Beast Boy

It's really fucking odd to see Aqualad in anything other than his wet suit or whatever. When I see him standing there in a heavy jacket to battle the New York wind chill, the first thing I think is that he should be riding on the back of a whale or a dolphin or something. Not smiling and waving at us in blue jeans. It's just plain wrong.

All the same, when we draw near I grab the guy into a tight hug. I've missed him a little bit, despite our initial differences, which turned out to be both pretty big and not so much. He's still as handsome as ever, to my dismay, and his black hair is long in that kind of way that girls faint over. I wrinkle my nose and remind myself that at least I don't smell like fish. That has to be a big advantage for me, right?

I step back and hunch my shoulders as he runs a hand through my hair like a big brother screwing around with his younger one. Immediately I kind of hate him for it and I have to grit my teeth so that I don't start an argument already. "You haven't grown a whole lot since we last met, did you?" he teases.

"Short as ever," Raven chips in, not sounding particularly pleased in ganging up on me, but just in need of something to say. Aqualad nods to her in greeting and she nods back, seeming relieved he didn't try to go in for a hug.

I roll my eyes. I'm Raven's height now, but it's not enough to satisfy anybody. It never will be, most likely. I'm stuck being the short comedic relief of the team for life. Believe it or not, it's a hard job when the toll of being a superhero wears down on you after so many years. I'm certainly feeling it right now. "I'm assuming you're our guide to the new tower?" I interrupt.

Quick dip of the head. "Yeah. You two are the first ones to arrive, besides me. Argent and Hot Spot should be getting here soon in about a day or so. Until then, it's just us."

"Fine with me," Raven mumbles, and I guess I kind of agree. We'll have the upper hand if we have time to adjust before we just get thrown into a whole new team.

"How was the flight?"

"Boring," we both say at the same time. I blink and she doesn't acknowledge it.

I'm a bit on edge as we make our way to waiting yellow vehicle. A taxi. There's too much action going on around here and I don't know how well I'm going to feel in this place after a night, let alone the one hour I've been here. The sounds and the smells are overwhelming.

Aqualad takes the passenger's seat and lets Raven and I have the back while he stiffly comments on his own trip here. He swam. Why am I not surprised?

"...and the water here is absolutely disgusting, I really don't understand how I'm expected to do much of anything with it. It's polluted beyond repair."

I take a big whiff and nearly gag on the amount of different odors that have been collected in the taxi before us. New York smells horrible. I can taste the dirtiness in the air and I can take Aqualad's word for it that the sea is in even worse shape. I start coughing.

I feel Raven's hand flutter over my own and it takes me a second to realize it's on purpose. I glance up and give her a questioning look, but she just shrugs at me. She's not sure about this place either. She's naturally quiet and calm. This bustling city around us has us both bristling, not just me.

The touch on my hand was just momentary, just for my attention. But in my tired state and with all of my senses being attacked right now, I seek comfort where I can get it. It had felt nice. I pray she won't zap me, and I grab her fingers to hold onto. She refuses to even look at me or acknowledge what I've done, but she doesn't pull away, so I figure I'm safe.

Her fingers squeeze my own as she opens her mouth and starts to ask Aqualad a few questions. What the city's major problems are, anybody we know, and what we plan to do about it, and so on. Aqualad stops talking about the state of the fish for a moment to begin spouting off real answers for her.

I lay my head back against the gross leather seat and close my eyes. I just need a minute. My fingers trace the outlines of her own, and I do that for a while, until we come to a stop.

The driver of the taxi is paid well, and I give a small salute to them, even though they were quiet the entire length of the drive and didn't look at all interested in us. It's as though they have absolutely no hope for what we were doing here, and very little recognition for who we were. I silently guess that this city is in worse shape than it smells.

We're dropped off at the edge of the water in a clearing, and straight ahead a few miles away is the new tower. It's like looking at home and I feel a twinge in my heart. A big bright T against the evening sky. It looks a bit smaller than the one I'm used to, but not bad at all. It's impressive. It just feels wrong. I shake my head and force myself to snap out of it. It'll become home in no time.

That's the plan.

Aqualad dives gracefully into the waves below. I consider morphing into a marine animal but after what he said about the water I'm less than excited to. I stick by Raven's side as a large hawk and we both glide away into the wind, perfectly quiet until we reach the bank where our new teammate waits for us, dripping wet and likely cold.

"There are boats but it's too slow for my liking, though I imagine Hot Spot and Argent will have to make do with it. Besides, it's freezing."

"Agreed," I mumble, after landing and morphing back into my original form. I stand from my crouch and he leads us toward the entrance.

Walking in, I'm relieved to find that the inside is completely different from our tower. It's nothing but cold hard metal and safety systems that we have to pass, until we reach an elevator. It takes us all the way up to the top floor, where I'm guessing the common room is placed.

The furniture is different, the color scheme, all of it. It's more like an expensive-looking penthouse for the overly rich. Couches are strewn about everywhere, and all of the walls are glass. The city may smell gross, but it looks amazing from in here. My jaw drops and I wander over to get a closer look at all the dazzling lights.

The room is complete with a flat screen television, bigger than I've ever seen, and a sleek white kitchen built into the side with plenty more space than the one we had.

I love it and I wonder if it's necessary. Probably not. But it looks neat. It makes me miss home just a tiny bit less.

I lunge onto a soft couch that utterly consumes me. It sinks so low I wonder if I might disappear. "Not bad, not bad," I say, and Aqualad smirks. Raven just looks around, more comfortable standing in the middle of the room to take it all in.

"There's a pool on the floor below this one. Huge. It's supposed to be for me and my training but I'm afraid I have water all around us to do that. Just so you guys know, if you ever want to learn to swim."

"I know how to swim," Raven says, not caring that he meant it as a joke. But I hear laughter in her voice. Just slightly. I barely pick up on it. I sit straight up and stare at her in horror.

He's not even funny.

"Everyone has a floor to themselves where their rooms are located, as well. The floors are already assigned, but it wouldn't be too much of a hassle just to swap in the beginning."

I disregard my jealousy at once. That's kind of cool, I have to admit. I wonder what's included on my floor and suddenly I'm itching to go see, but I don't want to look like a kid.

Aqualad just shrug, gesturing to the whole place. "It's nice. Will take some getting used to, for me. I imagine it'll be the same for you." I realize for the first time that he's soaking wet and he doesn't seem to mind at all. I wonder how many times in the coming months we'll slip and fall because he leaves puddles everywhere he goes.

"It's good to see you," I finally say from where I am, and he sighs in agreement. None of us are that happy about leaving home, and certainly not me. Not anymore.

I recall the sad look in Star's eyes and the painful hug (emotionally and physically) Cyborg gave me before we left this morning. Even Robin looked like he was considering calling us back, but as we walked away, he was silent.

Nobody really wants to talk, not even Aqualad. It's just obvious. I hope that the dynamics of the team become more balanced the more comfortable we get around one another. Or we're just fucked. I turn my head to stare at the horizon.

The sun is setting and it really does look brilliant. Raven is looking at it, too, and I have to appreciate her in the light.

She so often hides in the dark.