Pain

It was tricky, seeing that both his hands were full of stuff, but he managed to type in the override code, open the door and step inside the murky penumbra of her room.

"Get. Out," a soft but no less angry hiss greeted him. He ignored it, just as he ignored the sharp stab of pain behind his eyes as he adjusted them for night vision. Both reactions were familiar and expected.

"Brought you some tea," he justified his intrusion. "And some Advil."

A few tense moments scurried away. "Fine," she grated. "Put them on the night table and leave."

He smirked inwardly. The lure of tea and pain relief was, as he'd hoped, enough to make her rethink her initial impulse to simply throw him out.

He walked over to the bed, his enhanced sight studying her carefully. She was laying down instead of sitting cross-legged. Her eyes were closed and her face was blank and composed, but he didn't miss the small, taut lines stretching from the corners of her eyes and her mouth.

"Bad one?" he asked quietly while he placed the steaming mug and the pills on the night table. The two words hung in the air for an unreasonably long time. She turned them over in her mind, knowing that her answer – or lack of one – would define the rest of the evening.

"Yes," she sighed finally, surprising both of them. He nodded.

"I also brought you a hot water bottle. Some dark chocolate, too."

Her eyes opened and she looked at him. The violet in them was deep in the gloom. "Thank you."

A small smile spread over his features. Feeling courageous, he sat on the edge of her bed. Her gaze followed him, dark and unreadable.

A warm and cozy silence fell between them. He fidgeted, unused to the quiet.

"Soooo…" he rubbed the back of his neck. "Demon periods are a bitch, huh?"

He bit his tongue but it was too late. His shoulders tensed waiting for her angry retort. Instead, one corner of her mouth quivered upwards.

"You're ruining the moment again, Gar."

He grinned sheepishly. "Sorry."

Her eyes rolled but the tiny smile remained on her face. Heat spread languidly over his chest; his goal had been achieved.

She pulled the covers off and reached for the hot water bottle. He couldn't help but glut his sight on the flash of the pale, silky skin of those beautiful legs of hers. The warmth in his chest crept downwards.

The blankets fell back hurriedly. He looked away, the crimson on his cheeks belying the disinterested tone of his voice as he spoke.

"You know, Rae, I've been thinking of something…"

"Well, that's not very common," her voice regained much of its usual coldness. He mentally slapped himself. Again the evening stood poised on the edge of a knife before a hesitant, shy softness crept back into her words. "What were you thinking about?"

His hand lifted to scratch the back of his head again. He'd have to do something about that stupid habit. He cleared his throat.

"When you heal someone… I mean, that blue light thingy you use?"

He could almost hear her walls spring up, tall and cold. "What about it?"

His eyes sought out hers. "You absorb the pain, don't you?"

Her gaze tried to hide by turning to the tea mug. Her hand closed around it and brought it to her lips. Her head tilted down as she sipped the hot brew.

"Rae?"

"What on Earth would make you think that?" there was a heavy hoarseness to her usual raspy tone.

Again his hand lifted towards the back of his head. He pulled it down with an effort and ordered it to lay limply in his lap. "I – I could see it," he stammered. "Just like now. Your mouth gets just a bit tenser and your eyes crinkle just this teensy weensy little bit."

Raven sipped her tea, the whiteness of the fingers grasping the mug visible even against her pale complexion. "You're imagining things."

"I'm not," he smiled reassuringly at her. "Don't worry, your secret is safe with me." His fingers touched her arm fleetingly in a gesture of comfort and support. It made the muscles ripple under her skin.

His hand retreated. "Anyway, that wasn't the question I had," his voice was calm and soothing. Raven's teeth clenched, hidden behind the mug. "What I wanted to know was if… if it works the other way around, too."

The mug was lowered on the night table somewhat forcefully. "Thanks for everything, Beast Boy," she tried to dismiss him. "Goodbye."

He didn't budge. "I could handle it," he stated with conviction. "Morphing myself hurts, Rae. I'm used to pain."

"Goodbye, Garfield!" she spoke softly through her teeth. Gar ignored it. "Rae, listen to me –"

"Get out!" she snarled, massaging her temples.

"No."

She looked at him in astonishment. It was then that she realized the man sitting on her bed was not the scrawny fourteen-year-old any more. His eyes were hard and unyielding, but also compassionate and… affectionate.

"Gar…" she barely managed to choke out.

"Do it," the hardness in his eyes spread to his voice. She swallowed.

"Gar, I can't… I don't want to hurt you –"

His voice softened. "You won't."

Slowly and haltingly her hands rose to his temples. A cold blue glow enveloped her fingers. Heated claws ripped into Garfield's groin and started tearing at his insides. His breath hissed sharply in and she jerked back.

He grabbed her wrists, not letting her retreat. "Hey, it's okay, it's okay," he repeated until she stopped trying to pull away. "I was… it surprised me, that's all. Is it really that bad?"

She nodded, her eyes running away from him. "Gar…"

He pulled her hands towards his head. "C'mon, let's get on with it."

Raven chewed on her lower lip before she gave in. She allowed the pain to flow slowly into Gar as blessed relief swept over her.

"That's right… you're doing fine," he encouraged her to go on with soft words. "Hurts like hell, but it's nothing I can't handle."

"That's enough," she managed to pull herself together. Her hands fell from his temples, brushing over his cheeks on their way down. Her intense gaze bored into his eyes, searching and wondering. The question fell out of her mouth without thinking, her body, her soul, her heart had to know.

"Why?"

He looked away. Her hand sought his and grasped it desperately. "Garfield, why?"

"Because I don't like seeing you in pain," he spoke to the wall. "Because I… because I care," he ended with a whisper.

Raven blinked in confusion. "Why?"

He turned to look at her, an angry flash in his eyes. "It would take far too long to tell you all the reasons," he said harshly and sprang up, heading for the door. "I'm glad I could make you feel better," he spoke over his shoulder.

"Garfield."

The quiet word stopped him in his tracks. He gazed longingly at the door, wishing with everything in him to run out and hide, but she'd chained him to the spot with two simple syllables.

"Yeah?" It was all he could allow himself to utter. Her answer came in an uncertain, timid request. "Could you… could you stay with me?"

He turned slowly and his fang poked out of an expanding grin.

"Sure."