Author's Note
For the purposes of this story the ages of the Titans will be as follows:
Raven/Rae 18
Beast Boy/Garfield 17
Robin/Dick/Richard 19
Starfire/Kori 19
Cyborg/Vic/Victor 21
I am not sure about the real age differences in the actual TV series, so this is a rough estimate of what I think it is. This story is set two years after the defeat of Trigon and one year after the fall of The Brotherhood of Evil. If I get something wrong in the story or you find something that is really OOC, I would appreciate your feedback and I will try and fix it as soon as I can. Thank you for reading this and I hope you like it.
Chapter One
Raven was the earliest riser out of all the Titans. She even beat Robin on a daily basis. Beast Boy, on the other hand, was never known to be up before any of the other team members unless he had yet to fall asleep that night. This was partly because he stayed up all night playing video games and also because a good portion of the animals he possessed the instincts of were nocturnal.
So it was extremely surprising and somewhat unsettling when Raven walked into the common room's kitchen to make her morning tea and meditate only to find the changeling sitting at the bar, bright eyed and bushy tailed, eating his breakfast.
"Hey, Rae! Want some tofu bacon and eggs?" He asked her with a grin.
Casting her surprise aside for now, she responded in her usual way. Monotonely, she said, "No, thank you. I'll just have some tea." Beast Boy just shrugged and kept eating. She then went about setting up her kettle and boiling some water.
She could feel his eyes on her back as she moved around the kitchen, but she didn't say anything about it. Something had been changing between them ever since the defeat of Trigon and The Brotherhood of Evil. She could feel his feelings for her evolving and hers were responding in kind.
This wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Mostly because, with the defeat of her father, her powers were not as likely to escape her control when she showed her emotions. Though it was taking her quite a while to fully relax with them.
She was able to have girl talk with Starfire, who had easily become her sister, and build her sibling like relationship further with Robin and Cyborg. Her team had become her family more completely than they ever had been when she was under the fear of her father coming to earth because of her. It had been two years since then, but she was moving slower than the pace of a snail with showing what she was really feeling. She would smile more often when the mood struck her, she would participate more in the group's activities without having to be pulled from her room as often, and she even was accepting whatever was growing between her and Beast Boy. However, there were also many times when she would slip back into her mask of calm and keep all feeling from expressing itself through her body. During those times, it was mainly Beast Boy who would remind her that there was nothing to fear from feeling like she wanted to.
Raven was especially grateful for the animal shifter during those moments and was able to express her appreciation thanks to him. Even the level of physical contact that she was comfortable with was increasing because of him. The first time she had hugged Beast Boy had been after the Malchior incident and it hadn't happened again until after the defeat of Trigon. Beast Boy was filled with elation when she had kissed him on the cheek in gratitude for reminding her to feel openly, and it was now a permanent part of their routine. This sign of affection was usually reserved for when they were alone, so the team had yet to witness the full extent of Raven's transformation, but she was perfectly fine with that.
Raven was still an extremely private person and felt instinctively that what she shared with Beast Boy was exclusively for them alone.
When her tea was finished brewing, Raven took the cup over to the window off to the side of the main controls. Levitating in front of the rising sun with a steaming cup of tea to relax her further, Raven began to meditate. She no longer did this for control over her emotions, but as a way to start her day on the right foot with the best outlook possible.
"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos. Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos. Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos," she repeated her mantra and cleared her mind. However, ever present in the background were Beast Boy's emotions as he watched her complete her ritual. Usually she would meditate for an hour or a half, because by that time the others would be waking up and the full brunt of their emotions would distract her from her task.
With Beast Boy's emotions breathing down her neck and invading all of the cracks in her concentration, her meditation was only able to last for about fifteen minutes before she had to stop. After she decided it was time to give up on her attempt this morning, she moved to the couch and thought about the tasks she had to accomplish that day.
Raven was in the process of gathering all of the documents that she would need in order to formally adopt Melvin, Timmy, and Teether as her legal children. In addition to being a super hero, Raven was originally born in Azarath, so she was not a citizen of the country or even Earth as a whole. The Titans and Robin's sponsor, Batman, were pulling a lot of strings in order to make this possible for her once they saw how serious she was about it.
Melvin, Timmy, and Teether were her own children as far as Raven was concerned. They had bonded on the trip to take them to a monastary out of the reach of the Brotherhood of Evil, but now that the organization was dissolved, the children did not need to be under such heavy guard. Needless to say, the team had been surprised when Raven announced her intentions, but they quickly became supportive as she explained her reasoning for the descion. As far as Raven knew, she would never be able to have children of her own biologically. The monks of Azarath had explained that because she was already a genetic hybrid of a demon and a mortal, that it would be highly unlikely to find anyone that could attach their DNA to hers. Even with in-vitro fertilization and other fertility procedures, there was not much hope for the half-demon hero.
Starfire had instantly celebrated her friend trying to become a mother with a bone-crushing hug that the alien princess was known for. Cyborg was next in line, and Robin quickly came on board after asking her if she was one-hundred percent sure that this is what she wanted. Beast Boy was actually the quietest out of the group at the time, but that was understandable considering that the truth about his parent had only recently come to light. The team gave him some space and he came around that very night to Raven's room to apologize for the way that he acted and congratulated her properly.
When the kids were asked if this was what they wanted as well, they were so happy that they began to cry. Seeing this, Raven started to cry as well and wrapped her children in a hug. The rest of her team was shocked at her actions, with the exception of Beast Boy, because they had never seen her display that much emotion since right before Trigon was supposed to be released on the Earth.
After it was decided that it was really happening, everyone was given their jobs. Cyborg was commissioned to redesign an entire floor of the tower for Raven and her kid's use. Starfire was to help Raven with buying furniture and clothes and toys for the kids to have when they moved in. Robin was helping to get every legal matter in order. Beast Boy was told to make sure that the nearby school had openings and to start the paperwork to get the kids enrolled once the adoption was official. Raven was involved in every part of the process and offered help and input when it was needed.
Thanks to the Titans saving the city on practically a daily basis, the local government was willing to work with them on many things. The laws that they couldn't bend were overcome by the helping hand of Batman, who still wouldn't reveal his true identity to anyone on the team. Robin knew but told them that it was better if they did not know who he really was.
Because of her mental link with Robin, Raven could pry into his mind and find out, but she respected him far too much to try. Starfire was really the only one with a good enough reason to want to know, considering that she was dating Batman's adopted son and was likely to join the family in the next few years. Beast Boy and Cyborg just wanted to know for the sake of knowing and Raven didn't care one way or the other. All she knew was that the man was helping her to get her children and that was good enough for her.
Her kids were the most important things in her life. They were a part of her family. Her biological parents had done her no favors in her short life, but the people that were not connected to her by blood, but by bonds so strong that they could not be broken under any circumstances, had become her real family. The people that she could depend on in her darkest times, the people she wanted to protect no matter what, and the people that she wanted to share her newfound happiness with everyday for the rest of her life.