Title: Leave Me To Drown

Characters: Raven, Aqualad (Raven x Aqualad), Starfire, Cyborg, Beast Boy (BBRae), Robin (Raven x Robin)

Prompt: None

Word Count: 1655

She gasped for air, coughing out the water in her lungs. Though she was alive her mind was still hazy. Her vision blurred in and out as she tried to make out the face of her hero.

"I'm so tired," she muttered.

"Stay with me, Raven," her savior ordered softly. She tried to keep her eyes open as long as she could, but they began to droop with exhaustion. Soon enough her eyes fully closed and the deep darkness of her mind enveloped her. Her head fell forward onto her savior shoulder, worry taking over her savior's mind.


Raven opened her eyes to the blinding glow of a light and two people hovering above her. Her hero instincts kicked in as she threw out her arm to punch the people above her. Before her fist could connect with skin, a hand wrapped around her wrist.

"You taught her pretty damn well, Robin," the male holding onto her wrist praised.

"Aqualad?" Raven questioned as she squinted her eyes at him. Her vision cleared dramatically, her sight falling on the unitard wearing Atlantean. "What are you doing here?"

"Aqualad's the one that pulled you out of the water. He saved your life. If it wasn't for him, you would've drowned," Robin spoke softly.

"Really?" she questioned, her attention fully on the hero in front of her.

"I was in the neighborhood," Aqualad shrugged.

"In the middle of the ocean?" Raven smirked.

"Bee told me you guess were heading out to fight Trident, I figured you may want some help," Aqualad explained.

"It's a good thing you did come,"Cyborg said as he placed a hand on Aqulad's shoulder.

"Well, I'm alive. So, if you'll excuse me," Raven spoke up as she tried to get out of bed and pull off all the wires connecting her to the machines.

"Woah woah, hold on," Robin said as he gently pushed her back on the medical bed. Beast Boy and Starfire helped to reconnect the wires as Robin and Aqualad held her still.

"We want you to spend the night in the medical bay. Everything seems normal, but we just want to make sure. You did stop breathing for awhile there," Cyborg explained. Raven groaned before collapsing back on the bed.

"We better get to bed, it's getting late," Robin spoke up. He placed a hand on Raven's cheek as she leaned into it slightly. "Get some rest Raven." Raven nodded as Robin removed his hand from her face. He leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to the top of the empath's head.

"Night Robin," she whispered as she watched her leader leave the room. Starfire gave Raven a hug, restraining from her usual strength. Cyborg placed a hand on Raven's shoulder, checking the machines once more.

"If there's anything wrong, I'll know immediately. Everything here is connected to my systems," Cyborg told her. She nodded in understanding; Cyborg ruffled the empath's hair before leaving with Starfire. Beast Boy took a step towards the medical bed, giving the half demon a small smile.

"I'm glad you're ok," the changeling grinned.

"I'm glad you're ok too," Raven spoke softly. Beast Boy tucked a piece of hair behind her ear before kissing her softly on the forehead. He pulled the empath into a hug as she hesitantly returned it.

"Night Raven," Beast Boy mumbled into the thin curtain of her hair.

"Goodnight Beast Boy," she whispered as he released her. The green teen headed for the door before glancing over his shoulder.

"Are you coming, Fish Boy?" Beast Boy inquired.

"I think I'm gonna stay here for a bit," Aqualad answered.

"Raven needs rest-" Beast Boy began to protest. Raven could feel Beast Boy's heart aching, the pain stabbing her in the chest just the way he feels it. Guilt washed over Raven, an emotion she knew was her own and not Beast Boy's. She knew how Beast Boy felt about her, the only time she didn't feel it was when Beast Boy was with Terra. But even with all the pain she felt radiating from him, the knowledge of his feelings, and the guilt she felt, she couldn't bring herself to love him, to change her mind about him.

"It's fine Beast Boy," Raven interrupted, watching and feeling as the changeling's heart broke into a million pieces. Beast Boy gave her a look of pure heartbreak and vulnerability before heading out of the medical bay. "Beast Boy I'm-" The door slid shut behind him as he rushed back to his room, heart heavy with sorrow. Aqualad watched as Raven let her head fall to her hands.

"You ok?" Aqualad questioned as he pulled up a chair.

"I'll be fine," Raven reassured him. "So tell me, what exactly happened?"

"You just broke your teammate's heart," Aqualad said as Raven glared at him. She reached out and punched him in the shoulder as he gave her a half smile.

"That's not what I was talking about," Raven growled slightly. Aqualad sighed before leaning back in his chair.

"You guys were fighting the many Tridents. When I arrived, I saw that Cyborg had landed the T-ship on the water. Therefore, Robin and Cyborg were fighting on top of the ship, Beast Boy was in the water, and you and Starfire were fighting from the skies..."

"Starfire watch out!" Robin shouted from below. Starfire dodged one of Trident's attacks as Raven created a shield around them.

"There's too many of them," Raven yelled over to Starfire.

"We must keep fighting," Starfire told her.

"Yea, I know that, but eventually-" Before Raven could finish her sentence, her shield was shattered by one of Trident's attacks. Another blast hit Raven square in the chest, sending her crashing down into the deep depths of the ocean. The empath tried fighting her way to the surface, but each time she came close to the salt air the ocean provided, she was pulled back down by the ocean's murky depths. The air in her lungs began to burn as her struggle to the surface became weaker and weaker. Out of pure human instinct that she couldn't control, she opened her mouth, letting the water in. Her weak attempts of survival soon dulled to her limp body sinking further into the dark abyssy. She soon blacked out, her mind becoming voided of thoughts and life.

Swimming was one of the many talents an Atlantean has. It wasn't the fact that they could swim or breath underwater, but the fact that they could swim at speeds unimaginable. That's what Aqualad was doing, swimming as quickly as he could. Faster than he had ever swam before. Once reaching land, he automatically pulled Raven out of the water and onto the sandy shore. Aqualad immediately began CPR, even with the water still washing under them. He pressed his hear to her chest, searching for a heartbeat. Raven had been out cold, lifeless, for ten minutes and her chances of survival were becoming slimmer and slimmer.

"Come on Raven," Aqualad silently begged as he started compression again. He pressed his lips to her's, breathing air into her lungs. "Come on." He started compressions once again with much more force this time. He was sure one of her ribs had broken already from the CPR, but he didn't care. All that mattered was her survival. He forced air into her lungs once more before pulling away. "Don't die on me, Roth." He pressed his forehead against her's, placing a chaste kiss on her lips. Once he pulled away and laid Raven back on the sand, she began to cough, spitting up some water. Aqualad let out a sigh of relief before scooping her up in his arms and heading towards the tower as quickly as he could.

"I'm so tired."

"Stay with me, Raven."

"Why would you do that?" Raven questioned.

"You know why," he whispered, his face inches from her's.

"I can't-"

"I know, I know," he spoke softly. His voice wasn't filled with annoyance or anger, but instead with reassurance and sincerity.

"Thank you," she muttered, her forehead pressed against his. The glass door to the medicine cabinet shattered as Raven jumped away from the Atlantean.

"Sorry."

"It's fine," he reassured her, a small smile gracing his lips. He stared into her eyes as she glanced down. "I should get going, it's a long swim back to Steel City."

"Please don't go," she begged as she reached out a hand to stop him, "Just stay here a little while longer. It's raining out, anyways, the water would be all choppy. Plus, it's a full moon, so the ocean is already messed up..." He turned around and sat on the edge of her medical bed.

"You're babbling," Aqualad pointed out as Raven looked down, her cheeks lighting up in embarassment. "It's cute." He shuffled his body towards hers, smiling slightly. "Okay. I'll stay." Raven shifted over to the left side of the bed, leaving space on the right side. She patted the spot beside her as Aqualad laid down, his face inches from her's. And though she knew he was going to leave her in the morning, she couldn't help but feel sweet bliss inside of her hollow soul, all because he was going to stay. She would be able to feel his body against hers as he fell asleep next to her. Maybe then she would be able to realize he was actually in love with her, that he would down anything to protect her, but for now she would live in the dreamland she created inside her head. A place where her powers didn't destroy everything around her when he breathed the same air as her, where she wasn't afraid of her feels, where they were together in the end. But for now she would have to live in reality, where she would never feel the touch of her lips on his.