Since nobody wants to review my other story (besides ) I decided to put that on pause for a few days so I could knock out this idea. I put a lot of time and effort into this, so please, if you take the time to read the entire thing, please take another minute to review.. Anyway, here is a story. The italics are flashbacks. Sorry if Raven in a little OOC. Also it is 3am and I don't feel like proof reading this, so sorry for any grammar errors. Hope you like it. :-)
"We need to end this."
It was as if he had just taken a knife to the heart. His mind was moving a mile a minute trying to comprehend what his girlfriend of almost a year had just told him.
"Wait, what?"
"Don't make me say it again, Garth."
"Raven, no, talk to me, we can make thi-"
"We haven't seen each other in over a month, we've barely had time to talk, maybe this is a sign that-"
"We've both been busy, yeah, but that doesn't mea-"
"Don't you feel like something is constantly missing?" The question caught him off guard.
"What?" He heard her sigh.
"Nevermind... I just.. I can't do this."
He could feel the tears escaping his eyes, but he didn't have the control to stop them. He was alone on the roof of the tower, so he didn't bother to wipe them away. Part of him was surprised that he was crying, as it took a lot for him to show his emotions; the other part of him didn't care at the moment. It was beginning to rain, but he didn't notice. The rain drops mixed with his tears as they ran down his face.
"You know I'm in love with you. Only you."
"And I love you too...always"
"Raven, please."
"I'm sorry, Garth. It's for the best."
Her face disappeared from the screen as she disconnected the call. He stood in shock for a moment, trying to comprehend what had just transpired. He tried to control his emotions. He clenched his fists so hard that the smell yellow communicator was crushed by his enhanced strength and he dropped the broken pieces to the ground. After a few minutes, he regained his composure enough to go back inside. He passed Speedy and Bumblebee in the kitchen.
"Hey Fishstick, is shrimp okay for dinner?" The archer joked, but the Atlantean didn't react. Not even an eye roll. He walked right passed him, jumped over the balcony, and dove into the pool below with barely even a splash. Speedy watched him curiously before turning to the female of the group.
"What's his problem?"
ooOoo
Aqualad was sitting on the bottom of the pool, about thirty feet under the surface. He preferred to be surrounded by water, he found it very comforting. He was wracking his brain, trying to get pinpoint what went wrong. He decided to start at the beginning, and couldn't help but give a sad smile thinking about their first date, as well as their first kiss...
Aqualad paid the bill and left a few dollars on the table before the two superheros exited the restaurant. They were out of uniform, and if it wasn't for the chakra on Raven's forehead and the fact that she had violet hair and eyes, it would be difficult to identify that they were Titans. He was wearing dark blue jeans, with a white button up shirt, covered with a black blazer. He had asked Speedy for advice on what to wear on his date, since the archer had lived in this society for much longer than him, and was therefore more in sync with the appropriate fashion. Raven had known better than to let Starfire know she was going on a date, so she asked Bumblebee for help. Bumblebee had known that Aqualad had a crush on Raven for a while, so she was ecstatic to learn that he had finally made a move. Somehow, Bee had convinced Raven to wear a mid-length black dress. It was simple, yet sexy; casual, yet still appropriate for the occasion. Needless to say, Aqualad had a difficult time keeping his eyes off of her.
They decided to go on a walk down the boardwalk at the beach. They carried on a casual conversation as they watched the beachgoers begin to pack up their towels and umbrellas. The sun was just starting to set over the ocean when Aqualad suddenly stopped walking and gently took her hand.
"You know, you look amazing," He said, staring once again. She blushed, and for a fleeting moment she wished she had a hood to put up.
"So you've said..." She said, looking at the ground. He pulled her closer and used his other hand to tilt her chin up to look him in the eyes. He smiled at her and she felt as if she was going to melt.
"I could say it a million times and it wouldn't be enough."
Aqualad began to lean in closer, both of their eyes beginning to close. They were just close enough for their breathes to begin to mix when a sudden scream caused them both to jump apart and immediately look for the source. They looked out about one hundred meters off the shore and saw a man struggling to stay above water, obviously in distress. Aqualad looked back to Raven for less than a second to give her an apologetic look, before stripping his blazer off and diving into the water. He covered the distance in fifteen seconds flat and made it to the drowning man just as he had completely gone under. He helped the man back to shore, and made sure he returned to his family before making his way back to the boardwalk, where a large crowd had gathered and were cheering for him, as well as taking photographs. His thin white shirt was soaking wet and left nothing to the imagination anymore, as it was completely see through and clung tightly to his body. He quickly used his powers to remove all the water from his clothing and body. He spotted Raven and made his way over to her. Raven blushed as he approached her and lightly grabbed her hand before placing his other hand under her chin to raise her gaze to meet his once again. She forgot about all the people around them when he looked at her. He smiled.
"Now, where were we?" and they kissed.
Needless to say, it was on the front page of every newspaper in Jump and Steel city the following morning.
Aqualad smiled at the fond memory. He continued sorting his thoughts for a few hours.
ooOoo
Above the water, the information being sought after was much easier to come by. If there was one cliche "girl" thing that Bumblebee loved, it was gossip. She would call Starfire, Jinx, Argent, anyone really, just to get some dirt. If she was lucky, she could even get Raven to talk, which always led to something about Cyborg that she could use to mess with him. Her hobby came in handy in this particular situation, because she knew exactly who to talk to in order get the information she needed. She pulled out her communicator and made a call.
A pretty girl with orange skin and red hair appeared on the small screen. You could easily distinguish that she was in her bedroom, based on the vast amount of pink surrounding her.
"Oh, how wonderful it is to see you, friends from the east!" She smiled brightly, and Bumblebee was secretly glad they were speaking via communicator, so that she wouldn't risk breaking a rib from one of Starfire's hugs. She got straight to the point.
"Hey girl! It's good to see you too. We were just calling to ask if you know if Raven has told you anything about Aqualad. He seems really upset." Starfire's smile disappeared. In just a moment, her entire demeanor changed from happy and upbeat to sad and gloomy; an usual look on the normally cheerful princess.
"I suppose this means that she went through with the breaking up," The alien sighed. On the other side of the country, two pairs of eyes widened in shock and disbelief.
"What?! You mean they broke up? They seemed so happy!" Bee shouted. Starfire noddedher head and continued.
"I attempted to stop her, but she seemed sure that it was the right thing for them. Raven seems to think that being so far apart makes it too difficult for them to be together. I believe that it helps the bond between them grow stronger," Starfire said sadly. Raven was her best friend, and it gave her joy to see her friend so happy. Ever since Aqualad and Raven had started getting close, her friend had been much more open and joyful. It was like the boy was just what she needed to get her to open up more and come out of her shell, metaphorically speaking of course. She was even more willing to accompany Starfire to the "mall of shopping." Starfire sighed before speaking again.
"She still cares deeply for him, I am certain of that. I do not believe that this is what she truly wants."
ooOoo
They say news travels fast, and whoever "they" are, aren't wrong. By the next afternoon, every Titan across the globe had gotten the news. It started with Starfire telling Bumblebee and Speedy, who told Jinx and Kid Flash, who went out on a double date that night with Argent and Hot Spot, who talked to Kole (and G'nark) via communicator before going to bed, who talked to her boyfriend, Jericho, first thing in the morning. Well, she talked. He signed. Jericho went on a mission with the Herald, and so on and so forth.
ooOoo
*six days later*
Black eyes stared at the ceiling, just as they had for a majority of the past six days. He laid on his bed above the covers, hands folded and resting on his abdomen. He had barely spoken a word since he had last spoken to her. He had only left his bedroom a handful of times, a few times to find comfort under the water, and once for a mission earlier today. However, he seemed distracted in battle, as if he was just going through the motions; he didn't protest when Speedy called him out on it. The team has found him multiple times sitting on the floor of his pool with his knees pulled up to his chest and his head resting on them. It was as heartbreaking as it was pathetic. It had been almost a week and he was still trying to get his head straight.
'It's not like we fought about much..unless she's still mad about that blonde girl...'
They followed the hostess as she let them to their table. Aqualad had totally forgotten to call ahead and reserve a secluded table in the back, but Raven assured him that it was fine. They both preferred a more private table, mostly because their celebrity status could bring some unwanted attention. Raven preferred it because as an empath, crowded rooms gave her headaches as she felt everyone's emotions.
Dinner was going perfect, until something small hit Aqualad in the back of the head. He looked and saw that a crumpled up piece of paper was on the floor, so he picked it up and opened it. He read the message and frowned, not even bothering to turn around. Although she was overwhelmed with emotions at the moment, she had felt his enough to be able to pick them out in a crowd. She could feel the waves of anger coming from him, and could tell he was annoyed by the look on his face. She raised an eyebrow at him.
"What did that say?" She questioned. He shook his head.
"It's not important." He replied, not meeting her eyes. He looked very uncomfortable. In the end curiosity got the best of her, and she slyly used her powers to bring the crumpled note to her. Aqualad looked up when he heard the sound of it being unfolded. He tried to reach for it but it was too late, she had already read it. It read: "Let me know if you want to ditch the skank. I'm sure I can show you a better time. -Table 12" and there was a lipstick kiss in the corner. She narrowed her eyes at the table that the note came from, where a barbie-looking blonde girl sat with her less attractive friends. Then Raven turned her glare to her boyfriend, who's eyes widened in shock, and possibly fear.
"Why didn't you want to tell me about this? Were you planning on meeting up with her later?" She shouted quietly, trying not to draw attention to themselves. His eyes widened in surprise at her words.
"What?! No, of course not!" He assured her, "I didn't want to tell you because I thought it would make you upset, and obviously I wasn't wrong" He said, slightly annoyed.
"Yeah, okay, whatever," She stood up and collected her purse and her jacket and began walking towards the exit. As she passed table twelve, the offending blonde's food happened to explode, covering the girl. Raven smirked and continued out the door. Aqualad was still glued to his seat, trying to comprehend everything that had just happened. Once he came to his senses, he threw some money down on the counter and left the restaurant in a hurry. He looked around and couldn't find his date anywhere. He ran a hair through his hair and sighed before making his way back to the original Titans Tower.
Hours later, once he was certain she was cooled down...He made the decision to wait another hour, just to be safe. He was contemplating his next decision, when his communicator buzzed and he pulled it out. On the screen was the message: 'We should talk.'
Minutes later, there was a knock on Raven's door. She opened it, only to see her boyfriend standing there, wearing a football helmet.
"Okay, let's talk."
She couldn't help but laugh.
Aqualad also couldn't help but laugh at the memory, but there wasn't much behind it. He took a deep breathe and went back to his thoughts.
'She wouldn't still be mad about that, that was months ago. That was back when it bothered her when strangers hit on me and back when I wasn't used to her temper. Honestly, I probably should've expected that, she is half-demon after all.'
His thoughts are interrupted by the sound of knuckles rapidly banging on the door. He knew who it was before they even spoke.
"¡Señor Aqualad!" The twins shouted from behind the door.
"Sabemos lo que te hará sentir mejor," Mas began. Both boys looked very eager, although Aqualad obviously couldn't see them.
"¡Una piñata!" Both boys yelled in unison. Aqualad rolled his eyes.
'The love of my life just broke up with me out of nowhere, and they think that hitting a candy-filled piece of cardboard with a stick will help. What would really help would be the ocean, but I keep thinking about the first time I took her swimming with me..."
"Are you sure this is safe? There's sharks, and jellyfish, and-" Well, this was a new side of Raven. Aqualad laughed and grabbed her hand to pull her close. They were at Titan's Tower in Jump City, and it was unusually hot. Aqualad and finally managed to convince Raven to go into the water with him, but now as they looked over a twenty foot cliff to the waves below, she was getting cold feet. She won't admit it out loud, but she isn't the strongest swimmer. She had mentioned once that their were no large bodies of water where she was from, and therefore was never taught to swim until joining the Titans. She had removed her cloak, and was only wearing her leotard.
"Why are you laughing? There are so many creatures out there that could make me their lunch!"
"Are you forgetting? I'm literally the Prince of the Seven Seas; if I tell them not to bother you, they won't bother you. You're completely safe...as long as you're nice to me." He added with a wink. She blushed and began to walk away from the cliff and towards the shore, where she could gradually wade into the water. Aqualad had other plans. He smiled mischievously and raised an eyebrow at his girlfriend before speaking.
"Do you trust me?" He asked, trying to sound as innocent as possible. She seemed slightly confused and a little skeptical, but answered truthfully.
"Of course I tr- Garth! Put me down!" Without warning, he picked her up bridal style and was running full speed towards the ledge of the cliff. She was so surprised, she forgot that she could just levitate or phase away. He jumped out over the water and they began their descent to the cool blue water below. They hit the surface with a splash and he let go of her so she could tread water. He watched from below as she surfaced before making his own appearance in front of her. She did not look amused. She sent him her best glare, but he just smiled back. Then she did something that neither of them was expecting. She splashed him. He looked at her in disbelief for a moment, only to be caught off guard by another attack. He laughed before raising his eyebrows and asking:
"Are you really challenging Aqualad to a water fight?"
Her answer was another splash to the face.
ooOoo
*the next day*
All was not well in the Titans East Tower. The archer of the team, Speedy, was lounging on the couch, cleaning his bow with a small blue cloth. The Spanish twins, Mas y Menos, sitting still for once, were locked in on the newest version of Mega Monkeys on the Gamestation. Lastly, the winged leader, Bumblebee was whipping up something in the kitchen. The smell wafted into the living room, drawing the redhead's attention. He quietly entered the kitchen and attempted to steal a piece of scrambled eggs. Bumblebee caught him just in time and slapped his hand before he could touch the food. He winced and pulled his hand back only to be met with her scowl.
"Those aren't for you!" She scolded as she plated the eggs. The archer rolled his eyes behind his mask and leaned back on the counter, only to jump away in surprise as the toaster went off behind him. The dark-skinned women put the toast on the plate and began walking towards their other teammate's room. Speedy recovered and rushed to catch up.
"Has he came out of his room yet today? It's almost noon." Speedy asked. Bee shook her head and sighed.
"Nope. He went straight to his room after we stopped that bank robbery yesterday afternoon and he hasn't been out yet. Maybe if you hadn't have yelled at him.." She turned to send him a glare. Speedy gaped at her.
"Don't try to blame this on me! He was the one that almost let Adonis get away! He was so distracted, he probably would've gotten himself killed if I hadn't-"
"I shouldn't have made him come yesterday. I should've known his head wouldn't be in it. I thought fighting would help distract him for at least a little while and release some pent up emotions."
"What emotion? Dude's been like a zombie all week." Bumblebee didn't respond as they were approaching the Atlantean's door. She knocked on the door gently.
"Hey, Garth? We brought you something to eat." They waited for a moment, but there was no reply. The two teens looked at each other and silently made a decision on a course of action. Balancing the plate of food in one hand, Bee used her free hand to knock once more, while Speedy slowly opened the door. Once it was open enough to see inside and he spotted the dark-haired boy lying on the bed, he threw the door open the rest of the way and the two entered. Speedy opened his communicator and made a call, before quickly muting it putting it back in his pocket. The boy on the bed didn't even glance in their direction. He seemed focused on the ceiling, as if the answers to all his questions were written on it. He didn't react to the shift of the mattress when his leader sat on the edge of it, or at the sound of the plate being set down on the nightstand. He didn't notice their presence until he felt a small hand touch his shoulder. He met eyes with his friend and saw her sympathetic look and immediately looked away. He struggled to find something to say.
"Do you guys need something?" He finally said, his voice rough from lack of use. He finally sat up and and rubbed his eyes and tried to do soothe his unruly hair.
"We just brought you some food, Honey. I know that you're upset, but you still have to eat." She said, her tone a mix of "caring mother" and "I'm your leader, do as I say." The Atlantean glanced at the food.
"Oh..uh, thank you guys, but I'm not really hungry." He wasn't lying. Although he had barely eaten for nearly a week, the thought of food made him feel sick to his stomach. His whole body was aching in a way he couldn't describe. Part of him knew he needed to eat, and his teammates had managed to convince him to do so a few times throughout the week. Speedy rolled his eyes.
"Dude, you gotta get over this. You can't just lay in here or sit in the bottom of your pool and mope for the rest of your life! Sometimes you dump someone, sometimes you get dumped; it happens to everyone. Let's face it, you're an attractive guy; you could go out at nine and have a new girl by nine fifteen! So let's go out!"
Aqualad finally looked over to Speedy.
"I don't want a new girl, Speedy."
The archer was becoming slightly annoyed. Bumblebee had lived with the archer long enough to know that he was about to say something stupid.
"Why not? Sure she's hot when she loses the drapery-"
"Speedy" Bumblebee warned with a knowing look.
"-but she's still just a girl."
For the first time in days, the two saw the Atlantean show some emotion.
He sprung off the bed and turned to completely face the archer. His hands made their way into his long locks of hair. He looked like he hadn't slept in days.
"But she's not just a girl, Roy. She's the girl!" The anger dissipated from his face and he slowly sat back down, running a hand through his hair as realization hit him once again.
"-and she's gone."
Bumblebee put a supportive arm around Aqualad's shoulder, while Speedy pulled his communicator back out of his pocket and ended the call.
ooOoo
In Jump City, things weren't any better. Raven had barely left her room in days. In the past, this wouldn't have raised any alarms. But ever since she began her relationship with the Atlantean, she had been different. She would spend more time with her team and enjoy everyone's company. She would travel to the mall with Starfire and go to car shows with Cyborg. She just seemed so much more full of life the past year, and then all of the sudden it was gone.
At first, Cyborg had been planning an Atlantean ass-kicking. Once he talked to Bumblebee, and then received confirmation from Starfire, that Raven had been the one to call it off, he abandoned his intentions. He, along with all of the Titans, were curious as to why she ended things. It was true, they had not had much time for each other recently, and with different villains attacking at different times, the past three bi-monthly East/West get-togethers have been cancelled. They hadn't seen each other in over six weeks, so that probably had tensions high. The rest of the Titans missed the resident empath's presence in the living room and around the tower.
Raven woke from her nap to an insistent buzzing sound. She scowled when she saw that her communicator was the source of the sound, figuring it was someone else who wanted details to a situation that didn't involve them. She had been having a great dream, where Aqualad took her to Atlantis. He always said he would take her one day, that he knew there was a spell that would let her breathe underwater for a few hours, he just had to hunt it down. That day won't come now, thanks to her insecurity. She tried convincing herself it was for the best, but she can't help but think about how she threw away the best thing that had ever happened to her.
She opened the buzzing communicator and saw that it was a black screen, meaning either it was in someone's pocket, or they were in a pitch black cave. She turned the sound all the way up to see if maybe she could hear something, and she did. She listened for a while and made out three voices. She recognized the first as the Titans East leader, Bumblebee. She seemed to be offering somebody food. Next, she heard the voice that gave her goosebumps. It was Garth, Sweet, perfect Garth. Her Garth. No- not hers, not anymore. She continued to listen as Speedy began yelling and the Atlantean lost his temper. Her heart skipped a beat when she heard him say that she was "the girl." As soon as the connection cut off, she had made a decision. She headed down to the living room and stood in front of the team, who seem shocked and pleased to see her.
"We need to go to Steel. Now."
ooOoo
Knock Knock. He rolled his eyes
"Go away, Speedy" He said, loud enough to be heard through the door. He listened for the sound of retreating footsteps, but he heard something else instead.
"Garth." The sound of her voice startled him. He sat up in an instant and looked towards the door as if it were a lifeline.
"Rae? Is that really you?" There was a short pause before she replied, and for a moment, Aqualad was worried he had imagined it.
"Can we talk?" Her voice sounded sad, lonely, and broken. He quickly cross the distance from his bed to the door before sliding it open. There she was, standing in the doorway. Right in front of him was the the cause of all the pain he had felt for the past week, but also for all the love and joy he had felt for the past year. Her violet eyes were rimmed red and she looked like she hadn't gotten a good night's rest in a long time. He could tell that she had been crying, and her being a master of her emotions, it took a lot for her to cry. She looked up at him and in a second the tears were threatening to fall again. So many emotions were being conveyed through her eyes it was hard for him to keep track.
"I messed up," she whispered, not trusting her voice. He wasted no time at all, all of his defenses broke around her. He stepped forward and wrapped her small frame in his strong arms. Just getting to hold her again made him feel a million times better. Her arms were around his waist and held onto him like her life depended on it. Her face was buried into his chest, one of his hands caressed the back of her head and his chin was resting on top of her head. For the first time in a week, they both felt whole again.
"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you," she said into his chest. It was muffled, but he made it out. His hold on her loosened slightly as she began to pull away so she could look at him. He led her to the bed and they both sat down. He studied her for a moment before speaking.
"Then why did you?" He said carefully. Raven felt all his emotions at once. All the pain, all the sadness, anger, shock, everything. She took a second to compose herself and took a deep breathe.
"I don't really know..I think part of me was just scared that, without seeing each other for such a long time, you were going to find somebody else," the surprised look he gave her proved how wrong she was but she continued, "and another part of me just, felt empty, I guess, because it felt like part of me was on the other side of the country and I was just spending all of my time waiting until I got to be reunited with it." He nodded, understanding.
"Rae, I don't know how many time I have to tell you that you are the only girl I have eyes for until you believe me," He couldn't wait another second; it had been over six weeks since he had seen her, held her, kissed her. He pulled her closer and kissed her firmly, pouring all of his emotions into it. He pulled back with his face lit up in a genuine smile for a first time since she had called him.
"...So what made you change your mind?"
"I thought that ending 'us' would make the empty, missing feeling go away, but I was wrong. It just made it feel even emptier knowing that you weren't mine anymore," He saw the pain in her eyes as she said that and he held her tight again.
"I'll always be yours." And they kissed. Again. And again. And again...
ooOoo
About twenty minutes later, Speedy walked into the living room where the other seven Titans were gathered. Bumblebee and Starfire were sitting at the table talking. Robin, Beast Boy, Cyborg, and Mas y Menos were all watching a movie.
"Do you think that they will do the patching up of their relationship?" The Tamaranian asked the other girl. Before she could answer, the redheaded archer smirked and spoke up.
"Based on the sounds I just heard coming from his room, I think it's safe to say they patched things up."
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