Okay so here it is. I'll put up some more tomorrow. It's late here now. Enjoy.
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Ch. 4: Perfect
Something was going on with her feelings and Raven couldn't figure out what it was. She noticed it every time something happened to Beast Boy. It was almost like she was...possessive. Which was just ridiculous. Why would she be possessive over a person? Especially one as annoying as Beast Boy?
She noticed it the first time during the Puppet King incident. They got the package. Beast Boy made a comment about it being from one of his many admires. Her first reaction was anger than some random girl would send him anything. That faded in a second and was replaced by her usual sarcastic thoughts about his lack of admires. She blamed the momentary lapse on the fact that she'd already been annoyed by her interrupted meditation. Later that night, her and Starfire were attacked by their own friends. Somehow, she ended up defending herself against Beast Boy. It bothered her that she found herself fighting against Beast Boy of all people. Not that she would have been happy fighting the other two boys, but she was especially unhappy about fighting Beast Boy.
She managed to escape with Starfire but they didn't manage to escape unscathed. Switched. They'd switched bodied. The worst part was that in order to be of any help, she had to let loose the emotions she'd spent years locking away. Then she had to explain her story to Starfire. Well, she left out the prophecy part. Surely Starfire didn't need to know that bit. Between the two of them, they managed to learn quite a bit about the other.
They returned to Titan's Tower to fight for their friends. She had to fight Beast Boy. Why was it always Beast Boy? She'd bruised him. Didn't that damn puppet realize that she would rather cut off her own arm than hurt any of her friends, especially the annoying green one? She was going to make sure he paid dearly for every bruise she had to inflict on her friends. For the first time, she used star bolts when her fury broke free at the threat to what she cared about most. Those idiot friends of hers.
The next day, Starfire started joining her in meditation occasionally. If nothing else, Raven got something like a sister out of the ordeal. Even if she couldn't explain the protective instincts she's had regarding the changling.
Something she found amusing a few weeks later was Beast Boy's jealousy. After the mission where they first met Aqualad, she found the changling sitting on the rocks outside the tower near the ocean. She sat next to him. As an empath she felt his irritation and was concerned. It wasn't like him to hold anger like this. Normally it just fizzled out after an hour or so. But, he'd been hiding his anger for hours now.
"Are you okay?" she asked him without looking at him. This sort of thing made her uncomfortable so she was sure she'd do better if she kept her eyes away from him.
"Of course, why wouldn't I be."
She merely looked at him.
He sighed. "Okay so I'm a little angry."
"Why?"
"Because I'm...I failed." He sighed again. "I wasn't good enough to save you guys when Triton nearly sank the sub. And then yo...I mean everyone was all gaga over Aqualad and it just rubbed my failures in my face."
"I was not gaga," she countered a little snidely. Gaga? What kind of term was that anyway. Sounded ridiculous. "I'll admit that he is cute and very skilled. On par with Robin maybe. Probably not, but his skill is good. But, Beast Boy you are good too. Don't make Robin's mistake and think you have to be able to do everything. No one is perfect. Remember when I lost my temper and traumatized Dr. Light. That's my failure." She placed a hand on his shoulder. "You don't have to be perfect. Besides, it's good to be reminded that you aren't the best. That's when you learn the most."
He gave her a weak smile and she felt his anger vanish. "Thanks, Rae."
"It's Raven," she corrected automatically. "Let's go eat dinner."
Nodding, he stood and followed her back inside.
Things seemed to go smoothly for a while after that. After they saved Robin from Slade, she even found herself suggesting a celebration because she knew it would make Beast Boy happy. So she sat at the counter and listened to him and Cyborg argue about what to make. She sighed, but inside she was smiling. Things were going just fine. Maybe there was hope for her future after all.
Then Starfire made her little trip to the future and told them what had happened to their team. Raven had two reactions. First, she had that 'HA, I was right,' moment, because she been telling herself all along that her friends were her sanity. She'd just never guessed how literal that was. Then there was 'Beast Boy was in a cage' moment. She frowned at herself. Why did that bother her just as much as losing her mind did? Maybe she'd already lost it. That was the only thing that made any sense to her.
She had a very similar reaction when she thought some alien was going to take Beast Boy away from them to replace his dog. That...well...to put it simply...it had pissed her off that anyone would try to take Beast Boy away - no matter how annoying he was.
In fact, something began to nag at the back of her mind every time something happened with Beast Boy. She shoved it away because somehow she knew it was going to be the most terrifying thought she'd ever had. And if it was that terrifying, it might ruin what little friendship she and Beast Boy had managed to develop since the Nevermore incident. But, the feelings only got worse with the arrival of Her.
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