The zoo, what a wonderful place for a visit. Animals yowling, children crying, big annoying adults complaining, the place didn't seem like much to the other titans…
Which is mainly why Beast boy always went alone. Today wasn't too different from most, he wasn't alone, but he really didn't have company either. Today his visit consisted of visiting his friends in their cages.
Yes…his friends.
Contrary to the common belief, the green haired titan didn't mind that the animals were licked in cages. They were fed and taken care of in a way that couldn't be possible in the wild. In fact, he even found that most of the animals enjoyed it. He made it his duty to make sure they were well taken care of, but he never really had to say anything.
If the animals were content with their lifestyle, who was he to complain?
Beast boy made sure to visit often, and was a common sight to all of the regular workers. It had reached a point where he was even offered lunch along with the animals, as long as lunch consisted of non-meat products. He spent any time that he wasn't for some reason required to be at the tower here. The other titans never even noticed when he was missing. He planned his excursions all too well.
On this afternoon, the energetic changeling had already visited and checked up on most of the tamer animals, those that didn't mind his company.
"Oy," he commented, plopping down on one of the park benches, "I should probably take a break before visit the rhino…" He suddenly started giggling, and soon grew into a full-grown, gut splitting laugh. His hysterics had been triggered when he remembered the last weeks little trip, when the rhino had charged his rhino form.
He had changed almost immediately into the King of Beasts, the Tyrannosaurus Rex. The rhino had skidded to a stop, and one of the zoo attendants had had the luck to catch that incident on film. The rhino's temper was well known, and its ego had only grown after Beast boy left, but at the time, the attendants had actually welcomed its obvious confusion and fear, the rhino's weakness. They even gave Beast boy a copy of the picture.
He laughed as he pulled out the pic from his back pocket. He calmed himself, and took a good look.
Then he gasped and dropped the photo. In his haste to leave for the zoo that morning, he had grabbed the wrong one. His eyes teamed with salt water as the full brunt of the picture took into effect. The picture was one that he usually loved to look at. It was probably even the only picture like it in existence.
It was a picture of Raven's smile.
He gulped, and bent down to pick the photo back up. He studied it closely, committing the entire thing to memory once again. He sighed as he placed it back into his pocket, the image still lingering in his memory.
This was the last time he had ever gotten Raven to smile. It was even the last time he had gotten her to acknowledge him at all. Lately she had been blowing him off to go find ways to hang with Robin. Beast boy almost hated the boy wonder for it, he was so jealous. Robin had everything Beast boy wanted.
He had fame, recognition, respect, a cool vehicle, multitudes of fan girls, and even had a loving stepfather, even if he tried to hide that. Beast boy knew more of Robin's past than the raven-haired wonder would ever guess. He knew that Robin's parents had been killed, and even that the legendary Batman had taken him in.
Beast boy had similar things happen to him, his parents were gone too. The only difference was that nobody wanted to adopt him. He had to live alone throughout most of his childhood. The only family he knew of was the titans. They meant the world to him. They meant so much to him, he felt all of their pains, and tried to help. He felt all of their accomplishments and was ready to celebrate. He had always wanted to make them as happy as they had made him.
He loved his family more than life itself. He had to give up on so many things to make them happy, but he never complained. He had even had to give up Terra, the one person that had loved him back, because she had turned on the others. He forgave her for turning on him, but until the others forgave her, the best he would allow himself to do would be to keep her grave beautiful. Her final resting place free of weeds and well stocked with flowers. The others thought he did it out of love, but no…
He did it to thank her for loving him. To thank her for giving him a chance and making him happy. He did it not because he loved her, but because she loved him.
Beast boy quietly wiped his eyes and got up from the bench. His trip to the zoo was over, he needed to be reassured of something. He needed to return to his family, to return to those he loved,
Even if they could never love him.