Hey guys! This is just a filler chapter; there probably won't be much fluff until next chapter (next chapter they're finally going to get along!) and drama for another two chapters. Anyways, thanks again for all of your continued support, you guys are so awesome and I love you all! :)
Special thanks to all you reviewers, especially RAEXBB4EVER: You gave me a great idea! I knew I wanted to make some drama happen right before the last chapter (or maybe the last two chapters), but I wasn't sure what. So thank you for the suggestion, it's going to help a lot when we get to later chapters :D
Also, is anyone else excited for next month? Teen Titans Go is coming out on Cartoon Network! I'm sort of skeptical about it and I am a little upset that it's not a continued season 6 and that it is replacing some awesome shows that got cancelled for it, but oh well. Hopefully we'll get some Beast Boy and Raven in the show!
And with that, please read and review and enjoy :D
"Hey sweetie. Wake up babe." Raven's eyes flickered open, her eyelids drooping in response to the warm yet intense sunlight flooding the room. The bright light that was causing her eyes to ache made her want to close them and go right back to sleep. She didn't have any complaints though when she woke up to an adorable smiling Gar, who proceeded to kiss her cheek while wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her closer to him.
Still in a daze and not completely awake, Raven smiled slightly, and snuggled closer to him with her hand lying on his bare chest as she gave in to her desires and closed her eyes, releasing a sigh of contentment. "Good morning."
"Oh, isn't that just the sweetest thing." Amy stated merrily as she set the breakfast cart on the side of the bed.
Upon hearing the sound of Amy's voice, a rather embarrassed Raven realized where she was and what she was doing. She was thankful that only seconds later, Amy left the room. Raven quickly turned away from Gar, ready to explain to him that the only reason why she had acted so loving towards him just moments ago was because she knew Amy was there.
Gar didn't question her though. Instead he stood up from the bed and grabbed an apple from the cart Amy left, placing it on top of the desk in their room. Raven nearly blushed when she noticed he was shirtless. Had she really not noticed the night before? Of course not, she was too tired from milking cows to notice her friend's well-defined abs. "So Rae, are you excited for the hike today?"
Raven looked him square in the face, determined not to get distracted by his amazing body. "Are you kidding me? I couldn't be more thrilled."
"I don't appreciate your sarcastic tone young lady." Gar wagged his finger in her direction, attempting and failing to keep a serious expression as he teased her. He threw a white T-shirt on (to Raven's relief) and pulled a pair of jeans over his boxers.
Raven reluctantly got up from her comfortable spot on the bed and swatted at Gar's finger on her way to walking to the drawers containing her clothing. "Don't call me young lady. I am older than you you know."
"Only by a couple of months!" Gar stated in his defense, crossing his arms and pouting.
Raven removed a light blue T-shirt and gray sweat pants along with some underwear from the drawers and took them into the bathroom to change. "Whatever. I seriously do not want to participate in this hike."
"Oh what's wrong Rae? Not feeling one with nature?" Gar teased her as he slipped on his sneakers and took the apple from where he had left it on the desk.
Raven came out of the bathroom all dressed, gathering the extra fabric of her T-shirt and tying it in a knot using a hair tie. "It's Raven, and I just don't want to do the hike is all."
"I could always carry you up the mountain piggy back style. Amy and John said it was just a simple path with only a little bit of rocks." Gar offered Raven and gave a smile. His smile disappeared though when he noticed a splash of color contrasting with the pale skin of Raven's hip. "What is that?"
"It's just a tattoo." Raven casually shrugged, answering nonchalantly as if Gar had asked her a stupid question that had an obvious answer.
"When did you get a tattoo?" Gar never would have thought that in a million years Raven would be somebody to get a tattoo. It just didn't seem like her.
"Well…" Raven started, not looking forward to explaining her stupid mistake to Gar. "A few weeks after the team split up and everyone went their separate ways, I made friends with a girl who worked in the same building as me. She invited me to a party, and I went. I completely underestimated my tolerance for alcohol, and although I hate to admit it, I may have been intoxicated. My extremely depressed brain agreed to follow my friend and we went to a tattoo parlor. We both got really…what's the word? Cliché? Anyway we both got really cliché tattoos. She got a red rose on her lower back while I got a yin yang symbol on my hip."
With his fingers placed under his chin, Gar studied the symbol when Raven lifted up the material of her shirt a bit to reveal the full tattoo. "Interesting color choices. How come you didn't get it removed?"
"I didn't see a point in getting it removed. It already happened so there is no point in trying to undo it. Besides, it would have left a scar. I didn't think it was that noticeable anyway, it's the size of a quarter." She touched her tattoo lightly before covering it completely with her shirt. "And I happen to like the colors thank you very much."
Gar smirked, noting the colors she picked. "But why a purple and green yin yang sign? Did you miss me so much that you just had to have something green on your body?"
Raven rolled her eyes, wanting this conversation to end soon. "I don't know. It felt awful that everyone was moving on with their lives like nothing had happened. It was like we weren't even a team anymore. I missed everyone. Especially you, since we didn't keep in touch at all. You were my best friend. The person who knew me better than anyone else. I guess whenever I think of our relationship I'm always reminded of the yin yang sign because-"
"- we're opposites and we seem to balance each other out?" Gar absentmindedly completed Raven's sentence.
Raven turned away, heading for the door, completely done with this conversation. "Come on, we shouldn't make them wait."
Halfway up the mountain, Raven stopped walking to catch her breath. Despite John and Amy insisting it was an easy path, Raven had to disagree. She gave the older couple props for being able to climb these jagged rocks. Maybe she should spend less time working and more time exercising. "You guys keep going. Garfield and I will catch up with you later."
Amy, John, Victor, and Karen, all nodded their heads and continued to hike. Raven was feeling extremely envious of Jinx and Wally right now. They weren't making dinner that night but due to Jinx being pregnant, they had a valid excuse for not participating in the daily activity.
Gar approached Raven, who had taken a seat on the dirt path, not caring if her sweatpants got dirty. "You okay?"
Raven nodded swatting at the air around her head as Gar plopped down next to her on the ground. "I'm fine. I'm just not in the mood to be surrounded by nature right now. I'm a city girl, and I'm not use to all the trees and bugs."
"Did you really just refer to yourself as a city girl?" Gar laughed, scooting closer to her so that their bodies were touching. "You always seemed like the type of person who wasn't one for labels."
Raven shrugged, ignoring the close proximity of her and Gar's bodies. "I guess I've changed over the past five years."
"I've noticed that you've changed. You're letting your emotions show a little bit more. you became even more beautiful, which I didn't think was possible, and you-" Gar had begun to count on his fingers while listing all the ways Raven had changed before she cut him off.
"Shut up Gar." Raven bumped him playfully when she leaned into him with her shoulder. "You've changed to. You got more mature. And I feel like you got taller for some reason. I guess I remembered you more when you were shorter than I was."
"Of course I'm more mature! That's what living alone for five years will do to you." Gar straightened his posture, sitting up tall as he traced his hand from his hairline to above Raven's head. "And I'm still taller than you, Rae. This was how tall I was when I left!"
"I know, but you were so much scrawnier then I was when we first met." Raven almost giggled at the memory of the now tall and muscular Gar being small and scrawny. "It was so fun to tease you for being the smallest member of the team. Well it was fun until we all turned eighteen and then I was the smallest person on the team."
Gar snickered, remembering how much time he had spent throwing jokes concerning height at Raven when he noticed how much taller he was than her. "Hey, do you remember when Kori turned eighteen and for her birthday she talked you into playing truth or dare?"
Raven nodded, her fingers fiddling with the strings of her sweatpants. She released somewhat of a giggle as memories of Kori's birthday weekend flooded her mind."How could I forget that night? That's when I had my first kiss."
**Flashback**
"Raven? You're playing with us?" Robin asked, an eyebrow raised.
"Sadly. It's Starfire's birthday weekend and she begged me to play a game of truth or dare with you guys so here I am. Normally I wouldn't play considering it's a complete waste of time, but I couldn't really say no to her when it's her birthday." Raven just shrugged her shoulders before seating herself on the floor between Beast Boy and Cyborg.
"Okay, cool. Who wants to go first?" Robin looked around the circle, ignoring Beast Boy's hands in the air while he shouted 'Ooh me! Pick me! Please pick me!' Finally Robin had to give in. "Okay fine. Since nobody else is volunteering, I have no other choice but to pick Beast Boy and let us all suffer."
"Yes!" Beast Boy stood up and did a little victory dance, sitting back down seconds later and pointing to Raven. "Raven, I dare you to kiss Starfire on the lips right in front of Robin for about….20 seconds!"
Raven rolled her eyes and then shot Beast Boy a look of disgust. "First of all Beast Boy, you are a pervert. Second of all, you didn't ask me truth or dare."
"Oh…okay…" Beast Boy lowered his finger so that he wasn't pointing anymore. "Truth or dare?"
"I would have picked dare, but now that I am aware of what you were intending to dare me, I am going to pick truth." Raven smirked when she noticed all of the boys disappointed expressions.
"Fine. Tell me who you like. And I don't mean as friends. I mean as a boyfriend. Or a girlfriend. I don't really know how you roll." Beast Boy kept a calm and uncaring composure on the outside when on the inside he was desperate to know Raven's answer. He had liked her for a while now and wanted to know if she liked him at all or if she liked a totally different person.
Raven rolled her eyes yet again. "Just to clear it up for you, I'm not lesbian or bisexual. I'm very much straight, and I think it's safe to say that I do not like anybody romantically."
"Oh." Beast Boy looked down at the ground, feeling rather dejected. She didn't like anybody romantically. Including him.
"Okay friend Raven, it is your turn to do the asking of the truth or the dare!" Starfire sat there with an oblivious grin.
Raven nodded and then looked to Cyborg. "Cyborg, truth or dare?"
The game went on for about an hour. Nothing interesting had happened. Nobody had tried to dare Starfire and Raven to kiss again, and none of the dares were that bad. The only interesting thing that happened was that Raven had dared Cyborg to call Bumble Bee and ask her out. She said yes.
It wasn't until Robin dared Beast Boy to do something to a certain lavender haired empath. "Beast Boy, I dare you to kiss Raven. And not a peck. A real kiss."
"I'd rather kiss Silky." Raven stated in a perfect monotone.
"You would really rather kiss a slimy mutant moth then a guy that you've known for years who's one of your best friends?" Cyborg questioned, his eyebrow raised.
"Yes." Raven answered simply before standing up. "I am leaving now. I feel no need to continue playing this childish game." And with that Raven was gone, trying her best not to feel guilty for leaving Starfire.
"Okay Robin, looks like I need a new dare…" Beast Boy chuckled nervously, hoping that Robin wouldn't dare him to kiss Silky instead.
"Nope. I already dared you to kiss Raven and now you have to. Or else you can't play anymore and you have to do double training and all the dishes for the next three months." Robin let a satisfied smirk cross his face when Beast Boy swallowed nervously. It felt good to be the leader.
"Fine." Beast Boy stood up and slowly walked towards Raven's room, the rest of the team following silently behind. There's no way they were going to miss this. Beast Boy tapped the door lightly with his knuckles, waiting for Raven to answer.
Raven opened the door and upon seeing Beast Boy she stepped outside. It was unusual for Raven to do, but Beast Boy didn't ask any questions. "Hey Raven. I wanted to ask if you would please let me-"
His words were interrupted when Raven's soft lips gently met his own, sending warmth all throughout his body. The rest of the team watched in disbelief, Starfire pinching her arm to test if she was dreaming or not. A few seconds later, Raven pulled away and without saying a word she left Beast Boy and went back inside her room.
Beast Boy stood in front of her door, starring at the nameplate that spelled out Raven while his finger lightly grazed his lips. Did that really just happen? His dazed state was broken when he heard Cyborg and Robin snickering.
"You know," Robin fit in the words between snickers, "Technically I dared you to kiss her."
Beast Boy just groaned, accepting that he would have to do double the training and that he would be stuck on dish duty for three months. He didn't really mind though. The fact that the girl he had been crushing on just kissed him made it better.
**Flashback Ended**
"That was my first kiss too you know. I was kind of nervous." Gar pointed out to Raven, staring at her, taking in all her beauty.
"Why were you nervous? It's not like it meant anything. And I'm the one who kissed you." Raven ignored the way Gar looked at her, avoiding his gaze by pretending to be interested at the way the leaves scattered the dirt ground.
Gar put his finger under her chin and brought her head up so that he could see her eyes. He loved those eyes of hers. "I thought it meant something. I dunno what, but when I kissed you for the first time, everything just felt like it made sense."
Raven shook her head and was about to say something when Gar kissed her softly. She pulled back quickly, scowling at him. "Garfield, we were kids then. You don't feel anything for me and I certainly do not feel anything for you."
"Sorry…I didn't mean to. I…um…thought I heard everybody coming back…" He lied to her. He never lied to Raven, but this was an emergency. They were finally friends again, and he didn't want to do anything to risk their friendship. Gar was thankful that at that moment, everybody did come back.
"Come on, let's go pick out a movie to watch after dinner." Amy smiled like she always did and led everybody down the bottom half of the mountain. They arrived back to the bed and breakfast and finally decided, much to Raven's detestation, that they would watch The Notebook. Raven was not looking forward to the movie. She didn't want to have to sit through a romantic movie for about two hours. What a waste of time.
After dinner, which Kori and (mostly) Richard had prepared again, everybody took their showers, got dressed in comfortable clothing, and settled on the couches in the living room in front of the television. Kori and Richard sat on the main couch, with Wally and Jinx sitting on the other side. Vic and Karen sat on a comfortable chair with Karen sitting on Vic's lap. Gar and Raven sat next to each other on a two person couch, not too close but close enough when Gar rested his arms on the top of the couch; it looked like he was trying to sling his arm around Raven's shoulders. She didn't seem to notice, and if she did she notice she didn't seem to mind. As for Amy and John, they were cleaning around the house.
Halfway through the movie, Gar felt a slight pressure on his shoulder. He turned to see Raven's head resting on his shoulder. He smiled as she snuggled close to him and placed her arm across his chest gently. She was obviously asleep, but he didn't complain.
By the end of the movie, Gar was lying down on the couch with Raven curled up on top of him. Her hands and head were rested comfortably on his chest. Both of them were sound asleep, and everybody else decided to leave them there deciding that they looked too cute together on the couch. Amy had brought them a nice warm blanket and laid it on them gently, careful not to wake them.
Okay so this was kind of a filler chapter, I promise the next one will be better and they'll actually get along much better (:
So probably next week there will be a new chapter. Thanks for reading, you guys are the best and I love to read all of your reviews^^
Time for homework…grr I am so not up to writing an English essay concerning Pre-Civil War and Civil War America. -_-