"Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease, Ravennnnnnnn!" Beast Boy coos enthusiastically. Positioned on his knees besides me on the rooftop. "Pleeeeeeease, won't you reconsiderrrrr?"

My temple is throbbing...throbbing...throbbing...

Nighttime by the pier...and the two of us are sitting atop a warehouse, staring out onto the scene of the supposed drug exchange Robin has researched and discovered to take place tonight. At least...we are supposed to be staring out onto the scene. Right now the task is being accomplished by myself and myself alone. As I gaze long and hard with violet-eyed scrutiny upon the site, this friggin' little elf hasn't been able to sit still. He's been going on and on about this one absurd and pointless thing:

"Just try it! Just try co-op Halo with me!" his green eyes sparkle. "You'll enjoy it! You'll warm up to video games! I swear it!"

"Nnnnngh...," my pale brow furrows from under my blue hood. "...for the last time...NO."

"How could you say no to once-in-a-lifetime experience?.?.?"

"I fail to see how subjecting myself to mind-numbing digital input for hours on end can be called an 'experience'...," I drone. "Besides, there're more important things to worry about right now. You and I are supposed to be covering this end of the sting operation while Cyborg and Starfire circle around the--"

"Pffft! Nobody's showed for two hours straight!" Beast Boy rolls his eyes and reclines back on the rooftop. His green hair glints in the pale moonlight. "This whole 'operation' is totally bogus! We're wasting our time. And worst of all...I'm bored!"

"I know you're new to this whole 'suphero team thing', Beast Boy," I grumble. "As am I...But we need to be serious. Robin SPECIFICALLY said that the criminals would be meeting here tonight. I don't know about you, but I'm not about to disapprove this Boy Wonder person. He's a protege of Batman, one of the greatest detectives who ever lived. And since Robin is both an expert on this sort of thing AND our leader, I think it's only prudent that we--"

"You know what's REALLY fun?" Beast Boy beams. "Doing the 'Rat Patrol' in the Warthog! You see...one of the Master Chiefs jumps into the pilot's seat while the second player gets on the assault rifle in the back of the vehicle aaaaaand...you just GO TO TOWN! Hehehehe...DEAD COVENANT! Almost makes me hungry--which is a sin, cuz I'm a vegetarian. And digitized alien goo making me want to eat something has got to be a bad sign."

"Nnnngh...," I run a hand over my fave and sigh. "...are you listening to a single word I say? Is that even possible, Beast Kid?"

"It's Beast Boy!" he frowns, his arms folded. "Get it straight!"

"Whatever."

"No 'whatever'! I've worked hard to get this name! At least YOU could have been more creative! We already have a person on this team named after a bird!"

"For your information, my real name IS 'Raven'. It is not an alias. And even if it WAS...," my temple pulses again as I glare at the sniveling elf through the corner of my eye. "...I've beared it a lot longer than the young boy who leads this new team of ours has EVER used the name 'Robin'."

Well, at least HE will play Halo with me! Cyborg too. Cyborg's cool. But when I ask you...pfft...you just reject me flat out!"

"Asking me twenty times in a row doesn't help after the initial rejection..."

"Says who?" Beast Boy grins. "You're just a stubborn mule-hehe-who needs to learn how to lighten up and have fun!"

"I...am not...a mule."

"Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease, Raven?"

"Please what--? Oh dear Azar, not again..."

"Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease will you give some multiplayer gaming a shot? I promise I'll be easy on you!"

"Beast Boy...I said 'no'..."

"Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease?"

"No...And do not ask for it again, we need to be silent. This operation is already being hampered by your--"

"Please Please Please Please Please Please Pleeeeeeeeeeease?" He coos, shuffling up against me. He breaks in giggles at his own insistence. "Hehehehe!"

And I...

"...Beast Boy...you have asked...you have asked again...and you may continue to ask me if I would like to play video games with you. Let me have you know...that the very first time you ever...EVER asked me if I would play video games with you, my answer was 'no'. I said 'no' for one reason and one reason alone. I did not desire to play video games with you. Which--in continuum--supports the fact that--at this very moment--I presently do not hold any existing desire to play video games with you. And most assuredly you can learn to expect that there will never...EVER be a time in the future when I will possibly CONCEIVE of the idea of playing video games with you. And on top of all that, your constant insistence and repetition of the inquiry into my potential to play video games with you is not only a monumental exercise in redundancy, but it is a extraordinarily vibrant testimony as to your impatience, immaturity, and blatant childish stupidity. The fact that you would even consider asking me further the very same question that I have--most emphatically--stated my lack of positive correspondence with, serves to show that not only do you ignore any and all appeal to the common sense of the human psyche, but it is safest to say that you must not possess any natural standard of a human brain, and that you are--in fact--a moron who is far below the level of intelligence of a common piece of lint. It may occur to you that what I am saying is an accurate description of your tragic depravity and lack of logical assimilation. But--more than likely--stupidity will win over your frail mind, and the only thing you'll be capable of doing is to further inquire of me the request that--as has been stated--I shall not and will not and will never be persuaded to comply with. No, I will not play video games with you. I never will. And if you ask me that question one more time, not only will I do everything that is in my power to have Robin demote, evict, or lobotomize you...but I'll be sorely tempted to let loose the veiled demon within and feed your living, bleeding pulp of cranial vacancy to the ravaging dogs of the night!.!.!.!"

Silence...

I pant...pant...pant...

I take a deep breath.

I collect myself, push back a stubborn strand of blue hair, and straighten my robe.

"Now...," I say in a low voice. "Let's resume our task at hand. There could be a lot of embezzled funds at stake--" I stop in mid-sentence. I raise a blue eyebrow. For I...hear something.

Beast Boy is sitting on the very edge of the rooftop. He is hugging his knees to his chest. Most of his back is to me.

"...did you say something?" I ask him.

"N-No...," he murmurs. There is a shuddering to his voice. A breathiness. I see his shoulders shake...as with a hiccup.

"I could have sworn you said something..."

"N-Nothing...," he stammers. "D-Don't worry about it?"

"Is something wro--?" I do a double take. "Are...are you crying?"

He sniffs. "N-No..." Without looking at me, he wipes his sleeve against his cheek. "...forget about it..."

"Wait...Wait Wait Wait...I didn't...dear Azar above......I didn't mean for you to cry--"

"Let's j-j-just do our j-job here..."

"Beast Boy--Okay. Okay, I guess...Uhm...I guess I was a little harsh about the...erm...dogs of the night?"

"What's it matter anyways. I'm 'stupid'."

"No you're not..."

(SNIFF) "That's what you said." (SNIFF)

"Well I didn't... ... ...Okay, so maybe I did say that...uhm..."

"Don't m-make me t-talk more...I-I'll j-just screw up th-this operation..."

"No you won't...," I drone. I sigh. I rub my temple and fight...fight...fight for the blasted words. "You...You have talent and...uhm...p-powers...and..."

"W-We all have stinkin' powers..."

"Yes...but...uhm...," I bite my lip. I gesture. "Y-You were on the Doom Patrol...and...erm...Doom...yeah...Doom...that sounds...th-that sounds 'dark'...and...erhm...I...I-I like 'dark'...ya know...yeah...'dark' is good...so...y-you got that, I guess..."

(SNIFF) A corner of his face shows puffily. "Y-You really mean that?" (SNIFF)

I blink.

What is it that I mean?

Ah, whatever...

This whole night is beyond meditation.

"Uhhh... ... ... ... ... ... ... .. ... ... ... Y-Yes?" A pause. "... ... ... ... ... ... Yes I do?"

"You don't really meaaaaan thaaaaat," Beast Boy sobs.

"Nnnnngh...," I rub my forehead.

Blast it...

Help me, Mother...

What would you--?

"...Beast Boy...look...," I drone and gesture. "...I don't do video games...and I'm sure you don't do stuff that I do..."

"I-I can think of a l-lot of st-stuff that you'd d-d-do that I w-would't!"

What...so now he's mad at me?

"Anyways...that doesn't mean we can't...," I wince...hard... "...do...things...t-together...in the future..."

He rubs his eyes, sniffs, and looks at me. "R-Really?"

"Yeah...I don't know what it could be, yet...but...we can do...uhm...something...as friends...in the future...I guess..."

"..."

Get it over with...

"So...T-Try and be happy...," I bite my lip and squeeze out: "'Please'?"

"...," he stares at me. His green eyes Christmasy in their puffiness.

"...," I roll my eyes. I groan the cartoonishly stretch my tongue to emit a Beast Boyish: "Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease?"

"Hehehehe!" he finally smiles and gives a thumb's up. "Yeah...cool...all right!"

I close my eyes and exhale.

"Okay...now...let's review on just exactly what we're doing--"

"Hey!"

"Up there! On the roof!"

"It's those new super kids!"

"Quick! Toss a grenade!"

I do a double-take. "What in the world?"

"Oh y-yeah...," Beast Boy rubs the back of his head and smiles sheepishly. "By the way...some thugs have been down there beneath us for the last twenty seconds..."

"..."

I am really...really going to hate him--

Cl-Clink!

"Raven! Hit the deck!"

"Nnngh! Stop climbing all over me! You little green--!"

KAPOWWWWWWWWW!.!.!.!.!.!.!