Mini Challenge 01

By Tex Murphy

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Welcome, gentle readers. Firstly, yes, this is a oneshot. I know it's a little long, but there just didn't seem to be a good place to split it (I hope you will agree with that).

I wanted to explore some different ideas that probably wouldn't fit into one of the larger stories, so, to that end, I created a series of 'mini challenges'. I created these for myself, each consisting of only a very little information. I aimed to write on that theme for no more than a single chapter. This was the fifth idea on that list. Enjoy.

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Candles flickered in the low evening light, dancing their show across intimate expressions; smiles and eyes taking in the mood. A light waltz played with care weaved its way through the scene, challenged only by soft words on a playful breeze.

A table by the window; two sit in the shadow of the room and the charge of the crescent moon. His eyes search for hers across the gap, but find only dreams fleeting in a world of thought. Hers chase the stars across the night, knowing never rest nor home; a heart unfulfilled. In the land of the night his moon is her and he can but bathe in her cold radiance.

"So… umm," ventured the young green gentleman meekly, drawing the attention of the female opposite. "This is nice, huh?"

She ran two fingers through her hair, allowing it to slide behind her ear. Watching the candle flickering between them she said, holding an expression of some uncertainty, "Did you really need to choose here?"

She was uncomfortable, he thought. The shimmering dress and the silver amethyst necklace fell far from her usual comforts, but this was his time. "I think we fit in quite well," he assured as he fingered his neck tie. "Besides, I may never get to do this again…"

She took a sip from her crystal glass as she considered his words. "What makes you say that?" she asked as her eyes studied him.

He shrugged and shook off a momentary dejection. "I just…," he said, feeling her careful watch, "we never did this before."

"No," she agreed with a thoughtful nod, taking a moment to take in their lavish circumstance. "Are you sure you can afford all this?"

"I was kinda hoping they'd allow us to wash the dishes as payment," he whispered with as sombre a tone as his humour would allow. That fiery flash in her eyes for the fraction of a second before her countenance settled gave him cause for a smile. It was the things she tried the hardest to conceal that were the most rewarding to see.

She allowed herself the briefest of smiles before shaking her head. "I couldn't allow you to allow me to wash dishes in this dress."

"I… wait…" he said, scratching his chin. As his mind creaked into motion, an enticing smell washed past his nose, catching his attention. "That's like…" he began, carefully using a napkin to catch any drool which escaped his mouth. "Like…"

"Oh brother," she groaned as she watched his excited eyes scour nearby dishes. "If you say 'can I have what he's having', I'm out of here."

"But my dear Raven," he added with a suave tone and a sly grin.

"I know, I know," she growled, gripping her fish knife tightly. This evening was not going to get any better.

"You know, I kinda like dressing up," he smiled as he brushed down his brand new tuxedo. "Gives one a sense of class," he continued with what he considered to be the upper class intonations of an English accent. "Do you like-"

"No."

"Hmm," he grinned a little more, raising his eyebrows invitingly. "How about the-"

"No."

"Hey, no fair," he complained. "You didn't even know what I was going to say. You're supposed to be being nice, you know."

"This is me being nice," she said flatly. "Now, did you decide what you want yet?"

"Well," he began, picking up the delicate menu, "I was going to go with the cannelloni, but I really want what that guy's having," he said, looking longingly over to an adjacent table.

Raven rubbed a hand over the bridge of her nose. "It's meat," she said decisively.

He looked at her, then back to the meal of his dreams. "You sure? It kinda looks like…"

"I was listening when the waiter brought it over. It's called Duck Ellsemere." She was keen to quell his descent without making him doubtful or he would surely proceed to embarrass himself even further, and she by extension.

"Psst," whispered Beast Boy, leaning over toward the other table. "Hey! H-Ow!" he jolted, looking to Raven with a pained expression. "What was that for?"

"If I have to come on a date with you, at least try not to show yourself up for once," she whispered scathingly.

"Fine," he grumbled, sitting back into his chair with his arms folded. "You know, it wouldn't hurt for you to be a little less uptight every once in a while."

"I wouldn't have to be if you didn't insist on acting like a child when we go anywhere."

"Fine," he said through gritted teeth as he allowed his menu to drop. "I've decided what I want."

"Me too."

"Fine, then I guess we'll just wait until the waiter gets here."

"Fine."

"Fine." This wasn't really how it was supposed to go, he thought. This anger wasn't really a part of his plan, although he figured he couldn't have expected things to go that smoothly. This was Raven, after all. As he dared a glance over toward her, he noted how ill at ease she seemed to be. Maybe it was all too much; the dress, the necklace, the expensive restaurant. Or maybe they were just too different after all. There may have played the gentle strings and the laughter of other good times, but for him there was only silence.

"Excuse me," announced a voice, tearing them both from thought.

"Y-yeah," stammered a deflated Beast boy, reaching for his menu. Ordinarily he might have found amusement in a well dressed waiter with a foreign accent, but that was probably the type of thing Raven had been referring to. He held his tongue.

"Excuse me," interrupted Raven, attracting the waiter's attention.

"Yes, miss?"

"I was wondering," she began, taking a deep breath. "That… table over there," she gestured with an outstretched finger. The waited turned to observe the couple briefly, returning with a condescending eyebrow raised.

"What about them, miss?"

She avoided his eyes, wrestling with her words. "Do you think… you could tell me what he's having?" He took one further look at the couple, allowing Raven to catch a glimpse of a Beast Boy's disbelieving face.

"I believe that's the chef's vegan special, miss. Roasted courgettes on a bed of-"

"He will have that following the soufflé," she butted in, speaking impatiently, "and I will take the grilled crab following the prawns."

"Of course, miss," he said as he collected the menus. "Would you care for any more drinks?"

"We're fine for now," she sniffed, expertly paying him as little attention as etiquette allowed. He nodded and stepped away.

"Apology accepted," whispered Beast Boy with a warm smile. If only Raven would show this side of herself more often. If only she felt she could…

"Don't get used to it," she retorted.

So much for the tender moment, he thought. "So…" he said, rolling his glass around in his hand and casting his eyes over her figure. "I never knew you owned stuff like that."

"Hm, well," she said, folding her arms across her chest defensively. "It was a gift."

Beast Boy reached for the smaller of the three forks which were set before him, twirling it between his fingers. "Robin right? You two always did have that-"

"No," she interjected sharply. "It wasn't Robin. And don't do that."

"Oh, right," he said sheepishly, placing the fork back in its correct position. "Well I know it wasn't me, so that leaves…"

"Starfire. It was Starfire."

"Oh?" he asked, leaning forward. "I didn't realise you guys were... you know…" His words were drenched in a less than subtle innuendo.

"No, I do not know," she said sternly, casting toward him a gaze that made it very clear he should drop the subject if he had more than a passing care for his own safety.

Fortunately, or otherwise, he was somewhat adept at casting off Raven's sinister non verbal messages. "Well, you see," he started, gesturing a hand toward her, "when people buy each other such nice gifts, it can mean… things. Not that I'm against…"

"I suggest you end this conversation before I end you," she growled.

"Right," he acknowledged with a lazy salute and a wink. He knew full well that she did enjoy this sort of attention more than she let on. The real skill was to be able to tell when she was secretly asking for more. Luckily, he was a seasoned Raven observer. "I probably wouldn't want to talk about that either. Like if Cyborg bought me-"

"Beast Boy!"

"Okay, okay," he said, raising his hands. "Consider it dropped." It was fun to taunt her, but he felt that there was a realistic risk of her either walking out or destroying the restaurant. Or him. In either case, a subject change was on the cards. He rubbed his hands together and cast his eyes toward the kitchen. "What's keeping them?"

"I'm no expert, but I'd think they'd have to cook the food before they served it."

Beast Boy offered a wry smile in her direction. "Was that a joke?"

"Well, it…"

"It was. Don't tell me you're actually enjoying yourself," he teased. Before she could reply with another derogatory comment, he continued, "of course you are," he said, running his hand along his non existent stubble, "you're on a date with me."

She opened her mouth to say something, then stopped and stood up. "Hey, I didn't mean to…," Beast Boy pleaded. "You can't go."

"I can't?"

"No!" he urged. "We haven't even had the starter, and I don't think I can face that waiter again if you walked out."

"Well then, it's a good thing I'm just going to the bathroom."

"Oh, ha," he said, sinking into his chair. "I knew that. Sure," he added with a wave, "you can go."

She nodded, bearing a momentary look that told of a hundred cutting remarks she could have just made, but didn't.

"Man," Beast Boy said to himself as he watched his date make her way across the room, narrowly avoiding falling into an elderly couple's table as she battled with her heels. "A date with Raven huh… I never thought I'd see the day." He leaned back on his chair and dusted the edge of the table cloth. Not that there was any dust there; on the contrary, the entire place could hardly have looked finer. Even the cutlery was silver. Well, okay, he didn't know that for sure, but that what he was going to tell the others later.

The candle flickered and played for his entertainment, drawing him in while the music soothed his ears. "Aah," he sighed as he ran his fingers around the rim of his glass. Surely a more perfect venue for a date did not exist.

As he gazed upon the moon, he took a deep breath. "I never took you to a place like this, did I? Don't think I forgot…" He allowed himself a melancholy smile and thought of times gone by.

"Excuse me, sir," announced a familiar and rather distinctive voice.

"Oh, right," said Beast Boy, leaning back as the waiter set down his starter.

"Can I get you anything else?" he asked as he slid Raven's dish into its place.

"Um… actually, we're good, thanks."

"Very good, sir."

As he took in the sight of the golden soufflé and caught a wisp of the inviting aroma, he felt his stomach grumble. "No," he reminded himself firmly, "got to wait." It was a date, after all. Raven would not be impressed if I chowed down and left her to eat on her own, he thought. "Speaking of which," he said as he saw her stumble in his general direction.

"I'm never wearing these shoes again," she grumbled as she settled into her seat.

"The starters arrived," said Beast Boy, attempting to add a positive to the situation.

"So I see," she replied, checking her starter carefully. "Looks quite good," she decided.

"So," began Beast Boy as they both wondered who should start first. "You took quite a while…"

"Oh?" she asked, a little unsure of the conversation's direction. She knew where she didn't want it to go, but was supposed to be giving him the benefit of the doubt, at least for now.

"Yeah," he continued absently, "I was just thinking about what you were doing."

"Eat your food," she said flatly.

"Hm? Oh… no," he back tracked, waving his arms, having just realised what he'd implied. "I meant that… umm… that since you were gone a long time, I was wondering what you were up to." He smiled broadly, attempting to crack her uncompromising look. "I mean, not like that," he clarified desperately, feeling a bead of sweat starting to form on his forehead. "See, when I go the bathroom, I'm finished up in like, five minutes. I know it's different for you girls because of… well, you know…but-"

"Just… stop talking," she growled.

"Right, right," he said, having decided that any more talking would only get him into more trouble. The next question that confronted him as he turned to his starter was which fork to use. "Oh, I know," he declared, clicking his fingers. "Eenie, meenie-"

"The outside one," informed Raven whose little remaining patience was evaporating rapidly.

"Well that is the one I'd have gotten with the 'eenie meenie meine mo' thing, you know," he retorted confidently.

"Very scientific."

"Anyway, looks nice, huh?" he said cheerily, trying to get the mood back on track.

"Actually, it does," she said, apparently contemplating whether the layout of the prawns in the dish indicated the use of hands or a fork.

"I think you're supposed to use your hands," he suggested. As if in response to his suggestion, she reached for the appropriate fork. "Or, you know, you could just ignore what I say."

"I'd rather not use my hands," she replied indignantly as she attempted, rather unsuccessfully, to spear a prawn.

Beast Boy suppressed a laugh as he watched Raven's struggle. Watching her efforts to eat while trying to retain her cool exterior was proving to be very entertaining. "I guess this is one of the advantages of coming on a date with a good friend."

"Oh?"

"Well, like, a normal guy might have thought you were a bit… you know…"

"No," she said, looking up from her prawns. "I don't know."

"Um… well, I want to say 'weird'…"

"Well then, it's a good thing I'm not with a normal guy, isn't it."

"Ah, touché," he replied with a nod of respect. "I just meant, you know, with the falling over in the heels, the not really wanting to talk," he went on, attempting to establish that his point was genuine with some intricate hand gestures. "And there's the fork thing as well. You really should do it with your hands."

She lowered her fork and looked up at him. While he hoped he'd made his point without accidentally tripping any of Raven's many offence sensors, experience, as well as an uncomfortable feeling in his stomach, led him to believe otherwise. "So, you're saying I'm not the ideal date…"

"Well, not exactly," he explained. "It's just that there are one or two things that other people might say something about. But I'm not one of them," he added hopefully. "Because I'm a friend, you see."

"Hm," she pondered. "Do you think a normal guy on a date would question my sexual preference?"

"Ah, well, that was-"

"Or tell me he'd been thinking about what I'd been doing in the bathroom."

"Yeah, but that was-"

"Or point out the things I'm doing incorrectly?"

"Um," he mumbled, looking down at his soufflé, "…maybe." Well, when she put it like that… Perhaps it was he who was far from being the ideal date. There had to be a reason why she'd never consented to this before…

"Hmm," she pondered as she ventured a weary hand towards the starter. "No," she decided, taking up the fork once again. He would have dearly liked to watch her eat with her fingers, but guessed that would be a step too much for her.

"I really think it's fingers," he pressed.

"Today it's fork," she replied in the midst of a delicate concentration. She had managed to balance the first prawn atop her fork and was proceeding to manoeuvre it toward her mouth.

"Almost…" whispered Beast Boy as her determination seemed to encapsulate him. "Aaand… there!"

"Mmhmm," she nodded. As she chewed over the prawn, her expression remained decidedly uncertain. That meant she wasn't sure whether she liked it or not. Did the entire fate of the date rest in the hands of that one prawn, he wondered. After all, she wasn't the type to put up with poor quality, especially in this sort of place.

"Go prawn, go," he prayed silently.

"Hmm?" she enquired as her face softened into a settled contentment.

"Oh, nothing. I just thought for a minute that you weren't going to like it."

"The sauce is a little unusual," she mulled, observing the after taste, "but I think I like it."

"Great," he grinned. That was a relief. The prawn hadn't died in vain.

"So…" she began, in no hurry to drop future prawns on the immaculate tablecloth, "are you going to eat that?"

"Oh right." As inconceivable as it was, something had distracted him, if only momentarily, from what appeared to be golden topped perfection. So, without further ado, he sank his fork through the crust. "Ohh," he said as the aroma escaped, leading his nose down a road of pleasure. A little drool escaped from the side of his mouth.

"You might wanna…" suggested Raven.

"No no, I got this covered," he stated confidently as he eyed the offering that adorned his fork. "Oh yeah," he said almost dreamily as the morsel passed between his lips. It was hard for him to even think of a taste experience that matched up to this one. If anything, it was like all the food he'd eaten to date served as a precursor to this, the main event. "It's like…" he mused thoughtfully, "like…" He shovelled another forkful into his mouth and continued his thoughts.

"Like… all the food you've eaten to date was only a precursor?" asked Raven, whose concentration was back on the seafood prawn layout. The look in her eyes told Beast Boy that, come hell or high water, she was going to enjoy some more of those prawns. And she was going to use a fork.

"No…" he cogitated. Somehow expressing the experience eloquently fell by the wayside when faced with more of the tasty experience itself. So, he figured, he would just put maximum effort into enjoying it. "Words fail me," he admitted as he delved in for more.

"Never thought I'd see the day," mumbled Raven as she leaned closer to her starter. There was one prawn that definitely had her name on it.

"Still having trouble there?" he asked during one of the rare intervals where his fork was not supplying his mouth with more heavenly soufflé.

"Hmm?" she asked, looking up from her food.

"Well, you've only eaten one prawn," he pointed out.

"I'll eat it in my own time," she responded. He knew what she was doing, of course. Even she must have believed him incredibly feeble minded if she thought she could buy him off with such a comment.

"You don't have to stand on ceremony," explained Beast Boy, showering food over the immediate section of the table cloth.

"No," Raven said as she eyed his display with some distaste. Somehow 'eating' seemed insufficient as a description. "I can see you really believe that."

"I know what you're doing," he smirked, wiping some lost soufflé from the edge of his mouth with a clumsy hand.

"Oh really," she said with as little tone as one could reasonably apply. She tried not to look at the chewed mush which swilled around in Beast Boy's open mouth as he spoke, but it had a morbid allure.

"Yeah. You're hungry, and you want to eat," he went on, a sigh from her seeming only to support his assertions. "But you think you aren't supposed to use your hands in a place like this."

"You're not," she maintained sternly.

"No way," he dismissed. His face plastered with a cheeky grin, he swooped his hand forward and plucked one of the prawns from Raven's dish. Before she could protest, for she most certainly would have, he leaned forward and pushed it against her closed lips.

She reacted swiftly, leaning backwards and slapping away his hand. "Do not do that again," she warned sharply.

"Come on, Ray," he reasoned, a little hurt by her reaction. "I'm just trying to show you that you don't have to be so reserved. We are paying to be here, you know."

Her expression softened slightly, but her posture remained defensive. "You don't see anyone else using their fingers, do you?"

Beast Boy ran his eyes across the darkened room, scanning the candlelit tables for any evidence, no matter how loose, that he was right and she was wrong.

"Hmm," he mumbled, somewhat disappointed, unable to find any such examples. "Alright, alright," he admitted, raising the hand which did not hold his fork, "there isn't anyone else using their fingers."

"I didn't think so."

"But," he continued, "that doesn't mean that you shouldn't, does it?"

"Well…"

"No, of course it doesn't," he concluded smugly. Even if he did say so himself, the argument he was making was both valid and clever. It was a double victory. "You never do what everyone else does. Like when me and Cyborg break out the video games, you don't join in."

She eyed him for a moment. He returned the glance, trying to figure out her expression. He was almost sure that she thought he had a solid point… or that he was an idiot. One of those two options. Or perhaps she really needed to go to the bathroom again. But it was definitely one of those three options. Or maybe she was-

"This is different," she said finally. Her voice was a little less certain that Beast Boy was used to. It wavered slightly at the edges, as if even she were unsure of the words. Of course he had a point; going along with everyone else like a mindless sheep was one of the things Raven hated the most. The only question was, how much stronger was her desire to not be embarrassed.

"I'll tell you what," he offered sincerely. "If you can manage to eat all of those prawns without using a fork, I'll pay for the meal."

"Wait a moment," she cut in with one eyebrow firmly positioned in the 'now hold on just a moment' position. "You mean you weren't planning on paying for it anyway?"

"Umm, well," he grinned sheepishly, "I was thinking, you know, with you being such a modern woman and all," he continued, lowering his eyes to prawn level, "you know… that you'd feel that it was, like, too old fashioned for the guy to pay for everything."

"Mmhmm." This was buying him no ground.

"I was just thinking of you," he defended with a new vigour, clearly feeling that this new approach to his argument was going to change her opinion. "I don't see you as the small housewife type from the fifties where the husband comes home at the end of the day to his meal ready on the table and his shirt ironed freshly for him."

"Mmhmm."

"I see men and women as equal in this society. You shouldn't expect a free ride! I mean, you know," he continued, now apparently having something to get off his chest. "You still expect us to open doors for you, and give up seats on buses. You can't just demand equality if you're not ready to live with the bad things that come with it. There are women in the army now, and I bet they wouldn't complain."

"…are you done?"

"Yup," he declared firmly, folding his arms across his chest.

"Well," she said, reflecting his body language, "speaking on behalf of my people, sharing the cost of a meal is fine." He cracked a smile and prepared a gloating comment. "However, speaking for myself in this particular situation, I believe the deal was that you take me on a date. That seems to me like you would be the one treating me."

"Ah," he said playfully with a sparkle of confidence in his eye, "but I didn't say that I'd treat you."

"Well, it was implied in the-"

"But I didn't say that."

She ejected a less than spirited breath, feeling the urge to grind her teeth together. Even as he deployed his most practised smug smile, she knew she would have to bear it. What he said was true. "Well… no…"

Beast Boy allowed himself another momentary gorging before responding. He was right. She was wrong. He was smug. "I mean, you would think that someone intelligent would make sure of that kind of thing before coming to such an expensive place." Watching her fist tighten only widened his smile. Oh, those rare moments when he came out on top; moments to be savoured.

"Clearly I was mistaken," she was at obvious pains to admit.

"Aaah," he sighed happily. "Well, it's lucky for you that the generous and wonderful Beast Boy, who is also a master of the words, has given you a chance to have your meal paid for. I would say that's a great deal."

"Yeah, a great deal," she responded with as little enthusiasm as possible. It was hard not to groan at Beast Boy's unashamed self promotion and blatant over confidence, but maybe she could work a little something of her own. "So… explain this deal to me."

"Right," he said, leaning forward, "it's simple. All you have to do is eat that entire starter without using a fork."

She appeared to consider the offer, as if there was much of an offer. Assuming she was out for a free meal meant she had brought little with her by way of cash. "Fine," she agreed, lowering her fork.

"Okay then," he beamed. "Like I said, you have to forget about what other people think. If you're hungry, you just have to worry about eating and…" He paused as she reached out and took hold of a spoon. "Hey, no spoons either!"

"No spoons?" she asked, feigning ignorance.

"Yeah! No forks, no spoons. You have to eat it with your hands."

"But you didn't say no spoons…"

"No, but what I meant was…" he struggled as a sinking feeling worked its way out from his belly.

"But you didn't say it," she reminded him with more than a single serving of self satisfaction.

He grunted and huffed in frustration as he searched for a suitable response. "That's… it's… well… next time you're paying," was the best he could come up with.

Raven allowed him to fume as she took her time scooping a single prawn with her new implement. Somewhat to her surprise, it proved considerably less tricky. With the fork, spearing could result in an easily dropped prawn and a ruined tablecloth, whereas now it was possible to scoop and prevent any dropping. "You're right," she acknowledged, "it is much easier this way."

"Hmph," he grumbled.

"…and what makes you think there's going to be a next time?"

His eyes turned swiftly to his food. Even if he admitted it to himself, the idea of another date with the purple haired one was something he wouldn't mind doing, but getting her to just come on this date had been trouble enough; the goading alone had been literally hours of work. Then again, he thought as smirk began to creep itself over his face, she didn't have to agree at all. How many times has she just shot him down with barely a thought? Wasn't it equally possible that she actually wanted to come on this date? It was something she'd never admit in a hundred lifetimes, but it definitely made sense.

Buoyed by a new confidence, Beast Boy lifted his eyes to meet hers. They seemed to dance to the candle's rhythm as they stared back at him. He held the gaze for just a moment longer, wondering what was going through her mind. For a moment, he got the feeling they were saying all that needed to be said without clumsy words. Was this… a romantic moment?

"I…uhh…" he said softly, finding his throat starting to dry up, "I need to give you a chance to repay the debt…"

She seemed to suppress the beginnings of a heart felt smile. "I'm not sure about that."

Even if her eyes seemed to express a warmth toward the idea, the words seemed set only to throw him off. Was this his own inability to read her body language, or could it be a sign that she didn't truly know for herself? "Women are confusing," he responded finally with a flat sigh.

"I don't think the women you know count as an adequate representation of womankind."

"Fine then," he admitted, "you're confusing."

"I am?"

"Well, it's…" he struggled as he grasped at the words which seemed so adept at eluding him. "Alright, it's like this," he said, shifting positions. It would have been easier if he didn't feel so pent up. "You usually just see me as just this guy who gets in the way and makes bad jokes…"

"I'm not going to start praising your good points which we both know you have," she said bluntly.

"No, no, that's not it," he said, waving his hands. "How can I put this… Okay, like, we're part of the team and spend a lot of time together and do a lot of cool stuff, right?"

"Right," she agreed, expressing a thinly disguised suspicion.

"Well, so that's like when we're pretty much forced to spend time together. And, yeah, we do as well because we're a team, but sometimes, like in social situations-"

Letting out an exasperated sigh, she said, "I've told you we're friends before and I wasn't ly-"

"No, that's not it," he cut in. "It's like… yeah I know you're a friend who just acts your own way, but…"

"But…?"

Now came the moment of truth. He swallowed hard. "Why did you agree to come on a date with me?"

Appearing somewhat puzzled, she responded, "I lost the bet and this was the cost." It wasn't complicated, at least by that logic.

"But then why did you even enter into the bet?"

She narrowed her eyes slightly. Surely he couldn't have forgotten what had happened. No, she thought, he was leading this somewhere. The only way to find out would be to just go along for now. "Well," she said with more patience than he deserved, or would otherwise have gotten, "as I recall, you bugged me for three hours. Plus… the idea of you not being able to speak unless spoken to for a week was quite appealing. But then, you already knew that."

It was never easy to put one over on Raven, he was reminded. Of course, it was pretty obvious that he was leading somewhere, but where did she think it was leading? Now he was going to have to come out with it to save further embarrassment… unless what she was thinking wasn't so bad. No, he said to himself, I have to say before I confuse myself. But how best to say was the problem.

He cleared his throat. "Okay then, um, well, you don't really like games and stuff, right?"

"Right."

"Okay, and normally, if I bug you, you just go into your room and don't come out, right?"

"Right…" She was starting to get an idea of where this was going.

"Only this time, you gave in and agreed to the bet…" Sensing she'd started to realise where the conversation was heading, he gave her a moment to process the information.

"So what you're saying is… I agreed to the bet knowing that I might end up on a date with you, and that by agreeing to the bet, I was effectively consenting to the date since I knew it was a realistic outcome."

"That's…" he said, looking aghast at Raven. "That's… exactly what I was trying to say." At least there wasn't going to be any room for confusion.

She appeared to consider her response carefully. "I suppose I would find it hard to say you were wrong, but…"

"But…" he prompted, sensing she had become momentarily distracted.

"Excuse me sir, madam," interrupted the distraction.

"Oh right," said Beast Boy, sitting back to allow the waiter access to his empty dish.

"I take it everything was to your satisfaction?" He intoned as he cast an eye toward Raven's half eaten starter.

"It was fine," she replied, allowing him to remove her plate.

"Are we all ready for the main course?"

"Not yet," responded Beast Boy coolly with one dismissive wave of the hand "Give us a few minutes will you?"

"Of course sir," acknowledged the waiter before making a polite exit.

Beast Boy leaned back on his chair, feeling contented. Nice food, nice place, nice music. Even his date was nice, in those few moments she didn't want to see him roasted over a low flame. "Aaah," he sighed with contentment. Yes, this was definitely how the other half lived.

Now only two questions puzzled him. Firstly, was it just him, or was that waiter just a bit rude there? Didn't seem like Raven minded, but he didn't care much for those implications. If she didn't like it, she wouldn't have eaten that much, and if they'd had the thought to provide-

Raven broke his chain of thought with a suggestive clearing of her throat. "Hm?" he said as he cracked open his eyes.

Oh, right. That brought him to his second question; Raven's unfinished statement. She couldn't say I was wrong, he pondered. "Don't you think you were a little rude to that waiter?"

"Wha? Me?" He said, quite surprised. "Don't you mean him?"

"No," Raven explained slowly, "if I'd meant him, I'd have said 'the waiter'."

"Hey, he was the one who was all snotty when he was asking if you liked it. Might as well have asked you straight out why you didn't finish it."

"Maybe he doesn't like to pry into the reasons of a customer beyond their eating of the food," she retorted, whip lashing his argument to pieces.

"Well… it still wasn't a nice tone," he mumbled. "But what was wrong with my manners?"

"You mean besides shrugging him off so rudely?"

"Well that was…" He considered a flippant remark about French people, but Raven's icy gaze was just about to pierce through his eyeballs. He thought better of it. "Well… they get that kind of thing all the time. They expect it."

"Expect it from who?"

"Umm, you know… the rich people who usually come here..." His hand moved to adjust his tie. It may have just been him, but the temperature seemed to be rising rapidly.

"Oh," she said simply, softening her expression.

Beast Boy melted back into his chair as the pressure lifted. A grilling from Raven was never something anyone should have to experience, let alone on a daily basis. Fortunately, however, he had a quick wit that most people didn't have, and that allowed him to get out of all kinds of tricky situations.

As Raven's eyes failed to meet his across the table, something struck him. How exactly did he just win that? "Hey, how did I just win that?" he asked.

"You didn't win anything," she said. "I simply re-evaluated my view of you."

"You did what?" he asked with a hint of uncertainty. Her voice carried none of the usual Beast Boy whipping tones, nor did she look at him like he'd just crawled out of a particularly unhygienic pile of industrial waste.

She considered how best to explain for a moment. "Let's say you had a dog."

"…okay."

"One day, this dog chews your favourite pair of shoes. How do you react?"

Beast Boy screwed up his face, clearly unable to see where she was heading with this. "I suppose I'd be mad…?"

Shaking her head, she said, "But would you spend time shouting at the dog, or would you think yourself at fault for leaving the shoes around where the dog could get to them?"

Continuing to wear his hazy look, he decided that had little choice but to indulge her. How was this relative to the conversation about a waiter? "I guess maybe I'd shout," he ventured tentatively. Perhaps that was the correct answer? Her expression said otherwise. "I mean… err... I might shout a bit at first, but I guess leaving my shoes around would have been a bad idea."

"So with lesser life forms and… some people, it's better to change your approach to them rather than hoping they will change, simply because that's the way they are."

"Hey!" complained a disgruntled Beast Boy. "I see what you're saying!"

Raven picked up her glass and watched as the candle light refracted through it. "Oh?"

"Yeah! You're saying that I'm not even worth arguing with because you'll never really teach me anything new. Like a dog."

She lowered her glass and met his confrontational gaze. "Maybe you've misunderstood."

"I don't think so, Raven," he grunted, unwilling to back down on just her say so. Not when he was so sure. "I mean, all that talk about lower life forms. What else could you have been talking about?"

"Well, if you'll allow me to explain…"

"Go ahead," he offered, folding his arms.

Raven permitted herself frustrated sigh. "Trying to change some of your behaviour by my current means isn't working so… maybe I should consider a new approach."

"Oh, right," he said sheepishly. Yeah, he thought, that did make a sort of sense. Not that he thought his behaviour needed changing. If anything, it was her behaviour which could do with a change; always making sarcastic comments and not letting anyone be nice to her. Maybe he acted the fool sometimes, but at least he was honest with himself. Then he had an idea. "That's quite a good idea, I think," he said, flashing the whites of his teeth.

"You didn't think so before."

"Yeah, well," he dismissed casually, "that was before I really got the idea. Yeah, like sometimes with difficult people, you feel like you're hitting your head against a brick wall…"

Raven narrowed her eyes, suspecting a not particularly subtle plan on Beast Boy's part.

Repelling her glare with a confident smile, he continued. "I mean, I know this one girl who's always putting people down and making them feel stupid. She calls people friends, yet goes out of her way not to spend time with them on occasions. Obviously I, as a reasonable person, have tried just talking to her, but I might have to try a new approach."

"Point taken," she growled through grinding teeth. In many ways, the most difficult Beast Boy to deal with was the one who was so smug he was almost giddy.

Beast Boy rubbed his hand against his chin. "You know," he said, wagging a finger in Raven's direction, "I think I know your mistake." He was clearly enjoying the temporary superiority afforded him by the situation.

Coming on this date tonight, she jabbed with her thoughts. But then… would that be the type of putting down he was talking about? But then… is not saying it making a change based on what he says?

Through her internal confusion, Raven settled on a simple groan. "I'll tell you what your mistake was, shall I?"

"Sure," she shrugged. "Why not?"

Beast Boy savoured the moment for a moment before revealing his thoughts. "You're so worried about changing me with your actions, but the only one you can change is yourself."

Even as she rolled her eyes at the satisfaction painted across his face, she had to concede; he had a point. A good one. "Well then," she said with the voice of one who thought they might come to regret what they were about to say, "I suppose in that spirit I should… pay you a compliment."

If it were possible, Beast Boy seemed to appear even more pleased with himself. "Oh reeeeally?"

"Don't let this go to your head," she began with very little expectation that he would heed her words, "but your point was good." It was hard not to add a sarcastic intonation, but she did her best. There really was a first time for everything.

"Alright then," said Beast Boy, straightening his expression, "in that spirit also, I'll try not to let it go to my head." Raven raised her eyebrows with some surprise. "But…," he continued, failing to entirely contain a grin, "it's going to take a bit of practise."

"I suppose."

"Besides, I don't want to change too much about myself, since it's this me that you agreed to come on a date with."

She covered her face with her palm. "Didn't we cover this?"

"Hmm," he said, observing her reaction carefully. "A willingness to avoid the issue. Very telling."

"I'm not," she lied unconvincingly. Since when did Beast Boy have knowledge of psychology? Only one plausible explanation presented itself. "What have you been watching?"

"Lots of things," he said excitedly. "There was this series about how people defend themselves in social situations. You know, prevent people from knowing what they're thinking," he babbled on. "Did you know, there are all sorts of signs. It's all about people telling you what they want and don't want, when you get down to it…"

My lord, thought Raven as Beast Boy continued his lecture. In his hands, that sort of knowledge is dangerous.

"…so you not wanting to talk about why you agreed to come on the date is really telling me there's something on that issue that you don't want to talk about."

She had read material on a similar subject and it was hard to fault his reasoning. Was there really something she was avoiding? If so, what was it? It would be useful if she had a few hours to meditate on the subject, but it seemed Beast Boy wasn't going to wait for that long. Fortunately, she could use her knowledge to prevent him doing too much digging around in her thoughts. "Even if there is something I want to avoid, what makes you think I'm consciously aware of it?"

"That's…uhh…"

"On top of that, if I just decided I didn't want to talk about it, you wouldn't get anywhere with this."

He once again ran his hand along his chin, looking somewhat perplexed. "Touché," he said, giving honest respect where it was due.

This was a perfect time to turn the tables. "Why are you so interested anyway?"

"Uhh," he struggled. If he told her what he thought she was hiding, he would most likely end up with a good old dose of humiliation. It was best to see if he could get her to give the answers, for now. "Just curious," he replied with a nervous smile.

"Hmph," she said, looking over his expression. Okay, so now it was his time to hide something. That's only fair, she supposed, as long as she could give him the same interrogation he had dished out to her. Maybe she should recap on his points about people avoiding the issue… but then that would just end up going around in circles. Simply, he's hiding something, she thought, and, apparently, so am I. Question was, would learning his speculations be of any use?

"So… are you consciously aware of it?"

Raven looked at her remaining silver forks, offering no reply. That really was the big question. "I don't know. If you're wanting me to admit I wanted to come here, then I can't say that thought was entirely unappealing…"

"But this is a pretty intimate situation, don't you think?"

"I suppose…"

"And the bet did mention a date so you can't say you didn't get the details." He definitely seemed to be pressing toward something.

Okay, she thought, so he's shown his cards now. He thinks I agreed to the bet because I might end up on a date with him, which I might enjoy in a romantic capacity. "Urgh," she grunted, resting her head in her hands. It would be very comforting right now if only she could think of another reason to explain away her actions. Surely he couldn't be right. Surely.

"Urgh?"

"Yeah," she said. "Urgh."

"Oh right," he said, watching her rolling her head around on her palms. "What's that mean?"

She looked up, a shortness of temper reflected in her eyes, preparing to deliver a critical uppercut of a comment… but the words didn't come. Instead, a question came to mind. A question she knew it would be wiser not to say, but one she simply couldn't keep a hold of. "So does this mean that you like me?"

Beast Boy looked as if he'd just been caught looking at indecent pictures by his parents. "Well," he began, his voice starting to waver, "it's like… umm." That answers that question, thought Raven. "Well… when you say 'like'… you could mean one of many things…"

"You know what I mean," she responded quickly and with minimal patience.

"Um, yeah, well…" he laughed anxiously, attempting to make light of the situation. A poor plan by his own reckoning, but really the only one available to him. Telling her that he may, possibly, have feelings for her would be akin to offering her the knife and presenting his chest. The TV quiz show sound effect for an incorrect answer chimed in his head. It wasn't only a bad idea, it was a really bad idea. She would shoot him down like… some kind of plane in… some kind of war. If you tell her now, he thought, you'll never hear the end of it. It'll be like giving her naked baby pictures and hoping she wouldn't show everyone, or like putting on Starfire's clothes and-

Raven, who had now been watching Beast Boy sweat and play with his cufflinks for a whole two minutes, decided that an honest reply wasn't in danger of arriving any time soon. "Alright, we'll skip that one, shall we?" If she was honest, it would probably be less complicated if he didn't openly admit such a thing, even if a tiny, muffled voice in the dark recess of her mind expressed a passing curiosity.

"Yeah," agreed Beast Boy, attempting to sound as neutral as possible. Don't want to sound too eager to end the subject, he thought. That said, you are on a date with her, and you might as well have told her you liked her for all that stupid avoiding. If she didn't pick it up from that, then… well… she definitely did get it. A date with a woman you kind of, sort of, maybe, possibly like. Maybe quite like. This is a rare, romantic opportunity with her, so why didn't you tell her? Why don't you just tell her right now? Tell her right now you fool! "Why, oh why?" he groaned out loud.

"Why what?"

"Well-"

"No, actually, never mind." It was just too complicated. If he told her that he liked her now, how would she react? How could she react? It wasn't such a simple matter when she would see him almost every day. Robin's advice on dating team members might have carried some weight one time of day, but his googly eyed distractions in the presence of Starfire soon destroyed the credibility of those words. No, she was on her own here, and really, it came down to quite a simple choice. Face the awkwardness and get it out in the open, or continue as is. It should have been a no brainer, but somehow…

Beast Boy held in a breath and gazed over the growing chasm between them. Had she really known what he was about to say? Maybe she had gotten it wrong and they were already half a mile down the wrong track. Maybe she had understood and decided that she didn't want… well, maybe those thoughts were crushing. He screwed up his courage and steeled his eyes. Maybes were good, but definite answers were always better. "I think I should say…"

"No," she responded, offering a look of warning, "I don't think you should."

"No," he pushed on. "I just want to clear-"

"It's a bad idea."

"You don't know what I'm about to-"

"I'm certain I do."

Beast Boy paused to assess the mood. He could push on with that, but she seemed pretty clear on the matter. "Fine then, let's say you do know what I'm taking about."

"I do."

"Yeah… right… so why's it a bad idea? I mean Robin and St-"

"No," she stopped him dead. She really didn't want him to confirm this. If he didn't, maybe she could still believe there had been a misunderstanding. If it meant being able to cling to the possibility of keeping things as they were, she would deny this all the way. But… this moment, even if she wanted to close it all off, was a point of change for them both; for all the Titans. She didn't like change, especially when it wasn't under her control.

"But you know what I'm talking about! Why won't you even talk about it?"

"What do you even want me to say?" she growled. Her expression of anger was disproportionate, but really, what was there to say?

He met her eyes and held steady. "I'm not going to back down this time," he said calmly. He knew that he was forcing her out of her comfort zone here, but this was something that needed to be confronted. "If you can't tell me you feel that way about me then… I'll drop it right now. I won't ever bring it up again. Tell me you don't like me in that way."

Raven rested her face in her hands. This was it. As clichéd as it even sounded in her head, this moment was a fork in the road; one route familiar and one unknown. He wasn't going to be bought off with a sarcastic comment or prolonged silence this time. "I…" she began uneasily as her thoughts continued to conflict. Even as she spoke, she was acutely aware that, even at this second, she could change what would come. How would she look back on this moment?

"…yeah?"

For a moment, she resented him. Why couldn't he let her figure out these answers in her own time? Why did it have to be all or nothing at this moment? No… maybe this was for the best. Even if she admitted it to herself, this would be the kind of thing she would put off for as long as she could get away with. It would have to be now, irrelevant of the decision. She looked away. "I'd… rather not count anything out…"

Beast Boy's face lit up with the picture of a hundred summer nights. "You mean…"

"No, I mean I don't want to-"

"But you didn't say-"

"I didn't use those words, but-"

"But I gave you a choice."

"A stupid choice. I would never have-"

"But a choice you understood."

"Doesn't mean I agreed to the conditions that you-"

"But you only had to say those words and I would have left it alone." He sat back and admired the situation he had created. It was like a new born child, or a good sandwich. "I can't believe it. All this time. Me and Raven…"

"No, not you and Raven," she corrected swiftly.

"And neither of us said. All that time wasted."

"I wouldn't-"

"Can I tell Cyborg?"

"No."

"I wonder what he'll say… and then there's Starfire and Robin. I've never been on a double date before."

"There's going to be no change there."

He gazed across at her with contented eyes. "You know… I'll let you take it back if you want…"

"Well…" She could still return things to normal - as they had always been; as she had been comfortable with. "…"

She was truly never going to hear the end of this.