"Uuuugh," Beast Boy moaned, his face pressed into the couch. "I'm dying."
"You have a cold," Raven said flatly, eyes still glued to the pages of her dusty old book.
"But I FEEL like I'm dying," the miserable changeling replied, looking just a little more green than normal. He grabbed another tissue from the near-empty box and blew his nose, making the most unattractive elephant noise Raven had ever heard. Tossing the snot-covered Kleenex on the mountainous pile he seemed to be collecting, he buried his face into the well-worn fabric of the couch.
"You could always sleep it off," Raven suggested, violet eyes skimming the text in front of her. "In your ROOM."
"You want me to sleep in THERE?!" he exclaimed, dissolving into coughs. "How am I supposed to get better in a room full of dirty clothes and empty pizza boxes?"
She glared at him flatly. "Maybe that's why you got sick in the first place."
He pouted, then sneezed into another tissue.
Raven winced away from him, setting her novel down and heading over to the kitchen. At least the rest of the Titans were gone today – Cyborg was checking in on the Titans East, and Robin and Starfire were on a "grand adventure," as Star called it, to the "mall of shopping." – but that meant she was stuck on BB Duty. Staying in the same room as him was hard enough, but getting him to take his medicine was another entirely. It had taken a full hour of coaxing, begging, and finally threatening, to get him to swallow the cherry-flavored cough syrup that he loathed, and he still wasn't any better. A low moan echoed from the couch, reflecting her inpatient's current state of agony. With a sigh, she began making tea – tea for two.
"Try it," she said, setting the cup down in front of him and holding her own. "Peppermint is good for colds."
"You want me to drink leafy water?" BB grumbled, gazing down at the cup with distaste.
The violet-haired empath glowered at him, taking a slow sip of her tea. "You don't want it, don't drink it. But now you don't get to complain about your throat being sore, because that's supposed to help."
He sighed, long and loud, but gave in, taking a reluctant drink. His miserable expression morphed to one of surprise. "It's … sweet," he remarked, staring down into it like it was going to bite him.
"I put honey in it," she replied curtly, sitting back against the couch
"Rae?" he murmured.
She said nothing, but glanced to his limp form.
"My room's actually clean."
She snorted, setting down her tea to pick up her book.
He yawned. "I just didn't wanna be all alone."
Beast Boy's words seemed to resonate in her, and she paused in the middle of a page turn. "You … what?"
"Perfect time," the changeling mumbled, sleep interrupting his thoughts, "to be with … you."
Raven flushed, not expecting to hear him utter the words. "Go to sleep, idiot," she muttered, keeping her nose in her book to hide her face. And he did, a soft, lazy smile on his face.
