Raven lay staring at her bedroom ceiling. Thinking about the day ahead of her. It would be an understatement to say she was nervous. She had been so busy freeing her emotions that she neglected to acknowledge her empathic ability, she had no idea how Beast boy felt about her. What if she let on that she liked him? What if he found out she liked him but he didn't like her? How should she behave? If she was the old Raven, sarcastic and cold, he may hate her forever. If she's the new Raven, open and happy, she may be too nice and he'll get suspicious.
Raven took a deep breath and let it out slowly "Calm down Raven. Just be yourself and you'll be fine." she assured herself "I'm not going to let one person change who I am." she said.
She stood up, grabbed her cloak and headed for breakfast.
SIMOULTANEOUSLY
Beast boy lay staring at the sky, playing with the sand beneath his fingers. He was trying to relax his mind by going to his secret island, he wasn't having much luck.
'Today's the day' he thought 'I'm going to hang out with Raven for a while then…I'm going to ask her out' he thought. It took a moment for that to sink in.
"I'm going to ask her out." he said aloud, just to be sure that's what he really was going to do.
"God what if she says no? Pff…what am I thinking, this is RAVEN for crying out loud. Of course she'll say no." he said, his doubt clouding him from his decision. He shook his head as if to clear his mind of these thoughts like an etch-a-sketch. He then remembered why he wanted to ask her out in the first place.
"She's smart…geez she's like the smartest person I know. She's funny. I have to admit it, she's funnier than me. I look up to her as a comedic goddess." he chuckled to himself "my purpose in life would be fulfilled if I could get her to laugh."
He lost himself in a daze for a minute before continuing.
"She's so strong-willed and opinionated. She never gives in to peer pressure or the hottest trends. She doesn't care what anyone else thinks and she'll never change who she is for anyone…and I never want her too. She's a challenge, I'll count myself the luckiest man in the universe if I could get her to smile. She's a mystery. It's so hard to figure her out and that's what makes her special. Girls are like books, a lot of them are easy to read like comic books but Raven's the dictionary." he smiled to himself
"She may not know it but I only annoy her because I want her to feel like she's our friend. I want to try to reach out to her and get her to come out of her shell. She's so secluded and that's why she feels alone all the time. She's never alone. Even if the other titans are smart enough to give her, her space. I can open my eyes and see how much Raven really needs some one. I just wish that I could get her to show her true colors…make her feel comfortable to smile on a regular basis…ugh again with her smile! She's just so beautiful when she smiles, her laugh is adorable, but her smile…it's flawless! Hell she's beautiful with or without her smile but when she smiles, you know there can never be anything wrong. The world shines a little brighter when she smiles. And her skin glows in the sunlight, it's almost as if it…sparkles. And her hair is gorgeous. Always pin straight, but when it blows in the wind it waves and billows around her face. And her violet color…it frames her face perfectly and contrasts her eyes…" Beast boy trailed off.
He paused his monologue, thinking about her eyes. He pictured her right in front of him, her beaming violet eyes burrowing deeper and deeper into his soul, and he let them. He welcomed them with open arms.
In the midst of his daydream he heard a bird flap it's wings only inches from his face and land on a stone nearby. His eyes snapped opened and he turned to look at the bird. It took only a moment for him to realize that it was a raven…and it was staring right at him. It cawed and if Beast boy's "raven" wasn't rusty, he swore it said
"What are you waiting for?"
Beast boy blinked at what he thought the black bird had said and immediately took off for titans tower, shifting into the same bird he just had an encounter with. When his companion cawed again however he heard loud and clear "Go get her."
--
Raven floated into the kitchen and found that she was the only one there. She let out a relieved sigh and floated to the refrigerator. As soon as she opened it she heard the common room doors swish open. She feared it was the person she thought it was…she was right. Beast boy walked through the doors and his eyes immediately fell on Raven, who was holding a cube of tofu.
Raven prepared herself for any ridicule that she would expect to hear from the changeling. She expected him to say "Well, well, well, finally caved in did ya?" she prepared to hear it but instead she heard.
"Do you know how to cook that?" he asked. She looked up at him curiously and shook her head no. he smiled at her warmly.
"Then let me take care of that. I'll even make you some real eggs, just in case you think tofu is absolutely disgusting." he chuckled. Raven looked at him utterly surprised.
Beast boy you don't have to do that. I don't normally eat breakfast anyway so if I don't like it then I can go without anything." she assured. Beast boy shook his head.
"No, I've got a lot planned today so you'll need your energy. Besides, if you do like it then Cyborg can devour the poor un-hatched chickies." he said, mildly joking. Raven rolled her eyes at his vegetarian joke, then she turned to him again.
"Wait, you planned today?" she asked. Beast boy blushed mildly and thankfully his back was to her at the time, getting two frying pans.
"Uh yeah. Of course, why not?" he said, a little nervous that she was seeing through him. Raven settled back into the chair.
"So you're not going to ask me what I want to do today like the others?" she asked. Beast boy chuckled, slightly relieved.
"I don't think so but I can't make any promises. I know you want to do what we like to do but I don't want you to be completely miserable." he said "Besides, you and I are complete opposites, we like totally different things." he said again.
"Starfire and I are opposites and she's my best friend, plus I had a good time with her the other day." Raven said. Beast boy quirked his eyebrow at her as he emptied the tofu into one of the pans and reached to get the eggs out of the fridge.
"Then I guess it's true what they say about opposites huh?" Beast boy said. Then instantly regretted it. Raven didn't say anything except a meek "yeah" in response. Both knew that Beast boy was referring to the phrase Opposites Attract.
Beast boy nervously, took one of the eggs out and was looking at it hesitantly. He was about to crack it the edge of the pan when a hand took it away from him. He turned to his right and found Raven holding the egg.
"I'll do this part. I'm not going to make you go against your beliefs over breakfast." she said, as she cracked the egg in the pan with ease. Beast boy smiled at her.
"Thanks Rae." he said. He turned to his own frying pan and began to move the tofu around so it would cook but not burn. Raven looked at him curiously from the corner of her eye. Beast boy's peripheral vision caught this and he turned to her bewildered.
"What?" he asked.
"Why do you call me that?" she asked. Beast boy cocked his eyebrows.
"Why do I call you what?" he asked, turning back to his tofu.
"Rae, why do you call me Rae?" she questioned "No matter how many times I told you not to." she added. Beast boy chuckled but thought about her question.
"I guess…since you seclude yourself so much, I just want you to feel like our friend." he said "I mean, we all have nicknames. Star, Rob, Cy and BB, though occasionally I'm referred to as Grass Stain or Lima Bean." He could have swore he heard Raven giggle but when he looked up at her she only had a half smile on her lips. He continued.
"So, I thought that…if you hade a nickname, you would want to be around more often." Beast boy said somewhat sheepishly. Raven gave him a grateful smile.
"Thank You. That's really thoughtful of you." she complimented, the blood rushing to her pale cheeks. Beast boy smiled at her.
"Don't thank me." he said "I just like you being around. You may not know it but whether you're here or not has a big effect on me--us!" he aid quickly, receiving a slight tint in his cheeks. Raven caught his slip of the tongue and blushed a little deeper.
"Thanks" she said "That means a lot to me." she said more softly. Beast boy picked his head up and looked at her.
"no problem" he said just as soft. He chuckled when Raven unsuccessfully flipped one of her eggs.
"Cooking isn't your thing is it?" he joked. Raven rolled her eyes.
"How could you tell?" she replied sarcastically. Beast boy chuckled.
"Here, let me help." he said. He took a hold of her hand that held the spatula and guided it around the pan.
Again that spark that they felt last night was there again. They both refused to look at each other for fear that they wouldn't be able to look away. Raven was watching Beast boy's every move as he held her hand tightly. She could feel many emotions coming off of Beast boy now that she was paying attention to her empathic abilities. Beast boy's heart was racing and he was sure he looked ridiculously brown. Beast boy could hear that faint, irregular beating of a heart that wasn't his. He realized that it was Raven's and wondered why her heart was beating so fast.
It was exactly this moment that both titans heads snapped up to the sound of the common room doors opening as Starfire, Cyborg and Robin walked in and stared at their friends oddly. Raven and Beast boy were frozen, Beast boy was unable to remove his hand and Raven was unable to stop the creeping blush in her cheeks.
After a moment of uncomfortable silence, the other three titans just moved to the table. Raven and Beast boy had the feeling that they knew something that they didn't.
"Morning guys." Robin said. Beast boy was suddenly aware of his arm and retracted it quickly and scratched the back of his neck.
"Uh, morning. How you guys doing?" he asked awkwardly.
"Fine" Cyborg shrugged "Oh and by the way, your tofu crap is burning." he smirked.
Beast boy whirled around to see that indeed his tofu was now taking on a blackish color. He yelped and hurried to turn off the stove. Unfortunately the once white mesh was deemed inedible and Beast boy threw it away. Raven looked at him sympathetically and placed the other eggs on the table.
"C'mon, we can go to that vegetarian café you like." Raven suggested. Beast boy shook his head.
"No you should eat, we'll be busy." he smiled. Raven rolled her eyes.
"I don't think so. If we're going to be busy then you'll need something to eat and I still have yet to try tofu. We'll go to the café." she said.
"Raven you wouldn't like that place. It's full of hippies wearing organically grown wheat skirts." he said. "I only go there cause the food is good. Like I said, I want to make this as painless as possible for you."
"Then don't make her eat that damn tofu." Cyborg chuckled.
"Not helping." Beast boy glared. Raven rolled her eyes.
"Then we'll get it to go and eat in the park or something." Raven said. Beast boy quirked his eyebrow.
"Why the park?" he asked.
"I…I don't know just anywhere. I want you to be able to feel like your having a normal day too you know. I'm not trying to torcher you." she said. Beast boy chuckled and smiled at her warmly.
"Ok we'll go. Why don't you get your hologram ring and I'll get mine. Then we can go." he smiled. Raven sighed, relieved that the argument was finally over.
"Sounds like a plan. I'll meet you at your door." she said, and she teleported herself through the floor. Beast boy gave a thumbs up to his friends who returned the gesture. He ran out the door and to his room.
"Wow, Grass Stains actually going to go through with it." Cyborg said aloud. Not realizing that Starfire, who didn't know about Beast boy's feelings for Raven, was in the room.
"Go through what Cyborg?" Starfire asked.. Cyborg blanched and Robin smacked his head with his hand.
"Uhhh…nothing Star, just an expression." he lied.
"Oh, and what does this expression mean?" she inquired.
"It means that some people don't know how to keep their mouths shut!" Robin snapped at Cyborg.
"Well she's going to find out anyway so we might as well tell her." Cyborg said, making it worse.
"Friends please, why do you keep secrets from me?" Starfire said, on the verge of tears, that her friends didn't trust her.
"No Star it's just that, we promised Beast boy we wouldn't say anything. It's his secret." Robin explained.
"Oh, then I understand. Raven has entrusted me with a secret that I shall keep from you as well." Starfire said. Cyborg quirked his eyebrow.
"Really?" he said, extremely interested.
"Ah! Don't even think about it." Robin warned. Cyborg's shoulder's sulked and he devoured half the plate of eggs in one mouthful
"Ya know. BB's not the only one keeping secrets around here." Cyborg said dangerously to Robin. Robin's eyes narrowed behind his mask.
"Then I shall question no further. Please excuse me friends. I wish to prepare for the day." Starfire said cheerily and flew out the door. Robin glared at Cyborg.
"So when're you going to ask her out? he asked.
"Ugh!" Robin moaned.
--
"Tofu for the lady." Beast boy said. Placing a plate of tofu in front of Raven. She and Beast boy arrived at the Vegetarian Café a few minutes ago and to Raven's relief, there were only two other people there, besides the workers, and they were more interested in each other than the two at the opposite end of the café.
"Happy that hardly anyone's here?" Beast boy asked, as if he read Raven's mind. Raven looked at him and made a strange face.
"…er…yeah…" she said, an awkward tone in her voice. Beast boy picked up on this immediately and his face held a look of confusion and concern.
"What's wrong?" he asked. Raven looked at him again and smiled.
"Nothing it's just…I'm really not used to seeing you look like that." she smiled. Beast boy returned the smile and ran a hand through his messy blonde hair.
True, because of the holographic ring. He hardly had any features of Beast boy anymore. His forest green hair was now a dirty blonde, his grass green skin was now peach and slightly tanned, the ring hid his pointed ears and fangs. He was hardly recognizable. The only things that stayed the same were his eyes.
"Yeah well I could say the same about you. You don't even look like yourself." Beast boy commented.
Normally Raven didn't feel the need to wear her holographic ring at all, though she didn't have tons of screaming fans always chasing her when she went out in public like Beast boy did. Also it would give the paparazzi some great stories if she was seen in public, alone, with Beast boy. Raven's hologram was quite different. Her skin tone was a normal color of light peach and her hair was short and black but the difference was that she had a few streaks of blue in her hair. Hey, blue was her favorite color. Again her only unchanged feature were her eyes.
Beast boy picked up a streak of her blue hair and examined it. "What persuaded you to get your hologram's hair dyed." he asked curiously. Raven took back her hair and put it back in it's original place. She shrugged.
"It's just something to remind me that I'm not a regular person. Something to remind me that I'm…different." she said somewhat sadly, looking down and letting her hair fall past her ear and hide her face.
She felt something brush her cheek. She looked up to see Beast boy leaning over the table with his hand outstretched, tucking her hair behind her ear again. He smiled at her warmly.
"What makes you think that being different is a bad thing? Who cares if your different? Don't just accept it Raven, embrace it. Because we're different, we save thousands of normal people everyday." he said meaningfully.
Raven smiled at him and without anything to say to the sentiment she stared down at her tofu unsure.
"Raven, it's not going to bite you," Beast boy chuckled "the point is for you to bite it." he said smiling. Raven managed a half smile at him then back at the white cube.
She took her fork and dug into the meat substitute painfully slow. She raised it to her lips and took a bite. She clenched her eyes and expected the foul flavor that Cyborg was always complaining about. Instead she tasted almost nothing, the texture was definitely interesting but not awful. It was pretty good considering it had no flavor. Beast boy sat back in his chair and smiled at her, he already finished off his tofu cube.
"Well? How is it? It's not as bad as that metal carnivore says it is." he said. Raven swallowed with surprising ease and looked at him.
"I couldn't taste anything." She said stupidly. Beast boy rolled his eyes, still smiling.
"Well, duh. It's not supposed to have flavor. You're supposed to cook it with something but it's still pretty good by itself right?" he asked. Raven smiled and nodded.
"Yes, if I can keep this bit down I can finish the rest." she said sarcastically. Beast boy chuckled and waited patiently for her to finish, once she was done they headed out and Raven looked to Beast boy to where they were going first.
"I have tickets to go see a movie I'm sure you'd like. It starts in an hour, maybe we could like go for a walk or something before we head to the theater. The parks like ten minutes away so we could go there, plus it's still a weekday so there'll hardly be any people there…it'll be quiet." he sang. He knew Raven adored peace and quiet.
Raven pondered this for a moment then glanced at Beast boy "What movie? Do NOT tell me it's Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter." she said. Beast boy chuckled.
"Actually I considered those two," he said, Raven glared at him a bit "But, I didn't get tickets for them, I got tickets for a new movie that came out a while ago. Twilight." he said. Raven looked at him curiously as they entered the park.
"Never heard of it." she said.
"I don't really know what it's about either but I heard it's suppose to be good." he said. Raven rolled her eyes
"I see you did your research." she said sarcastically. Beast boy laughed.
"Yeah, but Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings wouldn't have been good, I read the books already." he said casually. Raven stopped in her tracks and looked at him incredulously.
"You what?" she asked, dumbfounded. Beast boy put on his cocky grin and began to sweat slightly.
"I read the books." he said again, a little more smugly. Raven scrunched her face.
"Since when do you read?" he asked
"Okay, remember last week when you told me to do something more productive and read for once?" he asked. Raven nodded.
"Yeah, that's when you were killing brain cells via television." she commented. Beast boy rolled his eyes and continued.
"Anyway. I actually took your advice and read those books cause I know they're popular. If I couldn't read them then I would borrow one of your books." he chuckled, though Raven didn't seem to hear that it was a joke.
"Just kidding Rae." he said. Raven rolled her eyes and continued walking.
"Well, anyway, don't you remember when I was locked in my room for three days?" he asked. Raven shook her head.
"No because I was always locked in my room, meditating." she said, Beast boy chuckled and continued.
"Right, well all that time I was finishing them." he said proudly
"You read a how many pages in three days??" she asked.
"a lot" he said simply
"Beast boy that over 1000 pages a day!" she said astounded. She was actually quite astonished that Beast boy had went and read a novel all because she told him to.
"What? Don't you read like 10 books in a day?" he asked
"Yes but I'm a relatively fast reader. For you, that's pretty impressive." she complimented. Beast boy smiled an ear to ear grin.
"Really? Impressive? Me?" he asked quickly. Raven smiled and rolled her eyes.
"Yes but don't let it go to your head." Raven warned.
"Oh, but I will." he said smugly. Raven rolled her eyes
"How do you find the time to read an actual book? You never do around the tower." she said
"Hey I don't always go to that island to watch the sunrise in the mornings. I go there to read my comics and up until recently, actual books." he said proudly. Raven stared at him utterly surprised.
"Well, this completely redefines you." she said "I never thought that you of all people would read a book at your age level, let alone do it because I told you to." she commented. Beast boy blushed mildly and gave her a crooked smile. Raven then looked at him curiously.
"Why did you do it?" she asked him. Beast boy pretended to play dumb.
"Do what?" he asked stupidly. Raven rolled her eyes.
"Why did you go read a book because I told you to. You never did that before." she said. Beast boy looked down and smiled nervously.
"I…don't know," he lied "I guess that I just went with what you said because I wanted to try it out. I mean you tell me to go get a book and stop annoying you all the time so…I guess I just wanted to see what the difference was." he said "Plus that island is really peaceful." he said, trying to change the subject. Raven picked up on this and went along with it.
"Yeah, I'm surprised that no one from the tower goes there. I would have thought that Starfire would love that place." she commented. Beast boy's awkward smile was back.
"Well…you're the only other person I told. Otherwise no one in Jump City knows about it." he said Raven looked at him curiously.
"Why did you decide to show me?" she asked. Beast boy smiled warmly at her, slowly talking to her was becoming more and more comfortable.
"I dunno. I guess your the most trustworthy person I've ever known. I mean, Robin would probably keep it quiet but no way could he go without teasing me, Starfire would 'accidentally' blab it out, Cyborg? Yeah right, The king of all blackmail? The only other person I trusted was Terra, but I never told her about it…Terra………I trusted her and I got burned, broken and torn. Plus she's in a place where I'll never have to see her again." he said, his voice growing angry and his hands clenching.
Raven looked at him sympathetically and subconsciously wondered how their conversation went from the movie to Terra. She hated Terra with a passion. She would never admit it but after she betrayed them and broke Beast boy's heart, she could never be forgiven. She was a traitor and always will be.
Raven put her hand on Beast boy's shoulder. He loosened up at her touch. His eyes were clenched and his fists were balled. When he opened his eyes to look at her, his gaze softened, and you could tell that his eyes were trying to hold back tears.
"Beast boy, I'm sorry." she said.
"For what? You didn't do anything." he replied.
"No, I'm sorry that…she broke your heart." she said, choosing similar words that Beast boy used when he was trying to console her after her encounter with Malchior. Beast boy smiled and blushed slightly, remembering where she was getting her words from. She had hugged him after he comforted her after Malchior.
Before Raven could react he had sprung at her and gave her a tight hug. Raven was surprised but quickly realized that's what Beast boy needed was to be comforted. She wrapped her arms around him in return and took in his scent. His musky, wild aroma.
"Thanks for understanding Rae." he whispered, smiling into her shoulder.
"I'm the only one who does." Raven whispered back.
With that, Beast boy broke the hug and smiled at her warmly, he then chuckled and started the walk that neither were aware of that they stopped. Raven walked beside the still smiling Beast boy.
"You know, what is it about you Raven?" he asked her. Raven blushed slightly from this odd question.
"What?" she asked innocently. Beast boy chuckled again.
"You're really easy to talk to. First I confess my bad childhood, then I deal with my feelings for Terra again. You got me under mind control Rae?" he joked. Raven smiled and rolled her eyes.
"Yeah that's it. I'm not a talker Beast boy, I'm a listener. That's probably why it's so easy to tell me about your problems, because I won't interrupt or judge. I'll listen and help." she said. Beast boy smiled at her warmly.
"You know I know you said you're not a talker, but if you ever need or want to talk about anything, I'm only down the hall." he said. Raven smiled slightly.
"Thanks Beast boy. I appreciate it." she said. Beast boy glanced at his watch and his eyes widened.
"Wow, the movie's going to be starting in five minutes." he said. Raven looked at him curiously.
"Are you sure? That didn't feel like an hour." she said.
"Yeah I even checked twice. The movies on in fiv--four minutes." he said.
"Well then I suppose it was pretty good that the theater's right there." Raven pointed out. Sure enough, they had been walking through the park for so long that they had actually walked to the theater.
"Okay then let's go before we miss the movie." he said and the two walked straight for the theater.
--
"Hey do you want anything?" Beast boy whispered. They were inside the theater and the previews were currently playing. Raven shook her head in response to Beast boy's question.
"No I'm okay." she replied. Beast boy frowned.
"Yeah now, but trust me you're going to want something later." he said, Raven looked at him.
"I don't want anything. If you want something be my guest." she whispered. Beast boy rolled his eyes.
"I'll get you a water and some popcorn for the both of us." he said.
"Whatever." Raven rolled her eyes. She really didn't care about movie snacks or where the seats were. They sat in the very back row where no one else was, as Raven watched Beast boy walk down the steps, she couldn't help but think that it was actually sweet of him to think about her and asked her if she wanted anything and got something anyway. She was however, slightly surprised that he wasn't going to make her drink soda. She was even more surprised when she saw him coming back up the stairs with popcorn, a soda for him and a bottle of water. She was sure that he'd get several boxes of candy or overdo it on butter and salt for the popcorn but no, he actually bought what he said he was going to buy.
He handed Raven her water bottle and she smiled and took it. She set it in the cup holder for later as Beast boy did the same with his soda and he set the popcorn on his left leg so that if Raven wanted any she could have some. He looked like he was about to say something but the movie titles began to fly across the screen so he closed his mouth and paid attention to the movie.
--
"That was…a really good movie." Beast boy commented as they walked out of the dark theater and into he sun. Both he and Raven squinted their eyes at the brightness momentarily. It was also warm outside but it wasn't the warm weather that was causing the tint in their cheeks.
During the end of the movie Raven decided that it would be alright to have some popcorn. Beast boy was obviously happy about this due to the huge grin on his face that he could do something right. However, at one point they both reached at the same time and they did the classic popcorn hand touch. Raven blushed wildly for some reason and hid her face, though it was hard to tell in such a dark room. Beast boy flushed crimson as well and abandoned the popcorn for the rest of the movie.
"Yes, it was pretty good." Raven said in response to Beast boy's earlier question. She looked up at him and wondered where he'd take her next. Beast boy looked at his watch, it was about noon.
"Lunch?" he asked. Raven thought and nodded. Though she wasn't too thrilled about going out to lunch anywhere. Even their pizza place was always packed around this time and she hated crowds.
As if reading her thoughts…
"Don't worry Rae, I've got something planned and I know you're going to like it. I know you don't like a lot of people so. I made lunch, Just meet me by the boardwalk and I'll be back in a little bit. K? I'll be right back." he said, and with that he immediately ran behind a tree and away from the crowd and transformed into a flacon, holding his holographic ring in his beak.
Raven couldn't even ask or say something before he took off. She looked at the sky suspiciously before walking towards the boardwalk to wait for Beast boy.
--
It didn't take long. After about ten minutes Raven was at the boardwalk and so was Beast boy, holding a blanket and a picnic basket. Raven quirked her eyebrow.
"A picnic?" she asked.
"On the beach." he finished.
"hmmm…a walk through the park, movie, a picnic. If I didn't know any better I'd say you were taking me on a date." Raven smirked. Beast boy didn't answer right away.
"You wish." he chuckled, cocking his eyebrows. Raven smiled at him doubtfully. She caught the pause before.
"Malady." Beast boy said, offering his arm to her. Raven rolled her eyes but took it. Beast boy smiled his stud-like grin.
'Oh yeah, she digs me.' he purposefully thought.
'I heard that.' Raven said telepathically
'That was the point.' Beast boy thought back, cocking his eyebrows.
"Just pick a spot to sit down." Raven said aloud, rolling her eyes. Beast boy chuckled and set the basket down on the sand.
"How about here?" he said this more as a statement than a question. Raven didn't answer as Beast boy began to lay the blanket down on the sand and put four rocks in the corners to keep it down. Raven took a seat and waited for Beast boy to unpack the basket.
He took out a thermos and two sandwiches that looked to be tofu burgers. Raven raised her eyebrow as he took out two glass mugs. She looked at him curiously and he flushed slightly.
"Okay don't be mad…I kinda went into your herbal tea cabinet and made you this. I know for you it's been like forever since you had your tea so…here you go. And I'll only have some if your okay with it." he added as an afterthought. It was a known fact that Raven's herbal tea was off limits, much like Robin's coffee was most of the time. Beast boy reached into the basket and took out another sandwich.
"Here, if you don't like the tofu one, I made a turkey sandwich for you." he said, handing it to her. She took it and looked at him even more confused and curious than before.
"Beast boy…you made a meat sandwich for me?" she said slightly guilty that she had inadvertently made him go against his beliefs.
"Yeah, it's not like I ate it." he said in a 'duh' tone "Raven don't worry, I just wanted to make this a good day for you. I know I'm not exactly your favorite person to be stuck hanging out with for a day so…I want you to have fun." he said. Raven was surprised at how genuine he was being.
"Beast boy, true you do get on my nerves from time to time," she smiled, he chuckled "But trust me. I'm having a great time today. And I've also learned that you can be mature when you want to and I won't even know about it. Reading those books for example." she said. Beast boy rolled his eyes.
"I thought you were already over that." he said, taking one of the tofu burgers and taking a bite out of it.
"I am, but that doesn't mean it still isn't shocking." she said. Pouring two mugs of herbal tea and handing one to Beast boy. He swallowed and looked at her to be sure.
"You sure Rae?" he asked, taking the mug. She nodded her head.
"Yes, I tried your tofu, now it's your turn." she smirked.
"Oh Ha Ha, very funny. You didn't poison this did you?" he said jokingly. Raven rolled her eyes as she took a sip of her own tea and grabbed a tofu burger as well.
Beast boy noticed this and smiled. He looked down at the herbal tea again and took a sip. It was…really good. It wasn't the kind of good that you want to finish the whole thing in two seconds, it was the kind of good that you want to drink it slowly and take in every flavor and feel every sense it triggers. He felt the warm liquid slide down his throat and enliven his every sense his sense of smell, touch, and taste. It wasn't until he heard Raven cough audibly did he realize that his eyes were closed. He opened them quickly and saw Raven smirking at him and several bites taken out of her tofu burger.
"Thought you'd never wake up." she said. Sipping her tea again. Beast boy flushed and put the mug down.
"So that's what I interrupt every time your meditating or drinking your tea?" he asked. Raven nodded.
"I'm really really really sorry Rae. I had no idea." he said. Raven smiled at him.
"So you like it?" she asked.
"Like it? Are you kidding I love it! It's so…so…"
"calming?" she asked. Beast boy looked at her and nodded.
"Yeah, calming. And it's not like, drop dead tired kind of calming it's just…calming!" he said, for lack of a better word. Raven rolled her eyes.
"So what about the tofu?" he asked, cocking his eyebrow.
"It's hard to believe, but it actually tastes like a hamburger. Except for the texture of course." she stated.
"I know. That's one thing that I like about tofu." he said. Raven swallowed and looked at him curiously.
"So, you like the taste of meat?" she asked. Beast boy's eyes widened.
"Of Course not! I Would NEVER eat an innocent animal!!" he practically shouted.
"No, no I know you wouldn't. But you said you like the TASTE of meat. Do you?" she asked. Beast boy looked down, he looked as if he were to admit he'd done a horrible crime.
"Yeah. I hate to admit it but it's the truth." he said. A thought then occurred to Raven.
"When you turn into animals, do you take on whatever instinctual adaptations they have?" she asked. She half expected Beast boy to not know what she said but he answered with no problem.
"Yeah, that's why…I ate the snake when I turned into a mongoose remember? When I was little." he said. Raven nodded, remembering their conversation the previous day.
"Then I have another question. When you turn into carnivores, how do you resist meat?" she asked. Beast boy didn't answer for a while. 7 whole seconds went by before he answered.
"It's very hard." he said at last. Raven knew that another question wouldn't be wise. She and Beast boy continued eating until Beast boy turned to Raven and asked her a surprising question.
"Does it hurt?" he asked. Raven looked at him confused.
"What?" she asked.
"When you heal us, does it hurt?" he asked her again. Raven's eyes widened slightly. She looked down to avoid eye contact.
"No, but it does weaken me greatly. It doesn't exactly hurt though, but it numbs my head if I do it for too long and I can feel a stinging in my hands." she explained. Beast by took all this in and looked at the ground again.
"Raven if it really does that to you, then why do you heal us even when we're only bruised?" he asked, referring to a time when she healed him for a minor injury. Raven looked up at him.
"Because I was destined to destroy the world remember. My whole purpose was to end the life of mortals. You guys are my friends. Even if I was supposed to kill you one day. I had to at least heal every injury you obtained, and hope that that would somehow make up for…" she stopped. She couldn't continue. Too many bad memories.
Beast boy reached out and put a hand on her shoulder. She turned to him and looked into his eyes. They were the same forest green orbs she came to know, even behind the foggy hologram. They were full of sincerity and sympathy. She involuntarily gave him a half smile and he smiled back at her.
"It looks like we're finished here." he said. He placed his empty mug inside the basket as well as Raven's and the blanket as well. He smiled nervously at Raven.
"Uh, Raven? I was wondering, could you…"
"No problem." she said, reading his thoughts. She chanted her mantra and the basket was instantly engulfed with black energy an transported back to titans tower. Raven smiled at him.
"Thanks Rae." he said.
"And exactly what would you have done if I said no?" she asked crassly. Beast boy shrugged.
"Groveled and begged till you said yes?" he answered. Raven rolled her eyes and stood up, she dusted away the sand on her legs. And turned to him expectantly.
"So what are you planning next?" she asked. Beast boy checked his watch and glanced behind her.
"The boardwalk's having a fair today. Maybe we could hang out there and don't worry, I won't push you to go on a roller coaster…much." he joked. Raven rolled her eyes and playfully punched his shoulder. He faked a cringe and chuckled.
"So does that sound good to you?" he asked. Raven pondered this and nodded.
"Yeah it sounds fine to me." she said. The two began their way to the boardwalk, which wasn't far away. The sounds of the people were barely heard from where they stood considering that there weren't many there. It began to get crowded once kids were home from school, parents were home from work and families finished dinner.
"And I'll betcha I can win you another prize." she beamed. Raven rolled her eyes.
"One that isn't one of the most annoying birds on the planet." she said sarcastically. Beast boy faked a hurt expression.
"That chicken took two whole tokens!" he joked. Raven rolled her eyes again.
"Other than that what are we going to do? I'm not a roller coaster person." she said.
"You'll see." Beast boy said slyly. He walked faster to the boardwalk while Raven tried to keep up.
'What's he thinking?' Raven thought