Raven stared at Starfire, hoping the staring would make the alien change her mind about what she was asking. The Tamaranean's hopeful expression however, was unchanged.
"Remind me again why Cyborg can't do this?" Raven finally asked.
"Because Cyborg cannot keep..." Starfire looked around and then leaned forward so she could whisper in Raven's ear. "The secret."
"I'm not really interested in keeping 'the secret' either." Raven replied, gently mocking Starfire's exaggeration of the words.
"Please, Raven!" Starfire begged. "It is the eighteenth anniversary of Beast Boy's birth! I understand this is a very important occasion to celebrate on this planet, and I have worked quite diligently to prepare a celebration worthy enough to mark our friend's ascension into manhood."
"If you worked so diligently, then why isn't it done yet?" Raven asked, unimpressed with her friend's argument.
Starfire huffed. "Because Robin would not allow me to prepare a trial by combat for Beast Boy as is customary for coming of age on Tamaran, nor would he allow me to hire scantily clad women who dance provocatively as is customary for some Earth male celebrations."
Raven silently thanked Robin.
"I had to do large amounts of reorganization to make this celebration come to pass, and so I was not able to finish it in the time I originally thought I would. However, I am very close, and all I need from you is to simply keep Beast Boy from the ops center while Robin, Cyborg, and I finish the final details for the party of surprise. Pleeeease Raven? I have worked so hard, and I really do not wish to disappoint our friend."
Raven doubted Beast Boy would care if a streamer or two wasn't in their proper positions when he realized there was a party for him, but she couldn't withstand her friend's earnest pleas anymore. She wasn't completely heartless.
"Fine." she bit out, "I'll watch the hall and keep Beast Boy out of the ops center."
"Glorious!" Starfire chirped, her joy causing her to shoot off the ground and a couple of feet into the air. "Thank you, Raven! You are most helpful!"
Raven just rolled her eyes as Starfire turned to fly back into the ops center. Before she went through the doors though, she turned back around to face Raven.
"I truly am thankful for your assistance, Raven, but I must ask one more thing: please do not hurt Beast Boy in your attempts to distract him?"
Before Raven could reply, Starfire flew into the next room, and the door slid shut behind her. The empath glared at the doors. Now how exactly was she supposed to distract Beast Boy? Pain was apparently out of the question, but that seemed to be the only deterrent he responded to. Raven let out a huff. She finally decided that she'd cross that bridge if she ever came to it. Right now, all she could do was watch the halls. She took a long look in both directions and saw no sign of Beast Boy. Satisfied, she removed a small, leather-bound book from the pocket of her cloak and began to read. She made it through a whole chapter before she heard someone coming. Her eyes darted up, and then she quickly looked back down at her book. When Beast Boy was a few feet from the ops center doors, she spoke, affecting her usual bored monotone.
"I wouldn't do that."
Beast Boy started in surprise and then smiled at her. "Oh! Hey, Rae."
She gave him a look and then turned her attention back to her book, not that she'd actually get any reading done now that he was here.
"So...uh, why wouldn't you go in there?" Beast Boy asked, scratching his head.
"Robin and Starfire are involved in...romantic activities."
Beast Boy pulled a face. "Both of them have beds for that. Why would they go in there? My videogames are in there, man!"
"Heat of the moment or some nonsense." Raven said dismissively, still looking at her book.
"I'm going in there."
Raven shut her book with a snap, catching his attention. "Why would you want to subject yourself to that?"
"Because Robin's still emotionally constipated enough to get embarrassed when Star tries to get cuddly in public. He'll take Star out once I go in there." He tried to take another step forward.
"Since when do you use the phrase 'emotionally constipated'?" Raven asked, thinking quickly.
"I watched Tarzan a couple a nights ago. There's this part where Tantor is arguing with Turk, and he's like 'I have had it with your emotional constipation!'" The changeling snickered. "That was funny."
Raven could not recall that phrase in any adaptation of Tarzan she'd seen, but she didn't argue with him. It was an apt description of Robin in any case.
Taking her silence as a cue that the conversation was over, Beast Boy took a step towards the door. "Welp, good talk, Rae."
Raven took a couple of quick steps toward him, causing Beast Boy to stop again in surprise.
"Like I said, you probably don't want to go in there."
Now Beast Boy looked a little leery. "They're not, like, actually having sex in there or something, are they?"
Raven almost made a face at that thought and answered automatically. "I don't think so."
"Okay then." Beast Boy took another step forward, and Raven stepped in front of him.
"Why are you so determined to go in there anyway?" she demanded.
"Because it's my birthday, and there's a new Mega Monkeys game in there with my name on it! Why are you so determined to keep me out anyway?" he shot back.
"Who said I was?" she challenged, sidestepping when he tried to move around her.
"This little dance we're doing is doing a pretty good job of getting the message across."
"Does that mean you'll leave?"
"Why should I leave?" Beast Boy demanded. "I have just as much right to the ops center as Rob and Star!"
"Still, you can't go in there." Raven said stubbornly.
"Why?"
"You just can't. Not right now."
Beast Boy was quiet for a moment, and Raven thought she might have gotten through to him.
That hope was quickly dashed.
"Yeah...but I want my videogame." He took her shoulders and moved her out of his way before he started walking again.
Raven didn't know what to do. Starfire said she wasn't ready. She had to keep Beast Boy out, but she wasn't allowed to hurt him. What could she do?
"Beast Boy!" she exclaimed.
He kept walking.
"Beast Boy!"
He didn't reply.
"Beast Boy!"
He turned and snapped at her. "Wha—!" Before he could get the word completely out, Raven lunged and covered her mouth with his.
He froze.
She froze.
For a second, they just stood there, staring at each other with their mouths pressed together.
Raven thought she definitely could have planned this better; "this" being the most awkward moment of her entire life. She'd heard first kisses were usually so, but this was excruciating. All the kiss was, was mouths pressed together. It was a little damp, their mouths didn't seem to fit together at all, and there was no heat or hunger behind it like with kisses she'd read about. She was also embarrassed that she'd actually thought it would be like a story. Usually, she was self-aware enough to be above that kind of thing. And Beast Boy just stared at her like she'd just hit him over the head with a board, not moving at all, even to get away from her. She supposed it was up to her. She'd had enough of this farce anyway.
She pulled back and opened her mouth to say—or probably stammer—an excuse, but it seemed her movement was enough to break Beast Boy out of his reverie. Before she could defend her actions, his hand was at the back of her neck, and he yanked her lips back to his. Raven gasped when her mouth crashed into his, and he took advantage of that to slide his tongue past her lips. She gave a startled yelp at the feeling of a second tongue in her mouth, but that didn't stop Beast Boy. His mouth plundered hers, his tongue exploring every crevice like he'd never get a chance like this again. Idly, Raven realized this was the fire and hunger she'd been expecting the first time.
His tongue ceased its exploration of her mouth and focused its attention on her own tongue, coaxing it to take part in what was happening. Tentatively, she moved her tongue to meet his, and she felt him smile against her mouth. Without thinking, she reverted to her habit of trying to wipe his grins at her expense off his face. This time, she did it by shoving her tongue into his mouth. The smile left his face, but her victory was short lived. He immediately did something that caused her to let out an embarrassing squeak. Did he just suck on her tongue? He did it again, and she felt an answering tug deep in the pit of her stomach in response. That felt good. Everything he was doing felt good. She moved her hands up his chest and then tangled them in his hair, pulling him closer. She wanted more.
Beast Boy's hand, which had been stroking the hair at the back of her neck, started to move down her back, and she shuddered as chills followed the hand's path down her spine. She felt both of his hands grip her hips and start to push her back. Thinking he was about to end the kiss, she gripped his hair tighter and sucked on his tongue, making him groan, and the fact that she was the cause of that pleasured sound thrilled her to the core. Her eyes opened—when had they closed?—when she felt her back hit a wall. They drifted shut again when Beast Boy pressed even closer to her than before and kept kissing her.
Just when she was starting to wonder if air was actually necessary if one had to choose between it and kissing, she heard a shriek, forcing her and Beast Boy apart with a smack of their lips. Panting, she turned her head in the direction the sound had come from and saw Starfire, Robin, and Cyborg standing in the doorway to the ops center, gaping at them.
Suddenly the gravity of what happened sunk in, and Raven felt her face heat up until she was sure it was bright red. Beast Boy's face was also red, but he looked so dazed that she wasn't sure it had occurred to him to be embarrassed yet.
For a moment, they all simply stared at each other before a voice that sounded like Speedy's came from behind Starfire, Cyborg, and Robin. "Come on, guys! What's the hold up?"
Spurred into action, Starfire flew to Beast Boy and took his arm. "Beast Boy, I have the most wonderful surprise for you! Come with me!"
Beast Boy allowed himself to be led away from Raven, but before he passed through the doors, he turned back and gave Raven a small smile.
She couldn't help but return it, and that made his smile blossom into a grin. He was still grinning when Starfire led him out of the hall.
Once he was gone, Raven looked back at the other boys. They'd gotten past gaping shock and looked like they were about to say something. The glower she sent their way closed both their mouths, and Cyborg turned and hurried back into the ops center. Robin followed at a more leisurely pace. When he was standing in the doorway, he turned back.
"Coming, Raven?"
"In a minute." she said softly.
He nodded and went into the ops center. When the doors slid shut, Raven's hand seemed to move by itself to her lips.
There were a lot of things she should be thinking about, now that she was alone and had the chance to sort out her emotions: how her relationship with Beast Boy was changed now, where they went from there, how they were going to deal with their friends and probably most of the titans network knowing what happened...
Those were all things that she should have been thinking about, but for some reason only one thought stayed in her mind: even though her first kiss had been terrible, she was glad she couldn't say the same about her second.