Teen Titans not mine - they someone else's lol
Beast Boy gave Raven a concerned look as the titans made their way to the roof. Robin wanted the three flight-enabled titans to practice aerial attacks while he and Cyborg practiced their aim.
Beast Boy knew Raven was one tough cookie, but she still looked a little haggard - though he was sure nobody else had picked up on it. Yet the slightly sluggish way she moved had him worried.
He decided to keep an eye on her as he morphed into a hawk and began circling the tower. He wasn't sure how he was training, since he didn't have any star-bolts or demonic black energy, but Robin seemed too distracted to notice, so the changeling decided not to bring it to his attention. Plus, this allowed him to better observe the empath.
Raven was weaving effortlessly through the air as she used her powers to destroy the freeze-disks Robin was throwing at her. With a flick of her wrist she conjured up a shield to protect her from a sonic blast from Cyborg, and even threw one up to protect Starfire as well. But despite her bored expression, Beast Boy could see her eyes darting around in apprehension, as if she were expecting something to blow up. Which, considering how many things had done just that today, he couldn't blame her.
Suddenly, Beast Boy felt a burning sensation singe his feathers on his left wing, causing him to morph back into his human form from the shock and plummet towards the roof. Maybe two seconds went by before he came back to his senses and shifted back into a bird, but by then his alien teammate had already swooped down to catch him. He sat quietly in the form of a sparrow in Starfire's hands as she landed back on the roof.
"Friend! Are you harmed?"
She quickly set him down on the roof, where he morphed into his human form once more.
"I'm fine," he laughed awkwardly, embarrassed by his initial reaction. He glanced around sheepishly at the worried faces of his teammates. Robin's concern was overshadowed by his slight annoyance at the interruption, whereas Cyborg looked absolutely horrified. Beast Boy was pretty sure he now knew who had hit him.
Rotating his shoulder slowly, he hissed in pain; though he couldn't see it, he suspected he had a pretty nasty burn on his back. And the contorted faces of his female teammates confirmed his suspicions.
"That injury is most disgusting," Starfire mused, though she continued to look at it in morbid fascination.
Raven, on the other hand, was giving it a weary look. "I'll be able to heal it," she deadpanned, reaching towards him.
Beast Boy let out an unmanly squeal as he jumped away from her. "No!"
He felt his cheeks redden as his teammates' expressions turned from worried to bewildered.
"No?" Raven repeated as she retracted her arm.
Again, Beast Boy smiled sheepishly. He knew healing didn't take a whole lot out of Raven, but the fact that she had been on edge all day made him reluctant to let her use her powers on him. But he knew that voicing his concerns out loud would be suicide.
"Uh, I... want to put some antiseptic on it first!" he declared, satisfied with his quick thinking. "I don't want to get an infection!"
Raven's head tilted slightly at his explanation. "But if I heal you - "
"Great idea! You can heal me after!" he grinned, linking his uninjured arm with hers. "Off to the med-bay! You guys carry on!"
His other teammates still looked confused, but with a curt nod from Robin, they complied.
"Alright, Raven, heal Beast Boy quickly, and then both of you report back to the roof."
Beast Boy smiled in acknowledgement as he pulled the still-bewildered empath towards the door. They made it all the way down the stairs and halfway to the elevator before Raven finally ripped her arm out of his hold and glared at him.
"You are fully aware of my healing capabilities, aren't you?" she deadpanned.
Beast Boy nodded cheerfully as they continued their way down the hall. "Yep!"
He met her eyes quickly before looking away - she was still glaring.
"Then you do realize that my powers sterilize burns?"
He nodded again, wincing in pain as he lifted his left arm to press the elevator's down button. "Y-yep."
The doors hissed open automatically and the two titans stepped in.
"Then I fail to see the reason why you insist on going to the med-bay," she admitted with a blank expression.
Beast Boy merely rolled his eyes fondly, attempting to buy a few more seconds to perfect his reasoning.
"Well," he started slowly, giving the empath a look that clearly said please-don't-take-this-the-wrong-way. "First of all, this was a nice excuse to get out of training," he admitted with a devious grin, which earned an eye-roll from his teammate. "And second, it gives you a nice excuse not to use your powers and maybe tell me why you're acting so weird today."
He watched as Raven's eyes widened at his bluntness, before narrowing in annoyance. "I am not acting weird."
Beast Boy let out a fake scoff at her lame attempt at denial. "Please, Rae! You've been jumpy and exploding everything all day!"
Again, he earned another glare from her at the way he described her behavior.
"I have not."
The elevator dinged as they arrived on the right floor, and Raven swiftly made her way towards the med-lab. Beast Boy suppressed a chuckle as he followed behind her.
"Have to, Rae," he laughed. She continued through the med-lab doors, and Beast Boy took the opportunity to roll his shoulder again - which resulted in another hiss of pain.
"I could have healed that five minutes ago," the empath deadpanned. He watched as she opened up the cabinet, in search of the antiseptic.
Beast Boy couldn't help but smile at the fact that even though they were both completely aware of the waste of time applying the medication would be, she didn't defy his wish.
"So, since we're alone..." he started slowly, a coy smile spreading across his lips.
Raven turned around to shoot him another glare, the tube of medication in her hands.
"Since we're alone, I can now berate you for being an idiot during training again, only this time you got yourself hurt," she growled.
Beast Boy felt himself blush as he sat down on one of the beds. "Again..?" he mused, hoping she'd be too mortified to say what he was pretty sure she was hinting at.
Thankfully, she rolled her eyes in exasperation, before muttering a quick "never mind."
He smiled triumphantly as she squirted a small amount of medicine in her hand.
"Wait - won't your hands make it all germy?"
He stifled another chuckle as she growled in frustration, forcibly smacking her hand onto his burn, which caused him to yelp again.
"Like it matters - putting this on is completely pointless since my powers will heal you effectively," she grumbled.
Beast Boy let out a quiet cry of pain as she began spreading around the medicine, peeling back his burnt uniform in the process.
"Is it totally ruined?" he questioned, gesturing to his uniform.
Raven merely nodded in response, before her hands began glowing.
Realizing what she was about to do, Beast Boy twisted away from her, causing her to stumble forward onto the bed as he fell to the floor. Ignoring the newly formed bruise on his backside, he gave her the fiercest glare he could muster.
"I said you can't heal me!"
She pushed herself off of the bed and attempted to haul him back up. "Stop being so difficult, Beast Boy!"
He allowed her to help him back to his feet, but when she again reached towards his back, he slapped away her hands.
"I said no!" he repeated, crossing his arms in defiance and taking a step away from her.
"My god, Beast Boy! If you'd just - "
"Listen up, Rae," he began sternly, noting in relief that her powers hadn't acted up so far. A part of him wondered if she was telling the truth when she said she was fine, but as he remember their earlier conversation outside of her room, he quickly dismissed the idea. Raven was hiding something. "I know that you're not the biggest fan of letting people in, but you're one of my best friends, and honestly, I'm insulted when you lie to me."
Her annoyed expression slowly shifted into indifference, which he took as a sign to continue.
"So when I ask you if something's wrong, know that it means I know something's wrong, because you wouldn't be acting so weird if there wasn't."
Her eyes breaking contact with his was all the confirmation he needed.
"Please tell me, Rae," he pleaded, lowering his voice unconsciously. He hated to admit how worried she was making him.
"I'm just having an off day," she replied, still avoiding eye contact.
Beast Boy heaved a sigh of exasperation as he sat back onto the bed, the burn on his back nearly forgotten. He patted the spot beside him, and was pleasantly surprised when his teammate accepted the invitation.
"Do you want to talk about it now?" he asked tentatively, not wanting to scare her off.
She let out a huff of frustration as she cast her eyes towards the floor. "Not really, but you're not going to stop bugging me til I do," she mumbled.
It took all of Beast Boy's willpower not to smile. "I'm just concerned, Raven."
She lifted her gaze to meet his, and the vulnerability in her eyes made his heart skip a beat - Raven was never this... open.
"I know you are, and I thank you for it," she replied, giving him a small smile. "And though I'm not the fondest of your approach, I do appreciate it."
He let his smile shine through at her admission, and patiently waited for her to go on.
Heaving another sigh, she looked back towards the ground. "Let's just say, I'm having a hard time... figuring something out. And not knowing is something I don't do often, so it's really frustrating. And frustration is a feeling that causes my powers to go a little haywire."
Beast Boy nodded in understanding - he knew that Raven was the type of person who needed to have a basic understanding of everything around her, and if she was having a hard time figuring something out, then it'd drive her crazy.
"I know I'm not the smartest superhero around," he began with a smirk, hoping to ease some of the tension in the room, "but if you want, I can try to help you figure that thing out - whatever it is."
He saw her stiffen slightly at his offer, but before he could take it back, she replied.
"Well, it's.. uhm.. kind of personal..."
He knew it was a bad idea, but knowing something personal about Raven - a secret, perhaps - was an opportunity he couldn't pass up.
"What are friends for?" he grinned.
She still looked skeptical, and he was wholeheartedly surprised with what she said next.
"I'm... trying to figure out if this guy I know... likes me."
The shock from that sentence resulted in his mind racing - who was she talking about? He could feel himself growing increasingly curious, as well as a little upset - though he smothered the emotion somewhat automatically. Just because Raven wanted to know if some guy was crushing on her didn't mean she was crushing on some guy... right?
He gave her a tight smile and hoped that this conversation wouldn't get anymore awkward. "Why? Is this guy being a pain?" he laughed.
His heart stopped when she shook her head, and he watched as she mentally prepared herself to answer without blowing anything up.
"No, I... I'm curious to know if he likes me, because..."
Beast Boy tried not to lean closer to her as he waited for her to finish.
"...because... I like him."
Suddenly the room felt too warm, and the burn on his back was nothing compared to the sharp pain in his chest as he realized Raven had just admitted that she had a crush on someone.
And he had no idea why knowing that hurt.
Eek! Is BB realizing something really important a little too late? Is he finally figuring out what that mystery emotion of his was, only to learn that Raven's feeling the same thing... for someone else? (Even though we all know that he's this "guy she knows" lol)
Hopefully everything will sort itself out before somebody gets hurt (or totally humiliated)!
Anywhoo, leave a review? Also, this is almost to 150 followers! If we can get past 150, I'll post two chapters tomorrow! And favorites are almost to 90, so if it gets to 95, I'll post a third! Eeee I feel bad bargaining, but seeing new follows, favs, and reviews makes me sooooo happy! :D