Jump City never slept, even on the evening before Raven's birthday. It was a clear night with a full moon hanging over the dimly lit street. A small group of metahumans had tried and failed to rob a bank in the city's heart. The Teen Titans had stopped them easily and now were returning to the T Tower.
Robin, Starfire, and Cyborg walked into the common room together. Laughing about the 'emergency' they handled without breaking a sweat. The group headed for the oversized couch. Cyborg flopped down and reached for the Gamestation controller he had left on the floor. Robin and Starfire settled next to each other on the end of the couch.
Beast Boy and Raven strolled in soon after, still held in soft conversation.
"So Rae, any idea what you want to do for your birthday?" Beast Boy asked in a softer voice than usual, loud, excited yelling.
"BB, please, we talked about this. I'll be in a trance for the next week." Raven replied in her customary deadpan drawl.
"Still, we could do something after? It's your eighteenth birthday, after all. We should really celebrate." Beast Boy gave a crooked grin.
"How about after I wake up, we talk about it? I want to relax with all my friends for the last few hours before I sleep." Raven said with a small smile. One Beast Boy returned.
"Fine, Rae, just don't forget and get moody when I bring it up later." Beast Boy gently shoulder-bumped her with a smile, then jumped over the couch to sit beside Cyborg and picked up his controller.
The Titans relaxed for the next three hours and enjoyed each other's company. Playing video games, eating snacks and for ravens, sitting quietly listening to the others, and putting her voice in when appropriate. The Titans grew more nervous as the time drew closer, except for Raven.
Good nights were said, and the team all retired to their own bedrooms. Raven sat on her bed in the lotus position, hovering just above the blankets. Clearing her mind with meditation, she prepared for whatever her eighteenth birthday would bring.
The following day, the Titans, except Raven, headed to the kitchen for breakfast. There was a feeling of trepidation hanging around the room. Without the sounds of the tea kettle heating up in the background, it felt too quiet, even with Cyborg's and Beast Boy's loud attempts to distract each other as they cooked. Once everyone was sitting down to eat, the overused empty chair next to Beast Boy that, over the last year, became Raven's permanent seat was drawing too much attention for its own good.
"Come on, guys, it's only a week, and we know how tough Raven is. She will be fine," Robin said between bits of his cereal.
"I know she will be fine!" Beast Boy said a little too loudly and quickly.
"Green Bean, chill. We all are a little on edge without her." Cyborg said while pointing a piece of bacon at him.
"Yes, Beast Boy, we all do the worry about friend Raven," Starfire said with a small, sad smile. Robin reached over and put a hand on her shoulder.
"Sorry, sorry, it's so strange not to see her here with us." Beast Boy said, looking down at his tofu eggs.
"You and Raven have been getting a lot closer lately?" Cyborg said in a knowing voice.
"I guess so. It's been a while since she threw me out a window." Beast Boy said, letting a small smile grow on his face. Robin and Starfire started watching the others closer, hearing this.
"So, how close are we talking here?" Cyborg said with a mix of the big brother voice and teasing.
"Dude, we are just friends!" Beast Boy defended himself.
"I never said you weren't," Cyborg said with a knowing grin.
Beast Boy's green face was tinted red as he stopped his arm flailing and just looked down at his plate, embarrassed. Cyborg and Robin exchanged knowing looks. Robin got up to rinse his bowl, and Cyborg leaned back in his chair. Starfire looked confused and then determined. She followed Robin into the kitchen with her own plate. Beast boy could hear them whispering but couldn't make it out with Cyborg's chuckling.
The rest of the day flew by in a mix of training and trying to distract themselves from Raven. The next few days were much the same, with only minor criminals needing to be handled. By the fourth day, Beast Boy was starting to pace around the common room, muttering to himself, much to the amusement of Robin and Cyborg. Starfire was worrying herself sick, and watching Beast Boy was not helping.
"Friends, should we not check on friend Raven?" Starfire asked from her seat next to Robin.
"Star, Raven told us not to disturb her unless it has been over a week," Robin said gently. Watching Beast Boy worry was funny, knowing he was crushing on the dark-haired half-demon. But his girlfriend doing it was hard to watch her feel down without any way to help.
"I know, but what if something is wrong," Starfire said. Robin smiled at her and put his arm around her shoulder.
"If something was wrong, we'd know we are monitoring the room after all," Cyborg added.
Meanwhile, Raven was deep inside her own mind. Her emotions were going crazy, fluctuating and shifting every moment, and her other selves were nowhere to be found. Nevermore was a blur of all of her emotional realms. Raven needed clarification. Her body hurt like growing pains all over, and with this. she walked and walked for what felt like miles in her own mind till she saw a dark shadow of a humanoid. It was looking out into the void filled with red stars. Raven approached it slowly.
"Hello, I don't recognize you?" Raven's voice had lost its deadpan drawl. It was mostly quiet, but her nervousness was easy to hear.
"I'm your heritage," the shadow said with its back turned to her still.
"Your, my demonic half? Funny. I thought you'd be angry and red." Raven said, looking the shadow over.
It said nothing else but stood there looking out to the void. It was calm and content, it seemed. A far cry from what Raven's experience with demons was. But this must be her demon, not her father's.
"You wonder why I'm here?" the shadow asked Raven, making her jump.
"Yes, I've never seen you before in Nevermore," Raven asked, walking to stand next to the shadow.
"That is because you are now an adult, and I fully manifest in your realm," the shadow looked at her for the first time. Its eyes were the four red slits set in a shadow of a face.
"What happened to my emotions?" Raven asked, looking back at the smears of her realms.
"They are together in you. Trigon has no power over you anymore, and I will not fight you. We are one. When you awake, you will be truly free." the shadow said before unfurling misty black wings and flying off into the void.
"I'll be free," Raven said in stunned stupidity, sank to the floor, and cried.
It was the day before Raven was supposed to wake up, and Beast Boy had gone from worry and depression to bouncing around like a kind with a sugar high. The rest of the team had taken measures to avoid the hyperactive green changeling. Beast Boy and Cyborg sat on the couch to watch some black and white samurai movies. Starfire and Robin were out on their date night. The night was quiet. Each titan waited anxiously for the morning to see their friend.