A/N: Yes, yes, I know—the whole Terra-BB-Raven love triangle has been done to death but I've had snippets of this written for over a year now and this seemed like a good opportunity to get it out there for the rest of the world to see. Plus, I'm kind of proud of it. Let me know what you think!

I don't know where this story would take place in reference to the series. I'll let you decide that.

Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own Teen Titans.

042. Triangle

Raven didn't have to look up. She knew the moment he entered the room. His warmth was unmistakable.

"Hey, Raven."

She took a breath, then exhaled slowly but silently. "Beast Boy."

He grinned before jumping on the couch beside her and peering over the book in her lap. "So, whatcha readin'? No, wait—let me guess. Poe? Hawthorne? King? RL Stine?"

She kept her focus on her book, not daring to look him in the eye even though she knew he was trying to catch hers. A tiny, ironic voice in her mind whispered to her, informing her just how far the mighty had fallen. She tried to ignore it and that her heart was suddenly pounding."I'm not much for small talk, Beast Boy."

A heavy sigh from her companion finally caused Raven to look over at him. "You're not much for talk at all lately," Beast Boy grumbled dejectedly, slumping farther into the cushions. "You and me don't always get along but we used to talk. We don't do that anymore. Why not?"

"That was then. This is now." She still wasn't able to meet his gaze, and he still didn't understand why she wouldn't. He probably never would, she reasoned before thinking to herself that that was a good thing. It was exactly what she needed to happen. Wants—particularly hers—weren't important. Especially when they were wants she should never have allowed herself to have.

"What's the difference between then and now?" Beast Boy demanded. There was a note of anxiety in his voice, and Raven wondered if he even knew it was there.

"You have a girlfriend now," Raven replied with a shrug, as if the fact didn't bother her. And it didn't, she told herself for the umpteenth time. It did not bother her at all.

"But that doesn't matter!" They both knew that he wouldn't be so defensive about it if it truly didn't matter. She sent him a look to remind him of that fact, and he flushed. "It doesn't matter to me," he added in a quieter, less desperate tone.

"But it would to her."

He opened his mouth but couldn't find the words to argue that point. Beast Boy knew it would bother Terra—she wasn't exactly a fan of Raven nor was Raven terribly fond of the blonde rock-thrower. The two were just now managing to be civil toward one another but he knew if he persued this...this whatever it was hehad with Raven, it would only cause trouble. Someone would get hurt.

But when he looked at the dark girl, Beast Boy feared that someone had already been hurt.

He said, "I wish things didn't have to change. I like Terra a lot but...I liked everything before, too."

"Life is about sacrificing."

He shot a look of confusion in her direction. "But we aren't talking about life. We're talking about us, Rae."

She almost flinched. He had no idea how much that innocent statement hurt. She knew shouldn't allow him to call her that nickname anymore either but couldn't quite find the words to tell him to stop. Some part of her—probably Denial or Affection—believed that as long as he called her that, she wouldn't have totally lost him, and as much as Raven detested whichever emotion it was, she couldn't muster the strength to squash it.

"Things are different," Raven repeated as much to convince herself as well as him.

"But do they have to be this different?" Beast Boy was almost pleading by this point. He reached out a hand to put on her shoulder, thinking that if he did, she would finally look him in the eye.

Instead of her shoulder, however, his hand merely brushed against her cloak as Raven stood and began walking from the room.

"Yes, Beast Boy," she said before disappearing into the hall. "Things must be this different."

It was cruel to leave him, especially when he was so desperately afraid that he was going to lose their strange relationship, and Raven hated herself for going. But the fact that he was so close to her yet so far out of her reach…

That was crueler than anything she could ever do to him.