Author's Note: Ya! Finally, the complete and finished version of Chapter 8! Aren't you excited? Reports of my death have been exaggerated, but my teachers are working on that problem (my sanity is already going). I have made it through the worst part of the year, meaning this ten week span of evil, non-day-offness, so updates should occur more often… hopefully. I'd like to apologies up front for all problems in this chapter, but keep in mind that it is ten at night and I just finished Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Not too much action, a lot of fluff, but when it hit 9 pages, I figured I should probably stop. Reviews are, as always, appreciated. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans.

Disclaimer's Disclaimer: This disclaimer was taken from Coeus's story Never Again. I do not own that either, though I might just Copyright this two disclaimers thing since I have never seen it done before.

"Sirens," Raven practically shouted as she entered the living room where the Team had gathered, throwing her aged copy of Homer's The Odyssey onto the kitchen table. Normally, Cyborg would have protested the fact that it had practically crushed the remote, but he didn't have time to voice so much as a 'hey' before she continued. "It's a Siren, that's what's been affecting him."

"Sirens? You mean, like mermaids? But I though they were just an old Greek myth," said Robin, folding his arms and staring intently at the book as though he thought it was lying. "And even if they did exist, no one has seen them for over 2000 years. What are the odds that one would just float up on Jump's shoreline?"

"Mermaids…oh! You are referring to Ariel, correct," Starfire said optimistically, her voice bright.

"No, they're really nothing like that." It was as though all the happiness in the room had evaporated. Ariel, they could deal with, or at least understand. "This creature is half bird, half human, and probably severely pissed off that Beast Boy's still alive. The legend says that they would sing a song so sweet that any sailors passing by would drown trying to get to them. Some variations say that they would drown themselves if they failed."

"So maybe she's dead," Cyborg muttered, almost hoping no one had heard. They did, and he was now receiving death glares from all around the table. "I mean, I know that sounds terrible, but seriously, at least Beast Boy's still alive."

"But why is he the only one who can hear her? Shouldn't Cyborg and I be affected too?"

"You should," Raven frowned, thinking hard as she spoke. "Perhaps you two are unaffected because you can't hear her song."

"That's right; Beast Boy has the best hearing out of all of us. His animal DNA gives him heightened senses, like, way heightened. He can hear, see, smell, feel and taste better than all of us put together!" Cyborg received a few blank stares in response to his enthusiasm. "Well, can any of you smell last month's cough syrup spill?"

"But wait, Raven," Robin said abruptly. "You said before that Beast Boy had already been out and seen this Siren. So why did he come back? And why is he still hearing the singing?"

"We don't know that he is, Robin," snapped Raven, glaring at the Boy Wonder. "He hasn't so much as mentioned it in the past week, or made any obvious runs for the shore."

"We never gave him the opportunity to," pointed out Robin defensively. "And he has been staring off into space a lot."

"And this is hard proof that he is still being pulled out into the ocean to seek an immortal human-bird hybrid," Raven chided, giving Robin a cold stare.

"Friend Raven does have a point," said Starfire meekly, sending her lover a pleading look. Seeing Robin yell at people was scary, seeing Raven yell was scarier, but seeing the two of them yelling at each other was Grudge quality terrifying. "Perhaps we should simply ask Beast Boy if he still hears this Siren."

"What happens when he lies then we find his drowned corps floating up onto our beach a week later?" Robin was doing his best not to yell, but he was just so frustrated. True, Beast Boy could hold his own in a fist fight (most of the time anyway), but Raven had often complained that his mind was too open and Robin himself had seen how quick he was to trust a stranger. He was worried, there was just no other way to put it, worried about his green friend, and not willing to let him die because The Boy Wonder was careless with his surveillance and let him slip out the window.

"What reason does he have to lie? It's a legitimate question."

"Hey," interrupted Cyborg, glancing around. "Where is the grass stain anyway? I haven't seen him in hours."

'He's taking a bath," said Robin moodily, frowning when he received three poorly concealed confused glances from his teammates. "What, you know Beast Boy takes forever in the bathtub."

"You didn't stay to make sure he didn't leave," mocked Raven beneath her monotone.

"Even Robin has some limits," defended Cyborg, though that may have been the wrong word for it. A wicked grin spread over his lips as he pointed one finger straight up into the air in an attempt to look smart as he continued. "He's not going to stand in the bathroom for hours on end watching a naked green boy wash himself just to make sure he didn't leave the tub. Unless there is something Robin hasn't told us yet, I be- ow!" Cyborg grabbed his foot in pain, petting it like a lost puppy while Robin pointedly looked the other way, his expression a little too oblivious.

"Friends, friends," called Starfire from the door, a small note of panic in her voice. "I have checked the room of baths, and Beast Boy is not there!" Her voice broke into a shriek near the end, sending the entire room into a frenzied run for the door. She fell instep behind Robin as soon as the group entered the hall, babbling her story as they raced to the bathroom. Robin kicked down the door as he pulled out two bird-o-ranges, a precaution only, and surveyed the room. It was their usual bathroom, shower in the corner next to the toilet, sink and mirror on the right wall, and a huge bathtub brimming with now cold water and topped by a slightly depleted mountain of bubbles. There was no sign of Beast Boy.

"Where is he?"

"Beast Boy!" Raven merely waved her hand, causing the bubbles to scatter, revealing the bathtub's white rim, the glassy surface of the water, and a small green dot at the bottom of the tub that distinctly resembled a clownfish. It began to dart around as soon as exposed, shifting into an otter as it approached the surface to see what had caused the disturbance. The otter's head broke the surface, its white eyes glancing around the room in confusion… until they found the armed Titans standing in the doorway. A look of absolute horror crossed his face as the startled otter shot three feet in the air, letting out a shriek and diving back into the water. Beast Boy then proceeded to morph into a sea slug and hide as best he could in the corner of the bath tub. A deep flush bloomed across Raven and Robin's faces, though for different reasons, and they turned and marched out of the room without saying anything. Starfire trailed behind, a bemused expression in her eyes.

"Ummmm, sorry pal," Cyborg said awkward, picking up the door. "We were worried that you weren't here, but you are, in fact, still in the bath tub, which is perfectly normal for you so I don't know why we were worried except Starfire said you weren't here, but you are, here that is, so we were wrong and are very sorry for breaking down the door so I'm just going to put it back and go now." He backed out of the room, trying to fit the door back into place as he went, failed, so instead elected to lean it against the frame so that Beast Boy had some privacy and head back to the common area.

"I'm just curious Starfire," Robin was saying as Cyborg re-entered. He and Starfire were at the table, while Raven was over on the couch with a book, still blushing for reasons beyond Cyborg. "Did you check under the water before you came and got us?"

"From what I know about your culture her on Earth," explained Starfire brightly, but seriously, like a kindergarten teacher explaining why it was wrong to lie to a four year old. "It would have been improper to look underneath the water for someone who was taking a bath."

"I see," said Robin, now feeling the distinct urge to slam his head into a wall. Over on the couch, Raven's lips twitched. She loved it when she won.

"You know," said Beast Boy, poking his head into the refrigerator. "You could have just yelled at me. I probably would have said something. Or you could have asked me." Raven folded her arms behind him, frowning, but she refused to partake in his banter. After a long moment of silence, he pulled his head out, a playfully teenage grin on his face. This concerned Raven, it was usually bad for her when he got that look, but she was confident that there was absolutely nothing that he could say that could further humiliate her. "Raven," he said in a low, puppy voice. She scowled at him, but didn't really expect him to stop. "Raven, Raven, Raven." Of all the days she could have been stuck babysitting while the city was under attack, today would be the day. "Raven."

"What," she snapped, getting severely annoyed. Robin had specifically ordered her to watch Beast Boy 'just in case', no reading, no meditating; she wasn't even aloud to watch TV unless she was sure Beast Boy was on the couch next to her.

"If you wanted to see me naked, all you had to do was ask." Nothing, except that. Next thing he knew, he was flying across the room butt first towards the TV screen. It turned on when he hit it, resulting in a rather comical scene where Beast Boy slid down the face of one of Jump Cities many reporters as she discussed the weather. Raven, however, didn't see it. She had her back turned to the changeling and was too busy tying to banish a scarlet blush from her cheeks to notice. That had been happening to her a lot recently, ever since Starfire had informed her of Beast Boy's 'true feelings' the previous morning. She had no idea why, it wasn't like she had suddenly sprouted feelings for him over night. "I guess I asked for that one, huh," called Beast Boy from behind the couch.

"Yes, you did," said Raven flatly, tugging her hood into place and blaming the flush on hormones. He grinned childishly, plopping down onto the couch to watch the news report.

"Boring," he said, reaching for the remote, but something caught his eye.

"There is a new exhibit at Jump City Museum, featuring recently uncovered artifacts from the Mediterranean," said the female reporter, beaming. "Now every newly renovated piece is fantastic, but center of this display is none other than this strange gem, referred to in the Greek myths as the "Half Heart". Scientists believe that it is composed of a strange, quarts and…" But Beast Boy had stopped listening. A picture of this 'Half Heart' was resting in the upper left corner of the screen, staring at him innocently. 'They stole something from me, something very important.' The words echoed in his mind, like the half forgotten words of a childhood dream, he couldn't place them, couldn't remember. 'I need you, Garfield.' His eyes widened, a humming starting in his ears. 'We're bonded now, you don't have to be alone. Never again.' He closed his eyes, trying to banish the voice. 'That's it!'

"Beast Boy," Raven said sharply, breaking the spell. He flinched slightly, meeting her eyes once he had regained his composure.

"Yeah," he answered, smiling coyly.

"What is up with you?" Beast Boy laughed out right at this, causing Raven to frown internally.

"Is it really so uncommon to see me thinking," he asked, still laughing.

"Yes," replied Raven bluntly, sitting down next to him and rubbing her temples.

"Hard day," he inquired, crossing his legs and leaning forward.

"Try a hard week," she said, refusing to look at him and continuing to rub her temples.

"Wanna talk about it," offered Beast Boy, grinning hopefully at her.

"No."

"All right," he said, failing to keep the disappointment from his voice. A moment passed, the silence thickening the air despite the continuing news report. Beast Boy leapt over the back of the couch and headed back over to the refrigerator to see if anything edible had materialized in his absence. No such luck. He sighed, pulling out the slightly yellow block of tofu and setting it on the counter. Raven had stopped rubbing her temples and was now just staring blankly at the screen. "Hey, Rea," he tried again after a moment or two.

"Yes," she answered curtly, not looking at him.

"Maybe you should take it easy for a while," he suggested.

"What do you mean by that," she said, shooting him a half look over her shoulder.

"Well, "he trailed off, staring at his tofu. "I don't know, read some more depressing novels, drink more tea, maybe take the next few missions off."

"Excuse me?"

"Well, you know," he stuttered, trying to redeem himself. "You are looking a little tired and more rundown than usual." She raised one eyebrow skeptically. "Umm, that didn't come out right, what I meant was –"

"Beast Boy."

"Yes"

"Stop talking."

"OK," he muttered, cutting a piece off of the tofu block and popping it into his mouth. "I guess it was rather stupid of me to suggest it in the first place."

"Yes, it was," chided Raven, her eyes returning to the screen to indicate that the discussion was over.

"I mean, what would Robin say," he continued, ignoring her. "He would flip out and put us through extra training just for suggesting it." Raven ignored him. "I'm just, you know worried."

"What," snapped Raven, standing up and levitating over to the kitchen area.

"Well, if you aren't fully awake, then you're more likely to get thrown into walls, believe me, I know."

"What are you talking about?"

"Nothing," he said quickly. "It's nothing, just… forget I said anything."

"No, it's not nothing," Raven stated, landing across from Beast By and giving him a piercing stare, which he skillfully avoided. "We've had late nights, late weeks, and you've never been worried before." There was another short, tense silence where Raven continued to stare and Beast Boy continued to avoid by poking his tofu uncomfortably. "Well?"

"It's never been my fault before," he yelled, slamming his hand into the counter top, making the tofu jump. Yet he still refused to meet her gaze.

"Don't you think you're over reacting," Raven returned calmly, letting down her hood. For some reason, it seemed to make Beast Boy more comfortable. "It's not like this is anything special, we've seen weird stuff before, we've lost sleep, gotten hurt. Life goes on, this is no different. But you've never gotten this worked up about it."

"You're wrong," Beast Boy whispered, not quite dangerously, but with the distinct hint of anger. "Before, I could blame it on Robin's obsessions or training, or Starfire's over enthusiasm in the kitchen, or you just being you. It's never been my fault. No one has ever lost sleep over me before, or something stupid that I've done." He finally looked up at her, emerald eyes glinting guiltily. "This is different, I caused this. Cyborg's been skipping sleep cycles to make sure there is tofu for me to eat in the morning, and even forcing some of the stuff down himself. Robin's been personally overseeing my supervision, that is, when he isn't destroying the training room or finding something else to obsess over. And Starfire's been treating me like I'm Silkie's new baby brother. Don't think I haven't noticed." Raven gave him a warning look, but he just kept going. "And you! You've been up doing research for me, to figure out what's wrong with me. All this last week you've barely come out of your room for so much as a bathroom break, and who knows if you've been sleeping or not."

"You're exaggerating, we're all fine," stated Raven in her best soothing voice. Needless to say, Beast Boy was not very comforted; if anything, he was looking almost disappointed and, ironically, annoyed. Raven narrowed her eyes, studying him for a second or two. Beast Boy stared back defiantly, as if to challenger to pronounce any of his observations wrong. "There's something else," she finally said. The ghost of a frown crossed his features and he looked away from her quickly

"I told you," he muttered, absently playing with his tofu. "It's nothing." She gave him another skeptical look.

"You can't get out of this so easily, you're the one how wanted to talk in the first place."

"I said it's nothing." The sharpness in his voice was startling, if not down right wrong. He glanced over at her, then quickly away again. "You know what, you're right. I probably am over reacting anyway. Just forget about it," the green changeling said evasively, picking up his tofu and putting it back into the refrigerator, then proceeding to turn off the TV.

"What is bothering you so much that you can't even talk about it," demanded Raven, following him.

"Why is it that we only have one TV anyway," rambled Beast Boy, walking around the couch.

"Beast Boy."

"I mean, we're, like, always fighting over what to watch or which video game to play."

"Beast Boy!"

"Same goes for bathrooms. We have this huge tower and pretty much an unlimited amount of money, there is no reason for us not to have more than one toilet. That's just ridiculous!"

"If you value your life, you'll get your green butt over here right now and talk to me."

"Maybe I could talk to Cyborg about installing a bathroom in all of our rooms. And a TV. That would be nice." Had any other member of the team walked in at that moment they would have found a raving Beast Boy doing laps around the couch and a vexed Raven chasing him an a twisted loop that could only be described as comical. Raven couldn't help herself; he knew something she didn't, something she wanted to know. That just drove her crazy.

"Garfield!" She reached out and grabbed his shoulder, forcing him to look at her. Before she knew what was happening, he had grabbed her wrists and pulled her closer to him, his eyes boring into hers, uncharacteristically serious.

"I don't want you to get hurt because of me, all right," he almost yelled. She blinked up at him, suddenly very aware of the four inches of height he had achieved since they had first met. It wasn't much, but it did put him comfortably taller than her. A lot had changed since then… then again, maybe it hadn't. Maybe he had always been like this, and she was just now noticing it. "I won't let anyone else to get hurt because of me."

"There's more to this then you're saying." Beast Boy flinched slightly, but didn't release her and she, in turn, didn't pull back "Tell me what's wrong. Why are you so worried all of a sudden?"

"Why do you care?" There was no sarcasm, no anger, no bitterness in his voice, nothing but tired curiosity. The question surprised Raven, to put it mildly, to the point where it took her more than a moment to decide what to tell him. She looked away from him, licking her lips as she thought.

"Let me go," she said slowly, straining against him. He tightened his hold on her wrists, not enough to hurt, just enough to keep her close.

"Not until you answer my question. Why do you care?"

"Because you're my team mate… and my friend," she admitted, forcing herself to meet his gaze once more. "I don't want to see anything bad happen to you either." He released her and she immediately took a step back, grateful for the distance.

"Is that all-" he whispered, swallowing mid sentence. "Is that all I am to you, a team mate and a friend?" For the second time in less than two days, Raven was speechless

'He's in love with you.' Starfire's words echoed in her head, infuriatingly clear. So what was she supposed to tell him? The truth? A half-truth? Was she supposed to lie to him? What would that accomplish, he would know any way. Beast Boy always knew. A second passed, then another, and another. He gave her a half grin that quickly faded when she failed to answer, then tried again. A minute of silence passed and his hopeful grin finally stopped returning.

"Raven," he whispered sadly, like she was nothing more than a picture, or a memory, like the real Raven couldn't hear him. Slowly, timidly, he reached out towards her, but he withdrew his hand before it had moved more than a few inches, letting it drop limply to his side. Then he turned sharply, walking stiffly, but quickly to the door. "Just in case you were wondering," he said over his shoulder as the doors slid open. "You're more than a team mate and a friend to me, Raven. Way more." As the doors closed there was the definite sound of an explosion in the refrigerator.