I'm not gonna lie; I don't own the Teen Titans.
Raven knew she probably looked horrified - hell, she was. She had let her powers slip, and now Beast Boy was going to figure everything out and -
"These... these are real feathers! Do you know what happens to those poor, innocent chickens?!"
Okay, maybe he wasn't about to figure it out. Thank god for his short attention span.
"I thought down came from geese?"
Raven felt her heart stop when she realized Cyborg was still in the room. Had he picked up on anything?
"...Do you know what happens to those poor, innocent geese?!"
Raven rolled her eyes at the green teen's theatrics - he was always one for drama.
Cyborg scoffed incredulously. "Don't they shed the down naturally?"
Raven watched as Beast Boy opened and closed his mouth, obviously unsure of how to respond.
"Hold on - I'll google it!" And with that, he raced out of the room.
She could feel her robotic teammate's stare, and knew he was about to stick his nose in her business.
"Soooo," he drawled smugly, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning back against the counter.
Raven played dumb - a tactic she never thought she'd resort to.
"So, what?"
"You know what, Raven."
She slowly sat up in her bed, tucking a lock of her hair behind her ear. "I have no idea where the feathers come from," she mused, using her powers to gather the wayward pillow fluff.
Cyborg snorted in amusement. "So I heard B asked you to the ball," he smirked, getting right to the point.
Raven nodded her head absently. "Yes, he did."
"And I heard you said yes."
Again, she nodded. "Yes, I did."
Her teammate glanced around the room quickly, before leaning in closer and whispering. "Is there anything going on that I should know about?"
Raven arched her brow curiously. "No, there is nothing you should know about," she deadpanned. It was true - he didn't need to know anything. Also, nothing was really going on; Beast Boy asked her as a friend.
She could tell the half-robot wasn't satisfied with her answer, but she was not planning on clueing him in on her crush.
"You know BB likes you, right?"
Again, she felt the butterflies, but she quickly squashed them down. She knew he didn't. "As a friend, yes," she replied curtly.
Cyborg shook his head animatedly. "No, he likes you likes you," he clarified with another smirk.
Raven let out a sigh of amusement. "I'm an empath, Cyborg - I can sense his emotions towards me. And I can assure you he only feels friendship for me." She hoped she didn't sound as bummed out as she felt.
She watched as Cyborg's mouth gaped slightly at her logic.
"Are.. are you sure?" he pressed, his shock showing clearly as his human eye widened.
Raven couldn't help but smirk. "Yes, Cyborg, I'm sure." She paused for a moment, unsure of how to word her next sentence. "Besides... don't you think I'd set him straight if he did like me? I'd never agree to be his date and lead him on like that."
Lying wasn't her favorite thing to do, but it was partially true - even if he felt the same as her, she wouldn't pursue it. At least not until she had her powers completely under control.
Cyborg suddenly gave her an incredibly sympathetic look, and she felt her chest tighten at the feeling of disappointment radiating off of him.
"Rae - " he began quietly, but she quickly waved her hand dismissively.
"It's fine, Cyborg. I'm not mad at you for assuming I would ever be in a secret relationship with Beast Boy," she mused, hoping he wasn't going to bring up what she knew he now knew.
He gave her a bewildered look, and she held back a grin at his sudden confusion.
"But - "
"Honestly, Cyborg; you're acting as if I were the one with the crush," she continued, feeling a smug sense of satisfaction with her acting abilities. She knew if she were to directly deny it, it would only further his suspicions. Acknowledging it and laughing it off was her only chance.
"Ducks!"
Both titans jumped slightly as Beast Boy burst back into the room.
"What?" they replied in unison.
The changeling rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Down comes from ducks," he clarified, coming further into the room and sitting on the bed Raven was still occupying. "And there are different ways to get it - but some are slaughtered for it."
Raven made a small effort to scoot away from him, knowing that her "older brother" would be watching her reaction towards the green teen more closely. Blasting him off the bed would seem too forced, and not reacting at all would be obvious.
She rolled her eyes slightly in frustration - now she'd have to be even more careful around Beast Boy.
"Wait - why did the pillow explode anyway?"
Raven had never wanted to phase through the floor so badly. She spared a fleeting glance at Cyborg, who was giving her a curious look, before her eyes settled on the shape-shifter beside her.
She heaved a labored sigh. "I hate to admit it," she began, faking reluctance, "but you were right, Beast Boy. I need to rest."
She watched from the corner of her eye as her robotic teammate's shoulders sagged in disappointment.
But the green teen in front of her looked to be on the verge of doing a happy dance.
"I was right?!" he repeated with a large grin. "Did Raven just tell me that I was right?!"
She smacked his shoulder in what she hoped was a non-flirtatious way. "Shut up - you were half-right," she clarified.
His smile didn't falter, but he did gesture for her to go on with his hand.
She rolled her eyes, but complied. "I need to rest and meditate - though it doesn't matter which one I do first," she elaborated.
He shrugged at her explanation, before bumping his shoulder against hers. "Well, I say you rest first," he smirked, obviously happy with himself. "Your beauty sleep is important," he laughed.
She mentally patted herself on the back for controlling her powers after hearing his last statement.
"You think I need beauty sleep?" she deadpanned, feigning offense.
The look on her green teammate's face was downright comical. "W-what?" he began, clearly flustered. "N-no! That's not what I meant!"
She continued to give him an incredulous look. "Then what were you implying?"
Azar, she loved messing with him.
He gave Cyborg a pleading look, and Raven had to stifle a laugh as the half-robot shrugged in a "you're on your own" manner before vacating the room.
"I j-just meant," he stuttered, obviously searching for a neutral explanation, "that you obviously get enough beauty sleep, but a little more couldn't hurt..."
He face-palmed himself, and she knew he probably realized how bad his reasoning sounded.
"If you're calling me ugly, just spit it out," she hissed, though she was still finding the whole conversation hilarious.
"No!" he gasped, acting as if she had insulted him. "You're like the farthest thing from ugly, Rae! I was just using an expression!"
His answer was beyond satisfying, and she felt her stomach do pleasant somersaults at the fact that Beast Boy had verbally confirmed that he found her attractive - even if he meant it in a friendly way.
"So I'm the opposite of ugly?" she mused, hoping to maybe get a few more compliments out of him.
The changeling nodded in response, and she could feel a sense of relief wash over him. Too bad it wouldn't last long.
"So, what exactly is the opposite of ugly?"
Just like she expected, his relief gave way to embarrassment. She was a horrible person.
"W-what?" he squeaked. His face was turning bright red, and she could see a subtle layer of sweat glistening on his forehead.
She feigned nonchalance as she turned herself towards him more, giving him a semi-serious look. "Beast Boy," she began, her voice adopting a somewhat lecture-like tone, "you just insulted me. And regardless of whether or not you meant it as an insult, the fact remains that I am a girl. And girls don't take too kindly to insults."
He gulped nervously, and she had to literally pinch herself to keep a straight face. Chanting her mantra in her head, she continued, "And the only way to even expect forgiveness, is to compliment them."
His eyes widened in horror, and she could almost taste the mortification leaking from him.
"So," she drawled, finally allowing a small smirk to surface, "compliment me."
Beast Boy's emotions were all over the place as he gave her a humiliated look. She could feel his embarrassment, confusion, and even a hint of fear. It was obvious he didn't want to say anything, but she hadn't really given him a choice.
"W-why does my opinion even matter?" he questioned, obviously trying to get out of telling her what she wanted to hear - though he didn't necessarily know that.
She rolled her eyes fondly. "Well, Beast Boy, it may come as a surprise to you, but I value the opinions of my friends. And I had assumed that that's what we were. Friends."
Saying it out loud stung a bit, though she knew that they could never be anything more. And until she got over this little crush, she wanted to get as much out of him as possible.
"Rae," he droned, clearly wanting her to drop it.
She let out another weary sigh, letting her face morph into a look of disappointment as she stared at her lap. "Well, either we aren't as good of friends as I had thought, or you're too nice to call me ugly." She knew this was a low-blow, but for some reason she needed him to call her pretty. It was pathetic and needy, but hearing him say the words aloud would mean the world to her - especially since the only compliments she ever received were from her fan-boys and mainly consisted of various ways of saying "you're hot".
She almost jumped out of her skin as Beast Boy set his hand on her shoulder reassuringly. She glanced up to meet his eyes, and cursed herself for being so affected by them; how was it possible for there to be that many shades of green?
"Raven," he began, his voice now carrying a determined tone, "you are one of my best friends."
She nodded absently, barely hearing his words as she chanted her mantra in her head.
"And you are absolutely beautiful," he finished, his voice cracking in embarrassment and his face blushing furiously.
Okay, so that answer was way better than what she had expected. Damn, he was making this whole "getting over him" thing a hell of a lot harder for her.
She realized that they had been awkwardly staring at each other for a while, and in a very un-Raven like manner, she attempted to lessen the tension with a joke.
"Thanks, Beast Boy - but a simple 'you're cute' would have sufficed."
He blushed even harder as his embarrassment literally filled the room. Raven knew she had definitely pushed both their boundaries too far, and she was going to be rewarded with a few days of awkwardness between them and even more hours of meditation.
But damn, it was so worth it.
Well that wasn't very nice of Raven! Though I totally think she was justified - here's a little tip, guys: never, ever call a girl ugly - or even joke about it. Even if we don't care about your opinion, it isn't nice to hear. So don't do it. Seriously. Lol
Anywhoo, so Rae-Rae got a little devious in getting a compliment out of Beast Boy - and I know I'm guilty of fishing for compliments from the guy I like, so I can relate. Is it bad? Probably, but who doesn't like being called pretty? Haha
Buuuut it also looks like she needs to watch out for Cyborg - though she might not have too much of a problem since he had already mistaken BB for being the one with a crush. But you never knoooow...
Anyways, review? :)