Chapter 12

Beast Boy instinctively went on guard, bracing his feet and hands in a protective stance. "Whoa! Wait a minute! I thought you wanted me to kiss Raven?"

Raven was heaving out an angry breath, and though it frightened Beast Boy, he wasn't about to show it. "You LIKED it!"

His eyes widened. "How did you know that?"

Through her already rising anger level, her annoyance shined through. "I could FEEL it!"

"Did you feel what I was thinking?"

Her abnormal breathing stopped as she considered his question, but her eyes were still red, her robe was still red, and her nails still looked unusually jagged. "No."

Beast Boy felt a wave of relief wash over him. He was blessed with an incredibly sharp wit, as many people knew. It came in handy in several situations; this being one of them. "Well then you wouldn't know that I was thinking of the whole time."

She looked kind of odd, her confused expression combined with the horrible appearance of her anger. "No," she said again.

He put all of his charm behind his smile. "I was thinking of how much I wanted to kiss you instead of her."

Instantly, her entire persona changed, and she was back to her old self. Her eyes were wide and bright, matching her smile. "Really?"

Beast Boy's smile spread a little too wide, but he was lying, and he always over-expressed when he was lying. "Of course!"

Looking ready to cry tears of joy, she threw her arms around him. "Oh, Beast Boy!"

As he returned her embrace, he let out a silent breath of relief. Yet again, his quick wit managed to save him! He took the triumphant grin off his face as Raven pulled out of his embrace. Her lips pursed obnoxiously in front of his face, and he reluctantly leaned forward again. 'I think Cyborg did a triple spin bonus on the last course…of course! That's the only way he could have won! But if…'

Beast Boy's eyes widened in shock, for he felt a slippery invasion inside his mouth. He wanted to squirm, but he remembered that he was trying to maintain a certain personality here. Forcing himself into a stiff, yet close position to her, he tried kissing her back. Again, nothing like kissing the real Raven. This was sloppy, too wet, and had too much defensive force behind it. Pulling away, Beast Boy smiled politely, and wiped his mouth. "I hate to cut short, but I've got to go."

She sighed in disappointment, but right now she was getting used to him leaving soon, so she didn't fight as much, nor did she suspect remotely why he was leaving. Feminine Raven, while being a little too…smoochy, was definitely naïve too. Sighing, Beast Boy made his way to the Forbidden Door, but this time, someone tapped him on the shoulder. Really wanting to leave, he turned around to tell Feminine Raven that he REALLY had to go, but he was instead confronted with Rude. After wiping her nose with her sleeve, she sniffed, and said, "Hey."

A little flustered, Beast Boy acknowledged her, and started scratching the back of his head. "Uh…hey."

She put her hands on her hips. "So, what's with you?"

He tilted his head. "What do you mean what's with me?"

She let out a belch that had Beast Boy grinning, but she continued. "You haven't told anyone."

His eyes widened. "How did you know that?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. I've been watching you. I know that you're trying to keep her Anger under control, cool. But you do realize you little parasite that if you told people outside about this, then you could join up like teams do and fix this like a team?"

Embarrassed, Beast Boy, shifted his foot. "Yeah, so?"

Her brow rose, and she let out a completely off-the-wall statement. "Are you coming back here every day because a part of you wants to be loved by Raven and you know that the only way you'll get it is if you stay with the Feminine Side? And you're craving love and affection from Raven because you love her?"

Beast Boy's jaw dropped to the floor. "Whoa! Okay! Number one, that was totally freaky; number two, I do not want affection or whatever; number three, that's not true; number four, I TOTALLY don't love Raven!"

A skeptical brow went up. "Yeah…uh-huh…sure." With that note, she walked off into another territory. Beast Boy, a little mad that she was so presumptuous, crossed his arms, and huffed. She actually thought that he loved Raven; pssh! Yeah right! He might be closer to Raven, and he might admire her, maybe even like her body a little, but he did NOT absolutely NOT love her! With that thought repeating itself in his head like a broken record, Beast Boy strode off.

(In the real world.)

Beast Boy, having just placed the book back, heard Raven's door opening. Gasping, and knowing a little better this time, Beast Boy changed into a fly and picked a spot on her wall to stay on. After the human-demon hybrid made her bed, and awfully meticulously, her communicator went off. Beast Boy wondered what that was about, since they usually used the PA alarm to talk to each other throughout the Tower. "Raven, there's a little girl missing her parents in the park. Could you escort her back to her parents at the Police Station? It's a simple case that only requires one Titan and it's your turn."

Raven shrugged, but said into her communicator. "Who's next for one of these 'simple cases'?"

There was a brief pause on the other side of the line, then, "Beast Boy."

"That makes up for a minor inconvenience."

If Beast Boy currently had lips, he would smile with them. His curiosity taking over his will, Beast Boy followed Raven as she flew out the window. She was going quite fast, so it was hard to keep up, but he kept his eyes on her, and at one point he changed into an eagle. Since it was a relatively cloudy day with a good chance of rain, Raven didn't notice him for her concentration was on the child she had to save.

Once they arrived, Beast Boy did a sharp nose-dive into a tall tree, and changed into a light green monkey so he could blend in with the leaves. He watched Raven look around, and he suddenly heard some crying. Apparently, Raven noticed it too, for she was rushing off in some unknown direction. Dropping a little lower in the tree, Beast Boy squinted to get a better look. He had no idea why he was pursuing her so desperately, he just knew he was. There was honestly no reason to, for if she had the child, then all she would have to do is comfort her a little, and take her to the Station. But for some odd reason, he was captivated with the sight before him. Raven was sitting on a bench with a little girl in adorable blonde pig-tails, rocking her to and fro. Then, to his complete surprise, Raven let out a compassionate smile as she hugged the youngster tighter. His heart melted as he watched.

Raven gently rocked little Alyssa back and forth, and tried not to release the warm tenderness spreading through her blackened heart. "Okay sweetie, your mommy and daddy are waiting at the Police Station okay, and I'm gonna take you there so you can all be happy. Would you like that?"

Obviously scared that she didn't have her family with her, she nodded shakily. "Uh-huh."

Raven noticed how shaky Alyssa was, and wasn't sure how to calm her down. Stroking her hair, and pulling her a little tighter, Raven looked around in a panic. Relief struck when she saw an ice cream stand. Using her telekinetic powers, she handed the vendor some money. He looked ready to scream until Raven made a black claw with her powers, and pointed it to herself and Alyssa. The ice cream vendor, clearly relieved scooped out some random ice cream, and held out his hand for Raven to take. Casting him a grateful glance, Raven accepted it, and showed it to Alyssa, who squealed in delight and the chilly treat, before taking the cone, and holding it close to her as she licked up big slurps. The process was incredibly messy, and Raven tried to keep a polite face on as her hands got coated in the ice cream that Alyssa hadn't slurped.

Picking up the little girl, Raven looked around, and made her way through the park and across the street to the Police Station. At the front steps, was a cringing couple; the woman looked broken apart the way she was crying, while the man's jaw was set, like he was trying to help his wife by being strong. He looked as cold as ice, until he saw Raven, bringing up the little girl, and he shook his wife a little to get her blood-shot eyes up. The relief and joy on their faces was satisfying and touching, Raven begrudgingly admitted to herself. "She'll be fine, she's just a bit shaken up."

Upon noticing her parents, Alyssa dropped her already-eaten ice cream cone. "Mommy! Daddy!"

The man, who looked so impregnable up to this point, burst into tears as he held his daughter to his heart, damn the sticky ice cream getting on his expensive business suit. They silently mouthed their thanks as they held their little girl.

Raven shrugged it off, but it truly made her feel good to do something so nice. It was a bad thing to admit that, so she walked off before any more unwanted feelings surfaced. All of a sudden, she let out a yell as Beast Boy popped up in front of her. "Hey Raven!"

Grunting, she walked past him. "What do you want? And how did you get here?"

He caught up to her, and handed her a napkin. "To help you. That girl got a little ice cream on you. And I followed you. I thought maybe if the case got complicated I could help out."

Finally conceding to the gooey mess on her palm, she accepted the napkin that he had dampened for her, and wiped the residue away. Mentally, she didn't deny that it was a little weird that he followed her, but she supposed it was a nice thing to do, considering a little girl was at stake. "You were really sweet to her you know?"

Raven looked over at Beast Boy, who had an eerie look of hidden intent on his face. "You mean with Alyssa? She's a nice little girl. She was terrified when I first found her; I just wanted to make sure she was okay before I got her back."

He smiled tenderly. "It was really considerate of you Raven."

She shrugged off, wondering why he was taking it so seriously when that was a daily job for them. "That's SOP when we come across kids Beast Boy."

Beast Boy's smile left his face for a moment, and Raven strangely found herself wishing it would come back. "Yeah, but I've never seen you around kids before Raven."

She wrinkled her nose. "I usually don't handle well around kids to be honest. But she was terrified. What was I supposed to do, do my usual squirming bit and run away from her when she was all alone and didn't know where her parents were?"

He laughed. "Yeah, but come on. One might expect the oh-so-distant Raven to get the parents right across the street, point to a bench, and call it a day."

She stopped in her tracks, and noticed that they were in the park again. There was a low rumbling in the sky, indicating the onset of a storm. Appalled that he would think her so cruel, she said, "What kind of person do you think I am? That little girl didn't have her parents around with a storm on the way and she was afraid. It's not a good feeling to be alone and afraid."

His ears dropped. "You grew up like that."

Ashamed that she had disclosed such personal feelings, Raven turned away, and tried to maintain self-control. "Yes, so take my word for it that it's not a good feeling okay?"

Beast Boy was silent, so Raven turned to face him, but he was gone. Confused, she turned back around, suddenly meeting the grinning green face. "Ahh!" She shouted in surprise. Holding back her anger, Raven gave him a glare that would frighten small animals. Fortunately, Beast Boy wasn't a small animal.

He held up a plastic ice cream dish, and there was no mistaking the flavor of the abundant mounds in the dish: Superman.

Beast Boy handed her a spoon, and jerked his chin to a nearby picnic bench. Following him, and not entirely sure why, Raven said, "What are you doing?"

As he dug into the ice cream, Beast Boy gave himself a derisive smirk. "I haven't exactly had the hottest day, and I think a good dose of ice cream medicine is the perfect cure."

She shook her head. "What is it with you and sweet junk-food metaphors?"

Beast Boy smiled. "Hey, you won't let me make Tofu metaphors." A matching smirk spread over Raven's face. "At least let me make some sweets metaphors."

Raven scooped some Superman onto her spoon. In this shortly-made change in their relationship, Raven had grown quite attached to this ice cream. Attempting to break the awkward silence that was bound to come, she tried to make small-talk. "So, have you found yourself a girl? You know, for our deal?"

Beast Boy's eyes cast downwards again. "No."

Raven scooped some more Superman. "Why not?"

He looked up with an almost mocking smile. "Have you found yourself a guy yet?"

No, she hadn't. "Point taken." Beast Boy looked up at her for a moment, then pushed the dish towards her. She looked at it for a second, then back up at him. "What's wrong?"

He looked a little upset as he put the spoon in the trash. "I guess I'm just not hungry."

Her eyes almost popped out of her head. "Are you okay?"

As he met her eyes, she could instantly tell he wasn't. Not only was he giving off some kind of distressed vibes, but his eyes were sparkling in sorrow. "Why do you look so upset?"

Beast Boy leaned forward in interest, a little discerning to Raven, considering his expression read something along the lines of pitiful interest. "Rave?"

Still a little unused to her new nickname, she lifted the ice cream dish, for it was slowly melting into a liquid. Her brows lifted in acknowledgement as another roll of thunder rocked across the sky, this one a little more booming, causing them both to look up. The sky was darkening, despite the fact that it wasn't even near dusk. The clouds coated over the sky like stuffing in a pillow. There was no bit of blue, only dark gray clouds shifting over one another, the wind change another sign that rain was to come. She looked back down just as Beast Boy started to talk. "Why were you always so alone Raven? What about your mom?"

Shocked that their conversation had taken such a personal turn, she sat immobile for a second. Trying to avoid the subject, she looked at the pool of ice cream in the cup, averting Beast Boy's eyes, and muttered quietly, "Well, you figured out that I was alone to begin with, can't you figure out why?"

He stood up, walked over to her side of the table, and sat down beside her. His face stamped with that handsome solemn appearance, he said slowly, "I could guess a lot of things. But I want to hear it from you."

She still tried to let it go. "Why?"

Beast Boy took her hand, a comforting gesture, for his thumb traced the line of her veins gently while squeezing warmly. "Because you're my friend, and it's only fair. I took care of you when you were sick, and I let you see my hands. No one else since…years ago."

Raven pulled back her hood. His hand was comforting, even though it was covered by a bulky glove. "Since when, exactly?"

Blushing a little, Beast Boy's grip went limp, but he wouldn't let go. "Since the accident."

She couldn't help the intrigue that rose within her. "What accident?"

His eyes rose to hers, filled with deep seeded grief. "When I was little, I was pretty much a normal kid. I had my parents, my parents had me and their jobs, and that was it. But…well, my parents went to Africa for a few months to do research. They were geneticists," He explained at her confused face. "Anyway, when they came back, they brought some disease samples with them that they took from animals and plants and stuff back in Africa. Being a kid, I got into pretty much anything I could find. Long story short, I caught one of the diseases. I think it was called Sakutia…or…something."

Raven's eyes went wide at hearing this. She had read a couple times about the horrible toxin. But the last time she had read about it, she was almost positive that it was listed as fatal.

"It was normally deadly, but my parents were working on a treatment for it. They used it on me to save my life. But it wasn't totally developed yet, so I ended up with animal DNA and green skin. My parents were really supportive, but in public they would always cover me up." Beast Boy was clearly getting choked up, and she held his hand tighter to reassure him. "Anyway," he said, clearing his throat. "I was pretty much okay with it, until they died in a lab accident. I was adopted by the Doom Patrol. Have you heard of them?"

Her eyes wide again, she nodded, dumbfounded. The Doom Patrol was a legendary Special Forces team, but no where at no time had Beast Boy ever mentioned that he was a member. "So, I lived with them for a while. That was when they changed my name to Beast Boy. They still called me by my real name once in a while, but I was from then on Beast Boy. Even when I left them and met the Titans, that's who I was, and probably who I always will be. So I left everything behind. My appearance, my name, and obviously my hands. It wasn't until I met the Titan's that I felt confident enough to take off my mask. And I guess not until recently that I was ready to take off the gloves."

She felt compelled to ask. "So, what about your name?"

He smiled slightly then looked up, his eyes shining with tears that refused to move. "Garfield Mark Logan. Mark, after my dad."

Touched, Raven held his hand closer to herself, and her own emotions started to consume her. That fact became evident as the skies ripped apart and the rain started to fall. A black spark appeared between their hands, and Raven wondered why she wasn't really feeling anything negative towards Beast Boy…all she was feeling was…no. Absolutely not! She might have a little better of a friendship bond with that story he just told, but no way did she…care about him. Her hormones might even be reacting to him a little more lately, but that was IT!

To prove it, she let go of his hand to bring her hood up, and didn't try to hold it again. He took it instead, and pulled them into the shade, where they were at least a little drier. The wind was suddenly bracing, giving away the onslaught Raven's emotions brought to her senses. Beast Boy gave her an odd look. "Your emotions are acting up?"

A little embarrassed, Raven blushed, and said, "Yeah. I sort of felt sad at your story."

His brows furrowed in confusion, but he let the subject drop, although he appeared like he was going to save it for later. "So?"

Gasping, and looking back at him, she said, "So what?"

"So, why were you so alone?"

She was a little unnerved that somehow he brought the whole thing back to her. She was fine with talking about Beast Boy's personal life, just not her own. It killed her how unfair that was. That was why, she found herself opening up to the compassionate changeling. "I didn't have a father when I was little. My mother truly loved me, but I never really got to know her. Remember when I mentioned that I was raised by monks?"

Beast Boy nodded, a private smile on his face as he recalled what the Feminine Side told him. "Well, they made sure that I rarely saw my mother. The less I saw her and felt her love, the less susceptible I was to my father's control. They were always telling me that someday when a 'side' of me was ready, then I could see her, and maybe even let go of my feelings."

When she looked back up at him, his face was wet, and the tree leaves weren't helping them against the relentless pounding of the rain drops. He looked wonderful, but his eyes were full of some kind of shock that she didn't understand.

Beast Boy stood for a second. If the Feminine Raven wasn't around, and if her emotions had combined properly, then maybe the real Raven could finally show how she felt! And here he was, selfishly keeping the truth to himself. But that wasn't the only thing that shocked him. "You barely saw your mom? Did you guys at least get to let go around each other on the few times you got together?"

Letting out a laugh that was lacking in any form of happiness, Raven said, "Of course not. My mother never even held me."

His ears drooped. That was way worse than his situation! "Raven, that's awful!"

She tried to put on a brave face. A futile attempt, for Beast Boy could see how upset she was through her eyes. "It wasn't as bad as it sounds. At least I knew I was cared for."

He shook his head. No way was that enough. "Raven, knowing it, and feeling it are two different things. You never got real proof of how much your mom loved you, but I did because they hugged me all the time. They saved my life. You didn't have a dad, and your mom couldn't hold you. It's better to have loved and lost it than to have never loved at all."

Tears blossomed on Raven's face, but they were lost with the stream of rain sliding down her cheeks. The quote was so corny, but it was actually a nice way to put things in perspective. "That's not true Beast Boy. If you know a good thing, and it gets taken from you, that has to be worse than never knowing it."

At that point, the argument was a little too painful for either of them to continue talking. Instead, Beast Boy brought his arms around her, and she readily accepted the embrace. Lightening was starting to clap throughout the sky, and Raven could hear every echo. She could feel every inch of her wet clothes sticking to her as well as his warmth surrounding her. She could smell the rain on the air, mixed with the natural tang scent of his body as she leaned on his chest and closed her eyes in relaxation. All her senses came alive, and she held on to the moment that the two of them would hold forever: Alone in the rain.

"You know, you can call me Garfield if you want."

Her eyes opened, and she looked up at him, keeping the space between them as minimal as possible. "Are you sure?"

He winked at her flirtatiously. "You and only you okay?"

She blushed, and looked down at her feet.

"Aw, how touching!"

They pulled apart, and saw that stupid Diva standing in front of them, her hands on her hips. She popped open her hand, flame flickering in her palm, illuminating the evil grin on her pretty face. "Pity to spoil the moment, but it's only fair considering you Titans got me GROUNDED!" The tiny ball of fire suddenly burst into a large inferno, about the size of Beast Boy and Raven put together. Without warning, she threw the fire ball to them like a bowler.

Personal safety concerns shot to hell, Beast Boy shoved Raven away, facing the fire. Before he could even try to run, the fire blasted his upper body. "Agh!"

As Beast Boy fell to the ground, he looked over at Raven, and the terror etched into her beautiful face. He continued to stare at her as he fell to the earth. He wanted her to be his last sight as he died. She was his dearest friend, his most trusted companion, the one person that held his deepest secrets.

And he loved her.