Okay, again, not my best chapter title, but my story IS NOT LIKE THAT! YOU SHOULD'VE KNOWN FROM MY LAST CHAPTER IT WASN'T! Okay, well, Raven playing with Beast Boy's clothes in his sleep and staring at him shirtless and all sweaty and stuff but . . . you know what, shut up!

Ha. Anyways, just read it you sick-minded people who are laughing at me right now. I EXPLAIN WHY BEAST BOY PULLED AWAY FROM THE HUG IN "SPELLBOUND"

Chapter 17
"Take Your Shirt Off"

Beast Boy was staring at Raven, baffled. "W-What?"

"Take off your shirt," Raven repeated. Then she rolled her eyes, trying to hide her embarrassment at her statement (and doing a really good job of it).

"W-Why?" He stuttered, eyes wide.

Raven sighed, shaking her head at how slow he was being. She was standing over by the cabinets and turned to look at him. "You said your ribs were hurt. Let me see what you did so I can fix it."

Beast Boy swallowed, looking very reluctant and nervous. Raven felt so weird demanding that her friend remove his clothing, but she had to fix him up so that he wouldn't be so sore, especially if his ribs were worse then his other wounds.

"O-Okay," he stuttered, standing up and turning around as he began un-tucking his shirt out from under his belt. Raven's eyes widened. She hadn't actually expected him to do it. She just expected him to protest a little and then she'd drop it. Not just comply and start stripping for her.

Beast Boy still had his back to her, as if it would matter since she would soon enough have to look at his chest. But she couldn't help but once again stare for a moment, at his well toned back that had a shirt halfway off of it. Raven turned around at once before he noticed, unable to see anything clearly from how quick the look was, and began grabbing some menthol gel, which apparently eased sores and such, as she read the instructions. She frowned. She should have used it on his other wounds. Ah well, too late. If they really bothered him, she'd unwrap the bandages and put some on. But she wouldn't suggest it. Only if he complained.

"Alright, so what did you-?" She began, turning around. Raven stopped dead when she did, her jaw dropping (Me: Head. Out. Of. Gutter. Now.) a bit as she did so. "Beast Boy . . . what happened?"

Beast Boy looked away, shyly, as if it was no big deal. In fact it was a very big deal. It looked like his back hadn't really been touched (from what she'd seen) but sure as heck his ribs and chest had been. Bruises, like the other wounds, covered his front. They were black, purple and blue, doing odd things against his green skin color. But that's not what bothered Raven. Of course, it was significant, but not so much as it was that they were there then it was the pattern they were in. It wasn't just random blotches as it had been on the others. They were in the patterns of chains. He'd been chained to a wall.

"Oh my god." She breathed, approaching him. He'd fought that hard . . . for her? And their friends of course, but he hadn't specifically asked for any of them, now had he?

"It's no bid deal, Rae-."

SMACK!

Beast Boy's hand went to his cheek where she had slapped him. It stung. "Ow! What was that for!?"

"Look at you!" She shrieked, Beast Boy noticing her eyes were watering slightly. "You shouldn't have done that to yourself just to know we were okay! Ella wouldn't hurt us! She needs us for something! How could you do this to-!?"

"I needed to know you were okay!" He shouted back, angry at being reprimanded. "It was my choice! I just . . .!" He stopped, frustrated, and began holding his head tightly and squeezing his eyes shut. He took a deep sigh, and then slumped. "I . . . I needed to know you were okay, Raven. Alright?" He said pitifully.

Raven stared at him for a while. She'd said 'we' as in the other Titans, herself included. He'd said 'you' as in Raven. What did that mean?

"Okay," She said after a minute. "Here . . . let me look."

Beast Boy obligingly lifted his arms a bit, allowing her to see the marks that ran in 'X's all along his torso. She began walking around him and saw that there were a few on his back as well. Eventually, Raven managed to say, "T-They tried to chain you to a wall?"

"Yeah, uh, I guess I didn't feel it," He muttered. Raven stiffened, but said nothing. He knew she somehow blamed herself, but she shouldn't. He'd do it again to know she was okay, but if he said that, she'd start yelling at him again.

"Alright, well . . . here." Raven lifted her hand from the now open jar. It was covered in the gel and she began pasting it along his body, trying not to think about if she was doing it right rather then who she was doing it to. Once she was done with placing it on him, she wiped the extra gel on a dry towel and then began rubbing it into his back, with her fingers. "Is that okay for you?"

"Y-Yeah."

In truth, for Beast Boy, it was lot better then just 'okay'. It felt heavenly on his sore muscles, and with Raven's cool fingers on it. Beast Boy, because of how his DNA had changed from the average human, was often very warm. And he felt that. All the time. Thankfully, his suit let him breath, and wasn't as hot as people would think. But, on his bare skin, Raven's skin just felt so nice. Not to mention it felt like she was massaging Beast Boy rather the just rubbing the gel in. He let out a sigh. Raven froze.

"You okay?" She asked.

Again, better then okay. But he couldn't say that to Raven. "Yeah, fine."

Raven slowly started up again, and then moved to his front, letting her fingers trail along him as she did so. It was unnecessary, but she did it anyway. And Beast Boy showed no objection to it. Raven allowed her hands to kneed into his skin along his chest, allowing the gel to seep into his body. That wasn't what Beast Boy was thinking about. No, he was thinking about something far more different then that. (Me: Okay, FOR THAT you can put your head just a tad in the gutter).

"There, how do you feel now?" She asked, letting her hands move away from his body and grabbed the same towel once more. She began wiping her hands off of it.

Beast Boy stretched his muscles a little, giving another sigh of content. "Perfect. Thanks Rae."

Raven blushed, looking away. "Sure, anytime."

Beast Boy, not feeling like making a dirty joke at the moment, decided to let that 'anytime' thing slide. Or, maybe not. "I'll hold you to that."

Raven gave him a dirty look, but then watched Beast Boy's now dry upper body stretch again. She gave him a disapproving look. "You can put you shirt back on now."

Beast Boy winked at her. "But then what would you look at, Rae?"

Raven rolled her eyes and began putting the supplies. "Yes, because that's exactly what someone like me does. Stare at people who are so obsessed with themselves, they refuse to wear clothing."

"Glad you're admitting it." Beast Boy replied, ignoring her as he continue stretching half-naked.

"Ugh," She groaned and then, dumping the water back into their pitchers (having already put away the towels and things in a bin marked 'used') she placed them on the shelf she found them on. Raven began turning around, not paying attention. "You're so-."

She froze, finding herself suddenly against flesh. She looked up from the floor, stunned. Beast Boy was grinning at her, his arms around her waist and looking completely at ease. "I'm so what, Raven?" He taunted, pressing her closer to him.

Raven could not register what was going on for a moment. She shook her head, "What are you-?"

Beast Boy pulled them both to the center of the room, shocking her to silence. "You sure you're okay Raven?" He teased once again, making fun of her disoriented state.

"S-Shut up Beast Boy," She stuttered, glaring at him.

"Tell me, Raven," He said, ignoring her and refusing to allow her ruin his fun. Then, he thought of something. "Wait, you really were . . . why did you slap me?"

"Because . . . because you hurt yourself for me." She said, after a moment. "I don't ever want to be responsible for your pain, Beast Boy." She poked him in the bare chest, making him flinch. "So don't EVER do that again. Got it?"

"Yes ma'am," He said sarcastically.

She glared. "It's my job to be bitter. Don't steal my job." Beast Boy grinned again at her joke. "Good."

He laughed, "You know Rae, you're actually pretty funny when you want to be."

". . . Thank you . . ."

The moment had suddenly become awkward, with Beast Boy still holding Raven. That didn't help.

Raven suddenly felt oddly sleepy, and pulled away, walking over and snatching Beast Boy's shirt up where it lay abandoned. "I'm going to take a nap." She announced, shaking his clothing out and throwing it at him. He caught it, though almost to late. Raven threw hard, he noted, and remembered for later to try and avoid her throwing anything else at him. "Put that on." It was not a request, it was an order.

Raven leaned up against the wall, and soon Beast Boy saw her head drift off. "Dang, she really must have been tired," He mumbled to himself. Then, frowning at how uncomfortable the position looked, he smiled softly to himself. Gently and very quietly, he nudged Raven so she lie on the floor and then draped her cloak carefully over her. Beast Boy then proceeded to turn into a small fox before snuggling under her head, serving as her pillow, both comfortable now.

"So, what do you want us to do?" Robin questioned, not understanding. "We don't know anything about this Ella, only our Ella. And even then, she almost never told us anything about her."

Hex frowned. "Well, it isn't exactly you we need."

"But you deserved to know what's been happening." Whitefire explained.

"So, you were the whistlers," Robin began.

"And the people with the grappling hook," Cyborg added.

"And the people who have been following us."

"And the people we saw in the window?" The two nodded, with both of their thumbs up.

"Please, but where are our friends who are your parental units?" Starfire questioned, referring to Kid Flash and Jinx.

"Oh, well, they're safe with Mason and Lucy right now." Whitefire replied. "Somewhere in this place." She pointed to the roof for emphasis.

"But don't worry, Mason and Lucy are real uptight. They'll never get caught."

Robin's brow rose, "And you will?"

"Maybe," Hex replied. "It's always possible. But only because Whitefire would leave me if I did and send back for me later."

"Yep," Whitefire agreed, having no shame in it whatsoever.

"O. . . kay," Cyborg said, sharing a look with Robin and Starfire.

"So, who is it you require then, friends?" Starfire asked, bringing them back to the original subject.

"Raven and Beast Boy," both replied in unison.

Hex checked the clock on the wall, "And by now, if Lucy's plan worked, then the two of them should be sharing the same cell by now."

"Although Beast Boy should be pretty banged up after what they did to him," Whitefire sounded worried.

Starfire jumped to her feet, startling everybody. "What has happened to friend Beast Boy!?" She demanded, eyes huge with concern.

Hex did the same, his hands up as he tried to calm his senior in work. "Whoa, calm down Star." He turned to his friend, "Fi, a little help?" Whitefire shrugged, turning away. He groaned, "Guess I've got this one. Uh, well, Beast Boy was . . . very violent with his cell. He actually managed to break his firsts cuffs clean off, in his little fit, then they chained his ankles and hands, and that only pissed him off more so, they were worried about him actually breaking out, so they chained him to a wall and that STILL didn't work, so they drugged him and threw Raven in their to clean him up and calm him down when he woke up. I guess they should be together by now." He finished, sighing in relief as Starfire eventually calmed.

"So, why would they put Raven in there instead of one of us?" Robin said carefully, feeling he already knew the answer.

Whitefire grinned slyly. "Well, he wasn't actually asking for any of you, now was he?" She didn't let them interrupt. "Or, well, throwing a raging fit is more appropriate then asking but, well, you get the point."

"A raging fit?" Cyborg said in awe, his eyes huge. "Man, BB hurt himself that bad just to see Raven? I mean, I know he liked the girl, but I didn't know he liked her that much!"

Hex laughed. "Dude, you have no idea."

Whitefire, in turn, laughed at him. After shaking it off, she nodded agreement. "Yeah, well, anyways, we should head out before Ella shows up again. Or, well, that's what you know her as."

"What?" Robin questioned.

Whitefire and Hex were already standing by the shadows. Hex jumped up, grabbing some unseen tassel that dropped into his face as he fell back to the floor, on his feet and quite gracefully, as his mother would have done. She must have taught him that, or his instincts were just as good as hers. He gripped the tassel and pulled. A trap-door appeared for them to leave from. "Like, Garfield is to Beast Boy as Ella is to Midna."

"Midna?" They all said in unison.

"Like Midnight, except more feminine." Hex mocked. "It's actually more of a nickname then a hero name, but that's what the public thinks her name is anyways."

The two shrugged before Whitefire curtsied, a grin upon her face. She looked directly at Starfire, then Robin, then Cyborg, and back again, repeating this multiple times before seeming content with the image before her.

"I'm glad I met you," She said quietly, more to herself then the former Titans before looking up at the square hole and jumping up, twirling through the air like a ball being thrown. Hex saluted with two fingers rather then curtsied (as he should) and shot through the roof in one nimble jump. The piece of roof was pulled back into place, and unless you stared at it for hours, maybe even days on end, you would only see what looked like an odd scratch or two. Not even a hint of the hole ever existing was there.

The teens were quiet for a long while.

Cyborg's brow rose, still staring at the space he had been twenty minutes ago. "So, we just sit here until Raven and Beast Boy fix this?"

Robin leaned back, folding his arms behind his head with a sly grin. "Not exactly . . ."

Raven felt oddly comfortable when she woke up. She'd expected to awake stiff and uncomfortable after leaning against the wall for a pillow. Then she realized she still did still have a pillow, it was just much furrier. And soft. And warm. Wait, what was she laying on?

The girl sat up, her cloak slipping off her a bit, revealing parts of her pale legs. She didn't notice though. Her legs were always exposed as such. No, her attention was focused on the little green fox curled up where she had been just moments ago. Raven wasn't sure what to think. Had he really been dumb enough to move her?

The two of them were now in the middle of the room, her sitting with her legs out to the sides, using her hands as support and him, sleeping peacefully. It was a strange moment in time as she debated what to do. Wake him, or wait for him to wake up? Raven felt much better then she had. The green fox began to stir, it's blanket having been her, he was not cold but that didn't mean he appreciated the absence of warmth. Raven bit her lip. The fox got more restless.

"He lied to me . . . . he lied."

She was so distressed. He'd kill him!

The tower shook.

He'd do it right now too!

Flash.

She stared in horror, her mouth agape as the creature loomed over her. He was just waking up again. She'd save him. He didn't know who, or what she was, but now he had to repay the favor. Anyone that small, a third of his size, if that, taking on someone as big as the enemy for him . . . Who was that?

'Raven?' A small voice inside his head said. "No . . ."Then it screamed. "RAVEN RUN!"

She screamed.

He inwardly roared in fury as his enemy smashed a large paw into her chest, knocking her unconscious. He lunged and dug his teeth into its scruff, tossing it back it out the window before gently whining at the cloaked figure on the floor. She made no move to get up.

Determined, and hearing voices down the hall, he grabbed her cloak in his mouth and darted out the window, running from the attackers. That stupid voice began fading into silence and the whole time it muttering, "Raven, I'm so sorry. I'm so, so sorry . . ."

Flash.

"It's happening isn't it?"

"Please Raven, today is the day? It is-?"

"The end of the world." She began crying.

So sad . . . he didn't like her sad.

Flash.

"I can't hide from my destiny any longer."

"No!"

She whirled on him, and a pain of unimaginable sorts ripped through his chest.

Flash-.

Raven saw that he wasn't waking up. He was having a bad dream. She began to panic. What could bother Beast Boy? But then, her friends had asked themselves that question about her many times before . . .

Slowly, Raven began stroking the little fox along the ears, then down it's back.

"Come on, Beast Boy," She said quietly. "It's just a dream. Nothing bad is happening anymore. It's just a dream . . ."

It seemed to work. Slowly the fox began to calm, its thrashing dying down into twitching before stopping altogether. Beast Boy even seemed content with what she was doing. She'd even go so far as to say he was enjoying it. But she wasn't sure. She'd never be sure.

"You think you're alone Raven, but you're not." He said quietly, looking at her door. It was true. She'd never be alone. She had the team. She had her friends. She'd always have him-.

The door opened, revealing the absolutely broken beauty. He remained quiet, although he wanted so badly to smile at her. But he did not. He stiffened as she began walking towards him and prepared for the worst. But, and his eyes went huge at this, she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, stunning him. He wanted to hug back so badly. But he heard Cyborg's loud metal feet walking down the hallway. She obviously did not. He allowed himself to bask in that feeling, knowing she wouldn't be doing this again for a long time, before gently pushing her off him.

". . . Uh-," Cyborg's coming'.

WAP!

A huge stench washed over him, and it was dark. He sat up, and then was able to see Cyborg standing down the hallway, shouting about his victory. He turned and looked at how the stinky-clothes-ball had disappeared to. He had a mildly surprised expression to see that Raven had it in hand, examining it, as if debating something. Then, a grin so devious he couldn't help but grin back filled her face (although her's was directed at no one) and faced Cyborg, the ball glowing in her familiar aura.

"Aw no Raven, don't-! OOF!" The metal man was sent flying as the stank-ball smacked him in the face.

Flash.

"We're having a moment here, don't ruin it." She ordered, her arms crossed but she was obviously not angry.

Beast Boy plopped back down to his bottom, all playfulness removed from his face. But it was too quiet.

"Beast . . . Dude?"

She groaned, but placed her head on his shoulder, eyes closed. They fell asleep, waking up a few hours later before going inside and heading off to bed.

Flash.

"Is it really . . . you?" Beast Boy asked, eying his wide-clad friend suspiciously.

"Blue is still my favorite color. And don't get used to the smile," It wiped off her face. "Cause you're still not funny."

He leaned back, eyes wide. Then he got a huge grin and launched himself at her, throwing his arms around her body. "Raven!"

Aw, so many Beast boy and Raven moments. You wanna know what's really sad? I didn't have to look up any of these videos to know what they were saying. Nope. I'm so lame, I've memorized the commentary and movements. Let me repeat it: So. Pitiful.

Anyways, hope you liked the chapter. Later!