Burning
by Heavenly Awkward
Disclaimer: If I owned Teen Titans, you'd know... And you probably wouldn't like it anymore, either.
Chapter 1
Raven's eyes opened. It was still dark. She sighed; Time to get up. She slipped out from under the covers, shivering as her bare feet touched the cold floor. In fact, it was just generally cold. Lately, the tower was unusually chilly in the early morning. This was not good news for Raven, as she got cold easily anyways. She made her bed as quickly as she could, then grabbed her cloak from beside her bed and threw it on. She shivered once, then shook her head and stopped. She then proceeded to pull on her boots. Raven strongly doubted that the other Titans guessed that she did not only wear the cloak as part of her costume. They probably wouldn't care all that much anyways, if they did know. Raven would not have minded that. They wouldn't be likely to guess anytime soon, anyways--not with all the stress the team was under lately. Terra's betrayal and death had really shocked them. All of them. They were, in fact, in the process of mourning for the girl who had only briefly been their friend. Starfire had broken down crying when they got home last night, and refused to stop all night. Raven was fine with leaving them to their sorrow. Being the sole empath on the team, she didn't like seeing her fellow teammates sad, but there wasn't much she could do.
Raven left her room and made her way quietly to the roof. The sun would rise in a few minutes, and she always watched it as it came up over the gold and violet clouds, bringing some light and warmth to the usual early-morning chill and damp. But today, she stood on the roof silently, looking out at the still-dark horizon. A dark horizon. Heh. Her brows knitted for a moment.
Raven opened her mouth, but made no sound. There was a burning feeling in her stomach. She closed her mouth and swept off the roof. The sun had not risen yet.
Once inside, Raven paused, heart fluttering and stomach burning. What to do now? She considered going to get some tea, but decided against it. Instead, she decided to meditate, to try and clear the mess yesterday had left in her mind.
===
"Raven?" A voice broke through Raven's concentration. At first she was annoyed. After all, this was about the longest stretch of time that she had meditated without a break, and she found that she rather liked it. She was about to reply with something withering when she recognised the voice. It was Robin. The two of them usually got along fairly well--they seemed to understand one another as none of the other Titans did, and she preferred to keep things friendly with him. She quickly changed what she was going to say.
"Yes?"
"Everyone's in the kitchen, eating. I made breakfast, so it's not something really weird. Want to come eat with us?"
"What time is it?"
"Around nine-thirty."
Nine-thirty. She had been there for close to five hours. Raven smiled to herself.
"So, do you want to come eat?"
Raven hadn't realized that she hadn't answered him. "No, I'm not hungry."
Robin looked at her with concern, though she didn't see it. She did, however, sense a tinge of worry in his voice as he pushed, "Do you want to just come down anyways? You've been here for a while, maybe you should come and... mingle a bit, you know?" Raven was silent.
Robin sighed, and changed his approach. "Look, I know it isn't your thing, but truth be told, I'm not exactly excited about breakfast with those two without you, not after last night. I need someone who can keep them in check, and you happen to be the only one who can do that."
Raven paused, then uncrossed her legs to a standing position in midair. She dropped easily to the ground and turned. "All right. But don't think flattery will save you every time."
Robin grinned. "Never crossed my mind," he assured her, and they walked in silent companionship to the kitchen.
Robin had not lied when he told Raven that he was dreading breakfast with Cyborg and Beast Boy without her--he was--but he had just not told the whole truth. There was a difference between telling a lie and not telling everything. The real reason why he had wanted her to come down was that he was worried about her. Of all the people whom he expected to have problems with Terra's death, Raven was at the top of his list. Certainly, Beast Boy had been closer to her, but he was more open with his feelings than Raven. When he had problems, he made it painfully obvious, where she snapped shut like a clam. It was not really the best way to handle her feelings, Robin knew that. And she had also been close to Terra. Once Terra submitted to her, they had formed a tight bond. Robin knew how much it hurt when bonds like that were broken.
Raven had set herself up perfectly for a serious emotional, mental, and possibly physical breakdown, and the only way he could see for her to get out of it was for her to open up enough to deal with those problems without trying to hide them.
======
That evening, after the almost-traditional arguement about what to eat, they decided to go out for pizza (sound at all familiar?). Once there, they immediately began argueing about what type of pizza to get.
"Pepperoni!" Cyborg told the waitress who had come to take their order.
"What? No! Vegetarian!" Beast Boy cried at once, and the conversation quickly descended into an utterly predictable arguement between the two. After about seventy-two seconds, a rather grouchy Raven couldn't take it anymore.
"SHUT UP!!" She roared over the two boys' voices. They immediately froze, looking at her with wide eyes. Raven could be loud when she wanted to be. She gave them a look that plainly said, If you dare argue with me, you will be sorry! "Beast Boy, get off of the table, and both of you sit down! If you keep doing that, you'll get us kicked out! We want a large pizza, three-quarters cheese, one-quarter vegetarian, and a small pepperoni," she said to the waitress, who nodded and smiled.
"It's always nice to see a girl with spunk," she said.
"Thank you," Raven replied calmly.
"So I'll have your order coming right up!" The waitress said, and walked off.
When the pizzas came, the hungry titans practically dove into them. Except for one, that is. Raven simply sat back and started reading her book. Robin noticed.
"Hey, what are you reading, Raven?" He asked.
Raven turned the book so he could see the cover. "The Fifth of March."
"Huh," Robin looked at it. "I've never read that. Is it horror?"
Raven shook her head. "Historical fiction."
"Who is it by?"
"Ann Rinaldi. She does a lot of historical fiction."
"Yeah, I've heard of her. What's it about?"
"The Boston Massacre."
"Hey, Raven!" Beast Boy interrupted their literary conversation. "You aren't eating anything!"
"What a clever deduction."
"Why not, Rae?" Cyborg asked, taking an interest.
"Because," Raven said flatly, "I'm not hungry."
"You ordered the pizza," Beast Boy pointed out.
"Only to stop your fighting over it. I don't want any."
"Aww, come on Rae, it won't hurt!" Cyborg coaxed. "Just one peice!"
Raven shook her head. "I told you, I don't want any. I'm not hungry. Leave me alone."
"Once peice?"
"Why do you care, Beast Boy?"
"Cuz you didn't eat breakfast either."
"I just wasn't hungry today. Leave me alone!" They gave her pleading puppy dog eyes. She scowled at them. "If you're really worried, I'll order some tea, okay?" The 'don't you dare argue' look was back, and the two boys decided to heed it. They nodded, and Raven ordered the tea, then sat there sipping it while the conversation turned to other things (the latest video game).
A/N: Wow, first chapter of my first fan fickle! What fun! I've got some lovely pumpkin-chocolate-chip cookies for whoever reviews (you'd be surprised how good those are, but if you don like em, I've got plain chocolate chip and peanut butter too)! And yeah, I know it was a little short and cliched, but I had SERIOUS writer's block. :( I knew where I wanted it to go, I just didn't know how to start it. I have a better idea of the middle/ending, and I'll have time to get over my writers block before I post the second chappie, so it'll get better as I go along! Have fun, and reviews will make it come faster!
by Heavenly Awkward
Disclaimer: If I owned Teen Titans, you'd know... And you probably wouldn't like it anymore, either.
Chapter 1
Raven's eyes opened. It was still dark. She sighed; Time to get up. She slipped out from under the covers, shivering as her bare feet touched the cold floor. In fact, it was just generally cold. Lately, the tower was unusually chilly in the early morning. This was not good news for Raven, as she got cold easily anyways. She made her bed as quickly as she could, then grabbed her cloak from beside her bed and threw it on. She shivered once, then shook her head and stopped. She then proceeded to pull on her boots. Raven strongly doubted that the other Titans guessed that she did not only wear the cloak as part of her costume. They probably wouldn't care all that much anyways, if they did know. Raven would not have minded that. They wouldn't be likely to guess anytime soon, anyways--not with all the stress the team was under lately. Terra's betrayal and death had really shocked them. All of them. They were, in fact, in the process of mourning for the girl who had only briefly been their friend. Starfire had broken down crying when they got home last night, and refused to stop all night. Raven was fine with leaving them to their sorrow. Being the sole empath on the team, she didn't like seeing her fellow teammates sad, but there wasn't much she could do.
Raven left her room and made her way quietly to the roof. The sun would rise in a few minutes, and she always watched it as it came up over the gold and violet clouds, bringing some light and warmth to the usual early-morning chill and damp. But today, she stood on the roof silently, looking out at the still-dark horizon. A dark horizon. Heh. Her brows knitted for a moment.
Raven opened her mouth, but made no sound. There was a burning feeling in her stomach. She closed her mouth and swept off the roof. The sun had not risen yet.
Once inside, Raven paused, heart fluttering and stomach burning. What to do now? She considered going to get some tea, but decided against it. Instead, she decided to meditate, to try and clear the mess yesterday had left in her mind.
===
"Raven?" A voice broke through Raven's concentration. At first she was annoyed. After all, this was about the longest stretch of time that she had meditated without a break, and she found that she rather liked it. She was about to reply with something withering when she recognised the voice. It was Robin. The two of them usually got along fairly well--they seemed to understand one another as none of the other Titans did, and she preferred to keep things friendly with him. She quickly changed what she was going to say.
"Yes?"
"Everyone's in the kitchen, eating. I made breakfast, so it's not something really weird. Want to come eat with us?"
"What time is it?"
"Around nine-thirty."
Nine-thirty. She had been there for close to five hours. Raven smiled to herself.
"So, do you want to come eat?"
Raven hadn't realized that she hadn't answered him. "No, I'm not hungry."
Robin looked at her with concern, though she didn't see it. She did, however, sense a tinge of worry in his voice as he pushed, "Do you want to just come down anyways? You've been here for a while, maybe you should come and... mingle a bit, you know?" Raven was silent.
Robin sighed, and changed his approach. "Look, I know it isn't your thing, but truth be told, I'm not exactly excited about breakfast with those two without you, not after last night. I need someone who can keep them in check, and you happen to be the only one who can do that."
Raven paused, then uncrossed her legs to a standing position in midair. She dropped easily to the ground and turned. "All right. But don't think flattery will save you every time."
Robin grinned. "Never crossed my mind," he assured her, and they walked in silent companionship to the kitchen.
Robin had not lied when he told Raven that he was dreading breakfast with Cyborg and Beast Boy without her--he was--but he had just not told the whole truth. There was a difference between telling a lie and not telling everything. The real reason why he had wanted her to come down was that he was worried about her. Of all the people whom he expected to have problems with Terra's death, Raven was at the top of his list. Certainly, Beast Boy had been closer to her, but he was more open with his feelings than Raven. When he had problems, he made it painfully obvious, where she snapped shut like a clam. It was not really the best way to handle her feelings, Robin knew that. And she had also been close to Terra. Once Terra submitted to her, they had formed a tight bond. Robin knew how much it hurt when bonds like that were broken.
Raven had set herself up perfectly for a serious emotional, mental, and possibly physical breakdown, and the only way he could see for her to get out of it was for her to open up enough to deal with those problems without trying to hide them.
======
That evening, after the almost-traditional arguement about what to eat, they decided to go out for pizza (sound at all familiar?). Once there, they immediately began argueing about what type of pizza to get.
"Pepperoni!" Cyborg told the waitress who had come to take their order.
"What? No! Vegetarian!" Beast Boy cried at once, and the conversation quickly descended into an utterly predictable arguement between the two. After about seventy-two seconds, a rather grouchy Raven couldn't take it anymore.
"SHUT UP!!" She roared over the two boys' voices. They immediately froze, looking at her with wide eyes. Raven could be loud when she wanted to be. She gave them a look that plainly said, If you dare argue with me, you will be sorry! "Beast Boy, get off of the table, and both of you sit down! If you keep doing that, you'll get us kicked out! We want a large pizza, three-quarters cheese, one-quarter vegetarian, and a small pepperoni," she said to the waitress, who nodded and smiled.
"It's always nice to see a girl with spunk," she said.
"Thank you," Raven replied calmly.
"So I'll have your order coming right up!" The waitress said, and walked off.
When the pizzas came, the hungry titans practically dove into them. Except for one, that is. Raven simply sat back and started reading her book. Robin noticed.
"Hey, what are you reading, Raven?" He asked.
Raven turned the book so he could see the cover. "The Fifth of March."
"Huh," Robin looked at it. "I've never read that. Is it horror?"
Raven shook her head. "Historical fiction."
"Who is it by?"
"Ann Rinaldi. She does a lot of historical fiction."
"Yeah, I've heard of her. What's it about?"
"The Boston Massacre."
"Hey, Raven!" Beast Boy interrupted their literary conversation. "You aren't eating anything!"
"What a clever deduction."
"Why not, Rae?" Cyborg asked, taking an interest.
"Because," Raven said flatly, "I'm not hungry."
"You ordered the pizza," Beast Boy pointed out.
"Only to stop your fighting over it. I don't want any."
"Aww, come on Rae, it won't hurt!" Cyborg coaxed. "Just one peice!"
Raven shook her head. "I told you, I don't want any. I'm not hungry. Leave me alone."
"Once peice?"
"Why do you care, Beast Boy?"
"Cuz you didn't eat breakfast either."
"I just wasn't hungry today. Leave me alone!" They gave her pleading puppy dog eyes. She scowled at them. "If you're really worried, I'll order some tea, okay?" The 'don't you dare argue' look was back, and the two boys decided to heed it. They nodded, and Raven ordered the tea, then sat there sipping it while the conversation turned to other things (the latest video game).
A/N: Wow, first chapter of my first fan fickle! What fun! I've got some lovely pumpkin-chocolate-chip cookies for whoever reviews (you'd be surprised how good those are, but if you don like em, I've got plain chocolate chip and peanut butter too)! And yeah, I know it was a little short and cliched, but I had SERIOUS writer's block. :( I knew where I wanted it to go, I just didn't know how to start it. I have a better idea of the middle/ending, and I'll have time to get over my writers block before I post the second chappie, so it'll get better as I go along! Have fun, and reviews will make it come faster!