I know I don't actually own the Teen Titans, but how about we pretend I do, for this stories sake?

Beast Boy smiled to himself as he made his way towards the common room. He and the girls had gotten back to the tower about an hour ago, and he used that time to take a quick shower (mid-day showers were his favorite) and change out of his civvies and into his uniform (just in case).

He also thought of subtle ways to gloat in front of Raven, since he ended up winning their little bet.

Starfire had scared him when she first announced her love for Raven's guess, but he felt relief wash over him when she did the same with every dress after. In the end, she picked a light pink, ruffly dress with two straps. It wasn't exactly what he had guessed, but it was close enough. Though Raven did point out the fact that it had a giant bow in the back. In the end, they settled on trading two weeks of his dish duty for one week of her bathroom duty. Because seriously - how hard could it be to clean the bathroom?

Plus, he didn't want Raven's loss to sway her opinion on doing stupid little bets with him - it was a ton of fun just sitting there and making fun of some of Starfire's more... extravagant picks when her back was turned. Who knew Raven's sarcasm and cynical views could be so hilarious?

He always liked spending time with her, but now it was different; he felt like he needed to spend time with her. He needed to talk to her, make her laugh. It was like a drug that he was slowly getting addicted to, and he had no plans for recovery.

Besides, why would someone ever want to recover from such a beautiful friendship?

He truly cherished all of his friendships, but with Raven, it was different. He had worked so hard to get her to open up, and now that she finally had - it was amazing. She was amazing.

He stopped walking suddenly as that thought passed through his head; friends didn't think about each other like that. Friends called each other awesome, not amazing. He couldn't let himself think about Raven like that - it would only lead to disappointment. And a hell of a lot of confusion.

He continued towards the common room, its doors only several feet away. Shaking away those troubling thoughts, he went back to focusing on how he'd gloat.

The doors slid open, and he couldn't stop himself from grinning. His target was sitting cross-legged peacefully on the couch, reading her book and sipping her tea. She was the epitome of relaxation and calm.

And he knew just how to ruin it.

Sprinting towards the couch, he congratulated himself on his perfect landing beside her.

"Raaaaaeee!"

He smiled deviously as she closed her eyes in frustration, setting her tea onto the coffee table. He was pleasantly surprised that it hadn't spilled - burning her wasn't the best way to hold his victory over her.

"Beast Boy."

He found her greeting rather mundane, and figured that a champion like him deserved something a little more extravagant.

"Awe, come on, Rae! Is that really how you greet your superiors?"

She opened one eye at his statement, giving him a sideways glance. "Superiors?" she repeated dully.

Beast Boy gave her his signature grin, which she merely returned with her trademark glare, opening her other eye to intensify it.

"Superiors." This time it wasn't a question, and he suddenly felt a feeling of dread wash over him at her monotone voice. Maybe superiors wasn't the right word.

"Well, I-I mean - "

"Don't spare my feelings, Beast Boy," she interrupted dryly as she closed her book, giving him her full attention. "After all, it's beneath you. I'm beneath you."

He definitely should have reconsidered his word choice. Raven didn't take too lightly to being bossed around - hell, even Robin had trouble telling her what to do.

"I didn't mean I am superior to you, in that way... that you're thinking..." He realized bitterly how lame his excuse was, but he couldn't find a good one for the life of him. He was just destined to put his foot in his mouth.

And he always seemed to do that when talking to Raven.

It wasn't his usual, flustered-yet-feigning confidence act that he would put on with a pretty girl; no, this was just a total loss of cognitive thinking, that often resulted with him in the doghouse, or even the bay.

And they were only friends.

Beast Boy suddenly found himself reconsidering his notion to set her up with Aqualad - it'd be hilarious to see the Atlantean try to sweet-talk his way out of an argument with the empath.

But putting a little more thought into it, he involuntarily shuddered at how fish-boy would try to make it up to her.

Yeah, no. No fish-boy for Raven.

He snapped back to reality when Raven cleared her throat impatiently. With a subtle blush staining his cheeks, he realized he had been staring at her awkwardly while she waited for his reply.

Or was he waiting for hers? What were they even talking about?

"Well, this has been a riveting conversation, but I must excuse myself." She stood from the couch slowly, tucking her book under her arm and using her powers to lift her tea towards her hand.

And she called him lazy.

He watched as she deposited her mug into the sink, immediately rinsing it and setting it in the already loaded dishwater.

Beast Boy suddenly found himself regretting their deal - dish duty wasn't that bad.

He hadn't even realized he had followed her until she turned back around, jumping in shock at his proximity and dropping her book.

"Azar! You scared the life out of me!" she sighed, clutching her chest with her hand. Beast Boy smiled sheepishly as he bent down to retrieve her book.

"Sorry, Rae."

She waved away his apology as she attempted to take her book, but he held on firmly. She gave him a questioning glance, and Beast Boy felt a thousand questions run through his mind as he tried to find something to say.

"Do you like me?"

Her face adopted a look of horror at his words, before shifting into bewilderment. "Excuse me?"

He felt like smacking himself with her book, but refrained from it. He needed an answer.

"Do you like me, Rae?" he repeated, but when she still looked confused, he decided to elaborate. "I mean, like, sometimes it seems like you can't stand me, but then we'll have our moments, like earlier today, where I feel like we're best friends." He paused slightly, feeling his chest tighten uncomfortably for no reason, before continuing. "But then I'll say something stupid, and you'll be all sarcastic, and I feel like we're back to square one...

"I feel like... like you don't like me."

He watched as a look of understanding passed over her features, causing her expression to soften. It wasn't necessarily pity that he saw; more like... relief?

"You know how hard it is for me to express myself properly - especially when it comes to... friendships."

He waited patiently for her to elaborate, but she seemed content with her explanation as she attempted to tug the book from his grasp.

But Beast Boy wasn't satisfied.

"But I thought everything was easier after the whole apocalypse thingy?" Smooth, Beast Boy. Bring up the end of the world - that she almost caused.

He wanted to smack himself again, and almost would have if it wasn't for her answering him.

"Yes, it's easier, but I still have to maintain some control. Just because Trigon no longer has an influence over me, doesn't mean I'm not still part demon." She paused briefly, and he could see the longing it her eyes - the longing to be normal.

"But that doesn't mean I'll always be this way," she continued, her voice less heavy. "Someday, I'll be able to laugh and cry, without my powers going haywire, or having to schedule in an extra meditation session. Someday, I'll be... human."

Beast Boy felt a pang in his heart at her words. He couldn't imagine what it was like to have to always be so guarded, and to only have allotted times to feel. She literally had to schedule in her happiness, and he realized bitterly that his pestering of her probably ate up a lot of her time.

He suddenly felt like a real jerk.

"I didn't realize how hard it was for you," he admitted, feeling his shoulders slump in shame. And he called himself her friend.

Surprisingly, she gave him a small smile. "I'm sure you can relate, what with your animal instincts. They can probably drive you crazy."

He felt even more ashamed at her deluded insight of him. Sure, the instincts could get rather annoying, but they didn't stop him from smiling. If anything, they made him a bit antsy.

His primal side, on the other hand... yeah, that part of him took a little more to control.

Raven's smile slowly faltered, and he realized that she was most likely sensing his emotions.

"I hadn't meant to tread onto a sensitive subject - " she began timidly, though he quickly cut her off with the wave of his hand.

"Nah, Rae - it's got nothing to do with you." Well, nothing to do with what you said, anyway, he thought bitterly. In all honestly, it had everything to do with her. But he didn't want her to know that - ever.

She nodded slowly, and he could tell that she was still skeptical.

Deciding that their conversation was getting way too heavy, he backtracked a bit.

"You never answered my question, though," he smirked, laughing internally at her quizzical expression.

"Hmm?"

He rolled his eyes fondly. "Do you like me, Rae?"

Again, she looked taken aback, and he could see the slightest hint of a blush on her cheeks. He felt bad for pushing her again, but her reactions were just too good.

"I thought we had previously established our friendship," she deadpanned, her fingers curling around the edges of her book and giving it a light tug.

He held on firmly, his lips curling into a sneer. "Yeah, but that doesn't mean you like me! You might just feel obligated to be my friend, since we've been through hell and back!"

Her eyes narrowed slightly, and he knew that if she really wanted to, she could rip the book from him with her powers. But he also knew she wouldn't risk ripping her book in the process. She was stuck.

"I feel no obligation to be your friend, Beast Boy," she replied in somewhat of a growl. "Nor do I feel any obligation to verbally affirm our friendship. After all, doesn't the saying go 'actions speak louder than words'?"

Beast Boy rolled his eyes again at her tactic of throwing in big words - she did that whenever she wanted him to back off. But not today - nope, he was getting an answer.

"I'm a simple man, Rae - and the simplicity of you confirming that you do, in fact, like me - and I don't mean tolerate; actual, honest-to-god like - will cause me to release your book, and you can be on your way."

He watched as her knuckles turned white and her eyes glazed over in fury - he was really pushing her this time, but he couldn't give up. She was so close to admitting their friendship aloud, and he couldn't imagine another opportunity like this arising again.

But suddenly, her anger was replaced by a sense of calm, and her stoic demeanor returned as she regarded him lazily.

"Yes, Beast Boy. I do like you. We are friends."

With a triumphant grin, he released his hold on her book, which she quickly tucked under her arm. She made a move to pass him, but he stuck his arm in the way, blocking her escape.

"Do you like me more than Cyborg?"

The bored look on her face was incredibly misleading as he felt the floor beneath him suddenly disappear.

It looks like BB is kind of starting to possibly see the slight indication that he might be somewhat sort-of crushing on Raven... maybe?

So here's my update that I promised - and guess what? This story has reach 100 follows! Omg that it just beyond amazing! You guys are beyond amazing! Thank you so much to every single one of you who have followed, favorited, and reviewed! You guys keep me writing!

Anywhoo, how about leaving a few more? ;D