Keepsake

Someone on tumblr suggested a thing for me to do. So I did.

"This is stupid."

Raven stood outside Beast Boy's vacant bedroom, staring at the flat, grey surface. Every now and then, her delicate fingers would reach out for the lettering that identified the occupant but always stopped short of actually making contact.

"This is stupid," she repeated, her mind recalling her path to this situation in every detail and very much against her will. It had all started so innocently. The team had been pursuing a villain, an ordinary day for them, usually. Unusually, they had continued pursuit beyond the bounds of their city and even the surrounding nation, doggedly following him to their northern neighbour, Canada. There was, as always, the ever-present threat of bureaucracy to deal with so, while Robin, Cyborg and Starfire met with Canadian officials and local superheroes, Raven and Beast Boy were tasked with tracking the villain. Raven would trace his aura to a general area and Beast Boy would attempt to find him by scent. They both wore their winter uniforms but the cold cut through them nonetheless. Eventually, late at night, they found him. Or rather, they found where he had been going: a seemingly abandoned airport. On closer inspection, one of the hangars was found to be in a decent state - the villain must have kept an emergency vehicle here. They had no way of knowing what it might be. A plane? A helicopter? A spacecraft? In their vocation, nothing could be ruled out. Knowing their hunt was at an end, Beast Boy contacted Robin.

"Hey, Rob. We found a hangar. Looks like he used whatever was here to get away and, seeing how Rae can't sense him, he is long gone." Muffled expletives emerged from Beast Boy's communicator before Robin calmed down.

"Okay, we'll check the place out in the morning. You guys coming back here tonight or meeting us there?" he asked. Beast Boy looked at Raven. She shook her head - she had exhausted herself bringing the pair of them so far.

"We'll meet you here. See you tomorrow," Beast Boy said, flipping his communicator closed. He looked back at his friend, trying unsuccessfully to mask his concern. "You okay, Rae?"

"Raven. And yes, I am 'okay'. Just tired. And hungry." In concert with her admission, her stomach rumbled it's dissatisfaction. Beast Boy chuckled.

"Me too. Let's check out this dude's hangar. If it's a bolt-hole, there might be some supplies," he said, already exploring.

"Somehow, I doubt we'll find a pizza shop in here," Raven quipped, following. It was hardly fine cuisine but they found a lockbox, blasted open with what remained of Raven's power, that contained bottled water, emergency rations and a first aid kit. They took what they needed and settled down in a nearby corner. The hangar doors had been closed to keep out the wind but the cold still gnawed at them. Raven held her cloak tightly around herself with one hand, holding her food with the other. It tasted awful, but she needed the energy it would provide. She managed not to snicker at the twisting face of her companion as he ate his own awful supper. An hour later, they leaned their back against the wall, hoping for sleep. They had covered the bare concrete around them with tarps and dust sheets but comfort was still a long way off. Tired but restless, Beast Boy stared at the ceiling. Then the wall. Then the floor. Then the ceiling. A shuddering intake of breath drew his attention to Raven, sat nearby. She was trembling.

"Rae? Raven? You okay?" he asked.

"F-fine," Raven stammered, cursing herself. Beast Boy's disbelieving gaze provoked her to try again. "Alright! I'm cold, okay? Demons don't generally tolerate cold very well," she confessed, hugging her knees closer.

"They don't? But we've been to cold places before. Colder places!" Beast Boy said.

"Yes,"Raven agreed. "But on those occasions I had enough power to keep myself warm. I'm too tired to do it now and, even if I weren't, I wouldn't work while I slept." Again, Raven tried to snuggled further inside her cloak - an impossibility. Beast Boy struggled for a moment, then stood and marched to her side. As he crouched next to her, he grabbed the edge of Raven's cloak and lifted it. Raven finally noticed as the cold rushed in, looking at him like he'd lost his mind.

"Sorry, Rae. We gotta keep you warm," Beast Boy qualified, wrapping an arm around her shoulders beneath the cloak and pulling it around them both. Raven gaped at him for a few more seconds before finding her tongue.

"What. Are. You. Doing?!" she hissed. To his credit, Beast Boy met her furious gaze evenly.

"Work with me, Rae. We both took Robin's survival training. This is our solution," he said.

"But-" Raven began.

"No. I won't watch you suffer if I can help it," he said, cutting her off. She stared at him coolly, simultaneously irritated and grateful. She relented and relaxed against him.

"Fine," she muttered. Then her eyes found his, a glint of red shining from within. "No-one hears of this."

"On my honour," he answered, smirking. She suppressed her own smirk and faced forward again. Soon, sooner than he expected, Raven's head drifted and flopped down onto Beast Boy's shoulder. Guiltily, he leaned over and inhaled, her scent letting him believe that she was really there. Raven was in his arms. As sleep claimed him, he whispered one word to himself.

"Score."

Raven herself was, naturally, unaware of his low-key celebration. She woke the next morning when her communicator beeped. Feeling her magic revitalised and strong, she reached out and let the device sail into her hand. It was a message from Robin: they were almost at the hangar and would be there in mere minutes. She absorbed the message and put the device down. Then she returned to her pillow and closed her eyes, snuggling close.

"Mornin', Rae."

Raven froze. Her eyes eventually swept up to see the groggy but grinning face of Beast Boy. Last night's events crashed back into her and she hurried to get up, though it resulted in a not entirely dignified untangling of limbs. Strangely, Beast Boy didn't put much effort in, preferring to watch Raven extricate herself with a smirk. Once she stood and regained her poise, she told him of the other Titans. She began to walk toward the door controls but paused to look over her shoulder at him.

"No-one-" she began.

"On my honour, Rae," Beast Boy said, interrupting her again. She stared at him for a moment longer. Why was he so entertained? She disregarded him and moved to the door, already able to hear the sound of the T-Ship's engine.

Days later, the Titans were back at home. Robin and Cyborg had been able to deduce their quarry's destination: Gotham City. Laughing, they had tipped off the Batman and headed home, knowing the problem was as good as solved. Raven was especially glad to be home, back to her books and her room. However, something had changed. She found her eyes drifting from her books at inopportune moments. Coincidentally, every one of those moments, Beast Boy was walking past. How inconvenient. Then she finally admitted his presence was not coinciding with her wandering eyes but causative. She watched him. She had no idea why. It felt like there was a hollow space inside of her... one that lessened when he walked by. When he laughed within earshot. When he spoke to her. When he looked at her...

"Hey, Rae!" Raven jumped as Beast Boy plopped down on the couch next to her.

"Beast Boy?" she said. He ignored or didn't notice her shock.

"You don't mind if I watch some TV, do ya? Rob and Star are out and Cy's getting intimate with his car," he said, laughing at his own joke. Raven actually coloured a little at his crassness. She didn't say anything though. That might make him leave.

"Fine," she muttered, standing up. "I'm going to get something to drink," she said, unnecessarily. "You want anything?" she asked, seemingly surprising herself. And Beast Boy, judging by his expression.

"Uhhh... sure. Cola, I guess..." he said. Raven headed to the kitchen wordlessly. She poured Beast Boy a glass of Soder Cola and a glass of water for herself. She placed the beverage in front of him and sat back down. He had issued a grunt of gratitude when she delivered his soda, so engrossed was he in the show on TV. But even he noticed when Raven took a seat right next to him. Her hood was up but underneath, she blushed. His proximity was soothing, a balm to a wound she hadn't known. He didn't say anything, unwilling to start an argument with her. And he secretly enjoyed their closeness. Some time later, his show finished and he made a display of getting up and stretching, still trying to shake off the slight embarrassment. A whimper from Raven stopped him dead. He slowly turned to stare at her

"You... you don't have to go," she whispered. She still hid in her hood, staring at the blank TV.

"Well, sure Rae. I know I don't have to go, I was just gonna-" he rambled.

"Please... don't go yet," she said. It had been as quiet as a whisper but it struck the changeling dumb for a moment. His heart accelerated in his chest but he couldn't find an answer. He wanted to stay more than anything but his confusion kept him still. Eventually, his brain spat out a few syllables.

"Rae... uhhhhh..." He continued to stare, slack jawed. Raven reached up and pushed back her hood, finally meeting his eyes.

"I'm cold," she whispered. He saw her shaking again but knew she was lying. It was actually quite warm in the common room. The desperation and humiliation in her eyes told him to shut his mouth. He sat. He shuffled next to her. He cautiously put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. She leaned into him and rested her hand in his chest, letting out a breath she hadn't realised she'd been holding. The embarrassment, the confusion, the ache in her chest... it all melted away. She closed her eyes...

"Raven? Raaaaaaveeeeennnn..." Beast Boy sang. Raven's eyes blinked open, focusing on his green visage. She blushed again on realising their closeness, not surprisingly. She made no move to separate - and that was surprising.

"Yes, Beast Boy?" she said, quietly. He marvelled at her for a moment. He had always wanted to get closer to her. He had been pinching himself every few minutes since she laid her head on his shoulder and fell asleep.

"Rob and Star are gonna be back soon. I figured you wouldn't want them to see uh... this," he replied. She remained calm.

"How long do we have?" she asked, confounding the changeling even further.

"They said they'd be back in twenty minutes," he answered. She laid her head back down and snaked her other arm around his back, pulling him as close as she could.

"We have twenty minutes, then," she stated. He was silent for ten of them

"Rae? What's going on?" he asked. Raven sighed. She owed him an explanation, even if she didn't quite have one.

"I'm not sure," she replied, honestly. "I don't know how to explain it... imagine you had a headache your whole life. Not a bad one, in fact you were so used to it you didn't even notice it. Then imagine, one day, it was gone." She looked up at him. "That night, in the hangar in Canada... my headache was gone when I woke up in the morning. It came back yesterday. And now it's gone again. Do you understand?" she asked.

"I guess so... I cure your headaches?" he tried. Raven shook her head, her face momentarily graced by a true smile. His heart forgot how to beat for that same moment.

"Not literally. It's like I found something I didn't know was missing. Today I just needed to be close to you, Beast Boy. I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable..." she trailed off, wishing for him to stop her. He didn't disappoint.

"No! Rae, I'm not uncomfortable just confused. I..." he stalled a moment, girded himself, and began again. "You're being honest with me, Rae. I'll do the same. I really, really like where this seems to be going. I like you, Rae," he said. Raven sat up, breaking contact and staring back at him.

"I... I..." she began. A crashing sound came from the kitchen. Then another. And another. Regret filled her and her courage dissolved. "I... need to meditate." In a heartbeat, she was gone. And Beast Boy felt...

"...cold."

He had wisely left her to sort out her thoughts. Her feelings. In the early hours, she concluded that she felt much the same way. She went to bed with a rare smile on her face. When she woke, she would tell him. And they would hold each other close again.

Except it didn't work out that way: in the morning, when Beast Boy didn't appear past his usual time, the team found a note taped to his door. It didn't say where or why, only that he had left and that he hoped to return soon. After checking the note's authenticity, the team felt reassured Beast Boy hadn't been abducted. After that, the next most likely culprits were the Doom Patrol and, sure enough, they were also impossible to contact. A few days later, Raven found herself standing outside his door, remembering how it all began.

"This is stupid," she repeated again. Then she punched the button to open the door and stepped inside. She wasn't sure what she was looking for but knew she needed something, anything, that let feel him again. She moped around his room, looking for a talisman. Or a keepsake. She rejected his pillow - too cumbersome. She rejected his own keepsakes - they were private and there to remind him of others. She found a t-shirt hanging on the back of his desk chair. She held it close and, with a flutter of shame, took a deep breath. It smelled of him without smelling bad, she was glad to say. She stared at the garment for a long while. Then she unclipped he cloak, quickly pulled the shirt over her head and reattached her cloak over it. In his mirror, she couldn't even tell she was wearing it but that hollow, aching hunger in her lessened. That night, she wore the shirt to bed in lieu of her usual sleep attire, letting it soothe her in his absence.

*tap tap tap*

Raven awoke in the wee hours to that sound, coming from her door. She groggily rose and went to meet her attacker. When the door opened, all fatigue left her: he was there. He was back in his green, goofy, pointy-eared perfection.

"Sorry to wake you, Rae. I just got back from the Doom Patrol, top-secret stealth mission and all. I already spoke to the others and I think Robin's kinda pissed at me but I just wanted to let.. you... know... Is that my shirt?" Beast Boy said. Raven's eyes widened and darted down to her choice of dress. She had no cloak to conceal it with. For his part, Beast Boy was entranced: Raven was wearing his shirt and looking better in it than she really had a right to. He managed to meet her eyes again - she was clearly embarrassed by his discovery so, with a wry grin, he reached into his pocket and fished out a compass, holding it out to her.

"What's this?" she asked.

"My compass. I always have it, habit from Doom Patrol days. Open it," he urged. Raven flipped it open and gasped. There was a picture of her. He continued when she looked back at him. "It's kinda old-fashioned but... well, I guess I just needed you with me a little bit." Raven tugged gently at the shirt she wore.

"I get that," she whispered. The pair of them stared at each other and smiled. Eventually, Beast Boy spoke.

"Well, I better let you go back to sleep. Keep the shirt, Rae... it looks better on you by a mile!" he laughed. Raven blushed a little at the compliment. As he turned to leave, she reached out and grabbed his wrist.

"Wait! I meant to tell you..." she began before her throat closed up. He encouraged her.

"Tell me what, Raven?" he asked. She stared and tried to speak but no sound emerged. "It's okay, Rae. Tell me in the morn-" Beast Boy's sentence was cut off by a pair of grey lips crashing into his own. He fell away from Raven's door and the oblivious pair slammed into the opposite wall, still kissing. Their hands roamed a little before settling on merely hold the other tight. The passion of the moment diminished and they pulled apart, still holding each other and went back to staring and smiling.

"Will you stay with me tonight?" she asked shyly. When his blush covered his entire face she realised her mistake. "Not like that! But I just got you back and I'm not ready to let you go yet." Calming down and smiling, he let her lead him by the hand back into her room, the door closing behind them. He kicked off his shoes and joined her in her bed, holding her close and inhaling her scent.

"Man, I missed this," he sighed. "I know we only did this twice but... I missed this." Raven smiled into his chest.

"I know, Garfield. Me too," she answered. He chuckled.

"Garfield?" he asked. She smirked up at him.

"You think I'm going to call my boyfriend by his codename?" she drawled. He made a show of feeling faint.

"If you call me your boyfriend, you can call me anything else you like, Rae!" he whispered. For a time they just enjoyed the closeness.

"I'm keeping the shirt, by the way," Raven whispered. Beast Boy chuckled silently.

"Go ahead. Do I get something of yours?" he asked. Hearing the humour in his voice, Raven pre-empted his joke.

"I'm not giving you a bra, Garfield," she said flatly. He laughed.

"Dang. What else ya got?" he asked, jovially.

"Pass me your compass," she said. He heard her mutter her mantra as he handed it over, then thought he saw her press her lips to it. She showed it to him and, in the darkness, he could see her lips imprinted on the picture of her, glowing dimly as if she'd worn phosphorescent lipstick. "Now you'll always have a kiss from me wherever you are." He smiled at her, silently amazed.

"You keep this up and you'll never get rid of me, Rae," he said eventually. She rested her head on his chest, breathing deeply in her satisfaction.

"That's the plan, Garfield."

There you go, have a pointlessly fluffy ending to that melodramatic story! Read, enjoy and review, you all know the drill. Peace, dudes.

-Jack