Sorry I couldn't get this idea out of my head so I decided to write this one-shot before continuing on my other story "I'm Sorry." This is set a week after Things Change. Rated T for suicidal thoughts and slight language.
Disclaimer: I own nothing related to the Teen Titans. Except the DVDs.
We Are Loved
The mood in the tower could only be described as somber. It had been a week since the last alert but the Titans themselves weren't okay at all. Ever since the last alert Beast Boy had locked himself in his room. He refused to come out unless it was to grab the tray of food placed in front of his door from Raven.
Robin, Cyborg, and Starfire were confused about the changeling's extreme change in behavior as they had never seen him like this before. They were currently in the living room discussing about Beast Boy.
"I hope our friend will become the okay soon. I miss his adorable grin and his telling of the jokes." Said Starfire sadly.
"I miss the little happy grass stain too Starfire. I hope he'll get better soon as well." Said a depressed Cyborg.
"If he doesn't get better soon I don't know what'll happen. He's already missed a week of training. If we get an alert now Beast Boy could get seriously hurt." Said Robin.
"Friend Robin. What will we do if friend Beast Boy doesn't get better soon? What if he continues to get worse?"
"I don't know Star, for once I'm not sure if there's anything we can do for him. Whatever it is that's affecting him we can't do nothing about it."
"Well if we can't do anything about making Beast Boy better I'll just go downstairs and work on the T-Car." Said Cyborg.
"I'll continue checking the city for any supervillains." Said Robin.
"And I will go make the Pudding of Sadness." Said Starfire.
And with that the three Titans went their way. Cyborg to the basement. Robin to the mission console. And Starfire to the kitchen.
-T- Raven's POV
Ever since the last alert when he went to look for Terra she had been sensing a constant trace of heartache from Beast Boy. It reminded her of what had happened between her and Malchior and how she had felt afterwards. For the past week she had been trying to get Beast Boy to talk about it with her. She failed each time but persisted. And here she was once again in front of his door trying to at least get him to talk to her without him telling her to go away.
"Beast Boy. Will you please come out? The rest of us are worried about you."
"Go away Raven, can't you see that I want to be alone." Beast Boy said sadly.
"Beast Boy, can't you just talk to me about it? Me and the rest of the team just want to help you."
"No one can help me Raven."
"Beast Boy."
"I said no one can help me Raven." he said a little more angrily.
"Bea-"
"HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO SAY IT! NO! NO! NO! CAN'T YOU TELL I DON'T WANT TO TALK TO ANYONE ABOUT IT! NO ONE CAN EVEN UNDERSTAND WHAT I'M GOING THROUGH ANYWAYS! IT'S NOT LIKE YOU GUYS CARE SO WHAT GOOD WOULD IT DO TO TALK ABOUT IT! NOW GO AWAY AND LEAVE ME THE HELL ALONE!"
I was shocked. Never had he ever raised his voice at me being this angry before. I almost decided to leave like he said, but then a stronger wave of heartbreak emanated through the door after what he was silent. I realized then that I didn't want to leave him alone. That I wanted to help him as he helped me back then. So despite what he said I still stood in front of his door and continued.
"I do care though Garfield." I could feel surprise emanate through his being at the use of his real name.
"I care more than you might realize. I'm an empath Garfield. I can tell you're going through a lot of heartbreak and sorrow right now. I know what it's like to have your heart broken. Don't you remember the same thing happened to me as well? Did you just leave me alone when I asked you to?"
At this she was met with silence and took it to mean that she was finally getting through to him.
"I know you cared a lot about Terra Garfield. We all cared about her. But if she wants to move on then we need to let her. If that's what she's asking us to do then we need to respect her decision."
At this I paused and took a deep breathe before I continued.
"I know you might think Terra was the first one to care about you. But you need to realize that there are still people here who care about you Garfield. Cyborg's worried sick, Robin wants to understand, Starfire wants you to get better, and I want to be there for you like you were for me. So please, open the door, and let me help you Garfield."
At first silence. Then footsteps sounded behind his door. Finally the door opened and she was shocked at the sight of him. His cheeks were sunken, his already lean frame was thinner than normal and his suit was in ruins. The most shocking thing though was that his eyes were red from crying. Beast Boy never cried. Looking behind him I saw his room was a wreck. Then, before I could see anymore, he moved forward and pulled me into a hug. Then he started crying into my shoulder.
We stayed like that for a while with me comforting Garfield and him crying himself into my shoulder. Finally his crying faded to sobs and then shaking before he fell asleep in my arms.
As I walked us into his room I was able to see many things that shocked me that I didn't see before. His windows were cracked, his walls had marks all over them from different sorts of claws and fangs. His curtains and other furnishings were ribbons on the floor. His bed was no more. But the most shocking thing was a chair and a noose in the middle of the room.
I instantly realized I shouldn't leave him in his room at the sight of the noose And chair. So I instead brought him back to my room and laid him on my bed. I knew it was odd to keep him in my room and on my bed for that matter, but I had several new emotions to deal with inside my head and I didn't want to leave him alone while I tried to sort them out. I wanted to make sure he was be okay, but first I had to meditate.
And with that I levitated in front of the door and started to chant my mantra while I waited for him to wake up.
-T- Beast Boy/Garfield's POV 6 hrs. later
'Where am I?' With that thought in mind I started to open my eyes and saw a different colored ceiling from mine. 'Wait since when is my ceiling dark blue? The only ceiling I know with that color in the tower is…' Suddenly my eyes opened wide as I realized I wasn't in my room. I was in Raven's.
'Why am I in Raven's room. The last thing I remember is-'
"Are you okay now?"
I instantly jumped and looked until I saw Raven standing in front of the door. "Oh, hey Raven. Why am I in your room now?" As I finished speaking I saw what looked like concern flash in her eyes. 'Wait why would she be concerned about me?'
"You fell asleep while I was comforting you Gar. I was going to put you in your bed. Only what's left of it is wood and metal and feathers all over the ground. Then I saw all the things in your room trashed, ruined, or mauled. Except for two things." At this I saw her pause and wondered what they were.
Then it suddenly clicked in my mind as she said it. "Gar, it was a chair and a noose hanging from the ceiling."
At this there was a long silence between us. I tried to look away but then I noticed something in her eyes. They were wet. Almost as if she was... 'Fighting back tears' Echoed in my mind. And then I realized. She didn't just put me in her room (where no one ever sets foot in without facing her wrath) because mine was trashed. She put me in her room because she actually did care about me.
"Raven. I-"
"What the Hell Garfield! (almost shouting in her cracking monotone voice) I thought you were stupid before."
"Hey-"
"But killing yourself! Thinking you were alone in the world! Did you seriously forget about how the rest of us would feel about it!" At this she finally calmed down and I saw a tear form in her eye.
"About how maybe I would have felt to see you hanging in your room." At this she turned away and her black hemisphere came to engulf her.
"No wait, Raven!" I shouted as I grabbed her shoulder. I felt her power envelop both of us as she teleported us (without her realizing I was with her) to the roof of Titan's Tower. I was about to say something when I saw her collapse on the ground and started to cry. Objects were thrown around, dark beams of light flew all around, but I still stood there shocked. 'She's crying comfort her Beast Boy why don't you freaking move and comfort her.' Before I could move she lifted her head towards the setting sun.
"Why did I have to fall for a stupid green shape-shifter!? Why does he have to be so selfish as to leave this world without even leaving a note!? And why in Trigon's name did I have to fall in love with him when his heart is set on her!"
At this I was shocked at what she said. 'She loves me? And I thought there was no one else who did.'
Raven still hadn't realized he was there as she was too focused on herself at the moment. She was still crying but she wasn't shouting anymore. "This is a cruel world. Maybe he did have one thing right at least. If no one truly loves you in this world then maybe you should just leave and hope for something better in the afterlife."
With that Raven started walking towards the edge of the building. And I finally realized what she had meant. "Raven wait!"
With this she instantly turned around shocked that he had found her now. When she was just about to get it over with. She took another step back.
And then I started to plead. "Raven please don't follow through with my dumb idea. I wasn't thinking then. Hell I never think. It would have been a huge mistake for me to just leave you guys all alone. To leave you alone. Raven, I wanted to kill myself because I thought that there was no one left out there who cared about me, much less loved me."
I paused before I continued. "I didn't want to hurt anyone on the team. Especially you Raven. I never realized how much you truly cared about me. And I just wanted to throw all that away."
With that she finally took a step forward. "Garfield wait-"
"I don't deserve your love since I was going to throw it away. I don't deserve to see your face knowing I wanted to kill myself and never see it again. I don't deserve you at all Raven."
At this I turned to walk back into the building when she grabbed my arm and turned me around.
"Gar, you're wrong. You deserve so much more. You deserve recognition for saving the world. You deserve someone who won't break your heart. What you don't need is the love of some creepy ugly witch who ended the world." she then pulled up her hood.
At this I thought for a moment. Then I said, "Raven, you were right on many things there. What you were wrong about though was the last few things you said." It was then that I pulled back her hood to see her face.
"You are not creepy Raven. You are unique. You are not ugly Raven. You are so beautiful that you can't even imagine it. And you're forgetting the fact that even though you ended the world you also saved it along with the universe from Trigon's rein." She was staring at me wide eyed now.
"I thought Terra did but I was wrong. I need a lot of things in my life Raven. But the thing I've needed the most for the longest time is someone who loved me. And that is where your biggest mistake is Raven. Thinking I didn't need some unique, beautiful, intelligent, brave, kind girl who loved me."
Still wide eyed she spoke. "You think I'm beautiful?" She said incredulously.
"Raven. How can anyone not think of you as anything other than that."
"But the monks of Azarath said-"
"Lies. They may have taught you control Raven, but they told you lies about who you really are. I don't care what they said you were Raven. They may have been smart, but they were too blind to see you for who you really are."
At this she timidly said, "Then what am I Gar. They called me an ugly dark demon so many times back then that's all I can think of myself as."
"Rae, you aren't a demon. You aren't ugly. You aren't darkness. I've seen what you really are. Underneath all that you are an angel. A white, beautiful angel who can banish the dark with the light from your soul. You aren't destruction, you aren't darkness, you are and always have been you Raven."
She was too shocked to say anything. So I leaned closer to her and whispered, "They can all go to hell Rae. I know who you really are. And that's what counts."
And with that I kissed a girl for the first time in my life. We had no experience whatsoever and it took her a couple seconds to respond to it. But as time passed we got better at it and kissed with more passion. With my hands on her hips and her arms around my back. Finally, after a couple minutes we separated for air. We then looked at each other.
"I love you Gar."
"I love you too Rae."
"Please don't ever leave me again."
"As long as you never leave me either Rae."
And with that we continued. Pouring in our years of sorrow, heartbreak and loss. And watching it disappear forever as we finally found something that day. We loved each other. We cared about each other. And we weren't ever going to let that go. Who cared about what others would think. They didn't truly know us at all.
We aren't bad, we are good. We aren't weird, we are unique. We aren't darkness, we are light. We were in love. It took us a long time, but in reality it was the best day of our lives. Finding out we are truly loved. And as the sun set we still held each other.
-T- Ten Years later
They were standing on the roof of Titan's Tower in the spot where they confessed their love all those years ago. That day when they had almost succumbed to despair. That day when they found each other. That day when they had gone down hand in hand into the living room to announce the news.
The rest of the team had been shocked at their relationship. They left out the part where they almost committed suicide. And over time the team started to support Beast Boy and Raven's new relationship.
Four years later they were the first to get married in the tower. A year after them Nightwing and Starfire also tied the knot. Shortly after Cyborg got married to Bumblebee.
Cyborg and Bumblebee had a daughter named Emily. Nightwing and Starfire had a set of twins. A boy named Nightfire and a girl named Mary.
Garfield and Raven had two sons named Mark and Rorek. Followed by two daughters named Coraline and Arella. All the kids of the Titans were currently downstairs in the living room being cared for by Cy and Bumblebee.
Garfield and Raven were content to be hand in hand watching the sunset. Finally Raven broke the silence on the roof.
"Gar."
"Yes Rae."
"I just want to say thanks."
"What for?"
"For making me feel loved. For reminding me that I am beautiful. For reminding me of the light in me every day. And for the wonderful life you've given me since then."
"Your welcome Rae. (Pause) And thanks."
"What for?"
"For helping me back then when I needed it. Had you not done what you did I would've killed myself. And I wouldn't have been there to keep you from killing yourself. We would've never been able to have this life if it wasn't for you Rae."
Raven was shocked at her husband's observation but he continued.
"We wouldn't have married, our wonderful kids wouldn't exist, we would have never learned what it was like to be parents, and who knows what would have happened to the rest of the team. Thanks to you Rae. I'm loved, I have a family of my own that I love, and the team is still together. But the best part is that every day I wake up each morning to find my beautiful angel sleeping next to me."
At this Raven started tearing up and pulled Garfield into a hug. She then whispered, "I will always love you Garfield. Always."
"And I will always love you my sweet Raven. A million years from now that won't change. I am yours forever Rae."
"And I am yours forever too Garfield."
And with that the couple embraced in the fading light of the setting sun. Thinking about the future ahead of them. Knowing only that whatever came their way they would always remember their promise to each other years ago.
Never will I stop loving you
Never will I leave thy side
For the day I leave you honey
Is the day that I will die
But promise me this
Whether it be through thick and thin
The day that I leave you honey
Won't be like dust left in a bin
For our love is forever
That much I know is true
And I know the day I die
I'll still be watching over you
When your time arrives
I'll still be there too
To show you the way to heaven
And there be forever with you
Now this I seal with my life
And I know you do too
So here's to a nice long life
And a forever spent with you
Their promise.
Their love.
Their lives.
Their forever.
And with that in mind they walked hand in hand back into the tower. To their own forever.
Author's Notes:
Going through this again, brought so many tears to my eyes. I think I need to go over my old work again. So I can find what I've lost in my months of writing. That thing I used to hold so dearly to my thoughts. I need to find that old spark of forever again.
I need to find my own Raven.
Till Next Time
Allen
