Disclaimer: I have no ownership of Teen Titans
Chapter 4
Beast Boy could barely keep still in his seat. His leg shook, his hands couldn't find anything to occupy themselves, and he kept looking out the window every few minutes. Raven, on the other hand, had only moved to turn the pages of her book. They'd been on the plane for hours and were finally almost there. Of course, once there they still had to board yet another plane to get them to their actual destination. But they wouldn't be leaving that day. Once they landed they were going to check into a hotel for the night and then leave in the morning.
It had been about a week, roughly six days, since Beast Boy had revealed his true feelings about his life and Raven got to work helping him. She'd made all of the arrangements and was now accompanying him to make sure everything went as planned. Cyborg and Robin had insisted they take the T-ship to Africa, but Raven refused. She wasn't going to drive all the way there cooped up with Beast Boy and then drive all the way back all alone. She knew she was pretty good at managing the T-ship, but she didn't trust herself all alone. And so they were traveling by a regular airplane; but she'd secretly booked first class seats. She knew Robin would protest the cost, but if she was going to be in a plane for hours on end then she was going to do it comfortably.
"How much longer until we land, you think?" asked Beast Boy, excitedly.
"Probably within the hour," said Raven.
"Cool," he said. "And we're not going to Upper Lamumba until tomorrow?"
"That's right," she said.
"I can't wait," he said, smiling.
"I couldn't tell," she said, sarcastically.
"Well, this is a big deal, you know?" he said. "I mean, how would you feel if you got to go back home?"
"Not very good," said Raven. "But, that's just me."
"Sheesh, don't you miss your home?" he asked. "I mean… where were you born?"
"In another dimension," said Raven.
"Come on, Raven, be serious," he said, a slight chuckle in his voice.
"I am serious, Beast Boy," she said, having not yet lifted her eyes from her book.
"Oh," he said, feeling a little embarrassed. "Well, anyway, wouldn't you wanna go back?"
"No," she said. "Now drop the subject and look out your window again."
"Okay, fine," he said crossing his arms, feeling a little dejected.
Within the hour, just as Raven had predicted, the plane landed. Beast Boy was visibly shaking he was so excited and couldn't wait to get off of the plane and actually set foot in Africa again. Raven was calm and composed the entire time. She didn't yell at Beast Boy to calm down or to stop being impatient as the plane seemed to take forever to let them out. She just seemed to zone herself out of the situation and let Beast Boy feel as happy as he wanted.
Once they were finally let out of the plane they got their luggage and grabbed a cab to take them to the hotel. Beast Boy's face was stuck outside of the window the entire time, looking around with a large grin on his face. Raven had never felt him so happy before. When they finally reached the hotel he was actually upset. He wanted to drive around and look about some more. Of course, she told him he could look around all he wanted once they got settled in their room. They checked in and were brought to their accommodations.
"Could it be any hotter?" asked a sweating Raven.
"I told you not to wear long sleeves," said Beast Boy, who was no longer in his uniform. He'd changed into civilian clothes right before they'd left the tower. "Can I go look around now?"
"Sure," she said, collapsing onto the bed after such a long journey. "But check in with me in fifteen minutes, got it?"
"Got it!" he said with a large grin and flew out the window in the form of a swallow. Unfortunately, his clothes didn't change with him and dropped to the floor. But he didn't seem to notice and flew off nonetheless. Raven looked at the clothes on the floor and sighed. She prayed she was facing away from the window when he returned.
He felt the hot sun on his feathers and flew in utter delight. He did twirls and flips in the air and didn't care if anyone noticed an odd green sparrow doing tricks. He was so happy if he were Tamaranean he would've floated right off of the planet.
He soon found a grassy area and proceeded to land. But, before he could do so, he looked around to make sure there weren't any people nearby. Once assured, he landed and transformed into his normal form. He stood tall and let the air and sun bathe his naked form. In all his life he couldn't remember if he'd ever felt more at peace. The hot grass beneath his feet brought back fond memories of old and he wiggled his toes in joy.
"Thank you, God," he said, closing his eyes and raising his head to the sun. "I'm finally home."
He basked for a few more minutes and then realized the time. He changed back into a sparrow and flew back towards the hotel. Raven fell asleep as soon as Beast Boy had exited through the window. He landed on the edge of the window and peaked in. He saw her passed out on her bed and was relieved, since he was going to be naked when he changed back again. He hopped into the room, transformed into his nude self, grabbed his clothes, and ran into the bathroom.
Once he was redressed he came back out and saw she hadn't moved an inch. She was fast asleep and heavily sweating. He'd told her it was going to be hot, but she'd shrugged him off, as she usually did. He took a seat on his own bed and then let himself fall backwards. It wasn't long before he fell asleep as well.
A while later Raven awoke in a pool of sweat. She was drenched from head to toe with her own perspiration and felt miserable. She quickly took her cloak off and decided to change into a dry leotard, even though she knew she'd quickly sweat through that. But she didn't have a choice since she only brought her uniforms on the trip; not that she owned anything else.
She quickly realized that a long time had passed and looked around to see if Beast Boy had returned. And there he was, curled up on his bed, a subtle smile on his face. She was quite certain he hadn't slept so soundly in quite some time. She grabbed her communicator and went into the bathroom to check in with the others.
"You made it okay?" asked Robin.
"Yes," she said. "He was very fidgety on the plane, but that was due to his excitement. He's already looking better."
"That's good," said Robin. "What're you two doing now?"
"I just woke up from a nap and he's asleep," she said. "I'll probably read until he wakes up and then go from there."
"Well, good luck," said Robin. "And keep in touch so we know how everything's going."
"Will do," said Raven and with that she signed off.
Like she said, once she'd put her communicator back in her bag she grabbed her book and sat on her bed to read. Of course, before doing so she searched the room for a thermostat. To her relief she found it and turned the air conditioner on. Immediately she felt cool air blow through the vents. Knowing she'd soon be comfortable put her in a good mood and she finally took her seat on the bed with her book.
Much time passed before Beast Boy awoke, but when he did he felt refreshed and better than ever. Even Raven had to admit his green skin seemed greener than ever; perhaps even glowing. He went for a swim in the hotel pool, flew about the land again, and then returned to the room since night had fallen and he was quite hungry.
"When're we leaving tomorrow?" he asked as he sat down to his salad he'd had room service bring him.
"Nine," said Raven. "Our flight leaves at eleven, so that'll give us plenty of time."
"And how long is the flight gonna be?" he asked.
"About two hours," she said. "Do you think you can sit for that long?"
"I'll do my best," he said, smiling. "Aren't you going to eat anything?"
"I'm not hungry," she shrugged, taking another sip of her tea.
"You haven't eaten anything all day," he said. "You didn't even have breakfast this morning. How can you go all day without eating?"
"Discipline," said Raven.
"Are you at least gonna have breakfast tomorrow?" he asked.
"Not if we're getting on an airplane," she said.
"But you'll starve!" he said. "Here, have some of my salad." He pushed it towards her, but she pushed it back towards him.
"No, thank you," she said.
"Come on, just a bite," he said, pushing it back towards her.
"I said no," she said, frowning, and pushing it away.
"Alright fine," he said, stabbing a few pieces of lettuce and a slice of tomato and shoving it into his mouth. "No wonder you're so cranky all of the time."
"Excuse me?" she asked.
"Low blood sugar equals cranky," he said. "Have you ever seen Robin when he skips lunch? He basically turns into you, but a little milder. And if you skip all three meals then you're gonna be short tempered."
"I don't skip all meals," said Raven. "I eat when I'm hungry and right now I'm not hungry. Now finish your salad so we can go to sleep."
"I think I'm gonna hit the pool one more time before bed, actually," he said, finishing off his salad. "You wanna come?"
"I didn't bring my bathing suit," she said, standing up and going to her bed.
"You're practically wearing one," he chuckled. "Come on, it's really nice."
"No thanks, I'm going to sleep," she said, turning down her bed. "Don't stay up too late."
"I won't," he said, grabbing his damp bathing suit and going into the bathroom to change. While he was in there Raven took her cloak off and slid into bed. The cool sheets were quite welcoming and she felt as if she hadn't napped that day. As soon as her head rested on her plush pillow she began to fall into a deep sleep.
Beast Boy went down to the pool and swam for an hour or so. Well, he didn't swim as much as he did just float in the water, staring up at the trillions of stars above him. The night air was warm and the sound of the wind blowing through the trees was completely relaxing. He hoped this was what heaven was like, for he his mind couldn't fathom any place that could be more like paradise.
Once his fingers and toes were pruned enough he headed back up to the room. As he opened the door a rush of cold air hit him and he shivered. He quickly ran over to his suitcase and grabbed his pajamas to change and get out of the cold. He ran into the bathroom, dried off completely, and put his night clothes on. Once changed, he went over to the thermostat and turned the air conditioning off. He then went to the window and opened it, trying to get some warm air inside.
He crawled into bed and let his body relax. He sighed contently and then turned to Ravens sleeping form. She was curled up on her side and he could tell from her deep breathing that she was asleep and had been for a while. He had to remember to thank her before she left tomorrow. If not for her, he wouldn't be home. She'd made all of this possible. He wasn't sure why, but she had. Raven certainly could be kind when the occasion called for it.