Authoress' Notes: Hesitant as I was to add this, a second chapter was floating in my head, so I decided to include it. I apologize if it isn't up to the first chapter's standards, which was my best piece ever, not that that's saying much. This takes place three weeks or so after chapter one, and is more light-hearted. Incidentally, the whole story's kinda a series of 'episodes', so don't expect it to pick up where it left off. Don't forget to r & r. Enjoy!
Replies:
Terra: I was hoping for sweet and touching. After all, love takes time. It's not something that just pops up out of nowhere, especially after what Rae and BB have been through.
OveractiveMind: I'm going to try and keep it cute the whole way through, but it's anyone's guess if I'll be able to.
HAPPILI INSANE: I'm a really big shipper too. I can't imagine them not getting together, but I have nothing against other pairings. Each to his/her own. As for me, Rae & BB forever!
lol61188: Glad you think it was good. With any luck the rest will be too.
The Annonymous Chonky: Right now I'm concentrating on developing their friendship, but Beast Boy obviously has other ideas. BB: What's that supposed to mean!
Mad Mauser: Thanks for the encouragement. I hope you enjoy the rest of the fic.
Surfgirl15: I'm planning to continue, but I'm a slow worker, so there will most likely be one chapter a month or something. Glad you liked it!
WickedWitchoftheSE: I wasn't sure if it fit where it was supposed to. Silly me, I forgot whether "Spellbound" or "The Beast Within" was first. :D Thank goodness I guessed right!
Thank you everyone for reviewing, it really makes my day. :D
Behind Closed Doors
Chapter 2: Tea and Training
"Some fight today, eh Raven?" Beast Boy inquired as Raven slipped into his room. He was tinkering on some metal box, not unusual for the changeling at night. Apparently the teapot still had issues.
"Isn't the heating element working yet?" Raven picked up a screwdriver and poked it warily.
The teapot sparked and sputtered, prompting the changeling to pull her away from the machine. Abruptly the rear access door that concealed the heating element slid shut and the machine began the brewing process, bewildering the two Titans.
"How'd you do that Rae? You must be some sorta good luck charm or something . . ." Beast Boy said in uncredited amazement.
Raven simply shrugged, pouring the tea into a cup procured from the inner pocket of her cloak. Nice and hot, just the right mix of tea and water. No less than perfect.
Of course after at least three weeks of near obsessive work that was to be expected. It seemed there were four things that could hold his interest; video games, tofu, one of his inventions, and of course his seemingly endless quest of getting her to smile.
No, he wanted more than a smile, Raven realized with a start, he truly wanted her happiness. He wanted her to be happy . . .
"Uh . . . Rae?" Beast Boy looked concerned, and she realized somewhere in her mental ramblings he had asked her a question.
"Sorry, I was thinking," He smiled and nodded in understanding as she continued, "The tea is really good though."
A nearby pencil hit the ceiling.
Raven looked away from Beast Boy's suddenly thoughtful face. Must she forever be chained by her powers? Raven knew she was being selfish. Without her careful control she could doom the world. Still, she longed to be free. Why was it that traitors like Terra and Malchior were so unchained while she, a hero, was doomed to an existence all alone?
Raven shook her head and turned to the changeling. "Beast Boy?"
"Hmm?" he muttered distractedly. She remained silent. How could she explain any of this to him?
Beast Boy finally looked over at her, leaving his thoughts for the time being. He would need help anyway. A teapot was nothing compared to this. He wasn't even sure it would work. But they could try. Maybe, in the end, that was enough.
He took a moment to admire her beautiful eyes before remembering he wasn't supposed to. Just had to give it time. He refused to screw this up.
"Rae, do ya wanna train for a while? If nothing more, it'll keep Bird Boy off our backs." The corners of her mouth twitched. Robin could be a tad obsessive about that. With any luck Starfire could get them out of tomorrow's training. Goodness knows she's the only one that could.
"Sure." Placing a hand on his shoulder, she concentrated on phasing through the floor. Having accomplished this, she turned her attention to the next problem, not dropping them from the 15-foot-tall ceiling. Luckily they landed safely enough on their feet, Raven's black aura dissipating.
"Dude, that was so awesome!" Beast Boy exclaimed emphatically.
Raven rolled her eyes, secretly glad he thought it was cool instead of weird. "Target or hand-to-hand?"
"Hand-to-hand."
His answer surprised her. She knew he had no formal training, at least not like Robin's. He fought on instinct. Therefore sparring with Robin was out of the question. Starfire was an option, but she was glued to the hip to Robin. Cyborg didn't so much spar as push or throw things. Which left herself. Funny, that.
"Fine," He smirked and followed her to the sparring mats."But no powers."
"Fine, I don't need'em to win," If he thought this was going to be easy he had another thing coming. "Let's go."
Raven immediately dropped down with a sweeping kick to his ankles. Before he knew what was happening, Beast Boy was face-down on the mats.
Bemused, he sat up and rubbed his nose. What happened? Oh, Raven. Who knew she had that kind of skill? He was going to have to concentrate. Thinking back, Terra had never been good at sparring. Raven was clearly a different story. Beast Boy stood up and threw a punch at her midriff, which was promptly blocked. The fight was on.
They wrestled across the room, leaving the mats at one point or another, hitting and blocking for all they were worth. Three hours later, and with quite a few more bruises than they started out with, they both slumped against the wall.
"Not . . . bad . . ." Beast Boy gasped. In truth, if it hadn't been for that fake-out punch, she would have beat him. As it was, they had wiped the floor with each other. He had to hand it to her, she was amazing in a fist fight. She was amazing period, but he shouldn't be thinking that just yet. Tricky too. She must have picked up bad habits from him . . .
Beside him Raven shook slightly from exertion, nerves on edge. Even as a human the little grass stain didn't half hurt when he connected. Probably all those hours of pressing buttons. Maybe video games had a purpose besides driving her out of her skull. Not likely though.
Figures.
Raven wobbled to her feet and held out a hand, helping Beast Boy up. "So, we taking the stairs?"
"No, we can just go through the ceiling." Levitating both of them, she tried to look for the tile that marked where the hall was. She gave up fairly quickly and settled on the nearest tile. Big mistake.
Raven swore she smelled incense as her aura fell, and a few of those shadows looked familiar.
"Um, Rae?" No response.
"I'm just gonna . . . go now."
"We're in my room, aren't we?"
"Sorta . . ." Beast Boy inched toward the door.
"Get out." Raven growled. How could she be so foolish?
Her companion paused at the door. "We still on for that movie tomorrow night?"
"As always. Your room, eleven o'clock, just like every night."
Beast Boy nodded and retreated, leaving Raven to bask in sleep's dark embrace.
Disclaimer: If your visiting this site and don't know the spiel already, you probably shouldn't be using the internet without supervision. I don't own it.
Authoress' Notes: Not exactly how I wanted it to turn out, but better than nothing. I'm going for a slightly more mature Beast Boy here, mostly because I think a lot of the joking around he does is just an act, especially taking into account his past. Fans of the other Titans, I apologize now. You probably won't see Robin, Cyborg, or Starfire at all, except possibly in flashbacks. They will be mentioned from time to time though. You can't really live with people and not talk about them at one time or another. Now that I've throughly bored you with notes, I bid you adieu. Please read and review! See ya minna-san!
Sword of Romance