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A truly gorgeous Saturday afternoon such as this was meant to be spent outside. The early summer sun seemed to have kissed Jump City, leaving behind just the right amount of warmth behind. The Titans typically would've spent the day outside, at the beach or the park, enjoying the weather. They might've even walked around the pier, playing games and riding rides. Best Boy closed his eyes for a moment, letting himself pretend he was anywhere else but his current location. More importantly, Beast Boy let himself pretend he was wearing anything else but his current attire. He tugged on his collar, hoping for a moment of reprieve from this stupid suit. Nope, still being strangled.
The Titans had been required to spend their Saturday attending a wedding at the Jump City botanical gardens, some billionaire's daughter marrying some politician's son. Beast Boy didn't know, and didn't really care. They had been required to attend by Robin. During a recent fight with Cinderblock, The Titans had caused more damage to the city than their adversary had. Robin had been doing his best to improve public relations between them and city officials, so here they all were. Wasting a gorgeous Saturday in a goddamn tuxedo having mind-numbing conversations with rich weirdos. At least the wedding reception was outdoors.
It was a black tie event, so Beast Boy was wearing a tuxedo. There had been no weaseling his way out of it. He had begged Robin for permission to wear a suit to no avail. Suits were not ideal. Beast Boy found them stuffy and itchy, but tolerable. Tuxedos were the fucking worst. There were so many pieces. He hated all the little buttons and cufflinks and that stupid cummerbund. A tuxedo made him feel overheated and constricted, trapped under the (allegedly) breathable layers. Plus, he never seemed to be able to the ensemble together correctly. His suspenders were somehow never even. There wasn't a YouTube tutorial on this planet he hadn't tried to follow, but his bowtie always came out crooked. His pocket square ended up wrinkled in the wrong place despite him ironing it at least four times. He was fortunate that his teammates never let him leave the house looking a mess.
Robin and Cyborg had helped him in his younger years, before growing tired of the loaning Beast Boy another pair of cufflinks. Raven had been the one to help him fix up his appearance for formal events in more recent years. Beast Boy would seek her out, knocking at her door sheepishly. He liked to ask Raven for her opinion on his outfit, knowing full well that she would spring into action. Beast Boy admittedly liked when she took charge of him like that. Raven would place her hands lightly over the front of his suit jacket, using her powers to adjust the details of the suits. Beast Boy liked the feeling of her fingers lightly gliding over his chest, her magic smoothing over his mistakes. He enjoyed pretending to be hurt as mocked his fine motor skills and memory. The moments of closeness were the only goods part of wearing a suit.
Beast Boy returned to the present moment, resisting the urge to tug on his collar. He tried his best to tune back in to the conversation happening around him. At his team leader's insistence, he had spent the wedding reception being social: meeting people, shaking hands, asking folks about quarterly revenue or ROIs or stock value or whatever the fuck. So here he was, standing a circle talking with some rich business fucks. Beast Boy had to admit, he was pretty good at bullshitting his way through these conversations. These rich assholes always seemed charmed by him. He was lucky to have been raised by a great acting teacher. Shoutout Rita.
"Ah yes, so as I was saying, we are implementing a new system next quarter that's meat to drive up revenue 32%."
"How do you expect it will impact your stock prices?'
"Oh we are expecting at least a 15 point increase on the first day of launch."
"Do you think that will be accurate, Beast Boy?" one of these guys was speaking directly to him. Fuck. He had no clue what these guys were talking about.
"I think that the market will respond very favorably to your implementation." Beast Boy held his breath for a moment, waiting to see if these guys believed he knew what he was talking about. The man speaking to him smiled.
"I agree, the market will respond very favorably indeed."
"Very favorably."
"At least a 15 point increase."
"I appreciate your candor, Beast Boy!"
"Oh, I love talking...business. I don't get to do it often enough!" Beast Boy prayed his sarcasm was heavily masked in his tone. He looked around the garden, searching for an escape from this conversation: a familiar face, a veggie tray, an open seat...anything, really. And then he saw her. Raven. She was standing alone near a heavily decorated greenhouse, an untouched glass of champagne in her hand. Perfect. "Well, gentlemen, if you'll excuse me, I need to catch up with a friend of mine I've just seen. A pleasure talking with you all." Beast Boy shook hands as he B-lined it for his teammate.
As Beast Boy approached Raven, he could see how gorgeous she looked. She wore a long, off-the-shoulder floor length black gown that clung lovingly to her waist and hips. Her leg was visible through a slit in the dress that reached her mid thigh. Simple ballet flats covered her feet. Raven refused to wear heels. Beast Boy liked this form of resistance from her. At least someone on this team could get out of the full formal attire. If it couldn't be him, at least it was Raven. Beast Boy chuckled to himself, remembering how she'd resisted trying on the heels Starfire had purchased for her to try. Her stubbornness (when not inconveniencing him) was truly admirable.
More details of Raven's appearance became visible as Beast Boy got closer to her. He noticed that her nails were painted, the soft grey color standing out nicely against her fingertips. A gold bracelet dangled from her wrist, matching gold hoops hung from her ears. She was wearing makeup. Beast Boy chuckled to himself again. Raven may have won the battle against heels, but she lost the war against makeup. Starfire's artistry was present: Raven's eyes were delicately lined, her eyelashes darkened, her eyes and cheeks lightly dusted with color, her lips glossy. He preferred Raven without anything on her face, but he had to admit, Starfire knew how to use makeup to emphasize Raven's natural beauty. Beast Boy was certain that Raven was glowing. When he finally reached her, Beast Boy stood directly to Raven's right, leaning into Raven playfully for a moment. He stared directly ahead, pretending to observe the wedding reception as he spoke.
"How are you holding up?"
"Fine."
"It was a beautiful ceremony, don't you think?"
"I suppose."
"Not as beautiful as you."
"Beast Boy."
"You look beautiful." He turned to look at her this time, smiling as he spoke.
"Beast Boy!" Raven turned to face him before quickly looking around. "There are people around."
"Is it so wrong for a teammate to tell his teammate that she looks beautiful?" He raised his eyebrow playfully as he spoke. "Is that such a crime?"
"Not. Here." Raven hissed through gritted teeth, turning to look around herself this time. Her eyes lingered on the nearby greenhouse for a moment before walking towards the structure. Beast Boy hesitated for before following her like an enamored cartoon skunk (and what a joy it was to follow her. The view was...spectacular).
The greenhouse was gorgeous and lush. Sunlight filled the room, creating a soft glow that hung over the room. The scent of dew and pollen filled his nostrils. Leaves and vines in countless shades of green framed Raven as she walked deeper and deeper into the greenhouse. When she disappeared around a corner, Beast Boy felt himself walk a little faster to catch up with her.
As soon as he rounded the corner, Raven was on him. She kissed him deeply, grabbing the collar of his tuxedo jacket and pulling him close. Beast Boy was still before a moment, stunned by his girlfriend's boldness. They had been dating for a few months, and Raven still wasn't ready to go public with their relationship. So, for the most part, they kept their relationship behind closed doors. When they were in public or fighting crime, they kept their distance from each other. Only under the security of the Titans Tower or under the disguise of holo rings did the couple engage in displays of affection. But Raven usually kept those displays limited to hand holding and the occasional quick kiss. This was way more affection than Raven had ever shown him in public. It was...really nice to be kissed by his girlfriend like this. So he decided to enjoy it. He closed his eyes and sunk into the kiss, wrapping his arms around her waist. Bolts of lighting jumped from his fingertips to his brain when his hands met bare skin on her back. Beast Boy had forgotten how low the back of Raven's dress was. He instinctively deepened the kiss as he let his hand explore her exposed skin. Raven giggled into his mouth, releasing her hands from his collar and wrapping her arms around Beast Boy's neck as she continued to kiss him. Raven kissed him once more before pulling away.
"Hi." Raven spoke breathlessly, her cheeks a little more flushed than before. God, she looked stunning.
"Wow. Uh...hi, gorgeous." Beast Boy was surprised at how dopey and breathless he sounded. There was a particular way he spoke around Raven. It would have been embarrassing if she didn't seem to like him so much. "You really do look beautiful."
"Thank you. You look really handsome."
"Well, that's only because I had some really amazing help with my bowtie."
"And your pocket square."
"Aaaand my pocket square, aaand my suspenders, aaaaaaaaand finding my cufflinks." Beast Boy pulled Raven a little closer, kissing her lightly. "How could I survive these formal events without you?"
"You wouldn't." Raven smirked slightly, and Beast Boy's heart soared.
"You're right."
"I know." Raven's playful expression suddenly dropped, her eyes fixating on Beast Boy's lips. She frowned slightly, removing one of her arms from around Beast Boy's neck. "Ugh, I forgot I was wearing lipgloss." Raven began wiping some leftover lipgloss from Beast Boy's lips. "Sorry."
"I don't mind."
"Beast Boy."
"I like when you're like this. So bold and....ravenous." Beast Boy leaned in to kiss Raven again, but she quickly placed her hands on his chest. He stopped.
"Someone could...see us. And, I'm not...I'm...." Raven looked down to the ground as she spoke, looking for the words.
"It's okay, Rae." Beast Boy tried to meet her gaze, but she was still looking down. "It's okay. We take this at whatever pace you want. That was the deal."
"And...that's still...okay with you?" Raven finally made eye contact with her boyfriend. She looked too beautiful in this moment to look this sad. Her eyes were round with worry. He answered honestly.
"Yes." Beast Boy squeezed her lightly in his arms. He didn't want to overdo his affection in this moment. "I'm okay with this. I just want to be comfortable."
"Really?" Raven's eyes were still round, almost glassy with worry. A small piece of hair had fallen in front of her face.
"Really." Beast Boy slowly, carefully tucked the loose piece of hair behind her ear. He let his fingertips linger around her ear for a moment before moving his hand back to her waist. Raven smiled, and leaned in to Beast Boy slightly. He took the hint, kissing her deeply, before pulling her into his chest. Raven tucked her chin into his chest and wrapped her around him. Beast Boy felt her body relax as she exhaled. The couple stayed like this for a few minutes, regulating their nervous systems in each others' embrace, enjoying the privacy of the greenhouse. The wedding reception was almost forgotten, until the bright sound of a live jazz band began.
"Dance with me?" Beast Boy asked, hoping his charming smile could increase his chances. He shifted from their embrace, snaking his right arm around Raven's waist and taking her right hand in his left. "I'm a great dancer."
"Oh, you're a dancer now?" Raven raised her eyebrow slightly. Got her.
"Rita didn't raise no slob! Of course I know how to dance." Beast Boy twirled Raven in his arms before mock dipping her. "I've got mooooves."
"Moves?"
"Moves like you've never seen."
"Prove it." Raven's eyes sparkled, locked on his. Beast Boy couldn't help himself, leaning forward and planting a small kiss on the tip of her nose.
"Prepare to be dazzled."
Beast Boy was certain she was dazzled. They had lost track of time, dancing and swirling together in the privacy of the greenhouse. Beast Boy had shown off all of his dancing skills. He was able to be silly, exaggerating formality and stiffness while waltzing to make Raven laugh. He busted out a few swing dancing moves, enjoying the excuses to lift Raven off of the ground and spin her around. He pulled her close when the music turned slow, swaying and whispering loving words in her ear. They danced and enjoyed each others' company, until they were almost caught by a drunken couple, searching for a private place to hook up. Luckily for Raven, the couple was too intoxicated to notice that anyone else was around them. Beast Boy and Raven were able to slip out of the greenhouse and rejoin the rest of the wedding guests, their time together unnoticed. Beast Boy's heart ached a little, knowing their small moment together at this wedding was most certainly over.
One day, Raven would be brave enough. She would have the courage to face the public scrutiny of being in a public relationship with another superhero. The paparazzi and the tabloids and the blind items wouldn't scare her so much. Beast Boy wanted that day to come so, so badly. He wanted to be able to hug her, kiss her, hell, even hold her hand in public. He felt so proud that Raven was his girlfriend, that this incredible, amazing, gorgeous woman loved him. That kind of pride and devotion deserved to be shouted from the rooftops. But the idea of pushing her to be public with him before she was ready hadn't ever crossed his mind. One of Beast Boy's greatest strengths was his patience. He had waited for Raven before. And that wait was absolutely worth it. All he could do is stand by her side. Love her. Be there for her. He'd still be there when she was brave enough.