Chapter Fourteen: Hello

Beastboy quickly caught up to who he had rightly assumed was Batgirl as she was passing through the door out of the batcave.

"Eh, so hi! I guess we didn't really get the chance to introduce ourselves did we?" He asked slightly guilty. He almost ran into the back of her as she stopped suddenly and spun around.

"I'm Batgirl."

"I know," Beastboy said slightly breathlessly, before shaking his head. He was determined to right his wrong. "Look, Batman told me about what happened." She blinked at him, showing no other reaction. Beastboy stared at the girl in front of him, trying to get his thoughts together, before giving up and just speaking. "Thank you," he simply said, "I would probably be dead if wasn't for you. And I-I'm sorry I attacked you." He finished quietly, breaking eye contact and lowering his head.

Batgirl watched intently, working at deciphering his emotions. He was sad, depressed even. Shoulders slumped, feet close together and head down. There was no lying with your body, not unless you were a master of self-control. Seeing him so vulnerable, she was reminded of how peaceful he had looked laying on the hospital bed. There wasn't a hint of the beast that had attacked her without provocation in front of her. Just someone asking forgiveness for something they had no control over. His very body spoke of his guilt and shame.

Unsure of herself, but always one for learning through doing, she attempted to console him. "Listen." He glanced up at her, sorrow and despair in his eyes. She spoke strongly, "In the past now, live in present and look to future. Forgive you." She felt oddly happy as his eyes lit up and felt a strange twitching in her facial muscles.

"Thank you." He said quietly, watching a small smile work its way onto her face.

"Welcome." She replied and turned to go, still trying to figure out what was happening to her face.

Beastboy's mouth widened into a large grin and he bounded up next to her, "So, what's your real name? How long have you been Batgirl? How did you become Batgirl? You looked so awesome yesterday when…"

Batgirl was taken aback, having no idea how to respond to the deluge of questions. Instead she just unknowingly relaxed into another small smile and led the way up the stone passageway to Wayne Manor. When they finally reached a metallic door, Batgirl spun around put into practice a physical gesture she had learned was supposed to induce silence in another. Unfortunately, she had forgotten that one was meant to press their finger to one's own lips. Not another's.

"I wonder how-mmph!" Beastboy's eyes bugged out as a slim, strong finger pressed to his lips, shutting him up very effectively, her finger cool against his skin.

"Watch." Batgirl said simply. She removed her finger, not noticing how Beastboy's facial expression of sheer surprise didn't change at all and turned back to the door. Stepping forward, a second laser scanned her head and upper body, before the door clicked open. "Bio-information will be programmed into system. Will accept you from now on."

Beastboy shook his head quickly to dispel and didn't even try to wrap his head around what had just happened. "Sweet, got it,' he said, following her through the main door. They found themselves in a wide open living room area. Expensive wooden panelling coated the walls, a chandelier hung from the cream ceiling and the floor was richly carpeted. A fire crackled in in the hearth on the right side of the room, in front of which were several comfortable looking armchairs, footrests and a coffee table. Bookcases pressed against every wall, above them various artefacts, paintings and even ancient weapons hung on hooks. Beastboy had never seen such an opulent room that simply oozed wealth.

He heard a click behind him and turned to see Batgirl close the door to the batcave. Only it wasn't a door, but a traditional grandfather clock that swung back to cover the opening. "Secret entrance, watch." Batgirl said before opening the glass covering of the clock and arranging the hands to 10:48. Beastboy heard the clicking sound again and the huge wooden clock swung forward to reveal the concealed entrance once again. "Main entrance to batcave." Batgirl told him.

"Awesome." Beastboy breathed, eyes wide.

The next few hours were spent walking around the hug mansion. Batgirl showed him the kitchen, living room, ball room, lab, swimming pool, tennis court, sauna… the list went on and on and Beastboy was uncharacteristically quiet the whole time, still in a state of shock.

"This is where you sleep, once problem is sorted." Batgirl said, opening a door into a spacious but bare room. It contained a double bed, desk, wardrobe and ensuite. It was also cold and stale; obviously unlived in for some time.

Beastboy stood staring around the blank room and suddenly it hit him.

This was going to be his home. Indefinitely. He wasn't going to see his teammates, fight crime or relax with his family for some time. He was alone in a strange house with two masked vigilantes. He had no idea how long he was going to be there for, nor had he any control over what he was going to be doing. Beastboy suddenly felt a weight settle on his chest and wondered if he had made a mistake.

Batgirl was watching him. Slumped shoulders, eyes downcast, touching his shoulder and face, running a hand through his hair. Textbook signs of discomfort, sorrow and seeking comfort or reassurance. This was the first time she had been faced with a potential friend showing these behaviours. Thinking back she knew that in order to provide the reassurance and comfort Beastboy was seeking, physical contact was needed. Problem was, the only experience outside of hugging Alfred that Batgirl had had in physical contact involved hurting people.

Batgirl took a deep breath, pushed aside her inhibitions and nervousness and approached him. Lifting her hand, she placed it gently on Beastboy's shoulder, feeling his warm skin through the thin fabric of his shirt. She felt him tense in surprise before turning to look at her, emerald eyes somewhat dull. Now, she knew words of comfort and relaxation needed to be spoken. Here, she ran into a complete brick wall. Language was not natural to her, let alone relating to someone. Thinking quickly she postponed the need and instead simply asked. "Hungry?" She remembered to smile, knowing that it was a reassuring and positive facial expression and twisted her face in the appropriate way.

Beastboy stared at the strange girl with stunted language, clinical social skills and odd, strained expression and wondered. Who was she? Why was she so withdrawn? Where did she come from? Why was she the way that she was? How did she get here? The last time he had had so many questions concerning somebody was years ago when he had first met Raven.

Raven.

Beastboy felt an unexpected hollowness inside at the realisation that he wouldn't be seeing her again for some time. He wouldn't be seeing any of his friends, those who accepted him unconditionally and who he considered family for a long, long time. Then he looked up again at the undeniably interesting, not to mention attractive, teen in front of him. She didn't seem to have a problem with him being green. With his fangs or elfin ears. Heck, he had even attacked her with reason and here she was asking him if he was hungry.

Maybe she really didn't care. Batman hadn't seemed to have a problem with him. Maybe it was because they had seen weirder things before. Who knew? All he knew is that he was accepted to some degree here and the thought that others besides the titans could do that lightened his heart. Maybe this wasn't going to be that bad. Maybe he could make some new friends. Beastboy had always tried to make the best of situations and he intended to do the same now.

"I'm starving." He answered with a grin.

Batgirl led them down through the labyrinth of rooms and corridors while Beastboy feebly tried to remember the way. The mansion was a maze. Eventually, Batgirl opened a random door and they entered into the kitchen.

Compared to the rest of the house, which felt oddly dead and unlived in, the kitchen was alive and vibrant. Wooden worktops, a large oak table, utensils hanging from hooks above a modern stove all lit up by late afternoon sunlight streaming through pristine windows. Beastboy thought it would look more appropriate in an old farmer's home, albeit a very modern one. The enticing aromas of cooking food helped.

"Good afternoon Ms Cassandra, Master Beastboy."

Beastboy turned towards the English accent and saw a man standing wiping his hands on a cloth. The first thing that struck Beastboy was his impeccable clothing. Black leather shoes shone beneath perfectly pressed pinstriped trousers. A black waistcoat and tie contrasted with a crisp and clean white shirt, the sleeves of which were rolled up to the elbow. His face possessed an ageless quality, looking both wise and friendly at once. A receding silver hairline was the only clue Beastboy could find of his age. His eyes were bright and aware.

"Uh, hi there Mr…"

"Alfred Pennyworth at your service." The man replied, actually bowing slightly to the green teen. "I am Master Wayne's butler."

"Eh, pleased to meet you." Beastboy was uncomfortable. This immaculately dressed and well-spoken man was so socially superior to him.

"Likewise. I do apologise for my recent absence. Master Wayne felt it best that I left you alone to acclimatise to the Batcave on your own."

"No problem. It was for the best." He added in a dark undertone, remembering his Beast attack with a heavy heart.

Alfred pushed on, seeing the turn in his attitude, "I am pleased to see you have made a rapid recovery Master Beastboy, might you feel up to some dinner?

Beastboy was quickly pulled out of his negative thoughts and nodded enthusiastically, an eager look on his face, "Definitely, it smells awesome."

"I'm just about ready. Your timing is as impeccable as ever Ms Cassandra." He said with a warm smile.

Batgirl grinned widely and Beastboy was about to find out why.

He had never seen anyone eat so much food before, except maybe Cyborg. After the two had sat down at the well-worn table (Batman rarely joined them, Beastboy found out), Alfred had brought out dish after dish of steaming food, which she attacked ferociously. Beastboy simply sat and stared at the ravenous girl in quiet awe as she heaped food upon multiple plates before he heard a voice address him.

"I believe you are a vegetarian Master Beastboy. Correct?"

Beastboy turned to see the Englishman holding a steaming dish in one gloved hand and a spatula in the other. His nose twitched at the delicious smell coming from it.

"Yeah, I don't eat meat and you can just call me Beastboy." he replied.

"Indeed I could Master Beastboy. Ratatouille?" Alfred offered with a smile.

Beastboy gave a weak smile. Being treated like royalty didn't suit him well. There was far too much pressure to do the right thing involved, no screwing up allowed. Should he insist he just call him by his name? Was that the socially correct thing to do? 'Oh God, I'm going to screw this up straight away. And what the heck did he say at the end there? It sounded like he was swearing or something! What do I do?' His time with the Doom Patrol hadn't exactly been spent teaching him manners and living with four other unsupervised teenagers hadn't really prepared him for this. He could feel the sweat forming on the palms of his clenched hands.

Alfred, not a fool, saw the signs of discomfort and gave a small, polite cough. Beastboy's eyes leapt to his and his mouth opened for what was inevitably going to be an apology of some sort. Alfred subtly tilted his head across the table and Beastboy followed his cue, confused.

Then he saw Batgirl.

Beastboy had always thought Starfire was the messiest eater he had ever seen, her alien strength, cultural background and practically sentient food meant dinner times at the tower were spent carefully avoiding looking in her general direction. Appetites were frequently lost. No one had ever came close to eating like she did.

Until Batgirl.

The pretty, slender girl was literally shovelling food into her mouth. Bizarrely using a large spoon and a pair of chopsticks she ate with the intensity concentration of a professional chess player. Beastboy watched as she swallowed an enormous mouthful of mashed potatoes, steak and omelette then noticed him looking. She gave him a large grin, which he returned, before returning her focus to the plates in front of her.

Beastboy looked back at Alfred, smile in place and stomach growling. The butler's eyes twinkled as he offered the dish again, "Would you care for some Ratatouille?"

"Uh, bless you?" Beastboy joked.

"I'll take that as a yes." Alfred smiled and ladled some of the French dish onto Beastboy's plate as he lectured him. "Ratatouille is a traditional vegetable dish that originated in modern day Nice. It consists mainly of tomatoes, onions, garlic and peppers, although I have my own personal recipe."

"It's awesome!" Beastboy managed to choke out around a mouthful of the stuff. He swallowed. "In fact, I think it's better than tofu! Man, never thought I would say that."

''Ah yes, the 2000 year old Chinese bean curd. I had some myself made fresh before my eyes many years ago in the city of Chengdu." Alfred continued talking as he served more dishes, smooth voice washing around the room. "The process of coagulating soy milk is really quite ingenious and goes all the way back to the Han Dynasty supposedly, where the product was spread throughout Asia with the Buddhist religion as tofu fitted the vegetarian diet of the followers as it is high in both protein and iron – difficult to come across in a no meat diet."

Beastboy stared at the man with a rather stupid look on his face and an unhinged jaw. "It tastes good." He simply stated.

A chuckle came from across the table and Beastboy turned to see Batgirl taking a break from her feast.

"Alfred know everything." She said sending a grin at him, eliciting a somewhat warm feeling in his stomach that had nothing to do with food.

"Come now Ms Cassandra, I'm sure there are some areas in the field of advanced theoretical mathematics with which I am unfamiliar," Said Alfred, winking at Beastboy as he sat down between the two teenagers.

Beastboy laughed around a mouthful of roasted carrots and broccoli and heartily dug into all kinds of vegetarian cuisine he had never even heard of before. A question soon occurred to him.

"How did you know I was a vegetarian?" He asked Alfred.

The manservant dabbed at his lips with a pristine white napkin before answering. "Master Wayne was most anxious to complete as comprehensive and detailed a report on both your professional and personal life as possible. I volunteered to undertake the task."

Beastboy blinked. "Sorry, what?"

An almost imperceptible frown appeared on Alfred's forehead, 'Apparently I will have to educate him on more than just fine dining,' he thought."I researched you."

"Oh. Eh, why?"

It was Alfred's turn to blink. "I do not think you entirely grasp the situation you are currently in my boy. It is not an everyday occurrence that a hero finds themselves not only in the infamous batcave, but in possession of the knowledge of whom it belongs to. The protection of such information is of the highest importance and anyone who attains said intelligence is first and foremost considered a threat. By informally asking you to join the batclan, Master Wayne has extended a privilege to you that not many have received in hopes that you will prove worthy of this secret. But with this honour comes cost. Your life will be laid bare before him."

Beastboy fought down a shiver of fear. He hadn't considered all of that. He really was in a messed up situation and if he didn't play his cards right, things could get very nasty very quickly. 'No. I won't screw this up. I'll do whatever I have to to get rid of that side of me. I can do it.'

He looked up, eyes clear and unusually serious, "I understand. I'll do whatever it takes to get better."

Alfred nodded solemnly as smiled inwardly. 'It's little wonder that Master Grayson has succeeded so much in his heroic endeavours. His team is truly admirable. Which reminds me...'

"Tell me Beastboy, how is Robin these days?"

Beastboy looked over at Alfred. It had slipped his mind that Robin had once lived and worked here. He didn't understand why Alfred seemed almost nervous, though.

"Eh, fine I guess. Training, working, eating, sleeping, all he's ever seemed to do. It's what makes him so Robiney. Well, that and trying not to blush every time Star comes onto him." Beastboy added with a laugh, remembering the countless awkward pauses and stammers.

"Oh, he has a 'special friend' then?" This was the first Alfred had heard of Robin's wellbeing in years other than gossip magazines and internet articles and it wasn't what he was hoping for. This potential relationship could be a good sign, however.

Beastboy burped. "Excuse me," He said, pleased that he had remembered his manners and opened his mouth to reply.

That was when an almighty belch came from the other side of the table. Beastboy actually felt his hair ruffle from the force. He stared in awe at the small girl before grinning in wonder.

Beastboy took a toothpick for himself and turned back to Alfred, grin in place. He was starting to feel relaxed and at ease. Having a full stomach helped. "Not officially,' he said, answering Alfred's question, "And if you ask me they never will get to that stage. Star hasn't exactly been discrete about her, eh….feelings over the years. I have no idea why he hasn't gotten with her yet. I mean have you seen Starfire? Don't know what's wrong with the Birdbrain."

'I do.' Alfred reflected sadly, his fears confirmed. He mentally shook himself.

"Well, best to be off to bed now. You have a long day ahead of you tomorrow and you'll need your rest. I've taken the liberty of making Cell B a little more homely."

Beastboy felt a thrill of nervousness and excitement course through him, eager for the day Cell B would no longer be necessary.

Tomorrow he started training with the Batman.

And that's the end of that chapter!
Had a mini heart attack a few hours ago when I thought my computer had deleted all my progress on this chapter. Scared the hell out of me.
Anyway, I really enjoyed writing this chapter. Not having much experience of Alfred, I'm basing him off of a character called 'Jeeves,' the butler from P.G Wodehouse's 'Jeeves and Wooster.' Type that into youtube to see the tv show, where he is portrayed by Stephen Fry. Excellent stuff.
Let me know if you think it worked. Let me know if you think it didn't. Praise and criticism are alike appreciated!

Review Responses:
EX3451 – I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter, that is the main goal after all. It was difficult but I'll take 'believable,' that's definitely a good thing. I am very happy with your opinion on Robin, that's what I'm going for – him toeing the line between reasonable concern and over the top paranoia. And yes, comeuppance will be featured.
As for your second question, I'm going for a little of both. There are events in both Beastboy's and the titan's situations that I want to cover during the time period, so probably a month by month thing. Or something like that anyway.

LiumD – There are indeed storms on the horizon, though you have no idea what :)
Confrontational? That's a fair comment. Though in my defense, it was a confrontation.

Shugokage – Thank you! Much appreciated.

Mincymina – I'm glad you liked it. Robin's reaction was based on a few factors. First off, he's losing a member of his team. Second, batman is butting into his business again and he doesn't have any control of the situation. I think that would be enough to set him off like he did. We'll be back to the titans soon! Thanks for reading.

A Certified BAMF – First off, great name. If you want to know the answer to that question, all you need to do is look at my list of favourite fics. You'll get your answer.

Forsaken9 – Better and better is a good pattern!

ravanginghunter – Success then!

FF8Cerberus – I'm not so sure it's suppression as opposed to discovery. This shall be explored, fear not! It won't be a straight up time skip. Events will be covered with small time skips in between. Thanks for reading.

Thanks for stopping by, any and all reviews are appreciated. Suggestions and ideas will be considered. Especially with regards to Cyborg. He's an interesting character, but I'm not sure where to go with him during this, Any ideas? And how did you like this chapter?
Sayonara!
CJB