5h0w1sh - Fire Cracker Pit

SOUL EATER x SONIC THE HEDGEHOG

Fist to Fist Heart to Heart Robin watched as Beast Boy struggled to push himself off the floor, arms shaking as his muscles threatened to give out from his own below-average weight. The final strike had literally knocked the changeling off his feet, just as it had the past dozen times. The leader watched as Beast Boy staggered back to his feet, clumsily trying to regain his fighting stance. Robin really wanted to call a break for the changeling. They’d been at this for forty minutes and Beast Boy had taken quite the beating… But the green teen had made it abundantly clear that he wanted to master hand to hand combat, no matter what. He was determined and Robin could appreciate that. He wasn’t about to give up on his friend. “Come on, Beast Boy! Let’s go again! Put your all into this one!” The changeling swayed on his feet, having trouble getting his head on straight as he gave his most passionate, but weakened, “Yes, sir!”

A silence hung in the air as the two prepared their drinks and snack; some veggies and hummus with a glass of water for Beast Boy and some jerky with a protein shake for Robin… Perhaps the changeling should look into some protein shakes himself; vegan ones, of course… The thought didn’t stay with him for long as he busied himself with eating. Even with the crunching of carrots and the snap of jerky, it was just too quiet for the green teen. He was ultimately dragged back to his worry for Robin. Something just wasn’t right. “Look, if I disappointed you, I’m sorry. I know I keep flubbing up the combat thing, but I really am trying. Please don’t give up on me. I swear I’ll get it!” “I won’t give up on you,” Robin muttered in mild offense while attempting to look nonplussed. Beast Boy’s ears drooped. “Seriously, what’s wrong?” “Noth-” Robin cut himself off as he thought back on his conversations with Starfire. Ever since they’d become a couple, she’d been encouraging him to be more open with his emotions, to not be so reclusive. The leader took a deep breath and let it out. “It’s nothing big. You just called me sir… like you did with Mento.” The changeling raised a brow, cocking his head as he tried to register what about that had put Robin off just so much. “Don’t take this the wrong way, Beast Boy, but I just don’t think he’s the best leader.” It took a moment for the green teen to think things over. Did Robin think he was a better leader than Mento?… Well, he was. He couldn’t argue that. Still, why was it such a big deal? “Mento was a real jerk to you.” “Oh!” Beast Boy perked up as the gears clicked into place. “Well, kinda, yeah. But don’t worry about that,” the green teen smiled widely. “You are nothing like that. When you push me, it’s because you want me to be the best I can be; not because I have to prove myself worthy of the team or you think I’m not good enough. You’re nothing like Mento, I don’t have to wait for the planets to align to get encouragement from you!” While Beast Boy laughed genuinely, Robin’s smile was less so. The leader was relieved that he wasn’t some sort of repeated trauma for the green teen, but he was still worried about what his friend went through. Though Beast Boy spoke of it so casually, Robin knew the trauma was still there. “Well, good to know I’m a decent leader to you, even if the bar was set pretty low,” he joked.

“You’re not just my leader; you’re my friend,” the changeling beamed. “My bud, my pal, my comrade, mi amigo!” Robin let out a slight chuckle, loosening up a bit. “Yeah, I know we can get on each other’s nerves sometimes, but we’re really not that different, you and I.” “Who are you; Dr. Evil?” Beast Boy cackled. “Seriously though, how are we alike?” Robin’s smile fell as he realized the can of worms he’d just opened with his comment. He really didn’t want to answer, but damn it, he needed to! It’s what Starfire would want and Beast Boy deserved a heart to heart for once. He was always treated as a joke, but he was so much more than that. Robin let out a breath with a “poof” sound. “Can’t think of anything, can ya?” Beast Boy laughed. “I can… It’s just that some of it is kind of… heavy stuff.” “Oh,” the changeling’s ears drooped once more. “How bad is it?” “How about you just stop me if it gets to be too much?” Robin offered. With a nod from Beast Boy, the leader continued. “When we first came together to form the Teen Titans, I still found myself following in Batman’s footsteps. I wanted to separate myself from him, at the time, but his training was going to be with me no matter what. Kind of like how you were still acting like Mento’s soldier when we first met.” Huh. He hadn’t thought of it that way. Curiosity piqued, Beast Boy leaned forward to listen more intently, folding his hands to rest his chin on them. “Well, like Batman, I did my research. I looked up every bit of information I could get on all of you. I wanted to know who I was teaming up with, what I would have to worry about if you ever turned against me…” “We would never-” Beast Boy started before changing his mind. “Well, when you were working for Slade…” “Yeah. I don’t blame you for that. In fact, I’m glad you turned against me. It showed you all would fight for what’s right, not just what I want.” “Nothing like Mento,” the green teen grinned. Robin chuckled slightly. “Anyway, I learned about what made you and Cyborg the heroes you are. I couldn’t find anything on Starfire or Raven because they had no records on Earth, but you…”

Beast Boy frowned, not sure he wanted to hear his past out of Robin’s mouth. He didn’t really want people to know that much about him, but if someone was going to know, he’d be the one to tell the story. “My parents were biologists,” the changeling started. “I got sick with the Sakutia Virus and the only way my parents were able to cure me was with some science-y mix of animal stuff that turned me green and let me shape shift.” Robin nodded as Beast Boy spoke. He knew this already. But it was really his friend’s story to tell, rather than learning through the research he’d done. There was a flood… and a waterfall… I couldn’t save them. It’s all my fault! I had my powers! I should have-” the changeling put his head in his hands. “Hey,” Robin reached out, putting a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “You were young. You couldn’t have done anything. It wasn’t your fault. You couldn’t control a natural disaster.” Beast Boy lifted his head. “But I had my super powers. I should have been able to-” “Believe me; I know what it’s like. My parents and I were acrobats. I knew someone had sabotaged the equipment, but I couldn’t stop my parents before they did their trapeze act and fell to the ground below.” Beast Boy looked at Robin with tired eyes and gave him a quiet, “I’m sorry.” “I am too,” Robin removed his hand from the changeling’s shoulder. “Neither of us could have done anything, but we still blame ourselves. It’s hard. We try no to think about it, but we don’t want to forget them either…” “Yeah,” Beast Boy sighed. “I guess we do have stuff in common.” “Not to mention we were both taken in by super rich superheroes,” Robin added. “Did you have trouble finding your way around the manor at first too?” Beast Boy smiled a bit. “You mean like trying to find the bathroom in the middle of the night?” the leader smirked. “Ha! Yeah! Talk about a nightmare… Someone help me! I have to pee and I don’t know where I am!” The two erupted into laughter. “Riddler’s labyrinth had nothing on Wayne Manor!” “Maybe Dayton Manor was built on an ancient sacred corn maze!” The two laughed louder this time, finding each other genuinely funny.

“Man, I’m on a roll today!” Beast Boy beamed. “Yeah! Now let’s keep that rolling into training!” Robin encouraged. The changeling nodded, feeling more confident with this interaction. --- “Okay, remember what I taught you,” Robin instructed, fighting stance engaged as he eyed Beast Boy from across the training grounds. Beast Boy gave a determined nod. “Brace for impact, but don’t tense up, let the momentum carry me forward…” “Aren’t you forgetting something?” The changeling raised a brow. “Telling yourself you got this!” Robin grinned. “I got this!” Beast Boy beamed. “Go!” Robin shouted, the two sprinting towards each other to begin the sequence again. Robin began by dropping down for a sliding kick to Beast Boy’s legs, only for the changeling to leap well above him to dodge. Quick to his feet, the leader threw a punch, only for the other to whirl around and catch his fist in his hand. Another fist, another catch. With both Robin’s fists in Beast Boy’s hands, the changeling reared his head back and swung it forward in a powerful headbutt, stopping just before making contact to avoid any brain injuries during training. Even so, Robin recoiled with a hand to his hand, playing the role of a dazed opponent. Beast Boy used the opportunity to shove Robin, who started to fall backwards, but turned the action into several backwards flips and put a good distance between them. This was it… Robin smirked and launched forward, leaping at Beast Boy with his leg outstretched, The changeling took him on in one swift motion, catching his leg and spinning with his momentum, sending the leader flying as he let go. “Yes!” Beast Boy cheered as his leader flipped in the air, landing on his feet. “I did it!” “You did!” Robin confirmed, giving him a light round of applause. Things were silent a moment as the two caught their breath. “So… you wanna go again?” Robin smirked. “You know it!” Beast Boy grinned, taking a fighting stance once more.

Seeing Tails so small again in generations has them questioning how they survived those big ol' eyes

Shadow does bite, Tails just got used to it