The gym grew eerily quiet as six sets of eyes leered at the two in the ring. Beast Boy scrunched up his nose feeling the pain of having Raven's forehead knocked into the bridge of it moments ago. He mirrored her movements waiting for her to moved towards him. He could hear the sound of her heavy breaths as she moved. Regret filled his stomach as soon as he lunched forward. A green fist made contact with her gray cheek. There was a soft gasp from Star as Raven soon felt the pain of his punch. She didn't make a sound as she moved. She threw two punches which both he blocked.
Raven became anxious as the lack of power she had in the situation. She had done so well in the last round, she didn't want to go back now. Another swing came from the Changeling and this time he missed as she ducked. Finding herself crouched down she flew her long leg out knocking Beast Boy's feet right out from him. He fell onto the mat with a loud thud. Raven surprised herself with how quickly she managed to climb on top of him. She knew it wouldn't be long before he was back on his feet.
"Great Raven, don't let him get up." Robin ordered.
Sweat pooled at the center of her chest as she nodded and began to do her best to pin down the man who was at least twice as big as her. There was a mixture of excitement and confidence deep inside her as she looked down at Beast Boy. He on the other hand was blocking off all emotion from her. As she peered down at him she noticed that his face was blank as well. For a moment she was taken back by this, he was never one to do this. That moment was all Beast Boy need before his arms twisted right out of her grasp. Once he was free he effortlessly grabbed her and flipped her down on to the mat.
Raven growled as she felt the cold mat against her sore cheek. It was clear that Beast Boy wasn't holding back now. She grunted as she felt his knee press into her shoulder. Her heart began to hammer in her chest as she realized that this was the exact position Starfire had been in the night before. It was all she could do not to blast him right off of her. 'Poor poor Star.' she thought. She tossed her head back trying to see how to get free, but that's when she picked up on a new emotion. Humiliation mixed with repulsion.
Beast Boy let out a breath as he and shook his head. He removed his knee off the Empath, and then removed rest of himself off as well.
"Sorry I can't." He whispered in a guilty tone. Everyone was surprised by this but not as surprised as Raven was. She was quite shocked to see Beast Boy green hand out midair. He held it out for her. She looked back towards Robin. Was he really not going to say anything? She gulped down the emotions that were stuck in her chest and she accepted the green one's hand. He pulled her up, leveling her body with his. This is when his eyes caught her new bruised cheek. Raven swore that she heard a soft whine come from his lips at that moment.
What happened next, completely sent Raven over the edge. She didn't know where the others were or where they went but just in a brief moment it was just him and her. Only him and those emeralds. They were piercing so deep, it stole her breath away. His arm moved up and before he could even think about it his hand had found her cheek. He could hear the blood pumping in her veins.
His rough fingers brushed against the bruise as he gazed at what he had done to her. Raven found herself paralyzed as she just watched him. His mouth pouted as regret poured out of him. He gently moved his fingers down her cheek. Her eyes naturally closed for brief second letting his touch watch over her. A soft sigh came from her mouth and she snapped her eyes open.
"Ahem." Cyborg interrupted by clearing his throat.
Beast Boy instantly removed his hand and took his gaze to the floor. He didn't know what had come over him and he suddenly was regretting ever leaving his bed this morning. He moved back to his corner hoping that she would knock him out cold in the next few moments.
Raven finally regained her composure, her hand had moved to where his once was. Shaking her head she looked towards Robin. He only nodded telling her to continue. She rose her shoulders a couple of times trying to figure out why she was attached to feeling of his fingers.
Moving towards her once again Beast Boy threw more punches with not nearly enough power behind them. Raven moved, blocked and ducked away from them all. Winding her right hand back she clocked him right in the chin. His fang dung deep into his lip making it bleed. Shaking the pain off he charged at her and sent another punch. This time he got her right in lip. Raven stumbled back dazed. Bringing her right hand up to her lip she felt something warm. Pulling back she confirmed her thoughts. He had split it clean open.
Beast Boy's stomach did a somersault as he saw the blood. He didn't mean to hit her enough to cause blood. He had to hold back his animalistic growls from coming out as she smeared the blood off her lip. A glare was shot towards at Robin as the Changeling suddenly wished that the alarm would go off so they could stop this extreme training. How could this possibly help them? If anything it was only making him feel like a monster.
Raven could feel her teammate's pain and in all honesty she was so tired of this brutal exercise. Hell she never even wanted to do it in the first place. Robin clearly would never learn. As she wiped her lip again she suddenly came up with a plan. It was time to be done with this. She sent a casual look towards Beast Boy and then took in a deep breath. She knew that this really wasn't her greatest idea but if it meant ending the fight and the guilt ridden Beast Boy it was worth it. There was not doubt in her mind that Beast Boy wouldn't like it. 'Hopefully he'll forgive me for this later.'
Advancing towards him she threw her fist at him and put on her best angry face. "You really fight like a girl." She spat. This only earned her an eyebrow raise. He moved his head as she threw another punch at him.
"It's no wonder why you only depend on your powers." She murmured. She hit his cheek as he was stunned by her words. "How long do you think you'd last without them?" she questioned.
Beast Boy found himself bewildered by her comments. He thought she had dropped the make him angry act a while ago but it seemed that she was going to take it to a new level.
"I was so sure that you would have knocked me out by now but I guess I should have known. You are just not man enough are you?"
"Shut up Raven." He whispered. Shooting a glance towards the others. He didn't want to hurt her surely she of all people would know that. He knew, she knew it from how she reacted just moments ago. He threw his fist at her bruise cheek but barley grazed it.
"What? Is Beastie getting angry?" She asked in very odd sick tone. She fought with her eyes, blinking back the tears that had formed in the corners of them. His emotions were barely enough to handle, before and now she could feel the storm brewing deep inside. "You're pathetic." She spoke again. She watched as his ears drop as he sent a glare her way. She waited patiently hoping that he would blow but he didn't. She sent a kick to shin as he swore under his breath. He growled softly and she knew that he was close to breaking. She had hoped that she wouldn't have to pull out the big guns but by the look on his face and his body language told her otherwise.
'I'm sorry.' She thought biting her hurt lip she sucked in and offered her lowest deepest blow she could muster.
"I wondered why you never could save them, but now seeing your fighting skills," She paused kicking him in the stomach. He reeled back clutching himself. "It's no surprise at all." She finished her eyes brimming with tears.
That was it. The final straw. A loud growl erupted from the green one. Raven didn't stop the sigh as she felt relief, seeing him charge towards her.
"Don't you fucking dare talk about them." He yelled and with one swift motion he punched the Empath so hard that it sent her flying back. The sound of her petite body hitting the mat made everyone in the room cringe. All the color drained from Beast Boy as he realized what he just did.
...
Raven's violet orbs opened slowly as she began focusing. Her pounding head, forced her eyes to shut for a moment before opening again. Jade green eyes stared down at her. A small moan escaped from her mouth as she began to move.
"She is coming out of it." Starfire commented. Turning her attention on something Raven couldn't see. She then noticed Robin was sitting near her shaking his head.
"You were close Raven, I liked your way of getting him upset. You may have taken too far." Robin frowned down at her. She closed her eyes in response to his comment. No more of this silly useless training. She found herself once again voicing her opinions on the matter.
"I think we need to think of new way to do combat practice." She muttered. Robin sent her an odd look confused by her words. It wasn't until Starfire's mouse voice breaking the silence did Raven feel better about her statement.
"Robin, I understand that you want us to be our best, but I must agree with Raven." Starfire affirmed. Her soft fingers gently brushed a lock of hair that was stuck to Raven's sweat covered face. She gave her sad look before adding, "I don't see how this is helping our friends. Friends shouldn't have to battle like this."
Robin's frown seem to only grow as he looked from Raven and back at Starfire. His lips drew into a tight line as he began thinking. Of course the two were right. He had thought his new combat routine was a sure fire way to keep criminals off his teammates. A deep sigh came from him as he shook his head giving in.
"Okay, you guys are right." he mumbled. "We have to come up with a way to keep you safe." he stated looking right up at his girlfriend. "I seriously can't stand the thought of either one of you getting..." He trailed off his face twisting in disgust.
"What if you teach us some moves? That way we can practice and then if something should happen we will be prepare." Raven responded still lying on her back. She had began to move slowly taking her time getting up off the mat.
"That sounds like an excellent idea." Robin noted in softer tone. He reached out his hand offered it to Raven. She took it and sat up. A dizzy spell washed over her for a minute causing her to moan softly.
"Friend Beast Boy it is all right, Raven is fine." Starfire commented. Turning her head behind her.
Her pale hand moved to her sore head as she looked around the room. She spotted Cyborg crouched down in the very corner of the boxing ring. He had his right arm out which she knew he used as a computer. Check in vitals most likely. Looking passed him she finally saw the man who knock her out. He had his legs tucked up against his bare chest. His eyes seemed glued on her as sweat dripped down his face. His hands covered his head as he continued to shake it over and over.
"Beast Boy?" She asked softly. She gingerly began moving towards him. Crawling on her knees she didn't quite understand what had happened after she saw a green fist come flying towards her face. She wondered for a moment if her powers had acted out to protect her. As she got closer she noticed that it didn't appear any damage was done to him.
"Deep breaths pal." Cy instructed he had one finger on the Changeling monitoring his heart rate. It took Raven moving closer to him for Beast Boy snapped out of his weird trance. His arm nearly knocked Cyborg down as he moved towards Raven.
"Oh god. I'm so sorry." He apologized.
"It's fine." She stated simply. She wanted to tell him sorry as well, tell him that she didn't mean her hurtful words, but she decided it was better to talk to him when the others weren't around. She rose off her knees and began to stand up. She wiped off her brow before tossing a look back at Robin.
"I'm done for the day." She told him. He didn't argue with her, only nodded. "He is too." She added nodding her head back towards Beast Boy. She felt his strong arms wrap around her pulling her into his bare chest.
"I'm really sorry." He muttered hugging her tight against him. Her face blushed instantly.
"Really it's fine." She stated pushing him away. "No hugging." Her words bit as they came off her mouth. She couldn't give in to her desires. No matter how much she wanted to melt into his warm touch. "I'm going to shower." She began levitating off the ground towards the locker room. She could feel all her friends eyes on her as she left but she didn't turn to look. 'What a nice way to start off my day.'
...
She let the hot steamy water cascade down her shoulders longer than she normally would. She told herself that she deserved extra time in the comforts that the shower was offering to her. She did. It wasn't everyday she broke a teammate down by her demon tongue. Swallowing back the bitter taste in her mouth, she tossed her violet wet locks back across her shoulders and sighed. She knew out of all the things to say, she had to bring up the parents. She felt her stomach suddenly heave a bit as she recalled the words.
"I wondered why you never could save them, but now seeing your fighting skills, it's no surprise at all."
Never in a million years would she say that to him. She knew the power behind the words, and it made her sick to know that some part of her, an evil part loved saying it to him. Washing the remaining soap off her she turned the water off and forcefully removed herself from the shower. She found herself wishing that she could just spend the rest of the day in there. Letting the water keep her warm as she let herself wallow in self hatred.
The cut on her bottom lip was sliced and bruised but had stopped bleeding. The swelling had already gone down a lot. She puckered it in the mirror and cocked her head to left. As she stared she decided that she wanted to keep it. A token for her words. Brushing her hair back she huffed at her reflection in the mirror and turned on her heel. While in the shower all of her bruises and the ache in her head and magically disappeared, as they often did after a battle. As for the lip she knew that would actually take some effort in her part. She wrapped her silk robe tight around her and opened the door out of the shower area.
Taking a few steps she moved towards her shelf that had all her items on it. Her cloak hung on the hook as waiting for the time when it would be clasped back on to her shoulders. She sat down her shampoo bottle which was in her left hand. Tossing wet strands of hair back across her shoulders, she licked the sore of her lip and exhaled deeply through her nose.
"I'm glad you stayed down here." She stated in a soft voice. She turned and saw him sitting on a the bench in the middle of the gym. "I really want to talk to you." Not bothering to raise her voice she knew he could hear her. She took note that they were truly alone now sensing the others weren't even on the main level of the tower.
His hands were clasp together, his gaze stuck on something unseen. She decided that if she wanted to have an actual conversation with him, she'd have to be the one that engaged it. She moved over to him taking in a full aware of his body posture. He had showered that she was sure off. The lemongrass and sandalwood scent filled her nostrils, reminding her of a warm summers day. His green grass hair was still damp, tangling her fingers in her robe tie she fought to not tangle her hands in wet curls. She smoothed out her robe and sat down next to him.
"I just wanted to say I'm really sorry." She offered. She watched him wanted him to lift his head give her a goofy grin and make some snarky comment, but it never came. He just continued to stare at an invisible object, his mouth in straight line. "Did you hear me?" She asked knowing what stupid question it was. She should have asked why aren't you answering me? or don't you want some sort of explanation? A soft clicking of his tongue was the only response he gave to her.
Raven did her best to keep her irritation down, but it was hard to apologize to someone who didn't seem interested in hearing what she had to say. Turning her attention on his hands she began to think about the feeling of his rough fingers against her skin. Sliding slowly down her cheek. Making her melt like ice cream on a warm summers day. She broke her thoughts and tried again. This time she carefully took his chin in her hand and brought his gaze up to meet hers.
"I said I'm sorry. I didn't mean what I said earlier." She repeated. His eyes seemed somber as she felt the need to explain herself. "I knew that you were done with fighting and I was done the second I stepped into the ring-"
"I know why you did it." he stated cutting her off. "It still doesn't make me feel better about knocking shit out of you." peeking up at her she saw that he too was sporting a bruised lip but unlike hers, his top lip had taken the damage.
"I understand that you're upset. I knew you wouldn't be too thrilled but I also knew the only way to end the whole thing was a knock out."
"I just wish you would have been the one doing the knock outs instead of me."
"Well, I'm not nearly strong enough for that," She found a smirk playing on her lips. "Besides I'm glad you proved my words wrong." She added. A quietness came over the two as they just stared at each other. Raven found herself wanting to add more to her conversation but all her words were caught in the back of her mouth. Once again she found herself frozen, trapped, in the gaze of his emeralds. Damn those emeralds and their powers over her. His eyes then moved down to her lip. She watched as he seemed to study it, biting on his as response.
"Why didn't you...?" His voice was different now, low and husky. He didn't finished the thought. For the second time that day she felt him raise his hand up and using his thumb gently traced the cut on her lip. Her heart thumped deep into her chest as she realized that also like before she didn't pull away entranced by his touch. Her eyes moved from his eyes down to his mouth and up again. She couldn't be sure but it felt like he was moving closer to her. Her mouth seemed to dry like the desert as she told herself that she needed to get away. Panic. Why was she scared of him?
He eyes never left her lips as he inched closer and closer to her. He wanted to kiss her. Bad. He knew it and he was pretty sure she knew it as well. He moved slowly letting the pressure build. He want to but fear of what she wanted kept him from moving too quickly. He broke his look to glance back her eyes. He licked his lips closing the gap more between them. He found it a good sign that she hadn't moved away yet.
"Rae, I really want to kiss yo-" He whispered losing the U as his lips finally met hers. Both bodies seemed to ignite from the soft kiss. Chills ran down her spine as he softly kissed her. She let him kiss her for a long while before she pulled away. Her eyes fluttered open setting her attention on his lips. "You don't know how-"
"Again." She broke his sentence and this time was the one pulling him into her lips. Sparks flew as she didn't stop her hands from doing what they had long to do. She threaded her fingers into his hair. His green hand cupped her cheek keeping her lips against his. Tilting his head just a bit he found he could kiss her deeper this way. His tongue entered her mouth and she finally was able to taste the mint that lingered on his tongue. Moaning into his mouth she found that all her thought and desires were coming true. She gently sucked on his bottom lip as he slowly pulled away from her mouth.
"So, I was thinking if I knock you out more often can it always end like this?" he asked playfully. He leaded in trying to steal another kiss which she turned away from.
A smirk formed on her lips as her hand covered his whole face, pushing him away. "I let you win that round. I doubt you'll be as lucky next time."
"Is that a threat?" He questioned grinning
"It's a promise." She responded standing up. A small smile formed on her lips. Turning she leaned into his face and kissed his lips once more. "Promise." She whispered against them. Then she turned on her heel and made her way out of the gym.