Hey people. Here's a Teen Titans fanfic I've been working on for a couple days. I started when I had a headache, go figure. And if you happen to have a headache while reading this, you'll probably sympathize with Raven quite a bit. Enjoy.
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Throbbing. Aching. Pounding. Her head felt like it was about to explode!
Raven walked unsteadily toward her room, gripping her skull in an attempt to ease the pain. It was absolutely relentless. She sighed as she reached her door opening it and stumbling in. Quickly closing the door behind her, the irritable empath dropped onto her bed and stared at the ceiling.
Stupid headaches. She'd been having them all week. They'd gotten progressively worse, but she just couldn't take it today, it was three times as bad as before. The worst part was that she was completely to blame. She knew what was causing them, and it was entirely her fault. She even had a good idea of how to stop them, but there was no way she could do it. Never in a million years! She could barely admit it to herself, let alone walk up and tell him.
Oh, this was so stupid! Why wouldn't her stupid powers just let her bottle up this emotion? She couldn't even meditate anymore, and if she couldn't do that, something was bound to explode soon.
She let out a deep sigh. "I don't want to tell him." She muttered to herself. "What if he doesn't feel the same, or worse, he makes fun of me for it? I can not put myself in that position." A fresh wave of pain hit and she groaned. There was nothing else she could do, she was trapped.
She decided to concentrate on some good memories to distract herself. Going out for pizza with the team. Her birthday, Beast Boy running by with his arms full of ice cream. The way he'd worried when he thought he had hurt her. That smile he gave her whenever she was feeling down.
Then another memory broke in. He was with Terra. They were smiling and laughing, she leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. He practically melted into a puddle at her feet. And then she'd broken his heart.
"No. Agh, go away!" Her head throbbed worse than ever at the thought of him so depressed. And worse, the thought of him with another girl. Tears sprung to the corners of Raven's eyes as the ache became unbearable.
Knock, knock. "Hey Raven, can I come in?"
Oh no. He was last person she wanted to see her like this. "No Beast Boy, go away." She'd meant to sound uncaring, irate even, but her voice had cracked near the end.
"Are you alright Rae?" He sounded confused.
The tears trickled down her face as the pressure continued to worsen. "I'm fine, just leave me alone!" a sob escaped her lips and she cursed her horrible luck.
"Raven, are you crying?" He sounded genuinely concerned now.
She didn't bother to respond, simply whimpering with a combination of pain and embarrassment.
"I'm coming in Rae." Beast Boy stepped in, closing the door as he went. "Raven!" He ran to the edge of her bed when he saw her curled up in a ball, tears leaving salty tracks on her skin. "What's wrong?" He brushed the hair from her face as he tried to comfort her.
"I-it's nothing."
"Raven! It is not nothing, your crying! You never cry, so tell me what's wrong."
"Okay, it's something. But there's nothing you can do for me so just go, it's not your problem."
He glared at her. "It is too my problem. One of my best friends is crying alone in the dark, that's my problem. I'm not going anywhere, so please, just talk to me." He put a hand on her shoulder and smiled at her.
Raven looked at him, the concern on his face just made her sob harder. "Look, it's my own fault anyway! You know how my powers are effected by my emotion? I've been holding back a really strong emotion lately. My powers are attacking me because I haven't expressed this emotion somehow. Imagine all the energy I use in battle inside of my head and pushing outward."
"Raven, why would you do that to yourself?" He whispered disbelievingly.
She looked him in the eye, trying to figure out how to tell him why. "Because I can't… I can't let this one out okay? I just can't."
"What could be so bad that you would put yourself through this kind of pain?" He shifted his hand from shoulder to her cheek, concern lacing ever feature of his grass green face.
The contact caused Raven's powers to spike and she cried out in pain.
"Raven!"
She groaned begging to feel lightheaded. "Beast Boy…" She barely managed to mutter his name, trying to reassure him, before she fainted.
"Raven? Rae come on wake up." He shook her gently, terrified of what might have happened. "Guys! Come quick, Raven's sick!" He shouted into his communicator.
Starfire was the first one to reach the room, Robin and Cyborg close behind.
"Friend Raven is unwell!?" Starfire squeaked as she zipped into the room four inches above the ground.
"What happened?" Robin asked.
"I don't know, she was telling me about how she's been having really bad headaches from her powers, and then when I asked her why, she screamed and fainted." It came out in one rushed sentence and he was gasping in rather frightened way.
Cyborg walked over and ran a quick scan over their unconscious friend. "Well, her heart rate is high, breathing's uneven, she's got a fever, and her brainwaves are spiking all over the place."
"Fever?" Beast Boy squeaked. "Sh-should I get her some ibuprofen or something?"
"I don't think that's a good idea." Robin said, "Raven's not entirely human, we don't know how it would react to her physiology. Besides, if her powers are causing it, it's not likely we can do anything."
"What is that supposed to mean? We just sit here and watch?" The little green changeling was severely offended.
"Listen BB," Cyborg said while placing a large metal hand on his friend's shoulder. "The breathing, heart rate, and brainwaves are probably just some kind of magic dream she's having. As for the fever, the best thing you can do is place a cool cloth on her head and wait for her to wake up. She'll be alright."
Beast Boy was momentarily silent, staring at the violet-haired girl who meant so much to him. "She said she did this to herself. Held back some kind of powerful emotion making her powers go haywire. Why would she do that guys? What could've made her so scared that she would let herself get hurt?"
Robin had a somber look on his face. "Sometimes, our minds make things out to be so much more terrifying than anything that could happen in real life."
After another moment of silence, Beast Boy mumbled. "Star. Can you watch Raven for me while I get her a cool cloth?"
"Certainly friend." She floated onto the bed and motioned for the other boys to leave as the green teenager walked to another room.
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Raven's eyes snapped open to find herself standing on a lone chunk of rock, floating in the dreamscapes of her mind. Her headache was gone, but the air around her felt pressurized, and the misty red sky seemed thicker than usual.
"What happened?" She thought aloud.
"You fainted, because you are weak." A deep booming voice echoed around her and she gasped.
"No your dead, I destroyed you. Go away."
Condescending laughter. "Foolish girl, you may have defeated me, but my spirit survives. In my servants, and in you." His great red form loomed above her standing in front of her dot of land.
"What do you want?" She growled out.
"To return of course. But for the moment, I am simply reprimanding my daughter for her foolishness."
"I am not your daughter anymore! And what could you possibly reprimand me for?"
"For being ridiculous enough to have fallen in love. It is the most worthless and despicable emotion, and has no place in the heart of a demon-spawn."
"Who are you to tell me what to do or how to feel!? You have no part in my life, and while I may be genetically related to you, I couldn't possibly be more different otherwise."
"Ah, child, no matter how you wish it I will always be a part of you, and I will always have some measure of power over you." He lifted her chin with a large, clawed finger, Glaring down at her with all four glowing red eyes.
There was suddenly a flash of white light in Raven's peripheral vision and the demon pulled back to cover his eyes with a growl.
"You will not touch my daughter Trigon. She has earned her freedom from your evils."
Raven gasped, knowing the voice but not believing her ears. She whipped around to look at the dark-haired woman with a glowing white aura floating in the air.
"Arella." Trigon growled out her name. "You dare to interfere foolish woman?"
"I will do whatever is necessary to protect my child. Now leave this place or I will make you." Her aura intensified and the demon snarled before vanishing in a swirl of ashes.
"Mother." Raven whispered, staring at the beautiful woman who had given her life.
Arella smiled down at her daughter, drifting closer to her level. "Hello my beautiful little Raven."
"Mom." She smiled, before running forward and embracing her mother as if she would vanish when released. "I missed you mother."
"And I you sweetheart. I cannot begin to describe how happy I am to see you again."
"What are you doing here?' Raven asked as she pulled away.
"I'm here to help you of course. I know about your pain, and what is causing it." Arella smiled as her daughter blushed. "I will ease your pain, but only this once. It is your responsibility to solve the problem." She waved a hand, and suddenly the pressure was gone, the misty fog vanished and the air became more breathable.
"Thank you mother. But I don't know if I can solve it." She glanced at the ground, feeling foolish.
"Oh Raven, love is a wonderful thing, there is no reason to fear it." She reached up and lifted Raven's chin so they were eye to eye. "Garfield Logan is a good boy, and I can see that he cares for you. You simply need to trust him, and you will be able to tell him."
"But what if he doesn't feel the same? How could he ever love someone like me?"
"Dear one, there is so much to love about you, how could he not?"
Raven couldn't help but smile. It was such a motherly thing to say. "Okay, if you're sure, I'll try."
"That's my girl. Time to wake up, I will try to see you again soon."
"Goodbye mom, I love you."
"I love you too Raven."
The world began to fade around her, and her eyelids dropped as a feeling of falling overcame Raven's body.
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"Hmm." Raven groaned and began to stir, feeling a cool weight on her forehead.
"Raven! Your awake!" A familiar squeaky male voice shouted.
"Beast Boy?" She blinked her eyes open to find him sitting next to her on her bed, an ecstatic smile on his green features.
"Hey Rae. How you feeling?"
"Much better actually." She sat up and a damp washcloth fell from her forehead and into her lap.
"That's great! Oh, yeah, you wondering about the towel? Well, you had a fever, and I wanted to try and help get it down, but Robin said that human medication probably wouldn't work well on your not all human fizzy-fizzle-logic?… Body. So yeah, I put the wet towel on your head 'cause Cy said it might help."
Raven gave small smile to the awkward young man. "Thanks Beast Boy, your sweet."
The changeling blushed. "No prob Rae." They looked at each other for a moment before he continued awkwardly. "Um, so, what made you feel better?"
She glanced at him appraisingly before deciding to tell him the truth. "My mother came to me in a dream and healed me. But she said she can only do it this one time, I have to fix the problem myself now."
"How are you supposed to do that?"
"Well, I have to address the source of the problem." She blushed and looked down.
Beast Boy looked confused. "I thought you said you did it yourself, what else caused all that?"
"Honestly? You."
"What!?" His voice cracked, clearly horrified that he had been the source of her pain.
"Don't worry, it's not like that. What you did was a good thing. I'm the one who didn't tell you about it and ended up hurting myself."
He blinked. "What did I do?"
"All you did was be yourself. But that was enough to…" Sse hesitated, still not sure she was ready.
"Enough to what Rae?"
She took a deep, shaking breath and looked him in the eye. Even in the darkness of her room they were a vibrant shade of emerald. "It was enough to make me… fall in love with you."
His eyes widened and his mouth fell open slightly. "You what?" His voice was a frightened whisper.
"I love you Garfield."
"Say that again."
"I love you?"
"No." He moved forward and grabbed her hand in his. "Say it but, use my real name."
Raven gave a light chuckle, but understood why he wanted to hear it. "Garfield Logan, I'm in love with you."
Beast Boy pulled Raven into a tight hug, causing her to gasp in surprise. "Oh Rae, I can't even… You don't how much that means to me. Especially because, I've always liked you. But I was never sure before if it would work out."
"A-are you saying you love me back?"
He pulled her away, just enough to look into her almost unnaturally purple eyes while still keeping his hands on her shoulders. "What else would I be saying?"
"But, what about Terra?" She hadn't meant to say it aloud, but her thoughts simply came to voice now that she'd been letting them flow.
He frowned. "I did love her, some part of me probably always will. But that part of my life is over, I love you Raven."
She sighed. "Thank you. I was so afraid that you wouldn't feel the same."
"How could I not Raven? You're amazing, and I could always tell you were, even when you wouldn't show it. That's why I tried so hard to make you like me."
"Well it worked."
"Ha ha, yeah, I guess it did." He pressed his forehead lightly against hers and they were quiet for a moment. Then, "Rae?"
"Yes?"
"If I tried to kiss you right now, do you promise you wouldn't throw me out the window?"
"Promise." She gave a small smile.
"Good." He grinned before gently leaning forward to meat her lips with his own. A nearby statuette exploded, and Beast Boy quickly pulled way. "Whoops."
With her eyes closed Raven pulled him gently back toward her and muttered. "Don't worry, I'll fix it later."
The changeling laughed and said. "I guess you like kissing me then." He quickly resumed his previous activity.
Starfire, walking by the door, heard the exploding statuary and the exchange that followed. Blushing and giggling she whispered to herself. "I believe friend Raven is feeling better."
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Well there you go. I'd really like some feedback on this one, I'm just not sure about it. Please let me know if anyone seems OOC.