It wasn't that Raven couldn't talk; it was more that she shouldn't. When Overload had pinned her down, the Titan had been screaming at the top of her lungs for several minutes straight, and the result was an extremely sore throat, worse than if she had lost her voice shouting at a concert or sports game; not that Raven would ever consider involving herself in either of those events. The problem would go away after a few days of silence, but in the meantime, the empath would have to restrain any urges to speak unless she learned how to communicate through scratchy words and wincing. Beast Boy thought the whole thing was a little humorously ironic, not that he mentioned it to Raven. Cyborg had already done that, and Raven had responded by burying him in pillows.

Thanks to Raven's new health developments, Beast Boy's healing sessions were once again put on hold. But he didn't mind. After all, he was having a blast teaching Raven all the wonders that came with losing one's voice.

The two mute Titans currently sat in the main room, drinking separate cups of tea while the television played in the background. One day had passed since the resolve of the Ternion threat. Robin was filling out paperwork that came with the finished fight, Starfire was cuddling Silkie in her room, and Cyborg was cleaning Plasmus parts off of the T-car. Again. The team had expressed their concern for Raven, but the empath brushed them all off. She didn't talk nearly as much as the rest of them did, and so she didn't see the problem with complete silence for a day or so.

Raven's cloak brushed against her arm, and the girl swallowed her tea a little faster than necessary. She lowered the mug onto her lap, and Beast Boy caught sight of the peeling scabs on each of her forearms. Raven's magic worked powerful stuff, but even she had problems healing third degree burns in one go. Beast Boy picked a bottle of ointment off of the sofa's table, waving the container at her, and she nodded with a sigh. She hid her grimace by sipping more tea.

When the team had returned home, Raven insisted she heal the unnoticed burns on Beast Boy's back, despite her own injuries being so terrible. During this time Beast Boy discovered how much more difficult arguing with Raven was when neither of them could talk, and the only way to communicate was through glares. And Raven had long since mastered the perfect glower while Beast Boy was merely an apprentice.

They'd compromised. He forced her to mend her own sores first, and learned how he'd gotten his burns while she worked. Overload had hidden himself in the basement's light bulb -something Raven noticeably reprimanded herself for not spotting- and struck Beast Boy from behind. The villain had knocked Beast Boy down and electrocuted him before Raven became a distraction. She'd explained –all in writing- how Overload had then turned and trapped her. She'd blacked out sometime after that.

A blob of white cream squeezed out of the tube onto Beast Boy's fingertip, and Raven faced him on the sofa, crossing her legs with her arms stretched out. Her teammate grasped her left wrist lightly, tugging her closer, and then started applying the medicine. He managed to be quite tender in his application, although Raven still couldn't hold back the occasional flinch. Beast Boy apologized each time with his emotions or the brush of his thumb over her pulse. Soon enough he'd finished one arm and moved toward the next.

How Beast Boy had managed to keep from complaining, even a little, about his damaged vocal cords, Raven wasn't sure. Her own throat burned something fierce, and it was merely sore from overuse. Before Beast Boy could begin working on her right forearm, she held up a hand. The green boy tilted his head, and then nodded in understanding when Raven lifted her steaming cup. He copied her, drinking from his own heated mug.

Raven twitched an eyebrow at his drink. When had he started enjoying tea?

Well, he wouldn't say he enjoyed it; more along the lines of appreciated it. Beast Boy grinned at her over the rim.

She rolled her eyes, inhaling the warm vapor rising from her brew. He never would acknowledge that he liked something thanks to her, not when he'd originally hated it.

Beast Boy blew the heat away from the brown liquid and placed his cup onto the table. Of course he would never admit it; that would mean the game was over, and how he loved playing with Raven.

The doors to the ops room hissed apart.

"Man, I don't think the tower's ever been this quiet!" Cyborg's voice echoed in the space, cutting through the white noise provided by the television. He fixed his sights on Raven. "I didn't realize how loud you were until now! It's like I'm goin' deaf it's so quiet in here!"

The robotic Titan was treated with another pillow to the face, followed immediately by the one Beast Boy threw after Raven's toss. Cyborg snorted, attempting to appear irritated while neither of the teens he was convincing believed the façade.

"Well, 'scuse me for trying to break the awkward silence!" Cyborg stepped over the cushions surrounding him, heading into the kitchen.

Raven and Beast Boy exchanged glances. Whoever said the silence was awkward?

Cyborg didn't catch on. He reached into the back of a cabinet and withdrew a small cylinder. "So I was thinkin' that in celebration of our victory the other day, I should whip up a special dinner for everyone tonight! I just found the greatest recipe online, and I've been hopin' to try it out. Whatcha think, BB?" Cyborg tossed the container over the sofa to Beast Boy who managed to catch it. His face lit up upon reading the label, and, covering a laugh, showed it to Raven.

Cyborg smirked, snatching the canister out of the air when the empath threw it back. "I'm thinkin' I could make some soup outta that coconut milk! The recipe called for chicken, but I could just exempt that for ya, BB." The bigger Titan grinned.

Beast Boy replied with two thumbs up, and Raven smiled, hiding the curve of her lips behind her cup again. Naturally Cyborg just had to have the last mention of their whole coconuts-verses-sharks conversation. Not that Beast Boy was complaining if it got him supper.

Beast Boy was watching her as if he knew what she was thinking. He probably did. The empath extended her right arm.

As the skin damage there was massaged with salve, Cyborg kept talking. Whether his conversation was supposed to be with himself or the other Titans wasn't altogether clear. "So, it occurred to me while I was cleanin' off my baby again -thanks to that sewage storm called Plasmus- that when ya'll were searchin' the ice rink for Overload, he'd been hidin' in the lightbulb, right?"

Raven moved her head in the smallest of motions to agree with him. Her eyes remained on Beast Boy's hands as he carefully applied the while lotion. How he could be so gentle was beyond her.

"And I started thinkin' how, y'know, you two were standin' in the middle of the room, all back-to-back and lookin' out for Overload when he was just campin' out above you…"

A faint glare indented Raven's brow, but she smoothed out her expression almost immediately.

"And I thought, seein' how BB has a special talent for makin' you angry, Raven…"

So Cyborg was talking to them. Beast Boy lifted his head.

"Well, Raven, you do have a tendency to break lightbulbs and such with your powers when you're mad. I'd know; I'm the one who changes the bulbs around the tower." He hummed, switching on the oven top, unaware of the Raven's frown digging into his back. "Maybe BB, all ya had to do was make Raven angry, and poof! You'd have found Overload, just like that!" Cyborg snapped his fingers, peeking over his shoulder at the pair and grinning.

Beast Boy smiled back with an expression of humor, and Raven peered across at her green teammate. His emotions, although laced with amusement, rang mainly of dimmed concern. He could tell Raven didn't like thinking about how she'd overlooked Overload's hiding place, and she felt a brush of sympathy for her. Beast Boy's face had entertained Cyborg the entire time that Raven was probing through his emotions, and, after a quick chuckle, Cyborg's attention returned to his dinner preparations.

She knew the robotic Titan wasn't aware of her disappointment concerning Overload; Raven kept her emotions hidden too well for that, and she didn't take offense to Cyborg's comment. Beast Boy's understanding felt nice though. And strange. But she welcomed it nevertheless, returning the boy's glance with a softer glimpse. He shifted, smiling more, and ran his fingers in circles over the peeling on her forearm.

Cyborg was humming under his breath, losing himself in his work. Raven appreciated the lack of vocal conversation and returned to her mute exchange with Beast Boy. Her burns had been thoroughly attended to, and the tube of balm returned to the couch's table for but a moment, being snatched up into Raven's hand seconds later. She folded her arms. Beast Boy didn't get to pretend his back was fine when Overload had damaged him too.

The empath pointed at his uniform.

Beast Boy pouted.

Raven quirked an eyebrow.

Off went the shirt.

Beast Boy waggled his eyebrows at her, and Raven kicked at him with her foot. No, she did not ask for him to remove his shirt just so she could check him out. And she certainly wasn't now. The girl motioned at him, and Beast Boy complied to her command, scooting around until his shoulder blades faced her. Raven wiped balm onto two fingers and began rubbing the burnt skin on his upper back.

Beast Boy closed his eyes briefly as Raven's fingertips kneaded the base of his neck. A sporadic sting of pain jerked jolts out of him every once in a while, but Raven's cool fingers would adjust accordingly. His eyelashes flickered, allowing a glimmer past. Nothing suggested that Raven might be healing him without his permission. She'd attempted to do it once already when they spent the night in the infirmary, and Beast Boy suspected she'd try it again. She needed to regain her strength to heal herself first. It was bad enough she couldn't fix her throat with the third degree burns taking up all her attention and energy; Beast Boy wasn't about to have her extend the period of time she couldn't speak by letting her mend his damages.

He twitched an ear toward the kitchen where Cyborg's whistling continued without distraction. He hadn't noticed their new position, not that it really mattered if he did. Actually, watching Cyborg squirm under Raven's mother-of-all-glares would be pretty hilarious if he did decide to say anything about Beast Boy's lack of a shirt.

Oh, Raven was done.

Beast Boy rotated around to see her screwing the cap on the bottle, and the green boy grabbed his shirt off of the couch table, knocking his drawing pad off in the process. As he wiggled into the top of his uniform, Raven peered over the edge of the sofa toward the open pages. A rough sketch of a cheetah glared back at her, uncolored and unshaded but surprisingly proportionate. In the right hand corner was a tiny, virtually unnoticeable stick figure. Beast Boy leaned sideways, grasping about a few times before he gripped the book and pulled it up. Closing the sketchpad, he rubbed the back of his neck before, with a wince, remembered not to touch there.

A pale hand reached forward, placing a slender finger on the book, and Beast Boy looked at Raven. She tilted her head subtly, asking permission, and found the pad sliding toward her. With a faint smile, Raven moved it into her lap and lifted the cover.

The shark she'd seen several days ago was waiting below, posed with enormous teeth fixed in a terrifying smile. She flipped onto the next sheet. A fluffy wolf howled at the moon. A miniature stick figure once again occupied the bottom corner. Raven reversed to the previous page, and sure enough, another stick figure stood in the same place.

The girl felt proud embarrassment swimming off of Beast Boy who was bearing a light blush, wriggling his fingers or bouncing his legs as he focused on the pages. Raven's mouth curled up, and she continued onwards.

Several animals decorated the following sheets of paper: a bear, an eagle, a starfish, a cow, a robin, a raven… And then abruptly the pictures switched to the Titans. These illustrations were little more than outlines, drawn hastily in attempts to get something down before the person moved. Most were set in the main room. Several attempts at Cyborg were of him playing video games on the couch, and Raven smirked at the familiar sight of her teammate sticking his tongue out in concentration. Silkie squirmed his way onto the succeeding page. All throughout the works, small stick figures were perched in the corner of the page.

Raven rolled her fingers across the paper, pausing at the edge. One look at Beast Boy told her that her sudden epiphany was spot on, and she ran her thumb over the corners. Abruptly the stick person lived, walking along animatedly for a few steps before meeting someone holding a mug. The figure sipped from the cup and then spat it out on the first stick man. Raven ran out of pages.

She leaned on her elbow and blinked twice. Beast Boy's blush had developed further, but he was also smirking, and, rolling her eyes at him, Raven returned to examining his artwork. Silkie made several more appearances, and one impressive picture of Starfire and Robin chatting in the kitchen made Raven pause. The page underneath was blank, and, save for the last couple that were used for deciphering her mirror's color code, so were the rest.

He was surprisingly talented, and he'd also apparently had way too much time on his hands as of late. Beast Boy sat on his legs, chewing his bottom lip, and Raven returned the sketchbook to him. He raised his eyebrows at her.

She smiled in return, and his nervousness lulled with an easy grin. There was one question she had though… Raven pointed to herself and then to the pad. All the other Titans had taken up at least one page, and even Silkie had a turn –several really- so why did Raven not get one?

A shy expression flooded Beast Boy's face, and he massaged his shoulder. Whenever Raven entered the same room as him, he'd get distracted into spending time with her instead of drawing. Either that or her hood was always up, and he'd seen Raven's cloak on so many occasions that he could probably sketch it from memory by now. But he wanted to focus on the beauty within.

Besides, if Beast Boy was going to draw Raven, he wanted to do a good job. The green teenager flicked through the pages, landing on a blank sheet. Thankfully a pencil was within reach, and Beast Boy held the utensil up toward Raven, ears quivering. The empath dipped her head, slanting backwards somewhat as Beast Boy adjusted himself and his book.

He breathed out, glancing up at Raven who was… smiling for him. Not the brief or hidden flicker that she'd revealed more frequently to him as of late, but a full, real, open smile with a glimmer of white teeth shining behind her lips. Beast Boy's face lit up in flame hotter than the electricity Overload had struck him with.

Her smile melted into an amused smirk. Now she wasn't going to hold that expression forever; if he took too long, he'd have to settle with her usual blank stare. Beast Boy realized that, and, making an interesting sound like he was trying to clear his throat, started to draw.

Despite how terrible Beast Boy thought his illustration had turned out, Raven had apparently liked it. She'd given the picture a silent, impressed nod when he'd shown her, and then rewarded him with yet another concealed smile that gave Beast Boy bubbles in his stomach. And then of course Cyborg had decided to interrupt with the announcement that dinner was ready.

During supper, Starfire forgot on multiple occasions that Raven couldn't respond, and would begin to address the empath before apologizing for her memory. Cyborg kept joking about coconut milk, and Robin would occasionally glance at Raven as if to check that she was feeling alright, which naturally she was. Beast Boy just grinned the whole time.

And so the dinners succeeding that one proceeded similarly until Raven's voice returned on her fourth day of silence. Immediately afterwards, Beast Boy's daily healing sessions resumed. There was little difference in the tower after that; although sometimes the Titans were surprised to enter a room they'd thought was empty only to find Raven and Beast Boy sitting there together in complete, comfortable silence.

On the morning of the week-iversary of Raven's throat healing, Beast Boy strolled into the ops room in an extraordinarily good mood. Nearby, Cyborg was crouched on the edge of the couch, racing virtual cars against Robin while Starfire fixed herself a sandwich that oozed mustard. She smiled in greeting.

"Good morning, friend Beast Boy!"

Beast Boy grinned back. "Morning, Star!"

Starfire's eyes lit up, and she inhaled a huge breath. A loud crash signaled someone's utter destruction on the television, and Cyborg whirled around with an even brighter face than Starfire's, uncaring about the explosion on the screen behind him. He stared at Beast Boy intensely. "Yo, man, tell me I'm imaginin' things, but I think I just heard a mouse squeakin' in here!"

Beast Boy beamed, hopping down the stairs. "I think you heard right, dude!"

Cyborg's loud laugh echoed throughout the room as he bounded over the sofa to tackle his little friend a bear hug. Starfire swooped in the second Cyborg released Beast Boy, who was grateful Robin didn't follow the other two's example as he was gasping for breath by the time Starfire let go.

While Robin rounded the couch, Cyborg held out his arms toward Beast Boy. "So how's it feel bein' able to revert back to your talkative li'l annoyin' self?"

"Pretty good, Cy, pretty good," Beast Boy answered, still enjoying the sound of his own voice. It was amazing how much he'd missed the pubescent pitch that came out of his mouth sometimes.

Robin smiled, squeezing Beast Boy's shoulder. "Congratulations, Beast Boy."

"Well, thanks Rob, but it's not like I did anything. Rae's the one who healed me up!" Beast Boy's voice cracked, and his eyebrows shot up, looking like he'd just heard the most beautiful sound in the world. He held his head high, excitement twitching his ears. "Oh yeah, I was gonna ask; anyone know where Raven is? She, ah, doesn't exactly know yet."

"She doesn't know?" Robin repeated. "How?"

"Yeah, I figured you'd have gone runnin' to tell her the second you started talkin' again!"

Robin elbowed Cyborg with a frown. "No, how didn't Raven sense that your vocal cords were mended? I assumed she healed you last night."

"Well, y'know." Beast Boy shrugged his shoulders, hooking his thumbs on his silver belt. "She'd done it so many times that we kinda stopped checking if I could talk after she was done. Figured it'd happen when it'd happen! And it finally did!" Beast Boy felt the tips of his ears warming. "So anyone know where she is?"

Starfire answered him, her eyes shining. "I believe Raven is still in her room, friend Beast Boy."

"Thanks!" He sprung up the stairs, pausing in front of the door. "Talk to you guys later!"

Cyborg folded his arms with a big grin as Beast Boy jogged out. "I wonder how long he's been waitin' to say that?"

"Probably ever since he realized he couldn't speak." Robin approached the television where he'd paused their game system. "You up for another round, Cyborg?"

Starfire jumped in before the big Titan could answer. "But friends, I am wishing to know how friend Raven will react to the return of Beast Boy's voice!"

"Probably won't." Cyborg chuckled. "But I can imagine her bein' secretly happy for BB, just like the rest of us, but at the same time she'll be all horrified on the inside. I mean, come on, the tower ain't gonna be quiet again for a long time now."

"Indeed friend Cyborg, I agree that our home will be filled with much of the noise quite soon!"

Robin's mask shifted as he lifted an eyebrow. "I'm not so sure." He'd observed Beast Boy's smooth adaptation into communicating without a voice, and noticed how content he had looked when sitting in a completely silent room with Raven. The Titans' leader rotated toward Cyborg and Starfire, but they weren't paying attention.

"Pshh." Cyborg waved his hand in dismissal, leaning against the back of the sofa. "Much noise? My li'l bud is the loudest kid I know! Other than myself, I mean. But the kid's a party animal! 'Sides, didn't ya see how excited he was? I'm sure we'll be hearin' his tellin' Raven from here!"

Starfire seemed to agree with him. She threaded her fingers together, sitting down on a chair in the kitchen and smiling at Cyborg. "Perhaps we can invite friend Raven to this party of the animals?"

"There's not going to be a party," Robin stated.

No one heard him. Cyborg laughed in a deep voice. "Sure, I'd totally be up for a celebration!"

"It was a figure of speech," Robin protested.

"Who else shall I invite? Do we need the cake?"

Robin pinched the bridge of his nose, and Cyborg chuckled again. "Sure, Star, why not?! But first!" The robotic Titan clapped his hands together forcefully. "I feel like I'm up for kickin' someone's butt in another race! Whatcha say, Rob?"

Facing the television, Robin exhaled under his breath and snatched a controller into his hand. "You guys never listen to me."

Beast Boy jogged down the hallway, a flurry of exhilaration stirring his stomach. He laughed just to hear the sound of his beloved voice, widening his grin until his mouth hurt. Not that he cared about that.

He'd woken up that morning as he typically did, sprawled out on the top of his bunk bed with limbs strewn in all directions and blankets entangled about the mattress. As usual, he almost knocked his head on the ceiling when he sat up, and then dangled his feet over the side as a yawn escaped his mouth. The boy had almost fallen off the edge when a tiny squeak escaped with his intake of air. After a quick, "testing one, two, three," he'd thrown on a new uniform and dashed down to the ops room to show off his voice.

And now Raven's room was just around the corner. Beast Boy slowed to a hurrying stride. The team had reacted exactly how he'd hoped. A small part of him had been nervous that they'd feel disappointed he could annoy them again with his talking, although the sensible section of his brain told him that was ridiculous. But then that tiny anxious voice returned to whimper in the back of his mind. What if Raven didn't want to hear his voice anymore? He'd certainly bothered her enough with it in the past.

Shaking his head, Beast Boy banished the thought and found himself in front of Raven's sleeping quarters. With barely a second of hesitation, he rapped his knuckles against the metal nameplate and then grasped his hands together behind his back, bouncing on his toes. After an eternity, the door slid open.

Raven suspected something, that much was obvious by her narrowed eyes. His fain emotions were probably screaming thrilled anticipation at her, but, without knowing the reason to his enthusiasm, all she could do was go along with it. Her indigo eyes shone within the darkness of her hood. "Yes?"

The grin on his mouth was starting to ache, but Beast Boy couldn't care less. "Hi Raven!"

So he could've been more elegant. After all, those were the first words he'd spoken aloud to Raven in several weeks, but he really only wanted to see her reaction.

At first, Raven didn't move other than to blink. Then she lowered her hood, the faintest hint of undeniable emotion in her voice, but her face was as blank as a slate. "Hello."

Beast Boy's heart pounded in his ears, but his smile had yet to waver. "So… Uh, yeah, I can talk now! Cool, huh?"

Raven shifted, her lips twitching. "Congratulations." Her gaze darted to his throat.

He caught on. "Oh, right, I guess last night when you were healing me, we didn't check to see if I could talk or not, and this morning I yawned and then, well-," –the boy threw his hands out above his head- "ta-da!" His arms returned to his sides, clutching both of his wrists behind his back.

"Did you tell the others yet?"

Beast Boy nodded. "Yeah, and then I ran over here to tell you. Figured you'd wanna know…" He swallowed, his happy expression flickering. "You-you did want to know, right? Unless you didn't… Or if you were meditating, 'cause then, I'm sorry if I interrupted you. I was just, uh, really excited…"

"You didn't interrupt me."

"Right, well, I'm probably bugging you now, huh?" Beast Boy gestured down the hall with one hand. "I'll just be going then so I'm not talking your ear off anymore."

"Beast Boy." Raven halted his retreat before it began, stepping forward so she was standing outside of her doorway.

She smiled.

The uncomfortable sting in his throat lessened, and Beast Boy faced her once more. His relieved smirk reached his eyes as he rubbed his arm. "Thanks for healing me, Rae."

Raven dipped her head an inch. "It's good to hear your voice again."

"It is?" He laughed, scratching at his neck. "Phew, for a moment there I thought I was the only one who thought that!"

Raven had visibly relaxed, and Beast Boy knew she was happy he was able to speak again. Any of his remaining apprehension disappeared, and, judging by the way Raven's shoulders sank, she could feel his emotions settling too. His feelings reached out for her, and he opened his arms with a flushed grin. "So… celebratory hug? Or a thank you hug, y'know, if you like that better."

Her suspicion returned, but after a glimpse into Beast Boy's emotions, Raven's cheeks reddened. She managed a sigh. "You aren't going to let me say no, are you?"

He paused, actually thinking. "Well… I suppose… if you really don't wanna… you don't hafta…"

He was offering her a way out? Raven inhaled, watching that beaming green face in front of her before she moved forward.

And she wasn't going to escape while she still could?

Beast Boy wrapped his arms around her, almost unable to believe Raven was still there instead of hiding in her bedroom like how he'd expected their conversation to end. He peeked over her shoulder and past the crack in her open door. A glimmer of light shone above the mirror resting on her dresser.

Beast Boy drew back, Raven's hand slipping from his neck and reminding him how she'd healed the burns there several days ago. The green Titan suddenly smiled at Raven. "Hey, you wanna go out flying with me? I mean, not like the last time we did when it ended in total disaster, but since I just got my voice back, and it's such a great day today, I figure why not spend it by flying around and not talking?!"

Raven masked her surprise so well that Beast Boy wouldn't have noticed it a few weeks ago. Her index finger rubbed her thumb, barely visible behind her cloak. "If you insist."

Gloved fingers wrapped around her forearms where her blisters had also been healed. "Rae, it's only if you wanna."

She didn't pull away from him. "Then I suppose we should go."

The residents of Jump City were pretty happy to have their electricity back. Judging by the lack of people outside looking bored or staring at their phones longingly, most everyone was indoors and enjoying their electronics. That was fine with Raven and Beast Boy. They swooped through the park for a long while without running into any adoring fans, and then flew over the same highway where Cinderblock had first attacked them.

Raven gazed at the eagle gliding beside her. At first, she'd assumed that Beast Boy had asked her to come with to dispel any possible fear of flying Cinderblock might've inflicted upon the green Titan. But after some thought, she realized her theory made no sense, and besides, his emotions told another story, one that Raven wasn't sure she was interpreting correctly.

Learning that Beast Boy's vocal cords were restored warmed a weight in her chest, similar to the same way that Beast Boy's joyful exclamations filled her with happiness, or how something bubbled up inside of her like carbonated soda when she heard his laugh again. The bubbles returned when she and Beast Boy landed on the roof of an apartment building. The shape-shifter morphed back into human, grinning at her. "Dude, does it feel good to stretch my wings!" He extended his arms above his head with a deep sigh. "And does it feel good to be able to say that!"

Raven brushed her cloak back. "Even without your voice, you've managed to speak your mind fairly well."

"Just give me a pillow to throw at Cy!" Beast Boy joked. Raven rolled her eyes, and he continued. "But yeah, I mean, I adjusted, but really I gotta thank you for that. Without you, the others probably would've had no idea what was going on inside this thing!" The Titan knocked his fist against his forehead a few times. "Half the time, even I don't know what's going on in there!"

A cloud ghosted past the sinking sun, casting a patch of shade over the Titans. Beast Boy continued talking, both he and Raven aware that he wasn't saying anything important, just enjoying the sound of his own voice.

…Was it Raven's imagination, or was Beast Boy's voice slightly deeper now? He chuckled at something, and his voice lilted, cracking. Raven hid her smirk. Maybe not. The shadows drifted away.

She tuned into what he was saying. "-never actually proved that you couldn't read minds though! I mean, you call it empathy, but how do we know that you're not just reading our minds?!" Beast Boy lifted his eyebrows at her comically.

Raven humored him with her usual sting of sarcasm. "You caught me."

"I knew it!" He pumped his fist, hopping somewhat, and then faced her. "So… what am I thinking right now?"

"That you were correct?"

An exasperated sigh escaped his mouth. "No, Rae, you gotta use that mind reading power! You can't just guess!"

"Hm, sorry."

"Y'know, I don't think you are."

Raven smirked as he inspected her. "How could you tell?"

Tapping his chin for a moment, Beast Boy brightened. "Dude! Maybe I'm the mind reader!"

"That would explain very little."

"True…" He rubbed his hands together, peering up at the sun and realizing with surprise that there was about an hour of light left. They'd been flying for quite a while, which was strange considering he wasn't a bit tired. In the distance below the tower, colorful waves wet the rocky shore. Beast Boy met Raven's eyes. "Guess what I'm thinking now?"

She appeared amused by him, or at least his words. "Hm?"

"I'm thinking we should meet back at the tower." His smile was sincere, but his emotions were lined with a cool, serious tint. The shift of Raven's shoulders meant she was intrigued. "I wanna show you something."

They regrouped on the rocks down by the shore. Raven had contemplated meditating while she waited since, considering how serene the beautiful waters were, she doubted that falling into a peaceful trance would've taken much concentration. But she'd already meditated earlier that day, and plus, Beast Boy had piqued her curiosity.

Beast Boy's presence left the tower through the roof, and he glided down, clutching something in his talons as he flapped to slow his descent. The boy dropped onto the level rock Raven had chosen as a seat, landed solidly on his sneakers, and then picked up the two objects that had been hanging from his claws.

Raven identified the items he held as her mirror and his drawing pad. As Beast Boy placed the mirror on the flat stone between them, she folded her legs and then murmured her mantra, extending her fingers above the glass. The air warmed with purple and yellow, the colors projecting above the teenagers' heads.

Waiting for him to explain, Raven watched as Beast Boy opened his book and flipped to the back where various colors of the rainbow decorated the pages. Beast Boy lifted his head skywards, focusing on the golden particles dancing overhead, and then back to Raven. He exhaled a chuckle when he realized the colors were extended in a barrier between him and his teammate, and he slid the mirror backwards a few inches so he could see the empath properly. She held his gaze for a few moments before dropping hers to his paper.

Scooting closer so she could see, Beast Boy pointed to the yellow scribbles, the highlighted dust above them, and then to his head. Raven nodded, already aware that yellow corresponded with intelligence and curiosity. Beast Boy leaned to the side, guiding the drawing pad from his lap onto hers, and bumping elbows by accident. Raven ignored the contact, inspecting the paper.

The few colors left unknown to them had been filled in. Green equaled Brave, gray was scribbled in beside Timid, and red next to Rage. All the other colors had emotions matching them aside from violet, the color both he and Raven had worked countless hours on to decipher. So he must have figured it out. Is that what he wanted to show her?

Unable to help herself, Raven glimpsed again at the light show shining out of her mirror, and then toward Beast Boy. The lavender shadows jumped in flecks across his face, shifting when he smiled, taking her hand and pressing it against the loop of purple shaded in the center of the sketchbook. Although it was impossible, Raven swore she could feel the circle pulsing against her palm, and the beating transferred to her chest when Beast Boy released her fingers, touching her cheek with his thumb. A soft expression had weakened his brilliant grin, but his eyes remained just as brightly lit.

The yellow faded out of her mirror completely, but Raven knew that was her doing. The one remaining color shone as vibrant violet in the sky, suddenly as clear as day.

Raven's fingertips brushed back on the rough paper, up and across her lips. Her hand reached Beast Boy right before he inhaled as if to say something, but she pressed her thumb over his mouth. She allowed her fingers to drift to the side, sliding across his cheek, and then her arm sank. Beast Boy smiled with a blush, his palm finding the line of her jaw, and then leaned toward her. Raven met him halfway.

Neither noticed how the rich purple deepened above them, nor did they see how the last golden sliver of sun had finally dipped below the horizon. They had no way of knowing that at that very moment, Cyborg, Starfire, and an adverse Robin were busy decorating the ops room to celebrate the restoration of Beast Boy's voice, or that Cyborg was desperately searching for a way to incorporate coconuts or sharks into the party. The single thing that Raven and Beast Boy only, finally knew, was what their persistent violet emotions represented.

Eventually the two drew apart wearing matching shades of scarlet. Beast Boy couldn't seem to stop beaming, not that he was fighting it, and Raven found herself in the same situation. She chewed on her lip to hide her smile.

Beast Boy dipped his head, glancing at her and then up toward the color above. After a moment, Raven followed his eyes, but he was already looking at her again, flushing. The particles overhead shimmered with faint winks of pink and yellow overlaying the violet color.

Raven released her smile, moving her attention back to him. He was asking if he could kiss her again. She answered him mutely, inclining forward so her lips pressed against his, and he silently returned her touch the moment they connected.

It wouldn't be until much later that Raven and Beast Boy realized their entire exchange had transpired without a single word between them. That shouldn't have come as much of a surprise though. After all, considering everything they'd gone through together, their silence now spoke much louder than their words did.

The End

As always, I am compelled to thank everyone for reading this story. I get such wonderful reviews, and so many follows and favorites, and I'm always touched by how encouraging everyone is. Thank you all so much for all the kind comments, I really do appreciate every single constructive criticism, suggestion, and praise you guys throw at me. Silence Speaks Louder Than Words was a pleasure to write.

If you want to read more of my work, I have several other Teen Titans stories on my page, and I also recently posted the first chapter of my newest fanfiction, Taming the Beast, which was voted on by you guys.

Thank you again! I hope you enjoyed the story!

CleoArrow