"Ugh!" A frustrated huff bellowed from the kitchen as glass shattered in a million directions over the floor. Soft whimpering followed the angrier sounds and Beast Boy hurried down the hallway from his bedroom to the great room. When the steel double doors slide open, the changeling felt his heart leap.
Raven.
Hunched in a wheelchair, thin shoulders shaking. He could only see the cascade of beautiful violet locks but he knew she was crying. His senses had picked up on her mixture of fear and frustration. Beast Boy casually sauntered to the living room, careful to not acknowledge the sorceress. Surveying the main room, Beast Boy found Robin on the couch focusing on the news report with exaggerated intent.
"Dude," Beast Boy approached tentatively, hover over the back of the couch. "I think Raven needs a little help."
Robin's eyes never left the screen but narrowed beneath the mask. "Don't, Beast Boy." Sighing, the team leader continued in a hushed voice. "I know… I want to help her too. But she needs to learn function on her own."
The hairs on the back of Beast Boy's neck bristled. He was well aware that Robin had one of the closest connections with the empath; the team leader understood how her mind worked and knew what it was like to be so reserved and stubborn. But this wasn't Robin. And Beast Boy had a feeling what Raven had endured was apt to have made an incredible mental impact.
Golden rays of sunrise glittering against the the shattered glass caught Beast Boy's eyes as he wandered back to the kitchen. A month ago, Raven would've simply gather and discard the shards or mend the tiny pieces together with her mind's extensive energy. In a couple seconds the mess would've been gone. But these days Raven seemed increasingly feeble; her emotions were untamed and her will to improve fading quickly.
"Morning, Rae," Beast Boy did his best to sound upbeat, grabbing a dustpan and sweeping the mess. He agreed with Robin that they shouldn't excessively cater to her but he couldn't resist the urge to assist her in any way he could. "How are you feeling today?"
The incident had occurred precisely three weeks prior. In a particularly damaging dual with Plasmus, the Titans had done their best to combat the ginormous gooey monster. As Raven had commonly insisted in battle with Plasmus, she'd avoided using her dark attack auras in light of sending her soul self into Plasmus to put the man inside asleep. This time had been like any other, until an unfortunately timed attack by Cinderblock had interrupted her peaceful combat technique, his concrete fist slamming into the sorceress's physical body without the presence of her soul. Usually after Raven was injured in battle, she would've immediately begun healing herself. But this time, her soul self had to rush into her fallen body, and she hadn't been able to heal herself, the harsh impact of Cinderblock proving to be overpower her petite self. In the second of impact, her body had immediately forced her out of consciousness.
That was the first clue to her paralysis. The injury had driven her body into a coma as her mind took care of the healing process her hands couldn't perform. Still, she hadn't adjusted to the change physically nor mentally. No one had expected her to recover quickly but no one had expected her to lose hope either.
Beast Boy was thankful she was able to use her telekinesis otherwise the change would've come even harder.
Unresponsive, Raven's eyes darkened to a dull plum as she observed the changeling tidy her mess. Although his intentions were pure, it felt as if even the simplest actions were mocking her. Deciding it best to keep quiet, Raven tucked her chin to her chest. "Thank you, Beast Boy." She muttered, closing her eyes gently. She couldn't even wipe way her own tears.
He grinned, then set a tea kettle on the stove, pulling down another mug. "I'll get your tea." His voice was full of kindness. "Today we can go to the mall and get you a haircut. How does that sound, Rae?" Albeit beautiful, she'd found the lavender waterfall waves pesky as ever.
Instantly, Raven declined. "No," her voice was quivering but her words were stubborn. "I-I'll take care of it."
Beast Boy nodded, noting the dullness of her usually razor sharp remarks. He'd been careful of stepping on her toes all week, but she had become weaker by the hour. He didn't want to admit it, Beast Boy knew that if the situation had been reversed, she would be pushing him ten times harder than he had her. So with that in mind, he picked at the touchy subject, hoping Robin wouldn't hear.
"How exactly are you going to do that, Raven?"
Her cheeks flushed as she realized the gravity behind his question.
"I think it's best you leave me alone." She held her monotone, a slight but fierce edge creeping at her voice. "I mean it, Beast Boy," she warned, another wave of tears threatening to paint her cheeks.
"Raven." He took the tea kettle from the stove and poured the steaming jasmine tea into her gold rimmed mug. "Can't you use your telekinesis on your own body? I've seen you move people, certainly-"
"That takes discipline, Garfield." Raven snapped. "Something I wouldn't expect you to understand." Beast Boy flinched before he'd realized what she said and ow she'd said it. Her subtle dig had hurt but he was glad to hear her straightforward snap. Holding back a tiny smile, Beast Boy counted this mini conversation as a step in the right direction. Placing the mug in her wheelchair's cup holder, the changeling cocked his head and awaited her acknowledgement. Raven blinked, before a dark aura formed around her wheels and she began to roll backward. She was clearly miffed at him but her microscopic emotional display was only encouraging. Calling quietly over her shoulder, the sorceress made her way to the door.
"If I wanted to use my telekinesis for fine motor skills.. That could take years."
"Well then you'd better start trying," Garfield muttered.
Later that week….
Raven sat in front of her dresser, staring at her unkempt hair. It now touched her naval in a neat side braid, courtesy of Starfire. The sorceress, although grateful for Beast Boy's continual compliments and Starfire's grooming skills, had undone the braid. Although reluctant, Raven knew she'd better trysomething if she ever wanted to rid her mind of Beast Boy's voice.
Youi'd better start trying….
Lifting the scissors with an onyx energy, Raven practiced fine motor motions.Open, close… open, close…. The sound of metal blades brushing rhythmically past one another was surprisingly satisfying. Raven tried her best to focus on the scissors while separating a piece of her hair from the mass. After an excruciatingly long thirty seconds, Raven had the piece she wanted to cut.
She'd been so focused on the fine hairs that she hadn't realized the scissors had fallen on the ground.
My mind has become weak, Raven noted, biting her tongue. A month ago, this task would've been a breeze. Even if she could've used her hands, she'd often still depend on her mind; for her mind was precise and easily stronger than any of her muscles. Well, at least it was…
Frustrated, Raven levitated the scissors again, careful not to lose concentration on her thin lavender lock. The metal blades floated towards her, and Raven felt her mind fall into a pattern. Focusing on two things wasn't so hard when-
Knock knock knock.
Raven flinched, losing what little control she'd had on the scissors. The blades grazed her cheek and the sorceress let out an irate growl.
"Raven!" Beast Boy forced the heavy sliding door open, bursting into her room with a lively presence. "Rae, are you alright?" Noticing the reddening scratch, the changeling, grabbed a tissue from her nightstand. "Gotta be careful with those scissors," He joked, dabbing the white cloth until it was dotted with her deep crimson blood.Care to heal yourself? He didn't dare utter those words aloud.
Still, she heard his message loud and clear.
"That requires my hands, Garfield," Raven snapped.
Right…. He thought, digging his fang into the soft pink of his tongue. Now would be the time to reveal his idea to her although she wasn't in the best mood. Alas, biting his tongue didn't do anything to hold back the changeling's impulse.
"Raven," Crumpling the used white cloth, Beast Boy stood from his crouch to hover behind her wheelchair. He watched their reflections in the mirror amidst the single-candlelit room. Tentatively, he gathered her silky waves to fall over her right shoulder. "I want you to try something." Already a storm began brewing in her irises. "Try moving your finger, just one."
Raven's eyes flooded with hot tears. How could Garfield be so ignorant? Oh, right, he was Garfield…. "Beast Boy, I'm paralyzed." The words were too familiar in her mouth and Raven hated her voice for breaking.
"I'm not giving up on you." He frowned, rounding to the front of her chair. "Just, try, please? For me." He got to his knees so they were eye level. Earnest emerald eyes gazed hopefully into hers and he gently picked up her right hand with his left. In an act of comfort he curled his fingers around her index finger and Beast Boy focused on feeling for any movement, no matter how subtle. "I know you won't be able to feel anything, but if you can move it… It'll be like-"
"A prosthetic." Raven finished, eyes drying at the optimistic thought. Doubt still dominated her mind; she could barely focus on the scissors and a single strand of hair, how could she focus on five fingers at once?
But something about they way he looked at her made her want to trust him.
Taking a deep breath, Raven nodded. Lids falling closed, she focused on the Beast Boy's fingers that were so delicately cradling hers. Soft vibrations buzzed in her heart as she focused on his warmth, his presence, his hope.
Beast Boy felt her index finger twitch and a huge smile formed. "Rae!" His canine glinted in joy and he brought her fingers to brush his lips. Kissing her fingertips, Beast Boy continued with his plan. "Okay, okay now try two."
Raven worked her magic, slowly wiggling each one of her finger alone, then together. Soon she was moving her whole right hand, then her left. She practiced opening and closing her palms, her motions becoming quicker and easier. A couple hours later, she and Beast Boy had fallen into a game where he'd poke the center of her palm and her slender fingers would race to catch his. By the end of the evening, she'd caught his index finger twice and her hair was cut into its neat bob.
Weeks later, Raven's arms were both fully functional. Although the nerve endings in her extremities weren't restored, the sorceress's mood was improved. Using levitation to get around the tower, Raven seemed almost as independent as she'd been before the incident. She'd greet the morning with a light smile as she'd pour the water and brew her tea. Her physical abilities had caught up to her mind, allowing her transition some daily tasks from her mind to her hands.
Even more impressive was her new found tolerance to Beast Boy. They'd always been friends but ever since her haircut, her mood was drastically lighter when the leafy, vibrant changeling was around.
"Raven," Robin beamed as his teammate handed him a spoon. In return, a rare smile escaped her lips as well. "I knew your hope would get you through."
Raven tucked a short lavender hair behind her ear, then glanced at her palms. "It wasn't my hope."
Robin cocked his head, glancing between the sorceress and the changeling. He knew now he'd been wrong to ignore Raven at her most desperate times of need. Perhaps he didn't know the sorceress as well as he'd thought. Robin's studied Beast Boy, fairly impressed that the changeling had brought her to a recovery that none of the others could even dream to achieve. Pushing his berry and bran cereal around in the milk, the alpha Titan spoke."Beast Boy's a good friend, Raven."
"He's more than a good friend." Raven's amethyst eyes crinkled at the changeling and her pale cheeks tinted pink.
She held her monotony with ease, completely controlling her emotions as she used to. Rising from the table, the sorceress took her friend's finished platters to the sink. Beast Boy was soon to follow, taking her hand and leading her to the dark hallway like a midnight blue helium balloon.
"We're more than friends?' The changeling scrunched his nose playfully, his fingers still intertwined with hers. She levitated at his eye level, rolling her crystalline irises at his implication. Beast Boy was still gloating at her subtle praise with his wide, goofy grin when she leaned forward, pressing her lips to his. The changeling's brows shot upwards as he went cross-eyed trying to read her face. After a second, he found his efforts to be futile as his brows fell into a soft frown, eyes closed, as he placed her palm on his cheek and the other was still intertwined with hers. All too soon, the sorceress pulled away, fingertips curling at the material over his racing heart.
"More than friends?" His voice was breathy as his fingers danced up her neck to cup cheeks and bring her closer. She graced him with a soft smile, relishing in his tender touch and letting his lips brush hers once more.
"We always were."
I would've loved a beta on this drabble, however, I do not currently have one. :( With that being said, I apologize for any errors! As always, reviews are helpful but please no flames. Thanks to all you diamonds for reading and reviewing! Xoxo!
