a/n:
This is a probably boring one-shot which I have little hopes will get anywhere else except my mental trash bin (which, I might add, is quite large) and my sole reason for writing it is... none. So, enjoy if you can, flame if you must, and review if you will.
W-Will You Be My Valentine?
Raven clicked her tongue irritably.
It was here again. Just like the year before... and the one before. It was an endless cycle of misery.
And every year the same thing happened: there were dreaded pink and red decorations throughout the Tower. Of course, Starfire could be blamed for that; upon finding out about the festive holiday, she set about cutting paper hearts and pasting them about the Tower.
At least we got off easy this year, Raven thought as she reminisced. The year before, Starfire had wanted to paint the surface of the Tower pink. She managed to coat the entrance door before Cyborg noticed as he drove back to the Tower from grocery shopping. After Cyborg fainted, Starfire decided not to mention the back door.
On this Valentine's Day, though, Raven ignored anything and everything as she read her newest thick book. She didn't look up when Cyborg and Beast Boy jumped on the main couch and started loudly playing video games. Nor did she look up when Starfire ecstatically entered the room wearing a heart-shaped costume. Nor when Robin made his entrance from the set of metal doors and set about looking through a pile of documents on a living room counter.
"Dude! You totally cheated!" Beast Boy shouted indignantly as his wounded gorilla fell to the virtual ground.
"No, I didn't. That purple monkey was so gonna get you anyway!"
"Nuh uh! You cheated, Cy. Just admit it!"
Cyborg snorted. "Yeah... right."
"I want a rematch, then! You totally owe me a rematch!"
"No I don't," Cyborg said as he ruffled Beast Boy's hair, "That was you losing 'cause of my great skills."
It was Beast Boy who snorted this time.
"Fine... I'll just, uh—join Raven! And read with her!"
Cyborg laughed.
"Yeah, you do that. I'll bet you won't last a second before that book hits your green head!"
"Is that a challenge?"
"You know it is."
Beast Boy smirked.
Wordlessly, he stood up and walked towards Raven's silent form on the other couch.
He sat down.
Raven didn't blink.
"Hi, Raven!" He said as he waved enthusiastically.
Raven turned a page and kept reading.
"Wha'cha reading?"
Raven didn't answer.
On the main room couch, Cyborg was already reloading the game as he gripped the controller and prepared to battle a giant octopus.
"Must be pretty interesting." Beast Boy laughed uncertainly.
Raven was silent.
Starfire drifted off to Robin's seat by the counter table. She tried to fit in a small seat beside him, but the costume was preventing her from doing so. Robin helped her.
"Um... okay." Beast Boy continued, "So... it's Valentine's Day."
Raven slightly nodded but kept her eyes on the book.
"Wanna do something?"
Raven finally looked up, a surprised expression on her face.
"What?"
Beast Boy smirked and said, "You know? Hang out or something."
"Humph. Give me one good reason."
"You'll have fun."
"... Right."
"Come on! You know you want to..." Beast Boy said slyly.
Raven gave him a flat look.
"I don't think so."
"Please? I swear I won't do anything wrong... this time."
"I can hardly trust that statement."
"You can trust me!"
Raven impatiently turned back to her book.
In his haste to make her listen to him, Beast Boy clasped one of her hands in his own and pleaded, "Just this one day!"
Raven eyed his hand warily and said, "Why are you touching me?"
Beast Boy laughed nervously and dropped her hand, "Uh... oops. S-Sorry."
He blushed and his ears drooped slightly.
Looking at his saddened form, Raven felt a small movement of pity ripple through her. Was this that important to him?
She sighed and said in a monotone, "Fine... okay, I'll 'hang out' with you—"
"Sweet!" Beast Boy exclaimed as his blush receded, "You won't regret it, Ravie!"
Raven grit her teeth, "It's Raven."
"Whatever you say, Rae."
"You're impossible."
Beast Boy winked at her, "I know."
Raven rolled her eyes, and felt another emotion flow through her. She didn't give it much thought.
"So... what'll it be?" He asked.
"What'll what be?"
"How are we gonna hang out?"
Raven shrugged, "It was your idea. If you can't come up with anything, I'll just go back to reading."
"No! No... I'll figure something out."
Beast Boy thought for a moment.
"Do you like swimming?"
Raven could have taken her book at that moment and dropped it on his head.
"It's winter."
"Oh... right."
He thought for another second.
"How 'bout ice-skating?"
"I can't ice-skate."
"Yeah... me neither."
"So you mentioned it because...?"
He gave her a sheepish look.
"Right."
Beast Boy turned back to the subject at hand, "We can... go out and watch a movie!"
"You mean... like a date?"
"Uh... N-not exactly—well, if you want to—I mean, I didn't mean it like—"
"That's a 'no' then," Raven answered evenly.
"Um... well, actually—"
"Let's just stay home then."
Beast Boy's face lit up.
"Wait! I've got it! We can just stay home!"
Raven gritted her teeth to stop any insults that she might have spoken.
"Good idea, Einstein."
"Thanks," he replied, not understanding the sarcasm.
"So... what are we going to do at home?"
"Um..."
Raven sighed.
"We can watch a movie," she said in a bored tone, "Or you could leave me alone and let me read. The choice is all yours."
Beast Boy thought hard for a moment.
"I think I like the first one..."
"...Darn."
He grinned at her happily, and then realized something.
"Wait... Cy's playing video games... we can't watch a movie if he's using the TV!"
"So you do think."
He glared at her this time.
Raven rolled her eyes again, "We have multiple rooms."
"Hey! We have multiple rooms!"
"How observant of you," Raven said dryly.
Beast Boy smirked again and stood up. Reluctantly, so did Raven.
Suddenly, Beast Boy sat back down.
"Wait... no. I don't wanna watch a movie."
Raven glared at him as she sat down again.
"Then let me read!"
"But I want to hang out with you!"
Raven raised an eyebrow. Put so bluntly, the statement could mean anything.
"Well, uh—as friends!—I mean..." More quietly, he then muttered, "I think..."
"Why do you want to hang out with me so badly?"
"I dunno... just bored I guess," his small fang protruded from the side of his grinning mouth.
"I don't pose as entertainment."
"Um... well. See... it's Valentine's Day."
"I'm aware of that," Raven said, referring to the many pink decorations around the Tower.
"And... people do things on Valentine's Day."
"You mean some people do things."
"Okay, some people. But um... they kind of do these things with someone they—"
"Is this going anywhere?"
"Yeah, it is! Just let me explain what I mean."
Raven gave him another flat look.
"You've already wasted ten minutes of my precious reading time. If it's not important, then save your breath and let me read."
"But, Rae! It is important!"
"Don't call me Rae," she said icily.
"Right. I meant Ravie."
Raven gave a frustrated sigh and stood up.
"If you're just going to keep wasting my time—"
"I'm sorry! Just hear me out!"
Beast Boy grabbed her hand again to prevent her from leaving and reluctantly, she turned back to him.
"It's just... okay—" he took a deep breath, "—what I'm trying to say—ask actually—is..."
Raven watched him attentively. What could be so uncomfortable for him to ask?
"See, the thing is—um... well, it's kind of really hard for me to ask—"
Beast Boy broke off and watched Raven's silent, almost worried, expression.
He sighed.
"Actually, Raven... I don't think I can ask you this... just—uh, you can go back to reading. Sorry I took up so much of your time." He let go of her hand.
Raven watched his ears droop sadly and then sat back down on the couch, uncertainly picking up her book. She turned her attention to the words on the old pages and let her mind wander.
What had Beast Boy been trying to ask me? she wondered. It must have really been an important question if he was so serious and nervous about asking it. Could it have been...? No, she thought adamantly. She wouldn't let herself think like that. Beast Boy was her friend; her annoying, ever-optimistic, green-colored friend. But then again... sometimes he could be nice, and comforting, and his ruffled hair looked cute in the morning... What! Raven shrieked inside her mind. I can't think of him as—she thought before being interrupted by the object of her thoughts.
"Hey, Raven?"
"Yes?" she muttered irritably.
"What are you thinking of?"
"You."
Beast Boy raised his eyebrows, an amused expression on his face.
"Really?"
"Is it a crime to think about peoplewho are sitting one foot away from me?"
Beast Boy smirked slightly.
"Just so you know... I was thinking about you too."
Raven felt as if her stomach dropped. Oddly, it was a pleasant feeling.
Beast Boy leaned his face towards Raven's, the smirk still protruding his small fang. Raven noted that that made him look cute too, then mentally smacked herself.
Uncertainly, she mimicked his movements, slowly drawing towards him, afraid of what she was doing.
They were so close... Raven thought that there might have only been a few inches between their anticipating faces. She drew closer, and then—
"Oh yes, Robin! I shall gladly accept the being of your Valentine!" Starfire squealed happily from the counter table.
A blushing Robin looked almost weak with relief.
"Finally! You'd think I'd die of old age before this happened," Cyborg said yawning from his main couch, having beaten the octopus five times now. "Man, you really need girl therapy, Robin. It would've only taken me five minutes to ask out a girl!"
Robin glared at his friend, but his happy mood wasn't lifted.
"And then five more minutes to dump her," he retorted.
Cyborg shrugged.
"I get by that way. Don't worry about me."
Robin snorted, "I won't."
Cyborg opened his mouth to argue again, but then noticed two flustered teenagers on a side couch.
"So, what about you two lovebirds? Goin' out yet?" He asked Beast Boy and Raven suspiciously.
"No! We're just—" Raven began.
"We weren't about to do something!"
Raven glared at Beast Boy and mentally cursed his stupidity.
"I swear you two couldn't be more obvious," Cyborg yawned again and went back to playing against the octopus.
Raven sighed. What had she gotten herself into this time?
"Raven?" Beast Boy asked cautiously.
"What?" she snapped.
Beast Boy bit his bottom lip.
"I'm really sorry about everything I keep saying and doing today. I just—I wanted it to be perfect! You know, a good Valentine's Day without so many dumb mistakes! I mean—" he dropped off upon seeing Raven's puzzled expression.
He took another deep breath.
"What I've been trying to say is..."
Raven watched as he shifted uncomfortably.
"W-Will you be my Valentine?"
Raven blinked.
"You don't h-have to say yes—and you probably won't—and I know I'm just an idiot for asking... but I just wanted to know if you would say yes, or if I'm just being my stupid self by even liking you in the first place, and I just—I'm just not sure if you ever liked me back and if you would ever say yes if I asked you out and—murphmm!"
Beast Boy's ranting stopped when Raven boldly drew forward and kissed him. They were lost in astonished delight for a moment, and then they broke apart. Beast Boy opened his mouth a few times before finding exact words.
Slightly slurring his statement, he incredulously said:
"Wha— huh? Was that a y-yes or—"
Raven rolled her eyes and faintly smirked.
"You'll figure it out."
a/n:
Okay... so that was so cliché and boring that you've all probably regretted reading it, right? Oh well, sue me if you will. I sometimes like sappy endings like that and I wanted to try out this type of style. Truthfully, my joined account with Cid, the slacker (Individually Packaged), would frown upon this one-shot. XD Oh well... it was writing practice anyway. So, review if the story was okay, if it sucked, or if it just plainly needs to be thrown out into the cyber space garbage can. Flames are welcome! Thanks for reading! Over and out.
Tae
PS: I don't own Teen Titans or any of the characters associated with it. This one shot is purely fictional and I'd be rich by now if I didn't have to mention this disclaimer. XD