Sting

)O(

Raven stared at the pile of potatoes as if they were tiny, lumpy grenades ready to go off at any second or detonate with the slightest movement. Why had she agreed to this again? He knew she couldn't cook to save her life, so why was he putting her in charge of anything to do with food? Behind her, she heard Beast Boy's low, amused laughter and felt him come up behind her. His warmth slid down her back and he kissed her cheek, trying to ease her fears.

"They're just potatoes, Rae. Just cut them into cubes. You don't even have to take the skin off." He picked up one and sliced down the middle, separating the halves before slicing it into nice, even cubes. "See? Easy. You're not even cooking. Just cutting, so I can cook them." He looked down at her with a teasing grin. "You can cut things I hope."

"You don't have to be a jerk, you know." She glared up at him for treating her like a child, but he just laughed at her.

"I'm not trying to be, but you're just so hopeless." He set the knife to the side of the cutting board. "It's kinda cute."

Raven continued to glare up at him. He knew how she felt about the word "cute" being used to describe her. She was half-demon, she was frightening, blood curdling… she was not "cute". Her hands wrapped around the knife again and she nudged him out of the way, moving him to the side. She was bound and determined to show him that she was perfectly capable in the kitchen with or without his help. She quickly ran her knife through the potato, and the next thing she knew, she had sliced open the tip of her finger. Cursing under her breath she pulled her hand back and glared at the small stream of blood running down her hand.

"Raven." Beast Boy reached out and captured her wrist in his hand. "Be careful…" He sighed in annoyance and pulled her hand closer to him, bringing her fingers to his mouth. "Here, let me help." He slid his tongue along the quickly healing slice in her skin, wiping the blood from her fingertip.

Raven felt color flood her face before she had a chance to stop it. She felt ridiculously hopeless, like some dewy-eyed girl in a romance novel. She desperately tried not to let her body melt into his touch, but it seemed like a lost cause, because the next thing she was acutely aware of was his lips touching her own and all normal, conscious thought going right out of her head. She tasted the slight metallic tang of her blood on his lips before it gave way to cool water.

Raven tried to futilely fight against the soft haze that filled her mind while under his thrall. She knew that this wasn't her. She was pragmatic, reserved, logical; she was the epitome of stoicism and maturity. But, being wrapped up in his arms made her realize that there was a strange and foreign romantic streak hiding deep in the depths of her heart. Knowing it was there frustrated her to no end, but what could she do? Having him in her arms made the loneliness go away and made her remember that while she was a demon, she was half-human too, with wants and needs like everyone else.

"Forget the potatoes, Rae," he whispered against her lips, fingers trailing down the curve of her back. "I would much rather have you for Thanksgiving."

Raven rolled her eyes, but the action did nothing to deter his emotional onslaught. He chuckled low in her ear as he pinned her against the counter with strong, insistent force, his lips finding hers again. His hands slid along the curve of her hips and tugged at the hem of her shirt, obviously desperate to reach out and touch any part of skin he could. Minutes passed as he feasted on her mouth, and then pulled her body up against him before setting her on the counter. He pulled her shirt off of her, leaving her in her bra and jeans.

Raven, ignoring the strange, skittering feeling in her heart as excitement flooded her veins, leaned back down to kiss him…

Knock. Knock.
...and was rudely interrupted by a knock.

Both her and Beast Boy pulled away from each other and stared at the door in shock. In the two days he had spent holed up in Raven's apartment, there had never been a knock or a phone call. It had just been the two of them wrapped up in each other's presence, never worrying about others. Maybe that was there problem; maybe they had spent far too much time in their fantasy and not enough time in reality.

Another knock broke through the tense silence.

Raven swallowed hard, wondering exactly who was looking for them now. Her friends had kept their distance since she left, both frustrated with her departure but knowing that she needed time and space to both cope and heal. So, who in the world would be here?

"Maybe they have the wrong apartment?"

The knock came again, followed by: "Beast Boy, we know you're in there. We traced your GPS to this address. You know Cy's tech is never wrong."

Shit. Kid Flash. Raven scrambled for her shirt discarded on the floor and tugged it back on over her head. She glared at Beast Boy, but he held his hands up as if he had nothing to do with any of this. Great. After everything they had done to try and keep this a secret, Kid Flash was going to figure out everything, and then things were going to get even more awkward between Raven and the team.

"Come on, dude. This isn't funny any more." He waited a second longer and sighed. "Look, I know you're still alive, and I know that you were... upset about the other night, but that's no reason to run away from the rest of us. We're all here to help you, okay? If you need to talk to someone, come home and we'll figure this out together. And, you know Starfire, she's going to be pissed if you don't have a good reason for not coming back to the tower, especially on Thanksgiving." He sighed and tapped his foot impatiently. "If you don't open this door, Jinx and I are coming in there after you."

Raven ran a hand down her face, fighting the urge to hit Beast Boy in the chest. She dropped her voice to a whisper and glared. "I can't believe you didn't make up an excuse for not being at the tower, Beast Boy! Of course they're going to look for you! They panicked when I left for too long."

"No. I totally forgot to make something up… I'm so sorry, Rae." He winced as Kid Flash knocked again, grumbling curses through the door. "I mean, I didn't think that they would come after me. I thought maybe they would think I was on a bender or something and just leave me alone."

"Does that happen?"

He shrugged. "No. But, I hoped."

"So, you were hoping that our friends thought you went on a bender that you've never actually gone on?" Raven rolled her eyes. "That plan seems flawless."

"I said I was sorry."

"Beast Boy, I can totally hear you in there. I'm not stupid." He sighed and leaned against the door, tapping his fingers against the door frame in annoyance. "If you don't open this door in the next minute, I'm going to assume you're dying a terrible death and have Jinx break down this door to save you."

"Great," Jinx muttered, "bring me into this."

Raven groaned and walked over to the front door and unlocked it, pushing it open into her apartment. "Well, we wouldn't want that." She groaned and stepped back to clear a path for them. "Come on in, let's get this over with."

There was a long, heavy pause, as if a herd of elephants were just sitting in the room, staring at each other. Finally, Kid Flash threw open the door even wider and stared at the couple with a shocked expression as his girlfriend tried to wedge herself around him, trying to see the sight.

"Beast Boy is that… Raven?"

Jinx's eyes lit up and she released a high pitched giggle that echoed through the emptiness of the stairwell like witches laughter. "Are you kidding me? So… you're Beast Boy's secret girlfriend. I didn't think, I mean I never… oh, that's rich."

Beast Boy's ears drooped and he stared at the floor, obviously embarrassed by their reactions. "Come on, guys. Stop teasing. It's not funny, and I don't appreciate being part of a joke that isn't funny." He ushered them into the privacy of the apartment and closed the door, frowning at them as they tried to hold in their laughter. "Look, I… we…"

"You're what, Beast Boy?"

"We're…" He stumbled over his words again, still fidgeting like a child.

Raven sighed and rolled her eyes, leaning back against the counter and staring at her friends. "What he's trying to say is that we're… we're…" After a moment of fumbling, she trailed off, suddenly at a loss for words.

This was the first time that her and Beast Boy were forced to confront this situation. Before this moment it had been fun. It was friendship and sex, that was it. But these past few days had seemingly transformed their relationship into something else entirely. What were they? They were obviously friends… but were they more than that? Technically they'd only been together for a few weeks, and they weren't exactly a real couple. So, they were... what? Fuck buddies? Raven felt a shudder at that term, it seemed much too crass for what they were. Friends with benefits? Maybe, but did friends snuggle? Did friends put their male counterparts through a five hour marathon of Pride and Prejudice? Did friends make breakfast for each other?

Jinx stood there with her hands on her hips and raised an eyebrow, smirking. "You're what, Raven?"

She cleared her throat and took his hand. "He's my boyfriend."

She felt Beast Boy's shocked stare land on her face as his hand tightened in hers. "I am?"

"Well… what else are we going to call this?"

"I don't know… I… I have no idea what we are."

Jinx's high-pitched giggle broke through the room again, and she had to turn away as tears started to stream down her face. "You two don't even know what you are? That's hilarious. You are an endless source of amusement for me."

"Hey, come on, Jinx." Beast Boy pouted and stared at the floor again, color staining his cheeks. "Look, we're… a thing… maybe. We don't have labels, okay? And we weren't exactly prepared to confront this in front of you guys." He sighed and dropped Raven's hand, picking up his head and staring at his teammates. "Look, I'm sorry I didn't tell you what was going on, it's just… the other night I had to see Raven after what happened, and I didn't even think of calling you. I messed up and I'm sorry, but at least trust that I know what I'm doing."

"Yeah, you messed up by not telling us. Beast Boy, Raven is the whole reason the team is the way it is, and you're just going back to her as if nothing has happened? Look, it's not my place to judge whatever the hell is between you two, but I don't understand you guys, I never will." Kid Flash sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose, obviously annoyed. "So, what? Are you going to stay here and break Star's heart? She's already upset because Raven won't be there."

Raven shrugged, although there was a slight twinge in her heart at the thought of not being with Starfire for the holidays. If there was one thing she truly missed, it was her friends. But right now, she needed distance, even if it was only for herself. She looked back at Beast Boy and tried to give a reassuring smile. "Look, I'm just fine by myself. If you want to go back to the tower, I understand. I won't blame you for it."

He jerked back, surprised by her statement. "Are you… sure? I mean, we already started cooking."

She shrugged. "It's fine. You have friends you need to visit."

Kid Flash stared at her with a concerned expression. "They're your friends too, you know. We want you there just as much as we want Beast Boy, Raven."

"I know." Raven gave him a small smile that she knew didn't reach her eyes. Why did they insist on making it so hard for her to keep her separation? "I appreciate that."

Beast Boy made a noise of frustration, knowing that he had one too many obligations, and had no idea which one took precedence. "Raven, I…"

She cut him off with a wave of her hand. "It's fine."

He stared at her and sighed. "No, it's not, and we both know that." He looked back at his teammates and shrugged. "I'm sorry guys, but I made important plans with my girlfriend, and I'd like to try and keep them, if you don't mind."

Raven felt her heart skip a beat. Girlfriend. He called her his girlfriend. Not secret girlfriend. Not friend. Girlfriend. It was a strange word that wrapped around her heart and filled all the empty spaces with warmth and excitement. She turned and looked up at him, trying to keep her face blank, but knowing he could see her emotions as clear as day. He leaned down and kissed the top of her head, making her blush.

Kid Flash's lips twitched, as if he was fighting a smile. "I see. Well, I'll let Star know. I'm sure she'll understand… although now everyone is going to start asking about who your new girlfriend is, B."

Beast Boy paled. "You wouldn't."

Jinx snorted. "He might not, but I will."

Beast Boy opened his mouth to protest loudly, but Raven's hand touched his wrist. She knew she should have felt nervous at admitting their relationship (whatever it was) to her friends and old teammates, but knowing that the truth was out in the open only seemed to calm her fears and empower her. "If they ask, you can tell them the truth."

Kid Flash gave a short nod, the smile finally breaking through. "Okay."

Beast Boy looked down at her. "Are you sure?"

She looked up and gave a single nod, never feeling more sure of anything else in her life. "I am if you are."

A smile split his lips, and he wrapped his arms around her before she could stop him. "Absolutely."

)O(

Sorry this took a little bit longer to get out than I had anticipated. I was trying to convey the idea that their relationship was moving beyond solely sex. I hope it worked…
Anyway, thanks for reading, and let me know what you think!