Primeval
Epilogue

)O(

Raven stared up into the face looming over her own, the smile was familiar - an echo of Beast Boy inside his soul, but the eyes were dark as they moved even closer to her own. She swallowed hard and held her own against the violent push of his aura against her powers. Their energies crackled and sizzled for a moment, contention rising up between them. He was just a beast hiding in her lover's body, just a moment of weakness for her and for him - nothing more. He curled his fingers under her chin and leaned down so that his lips hovered over her own, and Raven could smell his wild scent roiling under his skin, reminding her of what had happened not so long ago.

"It has certainly been a long time since I have seen you, demon. Nearly half a year if I could wager a guess..."

"Five months." Her answer was sharp and short, cutting deep into him without remorse. She blinked and finally tugged her chin away from his grasp. "I thought you were gone permanently." Raven made no attempt to pull away any farther, knowing the action would rile him up. She was smarter than to feed into his desires, and but wise enough to know not to give into them either.

"No." He took a step back and looked at her as if she were an oasis in the middle of a desert, or a beautiful mirage he didn't quite believe existed.

"I thought Beast Boy and I…" She trailed off not knowing exactly how to iterate what had happened. She shrugged in silence for a moment before and continuing. "I thought Beast Boy and I had finally subdued you."

He chuckled low in his throat, the sound faintly resembling Beast Boy's tired laugh, the one he used when he was falling asleep in her arms but still felt the need to tell his awful jokes. The familiar sound of it sent chills down Raven's spine, and she shivered in response. It had always been her darkest hope that she would never have to lay eyes on him ever again, but clearly fate had other plans for her and she was helpless against them.

"Oh, Raven, did you honestly think I would stay dormant forever?"

"I hoped." She kept her face straight, hiding the overwhelming fear rising up into her throat. How was she going to handle this...

"I rose up against that damnable serum Cyborg gave to me originally, I don't think a little bit of your black magic will keep me hidden forever, Raven." He smiled and crossed his arms over his chest, continuing to stare at her in a long, heavy silence. "I must say that I have missed seeing your face, little demon. Your eyes wide with excitement and fear at my presence… it is such a lovely sight."

Raven snarled up at him, knowing she was giving into his goading and playing right into his hands. She took a slow step back from him, trying to calm herself down, but having flashbacks of the torture that had ensued five months ago. He had used her to get what he wanted, and she was not going to let that happen again. A low growl escaped her throat, and she stopped her retreat. "I'm not going to give into you."

"So angry…" He smiled a genuine smile and the sight was nothing less than frightening. The beast clicked his tongue and shook his head, closing the space that she had put between them. "Relax, demon. I'm not here to force you, I am only here to… check on you." He seemed to question that choice of action, but eventually nodded in affirmation. "I am here to see that you are not doubting your choice of mates."

"I am not." Raven's hand instinctively went to the brand on her stomach and stared up into his face, trying to decipher if there was more to his request. He seemed honest - as far as she could tell anyway - and Raven doubted she had much to sorry about from him. She took a slow breath and let her guard fall slightly. "I have not ever doubted my choice in mates, and I am happy with what happened between Beast Boy and I. Although…" She felt her mind wander for a moment. "I do wish the whole experience wasn't so brutal."

He lifted an eyebrow, but his face stayed stony. "You fought me at every turn, Raven. You fought your own heart and your own destiny. It was not my intention to let the claiming be as rough as it was, but you gave me little choice." He paused for a moment, a pensive silence stretching between them. "I am honestly apologetic for what happened."

Raven couldn't hide her shock. The beast had never apologized for anything in their encounters, he existed simply as himself, nothing more and nothing less. If others were hurt in his wake, it was not his concern in the slightest. To hear him apologize for what had transpired between them was nothing short of a miracle. She shifted on her feet and looked into his face, trying to think of anything to say to him. Finally, she settled on an "oh."

He chuckled, a moment of humanity showing through his cold exterior. "I don't believe I have ever seen you without words. I suppose I should consider this an improvement on my previous behavior?"

Raven blinked slowly. "Yes…"

He continued to stare at her. "You are doubting myself?"

"I am curious what brought on this change." She saw no reason to lie to him, not now anyway. "This is not what you were five months ago when we… interacted. I am hesitant to believe you can simply change your animalistic nature at will." She raised an eyebrow and watching him carefully, trying to decipher his movements and understand him. beast Boy and her had no reason to believe that the beast would ever be back, and yet here he was - taunting Raven with his presence. "I don't want to doubt you, but I have no reason to believe you either."

He smiled that strange, genuine smile again and moved into her space easily, his heat nearly swallowing her petite form. "I thought that was obvious, Raven…" He picked up her hand and placed it on his forearm, right over the raven-shaped mark she had left there months before. "I am part of Beast Boy now, inseparable from him, and because of this… l have felt your love."

Raven struggled to not roll her eyes. The power of love saved him? That seemed rather like a fairytale. She settled for an indelicate snort, but knew her fingers were unconsciously tracing the mark of their own volition. It was theirs - a sign of their love and acceptance of each other as they were. It had been a difficult struggle to accept Beast Boy, knowing that the beast hid in the darkest recesses of his soul, but every tumultuous moment had been worth the pain. Raven pulled her hand back and nodded. "I appreciate the sentiment, but that does not excuse your actions."

He shook his head, looking a bit remorseful. "It does not… although I do hope that in time both you and Beast Boy would find forgiveness for me. It was not my intention to have this love of ours get so wildly out of my own control, and I certainly never meant to hurt you."

For the first time, Raven noticed that he was addressing her and Beast Boy by their names, and not by what they were. She had never heard the beast call Beast Boy as anything other than "host" and her as nothing more than a "demon". It was a sign that change was coming - a slow change that would undoubtedly take years to complete, but a transformation nonetheless. Raven was quite surprised that he had the ability to change at all, although she was struggling to not doubt him.

"And what do you want from me?" She shuddered again, trying to stop the bile rising into her throat. "To claim me again?"

"No," he said calmly, his eyes roaming over her face as he searched her eyes. "No, I am not worthy of your body yet, Raven. I took what was not mine before and I will always suffer the consequences of what happened. I will forever live with that sin, and I cannot forgive myself for that yet." He pulled his hands away from her own and took a step back, his expression softening to something almost human. "Someday, I hope that Beast Boy will allow me the pleasure of having you again, but until then I will happily exist in the recesses of his mind, living through the shadows of his memories and experiences."

Raven lifted an eyebrow, fighting back another incredulous snort. "And what makes you think I'll allow you?"

His soft, human expression vanished into his more beastly look, and he simply smiled.

Raven hated that look. She pursed her lips and looked away.

The beast sighed and rubbed his temples, as if trying to fight off a headache. "I am growing weary, Raven. Beast Boy wishes to have his body back and he is rather loud in my head…"

"You still didn't answer why you're here." Raven tapped her fingers on her thigh in impatience.

"To apologize." He seemed to think for a moment, his eyes staring at the ceiling as if he were deep in thought. A slow second passed and he brought his eyes back down to look into her own. "And to rile Beast Boy up I suppose."

"Rile… him up?" Raven took another step back, eyes darting down his body in confusion. What in the world did that mean? "What are you doing to him?"

"Just reminding him he's a bit of a beast."

With that, Raven could feel his aura pull back into his body, and Beast Boy pushed forward, gasping as he clutched his stomach, doubling over. Raven reached out to touch him, but he pushed her hand away, stumbling back on her bed. He shielded his eyes from her and groaned into the mattress, writhing in silence. Raven pushed forward again, trying to grab him and bring him back to his senses, and-

He lifted his eyes to her own and their eyes finally connected. Raven felt a blush rush up her neck to her face. Oh.

His hands tightened on her arms and he pulled her underneath him in a single, smooth movement. Beast Boy leaned down and bit into her neck, his teeth nipping at the tender skin. Ravn cried out, her back arching as his hands found all the secret hollows of her body again, teasing her body into a fevered state in just a matter of moments.

"I'm going to fuck you so hard you won't be able to walk for a week."

For the first time in five months, she couldn't find a reason to fight the animal inside him.

)O(

Not exactly worth two years of waiting, but I hope it was enjoyed nonetheless. Ya'll deserve a medal for putting up with me.
Thanks for being awesome, friends. In the event you don't know, I am on Tumblr, where I post a metric fuck-ton of drabbles (fluff and smut alike) with BBRae. Thanks again, friends! I hope you enjoyed it, and I'll see you on the otherside!