*Diverge*
Ever since the boy's return on Tuesday, Ivy refused to leave Raven's side; so much for home sickness. It was hard enough to go to the bathroom in peace let alone have a bubble bath. And now Raven sat on the couch, her usual book in hand with Ivy cuddled up against her and one of her quilts draped over them. The Ops room was busy with all of the titan's still prepping for Thanksgiving tomorrow.
Cyborg and Starfire were retrieving extra chairs and tables from the storage room and garage. Robin was seated at the kitchen table scribbling something on a piece of paper. Beast boy and Hazel were busy in the kitchen baking one of the pies for their dessert.
"Let's set it up over there." Cyborg said carrying one of the plastic tables over his shoulder. He pointed across the room towards the picture window.
The sweet aroma of pie filled the room mixed with other sweets that were now cooling on hot pads. The refrigerator had gained its holiday weight containing a turkey, pies, lemon bars, a carton of eggnog and much more. At least the other titans would be bringing dishes as well to the Thanksgiving feast. Raven had finished her cooking with Beast boy and Starfire on Tuesday to get it over with.
"Hey Raven," Robin looked up to make sure he captured her attention.
Raven's eyes left the book, unimpressed with the interruption. "What is it?"
"Could you run to the store and get more paper plates and some other stuff?" Robin rushed before adding.
Raven sighed, "Can't you get Cyborg to do it?" She asked, knowing the half robot was clearly in the middle of something.
The black haired boy shook his head, "He's busy. Besides you're the only one responsible enough to do it." He paused to make sure she was still listening, "I have to make sure they don't burn down the tower."
Raven rolled her eyes. "Fine, I'll do it."
Robin did have a point though, if Beast boy was sent he would be in the arcade for hours. Cyborg would have stopped at the auto shop for his car and Starfire would have wondered off to the mall. Raven placed her book on the coffee table before grabbing her coat off a kitchen chair. Robin handed her the list he had made, all the while Ivy followed her about with one thumb occupying her mouth. Raven had given up with Ivy's thumb sucking problem; it became clear it wasn't going to work. Even after trying to limit her thumb sucking to just the house. Robin left the with Cyborg and Starfire to collect more chairs and tables from the storage room.
"Stay here with, Daddy." Raven said before taking her car keys off the counter. The small girl was just about to follow Raven out the door.
Ivy held onto Raven's pants covered leg, "Don't leave me."
Raven sighed, this was going to be difficult, "I need to go to the store and I'll be back soon, okay?" It would be much faster without having Ivy tag along.
"Hey come here." Beast boy called from the kitchen, handing a spatula for Hazel to lick. "She'll be back, if you come here you can lick the spoon."
Raven attempted to slip out the door as Beast boy was trying to convince the small girl. "But…but I want to go with Mommy."
Beast boy set the timer on the oven before approaching Raven. He then bent down and scooped Ivy up, tossed her in the air and caught her again. It seemed to work as he got her to laugh for a moment letting Raven slip out unnoticed. Raven felt a bit guilty about the situation but she just wanted to get in and out of the store.
Some customers had enough nerve to hound Raven with the usual questions about her personal life. She walked down an aisle with a hand basket already filled with rolls, cranberry sauce and whipped cream. The store was crowded at the evening hour Robin had sent her. Raven turned down another aisle and scanned the shelves for plastic plates and such. Robin hadn't specified the number of plates, cups and bowls they actually needed. The next thing Raven knew, her basket had clattered to the floor and she was sitting on her butt.
A hand flashed in front of Raven's face, "Sorry I didn't mean t-
"Oh it's just you." The hand then disappeared. "Thanks for telling, Beast boy."
Raven got to her feet and picked up her basket. Standing up, she came face to face with who she recognized as the teen titan's traitor. Terra's blue eyes were hard and icy as they stared down at her. Raven brushed herself off intending to walk away from the aisle.
Terra stopped her, "But could you tell him I'd like to see him sometime?"
Raven's knuckles were tinged pink as she held tightly onto the basket, "Why don't you tell him yourself?" She snapped before shoving plastic utensils into the basket. Raven couldn't believe this was happening to her of all people at this moment.
The blonde shrugged, "Didn't think you'd mind." She now crossed her arms over her chest. "From what I recall you never liked him."
"W-what?" Raven was taken aback by her words.
Terra awkwardly shrugged, "It's been awhile but I'm back to reclaim what I left behind."
"You lost your memories years ago." Raven glared daggers back at Terra.
Their stance in the crowded store immediately attracted attention from other customers. People shamelessly recorded the scene on their phones as the two women weren't talking all too quietly. It wasn't often a member of the teen titans faced an ex titan. But at the moment the two women were in their own world finally facing each other.
"Who said I ever lost them?" Terra questioned, "Doesn't matter, someone was able to restore my memories."
Raven kept her face composed though she was already boiling with anger, "Traitor."
"Witch." She spat back immediately. It was as if the two of them had stepped back into time when they were much younger.
The basket in Raven's hand grew heavy, "I'm not the one who broke his heart."
Terra rolled her blue eyes, unimpressed, "I'm not the one who physically and verbally abused him."
That stopped Raven, her heart froze in her chest from Terra's truthful words. Raven couldn't deny that, she used to be awful to Beast boy. She could even admit to herself that she still was on some level.
Terra advanced on her, words sharp like knives, "And I'm not the creepy one who pushed everybody away."
"I didn't betray my friends." Raven was really climbing back into the past with her and their current argument. "You're the one who told him things change."
"And right now it's changing again." Terra face was like stone but full of seriousness. "Things change but some feelings stay the same."
Several of the store items were incased in black energy threatening to explode. "Who said Beast boy didn't forget about you?" Raven's free hand clenched into a fist. "It's been years, so drop it."
"Not everything is about Beast boy." Terra said, her arms fell to her sides now.
Raven closed her eyes and took a breath until her magic dissipated around the store merchandise. "We both know that was a façade. Can't you see the pain you've caused him?"
"You're no better."
Raven raised an eyebrow, "You put him through the worst."
"And you didn't?" Terra said narrowing her eyes, "Look I'm not here just for him."
Terra merely looked bored holding their extended conversation. The crowd had gotten even bigger and surprisingly none of the workers had come to the situation. More likely do to the fact that the audience could possibly be harmed.
"Then what's your deal?" Raven hesitated, trying to keep her emotions in check.
"I can't tell you everything." The blonde woman shook her head. "But tell him that we've talked and I'll promise your kids won't be around soon after that."
Raven held her ground, "And how would you know if I would say something?" She challenged.
"I've got connections." Terra turned on her heel and left the aisle pushing past the crowd. "And if you would, keep your hands off of him."
Thankfully, Terra didn't have intentions to physically harm her in the store. But Raven knew the threats were real and not something to mess with. She swiftly turned and pushed through the crowd, ignoring the mobile devices which recorded her. She didn't have the patience to stand in line and settled for the self-checkout line.
Raven marched to her black BMW in the light rain, plastic bags clutched in both of her hands. She put the groceries in the trunk before climbing in the car and turning up the heat. Soon she backed out of the parking lot and was headed towards the tower. All the while her emotions were churning inside, her hands tightly held onto the steering wheel.
It wasn't until Raven slammed down the bags onto the kitchen table; she realized she had made it into the tower. Her lavender eyes had been glazed over since she left the store. The chairs and tables were already set up around the Ops room, the environment was more relaxed. Starfire had set the cake on the counter on top of hot pads. Robin and Cyborg were taking a break in front of the TV, resorting to video games.
"Hey Raven." Beast boy hugged her from behind, his breath tickling her neck.
"Mommy," Ivy had her arms wrapped around Raven's leg as soon as she realized Raven returned. Ivy had Raven's quilt wrapped around her, the majority of it dragging on the floor. Hazel had waved but Raven took no notice of her, or anyone around her. "I love you."
Raven gently elbowed him off of her, "Gar, stop."
Beast boy nuzzled his face into her neck before his warm lips kissed her soft neck. Instead he held her even closer to his chest despite her wishes. Raven's skin was cold to the touch.
"You okay?" He asked, noticing something was off about her.
Raven continued to struggle, trying to push Beast boy away from her and remove Ivy's arms. "I'm fine."
Beast boy let up and let go of her, giving her the space Raven was craving. He kissed her temple but she still didn't turn towards him. The volume of video games was turned up, Robin and Cyborg currently shouting at the plasma screen. Starfire had drifted over to Robin, eager to have him taste test some of her baking.
"Really, what's wrong?"
Raven hated when he wouldn't drop the subject or take her word for it. "I'm going out…Ivy please let go." Her back was still to him.
"Come here, bug." Beast boy bent down and had the child in his arms blanket and all.
Raven then teleported to her room, not in the mood to discuss it with him. She just had to escape, she couldn't afford to let her powers hurt the ones she dearly loved. Her powers weren't stable enough for her to remain in the tower.
Raven was after one thing, she opened one of the drawers to her vanity mirror. Her hand felt around before bringing out her meditation mirror and shoving it into a black purse. In another instant, Raven teleported out of her room appearing in a familiar alley; she was back in the city. The alley was dimly lit but she already knew her destination.
A bell tinkled as she pushed open the glass door of Page After Page bookstore. It was warmer inside and there was a decent amount of people browsing around. A couple of toddlers were having a fit somewhere in the children's book section. But other than that it was relatively quiet at the moment.
"Good Evening, Miss Roth." An older woman greeted her usual customer. The woman had to be in her late twenties and was a relatively content person.
Raven nodded her head in response. "Evening,"
Raven proceeded to wonder the rest of the bookstore and browsing the shelves. It wasn't long before she was holding an Edgar Allan Poe book and sitting in a green armchair. It came to the point when Raven noticed she kept rereading the same paragraph for quite some time. Terra's words were haunting her and several times Raven's black aura had encased several book cases. Reading wasn't going to help calm her down like it usually did. She found herself wandering in the children's section; something Raven never imagined herself doing.
"Do you need help finding anything?" A sickly thin man asked. He was casually sitting behind a brown desk typing on the computer.
Raven didn't even look up as she replied. "No thanks, I'm just browsing."
Hazel and Ivy really were in need of new books for bedtime. Beast boy had finished the ones from her fairytale book long ago. And he reread The Selfish Giant every night at their request; he almost knew the lines by heart. Raven settled for buying several books: Junie B. Jones is a Graduation Girl; Junie B. Jones is a Party Animal, and The Stories Julian Tells. They weren't ideal books a four-year-old could read, but they had pictures and they would last for bedtime reading.
"Do you want to use your membership card?" A woman at the checkout asked as Raven sat her books down.
"Mhm," Raven nodded reaching for the wallet in her purse. As often as Raven visited the book store, it would have been a shame if she didn't have a monthly membership. And it was used quite often.
Raven handed over the plastic gray and orange card and handed over the amount of change. Her eyes drifted to the flashy bookmarks that she didn't need on the counter. Her attention was brought back when a plastic card was held in front of her face.
The woman smiled and bagged the three books Raven purchased. "Have a great evening. It was nice to see you, Rachel."
Raven attempted to smile back but froze when the glass window sprouted thin cracks, "Thanks and you too."
Raven held the plastic white bag in her hands before hurrying out the door. It was already dark outside due to daylight savings time; it still took time adjusting to. Perhaps tea would calm her down and there was no way she would return to the tower in current state. She couldn't ignore the fact that she was risk to her teammates.
Just then Raven's communicator went off, the beeping reached her ears. Her gray hand hesitated to answer it; perhaps it was only Beast boy trying to get a hold of her. She shrugged it off and just let it beep; whoever was trying to contact her would stop soon. Raven wandered the quiet streets of Jump City, at first with no real destination in mind.
"What will it be, Rachel, the usual?" A young man asked with a small smirk.
Raven blinked, she was standing in Grounds for Thought Café. "That'd be great." She deadpanned.
She didn't remember walking to her poetry reading café but the thought of tea sounded nice. Several familiar people nodded at her in acknowledgement, most of them used to her presence. Raven's eyes stared out the black window, from the lighting inside she watched the raindrops race down the glass. The hot liquid scorched her cold lips as it burned its way down her throat.
"Are you alright?" A deep voice rang through Raven's ears, "You usually recite one of your poems by now."
Through the reflection of the window she watched as Landon took a seat from across her. It wasn't uncommon for the two of them to bump into each other in a place such as the café. The black haired man casually leaned back in his chair so only two of the legs were touching the ground.
Raven shrugged off his concern, "I think I'm catching a cold is all. What brings you here?"
Landon's eyelids fluttered closed, "Just got off work. It's not like I have much to do after that anyways."
"What about school?" Raven's lips rested on the rim of the mug, the steam warming her face.
"It's going." He said after a few moments of silence, save for the person at the front reciting a poem. "And you?"
Raven glanced at the man for the first time, "Just decided to go to the bookstore." She wasn't completely lying to him; there was some truth to it.
Although Landon's facial expression was set in stone, Raven could feel the concern rolling off of him. His dark brown eyes were on her then, studying her for just a moment until staring out the window. The silence between the two friends was a comfortable one; the need to fill it wasn't necessary.
"How'd Beast boy and Cyborg like the game?" He changed subjects.
She brought the hot liquid to her lips again, "I'm not sure…I forgot to tell them about it." In truth the game was at home resting on a bookshelf, blending in with their collection of video games.
"Oh." Landon mumbled and brought his chair down on all four legs. "You seem a little off. Are you sure it's just a cold?"
Raven could feel his brown eyes boring holes into her. It only made her avoid looking at him. "I said I was fine."
The words tumbled out of her mouth harsher than intended but Landon was unaffected. Several thin cracks appeared on the side of her ceramic cream colored mug. So light that only her eyes noticed it, returning to the tower that night wouldn't be an option.
"Sorry." Landon mumbled, aware that the situation wasn't playing out as he imagined.
She drained the rest of the hot liquid from her mug, "I think I'll go for a walk, see you around."
Standing up she pushed in the black chair and grabbed her purse. "Don't stay out long, it's already late." Landon proceeded to show her the time on his phone; it read 10:54pm.
It hadn't felt like she had been gone for five hours, "I can take care of myself." Her voice strained as she tried to stay under control, the mug already took a hit from her.
"I know, but still."
Raven nodded, understanding, but it was ironic as she helped keep Jump City safe. But she also knew as a friend he was just wishing her the best. Nothing was of use to help her control her powers as they usually would. She shouldn't be affecting me this much, Raven scolded herself.
The icy cold ocean waves crashed down on the sand on the beach. The roar of the waves the only sound and there was barely any light. The rain had reduced to a mere mist by the time Raven had made it there. The tower was in view, far out in the distance but impossible to miss, the lights in the Ops room remained on for whatever reason. And the red aircraft warning lights that blinked on the roof of the tower.
The sand was wet and saturated her pants as she sat down, one of her hands dug up the clumps of sand. She had almost forgotten her meditation mirror was stashed in her purse. She wiped her hand on her pants leg and retrieved the object and moved further away from the water. The tides were high and she wouldn't take any chances of losing the mirror in the depths of the ocean.
Only seconds later Raven standing on a rocky terrain with the familiar black sky with red specks. The purple haired woman wondered which emotion she should seek advice from. The ravens hopped around at her feet and softly cawed but posed no threat. Raven tucked her hands in her pocket before entering Happy's domain.
Everything was a sickly shade of pink: the pink grass was mixed with specs of yellow, trees, clouds, and mountains except for the sky which was a golden yellow. Raven had been walking through Happy's domain for at least eight minutes without a sign of the pink cloaked emotion. It was strange as Happy would have hounded her by now, Raven continued to walk until the landscape changed to the black sky speckled with billons of red lights in substitute of stars.
By now Raven would have come across at least one of her emoticlones. The only sound that she could hear, was the bottoms of her shoes scraping against the surface of the rock. Not even Knowledge had come to greet her yet. Raven had already passed through Timid's maze and through Brave's domain.
"…won't l-like me anymore." A voice loudly cried out in the distance.
Raven was just approaching Knowledge's home when she heard the voice. It was none other than Timid in tears. Raven continued to walk until the scenery changed from the dark sky into a pink and blue sky tinged with purple; like a sunset. The grass and trees looked relatively normal compared to Happy's home. It wasn't long until Raven spotted Timid along with the rest of her emoticlones, the reason why she couldn't find them anywhere. Even Rage was angrily pacing back and forth with her red hood pulled up. Raven stopped short and chose to study them and what they were doing all together in one place.
"He still likes us Timid." Happy tried to reassure her. "I promise."
Timid had her hands covering her face, "B-but how do you know that?"
The emoticlones were sitting in a circle on the grass accept for Rage. Happy held Timid in a comforting embrace while Brave's gray hand rested on the woman's gray cloak. Rage had both of her hands clenched into fists and angry expression on her lips. Knowledge sat across from Timid in a lotus position, leather bound book resting in her lap. Sloth and Rude were leaned against each other, their backs holding each other up. Affection sat in the grass, a dazed look in her eyes as she picked the orange flowers to make a necklace.
Affection tied a knot on the flower stem, "Because he still loves us." She simply replied. "There's no doubt about it, you can see it in his gorgeous eyes."
"I hate her so much." Rage fumed angrily stomping her foot on the hard ground. "She just shows up out of nowhere and acts like she's in charge of everything." She snarled; her knuckles were tinged pink now.
Knowledge shrugged and fiddled with her book mark, "Being angry won't solve any problems, you aren't thinking clearly."
"I don't care." Four red eyes flashed at the woman cloaked in yellow. "I just wish that traitor was dead."
Brave crossed her left leg over her right one, "I actually agree. Doesn't she bother you at all, Affection?"
Love glanced up at the emoticlone and shrugged, "Everything will be fine, I'm sure. Garfield…probably doesn't love her anymore." Her hesitation only proved that there was some level of doubt.
The green cloaked emotion raised an eyebrow. "You're dodging the question. Just admit it, she bothers you too."
Knowledge was unaffected by Rage's behavior, "Just because Terra faces trials too, doesn't mean she should die…our teammates would never have thought about us deserving to die."
"Don't say her name ever again." Rage's voice strained as she was trying to prove her point. "And don't you ever compare her to us."
Love slightly frowned, "She doesn't deserve to be hated, she a person too."
A sob escaped from Timid, "And Gar liked her first, who says he still doesn't? I know he hates me; I'm so mean to him."
Knowledge looked up at the crying woman, "Garfield was the only one to make her feel accepted when she first came along. It's pointless to fight against that fact."
Rude opened one of her eyes and probably wasn't following the conversation, "Shut up already."
"Cheer up Timid, look on the positive side of things." Happy's laughed chimed through the air, "Oh hey, Rae-Rae!" The pink cloaked woman had realized Raven was standing off to the side.
Knowledge only rolled her eyes before returning to the book placed in her lap. "All is fair in love and war'" She quoted.
Sloth shook her head at the statement, "That was cliché, even for you."
"But it still holds some truth." Affection defended.
Raven quickly made her way over, a few of her emotions observed her noticing that she wore civilian clothing. Happy left Timid's side and embraced Raven in a hug that had her arms pinned down. Raven frowned at the contact she was receiving even if it was technically from herself.
"Get off of me." Raven snarled and Happy's arms immediately released her.
Happy was unfazed and gave Raven a toothy smile, "Long time no see. Aw, you didn't bring BB with you?" She reclaimed her spot next to a crying Timid. She ignored the fact that Terra and Beast boy were the cause of all the chaos.
Raven glared at her before taking a seat on the soft grass herself, "No. I didn't."
Affection pouted, her lower lip slightly jutting out. "I miss Garfield. You don't bring him to Nevermore often." Rage stopped pacing and angrily sat down, roughly pulling up the grass.
"He doesn't seem to care so leave him be." Rage replied her red eyes flashing again. "If he wants to go chase after her again then let him. I'm not a choice and I won't compete for him."
Raven collected her thoughts and spoke next, "Look, I don't know what's happening but you're making my powers haywire and you're beginning to give me a headache. So what's the matter?"
Knowledge closed her book deciding to speak for all of them. "Well since she came around the first time, Timid has been in hysterics ever since. It's just worsened."
"We'll fix ourselves later." Sloth said with both of her eyes closed, her violet hair sticking up in different directions. "No reason to worry, Rae."
Raven raised an eyebrow, "There's obviously a need for me to worry if it hasn't been corrected by now."
Knowledge's thumb fanned the pages of her book, "It's been downhill for everyone since then." She continued.
Brave leaned back with her other hand, "Great job talking back to her, I knew you had it in you. High five!" She exclaimed, letting go of Timid's shoulder.
Raven glared at her emotion and Brave let her hand fall into her own lap. "This is a serious matter. How do I reclaim control? I'm too dangerous right now." She directed the question to her glasses wearing emotion.
Rage didn't even look up, "Get rid of her. Problem solved."
"I'm not going to kill her." Raven defended and ran her hands through the soft grass.
"All in favor of Terra dying raise your hand." Rage cringed having spoken the dreaded name, her hand was the first to fly up.
Timid hesitated before lifting her hand up just a little bit while Happy eagerly waved her hand about in the air. All of the other emotions had their hands up in the air accept for Affection. The lavender cloaked emotion finished her flower necklace and moved on to making another.
"My apologies, Raven." Knowledge said, any hint of apology was absent from her tone. "But I believe you are outnumbered."
"This isn't a court session," The real Raven narrowed her eyes. "Therefore it's not debatable. I don't care; find another way to stop harassing me."
Timid's face contorted into one of fear as Raven lost her even tone. The only safe place she could be was in her mind, where her powers wouldn't recklessly destroy things. Timid pulled her hood up to hide her blotchy face from all the crying.
Rage angrily sighed, "Shut up, Timid." She ripped up another handful of grass.
"Don't say that to her." Raven advanced, "She's already insecure about everything else."
"It's not my fault she's been a crying so much lately."
Coming to Nevermore to solve her problems didn't feel like it was working at all. "Enough! Now tell me what's the problem."
Happy giggled, "Aw, you're so cute when you're angry Rae-Rae. Just like Beast boy says."
Raven closed her eyes and took several deep breaths to calm down. "You have been avoiding your loved ones." Affection said, "You know it's not good if you bottle us up for long periods of time."
"You're always crabby and never let us out." Rude kept her eyes closed and her back still against Sloth's.
Sloth awkwardly nodded in agreement, "You're so uptight."
Brave leaned back on her elbows without voicing her thoughts. "It's true; you aren't telling Garfield how you feel about anything. It will only set up your relationship for disaster." Knowledge said.
If it was possible Timid cried even louder, "See, I told you he wouldn't like me anymore. He probably still thinks I'm c-creepy." She sniffled as salty tears cascaded down her cheeks. "I'm sorry Raven, I-I knew I should've…"
Brave, Happy and Love had moved quickly to comfort the gray cloaked woman. "None of it's your fault."
"Knowledge is right." Affection nodded towards Raven, her hand patting Timid's back. "You haven't really spent any time with just him…or with Hazel and Ivy for that matter. And you've been aloof…"
Raven only stared back into Affection's purple eyes. "If you aren't careful you'll make yourself sick from mediating too much and overthinking as well." Knowledge finished.
"In summary, quit avoiding him and hiding your feelings all over again." Love continued, "It's possible you could damag-
Knowledge hopped to her feet, her book tumbled out of her lap. "Shhh."
Immediately all of the emoticlones and Raven stopped talking. It was quite serious if Knowledge abused one of her books. Raven hurriedly rose to her feet as well but she couldn't tell what was up. Raven was irritated, she couldn't sense anyone or anything either; she almost felt…blind.
"Someone's looking for you." Knowledge announced to the rest of them before bending down to pick up her book.
Affection's purple eyes glazed over, "It's Garfield!" Happy and Affection had tightly embraced each other and squealed.
Raven rolled her eyes, "Quit it." She snapped.
"We'll be going now." Knowledge said gesturing towards the other emotions, "And we'll sort this out at a more convenient time."
Affection looked unwilling, "But we never see Garfield."
Knowledge raised an eyebrow in challenge, "Another time. We're leaving now." It was all the emotion could say without speaking through her teeth.
"Tell BB I say hi okay?" Happy pleaded, clasping her hands together and pouting but her eyes still shined brightly.
Rage had roughly grabbed the end of Happy's pink cloak and pulled her along. The emotion was forced to walk backwards with Rage's brisk pace. Raven only stared as her emotions quickly went their separate ways. She found herself subconsciously agreeing to Happy's request with a nod.
A weight lightly pressed down on Raven's shoulder causing her to jump, "Raven," The voice was thick with what could've been tears.
The empath slowly turned to face the man standing before her. Raven didn't have a chance to speak as she was embraced in a hug. He nuzzled her neck, holding her thin frame tightly against him. Beast boy's green hair tickled her neck and cheek as he breathed in Raven's scent. It was his primal instinct taking over the rest of his senses as the beast.
"I was worried sick about you." Beast boy scolded her in a serious tone. Raven remained ridged with their contact as he gave her no room to speak. "Have you been here all this time?"
Raven shook her head struggling to break contact, "There was no reason for you to be worried." She had simply told him she would be going out.
Beast boy pulled back and held onto her hands. "You've been gone for hours; you never leave the tower that long by yourself." His voice was still rough.
Raven stopped struggling, "I can take care of myself and you know that."
The tall man frowned down at her, "But I didn't know Raven. Cyborg and Star tried to get a hold of you. Robin couldn't get a hold on your location and I've been looking for you ever since."
Raven hesitated, "Maybe I didn't want to be bothered."
"Not everything is about you, Raven." Beast boy let go of her hands.
The empath was agitated now. "I never said everything is about me, so don't make assumptions." Raven turned her back on him and began walking towards the Forbidden Door. "What gives you the right to barge into my mind?"
Her gray hands found their way into her coat pocket, she was sure that her communicator was there. Beast boy's footsteps could be heard as he followed after his girlfriend, obviously frustrated. Raven's hands still came up empty after searching her pants pockets, somehow it had fallen out.
"Maybe it doesn't but I had to." Beast boy defended. "I had to know for myself if you were okay. You wouldn't answer your communicator an-
Beast boy was cut off as the couple left Nevermore through the Forbidden Door. It was only seconds later that they were standing on the beach in what could've been about midnight or even later. A light breeze tugged at her long violet hair, chilling her slightly. Raven bent down to grasp her meditation mirror after Beast boy appeared alongside her.
Raven stared at him, her purple eyes hard, "And now you know that I am fine." Beast boy had interrupted her, just when Affection had something important to say. Raven shoved the mirror back into her purse that was slung around her shoulder.
Beast boy's hand found its place in his green hair, "Look, I'm sorry. Let's just go home, okay?" His hand found her small one and he intertwined their fingers.
Raven froze for half a second before jerking her hand back and folding her arms across her chest. Beast boy was surprised by her actions and she avoided his piercing green eyes. But the green man didn't fail to notice the blush that tainted her gray skin. Raven had quickly pulled up the hood of her coat to conceal her face from him. Terra's threat rang throughout her mind, no telling what the woman would do if Raven kept physical contact with Beast boy. And he didn't fail to hear the explosion of something going off in the middle of the night.
"Thanks but no thanks." Raven replied, "I'm just going to go for a walk."
Beast boy blocked her, "It's late Raven, almost midnight. Besides Star is going to makes us go to that Thanksgiving parade."
Raven knew Beast boy was watching her expressions; she didn't like how he could see so well in the dark. Subconsciously, she chewed on her bottom lip trying to make a decision. Beast boy couldn't make Raven do anything she didn't want and the green man new that. Beast boy patiently waited for her answer, knowing that if he rushed her it wouldn't be good.
Raven seemed to give in after looking up at him, "Alright."
Once the couple had returned to the tower Raven found her communicator discarded on the kitchen table. Raven quickly snatched it up and tucked it into the plastic bag with three books. Beast boy had washed his hands and was rummaging through the fridge for a midnight snack.
"Um, what happened in here?" Raven asked as they entered the Ops room.
Unfortunately, the extra tables that had been set up were over turned along with most of the chairs. The pink doll house lay opened on its back with all of the dolls scattered around the room. The U-shaped couch was slightly off center than it normally was. Several of Starfire's small decorations were completely destroyed, no telling what they were from the start.
Beast boy looked up from behind the fridge door, "Let's just say it turns out Ivy inherited your powers."
"Fantastic." Raven replied in a sarcastic tone. The last thing that she wanted to do was train a four-year-old on how to meditate.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Beast boy's green eyes went back to studying her after plopping down on a bar stool.
Raven's back was to him; her emotions were threatening to take over. "Yeah, I'm actually tired. Good thing I didn't go for that walk."
Beast boy quickly finished his brownie before tossing the napkin and brushing off his hands. "Ready for bed?"
Raven nodded as Beast boy stepped up beside her and gently touched her lower back for her to walk with him. They walked up the carpeted red steps into the hallway and towards both of their rooms. Raven had stopped just before they got to her door and Beast boy had her pinned against the gray wall in a heartbeat. The hallway light was dimmed down but enough for the couple to clearly see each other. Somehow he had even removed the hood of her coat in the process which made her feel vulnerable.
"Raven, are you sure you're okay?" Beast boy asked her for what seemed like the fourth time. "I'm serious, you're acting…different." His glove covered hands rested on both sides of her head as he leaned forward.
Raven stared hard at him, "I'd appreciate it if you'd drop the question." A series of hallway lights shattered, making it even darker. We shouldn't even be this close; her thoughts began to jumble in her mind.
"I just want to make sure." His instincts were slightly taking over. Raven was practically his mate or soon he hoped. He wanted to put a ring on that gray finger quite soon. It was in his nature to be alert to her and to protect her from everything he could.
Beast boy leaned into her so that his forehead rested against hers; he tried to gauge her reaction. Raven's eyes fluttered closed attempting to reign in her emotions so she wouldn't accidently hurt him. A row of lights burst and Beast boy smirked taking it as a sign of nervousness instead. Beast boy's lips just barely grazed Raven's before she turned her head, desperate to stop him.
"I'm going to bed." Raven announced. "I-I want to be alone." With that Raven teleported into the wall her back was currently resting against.
Raven's heart was hammering in her chest given the previous circumstances. Raven slowly undressed and changed into the warm pajamas that she withdrew from her dresser drawer. Apparently, Beast boy had taken the hint as he hadn't knocked on her door afterwards. Raven lied on her side, the comforter pulled up to her chin as she faced the wall. But now her bed felt too big without Beast boy beside her and she missed it. She moved the giant white stuffed chicken beside her in hopes to fill the void.
Sleep overcame the empath but it was a restless sleep. Raven tossed and turned causing her sheets to twist and tangle around her body. The temperature of the room seemed to have even dropped, a possible cause to her many nightmares. Purple eyes snapped open and the exhale of air telling her that it was just that; another nightmare. It wouldn't hurt to try tea again.
Raven found her black and white striped robe and slipped out the door. The cold tiled floor seeped through her white socks as she felt around in the kitchen. A cabinet creaked open as Raven felt around for a mug and her kettle. She felt around for the sink before flicking on the light with her powers. The brown mug she had retrieved slipped from her fingers and fell to the ground. The sound of ceramic pieces pierced the silent air. Only a small gasp could escape her thin lips, she was lost for words.
Raven backed away from the sink, her foot stepping onto a sharp piece of the broken mug. It immediately withdrew blood and it began to soak through her white sock. How'd they get in the tower…past Cyborg's security? The blonde woman casually sat on the titan's yellow counter top as if waiting for this moment. A man with sea green skin stood next to a man with red hair and perfect teeth; both blocking the exits of the counter island. Another man in a gold plated suit blocked the opposite exit next to a man in a mostly black suit with a small beard. The man in black looked almost monkey like.
"H-how did y-
Raven was immediately cut off as the thin woman stood up, "Hush Rae-Rae, I told you I've got connections. This is going to hurt a lot but lucky enough for you, you won't recall anything."
Raven clenched her hands together and stood in a stance of defense. Both of her hands encased with her black aurora. A bright light blinded her vision, an electrifying shock spread throughout her body causing her to convulse in sickening ways. To say that it was painful would be an understatement she couldn't even find her voice to scream out.
The white electricity disappeared from around her body but she was now crumpled up on the tiled floor. Five all too familiar faces staring down at her all of them with stony faces or sneers. Raven couldn't move to sit up, her muscles weak from the electric shock.
"Heard you couldn't sleep so I thought I'd give you a hand." The bottom of a brown boot rose over Raven's head and all she could do was close her eyes. "Sweet dreams, Raven."
The boot closed the distance, smashing down hard onto Raven's face, the pain overwhelming. Another sickening crunch filled the air; something hot and sticky trickled out of her nose and it made her breathing a challenge. Voices were softly speaking but the words were incoherent as Raven fell into the black abyss of unconsciousness.