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Raven had gone through a recent change that none of her dear friends had known about. It was quite the ordeal for her, as she could not understand how she could feel the way she did in the first place. Yes, it was finally time for Raven to feel a romantic longing. Like a suffocating yet sweet embrace, it had consumed her every thought day in and day out. Ever since the incident, she could no longer be the same around him. Why her heart chose whom it chose, Raven would never know. It seemed almost cruel at times to her, when she would see that green complexion and pointy ears. Granted, she had always taken a fondness for him. She truly did think he was funny at times while they knew each other. But Heaven forbid if he ever knew that!Raven sighed heavily. She was on another mission alone with him once more. In the later years after defeating the Brotherhood of Evil, the Titans would often split up on different missions. The group had been tracking down what was causing strife in cities far away from their own, and while on a mission together, they got an important yet terrifying lead.Trigon. Raven’s eyes dimmed at the name. How dare his name be uttered almost 3 years after they had defeated her evil father? As the team did some digging, they eventually stumbled upon a wealth of knowledge leading to the possible cause of different violent cases within the neighboring cities. It had turned out that although Raven’s father was gone, there were people who followed him, even worshipped him. Raven knew that her father’s followers were still out there. But, hearing her father’s name mentioned in any context always sent shivers down her spine. The lead that Robin and the team stumbled upon pointed to the violence originating from a strange looking group in a remote place west of them. The group seemed to be that of a particularly small cult of Trigon. As the other Titans could not abandon their current mission, Raven volunteered to go off on her own and inquire about the cult with the local townspeople.“I’ll go.” She said to Robin with a knowing look. “I’ll see what this is about.”“Sounds like a good idea.” Robin replied. “See if you can get any more information out of anyone you come across. We can’t just retreat here, so I appreciate you doing this for us.” As Raven was preparing to leave, Beast boy interjected and asked to go with her. Raven was against this, of course. She could barely look him in the eyes anymore, let alone maintain control of her powers during battles. It was easy to ignore him when the team was with her, but now? She’d be all alone with him for a few days somewhere she knew would have faulty communication signals. Yet, even after all that trepidation in her heart, she still felt…Excited at the possibility of being alone with him.“Beast boy should go with you.” Robin said bluntly. Raven couldn’t believe it. “I don’t want anything bad happening to you, and with Beast boy’s excellent tracking skills, you could find out whoever’s doing this and put a stop to it!” Beast boy’s eyes lit up with confidence and he pushed out his chest.“Excellent tracking skills, you say?” He said, making a pose. Raven rolled her eyes.“Fine. You can come with.” She answered back dryly. “Just…don’t let your guard down. We’re dealing with my father here. It’s not a simple thing.”“Aye, aye miss Raven!” Beast boy said, saluting to her. Raven again rolled her eyes and pulled her hood over her head to cover the slight blush she had developing on her cheeks.-----------------------------------------------And there they were. Talking with the townsfolk and trying to find a new lead. The town was small and far off, at the very edge of a deep and unruly forest area. Raven didn’t feel too well, knowing that she’d ultimately have to face some facet of Trigon once more. She’d dreaded it, but what she dreaded even more was this haunting fear that something bad might happen to her heart’s object of affection.As they stayed in the town a few days, they roomed at a local woman’s house. This older woman was nice and widowed, but always welcomed any newcomers by. After all, in such a small town it wasn’t often a new face would show up. Raven and Beast boy had taken many notes on the stories they were told. Most of the townspeople had no idea such violence was being committed. A lot of stories were told, but nothing that made sense.Finally, after a few days of gathering evidence, a breakthrough came. A decrepit old man the town had always deemed a hermit and a shut-in provided his information. He told the two stories of the forest acting strange at nights, and that no one in the town believed him all those years. He knew something was going on and that whatever caused it was deeper inside the wilderness than he’d dared to venture.“There’s an old river I like to pan for gold in.” The geezer began. “It’s about a day’s walk in. One time, when I was camping at night, I saw some crazy flashes of light towards the north end of the forest. I could smell sulfur and I was petrified!” Raven cocked an eyebrow. “Ain’t nothing but evil past that neck of the woods! I won’t go near it!”As crazy as his story was, Raven and Beast boy took it to heart, and were ready to make a move.The trek didn’t take too long, for they were superheroes after all. What normally took half a day to venture into the edge of the known parts of the forest only took a few minutes with the power of flight. After a certain point, the wilderness had taken over any roads that used to exist, and it was all uncharted. On Beast boy’s back was a backpack with a few supplies inside of it. Some healthy fruits the widow had given them, a blanket, a lantern, a map, and some small amount of medical supplies. They brought it with them, even though they didn’t plan on being too long gone. “Ugh…” Raven groaned, holding her pulsing head. Beast boy morphed back to normal as they landed on the earthy ground. They had been flying for a while now, past the river but not too far in. The trees were tall and packed in and no signal was around for miles.“What’s wrong, Rae?” He asked her, shifting the backpack’s weight.“I-I don’t know.” She replied. “My head feels foggy the further north we go. It’s almost as if…I can’t really sense anything after a certain point.” Beast boy was confused at this. He looked on the bright side, and smiled.“Well, that’s why I’m here!” He said, pointing a thumb to his chest. “I’ll just sniff these people out! …In fact, I think I can smell some strange unfamiliar scents just a tiny bit further!” He morphed into a bloodhound, and put his nose to the earth. Sniffing around, he caught whiff of a strange tinny smell. Raven followed him, feeling even more head pressure as they ventured in deeper. As they walked for a little ways, the clouds above them began to darken and a fierce wind picked up.Suddenly, an ambush. A dark figure side-swiped Beast boy off his feet, and Raven had only a few seconds to react. She pulled whatever was in the bushes out with her magic, to see a hooded man with dark yellow iridescent eyes. He was haggard and thin to the bone, concealing himself in a dark hood and long robe like linens.“So, are you behind all these attacks farther East?” Raven asked, holding him in place with her powers. The man took notice of the jewel on her forehead.“Ahh, young dark enchantress.” He replied hoarsely. “Your father was meant to rule this world. Why would you deny your birthright as the princess of Trigon?”Raven slammed his body against a nearby tree as rain started to pour. The figure fell down and Beast boy morphed into a mountain lion, standing close by ready to pounce.“I killed my father.” Raven replied, her eyes flashing white. “You should abandon your foolish worship of him.” The figure stood, and took out a dagger. Raven and Beast boy tensed, but Raven suddenly felt a strong wave of energy hit her.It was nauseating, she felt as if she would vomit. Raven fell to her knees as the throbbing in her head became worse and worse. Beast boy charged at the cloaked man, swiping a paw at him trying to disarm him. The figure flipped backwards and slashed at Beast boy’s arm, cutting some flesh open but not too deep. As Raven tried to stand, she was weakened once more.“You…” She groaned. “What have you done to me? Where are the other members of your clan?” The strange cult member smirked.“We’re moving bases.” He simply said. “We are spreading the word of our Overlord to all nations! We may have been small, but we are growing!” Beast boy Head-butted the man as a giant bison. As the Cult member flew back, he regained his ground and swiped more with his dagger. Beast boy dodged, changing into separate animals to evade his attack. Just as Beast boy was getting the upper hand, the man threw a strange purple pigmented powder into his eyes, blinding him. The hooded man ducked and was about to stab Beast boy, but Raven used her powers to send the man flying. He flew through a tree, knocking it to the ground and he fell into a puddle of mud.Raven staggered to her feet, and began walking towards the cult member. The thunder boomed and the rain was starting to pour ever faster. The wind was fierce by now, causing many howling noises through the deep forested woods. It was then that Raven saw it, a particular necklace around the man’s neck.“This amulet I wear protects me from even the blackest of magic.” The man explained, spitting out some blood from his mouth. “All of our members own relics like this.” Raven felt her power being drained from her. Her magic was not working, no matter how much she tried, she couldn’t fly or lift objects with her mind. She backed up, only to be gut punched by the gloomy figure. As the wind got knocked out of her, she stumbled back against a tree. Beast boy could hear the commotion, but had not regained his sight yet.“Raven!” Beast boy yelled, coughing and rubbing his eyes furiously. The Cult member walked over towards Raven once again, holding out his dagger.“Any enemy of Trigon’s shall be eliminated.” He said in a blood thirsty voice. “Even his precious Daughter!” His eyes glowed then with ferocity, and he picked Raven up by the neck. He violently threw her to the Earth, knocking her head hard against a nearby rock that split open her forehead slightly.Raven’s head had been concussed, and she was seeing double vision. The rain had soaked her right through, and she could barely see out of her eyes as the dark figure walked over to her once again.“This is only the beginning…” The man chuckled. Raven was losing consciousness as her powers were drained from her in that moment. As her eyes started to shut, she saw a flash of green fur and heard a loud thumping noise. Sleep was taking a hold of her now, but she could hear fierce fighting and growls. As she bled from her forehead, the rain washing over her, all she could hear was the rolling thunder in the distance. Her vision blurred, and soon, blackness enveloped her.Movement….Wind, Rain, Thunder and Lightning. Grunting could be heard, and she could feel rain pelting her from above. Raven could smell wet fur beneath her, and see trees in the distance flashing by at blurring speeds. Sleep once again took her under.“..ven..” A voice called. “R-…..ven!...Ra-…! Raven!” The louder it got, the clearer the voice became. Beast boy? Her eyes began to open, and her vision blurry at first caught sight of the changeling. Finally, Raven snapped to attention. Beast boy held her in his arms and was looking down at her. He was bruised a bit, but otherwise unscathed. His arm was cut open from earlier, but it wasn’t that serious. Beast boy was absolutely drenched and his clothes sucked up to his skin.“Raven!” He said, looking worried down at her. “Are you okay?” Raven sat up and realized they were in a small cave on the face of a mountain. She held her head, and saw some trace amounts of blood on her fingers. Raven looked to her right and saw the rain hitting the forest floor at nearly a horizontal angle with the wind. Lightning flashed, and thunder roared. Raven groaned and looked over at Beast boy.“What happened?” She asked. Beast boy sighed in relief.“That guy attacked you.” Beast boy said. “I was able to get a few good hits in, but…He just disappeared in a cloud of purple smoke. He said something like, ‘We’ll find each other again someday’ and then he was gone. I ended up picking you up and running for a while ‘til I found this cave. I mean, without being able to fly, I couldn’t quite get us back to the town.”Raven watched as Beast boy pulled the back pack off of his shoulder and opened up the small medical kit they were provided with.“A-ah, it’s okay.” Raven motioned for him to stop. “I’ll just heal our injuries and…” She blinked in surprise to find out her powers had not returned yet.“That guy said he had a necklace or something that took away your powers.” Beast boy remarked. “I think they’ll come back soon, but…maybe not for a while.” Indeed, Raven could feel her strength starting to rise up inside, but it was a very slow process. She sighed, and shivered as a gust of wind hit her.“Let’s move in a little further.” Beast boy suggested, seeing that she was cold. They inched their way back a little deeper into the cave and were finally sheltered from most of the chilling rain. It was dark, and night had fallen some time ago. With Raven out of commission and a horrible storm raging, the two were trapped in the cave with no communication to the outside world.Raven was at a loss for words and was feeling all too fearful of the cult’s involvement with her father. She knew he was gone, but had he really gone away for good? Raven stared outside as Beast boy continued fumbling with the medical kit. He found some gauze and some bandages. Raven turned her attention towards Beast boy, and blushed instantly when his gentle touch caressed her injury.“Here. This’ll fix ya riiiiiiiight up!” He said with a faint smile. Raven’s face turned pink as he wiped away excess blood with some gauze.“I-I can do it myself.” She said, grabbing the gauze from him. Beast boy let her finish tending her wounds as she bandaged herself up. Once Raven was done, she took a deep sigh in and out. There was a small pause between the two of them.Boom! A loud thunderclap from the heavens echoed throughout the cave. Raven jumped slightly, and held her body tightly. She was absolutely freezing and completely drenched. Beast boy seemed to notice this and stood up.“Raven, i-if you’re cold, you should umm…” He said slightly blushing. “You should probably get those clothes off of you.”……“I-I MEAN NOT LIKE IN THAT WAY BUT!” Beast boy gulped hard. Raven was mortified. There was no way she would do such a thing.“Beast boy!” She said angrily, blushing a deep red. He averted his eyes and turned around.“I-It’s not good to stay in wet clothes!” He said stammering. “And you’re shivering! L-look, I’ll even turn away and I-I won’t look, I promise!” Raven’s heart beat hard within her ribcage. She scoffed at him and turned her head the other way, holding her body tighter.“There’s absolutely no way…” She mumbled. Just then, another cold shiver went down her spine. Beast boy turned back around and opened the backpack again. He pulled out the single thick brown blanket and handed it to her.“You can wrap up in this wh-when you’re done.” He said, once again turning around. Raven was at a loss for words. For some reason, she could feel his sincerity in the sound of his voice. He seemed to care for her in that moment and it made her feel a little bit less afraid. She blushed madly, and paused for a moment.“Well…If I take the blanket,” she started. “…What will you do to keep warm?” Beast boy rubbed the back of his head.“I can just change into an animal with lots of fur, Rae!” He said, morphing into a bear. He morphed back. “No biggie! I’ll keep warm, don’t worry!” Raven’s eyes softened. This man. Why did her heart ever pick him? Maybe it was how selfless he was…or how tender he could be at times…In a moment like this, Raven could feel something deep within her say that she didn’t regret choosing him. Raven gulped, and stood up slowly.“You better not look.” She said, clenching her fist. “Or Azar help me…” Beast boy morphed into a gopher and dug into the dirt near the entrance of the cave. He definitely wasn’t going to invade her privacy, right?With trembling hands, Raven unsnapped her cloak off and gently slid off her leotard. She paused for a moment, realizing she was all alone with Beast boy in nothing but her underwear and bra. Raven shook her head and tried to focus. She wringed the clothes out, and set them aside. After what felt like hours, she wrapped the big blanket around herself and laid down on the ground of the cave.“I-I’m covered.” She said, blushing into the blanket. Beast boy dug back out and morphed back to normal. When he turned to face her, he breathed a sigh of relief to see a big ball of blanket and hardly any Raven. He walked further back into the cave closer to her, and sat down off to the side.“Warm now?” He asked with a slight smile. Raven glared at him, which made Beast boy chuckle and scratch the back of his head. Again, it was quiet for a small period of time. Beast boy looked out the entrance of the cave and watched the rain for several minutes as Raven began to conjure up heat within the blanket.“We should sleep.” She said, tucking the blanket in closer. Beast boy looked back at her.“R-right.” He agreed. “I’ll be right here if you need anything.” He morphed into a bear once more, and turned the other way, shaking off droplets of rain water. Raven felt a small bit of remorse. He was still soaking wet, and she knew he couldn’t be getting any warmer. She turned the other way, wrapping the blanket over her head to trap in heat. The truth was she was exhausted from that day, and desperately needed rest.“Goodnight, Rae.” She heard from outside of the blanket. Raven didn’t reply, but she blushed faintly and closed her eyes. The warmth was getting to her, and she became quite drowsy. The storm raged on and after a while, it was like sweet white noise lulling her to sleep.As she began to lose consciousness, Raven jumped awake when she heard a loud thud outside of her blanket. She peeked out of her blanket, and turned around to face Beast boy. He had fallen asleep, but had morphed back into a human and was drowsily waking up again. Raven watched as he sat up again and morphed into a wolf. He laid there, his back facing her for the longest time. Raven’s eyes began to grow heavy, and just as sleep was about to claim her, THUD. Her eyes popped open and saw Beast boy again in human form, sleeping on the cave floor. She watched him for a moment out of curiosity, and saw that he was shivering cold.“Beast boy?” She called to him softly. His shivering woke him, and he groggily sat back up again.“Huh?” He asked sleepily. “Oh, N-nothing…I’m okay…” He grunted and changed into a penguin. The penguin wobbled for a short second, until once again, he morphed back into a human with a loud thud. Raven couldn’t bear this. He was freezing cold, soaking wet, and couldn’t retain animal form once he had fallen asleep. After all he had done for her that day, protecting her, saving her, giving her the blanket, Raven was feeling like a lousy friend. He seemed exhausted, for this time as he slept on the floor, even though he was shivering, he did not wake. He laid on his back, breathing deeply and shivering slightly.Raven looked down at her body within the blanket. She blushed and shook her head. There was no way she was going to let him see her. She lay there, watching him shiver and toss and turn. The more he moved, the more it felt like someone was tearing at her heart. She felt bad for him. She honestly did. Finally after quite some time of this torture, she bit her lower lip.“Raven…” She thought to herself. “What are you doing? What are you doing, RAVEN!?” She was already crawling over to him and wrapping the blanket around him. Her face was the deepest shade of red, and her hands trembled. His back was facing her, and she ever so slowly wrapped one arm around him. Her heart felt like it was going to burst through her chest by how fast it was beating. He was so cold! His wet clothes clung to him tightly, and dampened her bare skin. Still, she moved closer and hugged him from behind, pressing her breasts up against his back and tucking her legs behind his knees. She buried her head into his back, hoping and praying he would not wake.After about an hour, Beast boy had still not awakened. Raven had just laid there trembling without moving an inch. She feared if she moved, he would wake. After that first hour, she knew she was in the clear to some effect, and breathed a sigh of relief. The warmth started to accumulate between their bodies and the thick blanket held it all in. Raven once more started to become drowsy. The rain was starting to wane, but poured on. After a certain point, and Raven didn’t know when, she had been grasped by slumber and had drifted off to sleep in the warmth of that blanket. A soft warmth fluttered by Raven’s nose and tickled it. Raven’s eyes squinted before they opened. Something had taken her out of a deep sleep, and her vision was still blurry. She could hear the rain pouring softer than earlier and the wind blowing a bit slower in the background. Where was she? Oh yeah, the cave, right. As her senses came to, her vision became clear and she was met face to face with a sleeping boy.Raven’s eyes opened wide as she realized the situation she was in. Beast boy had turned around to face her at some point, and was now mere inches from her face! Raven’s cheeks burned hotly as she gulped and felt his breath floating across her skin. Thump. Thump. Thump. The beating of his heart could be heard and felt through her chest. He had snuggled up to her closer than even before, and had wrapped one of his arms around her, holding her tightly. His clothes were less damp now, and the warmth emitted from him was like a furnace. Raven didn’t dare even blink. She felt she couldn’t let out a breath, lest he’d wake from his slumber.“B…Beastboy…” She thought to herself, taking in his handsome features. This was a Beast boy she had never quite seen before…The serene expression on his face only made her fall harder in love with him. His mouth was slightly open, and little soft snores were coming out. Each time he’d breathe in and out, his chest would move and press against hers. His heartbeat rang in her ears and the musculature of his biceps that curled around her were now engrained into her memory. Raven wanted to squirm. She wanted to move away, but she was stuck. His peaceful face clearly shown through, even though they were in a damp, dark cave.“Oh, please don’t wake up!” She begged him inside of her head. Raven moved slightly and tried to pull back. As she shifted her weight, Beast boy’s ears twitched and he groaned.“MMmmnnn…” He mumbled, freezing Raven in her tracks. He suddenly yet softly pulled her into his chest so his head rested atop of hers. Her head laid against his chiseled chest, and she could hear his heartbeat even more pronounced. He nuzzled his head against her. His arms held her in tighter than before, trapping in even more heat. He…felt good. Raven was beside herself. She never wanted the moment to end, and yet she could swear she would most certainly die if he woke up to see their predicament. Raven exhaled her held in breath and looked up at him hesitantly.Beast boy was sleeping like a rock. He was so exhausted, and Raven did admit the heat they were sharing was enough to make anyone drowsy. Raven knew a moment like this would not happen again anytime soon, so she chose to take it in slowly. She focused her attention on his lips…They were slightly apart and almost seemed to beckon her to them.“N…No!” She said to herself, pulling back and resting her head back on his chest. “I-I can’t be thinking that! H-how could I be thinking that?!” Indeed, these feelings were still too new for her and she didn’t know whether or not they were a good thing. Was a creature like her ever supposed to feel this way? Somehow she doubted it, but nevertheless, she couldn’t escape the yearning she felt in that moment.After some time, Raven again became drowsy. She could hear him purring at the back of his throat, which calmed her further. His breaths were like a lullaby to her, and the warmth was taking her under. Finally, Raven sighed and once more, began to sleep. Morning light hit Raven’s face. The warmth of the rising sun roused her, and caused her to sit up. As she took in the beautiful sunrise, it was as if she had forgotten where she was. Suddenly, it all came back to her. Raven looked over to her side in horror, but was relieved to see Beast boy quietly sleeping. He was lying on his back, and it looked as if Raven had slept on his chest all night…Raven blushed and covered her eyes thinking about the possibility of that. She got up as quietly as she could, and put her clothes back on. It was a good thing she did so, because not a moment after she snapped her hood back on had Beast boy roused from his sleep.“Unh…” He moaned, sitting up and yawning. The noise startled Raven, and she turned to face him. Oh Azar, even his groggy face was adorable to her. When Beast boy finally came to, he realized he was draped in the blanket.“Wait, I thought you had the blanket?” Beast boy asked, genuinely confused. Raven turned around and blushed wildly. “Did you trade it to me?” Raven remained quiet. Beast boy’s ears drooped.“I’m sorry Raven.” He said. “I-I didn’t mean to steal your blanket!” Oh how naïve he was.“I-it’s no problem.” She said quietly. “You needed it more than me anyways.” Beast boy scratched the back of his head.“I, uh…” Beast boy began to say, before Raven interrupted him.“I can feel my powers coming back full force.” Raven interjected. “We should head back to town and contact the others.” Beast boy stood up and folded the blanket, putting it away in the backpack.“Yeah.” He agreed. “Don’t worry Rae. This trail may have gone cold, but we’ll get down to the bottom of it!” Raven wasn’t even concerned about her father or the assailant they had just faced. She still couldn’t believe what had transpired in the night that he thankfully will never know about. Her heart was swooning, and she was more troubled than ever. Was she…really meant to feel this way? Raven was in a torrent of emotion. The sooner they got home, the better.After packing up and eating a little bit of the fruit, Beast boy and Raven took to the sky, having regained her powers. They arrived back to the town and called Robin on their communicators.“I see.” Robin answered. “So they’re only going to spread more hatred and violence if we don’t find them and put an end to it.” Raven didn’t reply, her mind elsewhere as she stared at Beast boy at her side.“Don’t worry, Raven.” Robin said sternly, bringing Raven’s attention back. “We’ve faced Trigon before, and we’ll be able to put a stop to whatever these nutjobs are up to!”“Yeah!” Beast boy agreed. “I’ll make sure they never take Raven away again!” Raven smiled.“Alright. We’ll be back home soon.” Raven said, before closing her communicator. The pair said goodbye to the widow they had roomed with and all of the townspeople. As they got nearer to home, Raven couldn’t help but feel fear deep in her heart. She could face her father, for she had done it before. But these feelings inside? How was she ever going to deal with them? Especially after being so close to him. THE END-Shock777 2/23/19