without you~ teen titans

11 ✡︎ Swim

Raven
The next few days were lonely.

Raven spent most of her time in her room, reading books and trying to get things off her mind.

But Beast Boys words had been tattooed into her brain. "Whatever that new feeling is I like it."

She knew what was happening. She just didn't want to say it.

At least.... not out loud.

Her powers had been taken.

Which meant...

she wasn't half demon anymore.

WHICH MEANT....

They had captured her demon side.

Did that mean she was... just a half? An incomplete soul? She shivered. No wonder Beast Boy had noticed something different about her. She was different.

In reality... the sides she had shown him were who she was.

But her demon side had always stopped her from showing it.

Too much emotion.
Too happy.
Too weird.

She could never be normal. But now... maybe she could.

Maybe she finally had the chance to...

She shook her head.

He's in love with Terra.

But that didn't stop her heart from thinking about him every moment of the day. Longing for more. Hoping that one day... things would change.

Suddenly, she couldn't bear to stay in the tower anymore.

It hurt too much.

Usually she would have opened a portal, or flown, or meditated it all away... but she couldn't do any of that without her powers.

Meditating just wasn't the same on the ground.

She pulled her cloak over her head and silently walked down the hallway. It was early, probably around 5 or 6. She hadn't slept.

She decided to go to the side of the tower, and to sit by some of the rocks by the ocean. It was where she and Beast Boy had sat after he had recovered from his beast side. Maybe, it would hurt to sit there, because she knew it would make her think of him.

It was an incredibly peaceful spot though. She sat on the rocks, tossing stones into the water and watching them bounce across, leaving little splashes as it went. The suns reflection on the water was beautiful. Beams of light made the water sparkle, as if calling swim in me!

Raven never swam. She avoided it as much as possible- she hated the feeling of exposure and even more the fact of everyone looking at her.

It was pretty enticing though. And there was no one around...

Suddenly, she jumped up and threw off her cloak, revealing her pale white skin and leotard-like black outfit. She ran forward and leaped into the air, diving into the sparkling water.

The water was cold- but felt so refreshing against her skin. She had always loved the cold. It made her feel so at home. Even without her demon side, she still loved it.

Maybe not everything is lost.

Suddenly, she felt the water shift. She started to swim back up to the surface but found that she couldn't. She felt strong arms wrap around her and her life flashed before her eyes. She wanted to thrash and scream but at the same time she felt so... safe.

Suddenly, she was breathing in fresh air. The arms grip loosened and she climbed out of the water towards the rocks to catch her breath. When she turned around, she saw-

"Beast Boy?"

He smiled a shy smile and she couldn't help staring at the droplets of water dripping down his bare skin, the sunlight bouncing off his abs and highlighting his beautiful features.

Over time, he had changed a lot. He had gotten so much taller that she often had to look up when talking to him. She secretly liked that. He had also starting working out with Cyborg, and his body clearly showed it.

"Why are you...?" she tried to say. She wanted to ask "Why are you here?" but she didn't want to come across like she didn't want him there... because that just wasn't true. "I didn't think anyone else woke up so early." she decided.

"Oh... I uh, heard your footsteps in the hallway and decided to follow you out." He said shyly. "You looked so peaceful and I didn't want to disturb you... but you jumped in the water and I-" he stopped there. He didn't have to say any more, because his rose tinted cheeks showed it all.

Raven looked away to hide her blush.

He's in love with Terra he's in love with Terra he's in love with-

"What are you doing out so early?" he asked sitting beside her.

"Oh..." she said, surprised he had asked, "I was just... going out for a morning swim, haha."

"But you hate swimming."

"Well I just felt like it today." she snapped. She really really wanted to tell him why she had been avoiding him, and all of the other Titans too, but she just couldn't bring herself to.

"It's okay, it's okay I understand." he said looking at the water. "I understand why."

She too, looked at water. The sun was shining a bit higher than before, it's bright rays cascading around the ocean.

"It's so beautiful." Raven whispered.

"I know."

He said it with such passion that she looked over at him, surprised to see that he was staring at her.

She felt her cheeks warm, and suddenly she felt like she couldn't speak. He was inches away from her, yet still calling to come closer.

"Gar I-"

He kissed her. Her hearts pace raced so quickly she thought it might pound of out her chest. She wanted him so badly. She wanted to feel the feeling of his lips for the rest of her life.

But she couldn't.

She pulled away. "I- I'm sorry- I- I can't"

And with that, she ran back into the tower, through the halls and into her room, sinking to floor, with a single tear slipping down her cheek.