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"Welcome aboard, Beast Boy," Nightwing said as he clasped the young man's hand in his. They both smiled at each other. Nightwing managed not to ask of the ears were part of the mask or just covered by it.
"It's an honour, Nightwing," he said smoothly. The other Titans strode forward to welcome their new member... save one. Raven hung back in the shadows, her eyes narrowed at the newcomer.
"It is good to have you join us, Beast Boy," Starfire sang. Tall and statuesque with golden skin and hair almost down to the floor, it was genuinely impressive that Beast Boy didn't stammer in return.
"On that we agree, Princess Kori'Andr," he answered. Starfire actually blushed a little, embarrassed at the title.
"Oh, that is not necessary. Starfire will do nicely," she said. He nodded once in agreement.
"I read the dossier Mento sent us," Cyborg said, arms folded but with a warm smile. Once again, Beast Boy was admirable calm in the face of Cyborg's physical presence."Impressive stuff." Beast Boy smirked.
"The whole dossier? Unless Mento's embraced brevity recently..." he started. Cyborg laughed.
"No, it reads like an academic paper. A very long, very dry academic paper. But... well, maybe 'read' was the wrong word. Gotta be some advantage to having a computerised brain, right?" Cyborg joked. Beast Boy nodded in comprehension.
"I'll take your word for it. Well, thanks everybody, I guess I'll go unpack or... wait. Are we missing someone?" he asked. Nightwing looked around and spotted Raven lurking in the corner. He waved her over and, though she rolled her eyes, she joined them.
"Hello," she said, curtly. She didn't extend her hand.
"Um. Hi," Beast Boy replied. She narrowed her eyes at him again before turning on her heel and leaving the room. Cyborg chuckled awkwardly.
"Don't take it personally, man. That's just how Raven is, especially when she doesn't know someone," he said.
"Sure, no problem. No problem at all."
LATER
Raven sat on the couch, book in hand, revelling in rare solitude in this space.
"Raven?"
"WHOA!" she said, less dignified than she might have liked. Beast Boy stood behind her, eyes wide behind his goggles.
"Are you okay? I didn't mean to startle you," he said. Raven, on her feet and breathing heavily, calmed herself a little.
"You... you snuck up on me. No one sneaks up on me," she said, more perplexed than upset.
"Oh. Is that bad?" he asked.
"It's different. I don't adapt to change very well," Raven grumbled. She sat back down. Beast Boy walked around to the front of the couch so she could see him.
"I was going to ask if I could watch the TV but it looks-"
"I can't read you," Raven interrupted. Her brow furrowed as she looked up at him. "Is it the mask?"
"Read me? Oh! Right, you're an empath. Well, if you work with someone like Mento, you end up building a strong defence against psychic intrusion. That must include your senses as well," he surmised. Raven's head cocked to the side.
"Can you turn it off?" she asked. Beast Boy blinked. Did she not realise how personal it was to ask to see someone's emotions? Actually, she probably didn't - it was her norm, after all. He shook his head.
"It isn't conscious. It'd be like asking me to switch of my immune system: I can't," he explained. Raven crossed her arms and looked away. Was she... pouting? "Maybe this could be fun," he added. Raven gave him that curious look again.
"Fun how?" she asked carefully.
"Well, it's gotta take something out of conversation if you always know what the other person is feeling, right? Now you get to try getting to know someone on equal footing. The old fashoned way," he said, a little enthusiasm creeping in as he spoke. Raven's eyes narrowed even more.
"You sound awfully certain that I want to get to know you," she said with quiet menace.
"Um. Well. Right. Well. Oh. Right. We-"
"One condition: I get to ask what you're feeling if I need to," Raven said. Beast Boy took a deep breath.
"Okay... if I get to do the same. And we don't have to answer if we don't want to," he said. Raven grimaced.
"Fine." Beast Boy extended his hand. Raven vanished.
LATER STILL
"Why do you wear the mask?" Raven asked. She sat at the table with Beast Boy. He chewed thoughtfully and swallowed.
"Why do you wear the hood?" he said.
"That isn't an answer," Raven said.
"You first."
"But I asked first," she complained. Beast Boy smirked.
"Maybe it's personal," he said. Raven raised an eyebrow.
"Is it?" she asked. He only smiled and ate another mouthful. "If I tell you about the hood, will you tell me about the mask?" Beast Boy grinned and nodded. "The hood is traditional amongst my people."
"Is that all?" he prodded. Raven frowned. How badly did she want to know about the mask?
"Sometimes... I can't hide what I am, but sometimes - most of the time - I don't like people to see me for what I am," she said. Suddenly, her face flushed brightly, while Beast Boy's smile vanished.
"My mask. Um. I added it to my suit when I was a kid," he said before sighing heavily. "Because of Nightwing. Well, Robin at the time."
"Wait. This mask is because you were Nightwing's fan?!" she hissed. "I told you all of that just to find out you had a childhood crush on Nightwing?!" she cried, loud enough now to draw the attention of the others in the room. She seemed to twist and tower over Beast Boy, growling quietly... then vanished, leaving only silence.
"Hey, uh... I have a girlfriend," Nightwing added with a shrug. Beast Boy smacked his forehead and groaned.
EVEN LATER
There was a knock at Raven's door. She only curled up more tightly in her sheets.
"Raven, it's me," Beast Boy said, muffled by the door.
"Go away," she said flatly.
"Ask me what I'm feeling," he said. Raven emerged from her bedding and fixed her door with a withering stare.
"What?" she snapped.
"You wanted to be able to. Ask me," he insisted. Raven stood and walked to the door but left it closed.
"What are you feeling right now?" she whispered.
"Foolish. Embarrassed. And very, very sorry. I'm sorry, Raven. I was just teasing, I never meant-"
"Are you saying it's my own fault for telling you my secrets?" she accused.
"No! I... listen, I shouldn't have even joked that the mask was personal - you can't sense when I'm kidding or not. I'm sorry I made you feel like you... exposed yourself. Made yourself vulnerable," he rambled. "Okay. I came here to apologise and I have. I'll leave you be for now." Raven heard his steps move away from her door. Her anger and embarrassment had faded and she leaned against her door and slid down to the floor. Suddenly, she heard Beast Boy's footsteps rush back to her door.
"Actually, I got one more thing. I'm not sure if it's a good idea but I'm doing it. Can I see you, Rae?" Raven's eyebrows raised at that. A nickname? With a sigh she stood and opened her door. Beast Boy smiled when he saw her, still wearing a blanket about her shoulders.
"Hi," he breathed.
"Hello," she responded, coolly. He took another deep breath, seemingly to psyche himself up for something.
"Okay. I know what you're dealing with is more than just a self-esteem or self-image problem but I can't not tell you. Raven - you are extremely pretty," he said, a little laughter in his voice. Raven blinked back at him.
"Excuse me?"
"I just wanted to say it, just in case you needed to hear it. You're beautiful, Rae. I know that isn't gonna magically fix everything but... I couldn't leave it unsaid," he finished. "Well. Goodnight."
"Take your mask off. Please," Raven said. Beast Boy froze in his tracks. His hands moved up to his mask - why did he even wear the thing? He was green, it wasn't like he could masquerade as a civilian in his downtime. With a nod he reached up and undid the various clasps that held his mask in place, lifting it from his head and running his fingers through his flattened hair.
Raven stared.
Of course his hair was green. Everything about him was green. Especially his eyes. His eyes that were staring back at her. They were somehow even greener and more inviting then Starfire's eyes, but the hair was still the problem. She clasped her hands together behind her back to stop herself from running her own hands through his hair as he had done. He squirmed a little under her intense gaze, and she finally averted her eyes.
"I see the ears are real," Raven blurted. Beast Boy did a double take.
"You thought they might not be?" he asked.
"After our conversation, I thought they could be Batman-inspired," she said. Beast Boy's mouth hung open. Wait. Was that... was Raven smiling? She was!
"Oh wow..." he breathed.
"Excuse me?"
"Sorry. Just thinking out loud. I'm gonna go now, okay?" he said. Already turning to leave. Raven watched him for a few moments before calling after him.
"Thank you! For what you said about me," she said, getting quieter with every word. He turned and, without the mask, Raven could see the blush.
"You're welcome," he answered, gently. Raven seemed to fidget, unable to look at him.
"You're pretty as well!" she shouted before retreating into her room and slamming the door. Beast Boy's mouth hung open again.
"Well," he said, shaking himself. "I am never wearing the mask again," he chuckled before heading to his room, a visible skip in his step.
THE END