Green With Envy
Terrible title, I know. Okay, a prompt from tumblr, let's do it!
Raven was going out. Again. Going out to see what's-his-name... the goth kid. Beast Boy lost interest in the game he was playing. In fact, he lost interest in pretty much everything except pouting uselessly at the window. He briefly considered following her but quickly reminded himself of the last time he had "accidentally" gone out flying/crawling/sneaking in coincidentally the same direction as Raven and... what was his name?... the goth kid. She had almost caught him, he was sure. He wasn't sure why he was so sure but, sure enough, he promised himself he would never "accidentally" accompany the pair ever again. Cyborg entered the common room, finding his green friend glowering at nothing with folded arms.
"Yo, B! What's got you so riled up?" he asked. Beast Boy's expression twisted.
"Nuthin'!" he barked, sulkily. Cyborg sat nearby.
"Don't give me that, ya little snot," he said, laughter in his voice. "You're pissed at something, so just tell me already." Beast Boy eyed him warily.
"Rrvvnnnntwwvvvgggfffkkdd," he mumbled.
"Uhhhhh... what?" Cyborg replied.
"Raven's out with the goth kid! What's his name again...? You know, the goth kid!" Beast Boy cried, now standing on the couch and waving his arms in mild hysteria. Cyborg stared back, unmoved.
"And?" Beast Boy jerked back and stared at his friend in incredulity. How could he not see the problem?
"And? AND? Well... that means... they... she... he... they... it... It sucks!" he stammered. Cyborg was unimpressed.
"So she's out with her boyfriend and it sucks? I'm missin' a step here, B. Why does it suck, exactly?" he asked. Beast Boy, however, had collapsed onto the couch and looked nervously at Cyborg.
"B-boyfriend? She said that?" he whimpered. Cyborg examined the changeling's change in demeanour, thinking over his answer.
"Well... no, she didn't. But it makes sense, right?" he said. Beast Boy sat back, no longer pouting or angry. He just stared at the ceiling.
"Right..." he breathed. Cyborg giggled and, in a flash, had Beast Boy upside-down, holding him by his left ankle as the shapeshifter protested.
"I know what your problem is," Cyborg whispered. Beast Boy regarded him angrily.
"Yeah, me too. The douchebag who's holding me upside-down!" he said, struggling to right himself. Cyborg ignored him.
"You're J-" Cyborg began.
"Cy?" Beast Boy uttered.
"-E-" Cyborg continued.
"Dude, stop!" Beast Boy warned.
"-ALOUS!" Cyborg finished, laughing.
"Dude! I am not jealous!" Beast Boy whined before growing pensive. "But if I was - and I'm not! - if I was... you wouldn't tell Raven, right?"
"Tell me what?" Raven asked, having just walked in the door, barely reacting to the spectacle of Beast Boy held aloft by his ankle. Beast Boy would have paled if the blood wasn't already rushing to his head.
"N-NUTHIN'!" Beast Boy exclaimed while Cyborg chuckled. Suddenly, Beast Boy was on the ground, rubbing his head where he had landed. "Gee, thanks for letting me down, pal..." he drawled sarcastically, unknowingly drawing an approving glance from Raven. Cyborg didn't answer but left the room again, still chuckling. Raven made her way to Beast Boy's side.
"You okay down there?" she asked, a tiny sliver of humour in her voice. Despite his earlier mood, the boy cracked a smile.
"Just a bruised ego. You can't heal that as well, can you?" he joked. Raven smirked and held out a hand to help him to his feet.
"Sorry, no. The best I can do is knock Cyborg down a peg in exchange," she offered, eliciting a laugh from her comrade. An awkward silence fell upon them, though Raven had no idea where the awkwardness came from. Beast Boy looked down and kicked at the carpet.
"So..." he mumbled eventually. "You have a good time with your... boyfriend?" he asked, taking an audible breath before the last word. Raven looked at him quizzically.
"Boyfriend? I don't have a boyfriend," she said. Beast Boy's head jerked upright, eyes wide.
"B-but... you were out with... with... what's his name... the goth kid!" he wailed. Raven's confusion settled back into her usual subdues expression, though a hint of amusement remained in her eyes.
"Leonard. His name is Leonard. And he isn't my boyfriend," she stated. Beast Boy, despite himself, giggled a little.
"Heh. Lenny the goth..." he mumbled before returning to his ranted questioning, "But you've gone out with him every night this week! You guys must be-" Raven thought it wise to interrupt this line of thought.
"Leonard is gay," she stated. Beast Boy froze.
"Lenny's gay?" he asked. Raven sighed. Even the "goth kid" he didn't appear to like got a nickname from Beast Boy.
"Leonard... is gay. He's a homosexual. He only likes men. He bats for the home team. Clear?" she said, exhibiting some annoyance now. Beast Boy nodded.
"Uhh... sure. So why are you seeing him every night?" he asked, much more calmly. Raven sighed again and sat down. Beast Boy sat nearby.
"He's been preparing to tell his family. They're pretty traditional, apparently and he needed a friend. He was frightened, Beast Boy," Raven said. Beast Boy frowned.
"Oh... poor Lenny," he whispered.
"Leonard," Raven corrected.
"Right, right. Is he gonna be okay?" he asked. Raven smiled, both at Beast Boy's concern and at the answer she was about to give.
"Yes, he's alright. He told them last night and, though it was a little tense, they seemed to accept it. I knew they would," she said.
"You did?" Beast Boy asked. Raven nodded.
"I walked him home a few days ago, gave their auras a quick scan. They may be traditional but I could see they had open minds. I'm glad for him," she stated, smiling at the window.
"Me too," Beast Boy said, grinning now. Silence fell again, this time companionable. Raven turned to her friend.
"Why so interested in my personal life, Beast Boy?" she asked. Suddenly, he turned into a stammering, sweating mess of a person. Before he could even begin to think of a response, Cyborg's voice echoed down the hallway.
"He's jealous!" it said. Beast Boy's face flushed in embarrassment and anger. Staring with wide eyes at Raven for a moment, he turned to the open door and shouted.
"GO KISS A TOASTER, YOU BIG CYBER-JERK!" he screamed. As he relaxed again, he "explained" to Raven. "Heh... Cyborg. Always a kidder, right?" he said, nervously. Raven's smile showed she didn't really buy it.
"Right," she said, Beast Boy sighing in relief, believing she had been deceived.
"Right," he said again. The silence returned, this time heavy with unspoken questions. Raven spoke.
"You know... Leonard had another reason for speaking to me," she said. Beast Boy turned to her again, glad the conversation had moved on.
"Yeah?" he asked. Raven nodded.
"Mm-hm. He was interested in someone I knew and wanted to know if they would be... receptive," she explained, delicately.
"Anyone I know?" Beast Boy said, grinning. Raven nodded, smiling.
"I would say so. He was asking about you," she said. Beast Boy stopped laughing.
"Lenny likes me?!" he squeaked.
"That might be too strong a word," Raven said. "He merely said you were, and I quote: 'a little green ball of cute', end quote." Beast Boy blushed a little.
"Man, that's so weird," he said. Raven looked at him sideways, half-expecting a typically adolescent bout of homophobia.
" He's weird because he's gay?" she asked, a little fire in her voice.
"Hmm? No, not that. The natural world is full of gay animals, Rae. Why not people?" he said, allaying Raven's fears.
"Then why is it weird?" she asked. Beast Boy laughed.
"Cuz he's like a dude version of you, Rae, just without the kick-ass powers and stuff. I would never expect him to like someone like me!" he joked. Raven was silent again for a moment, seeming to grow serious.
"I told him you weren't interested in men but... after talking with me he said he wouldn't have said anything anyway," she revealed. Beast Boy laughed again.
"You put him off with horror stories about me, Rae?" he asked. His laughter stopped when Raven scooted a little closer.
"No. He realised something during our conversation," she said, teasingly.
"W-what?" Beast Boy asked, shakily. Raven took a deep breath before speaking, a little pink in her cheeks. She rested her hand on his.
"He realised I would be jealous."
Ta-da! There you go, BBRae fluff. Not sure if this is what you had in mind, my-ships-control-my-life but I hope you like it ;)
-Jack