One order of I don't own the Teen Titans but I'm pretending I do coming right up! :D
Raven observed Beast Boy closely as the waitress returned with their drinks. He had claimed to not have noticed her looks, but every time she appeared, he'd send out bursts of nervousness. But as the empath focused on the changeling, she realized he wasn't looking at the blonde as much as he was stealing glances at her. And the occasional sweep of the restaurant.
She felt a little better knowing that he was indeed telling her the truth - well, at least part of it.
Raven took a tentative sip of her drink, before scowling at its taste. It wasn't necessarily horrible, but the obvious soy products left a foul after taste in her mouth.
Beast Boy seemed to have noticed her reaction as he giggled quietly.
"Wanna trade?" he smiled, gesturing to his strawberry lemonade. Raven was about to decline the offer, but it did look refreshing.
"Sure," she deadpanned, handing him her drink and taking his. She took a small sip, ignoring the fact that she was using the same straw that his own lips had just been on. Smiling at the taste of real fruit, she mumbled a quiet "thank you."
Beast Boy merely waved his hand in nonchalance, sucking up a good amount of the mocha with her old straw. "No, thank you!" he laughed, gesturing to his new drink. "This tastes amazing!"
Raven arched her brows skeptically, but knew not to argue with him.
He turned back to his menu, and she could feel his excitement radiating off of him. He must have really liked the drink.
"Ooooh! They have everything!" he exclaimed cheerfully as he literally bounced in his seat. "I don't know what I want!"
Raven picked up her own menu, opting to actually read it this time. She felt her eyebrows join her hairline when she realized the place did have a lot of vegan options. No wonder Beast Boy was practically glowing.
"What are you gonna get?" he asked expectantly.
Raven's eyes darted back to his.
"Nothing," she deadpanned. Hadn't she explained that to him already?
Beast Boy's lower lip jutted out as he gave her a pleading look. "Can't you just get something?" he whined.
She merely lifted her drink into the air, before taking another sip.
Beast Boy's eyes had followed the action, before he shook his head and looked away, a small blush apparent on his cheeks.
Curious, Raven probed his emotions. Her eyes widened in surprise when she was actually able to get a reading on him, though it was brief. Regardless, she undoubtedly sensed how flustered he was feeling.
And she had caused him to feel that way.
Beast Boy cleared his throat awkwardly after he took another generous sip of his beverage. "Well, maybe you'll be up to a dessert later?"
Raven let out a exasperated sigh as she glanced out the window beside them. "If that mocha is anything to go off of, I probably won't enjoy anything."
She could see him nod nervously from the corner of her eye.
"Yeah... but you never know!" he insisted with a flash of his usual grin. "And just in case, we can get something small to share, or..."
He trailed off awkwardly, causing Raven to tear her eyes way from the window as she gauged his expression. Again, he was blushing as his eyes raced across his menu. That flustered feeling was seeping off of him, and it seemed as though he wasn't even trying to hide it anymore.
Which Raven found incredibly interesting.
"I guess it depends on what it is," she mused, suppressing a smirk as his eyes snapped back to hers.
His expression could only be described as dumbfounded, with his mouth agape and eyes wide. Well, adorable worked quite nicely as an alternative.
"O-okay," he stuttered, his surprise blatantly obvious.
Raven directed her attention back to her own menu, taking her time to read the dessert options.
"Are you guys ready to order?"
She stifled an annoyed growl as the perky blonde waitress returned.
"Uh, yeah... I'll have a veggieburger with sweet potato fries," Beast Boy smiled politely.
Raven kept her eyes on him as he looked at the waitress, but felt herself sigh silently when she realized he was only watching her hand as she scribbled down his order.
"Alrighty; and for you?"
Raven opened her mouth to decline wanting anything, but Beast Boy quickly interjected.
"She'd like a small green salad with olive oil dressing," he grinned, giving her a wink.
She was about to deny his claim, but the waitress had already nodded in understanding as she wrote it down.
"Mmkay! I'll be back in a jiffy!"
Raven attempted to muster enough annoyance to send him a death glare, but at that very moment, her stomach decided to voice its agreement with the changeling by growling quietly.
Naturally, Beast Boy had heard it. But rather than say anything, he merely gave her a knowing look.
Raven cursed her bodily functions for defying her - she had just eaten a small salad at the little bistro in the mall. Was that really not enough? It had barely been an hour!
"Sorry, Rae."
She gave her green teammate a surprised look as he avoided eye contact.
"It's fine," she started in exasperation. "It's just a small salad, and I could always - "
"No, not about the salad," he interrupted quietly.
Raven tilted her head slightly in confusion. What else did he need to apologize for -
"I meant I'm sorry about the 'meddling' thing," he elaborated, still keeping their gazes from meeting. "I just thought I was being a good friend, but I shouldn't have assumed anything. Especially when I know how..." he trailed off suddenly, finally looking her in the eyes.
"How difficult it is for you to like somebody."
Raven tried to tame the swelling feeling of gratitude and affection swirling in her stomach as his words echoed in her head.
It's a lot easier than you'd think, she thought bitterly as she fought back a blush. How could his eyes carry so much warmth?
"It's... it's fine, Beast Boy." She cringed internally at her monotone voice, but the smile that appeared on the changeling's face let her know that he didn't mind. He was just happy she forgave him.
And the feeling of pure bliss bubbling out of him confirmed it.
"Good," he breathed, before a mischievous glint twinkled in his eyes. "So, how about you tell me who the dude is, and I can actually be useful?"
Raven narrowed her eyes at his nosiness. "How about I deal with this myself, and you try not to be a total nuisance?" she bit back.
Beast Boy merely waved her retort away nonchalantly. "No can do, Rae! It's my duty as your best friend - "
"Self-proclaimed," she muttered, but he gracefully ignored it as he continued.
" - to ensure that you are always happy and smiling, and if this dude will make that happen, then I'll make you two happen!"
Raven smirked at his cluelessness. He was the "dude", and was already doing a successful job at making her smile. But she knew it was up to her to make them happen.
"I'd like to figure things out on my own," she deadpanned, taking a small sip of her drink. "But thank you, anyways."
Again, Beast Boy resorted to his usual tactic of pouting. "But Raeee! I wanna heeeelp!"
She attempted to stifle a snort of amusement at his disgruntled expression. "And by acting natural and being yourself, you will," she smirked.
He looked confused by her logic, and for a split second, she worried she had given herself away. But as his brows furrowed in thought, she realized he hadn't picked up on her subtle hint.
"So this dude, is like, around the both of us?" he questioned seriously.
Raven could feel a slightly hostile, betrayed feeling pouring off of him as he waited for her answer.
"I... I don't want to talk about it, Beast Boy," she replied firmly. "The whole reason we're even out having this conversation is due to the fact that you've meddled once already. Not that I don't enjoy your company, but I'm not sure about another pity meal so soon."
She watched as a guilty smile stretched across his face as he soaked in her words.
"Alright, alright - no more meddling," he agreed. "Today..."
Raven let out a huff of frustration at his answer, but decided to accept it for now. "Good. It's not that I don't trust you, I just - "
"One veggieburger with sweet potato fries!"
Reining in her growing feeling of annoyance, Raven glared at the approaching waitress, who was giving a more-than-friendly smile to her green teammate as she set the food before him.
Beast Boy nodded his thanks as his eyes remained focused on Raven.
Not fond of being interrupted, Raven attempted to finish what she had been saying. "I just - "
"Oh! And your salad should be done soon," the blonde interjected in a bored tone, casting the empath an unimpressed look. Raven tried to ignore the less-than-pleasant emotions seeping from the waitress, and idly wondered why she seemed to trigger them in every civilian girl she encountered.
Giving the girl another glare, Raven waited for her to leave. Resisting the urge to let her rage take control, she ignored the flirty smile the blonde directed towards her teammate.
"Huh, why would your salad take longer than my veggieburger?" Beast Boy mused, blissfully oblivious to the silent feud between the empath and the employee.
"Because she's flirting with you," Raven snapped, internally slapping herself for sounding so... jealous.
Beast Boy's eyes widened comically at her response.
"What?! W-with me?!"
Raven let out a huff of frustration at her teammate's lack of attention. "Well, she obviously isn't flirting with me; otherwise I'd be the one with the food right now," she mused, before noticing the waitress had "conveniently" left her notepad on the table next to his plate - her phone number undoubtedly scribbled onto it. "And her number."
Again, Beast Boy looked bewildered, before he, too, noticed the "forgotten" slip of paper. "Well, that's awkward," he replied, laughing nervously.
Raven arched her brows in surprise. "Awkward..?" she mimicked.
The green teen nodded his head as his arm "accidentally" knocked it to the floor. "Well, it will be, when someone else finds it," he smiled.
Raven tried to keep herself from smiling back as the blonde returned, placing a surprisingly pleasant looking salad in front of her.
"Sorry about that - the cook couldn't find the olive oil," she explained, though Raven couldn't help but notice the girl frantically glancing at the ground. "Enjoy."
Nodding stoically, she tried to keep herself from giggling at the disgruntled look the blonde shot Beast Boy, before bending down and retrieving her "forgotten" notepad and heading back towards the kitchen.
The changeling let out another flustered laugh, obviously noticing the shift in the waitress's demeanor as well.
"Something tells me we shouldn't order anything else," he mused, popping a fry into his mouth. "'Cuz I'm not really fond of other people's saliva in my food."
Raven ignored the disgusting way he talked with his mouth full as she felt a small smile tug on her lips. She glanced at his half-empty mocha, wondering idly why his rule didn't seem to apply to sharing drinks with her.
"Perhaps we can go somewhere else for dessert."
Eeee! Looks like Rae-Rae's attempting to extend their not-date for a little longer!
So I don't know about all of you, but I'm a little weird when it comes to sharing drinks. I'm okay with it if it's with a close friend, but even then I tend to wipe the side of the cup (I can't seem to bring myself to share a straw, unless it's with a boyfriend/guy I like haha). And I feel Raven would probably feel the same, since she seems like someone who wouldn't want to spread/contract germs (unless it involved Beast Boy, of course)! ;)
Anywhoo, leave a review? That'd be cute :P