The song for this chapter is I See You, Missio

Jokes were a defense. Hide the pain and they'll never know it's there. They won't worry. That was the mantra Beast Boy lived by. His friends had enough to deal with.

There was no reason to be sad right now. Everything was fine and dandy. They had just defeated a foe and he was a key part of the solution. Everyone was excited about that, but now that the celebration was over, Beast Boy found himself sitting in his room with a feeling of hollow emptiness inside his heart, his stomach, and his very being. A sadness that stayed and wouldn't disappear. He had proven his adequacy and being an integral part of the team time and time again, but he still felt somehow useless. Unimportant.

Sometimes he had to wish that his father hadn't injected him with the serum that temporarily turned him into a West African green monkey to fight off the Sakutia he had contracted as a child. Maybe then he wouldn't have turned green. Maybe that would mean people wouldn't be repulsed by him. Maybe then he wouldn't have to be here. Maybe then he wouldn't feel like this. The days that he felt like this were becoming increasingly more frequent.

Logically he knew he wasn't useless. He knew he was fine and great and life was fine and great, but internally he didn't feel it. Emotionally it was a turmoil that he couldn't share with anyone. He was expected to be the comic relief. The person they turned to when they needed a good laugh or to be around someone in a good mood. He wasn't supposed to feel hopeless and sad. He was supposed to be jovial and making jokes and making people feel better. So why was he laying here feeling so terrible? Why did it seem like he was such a failure that people just put up with? Why was he even here?

Robin had to lead the team and that in itself was stressful. Cyborg was partly made from metal and computer parts, meaning he had plenty on his mind keeping everything working. Starfire was an alien who was a prisoner of war that was now trying to live on Earth, so her time would be spent figuring out the normal stuff, she wouldn't want to be bothered by this new thing she didn't understand.

Raven was the only one who knew he felt like this at times, mostly because he couldn't hide emotions from her. He didn't really understand how her empathic abilities worked, but he did understand that it made it so she always knew what emotions he felt. It was kind of nice that she did, all things considered. It meant he didn't have to try and pretend to be happy around her, nor did he have to explain himself to her. She just already knew.

It meant there was someone there he could turn to that wouldn't judge him. Everyone knew that Raven went through a lot and had to take time to herself a lot to deal with it sometimes, that just meant she understood why he would do the same. She wouldn't judge him for feeling like this, and say that he should be just happy to be alive and doing what he was. She was his person. The only one who saw him for who he really was.

Normally she let him stay alone when he was just mildly sad after a discussion they had when she first confronted him for his emotions being so extreme, but days like this, days when it was really bad, she would come check on him. Something he was always grateful for.

As if on cue, the door slid open and Raven entered the room to see the green man face down on his bed. His head raised, to confirm it was who he thought it was, and then rested on its side as she made her way across and sat next to him on the bed.

No words were exchanged as his position shifted. His head rested on her lap and now he laid on his side so their gazes were both cast in the same direction at a blank screen, his legs pulled closer to his chest. One of her gray hands moved to let her nails lightly drag over his back in a way she knew he found relaxing and they just sat like that for a few minutes in silence. God, he loved it when she came in to visit him like this. She always had the strangest ability to make things seem more okay. More calm. Less empty and painful and more hopeful. Not what one would expect from Raven, the one person on the team considered heartless and cruel. Just her presence and knowing she was there helped him so much more than he usually expected it would. He knew she wasn't really one for hugs or physical contact, but she was always willing to hold him and be there for him.

"I'm sorry it's so bad today," he murmured, assuming the stronger his emotions were, the stronger she could feel them. Was that how it worked?

"Beast Boy have I ever told you how much I adore you?"

A slow shake of his head was given in reply. Raven didn't ever talk about that kind of stuff. Furthermore, he wasn't someone she would adore. Raven and him were so different. What would she possibly like about him? It was true they spent a lot of time together and she always seemed to enjoy his company, but it wasn't as if he was any sort of amazing person.

"You have such a gentle soul," she spoke in a quieter voice. Her tone was different. More sincere than normal. "That's rather rare to see nowadays. I know you put on that front so people don't worry about you, but it's okay to be sad. Even if you don't want to tell me why, I'll be here for you. Okay? We're in this together."

That seemed to be a breaking point as tears began to well up in his eyes. Sitting up, his arms wrapped around her and his face buried into her shoulder as he let himself cry. Raven only returned the embrace, placing a gentle kiss to the top of his head and then letting her lips remain there. There they sat, for what felt like a long time (but was really only about 10 minutes) until Beast Boy was able to finally raise his head.

Here he had just cried his eyes out, tear stains now soaked in the shoulder of Raven's leotard, but she didn't seem to care, just giving a slight smile to the green haired man. Leaning forward, she rested her forehead against his, letting her eyes close as their noses rubbed lightly together.

"I love you. You having a day where you emotionally feel like shit won't change that. I promise."

And just like that, he was already feeling better. Not amazing, but less sad. Less unsure of his place in the world. Life was confusing, but he didn't have to figure it all out alone. He didn't have to be alone. He was allowed to express what most would consider weakness without a hint of judgement from the half demon. Just her care and love.

"Rae, will you.. will you stay in here tonight? I don't -" he began, but was cut off by her immediate reply.

"Of course, I'll stay in here tonight, Beast Boy. I'll stay as long as you need me."

A/N: Slightly longer. I'm a little happier with this one than the last one. Not a lot, but a little. I know I had mentioned trying for an update every other Sunday, but now that fall semester has started, I don't see that happening between work and school and having so many deadlines for everything, so I'm just gonna shoot for approximately every other week and rid myself of that stress of having yet another deadline for things.

If you want to read a fantastic RobStar fic, hit up Supernova. Iris (get rid of the space between the "." and the "I" when searching her up, the site likes to omit her username if I put it altogether for some reason), she's got a bomb af fic going with the same song prompts, and much more interesting takes on them.