Chapter 31

Beast Boy hung around at the back of the group, so Raven followed his lead. The group became more linear as they entered the narrower halls of the tower, leaving Beast Boy and Raven mostly unnoticed behind the guests. Cyborg lead the group in the front, his booming voice audible even to the two of them.

"Hey everybody! How y'all doin'? I'm Cyborg, as you probably know, and I'll be leading you through Titans Tower today. Just please stay with the group at all times and try not to touch anything, especially when we get to Beast Boy's room. It might be a health hazard," he warned, doing his best tour guide impression. Raven tried not to smile for Beast Boy's benefit.

As they were at the back of a group whose eyes were directed ahead of them, Raven subtly entwined her hand with Beast Boy's, though she was ready to pull apart if anyone got the idea to check out the action behind them. It wasn't so much that Raven enjoyed the physical contact but that she liked the idea of it: they were together, they were a couple, they were one, and the gesture proved it. Besides, if it was physical contact she was after, she would of headed a different route than hand holding.

Raven clenched her jaw and tried to force her mind from the subject. It was difficult to do; her brain kept traveling back to what had transpired in her room only an hour earlier. Dear Azar, she huffed. She certainly had better worries to occupy her mind. She was at a gala, in a dress, expected to act sociable. And then later, when she was to be gunned down in front of her friends... she shuddered from her mind's graphic description. As nerve-wracking as that was, it still couldn't compete with her preoccupation with Beast Boy right now. She blamed it on hormones. She had had her first taste of passion and she was ready to jump in the deep end. She was thankfully given a distraction as they stopped at their first sight.

"Alright, you're looking at one of the most important rooms in the tower. Here's where we keep the Titan's mainframe. Now, being the tech guy around here I might be a little biased, but we'd be in some serious trouble if someone knocked out our systems. We would have no communications and defense systems in the tower. Right here is the center of our technology." Raven tried not to think of the access codes she had slipped to the Mayor, allowing her people to disable some security features in order for their plan to work. It will be okay, she told herself for the hundredth time. Her latest scheme had a slim chance of working, but at the very least it gave her hope.

Before she knew it the people in front of her were shuffling ahead. She watched the middle-aged couple in front of them intently. The woman wore a classic red taffeta dress, the man a tux with a red tie to match her. The too walked hand-in-hand and stared at each other more than where they were going. The man would whisper something in her hear, causing her to laugh. She tried to muffle it with her hand and gave him reproachful looks, but Raven could see the joviality in her eyes.

For the first time, Raven was jealous of a complete stranger. There had always been a slight jealousy that she carried Trigon's curse while others lived their lives freely, but she knew it was for the best. This was different. Raven had never been normal and frankly had never wanted to be, but when she looked at these two, nothing to worry about except for one another, she realized she wanted it. She wanted to be with Beast Boy when she was fifty, laughing and holding hands and still clearly in love. Raven blinked. Did I just say love? She looked up at Beast Boy, who was staring ahead but smiled at her when she caught his eye.

"And stop number two is our training gym. This is where we exercise, practice our combat skills, and, well, train together." He continued to ramble about the room, but Raven didn't pay attention. Not like it was any new information. They filed into the room to look at it and Raven was surprised at how clean it was. The whole place sparkled in a way that any kind of exercise facility usually didn't. And it smelled like Febreze.

"Cyborg did a good job cleaning," Raven murmured to Beast Boy, whose hand she had dropped now that they were in sight of the others.

"Yeah. Usually it smells like sweat covered with air freshener. Now it just smells like air freshener. I'll be back in a sec," he informed her as he strode over to chat with Cyborg.

Raven walked along the periphery of the room, lightly brushing her fingers along the equipment. She wondered how many hundreds of hours she had spent in here, training with her teammates. Along with the standard treadmills, punching bags, and weights, there was an array of electronic devices designed to test each of their powers. With each came a flood of memories. She finally made it to the mirrored wall and watched her reflection. She looked... old. Very different from the young girl who came here so many years ago.

"Wow, this looks great. Nice job Cyborg," Robin said from the doorway. The newly-formed team spread out across the room, examining it's features. Slowly but surely, the tower was coming together. Raven had to admit that it was better than the cramped, grungy apartment she had been living in. Today she had moved the last of her stuff into her new room. She loved the space she had so meticulously decorated: it was hers, and hers alone. The others, having just met her, were not too curious about her personal life.

She had had her doubts about this. Though she came to Earth, the birthplace of her mother, with the intention of doing good, she was unsure that teaming up with an oddball collection of super powered teens was the best way to go about it. She was surprised and nervous to get the call from Robin.

She made her way over to the mirror, using it to subtly monitor the others. Starfire, the bubbly alien, was exploring the room from an aerial perspective. Her emotions fueled her powers, just as Raven's did, though her powers required her to feel emotion while Raven's required her to suppress it. Right now her overwhelming excitement was giving Raven a headache.

Beast Boy seemed equally as jovial, though considerably less mature. Raven constantly fought the urge to roll her eyes at his antics. He already seemed to be hitting it off with Cyborg, who was showing off the tech to his new friend.

"Everything okay?" came a voice from behind her. Raven turned to face the team leader, Robin. She liked him. He seemed serious and determined, just as she was.

"Everything's fine," she replied cooly. The way he looked at her made her uncomfortable, like he was trying to see into her mind, into her past. Those were places that no one ever wanted to go.

"Alright. I'm really glad you decided to join us Raven," he added as he started to move away. "I think that we can do a lot of good here."

Raven ran her fingers over the mirrors surface lightly, recalling the memory with a light smile.

"Hey, are you trying to get fingerprints on my mirror?" She turned to face Cyborg, who was grinning at her. She walked towards him and Beast Boy.

"I wanted to say thank you for earlier. For helping me. I'm not the best in front of people," Raven admitted, giving them both genuine smiles. Beast Boy returned hers with a wink.

"Don't mention it. You know we got your back." Cyborg turned his attention to the rest of the group, directing them back out into the hallway and towards the next stop. Once again she and Beast Boy hung back, letting everyone else file out before they followed.

Raven knew where they were headed before Cyborg announced it; the hallway they turned down only lead to one place, the roof.

"Sweet, we're just in time for the sunset!" Cyborg called down the stairwell as the opened the door. Sure enough, when the pair emerged they were bathed in a dim orange light emanating from the beautifully colored sky. The sun just dipped below the mouth of the bay. Raven watched it as she half-listened to Cyborg's speech about their recreational activities here.

Raven took a deep breath of the warm afternoon air, letting it fill her lungs in preparation for her mantra.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos," the two girls chanted, perfectly in sync. Raven snuck a peek at Starfire, whose face remained perfectly peaceful as she meditated. Raven felt refreshed and calm, an indication that her meditation was successful. She unfolded her legs and levitated down to the ground. Starfire took notice when she did not speak on the next chant.

"Are you already finished with the cleansing of your thoughts?" Starfire asked, a little surprised. Every once in a while the two meditated together and Starfire almost always finished before Raven.

"Yes, I'm going to get something to eat. Would you like to come?" She raised a brow when Starfire hesitated.

"I believe I will stay a while longer, but thank you for your offer." She turned back towards the bay with an uncomfortable expression on her face. Raven watched her look out over the water, brows drawn together. She sighed, knowing this was her cue.

"Is something on your mind?"

Starfire blurted her answer, eager to have a confidant. "Yes friend, my mind is most troubled. Though Robin and I have shared in the kiss, he has not yet made any indication that we are doing the dating. I fear that he may not share the feelings that I possess," she said with a blush.

Raven shook her head. "Starfire, I know he feels the same way. He's just too stubborn to act on it." Her friends eyes glimmered with hope, though she obviously wasn't quite convinced. "Look, I've been inside Robin's mind. Trust me, he's crazy about you Starfire. You just might have to be more forward. Robin isn't very good with emotional matters." And neither am I, Raven thought, hoping her words were sufficient to pull Starfire from her worries. She was relieved when the girl broke into a huge smile.

"Thank you. Your advice has been most helpful." Raven gave her a small smile in return.

"So how about that lunch?" Starfire nodded enthusiastically as she floated over from the edge of the roof.

"Raven? Earth to Raven." She jumped as she was pulled abruptly from her thoughts. Though she hadn't noticed, the roof had cleared out. She spotted Beast Boy by the door, holding it open for her and staring at her with amusement.

"Sorry," she murmured, slipping into the stairwell and descending briskly to catch up with the others.

The next room they were visiting was the garage. Raven didn't really understand why this stop was necessary, but Cyborg was eager to discuss the various forms of transportation they used. Guests oohed and aahed over the R-cycle, T-car, and T-ship like they were rare paintings. Raven rolled her eyes.

"Notice how no one discusses the B-ped," Beast Boy mumbled with fake affront.

"That's because the R-cycle is so much cooler."

Beast Boy laughed. "We'll just have to go for another ride. That'll change you mind for sure." Raven shot him a dirty look, causing him to chuckle again.

Raven caught sight of Cyborg's tool cart.

"Can you hand me the ½ inch?"

Raven drew her eyebrows together as she perused the selection of tools. She wasn't a mechanic yet, but she was at least learning what tools where what. Like right now she could assume Cyborg was talking about a combination wrench. She selected the right one, verified its size, and placed it in the hand sticking out from underneath the car.

"Thanks Rae. I appreciate the help. I gotta say I never figured you would offer to hang here with me in the garage, fixin' up my baby." She heard the sound of metal clinking against metal as he worked.

She shrugged delicately before remembering he couldn't see her. "Don't flatter yourself. I'm just trying to avoid another tantrum about your car's demise," she said wryly, watching as he slid out from under the car. He took up a look of mock offense that made her smirk.

"That was a good car and you know it!" He said while rubbing oil off his hands with a towel. "If you don't watch it maybe I'll put four seats in this one," he teased. Raven narrowed her eyes at him, only causing him to smile wider.

"And my favorite feature, the stereo system." Music with a booming bass filled the garage, echoing off the concrete. Raven brought her hands over her ears, glaring at Cyborg. He stood there with a stupid grin on his face, oblivious to her irritation.

"Cyborg! I think we got the idea!" Beast Boy yelled from beside her. She gave him a look of gratitude when the obnoxious music was finally shut off.

"Sorry 'bout that y'all," he apologized hesitantly, realizing no one had enjoyed the concert. "Let's get moving towards Robin's room."

Raven was eager to get going but remained where she was, waiting for the crowd to funnel through the exit. She looked up at Beast Boy, who was trying to contain laughter.

"What?" she asked him suspiciously.

"Oh, you know what," he replied as they stepped into the hallway. Raven narrowed her eyes.

"No, I don't have any idea why you're grinning like an idiot," she said, softening her harsh words with a smirk.

"You remember when we went to the cafe the other night? And I tried to get you to dance?" Raven's eyes flew wide as she realized what was about to happen.

"Tell me you didn't."

"Of course I did. You danced for me, though you were pretty drunk. Hmm, maybe that should have disqualified our bet. Oh well, too late now," he said, ambling down the hall with pride. Raven shook her head.

"What the?!" she heard Cyborg yell from up ahead. Her jaw dropped. She tried to subtly weave through the crowd, though she caught a few people's attention. She heard whispers from behind her as she moved to Robin's door, but she didn't care. She had to see this.

The whole room was covered with toilet paper. It streamed from the ceiling fan to the bed to the closet, wrapping around his furniture and draping across his floor.

"Do you know anything about this?" Cyborg hissed into Raven's ear.

"Uh, nope," she said, still taking in the room. She was glad all of her emotional training was working, otherwise she's be in hysterics right now. Cyborg looked like he was going to hit someone.

She turned around to locate Beast Boy, but he wasn't anywhere in sight.

"Where did Beast Boy go?" Cyborg asked, eyes narrowed.

She shrugged nonchalantly. "Why should I know?" Cyborg slapped his hand to his forehead, raking it down his face.

"Okay ladies and gentlemen, we're just gonna skip this stop for now. Clearly someone had a little too much fun in his room today," he ground out. Raven remained where she was as people streamed past, taking a peek inside the room and chuckling. She somehow managed to keep it together until they had turned the corner down the hall. Raven hadn't seen Beast Boy disappear, but she had a suspicion as to where he had gone.

She retraced her steps a way up the hallway, turning to look around the corner. Beast Boy leaned against the wall, a hand over his mouth. When he saw Raven he burst into laughter. She rolled her eyes.

"He knows it was you."

"Aw, who cares?" he said with a shrug. "A few more hours and this night will be over with. We can go back to life as normal." Raven clenched her jaw but said nothing. "You think we should catch up with the tour group or go back to the common room?"

Raven realized she had been gone for a while. "What time is it?"

Beast Boy tilted his head to the side and raised a brow at her question. "Why? Worried it's almost midnight Cinderella?" He caught her look and relented. "It's seven fifteen."

Raven pursed her lips. She was supposed to be in the common room by eight. The timing made her heart beat faster. This was actually happening. And here he was giving her two choices: be around a group of strangers or be around a larger group of strangers.

Biting her lip, she looked up into his eyes. "Actually, I had another idea."

She tilted her head up to his and moved in for a slow, soft kiss. He was still for a moment, then responded eagerly, wrapping his arms around her back and parting her lips. Before she knew it, her back was pressed against the grey wall behind them, held in place by the pressure of Beast Boy's body against hers. He wasted no time in letting his hands explore her body, causing her to moan in pleasure.

"I think... we... should go back... to my room," she choked out between kisses. She was vaguely aware that they were standing in the middle of the hallway, ready for anyone to discover them.

"Mmhmm," he murmured against her lips, swooping her up into his arms and carrying her a ways down the hall to her door. His lips never left hers.

Once inside he set Raven down and pushed her back up against the closed door, running his hands over her breasts through the fabric of her dress.

"Beast Boy?"

"Yes?" he asked, pulling away from her to give her a concerned look.

"I think this dress needs to come off." She couldn't help smirking at the smile that spread across his face. He turned around and headed further into her room, giving her space to change. Raven fumbled with the zipper on the back, wishing she had her powers to help her. She finally got it down and let the dress fall off her shoulders and over her hips, melting into a pile on the floor. She stepped out of it in nothing more than her black panties and bra.

She walked up to Beast Boy and slowly placed a kiss on his shoulder. He turned back around to face her, his eyes dark. "Raven—"

She silenced him with a kiss, her arms wrapping around his neck and her fingers entwining in his hair. She pushed him slowly forward until he fell back against her bed, Raven landing on top of him. She stared down at him, her boyfriend. And suddenly she knew what she wanted more than anything else, how she wanted to spend what could possibly be her last few moments on Earth.

She began to shrug his jacket off and fumbled with the buttons of his shirt until the thing was tossed aside, leaving him bare chested. She brought a hand to his face, cupping his cheek as she kissed him.

"Raven, are you sure you want to do this?" he asked, eyes alight but clouded with concern. Raven pulled away from him for a moment and looked intently into his eyes.

"Beast Boy, I've never been more certain of anything. Truly." She kissed him again, letting him know that she meant it. She felt his weight shift and before she knew it, she was on her back.

"Raven?" Beast Boy asked as he showered kisses down her neck.

"Yes?" she replied, her voice only a whisper.

"I love you."