Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans.

Ready Or Not, Here I Come

By Redios

It was a rainy afternoon in Jump City.

It wasn't a downpour, nor was it a drizzle. No, this rain was somewhere in between those two extremes. It was bright outside, but the sun was hidden behind the clouds. A layer of thick mist had settled over the bay. In short, it was the sort of day that encouraged such behavior as curling up on the couch with a warm blanket, a good book, and a steaming cup of tea. Fortunately for Raven, that was what she loved to do most.

Unfortunately for her, a certain green-skinned teammate of hers didn't find the pastime quite as enjoyable.

Indeed, Beast Boy was bored out of his mind. After a hearty breakfast of tofu eggs (he had earnestly tried to get his teammates to eat them with him, but they refused to touch them, instead opting for cold cereal, and in Raven's case, herbal tea), he and Cyborg had played nearly every video game the Titans owned, and Cyborg had beaten him soundly at all of them except for a cooking game that they had no idea they even owned.

Cyborg had then gone off to work on the T-Car, and Beast Boy, slightly grumpy, had stormed off to the training room to let off some steam, only to find Robin there already, lifting weights. The sight and stench of sweaty spandex was enough to make him quickly turn around and abandon the thought of working out. He had then searched for Starfire, only to remember that she had told the team earlier that she was going to the "mall of shopping" and had subsequently returned with an armful of beauty products and a smile that rivaled one of his own. "Friends, I shall now proceed with the making over of myself!" she had announced gleefully, before disappearing into her room.

And so, he soon found himself back in the main room again, more bored than ever. He flopped down on the couch, a few feet away from where Raven sat, picked up the T.V. remote, and absentmindedly flipped through the T.V. channels, stopping for a moment every time he saw a flash of color. After seeing that there was nothing on but reruns and subpar cartoons, he turned to Raven with a grin plastered on his face.

"Sooooo Raven, whaddaya say we—"

"No." she replied flatly, not taking her eyes off her book.

Beast Boy laughed nervously. "B-but Raven, you haven't even heard what I was going to say yet! I was just thinking that we could maybe—"

Raven took a sip of her tea, then looked at the changeling. "Beast Boy, is it too much to ask that you give me some peace and quiet now and then?" She adjusted the blanket around herself.

Beast Boy wasn't fazed. "Are you saying that you'd rather read that boring ole book than hang out with ME?" Here he flashed her one of his signature toothy grins again.

Raven rolled her eyes. "I'm saying that I'm perfectly content sitting here and reading this 'boring ole book,' which I frankly happen to find quite interesting." she replied, turning a page. At this, Beast Boy glanced at the book's cover, but Raven's thin fingers concealed the title from his view.

He turned his attention back to her face, and pleaded, his voice now betraying a little of his desperation, "Raven PLEASE! You don't know how bored I am right now. I'm out of video games to play, Cyborg is working on his car, Robin's in the gym, and Starfire's doing who-knows-what to her face! There's gotta be something you want to do, anything!"

Raven suddenly noticed with dismay that during their conversation, Beast Boy had managed to inch closer to her bit by bit, and was now on the couch cushion directly next to hers. Annoyed and slightly flustered at his proximity, she replied a little more coldly than she intended, "Beast Boy, I've been waiting a long time for a day like this one to come so that I could finally read this book in silence. Your presence does not bring me any closer to that goal. Do you want me to send you to an alternate dimension? Why don't you go create some new tofu recipes or rent another video game or, hell, get a makeover yourself from Starfire! I'm sure that if you look hard enough, you'll find something to satisfy your boredom that doesn't involve interrupting my reading."

A look of hurt flashed across Beast Boy's features, and for a second Raven regretted her outburst, but the pain in his eyes was quickly replaced by comprehension, as if something within his head had clicked and the proverbial lightbulb turned on. Raven could practically feel the excitement radiating off him. "…Look hard enough, huh Rae? Maybe that's a good idea." he said. And with that, he smiled and ran right out of the common room, leaving Raven alone with her blanket, tea, and book of assorted poems, which was indeed what she was reading.

Not sure what she had said to cause him to suddenly comply with her wishes, she settled back into the gentle curvature of the couch and took another sip of tea. She couldn't help but feel slightly happy herself after seeing him so giddy. Quickly suppressing any further thoughts of Beast Boy, she turned back to her reading.

"Friend Beast Boy, what is this hiding and seeking you speak of? Is it related to the hiding that you did before covering me in the oil of motors? I do not wish to partake in any activity in which we act like klorbag varblonelks."

Beast Boy chuckled at Starfire's innocent naiveté. "No Star, it's nothing like that. Here's how it works. One person, who's 'it,' counts to twenty. In those twenty seconds, the other people hide. The person who's 'it' then tries to find the other people. The last person to be found gets to be 'it' in the next round. It's fun! Want to try it?"

"Oh, that does sound most glorious! But who will be 'it' first?"

"Why, me, of course. It'll be my chance to show you dudes that nobody beats Beast Boy at hide and seek!"

Starfire giggled. "I shall go inform Robin that we are playing the hide and seek!" she said eagerly, hurriedly putting away her various makeup products. Beast Boy call out something about meeting him in the common room, then laughed inwardly as he watched her fly towards the training room. She had curled her eyelashes, applied what seemed to be a disproportionately large amount of eye shadow, and her cheeks and lips were an unnatural reddish color. Robin would be in for a surprise.

Beast Boy left Starfire's disturbingly pink room, and headed off to find Cyborg in the garage. So far his plan to get his team playing a friendly game of hide and seek was going well; he mentally congratulated himself for having the brilliant idea of finding Starfire first. He was confident that if he could get Starfire to want to play, then she would be able to easily persuade Robin to play as well. The Boy Wonder was surprisingly susceptible to her, after all. He had initially been hesitant about entering her room and interrupting her makeover session, but Starfire's friendly nature erased any timidity he had. With Starfire and Robin out of the way, that left only Cyborg and Raven.

Beast Boy opened the door to the garage, whistling a catchy tune that he remembered vaguely as the theme song to one of his favorite superhero cartoons. He scanned the garage quickly for Cyborg, but he didn't see his friend. As he turned around to leave, however, he heard a loud "CLANG." Cyborg suddenly emerged from under the T-Car, tossing several tools onto the floor and muttering, "Damn alternator's out, I'll have to get a new one from—" Then he looked up, saw his green-skinned friend and grinned. "Yo BB, what's up?"

"DUDE, what's going on here!?" Beast Boy exclaimed. Now that he was actually inside the garage, he noticed that the floor was littered with various power tools, gadgets, and car parts.

Cyborg chuckled. "Aw man, the alternator of the T-Car is just pooped. I don't know how it happened, I've driven her every day this week, maybe it was because the battery—" Here he noticed Beast Boy's glazed look, and trying to explain it in words he thought his friend would be able to understand, he said, "My car's broken, and I gotta get it fixed."

Beast Boy nodded his head and placed a hand under his chin as if to convey comprehension, and responded, "Ohhhh, I understand." It didn't come out as confident as he had hoped.

Cyborg grinned, knowing full well that his friend was faking. "So BB, enough about my baby, what brings you to my humble abode?"

Beast Boy lit up. "Right! Dude, how's about you play some hide and seek with the rest of us? I've already told Starfire, and she's going to get Robin right now."

Cyborg looked at him incredulously. He was about to make a comment on how the game seemed a little childish for five teens to be playing, then he decided against it. After all, he had just earlier given the grass stain the beatdown of a lifetime in everything from Super Monkey Showdown 6 to Turbo Track Racing 4, hadn't he? The least he could do was play one game of hide and seek. "Alright, sure thing BB, you must need something to take your mind off of the fact that you're worse in every single one of our games except Cooking Papa, eh? I'll meet you guys in the common room in a few minutes or so, gotta clean up my tools."

Beast Boy seethed at this remark, and stalked out of the garage, closing the door with slightly more force than was necessary. Inside, he could hear Cyborg guffawing to himself.

That's it, the first person I'm looking for is definitely Cyborg.

Meanwhile, Raven had nearly finished her book. Having emptied her mug of tea a long time ago, she got up from the couch and walked towards the kitchen to make some more. As she was pouring water into a pot, she heard the smooth click of the door sliding open.

She knew it was Beast Boy.

Groaning quietly, she waited for the water to boil. She turned and saw that he had sat himself down on the couch again. Finally, the water was warm enough. She poured it into her mug, tossed in a fresh teabag, and took it carefully to her place on the couch.

As soon as she had situated herself, she glanced at Beast Boy and wondered why hadn't spoken yet. Is he just going to sit there while I read? That would be nice. Again, she turned back to her book and continued reading. She became so engrossed in a particular poem by her favorite poet, Edgar Allen Poe, that she didn't notice that Beast Boy had edged closer to her and was trying to get her attention.

"Raven… Raven…." Beast Boy waved his hand in front of her face.

Suddenly, Raven's head jerked up, and she realized how close Beast Boy actually was. She was staring right into his eyes, which were a vibrant green. She wondered in passing why she had never noticed the sheer depth of his eyes before. Her cheeks flushed and she averted her eyes, snapping harshly, "What is it, Beast Boy."

Surprised by her sudden motion, Beast Boy toppled over backwards onto the couch. Was that… did Raven just blush? "U-um, I was wondering if you wanted to—"

"No."

As if his confidence was boosted by her refusal, Beast Boy persisted, "Raven, we're all going to play hide and seek. Robin and Starfire will be here soon, and so will Cyborg. Please, you know how bored I am, and it would make me feel better if everybody was playing. 'The more the merrier,' right?"

Mildly amused at the fact that Beast Boy knew the saying, and even more so that he had used it correctly, Raven fought to suppress a smirk as she replied sternly, "Beast Boy, I'm quite sure that you can play hide and seek with just four people."

"Aw Raven, c'mon, it'll be more fun if you play!"

"And how, pray tell, is playing with me 'fun?' "

Beast Boy lowered his eyes. "I… I don't know, Rae. I just have a better time when you're around, I guess." he shrugged.

Shocked, Raven found herself avoiding Beast Boy's eyes again. She could tell he was unsure of his words, as if he wanted to say something important but didn't know how to put the thought into words. Meanwhile, her emotions were having a discussion of their own in her head.

Just play one game with him. What's the harm in that?

But he's Beast Boy. We're not supposed to get along, much less play childish games together!

Yes, he can be annoying sometimes, but you know that Beast Boy can also be sweet. Remember the time after Malchior? He—

Okay, fine. But—

Besides, hide and seek sounds fun! We don't even have to move from this spot; we can simply agree to play so that he's happy, then stay here and read!

Having thus reached a conclusion in her mind, Raven wondered briefly when she started caring about Beast Boy's happiness, then replied in a carefully controlled monotone, "Fine. One game."

"…Twenty! Ready or not, here I come!" Beast Boy's loud voice drifted clearly through the many passages of Titans Tower.

Raven floated aimlessly through the tower, searching for a suitable hiding place where she would be comfortable and concealed at the same time. She had intended to remain in the common room and read, allowing herself to be found immediately, but here she was, wandering the halls, hiding from Beast Boy. She wasn't entirely sure why she was taking this seriously in the first place, but something inside her urged her to win the game. She sighed.

Suddenly, she heard the low murmur of Beast Boy talking to himself while he searched for his friends. "Cyborg wouldn't be in the garage… too obvious. Or maybe he wants me to think that, and he really is in the garage! Ha, he's such a reverse psycho, or whatever it's called."

Raven couldn't help but allow herself a small smile at this. Reverse psychology, you dolt. Just then, she realized that she was in a corridor that Beast Boy would definitely pass through if he was headed toward the garage. Suddenly filled with a sense of urgency, she levitated down the hall away from Beast Boy, turned the corner, and entered the first door she came to, breathing hard.

Beast boy was feeling elated and not in the least bored. Not only had Raven agreed to play hide and seek with him, but he had exacted his revenge on Cyborg as well. His friend had turned out to be hiding not in the garage, but in the basement, well hidden amongst several crates and a pile of old equipment. Beast Boy had taunted him, and Cyborg had been quick to state how finding him, at over 6 feet the largest member of the team, was such an accomplishment. For some reason, the sarcastic comment had instantly reminded the changeling of Raven.

Beast Boy had found both Robin and Starfire in the kitchen. Robin had somehow managed to squeeze himself underneath the sink, and Starfire, no doubt following Robin's example, was in a nearby cupboard. Starfire had immediately wanted to play again, but he had told her that the round wasn't over until he found Raven. Together they had searched most of the tower, but Raven was nowhere to be found. Beast Boy had even had Starfire peek quickly into Raven's room, but she wasn't there, either. There was only one place he had yet to check….

The first thing that alerted Raven that she wasn't simply in a closet or extra room was the smell, which consisted of three distinct parts: cheap cologne, filthy clothes, and tofu. Oh no. Please don't tell me— She looked around, and placed the palm of her hand on her forehead in exasperation. She was in Beast Boy's room, of all places! Her only consolation was the fact that he would not expect her to be there at all, and thus would not be likely to find her for a while.

Not wanting to touch the floor with anything more than her feet, she walked over to his desk, and sat in his chair. After a few minutes, she grew restless and tried to meditate, only to find that the gross stench of dirty laundry distracted her, preventing her from concentrating. Damn, if only I had brought my book with me. She sat back down in the chair, and began to examine the desk. Her eyes fell on his wallet, which she opened in curiosity. A golden lifetime membership card to Dan's Tofu Farm, a rain check for Super Monkey Showdown 7, and forty-two cents. That's Beast Boy, the paragon of success. She smirked. No wonder Beast Boy always had some tofu on hand.

Just then, a glint of light from one of the half-open drawers in his desk caught her eye. She opened the drawer and the retrieved the object, finding that it was a picture frame; it was a picture of Beast Boy and Terra. Unable to stop the pang of anger – and dare she admit it, jealousy – that coursed through her, she quickly put the picture back, and was about to close the drawer when she noticed that there was another picture frame beneath the one of Terra. She gingerly picked it up, and had to look at it for several moments before she recognized the familiar green skin of her teammate. However, he wasn't a teen in this photograph; he was a toddler, and he was holding the hands of two adults who stood on either side of him, one male and one female. They were wearing lab coats.

His parents? Come to think of it, I've never heard Beast Boy talk about his family. Perhaps we alike in more ways than one.

Raven looked at the photograph for a few more minutes, then started to place it back in the drawer, when she realized that there was something hastily taped to the back of the frame. It was an old newspaper article, the text starting to blur. She looked at it more closely; she could barely make out the title, "Celebrated Scientist Duo Lost In Tragic Accident." Raven gasped, and found herself unable to read any further.

He lost his parents as a child? I never thought that… oh, Beast Boy….

"I guess someone was bound to find out sooner or later." Beast Boy's voice, oddly grim, brought her abruptly out of her reverie.

Startled, Raven saw that his gaze was fixed on the picture frame she held in her hand. Placing it on the desk, she stood up and looked at Beast Boy. He looked sadder than he had ever been before. She was slightly intimidated by this serene Beast Boy, this Beast Boy who didn't have a grin on his face. So he was keeping this inside him the whole time. "Beast Boy… I'm sorry." She looked at the ceiling, at his bunk bed, at the rotting containers of take-out tofu, anywhere but his eyes.

Beast Boy said nothing. At his silence, Raven bit her lip and continued, "If you ever want to talk… well, I have… shall we say… parental issues too." She chanced a glance at his face, and was surprised to see his eyes firmly shut, his lip barely quivering, revealing his fang.

When he opened his eyes, she could tell that he was trying not to cry. She could see the moistness of unshed tears. Still he remained quiet, but this time, he lurched forward and embraced her tightly yet gently. "Thanks, Raven," he whispered in her ear.

All the lightbulbs in Beast Boy's room immediately shattered as tendrils of dark energy engulfed them, but Beast Boy didn't let go. Raven flushed, embarrassed about the whole thing, but nonetheless found herself raising her limp arms to encircle his back until Beast Boy finally relaxed his grip on her.

He pulled back, and grinning slightly, looked her in the eye, "You're 'it,' Raven."

Finis

Author's Notes: First of all, thank you in advance to anybody who reads this, whether you enjoyed it or not. And a special thanks to anybody who takes the time to review.

Does anybody even watch or like the Teen Titans anymore? I remember that I loved the cartoon when it first came out, but eventually lost interest after Season 5 ended (and after it became clear that there would be no Season 6). However, several years later, I find myself still loving the humor and stories of most of the episodes (I really don't like Terra though, haha). I admit, at first, I liked the Robin and Raven relationship, after seeing some of The End. However, I soon found myself becoming fonder and fonder of that between Beast Boy and Raven. (As such, I currently treasure The Beast Within and Spellbound as two of my favorite Teen Titans episodes.) Seeing several amazing works by SparkyX (I believe is his name) at DeviantArt and reading some fantastic fanfics here was all it took to cement my support for this pairing. Now I'm a devoted BBRae fan with nothing but distaste for RobRae and BBTerra.

Personally, I don't really like to write. Writing has never come naturally to me, and no matter how hard I try, I'm never fully satisfied with the result. As such, despite joining this site months ago, I've never submitted anything until now. However, as I proofread this story, I'm finding that perhaps my hatred of writing does not extend to fan fiction; the fact that this oneshot is over 3000 words long, longer than anything I've ever written previously, is a testament to this. On the whole, I actually like this story, and am pretty content with the way it turned out. My two qualms with it are that it doesn't seem to "flow" as well as it could have, and that Raven seems a tad out of character near the end. Oh well. I think I like the idea of a more vulnerable Raven, to be honest.

Anyways, thanks again for reading (and reviewing if you did so). I hope that it was worth your time.