"Hey Rae, don't you think it's weird how Starfire learns languages?"
Raven turned around from making her tea and looked at him, eyebrow raised. "What makes you say that? She's an alien, Beast Boy, who are we to say what's weird and what isn't in her culture?"
Now Beast Boy looked sheepish as he moved from his spot at the window to face her. "Well...yeah, but I just mean, she kisses Robin right?"
Wary of where his thoughts were taking him, Raven nodded slowly. "Right, I'm not really following wha-"
"Exactly! She kissed him to learn English but now she just kisses him for the heck of it! Do you think she can choose when to kiss someone for their language and when to kiss just because?"
Raven looked at him strangely and shook her head.
"First of all, I hardly think Starfire kisses Robin "for the heck of it" because they're a couple and it means something to them. Secondly, I doubt it's as complicated as choosing what to absorb. It's more likely that she can kiss someone once to learn their languages and then kiss them again if she desires, without learning anything new. Thirdly, and perhaps most importantly, why are you suddenly so curious about Starfire's kissing habits?"
Beast Boy noticed an unusual quality to her voice as she spoke her last point. For a second there she almost sounded...jealous? Nah, he must be imagining things.
He blushed slightly as her answered her question.
"Look I know what you're thinking! But it's not true. I'm not trying to break up her and Rob and I'm certainly not interested in her like that at all! I guess I was just kinda thinking about kissing in general and my thoughts led me there."
He didn't voice that his thoughts had first and foremost led to Raven herself when he started pondering kissing.
Raven felt the pressure in her chest dissipate at his honest answer. She was purely relieved. Her relief, of course, stemmed from the fact that he wasn't trying to break up her two good friends. Of course.
"Well...good I suppose."
"Yeah...I miss it sometimes, ya know?"
Raven was confused, what was he talking about?
"Er, miss what?"
"Kissing."
"Oh."
He sauntered over and joined her at the kitchen counter, taking the stool directly next to her.
Raven began to feel slightly nervous at his proximity, especially with where their conversation had deviated. She certainly didn't want to prolong the discussion but she was...curious.
"What do you miss about it?"
He stared at her while he gathered his thoughts. She thought he might have even been looking at her lips but she shook off the dangerous thought and waited for his response.
"I guess I just miss having someone that close. Being able to hold someone and to know that they're interested in you. The physical sensation is nice too, and right before the kiss, is the hope that there'll be sparks, even though there never were in my cases."
