#theredx

Teeth clattering, the green Titan worked his way through the storm. The rain was slanted, harsh, and Beast Boy thought it felt like hundreds of pins flying at him. Why’d he even bother coming today? The dude probably wouldn’t show. Heck, he was probably at home working at a hot cup of coffee. Yeah, coffee. Bitter, black stuff, as dark and gross as the pits of his soul and— 

And there he was. Perched on the back of a park bench, feet where he was suppose to sit, hands buried away in his pockets. Beast Boy narrowed his eyes through the rain, wondering if he was hallucinating. Was that only in extreme heat or did it work in extreme cold too? Or was that mirages? Whatever, it was something like that.

He padded towards the figure— careful, cautious. How do you tell if something is a figment of your imagination? A touch, right? If your hand goes through it, it’s safe to say it wasn’t actually there.

Once he was close enough, Beast Boy curled his numb fingers into a fist, pulled his arm back and swung. The older boy he aimed at tipped his body to the side at the last second, forcing Beast Boy’s weight forward. He yelped, caught only because there was a bench in front of him. The other boy stood, taking a step off the bench and landing, almost weightlessly, on the ground.

“You’re late, kid.” 

Yeah, he wasn’t a hallucination. Almost wished he were, though.

Beast Boy frowned, straightening himself up. “Dude, you’re lucky I even showed up.” He wrapped his arms around himself, trying to keep warm. “They were having pizza back at the Tower. Warm pizza.” 

“Don’t you guys always have pizza?”

Beast Boy’s frown deepened into a scowl, but he didn’t reply.

It had been month, maybe not even, since Beast Boy had found out Red X’s secret. Found out about his life (Of test stealing and arcade trips and lame friends, but life nonetheless).Beast Boy would come back every day or so, promising each time he’d catch him, bring him back to Jump City, and toss him in prison. He never did. He wasn’t even sure what it was they were doing now— Beast Boy just showed up, X would be waiting. 

“Dude,” Beast Boy started, calling out to the form that had walked a few paces away. He didn’t answer. “Dude!” he repeated, louder now.

Red X wasn’t paying attention, his head tilted, looking up at the clouded sky. Beast Boy tipped his head, blinked a few times to get the rain out of his eyes and called out, “Andy!“ 

He turned at that, quirking a brow in question. The changeling almost rolled his eyes, walking up him. “Dude, why did I even show up? We don’t even do anything.”

Andy shifted his body, so he was facing the shorter boy. “Nobody’s asking you to come, kid.”

He flustered— though he wasn’t sure why. At least it was dark, and the heat wasn’t bad. “Yeah, well, uh, nobody’s asking you to come either.” 

It didn’t work as it had on the Titan. Andy shrugged, seemingly indifferent about it. His gaze drifted again— what was he thinking about?

After a pause, dropping his arms back to his side, Beast Boy pressed on, leaning closer. “Why do you show up? What bad guy shows up when the good guy promises to toss their butts in jail?” 

Andy countered, with but a seconds pause, leaning in too. “Not like you’re that big of a threat. We’ve been at it for a month, you haven’t laid a finger on me.” 

They were close at this point. Close enough that Beast Boy could reach out and grab his arm, close enough to shift and pounce, close enough that the cloud of hot breath swirling from Andy’s mouth could be felt on his face.

Their eyes were locked, Beast Boy’s green to Andy’s hazel combination. Neither blinked, moved, until Andy offered a slight smirk. He could catch him now, maybe, if he moved quick enough. Bring him back to Jump, get praised by his friends. Get out of the rain, have warm pizza.

He paused, and Andy’s smirk grew— he knew he wouldn’t do it. And why would he? Like he said, it had been a month. A month to get to know this guy, a month to crack jokes and become his friend, a month to get too attached.