Hey everyone! Here's Chapter 32! Hope you enjoy! :)
RPGPersona: I figured that regardless of them being a couple, intimacy even in small forms such as cuddling may be embarrassing to someone like Raven who may shy away from a lot of openness around others. And definitely, yeah. Beast Boy cannot be trusted to handle the medication himself. Opening up is certainly the most important thing, even if it's a slow process. And having that support system behind him will be so helpful. As you said, it's so nice how Raven can relate to Beast Boy and vice versa; it's one thing to have a support system, but it's a completely different thing to have someone who you can relate to and understand. And it's definitely a tricky situation. They can try to keep him from hurting himself as much as they can, but it's impossible to avoid it 100%. A lot of that power still lies on Beast Boy with him needing to make the choice not to hurt himself. :)
Bbrae-4ever fanfics: I kinda felt the same way. I figured that would likely be the best hiding spot to not have them be found, but they should've looked under the bed. But, I needed it to happen in the story haha. Glad you're enjoying the story! :)
Otherbeing-spirituallife: Thank you! I'm really glad you enjoy the story! And I'm finally all moved in and settled into my apartment, so I'll hopefully be updating regularly. University starts back up on Monday, but I'll organize the time better than I did last semester haha :)
Please keep reading and reviewing! I really appreciate it! :)
Upon awakening, the first thing Raven saw in the morning sunlight was a slumbering Beast Boy next to her. She couldn't help but notice how calm and at peace he seemed, and it filled her with delight. Ever since he got out of the infirmary only a few days earlier, he seemed extremely stressed and on edge, even when asleep. She had attempted to get him to meditate and kept giving him herbal teas to calm him down, but nothing would help to the extent that he needed. Despite how delighted she was to see him so serene, something nagged at her being. She felt off; it was if her entire being knew that something was wrong, but she couldn't tell what. She dismissed it as just being the accumulation of all the tension and struggle of the last few days, but still, it remained.
She stood up and made her way towards her closet, removing a fresh cloak from one of the hangers. As she clasped it around her neck, she turned towards the clock next to the sleeping boy. She had managed to sleep in somehow, but not by too long. It was around eight in the morning. She knew Robin would most definitely be up, and Cyborg and Starfire would likely be up as well. She could smell the sweet scent of maple and waffles from the kitchen, confirming that the others were indeed awake.
She walked towards the still sleeping Beast Boy and lightly shook his shoulder in an attempt to wake him. He had a tendency to be a heavy sleeper, and today was no different. Even as she shook him, he still continued to release low snores that were comparable to a cat's purr.
"Beast Boy," she said to him quietly as she shook his shoulder again. He murmured something indecipherable before continuing his purrs. She shook him again, this time a bit more forcefully. "Beast Boy."
"Uh, five more minutes," he mumbled sloppily, turning his shoulder away from the shaking.
"Beast Boy, we slept in. It's nearly eight in the morning and everyone's already up and getting breakfast," she told him. Although it was completely normal for Raven to be up at the crack of dawn, Beast Boy typically chose to sleep in until late morning. Ever since staying in Raven's room, though, he would get up when she would.
"Five more minutes," he mumbled again.
"They're making waffles downstairs. Don't you want to get some before they're all gone?" she asked him.
"Mmmm, waffles," he mumbled happily to himself before he started purring again.
Raven smiled to herself at his sleepy adoration of the breakfast pastry.
"Yes, waffles. And you know if you don't get up and get some soon, Cyborg's going to eat all of them. You don't want that to happen, now do you?" she said, shaking his shoulder again.
"Waffles will still be there in five minutes," he mumbled as he gripped the blanket tighter and drew it up towards his face.
Raven sighed. She loved him dearly, but waking him up could be such a hassle.
"Beast Boy, please get up," she said, removing the blanket from his body.
Beast Boy turned towards her and opened his groggy eyes. The sunlight burned.
"C'mon Rae, don't you wanna sleep in some more?" he asked, a yawn escaping his open mouth.
"Not particularly," she replied. "I would actually like to go to the kitchen with you to get breakfast before all the waffles are gone."
"Mmmm, waffles," he murmured again as his eyes closed and his purrs resumed.
Raven lightly grabbed his arm to try and pull him into a sitting position, making sure not to put too much pressure on his arm. Despite her gentle grasp, he winced. Even with all the stitched up wounds that remained on his arms, they were nearly healed enough to not cause so much pain. And the scratching that he had been doing for the last few days would not cause so much pain either. Beast Boy tried to take his arm back, now fully awake and fully aware of what was happening. Raven didn't let that happen though.
Raven took a seat on the bed, still holding onto his arm. She pulled the sleeve up, revealing about two dozen fresh cuts on his forearm. He had obviously used a blade to make these wounds. They, luckily, weren't too deep, but they were abundant. There was a little dried blood that had crusted up around them. Each individual wound was swollen and hot, and she knew that these wounds couldn't be more than a few hours old.
"Beast Boy," she said, turning her gaze from his arm to his face. He was looking straight ahead, seemingly at the carpet, and he had a shameful expression covering his face. "Beast Boy."
Slowly, he lifted his gaze to meet hers, and a red hot blush covered his cheeks.
"When did you do this?" she asked him. When he didn't respond, she reworded her question. "Did you do this last night?"
He nodded slightly.
"With what?" she asked again, even though she knew the answer. She couldn't figure out where he would've gotten a blade from though. Her room had absolutely nothing of the like, and they had removed all of the blades from his room. Perhaps a kitchen knife? She found it unlikely considering the depth of the wounds. She had no idea where it could've come from.
He shook his head in reply. Raven sighed, knowing that there was no way in the world that she was going to get him to tell her that.
"I'm sorry," he croaked out, his voice exceedingly quiet.
"Are you sorry about hurting yourself? Or are you sorry about upsetting me?" she asked.
"I'm sorry about upsetting you," he said as he averted his gaze again.
"Look at me," she said, and he returned his gaze to her. "If you don't want to upset me, then don't hurt yourself. You deserve better than that." He looked unsure, and she could feel a growing conflict rise up within him. "How about this – next time you feel the urge to hurt yourself, try to distract yourself. Count down from 100. Read something. Talk to me. But please, do something besides hurting yourself. Can you do that? For me?"
After a moment of distressed silence, he nodded.
"Good," she said as she stood up and walked up to a locked cabinet. She had the key hidden so Beast Boy couldn't use it, and instead unlocked it with her magic. She pulled out a small, orange bottle and removed one sage green pill. She walked back over to Beast Boy and handed it to him. He swallowed it without hesitation. "Now, how about we go get waffles before Cyborg eats them all, okay?" she said, and he nodded in agreement. They both stood up from the bed and made their way down slowly to the kitchen, the smell of fresh waffles filling the air the entire way.