In eleven years, this was the fourth time he had seen her cry. It killed him knowing he was the reason for the last two times. He took a tentative step forward, but she stepped back.

"How…" her voice was little more than a whisper. If it wasn't for his enhanced senses, he probably wouldn't have heard her at all. Her face scrunched in anger. "How could you!" She shouted in a shrill voice. "How dare you!" Another step forward, and another one back.

"Raven, listen to me."

"What could you possibly say to justify this?" Her hands were balled into tight fists and were shaking at her sides. "You lied to us! You had us spend that whole night thinking everything was fine!" He stepped forward, she stepped back. Her back was against the window now. "And I- I- God, I can't believe you!" Her hands were against her eyes in a desperate attempt to stop the tears from falling.

He crossed the room, stepping over the bag in the middle of the floor. Reaching a hand out to touch her shoulder, he wasn't too surprised when it was painfully swatted away.

"No! Don't you dare touch me! You absolute ass!"

"Raven, you don't understand."

"You're walking out on us! All because of a temper tantrum. Sneaking off in the night?" She sniffed and wiped her eyes dry. "What else is there to understand?"

"I can't forgive myself for what I did to you, Raven! It wasn't fair."

"But I-"

"I know you forgive me, Raven. But that doesn't make me feel better about what I did or how I acted. You can tell me you forgive me a hundred times, but it's not going to change it!"

"What's… going on in here…" Beast Boy spun around quickly to see his leader standing in the doorway. He flipped the light switch on, illuminating the bare room. His eyes widened with shock. The shock quickly turned to anger. "You're leaving?"

No, no, no!

"Leaving? No, he isn't leaving. He's running away. Like a scalded dog!" Raven shouted. "Absolutely unreal."

Beast boy took a deep breath to recollect himself.

"I'm sorry, Dick. Like I told Cy-" His eyes widened. He'd said too much.

"Woah. Slow down. Victor knew about this?" Nightwing asked furiously.

"Yes, but-"

"And he didn't say anything?" He was shouting.

"Only because I asked him not to… Look, let's just calm down."

"How do you expect us to be calm after finding out you were going to abandon us?" Raven retorted. "Do you really think that this would go over better than telling us?"

"Yes I did! Because I wasn't supposed to get caught!"

"You're right." Nightwing leaned against the doorway with a deep glare set in. "That is much better. Having the whole team just wake up and find your room empty? Searching the whole city thinking maybe you'd been abducted?"

"I was actually supposed to be gone already." He knew his argument was falling apart, but he was stubbornly trying to convince himself this was the best course of action. "I was supposed to leave three days ago. But I ended up in the med bay."

"Thankfully."

"Look, I'm no good to the team like this. Tonight? That was all just a circus. I wanted to give you guys one last night. And make everything seem normal." He put his hands in his pockets. "I just wanted to make you guys happy."

Raven was able to sympathize with this. After all, she'd done the same thing. Granted, the stakes were much higher for her than they were for him. This was a very different situation. The end of the world is far more serious than young adult drama.

"That would make things worse!" Nightwing shouted. "After nearly a month of everything being upside down, you wanted to trick us into believing it was all finally settling back into place, just to pull the rug out from under us?"

"I didn't want to do it to make things more difficult for you! I needed to make it easier for me!" Beast Boy was shouting. "This is one of the hardest things I've ever had to do in my life! You think this is just something I'll be able to sweep under the rug? I didn't like the idea of sneaking out, but I knew if I said goodbye, I wouldn't be able to leave…" he trailed off.

"Well that's a relief." Nightwing responded. "Because goodbye would be too good a word."

"So, I'll just say 'fare thee well' My lord." To accentuate the point, Beast Boy bowed mockingly. It was answered with a glare.

"Garfield…" her voice was quiet, but it startled him. He was so caught up in his back and forth with Nightwing, he had forgotten she was there. He let out a sigh and turned to face her. But he wished he hadn't.

Her eyes were big, and had the distinct look of begging to them. It wasn't a look he had ever seen on her, and it made his heart ache. She reached out and grabbed his arm.

"Gar, I don't want you to go. Please…"

"Raven… I wish that there was something you could do or say to make me change my mind and stay." He grabbed her hand from jis arm and held it for a moment, before letting it go. "But there isn't."

" But… you're my best friend…" he tried holding her gaze, but he couldn't. He had to turn away.

"Will you at least stay until tomorrow?" Nightwing asked, rejoining the conversation. "Starfire is the only one who doesn't know you're leaving. At this point, it wouldn't be fair to her to have to hear it second hand." Beast Boy let a slow breath out of his nose. He really didn't want to wait any longer than he had to.

"Fine." He moved to his bunk bed and sat on the bottom bunk, running a hand through his shaggy hair. "Yeah, fine." Nightwing nodded and left the room, the doors closing now that the sensor read the doorway was clear.

Raven stood in the same spot at the window. She stared blankly at the floor. Her body was numb.

"Look on the bright side." He was leaning over with his elbow on his knees. "At least I won't be bothering you anymore, right?" That didn't reassure her in the slightest. "It was just a joke. But then again, I've never had the best sense of comedic timing, huh, Rae?"

The use of that name caused her heart to flutter. She supposed that without Love hindering her feelings, this was how it was supposed to make her feel.

That's right!

You should probably say something.

There might still be time…

"You… never were a bother." Her voice was cautious. "I've always appreciated your attempts to make me feel more involved with the team. And with you. I'm sorry I never made it apparent." She looked up from the floor and faced him. "You've been an incredible friend to me throughout the years, and I'm not entirely sure I've reciprocated your attempts very well."

"Raven-"

"Please, allow me to finish." She moved to the bed and sat next to him. "My emotional detachment from your generosity wasn't out of spite. And as you learned on your trip into my mind, you are my friend. I'm sorry I'd ever made you feel otherwise."

"There were times where I was questioning why I was even bothering with you." His tone was the same as hers. He wanted to pick his words carefully and concisely. He wanted to let her know he cared, but not how much he truly felt. "But then there were days where I could literally smell how lonely you were. And I didn't want that for you. But it's just… gotten too hard to be around you.

"I worked so hard at getting you to even glance my way." A huff came from him. "It drives me nuts seeing you laugh and smile so easily with other people than me."

"That wasn't my intention."

"I know. You wouldn't do something like that on purpose." He ran his hands through his hair. "I'm glad you're out there, feeling all these new things. I just- I don't know." He leaned back, propping himself up with his hands. She let out a small smile.

"Do you remember the first time you went through one of my portals?" He chuckled.

"Yeah. It was like going into a freezer. Now, I hardly even notice it." He smiled, nostalgic for a moment. "Sometimes I miss the mask."

"It wasn't your worst look."

"But you said I should get rid of it!"

"Actually, all I said was that it would do nothing in securing your secret identity." She mimicked his position. "Not that you should get rid of it." They both shared a light laugh. But that cloud of sadness slowly made its way back.

"Are you… still mad at me?" He asked tentatively. She nodded.

"Of course I am. But that won't change anything. You've made it clear you aren't going to stay." He looked guilty.

"Yeah. Yeah, you're right." Taking a deep breath, he continued. "I guess i haven't always been the best friend to you, either."

"You've been the best friend I could have ever hoped to have." The two fell into a pin drop silence.

Do something!

Say something!

He has to stay!

She has to know!

"Rav-"

"Garf-"

They both gave a small, nervous laugh. He motioned for her to continue.

"Ladies first."

"Okay. I'm going to tell you something, but you have to promise me you won't get mad. Is that fair?"

"I can promise you I will try. Raven, what's going on?" She closed her eyes.

"I know you've been jealous that I have been trying my hand at having a dating life. And I'm aware that it was manifesting itself in a less than ideal way. I know that's not who you are as a person, and I suppose that's why it hurt so much to have you behave this way toward me." She paused, unsure if it was wise to say what she was about to.

"Victor told me what was going on." A blush came to her cheeks and she looked at him. His eyes were wide, and his ears were flat. They were turning a deep brown with the blush. "Please don't be upset with him."

"I can't promise that…" He leaned back up and put his head in his hands. "Oh my God. This is so embarrassing. When did he tell you?"

"He told me after we got you settled into the med bay. I thought this whole thing was a bout of jealousy that I was moving out into the dating world, but you were stuck on Terra." She shrugged. "I figured you had resented me for it."

"No! I would never… it had nothing to do with you. It was the animals. I swear it's not a cop-out or anything. Sometimes I didn't even realize what I was saying or doing. Like it was just an instinct."

"I figured as much. That's why it's been so easy for me to forgive you. I know you weren't yourself." He flopped backwards onto the bed.

"God, you must think I'm such an idiot."

"Not exactly." He looked up at her and tilted his head with a puzzled expression. It reminded her of a curious puppy. It was her turn to blush again. "It is quite flattering to be the focus of your affection, Garfield." He huffed.

"Flattering is a word people usually use for rejection…"

"Usually."

"I'm sorry if I made things awkward for you, Raven. I just… I don't know. I can't help it. I'm sorry."

"You have nothing to apologize for." She laid back as well, feeling somewhat careless. They'd had many late night talks over the years, so this wasn't an uncommon position to find themselves in. Sometimes it was his room, other times it was hers. Her eyes looked up at the top bunk.

"That's why I feel like I have to leave. I can't stay here knowing how badly I hurt you. Not while I feel this way about you. It's eating me alive."

No, reel him back in!

Perhaps we can use a less conventional approach to persuading him to stay.

Good idea!

"Although I will admit, I was shocked at first. I needed quite a bit of time to process the information." She folded her hands across her stomach. "Eventually I ended up needing to go into my mind and have something of a chat with my emoticlones."

"Oh boy… and what did they say?" He said, rolling onto his side.

"It was a fairly even split. Some were angry, some were more understanding. I even learned something new while there." His eyebrow raised.

"And that is?"

"Apparently, one of my emotions has the ability to pass off what it is feeling to another emotion, where it gets reinterpreted as that emotion initially feeling it."

"That's interesting."

"Indeed it is. And apparently it's been going on for quite some time." She rolled over to face him, propping her head up on her hand. A blush was on her cheeks. Beast Boy could feel his heart starting to beat faster. He was just now noticing their proximity. The way her hair fell slightly over her face, the redness of her cheeks. It was more than he could handle, so he looked away. With a clearing of his throat, he went onto his back again, and continued.

"So, uh, what emotion was in there crossing wires?"

"It's actually quite an interesting concept, really. Whenever she was feeling something in a positive light, she would send it to Rage to be misinterpreted as annoyance and anger. It would happen fairly often. So much so, that it became a second nature. Daily, for the most part. She was intent on remaining hidden out of the worry of being suppressed."

"That must be why you always seem so irritated with my jokes. Because something else already has you on edge."

"Well, no. Not exactly. It was actually your jokes and your persistent nature that spurred these feelings to happen in the first place." She brushed the hair from her face. "It's quite interesting. And rather odd."

"No foolin'." He scratched at his chin, still getting used to the hair that was there. "So, if it wasn't Rage being all pissy that had you snapping at me all these years, who was it?" She smirked. Here was her final free throw at the buzzer.

"If I tell you, you have to promise me something."

"Of course. Anything." Beast Boy was over the moon about the time they were spending together. It felt like old times. He was starting to feel like himself again.

"You have to promise to stay." She heard him huff in response. He sat up from the bed, and she quickly followed.

Great, now he's pulling away!

We may be able to salvage this.

"Raven, I don't know." He was hunched over. "I just don't know."

Good! He doesn't know! He's considering it!

Get him sentimental.

Manipulation? That's dirty… I'm in!

"Garfield, who saved me from Adonis? Fought tooth and nail to make sure I was safe, even from our friends?" He sighed.

"I did, Raven." He spoke softly.

"Exactly. And you were able to overcome the Beast inside of you. You became a man that day." He scoffed.

"Yeah, some man I am." He put his feet on the edge of the bed and crossed his arms over his now raised knees.

"Some man you are, indeed. Gar, if it wasn't for you, the world would be taken over by the Brotherhood of Evil."

"Raven, accomplishments don't make you a man. Actions do." He brought his chin down onto his crossed arms. Raven raised an eyebrow.

"Wise words."

"My father used to say that. He was very humble for a scientist."

"How about this, then. Remember when we worked with the Doom Patrol? When I watched you stand up to Mento, I couldn't have been prouder." Thinking back to the memory now, uninhibited, the thought made her blush.

Not to mention how attractive it was!

"Raven, I love trips down memory lane, but where are you going with this?"

"My point is, I know the kind of man you are. And this mistake doesn't change that. You were out of line, but we all step out of line sometimes."

"I suppose so."

"Remember when we were in Tokyo? I gave you quite the smack in the head there. And I've felt bad about it since." This got a laugh out of him.

"Really? Raven, I completely forgot about that until now!" He was laughing again.

"Garfield, I don't want you to leave. Shouldn't that play some part in this?" He stood up and turned to face her.

"I don't get how you can forgive me so easily." She stood up as well.

"Because I know you would never intentionally do anything to hurt me." There was a genuine look in her eyes. And he knew she was telling the truth. The way she was looking at him had his heart pounding in his chest.

"So," his voice cracked slightly, "so who was messing with your emotions?" His voice was nervous, and she couldn't help but find it sweet. She took a step closer.

"If I tell you, will you stay?"

"Raven-"

"If I tell you, will you stay?" Another small step. He huffed. He felt like he was going to explode. He was nervous, and he was irritated with her insistence. The look in her eyes was making him feel like he was in trouble.

Turn the dial up!

She grabbed his hand in both of hers. His eyes widened with shock, his gaze darting from their hands to her eyes.

No… she doesn't…

His heart was beating, his ears pounding in rhythm. She closed the distance between them and put a hand on his chest.

"Garfield, if I tell you, will you stay?" Her voice was a whisper. As he looked down at her, his mind was blank.

This has to be a dream!

"Uh…"

She smiled. Getting up onto the tips of her toes, she placed a small kiss on his lips.

A feeling of electricity shot through his body. His ears pricked up like a deer on high alert. When she pulled away, she gave a small chuckle. His appearance was somewhat comical. It didn't take long for him to regain control of his thoughts, and when he did, he gave her a look of disbelief.

"Uh…"

"You said that already." She took a step back and crossed her arms. "Well?" A large smile spread across his face as his senses came about.

"I'll stay."