AN: Nope, still don't own Teen Titans. Try again later!
Chapter 8: Wonderful News
Raven awoke the next morning in her bed, with her clothes on. She couldn't remember how she got there, but she was relieved to see that she hadn't been undressed or anything, even if she did trust Beast Boy enough to do it. She was just glad he hadn't done it without asking. She slowly stood up and felt that some sand had gotten into her bed. She was a little upset about this, just because now she had to shake her sheets out. But, she didn't have anything else to do that day, so she couldn't complain all that much.
She stripped her bed and placed the sheets into her laundry basket to take outside later. Before going downstairs she listened outside Beast Boy's door and heard that he was still asleep. She had the strangest dream about him during the night and she wanted to tell him about it.
Downstairs she made her tea and began to cook breakfast for herself and Beast Boy. With all of her free time she had been able to practice her cooking and now Beast Boy wasn't afraid to eat her cooking. He had also helped her and taught her how to cook healthy and meat-free.
Beast Boy was tangled up in his sheets, as he usually was each morning, and was awoken by the smell of breakfast. He smiled and fell the rest of the way out of his bed to the floor. He could still feel sand between his toes and he stopped to clean them out. Then he headed downstairs to the kitchen, where he saw her just starting to plate the food.
"Good morning," he said with a large smile.
"Morning," she said with a small smile and gave him a plate of food and a cup of coffee made the way he liked it. It was just another way that they were different. She liked tea and he liked coffee. But he she didn't mind making it for him; it was the least she could do, she felt.
"This looks great," he said as he sat down at the table.
"Well, I should hope so," said Raven, putting the pans in the sink so they could soak and then heading over to the table to sit with him for their breakfast. She waited for him to take a bite before eating. She was always nervous that he was going to get some odd look on his face and then heave her meal into the trash. Slowly he lifted a fork of tofu eggs to his lips and placed it into his mouth. Raven felt herself hold her breath as she waited. He chewed and then smiled. "How is it?"
"Best yet," he said with a smile and then ate another bite.
Raven smiled, very relieved, and began to eat her own breakfast. She sipped her comforting tea and relaxed into the waking morning. "I'm guessing you carried me up to bed last night," she said.
"No," he said raising an eyebrow. "I left you at the beach. I wasn't sure how you were going to get home, but I knew that you wouldn't want me carrying you anywhere."
Raven looked at him and for a second was a little confused and scared. Then she saw the twinkle in his eyes and knew that he was just joking. She gave him a sarcastic look and said, "Very funny."
Beast Boy let out a small laugh. "Yeah, I carried you in. I bet your bed's pretty sandy, cuz mine is."
"Yes, I have to shake my sheets out now," said Raven. "It must have all been in my pants or socks or something."
"Well, I hope you don't mind that I put you in your bed with your clothes on," he said taking a sip of his coffee. "I knew that you would probably flip out at me if I attempted to put you in pajamas."
"Actually, I wouldn't have cared," said Raven. "As long as you, you know, asked my first. I trust you enough to get me into my pajamas if I'm asleep. I know you wouldn't do anything to me."
"No way, I wouldn't do anything to break this trust thing you've got for me," he said with a smile.
Raven smiled back and ate another bite of her breakfast. "By the way, I had a really good time last night," she said shyly. "As much as I don't want to admit it, flying a kite is… fun. God, I sound like such a hypocrite."
"You can't be a hypocrite if you've never even tried out what you're putting down," said Beast Boy. "Besides, I would never call you a hypocrite. I think sometimes you try to hide the fact that you like something by saying it's pointless, therefore you shouldn't like it. But, I wouldn't care if you started playing video games and became vegetarian. As long as you're happy, I'm happy." He shot her a huge smile that made the whole room seem to light up.
She smiled sweetly at Beast Boy and the two enjoyed their breakfast. Then she remembered her dream and decided to tell him about it. Who else was she going to tell? "Hey, I had the oddest dream last night."
"Another nightmare?" he asked. She always had more nightmares than dreams and they usually upset her.
"No, it was an actual dream," she said with a smile. "But I dreamt that I was a princess and you were a prince. It was really weird. And then you were lying me down into this beautiful bed of violets and lilacs, all purple flowers. The ceiling was covered with shooting stars and they rained like glitter onto us. And then you kissed me on the forehead and said, 'You don't know it, but you shine brighter than any of the shooting stars we saw tonight.' Isn't that strange?"
Beast Boy nearly choked on his tofu eggs and bacon as she said all of this, but tried to keep his cool. He had forgotten that if you spoke to a person when they were dreaming they could sometimes hear what you've said. Now he was really kicking himself. "Yeah, real strange," he was able to peep out.
"But, that is a great line," she said taking another sip of her tea. "You should write that down."
"Do you really think a girl would like it?" he asked, knowing that it hadn't worked on Raven in the way that he had wanted it to.
"Oh definitely," she said nodding. "I got goose bumps and I was dreaming. I just can't understand why I would have a dream like that."
"Must have been all of that sea air," he offered with a nervous smile.
"Maybe," she said shrugging.
After breakfast Raven went upstairs and grabbed her laundry basket with her sheets. As she was heading downstairs she saw Beast Boy stripping his bed as well. She figured he liked to sleep in sandy, nasty sheets since he never seemed to change his bedding at all. But even he had a limit, and he didn't like sand in his bed while he slept. She offered to do them for him and wouldn't take no for an answer. So he handed them over and Raven went to the backyard to shake them out.
As she was coming back in with the basket the phone rang. She placed the basket down and got to the phone before Beast Boy even had a chance.
"Hello?" answered Raven.
"Who is it?" asked Beast Boy.
She hushed him and went back to the phone. "Hi Starfire!... Oh, sorry, Kori… I'm good… yeah, he's right here… so how have you been… and Robin… sorry, Richard… Rich?... Okay, Rich, then… uh huh… well that sounds good… what kind of news?... (gasp) You're kidding!... Seriously?"
By this point Beast Boy was shaking with excitement and confusion. "What? What's going on?" he pleaded.
Raven put her hand over the deceiver and said, "Rich proposed to Kori."
"No way!" he laughed.
Raven smiled and went back to the phone. "Well congratulations, I'm so happy for you… Yes, I'll tell him… Does Cyborg know?... Yeah, I can only imagine… Huh?... No, I don't sound different… No, nothing's changed… Kori, it's the same old Raven here, nothing has changed… Okay… Okay… Yes, we'll definitely have to get together to celebrate… Again, congrats… Yes, I'll make sure to tell him… Okay… Bye."
"Robin proposed?" he asked, just to make sure.
"Yes, he did it last night," said Raven with a smile. "Oh, and Starfire says hello."
"How did she sound?" asked Beast Boy.
"She just got engaged to the love of her life," said Raven. "How do you think she sounds? I've never thought a person's voice could go that high."
"So are they gonna have party or anything?" asked Beast Boy.
"They want to, but they live in an apartment," said Raven. "I bet it'll be hard."
"Well, let's just have it here," said Beast Boy.
"Are you sure?" asked Raven.
"Of course!" said Beast Boy. "We've got the best place for holding parties, so we might as well break it in." He moved her aside, went to the phone, and picked it up. "I'll call Robin, or what does he like to be called now?"
"Rich," said Raven.
"Right, I'll call Rich and tell him that we're throwing a party for him and Star, er um, Kori. Man, I can't get used to calling each other by our real names. Thank God you're just Raven."
"Yeah, at least you got that out of our friendship," said Raven with a smile. "Although, you never call me Raven, like I ask you to."
"I just like Rae, better, Rae," he smiled and began to dial.
Raven rolled her eyes and proceeded upstairs with both of their sets of sand-free sheets. She made her bed and then made his. She knew he would be pleasantly surprised and hopefully would like it. She made sure not to look around through his room and to give him his privacy, like she asked for so many times.
While she made his bed she thought about the news about Starfire and Robin. The two had been fond of each other basically since the first day they met. It was just mean to be, Raven guessed. She was so happy they were going to get married. She couldn't tell the future, but she did get feelings, and she had a good feeling that Starfire and Robin were going to be together for a long time.
By the time she was heading back downstairs Beast Boy was sitting at the table, phone still to his ear, and was writing down a list of things Robin was asking for the party. He gave her a smile and continued with his new project. She knew this would keep him busy for a while. He loved to have something to do almost as much as he liked to lie around and do nothing.
After Beast Boy talked to Robin he called Cyborg up and told him about the party. Thank God he had already known that Robin had proposed and Beast Boy didn't ruin the surprise, which was Ravens fear. He got his schedule and soon a date was set for the engagement party for Starfire and Robin,
"So when is it going to be?" asked Raven as she finished putting the breakfast pans away once they had dried in the dishwasher.
"One week," said Beast Boy. "Next Saturday. This is gonna be awesome!"
"I hope they like this little house of yours," said Raven.
"Why do you always refer to this house as mine?" asked Beast Boy. "You live here, too."
"No, I'm staying here, I'm not living here," said Raven. "I'll probably be leaving in like a month or so. I'm just about ready to start looking for a job again."
Beast Boy felt a panic wash over him. "Uh, don't do anything you don't want to," he said quickly. "Cuz, you know, I don't mind how long you stay."
"I know, you've told me that a thousand times," said Raven. "But I can't stay here forever and I feel like I'm holding you back."
"How the hell could you be holding me back?" asked Beast Boy.
"Well, you've only gone on one date since I've been here and you don't seem to want to do anything," said Raven. "You just worry about me and try to take care of me. You can't go on thinking you can do that forever. You need to get out and start living like a normal twenty-five year old."
"I am living like a normal twenty-five year old," laughed Beast Boy. "I'm living at home and spending my parents' money."
"You know what I meant," said Raven. "We can't be roommates forever."
"Why not?" he asked.
Raven looked at him and said, "Because sooner or later we're going to want to live our own lives and, you know, get married and all that. And I'm not exactly thrilled about the idea of living here with you and your wife. Talk about awkward."
"Then I won't get married!" said Beast Boy.
"Gar, you said you wanted to get married someday," said Raven. "You can't just give that up because you want to take care of me. Why the hell are you acting like this?"
"I just… I don't want you to go," said Beast Boy, his heart racing. "I like having you near me and I can't picture my life without you in it."
"Gar, I'm moving out, not dying," said Raven. "You'll see me plenty."
"But not in the morning and not before I go to bed," said Beast Boy getting desperate. "That's what I like most about having you here; I always know you're gonna be here in the morning. You're my best friend. I don't want you to go."
Raven couldn't understand why Beast Boy was getting so upset. He was practically falling to his knees and begging her not to leave. He never acted like this; all upset and nervous like if she left he would never see her again. "Gar, we'll never be able to grow up if we keep depending on each other. It's time to grow up." And with that she headed up to her room for a little while.
Beast Boy didn't know what he was going to do now. He didn't want her to leave; he never wanted her to leave. But how could he get her to stay without telling her that he had a huge crush on her and was possibly falling in love with her. He knew it was happening and he knew there was nothing that could stop it.
Raven decided to do some meditating. She hadn't done it as often as she usually did, but it was still required to keep her mind somewhat calm. She had gained much more control of her powers, but she would never have it completely under control. She had many things to sort out in her mind. Like why Beast Boy refused to let her leave. She just couldn't understand what could possibly be so great about her living with him. She certainly wasn't as good a friend as he was to her, so what could it have been? Pity, perhaps? She just didn't know.