Note: Disclaimer at the bottom
Note 2: parts of this takes place after Season 2's ending, Season 3's episode 6 (Spellbound), Season 3's episode 9 (The Beast within), Season 4's ending, and Season 5's ending
A few nights after Terra's betrayal and death, Raven was forcing her mind out of her body to feel the other Titan's emotions. Naturally Robin kept his emotions hidden from everyone, even Raven. Cyborg's emotions were the usual as well. Calm and calculated. Raven could easily feel the Tamaranean princess's emotions floating through the air. Starfire was saddened at the loss of a good friend but she was glad that Slade was gone. When Raven felt BeastBoy's emotions, she was shocked. BeastBoy felt almost no remorse for the loss of his first girlfriend. Wondering what he was thinking, Raven quickly dawned on her usual robe, though if anyone had looked at her legs, they would have seen navy blue pajama pants with little white bunny head on them. She always wore them to sleep since BeastBoy had gotten them for her for the first Christmas the team had shared.
Raven reached BeastBoy's room in a matter of minutes after quietly tiptoeing past Starfire and Cyborg's rooms. The empathic Titan reached out to knock on the metal door, but before she could knock once, she heard a faint voice.
"It's open."
The door slid open with a hiss. The violet-blue eyed teenager quickly and quietly stepped into the green changeling's room.
"What do you want?" BeastBoy asked, his emerald green eyes never moving. He was staring at the bottom of the bunk above him.
"Shouldn't you be sad that your first girlfriend was turned to stone?" Raven asked.
"Yeah, I should be. But I'm not. She deserted us and she paid the consequences." BeastBoy answered while turning so his back faced his teammate. Raven saw a tiny shudder pass across the changeling's body.
"It still doesn't get any easier." BeastBoy spoke out to no one in particular.
"What doesn't?" the empathy asked.
"Losing someone close to you." BeastBoy answered.
"Who did you lose before this?" the grey-skinned Titan asked.
"I'll tell you another time." BeastBoy said. He turned and looked at his alarm clock. "It's nearly two in the morning. You should get going before you get caught."
Raven sighed. He had a point. If she was caught in BeastBoy's room at this time of night, there would be no telling how much Cyborg would use this moment as blackmail. The empathy turned and walked out of the room. Right before she got to the door, Raven turned and looked at her friend.
"You think you're alone BeastBoy. But you're not." Raven walked out of the room and started to walk down the corridor, when something grasped Raven's wrist. She turned her head and saw BeastBoy holding her wrist. His green eyes leaked a few stray tears. Before she could even contemplate what was going on, BeastBoy gave the empathic teenager a quick, one-armed hug.
"Thanks Rae." BeastBoy smiled. "I really needed that."
"Don't mention." Raven replied, a blush creeping onto her face. She was glad that the corridor was dark enough so that BeastBoy wouldn't notice. "I'll always be there for you."
-------------------------------
"You think you're alone Raven. But you're not."
Those words bounced around Raven's cranium continuously after a small green teenager said them to her. She remembered saying almost those exact same words some months prior. Raven got up quickly. She didn't care if Cyborg saw her with BeastBoy. She needed someone who would know her pain. Her pace quickened when she turned the corner leading to her destination. Her hand quickly knocked three times on the door. She heard someone walk toward the door.
"I figured as much." BeastBoy spoke. "Wanna come in?" He turned to reenter his room.
"How did you do it?" a voice asked, barely above a whisper.
"How did I do what?" the green changeling spoke back. He already knew the question; he just wanted her to say it.
"How did you survive this feeling of self-loathing?" Raven asked again. Her eyes betrayed tears that were about to fall. BeastBoy gave her a small, reassuring grin.
"Come in and I'll tell you." BeastBoy replied and walked into his room, Raven hot on his heels. "Sit wherever you want." BeastBoy pulled a chair towards him and sat down. Raven walked gingerly over to the green teen's bed and felt the cover. After finding nothing that would pop out and attack her, the empath sat down and crossed her legs.
"To tell you the truth Raven, I have no idea how to get over it. It all depends on faith. You might start thinking about that person day after day, but then you might think about them less and less, until one day, you don't even think about them at all." BeastBoy solemnly spoke. His eyes showed sadness and the green changeling turned his head and looked out of his window.
"I don't know if I can do that." Raven whispered.
"Come on Rae." BeastBoy said, "If an annoying green midget like me can do it, it shouldn't be a problem for you."
"It's just…"
"Don't make it seem any harder than it already is." BeastBoy interjected. "It also helps if you happen to fall for someone else."
Raven looked up to see BeastBoy's face a few inches in front of hers. The empathic Teen Titan fell backwards onto the bed with a soft thud.
"You okay?" BeastBoy asked, barely holding back a laugh.
"Just peachy."
Raven turned her head and saw a small picture lying right beside her. She reached out to grab it, but before she could touch it, BeastBoy quickly grabbed the picture.
"What's the picture of?"
"I'll tell you another time."
-------------------------------
"I still can't believe that I did all that stuff." BeastBoy spoke. Both he and Raven were on the roof of Titan Tower, a few hours after BeastBoy had beaten Beast-Adonis.
"Don't worry about it." Raven spoke, placing a calming hand on BeastBoy's shoulder. The green changeling looked up at his friend.
"Of course." He nodded. "So… How are you getting along without… Him?"
Raven visibly twitched. It had only been two months. She had made some progress over the time.
"Pretty good. The first weeks were the hardest. I kept thinking about him all the time." Raven answered.
"So did my advice help?"
"What advice?" Raven asked, slightly confused.
"Start to like someone else." BeastBoy answered with a grin.
"It helps a little." Raven admitted, quickly turning her head to hide her blush. BeastBoy awkwardly rubbed the back of his head.
"Well…" BeastBoy started. "We better go before we get a cold. Or worse. Cyborg might find us."
"You're right. Cyborg finding us is worse than the common cold." Raven agreed. She stood up then turned and looked at the green changeling. "You still haven't told me who you lost before you lost Terra."
"Curiosity killed the cat, Rae." BeastBoy spoke.
"I've told you 1,256 times: It's Raven, not Rae."
"You're exaggerating."
"Do you want to find out if I actually am or not?"
"No."
"Good." Raven turned and briskly walked to the stairway.
"I'll tell you sometime. I promise." BeastBoy spoke softly, looking out at the sea.
-------------------------------
"Before she went to Azarath, my mother joined a cult, bent on destroying my father. But he tricked her and they got married. When my mother learned the truth, she went to Azarath to escape my father wrath." Raven spoke, looking out at the rocky shoreline. The Titans had just vanquished Trigon a few hours ago. Raven had told the rest of the team her demon heritage, but she skipped out some details. When BeastBoy had approached her later that night, the duo walked down to the shoreline to talk.
"When I was born, the monks of Azar took me and raised me to hone my powers. When I was ten, the monks told me the truth about why I was on Azarath. They also told me that I had three half-brothers and that my father's power was escalating. They said that through me, my father would destroy Azarath. So as an act of self-punishment, I came to Earth, only to find out that Azarath had been destroyed by my brothers."
"Ouch." BeastBoy winced as Raven told him her life's story. "That must suck. You try to save your home, but it still gets destroyed."
"I don't mind. The monks never really talked to me. And I never knew my mother, so when Azarath was destroyed, I was saddened but not much. I still had to control my emotions."
"But your father is gone now, so aren't you allowed to express your emotions more openly?" BeastBoy asked. "You should be happy when you want to. Your emotions are yours and yours alone. "
"As long as my brothers and I exist, Trigon still has chance to come back." Raven spoke.
"If he comes back, I'll kick his ass twice as hard this time." BeastBoy promised.
"Thanks BeastBoy."
"Don't mention it Raven."
Both teenagers stared at the waves attacking the shoreline. They didn't say a word for a few minutes.
"Nice night, huh?" BeastBoy asked, trying to end the silence.
"Yeah, it is nice." Raven nodded. She looked at BeastBoy. "We better go back inside. Robin wants us up earlier than usual to assess the damage to the city."
"Aww man." Whined BeastBoy, his shoulders slumping. The green Titan followed Raven back to the Tower, shuffling his feet on the dirt.
"So." Spoke the empath, "Now that I have told you my story, you should tell me yours."
"God Rae. You just won't give up. You have been trying to get me to tell you for about what? Nine months?"
"Seventeen months actually." Raven replied.
"Look, I'll…"
"…tell you some other time." Raven finished BeastBoy sentence.
"Yeah."
-------------------------------
It had been a week after BeastBoy had supposedly seen Terra and Raven was sitting on her bed meditating. She heard someone knock sharply on her door. She mentally opened the door and BeastBoy fell into her room. The green changeling stood up quickly.
"What do you want?" the light-grey skinned teenager asked. She looked at BeastBoy and noticed that his emerald green eyes leaked a few tears.
"Hug him!!!!!!! He is about to cry." Happy spoke. Ever since BeastBoy and Cyborg had gone to Nevermore, Happy always wanted to talk to BeastBoy again.
"BeastBoy…?" raven timidly asked. She had never seen BeastBoy cry and it scared her a little.
"You wanted to know who I lost, right?" His voice was hoarse and Raven knew he had been crying for a few hours.
"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." Raven spoke, quickly walking over to her comrade.
"Mind if I sit down?" BeastBoy asked. Raven nodded and they both walked over to the king sized bed. When they situated, BeastBoy began his story.
"Both of my parents were scientists trying to cure a rare disease called Sakuhita, a disease deadly to humans but not animals. When I was a baby, my parents and I moved to Africa to continue their research. One day, when I was two, I was playing outside of our hut when I spotted a green monkey, Being curious I walked toward the monkey to play with it. Before I could even blink, I was bitten. All I remember is the incredible pain and me screaming. I learned from my parents later that the monkey had had Sakuta and that when the monkey bit me, it gave me the disease. My parents had just finished what they thought was the cure. They heard me screaming and ran to find me. They brought me to their lab and gave me their cure. It resulted in my skin turning green, my ears becoming pointy and me gaining my fang."
"Wow." Raven gasped. BeastBoy never told anyone how he had gotten his powers.
"It gets a whole lot worse." BeastBoy continued. "When I was five, my parents and I were on a boating trip to explore a part of the jungle to see if there was a way to find a better cure for Sakuhita. I was standing beside the engine, drinking some water when we hit rapids. I stumbled and my water spilled onto the engine, causing it to malfunction. Normally, the boat would have no problem getting past the rapids. One of the rapids sent the boat toward a large pointy rock. The hull of the boat was ripped and we started to sink. I remember running past the crew to find my parents. I found them in the captain's room, a bookshelf lying on top of them. I remember seeing blood and I asked my mother why my dad was sleeping. My mom told me to get off the ship and that she and my father would be fine. I argued and tried to lift the bookshelf off of them but to no avail. I remember my mother's calm voice telling me to leave. I finally agreed and changed into a falcon and flew to the shore. When I got there, I turned back to the river and saw the tip of the boat sinking into the murky waters. If I had stayed one more minute, I would have drowned. I remember crying for days until two men found me and used me for stealing. When I was six, a college of my parents adopted me."
"But this man had always been jealous of my parents. So he beat me severely if I disobeyed him. If I tried to escaped, he would beat me harshly. That torture continued until I was nine. When I was nine, I escaped. When I was nine, I was caught by the Doom Patrol at their headquarters. I was trying to steal some food, before my guardian found me. After my attempted escape from the Doom Patrol, Mento found my powers useful for the team. I then explained to him and the others about what had happened since my parents had died. The Doom Patrol then went to court against my guardian. He was convicted and sent to Arkam Asylum. I stayed with the Doom Patrol until I was fourteen."
"It must have been horrible to have to go through all of that." Raven spoke. She looked into BeastBoy's emerald eyes and saw the pain and anguish of his entire life.
"It's been eleven years since my parent's death." BeastBoy spoke, his voice cracking slightly.
Raven didn't know what to do. She wanted to comfort her friend, but she wasn't always the comforting type. What Raven did next surprised her and BeastBoy alike.
Raven quickly gave BeastBoy a hug and whispered to him that everything would be fine. When she realized what she had done, the empath let go BeastBoy and blushed.
"Sorry." Raven stuttered, covering her mouth with her hand.
"Don't worry about it. I needed it." BeastBoy answered. He stood up and looked at Raven. "Thanks for all your help."
"Don't mention it." Raven spoke. She saw BeastBoy start to leave, but he turned back and walk toward her. The female titan stood up and looked quizzically at BeastBoy. Suddenly BeastBoy tripped on the rug and fell forward, knocking Raven down with him. BeastBoy's lanky body was on top of Raven's slender one. The two titan's faces were inches apart.
"Sorry."BeastBoy muttered. He tried to get up, but his feet failed to get a good grip on the floor and he came crashing down onto Raven again. But this time, BeastBoy's lips crashed against Raven's. Both teenagers were too shocked too move. Slowly BeastBoy pulled back, releasing the two Titans from the kiss. "Sorry" he muttered again.
"It's okay." Raven said breathlessly. She continued to lay on the floor and look up at the ceiling. She saw BeastBoy stand up and offer her a hand. She reached out and grabbed it. The green changeling pulled her off the floor.
"So… This is awkward." BeastBoy said, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Yeah," Raven agreed, nodding her head a little.
"I bet Rage is pretty pissed at me right now, isn't she?" BeastBoy joked.
"Actually I can't tell. But I do know that Happy and Love are thrilled about what just happened."
"Really?" BeastBoy asked, a little too happy.
"Yes really." Raven nodded. She would admit to herself that ever since Malichoir had been defeated, she had grown attracted to BeastBoy. And she always knew that BeastBoy had liked her.
"So." BeastBoy started, "Do you wanna, you know, go out to get pizza?"
"What kind of pizza?" Raven asked.
"Vegetarian, of course." BeastBoy answered.
"Sure, but this is a not-a-date- outing between two friends. Got it?" Raven spoke, eying BeastBoy's grin.
"You got it dude!" BeastBoy exclaimed. Raven smiled as BeastBoy left the room. She would admit to liking BeastBoy, but they still had a long way to go before she would go out on an actual date with him.
Disclaimer:
I do not own the Teen Titans DC Comics does (If I did, Deahstroke would have been more badass and the show would still be going)