Chapter 11

"Did you want to go back to being friends?" he asked me, taking me off guard.

I was still slightly shocked by his admission. He loved me. But, I hadn't expected to be asked where to go from here. Because, it was an inevitable conversation of course. We had... sex, of course, there had to be a plan of how to go on from here.

I looked away from him, feeling him grow more anxious. Under that, a small sliver of hope. And just beneath that, love.

I closed my eyes. Is that what that was? I wondered.

Yes, you fool. Of course, you should know. I could hear my mind yell at me.

"I," I began, but then sighed. "I don't believe we could if we wanted to..."

I felt the anxiety waiver slightly and I peeked at him to find a small smile forming on his lips. The hope began to rise. "Rae, we can," he hesitated and began to scratch the back of his neck. A nervous habit of his. "We can take it all slow. It's not like we have to jump right back to bed," he told me, but then gave me a sly look. "Unless you want to."

Rolling my eyes, I turned away from him again. I still felt foolish over the completely idiotic turmoil I put myself through. I reached out and took Beast boy's hand into my own. "I wouldn't be opposed to it," I admitted and could feel my powers reach out slightly. I closed my eyes, reaching within myself to take back control before something was destroyed.

He seemed to sense my trepidation and patiently waited for me to compose myself. When I opened my eyes again, he smiled and it seemed to fill his entire face. There had been a time, not so very long ago, where I thought I'd never see that smile again.

I'm the reason he's smiling, I thought to myself and gazed down at our joined hands. This is the reason he feel so much happiness. Because of me.

"It won't be easy," I told him, ensuring that my tone insinuated the warning.

He chuckled, lightly and the action brought a slight skip in my heart beat. His dark green eyes locked onto mine. "The best things in life are always the things we have to work the hardest for."

"Where'd you get that from?" I asked with a raised brow. "Sounds like something I would say."

"Fortune cookie."

I shoved him slightly and he couldn't resist a laugh. Tension seemed to lessen slightly as we entered back into our normal behaviors. A small smile filled my lips before I grew somber. "Beast boy," I began and his smile began to fade as well when he caught my tone. "I... know little of love," I began to explain and watched as his expression became guarded. "I know of the feelings Robin and Starfire have for each other. I can feel it every so often. When I let my guard down too much. And, I know how you felt about Terra," I paused here, watching as something flashed over his face, but it was gone before I had a chance to evaluate it. "And, even now, I can feel what you feel for me."

"I feel a but coming..."

I shook my head. "I fear that I may not be able to give you everything you would deserve," I admitted and felt a swell of sadness in my chest. Mostly from him, but I was shocked to find I felt it, too. I squeezed his hand. "But, I would... like to try."

He blinked, unable to hide his shock. I leaned over, letting my hand rest against his cheek, making him jump. The surprise didn't completely wash over, but when I touched my lips to his, he responded almost instantly. I pulled away, giving him a light smile when I met his gaze. His small smile turned into a lopsided grin.

"Suppose that means we start with a date?" he asked, hopefully.

"We could," I said in agreement. "However, I feel like there may be one thing we need to do before that."

He raised a brow. "And, what's that?"

"We need to tell the others."

Author's Note

I feel like this may be a sloppy ending, but after I wrote the last chapter, I realized I should have just ended it there. I wrote a really long chapter 11, but my computer crashed and I lost it. This is a smaller version of what that one was. I really just wanted to give this fanfic a proper ending, but like I said, there really was no where else to go other than them two just agreeing to be together.

I'm sure after such a long wait, this is a disappointment. I just didn't want to leave it open ended like that.

I kind of want to work on a fanfic of short stories for these two. If anyone has any prompt ideas, please send them my way. I would like the challenge.