AN: I do not own Teen Titans

Chapter 10

A month had gone by. An entire month. She had been mute for four weeks. And, at first, she was depressed. Any hope she had of regaining her original voice was dashed completely. She refused any fake voice that Cyborg created for her. She didn't care how close he got it to sound like a real voice, it wasn't hers and so she didn't want it.

But, oddly enough, she wasn't as sad anymore. In the four weeks she had been voiceless she had learned to listen even more; and she was an expert listener to begin with. And she had gotten to get a little closer to Beast Boy, who actually seemed watered down around her. He had to pay attention to her even closer now to see what she was saying with her body language. And, as much as this made her feel uncomfortable and she was caught blushing once or twice, she liked it.

As for the other three Titans they were glad that things were starting to get a little more normal. They had all gotten used to Ravens muteness and, although they didn't accept it, they were a little more comfortable with it. But they were not going to give up on finding Adrienne and getting Ravens rightful voice back.

"I'm tellin ya, man, if she doesn't want it I can't force it on her," said Cyborg as the three walked down the hall towards the common room.

"You've got to show her how realistic it sounds," said Robin.

"But if she does not want it then why must she have it?" asked Starfire.

"Because it'll help her to communicate with us better," said Robin. "She can't go voiceless the rest of her life."

"Jericho seems to be doing fine without one," said Cyborg.

"I don't want her to think she's going to be like this the rest of her life," said Robin.

"But what if she is?" asked Starfire.

"Don't think like that," said Robin. "We're not going to give up."

As they approached the common room doors they could hear someone talking. And since the three of them weren't in there, that meant that Beast Boy was talking. And most likely to Raven. They became quiet and listened in.

"I did not put too much sugar in it! … I put the same amount in that you do … No I didn't! … Hey, I'm just trying to be nice … Don't look at me like that … Come on, Rae, you know you like it … " BANG! "I'm sorry! … Raven, not Rae, Raven … I don't know … Huh? … Yeah, right … I don't know where they are … Probably … Yeah, that sounds cool … Duh!"

The three looked at each other, each very confused. Beast Boy was going on and on as if he was on the telephone with someone. They figured he must have been. There was no way he was communicating with Raven like that. Finally they decided to proceed on through.

The doors opened and they walked into the common room. There they saw Raven sitting at the table with a cup of tea and her book while Beast Boy was in the kitchen making him self a sandwich.

"Hey, there you guys are," said Beast Boy with a smile. "We were just wondering where you were."

"So… you were talking to Raven?" asked Starfire.

"Uh, yeah, who else?" he chuckled.

Raven softly closed her book and stood up, grabbing her tea cup. She gave Beast Boy a look for a moment, then proceeded to leave.

"Okay, see ya later," he said as she left. He then took his sandwich and sat down at the table. The other three quickly sat down with him.

"Beast Boy, how do you do that?" asked Robin.

"Do what?" asked Beast Boy.

"Converse with Raven like that," said Cyborg.

"Huh?" asked Beast Boy, slightly confused.

"How are you able to talk with Raven so easily when she does not have a voice?" asked Starfire.

"Oh, uh, I don't know," he shrugged. "I just understand all of her little movements and stuff."

"Does she use sign language?" asked Robin.

"No," said Beast Boy. "She just gives me little looks or gestures and I get what she's saying. It's not really that hard."

"Well it's hard for us," said Cyborg. "Honestly, I can't understand how you of all people could communicate with Raven."

"Hey!" Beast Boy objected.

"Do you think you can teach us?" asked Robin.

"Uh, I don't think I can do that," said Beast Boy. "It's kinda something to do with my animal instincts. So, unless you wanna inject yourself with animal DNA, you'll have to figure out your own way to talk with her. One that doesn't have her using a fake voice thing."

Robin groaned and said, "I just wish she wasn't so stubborn. She hasn't even tried to find Adrienne."

"Yeah she has," said Beast Boy. "She searched like a hundred different dimensions but found no sign of her."

"What? When'd she do that?" asked Cyborg.

"The first week after it happened," said Beast Boy.

"But I do not believe she ever left the tower," said Starfire.

"She didn't need to," said Beast Boy. "She just searched with her soul self. She said it was quicker and easier."

"And she didn't tell us because…" said Robin through his teeth.

"Because she didn't want to get your hopes up too," said Beast Boy. "She figured as long as you guys kept looking you wouldn't feel bad for her."

"I do not understand why Raven does not want us to feel badly for her," said Starfire. "Is it not alright that we feel sadness for our friend's loss?"

"It's alright, just don't let Raven know about it," said Beast Boy. "She doesn't want our pity or anything like that. And if you're gonna keep looking for Adrienne then don't talk to her about it, cuz it only makes her feel worse."

"You sure have gotten to know her better," said Cyborg.

"Well that's what happens when you're the easiest to talk to," said Beast Boy.

"But why does she not wish to communicate with us?" asked Starfire. "I feel that she has done the ignoring of us ever since she lost her voice."

"She's not ignoring you guys," said Beast Boy. "She just gets frustrated that you can't understand her as quickly as I do. It takes her like an hour just to get you guys to understand one sentence."

"Well if she would use a dang artificial larynx it wouldn't take us an hour," said Robin, frustrated.

"Dude, let it go," said Beast Boy, standing up. He had already finished his sandwich and was ready to get out of there. He knew his friends wouldn't be able to understand. "She doesn't want one." He went into the kitchen and put his plate in the sink. "Now, if you'll excuse me, me and Rae are gonna go out for a little while?"

"The two of you?" asked Robin.

"Alone?" asked Starfire.

"Rae?" asked Cyborg.

"Ugh, that's right, I keep calling her Rae," he said, banging his forehead with his fist. "Yeah, Raven and I are going into the city just to hang out. She wants to go to a café or something like that and she needs me to help her talk."

"And you're not scared that she's gonna hurt you?" asked Cyborg.

"No, I'm not worried about that anymore," said Beast Boy, casually shrugging and shaking his head.

"But why?" asked Starfire.

"Cuz I know why she was doing it and now that I know she doesn't lash out at me anymore," he said. His three friends just stared at him. "Forget it. Just be happy she's not throwing me out of windows anymore." And with that he headed off to find Raven.

"Sheesh, those two are together more than you two," said Cyborg.

"I am glad that they have found a good friendship with each other," said Starfire.

"Yeah, it's about time they stopped bickering," said Robin.

Beast Boy whistled to himself as he made his way to Ravens room. He knocked on her door and called, "Raven, you ready?"

A second later her door opened and she appeared, hood up and a book in her arms. She nodded and closed the door behind her.

"Awesome, let's go," he said with a smile. "You wanna fly?"

She gave him a look that said, "How else would we get out of here?"

"What? You could always drive us," said Beast Boy. "God knows that Cy won't let me behind the wheel."

Raven rolled her eyes and headed up to the roof. Beast Boy sighed and quickly followed after her. He was glad to be getting out of the tower and he was especially happy he got to go with Raven. Over the month it was as if they had started their friendship over. He knew it was wrong, but he was actually glad she had lost her voice. If not for that he wouldn't have been able to get closer to her. And, as odd as it was, he actually liked that.

A little while later the two touched down within the city. Raven headed over to her favorite café that Beast Boy was slowly getting familiar with. He had been there a few times and didn't find it as boring as he initially thought it was going to be. He enjoyed drinking a hot chocolate, made with soy milk of course, and watching the people as they passed by. And when he got bored with that he had a hand held videogame player that he would whip out and play until Raven was ready to leave.

"The usual?" he asked her as they sat down at their usual table outside. She nodded and gave him a kind smile. "You got it," he smiled back and headed over to the counter to order.

Raven watched as he went to order their usual drinks. She couldn't believe how different he was acting. He wasn't going out of his way to impress her anymore, which was something he had always done. Now he was calm around her, knowing that she liked him in more ways than one. And seeing him act a little less impulsive and annoying around her made her fall deeper and deeper into this ridiculous crush she had on him.

It had taken her a while to accept that she did like him. And they both knew why she had a crush on him. It was because in his eyes, she was no different than any other girl. She was confusing, complicated, and made boys squirm. Yes, she made him feel no different than any other girl made him feel. It never seemed to sink into his brain that she was a half demon. Even the fact that she had purple hair and gray skin didn't change his view on her. After all, he was a normal teenage boy who just had green skin, hair, fangs, and the ability to turn into any creature. He was used to different looking people.

"Here you go," he said with a smile as he set her tea in front of her.

She smiled as a way of saying, "Thank you," and took a sip.

He smiled and sat down, taking a large sip of his hot chocolate. "I swear, this place does the best soy hot chocolate ever!" he exclaimed.

Raven gave a slight smile and rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, I know I say it every time," he said, knowing what she was thinking. He then leaned in and whispered, "But every time I say it the lady behind the counter gives me a free second cup."

Raven shook her head, her soft smile never leaving her face. He certainly was a character. She looked back to her book and focused on the words upon the page rather than the boy who was sitting next to her.