So this is kind of a sequal to grief, where Robin comforts BB and so on. They bond a little more too in this, so I think it came out well. Feel free to tell me what I did wrong and what I did right; enjoy!
It had only been a few days after confronting Robin about the anniversary of his parents death. While Robin had took some time to heal, and get back to his normal self, Beast Boy had begun to slip back into memories with his own parents.
Robin was recovered well, and was back up to speed. He had his own time to grief, and had done so. His time was over. It was Beast Boy's turn to grieve his parents death. Why? It's not like it was the anniversary to his, but just being around Robin on that day had reminded him how alike they really were. Despite not thinking much about it, up until this point, Beast Boy had just gone on thinking his team leader didn't have much of a soft spot. He was always about work, ready to spring to action whenever a signal went off. Seeing him in such a vulnerable position had reminded him that Robin was only human.
And so was he.
Even if the two were different in their own ways, the fact remained that Beast Boy was still human, for the most part. He had feelings. He could express himself. And one of the ways of expressing his emotions was to spend time grieving.
Another similarity he had failed to notice up until this point was how alike they were on the topic of grief. Beast Boy had cooped himself away in his room for most of the day. He didn't particularily feel sick, he didn't particularily feel sad, but a part of him felt... incomplete. He could very well be around people, and pull on an act as if he would be fine.
And he would be.
With-in time. But for now, he wasn't, and the feeling of being around his friends made him weary.
The greenette closed his eyes for a moment, millions of memories flashing before his eyes. From the moment he was born, he had always been close with his parents. They travelled the world together-billions of different places, from Brazil, to Africa. He had basically been raised on the road, and got to see so much as he grew up. That never left him. He still remembered it all so clearly, the feeling of freedom as they camped in a trailer, or explored the wild grass, observing animals from afar. His parents were genetictists. Beast Boy had always thought that once he had grown up enough, he would follow in their footsteps, and explore the wilf-life like they did.
He wasn't too sure, now.
Not that it mattered, either way. He had the Titans, now-he couldn't very well just forget about them to take off and start a new career.
Besides, he was already rather bizzare as it was. If anything, he could quite possibly be a study case for other genetictists.
He squeezed his eyes shut again-the thought made him feel physically ill. This had all happend one crazy day while studying green gorillas-he had gotten bit by one, and fell ill. He remembered this was a time where he was espicially close with his parents. They took off work for the longest time, nursing the young boy back to health. He could clearly remember breaking out into a cold sweat, the feeling of a tingly numb-ness running through his body from head to toe. He could remember the pounding migrain in his head, and the urge to throw up in his stomach, or the burning in his throat.
Nothing ever seemed to work, either. Marie and Mark had tried so hard to cure him just with home remedies and normal medication, but when that didn't work, they took drastic measures, going as far as creating their own medication. The greenette could picture nights where he was half consious, and his parents thought he was too knocked out to hear them, as they fought and stressed over his health. He could still feel his mothers arms holding him close to her, as he faded in and out of consiousness, until the day he was given the medication.
And he remembered it worked.
He could not clearly remember being given the medication, but he remember within the next few days he was back to normal. Oh, besides turning green. And somehow developing shape shifting abilities.
But he remembered trying to hide that. His parents knew he was green, they had no clue of his new abilities. And it was so odd to him, he was sure that they would try and dissect him or something bizzare, so he tried to keep it to himself. They were happy, for a while. Sure, they had a new green son, and it was all so weird, but hey, he was healthy, right? That was all that mattered. They just packed their bags and continued onto a new country, in hopes of exploring new wild-life, you know, a place where there weren't any green gorillas.
The events continueing from then on hardly matters, as his last clear memory sprung to their passing. All he could remember was waking up one morning in the trailer. His parents were nowhere to be found, but there was a note on the counter, claiming they were going for a boat ride while Beast Boy was still asleep, and they'd be back in a while. Not thinking much of it, Beast Boy ventured outside-the trailed was parked right next to a lake, a water fall, and the young boy thought he would simply go for a dipp. He remembered the blood curling scream ripping through the peacefull sounds of birds chirping, and as he looked up, he noticed a couple falling to their deaths down the water fall.
They were his parents.
Beast Boy let out a harsh sigh, as he gripped his aching head. The memory never left him, and each time he thought about it, the more guilty he felt. He could have done something-something, right?! He had shape shifting abilities, could he have not turned into a bird of prey and caught them, or something?
The greenette felt so stupid.
He got up from where he was currently assembled, and made his way over to the window, glancing outside. The sun was setting. Upon opening his window, he could feel cool, fresh air drifting into his room. He inhaled it, shutting his eyes for a moment to intake it all, and without giving it a second thought, the changeling turned into a small bird, and flew far, far away.
"Beast Boy?" A knock came from the outside of his door.
Robin's voice.
The bird was too far away to hear his knocking.
"We're going to get some pizza-" Robin announced, and not getting a responce from his friend upon knocking, found it upon himself to enter. "Wanna come?" Robin stopped himself, however, as he looked around to see the boy was nowhere to be found. His eyes set upon the window, fresh air making the window doors blow slightly. Robin frowned.
Something was wrong.
It felt nice to get out. As a bird, Beast Boy was able to fly high in the sky-he could go as far as he wanted. He passed over the ocean, passed over the busy city, the flashing lights blinding his sight for seconds, before he was making his way past the bright city, into a more secluded part of Jump City. A cluster of trees and earth, a park like, but it was way to far from the city to really be called a park.
No, it was the exit.
Beast Boy stopped himself, as he transformed back into a boy upon hitting the earth. He looked around, feeling more at home within all the nature surronding him. A long dirty road compiled infront of him, a sign reading "Now leaving Jump City" in bright red letters read out. From there on were mountains and twists and turns, and if you walked far enough, you could probably make it all the way to Gotham City.
The greenette found himself walking around, just enjoying the view, and intaking the beautiful nature. He could distinctly hear birds chirping, and the sounds of nature. The small patter of squirrels running along trees, or the buzz of summer insects. He was part animal, so it only came natural that he could hear and seak out animals.
He let out a sigh, as he found a cluster of long branches and logs, and found it upon himself to take a seat and make himself feel at home. From here, he could see the sunset perfectly, and the Titans tower stuck out like a sore thumb. He chuckled slightly-so much for being secretive.
Beast Boy took in a breathe of fresh air, before leaning back, and falling onto his back. He let out a little grunt upon hitting the ground, but put his hands behind his head, so he could look up at the sky. Just being outside made him feel a little more better. He had grown up in areas like this-of course it made him feel better.
Yes, it was very calming.
The sounds of nature around him-it was perfect. That is-it was, until there was a buzzing. And in no way was it some sort of insect, no. It was like a helicopter. Beast Boy sat up, looking around-to see the T Ship? Beast Boy furrowed his brows, as he stood up, noticing it was passing over this area-and was beginning to land?! The boy growned, as he slapped his hand to his forhead.
Great.
The last thing he needed was his friends worrying about him.
The T-ship landed, and Beast Boy began to walk off, hoping to get lost in the forrest. "Beast Boy, wait!" He didn't stop, even upon hearing Robin's voice. He had to admit, he was shocked-not shocked enough to stop, though.
"Go away." He just mumbled under his breathe, continueing to walk.
"Not until you tell me why you left without a warning." Beast Boy could hear Robin's footsteps behind him, and continued to walk on. Robin may have been trained in the worst conditions with Bats, but nature was Beast Boy's element. There was no way the boy wonder could out-hike him. Of saying such, he could hear branches snapping under Robin's feet, and heard a grumble, and then a yell behind him. He could hear cracking and crumbling, and then a loud thud. "Beast Boy!"
The greenette paused again, to look behind him. Robin had took a harsh fell, and was bent over a cluster of branches and bushes. His hand was held out, and he looked as if he was in anguish. Beast Boy couldn't help but smirk a little. "Kinda hard to walk around here, huh?" He let out a sight, softening up. He walked back over to his friend, and Robin just stared up at him. Beast Boy shook his head, still smirking, as he grabbed onto his hand, and began to pull.
Robin didn't budge.
Beast Boy quirked his lips to the side. "Crap, dude. You're stuck."
Robin nodded. "I think something fell on me when I tripped." He struggled a little more, but to no avail. He really was stuck.
Beast Boy shrugged. "Ah, well. You're problem, yo." He said, and began to walk away, as Robin's mouth was left hanging open. "Are you kidding me?!" Beast Boy paused again, looking over his shoulder.
And he grinned cheekily. "Yeah. I am." He said, and then rushed back to Robin's side, getting behind him to inspect the damage. He chuckled sinisterly, in a kidding way. "Jees, you didn't actually take me serious, did you?" No. Just because he was in a foul mood, he would not leave his friends in danger. He hummed a little, and began to shove branches aside. "You'll live. You're lucky a boulder didn't fall on you, cause that would have been a whole different story." The Boy grabbed onto a few more branches, and freed Robin. He then grabbed the boy's hand, pulling him up.
"Thanks." Robin put a hand on Beast Boy's shoulder. Beast Boy just nodded, and began to turn away, but Robin's grip on him tightened. "We aren't done here, though. Is there something wrong? You've been acting sort of strange, lately."
Beast Boy turned to look at Robin again, and in that moment, he wanted to spill everything. He had not forgotten their last encounter, which had sparked this whole thing. Sparking the feelings of loneliness. He wanted to tell Robin just how he felt, how much he missed his mother and father, he wanted to share stories about them-he just wanted to talk. Robin would understand, better than anyone. He opened his mouth, and hesitated for a moment. He shook his head. "Forget it. Let's just go back to the tower and forget this ever happend, okay? It's not that important, anyways."
Robin shook his head. "No." He denied, and this time grabbed both of his shoulders. Beast Boy smacked his hands away, backing away. "Knock it off, dude! Why do you care, anyways?!" He growled.
Robin took a step forward towards him. "Because something is bothering you. And who am I to just let that go? Who am I, as a leader - as a friend, "
Beast Boy scoffed. "See, that's just it. You're a leader. Up until a few days, I hardly even thought you had any feelings other than ambition and obsession for work."
This seemed to hit Robin hard. He froze-they both knew just what a 'few days ago' meant. Robin hadn't forgotten their encounter, either. It still hung on his mind. He had not shoved the feeling of sandess away, either. He missed his parents just as much as Beast Boy did. He understood. So, slowly, Robin began to spreak up again. "You know, there are times when I feel like it's hard to lead this team." He said quietly.
Beast Boy srunched his eyebrows together. "Huh?" He sighed.
Robin shrugged. "I mean, we're all so different. And it's hard, as a team leader to be able to always act so strong for everyone. We've all got out faults, out flaws, but that doesn't change who we are. Even for me, it can be hard to hide all these feelings behind this mask and act like everything is okay, all the time, when it feels like things could fall apart."
Beast Boy was frozen in spot, listening to the boy wonder speak. For a moment, he could see the human in Robin coming out again, reminding him that he really wasn't all just a hero, that he wasn't just all about work. No, he did have a more humane side. It was almost frighteneing seeing this side of him. Robin was always so serious-but to see him being so serious about anything but crime fighting-it was an odd thing.
"And things do fall apart. It's completely normal-even if it's done so tragically. I know what you mean when you say a few days ago. And from this, I gather that you're thinking about your parents... am I right?'
Beast Boy's mouth hung open. "How did you know?'
A smirk came to Robin's face. "I'm trained by the best detective-I know a thing or two."
Beast Boy frowned. "You..."
Robin quickly shook his head, knowing his attempt at humour was not getting them very far. "That was a joke. But I know you. I know that we have more in common than you actually think-I didn't expect you to seclude yourself and push away from people like I did, though. And I know the one thing that could bother you the most is thinking of your parents."
It was in this moment that Beast Boy did break down. He dropped to his knees, and hide his face in his hands. "You're right..." He choked out, trying to hide traces of tears.
Robin crouched down next to him. "I know. And it's perfectly normal to grieve over them-there's no shame in hiding the pain." Hesitantly, Robin put an arm around the greenette's shoulder, making sure the young boy wouldn't try to fight him off again.
He didn't.
Beast Boy had no fight left in him.
Robin had completely broken him down, to the point where he just felt exhausted. He allowed his friend to help him back closer to the T-Ship, and felt him setting him back on the log he was assembled at before Robin arrived. Beast Boy let out a sigh, feeling that Robin was now patting Beast Boy on the back supprotively. 'It's okay." He re-assured.
Beast Boy pinched the bridge of his nose, refusing to meet Robin's gaze. "Rob, you really don't have to do this."
"But I do." Robin confirmed.
Beast Boy sighed in distress. "Why are you doing this?"
Robin was silent for a moment, before he spoke up again. "You were there for me when I grieved my parents death. Now it's my turn to do the same for you."
After all, they were on the same boat.