Disclaimer: I own neither the characters nor the setting. I wouldn't mind owning Titan's Tower...but that's beside the point! Just, uh, don't sue me.
CLOSER
Gift
The blue jeans Raven wore were too loose. She dragged them up, and gave it up as a lost cause when they fell low around her hips again. She tugged back down the baggy gray sweatshirt she'd found in the back of the garage and leaned over again to furiously scrub at the windshield of Cyborg's "baby".
The car's hood was already so lustrous she could actually see her reflection now. She was surprised to see her own deep scowl. She worked to smooth it from her face and took a deep breath in, concentrating on the fresh scent of soap, the sharp underlying hint of gasoline that permeated the garage. She was overreacting, upset over nothing. Perhaps that was what disturbed her the most about that afternoon.
She realized she'd paused, letting the sponge drip uselessly into the bucket in front of her. She began to work the dirt from the side mirror, giving into the rare need to distract herself rather than reflect.
The day the other Titans had first seen the new, improved T-Car she'd helped Cyborg build, Starfire had squealed and gushed praise over how nice it looked, while Robin had just grinned wide, saying, "Good work." Beast Boy had pretended to be distracted from any admiration of the car by his own reflection in the side mirrors. It was just like him, that self centered—
She noticed a movement from the corner of her eye and raised her head.
"Um, hey?" Speak of the devil.
"What?" she snapped. She succeeded in hiding her surprise at Beast Boy's sudden appearance.
He, on the other hand, visibly flinched at her tone. "I just wanted to apologize. I shouldn't have, ah, assumed—"
"No, I should apologize. I'm the one who 'forgot' your present."
Beast Boy rubbed the back of his head self-consciously. "Heh, yeah, about that..."
#
"Happy birthday, Beast Boy! I am so pleased to celebrate this joyous occasion with you once again! Perhaps you will allow me to recite The Poem of Joyous Occasions for all of you this year?"
"Maybe later, Star. Um, when we have a few spare hours. Hey, don't you want us to open presents first?" Beast Boy injected an extra burst of enthusiasm into this last suggestion, trying to avert her attention.
The long winded poem she was no doubt ready to spew out at any second now probably was really interesting, if only he could understand Tamaranean. And if he could sit still for all five and a half hours of it. And if he could not be distracted or permanently wounded. There was a part about two hours in that Starfire called "traditional," where she would act out what was apparently an ancient and epic battle by executing an equally epic beatdown on the main celebrant of the occasion. Which in this case would be Beast Boy. He'd seen what Robin got for indulging Starfire on his own birthday, letting her act out what she claimed was "merely a pantomime that especially entertained the children on my home planet—nothing close to a true duel between Tameraneans, I assure you!" Robin was a tough dude, but Beast Boy noticed the way Robin still winced and subtly shifted into a defensive stance when he heard Starfire attempt to recite the opening lines.
The other Titans had learned their lesson too, and nodded with equal enthusiasm at Beast Boy's suggestion.
"Oh yes! I request that you open mine first, Beast Boy. I hope you like it." Starfire smiled hopefully as Beast Boy picked out a present from the small table in front of him. It was easy to find, diligently wrapped in bright pink and purple wallpaper.
Beast Boy eyed the size of it, impressed. "This has got to be at least three feet tall! Hey...is this why there's a chunk of wallpaper missing from the bathroom wall?" Starfire looked a little hunted, but Beast Boy shrugged and tore the paper off with glee. Then he looked at the large object in his arms. "Wow. It's a giant green...teddy bear?"
Starfire giggled. "Beast Boy! It is you! I crafted it myself, into the most noble animal form I could think of, of course." The Titans all eyed it dubiously. Beast Boy hoped they were all just as unsure whether it was Starfire's very disturbing take on an earth animal, or an accurate likeness of a very disturbing Tameranean animal. Beast Boy wasn't about to hazard a guess. But Starfire's expression grew concerned. "Do you not like it?"
Beast Boy leapt up to give her a huge hug to reassure her. "Of course I like it!" Starfire spun him once in the air before depositing him back onto the couch where he sprawled gracelessly. He grabbed for the present again. He had no idea what it was, but he had to give it to Star, she had picked the exact right shade of green for its fur. "How could I not like it? It's me, isn't it?"
He grinned as Cyborg laughed, "I should've gotten you a mirror for your birthday!"
"Hey, not too late. As long as it's not like Raven's mirror." He hugged what he was going to keep calling a "teddy bear" to himself and pretended to shiver in fear. Huh. The bear was lumpier than any bears he'd ever seen (or transformed into), and seemed to have more eyes than he was used to bears having, but it actually was really soft and cuddly.
Raven raised an eyebrow. "Beast Boy, if you had a mirror like mine, it would be empty."
Starfire and Robin looked at each other, vaguely confused. "Am I missing something?" asked Robin, but Cyborg was snickering.
When the joke sunk in for Beast Boy, his jaw dropped in indignation and Cyborg finally burst out laughing. Beast Boy made his fluffy green bear shake its misshapen head at her in grave disapproval.
"Party foul, Raven! It's my birthday, you're supposed to be nice to me, remember?"
"I'm sorry, Beast Boy. It must have slipped my mind what day it was," Raven deadpanned as she eyed the riot of streamers and balloons and the sparkling "HAPPY BIRTHDAY BB" sign stretched across the window, courtesy of Starfire.
Beat Boy crossed his arms, pretending to act offended. "I'll forgive you. But you'd better have a good present!"
Robin raised a finger. "Seriously, is anybody going to explain what mirror—"
Cyborg only patted him on the back. "Trust me, buddy, it's for the best."
Raven was shaking her head. "Sorry, Beast Boy. I ordered it, but it hasn't come yet."
"Oh...you really did forget," Beast Boy blurted, then regretted it. He covered it up with a shrug and tried not to let his face fall. "Don't worry about it, I forget stuff all the time."
Raven blinked at him. "Beast Boy, didn't I just say it hasn't come in the mail yet?"
He waved his hand in a dismissing manner. ""No, I know what you mean." He blindly reached for the next present as he tried to gloss over whatever hurt he was feeling. It wasn't a big deal. It wasn't even like he and Raven were that close. But she didn't have to pretend she didn't forget. That stung a little. "It's a good excuse, but seriously, I really don't mind."
Beast Boy became aware of a growing tension in the room as Starfire put a hand on Raven's shoulder, which Raven shook off. "Do you really think I'd lie? About this? Don't you know me better than that?" Her voice had risen, just a little bit.
He raised his hands. "No! I just meant—all I'm saying is that it would be fine—I didn't really expect you to remember..."
A glass on the table started to glow black, but she glanced at it and quickly regained control. "I can't believe this. Not only do you think I'd manage to forget your birthday when you've been talking about it nonstop for weeks, but you think I'd lie about it." She stopped abruptly. Then she stated calmly, "I'm not going to waste time with this discussion. It's trivial and obviously going nowhere. I'll be in my room."
Everyone stared as Raven turned on her heel and strode out of the room. Beast Boy wasn't even sure when he had stood up, but when he turned, swallowing as the door slammed, he was face to face with a frowning Robin. "You should apologize," Robin said.
"What? She's the one who forgot my birthday! All I was doing was trying to tell her it was okay!"
Robin sighed. "You can't make assumptions like that. Can you really say you set aside your feelings just now, and even stopped for a second to consider if Raven was telling the truth?"
Starfire nodded, adding, "You two must make amends. Raven may not always express it, but she cares about us. More than we know, I am sure of it. I believe it hurt her that you did not believe her."
Beast Boy took a step back, folding his arms and wishing a little that he hadn't put down his comforting fuzzy bear. "Can't we just finish opening presents? I feel...I don't want to think about this right now."
Cyborg put his arm around Beast Boy. "You know that she's right, B. We're a team, and we need to act like it. If we can't trust each other in our own house, how can we do it when our lives are on the line?"
He thought he'd been trying hard to be Raven's friend. But he'd been so used to running up against brick walls when he tried, that maybe he hadn't been trusting her to be his friend back. He felt shaken and guilty, sitting back on the couch when he didn't know what else to do. He sighed resignedly at their looks. "Fine. I'll talk to her...later."
The door buzzed, and as the team looked up, he used the opportunity to grab the stuffed bear with one arm after all.
"Mail," said Cyborg. "I'll get it."
"Ever wonder how the mail guy gets our mail here? Does the postal service have boats, or what?" asked Beast Boy, trying to distract himself. Robin squinted, pulling out an electronic pad and beginning to mutter something about security leaks.
Cyborg returned moments later with an armful of envelopes and packages. "I hate fan mail," he grunted from behind the pile. Then he unceremoniously dumped the presents and birthday cards into Beast Boy's lap. It seemed like every person in Jump City had remembered his birthday.
"Sweet!" He dug in, hastily ripping out cards from envelopes and shaking them out. They got plenty of fan mail all year round, and sometimes fans put little snacks, presents, or even gift cards inside. A stick of gum dropped out of a card from "Maria, age 5", who had also drawn an awesome doodle of Beast Boy, as a dragon, fighting another dragon. He put the card aside as a favorite, popped the gum in his mouth, and moved on to the packages. But he frowned as he glanced at the first. "This isn't for me, it's for Raven."
Robin had put aside his pad to lean over Beast Boy's shoulder, and now took the opportunity to point out, "It's FROM Raven."
There on the package was a label, clearly reading:
"To be delivered to Titans Tower-
From: Raven
To: Beast Boy"
"Oh, no. It's a bomb. She sent me a bomb. Or a wolverine. She sent me a wolverine in a box to kill me! She hates me."
Cyborg could only really roll one eye, but it got the message across. "You just really wanted a wolverine for your birthday." Beast Boy couldn't deny it. They were so cute yet so dangerous. How could he not want to hang out with one? "Stop it. It's not a wolverine. Or anything life threatening."
All the same, Beast Boy was hesitant opening it. He tore the tape off and lifted the lid a fraction. He peeked in and his eyes widened. He threw open the box and snatched out its contents. "It's...it's Samurai Saga! This game isn't even on pre-order yet! Holy...I can't believe it!" Then he smacked his forehead against the game. "I should apologize before we can start playing this, shouldn't I?"
Starfire plucked the game from his hands. "Good, you have seen the error of your ways. Now go say you are sorry!"
Beast Boy grabbed the game back and clutched it to his chest protectively. "I'm going," he muttered, and stalked up to Raven's room. But when he knocked, there was no answer. "Raven? Raven! Come on, you can't ignore me forever!" He started to open the door, but remembered what had happened last time he'd entered uninvited, and thought better of it. He turned back for the living room, but on his way he noticed the door to the garage had been left open. He bit his lip and ducked in, quietly descending the steps and half-hoping no one was there. Then he froze.
There was a stranger in the garage. A stranger who was washing their car, oddly enough. The person's back was to him, and he eyed the figure suspiciously. She was wearing an overlarge sweatshirt, and jeans that had seen better days.
She also had dark hair with a distinctly purple tinge.
Beast Boy tried to wrap his mind around Raven in anything other than her uniform, such a strange concept to him that he'd barely recognized her. He stepped forward but didn't say anything, not sure he wanted to make his presence known while she was still mad. Apparently she was taking it out on the car, scrubbing so hard with the soapy sponge in her hand that he was almost surprised it didn't leave marks. Beast Boy debated just turning back and waiting until she cooled off a little.
He could see her profile, her hair pulled back into a short, messy ponytail, exposing her slender neck. He blinked as she leaned forward to wipe the middle of the windshield, the sweatshirt lifting. The ripped jeans she wore were slung low on her hips, and for a second it was like seeing double—this was Raven, his scary powerful, sullen, sarcastic teammate. But in that moment she looked like any other girl. One he'd try to ask out for pizza, maybe, if he saw her outside the Tower.
She scowled into the side mirror of the car, rubbing at it with the sponge, and he grinned to himself as she suddenly looked like the Raven he knew again. But he couldn't unsee the graceful sweep of her neck, or—or unthink that thing about asking her out for pizza—wait, what?
He shook his head hard. Those were new thoughts. Bad thoughts. Thoughts Raven would most likely throw him into a black hole for, if she found out about them. Not that she could find out what his thoughts were. But now that he thought about it, she did have powers that had to do with minds. Ones he wasn't totally clear on, but knowing Raven, were pretty powerful. Oh, no. He would definitely have to ask her about that.
She turned, having apparently noticed him shaking his head violently as he had tried to rid himself of his new, unexpected thoughts about Raven and pizza.
"Um. Hey?" Might as well try act like he hadn't been watching her for the last few minutes.
"What?" she snapped. He flinched, feeling like she had read his mind. He already had enough to answer for without adding whatever that train of thought had just been on top of it.
"I just wanted to apologize...I shouldn't have, ah, assumed—"
"No, I should apologize. I'm the one who 'forgot' your present."
Beast Boy rubbed the back of his head self-consciously. "Heh, yeah, about that...I just got it in the mail a few minutes ago."
"Really." Was there a hint of smugness in her voice?
"Yeah. I feel so stupid." She opened her mouth, but he interrupted. "Okay, okay, I set myself up for that, but I'm trying to apologize here!"
Raven dropped the sponge into the bucket with a wet splash and put her dripping hands on her hips. "I'm still waiting for that part, aren't I?"
"I acted like a jerk. I don't know why. Or, okay, I know why. You're my teammate, and that's really important to me. But I also want us to be friends, you know? And I guess I get worried that you don't, um, as much. Which is fine. But when I thought you forgot my birthday, I guess I...had been afraid that would happen. And I listened to my fears instead of listening to you. I'm sorry."
She pursed her lips, then seemed to come to some kind of conclusion. "Okay. I guess I know a little about giving into your fears too. I'm sorry for letting my emotions get out of hand earlier."
"I'm actually kind of glad you did. I know you don't like sharing your emotions and all, but I hope, if I ever hurt your feelings again—not that that's the plan!—but, if I do. You can tell me. I promise to actually listen, if...you'll let me?"
Raven's hands crept up to her hood, like she was considering pulling it up, but she only pulled at the hoodie strings. "Thanks," she said, after a pause. "I'll be sure to keep you updated on my fragile and delicate emotional states," she added.
Beast Boy was pretty sure it was meant to be sarcastic, but he kind of hoped she was being sincere. If anyone could use a monitor for her emotions, it was probably Raven. But he'd just have to trust her to let him know. He fiddled with the box in his hands, searching for a reply until he remembered what he was even holding.
"Oh! Yeah! I opened the present. It was awesome. It was amazing! How did you know I wanted this game? How did you know it even existed? And more importantly, how did you get a hold of it? It's not coming out until this fall!"
"You and Cyborg haven't stopped mentioning that game since the last one came out."
"Aw, you listened."
"When someone keeps repeating something over and over, it does get beaten into your brain at some point. There's this fan who writes to me sometimes, asking about Azarathian meditation techniques for another game she's designing. Zen Zeal?"
"Oh my god. You talked to the the designer of theKung Fu Karate Ninjutsu Master series?" Beast Boy squeaked. "Oh my GOD, the next one is called Zen Zeal?!"
"Apparently. I told her that she should find a better name. And that the mixture of so many Eastern practices from completely different cultures in those games is nonsensical at best."
Beast Boy was speechless, busy inspecting the game in his hand. A signature he hadn't even noticed in his excitement was scrawled across the cover, just barely recognizable as the name of his favorite game's creator. He squeaked again.
"She did mention it's a sequel to this game, the one you wanted. I asked if she had any done, and if she could send it if she did. I told her you wanted it and she was more than happy to. She says she loves your work."
"She loves my work. She—you—thank you!" He threw his arms around Raven, but withdrew immediately when he felt her stiffen. "Oh. Ha. Sorry. I mean, sorry again. Are we, you know...are we cool now?"
Raven took the video game from his hands and studied the back of the box. "I don't know, maybe I should just send this back to Soniya. After all, you seemed perfectly willing to accept you weren't getting a present from me, weren't you?"
"Whoa, let's not get drastic!" He made a swipe for the box, and she smirked as she held up the box just out of Beast Boy's reach.
"Maybe I should do this with your games more often. It's surprisingly effective."
"Raven!" He was reduced to jumping up and down, trying to snatch the game from her outstretched hand, but though she was only a little taller, it was enough. But then...Raven's eyes traveled upwards as she watched him morph into a giraffe, and he neatly plucked the box from her fingers. He shrank down again. "Cheap shots at my height, not very fair, Rae," he said when he'd pulled the box from between his teeth.
"Oh, fine. And yes, we're...cool," she said, rolling her eyes as she used the term.
Beast Boy grinned. "You want to head upstairs? Or, uh, do you have to finish with this?" he asked, waving at Cyborg's soapy car.
"I'm done cleaning. I just needed a distraction," she admitted. "I'll dry it, and get out of these old clothes."
"I didn't even know you owned any clothes other than your uniform!"
She looked down at the outfit. "Oh, these aren't mine. Remember that dumb undercover mission Robin made us go on?"
Beast Boy laughed out loud. "Is that the hoodie Cyborg had to wear? I almost blew the whole mission laughing at him. He looked like a Dementor with that hood covering his whole face. No offense," he said, gesturing at Raven's blue cloak, which he noticed puddle in the corner.
Raven raised an eyebrow. "I think both Dementors and I do take offense. We bump into far fewer things than he did."
"He couldn't see a thing! Cy's developing some kind of hologram just because it pissed him off so much." He grabbed a rag from the shelf. "Here, let's get this thing dried off."
"It's fine," said Raven, but he was already wiping down the hood. He tried his best to look industrious, but watched her from the corner of his eye as she hesitated, then finally reached for another dry rag and joined him.
They wiped the car off in what might have been considered an easy silence, but for one question Beast Boy couldn't help but ask.
"Raven? Can you read minds?"
She narrowed her eyes at him, but answered, "I'm an empath, not a telepath."
He wasn't one hundred percent positive what the difference meant. But from the context, he decided it must mean that she couldn't read minds. "Huh. Um, good."
They had finished drying just when they heard Starfire's voice call down to them. "Beast Boy! Raven! Are you down there?"
"Yeah, Star, we're right here!"
"Have you two reconciled? If so, you must come back up to finish opening your presents! The cake is ready as well!"
Raven called, "We'll be right up. Just give me one minute."
"All right!"
Raven was tugging at the hem of the gray sweatshirt, pulling it over her head. Beast Boy felt suddenly flustered, breathing a small sigh of relief when he realized she had her usual uniform on underneath, doubly glad she couldn't read minds. She pulled off the jeans threw the old clothes a box on the shelf.
Beast Boy grabbed her cloak from the corner and Raven took it from his hands, swinging it around her shoulders. "Let's go."
Beast Boy watched her head for the door. He felt like he'd come into the garage earlier with so many questions about his and Raven's friendship, but was somehow he was leaving with even more.
Cyborg's shout floated down the stairs. "Come on, B! I want some cake!"
Raven turned on the stairs to check if he was coming, and surprised him by giving him a small smile. "Come on, before he eats it all," she said, and swept up the stairs.
"I get the first piece!" Beast Boy shouted back to Cyborg, and followed her rustling cloak back up to the Tower.