Beast Boy circled his thumbs around each other, keeping his gaze down as he sat on the kitchen stool. He could feel the eyes of his teammates on him, and it made his hair stand on end. Robin and Cyborg had tried to ask him about last night, but the moment they had opened their mouths, Raven had shut them up by saying it was something Beast Boy needed to deal with on his own. They had kept quiet after that.

Which was lucky for Beast Boy, because his thoughts were loud enough right now anyway without the chatter of their voices as well. His mind replayed the events of the morning as he tried to keep his discomfort at bay.

I woke up in Silver's room, which means I never left after giving her that mark on her neck. She was gone. Her bedframe was all scratched up. There was splatters of blood on the sheet. And the air smelled like…something else. I don't know what that was.

He had confessed these things to Raven in his room, and she had seemed really uneasy about it but had refused to say why.

I know I did something to Silver. I just don't know what that something is.

Beast Boy's thumbs stopped as he hugged both arms around his gut. He hadn't felt so unnerved since he left the Doom Patrol, and that was nothing compared to the situation he was facing now.

His ears perked at the sound of the elevator dinging and he looked over his shoulder to see Starfire and Silverwings exiting into the lobby. The shapeshifters locked eyes, and everyone else's eyes fell on the marks on Silver's neck.

The room was silent.

Silverwings shifted her gaze to Robin and Cyborg, and Beast Boy could tell that she knew they suspected something was up. There was physical evidence right in front of them to confirm whatever suspicions they had.

Robin stepped forward and broke the silence first.

"Silverwings. Are you ok?" he asked with genuine concern.

The question seemed to come as a surprise to everyone. Robin was known for his stoicism, but when it came to the well-being of his teammates, his tough-guy façade would fade away.

Silver shrugged. "Depends on your definition of ok."

Beast Boy didn't look up, but his brow furrowed in confusion. He was actually able to hear the nervousness in Silver's tone, even though she made herself sound as indifferent as possible. Weird.

"We know the mark on your neck came from Beast Boy," Cyborg said. "I ran a scan on you this morning, and your DNA had traces of his in it."

Silver's eyes narrowed.

"I'm assuming this was when my back was turned," she remarked icily.

"Yep."

She rolled her eyes, letting out scoff, but said nothing further.

Beast Boy started pulling at the edges of his sleeves. The tension in the air was thick as smog, and it was making him uncomfortable. Somebody had to do something to clear this up or he was going to go nuts.

Raven took a few strides towards Silverwings, pulling her hood down, and Beast Boy wanted to shrink into a mouse. Raven had always looked serious, but whatever was on her mind could plainly be seen by her facial expression that she was definitely not playing around right now.

"The mark isn't the only thing that happened, is it," Raven remarked curtly.

Silverwings flinched.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she growled, her eyes narrowing.

"The hoodie. Take it off," Raven snapped.

The rest of the team started exchanging confused looks, but Beast Boy's gaze fell back into his lap. He knew what Raven was looking for, but he was dreading the possibility of what the answer may reveal.

"What for, Raven? Can't a girl change her style every once in a while?" Cyborg casually stated.

He recoiled under Raven's angry glare before her eyes moved back to Silver. Whatever answer she was looking for, she was clearly determined to get.

"Is it true?" Raven hissed.

"Raven, what are you talking about?" Robin asked.

Raven ignored him and continued to push for answers. "Did it actually happen?"

Beast Boy lifted his eyes to look around the room. Raven stood in front of Silverwings, and the two of them were having a faceoff that neither girl was going to back down from. Starfire was standing behind Silverwings while Robin and Cyborg remained in the kitchen, and all three of them looked were confused as ever.

He pushed himself off the stool and started to approach the stare-down. "Uh, Raven, I don't think she should show every-"

He was interrupted as everyone in the room gasped. He looked over at Silverwings, letting out a yelp of shock as he jumped back.

She had pulled off the hoodie to reveal the true damage she had been hiding. Her entire upper body and parts of her waist were covered in scratches and bruises, some of which were much worse than others. Just above her waistline, right on the edges of her pants, there were purple discolored marks in the shape of fingers.

The room was only silent for another moment.

"You did not share that you were injured, friend Silver!" Starfire exclaimed, clearly upset by what she was seeing.

"Whoa…" Cyborg muttered quietly.

"Silverwings, what happened?" Robin asked.

The leader of the team was not easily shaken up, but even Beast Boy could see that this had Robin off-balance.

Silverwings did not respond to anyone, only lifted her gaze to look at Beast Boy with tear-filled eyes. It made him sick to his stomach to realize that he was the cause of her pain, but even with her standing there, his brain couldn't grasp the truth of the situation.

Raven turned to Beast Boy with a heavy sigh. "Looks like you were right," she murmured. The edge to her voice was gone, replaced with a tone of grievance.

Beast Boy's mouth felt as dry as chalk. "I…I did that?" he choked out.

Silverwings nodded.

Beast Boy stood there, staring at her marred body with wide-eyes. How was that even possible? He would never have willingly injured his best friend. Not in a hundred years.

"We should bring Silverwings to the infirmary," Raven declared.

No one argued.

Her gaze fell on the shapeshifters. "You two can talk about this in there."

Beast Boy didn't remember moving his feet towards the infirmary. The walls around him were twisting upside down while the ceiling spun in circles, and once he realized he wasn't moving anymore, Beast Boy found himself sitting on the edge of a bed across from Silverwings while Cyborg and Raven patched her up. He had never been so dizzy in his life.

I'm not even the one who was hurt and I feel like I'm going to puke.

He closed his eyes, willing the uneasiness to pass, but when he opened his eyes, he felt even more seasick than before. Beast Boy slowly lifted his gaze to find Silverwings quietly sitting cross-legged on the opposite bed, her eyes staring above the headboard at the monitors on the wall.

"Why?" he gasped shakily, looking down at his hands. "Why would I do that to you?"

Silverwings looked over at him, her eyes brimming with tears.

"You don't…remember what happened?"

Beast Boy shook his head. "No. I remember walking in and your scent was just everywhere, and I tried to resist this…this feeling I had, but I couldn't, and then after-" he pointed to her neck "-that…nothing. I woke up in your room and you were gone."

Silverwings swallowed hard, fidgeting with her fingers, but she did not respond.

"Silver, I don't know what I did," Beast Boy lamented.

"Maybe that's for the better," she murmured.

Beast Boy let out a quiet groan. "No, it isn't. The whole team knows I'm responsible for this, and I don't even know what 'this' is."

Silverwings looked back up into his eyes, speaking with an edge to her voice.

"You don't want to know. I didn't even want them to know, but Raven didn't leave me much of a choice."

Beast Boy stared at her, his mouth gaping with surprise. Had he really done something so awful that she would have kept it secret from the team for the rest of her life? Another wave of seasickness washed over him, and Beast Boy had to grip the edge of the sheets to keep himself steady. This was not good. Not good at all.

"What are you saying?" he asked hesitantly. "You would've kept this hidden from us?"

Silverwings nodded. "Until the marks were healed, yes."

"But…why?"

She broke her gaze away, but it didn't matter. Beast Boy could see the tremor in her fingertips and shoulders, and it only made his anxiety worse.

"Silver, tell me what I did. Please," Beast Boy begged.

She swallowed hard, her voice barely above a whisper. "Why?"

A whine of fear slipped through his teeth. Beast Boy jerked his head up as he lost control over his tone and started outright panicking.

"Because whatever it is must be really bad! Because you're refusing to say anything about it and that-" his voice cracked "-that scares me, Silver. I need to know."

She started chewing on her bottom lip, hesitating to meet his gaze. Beast Boy was caught off-guard by an overwhelming sense of terror, and it took him a moment to realize the feeling was coming from Silverwings. Not himself. His gaze fell to the mark upon her neck, and he realized the bond between them was not only heightening their emotions; it was causing them to sense each other's feelings.

After what felt like an eternity, Silverwings finally gave a resigned sigh.

"Alright."

She shuffled on the bed to face herself towards him, but she kept her gaze on her crossed feet. Beast Boy was ok with it for now since he wasn't entirely cured of his own queasiness yet.

"After the mark, your scent and your eyes…changed. Your pupils turned white and your irises vanished. It was freaky. My scent must've triggered your primal instincts, because you lost all control over yourself, Beast Boy, and you…"

Her voice cut off as her resolve cracked, and she started sobbing uncontrollably. The sound was not angry or upset. It was broken.

Never before had Beast Boy seen or felt her so terrified, and it shook him to the core. Something was wrong. Very wrong. He was frozen in place, too afraid of what she was going to say to move.

Silverwings sniffled, choking back a sob as she swallowed hard.

"You mounted me."

Everything in his mind came to a grinding halt. He did what? Beast Boy's jaw dropped open in shock.

"No…no, Silver, I-I couldn't have – I wouldn't – I would never hurt you like that!" he blurted out, but his protest was in vain as she continued to explain.

"Your fangs and nails grew longer, and you became a hell of a lot stronger than you normally are. Even if I was in a normal state of mind, I couldn't have fought back if I tried."

Beast Boy's breathing quickened as he let out another whine of fear, and he clutched a hand to his chest to keep himself from ripping a hole through the mattress. This wasn't happening. It just wasn't possible.

The bandages hiding the injuries all over her body told a different story.

He swallowed hard, but the saliva in his mouth had run dry, and he ended up coughing instead. A chill crept up his spine like some sort of vile shadow.

"Did-did I force myself on you?" Beast Boy choked out.

Silverwings stiffened, mirroring him by grabbing the edge of the sheets. "I was in heat, Beast Boy. During that time, my feral side takes over and makes me very submissive. You would never have known what I was really thinking."

His gut churned, like someone had just kicked him in the stomach.

I did. I forced myself on her when the mark would have been enough.

"Silver, I…"

Beast Boy fell silent. He was too disgusted with himself to even try to make up an excuse or explanation for his actions. How did he let himself get so out of control? The infirmary suddenly felt more like a prison than a place for healing. He hugged his gut, closing his eyes as he held back another wave of nausea.

We've put people in jail for doing things like this. What was I thinking?

He didn't dare lift his eyes to look at her. How could he, after what he learned he had done to her.

She should be furious…how has she not gotten mad at me yet?

Beast Boy shook his head.

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

A beat of silence.

"I know," she murmured.

"If I had just listened when you told me not to come in, none of this would have happened," Beast Boy growled at himself.

"Maybe, but…we both knew this was coming, Beast Boy," Silverwings reminded him. "I couldn't keep hiding forever."

He didn't have a good response to that. Part of him wanted to argue that they would've been okay for a while, but after last night's events, Beast Boy knew that she was right. There was no way they could have avoided it forever, but knowing this didn't make him feel any better about it.

I hurt her. Not Robin. Not Cyborg. Not Raven or Starfire. Me. It's my fault that this happened. Dude, I'm such an idiot. How could I betray her trust like that?

Beast Boy pushed himself off his bed with a grunt and headed towards the door.

"I'll leave so you can get some rest," he muttered.

"Wait."

Her hand on his shoulder pulled him to a stop, and when Beast Boy looked over at her with confusion, she responded by lightly tugging him forward so that he was standing right next to her bed. Despite every bit of her wrath that he knew he deserved, Silverwings was being gentle.

"Beast Boy, I know your instincts took over, but…I don't blame you for this."

"You should," he huffed.

"I don't. Blaming each other is not going to change what happened," she murmured.

Silverwings placed a hand on his cheek, catching him by surprise as she looked into his eyes.

"You are my best friend, Beast Boy – and technically, my mate now too – but you are the only one in the world who will ever truly understand me."

Beast Boy's brow furrowed in confusion, but his tongue robbed him of words. She had no reason to be nice about this – none at all – and yet in typical Silverwings fashion, she was being completely selfless towards him.
"I'm not saying it will be easy, and I don't forgive you yet because I can't right now, but I could never just cut you out of my life. I wouldn't want to."

Did he have too much wax in his ears? Was he hearing this right?

"I…I don't want you to either," Beast Boy admitted slowly as the shock started to wear off.

He could hardly believe what she was saying. Silverwings was not forgiving him yet, which he understood because he didn't even forgive himself yet, but where he had been expecting a thrashing, he instead found kindness.

Beast Boy quickly shook his head as he scratched the back of his neck. "So, I, uh, guess I'll go talk to the team about this."

Silverwings grabbed one of his hands and pulled him forward for a peck on the cheek, causing his face to flush a light minty green.

"Kiss for luck, because I'm pretty sure Cyborg and Robin are going to throttle you," she smirked.

Beast Boy shuddered. "Dude, Cyborg is totally going to kick my butt for this."

Silverwings chuckled lightly, and he couldn't help but crack a smile.

"Soo, we're good?" he asked.

She shrugged one shoulder.

"We will be."