Author's Note: This is about Robin's wedding day… so here goes nothing!
Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans.
Raven Roth, now at the age of 23, passed through the long walkway between the crowds. She could feel the eyes on her, boring into her very soul. She dared not breathe, feeling the purple dress tighten around her waist, all of a sudden. She could feel the scratchy fabric around her shoulders and down her thighs, and the pain on the toes of her feet, the straps of her sandals digging deeper into her skin as the high heels grazed through the red rug. The pull of her hair on the tight ponytail was hurting her temples, and the curl around the bottom of her long, purple hair was scratching her bare back as she walked. She wished so badly that the thorns in the white roses, that she held in her hands, would scratch her as she grasped them tighter, their petals and stems scraping the palm of her hand.
She could feel the smiling faces fade into frowns and the cheerful compliments turn into whispers.
She would hear, every now and then, the people talking about who she was, what she was.
"…she's the demon…"
She caught a few words from the audience, and then she drained out the others. She carried on walking, regardless of what she had heard.
She was inches away from the altar, when she stared up in front of her.
In front of her was her leader, a smile on his face as he watched his bride enter the aisle from the open doors, and beside him was his best man, the half-robot, and the ring-bearer, the changeling…they were all looking at the girl...woman who was walking down the isle. How she wished that she was the one entering the church right now.
All eyes were on the Tamaranean princess. Her long, red hair was up in a tight bun, with a veil down her head, held together by a crown. Her chest was bare, and the long dress wrapped around her bust and down to her feet, extending behind her to form a long train, carried by two small children. Beads, the shades of orange and purple, were hand crafted onto the dress, as if it were made by angels. The dress looked as if it were made of the finest silk in the universe. Maybe it was…she was, after all, a princess. She deserved the best of the best.
She stood there, watching the bride walk down the aisle. The frowns now became smiles, and the whispers all died down.
She knew that through the masked eyes, the boy wonder's eyes were eyeing his wife-to-be very intently.
"She looks beautiful." She heard him whisper through the crowd's murmurs. How she wished on everything she had to have someone, anyone, say that about her.
When every single birthday, she dressed up in long, beautiful dresses, hoping that her parents, or the elders from Azarath would tell her she looked beautiful, even though she wasn't, just to make her feel better. She gave this up ten years ago, and instead, she hid her face from the world under a blue hood, and her body in a long cloak. If she didn't feel beautiful, then she didn't' want to be seen at all.
The music ended and the red-headed titan now stood beside her, in front of her groom, and they began saying their vows as they kneeled in front of the altar.
They looked like the perfect couple. She loved him, and he loved her. A demon was merely a third wheel, the backup plan. But they really didn't need a backup plan… they loved each other, just as much as she loved him.
"I do…" proclaimed the princess, lifting her head to face her groom.
"I do…" proclaimed the leader, lifting his head to face his bride.
They stood up.
He began lifting the veil off her face, revealing an even more beautiful woman. The makeup on her face was very light which gave way to her extravagant features. Her tan skin, and high nose accentuated her round, green eyes and thin lips.
He lifted a hand to brush away the curl, and cupped her face, pulling her to a soft kiss…the authentication of the wedding.
Raven felt her heart sink into her stomach when their lips met, hoping to taste the kiss that she had longed for many years. She grind her teeth, then bit her lip, sinking it deeper, trying to stop herself from stopping everything…all of this from continuing.
His hand crept to the side of her waist as they pulled apart.
They released two white doves which flew above them, as if bowing their head to the princess, then flew out of the door.
The crowd exploded into applause and congratulations, as the newlyweds walked back down the aisle.
She could feel him slipping out of her hands with every step he took away from her. She clenched her hands into tight fists, beating the urge to come run after him and pull him back to take the kiss that she had wanted for so long…the one that was hers in the first place…
000
FLASHBACK
Everyone else had taken into dancing, except for Robin and Raven, who were drinking shots in the table. Although, not as much as Speedy, who was in the other table.
Starfire was dancing with Aqualad, Cyborg with Bee, and Beastboy with…um… Mas y Menos.
A slow music started to play, and everyone inched closer together, to dance more gracefully.
"Rae, you wanna dance?" he asked, standing up to hold out his hand for her.
She had no choice other than to take his hand. It would be rude not to. She stood up and danced with him.
She draped her arms around his shoulders, as he placed his hands on her waist. She could feel the friction, between his hands and her skin.
For some reason, they both felt uneasy, like there was something there. Infatuation, perhaps?
They shook it away, not wanting to do something they would both be regretting…something that could ruin their friendship.
They were both beating the urge to inch closer and pull each other into a kiss. They both knew that something like that could break a friendship, a bond that took so long to make, especially with someone who's a half-demon, and someone who's obsessed with a villain named Slade. Something like that would take years of spending time together, years of gaining and giving both respect and trust. To think that a kiss could destroy all that.
Raven suddenly found her head resting on Robin's shoulder, as if she was unaware that she had done so. She could feel her heart beating loudly against her chest, and she hoped that he couldn't feel it.
She felt his heavy breath on her neck, then felt herself follow his stealthy movement.
They pulled away from each other to take a minute to stare into each other's eyes. Although Raven really couldn't see, she knew that he had felt it, too.
As they pulled closer, she let her hand fall into his, as his hand reached up to her neck, to pull her closer.
She closed her eyes, draining out everything around her. She couldn't breathe, she didn't think, she just pulled closer.
She felt a soft brush of lips on her own, for about a millisecond, when something had interrupted.
"Will you guys hic just get it hic over with!" an arm lay on Robin's shoulder, then a head rested on Raven's. "Just hic kiss her! hic is that so hic hard to do?"
Raven turned to see a mass of red hair on her shoulder. "Speedy…I think you've got too much to drink." Robin said, pulling him away from Raven's shoulder.
He lifted his arm to support him. "We…uh…better get him back to the tower."
"Yeah," she replied, lifting her hood to cover her face.
END FLASHBACK
000
Robin looked back to call his teammates. "Come over here, guys!"
The three of them hurried to stand beside the couple in the picture. Raven, however, preferred to stay at the side.
After the press had taken all the pictures, Robin stepped away from his new wife, and back to his best friend.
"Rae," he took her hands. She could feel the pain as his skin connected with hers. It felt so right, yet so wrong. "Thank you…"
"For what? This was your choice…I had nothing to do with it." She replied, still holding back the tears.
"Rae, you're my best friend…"
How she had heard those words so often before. Hopefully, even the life after this day…although it was less likely to happen.
"I know, but it's all going to be different, now. You'll have a life of your own with…Starfire," she couldn't bear to speak the name. "And I'd have a lonely life on my own… maybe find the person for me as well. But that's not going to happen some time soon."
Robin smiled, then pulled her to a hug. It was so real that it was painful. It was bad enough knowing that the one she loved has married someone else, and it's even worse to have the him take you into his arms and hug you like it was the last time you would see each other.
She had remembered it so well. That fateful Christmas night when she had let him go, and all she was left with were her tears and many regrets of having done so.
It was like déjà vu. That one particular moment in her life, the saddest moment of her life, repeating again.
She could feel the tears coming back again, just as they had that night, more than five years ago.
"I really don't want to ruin the moment here. I mean, we both have new lives now, so…I think you should be with the person you really want to be with. It's your wedding day, Robin." The words that she had spoken before, she repeated again, just for the sake of doing so. For the last time.
"Thanks Rae," he hugged her again, and then he walked away back into the car, disappearing into the crowd.
She reached behind her to pull her hood, but it wasn't there. Now, she was bare, with nothing to hide under. She lifted her hand to shade her face, then bit her lip to hold back more tears. For the moment, she could hide behind this mask. The one that said "I'm happy for him" and "I'm ready to move on".
Author's Note: I am still inspired, although I MAY NOT continue this. So, for the moment, I'll leave you guys with this chapter. This was meant to be in a separate fic, but it turned out so horribly similar to Music Box, so I made it a continuation instead.
PLEASE REVIEW!
If I get enough, I MAY make a new chapter for this. No assurances.