Disclaimer: I don't own them. I have a slightly more realistic idea of what happens when five teenagers move in together than that. And no, I should not be allowed anywhere near children's shows, really.

This is set directly after the episode Go! I'm aware it's unlikely, but it was fun to write.


-Brooke Foss Westcott

001. Refuge

She didn't think she'd ever know why she did it.

But, well, she knew Starfire had no place to stay. She also knew the alien was likely following Robin already. Cyborg could take care of himself, obviously. It was clear the little shapeshifter hadn't wanted Cyborg to leave. She didn't know how, but she had ended up going out for pizza with Cyborg and Beast Boy after Robin and Starfire had left. She had split the cost with Cyborg, and if anyone asked, she was merely concerned that Beast Boy was in Jump City with no money. That was all it was.

No money, and no place to stay, she realized as she followed him to the park. He waited until no one was looking, then jumped into a tree and transformed into a squirrel mid-jump and darted into a hole in the trunk. She could see a green bushy tail flick out.

Sighing, she settled at the foot of the trunk and began meditating. When it began to rain, she flicked up a shield of dark energy and continued. She meditated well into the evening and by the time she came out of her trance the park was empty. Well, almost empty.

"Beast Boy," she said quietly, not moving from her lotus position, "shouldn't you have gone home by now?"

He scurried down beside her and resolved into human form, settling back on his haunches and looking at her. "I could ask you the same question. Although, I wouldn't be surprised if you lived out here in the dark with the bats." His voice strained slightly. She opened one eye and looked at him.

"I live nearby," she said calmly. "Your turn."

"Ah…." He rubbed the back of his head nervously. "I kinda….came here with no money….so, yeah. No one objects to another coupla animals in the park, yeah? Even if they are green." He laughed weakly. Raven dropped all pretense of not paying attention and turned to fully face him.

"How long have you been living in the park?" she asked him sternly.

He dropped his gaze and wouldn't look at her, drawing his arms around his knees and rubbing the fabric slightly. He mumbled something she couldn't make out. She stared at him and he winced before repeating, louder, "..A few…m-months…"

Raven did not reply this time. After several minutes of awkward silence, she stood and began walking away. Beast Boy felt his heart sink and curled in on himself a little more.

He heard Raven stop, a few feet away, and turn back towards him.

"Are you coming?"

He scrambled to his feet and followed her.


Raven unlocked the door to her apartment and wasted several minutes waiting for the shapeshifter to enter first. When she glanced back at him, annoyed, she realized he was busy waiting for her. Sighing, she stepped in and he followed slowly. She locked the door with a tiny flare of her aura before looking at him again. He was staring around the room, expression caught somewhere between surprise and fear.

"You look like you've never been indoors before."

The dry comment snapped him out of it. He swallowed once and smiled, but it was the smile he'd had when he was trying to talk Cyborg into hanging out with him before the aliens attacked- weak, trying, not quite a true smile. "It's been a while."

Raven studied him as he edged further into the room. He was drenched and shivering, eyes wide and ears back, and she felt a sharp stab of pity as his gaze darted around the room. As near as she could tell, he was marking any possible exits, which was exactly what she would have done in his place.

Not that I'd ever be in his place. Raven had the sense to arrive in Jump with enough money to hold her until she could find a job. She hadn't found one yet, but neither was she anywhere near running out of money.

"That," she said, pointing to a doorway across from where they stood, "is my room. You don't go in there, ever, period. Over there," she pointed again, "kitchen. If you can clean it you can use it, if you can cook it you can eat it, it wouldn't be a good idea to rely on me for food."

He didn't reply and she moved further into the apartment, opening the closet and tossing him a towel. "Bathroom's through there, go shower and I'll find some sheets or blankets."

By the time she turned back, he was gone and she could hear the shower starting. If he'd really been living in the park for the past few months he probably was pretty eager to have a shower.

…She hoped.


When Beast Boy got out of the shower- quite some time later, since he'd been reveling in the feeling of hot water- Raven was nowhere to be seen. There was, however, a deep violet blanket folded neatly on the couch with a matching pillow stacked on top of it. He'd shrugged back into his Doom Patrol uniform since he had nothing else to wear. It was dirty, but he'd usually shifted into an animal form in the park, so it wasn't too bad. At least it had mostly dried off now. He tugged the blanket over the couch and curled up under it, sighing in bliss- warm and dry and comfortable, with something soft to sleep on.

Raven stayed up later than usual, uneasy about having someone else in her living space. To say she was territorial would have been an understatement- her space was her space, end of conversation.

It was just for the night, she assured herself, going into the kitchen for a cup of tea. She glanced at her couch as she passed it. The changeling was curled up beneath the blanket with his arms wrapped around the pillow, only his head visible. He was still very deeply asleep. She guessed sleeping in the park hadn't been terribly restful, especially if he'd usually shifted into something like a squirrel that had natural predators to watch out for.

Thunder burst outside and Raven instinctively glanced at the window. Beast Boy ducked the rest of the way under the blanket without waking up.

He's just here to wait out the storm, she told herself. In the morning he'll find somewhere else to stay.


He was sick, as it turned out. He woke up at midday with a coughing fit that caused him to fall off the couch. Staying through the storm became staying until he was better, and one night became three days. Three days became a week. A week became two weeks. He'd long since recovered by then, but she never quite seemed to get around to kicking him out. She went out one day and came back with a set of clothes in his size, handing them to him without saying anything. They fought with the thermostat constantly- she liked the cold, he liked heat. They fought over meals, though not as much, since she ate whatever was easy to make and drank a lot of herbal tea and he ate all her fruits and vegetables. Their sleeping patterns clashed. He was semi-nocturnal and not very good at staying quiet, and the noise from the old half-broken television she kept and he insisted on trying to use kept her up at night. They fought over everything, really.

But he continued to sleep on her couch, and she could feel the nervous hesitation in him each argument. This had become his sanctuary and he really didn't want to give it up, but it was her home and she was well within her rights to kick him out. She held back in each argument to keep her powers in check. Occasionally they would get a call on their communicators from Robin, asking for their help in a bank robbery or a bomb threat or in catching a villain.


Beast Boy's 'one night' was approaching a month when they got the call. Between the two of them, Robin and Cyborg had somehow gotten permission to build on the island, using the fallen spaceship as their framework. The two of them and Starfire would be moving in as soon as possible, and would they like to come too?

The calls were separate, the others never having realized Beast Boy was staying with Raven, and the answers were separate but they were the same.


Raven asked Cyborg to see the blueprints early on. She changed them so that her room was next to Beast Boy's. If he noticed, he didn't comment.


She would never admit it, but it had become easier to sleep when she could hear him in the next room.


GuardianSaiyoko: Whitewater is a collection of short stories written whenever I've hit a difficult spot in One Which Makes the Heart Run Over. The name is because I've been whitewater rafting twice in my life. The first time was a awesome experience, the second time...when the guide says "wanna swim in the rapids?", "I'm all for it" is not the appropriate answer. I may have had a slight near-death experience that time, but it was still incredibly fun.

Review, please!