Toxic

by PSI-Triforce

In which Raven fails to realise that love can be fragile, not the unstoppable force that she believed, and that finding someone who loves you even at your worst is no excuse to embrace your most destructive qualities. Angsty tragedy, long one-shot, one-sided BBRae. Frequent abusive behaviour.

Raven was happy.

More than happy, Raven was loved.

Having been brought up in the isolation of Azarath and told every day that she was destined to become the portal that ended the world, Raven had never even considered the possibility that someday, someone would be capable of feeling love towards her. She was not a 'her'. She was a thing, nothing more. A means to a very violent and destructive end. She wasn't even supposed to feel emotions, let alone be the recipient of them. And yet, when she had arrived on Earth – purportedly the first step in fulfilling the prophecy that would return the great Trigon the Terrible to power – then she had found herself a group of friends. People her own age with similarly remarkable – albeit not nearly as apocalyptic – abilities, who showered her with acceptance and affection, to the point where she was freely able to question her purpose, her destiny, her raison d'etre, and eventually rebel against the shackles of fate itself.

But recently, she had felt something even stronger than the mere fondness of friendship. For the first time, Raven had sensed an honest and sincere romantic love emanating from one of her teammates. Love for her. The demon. When she had first detected it, she had panicked, fled to her room with a flimsy excuse, and meditated for several hours, trying to rein in her emotions as they each reacted giddily to the sudden warmth that they were feeling for the first time.

Somebody loved her.

It didn't take a genius to determine who had been broadcasting their feelings so heavily. The green-skinned changeling had always shown a very obvious interest towards the empath, a desire to make her laugh, or even just smile, moreso than he ever felt for anyone else. If someone had to fetch her for movie night, it was him. If someone had her back in a fight, it was him. If anyone dared to push her boundaries, to encourage her to be herself; to remind her that it wasn't just possible for her to be happy, but that she deserved to be, then it was always him. And what made Raven's heart swell more than anything was the knowledge that this love wasn't just for one side of her, but for everything.

Beast Boy didn't just love her positive qualities, but her… less-than-flattering habits as well. The way she could sometimes lose her temper. Her razor-sharp tongue, always quick with a hurtful barb, whether directed at friend – most commonly, him – or foe. The way that four times out of five, his attempts at fetching her for movie night would end with him thrown into the nearest wall, whether he had done anything to deserve it or not. These weren't just quirks that he was willing to look past, but parts of her that he wouldn't have changed for the world. Raven had felt accepted before, but it always felt as though her friends loved her in spite of these things, not because of them. Except Beast Boy.

The revelation hadn't just left Raven delirious with joy, but also somewhat relieved. She had considered the possibility of pursuing a romantic relationship before, but had always assumed that this would only have been possible if she was willing to… curb her nastier mannerisms. She acknowledged on some level that she exhibited certain tendencies that occasionally made it difficult to be around her; but if Beast Boy – that idiotic, goofy, smiling simpleton – could love her in her entirety, then…

She didn't really need to try, did she?

After all, if he loved her – all of her – then he probably wouldn't even have wanted for her to change, even in an attempt to improve herself. An improved Raven wasn't the Raven who he had fallen in love with. And besides… Raven enjoyed the moments when she could be herself, indulging in her more selfish desires. And if someone as pure and innocent as Beast Boy could love them, were they even selfish to begin with?

Raven wasn't worried. Love was love. Love was unbreakable. Love was the unstoppable force and the immovable object. Love could overcome any obstacle, break down any wall, and she knew as soon as she had detected those feelings from Beast Boy that he didn't just love her now, but he would love her forever. Which was not just reassuring, but relieving. It was rather nice to know that no matter what she said to him or did to him, that at the end of the day – until the end of all days – he would always hold that loving spot in his heart for her.

Even if she hadn't gotten a solid read on his feelings, it was obvious how he felt about her just from his behaviour that morning.

When she entered the Common Room, nose buried in a book until she scanned the room for her friends and spotted them all, her heart skipped a beat for two reasons. The first was that he was right there. He looked up as he heard the door slide open, and after swallowing a mouthful of cereal, he flashed a toothy grin at her. There was something extra in his smile today, and she knew that it was just for her.

The second reason was that before she could make her way to the cupboard where she kept her private tea supplies, she noticed a mug of steaming Earl Grey, seasoned with half a teaspoon of honey, a pinch of cinnamon, a single mint leaf and a thinly-cut slice of lemon on the saucer. Someone had prepared her tea for her, and it wasn't mentally taxing to discern who. She was pleased that she was still holding a book over most of her face, so that Beast Boy couldn't see her blushing smile. She could tell that the milk-to-tea ratio was a little off, and he'd forgotten to include the kind of simple ginger biscuits that she liked as an accompaniment, but the effort was there.

Restraining her smile and approaching the mug with a neutral expression on her face, she looked at it, and then Beast Boy, who smiled and timidly scratched the back of his head. Although the situation was obvious, Raven still felt the need to put him on the spot for an explanation.

"What is this?" she asked suspiciously, pointing at the hot beverage.

"Well…" Beast Boy began to blush, "I thought I could try making your tea this morning. I've seen you do it, like, a hundred times."

Internally, Raven squealed with delight at his thoughtfulness. Externally, she lifted the mug and pretended to observe it for signs of sabotage. She knew that it was safe, and she knew that he was anxious to see how his little gesture would go down. She also knew that she could have accepted his gift with a smile, or even a small kiss on the cheek, but… that wouldn't have been the Raven that he fell in love with, would it? That was what she told herself, at least. Although she couldn't deny that as much as she wanted to throw her arms around him, she wanted to do something else even more, and she saw no reason not to.

Raven frowned. "So… you went through my things?"

He was blushing now for an entirely different reason. "Uh… well, yeah, I guess so. I'm… sorry, I should have asked, but I kind of wanted it to be a surprise, and-"

Beast Boy flinched and cried out in surprise as the scalding hot tea was thrown over him. He stumbled backwards off of his seat and clumsily fell to the floor with a hearty thump. The tea wouldn't leave burns or cause any serious harm, but it was still far from pleasant. Wiping the boiling liquid from his eyes, he looked up at Raven, who was looking down at him – in both senses – with as an angry an expression on her face as he had ever seen, excluding the addition of two extra eyes.

"Don't touch my stuff," she warned harshly, stepping over him and placing the mug in the sink, ignoring the looks from the rest of the team, whose attention she had captured from the moment she had thrown the offending beverage onto the changeling. Leaving the room without so much as an acknowledgement, much less an apology, Raven smirked as she heard Cyborg behind her as she left, quietly asking Beast Boy what he had done to annoy her this time.

Sure, maybe her actions would have appeared a little bit cruel, from anyone outside of her and Beast Boy's perspective. But she knew the truth, and he knew the truth as well, probably. This was just part of the game that they played. He would perform a kind gesture for her, and she would rebuff it, and he would perform another kind gesture to apologize for the first one, and she would rebuff that one too, and he would keep going until eventually, she would reluctantly admit that maybe one or two of his actions had been rather thoughtful, and they would share an intimate moment together, and then the cycle would begin anew. He must have known that this was how the game was played; after all, he had already been playing it for years now.

Besides… the look of surprise on his face when she had thrown his lovingly-prepared gift right back at him had been genuinely amusing, she couldn't deny that.

The only part of the social transaction that she regretted was that she actually did quite want a mug of tea now, but couldn't go back to fetch one; it would shatter the illusion that she was angry at him, and if he watched her preparing her drink a little more closely – which he probably would, he was observant to a fault – then he would inevitably notice that he had, in fact, made an almost perfect replication of her favourite morning brew. Such positive reinforcement could not be encouraged. If positive reinforcement was what he was seeking, then why the hell would he have fallen in love with Raven in the first place?

Returning to her room, tired and a little thirsty, but still filled with glee from his act of goodwill, she closed herself off from the team once more, confident and secure in the knowledge that Beast Boy would have more endless adoration to throw her way when she was ready to open herself up to the world – and her not-so-secret admirer- again.

She was already looking forward to seeing how he was going to make it up to her this time.

.

Raven was pleased.

Beast Boy was playing along exactly as she had expected; pretending to give her space, pretending to keep his distance, and taking care not to get in her way for the rest of the day. He hadn't knocked on her door once, even when dinner was ready, leaving her to wander to the Common Room by herself when she had noticed the time. Even when she sat down with the rest of the team, he had only managed a quiet and cordial "Good evening," before he wolfed his meal down and scarpered back to the couch to spend more time with Cyborg. It was almost as if he was pretending to have actually been afraid of her.

But the next morning, her fears were alleviated as she saw that he had moved on to the next step of their game. When she joined the rest of the team for breakfast – Starfire and Robin were sitting together on the couch, while Beast Boy sat alone at the kitchen table again – then there was no pleasantly warm mug of tea waiting for her, but there was a small box of Earl Grey tea bags. Exactly the kind that he had used yesterday.

Once again, Raven walked over to the table, looked at the box, and then looked at Beast Boy, wondering if she would have to force the words out of him this morning, or whether he would speak a little more voluntarily.

"To say sorry, and to make up for the stuff that I used up yesterday," he mumbled nervously. Raven struggled to suppress a grin at his thoughtfulness, but persevered regardless. To smile now would be to break the illusion, after all.

"So, you went through my things again?" she replied with displeasure, raising an inquisitive eyebrow at his actions.

"Nonono," Beast Boy stammered, his nerves clearly growing, "I just… remembered the stuff that I used, so, I thought it made sense to replace it."

Raven frowned, mostly putting on a show, but also at the incompleteness of his gesture. If he had wanted to replace everything that he had used, then he was missing a mint leaf, some honey and cinnamon, some milk, her time, her patience-

"This is the wrong tea," she stated disapprovingly, eyeing the box in disdain.

"Oh! … Um, is it?" said Beast Boy in surprise. "I… I really thought I got the right one."

"Well, you didn't," Raven snapped. "This is completely wrong, Beast Boy." She was still frowning.

She was lying, and she knew that he knew that she was lying. Even without paying her any particular attention, she expected that everyone in the tower knew her favourite brand of tea by now. But she was interested to see how he would respond; would he attempt to correct her, knowing full well that it would only make things worse for himself, or just surrender like a coward? She hoped that he tried to stand up for himself. There was no shortage of creative ideas running through her head, wondering how she would push him down again.

To her dismay, Beast Boy remained silent, awkwardly looking from her to the box and back again, before he shyly mumbled, "Well… sorry." He sounded sincere enough.

Raven's eyes narrowed. "You don't believe me, do you? You think you know better than me."

She relished the way he jumped like a cornered animal, which she supposed he was; his eyes flitting across to Robin and Starfire, who had slowly begun to notice the commotion. Before he could say anything, the small box of tea bags that had been in Raven's hands a second earlier had struck him in the side of the face. As a small cardboard box, it hadn't dealt any major harm, but one of the corners had poked him in the eye, and he yelped in alarm, covering the sensitive area with a gloved hand.

Robin and Starfire were paying more attention now, as Raven angrily approached the changeling. When she was near enough, he instinctively raised his arms in a flinch, as if expecting to be struck again, but Raven simply bent down to pick up the errant box and continued past Beast Boy without a word, opening the garbage can and dropping the box into the trash. It was a shame to waste a perfectly good batch of tea – her favourite, no less – but as she glared back at Beast Boy in anger and he whimpered in fear and shame, she supposed that it had already served its purpose well enough.

With no further acknowledgement, she left the room again. Beast Boy was fine, she was sure of it. If he loved all of her – which he did – then that meant that he had to love this side of her as well. And if he was just finding out now that he didn't love this side of her… well then. He was a lot more shallow than she would have ever anticipated, and he would have deserved this treatment regardless.

Her mind already racing with possibilities of how he would try to make this up to her tomorrow, Raven smiled to herself and retired back to her room, alone again.

.

Raven was concerned.

Cinderblock was never an easy opponent to face, and here he was, rampaging throughout downtown Jump City with seemingly no goal in mind except the wanton destruction of any building within his reach. Intelligence-wise, Cinderblock could have been outsmarted by the average toddler, but intelligence didn't count for much when you were made of magic-resistant, cold-resistant, heat-resistant and generally damage-resistant concrete. But as the Titans knew well, resistance was not the same thing as invincibility.

Cinderblock was only Raven's secondary concern though. The first – and it boiled her blood just to recall it – was the anxious changeling currently awaiting his leader's orders. Ever since their little back-and-forth over Raven's morning tea, he had been giving the empath a wide berth; meekly wishing her a good morning if he happened to be there when she entered, but attempting nothing further. She had succumbed to the temptation and scanned his emotions again a few times, and found that his affection for her was still there, albeit now a little swamped with worry, fear and confusion. But if he was so worried and confused, why wasn't he making any grand gestures towards her? That would have surely calmed him down. He would go to great efforts to do something nice for her, and she would throw it back in his face, but they would both know that it meant a great deal to her. Well, she would know. And he would probably know. Deep down. Perhaps.

So focussed was Raven on Beast Boy's failure to attend to her needs that she barely heard Robin's observations. "We just need to get him down on the ground," Robin summarized, viewing the villain's warpath from a few hundred feet away, where the T-Car had safely pulled up. "Then, Starfire, you hit him in the head with everything you've got. Cyborg, you assist. Beast Boy…" Robin hesitated, the way he did every time he had to give an order that he didn't enjoy. "Can you turn into something big to trip him up?"

The hesitation was returned by Beast Boy, who was, as always, happy for the chance to be a hero, but he already knew from experience that while charging into Cinderblock's shins as an elephant or triceratops was an effective enough method of bringing him down, it was also extremely painful, and frequently left him with severe headaches, or even a mild concussion. But Beast Boy also trusted his team, and knew that Robin wouldn't have asked him to do this if there had been an easier way.

"You got it, Rob," he nodded, crouching down as a boy, and quickly emerging as a wild green rhinoceros, who scratched the ground with his hind leg as if revving up to charge. With one last glance back to Robin, who nodded in affirmation, he swallowed his nerves and began to run. Starfire followed from a distance, eager to beat the concrete behemoth into submission once he had been grounded. Cyborg and Robin watched nervously, while Raven observed the scene with complete apathy.

The worst part of colliding with Cinderblock was never the collision itself, although it was certainly still terrible. No, the worst part was having to spend up to thirty seconds charging towards him at full speed, knowing exactly what you were heading towards. Knowing that you were about to ruin your evening with a splitting migraine that would not subside for hours to come. Knowing that you were quite literally on your way to bash your head into the equivalent of a brick wall. Knowing that you still had fifteen seconds to go, fourteen seconds to go, thirteen.

It was for this reason that, understandably, Beast Boy's nerves got to him just a little, and he slowed down ever so slightly – imperceptible to most – as he approached his objective.

From behind him, Robin frowned; not in frustration, but in understanding. After all, he wouldn't have wanted to barge headfirst into Cinderblock either. But for the sake of the mission, he hoped that Beast Boy would persevere. He didn't even realise that he was muttering to himself.

"… Come on, Beast Boy. Keep your speed up. You can do this. Just a little bit faster…"

It hadn't been intended as a remark to his friends. It hadn't even been intended as commentary.

And it definitely hadn't been intended as an order.

"I'm on it," answered Raven in a bored monotone, stepping forwards and suddenly seizing the green rhinoceros mid-charge with her dark powers. Beast Boy panicked and struggled to break free, which only made Raven angrier; it was extremely rude of him not to realise that she knew what was best for him, obviously. Starfire turned in mid-air to see what was going on, but before Robin or Cyborg could ask her what she was doing, Raven's eyes narrowed in the direction of the boy who had been making less and less of an effort to involve himself in her day. Those same narrowed eyes then switched to Cinderblock, and she acted without hesitation or remorse.

Beast Boy, still in the form of a green rhinoceros, rocketed towards Cinderblock at approximately three times his top running speed. If a normal hit would give him a headache, this ran the risk of splitting his head open entirely.

"RAVEN!" shouted Robin in a panic, but it was already too late. Even if she let him go now, he was still travelling far too fast. Not that she let him go anyway.

Beast Boy collided head-first with Cinderblock's knee and let out an agonized roar of pain as the sturdy horn at the end of his nose made a crunching sound, and then snapped off entirely. As a rhino, he tumbled across the ground several times in a battered heap, before involuntarily reverting to his human form and collapsing on the asphalt without moving. They would have assumed he was unconscious, if not for the cry of agony that came from him a second later.

At least the hit had not been in vain; Cinderblock stumbled forwards, then backwards – for a horrifying moment, it looked as though he may have collapsed on the poor boy – but then he over-corrected and tripped forwards onto the ground.

"HE'S DOWN!" screamed Cyborg, looking at Beast Boy in horror.

"He's down," muttered Raven emotionlessly, indicating towards their fallen foe. Robin was stunned at her lack of concern, but right now there were more pressing matters to attend to.

"Cy, Raven, get to Beast Boy! Star, hit him with everything you've got!" Robin didn't need to specify who 'him' was, as she launched herself through the air as fast as she could. Cinderblock had not yet stood up but had managed to get onto his back, and he lifted his head just in time to see a furious Tamaranean fist pounding the seven hells out of him. Ordinarily, Starfire would have been concerned about overexerting herself, or leaving herself open to a counterattack from the concrete golem's huge and powerful arms. But Starfire was no slouch when it came to strength either, and in ten or twelve fast and furious strikes delivered directly to the face, Cinderblock was out cold once more. Starfire punched him several more times, just to make sure, before returning her attention to her injured friend.

Meanwhile, Cyborg had reached Beast Boy first – although Raven didn't appear to be moving with that much urgency – and while it took a lot to shock the half-metal man, Beast Boy's bloody and battered appearance fulfilled those criteria, and then some. He was bleeding profusely from an unidentified head wound, but it was hard to tell since his nose – almost flattened and clearly completely broken – was gushing and spraying blood at a rate that would have obviously been fatal if not treated quickly.

"I- Raven, broken nose! Help him!" Cyborg stammered desperately, knowing full well that if he had to take him back to the tower for treatment, his best friend would likely die of blood loss in the car. He too was surprised at Raven's casual, uninterested demeanour as she rolled her eyes and then approached Beast Boy uncaringly, but he chalked it up to shock more than anything else.

With tears blurring his vision and blood streaming down his face alarmingly fast, Beast Boy could scarcely make out the figure approaching him, but he realised who it was as soon as they harshly placed their hand on his broken and fractured nose. Wailing at the pain and discomfort of the rough contact, his arms flailed uselessly as Raven forced her power into the injury that she had indirectly caused. Slow and steady, preferably while sedated, would have been the ideal way for him to recover. Or at least, the safest and most comfortable. Raven was going for the quickest.

Searing the wounds – internal and external – shut to prevent or at least slow the bleeding, Beast Boy felt as if there was a blowtorch in his nose. Coughing and gagging, he tried in vain to ask Raven to slow down, but he would have been barely capable of speech even if his mouth hadn't been drenched in his own blood. He was at least able to spare a glimpse to Cyborg, who was watching the events unfold in just as much horror as Beast Boy was feeling, albeit not nearly as much discomfort. Cyborg was unhappy to say the least with how Raven was treating her patient, but he could hardly intervene when she was the only one who could keep him from bleeding out long enough to recover, even if she was the one who had caused his injury in the first place.

With the bleeding finally slowed, Raven refocussed her energy on the fractured cartilage in Beast Boy's nose. With no patience for a slow, methodical reassembly, she simply smashed the pieces together until they fit, as if Beast Boy was her own personal jigsaw and she was brute-forcing her way to a solution. Beast Boy would have protested more vigorously, but he was already nearing unconsciousness, and it wasn't as though the pain in his nose could have gotten much worse, although Raven certainly appeared to be trying. With his features somewhat reconstructed, Raven increased the pressure on his nose ever so slightly, and then seemed to sear it back to his skull with scalding heat. Beast Boy was barely left with enough energy to moan before he was abruptly dropped to the ground as his support turned heel and began to walk away.

"Nose is fixed," Raven idly confirmed as if discussing the weather, while Cyborg rushed towards his friend in concern, helped him to sit up, and immediately began checking him for a concussion.

Beast Boy groaned weakly as Cyborg flashed a light in both of his eyes and then began to check his head for further injuries. He found more than a few cuts and bruises, some of which would definitely require further inspection back at the tower, but to his relief, his best friend was at least in a stable enough condition. Before Cyborg could even ask him how he was feeling though, Robin jogged up to them both, having fetched something from the T-Car before heading over.

Unscrewing the lid from the water bottle, he handed it to Beast Boy. "Drink," he requested, although they both knew that he was not merely asking. Beast Boy shakily lifted the bottle to his lips, struggling a little until Cyborg supported the boy's arm with his hand. Taking down several gulps of the refreshing, cool water, he lowered the bottle again when it was almost empty, breathing quite hard and still clearly in no small amount of pain.

"Th… thanks, Rob," he eventually spluttered out, trying not to choke as he did so. Robin checked his pockets for tissues, found none, and promptly decided to just remove his cape and use it to try to clean up Beast Boy's face, which was still covered in blood, and some tears. If Beast Boy had still had the energy to protest, he would have told Robin that it wasn't necessary, but he truly didn't. When Robin was finished, Beast Boy's nose was still trickling blood, but at a much less alarming pace. Robin threw his cape to one side and placed a gentle hand on his friend's shoulder.

"How are you holding up?" he asked softly, voice dripping with clear concern.

"Uh… been better?" Beast Boy tried to smile, adding what he thought was some much-needed levity to the situation. "Not bad though. Raven healed the worst of it." He cautiously touched his nose, as if to confirm to himself that it was safe for him to do so. He did not comment on how it had been Raven's fault to begin with. As his senses returned to him, he took in his surroundings a little bit better, and shuddered as he saw the ground. "Whoa… that's a lot of blood," he gulped nervously. It wasn't hard to see why Robin had wanted him to rehydrate as soon as possible.

"Did we get him?" Beast Boy asked unsurely. Cyborg and Robin both had to glance back to check; so distracted they had been by their injured teammate and not the villain they had come here to stop. Fortunately, they just saw Starfire still hammering away at Cinderblock's clearly unconscious head with righteous fury, before even she grew tired from the energy she had expended, and quickly flew over to the rest of her team. Sans Raven, who was no longer nearby, for some reason.

While Starfire was making her way towards them, Robin had an idea. "Hey, do you think you'll be well enough to come out this evening?"

Beast Boy scratched his head, half-checking himself for wounds. "Um… I think so?"

Robin smiled. "Well good, because you'd better believe we're going out for pizza after this. My treat. Any place you like."

Beast Boy let out a small and weak, but sincere smile. "Thanks Rob."

Starfire flew down to the boy and swept him up in her arms, hugging him tightly in concern, but not tightly enough to cause him any more discomfort. Beast Boy had regained enough energy to hug her back, albeit not nearly as hard.

"Thanks Star," he sighed contentedly, before pulling back. "Hey, did you hear Rob? We're going out for pizza toni-"

Starfire smiled, leaned forwards, and kissed him chastely on the cheek. Beast Boy blushed and nervously touched the spot where she had kissed, smiling shyly. He glanced warily at Robin – everyone knew that Batman's protégé and the Tamaranean warrior were in an officially unofficial relationship – but Robin simply smiled at them, happy to see his girlfriend supporting her friend.

"That was extremely courageous, Beast Boy," beamed Starfire. "I am glad that we will be going for pizza; a feast, to commemorate your victory today," she continued. Her cheer was infectious, and Beast Boy grinned broadly before his shoulders started to sag under the weight of his exhaustion.

"Thanks, you guys," he mumbled, "But I'm thinking I could probably use a catnap before dinner, if that's ok."

"Sure thing, man!" Cyborg replied. "I'll take you back now. Rob and Star, you happy to stay here and keep blockhead company?" The couple nodded back, shooting Beast Boy one more proud smile before departing to watch over their fallen foe until the authorities arrived. They had a lot to discuss; Beast Boy's bravery and resilience, and… some other things.

Cyborg looped an arm under Beast Boy's shoulder without being asked to, and helped him walk back to the T-Car without any further incident. It was then that they discovered where Raven had retreated to.

Having finished healing Beast Boy, Raven had returned to the car with total disinterest in the aftermath of the incident. She was glaring out of the window in the back, seemingly unconcerned with Beast Boy's injury – which she had caused – outside of preventing anything life-threatening. Cyborg frowned. Raven had never been the most open member of the team, but this was uncharacteristically insensitive, even for her. Not to mention reckless.

Usually, Beast Boy would have preferred to stay in the back with whoever was there, keeping them company, but suddenly, he wasn't so sure. Cyborg had the same idea, and steered him towards the front passenger seat, opening the door and ushering him inside.

"Don't get any ideas, B," he joked, trying a little too hard to sound casual. "You still don't have the privilege of picking the music on the way back." Beast Boy chuckled as he settled into his seat, letting out a small groan of satisfaction as he took the weight off of his legs. It still felt a little awkward, knowing that Raven was right there, seated behind him without saying anything. He resisted the urge to turn back, but glanced in the mirror and could see that she was just sitting there, idly staring out of the window and drumming her fingers in impatience. Not a word of acknowledgement that he was even there. Beast Boy returned his view to the windscreen ahead, watching Robin and Starfire as they chatted over the body of the still thoroughly-unconscious Cinderblock, before Cyborg put the T-Car in gear and drove what remained of the team back to the tower, as quickly as he could.

Beneath her apathetic exterior, Raven was feeling unhappier than she looked. Not a single member of the team had thanked her for her part in taking Cinderblock down so quickly, or for healing Beast Boy when she could easily have just let him bleed out and die, and now he was even neglecting his unspoken duty to join her in the back seat, staying close to each other, as couples did. She felt tempted to kick the back of his seat, but restrained the urge. She had spent a lifetime restraining urges, after all.

Still, Raven scowled as Cyborg drove them back to the tower. This wouldn't do. This wouldn't do at all.

.

Raven was hungry.

Not only was she hungry, she was mildly annoyed. None of her teammates had come to fetch her for their little pizza party this evening, so she had been forced to make the trek to the Common Room herself. The indignity of it was disgusting. When she arrived, she found all four of her friends, ready to depart, welcoming her warmly enough, but looking her way in suspicion just a moment too long for her not to notice. Beast Boy was the only one who actually smiled when she entered, and even then, it was a smaller smile than normal. As if something had beaten the happiness out of him recently.

"Oh, hey Raven!" He greeted. "We were just about to go get you. Ready to go?"

It sounded as though he was being honest about someone coming to get her, but she glared at him all the same, rebuffing his attempt at conversation with a small "Hmph," before making her way to the T-Car without another word.

An unusual thing happened in the T-Car as well. Beast Boy almost always chose to sit in the middle seat, between Raven and Starfire, but this time, when he arrived – and Raven was already sitting in her chosen seat – then he paused for a second, which was just enough time for Starfire to gently push her way past him and claim the sacred middle seat for herself. Raven expected Beast Boy to voice some form of protest, to insist that if he didn't get to sit next to Raven, then the entire journey was frankly, pointless. But he remained silent, climbing into his seat next to Starfire with no further comment. She could have even sworn that she felt some lingering air of gratefulness exuding from him; not towards her, but to the Tamaranean. That didn't make sense. When they arrived at the pizza place and departed from the car, Raven couldn't help but notice that Beast Boy was holding Starfire's hand. That didn't make sense either.

A similarly inexplicable occurrence followed shortly. After entering the restaurant, they were ushered towards a medium-sized booth for all five of them. Beast Boy entered the booth first, with Starfire following shortly; again, before anyone could have attempted to take her place. Losing her temper, Raven somewhat pettily walked to the other side of the booth and entered the seating from there, ensuring that she would once again be sat next to Beast Boy, no matter what stupid 'playing hard to get' technique he was trying to use. When they reached each other, he looked at her in nervous silence and then began sweating slightly more than usual. Good. He knew that he had made a mistake.

"Switch," Raven commanded coldly, getting the attention of not just Beast Boy, but the rest of her team. It was the first word they had heard her say since she had entered the T-Car.

"Hmm?" Beast Boy replied, not understanding and clearly anxious about it.

"Switch with me, now. I want to sit next to Starfire," she monotoned harshly, her eyes boring holes into him.

He gulped loudly and then obliged, shifting in his seat before muttering, "Um… ok, so how do you want to-"

She sighed and rolled her eyes in exasperation as his uselessness. Of course she was the one who had to make the extra effort, just like always. She stood from her seat and shuffled over him as he scooted to the left, underneath her. She even made the effort not to stamp on one of his feet as she passed, not that he didn't deserve it. Still, when she sat down between him and Starfire, Raven felt a little more at ease. She was in a safe place, with her friends, about to enjoy a relaxing meal. And best of all, she was physically separating him from the rest of his support. He looked nervous. Isolated. Vulnerable. Just the way she liked him best.

The Titans engaged in idle conversation – why had Cyborg chosen this place (he had explained "Because every time I come here, it makes me sick how many vegetarian options they have!" which drew a smile from Beast Boy,) whether or not they would allow Starfire to request mustard as a beverage – until the waitress, a chipper young woman whose eyes lingered especially on Cyborg, sauntered over excitedly to take their order.

"Ohmygod," she muttered without taking a breath. "It is, like, such an honour to even get to serve you guys. I'm sorry, I'm like, freaking out a little, but, um… so, can I get you anything to get started? I mean, you know, not 'can I' get you – not that you wouldn't deserve it – but like, are you ready to, um-"

"It's fine, really," Robin reassured her with a sincere smile. "The real honour is Jump City allowing us the privilege of helping them, and all of the wonderful people who live here." Robin had a unique way of delivering lines that sounded both spontaneous and rehearsed at the same time.

The waitress giggled and briefly fanned herself with her notepad. "Ohmygod, that is such a Robin thing to say," she giggled again, and then slapped a hand over her mouth. "I mean, uh, I'm sorry, I didn't- um…" she stared at the floor for a second, composing herself before she looked back up at them, still obviously starstruck. "Are you ready to order anything?"

Robin already knew the team well enough to know that Cyborg would order the first meat-lovers item that appeared on the menu, and Beast Boy would peruse the vegetarian options for a little while. Starfire would end up choosing the spiciest thing on the menu, douse it in mustard, and then eat it with a mildly disappointed look on her face, as if it was not as strong as she had hoped. Nobody ever asked Starfire for her leftovers. Raven would get a plain cheese pizza, with red and green peppers if she was in a particularly good mood. But, assuming that it would be rude to order on their behalf, he allowed them to barrage the waitress with their orders.

"I'll take the Meaty McMeatface Deluxe, with extra crispy bacon please," Cyborg replied.

"I will have the 'Carolina Wildfire' with extra mustard, if that is possible," Starfire added.

"Done and done," the friendly waitress replied. "What about you, sweetie?" she asked, turning to Beast Boy, who blushed slightly at her name for him.

"Oh! Um… well, what kind of vegetarian options do you have?"

"Lots! We have-"

Her explanation was interrupted by Raven elbowing Beast Boy in the side, not hard enough to cause a scene, but far harder than could have possibly been necessary. He winced in pain and grasped the affected area while she laid into him, without taking her eyes off of the menu she was holding.

"Did you think about maybe reading the menu before asking such a stupid question?" she bristled without even looking at him. Because she didn't look away, she also missed the clear look of concern and disdain that Robin made towards Cyborg and Starfire at her behaviour.

"Oh! It's no problem, I can-" began the waitress.

"No, it's fine, Raven's right," Beast Boy mumbled meekly, "I'll have a look and let you know."

"… Well, ok," the waitress replied. Even she could pick up on the uneasy tension. "Well, I'll bring you guys some water and I'll be back in a few minutes to take those orders, okay?" she finished with a concerned smile in Beast Boy's direction, but his head was already buried in the menu, which was shaking softly in his hands.

The mood at the table was just as frosty as the uncomfortable silence that permeated until the waitress returned with their water, and for a short while afterwards too, until Robin had poured everyone a glass and cleared his throat as if making an announcement.

"I know that we don't exactly need a reason to hang out like this, but today, this meal is definitely about one of us more than the rest. Beast Boy, today you showed bravery, determination, and… I don't know who's luckier to have you; Jump City, or us." He raised his glass. "To Beast Boy."

"To Beast Boy," Cyborg followed suit with a proud smile.

"To our dear friend Beast Boy," Starfire smiled warmly as she raised her own glass.

…

The awkward silence as Raven completely ignored the gesture and continued perusing the menu continued for twelve seconds. Beast Boy's face, which had been glowing with gratitude following Robin's short speech, suddenly fell again. Eventually, Starfire poked Raven in the arm. The empath looked up uncaringly, saw the glasses that her three teammates had raised in salute of the fourth, and promptly ignored them, returning to the menu without acknowledging them or Beast Boy.

"… Well, thanks guys," Beast Boy said with some appreciation. Three out of four of your friends wasn't a bad approval rating, after all. He sipped the water himself and flinched at the coldness, in more ways than one.

Cyborg noticed his reaction. "How's the nose?" he asked, obviously concerned.

"It's fine. Really, I-"

The others heard the loud thump of Raven kicking Beast Boy's leg, followed by the second thump of his knee hitting the underside of the table as he jumped in alarm. He gasped quietly, clutching the spot that she had struck.

"Could you keep your mouth shut for five seconds? I'm trying to read this," she glowered. That was enough for their leader.

Clearing his throat for a second time, Robin fetched something from his pocket. "Raven?" he asked sternly. She glanced towards him disinterestedly. He had taken out his wallet and was extracting a twenty-dollar bill.

"I think that it might be for the best if you make your meal a to-go order, and take it back to the tower with you," he explained diplomatically, offering her the money to do so.

Raven eyed the money and Robin with equal amounts of suspicion. "Why?"

"Well, you don't seem like you're enjoying yourself, or that you really want to be here. So, I think you might be happier if we all gave you some space." His voice was perfectly neutral and apathetic; it could have been hers.

Raven glared back at Robin, apathy turning to anger in her eyes. "Is this an order, or a request?"

"A request, of course," answered Robin immediately.

"And what if I said no?"

"Then it would become an order," Robin replied firmly. Raven had never seen him take this tone with her, but she had never given him a reason to, until now. Not that she was sure what that reason was. Had she been sitting too close to Starfire for his liking? What an insecure little man.

None of this mattered though, because Raven knew that any moment now, someone would speak up. He was probably trying to keep himself from losing his temper right now. Beast Boy would slam his fists down on the table and scream at Robin, something along the lines of "How dare you presume to order around my soulmate! She is the only reason I am even here; if anyone should leave, it should be the three of you, so that we can enjoy each other's company in private!" She waited for him to speak up, but he never did.

Turning to face him, she felt a stab of betrayal in her gut. He wasn't even looking at her. He wasn't even looking at Robin. He was leaning away, his gaze affixed to the floor as he quietly sniffed to himself. Was he crying? She couldn't even see his face, but what reason did he have to be upset? Was it Robin's ultimatum against her, had it driven him to tears? But if so, why wasn't he defending her? She knew that he loved her. She knew it to be undeniably true. So, what the hell was he doing, just sitting there, while Robin talked to her so rudely?

After a few more seconds of silence, Raven stood up and made a point of exiting the booth by stepping over the feet of Starfire, Cyborg and then Robin as she went, not wanting to disturb the clearly preoccupied Beast Boy, who had so much more important things to do than stand up for the love of his life. Unbelievable. He really was the most inconsiderate man alive. She wondered what she ever saw in him as she stormed past Robin, heading straight for the exit without taking the money or placing her order.

She came to a brief halt as she stepped outside into the cold. None of this made sense. Had she missed something? Perhaps… perhaps they had sent her away so that they could confront Beast Boy. It didn't take a genius to see that he was neglecting her needs. Had he even thanked her for her assistance in taking down Cinderblock, or for healing him afterwards? She could have just left him to die on the street. Perhaps she should have.

Convincing herself that maybe she had misread the situation, she glanced back through window to see if she could glimpse her team again, but their behaviour continued to elude her reasoning. Beast Boy was now resting his head on Starfire's shoulder as she placed an arm around him, whispering soothing thoughts to the clearly-upset boy. Cyborg and Robin were questioning him, but sympathetically, with hands placed on his arm and plenty of pats on the shoulder. Lip-reading had never been Raven's strong suit, but she thought she could make out the words 'I don't know' and 'Why does she-' from Beast Boy's lips, before he appeared to break down further and was engulfed in the protective embrace of Starfire.

None of this made any sense. She would reflect on it later, after a bout of meditation.

Raven flew back to the tower and went straight to bed. She wasn't hungry any more.

.

Raven was restless.

It had been three weeks since their trip to a pizza place, and her teammates seemed to be walking on eggshells around her. Any conversation made was as short and curt as it was professional; informing her of upcoming training sessions, or inviting her to movie nights and not pushing her when she said no, not like he would have done. That, she could bear. They had never really been the objects of her interest anyway. But what had irritated her much more was that without involving themselves with her, they had involved themselves more and more in her business. Her possessions. Especially one possession which she believed she had already claimed clear ownership of; Beast Boy.

On the rare times when she did see him – since he inexplicably seemed to be avoiding her for some unknown reason – he was always accompanied by one of their other friends. Sparring with Robin. Cooking with Starfire. More and more time spent rotting his brain playing video games with Cyborg. And no time at all for her, it seemed. She appreciated perhaps that on some level he was giving her space, but this was really too much. By this point, she considered his behaviour nothing less than rude. And rude behaviour deserved to be reprimanded.

As she approached the Common Room to fetch her tea, she heard laughter from behind the doors. Laughter from all four of her friends. Her face fell ever so slightly; she would have preferred to spend time with him one-on-one, but she could at least acknowledge that with all of them in the same place, he had nowhere – and no-one – to flee to. She entered the Common Room, and for the first time in weeks, Beast Boy turned in her direction. His beaming grin faltered at the sight of her, but he recovered quickly into a smaller, more muted smile.

"Hey Raven!" he greeted warmly, "The girl at the pizza place gave Cyborg her number!" Raven smiled, not at the news, but at the attention he was giving her, and the effort he was making to include her, if only for a moment. When that moment passed, as he turned back to continue teasing his best friend, she felt strangely empty as she continued on her way to prepare her tea.

"It's just a number!" Cyborg protested, boisterously shy. "We don't even know if… I don't know, maybe she was just trying to report a crime or something?"

"Aw, c'mon," Beast Boy jostled his shoulder, but not too hard; he was eating a microwaved plate of last night's vegetarian chilli that he had cajoled Cyborg into helping him make. "Did you see the way she kept looking over at you? I'm telling you; she was looking at you the way I've seen you look at bacon." Cyborg playfully jostled his best friend back.

"Beast Boy's got a point," chimed in Robin, sat on the couch with his arm around Starfire. "It certainly seems like she likes you. That, or you're just that good a customer at the pizza place. If you went in there twice a week, the owners would probably be billionaires this time next year."

Raven smiled at their good-natured ribbing, and, nursing her hot cup of herbal tea, stepped over to join in.

"I don't know, guys… I still don't know if I should call her," Cyborg admitted doubtfully.

"Hey, are you crazy?" Beast Boy protested. "She's super-cute, and she's into you!"

Raven's eye twitched unnaturally as Beast Boy called another person 'cute', but said nothing. Yet.

"… I still don't know, she-"

"Do you have a picture of her?" Raven calmly interrupted. Cyborg was a little surprised to see her taking an interest, but recovered quickly enough to promptly shake his head.

"No, why?"

Raven sipped her tea. "No reason. Just… if Beast Boy thinks that she's cute, I'm picturing, like… Control Freak in a dress or something."

Cyborg laughed – not an uncontrollable guffaw, but a friendly chuckle at his friend's expense – and nudged the emerald teen. "Ha! She's got you there, B!"

Beast Boy pouted, but clearly took the joke in good fun, as he assumed she had intended. "Hey! I'm like, an expert on cute!" He folded his arms, exaggerating his sulking for comedic effect as Robin and Starfire chortled too.

"Really?" replied Cyborg sarcastically, "What makes you say that?"

Beast Boy grinned cheekily and wiggled his ears. "It's the ears. Everyone loves the ears," he giggled to himself.

Raven slipped the knife in. "Well, Bill and Grayson certainly did."

…

The other Titans heard the smash before they had even seen Beast Boy rise. His plate of food shattered on the floor as he stood up and whirled around face Raven, who was watching him with a curious smirk, taking in his feelings of shock, betrayal, and sudden, overwhelming terror.

"… Wh- what did you say?" he barely eked out, barely breathing.

Raven's gaze idly fell to her cup of tea as she stirred it with her spoon, not even deigning to look at him as she replied. "Bill and Grayson. They both thought your ears were very cute, didn't they?" She asked, smiling.

Beast Boy raised a horrified hand to his mouth and stepped backwards in dread. The other hand went to his stomach, as if suddenly nauseated by what he had heard. It wasn't out of the question. Raven took in the look of pure, inconsolable despair with a sadistic grin, before turning her attention to her teammates. Their confusion was almost as delicious as Beast Boy's grief.

"Aw, you didn't tell them?" Raven mocked, tapping the side of her glass with her spoon before taking another heartening sip. "Naughty, naughty."

Beast Boy was already barely capable of speech, eyes brimming with tears, but lowered his hand just enough to stammer out, "I… I never told you!"

Raven continued to smirk at him as she lowered her teacup, extended her right index finger, and then tapped it against her forehead. Such a simple gesture had never appeared so threatening to him before.

"You can't keep secrets from me. Garfield," she finished with a sarcastic drawl, still smiling as she returned her full attention to the beverage in her hands.

Beast Boy took another step back, now covering his mouth with both hands as tears gushed down his green cheeks. It wasn't that Raven had known, or that she had let him know in front of their-his friends. But that she had brought up, and sarcastically joked about, one of the most traumatic, despicable and wholly unforgivable experiences of his life, in a lifetime that had seen no shortage of tragedies. And she had done so with a grin on her face. The tears wouldn't stop. He was beginning to have trouble breathing. The tears wouldn't stop.

Standing up and approaching him softly, Starfire attempted to intervene. "Beast Boy? I… do not understand. Who are Bill and-"

"DON'T!" he half-shrieked, half-blubbered, losing what little restraint he had left. The tears were growing faster and heavier. "Please, don't… don't say their…" Beast Boy just managed to get out before collapsing into incomprehensibility. Covering his eyes in shame, he took one last peek through his fingers at the woman who had forced the worst moment of his life back to the surface. She was observing him completely impartially, as if he was her entertainment for the evening.

The next second, she wasn't observing him at all, but a small green rabbit, before it darted from the Common Room as quickly as it could, fleeing from the scene as swiftly as his furry little legs could carry him.

"Beast Boy!" Starfire cried out in alarm, following him out of the room. Robin looked at her in confusion, then at Raven in contempt, and followed his girlfriend on her way to comfort their distraught friend. That just left Cyborg to approach Raven warily, not entirely sure what she had just done but certain that it had not been good. For her part, Raven continued sipping her drink as if nothing unusual had happened.

"Raven? What the hell was that?" Cyborg asked.

"What was what?" she replied neutrally, betraying absolutely no emotional response one way or another.

Cyborg blinked in disbelief. "What was… you just made Beast Boy cry! What the hell was that for?"

Raven raised an eyebrow as she lowered her mug. "Oh, that. Well, for starters, I didn't make him cry. I just said what I said, and how he reacted is up to him." If she was trying to lighten the mood with a joke, it wasn't working.

"Don't play dumb, Raven. It doesn't suit you." Cyborg sniped back, completely serious. Raven paused for a moment, either in shock at Cyborg's assertiveness, or, more worryingly, because she genuinely hadn't been playing dumb, and didn't understand what he was so upset about.

"Who the heck are Bill and Grayson anyway? And what did they do to Beast Boy? And how did you know about it?" She may have been mistaken, but she thought she could detect a hint of jealousy in his voice; that made more sense, he was upset because she knew something about Beast Boy that he – the boy's best friend – didn't.

"It's not like I went prying," she casually lied. "And it's not my fault that he broadcasts his emotions so openly wherever he goes. I just happened to pick up some of the hints that he dropped. He should be more careful about what he says. Anyone could find out about his past," she revealed cryptically.

Cyborg decided not to even bother opening that can of worms right now, and went straight for the point. "Raven. Who were Bill and Grayson?"

She rolled her eyes, half-impatiently, but also with a trace of genuine awkwardness. "It's not my place to tell you that." Cyborg seemed a little relieved that she still seemed to have some standards regarding personal information that she was willing to reveal about the changeling, but it came a little late after her spiteful taunting.

"Then why did you-"

"It was just a joke!" Raven snapped back, as if she was the victim in all of this. "And besides… it was actually sort of a compliment, when you think about it."

Cyborg stared at her blankly. Raven continued in exasperation, "Well… it's like, I was letting him know that I know what happened to him, and I'm letting him know that it doesn't matter to me. I don't consider him 'damaged goods' or anything. If that isn't a compliment, then-"

"Raven." Cyborg muttered in disbelief and disappointment. There was no way that she could have been referring to… that she had mocked him for…

He stared at her in disgust for a moment longer, and then ran out of the room, chasing Robin and Starfire to comfort his best friend. Raven remained in the Common Room, wondering what all of the fuss was about, as she continued to nurse her tea.

It hadn't been a lie. She did consider it to be a compliment. If he had only thought ahead when it had happened, drawn further strength from considering the possible future that he may have shared with her… then maybe he would have fought back a little bit harder against his captors when they had tried to take something from him. Something that didn't belong to them. Something that should've belonged to her. It should have been hers to share with him, if only he had resisted harder. And yet, despite this betrayal – the latest in a long list – she had still designated him as a suitable mate. Why couldn't he understand the praise that she was bestowing upon him?

Beast Boy did not return from his room for the rest of the day, and when Robin and Starfire did so, it was in confusion, having clearly not learned the reason for his breakdown, but each with their own suspicions. Not wanting to be bothered, Raven left them to their gossip before they could ask her any nosy questions and withdrew to her own room, where she remained for the rest of the afternoon.

In the evening, she had a visitor. She could hear his heavy footsteps coming down the hall before he knocked on the door, not hard enough to be rude, but forceful enough to let her know that he was not asking for permission to talk to her. When she opened the door, he stepped inside without being invited and pointed an accusatory finger towards her chest.

"He told me who Bill and Grayson were, Rae," Cyborg said, deadly serious and stone-faced. Raven wanted to tell him not to call her 'Rae' but felt that it may have been an inappropriate time. Beast Boy may have been hers to do whatever she wanted with, but Cyborg was not, and he seemed angry. "He told me what they did to him… Raven." She had never heard him so anything so openly filled with contempt.

"… He made me promise not to tell Rob, because he thought that it would get you kicked off the team. He was probably right," Cyborg continued, never breaking eye contact but giving Raven the distinct impression that he was having a hard time looking at her. "And he made me promise not to tell Star, because he thought that she would straight-up punch your head clean off your shoulders. And he was definitely right." There was no humour at all in his voice, no wiggle-room, nothing to give even a hint that he may have been exaggerating, because they both knew that he wasn't.

"I-I don't know what the hell is going on with you," Cyborg explained in a mixture of rage and exasperation, "But I have to assume that something is going on with you. Because there is no way that you – Raven – thought that it was appropriate to say something like that. No way. You're smarter than that."

Without waiting for her response, not that she had one, he stood up straight and began to walk away from her room, pausing just for a moment as if he had sensed her confusion at his sudden exit.

"I said all I had to say. Don't let it happen again," he warned without turning around, before he disappeared round a corner. Raven was confused to say the least. She hadn't been lying when she told him that she thought of it as a compliment. She was simply letting Beast Boy know that, despite his flaws and imperfections – many of which were really his own fault at this point – then she still considered him worthy to become her pet. It was the highest honour that she could possibly bestow upon him. And not only was he upset, but he was blabbing to Cyborg about it? That wouldn't do. She thought that she had taught him this lesson by now, but apparently not. He needed to learn that he couldn't just do whatever he pleased, with no regard to her feelings.

Raven closed her bedroom door and retired to her bed, staring at the ceiling in silence as dark thoughts overtook her.

He needed to learn.

.

Raven was uneasy.

The atmosphere in the tower had changed dramatically over the last few days. Her so-called friends, who previously accepted her mild to moderate abuse of Beast Boy, were suddenly finding reasons to avoid her. She had only caught glimpses of them as she entered rooms, and on the off-chance that they didn't leave shortly afterwards, they would not react to her presence at all. The alarm had only gone off twice since Raven's little joke at Beast Boy's expense, and on both occasions, upon arriving at the scene of the crime, Robin had issued Raven's commands last of all, as if she was an afterthought to the team, to her friends. She didn't care much for the feeling.

She entered the Common Room one day with a face like thunder, interrupting a conversation that Robin, Cyborg and Starfire had been having; a conversation filled with laughter and smiles, that died as soon as they saw who had entered. They each looked at her, acknowledging her presence with an awkward nod or unenthusiastic wave – Starfire was the only one who said "Hello," and did so in an unusually restrained and specifically unjoyful way – and returned to their conversation, with much less fervour than they had felt a moment earlier. Raven glared daggers in their general direction. If they wanted to give her the silent treatment, she was more than happy to return the favour. And she had much more experience with it than they did.

She would have been content to leave them be, returning to her room again after grabbing something to eat, but when she turned around, he appeared. He flinched slightly at the sight of her – this pleased her, that he was finally showing her the respect that she deserved – but recovered well enough to at least converse with her.

"Hey Raven. I was looking for you, actually."

Internally, Raven was overjoyed. Externally, she couldn't have cared less. It wasn't even worth a response.

"… I was hoping to speak to you in private, if that's ok," he quietly requested. Raven folded her arms and let him continue. She had done enough of the work in this relationship; she certainly wasn't going to make it any easier for him. This, of all things, he had to do himself.

"… Could you meet me on the roof?" he asked, looking into her eyes pleadingly. There was only one reason she could think of that he wanted to talk to her, alone, on the roof. This was finally it.

"Fine," she replied impatiently, striding past him as she made her way to the roof. Alone. She actually cherished the independence, knowing that once he had made his confession, she would never need to be alone again.

When he arrived shortly after her, she was looking over the horizon of Jump City. Her city. Their city. She wondered how long they would protect it together, with the Titans. She enjoyed being a hero well enough, but it had long since taken second fiddle to her desire to be with him. Between the two of them – well, mostly her, he couldn't exactly teleport like she could – nowhere in the world was off-limits. When they left, which they inevitably would, she wondered where they would go first. Her heart honestly fluttered at the lifetime of possibilities that lay ahead of them – ahead of her – from this moment onwards. It hadn't been easy, but she had earned this. Earned him.

He cautiously stepped forwards to her side, both of them taking in the view. Raven was relishing the moment, while Beast Boy was, frankly, terrified. She smirked at his discomfort; she supposed that from his point of view, he had no idea that his confession of adoration was about to be accepted, let alone reciprocated.

Hands trembling, he opened his mouth to speak and she cut him off before he had the chance.

"Can you just get a move on with whatever useless observation you dragged me up here to make?" she asked snidely. She didn't even look in his direction. After all, it was her frosty demeanour that had won him over to begin with, she told herself, and he had continued to love her regardless of the injuries, the jabs, the resurfacing traumas. Just because they were about to take their relationship to the next level was no reason for her to begin to be… nice. She had a reputation to keep up. And if she had to force herself to be nice, then she wasn't truly being herself, was she? And Beast Boy loved her for who she was. She was certain of this.

He was going to tell her that he loved her, and she was going to look disgusted for a moment, and then her features would soften and she would admit that she didn't find the idea of being with him completely repulsive, and he would smile and she would smile and they would grab onto each other and never let go. The butterflies in her stomach had arrived. She almost savoured the anticipation, knowing exactly what was to come, but as much as she enjoyed the foreplay, she knew that she would enjoy the moment even more, and waited patiently for him to say the words that would kick-start the rest of their life together.

…

"… I'm transferring to Titans East."

"I would love to," Raven answered pre-emptively with an oddly warm smile, not even comprehending what he had said until a few seconds after the words had lingered in the air.

"… Wait, what?" She added, instantly furious.

"I-I'm moving to Titans East," he explained shakily. "Just on a temporary basis… at first. Sort of like a trial run, to see if I-"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Raven cut him off bitterly, eyes already blazing with fury.

Beast Boy avoided meeting her piercing, hate-filled glare – which only made her angrier – as he tried to respond. "I… it's no secret that I haven't been doing so well here, lately. I spoke to Robin and he agreed that a change of scenery might help me to catch up, and the Titans East were happy to-"

Raven continued not letting Beast Boy finish a sentence. "So, you're a failure, and instead of addressing your failings and actually improving, you're just running away from the problem." She crossed her arms angrily. "I can't say that I'm surprised, but that's cowardly, even for you."

Beast Boy gulped. "This is addressing the problem. I'm-"

"Have you told the others yet?" she snapped. He nodded quickly, and then realised his mistake when her eyes widened in surprise. He had told them before he told her? She was the first person he should have told; so that she could have beaten this ridiculous idea out of his stupid head. That he had come to her last was nothing short of treachery.

"… I'm going to be on a new training regimen, and-and even a new diet, and-" Beast Boy stuttered in fear.

"And a bunch of other stuff that you could be doing here. Why Titans East?" she growled.

Beast Boy hesitated. "… Robin agreed that maybe I would do better in a more… positive environment."

He didn't know if she had truly understood the meaning of his words, and he didn't want to look her in the eyes to check. But when she remained silent, he was left with no choice but to raise a glance, only to confirm a look of cold, hard hatred that was unnerving, even for her.

"What the HELL is that supposed to mean?" she snarled. Stepping forwards threateningly before he even had a chance to respond, she continued her verbal assault. "Oh, let me guess, you went crying to Robin that big, bad, evil Raven was being too mean to you. Poor you," she drawled sarcastically. Beast Boy was now stepping back in fear.

"I'm sorry that we didn't coddle you every time you made a stupid mistake that could've gotten yourself – or, infinitely more importantly, someone else – hurt. I'm sorry that I didn't pat your head and kiss your booboos better every time your carelessness caused one thousandth of the pain and injury that your incompetence and worthlessness deserves!" He was rapidly running out of space to walk backwards, approaching the edge of Titans Tower. He didn't put it past her to push him off.

"So, you know what?" she continued, suddenly smiling, "I think that this is a fantastic idea. Because when you go and screw up with Titans East, just like you screwed up with us, maybe then you'll realise that the problem is you. That it was always just you. That there is no-one else to blame for your pathetic, miserable failure, other than yourself."

She leaned forwards to deliver her final assessment. "So go, Beast Boy. Get the hell out of here and run off to your new friends, because hopefully they'll get sick of you even faster than we did, and then you can finally realise just how useless you are, and go live on the streets, where you belong, and fulfil your destiny of dying alone in some God-forsaken alleyway, you worthless ANIMAL!" she screamed, phasing through the floor and returning to her room as quickly as she could.

The worst part hadn't been her words, or the threatening delivery, or the negative assessment of his character that he could feel in his bones was said with total sincerity.

The worst part was that despite everything she had said, then knowing what had come before, and what Raven had demonstrated that she was capable of doing – not just physically, but the moral boundaries that she was willing to cross – then this conversation had undoubtedly gone much better than he had expected. And the fact that the complete breakdown of their friendship was 'better than he had expected' filled him with more disappointment than if she had just thrown him from the roof, as he had been expecting all morning.

.

Raven was shocked.

After everything that she had said to him, done for him, this was how he repaid her? With a knife to the heart? A complete betrayal of her wishes, disregard of her emotional wellbeing? Hadn't she always been there for him when he needed support? Not that he had ever come to her, preferring to shed his tears on Starfire's shoulder, or run crying to Robin over his well-deserved feelings of worthlessness. Well, this was a wake-up call for her. She had always known that he hadn't been good enough for her, and this had proved it.

…

Although… despite everything, he had still been the first person to love her, in a wholly romantic sense. Raven sighed, damning her weak will. She couldn't keep making excuses for him over and over again, but… she did still love him. And she knew that he loved her. Sure, she hadn't given him an empathic reading any time recently, but what was the point? He loved her before, and love could not so easily be destroyed by a handful of misunderstandings. She knew this from experience, because… what else could explain the fact that she still loved him?

So, he must have still loved her. She was certain of this.

There was a soft knocking at her bedroom door and she jumped, half-expecting that it was Beast Boy, come to throw himself on his knees, apologize for his foolish gamble, apologize for everything, and leave himself at her mercy. She reluctantly conceded that forgiveness wasn't entirely out of the question; after she'd made him pay, of course. But the voice on the other side of the door belonged to Starfire, not him.

"Raven, it is me," Starfire spoke calmly, in a strangely unemotional voice, especially for her. Raven's demeanour softened slightly. It was entirely possible that Starfire was here to provide her with moral support, following the news that Beast Boy was abandoning her, and the team. Sighing, she rose from her bed and strode to the door, opening it fully.

"Hey Star. I'm guessing-"

Starfire's right hook was as straight and clean as it was powerful. Raven stumbled backwards, tripping over her feet and landing ungracefully on the carpeted floor of her room. Clutching her cheek in shock and pain, she pressed her tongue against the inside of her mouth and tasted blood.

"Star, what the hell?!" Raven spat in understandable annoyance.

"Hopefully, your new friends will grow sick of you even faster than we did?" Starfire recited in subdued rage, "And you will realise how worthless you are, and die alone on the streets like an animal?!" Starfire stepped forwards, and in the darkness of Raven's room, only the furious glow of emerald in her eyes was visible. Hearing her words back, Raven realised for the first time that they could possibly be misinterpreted by a third party as… intentionally hurtful.

"Alright, I lost my temper with him, I-"

"What is wrong with you?!" Starfire screamed at what had been her best friend. Raven was stunned into silence. She was used to cutting off other people, not having it done to her. Starfire's breathing was heavy and laboured, but she clearly was not finished.

"For months, I have been defending you to friend Beast Boy. Telling him not to give up on you. Justifying the abuse that you have dished out every day, by reminding him of your heritage, your struggles, and the difficulties you have faced. You have suffered more than most, that much is true. But it does not give you the right to inflict suffering on others to the extent which you have done!"

Raven opened her mouth mutely, and then closed it again. It was unclear whether Starfire's words were hitting close to home, or whether she was just stunned by the Tamaranean's furious outburst.

"I have had to reassure him that you do not hate him, that you do not wish him harm, that deep down, in the cold, dark void where in most forms of life, would reside a heart, that you truly do consider him a friend!" Starfire almost sounded as if she was pleading, desperately searching for a reason to believe that she had not been mistaken. "But… I believe now that I may have been wrong. It is not your demonic heritage. It is neither the result of the many hardships that you have faced. It is simply… you, Raven. It is just who you are. Just you."

A tear slipped out of Starfire's eye in anger, disappointment, and somehow, pity. "Every cruelty. Every unkindness. Every attempt to inflict pain on others. I told myself that you were fighting against it. I told myself – and Beast Boy – that you were resisting your demonic urges. But it was never their influence, was it, Raven? It was always you."

The look of pity was momentarily replaced by something resembling nausea.

"Maybe you do not have an excuse at all. Maybe there is no justification for your words and deeds. Maybe you are just… truly, deep-down…" she stepped closer to Raven so that the dark empath could see that she meant what she said.

"… awful."

With her message delivered, Starfire turned on her heels and left Raven's room as quickly as she could, uncaring of anything that she had to say in response. Not that Raven had anything to say. She simply remained, sitting still on the floor, still holding her stinging cheek, with a confused, wounded expression on her face. Starfire's words had stung much harder than the punch, but she still couldn't quite understand it. Starfire was a romantic, like her. Raven had seen her swoon over Robin. So, why couldn't she understand that Raven was just playing the same game with Beast Boy? She didn't understand. She didn't understand.

Eventually, moving onto her bed with an inscrutable, expressionless look on her face, Raven pulled the covers up tightly and fell into a restless slumber.

.

Raven was unhappy.

More than unhappy, she was scared. Part of the reason why Raven enjoyed unconsciously drifting towards the dreams of others while she slept, was because it prevented her from having to confront her own dreams, which were often unpleasant. Tonight had been especially bad.

Raven had found herself sitting in front of her demon-self; an identical replica, but blood-red all over, and with four intensely intimidating eyes glaring straight at her and right through her at the same time. Demon-Raven had laughed heartily upon coming face to face with her counterpart, and explained why without being asked to.

Demon-Raven explained that Raven was a miserable little creature who had fooled herself into believing that she could be loved by anyone. That she would naturally push away anyone and anything that seemed as though it could bring joy into her sad little life. Demon-Raven complimented Raven on her excessive and creative employment of the various cruelties that she had put her friends through; one friend in particular.

What had really gotten under Raven's skin though, was the admission that Demon-Raven hadn't been responsible for any of it. Demon-Raven had spent years planning how to interfere with Raven's life, how to sabotage her friendships and isolate her from any positive influences, in revenge for rejecting the power that Trigon had planned for her to inherit. But none of it had been necessary. Demon-Raven found it hysterical how much effort had been wasted on plots and schemes that would never come to fruition. Because Raven had done it all herself.

It wasn't her demonic powers, her upbringing, or the influence of her power. She had pushed Beast Boy away and alienated herself from her friends, entirely on her own. As Starfire had so eloquently put it… she was truly, simply, awful. Demon-Raven began to laugh at this revelation and never stopped, not even when Raven herself gained the courage to fight back and angrily wrapped her hands around her demonic half's throat. She squeezed with all of her power and thought that she felt something give. The laughter never once stopped.

Raven woke in the early hours of the morning with tears streaming down her face. It took her more than a few minutes to calm herself down, but with the help of some meditation, she was able to reassure herself. She was Raven. She was loved. She deserved to be happy. She struggled sometimes with her demonic heritage, but it wasn't her fault. She hadn't pushed anyone away. And most importantly of all, she knew, beyond any measurement of certainty, that Beast Boy loved her with all of his heart.

She wasn't walking towards his bedroom in the cold, dark night because she doubted him. She was just walking because he was her soulmate, and that made it his responsibility to comfort her after such a terrible dream.

In no time at all, she was at his door, having long since wiped the remnants of tears from her cheek. She cautiously lifted her hand to his bedroom door and knocked twice.

"Beast Boy? Are you awake?"

Silence. Raven was still anxious over the dream. Beast Boy may have been hers, but she reluctantly accepted it would have been rude to wake up the rest of the tower. She knocked three more times.

"Beast Boy, it's me. I just want to talk. Please?"

Still nothing. It was late enough that she supposed that he may have been asleep. In the worst-case scenario, she could always phase through the wall, but the lingering uneasiness of the dream was making her slightly more patient than usual. Clenching her hand into a fist, she thumped his door three times, rather more heavily than before.

"Beast Boy! Open the door… please."

More silence. She sighed in defeat and phased her way through the-

Raven shot backwards, surprised by the sharp zap of electricity that had prevented her from reaching his room. When had he… ?

Her eye twitched, and not from the residual electrical shock. The question wasn't when, but why.

…

"BEAST BOY!" she screamed, bashing her fist against his bedroom door over and over again. "YOU OPEN THIS GODDAMNED DOOR RIGHT NOW!"

She was sure that he was awake now, not just because of the noise that she was making, but because of the shuffling that she could hear from within. He was moving, that much was certain, but the door remained closed.

"I SWEAR TO GOD, BEAST BOY, YOU HAVE FIVE SECONDS TO OPEN THIS DOOR BEFORE I SMASH IT INTO PIECES AND FORCE THEM DOWN YOUR THROAT!" She just couldn't believe that he would betray her like this. Fortifying his room? From her? What had she ever done but show him love, and kindness, and support?

With a banshee-like scream of pure fury, she levitated in the air, all four eyes blazing with uncontrollable rage. She lashed out at his door again and again, scratching and kicking like a feral animal.

"YOU GODDAMNED COWARD! OPEN THIS DOOR RIGHT THIS SECOND OR I'LL-"

"Raven!"

The alarmed exclamation from Robin brought her back down to Earth, figuratively and literally, as her four eyes became two and she lowered herself to the floor once more. Robin looked more alert than anyone who had been asleep fifteen seconds ago had any right to be, and Starfire was hovering behind him with a concerned look on her face. Turning to face the other end of the corridor, Raven could see Cyborg, staring at her in confusion and disappointment.

Realising that her actions may be possible to misconstrue, Raven took a deep breath, raised her hood, and explained.

"I had a rather bad dream, and I was seeking to speak with Beast Boy for comfort and reassurance. As is my right… as his friend." She outlined coldly, and then began the trek back to her room before they even had a chance to ask her for any further explanation. She was fairly certain that Robin continued to talk to her – well, at her – as she passed him by and continued on her way without acknowledging him, but she was blocking them out by now. And while Robin had plenty of unanswered questions, he seemed in no hurry to force the answers out of her, and let her depart as she pleased.

When she got back to her room, she locked the door and lay on her bed, a chilling glare of dissatisfaction on her face. That idiot. What had he gone and done that for? First this pathetic bluff over leaving for Titans East, and now this. He had some apologizing to do.

Rolling onto her side, she tried to rationalize it. She supposed that if they became a couple – well, an official couple, as unofficially she was already certain that they were together – then she may end up spending a night or two in his room. After he had cleaned it extensively, of course. And in that event, then… maybe it wasn't to protect himself from her – obviously not – maybe it was to protect… her? From any possible incorporeal threats? Or perhaps it wasn't to keep her out, but to keep her in, if she ever tried to flee during an argument, or something a little more… personal. She grinned, blushing slightly. Oh, Beast Boy. It was a tad possessive, to be sure, but in a way, wasn't it just yet another sign of his dedication towards her?

The grin fell from her face when she tried to reach out again with her empathy. Whatever protections his room had, her ability to sense him was unprevented. But she didn't only sense him. He was curled up on his bed in a state of distress and fear – over what, she had no idea – but someone else was there with him. Starfire was lying by his side, her arms forming a protective shield of platonic love as he tried – and failed – to get back to sleep. What on earth was Starfire doing there? If he was distressed, he should have come to her. Idiot.

… Perhaps he was feeling guilty. Perhaps he felt that he had inconvenienced and embarrassed her enough tonight, and so he had sought the protection of Starfire in order to avoid disturbing her further. She scowled. As always, he was recklessly inconsiderate; not at all taking into account how it would make her feel knowing that he was currently wrapped in the arms of another. She would need to talk to him about that. There were a lot of things she needed to talk to him about.

She never got the chance.

.

Raven was drowsy.

Her sleep the previous night was insubstantial at best, and she woke again in the early hours of the morning, between seven and eight a.m. Fortunately, the rest of her slumber had been blissfully uneventful compared to her earlier nightmare, but, reasoning that there was no chance of her returning to sleep again, she resigned herself to arise at this unfortunate hour. An hour earlier and she could have watched the sun rise from the roof of the tower. Not that she knew at the time, but an hour earlier and she would have caught him.

Quickly cleaning her face and putting on a fresh cloak, Raven made her way to the Common Room, and was a little surprised to see all of her teammates already awake and preparing breakfast, with solemn, mournful looks on their faces. Well, all of her teammates except for one. She hoped that they didn't want to discuss what had happened last night. Luckily for her, they didn't. They wanted to discuss something else.

Robin slowly approached Raven with a steaming pre-prepared mug of her favourite herbal tea. She eyed it with caution, and then accepted it, taking a sip. He only spoke when he was already turned around and returning to the kitchen table, where Starfire and Cyborg sat, eyeing her with a strange mixture of fear and apprehension.

"Beast Boy left this morning."

She paused, nursing the warm mug of tea in her cold hands. "Oh?" was all she could say in response.

"He thought- well, we thought… that it might be for the best to move his transferral date forwards. Bumblebee and Speedy came to pick him up this morning. They'll drop us a line to let us know when-"

"Why are you telling me?" Raven interrupted apathetically. "I don't care what happens to him." And she honestly, sincerely felt as if she was telling the truth, no matter how obvious it was that she was not.

Robin paused, and then cleared his throat before continuing, addressing the entire team now.

"Well… it isn't going to be easy fighting crime a man down. Especially when he was a dear friend." Robin was interrupted again by Raven scoffing sarcastically, but no-one dared to correct her. "… But I believe that we can still protect Jump City, and if- no, when he comes back, we can be a more effective team than ever."

"Have you started looking for a replacement?" Raven inquired coldly. Robin was briefly stunned, and then shook his head.

"Well, you should get started on that. If he decides to stay with his new friends… or if by the time he's decided to return, we've realised that we don't want him back, it makes sense to have a back-up plan." Starfire and Cyborg stared at her in a combination of disdain and worry. It made Raven angry.

"You know what? We should be grateful," she announced, suddenly standing, "We've been shackled to this dead weight for years, and now we're finally free to show the world what we can do when we aren't being held back. I don't know if we even need a replacement. We're only going to be better from here on out, and frankly, I'm sick of having to pretend that this isn't a blessing in disguise."

While she felt as though she believed every word that she said, she predicted an outrage from her friends, and was surprised when none came. They just kept looking at her with their big, sad eyes full of pity. Raven couldn't stand it.

"I'm going to my room," she stated unnecessarily, leaving her half-empty – decidedly not half-full – mug of tea behind. Anyway, it hadn't been as nice as the mug that Beast Boy had prepared for her once. Robin had forgotten the cinnamon.

When she got to her room, she threw her cloak to one side carelessly, climbed back into her bed, pulled the covers up to her chin, and she cried softly to herself. Why did this have to happen to her of all people? Didn't she deserve a little happiness? Hadn't she earned it? Negative thoughts swirled around her mind, and every single one led Raven back to the same conclusion.

Beast Boy had a lot of apologizing to do when he returned.

.

Raven was irritated.

Not only had Beast Boy not returned, not apologized, and not contacted her in the slightest, but fighting as a team of four, as it turned out, had some drawbacks. Beast Boy had – fittingly, for an animal such as himself – been a wild card, able to fill the role of anyone else on the team. As a great ape, he could back up Starfire as a heavy-hitter. He was undetectable in his smaller forms, surpassing even Raven and Robin in the art of stealth. And his years with the Doom Patrol had made him something of a strategist, albeit not quite on Robin's level. Without him, it felt as though they were always playing catch-up, and Robin had – foolishly, in Raven's opinion, which she voiced frequently – not made any steps to search for a replacement, instead optimistically believing that Beast Boy would return home before too long.

"Titans, go!" the Boy Wonder shouted as they dove into battle with the HIVE. They may have been a little more tired than normal, but the trio of Jinx, Gizmo and Mammoth should still have posed no threat.

Cyborg quickly engaged Mammoth in a physical brawl, knowing that he outmatched the villain in both brains and brawn. Jinx was agile and hard to pin down, but she was fighting a losing battle against Robin in hand-to-hand, with Starfire assisting from the sky. That only left Gizmo for her, not that she was complaining. As he launched into a string of creatively immature insults, she seized his scrawny body with minimal effort and yanked him free from the confines of his spider-mech, nullifying the threat entirely. Then, with a bored expression on her face, she channelled the full power of her wrath – not an inconsiderable amount, at the moment – into the mech and twisted, splayed and snapped the machinery so thoroughly that it was shortly nothing more than a pile of useless scrap metal.

Gizmo's eyes widened a little. Raven wasn't usually so quick or so thorough in defeating him. And as his eyes scanned the other fights going on, he noticed that someone was missing.

"Hey, where's snotface?" he asked brattily.

Raven's eyes glowed red for a second before she seized him in energy and spun him around. At least, spun most of him around.

His head rotated by one hundred and eighty degrees.

His neck and shoulders rotated one hundred and eighty degrees, with his head.

His arms and torso rotated one hundred and eighty degrees.

His legs… remained facing the same direction.

As Robin was placing handcuffs on Jinx, who had tripped while trying to avoid a volley of starbolts, he heard the agonized scream of pain and horror. Cyborg and Mammoth, still grappling with each other, released their grips immediately.

Gizmo was lying on the ground, screaming with every ounce of energy he could muster. He was facing the pavement, while his legs were facing the sky. Raven stood over him, not an iota of care or remorse over what she had done.

"RAVEN!" cried Robin in alarm, leaping to them both, forgetting to lock Jinx's handcuffs. Not that it mattered, because while she had the opportunity to flee – and may have even gotten away from the distracted team – she darted to Gizmo's side as well, Cyborg and Mammoth following quickly behind.

Raven turned impassively to her leader and unsympathetically stated "… He slipped," in a most unnerving mixture of sarcasm and sadism. He would have to address this later, but right now he had a more pressing concern. Crouching down in front of Gizmo, he tried to calm the boy down; he sometimes forgot that these villains were just as young as they were.

"Gizmo. Gizmo! Can you…" he wasn't quite sure what to say, having never had to deal with an injury this severe.

Gizmo continued to wail, but managed to choke out the vital words. "I… I can't move my legs. I can't move my legs!" He spluttered and sobbed. Cyborg was kneeling at Gizmo's side and inspecting his injuries with a frown. Robin hated that he had no recourse but to ask for help from the person who he somehow trusted the least right now out of everyone there.

"Raven… can you heal him?" He asked, almost pleading. His plea died in his throat as he turned to her, only to see that she was now openly smiling.

Cyborg placed his hand on Robin's shoulder. "Rob, it… she couldn't. His spinal cord… completely severed." He placed his hands on his knees in silent judgement, dismay, and overwhelming disbelief. Robin looked from Cyborg to Gizmo and back again. They all knew that Raven had a temper, but this was so far beyond the worst that he would have expected from her. "He'll be paraplegic," Cyborg concluded emptily.

"What… what did you do?" Jinx asked Raven in horror. Mammoth was also staring daggers at her for crossing the line. Even the HIVE would have preferred to only defeat the Titans, not kill or seriously maim any of them.

Raven's eyes glowed red again as she turned on the two villains. "Do you really think that it's a wise idea to threaten me right now?" she snarled.

Jinx and Mammoth backed away in obvious fear of what she was about to do. It was only Starfire's hand on Raven's shoulder that distracted her long enough for her rage to subside to a more manageable level. Starfire looked concerned, but fearful. Her fear both pleased and annoyed Raven.

"Whatever. I'm heading back." Raven stated calmly, as if she hadn't just crippled a defenceless villain, and teleported back to the tower without a second thought. When the rest of the team returned, she didn't even ask how Gizmo was, and they were all content not to broach the subject with her.

.

Raven was agitated.

She knew that her little stunt with Gizmo was – she reluctantly admitted – a cause for mild concern from her teammates, but they hadn't spoken to her for almost a week. Other than briefly leaving to retrieve food and tea, she hadn't left her room once, and they seemed more than happy to leave her be. She would occasionally encounter one of them in the corridor or Common Room while she was grabbing something from the fridge, but they would quietly observe her in fear, saying nothing and keeping their distance.

Beast Boy wouldn't have kept his distance. Beast Boy would have made the effort to approach her, even if it had resulted in her throwing him through the nearest window. He was just considerate like that. Or at least, he used to be.

With nothing to do but stew in her negative emotions, Raven's mood gradually worsened. She hated her team for abandoning her like this. She hated the villains they fought for besmirching her city and coming between her and her interests. And most of all, she hated Beast Boy. He had utterly failed at loving her. He had let her down. She was having serious reservations about forgiving him when he returned, no matter how much he apologized for what he had done.

A soft knocking sound snapped Raven out of her thoughts. No-one had tried to communicate with her for a week.

"Raven?" Starfire asked softly. "We have visitors. They would like to see the whole team."

The whole team. Raven scowled. How could they see the whole team when one fifth of the team was miles away, presumably having a miserable, lonely time in Steel City? But she would be lying if she had claimed not to have been curious who had come to see them.

"Go away, Starfire," Raven croaked, her voice hoarse from lack of use.

Starfire hesitated, but did not leave. "Raven… a team of heroes is here to see us."

Raven stood up from her bed so quickly that her legs trembled. Titans East were a team of heroes. Well, Titans East were a team of back-stabbing, teammate-stealing, inconsiderate, self-obsessed narcissists, but… they still technically met the definition. If they were here, then that could mean…

Raven burst from her room, ignoring Starfire completely, and walked as briskly as possible to the Common Room. She would have teleported, but she didn't want to appear too desperate to see them. Besides, her powers lately had grown… unreliable, in her current emotional state. Pausing before the sliding doors, she tried to sense Beast Boy's empathic signature, and couldn't find him. Frowning to herself, and hoping that her powers had just let her down, she entered the room.

A wave of unfamiliar faces caused her to recoil ever so slightly. Robin was talking to his mentor, Batman, and the big blue boy scout himself; the tell-tale S emblazoned on his muscular chest for everyone to see. Cyborg was making conversation with Wonder Woman and Hal Jordan, which abruptly stopped as soon as Raven entered the room. Her disappointment was clear. None of these people were Beast Boy.

"Hello there, Raven," Superman welcomed her, approaching warmly. "Robin's been telling us about you. Daughter of a demon, fighting against her heritage and influence to become a superhero. That's very admirable of you. It's an honour to finally meet you," he stated sincerely, offering his mighty right hand for a handshake. Raven eyed his hand with disinterest, and then scanned the room one more time. Beast Boy was definitely not there.

"… Nice to meet you too," she muttered, uninterested, before turning around, intent on heading back to her room. To her surprise, Starfire was blocking the door.

"Starfire, move," Raven commanded unemotionally. Starfire remained standing there, with a most unusual expression her face. Raven had grown used to the looks of fear, but Starfire was smiling sadly, almost apologetically, as tears welled in her eyes.

For just a moment, Raven felt a tiny sting on the side of her neck, and swatted it away as one would do to a fly. She found nothing there, but when she turned to face their visitors again, she noticed a new face next to Robin. Barry Allen, the first Flash. He appeared to be dropping something into the trash basket. Raven's vision was growing blurry, but she could have sworn that it had been something sharp.

"What are you all… why are you…" Raven began, but her eyelids suddenly felt very heavy. She stumbled forwards, only to be caught by Starfire, who had stepped in front of her and held her tightly. Something warm and wet was running down Starfire's cheeks and onto Raven's. She was crying. Why was she crying? Raven didn't understand, but she was also far too tired to care.

"Rob… tell them… to leave," she mumbled into Starfire's shoulder. "Tell them…" and then she was gone.

.

Raven was unconscious. Mostly.

She could tell that she was on a vehicle that was moving, but she had no idea whether it was a coach, train or boat. It could have been a spaceship for all she knew.

She heard brief snatches of conversation around her, but couldn't quite make sense of them.

"-makes sense to have a contingency plan in place, in the event that-"

"-made a promise to your protégé that we would stick to containment and rehabilitation-"

"-off-planet at the moment, but how quickly can J'onn be available? He's our best bet at-"

Raven groaned softly and the voices quietened for a moment, and then she felt herself fall into a deeper slumber once more.

.

Raven was content.

She had experienced another of her nightmares, but this time it had been different. Once again, it had been her sitting opposite her demonic half as they pelted her with insults, put-downs and uncomfortable truths, but this time, she was her demonic half. And she laughed and laughed and laughed at the trembling, remorseful girl before her, who wanted to run back to her friends and tell them that she was sorry, that she never meant to hurt anyone, and that she just wanted to talk to Beast Boy. Even when the timid girl worked up the courage to try to choke her, she couldn't help but keep laughing, louder and harsher, at the inane insanity of it all. As thick, stupid tears ran down Raven's face as she weakly tried to subdue her demonic side, Demon-Raven grabbed her by the neck and easily snapped it. That had made her laugh most of all.

She had woken up some time later, in a padded cell aboard the Justice League Watchtower. She had immediately tried to call upon her magic and found that something was suppressing her powers. Not appreciating how weak that made her feel – not to mention the extreme violation of trust, weren't these people supposed to be heroes? – she battered her fists bloody against the clear plexiglass door until she could hardly see through it for the stains. Not that she had much of a view to begin with; all that she knew was that she was in a huge, otherwise-empty room, which contained several other large, unoccupied cells that appeared to be for the containment of villains. Then why was she here? She was as far away from a villain as anyone could be.

Shortly afterwards, an attractive woman with long blonde hair arrived. Raven recognized her as another member of the Justice League but couldn't recall her name. And she wasn't Beast Boy, so it wasn't as if her name really mattered. The woman introduced herself as Dinah Lance, better known as Black Canary, and expressed that she was looking forward to getting to know Raven better until J'onn J'onnz was available to try and assist her with any mental problems that she was having. Raven snarled and bared her teeth at the implication that she was suffering from any kind of mental problems, and attacked the door again in savage fury, but to no avail.

Eventually, when she had calmed to the point that questions could be asked, Raven furiously demanded to know if the Titans were aware of what the Justice League had done. Dinah paused, and then responded affirmatively. Raven asked how long they were planning on keeping her imprisoned here. Dinah reiterated that they were here to help her, and that the length of time she would have to spend with them was entirely up to Raven herself. Raven frowned at her diplomatic non-answers, looking around the barren cell that she now called a home, and requested if she could at least have some materials that she could use to pass the time. Books, or writing utensils.

Dinah sadly shook her head, explaining curtly and professionally that such materials could be used to harm herself. Pens and pencils could be used as implements for stabbing and piercing, while paper could be used to cut one's self if they were determined enough. Raven's eyes would have flashed red again, had her powers not been so thoroughly suppressed, and she snapped back "Oh, you mean like this?" and she began raking her nails up and down her exposed forearms frantically, desperate to deal some kind of superficial damage, just to disobey the sanctimonious, hypocritical Justice League, and this idiotic bimbo who thought that she could understand her.

Black Canary only sighed, and then stepped towards the console to her right, pressing a few buttons before a faint whooshing sound – and the change of odour in the air – told Raven that her cell was being flooded with knockout gas. She increased the intensity of the scratches and tried to hold her breath for as long as she could, but within twenty seconds, she was unconscious on the floor.

When she awoke later, her arms had been bandaged up, and she had been restrained with a straitjacket while unable to resist. She weakly tried to free herself, but her attempts were unsuccessful, and this regained the attention of Dinah, who had been sat in her cell, writing several pages worth of notes in her small black notebook. As Raven snarled and scowled, fully expecting a dressing down, Dinah surprised her by calmly asking her not to repeat what she had done, and then said that she looked forward to getting to know Raven better, and that she would look into her request for some child-friendly items which she could use to pass the time. She left the cell without saying another word, not that Raven cared what she had to say, or had any response for her. She wasn't even worth Raven's time. Not like some.

True to her word, when Dinah returned some days later (she had returned earlier, but only to provide Raven with meals, take more notes, and release her from the straitjacket with a warning that she was being monitored and not to try that again,) with a set of crayons and safety paper, Raven had scoffed and said some very unkind things in return. But within the hour, rationalizing that it was better than nothing, she was already scribbling away on the pages available. She told herself that she was taking notes about the Justice League, so that when she returned to the Titans, they could better prepare themselves against unjust kidnapping attempts such as this. She wasn't sure that she believed Dinah when she had confirmed that the Titans knew where she was. Then why weren't they trying to rescue her? It didn't make sense.

Raven never quite calmed down, but she at least grew comfortable enough to request from Black Canary a specific colour of crayon, to be used for undisclosed purposes. Dinah had kindly obliged, and while Raven would never even consider the possibility of genuinely opening up to her jailer – no matter how often she claimed that she was only here to help – then she began to tolerate her presence, allowing her to observe and take notes without as much of a protest as she had initially employed in her first few days of captivity. Which is to say that she had stopped threatening to tear Dinah's throat out with her teeth, which would always lead to another visit to the control panel, and another few hours in the straitjacket. She didn't appreciate being treated as though she was crazy, especially when she so evidently was not.

Some days later, when Black Canary entered her cell again while she was in the process of drawing something, Raven even deigned to speak to her of her own volition, under her own free will. And even more kindly, she seemed to be offering Dinah a sincere warning about something.

"Just so you know… you guys are going to be in so much trouble," she murmured with a subtle smirk. Dinah knew full well that the girl was powerless, but Raven's tone and the surety with which she spoke still sent shivers down her spine.

"Why? What are you going to do?" she asked tentatively, but still completely calm.

Raven looked up from the floor and smiled sincerely. It wasn't sinister or threatening, which somehow only made it even moreso both of those things. "Not me. Him."

Black Canary had a strong hunch who Raven was talking about, but needed to hear it confirmed anyway. "Him?"

Raven looked at the door of her cell with a dreamy grin on her face. "There's nothing he wouldn't do for me. I can feel it. When he finds out that you've locked me up here… well, there's nowhere you can hide. He can be a T-Rex, or he can be an ant. He could already be here, listening, just waiting for the perfect opportunity to take you down. And to break me out of here." That proud, certain smile on her face never wavered.

"… Is that so?" asked Dinah quietly.

"You don't have to be too worried," Raven admitted, making eye contact with her captor. "He probably won't kill you. He's always been nice like that. A little soft. But nice." She twirled a dark green crayon between her delicate fingers. "And when he finds out what you've done, he's going to come for me. You'll see. He's going to walk right up to this door, and he's going to have the most adorable look of worry on his face, and I'm going to tell him the stupid code that I see you punch in every morning, and he's going to save me."

Dinah was unconcerned, to say the least, with Raven's prediction, but took the opportunity to get a little more information out of her. It was odd for her to be this talkative.

"And when he gets here, when he's saved you… what will you do next?"

Raven smiled so broadly that tears welled up in her eyes. "We'll begin our life together, of course," she sighed in pure contentment. "He'll walk in here, and I'll get up and hug him, and I'll kiss him, and I'll SNAP HIS ARMS LIKE TWIGS FOR ABANDONING ME," Raven suddenly clenched her fist as she talked, snapping the crayon in two as her demeanour changed to one of pure rage for just a moment, and then immediately returned to normal, "and he'll cry, so I'll heal him, and we'll laugh about it and get out of here. It won't matter where we live, as long as we have each other. As long as he has me to take care of him." She proudly presented the green crayon again, having pushed the broken halves together, as if that was enough to repair the damage that she had done. The two halves split instantly, falling to the floor of the cell with a soft thud. Raven frowned. It was supposed to be fixed again. Why wasn't it fixed? Stupid crayon. Why did everything in her life have to betray her?

Black Canary had written some quick notes, seemingly satisfied enough with Raven's answer, and then stood up to leave. She paused just before reaching the door, turning back to the empath with one final question.

"And what would you do if Beast Boy… didn't come for you?"

"He will," Raven replied with a cocky smile. "You'll see. He has to. He can barely function without me," she chuckled softly to herself. "That, and… he loves me," she added, a little quieter, but still the proudest thing that she had ever said. "I felt it. I know it. He loves me. And love is forever, and love is unbreakable." She glanced back at Dinah and laughed again. There was a time when Raven would have been infuriated by the unrestrained, condescendingly compassionate look of pity directed at her. But there was no need. She would be out of here soon enough.

"I just have to wait. When he hears what's happened, he'll come looking for me, and he'll find me. Just you wait." Raven flashed her pearly white teeth as she grinned. "You'll all see."

The conversation firmly over, Black Canary continued on her way out of the cell, as always, taking care to make sure that every single lock was engaged. Raven resumed what she had been doing; scribbling on one of several hundred pieces of childproof paper with a green crayon, drawing the same image that she had drawn on the floor, on the walls, and what she would have drawn on her own skin if she could. Beast Boy.

Raven was happy.

When she grew tired, she decided to lie down, surrounded by her work. It was only a matter of time, and she had all the time in the world. Any second now, he would be here, appalled at how she was being treated and willing to do anything to return to his rightful place; by her side. She idly wondered if she should try to do anything in particular to get his attention. Her eyes caught on a light fixture at the top of her cell. She smirked. She was hardly a professional escape artist, but she had picked up just enough tricks from Robin that she was sure she could slip out of that troublesome straitjacket, if no-one was looking. It would have been easy enough to tie a knot, and the light looked secure enough to support her weight. That would send him running for her, no doubt. Apologies bursting from his lips and the warmth of his never-ending love and support as she collapsed into his arms. She continued smirking. It wasn't a bad back-up plan, if she ever thought that he was taking too long.

But that plan could wait. She supposed that she was being a little bit too hard on him. And he was probably already on the way, right now. She glanced at the door again, as if expecting him to be there, and her smile shrank when she saw that he wasn't. But it didn't disappear completely, because she knew that it was just a matter of time before they were together again.

Any second now, he would burst through that door, profess his devotion, and rescue her, even if he had to fight the entire Justice League to do so.

Any second now, he would give her the love and support that she had always needed but been too afraid to ask for.

She glanced back at the door, ecstatic tears slowly flowing down her pale cheeks. Not that she would ever tell him, but even now, she felt like the luckiest girl in the world. And any second now, he would prove her completely correct, return her affection a hundredfold, and save her from herself. She just needed to wait a little longer.

Any second now.