Disclaimer:I don't own the Teen Titans

Chapter 9: Thank You For Loving Me

"Dudes! Where's Raven? I just went to check on her like you guys said, and she wasn't there!" Beast Boy complained as he poured himself another glass of orange juice. He glanced at Robin, who seemed a slight been edgy, and wondered.

What's wrong with him? It's not like he should be overly worried about her.

But he forgot about it. Probably because of the shock.

The double doors shot open to reveal a confident Aqualad, holding hands with Raven. Their Raven. And to add to all of that, there was a small smile on her face. Beast Boy's jaw dropped far below the table, and Cyborg's eyes were opened wide, sort of like this 0.o. Robin narrowed his eyes at their hands melded together, and Starfire yelped with joy.

"Friends! You have joined us just in time for the fasting of the break!" Then she realized what everyone was staring at. The two were standing much too close to be just friends. Maybe they just came from somewhere.

"Friend Raven? You were not in your room, did you go on a vacation with friend Aqualad to the place where many wondrous beings of fish and the fish of jelly live?"

Raven shook her head and interrupted the hyperactive teammate.

"Actually Star, we're—"

"—going out." Aqualad finished for her, holding in a laugh at Raven's shocked face. Of course, she wasn't the only one shocked. Beast Boy fainted into his plate of tofu eggs. Cyborg dropped his chicken leg and the glass of milk in his hand spilled over his metallic body without his notice. Robin shot up from his seat, a flush of red coming to his face. And Starfire, her mouth also dropped but she was screaming in excitement. Very. Loudly.

"FRIEND RAVEN! You and friend Aqualad are doing the going of the out? I am so very joyed to see this wondrous togetherness of the male and female! We must celebrate! I shall make my pudding of—"

Raven interrupted her overexcited teammate before she would have to indulge upon something undetectable, and quite inedible to her standards.

"NO! I mean…er…Starfire, you see…um…" Aqualad gave a big grin and threw a casual arm over his new girlfriend's shoulders.

"What Raven is attempting to say is, we were just about to head out. For our first date, so if we could celebrate later…?" Starfire, being naïve as she is nodded and ran to her cute, fluffy pink planning book and began to plan for a party.

"Of course! We shall throw a party of jubilation for your joyful news of the dating! When shall we do it? Tomorrow? In one Vlorton? Perhaps—"

"No thanks Star. No party." Raven's voice was stern, and in a hurry she dragged Aqualad out the door. The other members stared after them.

"Dude! Raven? And Aqualad? When did this happen?" Beast Boy had woken up from his surprise faint attack and was feeling a tinge of jealousy. Aqualad always got what he'd wanted. Of course, Beast Boy had Terra, but he couldn't deny his once felt feelings for the dark girl. Cyborg frowned.

"Well, however it happened, he better not be doing anything stupid. Else I'm gonna blast him into next week." He made a punching motion, and glanced at Robin. Robin was scowling deeply, and muttered.

"He probably asked her out during their make-out session last night…" Beast Boy and Cyborg jumped up and yelled.

"THEY WHAT!" Robin broke out of his trance and for a moment looked shocked, then scowled again.

"Them. Guest room. Making out. Last night." The half cybernetic teen cocked an eyebrow at his good friend.

"And how would you know that?" Another, deeper, shade of red complimented Robin's face as he stammered excuses.

"I…well you see…um…" He was caught. Maybe he should tell them?

No. How do you think Star will feel if you say you were feeling jealous and wanted to check what they were doing?

With a big, fake smile, he rushed out of the room. Unfortunately, Cyborg and Beast Boy both followed him. Starfire was much to busy planning the party.

"What a way to ask a girl out." Raven rolled her eyes at her smiling boyfriend, who was sitting down beside her, in the taxi. He laughed and nudged her closer, and kissed her hair.

Lavender… she smells like lavender…

She flinched softly and looked down in shame when he appeared hurt. With a sigh he pulled her into a deep embrace.

"Sorry Raven. I forgot that you weren't used to people touching you." He smirked at her.

"It's much too hard to keep my hands off your gorgeous body." She snorted.

"Gorgeous my ass. I'm far from gorgeous. If you want hot, check out Starfire." He rolled his eyes and helped her out of the taxi as it stopped before a beach. He paid the driver and said thanks, and wrapped an arm around his girl's waist. They reached a small booth selling beach goods, and with two restrooms.

"Okay. After you change, meet me at the hot dog stand." She nodded and entered the women's restroom. As she expected, it was filthy.

Ugh. This place looks like its been cleaned with sewer water.

Reluctantly she changed into her swimsuit, a black two-piece with purple and blue roses. It accentuated her rather large curves, and the open flesh made her feel conscious. Although she may not know it, she looked quite flattering. Her body, is one any girl would be extremely envious of. Flat stomach, great legs, slender shoulders, beautiful face, nice hourglass curves. Yep. Just perfect. If only she believed so.

Damn I look so ugly. I can't believe I'm doing this.

But then she thought of her boyfriend. Aqualad…she relaxed a bit.

Just for him. Stupid cocky fishhead.

She exited the restroom.

He had to resist the urge to make her put her clothes back on. She was looking pretty hot, and it was as if God sent a little piece of heaven for the guys out there. Everyone was staring. In a hurry Aqualad wrapped a possessive arm around her, glaring at anyone who dared to even stare at his girlfriend.

"I look like a slut." Raven growled. He pinched her and sighed mockingly.

"Hot body, angry face. What more could I ask for?" She gave him a death look and pushed him away.

"Sonuvabitch." She began power walking towards the water, leaving him with a surprised expression.

"Hey hey hey! I was just kidding!" He ran up to her, and she was wading in the water. She rolled her eyes and turned away.

"Come on Raven! It was a joke!" His face was pleading innocent. She faced him, and flipped him over into the crashing waves.

"How's that for a joke?" She smirked as he spluttered out, embarrassed by his girlfriend, even in his own element. He held his hands up, signaling truce.

"Okay okay. I deserved that one." Then without warning he pushed her into the water, body-slamming her down, laughing. She was indignant, and wet.

"Damn you, fish boy! Now I'm all wet!" He splashed her even more, hahaha-ing the whole time.

"That's the point!" And so there they were, splashing around, swimming, building sand castles, feeding the birds, having fun. It was as if they were just two normal teens, having a blast on their first date.

"I…I never had this much fun before, even after I joined the team…" Raven said softly, her knees hugged against her chest, watching the sunset. He said nothing, and she was thankful for it. She needed to talk, let some things out, and he respected that. He knew vaguely that behind the cold mask, there was a broken girl, and he wanted so desperately to fix her.

"It's so…beautiful…" She murmured, watching the pastel colors smudging against the pale blue sky, as the golden orb of the sun fell behind the water. The ripples in the ocean reflected the light onto the onlookers, leaving them splashed with dazzling golden diamonds of light.

He'd been staring at her, the whole time. Her beauty, he drunk it in. But sip by sip. She was a dangerous girl, so dark, so mysterious. If he took it all at once, it'd be too much for him. He needed to get to her slowly, because he trusted her. He reached forward, and brushed a strand of hair from her face.

"No Raven. It's pretty, but you, you are beautiful…" He felt the ground shake as tears came into her eyes.

"Malchior said that once…" She turned her head away and closed her eyes, as if there was something in front of her that she did not want to see.

"Yah well I'm not Malchior, Rae. I'm not." When she didn't look up, he became frustrated.

"You can trust me, Raven. I wont, I wouldn't ever hurt you like he did! I promise to you, I wont!" Her voice was stoic as she replied, and she jerked her head towards him, tears of pain rolling down her face.

"Yea? Well how do I believe you, huh? How can I believe you, fish boy?" He, in return, kissed the tears off her face, and looked into her eyes.

"Cause…I think I love you, Raven…I think I love you…" With a soft cry she fell into his arms and silent tears fell.

"Thank you…thank you so much…" She whispered softly as he held her close to him, protecting her from anyone who dared to harm her.

I know I know. Too much fluff. But it's necessary. Besides, isn't it cute and sweet? That's what I thought. P enjoy!

Mystyre – Well then, I hope you're surprised! Thanks for the review!

Cutter-with-a-cause – Bah. School sucks. But think about it! It's almost over! High school's not that bad. Believe me. It's actually pretty fun. But depends how ghetto your school is. My school's dirt poor, but we've got a lot of smarts! We're 4th in the nation! W00T

Thanks you guys for reading and reviewing! Well, to those who are reviewing, that is.

Lost1n7heDark