Disclaimer: I don't own any rights to the Teen Titans or any characters in the DC Universe.
Beast Boy was trotting happily up to the Tower's roof top. Cyborg had just given him his follow up physical exam and he had been cleared for duty. During his convalescence he was forbidden to do any morphing as there was concern that it might interfere with his ribs mending correctly. Beast Boy thought that Cyborg was being excessively cautious but had followed his instructions. He was now eager to spread his wings and fly. He loved to soar as a bird, and the Peregrine Falcon was his favorite. He got a rush out of the high speeds, especially when diving, hitting close to 200 mph. Only Starfire could fly faster in the atmosphere, and with great effort.
He bolted through the roof access door and ran to the edge, giggling as he spread his arms and began to transform into a green "Duck Hawk". His transformation was almost complete as he leaped off the edge and within a split second he was soaring above the bay, circling the tower as he elevated into the sky. He felt the cool morning air caress his feathered body as the bay shimmered like a gem over two thousand feet below. Feeling frisky he went into a dive towards the Tower's roof and quickly accelerated until he reached a speed of 200 miles per hour. He felt the excitement course through his body as the Tower quickly approached.
As he got close to the Tower he spread his wings to reduce his speed and land, but as he did that he felt a sharp pain in his chest, as two of his delicate and not fully healed avian ribs snapped from the stress of the deceleration. The pain was blinding and he began to tumble, unable to regain control. He saw the rooftop approaching rapidly as he was still falling at a speed of over 100 mph.
He knew it was the end, and braced himself for the impact, hoping that his demise would be quick and hopefully painless. As he drew close to the Tower's roof he felt strangely calm, and contrary to the stereotype, his life did not flash before his eyes. As the impact became imminent his last thought was of Raven.
He suddenly felt a cold tingling sensation.
Is this what dying feels like? He wondered to himself.
He felt himself decelerate rapidly, so much so that he couldn't breathe. He came to a full stop less than a meter from the roof's surface and then gently floated to the floor, where he morphed back into his human form, clutching his side in pain. Lying on his back he felt the tingling sensation vanish and his surroundings suddenly became brighter. He saw Raven running towards his prone form with a mortified expression on her face. He now understood that she had saved him from a certain death.
"Garfield! What happened? Are you OK?" she wailed. She was paler than usual.
"I-I-I h-hurt myself in the dive." He struggled to speak.
She pulled his hands away from his side and once again began the healing process. Beast Boy immediately began to feel better and let out a sigh of relief. After a minute she was done and pulled him to his feet. She then gave him a fierce hug, and didn't let go.
"You idiot! You could have killed yourself!" she said, her voice trembling. "What were you thinking!?"
"I'm sorry Rae. Cyborg just gave me a clean bill of health. I guess he was wrong. Lucky for me you were here."
She released him and wiped away a few stray tears.
"I came because I wanted to ask you something."
The changeling smiled. "Fire away Rae. I'm all ears."
"It's very personal and private. I don't want you telling the others about what I'm about to say, OK?"
"Sure, you can trust me."
After hesitating for almost a minute she began, stammering all the way. "Garfield would you, I mean I want us to, I mean, will you be …"
And she was interrupted by her communicator. It was Robin, who apparently had returned from his meeting with the school Principal.
"Come to the common room immediately!" His voice barked over Raven's communicator. "I have some news regarding Slade."
Saved by the bell! The sorceress thought to herself. For a moment there she thought she was about to pass out. "We're on our way." She acknowledged. Heaving a sigh of relief she closed the communicator and placed it back on her belt.
"What did you want to tell me?" he asked.
"It can wait." She said with a tone of relief still clear in her voice. "Let's not keep Robin waiting."
Raven and Beast Boy were walking down the hallway to the common room.
"So, what's Robin gonna tell us? It's gotta have something to do with Terra."
"Probably does." Raven replied. "I just hope it's not bad news."
"When Slade's involved, it always is." The changeling remarked.
As they made their way around the last corner they saw Starfire emerge from her room. She grinned when she saw the couple and glided over to them.
"Friend Beast Boy, may I have a moment with Raven?"
"You don't need my permission, but thanks for asking." He then smiled at Raven. "I'll save a seat for you."
Once he was out of earshot the princess grabbed Raven by the shoulders and whisked her away into her room. Raven did her best not to grimace at the décor in the alien girl's room, which was giving her a sensory overload. The vast amounts of pink alone made her eyes hurt.
"So? What did he say? Oh what am I saying? Of course he said yes, why he looked so happy to be with you!"
Raven averted her gaze to the floor. "I never got around to asking him."
"Why not?!" Starfire shrieked, the disappointment clear in her voice.
Raven looked at her friend, her irritation was evident.
"I choked, OK?" she paused "And since when does the girl ask? I thought that was the boy's job."
Starfire shook her head.
"I am sorry Raven, but you must ask him."
Raven seemed ready to snap. "Give me one good reason why I have to go out on a limb and ask him to be my boyfriend? I'm not even sure I want him to be my boyfriend."
The princess rolled her eyes and displayed her contempt for Raven's cowardice with a huff.
"I have seven reasons why you should not wait and ask him now."
"Seven reasons? I gotta hear this."
Starfire smiled before she began: "H","E","A","T","H","E","R".
Raven gave her a sour look before charging off.
"Fine, I'll ask him! But you know what? You … you're devious!"
Starfire suppressed her laughter until Raven was out of earshot.
"I love you too, my sister!" she giggled as she make her way to the common room.
Raven was livid. Starfire had no freaking idea of how hard this was for someone like her. But she was right. Heather was all over Beast Boy, my Beast Boy, like a cheap suit. And she was dressed like a whore! What was he thinking? Did he really like floozies? Raven slowed down her pace and stopped in front of the common room sliding doors.
Relax Raven, you can't go in there like this. And you can't blame him for taking that hussy out on a date, especially after that put down in the infirmary. But it's all OK now. We're back together as best friends and I'll ask him before the day is over. No, I'll ask him right after the meeting. No! I'll ask him right now! Let no one say that Raven Roth is coward!
Raven collected herself, put on a small smile and pushed the open door button on the wall. She stepped in and looked around. Starfire had somehow already entered the room and was talking with Robin and Cyborg in front of the TV. Beast Boy wasn't with them and she looked around the room for him. She finally saw him in the kitchen.
And every light bulb in the common room exploded.
Standing right in front of him, her arms wrapped around his waist with her head resting in his shoulder was none other than Terra, who was dressed in her school uniform.
Everyone turned to the still open sliding doors and saw Raven standing there, slack jawed, and staring at Beast Boy and Terra.
"Are you OK Raven?" Cyborg asked her.
Raven quickly composed herself. "Sorry, I was just surprised to see Terra here. The last time I saw her she was still made of stone."
"Understandable" the boy wonder replied as he handed a box of replacement bulbs to Starfire while Cyborg vacuumed up the shattered glass pieces. Terra let go of Beast Boy and walked up to Raven.
"Hi Raven, I'm glad to see you too." She said with a sly smile.
Raven's eyes glowed red. "Stay away from him Terra, I'm warning you."
"Who are you to tell me what to do? I asked BB if he had a girlfriend and he said no."
"I swear Terra, if you hurt him again…"
"And since when do you care about BB? If anyone here's guilty of hurting him, it's you."
"OK, that's enough!" Robin intervened.
"What the hell is she doing here?" Raven complained.
"Slade has been trying to recruit her again as his apprentice. It's too dangerous for her now; she needs to stay with us."
Raven didn't look convinced. "I thought she could now hold her own against Slade. She doesn't need our protection."
"It's still too risky. She's gonna stay with us until we can deal with Slade."
Raven saw a smirk form on Terra's face. The Sorceress wanted to rip out the Geomancer's throat, but instead walked up to Beast Boy.
"We need to talk." She said as she swept her cape around him and they vanished together.
"She seems on edge." Terra guffawed. "What's with her and BB? She gotta a crush on him?"
"Knock it off Terra." Cyborg interrupted. "Raven has good reason to be suspicious of you. Lay off her, OK?"
"Sor-reee" she replied sarcastically. "So are they a couple or not? Cuz she seems pretty damn possessive of him."
"Believe it or not, they've become close friends, OK?" Robin replied.
"So my BB is still fair game then, right?"
Starfire exploded. "He is not the fair game! You told him to go away a few weeks ago, and now you want him. Why?"
"Can't a girl change her mind?"
Robin jumped back in. "Listen Terra, the last thing I need is trouble between you and Raven. If you can't behave yourself I'll ship you off to Titans East, and I mean it!"
"Gee Robin, chill. I got the message, OK? But it takes two to play nice. I can't help it if Raven's gonna be an uber bitch."
"Just stay out of her way. And Beast Boy's way too."
Beast Boy and Raven phased into her room.
"Sit down Garfield." She motioned to the edge of her bed, and he complied. She sat down next to him.
"I'm ready to ask you the question I was going to ask you on the roof. Before I ask you I want you to know this has nothing to do with Terra's arrival, understand?"
The green boy nodded as she took his hand in hers.
"You know that I care a great deal about you, right?"
"Of course Raven, and I care a lot about you too."
"Good, because you're very special to me Garfield."
"Why don't you just call me Gar?" he asked.
She smiled. "Sure. And you can call me Rae. You do it all the time anyway."
He laughed as well, giving her hand a soft squeeze.
"So what do what do you want to ask me?"
OK Raven, it's now or never!
"Gar" she began, her voice clearly trembling.
"Will you be my boyfriend?"
His expression changed instantly to one of sadness and sorrow.
"I'm sorry Rae, I can't."
Now you didn't think I wouldn't slip a good old fashioned cliff hanger here, did you?