Unexpected Emotions: RavenXStarfire

This is just getting tedious. Raven thought as she flew past another store converted into a circus event. It was bad enough dealing with Mumbo, but now she had to deal with the various shoppers that had been trapped in the mall too. She phased through the locked aquarium doors, and saw a young couple, an older man, and an employee. They had all been suspended over a large shark pit, whose occupant periodically leapt up to bite at them. Raven phased out again. None of them were in danger. The sharks couldn't jump high enough. She couldn't say the same for the rest of the Titans though. That's why she needed to find them. As much as she disliked to admit it, she couldn't stop Mumbo alone. She turned the cornet, into the food court, and stopped. Her eyes widened. The food court was gone, in it's place was a giant stage, complete with various acts ready to be preformed. The Titans on it were all incapacitated; Beast Boy was trapped in a box on a small table, a saw hovering above it. Robin was in another box standing up, with several swords floating around it. In between them stood Mumbo; juggling various pieces of Cyborg. Starfire was nowhere to be seen.

"Ah, my dear Raven, you are just in time. The show is about to start." He grinned evilly. "And it's a real heartstopper." Raven gasped. The saw above Beast Boy began to descend, and the swords around Robin started towards his box.

"Nobody" Raven started, as various objects around her shattered, "hurts my friends. Nobody!" She ended through fanged teeth, four eyes gleaming out from under her hood. Cyborg fell to the floor, gaping at Raven. Mumbo had gone quite pale, his limbs having been grasped by tendrils protruding from Raven. He screamed as he was drawn closer.

"Did you hear me? Nobody." A sharp-toothed grin flashed from the shadows under her hood.

Starfire raced through the halls, she had to find her friends. It would go faster if she did not have to rescue these people. But that could not be helped. A sharp scream echoed throughout the mall. That sounded like Mumbo. Starfire races towards the source of the sound, and arrived to a most peculiar sight. Robin and Beast Boy seemed to be pulling themselves out of colorful boxes, several sharp instruments lay on the floor around them. Cyclops was attempting to put himself together, while shouting at Raven. Mumbo was struggling at tendrils that had wrapped themselves around him, but to no avail. Starfire turned towards the source of the tendrils, her hearts heavy with dread. Then she gasped. The tendrils had originated from the folds of Raven's cloak. Raven floated several feet off the ground; four red eyes gleamed from under her hood. Mumbo was slowly being drawn towards her. Raven flashed him a predatory grin.

"Did you hear me? Nobody." Starfire screamed.

"Raven!"

Raven paused. Someone had cried out her name. Her eyes blinked, then she shook her head, and resumed pulling Mumbo in closer. He pawed at the ground, and at table legs, trying to get a grip, and prevent himself from being pulled into the darkness, but to no avail. Something flew towards her, something orange, but she swatted it aside. Robin was now out of his box she saw, as was Beast Boy. Cyborg had reassembled himself. They were shouting at her too. She ignored them, focusing on Mumbo, whose legs had disappeared under the hem of her cloak.

"Raven!" She shook her head, something shouted at her again. She closed her four eyes, but only two opened. The tendrils disappeared and she fell to the ground. She stood, then took several steps back, horrified at what she'd done.

"Raven? Starfire asked with uncertainty. She lay on the ground where she had landed after Raven hit her, shock etched on her face. Raven could sense her concern, and…fear? Raven tried to speak, but the sound caught in her throat. Shaking, she turned and ran, disappearing into the shadows.

"Raven!" Starfire cried, chasing after her, the rest of the Titans in pursuit.

Starfire sat in the main room of the tower, along with Robin, Cyborg, and Beast Boy. No-one spoke. Everyone sat; recalling the events of the afternoon. The alert, rushing to the mall, Mumbo transforming it, Raven attacking him. They all remembered that part with clarity. The police had arrived soon after, taking the whimpering hunk that had been Mumbo to jail. Raven had barricaded herself to her room, and refused to emerge.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos" Raven intoned, trying to meditate.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos" She was failing at it. The memory of losing control was never far from her mind. She shook herself at the recollection.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos" She said, a bit too forcefully. The shelf to her right splintered, spilling it's contents to the floor.

"Forget it." She mumbled, pausing to fix the shelf. Last time she lost control, it she hadn't had this much trouble getting over it. It was Starfire. She recalled the look on her face after the battle. What she had done to her while transformed. The fear Starfire felt while looking at her. The fear everyone felt while looking at her. Raven lay back on her bed, as a single tear rolled down her cheek.

Raven hadn't emerged from her room in the past few days.

Why is she avoiding us? Starfire wondered. We are her friends. Why won't she share her troubles with us? It was almost a relief when an alert came in. It was Ardonis causing trouble near City Hall, and the team flew out to stop him. They did, but instead of resolving some of the tension, the brief fight only worsened it. Raven hardly fought, and when she did, her powers were weak, as if she was barely using them. She didn't trust herself. Starfire thought, mentally reviewing the battle from the tower. Did she truly believe that she would loose control again? Apparently so. She walked back up to her room upon her return, ignoring the rest of the team's attempts at conversation.

"This needs to stop." Robin said, addressing the team.

"The team can't continue to function like this. We need to find out what's bothering Raven." The others nodded.

"Is it not obvious?" Starfire questioned. The others looked quizzically at her.

"She does not trust herself to use her powers. She fears that she will lose control again."

She continued. Robin shook his head.

"She's lost control before, and she's always gotten over it."

True. Starfire thought. What made this time different? She recalled how horrified Raven had looked after returning to normal.

"Hold on." Cyborg put his hands up.

"Just how are we supposed to find out what's up? She never leaves her room, and I'm not just gonna barge in. That didn't work out too well last time." Beast Boy nodded.

"Then we'll wait outside until she comes out. She has to eat sometime." They all nodded.

Apparently she didn't need to eat. They took turns sitting outside her room for days, but Raven never emerged. The occasional surge of power could be heard inside, usually followed by something breaking, but for the most part, there was silence.

Why is she doing this? Can she not sense that we are concerned about her? Does she not care? Apparently not.

Starfire walked down the stairs as Beast Boy took over for her.

She must be upset. Robin observed. She's walking. Cyborg nudged him.

"Hey Robin." He whispered.

"I just thought of something. Raven doesn't need to use the door right? She can just phase through the floor." Robin nearly hit himself for not remembering.

"I guess we should take turns waiting down here at night then." Robin muttered.

"Yeah."

Starfire stood next to the refrigerator, waiting for Raven to appear, if she appeared. She sighed. The others were sleeping down here, ready to be awakened in case Raven showed up. Starfire sighed, wishing Raven would just talk to them so that everything could return to normal. She opened her eyes, had she heard someth-

Raven phased trough the floor, sighed, and stepped towards the stove.

"Friend-Raven!" Starfire shouted from behind her. She cringed.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, turning around.

"She wasn't the only one." Cyborg said, standing in the doorway. Robin got up from the couch, and Beast Boy reverted from the insect that had been sleeping on a nearby monitor, into his normal form.

"We were so worried about you!" Starfire exclaimed as she hugged Raven.

Starfire leaned close, and brought her mouth to Raven's.

The rest of the team stood, mouths wide, staring at the site. Raven eyes grew very wide. Her hair and cloak flew erratically. Several screens cracked, the lights blew out, and the remote exploded. Starfire pulled away.

"Raven are you okay? You seem…off." Raven stood there for a few seconds.

"I…I…" She stammered, then ran towards the door.

"Raven!" Raven disappeared as the door closed.

Was it something that I said? The rest of the team gaped at her.

"Uhh Starfire?" Beast Boy was blushing

"What is it?"

"What was that?" Cyborg demanded.

"I simply kissed her." Starfire said, puzzled.

Everyone just stared at her.

"That is what you do here on Earth, yes? To show concern?" Cyborg groaned and lowered his head into his hand.

"Did I do it wrong?" Starfire questioned.

"Starfire," Cyborg shook his head. "kissing is also a sign of intimacy."

Starfire blushed profoundly.

"Oh."

Raven closed the door to her room, her breath coming in gasps, her hair and cloak still billowing around her.

Ok. Ok. What was that? What was that! She took a deep breath and tried to calm herself.

A table leg split. Why is this bothering me? Raven glanced at the mirror on her dresser.

The silence in the room was deafening. No-one spoke.

"I did not know that." Starfire finally spoke. "I must go apologize." She started to turn, but Cyborg caught her arm. He shook his head.

"Why don't you let me talk to her first, hmm?"

"I…alright." Cyborg walked upstairs. Beast boy spoke.

"I'll go see if there's anything interesting on the…wall. In my room." He ran out the door.

"Starfire?"

"Yes Robin?" She looked up at him.

"You already knew that…I told you before."

"That is true."

Raven stood in a clearing, surrounded by her emotions.

"What…why is this happening?" She asked them.

"Starfire!" Happy shouted, and then resumed humming merrily.

Timid mumbled something. She seemed to be blushing.

"You ran away?" Brave looked furious. Wisdom looked directly at her. Love didn't even seem to be paying attention to her.

"Wait." Raven said, confused. "What's going on?"

Wisdom stepped forward.

"You are here because of your inability to deal with the events that transpired earlier. Your inability to deal with the events is a result of you feelings for Starfire."

"Yeah well, she did kiss me and that was unexpected for her, but she's still my frie…" Wisdom held up her hand.

"That's not what I was talking about."

"Then what were you talking about?" Wisdom looked pointedly over at Happy and Love, they both seemed to be lost in their own worlds. Raven frowned. That was normal for Happy, but not for. Oh no. Wisdom nodded.

"No…no." Brave nodded as well. "Oh no." Rage grinned wickedly. "No. No. No. No!"

"I'm afraid so." Wisdom replied.

Raven flew towards the exit.

"I…I think I understand Starfire." Some color finally returned to his face.

"But I think that Raven is the one you need to talk to about this." Starfire sighed with relief. He had not been unhappy when she had told him her feelings.

"Yes." She said, oblivious to the fact that she was floating several feet higher than normal.

"Yes I need to…" A large blast echoed throughout the base.

Cyborg picked himself off the floor. The blast had caught him just as he was knocking.

"Raven?" He coughed. "Raven." He walked through the door as the dust began to settle. The place was a mess, books lay strewn about the floor, accompanied by the occasional talisman. Many more flew through the air, slammed into walls, then took off in different directions. Shelves were cracked, some still hanging from the wall. Her dresser was in tatters, and her bed had been split in two. She lay in the corner, staring at a mirror clutched in her hand, muttering to herself continuously. Her hair flew in all directions, and the edges of her robes flapped as if caught in a storm.

"Raven?" Cyborg asked. "Are you okay?"

"No!" She shouted at him. The covering on his shoulder cracked.

"Raven, It's ok. Starfire didn't mean it like that. She just didn't know what a kiss implies. She was probably just trying to understand what was wrong."

"That's not the problem." Raven muttered to herself.

"What do you mean that's not the…" He looked again at the mirror in her hand.

"Oh. I…I see." He backed out of the room, passing Starfire on his way down. He caught her arm.

"You don't wanna be in there right now." He glanced at the crack on his shoulder.

"I am sorry Friend-Cyborg, but I must see her." She tore her arm from his grasp, and continued up the stairs. Cyborg noticed that she was floating again.

"Friend-Raven?" Starfire knocked on the wall. A loud crack emitted from inside.

"May I come in?" Numerous thuds followed her words.

"I will take that as permission." She turned and entered. The room was strewn with books and papers, and the furniture was devastated. Raven stood in the middle of the room staring at her, a mirror in her hand. Her hair rippled as if there was a breeze.

"Is this an appropriate time?" She asked with uncertainty.

"Yeah." Starfire stepped into the room. For a few minutes, both stood in silence. Finally Starfire spoke.

"Raven, I came up her so that I may tell you…"

"I know." Starfire stared at her, puzzled.

"What do you know?" Raven blushed slightly.

"I already sensed what you wanted to tell me."

"Oh." Several more minutes of silence ensued.

"And your response is?" Starfire asked, a desperate tone in her voice.

"That maybe I feel…" She smiled nervously "…maybe I fell the same way." Starfire had to fight to keep herself from rising higher off the floor.

For a moment Raven stared at the look of pure joy in Starfire's eyes. Then she felt herself pulled into another kiss. This time, she let herself enjoy it.