I do not own the Teen Titans, sorry!
Lonely Tonight by Blake Shelton
Beast Boy sat on the common room couch, staring mindlessly at the television before him. In his hands lay, limply, his gamestation controller. Videogames couldn't fix this, nor could the untouched comfort food he brought over from the kitchen.
I'm sorry, Beast Boy… but I'm not the girl you're looking for, her voice echoed in his head. The changeling shook his head and set down the controller, opting to close his eyes to relive the memory instead.
They were walking, hand in hand, from the mini-golf course when suddenly Terra let go. "Beast Boy, I…" she mumbled, avoiding his eyes.
Beast Boy raised an eyebrow and stopped walking, willing her to do the same, "What's wrong?"
The blonde girl crossed her arms and shook her head, trying to find the words.
"Terra?"
"I don't think I can do this, Beast Boy, I'm sorry," she whispered, "I'm not the Terra you remember and I never will be."
Beast Boy's ears dropped, realizing where this was going, "But… wait, Terra! Haven't you enjoyed the last few weeks?"
She smiled solemnly, "I have, but it's just… you don't like me, Beast Boy. You like her."
The changeling raised his eyebrows in exasperation, "What? Who? No, Terra! I only like you."
"You like the old Terra, and that just isn't me," she spoke softly, looking down at her bare hands.
Beast Boy shook his head, trying to believe she wasn't leaving him for the third time, "Terra, please-"
"I'm sorry, Beast Boy… but I'm not the girl you're looking for. I never will be," Terra looked into his eyes before quickly averting her gaze downwards. She took a step back, "I should go."
"Wait!" he felt as though his heart was about to explode as his girlfriend - or rather, ex-girlfriend - turned and made her way down the sidewalk in the opposite direction they were heading.
"I'm sorry!" was the last thing he heard her say before she broke into a run and turned the corner.
The changeling stood there, dumbfounded and hopelessly heartbroken.
Raven sat on the park bench by her lonesome, contemplating the events that had transpired not an hour ago. Before she knew it, a warm and stinging sensation developed in her eyes and she fought to blink away the unwelcomed tears.
"No," she told herself sternly, "I will not cry over this… it was just a stupid fling." Yet, it was much more than that to her, though the empath would never admit it. Aqualad had been the first guy since Malchior who showed her interest, but this time, he was genuine and sincere and didn't try to manipulate her as the dragon had done. Granted, they had only been going out for a few weeks, but those few weeks were pure bliss - he'd willingly went along at her pace and had never done anything to upset her. Aqualad was a true gentleman.
But even gentlemen get bored.
It was about 6 o'clock as the lovely couple enjoyed the last few bites of their ice cream cones. The sun would be setting soon, so the two figured it was time to head back to the tower and bid their farewells.
Raven stood and looked down at her atlantean boyfriend, smiling softly, "Ready to go?"
Nodding, Aqualad stood and offered her his hand, "Yep. Let's head back."
Instead of teleporting back to the tower, Aqualad and Raven decided it'd be more refreshing to take the trip by foot - it would give them more time together before Aqualad was due back at Titan's East and Raven's own responsibilities consumed her focus.
"Haha," Aqualad let out a chuckle, describing a conversation he had with marine life earlier that week, "and the dolphin said…"
The empath listened intently. She was fond of the stories he would tell, even if they always included fish.
"Raven?"
"Hm?"
Aqualad hesitated before diving headfirst into the subject, "I think we need to talk."
Having read this scenario countless of times in her action-romance novels, Raven immediately stood rigid, "About what?"
The atlantean dropped his hand from hers and sighed, but maintained contact, "These last few weeks have been great, Raven, but…"
Her heart sped up uncomfortably, "...but?"
"I don't think we're cut out for… this," he tried to explain, gesturing to the two of them.
Raven narrowed her eyebrows, "This? You mean a relationship?"
"Ah, yeah. I really care about you, but honestly, we're more like friends than, well… romantically involved," Aqualad nodded sheepishly before regaining his confidence and holding eye contact with the demoness.
"So you're breaking up with me because we aren't in a relationship, even though we are?" she deadpanned.
Aqualad shook his head vigorously, "No! No, no. We are in a relationship, but it just doesn't feel like one. We haven't even kissed, Raven!"
It was true that the couple had yet to share their first kiss, but it wasn't because Raven lacked affection for him. The demoness was aware she wouldn't be Aqualad's first kiss, and the idea that she'd have to prove herself was daunting - she simply wasn't confident enough, which caused her powers to flicker whenever she entertained the notion of sharing her first kiss with the atlantean. "I thought you were okay with going at my pace? You know about my powers."
"I do know and I am - erm, was. It's just… I don't know… I think we're better off as friends," the atlantean attempted a smile.
Raven closed her eyes and shook her head slowly, "I'll talk to you later, Aqualad."
"Uh, okay… do you want me to walk you-"
"No. I'm perfectly capable of reaching home by myself," her eyes shot open with an icy glare that made the boy's skin crawl.
Aqualad cleared his throat nervously, "Well… I'll see you around, I guess?"
Raven nodded before turning around and walking deeper into the park, not bothering to see if he had left. She couldn't go back to the tower like this - if she did, she'd probably break the whole foundation and they'd have no home. This is why someone like her shouldn't develop feelings.
Beast Boy spared a glance at the clock, noting that the time was now 7:23 at night. Starfire and Robin had ventured into the city for the day, whereas Cyborg had gone to Titan's East to help Bee fix their generator after a nasty blackout a tussle between the twins and Speedy caused. Even Raven was out having a good time with her boyfriend.
"Pfft, boyfriend," the changeling didn't like the way it sounded on his tongue. Sure, he was glad Raven had found happiness, but the fact that he wasn't the only one making her smile anymore was… disheartening. With a sigh, the changeling deflated further into his spot on the couch, "I wish she was here."
It took Raven everything she had to swallow the prickling sensation of tears and man up enough to head back to the tower. She had expected everyone to be gone - either on dates or maintenance runs - so when she entered the common room to find Beast Boy sitting idly in front of the television, her anxiety spiked. What little mascara and eyeliner she had decorated her eyes with prior to her mess of a date had been smeared onto her cheeks by tears and her hands. Quickly, opting out tea for once, Raven enveloped herself in black energy as she prepared to teleport away.
"R-Raven?" Beast Boy's throat cracked as he spun around on the couch, having caught a whiff of her ashy yet herbal scent.
Something in the way his voice gave caused Raven to hesitate, but not completely abolish the idea of retreating to her room, "What?"
"Why are you… do you want to hang out?"
Of course, she mused darkly, he's just bored. The demoness shook her head, "No."
His ears drooped as she began phasing through the floor, "Raven, wait! Please?"
"Why don't you go ask Terra? It's not a school night," Raven suggested half-heartedly before feeling despair wash over her, emanating from her green teammate, "is it?"
Beast Boy shook his head, resting his chin on the backrest of the couch, "It's not, but…"
Raven raised an eyebrow, phasing back out of the floor. What was going on?
"Well… she kind of… Terra broke up with me," he sighed, pouting in a way that his fang poked out from his bottom lip more so than it normally would.
She felt a pang of guilt go through her, "I'm… sorry."
The changeling sighed, then blinked in confusion when he felt the cushion beside him dip down under the empath's weight. He looked over at his friend and smiled softly at her company.
Feeling a bit awkward under his gaze, Raven appreciated the fact that her hood was up. She returned a small smile to him before looking down at her hands perched delicately in her lap, "Looks like neither one of us had a good night."
Beast Boy raised an eyebrow, "Did you and Aqualad…?"
She nodded, balling her hands into fists as she attempted to maintain control of her emotions, "Yeah. I guess he got bored of me."
"Bored of you?" Beast Boy let out a surprising laugh, "That guy doesn't know what he's missing!"
A small blush crept onto her cheeks, "I guess so. Thanks, Beast Boy."
Her green teammate smiled his signature toothy grin before the loneliness struck again, causing his cheerful expression to falter. Leaning back against the backboard, the changeling sighed again, "I don't know why this keeps happening."
"What do you mean?"
"Well," he began, "this is like the third time Terra's just… left me. Remember?"
Raven nodded in understanding. It was true; the first time, Terra left them and joined Slade. When she finally redeemed herself, her sacrificed turned her to stone. Now, after months of fruitless pursuit, Beast Boy had finally convinced her to give him a chance - but to no avail, apparently. "Maybe it's for the best," she shrugged slightly, not entirely sure what to say.
Beast Boy groaned appreciatively, "Well, it'd be great if it wasn't, 'cuz then I'd have a chance with her."
The empath listened as he went on about how much he liked Terra; her looks, her personality, the good times they had together, everything. Such words couldn't help but make her feel a little uncomfortable - why couldn't someone feel that way about her?
"And that time at the carnival, before Slade interrupted…" he went on, feeling a lump swell in his throat.
Raven, having had enough, stood abruptly and turned to leave.
"Raven wait- I'm sorry," Beast Boy's words caught her mid-stride, "You're hurting, too, and here I am going on about Terra."
The empath shook her head, "It's fine-"
"No, it's really not, Rae." The changeling reached up to grab her hand and pull her back down on the couch beside him, "Do you want to talk about it?"
Surprised at the contact, Raven was once again thankful for her hood's camouflage as pink tinged her cheeks. She merely shrugged, which wasn't a satisfying enough answer for Beast Boy.
"You can talk to me, y'know? You're not alone, Raven," the changeling hadn't removed his hand from hers, causing the empath's blush to darken.
"I know, it's just… difficult, I guess," she began to explain, slowly turning her palm upright so their fingers were nearly intertwined.
Beast Boy smiled softly and intertwined their fingers hesitantly, torn between the possibility she might throw him out the window and wanting to show her he cared, "Yeah. Dating is…"
"A pain," the empath smirked from beneath her hood.
"Exactly," the changeling chuckled quietly, briefly glancing down at their hands, "Hey Rae?"
She glanced over at him, "It's Raven. What?"
"Hehe, sure thing, and… uh…" Beast Boy rubbed the back of his neck nervously, "Do you wanna watch a movie?"
The changeling misinterpreted her contemplative silence as rejection, "N-not a scary one! Wouldn't want your powers going crazy, but, like-"
"I'd like that, actually"
"Really?"
Raven nodded, eliciting a large smile from her green-skinned teammate.
"Awesome!" he beamed, "What kinda movies do you like?"
The empath shrugged, not quite sure of that herself - she preferred books instead of movies in general.
Beast Boy made a move to stand up in search of a DVD, but sat back down as Raven's grip on his hand tightened. He looked over at the empath to find her casually avoiding eye contact, staring at the arm of the couch. "Maybe we can, uh… find one on TV instead?" he suggested, leaning into the back of the couch once again.
Nodding slightly, Raven spared a quick glance in his direction - he was still looking at her. Their eyes made contact and neither one could bring themselves to look away. It was then that Beast Boy noticed the smudges of mascara on her pale cheeks, illuminated from the TV.
"Raven…" he reached out to pull her hood down, but she looked away from him and untangled their fingers.
"Don't," she warned half-heartedly, crossing her arms in front of her defensively.
Beast Boy's heart broke a little as she closed off from him again, "Raven, I'm here for you. I'll always be here for you, no matter what. You don't have to be so lonely all the time."
Too embarrassed to formulate words, the empath merely nodded in acknowledgement. Surprise overtook her as she felt her teammate's scrawny arms wrap around her in a loving embrace, "B-Beast Boy, what are you-"
"Shush, I'm giving you a hug," he declared, scooting closer to her so their bodies weren't so far apart.
Despite her initial coldness, Raven couldn't bring herself to push him away. Instead, she turned towards and leaned into him, burying her face in the crook of his neck while wrapping her arms around his torso. "Thanks…" she muttered.
The feeling of her breath on his neck sent a shiver down Beast Boy's spine, but he didn't let go. "Any time, Rae…" he breathed, "...any time."
Hesitating slightly, Raven broke the embrace and leaned back to look him in the eyes. Her face was flushed, no longer due to her earlier bouts of crying but because of the proximity between the two titans. As if on cue, they slowly began to lean in.
"I should… probably go," Raven mumbled, her eyes fluttering closed.
Beast Boy continued leaning in, as did she, and couldn't help but smile at her contradicting actions.
"Before we do," she leaned in, "something we'll regret."
Their lips melded into one another tenderly, albeit a bit unsure at the start. Raven soon deepened the kiss by crawling into her teammate's lap, straddling him and inadvertently knocking him off balance. Beast Boy's eyes shot open as they fell back onto the remaining space of the couch, yet fluttered closed as he felt all the memories of Terra slip away.
It felt like hours but, in reality, only a few minutes had passed before Raven pulled back enough to look her friend in the eyes. She had an uncharacteristically glazed over expression, having enjoyed the kiss immensely, "Beast Boy?"
"Hmm?" the changeling was equally dazed by their shared intimacy.
The demoness opened her mouth but found that nothing came out. Her mind was a blank slate, except for the desire to kiss him once more.
So she did, and he gladly kissed her back.
A/N: Hello again! I totally fell in love with this song and the plot someone requested - hence why this oneshot is, well, ridiculously long. The story kind of just wrote itself, I suppose. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed it (especially the person who requested it) and will stay tuned for more upcoming stories. Thanks for reading~
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