Ten Seconds: Reunion-Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Beast Boy's head begins to throb and his chest feels as if there is an inferno raging inside of it. He stares at the beautiful blonde before him, still reeling from what she has just said. He doesn't notice that she's drawn closer until he feels her warmth on his hand.

"Beast Boy...?" She calls.
"HUH!?" He jumps back as he snaps back into reality.
"... Is... Is something wrong...?" She asks with a worried look.
"... No... Yes... Oh boy..." He sighs as he runs his hand through his green hair. Then he looks up at her. She's stunning. Her body is tight and muscular, characteristic of heroes, and her hair is captivating, shimmering as if the sun rested on her shoulders... But it was her eyes... Those piercing blue eyes that really hit home. They looked straight though his flesh to his very soul. They peered into a place that only a select few had been allowed to gaze upon. He began to feel himself lost in their intense stare, but just as he felt himself falling back into their previous roles, he hears a raspy, but gentle voice in his head. "I love you..."

Beast Boy shakes his head in shame as he looks down at his feet. Here he was, allowing himself to fall back into these feelings, while Raven was down the hall, carrying his child in her womb. The self-loathing that he felt at that exact moment was many times more intense than he had ever felt before.

"... Terra..." He says while still looking down. He notices two crusty boots appear before him and feels soft skin pull his chin up. He locks eyes with her as she places her other hand behind his neck. As she leans in, he can't help but think how badly he had missed her touch. Before he and Raven had begun dating, all he could dream about was feeling Terra's embrace again, but now that she as here, he found that their reunion was a bitter-sweet experience.

Beast Boy turns his cheek, avoiding Terra's lips. She pauses, confused, but still presses them against his cheek. He clenches his eyes in response. Terra pulls away slowly, not sure what she's done wrong.

"Beast Boy...?"
"... Terra... We..." He pauses, obviously conflicted about this situation. "We can't be together..."
"... Why...?" She asks, but then she lowers her head. "... Oh..."
Beast Boy looks up.
"...I guess it's no surprise you don't trust me..." Beast Boy raises his eyebrow in confusion.
"... I can never apologize enough for my actions..." She says as her voice begins to crack.
"Terra... That's not it..." He says almost whining.
"Then what?" She quickly asks with tears in her eyes.

"... Raven..." He begins.
Terra stares intently.
"Raven and I... Are together..."
If there was ever a level beyond absolute silence, this would be a perfect example of it. Terra looks, wide-eyed at the green changeling. Her facial expressions slowly alter between disbelief, confusion, sadness, and slight disgust.

"... We've been together for about 3 months... And were now expecting out first child..."
"... Sh-She's...?" Terra is unable to finish asking her question.
"...She's pregnant with my child..."

Terra's mouth drops as she gazes upon him in utter shock. He rubs his arm uncomfortably, not knowing what else to say or if there even is anything that he should say. Terra slowly begins to come back to Earth. "... I'm..."

Beast Boy focusses intently on her. "I'm very.............. Happy... for you... guys..." She forces out. It's an unconvincing statement, but it's much better than the outcome he had expected.
"Thank you, Terra..." He says slightly relieved.
The two looks at each other uncomfortably until Terra speaks up. "I'm... Kinda tired... You know... From everything that's happened today..."
"Oh... Yeah... I completely understand..." He says nervously.
"So I'm gonna' go lay down..."
"Yeah, that's sounds like a good idea..."
"Yeah..."
"... Yeah..."

They stand there a few minutes longer, then quickly part ways. As Beast Boy walks back down the hall to the interrogation room, he can't help but feel a part of himself tugging him back to Terra. Images from their happiest moments flash in his head to the point that it begins to throb, buzzing as if a hive of bees had taken up residency there. Before long, he has returned to the room and stumbled into a rather morbid conversation.

"Robin, the boy tried to kill us! He's a warmonger! We can't let him run free in the TOWER!" Cyborg shouts.
"If he steps out of line, I'll personally take care of him..." Robin states coldly.
"... I hope that it doesn't have to come to that..." Raven responds. Her eyes are dragged over to Beast Boy. They seem to ask him : "Well...?"

Beast Boy half heartedly smiles back and speaks. "I already told you, Rae... You have nothing to worry about..." She blushes a little and walks up to him. "And I told you already... I know..." Beast Boy smiles heartily as she leans up and kisses him.

"Um... Okay... I'll guess we'll finish this later..." Cyborg comments as he eases out of the room.
"Hold that door, Cy..." Robin says quickly as he follows the metal man.

********************
The door to Terra's room creaks open as she shuffles inside and gently closes it. She reaches for the light, but stops, allowing her hand to fall to her side. She quickly slumps to the ground in tears. Her eyes sting as they force their way out. Her cries of agony soon catch Geo-Force's attention. He's heard her cry before, he's seen her shed tears before, but he's never know her to act like this. The pain she was feeling now must be unbearable.

He walks up to her door and stares at the engraved letters: her code name. He can't help but think how silly it was. Tara with the code name 'Terra'... It made him chuckle. All he could imagine was how she'd come home ever day from playing outside and her dress would be as filthy as a pig's pen. Mud and dirt would be caked on, changing whatever the original bright color was to a dull and pasty brown. Their mother would always have a fit whenever Tara did this.

... And now, that same little girl, who used to smile and affectionately always refer to him as 'Bro-Bro' was in this cave, crying her eyes out. Not just from what she saw in Markovia, or the trauma this Slade had put her through... There was something even worse tearing away at her and though he was still angry with her, he would have given anything just to make this hurt go away.

Reluctantly, he knocks on the door. Terra grows silent. "Tara... It's me-"
"GO AWAY!" She shouts.
"... Tara... I just-"
"YOU JUST WHAT, BRION!?" She yells as she opens the door. Her beautiful blue eyes are now bloodshot. Her hair hangs over her forehead in a twisted mess. Her face in more red than the imperial Markovian flag... Yes... This was Tara at her worst. She had never been this much of an emotional wreck before.

"... Tara... What is wrong...?" He asks in his thick accent.
"Why do you care...?" She snaps back at him.
"... Because you are an important asset to our country..." He says stone-faced. She opens her mouth to scream at him, but the pitch she is attempting to reach is far too high, ever for her heavenly voice.
"And because... You are my little sister... And I love you..." He says, obviously uncomfortable. Terra's facial expression alternated back and forth between sadness and rage before finally settling on a combination of the two.
She bursts into tears as she slams hard onto his shoulder, crying in such a haunting tone that it even scares him.

He places one arm around her back and the other on her head and slowly brushes her hair while trying to shush her. "Everything will be fine, Tara..." He says as he comforts her. She remembers how he used to do this when she would get scared as a child. Whenever she would have a nightmare he would come to see her and he would do this until she fell asleep. Even now, it was relaxing and soon, she felt the soothing hand of sleep reaching out for her.

Brion slowly lifts her off of her feet and carries her to her bed. He can't help but notice dirt plastering her sheets. His eyes glow  golden as he forms the specks into tiny hands and pulls the cover away. He lays her down then places the sheet over her. As he turns to leave, he stops for a second. The dirt quickly collects in his hand which then begins to glow a dull red. After a few moments, he places a small object formed from it on her nightstand and exits quietly.

********************

The sun peaks into Terra's room and rests on her face. She slowly sits up in her bed and wipes fatigue from her eyes. Something twinkling catches her eye, however. She looks over and sees a crystalline rose sitting on her nightstand. It's tiny enough to fit in the palm of her hand, but the detail in it is still amazing. "Brion..." she thinks with a smile. But how? This was definitely glass-like. How could he form it from mere dirt? Terra stares puzzled for a few minutes before the smell of waffles fills he nostrils: Cyborg's cooking.

After she changes clothes and exits the room, she is met with a peculiar sight: Brion lay there hunched outside her door. Drool has begun to pool on the ground below him. She can't help but chuckle at him. "Brion?" She calls. His eyes quickly snap open as he jumps up shouting at the top of his lungs. "MELET'YOL STICKIT VERSACHIT!!" He desperately scans the hallway as if expecting an ambush, then remembers where he is. "TARA?" He yells. She smiles in response.

"Go get cleaned up." She chuckles. "Breakfast is ready."
Geo-Force looks at her confused then slowly walks over to the bathroom. As he steps in an begins to freshen up for the day, Terra laughs to herself at how ready he was for war, even this far from home. He emerges looking much more presentable. Terra tugs him towards the delicious aroma.

Cyborg whistles to himself as he flips omelettes. "Cy, that smells delicious!" Terra says as he walks in. "I'm glad you think so, I made a whole stack for you-" He pauses after he sees Geo-Force. Terra looks at Brion and sees him scowling back, but he stops after she elbows him in the side and gives him a dirty look. "Oh... Yes... You are an... Excellent cook..." He comments.

"... Thanks... I guess..." The two continue to stare at each other awkwardly. "So how do you like yours?" Cyborg asks with a smile.
He is caught off guard by this question. "Uh... With ham and cheese..." He reluctantly answers.
"Alright, two ham and cheese omelettes, coming up!" He returns to cooking.
"NOOOOOO!" Beast Boy shouts. "CY, I'VE GOT PERFECTLY GOOD TOFU EGG WHITES RIGHT HERE!"
"No one like your fake eggs, BB!"

Beast Boy starts to argue back but notice Terra looking at him. He gazes back, not sure what to do. She quickly looks away and a frown forms on Beast Boy's face.
"Great, eggs!" Robin comments. "I'm starving!"
"GLORIOUS! Cyborg, would make my the omelettes with pickles and mint frosting?"
"Is that some sort of strange American delicacy...?" Geo-Force asks, disgusted.

"... No... It's a Starfire delicacy..." She laughs back. This quickly fades when Raven enters the room.
Terra glares at her, not sure how to respond, but Raven simply grabs a small cup of herbal tea and takes a seat next to Beast Boy. She then opens a grey book with strange writing on the cover.
Terra thinks how strange a couple they are, but seeing how playfully Beast Boy is as he tries to pry the book from her hands brings a smile to her face.

Raven peers over the book at him and glares. Beast Boy quickly retracts his hand only to try again after she pulls the book back up.
"At least he's in good hands..." She mumbles with a smile.

"Did you say something, Tara?" Geo-Force asks.
"Not at all." She responds.

The serene moment is soon shattered by blaring sirens.
"What manner of assault is this!?" Geo-Force demands as his eyes glow golden.
"It's an alert!" Robin shouts as he jumps up from the table. He fiddles with his wrist communicator until a large view screen drops down from the ceiling.

"Multiple targets!" He shouts. "Cinderblock, Overload, and Plasmus are all terrorizing the city!"
"All three at once!?" Cyborg shouts as he tosses of his apron.
"We can't stop all three at once!" Beast Boy shouts.

"Maybe we can!" Robin says as he looks over at Geo-Force.
"You can't be serious!" Cyborg comments.
"There are innocents down there and we need all the help we can get!" He says as he tosses Geo-Force a communicator.
He catches it and looks up at Robin in confusion.
"Welcome to the team!"