Author's note: Hopefully this chapter will answer some plot questions you all have. Taygon55 this is for you! Don't worry, I won't kill the Titans off and I won't go beyond the realms of believability. Just stay with it all, ok? ;) In terms of this chapter, there is a BBRae line which is from one of the comics (almost word for word). I'm not stealing, just trying to make Raven as close to her true character as possible. Enjoy, and thank you for all your kind comments, reviews and just for generally being awesome people.

Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans or any characters from the DC Universe.

Chapter Twenty-Six – Meditation and Rooms

As the three male Titans entered ops, the two young women turned to face them slowly. Raven's eyes met Garfield's for a split second and a connection passed between them. She gave the smallest smile and he gave the faintest wink, almost imperceptible to the others. Then they carried on as if everything was normal before the moment passed into nothingness.

"So, team," began Robin, formally. Everyone seated themselves comfortably on the couches, with Cy and Beast Boy at one end and Starfire and Raven at the other. They looked up at their leader with anticipation. "We're here to discuss Raven's vision. Yesterday temperatures flared between us. Now we have had time to reconcile and organise ourselves and we need to think strategically."

Everyone stared in silence, a few nods around the room. Robin pointed a clicker towards the window and a large screen was projected. It was blank, but in the centre was the Teen Titans logo. On it were little virtual counters for each Titan; Red for Robin, Blue for Cyborg, Green for Beast Boy, Orange for Starfire and Purple for Raven. "Today, we work it all out and devise a plan of action. We work out what we're each doing. How we're doing it. How we work together as a team."

Robin turned towards the screen and pressed a button on his clicker. Raven's purple counter became larger on the screen and he turned towards the empath. "Raven, we start with you. Your vision is central to all of this."

"Yes," agreed the lavender haired woman, pushing her hood down and folding her legs into the meditative position absently. "I have something to share with you, now we're all together. I had the same vision again last night; it came to me in the middle of the evening, like some kind of waking nightmare."

"Friend!" exclaimed Starfire, concern on her face. Her jade eyes glinted anxiously. "But you are not hurt?"

"No," replied Raven, her eyes flicking to Garfield's for a nanosecond. He was staring at her with intent, a small smile on his lips. She could sense the protective feelings pouring from his chest and it made her heart beat quicken. She blinked, remaining emotionless as she looked towards Starfire again. "I'm okay, Star. Don't worry. This time I knew what was happening, but I wanted to try to remember as many details as I could to be clearer. To help us beat this somehow."

Her eyes flicked over to Robin who nodded with approval. She continued. "The first thing I want to tell you is that I got it wrong yesterday. The initials weren't SS. They were SSOSV."

Cyborg was typing into his laptop, which was hooked up to the main screen. The letters appeared across the top. Robin eyed them curiously. He rubbed his hand across his chin, as he always did when he was contemplating. "I see. But what does it mean?"

"It formed part of a logo of some kind. I think it's an acronym," clarified the empath, quietly.

"An acro-what?" said Beast Boy, curiously. Cyborg sighed a little.

"An acronym, genius. It means the letters stand for something. Like how we call you BB - that's an acronym for Beast Boy," the cybernetic man explained. Beast Boy raised an eyebrow.

"I thought that was just because you were too stupid to remember my full name," smirked the changeling, folding his arms. Cy gave him a death glare and Garfield gave a toothy grin. "Kidding! Carry on."

"Anyway," continued Robin, ignoring Beast Boy's outburst. "An acronym. That's interesting. I think I'll contact Bruce, see if we can dig something out. It may be some kind of underground organisation."

"Good shout," nodded Cy, typing into the computer. "We could be here for years tryin' to just guess at it."

Robin nodded and pressed the clicker again; the Batman signal moved up and sat on top of his red counter. He motioned to Raven to continue. Her amethyst eyes flashed. "The things which I listed for you yesterday – do you recall them?"

"The Omega, a gorilla, a cheater, a stroke of death and tomorrow," began Robin, listing them out from memory. Starfire looked at him admiringly, marvelling at his recollection. His brow furrowed in thought. "Did I miss one?"

"A massacre," came a quiet voice. All the other four Titans turned to look at Beast Boy. Robin raised his eyebrows, as the green changeling looked sheepish. "That's the last one, right Rae? A massacre?"

Raven nodded, slightly dumbfounded that he'd also managed to commit the list to memory. Secretly, she was quite impressed. "That's right, Beast Boy. A massacre."

Everyone sat in silence for a moment, digesting the words. Raven's calm tones spoke again, disturbing them all from their thoughts. "They are all people. I said this to you yesterday, but I can visualise them better since the second vision."

"One by one then," began Robin, sitting down and looking at the empath. "We need as much detail as you can remember, no matter how disjointed it may seem."

"Okay, give me a prompt and I'll try to remember," said Raven closing her eyes and centring herself. She crossed her legs and became meditative. She softly repeated her mantra in her mind. Robin looked over towards Cyborg.

"Cy, make notes on what she says. Star, Beast Boy, pay attention. We'll take this slowly," stated the boy wonder, calmly. He turned towards the young woman. "Raven, here we go. Omega."

"The Omega," repeated the empath, in a trance like state. Her voice sounded far away and drifting. She traced an omega symbol with her finger in the air. "This sign. Purple. Red eyes. A God. Very powerful."

Robin nodded and motioned towards Cy, who gave a thumbs-up. He was noting the details down, and they appeared on the screen as the Azarathian spoke them. The boy wonder looked at Star and nodded.

"A gorilla," the Tameranean said, softly. Her eyes were trained on her friend and unmoving. Concentration lined her face.

"The gorilla. Not a man. Not a changeling. Mind control. Very intelligent," stated Raven's quiet voice. She had begun to levitate off the couch, her cloak fluttering beneath her. As she spoke the text flew up onto the screen, typed by the cybernetic man's hand.

"A cheater," came the light voice of Beast Boy. He was looking at Raven, eyes full of a concern for her being in this state. He knew he needed to be professional, but he worried she was pushing herself too soon.

"Cheater. Spots and fur. Female. The hunt. Chemically enhanced somehow."

More text on the screen. Robin took his turn to speak, his brow furrowed with focus. "A stroke of death."

Raven's own eyes furrowed, her face contorted. Her expression changed. She looked confused, slipping out of her trance slightly. "No, not...not...can't be. I can't quite-"

Robin feared they were losing her train of thought and made a snap decision. "Move on. Tomorrow."

"Tomorrow is a genius," stated the empath, her chakra starting to glow slightly. "Creates to destroy."

"A massacre," said Beast Boy, repeating his earlier statement. Robin looked at him approvingly for taking initiative, then turned back towards the lavender haired woman. Sweat had broken on her brow.

"I...It's so horrible," she stated, beginning to twitch around in her meditative state. "I can't focus."

"Try Raven, tell us about the massacre," came Robin's voice, pressing her just a little harder. The changeling's grip on the couch tightened. He wanted to rescue her, but he knew she needed to do this. Starfire looked equally agitated, seeing the strain it was putting on her friend. Cy stared silently, poised to note down any memories.

"Wonder Woman, but she's wrong," stated Raven, sweat dripping down her face. The chakra glow was pulsating. Although her eyes were closed, she looked around as if speaking to someone. "Why is she wrong? What have you done?"

"Robin," said the Tameranean, tugging at his arm anxiously. "Do you not think we should stop?"

"No, we need to know," shot back their leader, a clinical tone to his voice. He stared at the half-demon. "What did they do, Raven?"

"The DNA. They went too far," she continued, looking confused at the words that were tumbling out of her mouth. "It's...it's a genetic m-monster."

Her speech was starting to fade, she could feel the vision slipping from her grasp. She could feel someone's eyes watching her from somewhere else and she let out a little gasp of pain and fear.

"Robin, we need to stop," said Beast Boy, jumping to his feet upon hearing her discomfort. "Hasn't she done enough?"

Robin looked at Beast Boy, then at Starfire. They both were giving him the same pleading look. Cyborg was staring at him and nodding silently in agreement with his teammates. He sighed. Turning towards the Azarathian, he could see she was struggling between two states of consciousness. Black tendrils were escaping from beneath her cloak and reaching outwards. He walked over and took hold of her shoulders gently.

"That's enough, Raven. Come back," he stated, firmly. She slowly levitated back onto the couch, half collapsing as she landed. She was clearly exhausted. Her eyes flickered open as the pulsating glow stopped, and the tendrils withdrew. She panted a little, wiping her forehead with the back of her hand.

"Did I...was that...enough?" she breathed, reaching for her hood. It always gave her comfort at times of distress. Robin nodded and offered her a small smile.

"That was a good start," he acknowledged, giving her shoulders a light squeeze before retracting. "I'm sorry it was so hard on you, but we needed to know."

Raven nodded, understandingly and met his masked eyes. "It's fine, I agreed to do it. I knew the risks."

"Friend, you must rest now," stated Starfire, moving closer to her and rubbing her hand up and down her friend's arm soothingly. "We shall explore things more calmly."

"I got all the information down, but there's nothin' here that's makin' much sense to me right now," began Cy, tapping away at his computer. He looked up at Robin. "The only two things standing out are Wonder Woman's name and that DNA issue that Batman mentioned some time ago. But it's all kinda vague. My suggestion that you and I start diggin' into this. Do some research. Figure out what's really goin' on here. Maybe pass some of this onto the Justice League even."

Cyborg clicked on his screen, and the blue and red counters were placed under a research heading, all of the smaller boxes with each person's information scattered around them like a spider diagram. "Thoughts?"

"Good plan, Cy," replied the boy wonder, nodding approvingly. He rubbed his chin in contemplation. "You're right, we've got some clear leads now, but they need expansion. It's going to take some time. Starfire, in the meantime I think that you, Raven and Beast Boy need to get started on some extra training and planning. Strategy as well as just duking it out in the gym. We need to think logically about where our skills are lacking. Plan out more coded attacks, ones which they might not expect."

Starfire nodded, her warrior side firing with glee at his words. "I am ready for the challenge, Robin. Between the three of us I am certain we will be able to create some new plans and amend any current blind spots that we may have."

The counters moved on the screen accordingly, with Starfire's orange one heading up training. Robin looked at Raven.

"Raven, I know that this is tough for you, but I need you to try and mediate daily, to try and remember as much as you can. If any other details come back to you, or if there are any further visions then you need to come and speak to me. You are our eyes and ears here. Anything you sense, anything you feel, anything you see...we need it."

"Understood," replied the empath, her lilac eyes unfaltering beneath her hood. Her purple counter headed up reconnaissance on the screen. "I'll do what I can."

Robin smiled and turned towards the final Titan. Beast Boy's emerald eyes looked at him, full of concern and attention. "Beast Boy, I've got something special in mind for you. I need to speak with you alone; it's top secret and I can't risk anyone else becoming embroiled in it."

"Got you, dude," replied the green man, nodding towards their leader. Robin turned to them all.

"We're in a better position than we were yesterday. With some work, I think we can be ahead of the game. We can change the vision, just like we did before. I believe in us; all of us. We just need to be smart and work together."

He offered them a smile. "Dismissed. All except you, Beast Boy. You stay here with me for a few minutes."

The other three Titans stood up and walked out of ops, leaving the other two alone as requested. Raven felt a flutter of fear at the realisation that Beast Boy would be given a mission that she wouldn't know about. What if it was dangerous? If he got hurt? Or worse? She felt the electricity rising in her body and pushed the thoughts out of her head defiantly.

"Hey, Raven," came the familiar voice of Cyborg. She lifted her eyes towards his, as he placed a hand on her shoulder. "Good work in there, girl. Listen, I wanted to talk to you about your room."

"Oh, okay," replied the empath, a little distracted by her current thoughts, and the extreme exhaustion coursing through her body. "What's up?"

"I'm going to start working on it now, before I get crackin' on the research. If you're needin' space to meditate and do your 'recon' then it's gotta be up there on the priorities list," began the cybernetic man, smiling kindly. Raven returned the smile gratefully as he continued to speak. "It'll probably take me a few hours. I'll come and find you when I'm done, let you know. That way you can move your stuff back right away. No time like the present, right?"

Raven nodded, frankly too tired to argue, speak or offer any witty retort. She motioned towards the spare room. "I need to rest."

"Of course, friend," stated Starfire, kindly. "I am going to go and make the plans in my room. If you are needing me then do come by. I suggest that we meet later on this afternoon to discuss our decisions for the training plan."

"Sure, Star," agreed the empath, feeling her powers threating to explode if she didn't find a bed soon. "I'd better go."

The other two Titans nodded in understanding as she trudged off heavily down the corridor.

Hours passed, and eventually Raven's lilac eyes fluttered open and focused on the spare room's strange décor. She sat up in the bed, noticing that her nap had helped her feel more comfortable. Her powers were a little unstable, as she hadn't spent any time meditating. Following the repetition of the vision, she knew that she could do with some time to find her centre. Sighing, she swung her legs out of the bed and stretched them out gingerly.

There was a pounding, heavy knock on the door. She knew who it was without even having to ask. "Yes?"

"It's Cy," came the response she was expecting. Standing up she walked to the door and pressed the button to open the metal covering. Cyborg stood there looking vaguely apologetic. "I didn't wake you, did I?"

"No, I'd actually just woken up," admitted the empath, a strangely guilty smile on her lips. "I feel better, but I'm in desperate need of meditation."

"Well, in that case, I come bearin' amazin' news!" exclaimed her metal friend, brightly. "Your room's all fixed up. Head back in when you're ready."

Raven smiled widely, forgetting herself for a moment as she threw her arms around the cybernetic man. It was just the boost she needed to have her own space again. "Thanks, Cy."

The metal man looked a little shaken at her gesture but patted her on the back gently. "Ahh, you're welcome little lady. Y'all need a hand movin' back in?"

"I've only got a few bits and pieces," stated Raven, retracting from him and walking over to the draws to get her clothes back out. Her eyes fell on Bee's letter. She looked back over at Cy and bit her lip. He looked at her curiously and she sighed. She took the letter in her hands and gave it to him. "Here. Don't read it now. Wait until you're back in your room."

"Okay?" responded Cyborg, concerned and intrigued.

"Trust me on this. Anyway, you can head back now - I'll be fine taking my things back in," added the empath, giving him the go ahead to leave and read it. "Thanks to you I'll have my room back. You've done enough, I can handle a few spare leotards and bedsheets on my own."

Cyborg smiled and nodded, clutching the paper in his hand. "I'll see you later on then."

Raven nodded in return and gave a wave, grabbing her things together quickly. Suddenly, she felt excited to be back in her own space. It had only been a few days but had seemed so long. It was as though her room was part of her, somehow. She turned her eyes back and noted that the cybernetic man had left silently. Her eyes filled with concern; she hoped that giving him the note was the right thing to do. Taking one last look at Bee's old room, she flicked the lights off and let the door close behind her.

Raven was settled in her new room and felt in a good place. She'd lit her candles and done her meditation. She sat on the edge of the bed, admiring the good job that her cybernetic friend had made of the repairs. They were invisible to the untrained eye. Her lilac orbs were drawn to the window. It was starting to get later than she had initially realised; the light had begun to fade. Her mind wandered to the changeling. She hadn't seen him properly since that morning, but not at all since his meeting with Robin. Her brow furrowed slightly. What was it he said? Text him anytime? She eyed her communicator as though it had the plague, and then looked back out at the darkening sky.

Sighing, she decided to be brave again and lifted the communicator to her eyes in the half light. She typed and scanned the message as before, a small smile on her lips.

Cy fixed my room up. Good to have my own space again. Come and see the renovations? Rx

She pressed send, biting her lip with anxiety. She wondered why sending these messages still filled her with these strange feelings despite the fact that she had already spoken with Beast Boy about it the previous evening. A ping went off in her hands and she looked down at it, expectantly. She opened the message.

Want to but can't. Wish I could explain. Will be there later, promise. Gx

Raven's eyes narrowed. Where had Robin sent him? She reached out with her senses. He wasn't in the tower. She sighed, feeling a little frustrated. It was so much easier for Star and Robin, being so open about their relationship. Whilst this clandestine affair continued it was going to prove increasingly difficult to try and communicate without arousing suspicion. She sighed deeply and flopped back onto the bed. Star did say about meeting up later. She wondered whether she should go and speak with her. Plus, she noticed she was a little hungry and remembered she hadn't eaten all day. With another sigh, she dragged herself off the bed and headed down to the Tameranean's room. She knocked, curtly.

"Starfire?"

"Yes, friend!" trilled the familiar voice, and the door whizzed open. Star beamed at her. "You are looking much better! I have been working hard on the plans today, would you like to see?"

"Later, Star. I'm starving. Can we eat and talk?"

"Of course! I have a tin of mustard which is imprinted with my name, as they say!" exclaimed the young redheaded woman, spinning out of her door and heading down the corridor. She had her pink pad and a pen clutched to her chest. Raven smiled at her friend's glee. It was endearing to see how proud she was of herself.

"Sounds good."

As they sat down and munched on their various chosen items from the kitchen's store, Raven started to feel a little better. She went to fill the kettle for a soothing cup of tea, to complete her comfortable feeling. She flicked the switch on as Starfire skimmed through her pink notepad and chewed on her pen.

"Friend, I have designed these different coded attacks as Robin has suggested, but I am certain I am missing something," she stated, a touch of frustration in her normally jovial voice. She sighed and placed the pen down onto the pad hard. "I am doing the giving up for today."

"It's going to be a long process, Kori," reassured the empath, pouring the boiling water into her mug. "Don't be too hard on yourself."

"You are the right," nodded Star, sipping her mustard through a straw noisily. Raven couldn't help but curl her lip in slight disgust as she sat down with her mug of herbal tea. Starfire was oblivious. "How about your 'reconnaissance' as they called it? How is that going?"

"Slow too," admitted Raven, wrapping her hands around the mug. "I've managed to centre myself following the trance I went into with you all. But I can't see or sense anything much else at the moment."

"Yes, I presumed it would be so," conceded the Tameranean, swirling the straw between her fingers. Her jade eyes flicked up with some concern. "You must be careful friend, not to push yourself too hard."

"I promise to try," smiled Raven, sipping the warm liquid. Starfire looked around the room over her shoulder as if to check that no one was around before she spoke. Her voice was hushed.

"What about friend Beast Boy? Should he not be part of our meeting?"

"You don't have to whisper about that, Star," replied Raven, coolly. She sighed and shook her head, knowing she was responding that way due to her own concerns. "Sorry. I haven't seen him since this morning. Since Robin sent him on that special mission."

"Oh yes," recalled Starfire, suddenly. "The special mission, I wonder what that could be. I suppose there must be a good reason for us not knowing; it will be because Robin is wanting to keep us safe."

"But who's keeping Beast Boy safe?" questioned the empath, quietly. Her eyes were trained on the swirling dark tea in her hand. Starfire's gaze softened, and she reached out to touch her friend's hand reassuringly.

"He is stronger than you realise, friend. He will be fine. I am certain Robin would have not sent him into unnecessary danger, or more danger than he was able to cope with," stated the princess, her eyes firm but kind. "You must have the faith. That is what being in a relationship is all about."

Raven raised her eyebrow at her friend, but she didn't offer a response. She sighed deeply and looked back down at her drink. Starfire continued.

"We are still a team, we must be apart to do missions. To face the danger. It is part of who we are."

"I know it is, but it's just...this is so hard," replied Raven, rubbing her chakra with her free hand. She looked at her friend, slowly. "Not just knowing he's in danger but trying to control my emotions whilst he's away. It feels like if I stop concentrating for a second then the room will explode."

Starfire couldn't help but let out a small giggle at her friend's statement. Raven gave a small smile as the atmosphere broke. She let out the lightest of laughs. Starfire opened her pad and pushed it towards the empath, grinning.

"Here," she stated, pointing at the page. "Use your anger to fuel our plans. Let us do something productive with those emotions."

Raven thought for a moment. Hesitantly she reached towards the pen and picked it up. Her lilac eyes flicked up towards the Tameranean's. She gave a sly smile. "Let's do this."

The two female Titans worked for several hours in ops, before finally calling it a day. Raven was yawning widely and excused herself back to her room. Exhaustion was calling to her, and there was still no sign of Beast Boy. She tried to ignore the gnawing pain in her stomach. Anxiety. She pulled her cloak around herself as she entered her space.

Lighting some candles, she flicked the lights off and sat cross legged on her bed. She took a few deep and centring breaths. The anxiety was rising to a pitch that she was struggling to manage. Her items in the bedroom began to rattle violently as she felt the panic rising. Whilst drawing up the plans with Star had provided some much-needed distraction, her soul self was itching to get out.

"I'm not going to look for him," she told herself firmly, closing her eyes. "Robin made the mission secret for a reason. I have to trust, have faith. Breathe. Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos."

Raven quietly meditated for some time, until she felt her body relax. Levitating gently back onto the bed, she opened her eyes and let them adjust to the semi-darkness. Silence. The Tower was bathed in it, she noticed. Her eyes flickered to the window and she realised that it was dark. Glancing at her clock, she realised that night had fallen once again. Sighing, she shifted from her bed and walked over to her wardrobe to change into her pyjamas. Exhaustion was creeping over her.

Suddenly her communicator pinged, and she turned to look at it suspiciously. Flicking the screen open she saw a message appear.

Still up for a visit? Gx

She smiled, relief pouring all over her body. She typed out a response, noticing her fingers now flowing across the pad with ease.

I could be persuaded for the right person. Rx

She softly closed the screen with a click and placed the communicator down on her bedside table. She seated herself back on her bed and patiently waited. A flash revealed the green man before her. He looked his normal cheerful self, his green eyes full of pleasure to see her. She gave him a genuine smile and lowered her hood.

"Hello, Gar."

"Hello, Rae."

She couldn't take it a moment longer. Pushing herself to her feet she ran over and wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her lips to his desperately. He was surprised at first by her gesture of passion, but soon responded, wrapping his arms around her. She could feel him smiling against her mouth and broke away. She gave him her best Raven glare.

"Don't smile, I was worried about you," she growled, clutching his uniform between her fingers. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," laughed the changeling, rubbing his hands up and down her back soothingly as she clutched him tightly. "I was just doing what Robin asked me to."

"Which was?"

Garfield fixed her with a serious gaze. "You know I can't tell you that, Raven. It was a secret mission, remember?"

She pouted at him a little, but then rolled her eyes and sighed. "I guess you're right. I'm just glad you're back in one piece."

"Aww, you're so cute when you're worried," teased the green man, poking her lightly on the nose. She glared at him again, but there was a small smile pulling at her lips. He laughed at her, and then pulled her into a deep hug. She could feel him breathing against her. It made her shudder involuntarily as he spoke. "I'm glad to be back, I missed you."

Raven felt herself blushing, those nerves creeping over her again. She didn't know how to respond so she stayed silent, hugging him back tightly. They broke apart a few minutes later and stood facing each other. Their hands were still entwined.

Garfield glanced around the room, a little nervously. "You weren't lying about Cy doing a good job. Place looks good as new."

Raven eyed him curiously. She smiled, arching her eyebrow at him. "You're still tense being in here, aren't you? You have my permission to be in my room, Garfield Logan."

He looked at her defiantly at the mention of his full name, but there was a small smile playing on his lips. "Empath. I keep forgetting."

"After all this time," laughed Raven, lightly. She tugged him towards the bed and they both sat down and looked at each other. The changeling's expression became more intense and Raven tilted her head slightly to the side, inquiringly. Her lavender hair fell down onto her knee. "What?"

"I just keep thinking I'm going to wake up and this will all be a dream," admitted the changeling, his face colouring slightly. He rubbed his head awkwardly. "It still doesn't feel real being here with you."

Raven reached over and touched her pale hand to his face gently. "I can promise you it's real. But you're right, it's been a strange day. I'm sorry if I worried you earlier, I could see the look on your face after our meeting."

The green shapeshifter's face hardened at the memory, and he sighed. "I guess I worry that Robin pushes you too hard. Sometimes he forgets we're people; we're more than just our job. More than just heroes."

"He's just doing his best," countered Raven, letting her hand rest back down and shrugging. "He wasn't making me do anything I didn't already agree to, Gar."

"I know that, it's just..." began Beast Boy before he trailed off awkwardly. Raven looked at his face and could feel the concern in him. She squeezed his hand and he looked at her.

"Tell me," she urged, her lilac eyes gazing at him intently. He bit his lip with his fang, struggling to find the right words.

"Since yesterday things feel different," he began, slowly. "Everything is heightened in me. Concern. Protectiveness. Rae, I just want to hold you all the time and make sure you're safe. Now that you're mine, I don't want anything to happen to you. But I know that we have a part to play in the team, and I don't ever want to stop you from doing that. We're Titans, it's part of who we are."

Raven smiled at his loving words and rested her forehead against his gently. "I've felt exactly the same all day. All joking aside, Gar, I've been worried out of my mind wondering where you were. It was like the anxiety was eating me from the inside out. I've never felt that way before about anyone. Dread so powerful I thought it would consume me, if I let it."

They stayed in silence; their foreheads pressed together, and their eyes closed. Raven ran her thumb over his hand absently, unsure whether she was soothing him or herself. She knew she needed to say what was on her mind, but she was frightened to. She sighed before opening her mouth and allowing the words to tumble out.

"Do you think we made a mistake?" asked the empath, reluctantly. Her eyes flickered open. "That maybe we would have been better staying as friends?"

Garfield's eyes opened in response to the question, and he looked at her pale face. Her heart had quickened pace, and he could smell a physiological change in her. Fear. He reached up and ran his hand along her cheek and jawline gently and lovingly.

"No," he stated, simply. "I wouldn't change this. For every second of panic, I wouldn't change being here with you. This is all I want."

"And I don't want to reject positive emotions because I'm scared of the negative ones," conceded the Azarathian, her eyes faltering and looking at the floor. "I've done it for years; I won't do it anymore. I won't censor myself. Being in love with you is worth challenging it. Challenging myself."

Garfield felt his own heart pick up pace at her words. He wasn't lying; he couldn't believe that he was sitting here with Raven, hearing her say these things to him. He gently tilted her chin up and kissed her deeply. She wrapped her arms around his neck again, tousling them in his dark green hair. He pulled her closer, his arms nestling around the base of her back.

Raven felt his varied emotions mingling and sweeping over her; love, passion, desire, affection. Each one hit her with equal power and measure. She could feel her own emotions pushing back; each one matching his in strength and power. Her own disbelief at their present situation was suspended as he continued to press himself into her. In these moments, where their emotions and bodies mingled, she struggled to remember where she ended, and he began. It was as though they were one being. She'd never experienced anything like it in her entire life.

Gradually, the feelings subsided and they both pulled apart, still holding each other closely. His hands were in her hair, she noticed. His gloved thumb was stroking her cheek tenderly. She pulled her own hand back and rested it on his wrist before letting out a deep sigh.

"Gar," she said, when her breath finally returned to her. "I think the others may know."

"How come?"

"Just a sense I got today from Cy," Raven replied, not moving from their intimate positon. "I honestly don't know how much longer we can hide this."

"It's your call," replied Beast Boy, gently. "Rae, you know what I think. I don't care who knows, but I get that you aren't ready to tell anyone. They can think what they like; I won't say anything until you're ready to."

Raven felt her emotions shifting uncertainly in her. She looked at him, a genuine smile and warmth in her chest. "Thanks."

"You're welcome."

The empath's candles crackled and flickered in the darkness. The Tower was still in silence. In the centre of it, two Titans held each other as though they were both scared to let go again.