Disclaimer: I have no ownership of Teen Titans
Chapter 5
He wasn't sure how it was possible, but with every minute they got closer to their destination the faster his heart beat. He'd barely gotten any sleep the night before, but you wouldn't know by looking at him. He was wide eyed and fidgeting even more than he had been on the plane the day before. Poor Raven really had to concentrate on not snapping at him today.
"Do you think he'll remember me?" he said out of the blue.
"Who?" asked Raven, not looking up from her book, which she'd almost finished.
"King Tawaba," said Beast Boy. "I mean, it's been a real long time. What if we get there and he has no idea who I am?"
"I'd find that hard to believe," said Raven.
"Why?" he asked.
"Let's just say you're a difficult person to forget," said Raven.
"Cuz of my charming personality, right?" he said with a smirk.
"Sure, there's that," said Raven, rolling her eyes. "And the green skin and fangs help."
"I sure am one unique package, huh?" he said with a smile.
"You sure are," said Raven evenly. "And I don't think your self-esteem has been this high in years."
"Well I haven't felt this good in years," he replied. "How much longer?"
"Thirty-four minutes," said Raven, who'd been counting down the minutes.
"So we're almost there!" he exclaimed.
"Correct," she said, turning the last page in her book. She sighed at the thought of having nothing to do for the next half hour.
"Hey, I forgot to ask, but how much time is Robin letting me have off?" he asked. "Like a couple weeks?"
"You're not coming back until you're ready," said Raven. "However long that may be. And, when you are ready, you'll be welcomed back onto the team with open arms."
"Wow, and here I thought I'd have to fix myself up in, like, three weeks," said Beast Boy, relaxing into his seat.
"Take as much time as you need," said Raven, closing her book. "You're wellbeing is important, you know."
Within the hour the plane made it to its destination and Raven and Beast Boy were waiting for their escort to take them to King Tawaba's village. Raven sat on her luggage, hot and bored, while Beast Boy was running around in amazement because he recognized where they were.
"I totally know where we are!" he exclaimed. "I remember this airport." He sniffed the air. "I remember it smelling like this, too! And sounding like this! It's like nothing's changed. Hey, that's the tree I carved my name into!" He ran over to the tree and began to examine it up and down. "Oh my God! Here it is! Raven, you gotta come look at this! Raven! Raven!"
Raven groaned and had tried to block out the sound of Beast Boy's talking. In all truth, she'd allowed her mind to wander when Beast Boy called out to her. After realizing he'd been saying her name, she turned to see what he wanted.
"What?" she said.
"I carved my name into this tree, come and see!" he said, jumping up and down and pointing at a spot on the tree.
"Do I really have to?" she asked, wiping her sweating brow.
He ran over to her, grabbed her hand, and pulled her off of her makeshift seat. "Yeah, come on," he said. He dragged her over to the tree and pointed to where his name was. Raven took a good look and, low and behold, there, carved in the tree, was his name, 'Garfield 'BB' Logan'.
"When'd you do this?" she asked.
"Um, I think I was eleven," he said, thinking back.
"And how'd you carve it?" she asked.
"How else?" he laughed, flexing his fingers. "With good old fashioned claws."
"Very old fashioned," said Raven. There came the sound of a car honking and the two turned away from the tree. There a man was standing up in a jeep, waving to them. "There's our ride. Let's go."
They grabbed their luggage and hopped in. The man had a large smile and greeted them very kindly. And then something happened that truly shocked Raven; Beast Boy began to converse with the man in his native tongue. She'd had no idea he was bilingual; he could barely speak English properly! She watched in fascination as the two chatted and laughed as the man drove them down the long, dusty road towards the village a few miles away. After a few minutes Beast Boy realized she was staring at him and laughed.
"What're you looking at?" he chuckled.
"Nothing," she said, turning away from him casually. "I just didn't know you spoke a second language."
"Yeah," he laughed, scratching the back of his neck. "I haven't really had a need to use Swahili since I left."
"Ah, so that's what it is," said Raven. "I have to admit, I'm not very familiar with African languages or dialects."
"I could teach you, sometime," he said with a smile. "I mean, you speak a dozen languages-"
"Six," she corrected him. She'd never been one to tolerate exaggerators.
"Six languages," he continued, "so I'm sure learning another one won't be that hard."
"Well, maybe when you return," said Raven. "It'd be nice to do something actually educational with you."
"Especially when I get to be the teacher," he said with a smirk. Raven wanted to frown and turn away, but she didn't. She actually allowed the ends of her lips to turn up ever so slightly, though she was smart enough to not let him see. It really was refreshing to see him happy and energetic for once and not just putting on a show to mislead everyone into thinking he was happy and energetic.
The ride was bumpy and the blaring sun beat down on the occupants in the jeep. Poor Raven had to hold her hood up to keep the sun off of her and so the wind didn't blow it back down. She really couldn't wait to get back to the climate controlled tower. Beast Boy was practically standing up and looking around so much it was a wonder he didn't sprain his neck.
Finally, after nearly an hour, they arrived at the village of Beast Boy's youth. Oddly, as soon as they arrived, Beast Boy grew quiet and finally sat down in his seat. Raven got out, thankful that the vehicle had finally stopped, and went around to the other side where Beast Boy was. She was surprised to see him simply sitting there, staring at the village before him. After the fuss he'd been making she thought he'd be running around and screaming by this point.
"If you hadn't noticed, we're here," she said in an even tone.
"I know," he said, not moving.
"Here are you bags," said the driver, getting Beast Boy's luggage.
"Thank you," said Raven.
"Yeah, thanks," he said, still wearing an odd blank expression on his face.
"Beast Boy, are you okay?" she asked.
He nodded and said, "Uh huh."
"Then get out of the jeep," she said. "I've got another flight to catch."
"Raven?" he said.
"Yes?" she asked.
"Am I… am I doing the right thing?" he asked, finally turning towards her. "Leaving the team to come back here for… God knows how long?"
Raven sighed and said, "Beast Boy, I promise you, you're doing the right thing."
"You sure?" he asked.
"Look at me," she said and waited for him to turn and look at her. "Have I ever lied to you?"
"No," he said.
"Do you think I'd choose now to start?" she asked.
He gave a soft smile and said, "No."
"Then stand up, grab your stuff, and let's get you settled in," she said.
He took in a big breath and finally got out of the car. He grabbed his bags then he and Raven headed into the village; Beast Boy led and Raven followed. A girl, around their own age, was sitting outside of her hut, braiding the hair of a younger girl. She looked up for a moment, just to see who'd entered the village, and when she saw Beast Boy her eyes went wide. She leapt to her feet and went running off, yelling something in her own language.
"Well, she obviously remembers me," said Beast Boy.
"What's she yelling?" asked Raven.
"He's returned," said Beast Boy.
They continued to walk until they approached the hut that the girl had ran into. She exited, smiling widely at Beast Boy, and right behind her came a large and very important looking man.
"I do not believe it!" he said, laughing heartily. "Garfield Logan has returned to us."
"King Tawaba!" said Beast Boy, running over to him and giving him a large hug.
The king laughed and hugged him in return. The then held him away and said, "Let me get a good look at you." Beast Boy stood tall and proud, allowing the king to examine him. "You have grown! But I see you are as green as ever."
Beast Boy laughed and said, "Yup, why mess with a good thing?"
The king chuckled and then looked passed Beast Boy to Raven. "And who is this?"
"Oh, this is my friend, Raven," said Beast Boy, grabbing Raven and pulling her forward.
"It is a pleasure to meet you," he said, shaking her hand.
"Likewise, sir," said Raven, politely.
"Now, tell me, what has brought you here my dear Garfield?" asked King Tawaba.
"Well, it's kind of a long story," said Beast Boy. "You see…"
For the next hour Beast Boy updated his dear old friend on the main highlights of his life since he'd left the village all those years ago. He then got into how he'd grown unhappy and didn't feel compelled to live the life of a superhero any longer. This all led up to him finally asking if he could become part of the King's family once again and live in the village until he felt he was ready to return to the Titans.
"Garfield, you have always been welcome here," said King Tawaba. "We would love for you to join our tribe once more."
"Thank you so much," said Beast Boy. "You have no idea how long I've wanted to come back."
"Well, now that that's settled, I'd better be going," said Raven, who was quite ready to leave now. She wanted to make sure Beast Boy was welcome back before she left and now that this was certain she could go. "Good luck, Beast Boy. I hope you come back to the Titans someday. It was nice to meet you, King Tawaba." And with that she turned and began to walk back towards the jeep.
Beast Boy was quite shocked that she was leaving so abruptly. "Raven, wait!" he called out and quickly ran after her. "Can't I show you around before you go?"
"Unfortunately, I've got a flight to catch," said Raven. "And the sooner I get home the soon I can eat."
"You should stay for dinner, then!" said Beast Boy. "You can always get another flight."
"The next flight, after the one I'm supposed to be on, that goes back to the other airport isn't for two days," said Raven. "And I have to get back to the team."
"They'll be okay without you for two more days," he said.
"Beast Boy, I have to go," said Raven, firmly. "It's time we parted ways. You're staying here and I'm going back to the Titans. Perhaps, in time, we'll see you again, but for now it's time to say goodbye."
Beast Boy's eyes turned sad and he said, "I know."
"Then say goodbye so you can have closure and I can go home," said Raven.
"Alright," he sighed. "Bye, Raven." He approached her to hug her, but she quickly grabbed his hand, instead, and shook it.
"Goodbye, Beast Boy," she said then released his hand and continued walking.
He watched her walk all the way to the jeep and alert the driver, who'd been waiting nearby, that she was ready to go. He quickly hopped into the driver's seat and off they went back down the dirt road. Dust and dirt kicked up behind the vehicle and soon they drove right out of sight.