cRaZyMan676 Reportin' 4 duty!!

You know what, let's try to not open up with randomness, shall we? Just so you know, this is probably gonna be a one-shot. And it's gonna be serious all the way through, so deal with it. I've got to, so you do too. Be lucky I didn't post this on Christmas as was planned.

Disclaimer& Note:I know not all of this is gonna be 100 percent right, but then again, that's why I don't own the Teen Titans.

WARNING: Possiblle over-abuse of the concept of 'love'. It's out there, you know. And it's real.

Note: Yes, I came up with the poem myself.

A Piece of Love: Tea and Confession

'Twas a few nights after Christmas, and all through the Tower

Not a creature was stirring, no, not at this hour.

'Cept maybe the Titans, not the five, but the two,

Who found sleep so elusive, and knew not what to do.

One tossed and turned, one knocked himself out,

'Til the both resigned to getting up and about.

"Surely," Both thought, "No one else is awake,

To suffer like this, to a lonesome fate."

This notion held meaning in more than one way,

Though both opted not to think of those fateful days.

One's heart broke once, one's heart broke thrice,

Both loved and lost, with pain as the price.

Still one's heart was healed, while the other's stayed broken,

Left a loveless jester, but no tears of him were spoken.

Life, laughs, and jokes, the masks were in place,

Never to reveal his true tortured face.

It had happened before, for both, it is true,

Loved ones lost or left, leaving them not a clue,

Why did it happen to them? Why not someone else?

Someone else to lose family, but love them no less?

They'd both found love again, in one form or the other,

And one day been betrayed, one after another.

One by family, both by their lover's,

Eternally in pain, to be borne by no mother.

Yet both still lived on, and still sought to gain

The eternal love of another, not taken in vain,

But returned almost tenfold, whatever it gleans.

They are both so alike, yet so different in their means,

Of showing their love, for each other, no less,

Unrealized by them, but known to the rest.

How their love was so alike, and yet also so different,

Apparent to all else, but to them incoherent.

In the Common Room they met, peace and sleep on the mind.

Something much better for both did they find.

\/_\/

Raven sighed quietly as the doors hissed open. Something seemed to be bothering the empath as she stumbled into the kitchen, too tired to think about levitating.

"The early bird catches the worm my butt," She growled. "I bet the freakin' bird doesn't have to worry about freakin' voices in it's tiny little head, nooo... And I'm willlin' to bet the worm doesn't have to, either..."

She glared tiredly as she reached up, too short to grab her tea leaves which rested on a ridiculously high shelf in the cupboard.

"I bet they don't have to worry about height, either..." Apparently too tired or stressed to comprehend that she could simply get the leaves with her powers, she futilely stared on at them, just out of reach.

Yes, Raven had been hearing voices in her head for the past two or so hours. Yes, she was pretty sure some of them had to do with her emotions, riled up for whatever reason over the coming holiday. And yes, she knew the other reason she just couldn't sleep.

At least, she believed she knew the reason.

She had prepared for this time of the year vigilantly, not letting any chance to prevent the coming storm slip through her fingers. Yet still, she was bombarded by her friend/family's highly emotional dreams as was per usual during the holiday seasons.

Robin and Starfire -- or Richard and Kori, as they were now known around the Tower -- almost seemed to share a psychic link with each other what with how utterly in sync their dreams and emotions were. We're talking big time, as in it was so bad, Raven could sometimes hardly tell the difference between the two anymore on the emotional level.

So much love and happiness(and somehow restraint, too), she was almost confident that she could probably strangle Beast Boy with it if it was tangible.

Leave it to say, it was also the same with their dreams over half the times that Raven got a look in. Sometimes they were both dreaming shyly(strange, really!), like they were still pretending like they were just friends. Other times, they were both feeling particularly X-rated...

It wasn't intentional, her dream-spying. It was just that, what with her ability to sense emotion and tap into the feeling(it comes with being half-demon, half-human, you know), and how little control she really had over her unconcious state of mind, it just... happened.

Not every night, mind you. That would simply be unbearable. Every other night, she either dreamed her own dreams or not at all.

Cyborg, now known as Victor around the Tower, had some pretty strange dreams, to say the least. Every other dream Raven had tapped into so far had either centered around him being completely human again, not ever having even known of the Teen Titans and living life like any other human OR him being completly turned into, well, a robot, no trace of his human side left.

She had later learned that he, Victor, considered these dreams nightmares every time he woke up from them. His dreams, his honest-to-the-point-of-violence fantasies, they usually revolved him finding complete and total peace. Peace with the fact that, although he would never be all-human again, as long as he had his family, the Titans, he would also never be all-machine, either, and no longer felt the need to be all-human again. Sometimes he even got married to one of the two girls he liked/loved(not from Titans West, mind you, think old friends from H.I.V.E. academy...) and had children.

However, his other fantasies... Well, they wouldn't be suitable for the eyes of children, that's for sure.

A strange scent graced Raven's nose, strange not because of what it was, but her unfamiliarity with it at the current place and time. She certainly didn't remember having gotten started on making her tea... Matter of fact, she was still giving the shelf that prevented her access to the tea leaves her most potent Death Glare(tm).

Glancing around, she finally noticed Beast Boy sitting at the table/counter, sipping an apparently hot liquid from his favorite mug. An apparently hot liquid that suspiciously smelled like--

"Beast Boy..." He looked up, calm as could be with a cup of searing hot tea in front of his mouth. "Who gave you permission to drink my tea? Matter of fact, who gave you permission to make it, and drink it with me not even five feet away?" She hissed groggily. She was still a little sleepy, if the statement not having it's desired affect was any sign.

The changeling, casually known as Gar to, well, anyone, slowly lowered the cup. Then he stared intently at Raven.

"Finally joined the conversation, have you?" Needless to say, the question confused Raven.

"You gave me permission to make it, and you gave me permission to drink it, too. Well, if you call blankly nodding every time I asked while you glared off into a cupboard for five minutes confirmation. Which I do. What was so annoying up there, anyway? I was sitting here talking the whole time and you didn't notice, so it must be quite interesting..."

He was now right next to her, crouching down slightly to mimic her former pose, scanning the metal diligently for anything that could possibly annoying. Raven glared, sensing his playfulness in the situation. Before she could say anything, though, green lasers locked on purple and her breath caught in her throat.

She hadn't actually realized how close they were. Nevermind when one of them landed accidentally on the other in battle, never had they actually been this close to each other without either of them feeling particularly emotional. Also taken into account was the fact that the last time they'd been anywhere near this close, he'd been almost shorter than her.

Now he almost seemed to make a concious struggle not to tower over her. He had grown

much over the last two years, as had the rest of the team besides Robin and Raven, who had both only grown maybe six inches at least, eight inches at most in height. Nondescripedly, all had grown in other ways as well.*

This was now, however. Raven was completely locked in place, staring again. Every other time that she'd caught any whiff of the animorph's scent, he had definitely smelled... different. Different from anyone else, different from what any human or animal should smell from his scent right now.

He didn't stink, but once this close, one would definitely decide to take notice of it, want to analyze it, him, more carfully than they had before. The fact she just now noticed that he wore no shirt probably had something to do with it.

The faint outlines of muscles added to this display; not quite ugly and bulging but, you know, not quite non-existent, either.

Not for the first time, Raven noted his eyes. They were slitted at the pupil, almost like a cat's eyes, like any predator's eyes, really. The comparison of Beast Boy to a predator strangely appealed to her.

The she noticed that he was waving one gloved hand in front of her face. Irritation and amusement mixed strangely with another emotion into his features as she came out of her dream-like trance again.

"Hello? Gar to Rae-Rae? Anybody home? Look, I know you're tired, and I know I'm hot, but that doesn't exactly give you permission to ogle at me and drool!" He chuckled. That snapped her out of it.

"Hey," She began, but stopped. No, the reason wasn't because she actually did find a strand of drool at the corner of her mouth, but that was what she would've said as an excuse, no matter how embarassed.

She recognized that other emotion now. What she couldn't understand was why he had been looking at her like that. Worry was not something one recognized all that much on the face of Garfield Logan.

"I know, I know, 'It's Raven'," He sighed, rolling his eyes as he poured her a cup of her tea; him having known that she'd ask for or take one in the next few minutes. "It's just so fun to see you look so annoyed! You're cute like that, you know. Kind of."

The empath was shocked. She hadn't even been about to remind him about her name being 'Raven' and not 'Rae-Rae'. In her haste to respond, she had forgotten. How could this be?

"Well, no. I think... Maybe you look more pretty when you're mad? I don't know... You look pretty beautiful and everything no matter what you do, really." He was looking down as he came back to her.

The bird was still shocked. The first 'cute' comment had been inside the borders of the new game they'd(kind of) played with each other for the last year or so. One would comment on the other's appearance for no obvious reason when they were in the Tower or on a mission alone together, and the other would try to top their compliment with something that was, at the moment, true about them as well. Believe it or not, this had happened more often than one would think and not once had they not played it in each others presence once alone.

This, however, was obviously different. Gar had started it this time, and he didn't seem to be stopping... Which was kind of good, considering that the best Rae could've thought of as a comeback at the moment was "Well, you're... uhhh... not... wearing... a shirt... and... kind of... uhh... cute... yourself..." He gripped the mug he'd just filled hard, like he was struggling to get the words out.

Gar stared at her, drawing closer with every word. "You... You've always been there for me, even when you didn't know it. Keeping me sane, keeping me under control... Even when..." He didn't speak the name, and so didn't break the spell he had her under. "When... she was here... You... You were still the one, Rae. Raven."

She still stood, mesmerized by his eyes and the pure feeling behind the words he spoke, sensing that they were true. And as she lowered her eyes, taking the cup from his shaking hand, she spoke, too.

"I... I guess you've been there for me too, Garfield... But you're wrong. You've kept me from losing control so many times, distracting me from... Well, from whatI'm supposed to be. I'm supposed to be Raven, the half-demon girl of the Teen Titans with problems with her emotions and a half-demon father... But you... You make me feel like... Like this is normal, like I don't have to worry about what I am..." Tears made tracks down her pale face. She cursed herself as dishes shattered in the sink. Why were they doing this? Why were they... admitting these things so freely? And why was she crying?

He placed a hand on her shoulder and tilted her face up towards him, wiping her tears away. "What you are? Raven, you're a superhero. You save lives, despite who your father is. For us, the can't be anything but normal. You don't have to worry. Let me, us, your family, worry for you. There's a difference between what you're supposed to be and what you are, Rae. What you're supposed to be is something you aren't, something made of standards people set for you to make themselves feel better than you. I should know. What you are, though... What you are is what you make yourself through what you do. And what do you do, Raven?"

She raised an eyebrow, confused at his question. Neither knew or minded how close they were now. Niether knew what they were even doing anymore. They just were.

"You save lives, Raven." He answered in slight exasperation. "You've saved the human race how many times? More than I can count. Sure, you almost ended the world that one time..." She couldn't help it. She cringed. She'd known it would happen, this subject would be brought up. And all the hopes born in the last few minutes would shatter when he decided that the joke had gone far enough. His eyes still showed that he was serious, though, if a little alarmed suddenly.

"But... Remember, you brought it right back from the edge of destruction. You defeated your father, who was supposed to be the source of all your powers. You're a hero, Rae! If you truly were who you were supposed to be, that wouldn't be possible. Trigon's defeat would not have been possible. Everyone would be dead now, whether you wanted to save them or not.

Besides, if we were all who we were supposed to be... Well, look at those stupid comics about us that were made in, like, the seventies. If we were all who we were supposed to be, I'd kill myself. I mean, really, how many times can a guy fall in love between two girls and still be alive? Then get married and have kids? Before twenty?! I've got to say, really? I'd take on facing Trigon and evil-me in an almost dead world any day next to that." He laughed, and she smiled softly. Somehow, he'd made a decent enough joke out of the direction the conversation was heading for that to be possible. Not something that happened too often. He didn't see it though as he wrapped his arms around her.

"You are who you make yourself out to be, Rae," He continued, still grinning. "And I'm just the fool who loves you."

She froze immediately and his eyes widened. Both thought the same thing, but in different context.

'Did he just say that?'

'Holy crap I'm DEAD!'

Okay, fine, not the exact same thing, but you get the idea!

Both teens froze for what seemed to be an eternity. It turned out to be two seconds, but hey, who's counting? Raven decided to take the initiative in the conversation for once.

"Gar... Did you just say... What I think you said?" Her words were stilted, but that was because she was thinking far too fast for her mouth to be moving.

"Uhhmm... What do you think I said?" He decided not to kid around too much as he listed his pre-prepared Last Will in his head; hey, he knew this day was coming, why not be prepared?

"I think... you said... that you're a fool... who loves me?" Now she was thinking mega-slow, taking her time to consider the possibilities; if he hadn't said it, she could kill him quickly for getting her so riled up. Bringing him back to life would be a bitch, but that was just the result of the second choice. If he had said what she thought he'd said...

"I'll admit to the fool part, but... Uhh... Y'know, I think I left the light on in my room, so..." Fueled by terror, the green teen made it over to the hydraulic doors in under a split-second. Fueled by annoyance and tension, the queen of darkness caught him in a fist of Azerathian magic before the doors could open.

Apparently, powers fueled by emotion are at their peak when their wielder let's burning curiosity get the best of them.

"What did you say, Garfield?!" The name and the voice didn't really go together, but nobody would've tried explaining that to a now demonic-form Raven. Luckily, Gar has had experience in this department before or else he would have blown it all right then.

He glared straight into the two closest red eyes he could see. "Put me down and change back or I tell you nothing!" The use of his name had temporarily made him torture-machine-testing material; no matter what, she would get nothing out of him but guts if she didn't calm down.

She growled, shadows seeming to flow from her body as she shrunk, but she didn't lose the eyes. And she didn't let him go. Raven had witnessed one too many times from her years at the Tower that no matter what, whenever trying to get information, once you have collateral, don't let go of it. And at the moment, Beast Boy's life was her collateral.

"What. Did. You. Say. Gar?" She also lost the creepy double-voice, which also helped the situation.

He smiled. Brightly. "That's better. Now, what are you talking about?" It helps to know that when in high-level stress situations, people tend to... Forget things. Having your life still flashing before your eyes can do that to you.

"Is it just me, or did you tell me that you love me?" Her voice was now becoming more and more like her own, as were her eyes. She now saw that Beast Boy had a slight film over his eyes and a dazed look on his face. A dazed look that immediately shot to shock when she finished her sentence.

Deer-in-the-headlights shock, which then turned to resignation.

"Yes. I did. And I do." Why did he sound so ashamed to admit it? He loved her, goddamit, or at least liked her. Alot. He didn't know… He knew it wasn't just a crush, like it had been with… her. He shut his eyes tightly, waiting for the pain.

Terra. He was a big boy now, he could at least mention her name in the privacy of his own mind without wanting to wish he was crazy and that it all hadn't happened. It had. He had moved on since then. Well, of course he'd have to have moved on if he loved Raven, duh. But she didn't know that he did. Well, at least not until tonight she hadn't.

Gar briefly wondered if dying was supposed to be this reflective on his love life. Nah, this probably only happened because… He wasn't dead. That was the only reason he could come up with that didn't sound completely ridiculous. 'Wait,' his brain told him… 'That is ridiculous. Open our eyes, bet we'll see a white light…'

Beast Boy opened his eyes as his brain commanded him and saw… An angel, smiling softly at him and crying, strangely. But still no white light, just her, so that was yet another fifty bucks that the thing he called his brain owed him…

He heard nothing from said 'brain', however, as something soft pressed against his lips.

"Good," The angel spoke after a minute, voice muffled by close proximity and breathlessness. "I love you too."

/\_/\

The next morning, Victor, Dick, and Kori woke up at nearly the exact same three headed for the Common Room and reached it at the exact same time, the last two having walked together. Something had told all of them something along the lines of: "Hey! Go outside, check out the beautiful sunrise, take a shower, enjoy life in general; just DO NOT GO IN THERE!!"

Some would have called this voice their concience. Others would refer to it as the grey lump of flesh located in the cranium of a human body. Tamerainians would refer to it as 'Jiminy Cricket'. Whatever one would call it, they each ignored this voice.

Needless to say, this was a bad idea.

Nobody noticed that the other two were missing until Starfire pointed out that there was no 'war in the kitchen for the stove of baking this glorious morning', and that the two cups of cold tea on the table were too cold to have been made very recently. The guys shrugged, for no possible explanation came to mind.

Well, one did, but they decided not to even think about that one. This didn't matter, however, for they would be thinking of it for the rest of the day…

Really, nobody noticed the two near the couch until Cyborg and Robin decided to play the Gamestation, seeing as they knew it would be a slow day for crime.

Kori would never know why her boyfriend decided to suddenly ditch his cape, or why he declared that they -- he, Victor, and herself -- were taking the rest of the day off at the beach…

-_-

A/N: So, chudes, how was it? Yes, it's more definite now, this is a one-shot. Sorry if some parts are confusing, but... Y'know... I... Don't really care, so NOW will you review?

Felix: Two of the Teen Titans actually get together in one of this guy's fics... And he's actually finished a fic... Holy-- Somebody, shoot me!

Ivan:(Pulls out a .44 Magnum)

Felix: I take it back! I take it back!

A/N: And here comes the randomness... Happy New Years, kiddies!!

cRaZyMaN676 Signing out....