DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE TEEN TITANS OR ANYTHING DIRECTLY RELATED TO IT

Raven sighed through her nose as she turned another page. Her dark, purple eyes shifted back and forth as she read line after line. For once, it was quiet. Beast Boy and Cyborg weren't fighting over a random issue, and Starfire and Robin didn't cause many disturbances. Usually. Everyone had gone out for a fun trip to the mall, but Raven stayed home.

And so, she sat in her dark room reading. When she finally finished a chapter, she set her book down and decided to meditate. After all, this quietness doesn't come around often in the Titan's Tower...

As Raven began levitating, she freed her mind and let it wander. Normally, she couldn't do this; She had to stay focused on the battlefront and anywhere else. Her powers would not be controllable if her emotions and thoughts were not kept in check.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos...Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos...Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos..."

Over and over again she recited these words into the dark. She became lost in emotions and thoughts. It was almost overwhelming. Her thoughts consisted of her friends, her enemies, her environment, her past, and the future. Her emotions consisted of hatred, sadness, loneliness, anxiety, and...something else. She didn't know what it was, but it was more powerful than anything she had felt before. It was new to her. This emotion seemed to be centered upon someone, but she didn't know who. It was so incredibly different, and Raven could tell it was positive. It was rare for her to experience any positive emotion, and something so positive that it blocked out all other emotions was insane to her. The only people that she ever liked were her friends. She thought about them, one by one, until she hit Beast Boy. Her stomach lurched. Yep, it was definitely him.

Raven didn't understand. She was sure that this new emotion was centered around Beast Boy, but why him? What made him so special or so different from the rest of the Titans? Why was he the one that made her feel funny? Raven had always hated everything about him, but he was still her friend.

"Is this...love?"

The Teen Titan stopped repeating her words. Did she love him? Raven shook her head. How was this even possible?

"I don't need love," she thought to herself. "The only thing love can do for you is waste your time and tear your heart. Don't fall in love." Raven knew what she said came from the depths of her mind and spirit, but her heart begged to differ. "Don't fall in love, don't fall in love..." Inside, her heart seemed to smirk and say, in the faintest voice, "You silly girl, it's too late!"

Raven's eyes shot open from fear of what her heart had just told her. She didn't want love...or did she? The sound of the T-Car rolling up into the garage broke her thought.

"Well, so much for the silence...

She stood up and walked out of her room. Now in the hallway, she silently began walking towards the living room. When she finally arrived, Cyborg was walking in from the main entrance with Beast Boy. They were stuffing candy into their mouths when they saw Raven watching them with a blank expression.

"Hey, Rae!" Cyborg said.

"Where're Starfire and Robin?"

"At a movie," responded Cyborg.

Just then, Beast Boy grabbed a big piece of chocolate out of Cyborg's hand.

"Yo, give it back, BB!"

Beast Boy laughed as he dodged Cyborg's arms and transformed into a pterodactyl. With the chocolate clutched in his talons, he flew high enough to where Cyborg couldn't reach him, even if Cyborg were to jump. Beast Boy flew to the other side of the room, morphed back into human form, and devoured his new treat. Cyborg starred angrily at the green Titan; Raven laughed quietly to herself as she watched this.

"It's about time you did something happy!" said Beast Boy to Raven after his last bite. Raven, not intending for anyone to catch her giggling, put her hood up and turned around.

"I don't do happy."

Cyborg, still angry, looked at Beast Boy, and mumbled, "Green skinned stupid little shape shifting menace thief idiot boy..." and dropped down on the couch. Beast Boy smirked.

"Apparently, you do. You just laughed, didn't you?"

"No."

"Oh, c'mon! Yes you did!

"No, I didn't."

"Yes, you did."

"No, I didn't."

"Yes, you did."

"No, I didn't."

"Yes, you did."

"No, I didn't. And I'm not saying it again."

"Raven, you don't have to be embarrassed or ashamed for laughing. We all need a good laugh every so often. And deep inside, I think there's a happy, fun Raven lurking around."

There was a long pause. Cyborg turned his head away from the TV and glanced at the other Titans. Beast Boy stood starring at the back of Raven's cloak, awaiting a response. Under her hood, tears were forming in Raven's eyes. She new he was right. As much as she hated to admit it, inside, there really was a another Raven, starving from a servere lack of a true love. She had friends who cared about her...that was keeping her alive. But she needed a special someone who loved her more than life itself. She longed for love her entire life, but she never felt it. Not once.

Beast Boy walked up to Raven and placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Raven, I -"

Raven shrugged of his hand.

"Just leave me alone," she said, her voice quivering.

Beast Boy tried again. He put his hand on her shoulder.

"Look, I never meant to -"

"I said, leave me alone!" This time, she half yelled and half pouted.

A raven-shaped black aura shot up an inch from her back, blocking Beast Boy from her. With her shield still protecting her back and the little desire she still had to live, she floated swiftly away and into her room.

"That's not good," Cyborg told Beast Boy.

Beast Boy sighed.

"What should I do now?"

Cyborg just shrugged and kept watching TV.

"Well? Do you think she would accept my apologies?"

"Nah, not right now. Let her calm down a bit. Go see her in a few hours."

Sighing, Beast Boy sat down on the couch beside Cyborg. He felt exhausted. Beast Boy honestly thought, until a few minutes ago, that he would never, ever see Raven cry. What made him feel worse is that he was the cause of those tears. Beast Boy was a nice person. He never wanted to make anyone cry...especially someone he loved.

Beast Boy buried his face into his hands. It hurt him at least as much as it hurt Raven. His entire body ached along with his soul. A few minutes passed, and he couldn't take it any more. He got up and began to walk towards Raven's room when the alarm sounded. Cyborg leapt up yelled, "Titans, move!" Raven flew out of her room, wiping tears from her face.

The three Titans exited the building and got to the city as fast as they could. As they approached the city, a building collapsed. Then, a huge figure was spotted in the distance. It was Cinderblock.

The Teen Titans began their attack on the villain, and it was initially successful. Cinderblock was unconscious. Then, Overload and Plasmus attacked the heroes from their backside. Cyborg and Raven where hit hard with sludge and electricity. After recovering, Raven slammed Overload with large pieces of building. Beast Boy morphed into a horse. Cyborg rode on his back, blasting away at Plasmus. The blast would create holes in his body, but they were immediately filled with more purple goo. Then, Beast Boy had an idea. Cyborg blasted a large hole in Plasmus, and Beast Boy jumped inside. He was quickly devoured within the goo.

"Beast Boy!" Raven screamed.

Suddenly, Plasmus grabbed his stomach. He began to grow larger and larger until he exploded, revealing a giant, green Tyrannosaurus Rex. Raven sighed in relief, and didn't notice the powerful electrical blast that Overload was charging. Beast Boy saw it.

"Raven, look out!"

"What?"

She spun around right when Overload fired. In shock, Raven just stood there with a look of pure terror on her face. She braced herself for the hit by closing her eyes tightly and putting her arms up, but it never came. After a few seconds, she opened her eyes, only to find a simmering Beast Boy lying in front of her.

"NO!" Raven screamed as she dropped down beside Beast Boy, holding his head in her arms. Beast Boy groaned and opened his eyes a little. He looked at Raven with a weak smile.

"Beast Boy, why?! Why did you do that?!"

"Because you would have done that for me..."

With tears streaming out of her eyes, Raven pushed her forehead against his. They looked deeply into each other's eyes. Raven's heart, although surrounded with cold ice and darkness, had a warm spot deep inside. This was the part of Raven shadowed by the creepy one. It was hidden from the external world, the part of her that desired love to melt away the ice and illuminate the dark. And, as she looked into Beast Boy's eyes, her heart was thawing and lighting up.

"You can't leave me...I love you."

"I don't know if I'll make it, but in case I don't...I love you, too."

Raven's lips gently pushed against Beast Boy's, and he returned her kiss. Beast Boy tasted her salty tears which mixed with his at their locked lips. Raven finally drew back after a minute.

"You'll be Ok."

"How do you know?"

"I don't know how, I just know you will be."

Cyborg had been battling Overload the entire time, and Raven had never noticed this. Everything just seemed to white out except for her and Beast Boy. Cyborg was hit hard by a punch, and when Overload was about to crush him, when death seemed certain, Robin and Starfire arrived on the scene. Overload was kicked away from Cyborg as Starfire began raining starbolts upon her enemy. Cyborg got up and blasted Overload in the head, and his body dematerialized. The computer chip was all the remained.

Raven finally looked up from the critically conditioned Beast Boy, and yelled, "Cyborg! Come check him out!" Cyborg, Starfire and Robin rushed towards the other two. Starfire gasped when she saw Beast Boy and cupped her hands over her mouth.

"What happened?!" asked the confused and concerned Boy Wonder.

"Yes, what is wrong with our friend?"

Cyborg, who was now kneeling down beside Beast Boy with his mechanical hand on his skinny green arm, responded, "Overload fired a deadly blast at Rae, and BB took the hit for her...he's got a pulse. But it's weak. He isn't breathing much either. We need to get him home, and fast. Beast Boy groaned as Cyborg picked him up and threw him over his shoulder.

"Raven, get us out of here," Robin said.

Raven said her usual magic words, and a black aura engulfed the Teen Titans in a dome shape.

The same black dome that swallowed the Titans appeared in the enormous living room in Titan's Tower. The black aura disappeared, leaving the heroes and heroines standing at home. Beast Boy was still flung over Cyborg's shoulder, but his eyes were closed now. Raven noticed this and her eyes widened in panic.

"Relax," Cyborg said calmly. "He's just exhausted."

Beast Boy finally woke up, and it was morning. He was laying in a cot in the medical center of the tower. He looked up and saw an ice pack on his head. Most of his body was covered in bandages. Beast Boy sighed in relief knowing that he was alive. Raven was the only thing that helped him avoid death out on the streets the previous night, and he knew that even if he did die, he would die happy. It felt good to keep the one he truly loved from being seriously injured or dead.

As these thoughts roamed about inside the green boy's head, the door to his room slid open. It was Raven, and she wore a smile that showed happiness. She rushed over and embraced Beast Boy in a warm, affectionate hug. Beast Boy wrapped his arms around her. His arms hurt when he did this, but he didn't care. Then, Beast Boy kissed her warm cheek, and whispered, "You're welcome." Raven choked and laughed at the same time, tears in her eyes. Beast Boy smiled, and for the first time in several hours, he showed signs of his usual personality.

"I love you." Raven said, resting her head on Beast Boy's chest.

Beast Boy ran his hand through her thick, dark hair, and sighed. Raven really was a happy person on the inside, but Beast Boy brought it out of her.

"All she needed was a little love," Beast Boy thought to himself. Raven was finally, truly happy. Her happiness was freed from its icy, dark prison with the help of Beast Boy, and it emerged at full strength. Raven had finally found true love. It seemed to her that love wasn't so pointless and stupid after all...

Well, I put a lot of time and effort into this, and I hope you enjoyed the story as much as I enjoyed writing it. Please review and leave a comment. Thanks.