A Friend in Need

A Closer Friend

Raven poured the batter into the bowl, manually whisked it, and dripped it onto the hot plate. As the pancake batter solidified, she expertly flipped it and browned the other side before giving it to the metal man. "Here you go."

"Hehe, wow, this actually looks edible!" Cyborg quickly saw the purple-haired girl's death glare. "I-I-I mean, it looks good." And it was, at least that's what Raven thought by the way he was eating it. She tasted it herself.

A little more butter, but it was still good.

"Girl, I think Beast Boy's going to be jealous when he comes back," Cyborg laughed, stuffing another pile of pancakes. The small smile on Raven's face disappeared. She reached and played with her back-length hair. She had grown it out for a while and had been meaning to cut it. But for some reason, she didn't have the strength.

After the Titans called Interpol and the state government to crack down on the local administration's shady uranium dealing, Beast Boy decided to stay with Toros for a while to help him get back on his feet. "Are you sure?" Raven could remember saying. Beast Boy smiled.

"Come on, Rae. It's not gonna be hard. Plus, the East African Titans will help me and someone needs to look after Toros."

"Do you think he'll do something... drastic?"

"I know what it was like when I lost my parents. I can't imagine being in his place," Beast Boy said, looking back over his shoulder at Toros. The blonde told the authorities everything he could. "Besides, all of his life, he's been doing this for a reason. Now it's is gone. He needs someone. I promised his parents that I would look after him, and I'm gonna do that." Raven nodded. "Besides, it'll only be one, maybe two months tops."

It had been a whole year since they last saw Beast Boy. He kept in touch: a few video calls, some letters, and phone-ins. He kept saying that Toros needed a bit more time, but the team could see his lying grin. It's not just that Toros needed Beast Boy; Beast Boy needed Toros. And the trust that Toros broke would have to be rebuilt almost from the ground up.

There were other things that made Raven worried about Beast Boy. Several times during his video calls, he looked disheveled, tired with dark green circles under his eyes. At times, he would close his eyes and nearly fall asleep. A Titan's life is usually hectic when it comes to sleep, but Beast Boy would have been used to that. There was some added stressor affecting him that he wasn't telling others.

"When do you think he's comin' back?" Cyborg asked.

"I... I don't know," Raven sighed.

Cyborg stood up from his stool and walked over to the sorceress. "Hey, you okay?"

"I... I'm fine." She tucked her hair back and refocused on the hashbrowns.

"Tell me again why you became so interested in cooking?"

"Because my cooking sucked."

"Ahh... well... that's uh..."

"I know what my food tasted like. I tasted it myself," Raven said.

"Hey, I didn't mean to-"

"I'm fine."

"Why don't I believe you?"

"I am fine, Beast Boy." Her voice elevated just a bit, but her clenched teeth and narrowed eyes were unmistakable. Though Cyborg paused and stepped back, shooing away an annoying fly, Raven suddenly realized her mistake.

"Oh, I see. You miss Beast Boy."

"I-"

"Now before you say anything," Cyborg interrupted, waving his hand at the annoying fly buzzing around, "Remember that your powers aren't good at keeping a secret."