Teen Titans: Unexpected Fate

Chapter Four

Disclaimer: Not mine. Never were, Never will be. Happy?

A/N: Holy Shit! I did it! I'm back! I wrote another chapter! And guess what???? NOTHING happens in it! LOL….. Go me, huh? Let me know how it goes fer ya!

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Four more days passed with the Titans growing more and more despondent at Raven's hasty, and enduring, departure. Cyborg had taken to staying in his room most of the time to work on his gadgets, occasionally taking some time out to play video games with Beast Boy to relax and try to forget the missing Titan. He never touched the T-Car, feeling as though he needed to leave the work, and the bonding, for himself and his Dark Girl. He was ready to install the new music system and the specially designed engine he created himself, but he knew how much Raven secretly loved to get dirty and grimy and greasy while working under the hood of the car.

Beast Boy took a different approach and did everything he could to keep busy, and he never liked being by himself. He was always playing video games, going to the arcade, cruising around the mall, trying to invent new games to get the other Titans to play with him, anything. He figured if he kept busy enough then he wouldn't have to think about the empty seat at the dinner table, the open spot in the passenger seat of the T-Car on missions, or the tea kettle nestled softly off to the side of the oven, not its normal resting spot.

Starfire seemed to simply float throughout the tower, her purple boots dragging along the floors, giving her a sort of sluggish feel. She was constantly making different puddings every chance she got. There was a Pudding of Remorse, Guilt, Remembrance, Sadness, Absence, Help, Guidance, and many others. Most of them even Starfire didn't know their names; she just made them to reflect how she felt. In battle, her star bolts seemed to glow a little less than usual and once or twice, one of the boys had to run to catch her because her thoughts and emotions disabled her joy and her ability to remain in flight.

But it was Robin who took her disappearance the hardest out of all of them. He barely came out of his room, except for missions. On the rare occasions that he did come out, the others did not know he was doing it and so they thought he had converted into a hermit of sorts. But he did come out, unbeknownst to them, and he walked around the tower, but it was only to look for her. He would come out of his room and stroll up to the rooftop, pausing only for a moment at Raven's door to press his ear against it and listen, before continuing on his nightly obsession. After he had checked the rooftop, then he would walk slowly back down to the kitchen, touch her tea kettle, her coffee mugs, anything to see if they felt warm, anything to let him know that she was back. He counted all of her cups and he made mental pictures of where they were, in case anyone touched anything.

He wanted to make sure everything was where it was supposed to be when she decided to come home, if she came home. He hated even thinking like that, but it was a reality that they had to, unfortunately, consider. He even kept the pillows on the ground by the window in the living room so she would have somewhere to safely mediate or sit and read when she came home. After his daily checkups, he would then lay awake in bed for hours on end, hoping to hear the telltale signs of a Raven coming back to nest.

Every sound he heard, he would jump up and go check it out. Sometimes he thought he was on to something and that Raven really was home, but unfortunately nothing ever checked out. During battles, he was even worse; somehow he would imagine Raven was fighting and he would often look back and his eyes would dart around looking for her, making sure she was okay. When this happened, most criminals took their chances and needless to say, he had come home with many concussions because he was unable to stay focused.

The inhabitants in the tower seemed to be a major mess without their resident empath and Raven's heart broke a little more each and every day she had to watch them and feel their emotions choking her in the atmosphere. She couldn't even risk making tea the way Robin was cataloging everything that every moved. Every night she had to sneak out to the city to get something to eat with a hot mug of tea. And every night she had to use all of her strength to keep from Robin spotting her. She hated hiding from her friends, but she couldn't let them see her weak and vulnerable. They had to see her come back in all of her glory; strong, proud, and victorious over her father. If she came back anything but that, then they would hover over her and fuss about every little thing. She had to be strong. For them, not for her, but for their sakes.

Raven was surprised herself at how long recuperation was taking her, but she silently berated herself because it was her own fault she was still playing hide and seek from her house mates. She had decided a few days ago to go and visit Azar quickly and let her know that the horror known as her father had been defeated. That trip alone had taken up the majority of the strength she had been regaining and she was angry at herself for jumping the gun on that one. The visit had been fruitful, but now her friends were paying for it even more because Raven had to keep hiding from them. With every battle that ensued, Raven would pull out her telescope and watch them, making sure they stayed alive and out of harm's way. She flinched and felt it in her bones whenever one of them bounded across the pavement like a rag doll.

Only a few more days, she thought to herself one night as Robin was off making his rounds. She could hear his footsteps going upstairs to the roof, listening carefully as he walked over to her usual spot and then stayed there for a moment, staring off across the horizon. She stayed perfectly still on her bed, sitting Indian style in her blue silk pajamas, and clutching a pillow to her chest. She waited with bated breath as she pictured Robin moving again across the roof and back downstairs. Now he was quietly going into the kitchen, touching her tea kettle, trying to detect the smallest amount of heat, opening the cabinet doors, looking for a mug out of place, counting all of her tea bags to make sure there weren't any missing. She could practically feel the sigh that emanated from him as he regrettably turned back and walked towards the bedrooms once again. His melancholy hovered around her in the air, weighing down on her soul, as he made his final trip of the night back to her door.

Raven held her breath without realizing it as she saw his shadow beneath her door, staring at the floor and imagining what he must look like on the other side of that blasted barrier. Only tonight, something different happened; Robin didn't just sit there and listen before going back to his room. This time, he spoke, it wasn't above a whisper, but Raven heard it as if he had shouted it right in her face.

"I miss you Raven," the voice begged. "Please come home. I need you. More than you'll ever know. Just…. Please…… be okay and come home. Please……………"

Raven's heart jumped up into her throat and she felt a burning sting at the corner of her eyes as the tears welled up and began to silently slip down her porcelain cheeks. She opened her mouth to speak, to tell Robin that she missed him too, that she was home, and that she was okay, anything! Her mouth moved, but nothing came out and yet again, Robin sighed and left her door, shuffling back to his room in a defeated manner. She could hear him as he got ready for bed and it seemed like hours had passed before her mind reached out and felt his unconscious one. It was then and only then that she let herself unravel and lose the little bit of control she had been desperately trying to keep hidden.

She welled up whatever courage she had and magicked herself away onto a set of rocks far away from the tower. It was there that she finally let herself go since she had been home. She cried as her chest heaved like the water around her, not even caring that she was getting soaked by the frigid waves around her. She didn't really know what it was, but something in what Robin said had gotten to her and she couldn't handle it any longer. She cried for what seemed like hours, adding more salt into the water surrounding her home before she was finally able to manage getting back to her room, but not before she quickly wandered into town to get something to eat. Soon, she thought to herself. I am going to do whatever I can to make sure I am back among my friends by the end of the week. I cannot keep this up any longer. I need them. I need my family.

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Two more days passed by without any signs from Raven and it was getting to the point where the Titans couldn't function properly during missions and often had to call the Jump City Police to cover for them. The commissioner knew what their ordeal was and carried it out without any problem, knowing that a team will fail sooner or later when they are incomplete. The Titans mostly stayed at home and moped around the house, but for reasons they couldn't explain, they decided to stay together and even Robin came out of his room.

He still couldn't shake the weird dream he had a few nights ago; he dreamt that he looked out of his window and saw a beautiful goddess crying in the middle of the water. Her skin seemed to glow with the moonlight and Robin thought for a moment she might have been a mermaid or a ghost maybe of some sort. He kept an open mind to pretty much anything these days, but he chalked that experience up to not enough sleep. Still, he couldn't shake how beautiful the woman had looked while in despair and he wanted desperately to reach out and touch her, take her worries away and holster them himself.

He shook his head to clear his thoughts and focused on the racing game Cyborg and Beast Boy were adamantly playing, with Starfire cheering both boys on next to them.

"Congratulations Friend Beast Boy!" She cheered, giggling and waving her arms about. "Oh, and congratulations to you too, Friend Cyborg. Even though Friend Beast Boy won that race, your maneuvers were very wonderful to watch and I surely thought you had the, how do you say it, higher limb on that one?!"

Robin chuckled as Cy and BB just looked at each other, forgetting who had won for a moment.

"You can't cheer for both of us, Star," BB said, put off that his winning wasn't the only thing being complimented. "You have to pick a side or only cheer for the winner. That's just how it works."

"Well I think it's very nice and encouraging," Cy said slyly, grinning ear to ear. "I think Starfire should be able to cheer for anyone she wants to."

"Oh, Thank you, Friend Cyborg," Starfire beamed. "I am glad you appreciate my ability to keep a positive outlook on the games of video."

"It's not that I don't appreciate it, Star," BB replied, clearly agitated. "But it's just confusing if you cheer for both of us. I think every player needs only one cheerer and I think you should just agree to cheer for the winner… which is going to be me!"

Cyborg laughed at Star's confused look and was enjoying annoying Beast Boy immensely. "Oh is that what you think, Oscar the Grouchy Loser? If you're going to cheer for a winner, Starfire, then it's going to be me!"

"Oh yeah? Be prepared to eat rubber, Can Opener!" BB screeched, getting into his playing position.

"But, why can I not cheer and encourage both players?" Star asked innocently. "You are both my friends and you both are winners."

"It's a little uncool," BB answered. "But you can just cheer for me, Star, 'cuz I'm totally going Prehistoric on his electronic butt!"

Robin merely smiled reassuringly at Starfire, ignoring the quiet buzz in the air as his hair stood up on the back of his neck. "It's okay, Starfire," he coaxed. "You can cheer for whoever you would like."

"Whomever," came a small, but powerful voice from the back of the room.

The entire room and its inhabitants seemed to be frozen in time, both cars on the screen crashed into walls of some sort and it became deadly quiet. Everyone turned very slowly around to look behind them, their eyes growing wide at the sight that greeted them.

"W-what?" Cyborg managed to squeak out, after what seemed like a millennium.

"I said, whomever," the voice came again, hidden in the shadows of the hallway. "As in, Starfire can cheer for whomever she would like. I believe that is the correct grammar."

"Oh," Starfire breathed out, sounding more like a dying squeaky toy than the powerful Tamaranian Princess warrior she was.

"W-w-w-w-w-who's there?" Beast Boy asked quietly, dreading a wrong answer.

A sweet and simple chuckle emerged from the darkness, followed by a young woman barely over 5 feet tall dressed in a slightly damaged leotard, a broken gold and red belt dangling at her waist, scuffed blue boots, and a torn blue cape filled with holes, her hood pulled up and covering her face. When she was completely out of the darkness, she pulled her hood back, revealing violet locks that cascaded down to her waist, glowing gray skin, a petite pink mouth set in a mischievous smirk, and deep purple orbs full of more love than anyone had ever seen before.

"R-raven?" Cyborg asked finally, starting to stand up. "Is that really you? Or was that Chinese food left over in the fridge really old?"

Raven laughed again, her voice bubbling out into the silence, filling her friends with a warmth they had so deeply missed. "Yes, Cy. It really is me. But I don't doubt that the Chinese food in the fridge isn't spoiled either."

At that, the room seemed to be reenergized with life and laughter as Starfire flew to her feet and practically beat the speed of light flying over to Raven to hug her. Beast Boy and Cyborg pushed each other out of the way to try and get to her first. All three of them were hugging her and welcoming her back, asking her what had happened, was she alright, and how did she know the Chinese food in the fridge was bad. Raven looked up and saw Robin was still in the same spot he had been, only he had stood to his feet, never saying a word. Raven excused herself from her friends and walked over to him, stopping right in front of him, neither one saying anything.

Finally, Raven moved and threw her arms around him, burying her face in his neck. "I missed you too," she whispered. "But I'm okay and I'm home now. And I'm not going anywhere for a long time." She paused, before gripping him tighter. "I needed you too, so much, more than you'll ever know."

At those words, Robin's eyes grew and his arms snaked around her small waist, fighting the tears hiding behind his mask. He didn't need to say anything and he honestly didn't think he could. All he could do was hold her, and hug her, and find comfort in the fact that Raven was home again. She was okay and she was home. And she needed him, but he did know how much; he had felt it all this time, so much and more.

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With Raven back home, the Titans couldn't seem to contain their energy and their happiness anymore as they paraded around her, asking her questions, being as polite as they could, waiting on her hand and foot, and even, occasionally, just randomly throwing hugs her way, just because they could. Raven had a hard time keeping the smile off of her face, but deep down inside she knew that this was all just a ploy for her friends' sake.

She had even dug up her outfit from the fight to make it look genuine; she hated lying to her friends, and someday she might tell them the truth, but not now, not when they were just so happy to have her back. Even Beast Boy wasn't as annoying as he usually was. The day seemed to be flying by as dinner rolled around and they decided to go all out for Raven's Return, a new holiday that they decided to put on the tower calendars.

Raven tried to downplay everything, feeling even guiltier for hiding from them by the second, but they just wouldn't let her shy away from their vigor. She told them that she really needed to meditate if they were going to keep this pace up, so they shoved her up onto the roof as they planned their big shindig downstairs. Up on the roof, Raven breathed in the air for the first time since she had been back and truly felt at peace. She walked over to the edge to look out at the twinkling city lights, a soft smile gracing her features at the serene embrace being home brought her. After a few moments, she moved away from the ledge and sat down on the ground, crossing her legs and getting into her meditative pose. There was a slight breeze out tonight and so she was grateful that her friends at least let her change into a new uniform that wasn't so ratty.

She closed her eyes and began to meditate, the world around her rushing away to be replaced by her soothing mantra and the calm, quiet order that her home gave her. She thought about nothing but being happy and she felt herself rise into the air, the breeze whipping her hair lightly about her face. She felt so much more relaxed now that she was among her friends, no, her family, and her meditation felt extremely wonderful on her mind. Every so often she could hear some noises coming from downstairs and a small chuckle would escape her throat at her friends' antics.

As she was meditating, though, something started to happen and Raven started to see visions in her tranquility, something she never really experienced. She tried to fight them, but the air seemed to change, getting more violent as it buzzed with electricity all around her. She could feel herself slipping in the air, but she was powerless to stop the visions from hitting her full-force. It was like all of the strength she had put into keeping herself hidden and in-charge suddenly turned inward and she was losing everything she had worked so hard to maintain. She bit her lip as her vision swam with images of the young man from her previous dreams, flying all over her mind before they suddenly stopped and brought themselves to a collected revelation.

"Hi," the young man garbled, keeping in line with his usual appearance. "I've missed you so much. I wish you wouldn't hide from me."

"No," Raven whispered back, standing up on the roof to meet his gaze. "I wasn't hiding from you. I was just, well………… I was just keeping to myself for a little while."

"You can't deny what you feel, Raven," the figure said lovingly, moving towards her. "You can't deny what's happening here. You can't just push this all away and hope things work out differently. You can't deny me."

She shook her head, rooted to the spot she had been previously meditating in. "I don't want to deny anything. I just don't know what's going on. Why can't I see you? Why can't I know who you are?"

The man chuckled and goose bumps surged across her skin. "You can't see me because you don't want to; you're hiding me from yourself. And, you already know who I am; you just don't want to admit it. You need to let go Raven and just accept what your heart and your mind are telling you."

"But what my heart and my head are telling me are two different things," Raven argued, shivering as the man was only a few inches away from her. "I know what I feel and about who, but I don't think you're reflecting those emotions. You aren't what I'm feeling. So why do you keep torturing me?"

The man reached out to her, his blurry image running a green arm down her own. "I am what you want, what you need, Raven. I wish you would just let your heart open your eyes and see me for what I truly am. The man who loves you, who you're destined to be with. Forever."

Tears spilled out over her face and Raven didn't know what to do anymore as she gave in and let the man get to her. She didn't want to love Beast Boy, and she didn't know how this man in her dreams could tell her she was the crazy one. She knew what she was seeing and she knew that what she was feeling wasn't for him. But something overpowered her and she bent upwards as his mouth came crashing down onto hers.

The kiss was chaste, and yet hungry at the same time, a tiny explosion of feeling that tingled Raven's lips. His arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her into him more as she opened her mouth for him, wanting to taste his words of love. Raven knew that she loved this man and that she was destined to be with him, that much she could tell. Obviously her mind and her heart were sending mixed signals as more tears tumbled from her closed eyelids, her heart ripping apart at the fact that she would never be with the one she thought she loved. If this felt so right, then it must be real.

The kiss deepened as their tongues danced around, darting from one mouth to the other; Raven moaned quietly into the kiss, feeling his obvious attraction and want for her pressed against her. She wrapped her arms around his neck, drawing him into her, wanting to feel more of his love. It felt like an eternity since their lips first touched and Raven was beginning to feel a little woozy.

All of a sudden, her mind seemed to set in as to what was going on and she started to freak out. Her eyes flew open, seeing nothing but a distorted image in front of her and she panicked. Her mind pushed against him, mirroring her arms as she tried to get away from him, wanting nothing more than to be back home with her friends, not trapped in this depression of a dream. With one final shove, she was set free and her eyes flew open to find she was sweating profusely, faltering in her floating above the tower roof. She grabbed at her chest, feeling her heart pounding against its ribbed cage. She closed her eyes to calm herself and regain her composure. She succeeded in slowing her heart rate momentarily and steadying her body in the air.

She opened her eyes slowly and was puzzled by the sight before her. There was a small bird sitting on the ledge of the roof, just staring at her. Her brow furrowed as she stared at the bird, its tiny head cocked to the side, just watching her. Suddenly, the bird moved, growing bigger and bigger, until she realized that it was morphing before her very eyes. Her body went rigid as the tiny bird turned into the very person she was dreading to see. Beast Boy dropped out of the air, a worried grin on his face.

"Hey Raven," he said, cautiously. "Are you okay? We just came to check on you and let you know that everything is almost ready. All you need to do is change into some street clothes; we're all going normal tonight!"

Beast Boy just stood there, smiling, waiting for a response, making sure he wasn't bothering her. But Raven just couldn't take it anymore; she lost her concentration and fell to the ground, bruising her tailbone in the process. She freaked out; her eyes cast in a wild look, as she scrambled to her feet and ran as fast as she could. She barely saw Robin behind her, a worried look on his face as she ran past him, accidentally knocking him over. Raven could think of nothing but the sanctuary in her room, her life depending on reaching there before anything else could get tossed her way.

Back on the roof, Robin sat sprawled on the ground, simply staring after Raven, wondering what was going on. Beast Boy slowly walked over to him and held out his arm to help him up.

"Man what was what all about?" Beast Boy asked, scratching his head in puzzlement. "It seems like every time I come around her, she's freaking out and running away."

Robin ignored the easy remark and instead shook his head. "I have no idea, Beast Boy. We just have to remember to take it easy on her for awhile. She's been through a lot and her mind is probably really fragile right now. Just, try not to sneak up on her or anything. She's had enough surprises and everything to last her quite awhile."

Beast Boy just nodded and the two of them walked back downstairs, going to find the other Titans. They told them all what happened and that they should take it easy on her. They already had the party planned and started and they couldn't really cancel it, so they just opted to give Raven a little more time to herself. Cyborg nominated Starfire to go and talk to her, despite Robin's own volunteering, saying that Raven might be comfortable talking to another girl, than anyone else in the tower. Besides, Starfire was the only one she hadn't really freaked out on yet, so it just seemed to be right that she was the one to go check up on Raven.

Starfire agreed and decided to go and change before she went and talked to Raven, giving her friend more than enough time to hopefully calm down. Starfire changed into a short pink mini-skirt, pink sandals, and a shimmery, silver halter top. She glanced at her barrettes on her nightstand and decided she would put her hair up in a ponytail tonight, feeling a little adventurous since she was so elated to have her bestest friend back. Once she was ready, she floated out of her room and down the hall towards Raven's room, noticing that the other Titans were already changed and finishing some last minute details. She took a deep breath and landed on the ground outside Raven's door.

"Friend Raven?" she asked quietly, knocking on the metallic door. "It is your friend, Starfire. I have come to do the talking of the girls and to see if you are all right."

She waited quite awhile before the door whooshed open, the fading black magic sparking back to its owner like runaway lightning. Starfire slowly walked into Raven's room, only having been there once before by actual invite. Raven was sitting on the ledge next to her window, just looking out at the water, a serene, but somewhat unhappy, expression on her face.

Before she could say anything, Raven herself spoke up, seeming far away herself. "I'm okay Starfire. Thank you for checking up on me. I'm just—just a little, er, twitchy I guess."

"If you say so," Starfire agreed, moving to sit down on her friend's bed as she surveyed a few broken objects strewn across the floor in the fading light. The door behind her closed and it took all of her courage not to 'eep' as it got dark momentarily.

"Sorry about that," Raven mumbled, as a few candles around her room lit up, making it seem a little livelier. "I guess I'm just used to the dark by now."

"Oh no, I am okay," Starfire said quietly. "I was just not expecting it." She faltered for a moment before moving on. "Are you sure you are okay, Friend Raven? You have been gone so long, but still, something seems different about you. You are not as……… free…… as I would have expected you to be."

Raven winced at that and turned, offering an apologetic smile. "Sorry Star. I've just got a lot on my mind and I guess it's weighing down on my newfound freedom."

"If you do not mind my asking," Starfire inquired, looking hopeful. "May you tell me what you are thinking about? Maybe I could be of assistance in helping you to obtain a new life?"

Raven smiled at her friend and shook her head a little. "I don't think so Starfire, but thank you for the offer. I appreciate it."

Starfire looked momentarily hurt, but quickly forced her trademark smile to show through. "You know, Friend Raven, I may not know all about the customs of Earth just yet, but I do know quite a bit about being a girl, they are the same no matter where they come from. It is complicated and I do not think that anyone out there truly has all the answers, but I do know that sometimes all that it takes is to share your burden with someone else to feel better. You taught me that."

Raven was stunned into a fleeting silence at the depth and frankness she had never known her friend possessed. Was she really that transparent? If Starfire, of all people, er, aliens, could see it, then who else wasn't she fooling? It felt like ages before she spoke, but when she did, she chose her words very carefully.

"I did, didn't I?" Raven finally said, moving to sit down next to her on her bed. "Well, I guess I can't pretend to know all the answers either, but I know I can't be a hypocrite. It's just—it's a long story, Starfire and even I don't know how it's going to end. This whole 'girl/emotions' thing has just got me all in a tizzy."

Starfire merely smiled and nodded. "Well, if you would like, I am very familiar with the girl-slash-emotions thing…… We have decided tonight to make it casual, as I am certain you could tell by my appearance, so if it pleases you, maybe whilst you change, you could tell me what is troubling you. If nothing else, I will at least be able to listen."

Raven stood up and headed towards her closet. "I think that would be just fine, Starfire."

Starfire let out a bubbly giggle and jumped up into the air. "Oh this is wonderful, Friend Raven!" she squealed, landing back on the ground. "Now, let me help you find something magnificent and beautiful to wear tonight and you can tell me everything that has been on your mind!"

Raven let out an uncharacteristic giggle too and led Starfire to her closet. "I don't even know where to begin!"

"Well," Starfire said, gazing past Raven's uniforms and trying to see what else she had hidden away in there. "Do not most Earth stories start from the beginning?"

"Yeah, I suppose they do," Raven replied, using her magic to pull everything out of her closet that wasn't a uniform and laying it on her bed. "You see, it all started a few days before I left to go fight my father; you know, the day where it seemed like everyone was out to get us……………"

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A/N: Well, how was that? After not updating in forever, I guess it's kind of a slow chapter, but if I kept going, then this one would be, like, forever long. It's already 11 pages on my Word, ya hear! Anyhoo, next up is the par-tay for Raven and all that entails. More fun ahead. I would have to say, though, that this story is nearing its end, as it's on the short side a little. Only 2 or 3 more chapters I think, so hopefully, it won't take me as long to finish the rest.

Leave some love down there with the little button and go check out the newest one-shot I wrote a little bit ago. It's called "Somebody's Me" and I haven't received very much on that one, so let me know how bad it was… This one too.

L8r Daze!

SCP