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"Are you insane?" she questioned, trying her best to keep her voice calm and steady. A fit of drunken giggles filled her ears as she let out a sigh. Beast Boy was yet again at some rundown bar in the bad parts of the city. Beast Boy was yet again drunk to the point of no return. And Raven was yet again picking his sorry ass up.
"Rae, you know, you're really pretty when you're mad," Beast Boy laughed as he pointed at her.
"Or just when you're drunk," Raven mumbled as she helped her teammate to his feet.
"No, not just when I'm drunk. You're always pretty," the changeling slurred.
"You wouldn't be saying that if you were sober," Raven pointed out as she walked out of the bar with Beast Boy, who was currently being supported entirely by the darkly dressed heroine.
"You're right," Beast Boy agreed, "But not for the reason that you think."
"Really? So what's the reason?" Raven questioned. After the first couple of incidents with Beast Boy getting drunk, she quickly learned that it was better to humor him in this drunken state than to be her usual sarcastic self.
"I always think you're pretty, I'm just never brave enough to say it when I'm sober," Beast Boy chuckled. Raven paused, letting his words hit her, along with the foul stench of the alcohol on his breath.
"You're wasted," she reminded herself.
"I'm fine," he chimed, brushing her off. He took a step forward before immediately falling to the ground.
"Yea, that's normal," Raven sighed before sitting on the sidewalk beside Beast Boy. She glanced over at him, watching as he rolled his head on the cool concrete. "Why are you drunk?"
"Why aren't you?" he slurred.
"Is this about Terra?" she questioned as she watched his look fall into a sea of despair.
"No," he muttered.
"Beast Boy, she doesn't remember her life as a Titan. You can't drown yourself in alcohol," Raven spoke softly.
"Terra's not the reason," he mumbled.
"Then what's the reason?" she inquired, "Because this little habit of yours started once you found out Terra was alive." Beast Boy sat up, his gaze locked on the girl beside him.
"It started off because of Terra. She didn't remember me or any of her life. I was upset, I just wanted the pain of it all to stop," Beast Boy explained.
"You said that's what started it off, what's your reasoning now?"
"When Terra was around I didn't notice much but her. Even now, when I saw her again, I focused everything on her; which almost got all of you hurt. It wasn't until that first hangover when I realized how unfocused I really was. It wasn't until I started getting drunk that I realized how hurt you get every time I mention Terra."
"What?" Raven blurted out.
"You try not to show it, but I see it, especially when the pain of Terra is numb. I see how your lips pout just the slightest bit more, how your eyes cast down when I talk about how much I loved her. But most of all, when all that Terra heartache is gone, I see how you look at me. You haven't been looking at me like the other Titans have. They look at me with a sense of pity, but you look at me with heartache. I thought at first that it was just because you felt bad for me. That you felt awful that I had to go through this pain yet again. But recently I realized that heartache wasn't for me," Beast Boy said softly, "It was for you. It hurts you when I talk about Terra because you think I deserve better."
"What does this have to do with why you're drinking?" Raven asked, her face emotionless despite the storm brewing in her mind.
"I can't believe I didn't see it sooner. You were hurting because of me," he whispered, his face inches from her's.
"Beast Boy," she warned quietly in a tone that barely reached her ears.
"Shut up," he mumbled before pressing his lips to her's. It was a soft, gentle glide of lips, sweet, innocent, hurt. A light bulb blew up nearby as Raven jumped slightly. Beast Boy pulled away, his forehead pressed against her's. Before Raven could say anything, Beast Boy passed out cold.
"Annnnnd, we're done here," she sighed.
Beast Boy woke up to a pounding headache and an aching memory.
"Raven," the green changeling sighed before climbing out of bed. He glanced over at his bedside table to see a glass of water and some pills. He swallowed the pills down before exiting his room and heading to the ops room. The door slid open as he entered to see the four other Titans spread throughout the room. Cyborg and Robin played a video game against each other, Starfire watching from the kitchen as she made one of her Tamaranean dishes. Beast Boy acknowledged each one with a nod or, in Starfire's case, a smile as he made his way over to his real target. She sat in front of the large windows chanting her mantra, her eyes closed peacefully. Beast Boy sat beside the empath, remaining silent until she acknowledged his existence in her personal bubble.
"Yes Beast Boy?" she sighed as she kept her eyes closed.
"We need to talk," he whispered as she opened her eyes to look at him.
"Why?" she snapped slightly before taking a deep breath and calming herself.
"Come on," he beckoned as he got up and offered her a hand. She hesitantly took his hand as he hoisted her up. He kept his grip on her hand as he guided her out of the room. The other three Titans gave the the two a strange look before going back to what they were doing.
"What?" Raven snapped as they strolled across the rooftop, "What do you possibly want to talk about?"
"Last night, I kissed you," Beast Boy spoke softly.
"Yea, I know, I was there," she sighed as she pulled up her hood and wrapped her arms around herself.
"Raven-"
"It's fine Beast Boy, I get it. It was a stupid, drunken mistake. I shouldn't have let it happen. It was dumb," Raven interrupted.
"In alcohol's defense, I've done some pretty dumb shit while completely sober," Beast Boy pointed out, "But kissing you...it wasn't a mistake, not one bit." The green teen took a step closer to her. Raven tried to take a step back, but Beast Boy wrapped an arm around her waist and held her in place.
"Beast Boy," she warned and just like before he kissed her. He pulled her even closer to him and kissed her with enough force to make her head spin. A loud crash from inside reached their ears as Raven pushed Beast Boy away lightly. Her hands rested against his chest, his arms wrapped tightly around her waist.
"Rae," Beast Boy breathed out.
"Beast Boy, we can't do this," Raven sighed.
"Why not? Because you don't like me? Because of your powers? Because of what people will think? Because you don't take me seriously? Because-"
"Because I don't want to hurt you," Raven whispered, Timid creeping through her voice.
"You won't hurt me," he reassured her as he wrapped her in a hug.
"You don't know that. My powers can go out of control at any moment. All the light bulbs bursting and crashes, that's just the beginning. If we turn this into something, I think I'd loose control of my powers completely," she told him.
"Or it'll make you stronger, give you something to fight for."
"I have plenty to fight for already," Raven smirked.
"Just give me a chance, give us a chance," he pleaded. Raven paused, her emotions yelling at her giving her a headache. He'll protect us, Timid pointed out softly. He'll chill with us, Sloth yawned. He'll anger us, Rage growled. He'll focus on just us, not Terra, Envy chimed. He'll compliment us, Pride grinned. He'll learn with us, about us, Knowledge said wisely. He'll make us happy, Happy spoke, well, happily. He'll fight for us, Brave added. With all the voices in her head the only one she heard and listened to was Love, the emotion she rarely heard from. He'll love us.