This is that Valentine's Day One-Shot I promised. Out a little late, but still out at least. Trying out something completely new here. Review what you think at the end.

Disclaimer: Don't own Teen Titans. Never have. Probably never will.

Acceptance

Summary: Two Titans love each other. Both are afraid to admit it. What happens though when they listen to a stranger's story?

We open today's story at a cafe in Jump City. It is located at the edge of the bay, and offers a great view of Titan's Tower, home of the Teen Titans. The cafe itself wasn't anything fancy. Just some plain, round tables with umbrella tops and four chairs put around the table. The food was actually quite delicious, and offered a wide variety. From meat, to vegetarian, to seafood, and even foods from other countries if you wanted to try them.

The best part about it though, was that today was Valentine's Day. On this particular day of the year, the owners would decorate the area to make it look nice and romantic. This, in turn, attracted couples of all kinds to the cafe to celebrate the holiday. Here, wedding proposals were made, couple's relationships were strengthened, and sometimes, a new relationship would be born.

Now, the restaurant was filled with all different kinds of people at the moment. But what seemed to stand out the most out of all these people was a group of five sitting at three different tables at a corner overlooking the bay.

At one table, sat a very big looking teen. He was black skinned, normal looking brown eyes, and taller than a football player. He was wearing a white t-shirt and Levi's, along with a Jump City Tigers cap to hide his bald head. Most shockingly though, was the fact that he was eating all different sorts of meat in front of him like there was no tomorrow. It was... very disturbing for other people to watch, so nobody really sat around the area they were in, except one lone guy. Nobody except the guy noticed the weird rings he wore on his index fingers.

At the second table, sat a normal looking teen guy and his teen girlfriend. The guy had piercing blue eyes, tanned skin, and an average build. He wore a red t-shirt with black shorts. The tan girl was about as tall as her boyfriend. She looked to have light green eyes and beautiful, brunette hair that fell down to the middle of her back. She wore a pink tank top and a pink skirt that went down to her knees. Both were feeding each other the food in front of them, and looking like they were having a good time with it. Even though the girl's food was covered in a layer of mustard. They also exchanged kisses now and then, disgusting many of the other customers after seeing the girl's meal. Nobody except the lone guy took note of them not only because of that, but also since they were by the meat eating machine. Both also wore the same rings as their meat eating buddy. Again, only the guy took notice of this.

The third table, behind the other two tables, sat the oddest looking pair of them all. Another guy and girl again. The guy had piercing green eyes, blonde hair, a tanned/white complexion, a normal looking grin that never seemed to leave his face, and a purple t-shirt with blue shorts on. The girl looked a little paler than normal, had striking purple eyes and black hair, a small smile on her face, and wore a green t-shirt with purple shorts. They also sat side by side with each other, albeit, not as close as the other couple. They were eating the food in front of them, occasionally stealing glances at each other when the other wasn't looking. They also wore the same rings that the other three did. The lone guy, sitting in the other table by them, was again, the only one to notice.

To everyone else, they just looked like semi-normal people. But in reality it was the Teen Titans themselves, wearing their own personal holo-rings to disguise themselves from the people around them.

Cyborg was there, simply because the food, especially the meat, was very good. Much to the disgust of the people who stayed away from that area of the cafe so they didn't have to hear him scarf it down.

Now Robin and Starfire… do you really have to ask? Valentine's Day, been together for quite a while now.

Beast Boy and Raven were there mainly because… well… they have something they want to admit to each other. Only, even now, they're still afraid to do it. Fearing how the other might react.

'I can't do it… I don't even know if she really likes me or not… Why is this so hard… why can't I just tell her?'

'Oh Azar… why do I always have to have trouble with my emotions… especially around him… why can't I tell if he feels the same way… Why can't I just admit it to him?!'

'Come on Garfield! You're surrounded by people right now and you're in disguise! Even if she got mad at you and still hated you, she wouldn't use her powers to throw you into the bay and blow her cover… right?'

'Come on Raven! You're both disguised right now anyways! If he doesn't like you, he won't try to morph into some animal and run away, or make a joke about it and break your heart… right?'

Both of them sigh, looking down at their food. 'Why does love have to be so complicated?' they thought at the same time.

Again, Beast Boy snuck a glance at Raven while she was looking away. 'Come on Beast Boy! It's either you admit to her that you love her, or you go on the rest of your life wondering... what if?'

He looked away, just as Raven took a glance at him. 'You know you love him Raven! This isn't another Malchior we're talking about here, it's Garfield! Even if he doesn't like you, he wouldn't try and break your heart in the process! Do you seriously want to spend the rest of your life wondering... what if?'

Both were looking away from the other, contemplating on what to say. Then, both turned to each other at the same time. "Rae-" "Gar-" they said at the same time.

Both stopped, realizing the other had just been about to speak first.

"You go first Rach."

"No, you looked like you had something to tell me Gar."

"Ladies first." Gar tried jokingly.

This only made Raven glare at him, not as effective with the holo-rings on, but effective enough to let him know that she was being serious this time.

Gulp 'Well… this is it… don't blow this Beast Boy! Don't blow it!'

"Well… Gar?" 'Was he going to say it! Was he really going to say it!'

"Nothing." he said as he looked back at his plate. 'You idiot! You finally had a chance to tell her and you freaking blew it! Why the hell do you have me when you won't even listen to me anyways!' his brain thought.

"Oh… well… okay then." Raven said. 'Sigh… I guess it's true after all… he still has feelings for Terra… who was I kidding… nobody can even love a half-demoness…'

Beast Boy looked up at her, finding that she was looking a little depressed now to him. 'Had she wanted me to say it? Was she hoping I'd say it? Sigh… that's impossible… there's no way she could love a green skinned freak like me.'

Both were picking at their food now. Not really that hungry anymore, and both of their smiles from before were now gone. They couldn't tell how badly the other was feeling, mainly because they weren't looking at each other anymore. Just the food in front of them.

The lone guy, sitting next to their table though, did notice. If you couldn't tell from before, he knew who they actually were, mainly because he'd recognize those rings from a mile away. Only, he wasn't like other people who just blew another person's cover, unless if he knew for sure that they were up to no good.

So he wasn't just going to blow the cover of the famous Teen Titans, just because he recognized them. No, he wasn't that type of guy. The thing going on between Beast Boy and Raven had managed to grab his interest though, and he knew from the brief time he studied them from his table that they were in love. With each other. Yet, they were also afraid of what'd happen if the other didn't love them.

He understood all to well what that was like. And he found his thoughts going back into the past again. His own, broken… past.

Raven, who normally tried to not pry into other people's emotions, suddenly sensed great sadness from near her. She looked up at Beast Boy, thinking it might be from him, but even though he looked a little sad now, she found no evidence that it was coming from off him. She looked around, trying to find where the source was coming from, and then saw the lone guy next to them. Seeming to be deep in thought. Raven found that he looked to be around 19 or so years old, had black hair that seemed to fall around his head except for up front where it went slightly to the side, he also had a clean shaven face, and strikingly brown eyes. Even sitting down, Raven saw he was easily as tall, if not taller, than Robin and looked like he could stand up to Cyborg. His build wasn't as muscular as Cyborg's, but was certainly bigger than either Robin's or Beast Boy's.

He looked like a fine young man, so to speak. Only, he had a look on his face that seemed to speak of despair, of pain, of darkness. He looked to be holding back tears from his eyes. Raven gently nudged Beast Boy, grabbing his attention. He had been hoping to get another chance to talk to her. And he thought that he would get his chance when she spoke softly to him.

"Gar." she whispered as she pointed to the lone teen by them.

The guy chose this moment to look up. And saw Raven pointing a finger towards him, and his eyes locked with Beast Boy as he looked up at him. 'Crap, I forgot she was an empath! She must have sensed what I had been feeling! Why did I have to think about my freaking past, that's all it is!'

Beast Boy barely saw the look in the man's eyes before he turned away. Still, he had seen something familiar, something he hadn't felt for quite a while. He thought about it for a second before he realized why Raven had pointed him out in the first place as well.

The guy turned away, trying to think about something else, and contemplating whether he should get up and go or not. But then, he heard them approach. "Is it okay if we can sit with you man." Beast Boy asked the guy.

The guy didn't know what to do. He knew that Raven must have sensed what he'd been feeling. That could be the only reason why they'd even sit by him in the first place. Still, he didn't want to be rude to the city's heroes, especially since one of them could send him to another dimension. "Sure." the guy simply replied in a monotone, trying to remain as emotionless as possible.

'Wow, this guy is almost as hard to read as Raven when he puts his mind to it! And that's really saying something!'

'He can control his voice… but he still can't hide his emotions completely from me.'

Both of them sat down on different sides of the guy. Raven on his left, and Beast Boy on his right. After that, it became a little awkward as they both looked like they were trying to find something to say to the guy without revealing their real identities. So the guy decided to be blunt with them. "I'm just going to say this now so we save ourselves a great deal of trouble… I already know who you two really are."

This made them both look up at him in surprise to see if he was joking or not. Only, his face didn't hold any humor in it that they could tell. "Dude… but… how?" the surprised changeling said.

"That's what I was going to ask." Raven said in a low, dark voice.

The guy, whoever he was, raised up both of his hands at her tone. "Whoa, take it easy there, I know who you really are because I recognize the rings you two are wearing. And no, I haven't told anyone or alerted anyone about it."

Both of them looked at the guy suspiciously. "Still, how would you know specifically who we are?" Beast Boy asked.

The guy pointed first towards Cyborg. "First, how many people do you know in Jump City that have an appetite for meat as big as his?"

They paused, considering it as he pointed to the next couple. "How many people do you know in Jump City, that have their meals covered in mustard." he said, pointing out the alien's food.

Again, they paused, as he then pointed to their previous table. "And should I really ask, if three of five people are recognizable as Titans, wouldn't it be likely the last two would be Titans as well?"

After listening to the man's logic, they were actually surprised to find that anyone who thought about it his way would have been able to easily recognize them.

"Okay, so you know who we are. Why haven't you shouted it out to everyone in here than?" Beast Boy asked, confused about the guy in front of him who seemed more complicated than he had first appeared.

The guy simply shrugged. "You protect the city on a daily basis, you receive media attention every time you go out in public, and you're still only like what, seventeen? Eighteen? I figured if you wanted to grab people's attention, you wouldn't have disguised yourselves with those rings." he simply stated.

Raven quirked an eyebrow up. "That's… actually pretty logical when you think about it like that."

The guy finally smiled a little. Something that had used to be so normal on his face long ago. "My brain just works a little differently from others. I don't just think about what I see, but also what I am seeing."

Beast Boy looked even more confused after hearing that. "What do you mean? How do you think about what you see, and what you are seeing?"

The guy explained. "So I noticed you guys when you sat down in the cafe and ordered your meals. At first, I thought nothing of it. But then, I noticed the rings and got a little suspicious. It took until I basically saw your unique food choices like all of that meat, the mustard, and your vegetarian meal, for me to tell who you guys really were. All the other people over there though, can't see it, because they're to disgusted by what they're seeing to think about the people themselves. That's mainly how I recognized all you. Now, any normal person who managed to recognize you would shout out about it, right. But I'm not just recognizing you, I'm also recognizing what you're doing. So your in a cafe, on Valentine's Day, disguised from the people around you. So, either you're under cover, or trying to be out in public without wanting to be recognized by other people. Either way, it wouldn't make much sense to just blow your cover when you're trying to hide yourselves, so why should I shout about it in the first place when you might not want others to recognize you?"

Again, Raven quirked an eyebrow as Beast Boy finally understood what the guy was saying at last. The guy looked to Raven. "So I'm taking it that you came over here because of the emotional turmoil you sensed in me from earlier?" he asked her.

She blinked, barely concealing the shock from her face that he knew why she had decided to move over to the table with Beast Boy in the first place. "Yes. I was sensing great levels of sadness coming off you through my emotional shielding. Would you care to explain?"

The guy let out a sigh. The smile dropping from his face as he did so. Raven could sense the sadness clearly now, along with something else… familiar? "It's just something that happened a couple years ago to me. It's something that I'd rather I didn't talk about." he said in a tone that had lost it's monotonic quality to it.

Beast Boy studied the guy, now that his mostly emotionless mask was off his face. 'Now that I think about it, it looks like he's in great pain over something. But I wonder, what could cause someone to feel that level of… oh.' somehow he understood what it was before even Raven did. So he decided to voice his suspicions.

"It's about a girl… isn't it?" Beast Boy asked the guy.

He didn't show any shock, he only nodded his head in agreement with his blunt statement. "Yes, in fact, it's about two."

Raven finally understood. 'He isn't just experiencing sadness, but he's also suffering from heartbreak!'

"They broke your heart, didn't they?"

Again, he simply nodded his head at the blunt statement. "Yes, they most certainly did."

Beast Boy spoke. "Can you tell us about them?"

The guy seemed lost in thought, and the two were starting to feel a little uncomfortable, both of them thinking he didn't want to talk about it.

But then…

"In order for you to understand my pain, you also have to understand the past that goes with it. Are you certain you'd want to hear about mine?"

Both of them nodded their heads. The guy sighed as he started his story.

"The first girl was a blonde named Hannah." he started. They both looked at him as he continued. "You see, I might seem like a normal person to you now… but on the inside, I'm far different from anyone else, much like you two are. You see, I think differently from others, in some ways it's good, beneficial, in fact… but in others… well… not so much."

Pause "What do you mean by that?" Raven asked him.

He continued. "Well, take your alien friend there as an example. She's very intelligent, far smarter than most other humans… but she doesn't really know all about our social quirks and cues at all… and she also has a funny way of talking... right."

Both of them nodded, chuckling a little at just how right the man was on that fact. The man also chuckled a little with them before his face became sad once again. "Well… back then… I was just like her… but on steroids… to put it, a lot worse." he let out a sigh, and then continued. "Growing up, I always had this stutter when I spoke, and I'd also mess up certain words and phrases… and sometimes, I didn't even say a coherent word while I stuttered. To top it off, I was about as far a social outcast as anyone could possibly get while at a school. I had no idea what I had to do… what this saying or word meant, much less, how to pronounce it… I couldn't even tell if someone was happy or sad when I either studied them from afar, or read about it in a book. I was rejected… picked on… belittled... bullied."

They were both looking at the guy intensely now as he continued with his sad story. "But then, I finally made a friend, a real friend… not someone who had tried showing fake sympathy for me to only blow it up in my face for laughs… and that friend… had been Hannah." he paused to gather himself as he continued. "She… helped me where others had refused. Helped me to understand things, about others, about myself… and stood up for me against the bullies who had found me to be an easy target… she had done something no one else had ever done before…"

Pause "She had accepted me… for, well, me. Even though I had been so different, she hadn't minded in the slightest. And for a few short months, everything for me had been great… until… she disappeared from school."

Beast Boy felt something rather strange about the story. "Dude, why does that sound familiar to me?" Beast Boy asked the guy.

He sighed before he said one word to the changeling. "Terra."

This actually caused him to widen his eyes in shock. "Wait, so what you're saying…"

The guy looked up, the pain evident in his eyes. "Yes... I didn't realize it till it had been to late for me… but what I had been feeling while I had been around her... had been love. Which was why it had hurt so much when the rejection came again... and slammed me right in the face once again… only this time, I fought back against it... against the bullies... the social structure... but for years, I thought that was all that I'd face from people ever again... rejection."

Pause "And then, another girl asked me if I'd like to be her friend. Her name had been Dusty. And I... had been so desperate… that I didn't even see the warning signs that I had learned to recognize from Hannah long ago. She'd tell me things, things that had made me feel like I was on the top of the world…" he stopped.

"She brought it crashing down… didn't she?" Raven asked, finding that she recognized this from her own experience.

He nodded. "It had all been a ruse… an elaborate set up, so to speak… she'd only been using me for her own ends... for two years of my life... and when she was done with me… she dumped me like yesterday's trash."

Beast Boy and Raven were looking at each other now, seeming to realize just how similar his story was to their own past lives.

"After that… I had been feeling so down… when as if by chance… I finally found Hannah again. Apparantly, she had only been a short distance away, going to another school. I had been so excited when I learned that she was still close-by, I felt that feeling from before come again. And I had thought she'd feel the same even though it had been six years."

Sigh "I couldn't have been more wrong… she had new friends then… and we had both changed so much that our old selves were almost unrecognizable to each other. I didn't stutter anymore, I knew more words and phrases thanks to all my years of hard work and studying in school, and I had finally grown big enough that bullies were afraid to anger me anymore."

Pause "She had remembered me… but… I wasn't really the best friend she knew anymore."

"What did you do?" Beast Boy asked.

"For three years, I tried to stay in contact with her. Tried to feel close to her again… tried to think of a way to tell her how I felt... but she wasn't the same… I wasn't the same."

Sigh "Eventually, I came to realize she felt nothing for me, had felt nothing to me before... that it meant nothing to her anymore. The friendship we had… had been over the day she left my school."

He let out a few tears as he said it. Even though it had been three years, it still hurt him to think about it. Much less talk about it. "I'll always be grateful for what she did back then for me… but now… I know it just isn't possible anymore for us to be together… and I accepted that. That doesn't mean it still don't hurt me… but I know I made the right choice when I finally stopped obsessing with my own past. Still, sometimes my mind just wonders... what if?"

This caused Raven and Beast Boy to both blink in shock at the same time, realizing that just moments ago they'd been wondering that same question about each other.

"Even now… years later… that thought still comes back and haunts me..."

The two didn't know what to say. They didn't know what to do for once. The guy stood up from his seat.

"Thank you… Beast Boy... Raven… I've never told anyone what I've told you two before… and now that I have... I think I'll be able to handle it better now." he said as he turned around to leave. Raven did a quick check on the guy, and found that even though the sadness was still there, it wasn't as pronounced as before. He had been honest with his past, and now that he'd faced it, he'd finally be able to move on with his life.

"Wait… what are you going to do now?" Beast Boy asked the guy.

He simply smiled back at them. The old smile he had back when things had been good, when he had felt accepted. "I came here to Jump City so I could start anew, meet new people, find a person who'll accept me, even though I may be far different from her. I guess you could say that's why I came to this cafe in the first place, trying to find a lone girl who was also looking for a guy like me."

Both looked at him weirdly. He let his smile show for another second before he turned around. "I'm still going to look for that girl, someone that I can love, but I have a feeling that you two have already found the person that you love…"

They looked at him in shock as he paused. "Don't think about the what if like I did… you'll never get anywhere thinking about that… and you'll be left wondering for the rest of your life about what could have been."

He started to walk away from the two, stopped, then turned his head one last time. His smile being replaced with a serious look. "To admit you love someone is a risk to your heart, but to not admit to that someone you love him/her… that is what truly kills us as human beings."

With that, the unnamed guy walked away, out of the cafe, leaving the two Titans alone at his table. Both of them were deep in thought.

'Is he right? Would it just be better for me if I told Raven how I felt? Would it truly be worse if I didn't?'

'Is he truly right? Should I tell Beast Boy I love him? Would it truly hurt worse to just keep it to myself and wonder for the rest of my life?'

Beast Boy finally looked up. "Rae?"

She came out of her thoughts in time to hear him. "Yes?"

Sigh "I just need to know… is he right… do you truly love someone?"

She meekly nodded her head. Nervousness creeping up on her. "Yes, Gar."

His ears drooped at her words. 'She does love someone, but it couldn't possibly be me. Could it?'

"Gar, do you love someone?" Raven asked, bringing him out of his thoughts.

"Yes, Rae."

She let out a small sigh. 'So he does love someone after all… but it couldn't possibly be me… right?'

The tension in the air was becoming unbearable, both of them were so full of nervousness. "Rae... who is it that you love?"

'I love you! But how could I think that you could love somebody like me!'

"Gar, who do you love?" she said, ignoring his question.

'I've been trying to hint it to you for years! There can't possibly be a way in hell you love me if you don't know!'

Both of them couldn't answer each other.

Both of them were still too afraid to take the drop into oblivion and see where it led.

Finally, Beast Boy decided to say something. "Rae, I don't want to be wondering 'what if?' for the rest of my life."

She looked up at him, small tears forming in her eyes. "Gar, I don't want to either, but I'm afraid..."

'Wait... is she crying... does she truly... love me?'

He tried for a grin. "Rae, I'm feeling the exact same way here. I just don't know what I should do."

She let a small tear escape. "I don't know what to do, I don't even know what to say, I'm not good with my emotions." she said quietly to herself. Another small tear came down her cheek.

Beast Boy felt something in him move as he saw her trying starting to cry in front of him. Before he knew it, his hand was up to her face, gently wiping away the tear from her cheek.

Raven looked up in shock, the feel of Beast Boy's warm hand now cupping the side of her face. "I don't know what I should say either Rae… but now... I think I know what I need to do."

Slowly, he started to lean in closer. Inside, Raven was going crazy. 'Is he… is he really… does that mean… what I think it means?'

She started to lean in to, both getting closer and closer. They stopped, just an inch from each other, both looked each other in the eyes.

'Does he really... love me?'

'Does she really... love me?'

And then, Beast Boy closed the gap between their lips as they touched for the first time.

On the inside, Raven felt her happiness explode with joy. She reached out, and felt the love he had for her for the first time, finally separated from his complex emotions by his simple act. She finally knew. He did love her… despite knowing all of her faults, her weaknesses, her pain… he loved her!

Beast Boy felt her kiss him back. And he also exploded with happiness on the inside. His heart, which had felt so heavy before, lightened as he finally came to realize. She loved him… despite knowing all about his faults and his painful past… she truly loved him!

After a couple seconds, they separated as they looked each other in the eyes again. Only this time, there was no sadness... there was no anger... there was no depression. There was only love. Pure, unadulterated love between the two. And now, they were happy, finally realizing that, maybe, that guy had been right after all… they had found their true loves after all.

Both of them leaned in and kissed again, no words having to be said between them anymore as they sealed their love in that cafe, overlooking the bay that glistened in the sunlight.

A couple tables away, three teens who were done with their meals were watching them, matching smiles on their faces. All were thinking the same thing as they watched a relationship being born from the ashes.

'It's about time.'

The guy who had left a minute ago finally seemed to realize something. 'Aw crap! I forgot to leave a tip for the waiter!'

He hustled back towards the cafe after realizing his mistake. But just as he was entering, he looked to the table he had been sitting at. And he smiled at the sight before him.

Beast Boy, and Raven, were side by side again. Only, this time, there was no pain in there eyes.

There was no feelings of self-doubt showing from them.

There was a sense of happiness, of understanding... of love... coming from off the couple.

He smiled to himself at the sight of the couple.

He saw all the other people still avoiding the group of heroes. Not recognizing them for who they really were. They just couldn't see the signs like he could. And he was finally happy, for the first time in three years, as he examined the group of heroes from afar in front of him.

He turned away, walking back out the door again.

'Allen, you should become a matchmaker.'

He smiled to himself at the thought. As he walked into the streets of Jump City, finally finding something he'd been searching for his whole life.

Acceptance.

Author's Notes:

Holy hell! I just kept writing… and writing… and writing… and then I realized. It had been four hours since I started! And that was without doing any editing! Although for once, it only took me less than an hour and a half to edit my original writing. I haven't written for that long for a long while.

Just so you know, that guy who was in there… was me. And that account he gave, only slightly fabricated for this story. I found that first girl about two years after she left, not six or seven. Although I didn't try and stay in contact with her until after the second girl dumped me. So… yeah, I really relate to these two Titans real well. I know what rejection is like, just for being different from other people.

Also, I don't believe I've had a description of me put in my profile, so now I have it right here in the story. That is just about pretty accurate for me.

So I hope you all enjoyed this one. It did hurt, having to pull up parts of my past, but I think it's worth it. You readers out there make doing this worth it. Don't you see? Here is where I don't feel rejected for being… well… me. This has come to help me stay sane throughout my day to day life. I don't know where I'd be if I didn't have guys like you reading and liking the stories I'm writing. I have finally found a place where I do feel accepted.

So again, thank you. I hope you liked it. And I can't wait to see what I'll write for you guys in the future. Hopefully, it'll involve more BBxRae since I'm so sappy for it!

Till Next Time

Allen