Disclaimer: I have no ownership of Teen Titans
Chapter 18
He took in a deep breath and his eyes sleepily opened. He felt quite cool and shivered. Slightly sitting up, he looked around; he was still in the small cave behind the waterfall. He'd spent the night there again. He then looked down and found Raven fast asleep beside him, curled up. Then the events of only hours before came back to him.
As soon as they'd shared that first kiss they both felt a release that made them feel light headed. The awkward tension that had been building had shattered and left them in a feeling of sheer ecstasy. Her mouth had been so sweet, her skin so soft, and her scent absolutely overwhelming. He'd continued to kiss her until they both fell asleep.
And now it was the morning after. Beast Boy wasn't sure what time it was, but it still seemed dark out so they had a while before the others woke up. He lay back down beside her and rested his arm on her side, taking her hand in his. He placed his nose near the base of her neck and inhaled, smelling her sweet scent again. It had gone back to being a simple herbal tea and lavender blend, but that didn't make it any less tantalizing.
As he settled back in to rest for a little while longer he felt an overwhelming sense of peace rest over him. He'd been getting closer to Raven through their exchange of letters and, admittedly, he'd developed a crush on the idea of her. But then, when he'd seen her again after two years, he knew he liked her, not just the idea of her. And from the way she'd reacted last night, he was pretty sure she felt something for him, too.
Raven felt wakefulness come to her and she felt chilly. She could hear the ever falling water of the waterfall echoing against the stone walls of the cave, helping her to remember where she was. And then she began to remember how she ended up spending yet another night here, but it all seemed a blur and she wasn't sure if it was real.
"Are you awake?" a soft voice breathed into her neck.
She realized that Beast Boy was lying against her, and that he was even holding her hand. She knew she should feel panicked and upset, but oddly, she didn't. She actually felt… good.
"Yes," she answered him, holding his hand a little tighter.
"Good," he said. "Cuz we've gotta head back to the village soon and I didn't want to wake you up."
"Oh," said Raven.
"But, trust me, I'd really rather stay here," he said, wrapping his other arm around her and cuddling even closer to her, "with you."
Raven bit her lip and smiled to herself. Never had she been touched like this before. Never had she felt like this before. This pleasant feeling coursing through her veins was euphoric and she didn't want it to end. So this was why her teammates were always so happy when with their significant other.
"Beast Boy?" she said.
"Hmm?" he answered.
"Does this… mean anything?" she asked. In truth, she'd never been in a situation like this before. And neither had he.
"What do you mean?" he asked, lifting himself up a bit as she lay flat so they could see each other.
"Well… do you really like me?" she asked.
"Yeah," he said. "I really like you. I don't know if I've ever felt like this for anyone before, to be honest. Do you like me?"
"At first I wasn't really sure," she said. "But now I'm pretty certain I do. And, I've got to be honest, too, that scares me."
Beast Boy smiled and said, "I'm scared, too. But, I think if we weren't scared then we'd be in trouble." Raven smiled softly then leaned up and kissed him, to which he gladly kissed her back.
They soon left their little paradise behind the waterfall and headed back to the village. They held hands on their way, but this time it meant far more than it had before. As they went they would steal glances at each other, blush, and smile bashfully. Once they were free of the jungle they walked across the plain, still hand in hand and rather closely. They could see that the sun had just made it above the horizon and the land was beginning to glow. They reached the village and made their way to Beast Boy's hut. They peaked inside and saw that everyone was still asleep.
"And nobody's the wiser," said Raven, relieved.
"Raven, you do know that we can't be together in front of anyone, right?" he said.
"Yes," she said, looking down. "I know."
"It's not cuz I'm embarrassed about liking you or being with you," he said, quickly.
"I know," she said again. "You're not supposed to be with any girls for any reason until you've finished your trials." She looked up to him and smiled softly. "But I don't mind waiting." Beast Boy smiled, leaned down, and kissed her softly. When the kiss ended Raven entered the hut while Beast Boy prepared to make breakfast again.
Aiyana watched as the two separated and felt a burning anger welling up in her being. She knew this was going to happen. That's why she'd told King Tawaba to put an end to it as soon as possible. Well, now she was going to have to take things into her own hands. This had to end, now!
Morning droned on and soon everyone was awake and eating breakfast. Beast Boy and Raven made sure not to act any different than they usually would, though they would try to steal a glance every now and then. Luckily, whenever they did, it went unnoticed.
"So, do you think the T-ship's going to be fixed today?" asked Robin.
"Should be," said Cyborg. "We can probably leave tomorrow morning."
"Why not tonight?" asked Robin.
"I'm gonna be way too tired to drive the T-ship all the way back to Jump City," said Cyborg. "If we leave tomorrow we should get back to the tower by the afternoon, with the time changes and all."
"Well, that sounds good enough," said Robin,
"Oh, must we leave?" asked Starfire. "I am enjoying myself very much here."
"Yeah, I'm not sure I'm ready to leave just yet," said Sarah.
"Hey, you've got all of today to enjoy yourself," said Cyborg.
"Not if you're going to spend the day fixing the ship," said Sarah. "I'm not going to leave you to do it alone."
"Eh, don't worry about me," said Cyborg. "You just go on and enjoy yourself."
"Really?" asked Sarah. "Are you sure?"
"Yeah, I'm sure," he said.
"Good, because I really wanted to try and get a tan today," said Sarah. "I mean, I might as well try to get some sun where the sun is at its most intense."
"Oh, I shall try to get some sun with you!" said Starfire. "Raven, would you like to join us?"
"The sun and I have never really been friends," said Raven, who had a bottle of suntan lotion with an SPF of 120 in her luggage.
"Just a little bit won't hurt you," said Sarah. "Come on, we'll have an old fashioned girls' afternoon."
"That's alright," said Raven. "I get enough of those back home when you two drag me to the mall."
"Then what are you going to do today?" asked Starfire.
"I'll meditate, maybe take one last look around," said Raven with a shrug.
"I guess that leaves just you and me, Beast Boy," said Robin. "Is there anything else to do other than swim?"
"Yeah, you can help me fix the T-ship," said Cyborg.
"Why should I?" asked Robin. "You're the one who crashed it."
"If you want us to leave by tomorrow morning then you'll help me," said Cyborg.
"And, besides, I've got stuff to do today, dude," said Beast Boy.
"Like what?" asked Robin.
"Chores, duties, and I've got to really press King Tawaba to tell me what my final trial is so you guys can be here to see me finally be considered a man," said Beast Boy.
"Looks like you've got no choice," said Cyborg, patting Robin on the back. "You're with me, today."
Robin groaned, but his logic told him that was the best place for him to be, anyway. The T-ship needed to be fixed so they could get home and get back to their responsibilities.
"Garfield," said Aiyana as she walked up to the group. She said a few words and pointed at King Tawaba's hut. He responded and then she walked away.
"What's going on?" asked Sarah.
"Good news," said Beast Boy with a smile. "King Tawaba's gonna tell me what the final trial is."
"Good luck," said Robin.
"Yeah, we really wanna be here when they make you a man," said Cyborg.
"Let's hope this last trial's an easy one," said Beast Boy and with that he headed off to see King Tawaba.
He felt nervous but excited as he entered the king's hut. This was it; the final trial. All he had to do was pass it and he'd finally be a man. He saw King Tawaba sitting in his usual seat, waiting for him.
"Good morning, sir," said Beast Boy with a smile.
"Good morning, Garfield," said King Tawaba. "Please, come sit."
Beast Boy did as he asked and said, "So, you're finally gonna tell me the final trial, huh? You've no idea how happy I am to finally find out."
"I doubt you'll be happy for very long," said King Tawaba.
"Why's that?" asked Beast Boy. "What's the final trial?"
"Garfield, if I had known I wouldn't have asked you to do the trials," King Tawaba sighed.
"If you had known what?" asked Beast Boy, confused. "What're you talking about?"
"Tell him," said a voice from the doorway of the hut. Beast Boy turned and saw Aiyana standing there.
"Aiyana?" he said. "You know what the final trial is? Whoa, wait a second, what's going on?"
"Tell him now," said Aiyana, entering the hut. "You've put it off for too long, sir."
King Tawaba sighed and said, "The final trial is that you must marry a girl of my choosing from the tribe that has completed her Trials of Womanhood."
Beast Boy tried to get his mind around what King Tawaba had just said. "I've got to get married? You've got to pick out the girl? It's gotta be a girl from the tribe?"
"And, as with tradition, the king will choose his daughter to be your wife," said Aiyana.
"But, you don't have a daughter," said Beast Boy, turning to King Tawaba.
"Yes, I do," said King Tawaba.
"Who?" asked Beast Boy. "I've never met her."
"Yes, you have," said King Tawaba. "You've known her for quite some time."
"Then who is it?" asked Beast Boy.
"It's me, Beast Boy," said Aiyana, taking a seat next to him. "I'm King Tawaba's daughter."
"W-What?" said Beast Boy, shocked. "But, how's that possible? I mean, you never called him dad or anything."
"In our culture, if our father is the king of the tribe, we don't refer to him as 'father' or 'dad' in public," said Aiyana. "We refer to him as all others do."
"No, no this can't be," said Beast Boy, refusing to believe what he'd been told. "He can't be your father!"
"Have you ever seen me with parents?" asked Aiyana.
"No, but… but I assumed you were an orphan," said Beast Boy. "I can't believe this. So, this means that… that…"
"I am Princess Aiyana and we're to be wed," said Aiyana, taking his hand. "And then you'll finally be considered a man."
"But I don't love you!" he said, taking his hand away from hers. "I don't even like you! And now I'm totally reconsidering even being your friend!"
"I'll love enough for the both of us," said Aiyana.
"But… But… Raven," he said, feeling his heart sink.
Aiyana frowned and said, "If you want to pass the trials and be a man then you must marry me. If not, you can never come back. Is that what you want, Beast Boy? To be exiled from the one place you've felt the most at home?"
Beast Boy was quiet for a moment then asked, "How long do I have to complete this task?"
"One week," said King Tawaba.