My Eyes
By Satu
AN. Thirteen years later. Rob and Star have been married for a year with two children (Estrella – Black hair in Star's style and a knack for martial arts, Richard Jr. – Red hair it Rob's style and strength. Both can shot starbolts). Cyborg is single. BB and Rae have been married for one year. This is the last chapter... But we've had a good run.
Answer to Poll:
I say: I like Mumbo Jumbo… Just because he's funny. :D
My sister says: I dunno...Jinx?
Chapter Twelve
Raven lay on the bed, her eyes tightly closed. Beast Boy, who had since become BB, stood beside her, clutching her hand. She was panting and her nails dug into the back of his hand.
"Come on Rae," he whispered, knowing that she wouldn't hear him. "Breath deeply." He took one or two deep breaths to demonstrate.
"Again," commanded the doctor at the end of the bed. Raven's eyes clenched at her hand tightened around his. "Just one more," the doctor instructed again. "I've almost got it."
Raven inhaled, then squeezed her eyes shut again, the hand not gripping Beast Boy's twisting in the sheet. She gave off a guttural sound and the doctor smiled.
"Congratulations Mr. Logan. It's a beautiful little boy." He straightened and turned to the nurse, who snipped the umbilical cord and wrapped the baby in a white towel. He started to cry, a loud wailing in the quiet room. Gar held out his arms and the nurse put the crying infant into them. Raven looked up at him with incredibly tired eyes.
"How is he?" she asked wearily.
"He's beautiful," Gar said quietly and this was true. The baby in his hands was pale, like his mother, with a shock of violet hair. But when he opened his eyes, so big in comparison to his face, the pupils were surrounded with dark green irises. "He looks like you." She smiled.
"That's go-" She cut herself off, closing her eyes again. Now both hands tightened and twisted the sheet.
"What's happening?" Gar asked, distressed. The boy in his arms sensed this and started to wail again.
"It must be twins," said the doctor in wonder. "Haven't you had a scan? They can usually tell how many foetuses there are." BB blushed.
"No. Raven doesn't like going to the doctor." He didn't tell the doctor why though. The main reason was that Raven was scared they'd find out that she didn't have the same type of biology as their regular patients.
"Well it doesn't matter. Twice as much love, eh?" He elbowed Gar playfully in the ribs before going down to crouch at the end of the bed again. "And it's already crowning." All his previous urgency seemed to have gone with the successful birth of the infant in Gar's hands. "Just a few good pushes."
"Easier said then done," Raven growled softly before pushing again. Gar handed his son to the nurse before taking her hand again. Her hand tightened on his four or five times, each time accompanied by another guttural noise, before the doctor informed her that the baby was almost out.
"Just one more push dear," he said. She took a deep breath and pushed hard. "My mistake. One more."
She took another deep breath, but this time when she pushed she screamed loudly. She shot up so she was sitting up and her eyes became four, red, glowing slits.
Gar saw this and leaned in to her face. He kissed her cheek gently and whispered in her ear.
"I love you, Rae." Just the sound of his voice seemed to soothe her and she slumped back on the piled up pillows, her eyes closing.
"Got it," the doctor said happily. "It's a… fish?" He held up a squirming green fish.
"Tickle it!" Gar said suddenly. The doctor turned to him, holding the fish in front of him. Gar rushed forward and started to tickle it furiously. It suddenly morphed into a baby girl who cooed at him. The doctor took her, staring hard at Gar, and repeated the procedure as before, handing the infant to the nurse to be snipped and wrapped in a towel. The nurse, who looked like she had just graduated from college the week before, smiled slightly as she handed the baby to Gar. She also brought back the pale boy and gave him to Raven.
"Congratulations," she said softly, before exiting the room. The doctor followed.
Gar looked down at his arms. The little girl looked back at him with wide violet eyes. He ran a finger over her soft, green cheek and she caught it in her pudgy little hand. Her forest green hair was just a thin fuzz on the top of her head.
"They're fraternal," he said softly.
"We need to name them," she said. "I'll name our son, you name our daughter."
"Deal," he said.
Raven held the baby close to her chest. "I think he looks like a Mikael."
"With a ch?"
"No. K. It's different." She kissed the nose of the baby and he quietened.
"Ok. We may as well make this little girls name unique too." He paused, thinking hard. The first thing that popped up was a book Raven had forced him to read when they were going through college. A moderately short book that had a long, difficult name. "Obernewtyn!" he burst out suddenly. Raven looked up at him with her eyebrow raised.
"That book I made you read?" she asked. "What's that got to do with anything?"
"What was the lead character?" BB asked.
Raven thought for a moment then answered, "Elspeth. Why?"
"Elspeth," he repeated. He touched the nose of the infant, who cooed and smiled at him. "My little Elspeth." He kissed the baby's cheek.
"Elspeth and Mikael," Raven said softly. "I can deal with that."
Raven had to stay in hospital for the next week. According to the doctor, having four red eyes during labour was listed under 'difficult birth'. Gar had cracked up hearing this, but was quickly silenced by a glare from Raven. She didn't like hospitals. After two days she was almost insane.
"I have to struggle with Rage every minute of the day. Even when I sleep she's trying to surface. She took control last night and ripped out my IV and started to run around the hospital in the hospital gown," at this point she blushed, "screaming that she had found a needle in her arm. She scared half the patients and all the nurses. It was terrible." She shook her head. Gar shook his head too, biting his lip. After a moment he gave up and started to laugh again.
"You ran around the hospital in one of those gowns that shows your ar-" Raven cut him off with a black band of energy. It drained her of her power and it soon fell apart. BB got the message and controlled the last bit of laughter. "You seem weaker," he said, concerned. "Are you alright?"
"Yes," she said wearily, falling back on the several pillows. "It's just this place. All the chemicals in the air. You've got heightened senses, don't tell me you can't smell them."
He inhaled deeply and sneezed loudly into his hand. It was a harsh, dry sound and she patted his back gently.
"I see what you mean, Rae," he said, wiping a finger under his nose. "It's hell."
"Those chemicals are making other people healthy but they're doing nothing good for me. I'm half demon so those freaking chemicals irritate me just as much as it irritates you." She took a deep breath and sighed.
"Anything else?"
"Yes. It's so boring. I don't understand how people can just lie around all day." She sent a pointed look at BB, who sweat-dropped and rubbed the back of his neck.
"So I enjoy a lie in sometimes. That's not the point." There was a quiet cry from a corner of the room. Raven sighed and stood up. She walked over to the twin cots in the corner. BB walked over with her. Both infants were crying, screwing up their eyes and curling their tiny fists into balls. "Wow. What a pair of lungs." A green and purple aura surrounded a lamp in a corner.
"They must be hungry. I can only feed one at a time so you'll have to hold one." She picked up Elspeth first and stroked a lock of green hair off her face. "Did you bring the envelope?"
"Yeah," BB said. He put his hand into the pocket of his black jeans and pulled out a small paper envelope. The lamp started to shake madly, the top started to melt into a pool of plastic.
"Quickly," Raven said, holding out her hand. He opened the envelope and tipped two small, diamond-shaped stones into her hand. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos," she muttered and they flew out of her hand, fixing themselves onto the foreheads of the twins. The lamp gave a shudder and the aura evaporated.
"Cool," BB said. He reached into the cot and gently picked up Mikael. He ran a finger over the gem on Mikael's forehead. "It's green."
"And Elspeth's is purple," Raven said dismissively. "It varies from person to person. Mine is a ruby. Mikael's is an emerald. Elspeth's is an amethyst."
"Sweet." He rubbed his thumb gently over the gem. "What do they do?"
"The gems control all telekinetic powers until the person reaches 10."
"Oh."
"Unfortunately they don't prevent any other powers."
Raven sat back down on the bed and opened her gown. She then held Elspeth to her breast for Elspeth to drink. The tiny baby closed her eyes as she suckled. BB sat next to her, cradling Mikael, who grabbed one of Gar's fingers with his little hand.
"He's so cute," BB said, grinning at Mikael who grinned back with the same fang sticking out of the side of his mouth.
"He's going to be a heart-breaker alright," Raven agreed. They sat in silence, then swapped babies. Elspeth was now sleepy with her full stomach of milk.
"And she's gorgeous." He ran a finger down her round cheek and she smiled sleepily. She had the same facial features as her mother, with the healthy green glow of her dad. Mikael had the same strange pear-shaped face as his father, with the pale I've-never-seen-the-sun complexion of his mother. Mikael drank his fill, burped and fell asleep in Raven's arms. She kissed his forehead and put him back in the cot. Elspeth fell asleep at almost the exact same instant as Mikael and Gar put her in the cot too. Raven stepped closer to him and he put an arm around her. She snuggled into his embrace feeling warmth spread through her lower body. Mikael hiccuped in his sleep and morphed into a bush-baby. A blue bush-baby.
"They both have our powers," he said in wonder. "That's so cool."
"To an extent," Raven replied. "But they're weaker then us. They have to be together to be strong."
"How do you know?"
"Didn't you notice? That lamp was shaking and on the verge of melting because both their auras were around it. They work together."
"Cool."
The next few days passed slowly for Beast Boy. He knew that Raven was having a harder time then him, so whenever Starfire, or Kori as she was known now, tried to bug him about 'parental tips' then he just pictured Raven all alone in the white bed in that toxic room with the two cots in the corner. The day Raven was released from the hospital he showered and wore his best clothes, including the shirt Raven had gotten him for his birthday, the pants Star had given him for one of her strange alien festivals and the sneakers Robin had given him for training. For the first time in his life he was awake early, pacing back and forward in the room.
When Robin and Star had gotten married, and again when BB and Raven got married, Cyborg (also known as Vic) had drawn up precise plans, measured everything carefully, removed all furniture from the bedrooms and very carefully knocked the joining wall down with his fist. When the dust had settled he had moved all the furniture back in and declared it a double room. There were now two double rooms in the tower, and Robin's obsession room had been transformed into a nursery, full of fluffy toys.
When there was a scuffed line in the carpet, BB decided to pace somewhere else. He tried the kitchen, the living room, the hall outside the other's rooms, the new nursery and finally decided on the car hold where Vic stashed his "Baby", now upgraded to include a surround sound system and GameStation4. He paced up and down on the concrete, his new sneakers silent on the floor. Vic walked into the room at about 8:30, yawning and rubbing his human eye.
"Who's there?" he asked, his voice sleepy even though he didn't sleep anymore.
"It's me. Can we go now?"
"They're not letting her out 'til 10," Cy said. "Chill out."
BB sighed. "Fine." He sulked out of the room and walked to the living room. He slumped on the couch and swung his legs onto the cushions, one going even further and draping over the back. He sighed again and stared at the ceiling. He picked up the remote and turned on the TV. It was the Grudge and he smiled. He watched it all, smiling widely at the scariest bits, remembering the last time he had watched this. After an eternity Vic, Nightwing, Kori, Estrella and Richie came into the living room, each dressed in their own special clothes.
"Lets roll," Vic said, grinning. BB jumped up and beat all the others there by at least ten minutes.
"What took you so long?" he asked when they finally got there.
"Richie got tired and we had to take turns carrying him," Nightwing said dryly. Kori flew overhead, Estrella and Richie cradled in her arms. All three were giggling. BB looked up at them and felt a strong urge to do the same to his children. Vic unlocked the car and BB dived in, bouncing on the seat like a two-year-old.
"Calm down," Nightwing laughed, all previous coldness forgotten. "She's still going to be there."
"That's not the point," BB said. "The point is that she doesn't need to be there."
"He's right," Vic said.
"Agreed," Kori said. "We must go collect Raven and the little ones." She hugged her own children closer, making them giggle.
Gar sat on the front seat, Vic in the drivers seat and the happy family in the back. Gar squirmed in his seat all the way there, wishing he could just morph into a falcon and miss the traffic. They got to the hospital and Gar raced up to Raven's room. She was sitting on the bed, facing away from him, wearing a black shorts and a long-sleeved shirt. Mikael was lying on the bed next to her and just the top of Elspeth's head was visible from behind Raven.
"Rae," he said excitedly and ran into the room. She looked over her shoulder at him and smiled.
"Hello BB," she said softly. He ran around the bed and picked up Mikael, hugging him gently before cradling him in his arms. His wide green eyes stared up at BB.
"Are you ready to go home?"
"Of course." She was feeding Elspeth. The baby gave out a little hiccup of a burp and Raven pulled her bra back up and her shirt back down. "Shall we go?"
"Yeah." He stood up and offered one hand to her. She took it and rose gently to her feet, cradling Elspeth between her body and her arm. The others appeared in the doorway, smiling slightly.
"Ready?" Vic asked.
"BB's already asked me that," Rae replied.
"And the answer?" Nightwing asked.
Raven turned to BB, smiled and said, "Let's get the hell outta here."
"That's what I'm talkin' about!" Vic said. The two families and the lone Vic left the hospital as fast as they could. Raven and BB sat on the front seat (Vic had expanded it with the car), Vic drove and the Grayson's sat in the back. They screeched around all the corners and into a special undersea tunnel Vic had built lovingly over the past 5 years. They zoomed along the glass tube and out into the dark garage. Raven stepped out of the car and took a deep breath.
The sea had penetrated into this underground garage so the breath Raven took tasted like salt. Mikael stirred a little in his sleep, his full lips turning up into a smile. BB came and stood beside her and they walked into the house together. Gar had gone out a bought two cots, a double pram and a mass of toys. The majority of these toys were, of course, brightly coloured and interactive. BB knew, however, that Raven would not touch these toys with a ten-foot barge-pole, so he was sure to stack a few books in one corner of the nursery for Rae to read to them.
"Wow." Raven's jaw dropped as she entered the nursery for the first time. When Kori and Nightwing had their kids Raven had avoided the nursery because she didn't think it would be a place she would enjoy. And with good reason. Kori had gotten hold of some paints and the entire room was painted as a distant planet, full of long grass and tiny balls of fluff with eyes.
"It is the moon of Cresbok," Kori said cheerfully. "It is a beautiful place." She flew into the middle of the room, put down Richie and picked up a large poof-ball. Raven backed out of the room slowly.
"What's wrong, Rae?" Gar asked, putting a hand on her elbow.
"That is an evil place," she said softly. He laughed and she smiled.
"Don't worry. You can read to them."
"Thankyou."
She kissed his cheek lightly and walked back into the room, careful not to step on any unidentifiable fluffy toys. Mikael and Elspeth were sleeping next to each other on the ground, ignoring the fact that Kori was now singing loudly to her two toddlers, who were, in turn, cooing and clapping their little hands. She picked up both infants carefully with her powers and carried them out of the room, the energy wrapped around their tiny bodies rocking them gently back and forth. She took BB's arm and teleported the whole family through the roof, into their room.
They had painted it two shades of blue, a light and a dark, that blended together to make a very pleasing contrast. The two cots were in one corner, across the room from the mahogany dresser. There was a king-sized water bed against another wall and the floor had been carpeted with a black shag carpet. Raven released BB and walked towards the cots, her feet sinking into the carpet. Mikael and Elspeth were still sleeping in the cradle of her aura. She put them in the two cots and kissed their foreheads gently.
She then turned back around. BB had crossed his arms and was smiling at her.
"What?" she asked, walking towards him.
"You looked so motherly," he replied, starting to grin. She assumed this meant that she didn't look as attractive anymore, which was a bad thing for any woman to hear.
"And?" She made a gesture with her hands to indicate she wanted him to continue.
"It was sexy." He pulled her towards him and kissed her. She was surprised at this, but very pleased. When they broke apart, he grinned at her, his fang still standing out from the rest of his teeth. She smiled back.
"I guess that means I'm still pretty," she said in a teasing tone.
"Duh," he replied, before kissing her again.
After a moment he deepened the kiss and she welcomed him gladly. He slipped a hand around her waist, pulling her even closer. Her stomach pressed against his. She responded by winding her arms around his neck, kissing him passionately. They kissed like this for what seemed like hours, but it was probably only five minutes. Raven broke away and smiled. BB smiled back.
"It's good to be home," she whispered.
"It's good to have you back," he whispered back.
"You never had me to begin with," she responded and started to giggle. He grinned and hugged her tight.
"If you say so," he murmured to her. She hugged him back, and smiled slightly. She closed her eyes and concentrated hard. BB gasped when the air around to two of them crackled just before they were dumped on the water-bed. A ripple was sent out around them as his arms tightened in shock. She tightened her arms too, grinning. "Did you just-?" he started.
"Uh-huh," she concluded. She closed her eyes and snuggled into his chest.
"You're really different to when we were kids. You know that, right?"
"Of course," she replied, not opening her eyes. "It was ages ago. Everyone changes in time." She looked incredulously up at him for a moment, before returning her head to his chest. "I don't think it matters anyway," she said quietly.
"True," he agreed. There was a silence where they hugged together on the bed. Then Raven spoke.
"I love you Gar."
"I love you too Rae."
He lifted her face to his and kissed her again.
The End
AN. I'm so sorry… I suck at endings. By all means prove me wrong and say this ending suited it perfectly… if it didn't then I hope there's no love lost. I loved writing this story, it provided me with something to look forward to. It was the best thing that happened to me over the past however long it's been. I love my reviewers and they all get a choice of cookie, pie or cake or whatever of whatever flavour they want. I love you all, see you next time.
Also, I'm going on a 3 week camp tomorrow… Wish me luck ;)