Quality Time

CHAPTER 7: Broadening Horizons

It was bright and early the next day. The fourth consecutive of which Raven and BeastBoy spent in one another's company as proposed by Cyborg's wager. Neither of them knew what was in it for the other, nor had they even bothered to ask, and despite nearly shredding their already fragile relationship to pieces over the course of the first two days, they had chosen to continue with the bet and its arrangement.

It was unusual that Raven had gone through as much as she did. In less than a few short days, she'd emotionally ripped BeastBoy apart, built him back up, and restored him to his former self. One would think that with everything back to normal, the wise thing to do would be to quit while everything was as it should be. Raven had been lucky things had turned out as fortunate as they had, but continuing with the bet would mean leaving even more to chance. She'd nearly changed BeastBoy for the worst, somehow implanting the thought in his head that he'd be more suitable as a mirror image of her persona. This had not been her intention, but it had happened nonetheless. Who was to say what else BeastBoy might be swayed into becoming the next time Raven lost sight of her temper, or perhaps, the other way around. It was highly unlikely that BeastBoy would cause Raven to reflect the exact opposite of the way she was now, but this meant there was more at stake for him. What if BeastBoy brought about a regression of Raven's being and her emotions?

However, Raven wasn't very big on the idea of quitting. Even though it would mean more free time, less noise, and returning to her balanced daily routine, she couldn't bring herself to simply end it now. Sure, she had a stake in this. She had not forgotten how Cyborg talked her into it and what he'd offered, but that was the least of what had kept her in this wager. Raven was nobody's fool. She knew that if she backed out now, neither her nor BeastBoy would hear the end of it from Cyborg. She could live with it if BeastBoy called it quits, but she did not want to be known as the weaker link between her and BeastBoy. If he could endure, so could she, and though Raven was normally above such petty matters, this time, she didn't want to lose. She could sense deep down just how much BeastBoy wanted to beat Cyborg at his own game, a surprisingly determined and almost unwavering confidence that swelled within him. Maybe it was starting to rub off on her. Maybe that was why she hadn't quit. Maybe that's why she seemed to develop this slightly competitive nature. Maybe that's why she wanted to win.

But, the bet would indeed continue. Raven and BeastBoy were both all too aware after what'd they'd been through thus far of what could potentially happen, but they felt as though they had a more mutual understanding of the risk now, having nearly severed what small bond that had taken so long to establish between each other. On top of that, they'd spent the better part of yesterday working out a way for them to coexist with each other for the remainder of the twenty-six days of the bet. It was during this time that they came upon what they believed to be the cause of their prior problems.

The reason Raven had lashed out, like she explained earlier, had been the result of exposure to BeastBoy's behavior for the entire day. Only accustomed to tolerating him in small doses, this became too much for Raven to bare, and as a result, triggered her outburst at him. The problem wasn't BeastBoy, at least not entirely. It was partially both of their faults.

Raven always tended to block out distractions, but this became increasingly difficult during her routines of meditation, reading, and so forth. BeastBoy wasn't a constant bother, but he became increasingly louder and hectic while in the midst of his daily routines, such as his videogames, movie watching, and various others along that curriculum, and that had been precisely the problem.

Raven and BeastBoy were complete opposites in terms of how they spent their free time. Raven, more accustomed to quiet activities which helped to keep her bustling emotions passive and under control. BeastBoy, more in sync with activities that were slightly more stimulating, keeping his somewhat childish nature from boredom.