.snatiT neeT eht nwo t'nod I
Like any good actress, she played the part of annoyed roommate flawlessly. Nobody had the slightest indication that she felt anything more than tolerance for the green teen. Her secret was safe.
Just how she liked it.
Living with the titans proved that privacy was a virtue that needed to be guarded - nothing was safe from the boy wonder's inquisitive eyes or the alien's soothing voice of reason. Raven even found that the changeling himself had almost mastered the skill of getting her to open up.
The only one who didn't push her boundaries was the resident half-robot.
Cyborg was like an older brother, and Raven didn't feel the need to hide anything from him. He was obviously as clueless as the others when it came to her affection for the green teen, but she didn't have to put on a mask with him. He had also been into her mind, and was a witness to the start of her and Beast Boy's friendship. Though he didn't know what else had started.
Raven soundlessly floated over her older brother's workbench as he slaved away under his "baby", no doubt installing upgrades that only he would appreciate.
"...but she acts like it's all my fault, when she knows what the business is like. So excuse me if I have to cancel a date here and there to save the world," Cyborg grumbled angrily. As expected, the robotic titan's charming personality made him a winner with the ladies, and since arriving back from Tokyo, he had his fair share of dates - most of them with a certain Titans East leader.
In all honesty, all of the titans were becoming very sought after. It had been a few years since they had formed their little team, and it showed.
Raven was now the shortest, which a certain green teen liked to remind her of. She hadn't really developed much anywhere else, since she was an early bloomer in the first place. Actually, besides Cyborg, she had probably changed the least out of all of them - only the thinning of her face gave away the fact that time had passed.
Starfire's hair grew longer and her skirt grew shorter as her height grew two inches taller. It seemed as if she got more and more beautiful everyday - another thing Raven felt envious of, though she never spoke those thoughts out loud. Feeling jealous wasn't allowed.
Robin had also grown quite a bit, and was now the same height as his girlfriend, which he felt was a personal accomplishment. Boys and their egos - Raven would never understand.
Beast Boy was an entirely different story though. He hadn't grown much, but was now a good three inches taller than Raven, though his height fluctuated an inch or so depending on how long he stayed in his animal form. Raven couldn't decide if she preferred him taller or not.
Another thing that changed was his new-found strength. He was in no way as muscular as Robin, who would pride himself on his extra hours spent in the gym, but the changeling was no longer the scrawny little fourteen year old from when they first met.
Not to say he didn't still act like a fourteen year old. His maturity level was almost as unstable as his genetic code. Raven sometimes found herself wanting to strangle him, which was somewhat comforting and graced her with a sense of normalcy. But other times, he could be so understanding and easy to talk to, and she felt herself fall deeper into the little void of affection reserved specifically for him. It was disgusting.
And comforting.
"...and maybe if she specified that we were exclusive, I would have asked her to the charity ball next week, but noooo, heaven forbid I ask Sarah, 'cuz it's not like she actually lives in Jump!"
Raven rolled her eyes as Cyborg continued to vent to her. Honestly, Beast Boy or Starfire would probably be more helpful - she hadn't the faintest idea how to handle an angry sort-of girlfriend.
The empath hadn't even been on an actual date. Being the second prettiest girl on the team also granted her with the title of ugliest girl on the team. And nobody - superhero or civilian - wanted to date the ugly one.
It was cruel and unusual punishment, but she figured she deserved it for almost ending life on earth when she triggered the apocalypse. Karma had a funny way of working.
Her only solace was the fact that she still had quite a bit of fan-boys who had no problem letting her know what they wanted to do with her. Obviously they were no respectable candidates, and she hardly considered them human. They fit better into the Neanderthal category - no offense to Gnark, who was actually quite the gentleman.
She found even more comfort in the fact that her own crush seemed to find her at least somewhat appealing in the physical sense. She knew it was nothing more than hormones on his part, but catching his lingering eyes on her during training was nothing short of an ego boost.
And the butterflies in her stomach were a nice touch.
"...asked you a question. Why are you always spacing out on me! I swear, you're as bad as BB!"
Raven's thoughts came to a sudden halt as she turned towards her adoptive brother, who was looking at her expectantly from his position on the floor.
"I'm sorry, what?" she replied in her monotone, cursing herself for not coming up with a more intelligent response.
Cyborg smirked at her dazed expression; she knew he loved catching her off guard.
"I asked if you've asked or been asked by anyone to the charity thingy next week."
Raven felt a feeling of disappointment wash over her, but she quickly pushed it away. Feelings seemed to have a knack for getting hurt.
"Are you expecting Jump City's 34th most eligible bachelorette not to have a date to a Jump City charity function?" she asked sarcastically from her perch above his toolbox.
The robotic titan rolled his one human eye in amusement. "I could have sworn the offers were pouring in," he mused semi-seriously.
From the Neanderthals, Raven groaned internally. If only decent guys found her more interesting. Actually, if only any guy found her interesting at all - she was more than a pair of legs.
Though she was quite proud of her legs.
"I think going solo is my best option," she replied with a smirk; a lonely Raven was a normal Raven, and normal didn't warrant any questions.
She watched as the humor drained from Cyborg's face; it was like he was more upset by her lack of a social life than she was. You'd think he'd be thrilled that his baby sister wasn't parading around town with a different Neanderthal every week.
"Why don't you ask a friend?" he suggested with a shrug. "BB hasn't got a date, either, and..."
Raven let her mind wander at the prospect of having Beast Boy as her date. Despite the lack of maturity he possessed, she knew he would be a total gentleman. Seeing him in a suit was something she admittedly daydreamed about, and seeing him in a suit to take her to a ball was nothing short of a dream come true.
And she could only imagine how his hormones would react to her in a dress.
"...I'm sorry, okay! It was a stupid suggestion! Please Rae, don't do this!"
Raven blinked in confusion, before realizing her daydream was causing her to feel, and her feelings were causing her powers to levitate Cyborg's precious T-car.
Exhaling slowly and chanting her mantra in her head, Raven lowered it back to the garage floor, electing a sigh of relief from her robotic teammate.
"Dang Rae - I didn't realize you disliked BB so much," he laughed awkwardly, clearly mistaking her outburst for outrage.
"Beast Boy is tolerable at best," she deadpanned, unsure of what else to say. Obviously she needed to schedule in a few more hours of meditation - this "crush" was getting out of hand.
Leave it to Beast Boy to inadvertently destroy the tower.
"I need to meditate," she announced abruptly, gently landing on the floor and making her way towards the door.
Teleporting to her room would be quickest, but she didn't trust her current frazzled state. Her powers acting up meant that her feelings and emotions were getting the best of her, and that was a bad sign.
Instead, she phased through the ceiling until she found herself in the hallway leading to her and Beast Boy's rooms. Cyborg was a sick, twisted individual for designing the tower and adjoining their rooms. It's like he wanted her to destroy everything.
Heaving a sigh, she took the final remaining steps to her room in silence, trying to get her mind off of the green changeling...
...Who happened to be standing in front of her door, about to knock.
Raven felt her stomach flutter again, and had to work twice as hard to keep her powers in check.
He hadn't noticed her yet, which was odd. It must have meant he was too preoccupied with thinking to use his senses and detect her. The poor boy was horrible at mutitasking.
She watched in amusement as he lifted his fist to knock several times, opening and closing his mouth indecisively. Whatever he was planning to tell her, it was obviously important.
"I am very popular today," Raven mused casually, masking her amusement with indifference as he jumped a good foot in the air.
"Rae!" he exclaimed, clamping his hand over his heart as he tried to catch his breath. "Y-you scared the shit out of me!"
She wrinkled her nose in distaste at his expression. "What a lovely image," she deadpanned.
He blushed slightly at her reply, and she could feel the embarrassment ooze off of him. "I came to ask you something," he admitted sheepishly after his voice returned to its normal pitch (which was only a tad bit deeper than when they first met).
Raven arched a brow curiously - Beast Boy wanted to ask her something? She couldn't remember saying anything too advanced for his vocabulary at dinner, so she ruled out being his own personal dictionary. Maybe he was wondering where Cyborg was? That was the only other thing she could think of, besides him bugging her to play video games with him.
But he wouldn't dare do that at this time; it was low-tide, and his landing in the bay would be exceedingly unenjoyable.
Beast Boy obviously took her silence as permission to go on.
"Okay, well, uhm... this is awkward. But, yeah, so, I was wondering - since, you know, we're friends or whatever - but yeah, so, I just thought that since you're, you know, you - which is totally not a bad thing! It's a great thing - or, uhm, I-I mean - "
Raven opened her mouth to yell at him to get on with it, but the blaring of the alarm interrupted her.
She could feel a strange cocktail of embarrassment and disappointment radiate from the changeling, and an unwanted feeling of excitement poured over her. Was he about to ask her to the ball?
Her merriment had to be put on hold, though, as the shape-shifter swiftly grabbed her arm and pulled her towards the common room.
Being a hero obviously came first.
Chapter two! Whaaaat. Lol
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