven?" Starfire said, shocked when she saw what the empath was wearing.
Raven gave her a little smile. "Hello Star. Sorry we missed shopping, we went out for lunch."
Cyborg eyed his little brother and little sister, noticing how happy they both looked. He shook his head and grinned. Beast Boy was getting in over his head chasing two girls, but he knew the changeling would make the right choice in the end.
Beast Boy and Raven helped get the groceries to the kitchen while the kids chased each other around giggling. The empath and alien princess set about organizing and putting away the foodstuff while Beast Boy delivered things to rooms, Robin refilled his office, and Cyborg sat on the couch. He did all the driving, after all, so he took the downtime when offered. He wasn't gonna complain about-
Bzzzzz bzzzzzz bzzzz bzzzzz
Cy nearly jumped out of his metallic parts in fright when something below his butt started vibrating. Hopping up, he pulled the couch cushion up to find his best buddy's cellphone. He opened a panel on his arm and tapped into the intercom.
"Yo BB, you got a call man." He called out.
Within minutes the changeling appeared on the common room doorway, slightly panting.
"A call?" He hollered out as he approached the couch. "Who'd call me?"
Cyborg glanced at the phone before tossing it to Beast Boy. "Looks like it was Rose."
The changelings eyes widened considerably as he caught the phone. "Holy crap, I totally forgot about her!"
"You forgot about your girlfriend?" Raven and Cyborg both said incredulously.
"Yeah, well, you know…I was busy." The green boy said sheepishly, tossing a glance at Raven. She smirked slightly as she placed a carton of almond milk in the fridge.
"Maaaan, you better call that girl." Cyborg scowled. "Don't leave your girl hanging like that! She's likely to be mad as all get out."
"I got it, I got it!" Beast Boy said, feeling a bit flustered. He walked out of the room.
Raven felt both smug and annoyed. Smug because she had one upped Rose for several days now. Annoyed because Rose had Garfield's attention again.
Ya win some, ya lose some, eh? Rude snickered in her mind.
Bullcrap. Brave spat. I hate losing!
As much as she didn't want to admit it, Raven really didn't like losing. Of course, that might have had to do with the slight superiority complex she had from time to time. She felt that was perfectly alright though. She is half demon, after all.
The door opened and the changeling walked back in.
"She's a little mad." He said to no one in particular, mostly to avoid Cyborg's I-Told-You-So grin. Raven merely rolled her eyes as Garfield continued speaking "I guess I gotta go make it up to her. I'll be back in a while."
Thirty minutes later, Beast Boy found himself parking in a guest spot at Thousand Sunny Apartments, building B. There were a dozen other vehicles there of all types, but minivans were the dominant mode of transportation here.
A minivan, huh? He thought to himself as he looked around. I used to doubt I'd even have one kid. I wonder if I'll ever need one of those?
The walk to Rose's apartment was a quiet one. A dog on a porch eyed him curiously, as did a pair of squirrels, but not much else. It was a weekday, a boring Thursday, and most of the residents were either at work or school. He knew Rose was fond of the place, saying that it was relaxingly normal. He never quite understood what she meant by that, but he didn't mind not knowing. It really wasn't that big of a deal to him.
What was a big deal was the fact that Rose was upset with him for disappearing for several days without word. He could understand that, in a way. There were some romantic feelings between the two, but it was still quite platonic. A few months ago this bothered him. Rose was quite the looker and quite the catch as well. She seemed like a great girl to start a relationship with while waiting for Raven to come around, if she didn't.
But lately he'd been having second thoughts about the whole situation.
He really enjoyed hanging out with Rose, it left him mentally and emotionally satisfied. But it was a feeling that didn't last all that long. He honestly got more satisfaction out of being around Emelia and Raven, even if the older empath didn't have any feelings for him.
If was the key word.
This line of thought was both pleasing and upsetting to him. Pleasing for obvious reasons, upsetting because he was beginning to doubt his original line of thinking. Was it wrong for him to be seeing Rose while waiting to see if Raven would come around? Was it actually wrong of him to want one girl while sort of being with another? He had never been in a situation like this before (heck, he'd never even had a girlfriend!), so was he doing wrong with both girls like this? How was he supposed to know if he was in the wrong? What if Rose wanted a serious relationship but didn't want to share him with Emelia and Raven? He couldn't put them to the side like that no matter what the case was. What if Raven came around a lot sooner and wanted him for herself (if he was lucky)? What would he tell Rose?
He had no answers and had no idea who he could ask for help.
These questions and more ran through his mind as he knocked on the apartment door of Rose's unit. His animal senses alerted him to movement from within the unit, followed by approaching the door. He figured she was peeking through the spyhole, which was a correct guess when the white haired girl opened the door seconds later.
"What do you want?" She asked, clearly still annoyed. She leaned in the doorway, her semi-pale skin contrasting nicely with her black, form fitting tanktop and orange booty shorts. She was clearly enjoying her day off.
"To say I'm sorry?" Beast Boy said meekly, drooping his ears and giving her a puppy-dog look.
Rose stared at him for a moment before sighing and turning around. "Damnit Beast Boy, stop being cute. I'm trying to be mad at you."
The changeling as he followed her into her apartment. "Sorry, old habit."
"One I assume you use on Raven?" The white haired girl huffed.
Beast Boy shrugged. "I've tried it on her, it very rarely works."
Rose whipped around suddenly, irritation on her face. "Oh, what, so I'm easier than her?"
Beast Boy was at a loss for a moment. "No? I had no idea if it would work on you, honest."
The girl snorted and walked into her living room. Beast Boy followed, rather confused. When she plopped on her couch and refused to look at him, he knew something was actually upsetting her.
"Rose?" He asked tentatively. "Did I do something wrong? Like, legit wrong?"
Rose glanced up at him, then looked away with a sigh. "You just up and disappeared for a few days, then ignore me?"
The changeling frowned. "It wasn't intentional, Rose. I told you what happened, we got stuck underwater then we were pretty much in the hospital for a few days. "
"And after, when you woke up?"
"I…" He faltered. "I'm sorry. The whole 'staring death in the face thing' is kinda upsetting, ya know? I had to get my feet back under me and be there for Emmy."
"And Raven." His companion muttered under her breath. This surprised him because she knew he had enhanced hearing. For her to say it like that…
"Are you jealous?" He asked incredulously.
"No."
Beast Boy stared at her long enough for Rose to get uncomfortable and squirm in her seat.
"Okay, fine. Maybe." She grumbled.
He cocked his head. "Why? You know there's nothing going on between us."
"Do I?" She asked, looking at him directly now. She in fact did know, in multiple ways, that there wasn't anything going on between the changeling and the empath. But with the way things were going, that would change. It would be a good idea for her to take what she could get before that happened.
Beast Boy, on the other hand, was taken back. How was he supposed to respond to something like that?!
"Yeah, Rose. You do know." He said slowly, having no clue what else to say.
Rose stared at him intently now. "Prove it."
He raised an eyebrow. "How?"
"Sit." She gestured to the seat beside her. He warily complied, sitting next to her. After he got comfortable, she gestured to his face. "Close your eyes."
"Uhhh…why?" Beast Boy asked, steadily getting more confused.
"You're gonna prove to me that there's nothing going on between you and Raven." She said firmly. "Now close your eyes."
I swear, girls give me such a headache. The changeling thought as he closed his eyes. He had no idea what Rose was up to, but he could hear her moving about. There was a strange sound, like clothe moving against skin. What was she doing? Pranking him? Oh, she better not towel-whip him. He hates being-
Beast Boy froze when Rose suddenly sat in his lap.
Something was off. Her scent had changed and it was making him fidgety for unknown reasons. When he felt her arms wrap around his neck, he noticed her entire body temperature had increased.
"Umm…Rose?" He said shakily as his fidget increased to a tremor. Her scent was getting stronger.
"Hmmm?" She murmured in his ear, sending goosebumps racing across his skin.
"What are you doing?" He squeaked, digging his fingers into the couch.
"Open your eyes and find out."
Beast Boy opened his eyes and forgot to breathe.
Rose was sitting in his lap in nothing but a black lacey bra and a black lacey thong.
Grinning devilishly, Rose took his hands into her own and placed them upon her chest. Her grin widened when his body reacted.
"Good boy." She said seductively. For some reason this shook him from his stupor.
"Rose, why are you doing this?" He asked, trying to tear his eyes away from her body.
"Because you're cute, I'm lonely, and you're trying to make up for ignoring me." Rose chuckled a little as she straddled him and ground herself into his lap. "Didn't we just go over this?"
"T-this is not w-what I had in mind!" The green boy stammered as she pushed herself ever closer to him.
"Why not?" Rose asked him, grabbing his chin to make him look up at her. "I'm a girl with needs, you're a guy with needs, and I have plenty of protection here of all kinds. Let's have some fun!"
"B-but we're just friends." The changeling said weakly. His brain was flip-flopping hard from his senses getting overwhelmed. How did she go from being angry to being sexual so quickly?! This isn't right, he can't do this, he couldn't-
"We can be friends with exclusive benefits." She said with a smile. "You just said yourself, there's nothing going on between you and Raven. So let's have some fun. I can teach you all kinds of things."
"B-b-but-"
"Shhh." Rose said, putting her finger on his lips and lowered her own to whisper in his ear. "It's okay, you can trust me. In fact, I'll start with something every guy enjoys. After that, I'll teach you how to please me."
Beast Boy gulped.
