Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"Ouch!"

"Sit still."

"I'm trying to but you're—OUCH!"

"There," Raven announced, pulling the last piece of wood shrapnel out of the changeling's shoulder. Beast Boy bit the knuckle of his index finger, whimpering a little at the pain. Raven placed a glowing blue hand on his injury and his face relaxed, muscles losing their tension. After a moment she took her hand away, the green, newly healed skin showing cleanly through the holes in his uniform.

Raven stepped back and looked Beast Boy over, checking to see if she'd missed anything. "I think that's everything," she said under her breath.

"My head still hurts," Beast Boy complained.

The empath rolled her eyes and reached for the bottle of aspirin on the medical cart next to her. "Yes, well, getting a concussion tends to do that to people." She handed him the bottle, then moved off to fetch a small cup of water. Raven returned to the changeling momentarily, biting back a chuckle when she saw that Beast Boy was struggling with the child-proof cap. She took the bottle from him, deftly popped it open, and then gave it back without commenting. Beast Boy flushed a little, but shook out two tablets. Raven handed him the cup of water and he obediently swallowed the pills. He set the paper cup aside when he finished.

"How are you feeling?" Raven asked.

"Better," he said. He grinned in appreciation. "Thanks Rae!"

She returned a faint smile. "You're welcome." She stepped back, raising her arms slightly in preparation to brace the changeling as he moved to get off the bed. "You okay to walk?"

"I can make it," he reassured her. He gingerly put his feet on the floor and balanced his weight upon them. To his and Raven's relief, his legs were stable, and the shape-shifter began to limp towards the door. Raven let her hands drop with a grateful sigh and walked ahead of him, the changeling trailing behind her.

The door slid open before her to reveal the worried faces of the rest of the team. Robin stepped forward, concern furrowing his brows.

"How is he?" he asked anxiously.

"His ribs, collar, and ankle will take a little longer to heal," she briefed him. "But I've taken care of all the cuts and shrapnel. He should be fine in a few weeks or so."

Robin nodded. The other Titans breathed an audible sigh of relief.

"Good work Raven," Robin told her.

She shrugged. "Just doing my job."

Beast Boy made it to the doorway behind her at that moment, eliciting a grin from Cyborg, who stepped forward.

"Hey grass stain," he greeted. "How ya doing?"

Beast Boy stopped and returned the gesture. "A little achy. Actually I feel pretty good considering I got punted through a wall an hour ago."

"You feel good enough for a round of Super Ninjas 3?" Cyborg goaded, leaning in and rubbing his hands excitedly.

Robin put a restraining hand on the teen's shoulder. "Not now Cyborg," he admonished sternly. "Beast Boy needs to rest and recuperate." The Titans' leader turned his gaze towards the changeling. "That's an order Beast Boy, get some rest," he said.

The changeling's face twisted. "Aw man! Does this mean I'm stuck in my room the whole time?!"

The Boy Wonder chuckled and held up his hands. "No no, you're not restricted to your room." The stern expression returned to Robin's face. "But you're not to take part in any missions until you're fully recovered. Understood?"

"Yes sir," Beast Boy mumbled grumpily.

Robin smiled again. "Just take it easy for a couple of days and try not to overexert yourself," he instructed further. "All right?"

"Yeah yeah," Beast Boy said, waving dismissively. "I won't overexert myself. Whatever. Can I play Super Ninjas 3 or not?"

Robin stepped back, glanced at Raven—who gave a quick shake of her head—then nodded. "I guess it's all right."

"Woohoo!" the changeling exclaimed, throwing his arms in the air. Then his hands quickly shot to his side and he grimaced. "Ow!"

"That's not taking it easy by the way," Raven commented as she brushed past the other Titans and headed off.

-TT-

As per Robin's orders, Beast Boy was relegated to staying at the Tower during alarms throughout the next few weeks, which he didn't mind quite so much as it gave him the opportunity to catch up on Clash of the Planets reruns, practice his channel flipping, read some of his new comic books, and generally be lazy.

The chance to refine his video game skills also helped.

"You are not passing me little man!"

"Oh yes I am!"

The changeling sat on the couch with his foot propped up, clicking buttons on his game console like a madman, and—much to Cyborg's chagrin—he was currently winning.

"Face it Cy, the time you've spent off on missions is time I've had to gain a winning edge. You're going down!"

"Oh no you don't!" Cyborg growled, redoubling his efforts. His shape-shifting friend had too much of a lead though, and after a few moments, the screen lit up to announce Beast Boy's victory. The changeling stood up and pumped his arms triumphantly.

"YES! Ha ha! Victory is mine!" He clutched at his side. "Ow!"

Still bitter over being defeated, Cyborg lounged back against the couch with a smug, teasing grin. "Careful there sensitive. Wouldn't want to hurt yourself."

Beast Boy glared. "Dude. That is so not funny."

"Or maybe you do want to hurt yourself so can have another private healing session with Raven, huh?" Cyborg continued, crossing his arms.

The changeling's sharp reply failed as it passed his throat and came out a loud squeak, in tandem with his brain realizing just what Cyborg had said. Beast Boy stuttered and blustered, trying unsuccessfully to restart his sentence. Finally he threw down his arms and screeched, "You're just mad that I beat you!"

The force of his shout caused a stabbing pain in his still-healing ribs.

"OW! Aww, now look what you made me do…" he groaned, holding his side gingerly.

Cyborg cringed. "Sorry B. I didn't mean to aggravate you."

The changeling sighed. "Yes you did," he said, setting down his game console and shuffling off.

"Where are you going?" Cyborg asked.

"For my private healing session with Raven," Beast Boy drolled sarcastically.

-TT-

"I can't stand it!"

Robin looked up from his breakfast and the copy of the newspaper he was reading to see a very agitated Beast Boy pacing around the room. It had been two and a half weeks since the shape-shifter was injured and the Titans' leader could only suspect that he was finally getting bored. There were only so many Clash of the Planets reruns to divert his short attention span.

"Being cooped up in the Tower?" Robin guessed.

Beast Boy shook his head and plopped down on the floor. "Nah, that's pretty cool. Gives me a legitimate excuse to do nothing all day. But everyone keeps futzing over me."

The Boy Wonder's brows furrowed. He set his toast down on the plate. "What you mean 'futzing'?"

The changeling popped back up again. "Well for starters you keep reminding me not to overwork myself," he said, and resumed pacing and gesturing. "And Cy's been teasing me and giving me grief about the whole thing. Starfire just kinda hovers, you know, with that anxious look on her face that's like 'Please, are you the okay and is there anything with which I can help you?'. The usual."

Robin nodded in understanding. He knew that look.

"What I really don't understand is why Raven's so worried," Beast Boy went on. "I know she's our designated doctor and all but does she really need to check up on me so often and insist I see her for treatments every day and constantly ask how I'm doing and what are you smiling about?" the changeling demanded, irritably shooting a glare at Robin.

The Boy Wonder snickered in a disgustingly innocent way. "Nothing," he hedged, pretending to be very absorbed in his newspaper.

Beast Boy let a terse growl rumble through his chest, then continued. "You know yesterday after my check-up I asked her if I was healed enough to actually leave the Tower and go out to the new comic book store that just opened up downtown?"

"Mm-hmm," Robin acknowledged, half-paying attention.

"She told me I had to take someone with me." Beast Boy threw his arms out in exasperation. "What? A villain throws me through one wall and now all of a sudden I need a babysitter? I mean, it's not like I'm insisting that I'm fine when I'm not and going on missions when I'm not supposed to and not taking things easy like everyone's telling me to." Beast Boy raised his gaze back up to his teammate searching for some kind of sympathetic understanding or recognition of his plight.

Robin's only response was to look extraordinarily awkward.

Oh… right, Beast Boy realized. "…Which is what you do all the time. Hey, how come no one makes you stay home when you get injured?" Beast Boy protested, crossing his arms in a 'that's-totally-unfair-and-you-know-it' pout.

The Titans' leader fixed two narrowed eyes on him, looking at him with a withering humorless glare.

"Beast Boy."

"What?"

"Go to your room."

Beast Boy stuck out his tongue but complied.

-TT-

"I play my Silver Wizard and apply the +5 of spellcasting," Starfire said, placing a card down on the bed sheets between them.

"No no Star," Beast Boy corrected, stopping her hand and pointing at the card. "Silver Wizards can only be played after you use your Mages to summon them. See?"

The Tamaranian squinted at the writing on the card. "Oh," she acknowledged, picking the card back up. "That is right." She tucked the card back into her hand, and pursed her lips as she scanned them. She also gave a cursory glance at the cards already in play. Reaching over and moving one of her reserves to the front she announced, "Then I play my Warrior and apply the +10 of swordplay."

Beast Boy bit his lip as he tallied the damages in his head. "Smart move," he complimented, turning one of his cards over.

In lieu of being grounded (temporarily he was sure) Beast Boy had decided to finally take Starfire up on her offer to keep him company and help alleviate his boredom. The two young Titans currently sat on the changeling's top bunk. Raven sat just outside the doorway, leaning against the wall and reading a book. Apparently she was 'keeping an eye on them'.

Whatever that meant. (Beast Boy was almost positive Raven was just using this as an excuse to monitor him and make sure he didn't do anything too strenuous. It was both annoying and disturbingly sweet of her at the same time.)

He shook himself out of his reverie on Raven's increasingly abnormal behavior with regards to him and analyzed the cards in front of him and in his hand. He grinned. Withdrawing a card from his hand he brandished it triumphantly and flipped it down on the sheets in front of him.

"+8 archery volley. Beat that!"

Starfire frowned. The cards at the front, including her Warrior, were now almost completely obliterated. She studied her reserves intently, looking back and forth between their two fronts, frowning further when she realized none of her cards would be very effective now. She dropped her eyes to her hand.

"Um…" she said, her fingers hesitantly hovering over her cards, trying to decide which one to play. A brightly colored one on the end caught her attention and she drew it out. "I play… my Blue Dragon." She set it between them. "And apply the +15 in fire breathing."

She looked up. Beast Boy's jaw had dropped. He was gaping in mute shock.

The alien princess scrunched her eyes and shrunk into her shoulders a little nervously. "Um… Beast Boy?"

The changeling pointed back and forth from Starfire to the card she'd just played. "How… where…" he stammered. "…you… where did you get a Blue Dragon?!" he finally managed.

She tilted her head, confused and starting to wonder if it was time to make a hasty exit. "This is… your deck Beast Boy," she reminded him.

"You're kidding!" Beast Boy exclaimed. "I… I have a Blue Dragon?"

He picked up the card incredulously, then grinned.

"I have a Blue Dragon! Woohoo!" he cheered, doing an impromptu victory dance.

Raven leaned her head in through the doorway. She smirked at the shape-shifter's antics and at poor Starfire's blank stare. He was doing well. He was almost completely healed, in fact, and definitely passing the bounce test. Her presence just outside the doorway was largely unnecessary but the empath couldn't pass up an opportunity to watch Starfire and Beast Boy attempt to play card games together, especially something as complicated as the magical combative game they were playing now.

Actually she was mostly just here at Robin's request. Paranoid boy was jittery about what the changeling would get up to. For some reason. Raven obliged with minimal protest.

"Oh."

Beast Boy's voice brought her back to the present. The changeling was looking forlornly down at his set of cards.

"I lost," he announced.

Raven chuckled.

The Tamaranian princess opposite him straightened with perceptible interest. "Then… I am victorious?" Her eyes lit up and she clapped excitedly. "I am victorious!" she exclaimed, bouncing on her knees in glee.

Beast Boy flipped his hand onto the bed casually and leaned back against the pillow. "So… now what d'you wanna do?" he asked, staring up at the ceiling.

Starfire pursed her lip, thinking for a moment. She glanced up at Beast Boy. Her mouth widened with a smile. She leaned over and poked the changeling in the stomach.

"You are it," she said.

She took off, sailing out the door and into the hallway.

"Hey! No fair!" Beast Boy objected, scrambling up and morphing into a squirrel. He leapt down from the bed and sped off in pursuit of the alien princess.

Raven sighed, closed her book, and got to her feet.

Yep, he was definitely fully recovered.

-TT-

Starfire couldn't stop giggling as she flew through the hallways ahead of the changeling, now in the form of a green cheetah that was rapidly closing on her. The doors to the main room opened before her and she streaked through them.

Halfway across the room, Beast Boy finally caught up to her and she shrieked as he tackled her out of the air with a flying leap, morphing back to normal mid-fall. The two tumbled to the floor, both laughing. Beast Boy managed to sit up after a little bit.

"Tickle tag!" he cried, pouncing on his teammate. She "eeep"-ed and her giggles increased in intensity as she uselessly tried to fend him off.

Behind them came the sound of a somewhat annoyed throat clearing. Beast Boy took mercy on Starfire and let her up and the two glanced back towards the door.

Not surprisingly it was Robin, standing there with his arms crossed and a stern, no-nonsense expression on his face.

Beast Boy and Starfire both stood to their feet, smiling and looking like very innocent and adorable siblings whose mother had caught them playing in the mud.

"Heh-heh," Beast Boy laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head. "Hi Robin. We were just, uh… playing tag." He shifted into the form of a wolf and hastily began trotting out.

"I thought I told you to go to your room," Robin groused tersely, glowering, following the changeling with his eyes. Starfire's soft giggle caught his attention; he turned his head just in time to catch her pausing in her flight right next to him, her hand outstretched. She cupped his face, leaned in, and pressed her lips to his cheek, effectively blanking out all his thoughts. He froze in place dumbly. After a moment or two she pulled back.

"Do not be so uptight," she admonished gently in his ear. Then she floated off after Beast Boy, her laughter echoing through the hallway.

…Robin was having trouble remembering what he'd been irritated about. When Raven entered a few minutes later, he was still standing there, rubbing his cheek unconsciously, trying to reorganize his brain back into its regular operation.

The empath refrained from commenting when she came in, her senses immediately recognizing what kind of mental catatonia was afflicting their leader. She watched him for a few moments to see if he could shake himself out of it on his own. When he didn't, she walked up to him and nudged his shoulder.

He snapped to attention with an instinctive, "Huh?"

"Just thought you should know, I'm giving Beast Boy a clean bill of health. He's fully recovered, and his bones are all completely healed and back to normal now. You can let him start coming on alerts again," she told him.

"Oh," Robin acknowledged, still distracted. "Okay… thanks Raven."

After another couple seconds Raven could sense his mind drifting off again.

She smirked.

"Are you ever going to spit it out and let her know what kind of dreams you've been having about her at night?" she teased.

Robin glared icily. "Are you going to explain why Beast Boy says you've been futzing over him?" he challenged back.

Raven clamped her mouth shut firmly, scowling. Robin crossed his arms again coolly. The two entered a tense, uneasy, and slightly menacing staredown for the next half-minute.

The empath raised her hand.

Robin yelped as swirling tendrils of black energy yanked him up towards the ceiling, hung him upside-down for a moment, then inelegantly dropped him on the floor.