Raven was like tea. She was calm and zen. It was no coincidence that tea happened to be her preferred beverage of choice. She was hardly ever caught without a cup of steaming hot tea at arm's reach. The team had even given her an entire cupboard to herself to store hers teas. She had green, black, white, oolong, pu'erh, herbal, mate, and rooibos tea. Each one had its own section in her cupboard. It was flawlessly organized, just the way she liked it. There was only one blemish keeping it from being perfect, and that was the top right corner. In its place sat a disgusting, uncultured can of instant coffee. It pained Raven every time she had to look at it. It ruined the perfection of her tea display. Even more, the offensive scent of coffee grounds was seeping out of the can and fraternizing with the aroma of her refined teas.

It was no coincidence that the owner of the distasteful coffee was none other than irritating, immature, coffee-loving Beast Boy. He was the personification of coffee. He was loud, obnoxious, and energetic. He always ruined her peace with his lame jokes and stupid videogames and endless chatter, in the same way that his coffee ruined her tea collection. Raven had made several attempts to find the coffee can a new home but was unsuccessful. She even tried to toss it in the trash a few times. Much like Beast Boy, the can of coffee was not going anywhere anytime soon.

Beast Boy haphazardly padded into the kitchen, coming straight from his bed obviously. Raven watched him from her seat at the table as he went into her cupboard and effortlessly retrieved his can of coffee from the highest shelf. Raven rolled her eyes and shook her head. She was a little bitter about the whole 'sharing' situation. Plus, it wasn't fair that he had significantly surpassed her in height and could reach the top shelf.

Beast Boy shuffled over to the sink, bringing the kettle with him. He flipped the tap handle upwards and let the water run. "Do you want some water, Rae?" he mumbled, still half asleep.

"Yes, please," said Raven, although she despised answering to that obscene nickname.

Beast Boy placed the kettle on the base and pressed the toggle button. He made his way to the dining table where Raven was sitting. He pulled out a chair directly in front of hers. He grinned. "Morning, Rae."

"It's noon," she said, unimpressed and unaffected by his sexy grin.

"It's 11:56. It's still morning."

Raven rolled her eyes before tearing her eyes away from his face and bringing them back to her book. Her eyes were going through the motions, scanning the page from left to right, but her brain wasn't registering any words. She was distracted by Beast Boy's gaze on her. She could see his striking green eyes from her peripheral view. "What?" she asked with annoyance.

"Nothing." Beast Boy continued to grin at her.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Like what?" He shrugged, pretending as if he didn't have a clue what she was taking about.

Like a sexy god, she wanted to say. Instead she settled for, "like a creep."

"I like watching you read. It's cute." Raven's heart skipped a beat. He said she was cute. In the background she saw several appliances surrounded in her dark energy, about to go haywire. She quickly regained control over herself and set the appliances safely back down on the countertop. She didn't want Beast Boy to know what effect he had on her.

Raven gave him a cold look. "I don't do cute."

"That's a shame." Beast Boy smirked. "Cute looks good on you." Beast Boy winked at her and strode back to the kitchen. He reopened Raven's cupboard. "What do you feel like having today, Rae?"

Again with that awful nickname. "I can make it myself," she informed him.

"Nonsense, I'm already up. I'll make you your tea."

"Yeah, no offense but brewing a tasteful cup of tea takes knowledge and skill. It's not a cup of coffee where you can toss in some sludge grounds and mix it with a bit of water and call it a beverage."

Beast Boy laughed a deep laugh, not in the least offended. "Is that what you think of me?"

Raven was caught a little off guard by him calling her out like that. "No," she shook her head. "It has nothing to do with you. Just your choice of liquid refreshment."

"But you're judging my choice of liquid refreshment and extending that judgement to me," he said matter-of-factly. "You think I have no class."

"Hey, well, if the shoe fits…" suggested Raven smugly.

"I assure you I have class, I have good taste, and I can brew you a cup of any tea you want, despite however small you may think my brain is."

"All right then. Chai Mate tea," said Raven, picking one of the more difficult teas to brew.

He nodded. "You got it," said beast Boy confidently. He turned back to face the cupboard and went to the top left corner. He pulled out a canister and then took the one behind it. Raven was impressed. He knew exactly where it was. Raven quickly recomposed her face, making sure not to let him see her surprised expression.

The kettle clicked, signalling that it was done. He took a teaspoon out of the drawer and expertly scooped out one and a half teaspoons, making sure it was exact. He dumped the tea into a strainer sitting in a porcelain mug. Next he went into another drawer and pulled out a thermometer. He placed it in the kettle and waited for an accurate reading. He must have decided it was too hot because he set aside the tea and began to work on his coffee.

Using the same spoon he used for the tea, he scooped out a heaping spoon of coffee and carelessly tossed it into his mug. Then he poured some water over the coffee grounds and gave the cup a stir. Raven watched as the steam rolled off the top. Beast Boy made his way to the fridge and pulled out a carton of soy milk. He gave the carton a shake and poured a splash into his cup. It clearly wasn't an exact science. He stirred his mug and inhaled the steam coming off. "Ahh…" he mumbled, Raven saw his shoulders visibly relax at a whiff of coffee.

Beast Boy returned to the kettle, He checked the thermometer again. This time, finding what he was waiting for, he took out the thermometer and set it aside. Beast Boy poured the hot water over the tea leaves. He went back into the drawer and took out a timer. He turned the dial to the right and set it in the counter. Raven could hear the faint ticking from where she was sitting.

"How am I doing so far, Rae?" asked Beast Boy. He was leaning against the counter with his arms folded over his chest.

"Not bad, but it's still too early to judge. You'll have to wait for the final taste test to get the verdict."

"Ah, I understand." There was silence between them as they both looked at each other. Breaking the silence, he asked, "So why the mate tea today? I know it's not your favourite. Not even close to you favourite."

Raven was surprised to learn that Beast Boy knew it wasn't her favourite tea. "How – How do you know that?" Was it just a lucky guess?

Beast Boy chuckled for what seemed like the millionth time today. "I pay attention, you know."

"Oh," said Raven as she processed what that really meant. She couldn't remember any time that she announced to her friends what tea she liked or disliked. Did he watch her make tea often? Maybe he saw that the tea canister was on the fuller side, indicating that she didn't drink it much.

"So, why are you feeling like mate tea today? Feeling adventurous? Giving something you don't like another chance?"

Raven shook her head. "I just thought I'd give you a challenge," she admitted.

"Well you'll need a harder challenge next time 'cause this is a piece of cake."

Raven rolled her eyes at his playful, cocky attitude. "Sure," she said sarcastically. The timer behind Beast Boy rang, signalling that it was finished steeping. Beast Boy took out two plates from the cabinet. Beast Boy used the first plate to set the steeper on. The other plate he used as a saucer for her mug. Beast By skillfully brought over her tea and his coffee without spilling a drop. He placed her tea in front of her like a waiter would.

"Enjoy," he said as he reclaimed his seat across from her. Beast Boy sipped his coffee as he watched Raven cautiously sip her tea. Beast Boy raised his eyebrows. "So?"

"Meh." Raven shrugged her shoulders. "I've had better, I've had worse." Beast Boy didn't buy her performance. He gave her an expectant look. Raven's lips turned upwards in a rare smile. "Okay, it's excellent. You made a tea I don't like pretty enjoyable."

"Ah ha. I knew it. I'm awesome."

"Slow down there, cowboy. I never said you were awesome. Just because you can brew a cup of tea doesn't mean you're remotely close to awesome."

"Aw, come on, Rae. I know you secretly like me." Raven wasn't sure if he was bluffing her. He could be saying it to get under skin, to get a rise out of her. Or he might actually know she had some hidden feelings for him. Was she that obvious?

Raven took her chances. She scoffed. "Yeah, right." Another silent moment passed between the pair. Beast Boy's eyes remained fixated on Raven's purple irises. Raven liked how expressive his eyes were. She could see the playfulness in his eyes and the smile behind them. Raven cleared her throat. "So," she started, unsure of where she was going. "Why is it that you're so careful with my tea and you're so careless with your coffee? I mean, surely there must be a proper way to brew coffee?" Raven wrapped her hands around her mug to keep her hands warm.

Beast Boy took a long moment to think about his answer. "It doesn't really matter much to me. I don't care too much about myself. But you? You're Raven. You're special. You deserve to have the finest things in life and perfect tea. I know you'll hate this, but I like treating you like a princess."

He was spot on. Raven wanted to object because she was not a princess in any way, but his words were so sincere and sweet and Raven wasn't sure what to say in response. Luckily she didn't have to say anything. Beast Boy spoke again, saving her from an embarrassing ramble. "I know you're a strong, independent woman who could kick my ass whenever she wants to, but I like being able to do stuff for you, whether it's making you perfect tea or being your knight in shining armor." Raven still wasn't sure what to say. She had never had anybody say anything so sweet to her before.

Beast Boy continued, "But you're right. There definitely is a proper way to make coffee. The way I make it just doesn't do coffee justice. Let me take you to a real coffee house; a classy one. You might even end up liking coffee," he suggested.

Raven bit her bottom lip in attempt to hide her second smile of the day. "And what if I end up loving perfectly crafted coffee? Are you going to meticulously make me coffee in the morning?"

"For you, anything," he said.

Thanks for reading. Leave a review/comment/question! I'm thinking of turning this into a series of disconnected one-shots. Let me know if that would be something you are interested in reading. You can give me prompts or requests if you would like.