BBAre A Slippery Slope, A Green Horizon

2

It was late at night and the others had trickled off to their own respective rooms.

Raven sat in her usual place on the couch, enveloped in her book, shutting out all else but the steady pulse of Beast Boys fascination and wonder, as he too sat, and watched the nature channel's weekend special on the monkeys of Africa.

It was calm, the two engrossed in their own worlds, but enjoying the little pieces of each other that made it through the thoughts and fixation into that place at the back of the mind reserved for warmth, comfort and the presence of your favorite people. Beast Boy chuckled at the antics of a baby monkey and Raven raised an eyebrow at the boldness of her novel's heroine. All was right within their worlds.

Until it wasn't.

Raven gasped as she was lanced with a sadness, cold and sharp, and painful enough to break her heart. Her eyes flew from the book to Beast Boy, his own eyes were wide, tears streaming from their emerald depths, transfixed on the screen as a recording of a young couple feeding chimps was played, their faces happy and fulfilled as their child, a boy with a frock of red hair, giggled at the primates.

"The Logans were renowned the world over for their conservation efforts, shown here introducing their son Garfield to the beloved animals they called friends. In the days leading up to their deaths, they would-" The narrator was cut short, for black energy had flashed across the television, its screen cracking instantly and a low buzzing noise sounding its demise. Raven was too late however, for Beast Boy, Garfield Logan, had curled into himself, the tears no longer falling in silence as great, heaving sobs racking his body as the wound of his parents loss reopened itself and his gloved fingers hid the face that so often broke into a grin, but now lay breaking on his hands.

Raven set her book down and moved to him, placing her arms around the changeling in one of her rare hugs. No words were exchanged between them, but Beast Boy took his hands from his face and returned Ravens calm embrace with one of his own, those great, terrible gasps softening as he let loose his pain, taking strength in his team mates unspoken comfort and understanding.

Cyborg, alerted to the televisions damage, came into the room frowning, but with a joke on his lips. All that died away, when he saw his friends holding each other. Seeing Beast Boys shaking frame and Ravens small, worried frown made him decide, rather quickly, that the TV could be fixed in the morning. Quietly, he left, and the two were none the wiser, for Beast Boys eyes were filled with his tears and Ravens thoughts were filled with them also.

In the morning, Robin pretended not to notice as the two were awakened by the sound of him making coffee, he pretended not to see as they left the room and returned to their own beds.

He pretended not to notice that Beast Boy had been crying, nor that Raven had been holding him in their sleep.

Robin knew that pain, and later, when no one was listening, he would ask about it.

But for now, Beast Boy needed sleep.

They needed sleep.