Love Conquered

One Step Forward...

Raven had been meditating the next afternoon. Titans East had left in a hurry seeing as they felt nervous and frightened of the now serious and adult Beast Boy.

Meditating on the roof, Raven was enjoying the warm sun on her skin as she levitated. Feeling a presence suddenly, Raven peeked open one eye as Beast Boy came and sat a cup of tea beside her.  

"Breakfast for dinner tonight. Plenty of waffles for you." He told her softly to not disturb her. Smiling Raven blushed and was grateful her hood was up as her eyes flew to Beast Boy's flexing biceps. When he left she eagerly drank the tea and found it perfect. Like she herself had made it, which made her wonder how Beast Boy knew her favorite tea and her milk, sugar ratio for it. 

After meditation and tea, Raven went into the common room and found Cyborg and Robin playing games and Starfire knitting.  

What surprised her was Beast Boy was reading away at a book looking deeply invested as he stirred his steaming coffee. Sitting with him, Raven politely asked, " What are you reading?" Beast Boy glanced up before quoting, "..."I was angry with my friend. I told my wrath, my wrath did end. I was angry with my foe: I told it not my wrath did grow." " 

Raven grinned widely impressed, "The Poison Tree. I love that poem." Beast Boy grinned and he nodded to her book, "What are you reading?" Raven grinned, "The Helix Chronicles." Beast Boy actually grew happier hearing that, "I love Bart Arnie's work, all of his characters are so dark and thoughtful. Kind of like you." 

Raven was surprised when Beast checked her out,  "I kind of see you as Morine." 

Raven blushed since he had named her favorite character. A dark seductive sorceress with the power to bring the world or any man to her knees."Wow...thank you." Beast Boy winked and both went back to reading. When he got up, it was to get him some more coffee and her some more tea. Cyborg dished up breakfast for dinner and while he, Robin, and Star watched tv, Beast Boy and Raven kept reading. 

He stopped to eat, and was surprised when she asked him, "So other than Bart Arnies is there anyone else on your shelf?" Beast Boy grinned setting his book down, "Ugh yeah Hank Mitchell, Sophia Banks, Nicholas Fraiser…" Raven grinned, "I loved Sophia Banks' new book "Death To Those Who Come." It was so-." Beast Boy smirked, "Gruesome." 

Raven rolled her eyes fighting the label, "It was poetic in a way though." Beast Boy shook his head slowly, "Yeah it was about a psycho killer who gave up Micky D's for people's guts. And in one chapter he jumped rope with the intestines! Gruesome." 

Raven hummed in thought, "Okay but the scene when he found out he had killed and eaten his own sister was so heart wrenching!" Beast Boy shook his head, "Payback, he so deserved it!" Raven gasped, "You didn't give him any sympathy for that?" Beast Boy shook his head smiling as he exclaimed. "No, because he was a d**k who was eating people and karma punished him for it." 

Raven, without realizing it, put her hand on Beast Boy's arm, "But he was a loner! A lonely sad man who gained a horrible fetish due to all the times he's been starved, beaten, and hurt. And the one thing he wanted? Family, which he got only to find out he ate them!" 

Beast Boy laughed, "Payback! Think about all the sisters, brothers, mothers, fathers, uncles, aunties, friends this dude ate! Now I'm supposed to sympathize with you because you ate your own and enjoyed it? I'm not going to sympathize with you, I'm going to get you the number to a therapist who can make visits to the prison." Raven made a noise that sounded like a giggle before stopping. 

Cyborg watched them grinning as both Robin and Star continued to stare with their jaws on the ground. Neither of them had ever seen Beast Boy and Raven get along like they were now. It was a sight to see. 

"Okay, but didn't you feel for him in the end? Just a smidge?" Raven asked curiously moving closer, Beast Boy shook his head immediately, "No, he killed his sister, he did stuff to her body, and yeah he said it made him go cold turkey but it doesn't fix what he did it. He only stopped because he found out he killed the wrong person." 

Raven tried to give the character the benefit of doubt, "He took in his niece." Beast Boy gagged in horror, "That's not a good thing! That means she'll forever wonder what happened to her mother, only to find out in his will in the future she'd loved and been loved by her mother's killer the entire time! She's going to feel awful." 

Forcing her laughter down, Raven nodded, "Fine you win...favorite gruesome scene though?" Beast Boy thought, "I'm going to go with...the broken doll scene." Raven winced thinking of the horrific detailed account of a porcelain broken doll's shattered face being used to cut open a man and hollow him out. 

"What about you?" Raven thought, "The Diego Dinner Party." Beast Boy gagged, "When he made a Mexican Donner party out of his coworker's family? Why?" Raven shrugged, "I don't know. He came in so happy and normal and then bam! He's eating people. It was funny." 

Beast Boy shook his head, "We need to get your sense of humor a check-up." Raven nodded amused, "Oh really?" Beast Boy nodded his eyes bright with amusement, "Oh yeah it for sure needs an oil change or a tune-up."  Raven shoved his chest and both gasped when this zing coursed through them. Both froze looking at each other in confusion. 

"You two okay?" Looking at a concerned Robin, both of them moved away from each other. 

Done with dinner and talking books, Beast Boy went to his room and Raven went to talk to the best person to talk to about what she was feeling. 

Raven bit her bottom lip and as she quickly knocked she looked up as the mechanical man appeared in her line of sight. "Can I come in for a sec?" Cyborg waved her in and both sat in comfy chairs as she tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear, "So...this is going to be different from our other talks." Cyborg sat back in his seat smirking, "This about B?" Raven sighed, "Yes." 

Cyborg grinned, "What about him?" Raven shrugged, "He's changed. And sometimes when I remember him from before I miss him. But other times I'm reminded that now he's a man. And I feel weird about that, but I can't sum up what I feel when I think that." 

Cyborg nodded as Raven finished with, "I know he's still the same person, but it feels like Beast Boy...but not Beast Boy if you know what I mean." Cyborg nodded, "I know what you mean, he helps with the T car now."

Raven peered up at Cyborg curiously, "And? As his big brother?"  Cyborg shrugged casually, "Beast Boy has changed but is it a bad thing? He's finally matured to the point he isn't harassing you anymore like you wanted. He's not goofing off or messing up missions by being reckless." Raven sighed tiredly, "But I miss HIM." 

Cyborg smirked sitting back and Raven blushed, "I like him." Cyborg nodded, "I know that." Raven jerked back, "How?" Cyborg pointed to her neck, "You don't think I didn't notice you've been wearing his necklace since he gave it to you?" 

Raven sighed as she pulled her birthday present from Beast Boy from under her leotard. Holding the Raven in her hand she mumbled, "This is all my fault, if I had just said, "Thank you." and left it alone he'd be fine." Cyborg shrugged, "Maybe, but then there would have been another time he would have been pushed. Pushed to grow up, to man up. Nothing wrong with the boy you love becoming the man you can...well maybe love just a bit more." 

Raven looked up at Cyborg scared, "You know feeling anything is bad for me." Cyborg sighed as his mug shattered following her statement, "Maybe. But you can't stop feeling any more than I can, and I'm mostly metal." 

Raven stood and kissed Cyborg's cheek, "But human where it matters." Walking out of his room, Raven turned when he called her name, "Yeah?" Cyborg awkwardly looked at her before asking, "Are you attracted to Beast Boy? Like do you want to...?" Raven turned scarlet, "Oh NO! We're not going there!" 

Rushing out, Raven zipped to her room, her heart racing. She tried to ignore her bodies response to the thought of her and Beast Boy being intimate. But she had to say, she didn't feel appalled by the idea. 

It was the next day Raven would find out just how unappalled she was at being intimate with the green changeling living down the hall.