The Teen Titans have these little things called "rights", and sadly, I am not in possession of them.
Beast Boy walked down the hall quietly, still a little embarrassed from his conversation with Raven. He knew she was probably enacting her own Raven-y revenge for making her rest, but it seemed as if she genuinely wanted to be called beautiful.
Which was crazy - had nobody ever told her that before?
Like she had pointed out, they were good friends. And as a good friend, he had permission to acknowledge the fact that she was a remarkably beautiful girl. He had thought that her beauty was a known fact, but apparently she hadn't been made aware of it.
Which was crazy.
But, it was also another thing to add to the list; Raven's perfect match had to tell her she was beautiful. Otherwise Beast Boy would see to it that the guy would never see again. Because that's what good friends would do.
He made his way into the common room and unconsciously headed towards the kitchen. All of his musings over what Raven would want in a guy made him realize that right now, she'd probably just want some tea. So he dutifully heated her kettle and shuffled through her flavors. He smiled to himself when he found a box of green tea, and imagined the way Raven would roll her eyes when he presented her with it. Really though, who could resist anything green? It was pretty much the best color ever (besides purple - purple was pretty cool).
He pulled out a small package from the box and used his teeth to rip it open. With it right under his nose, he almost coughed at the overwhelming smell of it. Not that it was a bad smell; it was just so... herb-y and grassy and a little floral-y. Not unpleasant, but kind of weird to think of as a beverage.
But hey - Raven seemed to like it, so it couldn't be that bad.
He quickly grabbed a random mug from the cupboard and stuck the little bag in it, and then waited a few more minutes before the kettle started to whistle. Pulling it off the stove, he carefully poured the steaming liquid into the mug, watching as it swirled into a green color. He set the kettle back down and turned off the stove.
Giving the drink an apprehensive look, he lifted it towards his nose and took a quick whiff.
It still smelt like grass.
Against his better judgement, he blew across the top of it before taking a small sip.
Not only was it scalding hot, but it tasted weirder than it had smelt. It was bitter and leafy - and that was coming from a vegetarian.
He obviously had done something wrong.
Setting it back down, he took a quick look around the kitchen, hoping something would trigger his memory. He could always smell Raven's tea on her breath, and it never smelt grassy. It was always kind of sweet-smelling, sort of like...
"Honey!"
"Yes, dear?"
Beast Boy let out a very unmanly squeal as he whipped around to find his robotic teammate giving him a devious smirk.
"Oh my god, why does everyone feel the need to sneak up on me!" the green teen exclaimed.
Cyborg snorted in amusement. "How is it that we all can sneak up on the guy with the heightened animal senses?" he laughed.
Beast Boy rolled his eyes as he attempted to regain his composure. "I don't know; you guys just obviously enjoy it," he muttered as he began searching for the honey. A spoonful of the sweet goo would surely make the tea drinkable.
He could feel the half-robot's eyes on him, which was strange considering one was robotic. He idly wondered how he could see out of it, but refrained from asking. Besides, he could tell that his friend had some questions as well.
"So I'm guessing you stuck your foot in your mouth," Cyborg mused casually.
Beast Boy turned to face him, giving him a bewildered look. "What makes you think that?"
"Well," his best friend smirked, looking over the sight before him, "you're making her tea, so obviously you said something that pissed her off. Like usual."
The changeling rolled his eyes and continued his quest of finding the honey. "Actually," he drawled as he opened the pantry, "Rae's not mad at all; I'm just being nice and bringing her some tea, since she did just get whacked in the head with a dumbbell."
Cyborg let out a surprised huff. "Huh," he sighed, making it obvious that there was something on his mind.
Beast Boy was afraid to ask, but his curiosity got the better of him. "'Huh', what?" He turned around to face him, before remembering where the honey was and quickly opening the cupboard.
"Huh, as in I think Raven was wrong," the half-robot mused.
Beast Boy nodded absently as he snatched the little bear-shaped bottle from the top shelf. He then turned back around and uncapped it. "Wrong about what?" he asked, squeezing a good amount of the golden goo into the mug.
Cyborg was silent for a moment, so Beast Boy took another small sip of the tea, smiling at the fact that it tasted way better now. It still was nowhere as refreshing as soda or a glass of soy milk, but he now understood why Raven didn't hate it. He turned around to face his friend, who was giving him a peculiar look.
"What?"
Cyborg smirked ever so slightly, before his brow furrowed in thought.
"Did Mento ever teach you ways to block out a psychic?"
The green teen arched a brow in confusion, setting the mug of tea behind him on the counter. "What do you mean?"
He could tell his friend was having trouble wording whatever it was he wanted to say.
"What I mean... is... did he teach you how to hide your thoughts and feelings from other psychics... or say, empaths?"
Beast Boy tilted his head in confusion. Yes, his adoptive father had attempted to teach him various ways to protect his mind, but he hadn't ever been good at it. The process took a lot of concentration, and he wasn't going to lie - he knew he was a little absent-minded.
"He gave me a few pointers, but I never really use them," he shrugged. "I mean, it's not like we face a lot of powerful psychics, and I don't know any empaths. Well, besides Rae."
Saying her name reminded him of her tea, which was probably now getting cold. He snatched it up quickly and started to cross the common room towards the exit.
Cyborg followed behind, obviously not finished with the conversation.
"Uhm, right. Okay, so let's say, for instance, that you did pick up a few tactics," the half-robot began, speaking in a hushed tone as they entered the hallway. "And one of them happened to be, say, suppressing the emotion - or thought - so that even you couldn't detect it being there. Is that possible?"
Beast Boy weighed his question in his head. It was probable. "Maybe," he replied with a shrug, before stopping to wait for the elevator. "I mean, if even you are unaware of the thought, then it isn't on the surface. And most psychics can only read what's on the surface. Why do you ask?"
Cyborg ignored his question, opting to ask one of his own. "So the same could be said for emotions, right?"
The changeling stepped onto the elevator as the doors dinged open, his best friend following suit.
"I mean, yeah; I guess," he shrugged, unsure of where the half-robot was going with this.
"So it's entirely possible for you to feel a certain way, but be completely oblivious to it - resulting in subconsciously burying the emotion to the point that even if an empath was to actively search for it, she - er, uhm, they would come up short?"
Beast Boy scratched the back of his head in confusion - he wasn't necessarily dumb, but sometimes he couldn't keep up with his robotic friend.
"Maybe?"
Cyborg smiled triumphantly at the changeling's answer, which only confused him more. He was about to ask him why he was so curious, but the elevator doors hissed open and the half-robot shooed the green teen out.
"Hurry up and give Rae her tea before it gets cold; I'm gonna check on the T-car real quick, and then I'll be up to check on her."
Beast Boy nodded skeptically as the doors shut between them. He turned around, deciding not to ponder over Cyborg's devious smirk, and instead made his way towards the med-lab.
As he neared it, his earlier conversation with the pale girl started replaying in his head, and he suddenly felt a little flustered. Why did she always have to make him feel so... awkward? It was like she thrived off of patronizing him or something.
He pushed open the door, and his thoughts quickly subsided when he realized the half-demon had ignored his wishes and opted to meditate instead. She was floating soundlessly above her temporary bed, her lips mouthing her mantra.
He felt a little ticked off that she had ignored his wishes again, but decided that he wouldn't bring it up.
"Rae?"
Her mouth stopped moving immediately, and her brows furrowed in annoyance.
"I'll rest later, Beast Boy. I needed to... sort something out first," she replied in her monotone, not even opening her eyes to acknowledge him.
He huffed in exasperation as he stepped closer. "Well, I made you some tea, since I'm a good enough friend to listen to you when you talk, and I know that you like tea. But obviously you never listen to me," he grumbled, setting the mug down on the little roll-y table beside the bed.
A small smirk played at Raven's lips, and Beast Boy couldn't help but feel his irritation give way to amusement.
That's what he loved so much about their friendship - they could still drive each other up the wall, but at the end of the day they knew they were only looking out for each other's best interests.
"Don't tell me; it's green tea," she mused, her eyes still closed as she floated crossed-legged in the air.
Beast Boy gave her his signature toothy smile, even though she couldn't see it. "It's actually pretty good," he admitted, giving the drink an appreciative glance. "Well, with honey, anyway."
Raven arched her brows in surprise. "You made some for yourself?"
The changeling shook his head, before realizing she couldn't see it. "No," he replied.
Her eyebrows journeyed even higher. "You drank the tea you made for me?" she replied incredulously, opening her eyes and narrowing them ever so slightly.
Beast Boy let out a sheepish giggle at her glare. "I-I mean, how else was I supposed to know if I made it right?" he defended, taking a small step back.
Raven's glare never wavered. "How could you know what was 'right' in the first place? You've never drank it before," she deadpanned, still hovering over her bed, but crossing her arms in defiance as she waited for his answer.
"W-well," he began nervously, rubbing the back of his neck out of habit. "This is gonna sound weird, and please don't take it the wrong way, but I can smell it on your breath, and knew to add honey because of it always smelling sweet."
Raven's hands instinctively went to her mouth as her eyes widened in horror. "My breath?!"
Sensing that she had taken it the wrong way, he waved his hands around frantically - why did she never listen to him?
"No, no no no! It's not a bad thing, Rae!" he assured, feeling a little weird for defending his teammate's breath. "It smells good, actually!"
He watched as her horror subsided into a pink blush, and realized how truly unusual his compliment was.
"B-but not it a creepy, 'I sniff you' kind of way!" he exclaimed, feeling himself blush as well. Maybe he was the one who always made things awkward between them.
"B-besides," he began timidly, giving her a sheepish grin, "I thought we were good enough friends to compliment each other's breath?" he joked, hoping to release some of the tension hanging in the air.
She rolled her eyes fondly at his attempted joke, her usual stoic demeanor returning. "Yes, well, we're also good enough friends who can let the other know when they are in need of some mouthwash, and you, my friend, can do with a good rinse."
Beast Boy narrowed his eyes playfully at her jab - there was nothing wrong with tofu-breath.
Actually, tofu-breath is hella nastyyy, Ima be honest. And I would know - I'm a vegetarian myself, and I will never leave the house with my mouth smelling like tofu, or anything other than minty-freshness!
But back to the story, it seems like Cyborg is trying to rationalize Beast Boy's lack of "feelings" for Rae, 'cuz let's face it, Cyborg is never wrong (or so he thinks (and so we hope))!
Maybe BB is just suppressing his looooooove for Rae-Rae! Or maybe Cy's just seeing what he (and the rest of us) wants to see! We'll never know!
Well, at least not until I type it all out lol
Anyway, review? :D