Chapter 3 : Welcome Back
Since you been gone
I can breathe for the first time
I'm so movin' on
Yeah, yeah
Thanks to you
Now I get
What I want
Since you been gone
"Would somebody turn that crap off? They've been playing that song for the last half hour."
Obediantly, Robin leaned forward and switched off the car radio. He turned to Raven, who was sitting in the backseat.
"You're welcome," he said expectanly.
The color deepened in Raven's face slightly.
"Thank you."
Robin turned back around, satisfied.
In overcoming and defeating her father, Raven had broken the mental link that tied her emotion, anger, with her demonic half. Since anger was no longer a threat to her, she could now show all her emotions. Though it had been nearly two years since the defeat of Trigon, Raven was still getting used to 'this emotion thing'.
A few minutes later, they pulled into the garage. They had just gotten back from visiting the Teen Titans East. They all got into the elevator and headed for the top floor.
As everyone headed out of the elevator, Raven lingered behind, a blank look in her eyes. Beast Boy noticed and turned to her.
"Uh, Rae?"
She blinked the distant look from her eyes and silently followed the others down the hall, Beast Boy at her side.
"Something wrong?" he asked.
The two of them had gotten a lot closer over the last few years. They had something in common: they had both lost and gained something very important. Raven had lost the one thing keeping her from truly being herself, being human: her father; and she gained emotion, which led to other things. A new view of things and of her friends. New ways of thinking, but not necessarily new ways of acting. All in all, she was still Raven; somewhat dark, distant, but not so much feeling different from anyone else. She really hadn't changed that much, it's just that now she could easily accept who she was.
But Beast Boy had changed. For a while, he couldn't (or rather, wouldn't) do certain things; the things he did with... Her. What he had lost was a friend: Terra. It seemed for a while, everything would remind him of her. He tried to cover it up with jokes and laughter, but he could never completely forget. He coped with things as well as he could without letting anyone know what he was really feeling. But then Raven was there for him, after she had been 'changed'. She became a confident for him, and vice versa. He wanted to forget; she told him to remember. For trying to lose something is next to impossible and only makes the pain greater. Raven had learned that the hard way and didn't recomend it. She helped him in, not forgetting Terra, but accepting what had come to be. In that, Beast Boy gained a friend, or rather a stronger bond with a friend, and learned how to accept even the worst of fate. (A/N: Aw, somebody hit me! I'm being cheesy again! Smack Thanks…)
"Something wrong?"
Raven looked eye to eye with him, so he could see the emotion in her eyes.
"Yes."
Before he could ask what, the door to the main room opened, and everyone froze in the doorway; standing in the center of the room, was Terra. She was wearing a uniform, but not Slade's uniform; instead, the yellow shorts and black shirt with the Teen Titans symbol on it with tinted goggles and combat boots. Her team uniform.
She stood there casually, waiting for them to speak. No one did.
"Uh, hi guys!" she said a little uneasily, expecting them to all rush toward her and shower her with greetings and 'we missed you!' and questions and… so on. But still, they didn't move.
Well, this isn't supposed to happen, Terra thought. It's like they didn't know I'd come back… But they have to know; they're the ones who brought me…
"Thanks for bringing me back! Did ya miss me?" (Always a good icebreaker.)
This time the silence only lasted a few seconds. Then Robin spoke, taking a few steps toward her.
"Um, of course we missed you, Terra, but…"
But! she thought, raising an eyebrow.
"But… we didn't bring you back," Robin finished.
She just stood there, her jaw dropped slightly, looking at each of the Titans. All just stared at her; all wore the same expression; they had not brought her back.
"B-But… how? I-It couldn't've just worn off, it-" Terra stammered, then fell silent.
Robin put his hand on her shoulder.
"Don't worry about it," he said, more an order then anything else. "We'll figure it out."
Terra nodded. He smiled.
"But we are glad you're back."
Terra brightened.
"So, can I still be a Teen Titan?"
Did Robin wince slightly? She couldn't tell for sure.
"Uh, of course."
She grinned.
"Awesome! When do I start?"
Robin smirked.
"Uh, right now. But I'm afraid we've been a little slow these days when it comes to crimes, but I'm sure something'll turn up."
Terra just stared at him for a moment, unbelievingly, but with excitement dancing in her eyes.
"You're serious! I can be on the team!"
"Well, yeah. I think you earned it when you defeated Slade."
Terra beamed.
Finally, when she couldn't hold it in any longer, Starfire flew toward Terra in a flash and wrapped her in another one of her bone-crushing hugs for the third, and hopefully last, time.
"Oh, Friend Terra! You have returned! Again..! You remember me, yes?"
"Of course, Starfire. How could I forget…"
Alright, so far everything had gone as it had the last time Terra came back to the Titans after being away for a while (TITANS RISING EPISODE SEASON 2), even if it was a little out of order.
Talked to by Robin: Check.
Crushed, I mean, hugged and greeted by Starfire: Check.
'Welcome back' from Beast Boy?
Save the best for last! she thought. The others seemed to read her mind.
"Welcome back Terra! This calls for an Ultra-Deluxe-Movie Marathon!" Cyborg said and headed over to the couch and began flipping through the channels looking for a suitable flick.
"Yes, we welcome you back, friend!" Starfire said, hugging Terra again then following Cyborg.
Robin smiled at her and also followed.
Raven still stood by the entrance with Beast Boy at her side; both of them just staring at Terra.
Why don't you just come down here already! Okay, just be patient, Terra. He's just shy; hey, shy's kinda hot… Whatever. I'll just make the first move. Oh, what about Raven… Uh, oh well. She'll deal with it.
She took a few slow steps until she was right in front of Beast Boy.
"Hey," she said timidly, not knowing if he still… well, you know; felt the same way. Then she, somewhat shamelessly, wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly.
"I missed you," she said quietly, closing her eyes. Seemingly still a little shocked, Beast Boy lightly hugged her back, not saying anything; Terra took no notice of this, though. She was just glad to be back. But when she pulled away from him she noticed he was about two to four inches taller than her. And everyone else seemed to be a little… different in a way Terra couldn't really put her finger on.
"So," she said when she and Beast Boy broke apart. "What'd I miss?"
"Uh, nothing really," he said, not wanting to go into detail about Slade and Trigon and Raven and everything. Raven… Hey! Where'd she- Uhh, shit! She probably went back to her room, or something. There's no way I'm gonna get her out… Or get away from Terra… This… this sucks! Terra should not be back! She wasn't supposed to… Wait, this is what I've been waiting for. How come it feels like very, very unnatural disaster!
"Uh, Beast Boy?"
"Huh? Oh, what?" he said, snapping out of his thoughts.
"Um, I know this sounds really weird, but what happened to you guys?"
"What d'ya mean?"
"I don't know; you all look…different. I mean, how long have I been gone?"
Beast Boy thought for a moment. For most of the time Terra had been gone, he'd been trying to forget about it, so he wasn't quite sure how long it'd been.
"Uh, like 4 or 5 years, I think."
Terra's jaw dropped.
"What! But… but I haven't changed, I-I'm still like 14 and…and…"
"I know. You still look like you did before-"
Terra interupted him, thinking out loud.
"But then you'd be… like 20!" she said, frustrated, almost, at… something. She didn't quite know.
"19, actually," Beast Boy corrected.
Terra took a deep breath in. It's okay. Age doesn't matter. He's still Beast Boy. You're still Terra. You can still be… I think…
"Hey, Terra. Um, I gotta go… uh… I gotta go. See you later."
Before she could protest, he had left.
"This…sucks…" Beast Boy muttered as he headed down the hall toward Raven's room.
"Terra is gonna be so pissed at me. Raven probably is already. This is what I wanted… But… Uh! This is so not a good start!"
He stopped as he reached her room.
Terra? No way! She betrayed us! And Robin just let her join the team after all she's done! She should be arrested right now, not doing the actual arresting! I mean, she'd be defeating her own kind if she fought with us. Holy fuck, I'm rambling. But she-she… And Beast Boy- Uh, after all he's been through… And…and with me… and… oh, that's probably all over now. Now that Terra's back he won't need to talk to me anymore. It'll be all about Terra now. Everythings always about her…
Knock knock
Raven looked up. She had been lying on her bed, with her face in the pillow to keep from either crying or screaming, she didn't know which would come first.
The knock on her door drew her from her thoughts.
Terra… Oh, God, no. Not right now… She held silent, acting like she wasn't there.
"Uh, Raven? I know you're in there."
Raven sighed, relieved. Good, it's only Beast Boy… Wait, that's not necessarily good. Oh God, he's probably here to yell at me for not saying a word to Terra. Whatever… I'll just take it; being 'lectured' by Beast Boy's worth not talking to that slut.
"What do you want?" she asked, trying not to sound as irritated as she felt.
"Uh, Rae? Can we talk?"
Or…he's not here to yell at me… But talk about what?
"Um, yeah. Come on in."
The door opened and Beast Boy stepped inside. He sat beside Raven on the bed. (Raven sat cross-legged, facing Beast Boy).
"So… what'd you wanna talk about?" Raven asked, looking eye to eye with Beast Boy, as she always did, (not intimidatingly or anything. She just looks at who she's talking to), but he looked away.
He's nervous…
Raven and Beast Boy had a way of interpreting what the other was feeling by how they acted, talked, and basically how they seemed. Raven's way was a little more… 'spiritual', aura and everything, while Beast Boy just seemed to be able to understand her. (That's part of the whole 'looking each other in the eye' thing.)
"So… what'd you wanna talk about?"
"Uh, nothing. Just to talk, I guess."
"About Terra, right?"
He looked up. "Yeah, I guess. Um, are you okay?"
Raven raised an eyebrow.
"Um, yeah."
"I mean about Terra. Her being on the team, and everything."
This time Raven looked away.
"You still don't trust her, do you?"
"Beast Boy, don't get mad. I just-"
"No, I'm not mad! I just… I just wanna know why you hate her so much."
Raven looked at him sharply as she spoke.
"I didn't say I hate her. I don't trust her," she stated firmly. Beast Boy's already sorrowful expression deepened.
"Why not?" he asked quietly.
"Because of what she did! She betrayed us! She used us! And now the past is being repeated! We're falling right into her trap! Soon we'll be wrapped around her finger, just like before! And then she'll use that to her advantage! If not Slade's, her own! She knows everything about us, Beast Boy, and who knows how she can use that against us!"
"Why would she! There's nobody controlling her now! Raven, please, just give her another chance! She earned your trust before, why not now?"
"Fine. Let her earn my trust. Until then, I'm sticking to my instincts. Is that all you wanted to talk about?"
This was pretty weird for one of their 'talks'. Sometimes it was a little controversial, but nothing that caused an argument this bad.
"Is that all?" Raven repeated. Beast Boy was looking away from her, so she couldn't see how he was feeling. He nodded.
Raven sighed. Okay, snap out of it! I have to be nice to him right now. Stop being a bitch. He trusts you. He came to you for advice. Stop- Oh God…
He turned back to Raven. It was late, but even in the dim light of the moon coming in through the window, Raven could tell he was crying.
"Beast Boy, I-"
"No, Raven. That's all I wanted to talk about." He started to get up, but Raven grabbed his arm.
"Wait! I- Uh! Beast Boy, I'm sorry! I-I just… told it like it is. You asked me why I don't trust Terra, and… and I told you. I'm sorry if it hurts you, but Beast Boy, it's the truth."
He sat back down. "I know, but…"
"I'm sorry."
He sighed. "It's okay. I just wish that I…"
Raven put her hand on his shoulder.
"If it is meant to be, it will be. Don't feel like it's up to you to make it so."
For a moment, he was silent.
"Thanks, Rae."
"No problem."
With that, he leaned forward and hugged her. But only until he realized what he was doing…
He pulled back quickly.
"Sorry! I-"
"It's fine. I don't care. I mean, I- Yeah. It's fine," Raven stammered, blushing almost as deep a red as Beast Boy was.
(Que the awkward silence!)
"Uh, we should probably go watch the movie now. The others will be wondering where we are," Beast Boy said, finally.
Raven nodded, still blushing.
"Yeah. And Terra might think we're…"
"No! I mean, she won't think that."
Yeah, she will, Raven thought, though she said nothing.
They stood up and headed for the living room.
As they entered…
"Yo! Where ya been?" Cyborg asked. He, Starfire, Robin, and Terra were sitting on the couch (in that order, left to right with your back to the TV).
"Uh, we were-"
"Ah, never mind. Just grab some popcorn and sit down; the movie's about to start!"
They did so, with Beast Boy sitting next to Terra and Raven next to Beast Boy. (Where they usually sit, duh.)
Sometime during the movie, when everyone seemed absorbed in the action, Terra leaned over to Beast Boy and whispered:
"Meet me on the roof tonight. There's something I need to tell you."