Disclaimer: Teen Titans is the Property of DC Comics

Chapter 13

The next day Beast Boy had everything set up and ready. He'd wanted to do it as soon as possible, since she could suddenly go at any moment. He just prayed she'd make it to sunset. To his relief, sunset arrived and she was looking very well. She'd spent the morning with the twins and Nicole when the others went to run errands and then all five children in the afternoon when they had to go stop Red X from raiding a jewelry store.

She currently sat reading in the common room while the kids played and watched television. Bumblebee and Cyborg were making dinner, Starfire was folding some laundry, and Nightwing was at work in the evidence room. Beast Boy entered and saw Raven sitting on the couch, coughing; that was her newest symptom. He took in a big breath and made his way towards her. This was it, time to put the plan into action.

"Hey, Rae," he said cheerfully.

"You know, I'd prefer it if you didn't call me that," said Raven simply.

"You haven't said anything about it before," said Beast Boy.

"I shouldn't have to," she said, coughing again and clearing her throat.

Well this was going well.

"So, have you seen the sunset?" he said.

Raven looked up from her book and looked outside. "Huh, looks nice," she said and then looked back to her book.

"Have you seen it from the roof lately?" he asked. "It looks amazing up there."

"It usually does," said Raven.

God, she wasn't making this easy!

"I was gonna head up there to watch it," he said. "Wanna join me?"

"No, that's okay," said Raven.

Alright, he was going to have to bring out the big guns.

He sat down next to her and sighed. "How can you say that?" he said sadly. "Rae, what if… what if this is your last sunset? How can you pass up the chance to see this beautiful sight?"

Raven hadn't thought of that and quickly began to think about this. She finally sighed and said, "You're right. I don't even know if I'll survive the night. Alright, I'll go watch it."

"Cool!" he exclaimed which got an odd look from Raven. "Uh, I mean, great. Come on, it'll be over in only a few minutes."

The two made their way up to the roof, the most ideal spot to watch the sunset. He walked her over to the edge of the roof and the two took a seat so that their legs dangled over the edge. Beast Boy noticed Raven take a seat as far back as she could. She looked a bit hesitant and nervous.

"Hey, you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah," she said. "It's just… I have a bit of a problem with heights."

"What?!" he half exclaimed and half laughed. "Since when? You've been flying for as long as I've known you."

"Well I can't anymore," said Raven. "If I fell off of the roof right now I'd fall to my death."

"No, you wouldn't," he said.

"Yes, I would," she said, not understanding why he wasn't getting it. "Beast Boy, I don't have any powers."

"I know," said Beast Boy. "But if you fell off of the roof right now, you wouldn't fall to your death, Raven. I'd catch you long before you hit the bottom."

"Oh," said Raven. "Well, that's true."

"I'll always be there if you need saving, Rae," he said with a smile.

"Uh… thanks," said Raven. "That's, um, that's nice to know." She could tell something was odd about him right now.

The two watched as the sun began to sink further into golden clouds that seemed to be cotton candy fluffs on fire. It really was a magnificent sight. Beast Boy felt a bit nervous, but knew he had to be calm. He just hoped this wasn't going to all go down in flames. He finally took in a big breath and got on with it.

"Rae?" he said, getting her attention again. "I didn't just ask you up here to watch the sunset with me."

"You didn't?" said Raven.

"No," he said. "I asked you up here to, well, ask you something else."

"And just what would that something else be?" asked Raven, trying to hurry him along. She was starting to feel tired and a little dizzy.

"Well, let me just start off by saying that you're one of my best friends and you always have been," he said. "I mean, we've known each other for like ten years, ever since we were teenagers. And it kills me every day that six of those ten years you were gone. Cuz when you were around, I hate to admit this, I always felt safer. No matter what was going on you always had a cool head and you always knew what the right thing to do was. When I was conflicted you were there to give me your opinion and try to make me feel better. And, even though I kinda ignored or denied all of your really good advice, the fact is that I realize now that you were always right. And I was, as usual, an idiot for not listening to you."

"Go on," said Raven with a small smile, agreeing with all he was saying. He could be an idiot at times.

He smiled back and said, "Well, I kinda wanna make up for being such an idiot. I took you for granted and I wanna say I'm sorry for that. I wasn't the kind of friend I should've been and I finally saw that when I found out about your… situation. The fact that you're dying and you didn't feel comfortable telling me, or anyone else for that matter, really hurt. Because I would do anything for you, to make you happy, or to make you feel comfortable. And it's clear you didn't know that because you thought I'd be happier if you left and never turned up again rather than tell me you're in trouble and let me share in your pain."

Raven coughed a few times then said, "Beast Boy, don't ever think that you weren't a good friend. You've always been a great friend, whether I wanted you to be or not. You always treated me like I was no different than anyone else, which is something no one else has ever done. Everyone's always treated me different because of who I am. But you didn't, and I think you should know that I do appreciate all you've done for me. And it was because you were such a good friend and a good person that I left, because I didn't want to drag you down with me."

"But, see, that's where you're wrong," he said. "If you'd told me about this when you first found out I would've done anything to help you. Do you think I would've blamed you or something? That I would've resented you for taking up my time? You're dying, and, God willing, I've still got a lot of good years ahead of me. I'd give up a few years of my life to make you happy."

"You say that now," said Raven. "But when I found this out Terra had just returned and you two were finally together. If I'd come out and said that I was dying you would have resented me and thought I was doing it on purpose just to keep you two apart or something."

"Well, okay, I might have," said Beast Boy. "Or I might've taken it as an omen. I mean, in the end, we weren't meant to be together."

"I just have this feeling that if I'd stayed here you would've blamed me for your relationship not working out," said Raven, scooting back off the roof and coughing dry, heavy coughs. She was really feeling tired now and would've loved if they could continue this somewhere she could sit comfortably.

Beast Boy sighed and shook his head. "I can't believe you feel that way," he said. "I mean, yeah, when I was like fifteen I would've blamed you cuz I was an immature, hormone driven teenager. But we were practically adults when you found this out. If you'd told me about your situation and later I broke up with Terra I wouldn't have made any connection between the two things."

"Wow," said Raven with a small smile. "I guess you really did grow up. You're nothing like the Beast Boy I knew six years ago."

"And you're nothing like the Raven I knew six years ago," said Beast Boy.

"I guess times changes us all," said Raven. She coughed and began to sway a bit. She had to grip the roof to stay where she was. She was really feeling tired now.

"You okay?" he asked, concerned.

"Yeah, just starting to feel tired, that's all," she said, patting her aching chest. "So, have you asked your question or whatever it was yet?"

"Uh, heh, no," he said, scratching the back of his neck.

"Well get on with it, because I'd really like to go to bed," said Raven.

"Alright," he said, realizing he'd drawn this out for far too long. "Well, the reason I brought all of this up was because I just want you to realize how important you are to me."

"I do realize that," said Raven.

"And I want you to know that I would do anything to make you happy," said Beast Boy.

"I know," said Raven. "You've told me several times."

"So, I was wondering if you'd let me make your biggest dream come true," he said, gently taking her hand.

"And… just what dream would that be?" she asked, a bit shocked that he'd taken her hand so lovingly.

"Well, Rae, uh, Raven, would you… would you marry me?" he asked with a nervous smile, revealing a ring in a lovely little velvet box.

The reaction he got from her was one he'd never seen before. It was a mixture of shock, confusion, and shear speechlessness. It took her a few moments, but she finally found her voice. "So… you think my biggest dream is to marry you?" she asked, confused.

"What? No," he said. "I know that your biggest dream is to get married and have a family."

"Yeah but, no offense, not with you," she said.

"Well, duh, I know that," he said.

"Then why the hell do you want to marry me?" she asked.

"Because I want to take care of you," said Beast Boy. "And if we get married then Crystal will be your daughter. See, you'll have the family you wanted!"

"Beast Boy, that's not exactly what I meant by getting married and having children," said Raven.

"I know," said Beast Boy. "But it's the best and the most I can offer."

"I never asked you to offer me anything," said Raven. "I never asked you for anything period."

"And you shouldn't have to," said Beast Boy. "Look, everyone is behind me on this, but they also think that I'm doing this because I'm in denial about the fact that you're… dying. Well, I'm not. I know you're getting weaker and I know there's nothing I can do to stop the inevitable. I just want to do everything in my power to make you happy. And I thought that by asking you to marry me I could make your dream of having a family come true and I'd finally be able to take care of you no questions asked. Not only that but Crystal will finally have the mother she deserves."

"But not for very long," said Raven. "If we get married and she starts thinking of me as her mom how's she going to take it when I die? How do you think she's going to feel when her second mother dies?"

"Rae, whether you accept my proposal or not, Crystal loves you like you're her mom," said Beast Boy. "Hell, you've only been here for like a month and you've been a better mother than Terra ever was!"

Raven sighed and looked into her lap in deep thought, coughing in her throat. Beast Boy felt very nervous and had a bad feeling. He only had one more thing he could use that might help. It was either going to help or put her right off of this idea.

"And… there's also another reason I'd kinda like you to marry me," he said, looking into the horizon. Raven looked up from her lap and turned to him. "You see, ever since you came back to the tower, I couldn't help but notice what a beautiful, wonderful person you are. And, because of that, I think I might be, um… well… for lack of better words, getting a… crush on you." He finally turned towards her to see her reaction.

Well she was certainly surprised and shocked, but not as severely as he'd thought she'd be. The shock only lasted for a few seconds and then she went back into deep thought, continuing to look in his direction for many minutes. She then bit her lip and looked away. "Beast Boy… I can't really be sure if you have feelings for me," she said. "I mean, a few years ago I could've just felt your emotions and known for sure, but now I can't. But there's one thing I am sure of. You're a sincere person and, at this point, you wouldn't lie to me. So, because you've made such a good, logical proposal, I've decided to… accept it."

"So… you'll marry me?" he asked.

She turned back to him and with a small smile said, "Yes. For the last few moments of my life I'll be Mrs. Raven Logan."