Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans. There. Happy now?
A/N: Welcome to my second Teen Titans fan fiction. If you were a fan of my first fic "Deus K Amo" you can rest assured that this should be just a good if not better. If this is the first of my fics that you have read I can only hope that you enjoy it. Hasta.
Chapter One: Love Letters
A young woman sat on the beach of a small island. It was night and the island was home to the Teen Titans. A nineteen-year-old Raven sat on that familiar stretch of sand contemplating her life. Several years had passed since her father had been utterly destroyed. All of her emotions could be freely displayed within reason. She had experienced most of her emotions by this time. She couldn't help but feel that she was missing something.
She pulled her knees up to her chest and took a breath of the cool night air. Raven sighed. She no longer spoke in a monotone voice. She did still dress in black and she still wore her cape. She knew what it was that she was missing. Her figure had filled out and she had grown into a beautiful young woman. But because of her reputation no man would even approach her.
Love was one thing that Raven had never experienced. As dawn began to stain the cloudy sky she took one more look out across the water to the mainland. She was startled by what she saw. In the increasing light she noticed a lone figure on the beach on the outskirts of the city. She stood to get a better look. Before she could get a good look at the figure it jumped, as though it knew it had been spotted, and took off into the city.
At first she thought it might have been one of the Titan's enemies. The figure had been too short to be either Slade or Mammoth. It had been too tall to be Gizmo and too wide to be Jinx. Raven made a quick mental probe of the area the figure had been in. She matched the thought patterns to those of every villain she had ever come across. Nothing fit. All of the villain patterns were scratched and jagged with malice or evil. These thought patterns were smooth and serene but troubled.
Raven was thoughtful as she walked back to the entrance to Titan Tower. When she arrived at the front entrance she found Cyborg's flying mailbox waiting to be emptied. She opened the door and removed the circulars and envelopes that resided in the small box. She then entered the Tower and began to sort the mail by addressee. There were a few bills for Robin, two magazines for Starfire, several credit card applications for Cyborg, and a letter from Beast Boy's pen pal.
She though she was finished with the sorting but when she set the stacks on the table as the others drifted into the kitchen, she noticed another thin envelope was partially hidden in with the circulars. She reached out and grabbed it as Cyborg and Beast Boy began cooking breakfast. She looked at the front of the envelope and got a great shock. The letter was addressed to her.
Raven contemplated her unopened letter as she ate. There was no return address on it and it only had one word written on it. Her name graced the front of the envelope. It was neatly written in bold blue ink and curled beautifully across the paper. She wondered who would have sent her a letter. She had no friends outside of the Titans and several other teen heroes they had all met. Her reputation had seen to that.
"Raven," Starfire was looking strangely at her, "Why do you not open your letter?" At this the others turned to look at her. She never got mail and everyone was curious as to who it could be from.
"It doesn't have a return address," she said, "It could be some kind of trap." Cyborg leaned over until he was eye level with the envelope in Raven's hand. He tapped a panel in his left arm several times. There was a whirring noise as he scanned it for anything dangerous.
"No," he said, "No traps. Just an ordinary letter." Raven, far from relieved by this, cautiously opened the back and pulled out the neatly folded piece of paper. She read its contents through once. Her eyes widened and found heat rushing to her face as she blushed.
Immediately after this the letter had been snatched away by Beast Boy. He read the letter a few times before dropping the letter and collapsing in a fit of laughter. Breakfast was completely forgotten as the others crowded around a hysterically laughing Beast Boy and a very red and embarrassed Raven. Raven bent to pick up her letter as the green shape-shifter calmed down.
"What's so funny BB?" Robin asked the question but everyone strained to hear his answer.
"You guys will never believe this," he wiped the tears of mirth from his eyes and said, "Raven has a secret admirer!" Both he and Cyborg burst out laughing. Starfire threw her arms around Raven's neck in a friendly hug. Robin stood with a blank, uncomprehending expression on his boyish face.
"This is wonderful fried Raven," Starfire rejoiced. Raven, thoroughly humiliated, shook free of Star's embrace and ran quickly to her bedroom. She locked the door, sat down on her bed, and read the letter once more.
Raven,
I cant put into words how much I admire you. Your courage on the battlefield is legendary. Your bravery in helping others is astonishing. You save people from death and slavery every week. I, who am too cowardly to even give you my name, cannot even begin to describe how I feel. You are a Beautiful Goddess and I would gladly worship you would you ask. Expect more messages such as this from me.
Secret Admirer.
The letter was written in bold blue ink and the writing itself was beautifully scripted. Whoever had sent this letter really meant every word. She could feel his admiration for her on the letter itself. She even matched the thought patterns on the letter to the ones she had found on the beach.
Raven had been sitting reading the letter for some time when there came a knock on her door.
"Yes?"
"It is I, Starfire. May I enter?"
"Of course."
The door slid open to admit the auburn haired girl. It quickly slid back into place and locked itself. Starfire walked over and sat next to Raven on the bed. "I have punished Beast Boy and Cyborg for making fun of your letter by forcing them to eat the blue fuzzy food that resides in the back of the refrigerator." Raven looked at her extraterrestrial friend with some surprise.
"You didn't have to do that Star," Raven said, aghast.
"Yes, friend Raven, I did," the alien girl said firmly, "It is wonderful that someone is; oh… how did Robin say it; "crushing on you" and Beast Boy and Cyborg had no right to laugh at you." Raven looked at her friend and smiled. "May I read your letter Raven?"
"Sure you can Star." Raven handed her friend the paper and she read the beautiful writing carefully.
"He says such flattering things about you," she said, "He even calls you a goddess."
Raven took her letter back and read it again, "I know. No one has ever said anything like this to me. Ever."
"He says he will be sending you more letters."
"I sure hope so."
((()))
Raven was standing in front of a tailors shop. Her cloak had become too short for her and she had ordered a new one, custom fit, and it was ready today. The bell tinkled overhead as she walked through the door. She had been coming to this shop for at least four years now. She had found it after one of the more taxing battles against Slade. The owner, Mr. Williams, was a kind old man with a talent for mending old clothes and creating superb finery. Raven always had a polite conversation with the kind man and he created the most comfortable cloaks that she had ever worn.
"Hello Miss Raven," Mr. Williams was tall with iron gray hair. He was clean-shaven and his horn rimmed glasses sat comfortably on the bridge of his nose. His worn face and hazel eyes were warm and caring. "I'll go and get your cloak from the back room. If you want to donate your old one there is a clothes bin right over there," he pointed to a large wire basket against the far wall of the empty waiting room. He smiled at her and shuffled into the back to retrieve her new finery.
Raven walked to the bin and unclasped her old cloak and placed it into the bin. The bell tinkled as another customer walked through the door. Raven walked back to the counter as the man sat in one of the chairs. She took a look at him as she waited. The rim of an old battered blue baseball cap hid his face. She could see that it had once sported the decal of the California Angels. He wore an old gray sports jacket and a pair of faded blue jeans. He was reading a magazine that was devoted to old and new model motorcycles. She could just make out his shoulder length brown hair.
She turned when she heard shuffling and saw Mr. Williams coming back through the doorway with her new cloak in hand. Raven chatted politely with the kind old man and then left. Just as she opened the door she hear him speak to the other customer. "How are you Mr. Syger?"
After this Raven fastened her superb cloak around her shoulders and marveled at the soft feel of it. She happily made her way home to Titan Tower.
((()))
It was night again and Raven was sitting in her favorite spot on the warm sandy beach of the island. It was almost dawn again. She sighed as she thought about her life as a whole so far. She sat in a depressing silence until she heard a whirring of some sort. She looked around and saw a small mechanical dragonfly fluttering toward her with something in its grasp. It swooped overhead and dropped its bundle in her lap and then zoomed toward the mainland. She looked over at the opposite beach and saw a figure, possibly the same one from the previous morning, running into the city.
She then looked down at the bundle the mechanical fly had dropped. A bouquet of deep red roses lay on her lap and attached was another note with just her name written on the front. She carefully opened it and read the letter.
Raven,
Flowers are the most cliché of gifts but I could find nothing better to give the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. Your beauty takes my breath away. I long to meet you face to face and tell you my feelings with my own voice. I cannot however for my courage is little and my bravery nonexistent. I am hoping that you like my gifts, as there will be more like them. Until the day I gain the nerve to confront you I must leave you only these letters. I wish to meet you but fear that I would not be worthy of even the honor of speaking your name aloud. Until then I bid you adieu.
My Raven Goddess,
Secret Admirer.
A/N: I hope you enjoyed that cuz I sure enjoyed writing it. Love it? Hate it? Let me know in your reviews. Ciao.