Authoress' Notes: No idea where this all came from, must have been my pushy muses. This is Rae/ BB set the night of the episode "Spellbound" Vague spoilers for that episode and Terra, mostly this is just drabble. Enjoy, read, and review!
Behind Closed Doors
Chapter 1: Beauty's Beginning
Raven sat in the night-darkened kitchen of Titan's tower, absently swishing her tea around in her cup as she thought. It hurt so badly, a broken heart. But somehow she felt a little better since he came to her in hopes of offering comfort.
He too had suffered from a broken heart, even now her betrayal haunted him, she knew. The dark empath felt partly responsible, if she had trusted her instincts regarding Terra, it might not have happened. But it did, and Beast Boy's heart was broken because of it.
How could Terra be so cruel? Beast Boy worshiped the very ground she walked on, ignored anyone or anything that wasn't her. If she hadn't betrayed him in the process, he might have joined her. Raven shook her head, the changeling would never do that to his friends, no matter how much influence the powerful earth mover had on him.
Much like her ill-fated affair with the dragon, Malchior. There was one thing they had in common at least. Apparently late nights was another.
"Hello Beast Boy." Raven said bluntly.
Not overly surprised, he returned the greeting, "Hey Raven."
The silence in the room was deafening, a silent question hanging in the air.
"Not really." Raven finally answered, as Beast Boy nodded in understanding. Of course she wasn't. She wouldn't be for a long time.
"If it helps, I was fully prepared to go man-beast on him." He attempted to at least lighten her mood feebly, his voice a quiet mixture of mocking and dead seriousness.
"It does." She whispered faintly.
"He better hope he never gets out of that book, or he'll wish he had never laid eyes on you." The mocking was gone from his voice, replaced with white-hot rage.
"He won't." Raven's assured reply soothed his anger, tone cool and familiar. A comfortable silence washed over the two, the only sound a gentle drip from the coffee maker. Clear water rushed into the waiting pot, entrancing them temporarily in the steadiness of its purposeful flow, akin to the way one is enthraled by waves lapping on a distant shore.
"Raven?" The changeling's voice came out muffled from behind the mug of hot chocolate he clutched.
"Hmm?" she replied, wary of breaking the delicate silence that enveloped them both.
"Do you always stay up?" The question was gentle, in no way prying, just a simple request in a need for understanding, a need to comprehend the nature of the girl before him.
"Always." The softness of the reply surprised him slightly, but not for long. He'd learned to expect the unexpected when it came to her.
"Me too." Another silence descended on them, soft and comforting like the quiet fall of the snow in winter.
"Thank you."
He smiled then. "You know, I've got a really good comedy movie about a girl getting revenge on her boyfriend who just used her."
"Sounds good. Lead the way." They ended up outside Beast Boy's door, waiting for the locking mechanism to register his code. Blinking, it beeped at them and refused to open. Beast Boy sighed, as though this were common occurrence, and removed the faceplate of the asinine device.
"What are you doing?" Raven whispered, puzzled. Did he have any idea what he was doing? The nimble movements of his hands told her differently. He obviously had done this before, she could tell by the way he worked. He simply connected and disconnected wires without even double checking, absolutely certain without thinking.
"How did . . . ?" she started to question.
"With patience and the ease of long practice." He answered bluntly, cracking a smile. They stepped in the room, the changeling kicking aside piles of laundry and bits of metal.
"What's with the metal?"
He grinned, Raven was certainly chatty tonight. Not that he had any qualms with that.
"Just stuff I mess with in my spare time. Believe it or not I'm kinda trying to make a teapot that can go in a bedroom or wherever." Beast Boy explained.
"Like a kettle and stove, only portable?"
"Yep. Still can't figure out how to heat the water without boiling it though." Raven nodded, secretly impressed. For someone who claimed to have no knowledge of technology, he was certainly skilled, possibly to the point of rivaling Robin and Cyborg if he really tried.
"Ready for the movie?" Again a nod was the response, and no words were spoken for a few hours, the two teens absorbed in the hilarious tale. Wiping tears of laughter from his eyes, Beast Boy shut the movie off, glancing at Raven.
Apart from the slightly upturned corners of her mouth, she appeared fine. Good, in his opinion, she was better off without the slimy, fire-breathing moron. She deserved so much better, and he could . . . He very nearly kicked himself. A boyfriend wasn't what Raven needed right now. She desperately needed a best friend. He could do that. After all, she had stuck by him when he needed a best friend. Now it was his turn.
" Hey Rae?"
"Yes?"
"What d'ya say we do this again tomorrow night, hang out I mean?" Raven looked thoughtful. He only hoped she would say yes.
" I'd like that." She replied slowly, as if realizing it for the first time. Which, beast Boy reminded himself, she probably was. Now he could be there for her, and when the time came, maybe ask her out. But not yet. Her heart needed time to heal, as his had once. Until then, at least he could be with her like this. Raven had walked to the door as he thought, and was looking at him curiously.
"Oh, sorry." He smiled sheepishly and followed the psychic into the hall.
"Thanks again." Raven mumbled, a light bulb blowing up in her moment of gratitude.
"You know, there's gotta be something we can do to fix that . . ." Beast Boy mused aloud, making Raven shake her head.
"There's nothing anyone can do. I'm destined to be emotionless and alone."
"Like I said earlier, you think you're alone, but you're not. 'Cause no matter what, I'm here for ya Rae, just say the word."
Raven nodded mutely, finding no word with which she could say how much that meant to her. Somehow he seemed to understand. He always had, in a strange way.
Later, both Beast Boy and Raven would realize they had formed a bond that night, something no one could possibly understand even if they explained it. It was there though, and that's what counted. A secret meant to be kept behind closed doors.
Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans, if I did I wouldn't be writing fanfiction, now would I?
Authoress' Notes: Wow, two updates in one week. That's a record for me. As of right now, this story is a one-shot, but if I feel like it I may continue this later. I do have some ideas, but for the moment this fic will be ended here. My next Rae/BB one-shot, "Over It" still to come. Until then, see ya minna-san!
Sword of Romance