All characters belong to DC and the creators of the TT show
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Her terrified screams echoed through the tower, just like every other night.
It was 2:30 am when Beast Boy was rudely awakened from his slumber. The screams woke him, and only him. Cyborg was in his 'room', recharging for the day to come, Robin and Starfire were out on early morning patrol (at least, thats what the couple told Beast Boy. Who knows what they could really be doing) and Raven - well, the screams were coming from Raven.
Knowing that Cyborg was too 'flat' to hear anything, Beast Boy slowly pushed himself up and yanked the bedsheets off his body groggily, making a sound mixed with a groan and a yawn as he fumbled. Looks like it's my turn. Damn, why did Star have to go on patrol? I need my beauty sleep!
It had become a normal thing to be woken up by Raven's screams in the middle of the night. Usually, when not on 'patrol' with her boyfriend, Starfire would rush to her friend's aid while everyone else simply continued on with their sleeping. Not tonight though. It was Beast Boys turn.
"C'mon BB, what's she gonna do? there is nothing to worry about!" he reassured himself in hurried whispers. He had been wanting to avoid doing this very thing, and he had. Until now. It wasn't that he didn't trust Raven, because he did. Beast Boy would trust Raven with his life. It's just… Raven can sometimes lose control… and if what Starfire has said to be true, then she's most likely on the brink of losing it right now.
"C'mon Beast Boy! it's what friends do! Star never gets hurt, so why are you so worried?"
Because it's me!Beast Boy teased himself goofily, trying to calm himself down. Somehow, it worked.
Suddenly filled with a strong sense of duty, Beast Boy bounded out of his bed, wearing nothing but his boxers and bolted out of the room. He sprinted down the dimly lit halls, accidentally knocking into a small table leaning against the wall in the process. Gotta tell Robin we need that thing gone, Beast Boy absently noted after letting out a short but loud yowl of pain. Luckily, Ravens screams were loud enough that they blocked it out. I'm coming Rae!
Finally after some blind staggering through the dark, Beast Boy was standing outside of Raven's room. The off-limits room basically. His hand was trembling with fear when he lifted it over the keypad to open the door. Going into Raven's was mostly strictly off limits, so who could blame Beast Boy for being scared to go in it? sure, he had before, but Raven never liked it. Never. Hopefully, she'd be a bit more acceptable of it tonight…
"Ra-Rae?" Beast Boy called nervously, his voice trembling. "A-are you o-okay? Can I come in-?!"
Beast Boy didn't wait for an answer. As soon as Raven's screams muffled out his words, he slammed his fists onto the key pad and sped inside her room faster than Kid Flash.
The sight that loomed before him was one he never wanted to see. Ever. Raven lay on her purple bed, with her sheets wrapped around her tightly as beads of sweat trickled over her writhing body. Her normally calm and beautiful face, was scrunched up in excruciating pain. The sounds she made were nothing but screams, cries and heavy, pained breathing. Seeing Raven, the girl he loved like this was torturous. Oh geez, never knew it was this bad. I've gotta do something!
"Raven!" was all he could think of to say before rushing towards her. What do I do what do I do what do I do?!
"C'mon! it's just a dream!" Beast Boy was becoming distraught. He needed to know how Starfire handled this, and fast. Doing the first thing that came to mind, Beast Boy reached down to Raven's shoulders and violently (Unintentionally) shook her.
"RAVEN WAKE UP-!" Beast Boy words were abruptly cut off as Raven's hands whipped up and firmly grasped his wrists, sending an unsettling chill up his spine. The Changeling shuddered at her touch.
"R-Rae? you awake or should I start running?" Beast Boy spoke softly. At his shaky words, Raven's big violet eyes fluttered open, and her grip loosened.
"Beast Boy?" she let go of his wrists, "Are you really there?" Raven asked groggily, as if she had no idea what was happening. Beast Boy watched in puzzlement as she struggled to push herself up. When she eventually did, she let out a loud wince of pain.
"Slow down, slow down!" Beast Boy fretted and not so gently pushed Raven back onto her bed, causing her to wince again and throw him a quick glare. Stupid idiot!
"Dammit, I'm sorry! and uh yeah, I'm really here…" he spoke cautiously, uncertain of how his fellow titan will act.
She didn't say anything, only shut her eyes and breathed a small, barely audible sigh of relief. Beast Boy frowned.
"Um, Raven, are you alright? you were screaming a minute ago, drenched in sweat, and asking if I'm real, and now it looks like you're about to meditate?" he queried anxiously with utter confusion written all over his green face. Opening her eyes, Raven exhaled heavily and bowed her head in shame.
"I-i'm fine. It was just a dream. It was nothing." Her last words faded into silence, as if she was trying to convince herself something, when obviously she did not believe it.
"Are you sure? you don't look fine- I mean, you do! you always look fine- in fact, you look great! you just don't look- It just doesn't look like it was nothing. It never looks like it's nothing." The words came stumbling out of Beast Boy's mouth as soon as he opened it. He wanted to slap himself for his stupidity. 'You alway look fine? in fact you look great?!' what was that! this is a serious matter Beast Boy!
"Garfield, it's noth-"
"Don't say it's nothing, Rae." Beast Boy cut in sharply at the sound of his real name. "You always say it's nothing whenever I or the other Titans ask! we all know it isn't nothing." Beast Boy sat himself down next to Raven to grab her drifting attention. "Can't you tell us what's wrong? we're your friends. Can't you at least tell me?" he pleaded.
Slowly, Raven lifted her head up so the two were eye to eye. Her violet eyes narrowed.
"Why do you even care Garfield?" Demanded Raven weakly, tired and fearful of Beast Boy's concerns and worries, knowing it could possibly put him in harms way. Of coarse, he didn't know that, and even if he did it still wouldn't stop him.
"Raven, you're my-" you're the love of my life? no, that definitely won't work. "-friend, and seeing you - I hate to say it - weak, is scary, and all it makes me want to do is-" hold you and love you? yeah, as if Raven would allow that. "- help and be there for you! Really, that's all I want to do! And so do the others! why do you have to shut us out all the time?! Even though you may not know it because of your- your stupid meditating and reading, we're here for you! I'm here for you, and you don't even know it!" Beast Boy lashed out in an unexpected and unintentional burst of anger that he didn't know he had been bottling up. Hiding his true feelings from not only Raven, but the whole team, did this to him. Frequently.
Unfortunately for Beast Boy, waking up the daughter of a demon from what appeared to be a nightmare then continuing to yell at her was not the best thing to do.
"You think I don't know that?" she growled, her violet eyes slowly changing into scarlet. "You think I don't see the look on your face every time I snap? or hear your hushed whispers of what you fear about me?! Admit it, you don't even care!" Raven's eyes were blazing. If it was any other night, this would have made Beast Boy run for it, but not tonight. He couldn't leave now. Not when Raven was like… this.
"…All I do is scare or hurt people, and I don't want you to be next." Raven murmured glumly under her breath, and for the first time allowed herself to express an emotion in front of the boy she always thought would never see her like this. Sadness. Tears began to well up in her eyes, and the red glow quickly faded away.
Beast Boy had never seen Raven like this. He wasn't sure if anyone had seen Raven like this… it must be the dream. There is no other reasonable explanation of why she would be so… open towards him, of all people…
"I'm telling you the truth." Beast Boy said in a surprisingly soothing voice.
"I'm here for you, no matter what. You've scared me HEAPS of times already, and I'm still here!" He said with a comforting grin and placed a reassuring hand onto Raven's slumped shoulder, sending a warm sensation through her body and filling her with a short, bittersweet bliss that disappeared as soon as he pulled away.
"I know, and I'm sorry…" Raven sniffled, avoiding direct eye contact and brought her knees up to her face, where she propped them up to her chin and tightly hugged her legs."But really, you don't want to be there for me. No one does, or should. It's best if you just look at me as a teammate, and nothing else."
Beast Boy's grin faltered. Why on Earth is she saying these things? she knows that I would never do that! She must know! how could she not? isn't it obvious?! I'm pretty sure I was terrible at hiding it!
"Raven! you can't seriously expect me to do that… can you?" he scoffed in shock. Raven's grim eyes confirmed his suspicions. It was as if this wasn't bothering her at all. It bothered Beast Boy immensely.
"What?! NO!" He barked and shuffled his whole body and legs so he was fully facing Raven. She did not react to his actions, only when he snatched her hands away from her knees and gave them a light squeeze. She reacted then, with a light, hardly noticeable, basically IMPOSSIBLE to notice, blush. She didn't say anything though. Not even a single protest.
"I don't know what's going on with you, but you need to stop this selfish bullshit. RIGHT NOW." Beast Boy ordered, sounding scarily similar to an infuriated Robin with a temporary scowl to go along with it.
The look on Raven's face however, made it all collapse. A sharp pang of guilt hit Beast Boy almost instantly when the two locked eyes.
"Listen to me Raven," he sighed after a few seconds of tense silence, "I-" Was he really going to say this?
Yep.
"-I care for you. Much more than anyone else, and much more than you probably realise, if you haven't read my mind or something. You can't make me suddenly stop just because- because- you haven't even told me why! seriously Raven? that's low, even for you-" the changeling did NOT mean to utter that last bit. It just sort of came out in a quick rush of spite. "-Just- please, Raven, I don't understand whats going on, but please please PLEASE let me help!"
No surprise, Beast Boy received zero response from Raven. He reluctantly turned away from the titan with a drawn-out sigh of defeat. "Fine." he muttered bluntly. Feeling a little bit guilty, Raven stared at the back of Beat Boy's green messy hair as he contemplated on whether to leave or stay. She never noticed how nice the colour was until now. She was so captivated by the strange yet gorgeous green hair, that she almost didn't notice the owner of the hair stand up and begin to move away in a huff.
"W-wait," Raven croaked and firmly grasped Beast Boy's hand. For a second, he froze at her surprisingly warm touch. It was different. Raven's touch had alway been cold, or at least the very few times Raven touched Beast Boy. It was different, but nice.
Raven couldn't help but blush when she realised Beast Boy's back and chest were… well, there!
With little remorse, her eyes drifted to his well shaped shoulders and happily stayed there until he turned around to face her, his wrist still imprisoned tightly by her hands. Beast Boy stood there in silence and puzzlement for a short while before he realised Raven's violet eyes were ogling his bare chest. A smug smirk played onto his lips. Then it trembled. Then it transformed into a gaping hole.
"RAVEN!" he shrieked in terror and threw his hands over his chest, "That is th-that i-is very inappropriate in a time like this!" he said over-dramatically as his cheeks became a bright pink… mixed with green. It was fair to say that Best Boy became very self-conscious around Raven.
At Beast Boy's shriek, Raven dropped her gaze to the floor in embarrassment. Her grey cheeks flushed a deep red, and she was only able to mutter a few words without feeling like rubbish;
"It's the dreams."
I knew it Beast Boy thought with a frown. Raven's dreams were never good, even if they were just dreams. But if they were making her want to push her closest friends away… well, they must getting worse.
For once, the Changeling was starting to act serious. He dropped his hands from his chest and rushed back to Raven's side, his whole body back on the bed. Before he let a word escape his untrustworthy mouth, he froze. Do I really want to know? no, but I gotta help.
"Did you want to talk about it?" asked Beast Boy quietly as he absently took Raven's hands in his.
"My father - and you and the team were in it. That's all you need to know… I don't really want to talk about it." she told him defensively and recoiled her hands out of his grasp.
Hurt but not broken, Beast Boy persisted.
"I'm just trying to help, geez. Besides, didn't you like, kick his ass? he's gone, isn't he?" he said with a frown and a furrowed brow.
For a moment, it looked as if Raven didn't know how to answer his question. Could Trigon still be around? I hope not.
Then, to Beast Boy's relief, she slowly nodded once.
"Phew, you scared me for a second there." Beast Boy said and elbowed Raven playfully in the arm. They locked eyes for a brief second, and Beast Boy thought it was fine. Nice, even. Until Raven pulled her gaze away in a unneeded rush.
"S-sorry," Beast Boy chuckled nervously with a tiny hint of sadness before looking away unwillingly and having to hide his flushing cheeks of embarrassment. Just making this worse, BB! It's time to leave Rae. She obviously doesn't want you here…
"I guess I'll-"
"Don't."
Beast Boy glanced up at Raven with his trademark look etched onto his face, utter confusion. The demonic girl was staring right at him. It was… weird. A good weird.
"Don't? don't what?" asked Beast Boy curiously, oblivious to the fact that Raven was reaching for his chest. Did Raven want him to stay? Pfft, as if BB!
The demonic girl didn't jump to answer, but slowly, as if afraid of hurting someone, wrapped her arms around Beast Boy's body and buried her face into the crook of his neck. She was… hugging?
SHE'S HUGGING ME. Beast Boy internally shrieked and sat there in shock. WHAT DO I DO?!
After a while of mild confusion, Beast Boy responded like any crazy person would. He hugged Raven tightly, never wanting to let go, and kissed her on the forehead. Why? maybe it had something to do with a sudden… urge.
"Please don't leave." Raven begged in a hushed whisper as tears began falling from her eyes. Taken by surprised, Beast Boy pulled back a little too forcefully and stared at Raven right in the eye. Wh-what is seriously going on with her? He wondered, but didn't dare ask. The tears streaming down her grey cheeks told him all he needed to know. Raven needed him.
"I won't."
"Good."
Then, she kissed him.
At first, Beast Boy was too taken aback to react. Then, when Raven began to pull away, he came to his senses. Lifting his hands, Beast Boy seized her by the hips and pulled her closer, wanting nothing but to take her all in. It was all Raven wanted too.
The kissing quickly became hungry and passionate. Beast Boys hands searched every part of her back, while one of hers buried deep into his hair, fingers sprawled. The other clawed at his shoulders in immense pleasure. Beast Boy forgot about the conversation in an instant and was transported into another world of pure bliss. He didn't even notice the continuous flow of Ravens tears until a single sob escaped her heavenly lips.
"Rae?" he said and reluctantly edged a few centimetres away, only then noticing the stinging pain in his shoulders. He tried his best to ignore it. "I'm here for you, remember? whatever you need."
"I know," Raven managed and wiped away the tears. Her dream was still there, clearly drilled into her mind. Although she wouldn't say it, she was deeply thankful for Beast Boys company. He soothed the pain, and for the first time, made her feel… complete. "Could you stay with me, Garfield?"
Beast Boys heart skipped a beat. Sure, he had heard Raven say his name many times, but only in spite. This was different. How? Beast Boy had no idea. Then again, his brain temporarily shut down as soon as Ravens lips touched his, so maybe he did know.
"I am- I think."
"No," Raven muttered, "could you sleep with me?"
She didn't have to explain herself. Beast Boy understood.
"Of coarse." he said with a comforting smile and lifted his hands up to her blushing cheeks. He placed a light kiss on her lips and pulled her into a warm embrace. "Whatever you need."
It was then, that the trauma and fear began to fade away. In Beast Boys arms, Raven felt the most safest. "Thank you. Garfield, I-I want you to know, th-that I care for you too…"
It was then, that they realised they couldn't live without each other.
Slowly, with arms wrapped around one another, foreheads touching and eyes shut, they lay down. Raven could feel herself drifting off, but Beast Boy was wide awake. His heart was racing at the sound of Ravens words. 'I care for you too.' could that mean…?
"Thank you, Beast Boy." Raven repeated with a yawn, pulling Beast Boy out of his perplexed thoughts. She embraced the changeling tighter and buried her head into the crook of his neck affectionately.
"Heh, no problem." Beast Boy chuckled arrogantly as he finally began to feel content. Still, Ravens words continued to bother him.
"Rae, you still awake?" He asked after minutes of a tranquil silence.
"Mm hmm." she mumbled and slightly stirred, but kept her arms around the changeling and her eyes shut.
"Can I ask you something?"
"Mm hmm."
"What do you mean by 'I care for you too'?"
"I mean the same thing as what you do."
Beast Boy felt his heart skip a beat again. Raven only felt herself dive into a rare peaceful slumber.
"Raven," Beast Boy whispered in shock and joy, softly resting his chin onto her head as his eyes closed. "I love you too."
For what felt like the first time in ages, Raven let herself smile.