"Will you please stop and talk to me, Rae?" demanded Beast Boy as he stalked closely behind Raven who was storming down the hall and leaving a trail of scathing marks on the steel walls. He impatiently waited for an answer or at least some form of acknowledgement from her. When it was clear that she wasn't planning on divulging anything, he pressed onwards. "Raven," Beast Boy said with an unusually austere tone, "I want answers. What is going on with you?"
Again, she made no inkling of a response. "You can't just blow up her party and walk away from it! Or from me!" Raven hadn't said a word to him in a week and for the life of him he couldn't figure out why. He was used to being ignored by Raven but only for short periods of time when he was presumably being annoying. He had been on his best behaviour all week – no crude jokes, no juvenile pranks, no talking when she was reading - but he was still getting the silent treatment. "All week long you've been off so I gave you your space and I didn't ask questions. But I'm asking now. I want to talk about this, and I want to talk about this right now."
Raven whipped around so quickly that he barely had enough time to stop himself from bulldozing right into her. "Nothing to talk about," she seethed through barred teeth. Her eyes were flickering back and forth between a glowering white and stormy purple. It was a terrifying sight. This should have been his cue to back down but Beast Boy wasn't going anywhere today.
Beast Boy boldly, or foolishly, held his ground and crossed his arms. "I beg to differ. You nearly opened two and a half cans of Trigon on her. What's going on?"
Raven's whole body began to emanate a black aura. The energy rolled off her body slowly and filled the empty space between them. It was cool, like dry ice, but left a prickly feeling on his sensitive skin. "Nothing!" she snapped.
"And that's a load of BS. Let's try this again, what's going on?"
Raven clenched her four glowing, red hot eyes shut. "Go. Away." She tried her best to draw her energy to her center and keep it under control.
"Sure," he agreed smugly. "Right after you tell me what's wrong."
Raven opened her eyes, managing to see through two purple ones again. "Stop being such an ass and get out of my way before you don't have a choice."
"Tell me what's wrong," he said stubbornly.
She knew how persistent he could be, whether he was injured or not. Raven exhaled an annoyed puff of air before conceding. "Fine. It was an accident. Nothing a little meditation can't fix. Are you happy now?"
"No, I'm really not. You know, everyone's pretty upset that the party just exploded like a giant piñata, but I'm more concerned about you. Something is bothering you and I want to know what it is."
Raven certainly did not want to talk and she definitely did not want to talk to him. Without warning, a black portal opened on the wall. Raven was halfway thorough when Beast Boy managed to grab her wrist and yank her out. Raven let out a gasp of startle at his speed and strength. "Raven," he said with more gentleness than before. "I hate that you're mad at me. Please tell me what's wrong. What did I do?"
Raven jerked her wrist out of his hold. "If you don't leave me alone I'm seriously going to hurt you."
It was an empty threat and Beast Boy knew it. "Go ahead." He plainly stood there challenging her to follow through.
Raven scowled at him. She hated that he had called her bluff. "Why are you so annoying?"
"Why are you mad at me?" he countered.
"I'm not," she said through barred teeth.
Raven was driving him bonkers. Getting her to talk about her feelings was like talking to a wall. "For the love of God, Raven, I've heard the Hulk use more words to express his feelings than you! You know a gazillion words – pick 5 and tell me how you feel! I don't care if it's not even in English! Just give me something."
"It wouldn't matter."
Beast Boy looked at her with disbelief. "What? Of course it matters!" How could she think that her feelings don't matter to him? Beast Boy took a tentative step closer to her. He felt his frustration dissipate. "Raven," he said softly. "It's only been one week but it feels like it's been lifetime. I miss late night hot chocolate on rooftop and early morning coffee and tea by the water. I miss talking about books and movies and books that were turned into movies. I miss cooking together when it's our turn to make dinner and winding up ordering takeout. And now you won't even talk to me! It scares me to think that I've ruined one of the few great things in my life. Please tell me what I did, because I miss you."
"Really?" she asked, sarcastically. "Because it looks like you've already found a replacement. Or was I just a replacement until she came back for you?"
"What?" his eyebrows shot up into his hairline. "You could never replace her!" Raven felt a sharp stab go through her chest. "Just like she could never replace you, or Cyborg could never replace Starfire. Everyone has a special part to play and there are no understudies."
"Then why did you run back to her like a lost puppy finding its master the minute she showed up?" she asked bitterly.
He should have been angry at her analogy but he let it slide. Beast Boy shrugged sheepishly. "I didn't think you'd care." He looked at the ground for a moment and muttered, "And being around you was starting to hurt a little."
"Excuse me?"
Beast Boy's features contorted into an aggravated glare. "Oh, come on. You know what I mean. Don't make me say it."
Raven put her hands on her hips. "I honestly don't know what you're talking about, Beast Boy."
Beast Boy let out a few mangled, incoherent sounds before he strung together a sentence. "Ugh! You knew I liked you and when you obviously didn't feel the same way I was upset! Being around you hurt, okay? I just needed some to time to heal."
"What? Why didn't you ever say anything?"
"Um, hello?" he haphazardly waved his hands around. "It's mortally embarrassing! I didn't need you to reject me twice. In fact, I should probably go before you can reject me for a third time."
Beast Boy started to turn away, but Raven grabbed his wrist. "How could I reject you if you never asked me anything?" she demanded, angrily.
"What?" he breathed.
"You never said anything to me."
"Because I didn't think I had to! You're a freaking empath. I figured you knew that I liked you and if you liked me then you would have said something. It was your turn to make a move. I waited and waited and eventually I got the message."
Raven was quiet for some time. She looked away but could feel Beast Boy's intense gaze trained on her. She could feel his frustration and confusion and it was making it difficult for her to think. Beast Boy exhaled a breath of defeat and turned to leave. He'd taken three steps away from her when Raven blurted out, "You're right, Beast Boy."
He turned back to her and waited for her to continue. His eyes scanned her face, trying to read her stoic expression. He thought it was unfair that she had the privilege to read every last emotion he felt while she gave him nothing. He wanted to say something, but couldn't find any words. Finally Raven said, "I don't know how to express… my feelings." Hot blush flooded her face and ears. "It's never been easy…But… maybe you could be patient with me while I learn how to." Raven's heart was pounding in her chest. "Beast Boy, I… I…"
In that instant Beast Boy had his arms wrapped securely around her body. "It's okay, Rae. You don't have to say anything right now." A wave of relief washed over Raven and she let herself relax in his embrace. "We'll work on it together."
A/N: Thanks for reading :) Hope you enjoyed. I'd love to hear some feedback.
