Raven sat alone in her room, her back bathing in the silver moonlight pouring from her open window; heart bleeding from love's blade. Sleep had failed to conquer her this night—failed to numb the throbbing pain in her chest.
It's been a week since her former love interest plunged the knife of betrayal into her back, yet the pain he left behind intensified with each passing day.
I was foolish, she chided herself. Malchior used my feelings to manipulate me. That wouldn't have happened if I had been more careful.
Despite the damage he left on her shattered heart, the damage he inflicted on her home, she felt empty without him. He was the only one she could feel safe around, the only one who didn't make her feel alienated.
The Titans cared for her deeply, she knew that for a fact, but she always had trouble fitting in with them. Unlike her friends Raven liked performing quiet activities such as reading and meditating. This kept the dark empath isolated from the group, especially when they liked to engage themselves in loud and extraneous games.
With Malchior she was free to be herself. He'd quietly listen to her as she ranted about Beast Boy and his horrendous jokes, he'd never fail to make her laugh and most importantly he took away the loneliness almost always kept her prisoner. Now he was gone, leaving behind a void in her chest and a knife in her back.
Raven dropped to her side and curled her legs up to her chest. She felt the warm, salty tears building up in her eyes as her mind raced through the days she spent with Malchior; the days she was oblivious to his true colours. Just then, before her throbbing heart could lust for more of Malchior's deceiving warmth, a knock resonated from her metal door, leaving a constant ringing in her ears.
"Uh, Rae, are you still up?" Beast Boy's familiar voice sounded from the other side.
"It's Raven," she answered on instinct. "What do you want?" Her voice softened at the last sentence.
"Cyborg just went to recharge and I need a second player for my game, so I was wondering-"
"No, Beast Boy, I am not going to play video games with you." Raven answered before he could finish. "Now leave me alone."
Even as Raven was prisoner in isolation and loneliness she wasn't willing to give in and play games with Beast Boy. She was heartbroken, not desperate.
"Okay, video games is still a big no. Gotcha." The changeling muttered." Um...do you want to walk outside instead?"
Raven felt her eyebrows raise at his offer," what's the catch?" She asked.
"You've been doing nothing but hiding in your cree-cr-cramped room this past week. I just thought you'd like a change in scenery." Raven sensed fear spike from Beast Boy, fear of being thrown out the window for almost calling her room creepy.
Great, she thought with a frown. My own friend is terrified of me.
"So is that a yes?" He pressed on.
Raven opened her mouth to reply but the words never left her tongue. On any other day she would've turned down his offer without a second thought, especially at this time of day. Today; however, something inside her wanted to accept his offer. Beast Boy wasn't the best company for Raven but tonight she was desperate for someone—anyone to drive away her isolation.
"I can't believe this is happening," she grumbled as she rolled out of bed.
When she swung open her door the green changeling jumped in surprise, obviously not expecting her to open up so fast.
"Fine, I'll walk with you for a few minutes." Raven's comment left Beast Boy smiling like a child on their birthday. "But if you tell anyone about this I'll-"
"Send you flying out the window blah, blah, blah." Beat Boy finished with a smirk. "C'mon, Rae, be more creative with your empty threats. They're starting to get old."
"Empty threats?" Raven quoted tightly. "I wouldn't be so sure of that, Beast Boy, and my name is Raven."
Beast Boy evidently tensed at her reply but he kept a firm smile on his face," we both know you don't mean that, Raven." He said, wiggling his eyebrows. Before Raven got a chance to speak he began his way down the dark hallway.
Raven groaned and shook her head. Beast Boy never failed to test her patience, she's lost count of how many times she had to restrain herself from sending him to another dimension, but even as she had the itching urge to hurl him into the wall, his presence filled her with warmth. With him she forgot the darkness that once plagued her when she was locked in her room.
"Dude, are you gonna stand there all night or what?" Beast Boy snapped Raven out of her daze.
"I'm coming," she said, rolling her eyes.
Silver moonlight showered the two titans as they left the T-tower. The midnight sky blinked with hundreds of diamonds, contrasting the inky clouds imprisoning Raven's heart.
"Dude, it looks awesome out here." Beast Boy awed at the sparkling heavens.
"It's beautiful indeed." Raven agreed, tilting her head up to admire the twinkling jewels of the sky.
Silence momentarily enveloped Raven and Beast Boy as they began walking by the rocky shoreline. For several minutes the two Titans relished in each other's presence, not a word was needed to fuel the comfort between them.
"So, Raven, wanna hear a joke?" Beast Boy was, as expected, the first to ruin the moment.
"Oh brother," Raven facepalmed.
"What kind of stars wear sunglasses?" Beast Boy paused for a brief second. "A movie star!"
Raven crossed her arms impatiently while her green friend burst out laughing at his poor excuse of a joke.
"W-wait I have a better one," he said in between fits of laughter. "How did Jupiter hold up his trousers?"
Raven (thankfully) never got to know the answer as Beast Boy was laughing too hard to even speak. Even as his jokes fell flat on its face both times Raven felt a small smile curl on her lips. She might not share the same sense of humour as Beast Boy, but seeing her friend laugh so feverishly made it hard, even for her, to keep a straight face.
"Hey, you're smiling at my joke!" Beast Boy pointed out once he could finally speak.
"W-what?" Raven's expression dropped like a rock. "I-I have no idea what you're talking about." She turned her eyes away from him, suddenly finding interest in the rolling ocean waves.
"Come on, Raven, you know you find me hilarious." Beast Boy pressed on, playfully nudging on her arm.
"I-I wasn't smiling at your so-called joke." Her cheeks warmed as she responded.
"Whatever you say, Rae—I-I mean, Raven."
I can't believe I willingly agreed to walk with him. What is wrong with me? Raven mused as she reached back for her hood, but before she could pull it up a hand reached out to grab her wrist.
"Okay, okay, I'll chill with the whole smiling thing." Beast Boy grinned sheepishly. "Just leave your hood down, alright?"
Now that wasn't something she expected to hear from him.
"Why do you care?" Raven challenged, slowly lowering her arm.
"Er…" Beast Boy hastily let go of her wrist. "W-what's the point i-in getting you out here if you're just gonna hide again?"
Raven's chest unexpectedly warmed at his comment. She ignored the feeling and pressed on.
"Aren't you overreacting a bit?" Raven arched her brow. "I'm just pulling up my hood. It's not like I'm locking myself away."
"I don't see the difference." She heard him whisper under his breath.
"Excuse me?"
Beast Boy stopped dead in his tracks," Y-you weren't supposed to hear that. This is a b-bit awkward." He forced out a chuckle.
Raven promptly halted," care to elaborate on your last comment?" She challenged, narrowing her eyes.
"D-don't take it the wrong way, Rae. I-it's just that you've been hiding in your room a lot more recently, a-and you barely talk to us when you're not locking yourself away." Beast Boy explained in haste. "I—we're worried about you."
They really do care about me. Yet I was the one who caused half the tower to be destroyed, all because I let my feelings get the better of me. Some friend I am.
"I don't see why you're freaking out." Raven was thankful her voice remained steady and blank. "I've always been like this."
Anger erupted from Beast Boy. The abrupt emotion, admittedly, left Raven a bit taken aback. She didn't expect to anger her friend with her comment, especially not Beast Boy of all people.
"Raven," he sounded her name with force. "We both know that's a lie."
"I don't understand-"
"You'd never try this hard to push us away back then," he went on still fueled by his rage. "At least back then you'd actually come down to greet us. You barely spare us a second glance now! Do you know that Robin's been pushing us more than ever to make you come out your room and talk? That dude is spending more energy on trying to make you open up to one of us rather than obsessing over some new villain or training."
Damn, it must be the mind-link between me and Robin. Raven mentally beat herself up for forgetting such a crucial detail. That would explain why he's been knocking on my door more often as of late.
"You're different now, Raven. Ever since Malchior-" he promptly stopped his train of thought, eyes widened at the realization of what slipped his tongue. Raven felt like she just got slapped with a brick.
"Rae, I-I didn't mean to mention him." Guilt replaced all the anger that once radiated from Beast Boy.
"Ever since Malchior what?" Raven shot back, tears blurring her vision. "Ever since he used me to free himself from his prison; taught me black magic that nearly killed a child? I-I know it was all my fault. I know all of this could've been avoided if I didn't let my emotions get the best of me. You don't have to rub it in."
A single tear drop escaped Raven's eye. She wiped it dry as quickly as it had appeared but by then it was too late. Beast Boy already saw it. He didn't say anything for a moment, simply staring at her with pained eyes. She sensed a wave of emotions from him: guilt, fear, anger, and something else she couldn't quite lable.
Raven sighed," Beast Boy, I apologize for freaking out but I can assure you that I will be fine-"
Every inch of Raven's body tensed in response to the thin arms wrapping around her. She held her breath, her mind struggling to digest what was happening to her. Beast Boy had his arms firmly enclosing her, his head resting on her shoulder—he was hugging her. Raven wanted to say something to make him stop but her voice failed her, she desperately prayed none of the other Titans decided to go for midnight stroll tonight.
"I know I said this before but I'm sorry he broke your heart." He whispered. "I know how much it sucks to be betrayed by someone you care about."
She bit her lower lip, desperately fighting back the pain ripping through her chest.
"You're gonna feel like you have nobody on your side, but you're wrong. You're never alone, Rae. You have me a-and the rest of the Titans." His grip on her tightened. "So please don't hide from us anymore."
His final words tore down the remains of her emotional barrier. Without thinking she returned the embrace and buried her face into his shoulders, crying like she never cried before. At that moment she didn't care that she was hugging Beast Boy nor the fact that she was bawling her eyes out, all that mattered was that she had someone there to comfort her; someone to prove she was never truly alone.
Raven didn't know how long she cried for, but when she came to her senses her eyes were greeted with the amber shades of dawn. She was currently seated on the shoreline, still within the comforts of Beast Boy's arms.
"Rise and shine, Raven!" Beast Boy greeted as she stirred in his grasp.
"Morning," Raven yawned, absentmindedly leaning back on her friend. She felt his quickened heartbeat hammer against her back. "How long was I out for?"
"I dunno," Raven noted the slight shade of red tainting his cheeks. "Couple hours maybe?"
Raven nodded, not bothering to ask why he didn't drop her off in her room when she fell asleep. Frankly, she was grateful to wake up in the comforts of her trusted friend.
"So are you feeling better, Rae?" He asked softly.
"It's Raven," she corrected with a smile. "And I'm feeling much better today. Thank you for the help last night."
"N-no problem." His heartbeat was becoming more and more intense against Raven's back. "I-I'm always willing to help you a-and the others."
Who knew he would be the one to help me during a heartbreak? I never would've guessed he had it in him. Raven's grin widened at this thought.
"Dude, I've been thinking of some awesome jokes that I think you'll like." Beast Boy's voice returned to its usual peppy tone. "There's no way you can not laugh at these!"
Even now I have a hard time believing he's the one that helped me. Raven rolled her eyes.
While Beast Boy tortured Raven with yet another one of his awful puns, Raven couldn't help but notice the unnamed emotion growing in strength. This feeling reminded Raven of how she felt when she first met Malchior, but this time it held a particular warmth that seemed to lull Raven to sleep—a comfort that made her feel completely safe.
Still fatigued from the previous night's events Raven closed her eyes and rested her weight against Beast Boy. His warm embrace accompanied by his comforting emotion lulled her back into a peaceful slumber.