Chapter 5

Nothing aside from the chirping of the crickets and crackling of the flames was heard during the night. A certain green-skinned boy sat perfectly still, listening for the occasional chattering of endangered South American animals that roamed the tree branches. He narrowed his eyes, seeing if he could spot a pair of eyes peeking through the shrubs and bushes. He sighed, shoulders slumping as he realized that the glint he had seen earlier was actually a drop of water on a leaf.

Yawning, Beastboy stretched his body and lay down on the log he had been sitting on. He had ceased poking at the flames (a campfire sat before him, providing him with the warmth he desired) minutes ago, and was currently thinking of the argument that had taken place earlier. An argument that had, surprisingly, led to a new-found "treaty" between the two Titans.

He winced slightly, gingerly touching his slightly swollen nose with his gloved fingertips. Though the bleeding had desisted some time ago, the spot where Robin had punched him still stung. He, in turn, felt extremely guilty for what he had done.

'What was I thinking…' Beastboy scolded himself as he shook his head. The memory of the bite still disturbed him. He could still taste his companion's blood on his lips, and felt repulsed by his own actions. 'I might've given him rabies, for all I know.'

Shuddering once more, the changeling pushed those thoughts out of his head, and smiled instead at what had happened right after their big fight. They had actually promised to trust each other! Trying to ignore the abnormal feelings of warmth in his stomach, Beastboy remembered the conversation all too well.

"That sounds… Nice." Robin had said after he had proposed the 'treaty', and for once did not reject Beastboy's idea. In fact, he seemed somehow delighted by it. Beastboy had always enjoyed the instances wherein he managed to make Robin smile…

'Woah… Where did that come from?'

Shaking his head slightly, the Titan lay still, feeling fatigued. Looking up at the starry sky, darkness slowly began to cloud his vision, and he closed his eyes, forgetting about the tent that he had hastily set up earlier.

-----

"Beastboy… You've been a great person," Feeling warm hands on his shoulders, the changeling looked up to see the smiling face of his surrogate mother. Rita stared at him, her eyes gentle, and Beastboy felt comforted by her words.

"We're proud of you, you know." A metal hand had clapped his back, and Beastboy knew that Cliff was standing behind him.

"…But you do realize…" Beastboy was startled to see Steve walk up to them, his expression soft. He rarely smiled, Beastboy noted sadly.

"…That you have one more test before you can prove that you are capable."

"I know," The green-skinned boy muttered. "The Brotherhood of Evil. As a member of the Doom Patrol-"

A laugh interrupted his little speech, as Larry appeared on his other side.

"No, kiddo. Not that." His usual monotone voice was different; it sounded more pleasant and human.

"We weren't talking about the Brotherhood of Evil, squirt." Cliff ruffled his hair affectionately.

"This is a mission, you can't accomplish as Beastboy. Only Garfield can do this," Rita looked at him straight in the eye as she kneeled in front of him, hands still on his shoulders. She slowly took his gloved hand in hers, and for the first time, Beastboy noticed that they weren't in their usual black and purple garb. At that moment, they weren't the Doom Patrol giving him orders; they were his family offering him advice.

"Look." Steve pointed to a figure standing in the shadows. Beastboy squinted, but he couldn't identify it.

"Save that person…" Rita kissed him on the cheek. "We know you can do it, Gar."

"Okay…" His own voice sounded hollow as he continued to stare at the outline of the person.

"Go!" His family pushed him forward, and Beastboy felt them vanish. But he didn't care, and broke into a run. He was surprised to see the unknown character do the same, running from him.

"Wait!" He yelled. They were starting to disappear from his view…

"Come back!"

------

"STOP!" The hand that had been shaking him awake quickly pulled away, and Beastboy's eyes snapped open.

He was startled to see the face of the Boy Wonder staring down at him, looking worried.

"Sorry," Robin said softly. "I didn't know…"

"Ah… It's nothing," Beastboy waved a hand dismissively to emphasize his point. "I was having a weird dream, that's all." Robin backed away and watched as he sat up, rubbing his back.

"Remind me never to sleep on a log again, dude. It hurts like hell in the morning." He grinned, and Robin smiled back at him. Coughing, Beastboy stood up, wiping his face and trying to rid himself of the red hue coloring his cheeks.

"Well, we have to get started."

"Where are we headed?" Beastboy dusted off his pants.

"That's the thing… I don't know. I wasn't lying when I said we were lost," Robin frowned as he said it, looking mildly distressed.

"Well, we're probably nearing the base anyway, seeing as we came across and fought those robot thingies…" This seemed to lighten Robin up, as his frown turned into a smile and he clapped Beastboy's shoulder.

"You're right… You know, Beastboy, you can be smart when you want to be."

"I try," He shrugged.

"All packed? Ready to go?"

"Yeah," Beastboy replied absently, as he slipped on his backpack. For some reason, it felt lighter than before, but the shape shifter decided that it was probably because he was in a good mood.

Thus, the two boys set off, walking side-by-side. It was a remarkable improvement over when they first started out. Now, they walked as companions, equals, and true friends.

------

"So, Beastboy…" Robin began, after a few minutes of walking in silence. "Tell me about the Doom Patrol. You don't talk about them often."

"Oh…" Beastboy smiled at the memories.

"They're pretty well-known, you know."

"Yeah…" The changeling nervously rubbed the back of his neck. "We were pretty awesome as a crime-fighting team… I'd say they're a lot like us. I mean, you don't have to be a genius to say that Robot-man and Cyborg are similar. And Elasti-girl and Starfire are both the nice, caring members of the team…"

Robin stared as a sort of dreamy expression crawled up Beastboy's face.

"Raven and Negative-man too… They're both…" Beastboy's voice became deeper and he became serious. "…The 'Aw man, everything is pointless' kind of people…"

Robin chuckled at his accurate imitation.

"And of course, Mento and you…" He turned to face him.

"Because we're both too bossy and serious?" Robin suggested with a wry smile. Beastboy stared at him.

"Dude, you're not bossy! …Okay, maybe a little," He added hastily. "But you're both good leaders… In fact," Beastboy's smile widened again.

"I think you're a way better leader than Mento, because he just gets too grumpy at times. That's what made me quit the Doom Patrol." He paused when he noticed that Robin was no longer walking alongside him. Turning around, he saw his companion standing, staring at the ground.

"You really think I'm a good leader?" Beastboy wasn't expecting this.

"Well… yeah, of course! You're one of the best! Seriously!" He had hoped he didn't come across as over-enthusiastic, but everything he said was the truth.

"I'm not…" Robin said awkwardly as he resumed walking once more. "I make mistakes…"

"Everyone makes mistakes, Robin…" Beastboy said quietly as they walked alongside each other.

"Yeah, but… I've made a lot of them."

"If you're talking about the Slade thing…" Robin winced visibly at this, but Beastboy continued. "We've forgiven you already, alright? Besides, you were the victim, so the last person you should blame is yourself." He felt glad as he saw Robin smile.

"Thanks, Beastboy." Everything about the way Robin said those words seemed sincere, which made the shape shifter's heart soar.

"No prob, always happy to help." Finally feeling as if he had accomplished something, Beastboy smiled to himself, finally glad that he was able to get through to his companion for what seemed like the first time.

-----

They had stopped for a few minutes to have a snack, then resumed their trek until day turned to dusk. The stars twinkling above them were sign that they should stop and set up camp, and so they did, finding another small clearing to put up their tents.

Naturally, Robin had his red tent up in a matter of minutes. As he stood back to gaze at his work, the Teen Wonder noticed the absence of a second tent, and turned to see his companion still searching through his backpack.

"Anything wrong?" He asked, feeling a bit worried.

"I… Argh… I can't believe it… Can't seem to find my tent…" His reply was muffled, his head buried into his bag.

"Well, do you remember packing it up?" Beastboy poked his head out and rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

"Actually, I don't even remember sleeping in it last night." Robin snapped his fingers in realization.

"That's right! You fell asleep on the log…"

"Oh, yeah…" Beastboy paused, deep in thought. "I did set it up, though…"

"The wind must've blown it away during the night, then."

"Ah… Er… Sorry…" Inwardly, he screamed at himself, cursing his stupidity.

"Well, that's okay," Robin shrugged. "You can sleep with me, my tent's big enough." Almost instantly, Beastboy felt blood rush to his cheeks, and he wasn't quite sure why.

"W-with you?" He squeaked. "A-are you sure?"

"Why not?" The Boy Wonder shrugged once more.

"Well…"

"You might catch a cold if you stay out here, and besides, it won't bother me." He casually tossed his bag inside. "So c'mon, Beastboy." And with that, Robin gave him one final glance and disappeared into the tent.

The nervous changeling replayed the last few seconds in his mind: "So, c'mon, Beastboy…" For some reason, it made me shudder. His image of Robin had said it in a much slower way, his voice actually sounding seductive—

"GAH!" Beastboy yelled out loud, face burning. Gulping, he took a deep breath and stepped into the tent as well. 'What's happening to me!' He questioned himself and was unsatisfied at the lack of response.

------

"I miss them," Robin said after a long silence. He was lying flat on his back, staring upwards at nothing in particular. Beastboy lay beside him, curled on his side so that he was facing away. The pointy-eared Titan refused to look at his companion, for his face was still slightly red. Instead, he stared determinedly at the rocky ground.

"Who?" He asked, after a while.

"Y'know, them. Starfire, Raven, Cyborg… We haven't seen them in days." Beastboy let out a short laugh.

"Yeah, that's true… It feels kinda weird not having Cyborg challenge me to a gamestation match, or not hearing Raven's insults…"

"…And not seeing Starfire's smile, not hearing her laughter…" Robin sounded wistful, and all of a sudden, Beastboy felt bitter.

"Well, I'm sorry I'm the one with you right now. At the moment, I guess you'd rather be with Starfire…" He probably sounded harsher than he meant to be.

"What? ...No, Beastboy, not like that!" He grunted in response, feeling Robin shift uncomfortably beside him.

"Actually, I'm glad you're with me."

"What?"

"I only realized recently that we've never really had the time to bond, you know… Just the two of us…" 'You got that right,' Beastboy silently agreed.

"So, I guess I'm… Happy that you're the my companion, and I wouldn't have it any other way."

"Me too…" He replied, grinning ear to ear into the scrap of cloth he was using as a head pillow. The bitterness went as soon as it came, and both boys soon drifted off to sleep.

For the first time since their journey began, both felt warm during the night.

-End of Chapter-

I'd like to apologize for a couple of things. First of all, sorry for updating really late; I had problems with school (I wasn't valedictorian as I had hoped and it was a harsh blow to my self-esteem).

Secondly, I'm sorry if this chapter bored you. Yes, no action once again, but I decided to focus more on their conversations and character interaction. In my opinion, character interaction is what makes a fic truly great. It's something I'm trying to get better at (though I'm failing miserably). I promise, there'll be a lot of action next chapter, and a surprise cameo by a very familiar character. I think you know who.

Third and lastly, I'm sorry if everything came across as cheesy and forced. Like I said, I suck at character interaction; it's something I'm trying desperately to improve on.

Thanks to those who reviewed! Please review for this chapter also, and stay tuned for updates. Seeya!