Summary: Subtitled: On Love and Grief. When the worst happens, Raven and the other Titans are left to wonder why all good things must come to an end. A BBRae oneshot, standalone.
A/N: Hey all! Sadly my Document Manager is throwing a hissy fit right now and won't let me do my usual section separator, so different 'sections' of the story are separated with this little thing here: *TAKEN*
Disclaimer: It is to my never-ending woe
That if asked the question: "Do you own the Teen Titans?"
I will ever answer: "No."
Taken
By guardyanangel
Taken. The word had never bode well for the Titans, and it did not break its streak now.
Taken. Beast Boy was gone. Taken, they thought, by one of their many enemies- but who? And to where?
*TAKEN*
"You've looked everywhere?" Raven asked Robin over the communicator again.
"Every nook and cranny of the entire city."
"Well, keep looking!"
Robin didn't argue. It couldn't be easy; knowing someone you loved had been taken by the enemy. Not knowing if you would ever see them again. Robin knew this, and had told the empath to remain at home, not only so she could be there in case her love returned, but also so she wouldn't be in harms way by causing damage with her out of control emotions.
The other two members of Titans West were searching other areas of the city for their lost friend. Every Titan, honorary or otherwise, had been put on high alert in search of the green teen.
Yes, Beast Boy had been Taken. But they would find him again.
They only hoped they would not find him too late.
*TAKEN*
Three days of blood, sweat, tears, and searching passed with no sign. Three days, until one day Robin called the Cyborg and Starfire over the communicator.
"I've found hi- I've found his body."
Upon hearing the words, Cyborg pulled to the side of the road and Starfire's feet slammed down to the pavement. Grief tainting his voice, Cyborg said over the communicator.
"I'll come and get you, Star, and then we'll head over there." A pause. "Is it bad, Robin?"
Another pause. "I've seen worse. Much worse. He… It just looks like he's passed out after getting beaten up, only he's not… Not breathing. There are worse things they could have done. Whoever they are."
They. The word rang in their ears like a death knell. Who had done this? Who would do this, and not identify themselves? An old enemy? A new one? Who?
It mattered very little, really. A more pressing matter was on hand.
Softly, sadly, from Starfire, "How are we going to tell Raven?"
*TAKEN*
The empath had done little but sit and stare at the turned-off television the entire day. Within Nevermore, the voices of her emotions were clamoring- some, daring to hope, others, grieving already, a choice few blaming herself. She tried her best to sort through them, calm them, but she was interrupted by the softest of words drifting from the doorway:
"Raven?"
She looked up, not even daring to breath, to hope. She looked up, and saw the deadened look on Cyborg's face, the tears in Starfire's eyes, the emotionless stare Robin was giving her, despite the fact that she could feel the grief rolling off him in waves through their bond.
"You found him?"
Did she really need to ask? Their looks told her all she needed to know. Nonetheless, they nodded.
She inhaled softly, taking in not only oxygen, but the entire situation, and then she spoke the words on all their minds:
"He's gone."
The tears did not fall when they nodded again in reply. Instead, she watched inside her mind as Nevermore burned and crashed into chaos.
"I'm going to my room."
*TAKEN*
The funeral was held not long after, and it was not a small one. The shifter had, after all, been well-loved in more ways than one.
The Doom Patrol came, Elastigirl clinging tightly to her husband as the tears flowed from her eyes. All of Jump City came, and one blonde girl with a butterfly clip in her hair squeezed the hands of her two best friends beside her, trying hard to blink back the tears she felt for someone she (supposedly) barely knew. The mayor made a long, somewhat dull speech about heroism, while Titans from all over the world shifted in their seats and thought of their own memories they had of Beast Boy, of their own speeches they would each get to make later.
Closest to the casket were the members of Titans West: Cyborg, somberly dressed in a suit prepared for the occasion; Starfire, a tragic beauty in traditional Tamaranean mourning clothes; Robin, dressed in a suit worn far more times than it should have been, for far too many occasions like this.
And then there was Raven, dressed simply in a long black dress, gazing blankly at the wood which held the one she loved.
She barely listened to the speeches made, and she had declined speaking at the funeral itself, so she had plenty of time to think.
She remembered…
"Come on, Raven. You know you love me. I KNOW you care."
"If you start singing that infernal song, Beast Boy, you'll realize just how much I DON'T care."
"I'm not trying to sing it! I really do mean. Raven, I know you care about me- maybe even love me- and you know I feel the same for you. Why can't we just take what we've got and go with it?"
"Life's not that simple."
"It's not as difficult as you make it out to be, either. I know you love me, Rae. Can't you try?"
"It's Raven." A pause. "And yes. I'll try."
It had taken them years to finally admit just how much they felt for each other, but once they did they showed it truly and deeply. In the time they'd been together, they both realized just how well they fit as a couple, despite their personality clashes. There had been talk of marriage, once. It was brief, and half-jokingly done, but the thought had been there. She thought that, if they'd had more time, the thought might have become a reality someday.
But they hadn't had more time. In fact, it seemed time had always been working against them.
"It seems like he died of too much blood loss. Or at least, the blood loss made him die faster." Cyborg told her, his voice taking a horribly robotic tone as he studied the body of his best friend. "If we had found him sooner, maybe…"
He trailed off. They both knew very well that there was no room in a hero's life for maybes.
That didn't stop the 'maybes' from trying to squeeze in, though.
It hadn't been fair. Her mother would have said that life was never meant to be, but that was beside the point. Raven had been happy with Beast Boy, perhaps for the first time in her life.
"I know you love me, Rae. Can't you try?"
"If we had found him sooner, maybe…"
Suddenly, in her stomach, she felt a sinking stone of finality. The entire situation- which, since the day he disappeared, had felt no realer than a dream- suddenly became so real, so true, that she almost cried out for the pain.
A soft gasp ripped from her. "Oh. Oh, Azar."
She did not weep, but she shut her eyes tightly and clenched her hands into fists, inhaling deeply for a moment before allowing the wind to rush out of her again. Cyborg's gentle hand went over one of hers, and she gripped it tightly, almost breaking her knuckles against the metal. Cyborg placed his other hand over hers, his human eye full of concern for his friend. Her shoulders shook slightly, and tearless sobs juddered out from her.
"He's not coming back." she whispered raggedly
"No." Cyborg answered her softly
"I loved him, Cyborg. I really loved him."
"I know, Rae. He really loved you, too."
"Do you think he knew? That I loved him? Do you think he knew?"
Cyborg took in the agony on his friend's face, and his own contorted with sadness and concern. Gently, he took the quivering girl in his arms.
"I'm sure he did, Rae. I'm absolutely sure."
She trembled in his embrace, the tearless sobs wracking her body, taking her grief away on the wind.
*TAKEN*
Today, I realized that you won't be coming home again, and I wish I could have showed you how much I love you.
I loved your hair.
I loved your voice, mostly your laugh.
I loved how you held my hand when I needed it most.
I loved your green eyes.
I loved the way you ran to me.
I loved they way you wouldn't do anything until everyone else was satisfied.
I loved the way you smiled when you were sleeping.
I loved the way you loved me.
I hope you didn't suffer and I hope you are happy where you are.
Goodbye, honey bear.
A/N: This was inspired by the italicized words at the end, which came from: http: / www. whisperz. org/ posts/ 694 .
Anyhoo, I hope it made sense. I know the title doesn't really relate too much to the story itself, and that there really isn't too much of a story in here... heheh... But still, I hope you like it! :) It doesn't relate to anything that I've written thus far, but it's my twentieth story and the first standalone BBRae story I've ever written, so I hope you like it! :D
Also, this story is part three of a three-part going-away gift, since I'll be going away on an extended vacation in a few days and might not be able to update for a while, although I'll still be writing. :) Parts one and two are updates in my two A Teen Titan's Encyclopedias- Argent's in the girls' Encyclopedia and Bushido's in the boys'. I hope they'll be a fitting parting wave for until I return!
Until next time!
~Guardy