It was about twenty minutes before Robin's meeting was to begin when Beast Boy knocked on Raven's door. "Come in," she said, her voice tight with emotional control, not expecting him. When she saw who it was, her face fell just a little. It had been a while since he had felt the need to knock before entering. "Hi," she said softly.
He went to her desk chair and sat. "Hi," he replied.
"I'm glad you're here," she said. He didn't reply. "Let me go first, please," she said. "When I said I was disappointed in you, I was being honest. That was how I felt at the time but I was wrong." He sat back and crossed his arms. "I am very serious when I say how strongly I am against any kind of arrangement with this guy. What I shouldn't have done is ignore your opinion when you disagreed with me. There is some... validity to what you said. If it saves any lives, it is worth considering. I was wrong to be so self righteous. I am not disappointed in you. I'm sorry."
Gar sat for a second, just long enough to make he nervous. He pursed his lips thoughtfully and nodded. Then he shrugged. "Okay."
Rae actually cocked her head to the side like a confused puppy. Gar almost laughed. "Okay? That's it?"
"Yeah," he said, a hint of amusement in his tone. "That's it." He chuckled. "That was one hell of an apology. You covered all the bases."
"That's it?" she repeated in surprise. Gar chuckled and nodded. She fell back from sitting on her bed to lying on it. "I thought that would be harder."
"Me too," he said, "but now it's my turn." She sat up with her back to the headboard and in her anxiety, she hugged one of her pillows. "It's fine," he said. "This is not bad." Rae nodded and visibly relaxed. He took a deep breath and went on, "We can't let this happen, like you said. We're a couple that works together. True, it's a weird job and we aren't your usual kind of people..."
"Rae and Gar are more important then Raven and Beast Boy," she said. He nodded agreement. "It won't be easy but we have to keep our work and our private lives separate." He nodded again and this time he smiled. "We're Okay?"
Gar didn't answer. He stood and walked, reaching for her. She took his hand. "We are," he said. She drew him down and onto the bed with her. He sat against the headboard and she moved to him, embracing and leaning on him. After a moment, he went on, "You're really seriously against dealing with this guy, aren't you?"
"I think it is absolutely opposed to what heroes need to be," she said.
"If Robin decides to do it..."
"I'll leave the Titans," she said quickly, interrupting him. "I hate it and the thought terrifies me but I can't be a party to something like that. I just can't."
"I'm not saying this is how it would go, but what if you can't stay but I do?"
She thought about it for a moment. "Rae and Gar are more important," she repeated. "We could still be together. We would still be together."
"Might not be easy," he said.
"I can teleport, remember?" she asked. "That would easy up the whole 'long distance relationship' a lot."
"It would," he said. Gar usually made an effort to acknowledge her attempts at humor but he didn't. He was instaed thoughtful and after a second said, "Wow. We really just dealt with all that stuff, didn't we?"
"We really did," Raven said, a little surprise in her tone.
"We're like the best couple ever," he said.
"I know," she said, still sounding surprised.
Gar replied by leaning towards her. She matched him and his hand slid up into her hair, pulling her towards him. They kissed lingeringly and softly at first but a passion that surprised them both overtook them. They rolled together so that they were lying on their sides and held each other fiercely. For the first time, they willingly abandoned control. The kiss became deep and wild; hands caressed heated skin and their breath came in gasps. All around them, small items in room began vibrating and moving by themselves from the extremity of her unfamiliar emotions. It made them pull back. "Too much?" he asked. She nodded agreement and closed her eyes to recover. "Rae?" he asked. She opened her eyes. "I love you," he said. It wasn't the first time he had told her but it wasn't something they ever said casually or often. It was always something special. The room shook for a moment but she mastered herself. The remaining time before the meeting passed quickly and pleasantly. They were very nearly late.
When they arrived, Robin and Cyborg were sitting tensely near each other. Starfire was across from them, her arms crossed and visibly angry. After they sat, Robin spoke. "This guy has done a number on us," he said. "In two days he's beat us down and disrupted the team. My God, I hope this wasn't intentional. If he's that smart on top of everything else, if this is him playing us, we're done."
"First, I don't think it's as bad as all that," Cyborg said, "and he couldn't have planned it."
Robin quirked an eyebrow at him. "Sure he could have. I could have. Slade manipulated us. Lots of people could do it… Rhas Al Gul, Joker, Luthor."
"That's a pretty rarefied list," Raven said. "There aren't lots of people like that."
"True," Robin admitted. "I don't think that's the case with Mike. That's why I said 'I hope'."
"Anyway," Cyborg said, "I still say you're exaggerating. We aren't disrupted."
"Really?" Robin replied dryly. "Raven, what will you do if the team decides to take the offer?"
"You mean if you do?" she asked rhetorically. "I would leave the Titans."
Robin glanced at Cyborg, who was slack jawed and clearly stunned. "I am not surprised," Starfire said, breaking the silence. "I could feel your righteous wrath at the idea of surrendering to this man, friend Raven. I share it."
"Would you leave too?" Robin asked.
Starfire shook her head. "No. I think I feel less, a very little less, strongly then does Raven. I do fear that it would forever change the way I feel about what we do and who we are."
"No, our heads haven't been screwed with at all," Robin said acerbically. "I've heard everything I need to. There for a while, I think I did have Batman whispering in my ear. The smart thing to do is to take the deal and take him out the first time he steps too far out of line. I really wanted to find an excuse to do it."
"It's not the right thing," Raven said.
Robin smiled and nodded agreement. "Like the man said, if you can't do something smart, do something right. We're going to find him and we're going to kick one hundred percent of his ass..."
The meeting lasted about an hour. It broke up to a welcome general conviviality. Everyone seemed pleased at the outcome. Beast Boy sat back happily and regarded his friends and team. Calls for large amounts of various foodstuffs were being loudly made. He joined the chorus, thinking as he did about how drastic the change was. They had been as dour and unhappy as they ever had as a team and Robin had, with just a few words, simply fixed it. That was why he was in charge. Across the room, Raven was chatting with Star and Cyborg as Robin made the three calls required to order all the desired food. He didn't get up, choosing instead to relax and wait for someone to bring him food. He also got to watch Rae enjoying other people. She certainly cared for her friends and for the most part enjoyed their company but she seldom looked as happy doing it as she did just then. It pleased him.
Robin jumped over the back of the couch and landed sitting nest to Beast Boy. He watched the conversation for a moment too. "I wanted to talk to you," he said quietly. Beast Boy made a relaxed, 'go ahead' gesture. Uncharacteristically, Robin seemed to have trouble starting. "I respect what you and Raven have. I really do. It's been good for both of you."
"Thanks," Beast Boy said, a bit tentatively.
"You're welcome," Robin said dryly. "A big part of what we have to do to win is keep Raven in the fight. We have to protect her."
Beast Boy laughed, "A plan I can get behind."
"I bet," Robin said. "I'm kind of looking forward to it, you know. You, standing between Raven and something like him… it's gonna to be something to see, man. It's gonna be a hell of a thing."
