Helllooo readers! Foamy here back with another chapter! This one was fun, mostly because I decided to make this one hectic as all get out. What that means is that this chapter feels 'rushed' and 'chaotic' because it happens in only a few hours, which is how I intended it.
Now for reviews!
i-scream-for-bbrae -I'm happy you enjoyed the chapter! Things are going to start looking up for everyone's favorite couple though! I just won't tell you when ;P
Bearhow- I told you I'd stick some drama in lol. Here's some more!
Walker- Guess we'll find out what he chose, huh? *snickers*
Kinggamer- Thank you! I hope you enjoy this chapter too :D
Luis519RS- Wasn't it tho? lol. I think any guy would be thrown off the sudden change in mood like that.
Rcktkid- Yer gonna love this chapter.
Hauntedpumpkin56- He gets out very carefully. *snickers*
BeastDark- thank you! I hope you enjoy this one too!
Disnerdmama- Thank you for enjoying my story! I hope you stick around for a while :D
IHaveAFanficProblom- Chill? What is this chill you speak of? Do you mean that I should do things like I did in Accidents Can Happen? :D
That was a terrible joke and I immensely regret it.
Gage- FIND OUT NEXT TIME ON ONE PIEC-*gets tackled by mods*
And now for my favorite review. This is gonna be fun. *cracks knuckles*
Chaotic Cosmic- Firstly, I want to thank you for reading, I'm happy you enjoyed it! :D Now that that's out of the way, let's address your 'suggestions':
Rose- Is precisely what I designed her to be, a book judged by it's cover. Amusingly enough, you commented on that on the chapter before I decided to drop some tidbits of info (this chapter).
Confession length- Oh, you're going to hate me. Good news is that I already have the confession scene done. Have fun guessing when I'm putting it in tho ;P
Cliche Interruption Situations- I freaking love them and won't stop putting them in until I get bored with them :P Besides, you can't hate them that much if you kept reading.
The 'Lemon' Suggestion- There is a 0.0000000002% chance that there will be lemon in this story. This is not rated M, sir, please keep that in mind. With that being said, I have no issues writing about increasing sexual tension between them and, in fact, have several more saucy moments planned out. They will push the border between T and M, but not cross it.
Emelia- Considering that she's based off my own daughter (to an extent), I think I'll put her in as much as I please ^_^b
Martin- I like Martin, he's the perfect little sidekick for Emelia.
Other- I actually had this story on hiatus for a couple of months because of writers block. As for research, I don't like giving halfass information, so I actually look things up. Which is why I know more about DC than most people. lol.
Hope you enjoy this chapter too, just remember it's deliberately hectic!
Now...on to the show! Read and review please, I love hearing from you guys and gals!
It was a beautiful Friday morning in Titan Tower. The sun was shining, it was warm outside, and there hadn't been so much as a jaywalker reported by the local police. It was shaping up to be a really nice day.
Especially for Cyborg.
"Hey sexy." The mechanical man grinned as he gazed upon the face of beauty. "How you doing?"
His grin doubled in size as he clicked a button on his arm and seductive music started playing. He grabbed his makeshift microphone and advanced on the object of his affection.
"You know Cy won't hurt you, don't ya baby cakes? I'll take real good care of ya." He cooed gently. "In fact…"
The music got louder as he started singing, swaying back and forth to the music.
We're no strangers to love
You know the rules and so do I
A full commitment's what I'm thinking of
You wouldn't get this from any other guy
I just wanna tell you how I'm feeling
Gotta make you understand
Never gonna give you up
Never gonna let you down
Never gonna run around and desert yoouu
Never gonna make you cry
Never gonna say goodbye
Never gonna tell a lie and hurt yoouuu
We've known each other for so long
Your heart's been aching but
You're too shy to say it
Inside we both know what's been going on
We know the game and we're gonna play it
And if you ask me how I'm feeling
Don't tell me you're too blind to see
Never gonna-
"And people say I'm creepy."
Cyborg shrieked and dropped his spatula, whipping around to hide his pan of bacon behind his back as his music cut off. "Raven! What the heck! Don't sneak up on me like that! I swear to God, I'm going to put a bell around your neck one of these days!"
The empath stared up at him, a mildly amused expression on her face. "I wasn't aware that coming into the kitchen for breakfast was sneaking."
He scowled. "Then what the heck were you doing?"
"Sneaking." She smirked as she moved past Cyborg and reached for her tea kettle. He rolled his eyes and muttered to himself.
"Dang hobbit-sized empath, sneaking around and ruining my good mood."
Raven smirked even more into the piece of toast she was nibbling on. Her brother had the strangest sense of humor at times. Behind her, Emelia giggled in her chair. Cyborg, still grumbling to himself, went back to making bacon and eggs.
Within minutes Raven had a hot cup of tea and two plates of food in her hands. Normally she didn't eat much for breakfast, but yesterday taught her the value of a good meal. She glanced up as the common room door opened, revealing Starfire, Martin, and Robin. The duo called out morning greetings while the boy sleepily waved at Emelia. Her mouth full of scrambled eggs, Emmy waved back.
Raven was halfway through her plate when the door opened again, revealing Beast Boy.
"Hi daddy!" Emmy called out.
He gave her a little smile, but it didn't reach his eyes. "'Morning angel."
Before Raven could greet him Cyborg whipped around and stared at the changeling, a plate of bacon in his hand. He chuckled darkly. "Check it out, BB! Its freeesh!
Beast Boy didn't even glance at his friend as he went to the fridge. "Smells like it."
Cyborg laughed. "You're darn right! And so tast- wait, what?"
"That's good bro. Just don't waste any. It'd be a shame if those animals died for nothing." The green boy replied tonelessly. Robin, Starfire, and Raven looked up from their food in surprise. Cyborg was trying to start their daily Tofu vs Meat argument and Beast Boy wasn't even attempting to participate!
"You okay BB?" Cy asked after a moment.
"Mmhmmm." The boy replied as he grabbed his box of cereal from the cabinet and set it next to the almond milk he had retrieved from the fridge. Breakfast was eaten quietly after that, the other Titans in shock over his unusual behavior. Beast Boy munched on his cereal, thinking of last night while wondering what that niggling feeling in the back of his head was, like he had forgotten something.
Raven, however, had an impeccable memory.
"Beast Boy?" She said a few minutes later, noticing his lack of attention to anything.
"…yeah?"
"Shouldn't you be packing to leave today?"
"Huh?"
"Your Comicon thing…it's this weekend." Raven said this slowly, wondering why her crush was so out of it this morning.
He had come home late last night acting quite odd. He wouldn't look at her, or anyone else, and had said very little. His aura, while shielding the bulk of his emotions, was tinged with shame, regret, and self-loathing. Something bad had obviously happened between him and Rose last night, but what it was she didn't know. She guessed they had a fight, but over what she didn't know.
The boy in question glanced at the calendar on the wall. "Oh crap. That's this weekend?"
"You forgot?" Raven asked, baffled. He had been looking forward to this for weeks, how could one fight with his girlfriend make him forget it?
He shrugged. "Yeah. We've had a lot of stuff going on lately. Guess I'll go pack."
Something about the way he said that in an apathetic tone struck an uneasy chord in Raven. "What about Rose?"
"She's…not going." He said plainly. His face was blank, set in stone, a mask of utter emotionlessness and Raven instantly hated seeing it on him.
"WHAT?Why?!" The empath almost shouted at him.
"Well…she didn't like my apology last night. Pretty much said it wasn't good enough." Beast Boy said as he got up from the kitchen table and poured out the rest of his almond milk and cereal. He rinsed the bowl out and put it in the dishwasher while Raven stared at him like he'd gone mad. Wordlessly, he left the room.
The moment the door closed the couch exploded. Starfire, who had been sitting in a recliner next to the couch and knitting, yelped and flew up into the air, starbolts in hand. Cyborg, who was midbite into a bacon sandwich, almost dropped said sandwich as he cowered behind the counter. Robin grabbed Emelia and Martin, shielding them from whatever was happening.
When the last of the fluff hit the floor everyone stared at the demoness.
"I see." Raven said monotonously to no one. "Not good enough, huh?"
"Uh…Raven?" Robin said carefully.
"I'm going out for a bit." The empath announced. She then looked at Starfire. "Please watch Emelia for me."
"But Raven, we have training-" Robin started to say.
Raven whipped around and glared at him with glowing red eyes. "I. Said. I'm. Going. Out."
Normally, the boy wonder wouldn't have even flinched in the face of her anger. But this time, something about Raven screamed bloody murder and he wanted no part of it, as brother or team leader.
"Training can wait until after Beast Boy leaves. I still need to call Hotspot anyways." Robin said carefully.
"Good." Raven said before looking at Emelia. "Be good for your aunt and uncles, okay?"
Emelia, trembling, nodded, but didn't say anything. Raven walked out moments later.
"Mommy's really mad." Emmy whispered to her surrogate uncle.
Robin couldn't agree more.
"You look bored."
"Gee, ya think?"
"Don't snap at me because you had a bad night."
Rose waved her hand dismissively. "Yeah yeah."
Jade snorted and leaned on the Hot Topic counter. Truth be told, she was just as bored as Rose was, but at the same time she and Roy weren't having any sort of problems.
The store was quiet today, as was most of the mall. It was odd since it was a Friday, but it wasn't even ten o'clock, so that was probably the reason why. Most people were out working or in school. Sometimes Jade wondered what it have been like to go to school. She'd ask Rose, but she hadn't gone either.
"What time do you get off?" She asked the white haired girl. Depending on what time that was, they could find something to do. Hopefully.
"Four." Rose sighed. "Six more hours of boredom."
"Do you have anything planned for this weekend?"
"Nope." Rose shook her head. "My weekend is free as can be."
The Vietnamese girl raised a pencil thin eyebrow. "Wait. What happened to going to that convention with Beast Boy?"
Rose huffed. "After last night? Hell no."
"Was it that bad?"
"Well, I mean, it was understandable, 'cause you know, it's Beast Boy, but really disappointing, ya know?"
"No, I don't know. Do tell." A dark voice said suddenly from right beside them. Both girls jumped in fright and whipped to the side, their hands up defensively.
Both faltered when they found Raven standing there, blank faced and as silent as death.
"Hello Raven. I didn't see you come in." Rose said slowly as a sense of trepidation came over her.
"Do not make me repeat myself." The empath said coldly.
Beast Boy sat idly on his bed, staring at his suitcase. Inside said container was several sets of decent clothes, his hairbrush, toothbrush, shampoo, body wash, deodorant, a cheap camera, and an extra roll of film.
He should have been happy, this was the first vacation he's ever gotten (even he didn't count Tokyo). A four hour drive to the convention, two days off, then four hours back home. He was about to get to listen to all his favorite music as loud as he wants, he gets to see all kinds of cosplayers, writers, comics, events, sneak peeks, new foods, and meet all kinds of people. He should have ecstatic.
And yet…he wasn't.
Last night with Rose had been a disaster. Never before in his entire life had he been so embarrassed. He felt like a failure for letting a girl down like that. And because of that, he was now going to Comicon alone. How could he screw up so bad that-
Knock knock knock
The changeling's head jerked up to look at his door. He hadn't heard anyone approach, but then again, he wasn't listening for anyone. He got up and went to the door, wondering who was looking for him before he left. Turns out, it was Robin.
"Hey man, what's up?" Beast Boy said.
"Hey man, I just wanted to check in on you, you were acting odd a bit ago." The boy wonder said carefully. He knew he had to tread softly with the changeling, who could emotionally clam up as quickly as the resident empath.
"Um…yeah, I'm okay." The green boy said evasively.
"You sure man?" Robin pressed. "If something's bothering you, I can help. Well, I can try anyways."
Beast Boy stared at his teammate, his friend, his other older brother. He and Robin had never been as close as he and Cy were, but there were things that the changeling could talk to him about. His father-son relationship with Mento was one thing they could discuss since Robin had Batman as a father figure. Another thing was instincts, Beast Boy's animal side and Robin's highly refined crime fighting instincts. Yet another thing was training, surprisingly enough. Beast Boy actually enjoyed exercising, but it was getting motivated to do it that was the issue. Robin had plenty of motivation, but he actually did not enjoy the exercise, it was something Batman had beat into him.
But could Robin, boy blunder of the romance world, help Beast Boy with his girl problems?
"Actually, Dick…" Beast Boy said slowly. "You might be able to."
Robin nodded and followed his friend into his room. Beast Boy sat on his bed while Robin grabbed his rolling chair and sat in it backwards.
"So what's going on? Is it that stuff with Rose?" The caped crusader asked, leaning onto the headrest.
"Yeah." Beast Boy nodded.
"So what happened?"
"We sort of…had a disagreement. And then she demanded a rather unusual apology. And now… I keep asking myself if I did the right thing."
Robin raised an eyebrow.
Beast Boy took a deep breath and started telling his story.
Rose noticed Jade inching away and frowned. Damn traitor. Carefully setting her hands in a nonaggressive manner on the counter, she spoke to Raven.
"Well, Beast Boy came over last night and apologized for not letting me know what was going on, leaving me to worry about him instead. It honestly wasn't enough for me, so I decided that I wanted him to sleep with me in exchange for my forgiveness."
There was a long silence that followed that statement. Raven said not a single word, nor did she move. Just as the other girls began to think she had turned to stone, she spoke one word.
"And?"
Rose blinked in confusion. "And what?"
Raven gritted her teeth and glared at her. "Did you accept his apology after that?"
Rose and Jade exchanged glances, wondering just how Raven would react to the answer.
"I accepted his apology, yes…but he didn't put his heart into it and I told him that." Rose said slowly. "I also told him when he was ready to give me a proper apology, I'll be ready for it."
"And this supposed improper apology justifies not going to that event with him? Something that he's been looking forward to for weeks? He didn't ask Cyborg, his best friend and brother, to go with him, he asked you." Raven spat, no venom spared in her tone. She was quite clearly angry.
Rose, however, wasn't backing down. "You're damned right! I won't take a halfass I'm Sorry from anybody! I don't give a damn who it is. I don't halfass my apologies and want the same respect in return."
"Does it not occur to you that he wasn't ready for an intimate relationship?" Raven hissed, the lights in the mall flickering in tune with her fluctuating powers.
"Oh, come on! He's a guy! They're always thinking of sex!" Rose spat back.
"Do not confuse Beast Boy with someone who thinks only of pleasuring their loins." Raven snapped. "I can understand and sympathize with wanting a proper apology. Azar knows I've demanded my fair share of them from Beast Boy for his irritating antics over the years. But forcing him into something he didn't want then telling him it wasn't good enough is very much going over the line. And to add salt to the wound, you refuse to go with him on the very trip he's been eagerly wanting to go on with you."
"I'm not changing my mind." Rose said firmly, the anger in her tone disappearing. She could tell she was pushing Raven a little too hard, so she needed to back off a bit.
Raven's eyes flashed red. "You're just a petty little bitch, aren't you?"
Rose's jaw dropped. "Did you just-"
"I didn't stutter." The red eyed Raven growled. All around her the shadows deepens into pitch black nothingness and outside the store seemed to fade into darkness.
Holy hell, I need to defuse this fast! But how? Rose thought as she backpedaled away from the furious demoness. She darted around the counter and headed for the back of the store. Raven swept up and over all of the racks of clothing and apparel, all of it disappearing into her shadowy cloak. Rose slammed into the office door and started pounding on it, hoping her boss wasn't napping as per his usual routine. She desperately with she had at least something to defend herself with in case-
She gasped as ice-cold shadows wrapped around her and pulled her in close to the demoness. A band of shadow stretched over her mouth, effectively muting her as she came face to face with Raven.
"Let me make something absolutely clear, Rose." The enraged empath hissed. "While I do not approve of premarital relations in such a way, I had decided to reserve my judgement of you. All humans have some guilty pleasure. If yours is explicit activities, mine is reading. That being said, you should never make your partner do something they don't want to do. It goes without saying that Beast Boy is one of the sweetest, most caring people on the planet. He puts his heart into every interaction he has with the people he cares about, including you. You have disrespected him by being selfish and left him ashamed and embarrassed of his own actions over so trivial a subject. We're superheroes, you ignorant little trollop, bad things happen to us all the time. If you ever hurt him like that again, if you ever again tell him something he does isn't good enough, I will do things to you that will make Slade green with envy. Do you understand me? It will be the last thing you do."
Rose nodded fearfully. It was all she could do.
Raven dropped her and disappeared into the darkness. The lights returned to normal and the shadows disappeared. The store was, for lack of a better phrase, back to normal.
The white haired girl sat there shivering, wrapping her arms around herself as she tried to stop shaking.
"That was…pleasant." Jade said as she reappeared.
"Like mother like daughter." Rose muttered as her friend helped her up.
"Antagonizing Raven wasn't part of the plan." Jade commented.
"I know."
"Neither was you getting involved with Beast Boy."
"I knoooow."
"We were only supposed to get them to-"
"I know!" Rose snapped. "I made the damned plan, I know what's going on!"
Jade stared at her. "Then why did you inject yourself into their lives?"
"Beast Boy…is cute and a lot of fun." Rose said defensively. "What's the harm in having some fun with-"
"He can't replace Eddie." Jade said softly. "You can talk to him like he's Eddie, you can hang out with him like he's Eddie, you could have sex with him like he's Eddie…but he's not Eddie. He never will be."
Rose visibly tensed for a long moment before letting out a sigh. "Yeah, I know."
"Then why do you keep torturing yourself by spending time with Beast Boy when we're supposed to get him and Raven to-?"
"I don't know." Rose said with another sigh and a shrug. "I was lonely. It sounded like a good idea to kill time with while waiting for Raven to open up. Well, it did until Raven she came around a lot sooner than expected."
Jade snorted. "It was a stupid idea to begin with. At this rate you'll be dead before the plan is completed. Quit pissing Raven off and quit fooling around with Beast Boy."
"Yeah…okay." Rose mumbled. It occurred to her that Terra was the only other person Raven had ever threatened to kill.
And that was over Beast Boy too.
The thought made her shiver again and it was most certainly not from the cold.
"You think she'd go with him to the convention?" Jade asked suddenly.
Rose raised an eyebrow and shook her head. "What? Raven the introvert going to a place full of fanatical fan boys and lifeless, overly hormonal nerds? No way in hell."
"…and then I came home." Beast Boy said, laying back on his bed.
Robin pursed his lips in thought for a long moment before speaking slowly. "You know, Beast Boy…I'm not really sure of what to say. I've never actually heard of something like this going on."
The changeling sighed. "I figured so. Thanks for listening though."
"Any time, BB." Robin said as he stood up. "And for what it's worth…I think you did the right thing."
Beast Boy's head jerked up. "Really?"
The caped crusader nodded. "You were in a tight place, yeah, but you made the right choice. If it was me, I'm not sure what I would have done "
Beast Boy chuckled. "Don't lie, Rob. You'd have picked Star without missing a beat."
Robin chuckled too. "Ah, well, great minds think alike."
Within a few minutes both boys were feeling better; Beast Boy because Robin agreed with his decision and Robin because he got to help Beast Boy. The changeling grabbed his suitcase and they headed to the common room. Beast Boy figured he might as well leave, that way he can get his room early and look around town a bit before bed. Robin made him swear up and down that he'd bring souvenirs back.
When they got to the common room, they found Emelia reading a Dr. Seuss book to Martin while Cyborg was playing a racing game. It made Beast Boy smile. Emmy was one smart cookie, being able to read a book on her own already. Well, it was a kid's book, but it still counted.
"Hi daddy!" Emmy called out as he approached, bag in hand. "You're leaving already?"
"Yeah, it's a long drive there." Beast Boy said as he kissed his daughters head. "Might as well do it while its daylight. Where's mama?"
Emelia squinted her eyes in thought. "She's…right there!"
Beast Boy and Robin followed her gesture to outside the window, where Raven was flying up. She phased through the glass and landed in front of them.
"Leaving already?" She asked, looking at Beast Boy.
He cast his eyes to the floor and nodded. "Yeah, daylight is better for driving."
"Where'd you go?" Robin asked Raven.
"To blow off some steam." Raven replied monotonously. In the back of her head, Anger and Jealousy snickered darkly. Together they had temporarily overwhelmed Raven as a whole and made her go have a nice little 'chat' with a certain white haired girl. Raven was mollified that they had done it, but also pleased that the girl would be less likely to emotionally damage her crush furthermore. She had no idea if she did the right thing though.
Beast Boy and Robin exchanged confused glances, which she pointedly ignored. Cyborg called out to the changeling, who stepped over to talk to him. Robin joined the conversation, leaving Raven lost in thought as Starfire entered the room.
How can I make Garfield feel better? She asked herself. He's cheered up since I left, but he isn't back to his normal self.
Ask him to borrow a game while he's gone? Knowledge suggested.
We could give him a hug, he likes those. Timid said quietly.
We could flash him again. Rude chuckled.
Let's play with him! Happy called out.
Let's mount Rose's head on a pike and put it outside his door! Anger offered.
We should tell him that Rose is an unappreciative girl who doesn't recognize his worth. Affection murmured.
I say we kiss him and tell him he's ours, NOT Rose's. Jealousy growled.
Pft, you're all crazy. Brave snorted. We should go with him to Comicon.
There was dead silence in Raven's mind for five heartbeats.
And then Timid spoke.
W-we can't do that! She cried out. He invited Rose to go with him!
And your point is…? Brave asked contemptuously.
Rose is his girlfriend, she should-
TWACK
Raven suddenly found herself without any sense of fear, nervousness, or timidity.
It was quite concerning.
What happened to Timid? She called out in her mind.
...she tripped? Brave offered helpfully.
On what?!
Uh…a spider?
Raven frowned. A spider? Really?
It was a big spider. Happy responded cheerfully.
Raven had no time to demand answers before a sudden change overcame her once more. She walked over to where to boys were talking and pointed at Beast Boy.
"You." She said. "Don't move."
"Bwah?" The startled boy babbled.
Raven turned to Robin. "Call Argent and have her come too."
Robin gaped at her, bewildered. "What? Why?"
"Because Emelia and I are going with Garfield." Raven said matter-of-factly. All three boys stared at her, slack jawed. When no one argued, Raven nodded and walked off. "I'm going to pack our bags. Give me a few minutes."
The door shut behind her, leaving three stunned young men, two blissfully unaware children, and one bewildered alien.
"Did she just call you by your name?!" Cyborg exclaimed.
"What just happened?" Beast Boy asked in a hushed whisper.
"When you find out, tell me, because I sure as heck have no idea." Robin responded.
"Beloved, for what reason did friend Raven have such a grin of smugness on her face for?" Starfire asked as she gazed after the empath.
Raven was agitated. Very agitated.
On one hand, she was fairly upset Beast Boy for engaging in premarital sex with Rose.
On the other hand, she knew that it was a norm for couples to do so.
It was very much a conflicting topic for her. She didn't believe in premarital sex, but then again she wasn't even supposed to live this long, let alone developed feelings for anyone. But she wasn't Beast Boy either. She understood a certain degree of the things he felt, but much he had always kept hidden from her. She had never considered physical desire to be something strong enough to influence ones' line of thinking, but then again, she spent all of her youth and half her teens suppressing everything. So it was reasonable to believe Rose when she said he was a physically affectionate person. He did have no issues invading her personal space, after all. That means that in a relationship, he could want physical intimacy.
Raven didn't know if she could handle that.
Can you touch him?
Rose's words echoed in her mind, further agitating the empath. She didn't know and that made her even more agitated. How could she connect with him if she couldn't touch him?
By becoming comfortable being close to him and touching him. Knowledge said quietly.
Because Timid still hadn't woken up (a strange concept, she mused) she agreed with that sentiment. She did need to learn how be able to tolerate physical contact for prolonged periods. Were the gray emoticlone awake, she would point out that doing so would be wrong, Rose is his girlfriend, she is the one that can touch him, not Raven. But then again, Rose herself had said their relationship was strictly platonic to begin with. And then there was Garfield's 'no kissing' mentality. That made little sense when combined with today's news.
They do seem to have a bit of a strange relationship though. Knowledge murmured. Perhaps there's something we're missing in this equation? After all, she was quite insistent that we listen to Garfield's heartbeat. And she didn't seem to care that we spend time with him. She didn't care that we slept next to him. She seemingly didn't mind him abandoning her to save us that time in the park. What kind of girlfriend doesn't care if her boyfriend is so close to another girl? For that matter, she made a point to ask if we could touch him. It's almost as if she wants us with Garfield over herself.
Well, that's stupid. Rude snorted.
Agreed. Knowledge nodded. We need more information. We'll use this trip to get closer to Garfield. Perhaps his relationship with Rose isn't as stable as it seems.
I don't care about the info. Happy said suddenly. Raven could feel her other emotions regard the pink one in shock. What? I just want him to be happy. He makes me happy, ya know. And he won't be happy if he goes alone. So I want to go with him.
The rest of her emotions, seeing the rare wisdom that came out of the pink emotion, became quiet and left Raven alone with that warm fuzzy feeling in her heart. She was going to get to spend a couple of days with just Garfield and Emelia. A real family trip. A family trip. She had something she had never even thought of dreaming of now and it was an incredible feeling. The thought washed away all of her negative feelings instantly. She was going to get to spend time with a boy that she knew cared for her, hopefully as more than friends. Raven could feel Affection and Happy practically bouncing around in her head.
This was what she needed to focus on, the now, not the later. Later as in when she sat down at finished thinking about whether or not she was mad at Beast Boy for what he did with Rose.
The empath practically flitted around her room as she finished packing her and Emelia's bags. She paused for a moment, her bliss interrupted by the sight of her long sleeved dark green striped shirt, the one Jinx had gotten her. Garfield had gawked, literally awestruck, at the sight of her wearing it. It had made her feel attractive and a part of her longed for him to look at her like that again.
Kinda like he did in her dream. She couldn't help but blush a little.
This reminded her that he usually slept shirtless. Her blush darkened at the thought of waking up to seeing that.
Maybe we can steal another kiss? Affection asked hopefully.
Raven licked her lips. It wasn't a bad idea.
I'll think about it. She told the purple emoticlone, who became quite happy. Raven smiled. Who knew she liked kissing?
We steal him from Rose and we can have more than kisses. An unknown voice in her mind whispered tantalizingly.
Raven stopped as if she had hit a brick wall, her hand scant inches from the door panel. Who said that?
Said what? Several of her emoticlones responded, genuinely confused. Raven shook her head, dismissing the conversation. She'd figure it out later. For now, she had to wash up Emelia and deal with an irate Robin.
Beast Boy was confused.
Deeply, terribly, utterly, unexplainably confused.
Raven was going with him to Comicon.
And he had no idea why.
He stood in the garage, leaning against the hood of his car. He had already tossed his suitcase in the trunk and was presently waiting on Raven and Emelia.
He replayed the conversation in the common room in his head over and over again, trying to figure out where and how the violet haired girl had come to the conclusion that she was going with him. Why the heck would she want to go anyways? She doesn't like comics or games or crowded places or cosplaying. Granted, neither did Rose, but she was going to go because he asked her to.
Why was Raven going?
Then sound of voices in the hallway caught his attention.
"Raven, seriously, you can't just go make a decision like that without letting me know first." Robin said sternly.
"Robin, as much as I respect you as a leader and care for you as my brother, you are not a father figure to me and thus posses zero say in decisions like this, not that I would even listen to my own father." Raven said firmly.
"But why, Raven? You never done anything like this before. You've never just had any spontaneous ideas like this, never jumped on someone else's bandwagon, certainly not Beast Boy's. Just tell me…why?" The boy wonder said quietly. Beast Boy snuck up close to the door to hear her answer.
"Because I think what Rose did wasn't right. She hurt him, Richard. When I saw him this morning and he told us what happened, I had a flashback of what happened with Terra." Raven said in a whisper. "I don't want to see him like that again. Not now, not ever. Especially over some girl that told him something he did wasn't good enough."
Robin was thoughtful for a moment. "Okay…I can understand that. But why go with him?"
Raven spoke softly. "He's never told anybody, but he really hates being alone. He's kept me from being alone for years. I can't just ignore this situation. It means too much to him."
The boy wonder hesitated. "Are you sure you can handle being around just him for a couple of days? I mean, I know you're getting along, but you still argue from time to time. Not mention being in a huge, crowded place is something you tend to avoid."
"I am going to try, for his sake."
"Why?" The boy wonder pressed.
"Because I want to." Raven said simply, leaving him to infer whatever he wanted.
When Raven opened the door to the garage and left Robin behind, she found Beast Boy leaning against his car, a mildly dazed air about him. His eyes were distant at first, but snapped to her as she stepped through the doorway, Emelia trailing behind her with a little purple rolling suitcase. Raven's own bag was floating in the air behind her.
Once again, amethyst met emerald.
"Hey." Beast Boy said softly.
"Hi." Raven replied.
"You, uh…sure you wanna go?" He asked quietly, a very tiny grin tugging at his lips. Raven felt her own upturn slightly.
"Yes, I'm sure." She said, her tone turning teasing as she kept speaking. "We both know trouble follows you like lightning follows thunder- both figuratively and literally."
The changeling shrugged and grinned. "You know me Rae, I'm just a rapscallion."
"Oohh, there's a big word. Did Cyborg teach you that one?" Raven chuckled as she loaded her and Emelia's luggage in the trunk.
"Nope! Fortune cookie!" He laughed.
"You can read?!" The empath said with mock astonishment as she buckled her daughter into the car.
Beast Boy shook his head. "Nah, but I'm realm good at pretendin'!"
Raven turned and looked at him, her eyebrow raised. Beast Boy realized that he might just be treading in dangerous waters. He couldn't help it though, he was too giddy now. Hearing that Raven was going just for him had put him on Cloud 9.
He gave her a cheeky, toothy grin, to which she rolled her eyes. Raven closed Emelia's door and got in the front passenger side, buckling in. Beast Boy had to stop himself from literally jumping into his vehicle at the thought of not only not going to Comicon alone, but having Raven going too. Emelia was just icing on the cake!
"What are you so cheery about?" Raven asked as he got in, even though her eyes said she already knew.
He gave her another smile. "Ah, well, you know…its our first family vacation!"
"Mmmhmmm." The empath murmured.
They both knew that wasn't what he was smiling about.
"Um…where are we going?" Emelia asked. The poor girl had no idea what was going on right now, other than the fact that both if her patents where ridiculously happy. That, and that she would be once again separated from Martin, which wasn't a pleasant thought.
"To Comicon!" Her daddy replied as he turned the car on. Emelia couldn't see her mommy, but knew she was smiling.
"What's that?"
"It's a big place with lots of video games, comic books, and really cool people!" Beast Boy said as he backed the car up and pulled into the tunnel below the bay surrounding Titan Tower.
Emelia spent a few minutes thinking before asking one more question. "Mommy, why are we going with daddy? I thought you don't like that stuff?"
"We're going so that daddy won't be alone." Raven said softly. She knew both Garfield and Emelia heard her, so she kept her eyes planted outside the moving vehicle.
As she felt the happiness pour off of her crush, she had but one thought, on a slightly unrelated matter.
I hope there's no traffic…
A/N: I will spend the rest of my life laughing about the fact that I Rick Rolled everyone who read this story and you all walked right into it.
