Ball Games 6 - Got Milk?
Okay! They got through one day, I wonder what might happen on the next!
Raven awoke, groggy and confused. Slowly, reality trickled back into her head and she remembered that she was Raven and that she was a Titan, living in Titans Tower. She looked over at her clock. It read 3:30 am. She grumbled and turned away again, snuggling into her bedding with a scowl. She turned again. And again. No matter how she manoeuvred, she couldn't find sleep and so, with another grumble, she flung her sheets off and stood, heading toward her door. It was a warm night so she didn't grab her robe, meandering down the corridor in a purple tank top and matching shorts. When she arrived in the common room, intent on a cup of tea or a glass of warm milk to soothe her, she stopped dead when she realised the light was already on and someone was already in the kitchen. Someone green. As she watched him rifle through the refrigerator she could see his dress was similar to hers: vest and shorts. When he stood, a hunk of some vegetarian foodstuff jutting from his mouth and a jug of soy milk in his hands, he almost choked at the sight of Raven.
"RRRRPHHH?" he mumbled around his snack, immediately launching into a coughing fit as he expelled it from his windpipe. Raven successfully hid her amusement. Soon enough, he had regained himself and returned his attention to the girl. He tried not to stare. He really did. But for a moment, his eyes roamed outside of his control, taking in every detail. The short shorts, the ever-so-slightly revealing tank top, the adorably messy hair and... bunny slippers? Raven, initially a little anxious under his frank stare, now sighed at his quizzical look.
"They're from Starfire," she explained. Beast Boy nodded knowingly: the alien was the only one who would give something like that to Raven. Apart from himself, of course, though it would have been a deliberate joke rather than Starfire's earnest gift. He smirked back at the sorceress.
"I thought you just kept stuff like that to keep her happy. Never seen you wear or use one before," he pointed out. Raven shrugged.
"They're warm," she answered plainly, resuming her walk toward the kitchen. "So... are you up late or early?" she asked of the changeling as she busied herself.
"Early. Woke up about a half-hour ago. Been totally wired since then so I thought a cliché glass of milk might help me sleep. You?" he asked.
"No idea. Woke up a few minutes ago and my eyes refuse to close so, here I am, trying the same thing." She held up a glass of milk as she spoke, deciding against her usual tea. "ANy idea what woke you up?" she asked, conversationally.
"Crazy dream," he said, then looked immediately regretful he had said anything at all.
"A nightmare?" Raven asked over her glass. He shook his head but said nothing. Raven eyed him critically. "You don't have to hide it, Beast Boy. We all have bad dreams. In our line of work-"
"It was a good dream, okay? It just... woke me up. That's all." He fell silent again. Raven didn't let it go.
"A good dream. But you won't tell me about it... did you dream of me, Beast Boy?" she asked, humour in her voice and false sweetness in her expression. He twitched, letting Raven know she had guessed right and , despite himself, he smiled at her antics.
"Rae-"
"You dreamed about me? How very... adorable," she said, lacing her words with false derision, almost getting a reluctant chuckle from Beast Boy. "So why don't you tell me about it?" she asked again. He sighed.
"Rae... take my word for it: we're not ready for that conversation." Raven watched his face as the pieces fell together in her mind. When her eyes widened, Beast Boy knew she had worked it out. They blushed in unison.
"Oh..." she whispered. They both nursed their drinks, looking at anything but each other. Raven felt she somehow bore the responsibility for the awkwardness and attempted to make amends. "You know... sometime I have dreams whe-"
"Whoa! Stop right there. Not happening, okay Rae? I know honesty is important but that doesn't mean we have to start blurting out our every thought. Right?" Raven nodded in relieved acceptance: she really didn't want to discuss her more passionate dreams.
"Alright. Let's change the subject," Raven said, taking another gulp of milk. Beast Boy grinned.
"Okay!" He tapped his chin as he thought, then turned an inquisitive gaze on her. "How do you fly?" he asked. Raven paused at the question.
"What? You should know my powers by now-"
"Yeah, I get all that. But I wonder how you do it. I know Starfire does it by feeling "unbridled joy". I get that you use your powers but there's no black aura around you when you fly. How do you fly, Raven?" he said. Raven stared back, a tiny smile on her face: it was a good question.
"You've seen me use my soul-self, yes?" He nodded. "My soul-self isn't held down by gravity and is free to move anywhere it chooses. When I fly, I'm essentially hitching a ride with it, though that is an extremely simplified explanation. How that might translate into a more scientific explanation, I haven't the foggiest of ideas." Beast Boy nodded, a little understanding in his eyes. "How about you? When you change, what happens to the human you?" Raven asked. Beast Boy looked a little guarded.
"W-what d'ya mean?" he said.
"Come on, I know you can't be just morphing. You change size, weight, everything! And your uniform is always left in one piece and disappears when you're changing." Beast Boy looked conflicted when she finished, then looked around them to make sure they were alone.
"Okay, I'll tell you what I know, though even I don't have all the answers. You ever heard of Animal Man?" he asked. Raven nodded.
"Buddy Baker, right? He can use animals' abilities," she answered.
"Exactly. Well... when I had the same questions about my powers, I thought he might be a good place to start. Turns out there's these energy fields, these... elemental forces throughout the universe. Buddy gets his powers from one of them he called the Red. Or the Lifeweb. Or the morphogenetic field - it has a lotta names. Anyway, somehow, the sakutia or the cure my parents gave me... one of them altered me in a way that left me connected to the Red. So I guess, when I'm shifting, I don't go anywhere exactly I'm just... not here for a while. In body, anyway. So all that extra size and weight, the way my brain can fit into an amoeba - don't say it, Rae! - it all comes from the Red, this field that connects all organic life. That's as far as my understanding goes. I'm not sure anyone really understands it really, it's, like, a primordial force or something. Older than Earth. There are others too: the Green for plant life and people like Swamp Thing and Poison Ivy for example. I'm sure there are more but I don't know them." He trailed off after that.
"Why haven't you mentioned any of this?" Raven asked. Beast Boy shook his head, breathing quickly.
"Cos it freaks me out, Rae! I'm not just a shape-shifter. I'm connected with this thing, this ancient, unknowable thing and it freaks me out! I was happier not knowing, I think. I heard that, sometimes, the different forces go to war. There are councils or parliaments out there somewhere. The idea I could be called to fight by something like that... it frightens me." He fell silent again, staring morosely at his empty glass. Raven followed suit. She knew she had to raise his spirits... but that would take something big. An admission she never thought she would make.
"I think I understand. It's kind of like the Force," she said, nonchalantly, deliberately facing forward even though she almost heard his head spin as his attention snapped back to her.
"Did... did you just make a Star Wars reference!?" he asked incredulously.
"I might have," she answered enigmatically. His smile outshone any smile she had seen before and he clutched her hand. HIs smile shrank a little and he spoke quietly.
"Will you marry me?" he asked. That got a laugh from Raven, causing his incandescent smile to return.
"If we're not ready for sex dreams, I think marriage is probably off-limits as well," she said. Beast Boy blushed but laughed as well. Raven yawned then, suddenly remembering the time. She set Beast Boy off as well and, wordlessly, they both placed their glasses in the sink and started walking back to their rooms, Raven wearing a tiny smile and Beast Boy humming in amusement. They reached Raven's door first. Beast Boy held her hand and kissed it in an over-the-top gesture.
"G'night, Rae. See you in the morning!" With that, he made to leave. Raven couldn't resist:
"Or perhaps even before then. Sweet dreams, Beast Boy," she said, slightly sadistic amusement dripping from her words. She turned and closed her door before the scarlet Beast Boy could respond. In time, he collected what wits he had left and headed back to bed. Behind her door, Raven persuaded herself that this was reality and that she had, in fact, just flirted with Beast Boy. Filled with a curiously heated satisfaction, she went to bed. In his own bed, Beast Boy switched off his bedside lamp as he chuckled over his conversation with Raven. He was falling faster and deeper than he thought possible. Perhaps he had a real chance at something with the girl. After all, when he had joked about matrimony...
"She didn't say no," he chuckled to himself before turning over and falling into a new dream. And as luck would have it...
He dreamed about Star Wars.
There you have it, a little after-hours flirtatiousness from the pair. Do I really have to say I don't own Star Wars. Cos I don't. Hope you enjoy this, let me know how it makes you feel and stuff.
-Jack