A/N: Plot time!
Also, the songs are Rivals by Marc Scibilia and Peace Sign by Lights.
XOXOXOXOXOXOXO
Disclaimers:
I own none of the Teen Titans and none of the songs.
XOXOXOXOXOXOXO
"What is the point of this again? I can fly…and teleport." Raven let out an exasperated sigh.
"Because! Everyone should learn how to drive! And it's fun" Beast Boy beamed at her. "Now turn the wheel, more…more Rae…now I know you're being difficult on purpose… Go this way!" He gestured to the left and Raven eased the car around the corner. They had just driven through the underground tunnel, taking the car up to regular street. Since he had promised Cyborg to be careful, Beast Boy was just going to take her through the route leading to the helicopter/airship landing pad and then maybe a little way into the city to that coffee shop they both liked.
"Besides! I promise I'll buy you a London Fog at The Garden Wall. But not a cranberry bar you have to buy that for yourself.
She rolled her eyes at him. Inside her heart melted like the white chocolate that covered those blissful cranberry bars. She knew fully well he would end up buying it anyways.
"Okay now press a bit more on the gas, you're not scared are you, Rae?". With one eyebrow raised he looked at her with a teasing smirk.
"I hate you."
"You love me."
He meant it jokingly, the same way they've been doing this joke for years now. Except now in the pit of her stomach she knew it was unequivocally true, in the most horrifying way possible.
"You're a terrible driving instructor."
"I'm amazing, be thankful you didn't have Robin. I almost quit the team. Okay so keep taking this road all the way to the divide and then turn left. Then just follow the path, it's kind of winding, until we get to the giant ass parking lot. Then we'll do doughnuts at the landing pad."
"We promised Cyborg we wouldn't do doughnuts." (Oh, Azar why am I using we?)
He just smirked and pressed eject on the car's CD player. He slipped in his own "mix" that he's been nonstop playing for a month now. She had a feeling it would be track 7, which it was.
You are the crown that the gods were after
You are the sunset against the waves
You are the first and the final chapter
Amazing grace.
Just act normal, act completely normal. Nothing has to come of this, just like nothing ever came from that stupid crush. (Then how come you wish he would dedicate a song like this to you.)
Just focus on driving.
Beast boy chattered away in the passenger seat. Raven nodded and glared when appropriate. She didn't have any right to change up their dance. Not just because one emotion got a little too full of herself because she built some stupid house in the rainforest.
I was a kid from the edge of nowhere, I was a red light along the way
I was a wallflower watching you bloom in the summer air
I could not look away
Despite her best efforts she gave him a small smile when he told her he'd make waffles for lunch if she'd speed up. But she had to! It's not like she never smiled at him, not smiling would have been suspicious. Right?
Every song that has ever been played
Every star that has ever been named
Every dream that will ever come true
Nothing ever rivals you
As the song continued to play out, the car pulled into the tarmac of the landing pad. Beast Boy was satisfied with the ample space that they could play around with.
"Alright we're going to go over all the basics, and maybe get a little more daring before we head back. By the way! I got Frank to bring in another Archers film, this one is a bit more girly, but I hear it's still pretty dope.
Oh Azar was there a snowball's chance in hell maybe he picked up "The Red Shoes" just for her. All she could do was smile at him and wait for further instruction.
XOXOXOXOXOXOXO
The impromptu driving shenanigans was suddenly put to halt when they noticed a large airship suddenly starting its descent onto their landing pad. Within seconds they both recognized the familiar colouring and design.
The Doom Patrol was here.
XOXOXOXOXOXOXO
With a dramatic whoosh the ramp was lowered, and the four intimidating members greeted the surprised Titans with warm smiles.
"Garfield!" Rita rushed over to pull her adopted son into a warm hug, while Larry and Cliff offered smart remarks and pats on the back. Mento stood back, arms crossed with a gaze like steel as he waited for all the formalities to end. He briefly made eye contact with Raven, who herself was standing back until the novelty of the situation started to settle like dust.
"What are you guys doing here?"
"That's something I'd like to discuss with you in private." Mento's voice sliced through the moment with the same fearless precision as the knife Beast Boy wielded earlier to cut the strawberries.
"No offense Raven" offered Larry.
Mento began walking forward, and where Raven was positioned, it would look to some that she was hiding behind the Green Changeling in front of her.
"Hey anything you can say to me you can say in front of her" Beast Boy scratched the back of his neck and offered one of his signature grins.
He was met with silence.
"Uh okay… let me just take her back to the tower and I'll come back and then we can talk."
"Now Beast Boy, she can get home on her own."
It was now Mento's turn to be met with silence, along with a slightly irked green face.
He let out a throaty chortle before forcing a grin.
"I'm not just going to leave her; I'll be right back".
"Now Beast Boy."
Raven put her hand on his shoulder.
"It's fine I can just tele…."
"I said I'm not leaving her…and I'll be right back."
The shock of the ferocity in his voice stunned her from reacting in any real way as he placed his broad hands on the small of her back and guided her back to the car. She could only really stare at his face, since his eyes were on the horizon and someone other than herself was moving her feet forward. The last time she heard his voice like that was when his inner beast was still supercharged from those chemicals in their first fight with Adonis. He had spoken to her then in that cadence and she had wanted to throw a book at his face. Now, hearing it used for her she felt something warm start to stir in the pit of her stomach. They got in the car, Raven in the driver's seat, and started heading off back towards the fork in the road.
"That girl is going to cause problems; I don't like that one bit". Rita winced a little when she heard Steve's words.
XOXOXOXOXOXOXO
They hadn't said anything to each other as Raven navigated the occasional twist and turn on the road ahead. He was sulking in the seat beside her, legs stretch out on the dash, arms crossed with an expression like he'd just been slimed by Plasmus. Raven hit the play button on the stereo, clicking over to track 9.
If they take my hand, will it be to burn me or to say Amen
We beckon so we can make amends, and with the same slip of the hand
We curse our friends
He looked over, genuinely surprised, before closing his eyes and singing along with the song.
Where it's all a blur, you are the hard line
In the disorder, you are the peace sign
It's getting hard to know if I'm on the track or off the beaten road
When no truth ever easily shows
So I'll follow you no matter where you go
She knew how much he loved this song. She's heard it maybe 70 times the past three weeks.
Where it's all a blur, you are the hard line
In the disorder you are the peace sign
And when the riots stir, you are the sounds mind
And in the disorder, you are the peace sign.
He looked up from air drumming against the dashboard to catch just the faintest movement on her lips and dared to hope she was secretly singing along. He didn't bring his discovery to her attention though, and just enjoyed the stress sliding off him and the rest of the song.
"You didn't have to do that you know." She said it in her normal monotone, but when Beast Boy glanced at her eyes, he saw what she was trying not to feel. His heart melted like it always did and his regular smile started to come back in the frame. He pulled that stupid coin from his pocket and bopped her on the nose with it. And just like that, Raven and Beast Boy were back in their bubble.
"Hey, I did make a dashing, debonair promise that I would never leave you. And I'm a man of my words. I may not know a lot of them, but the ones I do I take seriously." He winked.
She scoffed. The air in the car settled back to where it should be, where it always was with them. Laden with sparks but to them it felt like cozying into a well-worn futon for a nap.
"You just wanted to piss off Mento."
"And I needed my partner in crime for that." He smugly twirled the coin between his fingers. "Turn right by the way…just up here".
"But the tower is…
BOP. Again, with that fucking coin.
"Bup bup bup! Promises Rae, promises. Now you owe me a cranberry bar for my first class driving lessons. "
XOXOXOXOXOXOXO
Oh no! What could Mento want? There's no way you could have guessed, not like it was hinted at in the summary. And I'm way too creative to not rely on the "he needs him to come back for a long, long time" trope.
Jokes on you.
XO ES 2.0
