It's Good To Be Back

He couldn't believe it.
He had done it.
He had actually done it.
Beast Boy looked down at the worn controls to his T-Pod. The auto pilot was on, guiding his ship on a straight course. "Dude... I can't believe it... It's finally happening." He said to himself.
Down below, the white snow capped mountains of the Rockies stretched into the distance all around. A somewhat familiar sight he hadn't seen for a while. A long while...
"I'm going home. I'm really going home now." He said.
Of course, he had realized this earlier that day when he took off early that morning. The last month he had been counting down the days when he'd be with his old friends again. This time with more enthusiasm since he had known for sure that he was heading home.

Yet now it was like everything was hitting him like a sack of bricks. The reality of the situation seemed to finally be setting in. His stomach felt a little nauseous from his anxiety. Anxiety for...
"I haven't seen the others since... since... forever dude."
That was scary to think about. Even though it had been only two years, there had been a lot that happened in that time. To quote an old friend, things had definitely changed. And with the little tidbits he had gotten from Robin; now Nightwing here and there, and the rare calls he got from Cyborg, there had been a lot of change back home. Change he didn't know if he was prepared for or not.

...
Beast Boy shook his head from side to side. "How about I think about other things. Maybe that'll help more than dwelling on how scared I am now." He muttered to himself.

Almost naturally, his mind wandered back in time. Even though it felt like a lifetime ago since his leader had walked up to him in the Tower to give him the special assignment to help form another branch of the Teen Titans somewhere in the North. A lifetime ago since his last meat vs. tofu argument. A lifetime ago since his last round of stankball with the team.

A lifetime ago since he had last said goodbye to his friends face to face and left them in Jump City.
Flashback:
"*Sniff!* Oh I'm gonna *Sniff* miss ya around here *Manly sob* (because, Cyborg) grassstain!" A bawling (it's manly to bawl) Cyborg yelled as he crushed his green friend in a tight embrace.
"Ack! I'm, going to, *ugh* miss you too, *oof* Rust Bucket. Now *urghhh* let go of me!" Beast Boy said slowly as he worked on extracting himself from his best friend. He groaned from the exertion, but he managed to get free.
Whoosh! Crack! "EEP!"
He should have known better. As soon as he had freed himself, a teary eyed Starfire embraced him in one of the strongest bone cracking death hugs that she could muster. His eyes widened to the size of dinner plates and he squealed as his body was crushed.
"We will all be doing the missing of you friend Beast Boy!" Starfire said with a tone of sadness in her voice.
Beast Boy quickly morphed into a small insect, and then morphed back to normal outside of Starfire's arm reach. He had to stretch a little as he spoke since he knew he was bound to be sore later on because of that last hug. "It'll be okay Star. I mean it's not like I'll be gone forever dude." He said to her in a tone of comfort to her.
"If I could only be so lucky." Raven muttered dryly nearby.
Beast Boy made a face at her. "Come on Rae. You're not going to miss me even a little bit?" He asked.
She calmly shook her head. Beast Boy didn't show it, but her indifference to him leaving stung him in a way like nothing else. He hid his disappointment though with a cheesy grin. "Fine. I guess you'll just have to miss out on me pranking you and the others for the next few months Rae." He said teasingly to her.
For a fraction of a second he thought he saw something slip past her calm facade. Maybe a smirk, he wasn't sure. But just as quickly as it came it was gone. "I already have a shelf full of books prepared for my celebration." She said dryly again.
He shrugged. "Yeah yeah Rae. I'll miss ya too." He said offhandedly to her as he started to climb into his Pod. He didn't look to see her reaction.
'Hmph. At least I know the others are going to miss me. Freaking Rae. I hope she'll be happier without anyone to pester her now.' Beast Boy thought fumingly to himself.
Just before he could close the cockpit, Robin appeared to the side. "Are you sure you still want to do this Beast Boy?" He asked.
Beast Boy shrugged. "Yes Robin." He said.

"Are you confident that you can train these heroes into the new Titan's North team?" Robin asked.

"Look dude. You said it yourself. Those teens are going to need a leader to help them on their feet till they can manage on their own. I'm sure I can lead them after what we experienced with the Brotherhood of Evil." He said.
Robin nodded to him. "Good." He didn't sound worried any more. "I'll be expecting weekly reports on your progress each Monday in the morning." Robin said more confidently seeing Beast Boy's look of confidence.
"Nah, I think I'd rather report in monthly dude." Beast Boy said teasingly.
Robin looked slightly taken aback. "What-" He started to ask.
"Oh, and like, why in the morning? I want a chance to catch up on my beauty sleep instead of doing early morning training all the time. Heck I think I'll report in the evening instead." Beast Boy said with a smirk.
"Beast Boy." Robin said with an edge of warning.
"Fine fine. I'll call in every other Monday in the afternoon and no sooner. Take care of them Robin!" Beast Boy said happily before his cockpit closed.
"No! I will be expecting a call from you every week Monday morning! Do you hear me Beast Boy!? Every-" Robin tried to yell at him.
Beast Boy pointed to the soundproof cockpit with a shrug and a smirk, before he pulled on the thrusters.
Phoom!
Beast Boy's T-Pod blasted off through the air like a jet, cutting Robin off. "Wooooooo!" Beast Boy yelled happily in his seat.
"Beast Boy!" Robin yelled on the rooftop behind him with his other teammates watching the T-Pod become a speck in the distance.
End Flashback:
Beast Boy was looking up at the ceiling of the cockpit now, leaning back in his chair. The bright blue sky up above seemed even more amazing this high up with the sun rising in the sky behind him. The memory should have made him laugh a lot because of how funny it had seemed then… yet he still looked sullen.
"How did the time go by so quickly?" Beast Boy asked himself. It seemed thinking on that time had only brought out how much things had changed.

Yet he had already started the trip down memory lane. He couldn't change his course as he reflected on the last two years.
He remembered finding a group of four fresh Titan recruits: Kole, Gnnark, Argent, and Red Star; staying in a motel in the middle of Lansing, Michigan. He found that they had had no idea where they were needed to fight crime. They also had no reliable transportation (besides their own powers) no tech, no visas, and most importantly no Tower.
He did chuckle a little at that early memory. The Visa lady had been the most unhelpful person ever in the history of unhelpful people. He couldn't even remember how he had managed to get her to leave her YouTube kitten videos for long enough to give permanent visas to all the heroes. All he knew was that it had been very hard, and that he probably had to turn into a kitten a few times for her.

In retrospect, the transportation hadn't been that big of an issue. Neither had finding a place to build the Tower been a real issue. A nice piece of property down in a canyon in the mountains surrounded by the middle of nowhere forest. The perfect place to build something inconspicuous in his opinion.
No, the biggest pain… had been to train and push this group of heroes to work together as a team.
Flashback:
"No no no! Argent you're supposed to watch Gnnark's back! Not do your own thing!" Beast Boy yelled from the side of an open unfinished room in his spectator slot.
"Gnnark gnnark!" Gnnark yelled angrily at Argent. He was rubbing his shoulder where a training robot had hit him from behind.
Argent dropped the crushed robot she had been holding in her fist. "Sorry mate, I'm not omnipresent you know." She said with a shrug.
Phoosh! Bam!
As if to prove the point, she was blasted in the side by a turret and sent flying.
"Oops. Sorry." Kole said.
"Gnnark gnnark gnnark gnnark gnnark!" Gnnark laughed at Argent.
"Gnnark! Be nice!" Kole said to him.
"Hey, um, a little help over here." Red Star called for help as he was surrounded in his sea of training robots. They had been made specifically to be resistant to his radiation.
"How about you control that oversized baboon of yours Kole and maybe I'd help!" Argent said angrily as she approached.
"Gnnark is not a baboon!" Kole yelled at Argent angrily.
"Gnnark! Gnarrk gnnark gnnark!" Gnnark yelled angrily at Argent. The blush that appeared on Kole's face probably was a good sign that Kole wasn't going to translate it.
"What did you say to me caveman!?" Argent asked.

"Gnnark!" He said angrily.

Kole gasped. "Gnnark! Language!" She said.

The two got face to face, and electricity sparkled between them. "why I oughta-" Argent was saying.
"Look out-" Red Star yelled as he tried to rush in.
Whoosh! Snap!
All four heroes were suddenly trapped under a large net that had been fired from a group of training robots. They struggled under it as the robots turned off flashing the word Fail on their chests.

"ugh. Not again." Kole moaned.
"Oi, this is all your fault!" Argent to Red Star.
"How is this my fault." Red Star calmly asked.
"You could have warned us sooner mate." She said.
"Well you could have helped me with the robots and I wouldn't have had to warn you." Red Star said under his breath.
Beast Boy sighed from his spot on the sideline. "This is going to be tougher than I thought." He said.
End Flashback:
Training for first weeks, and then several months after that went almost as well as Cyborg's experience with Titan's East. Except Beast Boy's team didn't come under some villain's mind control. So they really didn't have a valid argument against butting heads with each other and fighting so often.
Beast Boy shuddered. He had thought that Red Star's calm demeanor would balance out Argent's personality. Nope, it was about as easy to flame her up as it was for her boyfriend Hot Spot to activate his powers. Beast Boy was able to see now how the two were so attracted to each other.
Training her and the others through team building exercises, though necessary, had been among the most draining our of anything else. Including fighting the actual villains!
And that hadn't even compared to when they hadn't been fighting crime.
Flashback:
"This is Beast Boy, calling Robin. Over." Beast Boy spoke to the freshly installed control console in the Titan's North Common Room.
"Kschhhh… This is Robin." Robin's disheveled face appeared on the screen up above. "What's going on? Is there an emergency?" Robin asked tiredly.
Beast Boy blinked in surprise. "No. It's early Monday morning dude. I'm calling to give you my report like you've told me to do every week." He said.
Robin blinked a couple times under his mask. "Wait, it's already Monday-" A look of realization crossed his face. He looked to the side and muttered something under his breath. Beast Boy didn't quite catch what it was, which was probably good. He moved around quickly on the screen, and within seconds he looked more normal and wide awake.
"I'm sorry for the delay. What do you have to report Beast Boy?" He asked in a more calm and alert tone.
Beast Boy observed his disheveled looking leader. If he didn't know any better, it was as if he had just woken him up. Which seemed unlikely since Robin hardly ever slept in, ever. "Well, we managed to get the control console installed last night." Beast Boy said.
"That's good. So there's finally more progress being made with the tech on the Tower?" Robin asked.
"Well..." He put a hand behind his head. "That's the only progress we were able to make, because Gnnark raided all the kitchen tech again." He said.
"Gnnark gnnark gnnark gnnark!" Gnnark yelled in the background happily.
"No Gnnark! That toaster is new-" Kole's voice sounded in the background.
Crunch! Munch! Munch!
"... was new." Kole said defeatedly.
"Well, at least that is only one problem-" Robin started to say.
"Oi! Who ate all me Twinkies?!" Argent yelled in the background.
"Wait. Those were your Twinkies? I thought we got them for everyone?" Red Star asked.
"Do you see your name written on the box mate?! Because I sure as bloody hell don't see it!" Argent asked angrily as she pointed to the name emblazoned in silver at the bottom of the box.
"I saw you use your powers just now to put that there Argent." Red Star said calmly wanting to avoid a confrontation.
"So you're calling me a liar now, eh Red Tard?!" Argent asked angrily.
"A bad liar." Red Star said calmly, but with a hint of agitation in his voice.
Beast Boy sweatdropped. "Let's just say that they're still a little rough around the edges." Beast Boy said.
The sounds of a fight erupted behind him, and Beast Boy chuckled nervously as he tried to fill up more of the screen to block it.
Robin nodded thoughtfully. "I'm guessing you won't be making it back next month like we planned then?" Robin asked.
"I'm afraid so dude. I'm barely holding it all together now as it is." He said defeatedly.
Robin sighed. "I guess I'll tell Cy and the others you aren't making it back for a while more yet then." He said.

"Do you really think it's worth it dude?" Beast Boy asked.

"Hmmm?" Robin replied.

Beast Boy looked around to make sure the others weren't nearby. Red Star and Argent were wrestling on the ground for the last twinkie. And Kole was trying to convince Gnnark to eat something else. "I've already been here six months dude, and nothing's been happening. It's like we've hit a dead end here." He said sadly.

Robin looked sternly at Beast Boy. "Beast Boy. I didn't just send you because of your leadership skills. I sent you because I knew if anyone could get these heroes to learn to get along with each other well enough to work effectively together, it would be you." Robin said.
Beast Boy thought on it for a moment, and then he grinned widely. Even though on the inside he felt absolutely terrified at the prospect ahead of him. He didn't know if he could handle anymore of it. But in that moment, he made an internal decision in his mind.
"You have a point dude. If I could get along with you, Raven, and the others back at home. Then maybe I could get these heroes to get along with each other too." He said.

Robin smiled a little on the screen. "Good to hear." He said. Robin then looked off to the side, and his eyes widened in alarm. "Holy hell! Training was supposed to start a half hour ago! I slept in!" He said in shock.
"Wait, what?!" Beast Boy asked.
He looked back to Beast Boy. "I got to go. Sorry. Thanks for the report Beast Boy. I'll remember that you're calling next week for sure." He said hurriedly, before he disappeared off the screen.
Beast Boy looked down at the control console a moment more. "Robin did sleep in... weird..." He said.
Boom!
An explosion behind him shook him out of his thoughts. He decided to put them on the back burner for later. Right now, he had a job to do. "Hey! Combat training isn't until after Lunch dudes!" Beast Boy yelled as he approached the dueling heroes.
"Take this up your-" Argent was yelling.
End Flashback:

Beast Boy smirked a little to himself. "To think I gave Robin one of my reports while he was sleeping in Starfire's room." He said aloud.
He hadn't figured it out immediately. But by the time he gave his report to Robin he had put two and two together. Especially since he reviewed the footage of the last call and saw the pink walls in the background of the call. So unless Robin had done an extreme makeover of his room and made it adorable...
After a little bit, the smile fell off his face. Beast Boy sat back in his seat and closed his eyes.
He had followed Robin's advice. Instead of forcing them to try and work together, he had changed up his angle. He instead got them to find things that they did enjoy doing together as a team.

It had seemed so hard at first. Beast Boy had lost track of all the different things he had tried to do to get them to get along.

But then everything had changed because of one thing. One simple idea he came up with on a whim.

Stinkball.

Flashback:

Beast Boy crouched down low in the hallway. His breathing was slow and gentle. It was barely even above a whisper in the dark hallway of the Tower.

In front of him in the darkness was his next unsuspecting victim. The last one on his list for the game. The others were already out for this round. He only had to…

Pow! "Eeeeee!"

Kole screeched in disgust as she swiped at the dirty socks stuck in her hair. Beast Boy fell back against the ground laughing as the other defeated and stinky heroes walked around the corner with grimaces on their faces. "Dude! That was like, the best game ever! None of you even saw it coming!" He said with a voice filled with mirth.

Kole looked like she was about to throw up when she finally got the last sock unstuck from her hair. "Great. It's going to take me all night to shower this mess off." She said defeatedly.

"Yeah. Same with us mate." Argent said.

"Gnnark gnnark." Gnnark muttered defeatedly.

"Yes. We know Gnnark." Red Star said. He then looked to Beast Boy who was still laughing on the ground. His gaze hardened a little bit, and then he looked to the others. "I know we all haven't been on the best of terms. But I for one think we shouldn't be the only ones who have to shower tonight." He said.

It took a few seconds for the others to get the meaning behind his message, but when they did wicked smirks came onto all of their faces. "For once, I agree." Argent said.

Beast Boy was still laughing when he sensed a shift in the air. As if some balance had been tipped to the other side. He stopped laughing and got back up. "Um dudes, you know it was just a game, right?" He asked.

"Gnnark gnnark." Gnnark said smugly as he hefted two large stinkballs in his hands.

"He said we know." Kole said as she hefted her own in her hands. Red Star appeared behind them holding two glowing red stinkballs.

Beast Boy sweat dropped. "Come on. We don't have to do anything drastic here dudes." He said as he turned around.

His way was blocked off by a field of silver energy. "Oh. This isn't being drastic mate." Argent said.

"We are simply returning the favor." Red Star said as he brought an arm back.

Beast Boy only had enough time to let out a small "Eep!" before stankballs came flying in from all directions.

End Flashback:

Beast Boy smiled a little at the memory. True, it hadn't gone the way he had been expecting it to go at the end. But he couldn't argue with the results.

Within days after the game, it was like the heroes had gained a newfound respect for each other. They still had their times when they argued and bickered over the littlest of things, but they got along a lot better. So much in fact that they finally started to work together as a team. Helping each other out on the battlefield, making sure the others were okay, and using their powers to bring down the bad guy(s) together.

One of their first legit villain takedowns where they had worked together without Beast Boy's help had been the notorious pair Masterblaster Al and Frankie Four Eyes.
That had been a proud day for him, and the memory made him smile a little more and forget a little about his anxiety.

To think that he had almost given up on them… and now they were set on a solid foundation as a branch of the Teen Titans. With Red Star as the new leader by unanimous vote, even from Argent.

"I'll miss being with them." He said sadly.
Even though he was returning to his old team, it still felt like he had left a part of himself behind. He imagined Cyborg must have felt like that at times too with Titan's East.
…

Flashback:

"And… that's all I think dude." Beast Boy said.

"So you're definitely coming home in two days?" Rob- no, Nightwing asked on the old looking T-Comm.

"Yeah dude. I'm no longer needed here. At this point, I'm pretty sure they could hold their own against Slade." Beast Boy said.

Nightwing chuckled on his small screen. "That's a little high praise there, wouldn't you say?" He asked.

"Nah dude. Last week Red Star led the team against General Immortus and his troops and beat the tar out of him. I'm sure Slade would stand no chance." Beast Boy said proudly.

Nightwing smiled a little wider on the screen. "In that case, I'll let the others know it's official. Just be warned, Kori hasn't softened her hugs anymore than before. In fact I think it'd be safe to assume they've gotten stronger." He said.

Beast Boy laughed a little at that. "Dude. I miss her and the rest of you. I won't mind being crushed one bit." He said… then his face fell. "I just… wish that maybe, Rae would be a little excited to see me back." Beast Boy said sadly.
A frown appeared on Nightwing's face. "Didn't she ever call you?" He asked confusedly.
Beast Boy waved it off. "Oh please Rob. I know she was way excited for me to like, go away so I wouldn't be there to annoy her and all that. Why would she ever want to call me?" He asked.
Nightwing didn't reply at first… he looked thoughtful actually. "I'm sorry Beast Boy. I have something to go and do right now." He said.

Beast Boy shrugged. "Alright dude. I'll see you Wednesday." He said.

"Yeah. See you Wednesday." Nightwing said almost to himself, before he disappeared off the screen.
Beast Boy looked slightly confused. Then he sighed to himself before he looked around the room he had been living in since the Tower had been built. "I guess I'll start packing now." He said.

And so he did.

End Flashback:

Beast Boy didn't realize it till then. His gloved hand felt his face below his eye, and came back wet from a tear. He breathed in sharply, and then exhaled.

"No. I've already cried enough tears over that matter." He said.

Honestly, the hardest part about leaving hadn't been getting the team to work together. It hadn't been the delays with building the Tower. It hadn't been replacing all the appliances that Gnnark kept on eating. It hadn't even been the grumpy old Visa lady that liked cat videos more than people.

The hardest part had been trying to move past his old feelings for his teammate, Raven.

He couldn't really explain it. It was like one moment he looked at her as the friend he constantly tried to annoy and tease. And then one day it all just… flipped itself upside down on him. He went from not only trying to tease and annoy her, but he actually wanted to be around her. He wanted to spend time with her. He wanted to get to know her better than just a teammate...

Only two years ago, she hadn't shown she felt the same way. At all. He knew that she had known about his feelings. She was an empath for crying out loud! But she still treated him the same. Like an annoying fly buzzing around her head.

Beast Boy sighed to himself. "I thought two years would be enough time to forget…" He said sadly.

After a moment, the mountains started to open up ahead. Beyond that, his eyes caught side of the looming skyscrapers far in the distance. He blinked his eyes in surprise as he recognized the city coming up down below.
He took a deep breath, and then put his hands back on the controls. "I guess it's time." He said determinedly.

After all, maybe there had been more that changed than he knew about.
His T-Pod sped on over the mountains, fast approaching the metropolis called Jump City.

The scene shifted to the rooftop of Titan's Tower. It was a clear day with a nice temperature of 70 degrees. The bay looked as calm as a dish down below, while the sun shined brightly in the middle of the sky up above.
On the roof itself stood four figures. One of them looked a lot like Cyborg. He had changed out a lot of his armor and gotten upgrades that made him more resemble the Justice League version of him. His still red cybernetic eye was scanning the horizon looking for Beast Boy's arrival.
The second figure standing next to him was donned in a mostly black uniform. Though it had bits of blue here and there on his chest, arms, and legs. Nightwing had grown his hair out a good bit, and almost resembled his future self. Though he seemed a little more relaxed than before, and he looked to be almost as tall as Cyborg. His girlfriend standing next to him still beat him by an inch for the moment.
Speaking of Starfire, or Kori as she sometimes went by now, she also looked a little taller than before. Her uniform was about the same, though she didn't look like a clueless teenager anymore. She was smiling the widest of them all in anticipation of seeing their friend again.
The last figure looked the least changed out of all the others. Raven looked about the same. Same height, same clothing (though it was white instead of blue and black), and same blank expression. Like Starfire though, her body also looked to have grown up. She had her hood down, and she was looking calmly up at the sky.

After a moment of waiting, Cyborg pointed up at the sky. "There! I see him!" He said excitedly.
The others followed his gaze, and sure enough a glint high up in the sky caught their eyes. "Are you sure?" Nightwing asked.

"Of course I'm sure man! I'd recognize that orange paint job anywhere!"

Within a minute, the T-Pod took shape as it descended towards the rooftop. Starfire clasped her hands happily together, Cyborg looked like he was going to cry, and Nightwing was smiling almost as widely as his girlfriend. Only Raven's calm expression looked unchanged.

Finally, after a wait that felt like forever, but was only fifteen seconds, the T-Pod landed on the roof of the Tower. For a few heartbeats more, the Titans held their breath, waiting…

Kchhhh!

The cockpit depressurized as it opened, and Beast Boy put a hand to his head at the sudden pain in his ears. "Dude. Why does it always hurt switching from one air pressure to ano-" He was saying as he stood up.

WHOOSH! CRACK! "FRIEND BEAST BOY!"

A very ecstatic looking Starfire yelled as she tackled Beast Boy out of his T-Pod into the air. Beast Boy looked to be in some sort of shell shock in the air as Starfire squeezed the life out of him.

"Whoa Star! You're killing the green bean!" Cyborg yelled.

"Oh, my apologies." Starfire said. She set herself and Beast Boy back down on the rooftop. "I let my happiness get the best of me again." She said with a smile on her face.

Beast Boy blinked in surprise. Starfire was actually speaking… normal English. "Nah Star. Um, Kori. It's great to see you again-" He was saying.

BAM! CRACK!

Beast Boy was tackled to the ground in a hug surprisingly similar in strength to Starfire. However, the bawling (manly of course) robot was not Stafire. "I missed you so much man! So freaking much!" Cyborg bawled out.

Beast Boy almost laughed a little bit. Maybe a lot had changed, but some things would remain the same after all. "I, *ugh* missed you *urgh*, too, *oof* Rust Bucket." Beast Boy managed to grit out through his pain as he patted Cyborg on the back.

Luckily, Cyborg released him on his own free will. He smiled brightly down at his green friend. "Yo, we have so much to catch you up on here! The best places in town! All the latest villains! And most important of all, the new all you can eat buffets in town!" Cyborg yelled happily.

Beast Boy laughed in gladness at that. "Dude! I've been practicing the last two years! I'll totally kick your tin can in any eating competition now!" He said.

"Not with my new upgrades your not!" Cyborg bellowed in challenge. Though it was also laced with how happy he was to have his best friend back.
Beast Boy was already imagining it as he laughed in good cheer. All the movies he'd finally get to sit down and watch together with his team. All the food eating contests he'd face Cyborg in. Telling all the new and improved (in his mind) jokes he had come up with. All the stories he had to share of training a team of heroes-
"Before we go in though, we wanted you to stay back on the roof for a moment." Nightwing said out of the blue.
Beast Boy's imagination stopped in its tracks. "Wait, why do you want me to wait out here dude? I just got back." Beast Boy asked.
"One, is because we're still setting up all the decorations for your return home party... and two, someone told me that she wanted to talk to you, alone." Nightwing said, before he started to walk away.
Beast Boy looked confused, and was about to ask who; then Starfire and Cyborg turned to follow Nightwing. Raven, though she was now looking down at the ground, didn't turn to walk away.

"Oh." Was all he said.
Cyborg put a hand on his shoulder as he walked by. "Good luck man." He whispered to him before walking on.

Boom.
The door to the roof closed firmly shut. The two heroes were now left alone on the roof. Beast Boy stood a little nervously in his spot, and started to rub the back of his head.
"So..." He tried to say coolly. "You read any interesting books lately Rae?" He asked to try and break the ice.
For a moment, he didn't get a response. Raven was still looking at the ground below and to the side… "Yes. A lot, actually." She said. Her tone was still dry, but it was like something was contained in the background with it.

"Oh. Okay then." Beast Boy said unsurely. He honestly wasn't sure what he should say now. Heck, he wasn't sure if he was supposed to say anything or not.

...
"Bea- Garfield?" Raven finally said. The use of his real name caught him offguard.
"Yes?" He asked.
Raven took in a deep breath, almost as if she was prepping herself for something. "Do, do you…" It looked like she was fighting with herself on something.

"What is it Raven?" He asked.

She stopped, and took another deep, calming breath. "Do you still have feelings for me?" She bluntlyasked.

…

Beast Boy looked around himself. She had to have been asking some other green animorph that wasn't him that question. Maybe another version of him had appeared from a parallel universe, and she was directing her question to him. But no, he discovered he was the only one on the roof. She had asked him. "Me?" He asked to make sure.

Raven nodded her head. Beast Boy gulped, and nervously put a hand behind his head. "Um, can't you like, uh, use your powers or something like that to like, figure that out Rae?" He asked unsurely.

Raven took in another deep calming breath. She didn't look angry persay. It looked more like she was trying to hold back. But hold back what? "Yes. I could... But… I want to hear it from you. I want to hear it in your words and not mine." She said calmly. Though it sounded like there was something… more in the background of her voice.

Beast Boy licked his lips. He wasn't sure what he was going to say at first… and then it all came spilling out.

"Yes. I still have feelings for you Raven. I don't know how strong they are, but I know they're stronger now than the time before I left." In saying that, it was like a dam had burst. "I don't know where they came from. I swear I don't. I didn't, I mean, I'm not saying it to insult you, but I didn't want them at first. I knew you would never go for a guy like me, and I know how you've had bad relationships in the past dude. I didn't want you to think I'd be another one of those dudes who'd use you and kick you to the curb and stuff. And like, I tried so hard these last two years to forget about it, but, I can't Rae. I just can't. I really wanted to just make things work out. I wanted to at least try and make you happy. But when like you showed no sign of interest in me, and were indifferent about me leaving... it killed something in me. But even with that I still couldn't forget because… because I still hope that I might somehow have a chance with you." He said defeatedly at the end.

Raven stood silently in her spot as Beast Boy let everything out into the open. She said nothing to interrupt him. She simply studied him, listening intently to him until he had finally finished. Her expression still appeared to be calm on the outside. On the inside…

"You've changed Beast Boy." Raven said.

Beast Boy looked a little surprised at that. "Changed, in what way?" He asked.

Raven finally walked forward. "You didn't try to hide away in fear. You were honest with me when you didn't have to be." She said before she stopped in front of him.

Beast Boy blinked as he processed her words. "Is that a good thing, or a bad thing?" He asked.

"It depends." Raven said as her face finally took on what looked like a thoughtful expression. "I think you know I still don't have anywhere near the capacity of free will and expression like you and the others have. I'm better now than I was two, three, even four years ago. But I've still got a long way to go, so know that it'll be… difficult when it comes to expressing myself all the time." Raven admitted.

Beast Boy looked down at her. "What are you saying Raven?" He asked her bluntly.

For once, he finally saw it. A look of nervousness crossed her face. But with that nervousness there was something else. Hope? "What I'm saying is…" One of her hands moved to grip one of his. "I think, if you're willing that is, that I'm ready to give you, to give us a try now." She admitted.

…

Beast Boy was silent for a while. He stared down at the suddenly vulnerable looking girl below him. It had always been in her power to know the feelings of those around her. It was an entirely different thing for her to share what she was feeling with other people. Inwardly, she gulped as she forced herself to look up at his face again. She didn't know what it was she was going to see. Maybe rejection, disappointment, maybe…

Was he smirking?

"Okay. On one condition." He said.

She blinked at that. "What?" She asked.

He wiggled his eyebrows at her. "You have to allow me to hug you whenever I want." He said teasingly.

Raven almost paled at that. "Wait, I mean, um, I don't know if I'm quite ready…" Did she look flustered at that.

Then Beast Boy brought her close in a soft embrace. Raven stood stock still for the space of a second, and then she sighed as she relaxed and hugged him back. It had been a while since she last hugged anyone...

After a moment, Beast Boy pulled back a little bit to look her in the eyes again. He suddenly looked bashful again. "I mean, um. I was kind of joking there Rae. You don't have to hug me all the time if you're not like comfortable with it dude." He said quickly.

Raven shook her head. "No Gar. That was actually…" She paused, thought on it for a few seconds, and then she placed a soft kiss on his cheek. "... pretty sweet of you. Thank you." She said softly.

Beast Boy looked like he had died and gone to third heaven. His smile was so bright, it was almost blinding. "Wow…" He said.

Raven almost chuckled. "Come on Romeo. I'm sure the others are ready for you now." She said as she started to lead him towards the rooftop door.

Beast Boy shook his head to clear it. "Do you think we should tell them about, you know…" He said.

"I'm pretty certain we won't have to. Cyborg's probably been watching on the security cameras the whole time." She said in a bland tone.

"You bet I was lawn eater!" Cyborg's voice boomed from a speaker.

"Dude. Like, what the fetch? We were having a moment here thank you very much." He said. He got a weird look from Raven at that. "Sorry. Just a weird word I picked up from this one guy I met in Michigan. I think he said his name was Al. Anyways, it's oddly satisfying in a way that cussing doesn't give." He said.

Raven shrugged at that. "Yeah man! I was just making sure you said or did nothing that hurt my little sis!" Cyborg said.

Beast Boy rolled his eyes, and Raven gave him a quiet chuckle next to him. He looked at her as for a moment she allowed a small almost unnoticeable smile to rest on her face.

Old home. Old friends... New girlfriend.

He allowed himself a bright smile. "You know Rae." He said as he squeezed her hand.

"Hmmm?" She hummed back.

"It's good to be back." He said.

Author's Notes:

Beast Boy's words really capture it all there at the end. It's good to be back. I hope you all enjoyed it. I just wanted to capture in part some of what it felt like those two years I was gone discovering myself. Thank you kind readers for everything. I'll look forward to posting again. And yes, the long awaited update to Justice League Vs. The Beast will be coming soon. Keep your eyes posted. :)

Till Next Time

Allen Blaster