For the next week, they were at a stalemate.
A stalemate, according to Raven's knowledge of the matter, wasn't simply a draw. It did not mean all possible moves were exhausted, or that both players had played with equal skill. No: a stalemate happened when, whichever way he or she moved the remaining pieces, said player would lose. If the choice was to move none of the pieces, the players would remain at a draw, but any move meant choosing to lose. Voluntary defeat.
It wasn't that Beast Boy had played her into a corner. His angst had diminished, his sadness receded for long periods of the day, and his behavior was increasingly the recognizable effervescence of energy that was uniquely his. He'd even managed to catch a rerun of the 1990 miniseries rendition of It for a couple of days' worth of movie nights, and it had felt so much like their lives had been before the Brotherhood, before Trigon and before even Slade, that the content flowing in from all sides had loosened Raven into flicking some popcorn into Beast Boy's hair as Cyborg taunted him about dandruff, with Robin looking on with a smile and Starfire remarking on how odd it was to call dead skin cells 'Dan's Ruff' . He'd laughed and pretended to stuff a handful of popcorn into her hood.
But while he was familiar in the midst of people, Beast Boy slowly regressed when he was alone. His nighttime wandering continued. In the dark, he'd go back out to his rock by the sea, and the sadness would return in full force. The others would notice if it continued into the long term, but for the length of that week, only Raven noticed.
Joining him out on the rocks would have been her first instinct, joining him in his silence, but when she had tried exactly that the day after her faux-pass, Beast Boy's muted sorrow had blossomed into such a daunting display of confusion, anxiety and even fear at the mere sound of her boots that she'd stopped dead in her tracks. She hadn't even tried to conceal the fact that she'd been on her way to see him, simply phasing through the floor to her own room again.
Nobody could say they were avoiding each other, but this was a definite change in their dynamic. When Raven became too reclusive, Beast Boy broke her out. When Beast Boy angsted, Raven would find her way to him. When it came to their push-and-pull, checks-and-balances relationship, this was avoidance, of a kind.
But there was no such thing as permanent estrangement when one was a part of a crimefighting team. Red lights and wailing sirens rang throughout Titans Tower on the Saturday afternoon a week into their unaknowledged impasse.
Four Titans ran in to find Robin at one of the computers in the common room, getting satellite lock on their target "I know it's been a slow few weeks, but we knew it couldn't last. We've got Adonis causing a ruckus in the parking lot of the mall."
Raven hated fighting Adonis.
It wasn't that there were any villains she particularly liked. As Raven, she liked peace and quiet, and as a heroine, she preferred it when any threats to civilian life were neutralized. But there were a few opponents she couldn't help but have more specific sentiments about.
Back in the day, she'd almost enjoyed fighting the HIVE, Jinx and her being fairly evenly matched for strength and abilities. Kyd Wykkyd was sly and Billy Numerous required a vast energetic exertion, so fighting them was always educational in strategic terms. Dr. Light made her feel like a monster, even though only she was able to sense his unease at her these days, and Mumbo's wanton use of magic offended her.
Adonis, on the other hand-
"Hey pretty girl, missed me while I was away?" His new neon green battlesuit came with some sort of powerful magnetic pulse ray that effectively batted both Cyborg and Starfire away like flies, and he strode towards her smiling winsomely.
Let's see how pretty I look in another minute. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos".
Adonis had become idiotically convinced that their brief encounters while he disturbed the peace of Jump City were some form of unresolved romantic tension between him and her, of all people. Too smalltime for a bail his millionaire guardian couldn't pay, too annoying to let ordinary law enforcement have at him on their own, Adonis was her very own Thing that would Not Leave.
She ground her teeth as two lampposts became pliant under her powers and tightened them around the battlesuit carefully. The neural interface between Adonis and his high tech metallic crawdad was tricky: while it made him more vulnerable, it also meant the suit had to be destroyed in a certain way, or risk seriously injuring its occupant. The line between incapacitating him and killing him was thin and often meant the fight would drag on while said line was figured out (an endlessly annoying, frustrating, utter waste of a while).
The posts creaked ominously and Raven knew she had used too little pressure. Adonis broke out of the cluster she was attempting to form around him and used the momentary distraction caused by the flying debris to pounce, pressing his hands around her arms so that she'd have to risk hurting them both to use her powers. "Aww, your lips look so lonely. Would they like to meet mine?"
Why couldn't unobtrusive, practically mute Kyd Wykkyd be the one crushing on her? "I figure you don't hear this much, but no." Adonis snickered like she'd said something outrageously witty, tightened his hold on her and puckered his lips. He hadn't moved another muscle before a hairy green arm was around his neck and an equally hairy hand face-palmed him. Raven felt the arms loosen a fraction, which was all she needed, slipped neatly from his grasp and let the green gorilla on his back pound at his circuitry. Two electrically charged birdarangs hit his chest not a full minute later, overcharging the suit into off mode, and that was thankfully that.
The gorilla morphed back into Beast Boy as it reached her side, smiling. "Y'know, once you figure out how to exploit that creepy obsession he has with you, this dude's no fun at all."
"Glad to be useful." She deadpanned in response. Post-case banter between them was familiar territory, and she almost reveled in it.
His suit ruined, the wiry young man was extracted from the heap, given basic medical care (which just meant seeing to a few small scratches and bruising) and read his Miranda rights for what had to be the millionth time. He'd be out too soon, but Raven could count on at least a month or two's breather. It was standard procedure from there: Robin would give statements, she and Star would do basic cleanup so the District didn't have to send in cranes and lifts, and Beast Boy and Cyborg covered the police force's backs in case their suspect tried to make a break for it, particularly since they would usually send a very small pickup team when Adonis was concerned.
Basic cleanup took no time at all, both of the Titans flanking the police car were fair game for conversation as far as Star was concerned, and the lot had fallen on Cyborg by simple chance. Joining them on the left would leave the other flank to Beast Boy alone, a tactical mistake, so Raven took right as well. She had to.
Beast Boy, who was fiddling with his wrists, had smiled at her in that exaggerated way he sometimes did to acknowledge her, and Raven acknowledged back with a nod. Familiar territory, indeed.
He continued to fiddle with his hands, and Raven noticed he'd wince every time he tried to bend the right hand at the wrist. "Your hand."
"Yeah, think I pulled something when I tried to force the cables out."
Raven said nothing, just summoned the healing magic and held her hand out for the injured limb, which had Beast Boy complying with a relieved sigh (of course he'd comply, why wouldn't he, whatever is wrong between us doesn't mean he thinks I'm a leper). She pressed her palm gently below his own, letting the flowing energy find the rent tendons and knit them back together.
And then, a snarl had everyone tensing in anticipation.
Adonis rarely gave them the time of day once he was being loaded up, though sometimes he'd find it in him to flirt with Raven one last time or tell whoever was still listening that they hadn't seen the last of him, but never had he attempted to continue fighting once his suit had been disposed of. This time, however, he was putting up the best struggle his wiry frame could, and his emotions, when probed, were a potent burst of rage with a streak of scalding possessiveness.
"Yo string bean, hands off my girl."
She'd navigated his atrocious pick-up lines only to have to endure an episode of petty jealousy, quite in line with Adonis' absurd machismo. Of course. Idly, Raven concluded that the universe had it out for her lately.
Beast Boy regarded him skeptically "Hate to break it this way, but a little bird told me she might just not be that into you. Get it? Birds?" She raised an eyebrow at him, because it was what she did in the face of his weak humor, but didn't take her eyes off Adonis too long.
"Hardy har, B." Raven glanced at Cyborg, who was smiling tensely, as was Starfire. He was holding his cannon at the ready where he'd held his wrists loose before, and Star's spine had shot ramrod straight. They were all weathered heroes, and knew that even a minute's unwatchfulness might turn an easy assignment into a tragedy, particularly when it came to deceitful sorts, enemies with unknown cards up their sleeves, and cretins.
The case in point stopped writhing, arms falling limp, but his frown didn't relax even as his escorts wisely cut regular procedures short and attempted to handcuff him. Raven noticed, now somewhat worried, that the cop holding the left arm was just barely stronger than Adonis was. They snapped one cuff on him and he complied quietly for all of two seconds before digging his heels rebelliously into the asphalt again. "And that means she's into you instead? Word around the locker rooms is girls don't dig ya unless they have an agenda."
Raven felt the tendon under her thumb tense as the hand balled into a fist. Belatedly, she realized she'd never let go of Beast Boy's wrist, even though she was too distracted to muster the healing energies. "You are being ungracious in your defeat, a trait typical to cowards." Starfire was not poised for attack, but her smile had been replaced by a stony glare.
If Adonis had a single sensible bone in his body, he'd have hustled it to the van and shut up, but of course, he didn't. In fact, he only seemed suddenly alight with glee as he realized what had pushed Beast Boy's buttons, the joy of an easy win making him plow forward happily into disaster. He hadn't managed to break loose, but suddenly Left Escort's hand slipped, the handcuff that had yet to be locked slid off, and Adonis lunged, as far as Right Escort's hold allowed, towards Beast Boy. "Right, you had like this huge crush on the blonde girl! The one who wrecked the city two summers ago! Or was it five…anyway, Le Blanc says she took you out for a walk the day that Slade guy hit the tower, to weaken defenses, and you thought it was a date." He snickered, and Raven thought she could hear the partially healed tendon slowly rend itself again from the tension. "Anyway, back off, would ya? You weren't good enough for Jailbait, you're not good enough for my girl-"
Too far, by half.
"Azarath Metrion Zinthos." Adonis' legs, arms and torso were encased in black, slipping from his escort's hold altogether, and Raven saw her own hand trace a figure in the air that had him squatting in an uncomfortable looking plié position. "And you are a sorry excuse for a villain too useless to be frozen under Paris, too dumb to take a hint and far too idiotic to date even the Brain's backup fluid container." Another tendril of black snaked across his lips and forced them shut. "Now play nice, and get in the car." With wide eyes, Adonis pirouetted ridiculously towards the waiting van. She made him walk in with his feet still en pointe, too.
If anyone on the pickup squad thought she'd used force excessively, they didn't say it to her face. Left Escort radiated hilarity, though, so maybe she'd been right on point. She turned her back on the van door sliding shut on one slack-jawed face and towards the team again. Cyborg radiated a pleased surprise, a returning Robin was caught between bewilderment and mild disapproval, Star bombarded her with righteous fury and vindication, and Beast Boy alternated rapidly between grateful and shocked.
She sought out Beast Boy's eyes as she strode past him, hood flying up. "Adonis is always out of line. But that was excessive." She didn't break stride as they exchanged lingering glances, bound for the T Car. The others stood shell-shocked for another minute before following suit.
It was once more nighttime when the familiar emotional cloud strode down her hallway. This time, however, he stopped at her door. He didn't knock, simply standing before her closed door, a thread of contemplativeness coming up briefly amidst the mass of his other, distinctly darker emotions. He probably knew she was awake.
Raven figured he was preparing to knock. He didn't. She heard him shift, leaning his weight against the metal, searching for the invisible seam near the doorframe.
"Hey, Rae...thank you. For today."
Unexpectedly he pulsed, as if his feelings were flowing out to the tune of his beating heart, and an emotion that felt hot and stinging like shame but cold as fear and crushing as defeat came towards her like a frightened bat, one that had Raven shuffling for balance on her bed even as Beast Boy trudged away. It disturbed her with its unfamiliarity for a moment before she placed the coldness in it, remembering their very first encounter with Adonis.
Years ago, in the chemical lab, Beast Boy had felt like this. She recalled his anger. How he'd chafed under his mocking superiority. How he'd felt a singular high at pounding Adonis to the ground. How he'd nearly lost himself to terror once he'd realized how similar they were when he let himself succumb to the Beast, no better than his opponent.
Then, as now, it seemed Adonis had plucked the fiber of his being that wanted to be recognized as a man.
Safe behind the walls of her room and her bookcases and curtains, Raven could afford the luxury of letting her face fall. She was at a complete loss. She could understand his fear at the more primal side of himself and his fear at not being good enough as a person or a Titan; even his mourning over Terra was familiar since her own for Malchior. But the part of Beast Boy that reared its head every once in a while, the part that was male and yearned and wanted for things like more equal footing with Robin was as bewildering to Raven as Starfire's highly emotional culture could be. It was a part run through with those same insecurities, but like white light through a prism, it took on too many different colors for her to discern.
And Beast Boy knew it. All of them knew how attuned Raven was to their emotions, and none of them, least of all him, would have dared to come within seven leages of a fully rested Raven with sentiments burning this bright. Not unless they didn't know how to hide them from her (impossible, after spending his formative years under a man who could read minds), or wanted her help.
Or they no longer cared enough to hide.
She bent her head. The stalemate was broken, but nobody had won.