Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans. This is where I add something witty in, but right now I'm fresh out. Sorry.
Review Replies: Uncanny R-Man, I love you! Wait, I told you that... I did read your story, but my computer has been messed and didn't let me review it, so let me just say here I like it so much! ^.^ Dana1313, I mentioned why I couldn't update at school at the bottom of this chapter, and I'm glad I made you laugh! Calisto, if I knew how to get it on CD, I'd have it right now! It's so addictive... Wow, Tabris J, thanks! I plan on reading your stories soon, but again, I haven't had much time to read... RandomHero88, let me just say thank you for reviewing and I love your name! Hee. Einvine, I believe the end of this chapter is a little fluffy (I hope).
Author's Note: Hey. I'm so happy, I watched Teen Titans! I missed it so much! Also, I took three different, completely separate personality quizzes that all were on "What personality disorder do you have?" I got the same answer for every one. Apparently, if I did indeed have a personality disorder, I'd be 'avoidant'. Nice. I hunger for friendship, but the anxiety is too strong. So pretty please, help boost my self-esteem by REVIEWING! Or, give me constructive criticism, therefore improving my writing, therefore ensuring more good reviews in the future! So it's like, long-term self-esteem-boosting. Everybody wins.
6: Sweet Dreams
"Star, I know you aren't trying to get the in the front seat of my baby."
"Oh, but I do want to see the windshield wipers dance again!"
"I've told you before, and I'll tell you again, you are not going to-"
"Guys, we've got to go! Starfire, how about I sit in the front seat this time?"
Starfire turned and smiled sweetly at Robin. "Of course, Robin!"
He gave a rather goofy grin. "Thanks Star." When she gave him a small peck on the cheek, he couldn't help blushing. He looked at the other Titans, clearly not knowing they already knew about him and Starfire. He cleared his throat. "Uh..."
Cyborg shook his head. "Just get in the car, man. We have a bad guy to lock up, remember?" Still, he was grinning.
Robin opened the back door for Starfire and she slid in next to Raven, who was now in the middle. He shut the door, then opened the passenger's door and got in beside Cyborg.
"Where to?"
"Downtown. Overload's loose."
Cyborg, who had been carefully pulling onto the street, nearly steered into the path of an oncoming car. "WHAT? I thought we put that freak in jail! Man, I am SO parking my baby at least a thousand yards away from wherever we're fighting him."
Raven spoke up from the backseat. "At least we know how to beat him. This should be pretty simple."
"Yeah, I guess..."
The rest of the short car ride was spent on discussing increasingly irrational ideas about how Overload might have escaped, including, but not limited to, a gang of Martians, a secret government conspiracy, and the living dead breaking him out (most theories were courtesy of Beast Boy).
Cyborg screeched to a stop as they spotted something glowing in the street ahead. The Titans sprang out of the car and found Overload heading toward the nearest electronics store. "Playtime's over, Overload!"
Overload turned to face them. "The Teen Titans... should have known you would come!"
They faced off and prepared to fight. Only Raven noticed his focus suddenly divert to something behind them.
She turned her head and her gaze quickly fell on a walking boy, his head ducked down. He obviously hadn't seen them, his entire attention devoted to an electronic game in his hands. This must have been what had caught Overload's attention, and her eyes grew wide as she realized what could happen to the boy if he got even an indirect hit from the villain's electric energy. He probably couldn't withstand it like the Titans with their powers could. There wasn't even enough time to shout, "Look out!", let alone help him with her powers. She dove and pushed him out of the way of a huge bolt of electricity; unfortunately, it caught her instead.
Meant to absorb energy from the boy's electronic device, it was now charging Raven with electricity, and her entire body arched in pain. Her eyes glowed white and her mouth opened to scream, but nothing came out. The steady stream of energy lifted her into the air.
For a moment all the Titans were stopped cold in shock. Cyborg suddenly cursed and sprinted full speed across the road, stooping low at the last possible second and slamming his shoulder full force into a fire hydrant. The water shot out and engulfed Overload. Starfire dashed over in time to catch Raven's limp form in her arms. "Raven! Raven, friend, please answer me!"
"Crud!" exclaimed Beast Boy. Worry crept into his voice as he began, "Is she...?" All the Titans were gathered around now, all dripping wet from the water.
Robin knelt by her side. Reaching over, he felt her wrist. After a moment, he gave the others a small, relieved smile. "There's a pulse." They all let out a breath they hadn't realized they had been holding. Robin looked to Cyborg. "Cy? Think you could check her over?"
Cyborg held up his arm. He waited a moment then said, "My biosensors say she's hurt, but there's no serious or permanent damage. Rae's gonna be just fine."
#
Raven opened her eyes into slits. She had a headache that was threatening to split a large chasm open in her head, and... there was a large green thing in front of her face.
She would have yelled, but was too tired. "Mmmrph...meh," was all she could manage. Blinking blearily, she realized it was only Beast Boy. Her gaze cleared enough that she could focus on his face, which now seemed to register that she was awake.
"Hey, you're awake!"
"Thank you, Captain Obvious," she muttered. Shaking her head, she asked, "Is the kid okay?"
He blinked. "Kid? Oh! Yeah, he was fine. He thought it was pretty cool, being saved by you. He asked for our autographs and stuff. We gave him ours and said we'd give him yours after you woke up. Um, that is okay, right?"
She rolled her head to the side to see him better. "No, because it's so much trouble to write my name on a piece of paper," she said sarcastically.
He laughed. "You're back to yourself! I really am glad you're awake. For a second there, I-we were all afraid-well, we thought you might have been uh, really hurt."
Raven couldn't help but let the corners of her mouth turn up at his suddenly somber face. It really was nice to know her friends cared. "Well, I'm not. How long was I unconscious?"
"You were out all afternoon, and almost all night; it's like, three in the morning right now."
She frowned. "What are you doing here then?"
He got a scared look on his face. "Oh, yeah! Sorry, I know we aren't supposed to be in your room..."
"No, I mean what are you doing here awake at 3 AM?"
"Oooh, I was checking up on you, duh. I couldn't sleep, so I figured I could bug you if you were awake!"
She rolled her eyes. "Wonderful to know my friends only care enough to check on me for the sake of insomnia and annoying me with corny jokes."
"Well, what are friends... Oh, shoot! The others don't know you're awake!" Before she could even say a word, a green cheetah was jetting out of the room. He was back less than a minute later, followed by an elated Starfire and an extremely sleepy Cyborg and Robin.
"Raven! You are awake! This is wonderful, we must celebrate!"
Robin gave a little smile. "I think she might need a little more rest before we do that." He turned to Raven. "Good to see you're okay. We were all pretty worried."
"How did you guys beat him?"
Cyborg puffed up his chest. "I saved you! I totally soaked him by slamming into a fire hydrant with my amazing strength!"
Beast Boy rolled his eyes. "Whatever, dude, you're so full of it!"
Cyborg buffed his knuckles against his chest. "Yeah, full of awe at my own awesomeness!" He shot Raven a softer smile. "We always got your back, Rae."
Raven allowed herself an answering smile. "Thanks, Cyborg." She stifled a yawn, but unfortunately Robin noticed.
"Sorry, Raven. We'd better let you get back to sleep. Come on, guys." He began to herd the others out of the room despite her protests.
"Really, it's okay..." None of the Titans saw the slightly panicked look on her face.
"Later, Rae!"
"Get your rest!"
"We shall celebrate later!"
"Sweet dreams!"
"Right," Raven sighed, laying her head on the pillow. She grimaced. "Sweet dreams..."
#
An hour later, Beast Boy crept slowly down the hallway. He wanted to check on Raven...just to make sure. He didn't want that feeling again, the feeling of all his organs dropping through the floor. It was the same feeling he got when any of the Titans got hurt, but she had been unconscious for so long they had all started to fear the worst. None of Cyborg's scans had been able to pick up why she hadn't been waking up. Even now that she seemed better, the anxious clench in his gut had only barely begun to ease up. Maybe if he just took a quick look, just saw that she was safe again, he could finally get some shuteye.
Peeking through the door they had left open, just in case, he saw Raven quickly close her eyes. Grinning, he stepped through. "I guess I'm not the only one who can't sleep."
Raven slowly opened one eye. "You caught me."
"You're not as sneaky as you think. Are you going to tell me why you can't sleep?"
She sighed and sat up a little. "Nightmares."
Beast Boy wrinkled his nose. "Nightmares suck. And...yours must suck a little extra, huh? Want some company?" He tried not to notice how his voice had gone a little high at the last question. But she nodded, and he sat cautiously on the end of her bed. He cleared his throat. "Want to tell me about the nightmares?"
"No, not really."
"Um, okay. Well, how's it hanging?"
"I've been staring at the ceiling for who knows how long, trying not to go to sleep. What about you?"
"I was...thinking about stuff. Haven't been able to sleep all night."
The tiniest smirk appeared on her face. "You were thinking? This I've got to hear."
"Hey! Why does everybody make cracks at my brain?"
"And here Cyborg's always telling me you don't have a brain." He folded his arms and sulked. She sighed, relenting. "Tell me what you were thinking about."
His face flushed a little. He thought about Cyborg's advice from the day before. Swallowing, he asked, "Rae, do you like anyone in the Teen Titans?"
She frowned. "Beast Boy, I know I'm reserved, and I don't always say it out loud, but. But you must know you guys are my friends. My best friends."
"No, I mean..." He paused, and turned to to her. "I do know that. We all do. But thanks for saying it anyway."
They both looked down awkwardly, until Raven broke the silence, huffing, "Don't get too used to it. We already have enough sentimentality to go around in this Tower now that Starfire's pulled Robin to the dark side." He laughed, until she said, "So then what..."
Beast Boy clenched his fists, trying to gather his courage to say, "Actually, I meant do you, uh, like anyone?"
"Oh, I...oh. I hadn't really thought about it. Um, much," she said too quickly. "Why do you ask?" Beast Boy flushed, hoping the dim light hid his flaming cheeks. She sounded so thrown off. She probably had way bigger things to think about than stupid crushes, when she was dealing with keeping her emotions and powers in check. And now she was wounded, and he'd decided this was the best time to put all his feelings out there for her to deal with, too?
He struggled for a way to backtrack. "Uh. You don't seem too happy for Robin and Star, is all," he lied, then closed his eyes. How was that better? Not to mention he'd just accidentally opened up a whole new realm of insecurities for himself.
"Do I ever seem happy to you?" she asked dryly. Then she frowned. "Huh. You thought I liked Robin?" Beast Boy couldn't stop himself from listening for any thread of disappointment in her voice, any sign she wished he'd brought up someone else instead. He shut down that line of thought, telling himself anything he heard would be wishful thinking.
"Hey, or Starfire. I don't judge," he tried to joke.
She put a finger to her lips, pretending to muse. "I do love a strong woman in purple spandex," she finally replied, a deceivingly innocent look on her face.
He laughed, gesturing at his own purple outfit. "Excuse me, I don't appreciate being objectified." She raised an eyebrow, and he narrowed his eyes as he rethought what they'd both said. "Fine, so I'm a strong guy in purple spandex. Dudes look good in purple too!"
"I thought you didn't want me to objectify you, Beast Boy."
"Well you really shouldn't objectify women," he scolded, wagging a disapproving finger. "So I'm willing to take up the slack for Starfire in the purple spandex department."
She shrugged. "Maybe if you could you pull off the belly shirt too. But I have serious doubts about that."
He was pretty sure he could see her biting back a smile. He realized the twist in his stomach had loosened. Seeing Raven relaxed like this, and joking around with him no less, was a relief. She was wounded, but she was going to be okay...and he hadn't ruined everything with his stupid crush, either.
He wasn't sure he'd have been able to joke about whether he looked any good to her in his costume five minutes ago, but asking Raven whether she'd liked anyone, and getting a no, changed things somehow. It was disappointing, but in a way...it was freeing. He didn't have to stress about her liking him back. He could just concentrate on making her smile.
"Hey, I'm secure in my masculinity. I could totally pull off a belly shirt."
She huffed out a tired laugh. "You'd better get out now, before I start turning as green as you are." He could tell she was joking, but wondered if that was his cue to leave anyway. She was blinking a lot, looking like she needed a lot more rest, and now that he was sure she was okay again, he thought he might actually be able to fall asleep too.
"Your loss," he said, standing. "I'll be in my room, cutting up my costumes into halter tops if you change your..." She stopped him with just a light touch to his elbow. "...mind?" he finished weakly. He looked down at her fingers brushing against his sleeve, and she took her hand away, pulling it back under her covers. He folded his own arms, trying to ignore the way his heart hammered and wishing his crush could evaporate as quickly as her touch had.
"I don't want, um. You don't have to actually leave."
He unfolded his arms, then folded them again, unsure what to do or what she needed. "Sorry, just, it's okay. I know you were kidding. But you look like you need some sleep. I know you already slept plenty, but it'll still do you some good."
Her lips drew into a thin line at that for some reason. "Maybe. But...please stay anyway." Her brow furrowed, as though she had to force out her next words. "I want you to."
He wanted to, too, and he took a step toward the bed. "I mean, if you're sure you'll be able to sleep with me around to bother you. Maybe I can stay just until you nod off, if it'll help with the nightmares. I could leave right after."
Raven's head was already sinking into the pillow, though she didn't appear to realize it. "Thanks, Beast Boy," she murmured.
"No problem, Raven." Morphing into a small cat, he slunk up the covers and curled beside her on her pillow, the ends of her hair tickling his nose. Raven arched an eyebrow at his cat shape, but didn't say anything, only sighed deeply and shut her eyes. His ears twitched, fighting sleep himself as he listened to her breath, warm as it brushed against his fur, deepen and slow with sleep.
#
The weak, thready light of sunrise pierced the otherwise dark room. Beast Boy opened his eyes one at a time, slowly. He purred contentedly in the warmth he found himself wrapped up in, until he realized it was the heat of Raven's arm curled around his still-small, furred form. At least he hadn't shifted back in his sleep. Squirming out from under her arm and the warm tangle of covers with reluctance, he stretched languidly on the pillow and yawned widely. Giving her one last look and an affectionate lick on the forehead, he leaped from the bed and ambled to the doorway, only growing into human form as he exited.
Final Author's Note: Is that fluffy enough? My definition of 'fluffy' may vary from yours, but I'm hoping that last part was good enough... I'm so sorry it took a week to update! I can't update at school because we only have a forty-five minute computer class on Mondays, and the room is set up so that all the screens point toward the center of the room, so the teacher can see what we're all doing just by turning round. Also, the teachers have been giving loads of homework, and I'm really, really slow...forgive me! Also we have this stupid giant project, so I may only be updating once a week on weekends. Seriously though, I'll try REALLY hard to do it more. Don't be too mad if this chapter isn't that good, I've kinda got some stuff on my mind...like hurling every time I think of the project. Yuck. Anyway, enough of my whining! Review and tell me what you think of this chapter, I need some reviews to cheer me up! But don't hesitate to correct me on stuff!