Fan Fiction ❯ Anything, Anytime, Anywhere, For You ❯ CommSphere Conversations and Kisses in the Kitchen ( Chapter 4 )

Anything, Anytime, Anywhere, For You

 

Chapter Four

“Commsphere Conversations and Kisses in the Kitchen”

 

A/N: I'm so sorry for taking longer-than-usual to update! I've been busy with physical therapy, lack of inspiration, an addictive video game, and an easily fixed but incredibly annoying mix up in the order I wrote the scenes of this chapter in; but all has been corrected, and here it is for your (hopeful) reading enjoyment.

 

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After a brief conversation in which Robin assured Starfire many, many times that they could handle this on their own (she had wanted to involve everyone on the ship), the youths had decided to start their hunt of “Shoe-Worms.” Starfire flat out refused to return to her room until they were all dead, and while Robin was sure she'd eventually fall asleep; he didn't want Starfire pushing herself like, just in case she needed to stay on her toes; which she did for the time being. Besides, it wouldn't be his idea of fun to have to explain to everyone tomorrow why Starfire didn't return to her own bedroom the night before - he could imagine Raven's sarcasm now, and Beast Boy and Cyborg would be worse. Oh yeah, much easier just to fight a bunch of killer pink snakes.

 

And so far it hadn't been as bad as Robin had imagined it. Along the beginnings of their hunt Starfire had gone into detail on what Shoe-Worms actually were; and once he understood more about them, Robin was wasting no time in proving that while their natural instinct may be good; his training was better. Shoe-Worms, which of course had a real name besides “Shoe-Worm” but Robin was far from attempting to pronounce it, were an uncommon sight on Tamaran. Mostly living in dark, cold places like caves and swamps. Normal shoe-worms were much smaller than these, only growing to be about the size of a small snake; and they had the ugly habit of hiding in the long purple shoes worn by most of Tamaran's populace; which explained the name anyway.

Of course this also worried Robin. If shoe-worms were normally small and found in swamps, why was this spaceship infested with the ten-foot-long version? The first answer that came to mind was Shady - but Robin quickly dismissed him. Not only did Shady's cowardice make it unlikely he'd want anything to do with a ten foot pink snake that had the nasty habit of killing everything around it; which made the idea of Shady catching and planting Shoe-worms all over this ship a huge doubt; Robin knew the little jerk wouldn't be flying on the ship if he thought there was a chance they could turn on him. Which lead him to a very horrifying realization.

If Shady didn't let them in, there were only two ways they could have gotten here. They were already here when Shady took the ship; or someone else brought them on board while the ship was still on Tamaran. Someone who didn't want Shady or the Titan's to survive the trip.

And there was no way of knowing if that somebody was still here or not; or if shoe-worms were all they'd managed to sneak aboard. However before Robin could ponder this possibility any further, many things happened very quickly.

 

He and Starfire had just arrived at their destination, one of the few rooms unexplored on the ship until now. It had been marked on the door in Tamaranian writing and Robin had assumed it had something to do with either the engine or the steering; so he had stayed away. In fact he was close, it was the Communication Sphere room - which was a fancy way of saying the Tamaranian radio. The room itself was pretty simple. It was pretty much just a round, metallic room. The walls were smooth and it all circled like a dome. There were counters along the edges and plenty of shadows for shoe-worms to hide in; but that wasn't what caught Robin's eye.

What did was the middle of the room. A single white pedestal rose out of the floor, carved out of a substance that resemble both white marble and some kind of metal he'd never seen before. There were carvings of Tamaranian letters along the sides going up and down, and two round rings that rose out from near the base, curved upward along the sides and out on a slope, and then connected. At the top, floating in mid air above the pedestal was a glowing blue orb that swirled with white fog and gave off the only light in this room - which was dim at best.

 

Robin turned his interest to Starfire and quickly noticed that she was also staring directly at the strange orb and it's base; however he knew from the way she was shaking with anticipation that she knew what it was and how to use it - and she was going to use it. Robin saw it all happen before it happened; which was good because it helped him prepare.

 

A fraction of a second later Starfire had run forward to the orb; she did control her voice this time and not let out the usual scream of excitement, however it hadn't mattered. The quick movement had been enough to stir up a shoe-worm from the shadows, and that worm had wasted no time in jumping towards the healthy helping of Tamaranian Princess that it could now have for dinner. Robin, still grateful he knew this was coming, had already leapt forward himself and in another display of his timing and precision with bird-a-rangs, the shoe-worm fell on the ground headless right at Starfire's feet and it had all been done without a sound.

 

Until Starfire noticed the ten-foot pink snake that was now lying headless across her feet. Then she screamed in the loudest voice she could muster. Robin, who was aware that most of the ship was trying to sleep, dove into action and slapped his hand over her face.

 

And it was irony that won this time. Because at that moment the swirling white clouds that had been floating on the surface of the glassy blue orb began to swirl and disperse. And a moment later two things had changed. One, the room was now lit up with the light that was anything but dim; and two the surface of the sphere now showed a woman's face.

 

A woman who wore clothing that, while whiter and fancier, was obviously a fancier version of the tradition Tamaranian garb; that, combined with the long red hair, deep green eyes, and immediate loud scream was enough to tell Robin he'd just seen Queen Luand'r of Tamaran; and she'd just seen him slap his hand over his daughter's face.

And then she'd turned around and dashed off, screaming for her husband King Myand'r. Robin sighed; what a first impression he'd just made. He sighed in defeat and let go of Starfire's mouth, at which point she instant exclaimed; “Robin! The CommSphere works! That was my mother! Oh, she will get the wrong idea for sure; we must try to contact her before -”

However it was too late. A moment later there was a lot of company on both sides of the sphere. The sphere once again showed Queen Luand'r of Tamaran, this time joined by King Myand'r and Galfore. The queen looked worried, the King looked downright furious, and Galfore took one look at Robin and sighed as the misunderstanding became clear to him. On Robin's side of the sphere there were new arrivals too - everyone else on the ship, aside from Shady and any passengers they didn't know about.

 

And everybody was talking at once. Well, not everyone. Raven had quickly realized there was no immediate danger and after lowering her guard she moved off to one side and watched quietly; something that Batman did at pretty much the same time. Cyborg and Beast Boy however were shouting furiously wanting to know what happened; just as the King was. Starfire was speaking much too fast for anyone (save perhaps her mother, who seemed to be following along) to understand.

 

In the end Robin's choices were clear. “Hey! If everyone will just shut up for a minute I can explain all of this!”

 

“You had better explain who you are and why you were attacking my daughter! I swear the entire vengeance of Tamaran upon you if any harm comes to my beloved Koriand'r!” Myand'r shouted.

 

“Who the heck are those dudes? And what's with the glowing ball?” Beast Boy blurted out.

“Oh no! Father Robin was not attacking me, he was saving me from a shoe-worm!” Starfire exclaimed.

 

“SHOE-WORMS!? ON MY SHIP!? IMPOISSIBLE!” The King screamed. The Queen screamed too, and she dove behind the king - obvious she, like her daughter, disliked shoe-worms greatly.

 

“This is the young Robin you wish to attend the Trials with?” Queen Luand'r, suddenly unafraid, asked as she poked her face towards Robin.

 

“Perhaps.” Batman spoke in a voice that ceased all other chatter. He wasn't yelling, but he spoke firmly enough that no one misheard him. And even the King of Tamaran seemed to be quieted for a moment by the grave seriousness that floated so eloquently off the experienced tongue. “I can shed some light on all of the confusion. But first a proper introduction is in order, if I remember my gentlemen's manners. I am Bruce Wayne, and I'm honored by your presence your highnesses.” At this the Dark Knight bowed quickly and lowly and then shot a glance at Robin to tell him he was next.

 

Robin quickly followed suit by bowing himself and identifying himself. And after that things were calm and in control. Starfire was much too busy controlling her excitement to introduce herself but everyone knew her anyway, but didn't need too. Cyborg tried his best to copy Batman, which was much better than Beast Boy. When it turned to Raven she pulled it off quickly, quietly and flawlessly. Then those on the other side of the orb; first the King, Queen and finally Galfore. And that had settled that, and now they all seemed unsure as to who was suppose to speak further.

 

“Father.” It was Starfire who broke the silence. She was speaking in a tone of half nervousness and half excitement; which actually blended quite nicely for once. “Robin was not attacking me. He had just finished saving me from a shoe-worm, and when I saw the body fall across my feet I screamed and we thought everyone else onboard may be asleep so he was merely trying to calm me down and prevent them from waking up at the same time. Please, if you must be angry with someone, make it me. For it was my fault.”

 

“It wasn't your fault Starfire.” Robin said at once, no longer giving a damn what the King thought of him and instead heading over to Starfire and placing an arm around her shoulder. “You just . . . don't like shoe-worms. And I can't say I really blame you. But you've been incredibly brave about fighting them with me. If anyone's at fault it's me. We should have woken everyone else up before we started the hunt just like you said.”

 

Any anger Myand'r still had towards Robin had faded fast from his face. He had suddenly been reminded of an incident from his youth involving Luand'r, himself and a shoe-worm problem of their own. And it was then that he first saw what Starfire saw in Robin and realized why she'd chosen him for the Trails. And that was enough of that subject for a while.

“I am confused deeply on the subject of shoe-worms.” Galfore suddenly added, changing the subject and addressing the most important issue. “How did they end up aboard the ship? I was there myself and I assure you that they're was not a single infestation to be found when Shadarias was given control of the ship.”

“Well, Shady's a traitor.” Raven's sarcastic wit replied. “It's a long story, but we've got proof.”

 

The King shook his head. “Shadarias is indeed a traitor; I have suspected him for some time. However I never thought he would endanger my daughter, or act against the crown so openly. Why has he not been arrested yet?”

 

“If we arrest him now he'll never tell us who he's working for.” Robin explained quickly. “Whoever it is has enough influence over Shady to make him betray both Earth and Tamaran; and that means trouble anyway you look at it. But if we continue on with Shady's game a little while longer, there's a good chance we can find out who's really behind it; and then we'll take down Shady and his boss.”

 

“You're plan is a noble one, however it requires my daughter to be in very real danger.” King Myand'r.

 

“A danger I willingly face for those I love.” Starfire added quickly. Her father sighed, knowing he couldn't stop this.

 

“Very well. I shall leave this matter in your hands Master Robin. However if any harm befalls my daughter -”

“With all due respect, King Myand'r, if anything happens to Starfire there's no punishment you could give me that would be worse than the one I'd give myself.” Robin cut him off with haste and a dead serious tone to his voice.

 

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The skies were dark on Tamaran tonight, and the mood on the patio of the royal palace of was even darker. Not dark due to some tragedy or great sadness; merely from a bad feeling and a case of insomnia. Really too most this feeling was unnoticed and unknown. After all, who could be sad now? The announcements had been made. Soon the Princess Koriand'r, whom the people all held dear love and respect for, was to undergo the Trails of Old! They actual name was the Trials of Kor'sanche, named after the warrior hero who founded them to win the hand of his beloved; however it had been so long since anyone had attempted them the people of Tamaran knew them mostly as the “Trials of Old.”

They all knew of the Trials. So many stories of those who had attempted them over the years, some had passed and some had failed; and depending on who you asked you'd heard various reasons why. One thing was for sure though; it was exciting to know they would be seen again. Of course the real excitement was all of the debate over whether or not the Princess would succeed them; and if she did, did it mean she'd be staying on Tamaran this time? All there remembered, or had heard of, the events that had lead to Koriand'r's last return to Tamaran; and some actually had heard the slightly better kept secrets around her original departure. The bottom line was, the people of Tamaran knew very little about what was actually going on; and they liked to talk about it a lot.

 

However, Tamaran's king was not in the festive mood shared by most. There was no noisy gossip on the terrace of the palace, no festive cheer, no traded rumors; and that was why he was out here now; because he was brooding, and wanted to brood alone. It wasn't the Impending Trials, nor the fact that his daughter was apparently in love with someone the King knew very little of; these things did not bother him. If Starfire was willing to undergo the Trials for this young man, and he was willing to do the same for her; the King would not doubt their belief in love. And truly, he did not fear for Starfire's safety in the actual Trails. He knew the details of them, and he knew how dangerous they actually were; but he also knew his daughter.

 

No, the things bothering him were the things beyond his control. Like the shoe-worms he'd heard of on the ship; that was bothering him. And of Shadarias betrayal to the crown that, while not altogether shocking, was still troubling. Shadarias would never openly betray Tamaran unless he felt confident that someone would protect him. And if Shady had found someone who he felt was strong enough to protect him from a planet of super-powerful warriors, all of who had a fetish for violence and war; then the King feared this person could bring much pain to his planet. And besides; Shady was handy to have around - it really sucked that he'd probably have to be thrown in prison or executed for all of this.

 

Suddenly the King's brooding was broken by the sound of heavy footsteps. They were footsteps he knew well, for he'd heard them many times over many years. Galfore was approaching him; undoubtedly wearing a look of concern for the man he'd pledged his eternal service too. Galfore and the King went way back; how could they not? Before the King's daughters were born, Galfore had been a powerful warrior, an advisor, and a friend. And after the girls had come into his life Galfore had been there for them - and when someone is there for your children, it creates a bond between the two of you that nothing short of absolute betrayal can break.

 

“Highness, I do not believe I have seen you this troubled in many years.” Galfore's voice suddenly crashed through the waves of thought that had been sweeping through the King's mind.

 

“Mmm. Are my troubles so obvious?” The King replied without turning around; though he knew the answer.

 

“I apologize to say so, but they are. Both to my old eyes and to the Queen's.”

 

“Ah.” The King said, a small grin playing across his lips for a moment before vanishing away into the night. “So you have come on her request?”

 

“I have come on behalf of both of us, sire. Her Highness bids you come to bed and allow her to care for you; perhaps then you shall forget your worries for even a little while.” Galfore spoke softly.

 

“And do you believe my wife can cheer me up?” The King asked, not sure himself if the question was meant to be serious or sarcastic.

 

“I do not believe she can take your mind off of the Princess sire, no; but I believe you shall enjoy her attempts to do so.” Galfore's attempt at comedy was less than his best; but better than his worst.

 

“Hmm. Perhaps I shall retire to bed shortly; however now I cannot tear my eyes away from the sky. I . . . I fear that she is in danger, Galfore. I fear for my daughter's future.”

 

Galfore was at the King's side by now. He leaned forward and rested his massive arms against the banister beside the Ruler of the Planet. Both of them were big men; but Galfore was slightly bigger. However because the King was taller and thinner it gave the appearance that Galfore was even larger than in reality. “I do not. I know well that the Trails are dangerous, and I know that you must wonder if her future shall rest on Tamaran or on Earth; and you must be equally wondering of Master Robin and whether or not he is the right person for your beloved Koriand'r. And of course, after what we were told in the Commsphere, and what we were not told but could guess from Master Robin's eyes . . . The news of Shadarias, while not a shock, does not bode well.”

 

The King interrupted. “Shadarias! I should have smited him years ago! Bringing shoe-worms onto my ship, acting against me so openly, endangering my daughter! I shall have him torn to pieces!”

 

Galfore sighed. “Highness, with all due respect, yes Shadarias is a traitor. And he is not the only one close to you who has betrayed you. However just as it is hard to accept -” He stopped, feeling it unwise to mention Tamaran's other princess by name “the first betrayal, it is hard to accept this one. I would not worry however; even if Shadarias were bold enough to betray you so openly, which I feel he is not, Koriand'r is more than enough to defeat any scheme he could hatch between now and the time they arrive. And once he is here, I feel we should trust this Bruce Wayne of Earth; for I see a great warrior in his heart and I saw trust for him in Master Robin's eyes. Fear not, for my heart tells me all shall be resolved in the end.”

 

Galfore turned to go, and he was almost away when the King spoke one final time. “Indeed, all shall be resolved. But how many, and who, must die before that resolution comes?”

 

Galfore shook his head. “Must any die?”

 

The King turned around with a weak smile. “Old friend, we both know that rarely is there true need for someone to die; however often people believe they must; and when one thinks that their death must come, it usual does.”

 

Galfore sighed. “Reality is a cruel thing sire. However hope must not be lost. Koriand'r has always been . . . naive in matters such as these, so hope has come easy to her. However her hope has always given me the strength to find my own. Please keep that in mind, your majesty.”

 

Both the King and Galfore seemed to fall silent after this; apparently at a mutual understanding that words were no longer a necessity.

 

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Back aboard the ship, the group was still gathered in the CommSphere room. Thought in all honesty the day had gone by much quicker than they'd realized, and most of them were ready to retire to bed. Talking was a thing of the past and they all merely sat there; occasionally yawning, but mostly each deep in thought. Even Beast Boy seemed unable to make noise.

 

“I don't think it was Shady who let the shoe-worms on the ship.” Robin said at last, breaking the silence.

 

Everyone turned to him, and they all had questions. Of course, Robin was ahead of them and already supplying the correct, and very disturbing answers. “Starfire told me that shoe-worms are normally small. These were bred especially for the purpose of killing people, and probably trained too from the way I've seen them strike. Now if Shady trained them, I'm sure they wouldn't attack him - but I just can't see Shady as the type who'd have the time, patience or bravery to train a ship full of ten-foot killer snakes. And if Shady didn't train them and bring them, we need to find out who did, and what else they could have brought on board.”

 

No one seemed able to disagree. Raven did find something to say, though. Something so grim it would have taken either Raven or Batman to give it words; though everyone had already realized it. “And more important, we need to find out whether or not they're still on board.”

 

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Time had passed since her final creepy comment to the group, and the Titans had drifted apart to work on their own things, leaving Raven in the most ironic place of all. Not physically; there was nothing ironic about her sitting at the counter in the dining hall they'd all ate in that first night, staring down at the goblet in front of her. It was merely the fact that she was sitting in a dark room all alone - and she would have given anything for some company.

 

Raven, whose alone time on this trip was anything but up to her usual requirements, was now desperate for company. The reasons weren't important; merely the ironic fact itself. She would have been happy to have almost anyone in the world walk through that door. Robin, Starfire, even -

 

“Oh, sorry Rae, didn't see you there.” Beast Boy's voice broke her concentration just as his name was about to cross her mind; which only proved how hard the ironic factor of life was working tonight. She could heard Beast Boy backing towards the door and decided to speak up.

 

“Actually I'm in the mood for company.”

 

She tried not to imagine how his face looked after this announcement. Instead she continued to stare at the reflected of her own as it rippled across the glassy surface of the goblet set before her; still full and untouched. From the sounds of his feet cautiously approaching her, and finally the sound of a second barstool being scooted over she knew Beast Boy was now at her side.

 

“Are you sure? I mean, you're acting kinda weird. I mean, weird for you. I mean, not that you're weird, but you're not being normal so -”

 

“Incase you didn't notice, we've all been a little out-of-the-normal lately; and we haven't even landed on Tamaran yet.” Raven said with a small, sarcastic grin.

 

“Yeah, I know what you mean.” Beast Boy replied, very relieved she wasn't mad at him and deciding he'd better just snicker and move on; which he did. “Say, how long are we going to be on Tamaran before Robin and Starfire do these trials anyway?”

 

Raven allowed her eyes to wander around the cup for a minute while she tried to remember if anyone had mentioned that. Finally she shook her head. “I'm not sure. I've had a lot on my mind and really can't remember if Shady said or not; not that I'd trust a word he says anyway.”

 

Beast Boy shook his head. “I can't blame you there. That Shady is trouble; I wish I'd known though, I could have helped you guys check him out.”

 

Raven's eyes stayed on the cup, but one of the brows did a definite raise upward. “No offense but you would have just -”

“Been in the way.” Beast Boy finished for her. “Yeah, yeah, I know I would have; but honestly Raven, you gotta admit, I'm can be helpful sometimes.”

 

Suddenly something stirred in Raven, and for a moment Beast Boy was afraid he'd become too irritating for her. However he quickly realized that wasn't the case. She had finally adverted her face away from the goblet and was now staring directly at him; her eyes were tired but they were filled with a lot of emotions; annoyance not being one of them.

 

“You're being more helpful than you know right now.”

 

Beast Boy blinked. First once, then a second time; and then he asked her the obvious question. “I am?”

 

Raven nodded. “You're distracting me from . . . what I was thinking about.” It was clear the distraction had ended, because Raven now turned her eyes back to the Goblet and closed them; but this time Beast Boy wasn't going to let that happen and he quickly, and rather boldly considering he was dealing with Raven, grabbed her by the chin and forced her to look at him again.

 

“Then keep thinking about me. If you don't like thinking about it, why do you?”

 

Raven looked up at him and began to do something she couldn't explain, even if she'd tried too. Her eyes were wide and she was being completely honest with him; something that was both shocking and scaring her on some levels and, in some way, comforting her on another. “Because I can't stop. He won't let me stop.”

 

Beast Boy, in the automatic response that only Beast Boy could have given, replied; “Who? You're dad? I mean, stupid question, I shouldn't have, I'm sorry -”

 

Raven however merely shook her head. She wasn't sure which of them this gesture surprised more, and she didn't care either. “Don't worry about it. I'm already thinking about Trigon the Terrible, not mentioning him won't make him go away.”

 

And that is when it happened. That was the moment in time when Beast Boy did something that undoubtedly changed many lives forever. After using his lip as a chew toy for a moment, he stood up and looked Raven directly in the eyes and spoke in the most serious voice he could muster. “No, but I will. Let me in there Raven, I'll show him a thing or two.”

 

However Beast Boy's most serious was nothing compared to Raven's; which was exactly what she'd become the second he finished that statement. “Don't joke about that. It's not funny.”

 

“I'm not joking Raven.” Beast Boy replied, the unwavering earnestness still burning in his voice; and actually becoming stronger. “I know he's a demon, and I know he could kill me and stuff; but if I can't force him to do it with my muscles I'll just annoy him until he gives in. The point is I'll make him stop.”

 

“The point is he'd peel the flesh off your bones; before he kills you.” Raven responded; and while it sounded that way, she wasn't being sarcastic.

Beast Boy shook his head once more, though, and then he looked up at her with a new emotion in his eyes. Raven had seen Beast Boy look at her like that before, though never when he was being this solemn.

 

“So? I'd be dying for you.” He finally said.

 

“I'm not worth dying for.” She responded instantly.

 

This time it was Beast Boy who lacked any hesitation in a response. “Yes you are. Raven, I'm the biggest slacker in the world, the goofiest guy you could ever hope to meet; but I am serious about my friends and I'd die for any of you guys without thinking twice.”

 

Raven became very quiet at this. And her eyes took a sudden interest in her lap, rather than his face. Finally, in a soft, shy voice she spoke once again. “Are you sure about that? Because you can't say that; not to me, not unless you're completely doubt free.”

 

Beast Boy however was doubt free. He didn't wait for her to return her gaze to him to respond, instead he said instantly in a soft, but unmistakably sober voice; “The fact that it's you I'm saying it to is what makes me so sure.”

 

And then Raven realized what was about to happen. There was time in this revelation for her to stop herself from doing it, of course; but instead she decided to warn him about it. “This is going to be awkward.”

And that was that. Her lips were pressed firmly against his, he was freaking out, as she'd known he would. That was the problem with split-second first-kisses; they always tended to be unexpected. Not that the kiss lasted long enough for him to freak out too much; she pulled away, replacing the hold her lips had just had on his with a long finger and a shushing sound. “Shhh. I know. Don't speak.”

 

Technically Beast Boy obeyed her, because the incoherent dribble coming out of his mouth could not be considered speaking by anyone outside of a loony bin. However he knew what she had meant; and he'd disobeyed. Not only did words come out of his mouth, but also they were loud, jumbled and confusing. “Dude, we just, you just, and we, and kissing, and you had your, and my lips, and we - ” At this point Beast Boy's mouth became encased in an band of black light that worked much like elastic - as it had several times before in recent days.

 

Beast Boy grabbed the rubber band like energy field on his mouth and began frantically trying to pull it off. As he did Raven leaned in tiredly and spoke to him. “Let's just agree to talk about this in the morning.” There was a small note of amusement in her voice, mixed with an unmistakable mixture of tiredness and confusion.

 

And then Raven started towards the door. Beast Boy let his arms drop to his sides as he fumed in anger and followed her with his eyes. Until he noticed something move in the shadows. Beast Boy watched in horror for a moment as that something was revealed to be a shoe-worm, and it began doing exactly what shoe-worms do best.

 

And Beast Boy did what he did best; became loud again. He grabbed the band of energy and began pulling, twisting and prodding it every way he could to try to break it. At the same time he was screaming as loud as he could; which made nothing more than a slight muffled sound; but it was enough.

Raven stopped walking. This time there was no amusement in her voice as she spoke, without turning around. The tired tone was still there, but the rest had been replaced with her most dangerous emotion - anger. “Seriously Beast Boy, I need some thinking time on all of this. We'll talk about this tomorrow.”

 

Beast Boy stopped struggling with the band and concentrated all of his strength into one last scream. And this time it was loud enough, after the muffle, to cause Raven to turn around. This was also the exact moment that the shoe-worm had reared back and launched itself towards Raven like a giant pink bullet. Raven's eyes flash with black light and the shoe-worm was stopped in mid air - it's long fangs only centimeters from Raven's face.

“Whoa.” This was all the demi-demon could manage to say. Beast Boy sighed through his nose in relief; and then fell backwards off his barstool. As for the shoe-worm; it was still suspended in mid air.

 

Raven quickly came to her senses, though. She narrowed her eyes and the ten-foot pink nightmare was crushed into a tiny splotch of color no bigger than a bag of tea. Then she made her way to Beast Boy's side in all haste and released him from his own magical mend in a less violent way. Beast Boy looked up at her from the ground, honestly looking almost as bad as the snake. Raven extended a hand to him.

 

“On second thought, leaving you here alone might not be a good idea. Walk me to my room?”

 

Beast Boy didn't say a word; he merely took her hand and pulled himself back to his feet. And they made it out of the kitchen, down the hallway, and all the way to Raven's bedroom door without another incident - although neither of them seemed to notice the fact that they were still holding hands.

 

“I am going in my room, and you're not coming with me, so how about letting me have my hand back now?” Raven commented finally as they reached the door.

 

“Umm Raven, I already let go.” Beast Boy whispered; and it was true. His hand was lax in her grip; which was tighter than it needed to be.

 

“Right. Well that's not awkward.” Her usual sarcasm couldn't spare even herself, and she quickly dropped his hand after that. “Goodnight Beast Boy. And just for the record, if the next words out of your mouth aren't `Goodnight Raven' I will hurt you.”

 

Beast Boy wasn't sure if she was kidding or not, although he was pretty sure it was the former. “Goodnight Rae.” He decided on, which seemed to be close enough because she disappeared through her door and closed it behind her.

 

Inside the room Raven had indeed plopped down on the bed. She sighed, knowing that she now had a hellova lot more to think about than she wanted to admit to herself - but on the plus side she was so tired that she doubted even Trigon could keep her awake tonight.

 

Outside the door Beast Boy listened for a moment until he heard the sounds of a door locking and someone plopping down on a bed, and then he backed up and leaned against the opposite wall.

“Oh yeah, I'm a total stud.” He laughed to himself before turning around and making his way to his own room.

 

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A/N: You know the weird thing; this chapter was original supposed to include at least two more scenes. However I feel it's long enough, and I also know I'm much too tired to type anymore tonight; so those scenes will have to wait for chapter five. And please review, if you have the time. They honestly do help inspire me to write more of the story; and plus they make me feel good. Physical Therapy tomorrow, so I doubt the next update will be then; but it is coming soon.

 

I leave you in peace; hopefully you took some enjoyment out of this chapter.
- Brandon Rice