A/N:

There are no specific apologies that I can give for not updating when I clearly said I would, and this is an even lamer apology because not only am I still not updating my chapter fic, I'm posting something else instead. So lame.

But anyway, I hope you enjoy this oneshot!

Saturdays

He couldn't be more annoying. This kid. This twerp. This animal. This thing- who just sat there on the couch all Saturday long munching on leftover edamame or soy chips, making the most awful noises that made her grate her teeth and seal the brim on Rage. For that was the one emotion that always seemed to want to pour out whenever he was present. Just about everything he did would have pissed off a less controlled, more demonic Raven. And she could only thank the priests of Azarath that she had all that time to practice, for surely this was the test they meant. This is what would have driven her evil side out, ready to kill, ready to swallow the green ant into the darkness. Her father would be ready, waiting to take full advantage of this newly found devilry, and come her 16th birthday, that would be it.

Bam.

Finito.

World gone.

All because of Beast Boy and his incessant chewing.

"I didn't know it was possible for something so scrawny to produce noises so obnoxious."

But thankfully, she was strong (and patient) enough to deal with him. Her 16th birthday had come and passed as well as her 17th, and she had yet to fully transform into any kind of apocalyptic gate and complete that prophecy. Raven didn't bother looking up from the book she was currently half-consumed with. He didn't need to see the glare in her dark eyes, or the irritated curve of a frown on her face. Her deadpan would be enough to get the point across as it always was.

And usually, he would sigh and complain and whine about how he was an animal, and animals were expected to be that loud. She would reply with a witty remark about how currently he was more boy than beast and that in this state he should act like one. And then Beast Boy would go ahead and prove that he actually was more beast than anything else and turn into a dog or a cat or a gorilla if he was feeling especially obnoxious that day.

Which she hated. Not that she didn't fully expect him to be obnoxious, but if anyone can be more loud than Beast Boy, it was Beast Boy in one of his animal forms.

When there wasn't any familiar response, Raven glanced up from the fiction novel, closing it without even holding her place. "Beast Boy?"

The chewing had stopped (thank Azar), and Beast Boy turned from the morning cartoons and glanced over to the darker girl on the other end of the couch. It was then she noticed it was only Saturdays that Beast Boy never changed into the more common purple and black uniform. The mask had been long forgotten, and on Saturdays, Beast Boy completely forwent any sort of super hero attire at all. She expected his pajamas to be more childish, like footie PJs or Superman printed flannels. But they weren't. They were purple and black, like he normally wore, only the shorts and t-shirt revealed much more of his green skin. He was still staring at her, which was weird, and she was still staring at him, which was even weirder. Raven coughed and picked up a mug of tea, which caused Beast Boy to finally talk. "You know, you don't have to sit with me."

She would have been insulted if she didn't sense the pure curiosity in his voice, but just to be sure he didn't mean it as an insult, she replied with a neutral, "Excuse me?"

"I mean...we're the only ones up this early. Everyone else is tired from Friday night training, but I love Saturday morning cartoons, and you..." Beast Boy's green eyes flashed from her face to the tea to the book and back. "I'm not sure why you choose to be here."

Raven shrugged, "I'm a morning person."

"No...I mean, I know that. You don't go this long living with someone without catching on to some of their habits. Like, I bet you're freaked out why I'm not a goat by now, right?"

Gorilla, actually, but Raven didn't say anything concerning that. "Go on."

He smiled and set down the bowl of chips, "What I'm trying to say is that yeah, you're a morning person, but you could be in your room right now or the hundreds of other rooms we have. But you're not. Why?"

Raven hated the look on his face. It was the sly, cocky Beast Boy- the Beast Boy that loved to crack innuendo based jokes and hit on random fangirls. "What are you getting at?"

"Nothing...exactly. Just that maybe you actually like my obnoxious chewing."

"Impossible."

"Or you like hanging out with me so much you're willing to put up with it." He grew a cheeky grin and leaned over, taking another soy chip from the bowl and sliding it into his mouth.

Raven frowned and in an instant, the mounds of chips went flying from the bowl and into Beast Boy's face in a flurry of black energy. She grabbed her tea and book and stood up, cloak trailing. "Don't push it."

Next Saturday, she didn't leave her room. Beast Boy was right, which was hard to believe, but she wondered why she hadn't thought of it before. For years now, Robin had established Friday night training, mostly because some of their lesser villains never dreamed of going out on Friday nights and missing the chance of more normal human interactions. This gave them more opportunities to practice uninterrupted. But Raven also had the slight suspicion that Robin did it to limit the Titans' more normal human interactions.

Both Beast Boy and Cyborg were noticeably dismayed at the notion that Friday night dates would fail to exist, not that either of them dated much but there were a couple of incidents. Starfire didn't know any better and just agreed wholeheartedly. The idea probably was, though Robin would never, ever admit it, because of her. She had grown more and more interested in boys since they first arrived at the Tower, and although most of her interest was in the Boy Wonder himself, there were times when she couldn't help but notice some of the more attractive civilians. Even Raven was upset at the idea, not that she had any known dates in her future. She begrudgingly agreed to the plan, being the third in the majority vote. Yes, she knew it was probably the best time slot to hold the practices, but a part of her at least wanted the option to date on Fridays.

Because, after all, she wasn't exactly stone. She was a teenage girl, one that never experienced normalcy but wanted it all the same. Raven moved from her bed and slid the mirror from her desk. She needed to meditate and find a way to control her emotions, and then maybe one day, she'd feel safe enough to experience them.

It wasn't like she was afraid of love. Love was not a scary emotion, nor was happiness, joy, or anything along those lines. She was not, as much as Starfire said, afraid to love anyone she felt deserving of it. But there were two things wrong with that. One was the amount of effort it would take to find someone actually deserving of love. She didn't mean it in any sort of pretentious way; no, she wasn't shallow or anything. By deserving she simply meant someone who wouldn't hurt her or judge her or try to use her. She had been used too many times in her life by people who were supposed to love her but didn't. And she did not intend to feel that way again.

And even then, even if she managed to find someone deserving of her trust and love, emotions themselves were a double edged sword. Allow yourself to feel something like love and you're opening yourself up to hate. Someone you felt so strongly for could easily hurt you and turn that powerful emotion into something dark. And that was something she could not let herself feel. She had been close to that feeling though. With Terra. Hell, she probably did hate Terra. And that was why she had managed to be defeated, drowned in an ocean of earth and sludge.

So no, she wasn't afraid of love as many thought. She was afraid of that love turning to hate. She was afraid of leaving herself too open, too comfortable with someone that could easily hand her heart back to her on a silver platter.

Which, according to the incredibly cheesy novel on her bed, was a common thing for teenage girls to worry about, really. She was glad half of these books had cover slips that were easily removable. If anyone found out that she wasn't reading Dante or Poe or even King, her whole 'creepy' exterior would be ruined.

And you don't want that to happen because?

...

She didn't answer that. Sometimes she didn't like where her mind would wander.

But these novels, as poorly written and predictable as they were, helped her feel...normal. Not only because they were the standard kind of book girls her age read, but because they made her feel emotionally mature. Yes even she- Raven, half demon Teen Titan- was less emotionally inept than the girls in these books were. That made her feel sort of proud.

She had managed to get pretty far in the book too before her meditation and without Beast Boy's chewing next to her. Her room was much quieter, much more suitable for this kind of stuff, and much more suitable for her.

When her stomach growled and her mind began to get a little fuzzy from the lack of caffeine, Raven retreated from her mirror and went to the kitchen to grab some toast and tea.

"Raven! There you are!"

She turned slowly, realizing Beast Boy was the one talking to her from his normal seat on the couch. The morning cartoons sounded off behind him, but his eyes were fully directed on her.

Raven remained impassive. "Obviously," and kept moving, but the green Titan followed her into the kitchen. She turned on the stove-top and waited for the kettle to sing. "It appears that you're following me."

Beast Boy grinned, "Wow, Rave, nothing gets passed you."

She allowed no inflection in her voice. "Ha. Ha."

"So, where were you this morning?"

The question threw her off, "In my room?"

"Oh."

"Oh?"

"Well..." Beast Boy scratched his dark hair, "You usually come out here. You know...it's Saturday."

"Nothing gets passed you either."

Beast Boy ignored the recycled sarcasm. "No, seriously. Were you feeling okay?"

"I'm fine."

"You just decided..."

Raven didn't know what he was getting at, but at the sound of her kettle, she decided to end his curiosity. "You informed me last week that there was no practical reason I needed to sit with you unless I wanted to file down my teeth. So I stayed in my room. Now I'm hungry so I'm out here."

"Gotcha." Beat Boy whistled and grabbed a carton from the fridge. "Want some soy eggs?"

"Not if you paid me."

"Toast?"

She was surprised by the more appealing offer. "Okay."

"Okay? Okay!" He was grinning, which wasn't unlike him at all, but the magnitude of this grin was enormous. "Get ready, Rave, for the best tasting, most magnificent meal you have ever tasted."

"Beast Boy, it's toast."

"Delectable toast." Beast Boy grabbed a loaf of bread and popped two pieces into the metal toaster. "Jam, right?"

"Yes, but st-"

"Strawberry, I got it." He moved again to the fridge and grabbed the jar and a knife. He laughed at her confused face. "Remember that whole thing about living with each other and knowing stuff? I got it, don't worry."

And just because she was slightly curious to see if this was true, Raven left him alone and sat back on the couch, tea in hand. She hadn't brought her book with her, so she was left staring at the numerous cartoon animals running around on screen. Maybe that was why Beast Boy liked these shows. All the animals acting...human, it must have been interesting for someone who could change into them all so easily. She had never really watched them before, even though she had sat in front of them countless times. And now that she was left staring at it, she couldn't help but admit that they were kind of...funny.

When Beast Boy came back, two plates in hand, Raven didn't miss a beat. "I see where you didn't get your jokes from."

It took a while for the youngest Titan to understand, but when he did, Raven bet she could have felt his happiness even if she weren't an empath. "You think it's funny, Rave? Really?"

"It's not terrible."

"Dude, that's great." His teeth were so white. She had never noticed that before. They were white and pointier than any normal teeth, and Raven found them strangely fascinating. When she first saw Beast Boy without his mask, she must have thought he was strange looking. Yes, she wasn't exactly the epitome of normal herself, but grey skin blended in better than green ever would. And no matter how weird Beast Boy's appearance initially seemed, that soon went away after the many years of working and living together.

But then why was Raven suddenly noticing all of these things again?

Like how thick his hair was and how it managed to stand straight up in places. Or how his eyes weren't the normal green color other humans have, but a darker, deeper green that only eluded to the many animals he could transform into. Or how even though he looked simply thin, his arms and calves were incredibly toned from all the conditioning he had to do with the team.

Raven's cheeks felt warm. What am I doing? And she immediately set her tea down. "Thanks."

Beast Boy looked to her, "For what?"

"For breakfast."

He smiled then and took a bite of his white eggs, "No problem, Rave. You know what's going on?" He pointed to the screen and waited for her reaction. When she shook her head 'no', Beast Boy then asked, "Want me to explain?"

She could feel his hesitance and resistance to the question, the doubt in a positive response and the expectation that she'd most definitely turn him down, eat her toast, and head back to her room. And maybe, that's what she would have done, but for some reason she said, "Yes."

His happiness was almost infective. It felt so bright that Raven almost cringed when Beast Boy took another gulp of his eggs and scooted closer to her. "Okay, well, it's really easy to get...especially for someone like you. But basically in this episode, they're trying to..."

Raven took another sip of her tea as she listened to Beast Boy's explanation, for once not annoyed by the nonstop talking.

She didn't know what to do this morning. Her back ached, her legs ached. Robin seemed especially sadistic yesterday by making them do the obstacle course without any of their special abilities, which seemed especially difficult for Starfire since hers were so innate. And so were hers after all. Raven was used to levitating, not running. She was used to using her mind to lift heavy, giant objects, not her hands. She never felt so sore, but she knew this training would be for the best. She looked to the clock, seeing it was already 9AM, two hours later than she would normally get up.

Raven moved on her side, cringing as she rolled on her arms. Who knew pushups, something so simple, could be so brutal?

She wasn't meant for that kind of fighting, but she wish she was. She didn't want to just rely on the less...heroic side of her heritage to dictate her fighting strengths. But then again, she hated this. Raven was raised a pacifist, but it was hard to remain peaceful amongst super villains. She was athletic, sure, that was sort of a requirement in the Teen Titan job position. But there was a stark difference between her minimal athleticism and the athleticism someone needed to do the course effectively.

Beast Boy had surprised her the most. He wasn't allowed to morph, which scared him at first, but he still managed to complete the course much faster than she ever could. It was impressive actually. Really-

She shook her head. "Just want to sleep."

Raven tried to close her eyes again, but her internal clock refused to let her sleep. Her body was physically exhausted, but mentally, she was wide-awake.

And even if she wasn't she would have been in about five more seconds. A hard knock on the door greeted her ears. It was still too early for Robin to finally wake up. The Boy Wonder never usually slept long, but Saturday was his sleep in day after a whole week of being an insomniac. Cyborg had a set recharge time, but the human side of him could sleep until 2PM if all the Titans let him. Starfire usually woke up around 10:30 every day. Which only left...

"Raven? You there?"

Beast Boy.

Raven sighed and tried to sit up but she found her body immobile. "Sort of."

"Not sure what that means, but can I come in?"

She felt torn by the statement. She was thirsty and needed help getting up, but she was sure she looked ridiculous. Her normally straight hair was probably frizzy and clumped up in knots. Her pajamas were everything but flattering and...

Wait.

Why would she care about any of that?

She just didn't want Beast Boy in her room. He'd most likely break something. "No."

"...Oh, um...alright." She heard his weak reply and could feel his disappointment through her door. "As long as you're okay..."

"Beast Boy?" She squirmed her body up, laying her back on the headboard. Why was it that she always seemed to talk to him through doors? Now, that time after Malchior... She always put a barrier between them when she was feeling emotionally raw. Yet, there was no reason for her to be raw this morning-not emotionally at least. Okay, so her body was incredibly tired, and lately, Beast Boy had been everything but unbearable, yet that wasn't the same as the prior incident. No, not at all.

His familiar voice greeted her shyly. "Yeah, Rave?"

"I'm okay. Thanks for asking."

Though there was a sinking sensation that she was anything but.

Why Robin thought it was a good idea to do the same drill the following Friday was beyond her. It had been hard, especially because they had to leave mid-session to stop Control Freak from doing whatever he was doing. Leave it to him to be the one villain with no Friday night plans.

Not that she could say anything. She hadn't been on a date since...well, ever. Unless those enchantment, spell studying sessions with Malchior counted. But she was pretty sure they didn't.

She was still in training mode, so much so that when Control Freak had a billboard of a tow truck come flying towards her, Raven simply froze. Normally, she could have easily stopped it with a simple incantation. Three words and the truck would be immobilized, not crashing towards her at uncatchable speeds.

But she couldn't think. She only watched as it traveled faster, headlights glaring, the last bit of light she would see until everything-

"RAVEN!"

There was a shout and a crash and it all happened so fast that Raven didn't realize she was being thrown onto the pavement until her back hit the asphalt. There were scrapes across her exposed skin, but she quickly got up. A flash of green had pushed her aside, and when she got a better look, she saw a small figure on the ground next to a totaled truck.

"Beast Boy..." she whispered, almost inaudibly. Robin was by his side already while Cyborg and Starfire continued to shoot down the nearby enemies.

Cyborg shot another large blast directly at Control Freak's remote, killing the remaining animated objects and leaving the villain vulnerable. "Finally. This freak will never learn."

The alien girl above hovered and grabbed Control Freak with super human speed and strength. "You shall pay for hurting my friends!" Her eyes glowed green, and Robin had to rush over and calmly place a hand on her arm.

"Relax Star, just bring him to jail."

"Yes." Starfire nodded, "You are right, Robin. I do not know what came over me. Raven and Beast Boy..."

"I'm fine." Raven stood up immediately, dusting off her cloak but avoiding the gashes in her arm. She had been careless, stupid, clumsy. It was so unlike her, and because of her mistakes, Beast Boy was still on the floor. Wait. Her eyes widened. Why is he still on the floor?

She wanted to go over there and heal him, but she knew the pain would be a lot for her to take in unnoticed. Raven didn't want them to know about that-about how, although minimal to the actual injury, she still suffered a bit whenever she healed.

Robin's commanding tone broke her thoughts, "Star, Cyborg, take Control Freak to jail and make sure this time no one gives him any access to electronics. I have a feeling he keeps making these stupid remotes. Raven, take Beast Boy back to the Tower."

"And where are you going?" Starfire asked anxiously.

Robin pushed on his mask. "I promised a reporter from Metropolis a story about our team."

"Oh, why so?"

"Well, we won't be running the show forever and I was..."

Raven couldn't believe that they were just talking so casually. They were just standing in a circle as Beast Boy was lying yards away, bleeding. "Can we please keep moving?" Her voice was stern, thin of patience. "Robin, go meet the reporter. You guys get the idiotic villain away. I'll be over there." She gestured towards Beast Boy and felt her stomach twist. "Bye."

She didn't wait for anyone else to speak, though she swore she could hear someone actually laughing behind her. "Idiot." Raven knelt towards Beast Boy's unconscious frame and bit her lip. In an instant, a black raven consumed both figures in the moonlighted streets, and then they were both back in the tower on the floor of Beast Boy's room.

He was heavier than she expected, and after a failed attempt of picking him up, Raven used her powers to place him on the lower bunk of his bed. She pushed away piles of clothes and sat down next to him before putting her hood down.

There was a small gash in his chest, nothing major, which was probably why Robin had been so calm before. No, it would be nothing to clot and close the wound, but bringing him back to consciousness was a different story. Raven steadied her hands and removed the upper portion of Beast Boy's uniform, sliding the tight material to the lower part of his waist. She laid her palms directly on the wound; it would be faster this way, more direct, and would save more of her energy for waking him up.

He was breathing easily, body so warm that it caused Raven to flush. Soon, the small trickle of blood stopped flowing, and she could feel her own cuts and bruises deepen, but she ignored it. It was nothing to her. Raven didn't bother wiping the blood from her hands and moved directly towards Beast Boy's head. He was unconscious, probably with a concussion, and the last thing he should be doing was sleeping it off. More and more energy poured out, and soon, Beast Boy's green eyes flickered. His breaths became sharper, controlled, and Raven moved away.

She bit her lip at the sight of blood on his head even though she knew she had just healed him. He rubbed his eyes and then groaned. "Jeez, feels like I've been hit by a truck." He gave her a smile before sitting up.

"Not funny, Beast Boy." She managed to ignore her own slight headache.

"I don't know, Rave, it was a little..."

"You're an idiot."

Beast Boy frowned and stretched his muscles, directing Raven's gaze down towards his chest and the abs lining his stomach. Didn't he used to be a little annoying kid? When did he develop into this? Raven's heart pulsed and she turned away, but she could feel a different emotion swerve through Beast Boy's body, something akin to confidence.

"Can't we wait about two minutes before you start insulting me?"

"No." Raven stood up from his bed and started looking through the piles of clothes littering the floor. "Is there something I can use?"

"Planning on changing?" He wiggled his eyebrows but then frowned as she held up her blood stained hands. "Oh, yeah. Here." He moved slowly from his bed and gave her a dark towel. Raven wiped the red from her hands and then moved towards Beast Boy, dabbing the soft towel on his forehead. Beast Boy's face was turning red, "...err...thanks."

"Of course." Her eyes looked down to his still revealed chest, and Beast Boy nervously dressed himself.

He scratched his dark hair. "Couldn't wait to undress me, huh?"

"Why?"

Beast Boy paused, shocked at the question. "Well, Rave, you see, when two people really, really like each other, they tend to want to..."

She scoffed, "No, Beast Boy. I mean, why did you do that?"

"Do what?" He raised an eyebrow.

Her voice was faltering, "You..."

"You mean, why did I get hit by a truck for you? Isn't it obvious?"

She felt...nervous under his stare, those green eyes looking more thoughtful and serious than Raven ever imagined they could. Her throat felt caught, raw, and scratchy, and the mess in her head that was her emotions seemed completely out of sorts. She needed to meditate. She needed to think. She needed to figure out why Beast Boy was so close to her. But all she could do was mutter a, "...It is?"

"Yeah." He grinned again, smile so wide with his little fang peeking from his lips. She never felt her eyes so concentrated on Beast Boy before. Well, yes it was hard not to notice how cute he was. That even with green skin, pointed ears, and a small frame, the boy was absolutely adorable. But that was adorable, like a puppy, and that was definitely not what she was seeing now. Adorable had turned into endearing which managed to evolve into charming and (dare she think...) attractive. He was attractive. And she was attracted to him. That whole thought scared the crap out of her.

At her failure to respond, Beast Boy continued to close the distance between them. His room smelled nice, she noticed, not like cologne or tofu or the smell of his unwashed laundry, but it seemed to be unmistakably Beast Boy. His voice dragged lower, "You okay, Rave?"

She didn't feel alright, but Raven was pretty sure she kept her straight face. "I'm okay, really." She didn't want him to press on her emotions, not when they were so volatile. Raven was half expecting a monster to suddenly materialize from the fear parading inside her.

"Then why are you bleeding?" He grabbed the towel from her and sat her gently down on his lower bunk. "You have scrapes all along your legs..." Beast Boy didn't seem flustered as he grazed her pale legs with his fingertips. She could feel the shivers from his touch that the warmth from the towel couldn't diminish. Beast Boy, however, failed to notice Raven's reactions. "Did I throw you that hard?"

"What were you?"

Beast Boy shrugged. "A mammoth. Needed to be big enough to stop that truck."

"Sorry..."

He kept dabbing, not looking up, "For what?"

"For not moving."

Beast Boy shrugged, "It happens. You've saved my butt a thousand times. The least I can do. I rarely get the chance to save you."

She ignored his weird phrasing and watched as he moved on to the next leg. It was strange how comfortable she felt with him doing this. This was something intimate, something she probably would have never allowed anyone to do just a few years ago. "What about Adonis?"

He flushed at that and moved up to her arms. Raven hadn't really noticed how much she had actually bled, but Beast Boy was incredibly thorough. "That wasn't really me, Rave. It was the Beast."

"He was strangely protective."

Beast Boy's green eyes flashed up at that. "Yeah, he was."

The eye contact was unnerving, too tense, too un-platonic for Raven's comfort. She stood up suddenly, causing Beast Boy to fall back on his butt. "Sorry, it's just, it's midnight and I should be getting to bed."

"It's 12? Already?" He smiled then and stood up. "That's okay. Let's put antiseptic on those cuts first. Then I'll let you sleep. Deal?"

She nodded and followed him to the bathroom. Raven insisted on putting the lotion on herself, but Beast Boy wasn't so shy. He removed the upper portion of his uniform and then had her rub the cream across his chest. He was grinning, smirking at the red forming on her cheeks, but Beast Boy didn't say anything. Even though his emotions were practically pouring out of him, he didn't say a word.

And Raven was grateful for that. She was already so embarrassed with her performance earlier that the last thing she needed was Beast Boy asking anything too personal. But, then again, this was Beast Boy, and he couldn't help but be a little curious. "Thanks, Raven."

"Of course."

"Wouldn't be a Saturday morning without us spending some time together, no?"

She made no comment at that. Her hands kept running up and down his firm chest, feeling the smoothness of his skin, how it seemed to prickle from underneath her touch.

"To be honest, Rave..."

She stopped the motion of her fingers and put the cream back in the closet. He was...something else. "What is it, Beast Boy?"

"I stopped liking Saturday morning cartoons years ago."

What?

She was confused. Why was he mentioning this now? How was that relevant at all? And... "Why would you watch them if you didn't like them?"

"Because..." He lowered his head. "I like hanging out with you so much I'm willing to put up with it."

"Beast Boy..."

"Eh! Don't say anything yet!" He raised his hands, still topless, still slightly bloody and dizzy from the earlier fight. If this was some love confession, Raven thought, he was going about it in the worst possible way. They were in a bathroom, sweaty, gross, and exhausted. But Beast Boy didn't even seem to notice or if he did, he certainly didn't seem to care. "And I know you can feel it, can't you? You can read that sort of thing, so don't act all surprised and shocked."

She didn't, although she was. Sure, she could read emotions, but emotions like that were complex beings. Strong feelings like those could easily be misread as familial love or platonic love, not...this. But, then again, what was this?

Raven felt her face warm and she stepped back, "Are you saying that you..."

"I'm not saying anything because I know it'll scare and confuse you. I'm just saying that, yeah, maybe on most days I like to sleep 'til it's 1PM, and sure, those cartoons are kind of amusing, but most of them are repeats that I've seen fifty times. But, Saturday is still my favorite day because it's the only time I get to spend alone with you."

"Beast Boy..."

"No, no!" He grabbed her shoulders and spun her around. "I don't want you saying anything to me yet. Go to your room. Go meditate. Go to sleep. This is a big deal and I don't want you saying anything now to protect me or because you're afraid, because Rave..." He scratched his head, "I'm worried too. I'm afraid. But maybe, that's okay. It's alright to be afraid of something like this because it's life changing. It's okay to be unsure if this will work out, because even if it doesn't, it was worth risking it in the first place. Do you understand me?"

"No."

He took a step back, "...You don't?"

"No, I don't. You're wrong."

Beast Boy blinked, unsure if he should be disappointed yet or not. "I am?"

"Yes." Raven moved closer to him. "I'm not afraid. Not...anymore."

Another smile, "You aren't?"

"No. But can we..." She sat down on the counter next to the sink, not seductively, but more unsure. Her back was pressed against the cold mirror, but even that didn't match the coolness that swerved through her from his touch. In her mind, she knew this was right. She knew that this would be worth it. That even though they were complete opposites, something in her cared deeply for this boy. Maybe it wasn't love, not yet, but whatever this emotion was, she couldn't be afraid of it forever. She wouldn't be living if she was. "Can... you help me with this?"

"Of course." He grabbed her hands. His warmth and happiness was vibrant, vivid. Raven wanted to smile, but her nerves restrained her. "Hey." Beast Boy touched her chin, "You got to remember it's just me, so even if you screw up, I'll probably do something even stupider two seconds later."

"You're not stupid." She chuckled and gripped his hands again, just enjoying his company, loving his presence next to her. "What now?"

At that, Beast Boy raised an eyebrow and pulled her in closer. "Well, usually...after these little confessions, the two friends seal the deal with a kiss." He pushed a little closer, and grinned when Raven didn't move back.

As he started to lean in, his lips were suddenly met with a warm hand. He opened his eyes only to see Raven smirk. "Maybe next week."

A/N:

I like them a lot. Please leave a review! Excellent motivators so that I keep writing :) Thanks so much for reading!