Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans. If I could only find some game that I could beat them in I might but I seriously doubt that is going to happen.
A/N: Hello everybody! Did you miss me?
Vincent – Shut up and answer the reviews!
Kev – What's got you so peeved today?
Vincent – None of your business!
Kev – I think I know what it was.
Vincent - *Eyes Widen* No! Please don't tell the readers!
Kev – Should I or shouldn't I?
Vincent – I promise not to make fun of you for a week! A month!
Kev – Well in that case on to the responses
Vincent – Whew!!
Amaya – Sorry! I got carried away. I'm glad to hear you are broadening your horizons. One thing you must know about me. Just because I don't particularly like the idea of BB x Raven romances doesn't mean that I wont read them. I'm reading a fairly good one right now. The same goes for Robin x Raven romances.
Dragon star – Oh well. He must have been talking about someone else. Glad you enjoy the story though. As for length, longer stories don't always mean better ones. In most of my stories I devote my time to detail and description rather than length. I focus on the emotions and general mood. If I can create tension, suspense, and excitement the story will make your mind think it is longer. Perception is nine tenths of reality.
RavenGhost – Glad you like. Cliffhangers are evil. One of the reasons that Vincent is so pissed off.
Lady Karmina – Thank you! Compliments like that are just the confidence boosters I need. BTW, What does "Ja ne" mean? You're the third person to put that into a review.
Luna-Chan3 – I didn't even plan that one. I threw it in there without even thinking about it. I'm glad you like it though.
Chapter Seven: Love of Life
Raven sat frozen in panic. Her brain had stopped working correctly. Only two things ran through her broken mind. One, she was deliriously happy that she had finally found her secret admirer. Two, complete and utter panic at the though of him finding her in here. Nothing came to her mind until the door swung open to reveal Kale. He looked up and froze. Neither of them moved nor spoke for gods knew how long.
Finally the tension was too much. Raven stood and walked over to him. Every step was an effort. Her legs felt like they had been coated in cement. The closer she got to him the heavier her legs became. Emotions ran rampant through her. This normally would have been dangerous. But somehow this was different. She was overjoyed that she had found someone to love. She was afraid that he might run away. She was anxious to repeat the kiss from last week. And she was terrified that somehow her powers might interfere with any kind of relationship.
Now standing toe to toe with him she realized how short he was. He was barely three inches taller than her. But considering the situation it seemed like he was a giant compared to her. Some force was keeping Kale from speaking or moving. Raven thought back to the first time she had met him. The look in his eyes as he watched the couple he had photographed walk away. The longing that they had held had been heavy.
Now those eyes held mixed emotions. Fear. Nervousness. Happiness. But the longing was the greatest emotion. It was there now, overshadowing every other emotion. She reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck. She was not going to let him escape her. She had finally found him and now she wouldn't let him run away. He hesitated. He was frightened. And after reading his journal, Raven couldn't blame him. "Please don't be afraid of me anymore."
Fearfully, he placed his arms around her. Raven leaned forward until their lips met. She was immediately filled with warmth. A feeling of security and happiness engulfed her. She could feel all of his and her fears banished in that single kiss. It was bliss. There was no passion. Hands did not roam. But the emotion was thick enough to cut with a knife. The tension was gone replaced by a blanket of security and joy.
The kiss dragged on and on. Kale's faded and dirty blue baseball cap tumbled to the ground. Raven had found love.
((()))
Raven dragged Kale bodily towards the door to Titan Tower. Despite their being a couple now Kale still had a low self-confidence level. He had agreed, albeit reluctantly, to meet the other Titans. It was only the day after Raven's discovery and she couldn't have been happier. The warm June breeze fluttered over them as they walked through the door. Arm in arm, they ascended to the den area.
The other Titans were waiting in the den. All of them were anxious to finally meet Kale. Fortunately, Beast Boy had recovered from his head trauma and sat in the corner of the room with a large bandage adorning his forehead. Normally he would have been trying to be the center of attention. The look on his face clearly stated that he was still upset with himself. For some reason he just couldn't understand why he had thought something like that. His eyes were haunted.
Robin and Starfire were sitting on one of the side couches. They were once again joined at the hip. Robin had told Raven that he was planning to ask for writing lessons from Kale. He obviously wanted to impress Star. Cyborg was just standing to one side. He was going to ask about the mechanical dragonfly. Raven had gone through and approved every topic of discussion. She wanted everything to go perfectly.
Hand in hand the couple walked into the den and sat on the center couch. The introductions almost went smoothly. Robin and Cyborg shook hands with him and star gave him a friendly hug. Beast Boy was walking over to shake Kale's hand and tripped. He fell flat on his face. Raven knew that Beast Boy would do something wrong but she hadn't anticipated it this early in the evening.
BB lay face down on the rug, obviously waiting for everyone to laugh at him. Raven watched with curiosity as Kale kneeled next to the green changeling. "Would you like some help up?" Beast Boy just grunted and stuck his hand out.
"I'll take that as a yes." Kale grasped BB's hand and hoisted him up. He continued to hold Beast Boys hand and began to shake it. "Nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you too?" Beast Boy seemed perplexed. He had probably expected for everyone to burst out laughing at him.
From there the evening progressed smoothly. Dinner was a comfortable affair and the leftover chili tasted better than before. When Cyborg asked bout the dragonfly Kale simply pulled it out of his pocket and sent it zooming around the den. When asked about a remote Kale launched into an explanation about how his people had enhanced mental capacity. The dragonfly worked as an extension of his mind.
"Raven says you can project images," Robin inquired, "Do you mind a demonstration?" The former Boy Wonder paled at the glare Raven shot him. "Only if you want to that is."
"Actually," Kale began, "I've been wanting to show off my talent for some time now." He furrowed his brow in concentration. The lights in the room dimmed and in the center of the den area something flickered. "I've been working on this for two years now. I suppose now would be the most opportune time to show it off."
Two figures flickered into being. One was Kale, dressed in a fine formal tuxedo. The other was Raven in a very flattering royal blue dress of simple design. The two figures approached each other and began to dance. The steps were complex and the movements precise. Raven watched the image of herself perform far more gracefully that she could in real life. After a few moments of the dance a tropical beach appeared in the background. Several trees could be seen off to one side and each sported a multitude of magnificent flowers. The night sky was clear and starry.
The dancing continued without a flaw. The images continued to be solid and the dance flowed on as if the beach had been there forever. Raven felt tears slide down her face. The performance was so beautiful. The dance ended in as the image of Kale moved the image of Raven into an elegant dip.
The image faded and the lights returned to their normal brightness. Robin, Starfire, and Cyborg all gave stunned applause. Raven took it upon herself to kiss Kale, thanking him and complimenting him between breaths. Beast Boy's eyes had become even more haunted, though he still applauded.
Kale thanked everyone for having him and, claiming he needed to be rested for work the next day, left. Raven escorted him to the far shore and gave him a kiss goodnight. When she returned to the Tower she found that everyone had gone to bed except Beast Boy. He was still sitting in the same place as before. His face was troubled and his eyes were haunted. Raven began to worry about her friend.
"What's wrong BB?" she asked, concern clearly laced through her voice.
"Nothing," he said, though not very convincingly.
"Come on BB? What's wrong?" Raven sat down next to him and placed her hand on his shoulder.
"Its just," he stopped and sighed, "Back when we first started the group I had a huge crush on you. I tried to get your attention every way I could. I bugged you, annoyed you, and played tricks on you. You just never seemed to really notice that I was there." Raven was taken by surprise. She had never heard Beast Boy talk so candidly. "The more you ignored me the more attracted I felt toward you. But after that incident with your mirror I knew I wasn't the person you needed to be with. I knew I couldn't be any good for you. I busied myself with other stuff. Even that little flaunt with the traitor Terra was so I could get you off my mind."
Raven was simply shocked. Beast Boy had a crush on her for that long?
"Three years ago I finally managed to convince myself that you really hated my guts. I still felt that you were my friend but if I was going to dump my feelings for you I needed a reason to do it. I firmly told myself that you hated me. Then we defeated your father a few months later. You started to open up and were friendlier, even to me. Every day it got harder and harder to believe you hated me so I went back to pulling pranks and annoying you. Every time you got mad at me I could believe that you hated me so that I would stop feeling the way I did about you. When I read that first not from your admirer do you know the first thing I felt?"
Raven gently shook her head.
"I was jealous. But then I remembered that I couldn't let myself feel that way. That's when I decided to laugh at it. I had to make sure I didn't have those feelings anymore. When I saw that picture yesterday I didn't know it was you. You looked so different. You were smiling and dressed casually. When I found out it was you I snapped. That is why I tried to murder myself with the fridge. And tonight, when Kale showed us that…" he groped for a word, "thing, I felt all of those feelings rush back. I know I can't be anything more than a friend to you and I need you to hate me, or at least pretend to." He looked at her, his eyes pleading with her.
She shook her head, "I'm sorry Beast Boy but I can't do that."
"Alright," his voice was solemn, "I'll just work it out on my own then. Goodnight." The once carefree shape shifter stood and wearily made his way back to his room. Raven stared after him in stunned silence.
A/N: That felt great. I thought I would never get to this part.
Vincent – I thought you were saving this scene for that other part.
Kev – So did I but the chance was too good to pass up.
Vincent – It does feel right in that scene.
Kev – I'm proud of it. It came out better than I thought it would.
Vincent – All right now everyone please let our writer know what you think. The better reviews he gets the better the chapters get.
Kev – Come on! Give me some credit here!
Vincent – Also feel free to point out anything you find wrong with the grammar or plot. We need to know so we can fix it.
Kev – They know that already! Anyway I hope you liked that chapter. There is still more to come. Ciao!
