Disclaimer: For the last time, I don't own Teen Titans!
Note: Here it is, the epilogue and the last part to my story... Hope it is to your liking and was worth the wait!
Epilogue: Payback
It had been just over a week since the empath had been attacked, and things were starting to return to normal. However, the case was not yet finished. They were still waiting on the local justice system to come through with a trial, seeing as there had been a hold up on the arrested culprit. With his injuries still healing, it made it difficult for him to be tested for any suspected mental disorders, so they had to wait until he was able to be fairly tested. Despite that, the accomplices had been interrogated and were already feeling a jail sentence hovering over their heads based on Beast Boy's statement about what he had heard that night.
Within the tower, there had been a definite change as well. If the changeling and empath had ever wanted to keep their relationship a secret, it would have failed right from the start. It was a good thing they did not, seeing that Starfire happened to walk back into the medical room while Raven was still sitting atop the other's bed. She had proceeded to exclaim how glorious it was to see them together and dashed back out of the room, all before the other two Titans even had time to get a word in edgewise. There were few secrets among the five of them recently, it seemed. If two knew, then they all did. One thing was easy, though. They did not have to say anything. Starfire did the talking.
That late afternoon found the shape-shifter lounging on the couch and playing video games, with Raven reading right beside him. Somehow, she had managed to tune out the sounds of the game and seemed absorbed in whatever book was in her hands. This most likely also accounted for the fact that she was leaning her back lightly against his shoulder, despite his sudden movements every now and then due to the game.
The common room doors opened with a swishing sound as Robin and Starfire walked in, appearing as though they were looking for something. After a few moments, their eyes came to rest on the pair sitting on the large sofa.
"Friends," the Tamaranian began, hands clasped together in front of herself, "are not you accompanying us?"
Raising her violet gaze from the pages of her book in order to look toward them, the empath sat up and turned halfway in their direction. "For dinner?"
Pressing a button in order to pause the game, the green Titan also shifted his position in order to look back at them. Slapping his forehead lightly in what seemed to be realization, he exclaimed, "I -thought- that was tonight! Aw man!"
Raising an eyebrow in mild confusion, the masked Titan responded, "Is something wrong?"
"I can't go," the changeling admitted, a frown crossing his features as he spoke. Seeing that they were waiting for a good explanation, he continued, "I think I scraped the wound a bit today, eheh... So, I don't want to reopen it or anything..." When he finished, he raised his gaze to meet the eyes of his two teammates who were standing at the entrance of the room, waiting for their reactions.
An uncertain frown tainted Robin's features as he thought over what was just said, not so sure that it was the truth. Yet, he had no reason to disbelieve them, right?
Concern became present in the alien female's eyes as she asked, "Will you be alright?"
"Yeah," Beast Boy answered, a lopsided grin replacing his previous expression, "I just don't want to push it, ya know?"
Seemingly accepting the male's excuse, the leader then looked over at the cloaked female. "Raven?"
"Someone has to be here in case he does something stupid," she replied without missing a beat. Then, ignoring the mock glare she was receiving from the boy beside her, she added, "Seeing that Cyborg isn't around ."
Starfire blinked at the last part of what her fellow female Titan said. "Where is Cyborg? Is he also not joining us?"
"Apparently," Raven started as she returned her line of vision to the book in her hands, "he went over to Titans East."
"Yeah, something about them needing help with some repairs to their tower," the shape-shifter elaborated, a nervous smile still planted on his lips."You guys should still go, though," he put in quickly.
"We didn't cancel the reservations," the cloaked female informed, having yet to resume her reading.
"Oh," the redhead voiced simply before nodding in agreement. "Shall we go then, Robin?"
It was several seconds before the Boy Wonder replied, seeing as how he was turning over a few ideas in his head. There was definitely something going on, but he did not want to upset Starfire. "Yeah," he finally responded, turning to head back out the double doors after casting one last wary gaze at the two sitting on the couch.
"I hope you will soon feel better," the Tamaranian remarked before following Robin out of the room, doors closing behind her.
Beast Boy laughed aloud when he was sure the other two had left. "Phase one complete," he grinned, turning back toward the screen in front of him. Feeling the girl beside him lean against his right shoulder once again, he quieted his laughter enough to ask, "Should we get going, too?"
"No," she answered easily, still reading. "Our reservations aren't until twenty minutes after their's."
"Okay," he replied, resuming his game in the following moment. "What're you reading, anyway?", he asked in a conversational tone.
"A book," came her simple and obvious response, although there was a hint of a teasing smirk across her features.
"Couldn't tell that," he commented in a light manner. However, he said no more after that, seeing that she wanted to continue in her reading for at least a short while longer and he intended to let her.
–
The restaurant was small, but quite popular by the looks of it. One had to get reservations at least the day before to even hope about getting a table. It had both indoor and outdoor seating, the latter of which was well-liked in the current good weather. Since it was only early evening by the time the two Titans arrived, it was still quite light outside, yet they had requested a table inside when making their reservations.
"Perhaps we should see if we can get the 'doggie bag' for our friends since they were unable to accompany us," the redhead suggested as they approached the door of their destination.
"I don't think we'll need to worry about that," Robin answered before opening the door and opting to play the gentleman by holding the door open for Starfire as well.
Blinking at his response, she tilted her head to the side and responded, "But they were unable to come, why should we not?"
Before the leader could reply, they were approached by someone who appeared to be that night's host. Recognizing them immediately, he greeted cheerily, "Ah, right on time. We have the table all ready."
Nodding in a wordless acknowledgment, the two Titans followed the man to a small booth on the far side of the dining area, right beside one of the large windows. The host left them with their menus and a statement that their server would be with them shortly.
Quickly making a decision on what he wanted, the male teen lay down his menu and turned his gaze to look out the window. The Tamaranian may not have picked up on anything odd, but he had. The booth they were sitting in proved it. It was all a setup, yet he said nothing in order to not upset the girl across from him. Allowing an inaudible sigh to pass over his lips, he returned his attention to his companion, who appeared to be having a bit of trouble with her decision.
A hint of a smile tugged at the corners of his lips. This may have been the others' idea of payback, but it was not at all that bad.
–
Replacing his glass on the table, the changeling relaxed against the back of the thinly cushioned chair, eyes never leaving the girl sitting across from him. She was quietly eating the food that had been set in front of her, taking in her surroundings every now and then. It was obvious why, though. They were seated close to the entrance of the restaurant and she was watching for when their two friends would exit, knowing it was more than likely that their leader had figured out what was going on. His back was to the doors, so she kept an eye out for the two of them.
Pushing her nearly empty plate a few inches away from her, Raven also leaned back in her chair while raising her gaze to meet his own. Finding him staring at her, she felt a faint blush taint her pale cheeks and asked, "What?"
"Nothing," he replied, smile spreading across his features without looking away.
With one eyebrow raised, she regarded him for a few seconds before repeating, "What?"
"Like I said, nothing," he reiterated, grin never leaving his lips.
"Right," she agreed mockingly, reaching for her drink in order to take a sip. However, she failed to allow the questioning gaze to leave her violet orbs.
The shape-shifter felt that she knew why he was looking at her but did not say it. It was not like her, nor did he feel that she would appreciate it if he said it aloud. That was not really the type of person she was.
"Here they come," she voiced a few moments later, causing him to turn around in his chair to look.
Sure enough, Robin and Starfire were leaving the restaurant, walking closely together. In the light from the establishment, it was still fairly easy to tell who was seated outside, despite the fact that the sun had already set. Perhaps the leader of the Titans would not have noticed the couple except for the fact that he felt two pairs of eyes on his back. Turning around, he eyed the empath and changeling with a mildly accusing gaze. This look was met with a grin and a knowing smirk.
When her companion stopped, the Tamaranian came to a halt and also turned to see what had caught his attention. "Beast Boy," she started, a confused expression in place, "I thought you were in pain."
"I got better," he answered innocently, not wanting to cause the alien girl to become upset. "... so we decided to get a bite to eat."
"Oh, that is good," she replied cheerfully, glad to hear that her friend was doing better.
"So," Raven spoke up, looking more toward Robin than her female teammate, "how was dinner?" Her tone was no different than usual, although there was a definite hint of a smirk across her features.
"It was good," the Boy Wonder responded, tone letting on that he knew that the whole thing had been planned.
"Oh yes," the redhead added in enthusiastically, "the food was most delicious!"
"And," the green Titan began in a slightly teasing tone, "the company?"
At hearing this question, both the leader and the Tamaranian blushed lightly and appeared to look nervous.
"That's what I thought," the changeling stated, not giving either one a change to verbally answer what he had asked.
Regaining his composure after a few seconds, Robin appeared to narrow his eyes beneath his mask as if wordlessly promising to return the favor. Then, he turned and started away from the restaurant, lifting a hand in departure. "See you back at the tower."
"Farewell, friends," Starfire said hurriedly before turning to follow the masked Titan.
"We're so gonna hear about this later," the shape-shifter commented as though looking forward to it.
"You do realize that he now sees this as a competition," the violet-haired girl remarked, taking another sip from the glass in her hand.
"Of course," Beast Boy answered with fervor, still grinning as he once again reclined in his seat to wait for her to finish.
–
The weather that night proved to be rather nice. There was a bit of a wind, but it was not necessarily all that chilly. It proved good enough to sit outside along the shoreline for the changeling and the empath.
For the most part, it was quiet and serene, neither feeling the need to talk much. This was usual for the female, but the other normally filled the silence with words. Somehow, though, he did not see the need right then to do so. She seemed to be enjoying herself as it was, and he did not wish to disturb her.
She shifted beside him, looking away from the water and toward him. Her white cloak was wrapped around her form to protect her against the slight wind that was blowing, but having his arm around her had helped also. Still, she was quiet for a few moments before speaking. "Thank you," she stated finally, locking gazes with him.
He blinked several times, obviously not understanding why she had said that. "Umm...," he began, one eyebrow raised, "for what?"
Without looking away, she answered honestly, "For saving me." There was a moment of silence before she added, "I never thanked you."
"Heheh," the green Titan laughed a bit nervously, his free arm behind his head. "You ended up saving me, too," he finally replied, "so... thanks."
A faint smile graced her lips but she said nothing in response, instead letting a silence settle in.
Beast Boy suddenly felt as though there were butterflies in his stomach, especially since both of them had yet to look away from the other. This was accompanied by the realization of why he felt nervous. There was a conflict occurring within him right then, over whether or not he should go ahead with that thought that was in his mind. Swallowing the lump that had formed in his throat, he leaned in closer to gently press his lips against her own, only breaking eye contact once they were already touching. It was only then that he closed his eyes.
Seeing him move nearer, Raven herself became nervous at what she knew he was doing. She remained that way until she felt the kiss actually happening, and then, only a moment later, she found herself leaning into the action as well, eyelids closing as she did so.
The couple stayed in that position for what seemed like several minutes before they both pulled back slowly, taking the time to search the other's gaze to gauge their reaction.
Noticing only softness in his green orbs, the cloaked female allowed herself another smile, only this one was more noticeable than the last. Then, wordlessly, she moved to rest her head against his shoulder, once again looking out at the mostly calm waters.
In response to her expression, he gave her a gentle grin, unlike his usual goofy ones. Thankfully, she was not upset at his actions.
That thought in mind, he then tightened his arm around her slightly before also returning to gazing at the view in front of them, content to let silence reign for the time being.
– FIN –
Note: So, that's it... –sniffles– I'm going to miss this story... I hope you enjoyed this last bit, and I deeply apologize for taking so long to update. I need opinions: Should I do a sequel or no? Also, I just wanted to let you all know that I have another fic started, and the prologue of that should be posted later this evening. (It's an AU, but the same pairing!)
Tammy Tamborine - Glad you thought so and glad you liked the story! Thank you so much for all of your reviews! They were always very appreciated!
SxStrngSamurai13 - The scenes with Star and Cy did take awhile, but I'm glad they came out okay in the end. I also tried to convey that she was upset the whole time, but just did not have the chance to really show it until all of the critical moments had passed. (Oh, and don't worry about me going cliche, I try very hard not to. However, let me know if you ever think I do and I'll try to remedy it.) I'm glad you liked the part between BB and Rae, as that was obviously a crucial part to the entire fic... I'm sorry you had to wait so long for the epilogue, and thank you so much for all of your great reviews!
Note: Again, for the last time in this fic, please R&R! (Thanks to all who reviewed this story!)
