Hello fellow readers. I'm back! This chapter would have been up the ninth, had it not been for my mother. It would have been up on the tenth, had it not been for my mother. But luckily, I finished it today, and I bring you another chapter of Wishing. After you read it, please read the author's notes at the end. Thank you, and good reading.
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It was his birthday. Beast Boy's. It had come so fast.
Raven had nothing for him.
She sat on her bed, head in her hands. How could she have not gotten him a present?! She had known about his birthday for a long time now; it was hard not to know with all the times Beast Boy had 'subtly' brought it up. She knew, she KNEW, that she should have bought something, some video game, a long time ago, but for some reason she didn't.
She sighed. Yes, she did know why she didn't get some video game for him. She, being the hopeless fool she was, wanted to get him something special. Something that would mean something to him. Something that would show how much he meant to her.
And he meant a lot; she knew that now. The courage she wished for hadn't come yet, but she had begun to realize how important he was to her. How important it that she got to see him smile at her everyday. How important it was when he made jokes for her. How important it was to her that he was happy. She was just beginning to understand, and that already put her in a whole new place.
But that still didn't change the fact that she didn't have a present for Beast Boy. No doubt that he would ask her where her present was, and when she would tell him she didn't have one, he would want to know why. And she wasn't ready to say why. Not yet.
That left her with two options. Either come up with a present really quick or get out of here and become a wandering nomad. She mentally slapped herself, straining to get control over her emotions. They had been getting out of hand the past few days, since that little episode on the rooftop a week or two ago. She tried to keep them in check, and even took a trip into her mirror in order to stop them. But instead of getting her emotions to submit to her will, she had been introduced to a new emotion.
Needless to say, she didn't go back there again.
She was interrupted by a knock on her door. "Raven...?" a voice asked tentatively from behind her closed door, "Are you there?"
Raven groaned. The last thing she needed was Beast Boy coming in and seeing her like this.
Beast Boy, hearing the groan, asked, "Are you okay?". He sounded concerned.
Raven walked over to the door, wiping her face clear of any emotion. She opened it a crack so that only the left side of her face was visible to him. Beast Boy stood there with his head bowed, waiting. Raven's heart immediately leapt at the sight of him, but she, being used to her heart's movements when she saw him by now, did not let it show on her face. He did look concerned and worried, and she instantly felt guilty. She didn't have a present for him; the last thing she needed to do for him is to make him worried on his birthday.
"What do you want?" she asked flatly, her voice not betraying her warring emotions.
He looked up and she was once again overwhelmed by her feelings. Seeing as she was back to 'normal', Beast Boy instantly brightened up.
"The cake is ready! Everyone's in the living room. Well, everyone except you. Ummm...you are coming down right?" he asked, suddenly shy.
Raven wanted to smile, he looked so cute when he was like that, but instead donned her stony face. "Yeah, I guess."
Beast Boy grinned, apparently relived at her answer. "Good! And you don't have to worry..." he looked left and right before leaning in to whisper. "Starfire didn't make it, although she offered to. Don't tell her I said that okay?"
Raven quickly pulled back into her room, blushing a little. "Yeah...I'll be down in a few minutes..." she mumbled avoiding his eyes.
"Okay, just don't take forever! It wouldn't be a party without you!" He beamed at her before running towards the living room.
Raven quickly shut the door, panting. Why did she feel like she had just run a marathon whenever he was near her? She had spent many sleepless nights asking herself this, but so far hadn't found an answer. She pushed her thoughts away, this was not the time. She had to come up with a present and quick; the others were waiting for her.
All of a sudden, a thought struck her. Maybe I could...she began thinking hard. Yes...it just might work, but what if he didn't like it? What if it turned out to be a fluke? She decided to act out her plan anyway. After all, she had nothing else to offer anyway. Quickly, she grabbed a piece of paper and a pen and began to write furiously.
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"Oh wow! Cyborg, where did you get this?" Beast Boy exclaimed as he tore open the wrapping of another present. Cyborg smirked. It was a video game. "This hasn't even been released!! How did you get this?!"
"That, my little green friend," Cyborg leaned over and put his hand on Beast Boy's head, "...is for me to know and for you to find out."
Beast Boy grinned excitedly. "Doesn't matter; I'm still gonna kick your butt!" he replied.
Raven stifled a yawn. After cake there were presents, and there was only one more to go. Hers. Her heart skipped a beat, hoping that he liked it, and that she wouldn't be too embarrassed by his reaction. So far Beast Boy had gotten a video game from Cyborg (that should keep them occupied for a few weeks), a waffle iron from Starfire (she just had to encourage him), and some sort of training bot that can shapeshift from Robin (a hint perhaps?). And now, there was only her present.
Beast Boy picked up Raven's present. "Last present!" he said.
Raven stood up; she couldn't stand it anymore. "I'll be in my room." she announced. She went quickly, walking as fast as possible without breaking into a run.
"But..." Beast Boy called after her, but she was gone. He was confused. Looking at the others, he asked, "Was it something I said?"
They shrugged. They had long since given up on interpreting Raven's actions. She wanted solitude, and they respected that. As long as she wasn't in trouble, she could, and did, do what she pleased. Besides, this was Beast Boy's day.
Beast Boy shrugged, still worried, but not showing it, resolving to talk to her later. He turned to open the last present, noting that it didn't say who it was from. It wasn't much, just a thin envelope. Opening it, he read what it said inside.
The others craned their heads forward to read what it said, but to no avail. As soon as they started to lean forward, Beast Boy, blushing a deep red, clutched the paper to his chest.
"What does it say Beast Boy?" Starfire asked. Beast Boy shook his head quickly. "N-nothing! J-just happy birthday, from Raven." he stammered. The rest of the Teen Titans looked knowing at him.
"Riiiight Beast Boy. Now, mind telling us what it really says?" Cyborg rolled his eyes. Beast Boy couldn't tell a lie if his life depended on it.
"N-no!" he shouted, turning redder by the moment. Everyone looked at him. "Er, um, I mean, I've gotta go." he mumbled. Turning around, he dashed out of the room, heading towards his own.
The remaining Titans looked at each other and shrugged.
Silence.
"Anyone wanna watch a movie?"
Settling on that course of action, Starfire, Cyborg and Robin sat down to watch.
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"Hey."
Raven turned around. It was Beast Boy. Her heart leapt and a great weight lifted from her shoulders. He did come. She had gone over every single thing that could go wrong, checking and rechecking everything. But all of her doubts flew out of her head when she saw him, washing away as everything else did when he was around her. She offered him a tiny smile.
He gave her a wide smile in return. "I got your letter." he said, holding up the envelope that she had given him. She blushed lightly, and patted the blanket next to her.
"Wow..." Beast Boy said, looking around. "You really did a number on this place Rae..." And this was true. Candles were lit and floating around them, thanks to Raven's telekinetic powers. Two blankets were set out on the roof, side by side. He made his way over to her and sat on the blanket, still smiling at her. She blushed again and quickly turned her head away so that he wouldn't see. As soon as she was certain her blush was gone, she looked back at him.
"Look." She told him, pointing up at the sky. He did, and, concentrating, she blew out the candles. Smiling slightly, she watched the stars with him.
She didn't know how long they stayed on the roof. But she did know that she enjoyed it. They didn't talk much; when they did, it was only to point out a star or a constellation. She didn't remember much of the silent parts; just that she never wanted that night to end. But there was one memory in particular that stuck out in her mind.
He was pointing out a constellation to her, she didn't remember which one, but instead of looking where he was pointing she looked at him. His face was content and happy, his green eyes shining. And in that instant, she knew that she liked him more than a friend. She wasn't ready to admit any more, but for now, this was good enough for her.
Soon, too soon, Beast Boy stretched and got up. Raven looked at her watch. She had asked him to come at eight, and now it was...eleven. Wow, time sure flies. She gazed up at him, where he was yawning, apparently tired. "What time is it?" he asked through his yawns.
"Eleven." she replied.
Surprisingly enough, he didn't seem surprised by this. He simply said "oh" and sat back down next to her. Raven bit her lip. Was now the time?
"Beast Boy, I...I..." she began. He turned towards her. In his dark eyes, she could see herself, apprehensive and nervous. Confusion and calm were mirrored in his eyes, along with, hope? Affection?
"I think......"
Beast Boy leaned in eagerly. "Yes...?" he whispered softly.
Raven sighed and looked away. "I think we should go in now."
Disappointment flashed across his face, but, like her courage, it went away quickly and he nodded slowly, heavily. "Yeah...the others will be wondering where we are..."
Neither moved.
Beast Boy smiled softly. "...but let's let them wonder."
Raven smiled slightly in return, and they both settled down, a little closer together than before, and continued to look at the stars.
She didn't have the courage yet, but that was okay. She knew that when the time came, she would be ready. And he understood that too, just like always. When they were ready, they would tell each other. But for now, they were content to be in each other's presence, and appreciate these lazy days together.
She may not have been ready today.
But tomorrow was another day.
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So close, but no cigar. But that's okay. We'll just have to wait to see when she does confess, neh?
Okay, reviews. First off, I would like to thank everyone who has read/supported/reviewed this fic. You guys have NO IDEA how much it mean to me. I wrote this story because it kept bugging me until I posted it (and because one-shots are easy to write). I really didn't expect any reviews, so imagine my surprise when I see I got 26, 26!!!, reviews for two chapters. Thank you soooo much!!!!
Second, after some debate (and the general consensus), I decided to keep 'Wishing' as the title. I was VERY happy to see that many people like my fic and want me to keep writing Beast Boy/Raven. I like Robin/Starfire too, but Beast Boy and Raven will always be my favorite. I might put a little bit of Robin/Starfire, but more like hints. They probably won't have a chapter to themselves (thankfully).
Thirdly, the one-shot deal. At first, I thought that this would remain a one-shot. It makes you wonder, you know? People can make their own ending. But seeing as people wanted me to continue, and the fact that I wanted to see what happened, I decided to continue. And I'm not finished yet! I have two more ideas for chapters, and I'll probably get more too.
Once again thanks so much everyone!!!! Please review and tell me how you liked this chapter!
Next Chapter: It's raining outside and Beast Boy takes a trip down Memory Lane when he finds an old scrapbook of his.
