Grace

Official Disclaimer: The Teen Titans are copyright Warner Bros. Entertainment and Cartoon Network. All original characters are my own and may not be used without permission.

Kev -Hello again everyone. It's been a while hasn't it.

Vincent - You can say that again.

Kev - Rolls his eyes Anyway. Everyone seemed to like my Flowers Before Dawn story so much, I've decided to write a sequal.

Vincent - And it's about time.

Kev - What crawled up your ass and died?

Vincent - I'm just having a bad day.

Chapter One: A Little Sadness and A Little Secret

Beast Boy hated the mornings.

When he was younger it was because he and Cyborg would always fight over what they had for breakfast, tofu or meat. Now it was for a different reason. As he entered the kitchen area he saw what he had seen every day for almost a year now. Cyborg was talking endlessly into his arm communicator to Bumblebee. Bumblebee was leader of Titans East and couldn't visit the tower very often, so every morning the two would talk for hours over their communicators. This was the easiest of the romances to watch.

"So.." he was saying"We should meet tomorrow at the arcade." He paused to wait for her reply. "How about Noon" He paused again. "See you then" There was a soft beep as the comm-link shut down and Cyborg began to shovel his lukewarm breakfast into his mouth, scrambled eggs and bacon dripping with maple syrup.

Robin and Starfire were a different story. They sat painfully close together, and kept finding reasons to touch each other. They exchanged sugary compliments and "I love you"s all day long. If they were apart from each other for more than two minutes they would get depressed or impatient, mostly both, and go find each other. Breakfast was the worst, they fed each other, and after they finished they would just stare into each others eyes until something caught their attention, which was very hard to do and didn't happen often.

Today they were sharing a double bowl of oatmeal. They would lovingly dip their spoons into the lumpy mixture and then slip the utensil into each other's mouths while making cooing noises at one another. 'Lather, rinse, repeat.' Beast Boy thought placing a hand on his stomach, nearly loosing his appetite.

Then there was Raven and Kale. Beast Boy still felt a pang of jealousy in his heart just looking at them. They didn't talk much, they didn't have to, they shared a mental link and could communicate using just their thoughts. They didn't touch except to hold hands every now and then and always tried to spare the others their intimacy. It was a thoughtful gesture, but Beast Boy would always become more distressed at watching them leave the room arm in arm, Raven leaning her head on Kale's shoulder, when the needed to touch and kiss, than if they did it on the spot.

Beast Boy ate and left the room quickly.

In the past year he had gone through nearly thirty dates, all of them colossal failures. As a result, he had a lot of time to think, and he spent most of his time alone anymore. The titans still did group activities together, like training, shopping, and other things, but they would always split into pairs. Inevitably he would be stuck with Cyborg, and all he would do is talk about Bumblebee, his car, Bumblebee, meat, Bumblebee, electronics, Bumblebee, his car, and Bumblebee. And so Beast Boy spent most of his time in his room thinking.

Beast Boy had also finally come to realize that Raven would always be his friend but never his girlfriend, and he had found that at some point along the line, he had truly loved Terra. He went to her monument when he really wanted to be alone, and being in the presence of someone who had really loved him back, locked in stone or no, was comforting if not much else. She had once been so full of life. Bright yellow hair flowing in the wind, blue eyes sparkling, and she had been in love with him. If he looked at her and now, everything was gray. Not a trace of life lingered in those stone features. They had all searched for a cure, but they came up empty handed every time.

Beast Boy walked the corridors, almost hoping that the alarm would go off, giving him something to distract him from his melancholy. Most of his suits were in disrepair and the one he wore had the least number of holes in it. He eventually found his way back to his room, which was even messier than usual. He climbed into his bed and, facing the wall, sank into a pit of despair.

Alas It was not to be as soon there was a knock on his door. He made his way to the door, and cracked it open. On the other side, was Kale Syger. "Are you alright BB" he asked. "You seem a bit depressed lately." Kale had light brown hair that fell to his shoulders and deep blue eyes. He was also a very kind and caring person.

"Hey" he whispered. "Come in." Beast Boy sighed and stood back, letting the door open fully. Kale walked in and found the desk chair. He brushed it clean of trash and sat on it backwards, placing his arms on the back and resting his chin on those.

"Wanna talk about it" he asked. Beast Boy grunted. "Why don't you start at what's bothering you the most and work out from there."

Beast Boy sighed again and began to talk. "It's frustrating to see everyone so happy when I feel so miserable. Cyborg is always talking to Bumblebee, squeezing every last bit of affection out of every conversation as though it could be years before they talk again, when they do it every morning. Star and Robin are enough to make anyone sick. All of that cooing and giggling. You'd think they were the only people on earth." He paused and plunked himself down on a rare bare patch of floor. "And no offense but you and Raven are the worst. I'd had a crush on her since I first met her, but you pop out of nowhere and capture her heart with a snap of your camera."

Beast Boy didn't know why he felt so comfortable talking to Kale about these things. Maybe it was because he almost never got upset, or perhaps it was because he understood. He didn't know why. But knowing Kale was like having a kind older brother to help you out. Someone who would listen to your silliest fears and not make fun of you. Being the youngest titan was hard and he was grateful for the support.

"So..." Kale looked thoughtful"You're jealous that everyone is in love and you feel left out." The way he said it was comforting, understanding. "You can't help but wish that you had someone special as well."

"Yeah. Even when we do group stuff, we tend to pair off. I'm either stuck having to listen to Cy rave on about his 'precious beautiful Bumblebee' or simply alone walking at the rear." Beast Boy hung his head dejectedly, heaving a great sigh. There were a few moments silence and then he felt a hand on his shoulder.

He looked up to see Kale's eyes sparkling, a smile playing on his lips. "Whatever you do" he said"Don't ever give up. I would suggest that you keep a diary" Beast Boy glared at that"OK, journal. But if that doesn't work, you know that my door is always open to you."

He stood and made to leave but before he could, Beast Boy spoke up. "Thanks."

"No problem."

Beast Boy emerged from his room around midday. His talk with Kale had made him feel somewhat better, and relieved some of his depression. He wandered the corridors looking for someone to talk to or something to do. He had walked past Robin's bedroom, but hearing some funny noises and a lot of giggling coming from behind the door he decided he'd rather not know. Cyborg was doing something on the computer in the main area, and he hadn't wanted to bother him. He had also found that Raven had gone into the city for a bit.

As he rounded the corner, walking towards Kale's room he heard a voice. He didn't think much of this until he was close enough to hear clearly. He heard"...hope I have enough." He knew what he was doing was wrong, but he edged slowly down the hall, careful not to make any noise and listened. "A few more days of work and I'll be able to afford it." he seemed pleased with himself. "I'll have to ask her outside so nothing valuable gets broken. This kind of thing gets a strong emotional reaction from women. I wouldn't want anything destroyed." He paused a moment, and Beast Boy could clearly hear the anticipation in the silence. "I just hope she says yes."

Deciding not to take any more chances he walked up to the open door and looked in. Kale was reading from a large catalog, though he could not make out what it was advertising, some of the prices were very high. Kale quickly stuffed the magazine into a desk drawer and turned to Beast Boy. "How can I help you BB"

"I was just looking for something to do really. I'm a little board and everyone else seems busy." He tried not to give away that he had been eavesdropping. He played it cool.

"Well..." Kale scratched his chin thoughtfully, his brown hair brushing at his shoulders. "I was about to head to my studio and open shop. Would you like to tag along." After becoming a titan, Kale had opened a small photography studio in the city. It wasn't well known yet, but the pictures were top notch as Kale developed all the film himself. The titans had plenty of money for whatever they needed, and the city picked up their utilities. Why Kale felt he needed a job was beyond him.

However, Beast Boy had always been curious about what exactly Kale did at work, other than take photos. "Sure" he agreed"Why not. I need to get some fresh air anyway."

"Great." Kale said with a smile"Meet me in the entrance hall in about five minutes, and bundle up, it's cold."

Five minutes later they were meandering down a street, as Kale wasn't in a hurry to get where he was going. Sure enough it was cold, and snowing as well. The streets were covered in glistening white snow. It was barely past Thanksgiving, and yet Christmas decorations were already hung, sale signs pinned in store windows. Small children had their noses pressed against said windows, marveling at the things that they may or may not receive as presents for their good or bad behavior during the months before and the days to come.

After they had made it a goodly way into the city they wandered into a play park where children were making snow forts and throwing snowballs. Beast Boy jumped when something cold and wet hit the back of his head. "Hey" he called, turning to see a small boy, about the age of seven or eight. He was being followed by another boy about the same age and a girl who looked a year younger and holding a snowball in his hand.

"Hey Kale" one of them, the one in the lead, yelled. "Who's this dork"

"This" Kale spoke to the leader"is Beast Boy as you well know." He chuckled a bit and asked"And how are you three today? Nelson? Joshua? Mary"

"I'm alright" the leader, who Beast Boy assumed was Nelson, replied. He was a scrawny boy but he held an air of command around him that ensured that no one his own age would mess with him. His flaming red hair was partially covered by a thick wool cap and he squinted his watery blue eyes over the glare of the sun on the snow.

"I'm fine, Mr. Syger sir." The other boy Joshua, gave his reply which was polite and respectful. He had sandy brown hair and wore earmuffs which set his glasses somewhat askew over his dull green eyes.

The small girl, Mary, walked up to Kale and tugged on his pant leg. She was dressed all in pink, her dark brown hair sticking out of her toboggan cap, and her mittens clutched tightly on her hands. He crouched down so that he was on her level. "What is it Mary" he asked smiling.

"Mr. Kale? Is what I heard true? Did you make Miss Raven not lonely any more" Miss Raven? Beast Boy scratched the back of his head at that. How did this little girl know Raven? Were they related? Kale went just a little pink at the question, but grinned none the less.

"Yes I did Mary. And if you can keep a secret I'll tell you something special." The little girl nodded eagerly her hazel eyes bright. Kale leaned in a little closer and put a hand beside his mouth, to hide his lips and muffle his whisper. When he stood up the little girl was bouncing with joy. "Now remember" Kale said in a sing-song voice"It's our little secret." Kale chatted with the children a little bit before he and Beast Boy departed, making their way further into the city.

Now Beast Boy's curiosity was peaked. "So.." he began carefully"What was that all about"

"The two boys were my neighbors before I moved into the tower. But the little girl..." he trailed off. He thought for a moment and sighed. "I guess she wouldn't mind if I told you." He looked a bit dubious about it. "Raven's been working at a children's book store here in the city, off and on for the past three years now. I think she was embarrassed to admit it to you and the others but I don't see any shame in it. Some time last year, before she and I got together, during that whole 'Secret Admirer' thing, the usual Story Time reader had died and they needed a replacement. I happened to show up at the shop at the right time and Raven wheedled me into filling the position on that day.

The girl, Mary, stayed a little after the story to talk to me about how Raven always seemed sad and lonely all the time, and she asked if I was, or wanted to be, Raven's boyfriend. Luckily her mother saved me from having to answer."

Beast Boy's brain began to burn with questions. Raven had a side job too? A children's book store? His day just kept getting weirder and weirder. "So what's the secret if you don't mind me asking"

Kale's eyes twinkled with barely hidden amusement. He raised an eyebrow at the green wonder and said"Sorry. If I told you" he seemed on the verge of laughter"it wouldn't be a secret would it"