Welcome Readers, and YAH for the new chapter.
Yes, Beastboy and Raven actually are going on their date! I mean, how could I possible delay this any longer? (smiles).
ENJOY!
"Rae?" Beastboy asked, leaning close to her door, "Sorry I'm late. You haven't already found another date, have you?"
His question was met with a momentary silence before he heard her soft foot steps coming toward the door. He smiled, standing back some and tugging at the end of his jacket, or rather, Robin's jacket.
'This is it, a date with Raven,' he told himself, 'I can so do this.'
The door slid open and Beastboy instantly froze at the sight before him.
'whoa'
Raven was wearing a mid-night blue shirt with a v-neck collar, the fabric clinging nicely to her well developed figure. Over top the shirt she sported a light Levi jacket, a scarf wrapped around the collar striped with two shades of blue; one matching the color of her shirt, and the other a shade lighter to match the small purse clutched in her hand. Her shoes were simply sneakers and were barely visible due to the flare at the bottom of her nicely fitted jeans.
Beastboy, still in a daze, let his eyes wander up her body until he found her face. Her hair stopped just at the top of her shoulders, and he smiled at the fact that she had let it grow out some. Her face held it's delicate features, beautiful violet eyes and soft kissable lips that...
Beastboy blinked and blushed, he was just standing there staring at her like some kind of creepy stalker guy.
'I'm such an idiot' he inwardly groaned, but only then did he notice that Raven's cheeks had tinted a small shade of pink as well.
Beastboy grinned, she had been staring him over the entire time too. He could never guess why though, everything he had on was entirely simply; sneakers, jeans, a dark maroon t-shirt and a black jacket. The only thing about his ensemble that expressed any kind of personal touch was his belt buckle, which had the face of a wolf on the front, and his usual silver gloves.
Raven tucked some of her hair behind her ear and shifted her weight self-consciously.
"Um..." Beastboy tried to form words but it seemed incredibly difficult to come up with something to accurately describe how he felt.
"You look nice," Raven stated in a soft voice.
Beastboy grinned stupidly.
'Hello?! Earth to Beastboy, this is your brain speaking. Say something!!'
"OH..uh Thanks. You look..a..absolutely.." he stammered, "Completely...perfectly...wow."
Raven smiled awkwardly. "Thank you."
Beastboy cleared his throat.
"Guess we should...uh..get going then," he said.
"That would probably be a good idea," Raven replied. "Unless you just want to stand here all night"
It was meant as a light joke, but Beastboy was almost certain he could stand there forever with her.
"Yeah," Beastboy chuckled and then offered his arm to her with a playful smile. "Shall we go m'lady?"
It was a date, that he understood, but he was still surprised when Raven smiled and locked her arm with his.
'Double whoa'
"I guess we're leaving from the roof then," She said to him, since it was obvious that was where they were already headed.
"Yeah, the roof, good," Beastboy nodded, still unable to look away.
Raven could feel his gaze on her, but couldn't seem to get herself to look back. She was still a little nervous about the whole thing, but she tried not to let it show.
She felt Beastboy slow to a stop, and she glanced over at him questioningly.
"Um..Rae," he said, an embarrassed smile on his face. "I think we may have a problem."
She felt her stomach tighten slightly, and she slowly pulled her arm away from his as he looked to the ground.
"What?" the question came out in a calm and monotone voice, completely betraying her inner anxiety.
"Well..heh," he blushed. "I'm not sure I can fly there in these clothes."
Raven blinked, her stomach easing. Why did she allow herself to get so worked up?
She also couldn't help but smile inside at the fact that they had both over looked such an important detail.
"So...only your uniform changes with you then?" she asked.
She had always found that strange about Beastboy's powers, his uniform seemed to just change with him, completely disappearing from sight and reappearing when he was back in human form. Normal clothes, however, did not always hold the same effect.
"It's sorta complicated," Beastboy admitted bashfully. "There's still a good chance that the pants and shirt may change, but if it didn't then..uh.."
Raven blushed, knowing what he was trying to say.
"There's always plan B." she offered.
Beastboy frowned.
"Aw man, is plan B walking?" he asked in a whining voice.
She smiled hesitantly. "No"
"Oh." Beastboy looked up at her, understanding her meaning.
"I know it's not your favorite means of travel," She said somewhat disheartened, "But-"
"No Rae, it's fine," Beastboy reassured her with a cheerful face. "I love your black energy power thingy."
Raven crossed her arms and gave him a disbelieving look.
"Okay, okay," he said in slight defeat. "It gives me the willys,...but it beats walking"
She smiled ever so slightly. "You'll get use to it."
Beastboy grinned and grabbed Raven's hand.
"Well, what are waiting for?" he asked, "Lets go."
Raven nodded and closed her eyes, it would take a large amount of focus to get them there from this distance; but it was worth the trouble.
"Azerath...Metrion...Zinthos."
Behind her closed eyes she felt the light drain away, the cool burst of energy forming around the two. Beastboy drew closer to her form and his hand squeezed hers tighter, Raven smiled and returned the gesture; though not out of fear. She did her best to remain focused on her location, knowing she was moving through shadows and drawing closer to her destination. This task seemed even more difficult when she felt Beastboy's other hand swiftly drape around her waist and move down toward her...
"Owf!"
They both landed with a harsh thud on the cold concrete walkway, somewhere past the park. Raven frowned and looked over at Beastboy who, like her, was sitting on his butt and looking far from comfortable.
"Ow man," Beastboy groaned softly and rubbed his lower back. "That is definitely going to take some getting use to."
He caught Raven's frown almost instantly though and was up on his feet, looking fairly guilty.
"You okay?" He asked reaching a gloved hand out to her.
"Sorry." She apologized, grabbing his hand and pulling herself up.
"You're sorry?" he said looking surprised, "You should totally be kicking my butt right now."
"Excuse me?" Raven asked dubiously.
Beastboy looked down, guilty and ashamed.
"I kinda just..made a move back there," he admitted sheepishly. "Since I didn't think you'd notice with it being all dark, and you having your eyes closed, I.."
"I can still feel," She informed him, with slight disapproval in her voice, "And I do need to concentrate in order to use my powers."
"Yeah, I kinda figured that out when we landed," he said with a weak smile. "I probably have the bruise to prove it too."
He sighed and frowned deeply. "Sorry."
'I'm such an idiot' he inwardly groaned 'Only I could ruin a date before it even started. Stupid hormones!'
Raven studied him for a moment, not certain what she should be feeling. Ashamed that she had let such a little thing distract her, angry that he had tried to take advantage of the opportunity, or flattered that he had wanted to..to touch her.
'He's a guy,' Knowledge stated, 'And just like any other guy, he tried to make a move.'
'He's got guts', Bravery agreed, 'But we need to put him in his place.'
'6 feet under, if you ask me,' Anger huffed.
'Don't listen to Ole' grumpy butt,' happy said, 'It was all in good fun.'
Raven couldn't even decide which emotion was fighting for more control over her in that moment, but the guilty frown on Beastboy's face as he traced his boot on the concrete ground made her want to smile.
'He's so cute when he looks guilty,' love giggled, 'You can't possibly be mad at him, especially since you know you liked it.'
'At least he was honest with you,' Wisdom noted, 'Honesty is very important.'
Raven shook her head, trying to clear her mind of the chatter.
She looked to Beastboy and took in a deep breath.
"Apology accepted."
Beastboy's head shot up, his eyes filled with disbelief.
"Really?"
"Really," Raven nodded with a small smirk, "But you can keep the bruise."
Beastboy rubbed his lower back while smiling. "Deal!"
Blinking he looked around.
"So...we close to the restaurant?" he asked.
"Yes, actually." Raven calmly told him. "It's not far from here."
"Good," he sighed in relief. "I can handle walking if it's okay with you."
"Agreed," Raven nodded as she hesitantly held out her hand.
'It's a date, I'm not expecting too much, am I?' she wondered.
Beastboy grinned, cupped her hand in his, and took off.
"This is going to be great Rae, you'll see. I'll be on my best behavior, and you won't even have to yell at me once tonight," he told her while quickly walking forward, "It'll be the most awesome date you've ever had, and-"
"Beastboy," Raven interjected.
"Yeah, Rae?" Beastboy looked back at her and smiled.
"Do you have any idea where you're going?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Um," Beastboy stopped and tried to look sure of himself. "Yeah, of course I do."
Raven eyed him doubtfully, and Beastboy grinned nervously.
"But, ya know, if you wanna lead the way..," he offered sheepishly.
"I think I should," she stated. "Let's start by going in the other direction."
Beastboy blushed as she turned to the right and pulled him along by his hand.
"Sure, sounds good," he nodded, adding in a slight shrug, "That is, if you wanna go the short way."
Raven concealed her grin as they went on.
When they finally arrived in front of the small cafe like restaurant, Beastboy could understand why many people might have overlooked it. It seemed to be located farther back then most of the other buildings on the street, almost completely hidden within the ally. The neon red sign above the entrance flashed the words 'The Spot' and the simplicity of the name made Beastboy wonder what had attracted Raven to it in the first place.
"The Spot?"
Catching the look on the changelings face Raven answered simply. "I was curious."
She blushed slightly at the confession and Beastboy grinned even more.
"Besides," She added. "They serve tea."
"Well...we're here, and it is cold out," he noted, "And I bet you could really use a cup right about now; so allow me."
He moved forward and opened the door, bowing slightly as Raven walked inside.
He followed after her and took in his surrounding almost instantly. It was cozy, a round bar like table was set in the center, empty stools surrounding its counter. Smaller round tables were placed around the room, a few of them occupied by people sipping coffee or eating a light meal, no one bothering to even look up at the two as they walked further inside.
The ceiling was high, and dim lights hung down around the room, casting shadows to the corners. He noticed that a stage was set on the far end of the small cafe, but it seemed unoccupied by anyone at the moment. Altogether the place was fairly small, but everything was positioned to give it a roomy feel.
He felt Raven pull him over to one of the small near-by tables, and snapped out of his daze. He smiled and jumped ahead of her to pull out a seat.
Raven raised an eyebrow at the gesture, it was completely unnecessary but...
'He's such a gentleman' love sighed.
"Thank you," She said, taking her seat.
Beastboy took the chair in front of her, pushed the small vase of flowers in the center to the side, and smiled.
Raven slowly removed her Levi coat and allowed it to hang on the back of her chair along with her scarf, now revealing the shirts thin straps and Raven's bare arms. Beastboy placed his elbow on the table and rested his head in his hand, smiling fondly over at her.
Catching the look, Raven blushed and rubbed her upper arms self-consciously.
"You really do look great tonight, Rae" Beastboy told her.
He seemed to catch himself almost instantly, sitting straight up in his chair.
"Uh, I mean, not that you don't look great ever night, cause you do," he added hastily, "And not just at night either, but mornings and evenings and-"
"I understand," she let him know, prompting a sigh of relief from the changeling.
"Good, cause I was starting to panic," he replied light-heartily.
'Glad I'm not the only one who's still nervous' Raven thought.
"Good Evening, what can I get ya?" came a voice to his side.
He looked over at a young women, maybe in her early 20's, her brown hair was held in a high ponytail and she was holding a small notepad and pen. She wore a red and white skirt that stopped just at her knees and a matching shirt with the name tag 'Becky' penned on the front. Her blue eyes were glued to the notepad as she waited for a reply, not bothering to even look up at them, but smiling happily.
"Um...I haven't really got a chance to see the menu yet," Beastboy replied just now noticing the small folded paper that had been under the vase.
"Okay then," the waitress replied cheerfully as she looked up. "I'll just come back whe-"
She stopped, her eyes wide. Beastboy smiled, sure that she was excited about seeing two of the city's hero's. Still, the thought of her asking for an autograph or drawing attention to them didn't bode well. He ran the possibilities through his head when...
"Raven, is that you?" the girl asked. "I haven't seen you here in weeks."
Beastboy blinked, looking from Raven and then back to the waitress.
"Been busy," Raven replied simply, though a slight smile crossed her face.
'Raven, being friendly' Beastboy thought.
"I'll bet," the waitress beamed, "But what's with the get-up?"
Raven blushed lightly, "Just thought I'd wear something a little nicer is all."
The waitress, Becky, then looked over to Beastboy. He smiled and gave a small wave of acknowledgment and Becky looked back and forth at the two before a wide grin spread on her face.
"Oh, I see," she replied mischievously, "You have been busy, haven't you?"
Raven and Beastboy both blushed.
"And I wonder why I come here," Raven dryly stated, as she sent Becky a slight frown.
Becky ignored the comment and turned to Beastboy.
"It's no wonder Raven was in such a good mood last time," she said. "You must be one very special guy."
"Um...thanks" Beastboy blushed.
"And cute too," Becky beamed, "Better watch out Raven or someone might try and steal him from you."
Beastboy looked disbelievingly at the waitress and then to Raven, who looked embarrassed and slightly tweaked.
Becky laughed slightly at their reactions.
"So...Should I give you two some time alone?" she asked.
Raven rolled her eyes. "I'll have the usual."
Becky smiled and wrote it down. "And what about you, cutie?"
"Uh..me?" Beastboy asked looking lost. "Uh...yeah, I'll have the same. And a salad too."
"Sure thing," Becky grinned, winking at him as she walked off.
Beastboy looked over at his date in complete confusion.
"So...come here often, huh?" Beastboy grinned slightly.
"Not as often as you might think," Raven admitted.
"Enough to make friends with the waitress though," he noted with an amused but questioning expression, "Becky?"
"She's actually the part time owner," Raven stated, "But she makes it her personal job to get to know her costumers, and eventually I relented."
"Whoa, hold it! It took me like over a year to get you to say more than three words to me," Beastboy recalled, "She must have been working overtime."
"You have no idea," Raven rolled her eyes, recalling the constant array of questions Becky had thrown at her, the small one-sided talks, and her unwavering friendly demeanor.
Beastboy grinned, "Ya know, if you didn't make it so hard, you'd have tons of friends Rae."
Raven looked down at her table and Beastboy frowned.
"Uh..I didn't mean for it to sound like that," he told her. "It's just that you're a wonderful person, and you should try and let everyone see that."
'Did that sound as lame as I think it did' Beastboy wondered.
"Anyone who isn't willing to try to be my friend," Raven stated coolly, "Isn't worth my time."
"True," Beastboy nodded, "But that's really a two way deal.You can't expect someone to be your friend if you don't act like theirs."
Raven looked up at him, knowing that what he said was true. He really was a lot smarter than anyone ever gave him credit for, herself included. Strangely enough though, what he said didn't really apply to the way their relationship had started out. Raven had made no attempt to be Beastboy's friend in the beginning, but he never stopped trying to be hers. It made her wonder what would have happened if she had tried harder, or if Beastboy had let himself be discouraged by her behavior. It would have made things so much different between the two, either way.
"You're right,"
"I am?" Beastboy looked stunned, "Really?"
Raven nodded. "It's definitely something I need to work on."
And she meant it, she wondered if he knew how much. She had wasted a lot of her time being afraid to let others get close to her, but now that Trigon was gone, and her future her own, she didn't have to continue to live her life like that.
'Not anymore' she thought, 'I can have a fresh start.'
Beastboy grinned. "Guess I'm lucky that I'm so persistent then," he said, "Or you might have never gone out with me."
"That would make me the lucky one," Raven corrected, shyly looking to the side, she had never been in a situation where she felt the need to be so honest, and Beastboy was very strange about accepting compliments.
Beastboy blushed. "Rae...can I ask you something?"
She looked up, caught instantly in Beastboy's meaningful gaze.
"I was just wondering..."
"Here you two go!" Becky chirped in, setting two small plates in front of them.
Beastboy looked down curiously, "What did I order?"
Raven rolled her eyes but smiled, "Same as me, remember?"
"Uh..yeah," he nodded confused, "But is this...cake?"
"Strawberry banana cake with a little ice cream on the side," Raven answered, enjoying Beastboy's surprised expression. "Even I can't live on tea alone."
'Wow' Beastboy thought smiling up at her, 'Raven's full of surprises.'
"And here's your salad, sweety," Becky said setting it down beside his other plate, "If you two need anything just holler."
She started to walk away but turned, "By the way Raven, that out-fit looks great on you girl."
Raven looked down and blushed modestly as Becky walked off.
"She's right ya know," Beastboy grinned up at her, "Did you get that shopping the other day? You sure were gone a long time."
"Starfire helped me pick it out," Raven told him looking back up. "Didn't realize we spent so much time there, though."
"I couldn't help but notice," he said blushing, but recovering instantly, "Um, so, you actually had a good time?"
"Surprising yes," Raven admitted, "But she's not getting me into anything pink anytime soon."
Beastboy laughed, "Knowing Starfire, it's not from lack of trying, right."
The conversation went on, and Raven found herself more and more at ease. At first she had been afraid that they would sit in awkward silence, glancing at each other and blushing the entire night until they realized they had absolutely nothing in common. Raven was even more surprised that she was the one doing most of the talking, and Beastboy nodding and smiling and asking questions.
'He's really interested in what I have to say' she thought, being able to tell when Beastboy was feigning interest in something.
Still, she had always enjoyed a two-way conversation as apposed to the current one-sided one, especially if she was the one who had to keep talking.
She looked down at her plate, poking her already half eaten cake with her fork as a moment of silence went between them. She allowed herself to look up slightly and notice that Beastboy hadn't touched his salad, and his cake was messy but uneaten; he had merely been using his fork to play with it as they talked.
"Something wrong?" she asked looking up at him.
"Huh, whadda ya mean?" He asked looking down at himself and tugging at his jacket.
"You haven't touched your food," Raven stated, using her fork to gesture down at his meal.
"Oh," he looked down. "Guess I'm not that h-"
His belly grumbled and he blushed as he placed his hand over it.
"Hungry?" Raven guessed with a bemused expression.
"Heh, maybe a little" he admitted with a slight smile, "But I'll probably just grab a snack when we get back home."
Honestly, despite the growl of his stomach, the thought of eating made him almost sick.
"When was the last time you ate?" Raven asked, curious.
"Well it was..um," Beastboy placed his hands on his lap and looked off to the side in thought.
He turned his head back to Raven and raised an eyebrow, "Yesterday?"
Raven's eyes widened slightly, "You haven't eaten anything since yesterday?"
"Not since before we had that practice," he recalled. "I had that tofu-dog, remember?"
"Yes, I do," Raven nodded, though still looking lost, "But that was early. You really haven't had anything to eat since then?"
Beastboy shifted in his chair, finding Raven's concern slightly unnerving. Was there really something wrong with skipping a few meals?
"Well, after you agreed to go out with me, I was too excited to eat," Beastboy confessed, "And I slept through breakfast this morning and just, well, wasn't all that hungry."
"And your excuse now is?" Raven asked folding her arms and waiting for Beastboy's response.
"Uh, well, we were talking," Beastboy answered with a nervous shrug. "Besides, it's cold now."
"It's a salad and a piece of cake," Raven stated dryly. "It's suppose to be cold."
"Heh..good one, Rae," Beastboy smiled nervously, "But really I'm not-"
His belly growled again and he gritted his teeth and mentally cursed his stomach for betraying him.
"Eat. Now." Raven told him with a stern frown.
Beastboy sighed, his ears drooping slightly. "Yes mam."
He picked up his other fork, hunched over his plate, and began nibbling at his salad.
Smiling in slight satisfaction, Raven let herself settle into the warm comfort that came with Beastboy's company. She had never been on a date before, but she couldn't imagine ever being with someone who made her feel so completely at peace.
Hesitant at first, she reached her hand across the table and let it rest on top of Beastboy's arm, which was laying on the counter while his other hand was being used to shovel the salad into his mouth.
He tensed for a moment and tilted his head up, eyes wide and a piece of lettuce hanging out of his mouth from the bite he had just taken. He looked down and, while cross-eyed and blushing, he swallowed it and smiled sheepishly up at her.
She let her smile grow slightly as Beastboy set his fork down, straightened his posture, and smiling gently placed his hand over hers; an action that also caused a slight blush to tint her otherwise pale face, and her heart to quicken.
This would be a moment that they could look back on and say they knew everything was going to be fine, a moment that would lay all those insecurities and doubts to rest and pave the way for more memorable and happy moments to come, but most importantly it was a moment that should not have been interrupted...
The door to the restaurant swung open with unusual force, and Beastboy and Raven both tensed; Raven looking up and Beastboy glancing over his shoulder.
"Dude, you have gotta be kidding me" Beastboy groaned, Raven adopting a similar look of exasperation and disdain on her face.
The wide figure standing in the door way laughed.
"Yes, it is I," he announced dramatically, thrusting his fists into the air, "Control Freak!"
Yes, I had to split this up into two parts, but I'll try and make it worth the wait. You'll just have to be satified with this for now.
Regarding the story itself, I mean, MY GOSH. Control Freak? Can you think of a more annoying villian to interfere? I think not. Also, it's a villian that Beastboy and Raven should be able to handle on their own. Not that they have a choice; in case you didn't catch it, Raven lost track of her purse during their little fall, and Beastboy doesn't have his communicator with him either.
Beastboy: Oh come on, who takes a communicator on a date with them.
As for the waitress, Becky, I can't say for sure if she was inspired by anyone particular. The name, however, is my moms; not that I'd let her know I did that, but her personality is her own. She may come off as a bit of a flirt in this but she's just got plenty of spirit.
The next chapter, though I haven't started on it yet, will have some humor and a lot more fluff. YAH FLUFF.
Please leave me a review, let me know if I did alright; since I was all avoidant of the whole date thing to begin with (Shifty eyes). Heh...LATER. YOU GUYS ROCK!!