…..

Thanks for the reviews and support. I'm happy that you all are enjoying my story. :)

notbenamed: I know, right! Hopefully, she doesn't get cold feet.

Mal: Yes! I'm glad that you are happy for the kiss and that you liked both couples.

jltvaugh: I hope that their relationship will process well. I love them together as well. I agree, there should be more stories with those two as love interest.

Nightraethingzz: Don't worry. There will be more cute moments with this two couples.

Everyone: Stay safe and be healthy. Enjoy. :)

Disclaimer:

The usernames in chapter 22 came from Season 2 episode 11 (Fractured) of Teen Titans. The usernames are related to information about the character Larry. (Did you notice?)

Clash of the Planets in chapter 25 came from season 4 episode 3 (Don't Touch That Dial).

Up at night

Her phone was ringing at the worst time. She looked at the man quivering in front of her. This was not her night, or rather day, depending on what side of the world you were on.

"Don't move. If I have to hunt you down, you won't move ever again. Not even to blink." The man didn't say a word or made a movement to agree. She didn't expect an answer from him. Fear tended to paralyze people.

She created a small, black dome around her, blocking her image and voice from the man and any devices, which she might haven't noticed. She shed her demon skin, and her normal appearance resurfaced. She answered the still ringing device.

"What!" She was too irritated to pretend to be courteous.

"Woah, someone's upset. Or, are you just angry, because you are away from me?" Rachael tensed at the voice of her boyfriend. Boyfriend. She couldn't believe that she was dating Nightwing after so many years. She couldn't believe that she was talking to him while doing something that she wasn't supposed to be doing.

"Should you be calling me at work?" She asked, not knowing how to answer his question in this situation. She didn't want to lie, but she couldn't tell him the truth.

"That's why I'm calling. I'm leaving work now. I was wondering if you want to get together for a movie and a late-night snack at your place?"

She started to panic. She knew how long it would take for him to reach her place from the police department. She didn't know if she would make it back in time. "It doesn't have to be my place. I can go to your place. You're the one who is leaving work now." She could come up with an excuse later and arrive at his place later than plan, or not at all.

"You will be leaving work, too. Plus, you always fall asleep towards the end of the movie. And I don't like you using your power to transport yourself when you're sleepy. I worry that you will end up some place that you shouldn't be." It was a legitimate concern. It had happened once when she was younger.

"Okay, just take a shower before you come by." She said to buy more time. "You smell like old doughnuts and the department when you work the second or third shift."

"I don't know if I should be offended or relieved that you are being honest." Her heart clenched; she wasn't honest all the time.

"Relief. Besides, you are a reflection of me now. I have to look out for both of our reputations." Sometimes, she amazed herself on how she could act normal when she was in panic mode.

He chuckled. "Fine. I won't be the one to bring this ship down. Any other requests before I get off the phone."

She racked her brain for something. "Yes, can you…buy candy and chips from the gas station? And dip, if they have any."

"Hello," She said when he didn't say anything.

"Sorry about that. Someone stopped me. They wanted me to sign something. No problem. You must be having a really bad night if you want sweets at night."

"You have no idea." She mumbled, thinking about all the trouble that she had caused earlier in the morning on this side of the planet. She had wanted to complete everything last night, but complications had arisen.

"What was that?"

"Nothing. I'm just craving sweets."

"Well, sweets you shall have. I'll see you soon."

"See you soon."

"Love you." He hung up, leaving her to blush. He always ended their conversations or departure like that; even though, she had yet to return the endearment back.

She mentally slapped herself. She didn't have time for this. She needed to leave soon. Transportation back to the States, even with her magic, would take time due to the long distance.

Taking a deep breath, she pushed the panic that she was feeling to the back.

Her demon skin appeared once more. She needed to get back to Jump City and in her loft before Dick arrived. But first, she needed the information that she came for. Mari wouldn't let her leave without it, especially since it had taken her time to follow up this lead, which Mari heard at Thai Night.

Dropping the dome, she stepped closer to the man. He was no longer quivering. He didn't fear her now. No, he loved her. She could tell by the look in his eyes. Besides, her powers made sure of it. It disgusted her. She hated using this power. She hated manipulating people emotions.

She could have used her other powers to see into his mind like she did with Jeremey, but she had petrified the man. His thoughts would've remained focus on her. This was the quickest and easiest method.

"Can you please tell me about Slade, love?" He knew almost nothing. This lead was a dead end.

"Sorry, I'm late. There-" Dick entered inside the loft and paused. He wasn't sure if he should leave or stay. Rachael was putting on a shirt over her head. Her back was turned to him, so it was the only part of her body that he saw. She already had on a lavender, pajamas shorts.

"Are you coming in?" She asked slightly out of breath. She turned around with her black shirt, which hung off of one of her shoulder, fully on. Her cheeks were flushed.

"Yeah." He cleared his throat and closed the door. He walked toward the kitchen island, which separated the kitchen area from the living space, to place the snacks on top of it. "Sorry, I'm late. There was a robbery at the gas station."

"That's okay," she said, walking towards him and peeking inside the bag.

He noticed that her hair was somewhat damp. She must have rushed to take a shower when she noticed that he was running late. He had wanted to arrive as soon as the bar closed so that he wouldn't take up too much of her night. The robbery, however, plus his shower-which he definitely needed at the robbery-had caused him to arrive thirty minutes later than plan.

"No one got hurt, right?" She questioned, grabbing a chocolate bar and slowly unwrapped it.

"No, no one got hurt. My uniform was the only thing that didn't make it out." He explained how soda was sprayed all over him.

"Well, it's better than cow urine." She laughed before taking a bite of the candy.

He shivered. "Don't remind me." He thought about the villain who throw urine on Changeling and him to get away. They had caught her, but it had taken two days for the smell to disappear.

"That was hilarious." He grabbed her candy and took a bite of it. "Hey! There was another one in the bag."

"That's what you get for laughing. Besides, the other one doesn't taste like this."

"I'm sure that they all taste the same." She made a move to take the small piece of the bar back. He had anticipated her move and held it out of her reach.

"No, there's a difference." He snaked an arm around her waist and drew her closer. "Your lips had been on this one." He leaned down and kissed her. Her lips felt soft and full as they moved under his. Wanting more, more of her, his tongue left his mouth and traveled inside of hers. She moaned.

He could taste what the bar had hinted at. Chocolate and the sweet essence of Rachael. After another second or two, he pulled back.

"Don't stop," she whispered. "You owe me for taking my candy." She wrapped her arms around her neck and reconnected their lips. He put the candy on top of the island and repositioned them. She now sat on a stool with him standing in between her legs. Their kiss deepened as their tongues danced together.

His hands moved to her bared thighs. She shivered and pushed her body closer. His hands rubbed her thighs a few times before inching closer to her shorts. Her hands grabbed his as soon as they touched them. His eyes, which he didn't remember closing, opened.

She pulled away with her eyes closed. When she opened them, he never saw a more beautiful site. Her eyes had darkened with desire. The member inside of his pant rose more. Something in her eyes was calling to him. He wanted another taste of what her eyes was telling him that she had. Their lips touched again but only for a second.

"We should stop." He nodded but didn't comprehend her words. "Are you ready to eat?" She asked as a whispered.

He glanced down at her shorts. His thumbs rubbed circles near the bottom of each legs. He licked his lips. His eyes returned to hers. "Yeah, I'm starving."

Heat suffused her face, bringing color to her pale skin. "That isn't what I meant!" She shouted from embarrassment.

He blinked. The words were now being processed correctly inside of his brain. Food. She meant food. They should stop and eat food. His stomach growled. At least, one part of his body was on the same page as her.

He stepped away from her. He needed distance between them, or he was going to touch her again. "Um…what's for late-night snack, other than candy and chips?"

"It all depends." She was breathless. "Do you want chicken pot pie or steak fajita?"

He looked at her, shocked. "If you didn't like the kiss, just tell me. You don't have to kill me." She looked at him confused. "Your cooking skills have improved, but I'm not sure if you should be boiling more than an egg by yourself. To be honest, I don't think you should even do that."

She threw the eaten candy bar at him while he chuckled. It pounced off his chest. He caught it in his hand and finished it.

"Do you want to eat food or not?"

"I mean, it's hard to choose between food poisoning and starvation." She glared at him. He held his hands up in surrender. "Yes, I would like to eat food. Chicken pot pie, please."

She hopped off the stool. "Pick a movie while I fix the food."

He watched her for a second before moving to the sofa with the bag of candy and chips in his hand-the store had run out of dip. He grabbed the remote and turned on the TV to search for a movie on her media-service provider.

He couldn't believe that they were dating; even though, he was the one that had asked her out. His heart when oops when he thought about it.

How time had changed things? A random stranger had become a lover and a friend.

"Did you find something yet?" She placed their plates on the coffee table. When he looked down, he burst out and laughed.

"You don't have to laugh so loud." She sulked beside him. "I honestly don't trust myself in the kitchen either." He glanced down at the plates and laughed again.

"If you don't stop laughing, I'm going to kick you out."

"Sorry, sorry. It just when you said, chicken pot pie or steak fajita, I didn't know you meant hot pockets flavors." He chuckled.

"Shut up." She grabbed the remote and picked a movie that they both would like.

….

Richard's eye drifted open. In front of him, there was a woman with olive tan skin and green hair, which was similar to Rachael's green wig. Hate shined in her eyes as she whispered…

He jerked awake. He was breathing hard. What was that?

"Something's wrong?" He looked down at the sleepy face of his girlfriend. They must have fallen asleep during the movie.

"No." He kissed her on her forehead. "Go back to sleep." She uncurled herself from his arm and stretched.

She turned to look at him. "Are you sleeping on the bed or couch tonight?"

"Where were you?" Garfield paused in the middle of the living room. He could hear the blood pumping in his ear. He bit his tongue slightly before the wrong lie left his lips.

He was going to say, 'a villain had appeared' but the news almost always mentioned the Titans appearance. Instead, he said, "I went for a walk."

The lights came on as he turned around to see his fiancée coming towards him with a glass of water in her hand. She looked beautiful and piss off at the same time.

She hadn't been home when he had left. And she wasn't supposed to be here when he had returned. She was supposed to be wherever her work assignment was.

"You went for a walk at 3:30 in the morning?" She glared at him with narrowed eyes.

No, he hadn't. He had to make sure that the wolf-which he captured, drugged, framed, helped escaped, hid, and was nursing back to health-was doing okay. When he had woke up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, he had checked on the wolf from the toilet using a camera in the wolf's cage and his phone.

It was then he had noticed the wolf's distress. So, he had left the comfort of his own home to go to check-up on him. It had taken him an hour to calm the animal and to administrate the proper medicine for its self-inflected injuries.

"Where did you walk to?"

"Just around the block."

"Just around the block? I have been here for thirty minutes. Our block isn't that big. Where were you?"

He gulped on the air in his throat. Thirty minutes…Thirty minutes. Where he could had gone and what he could have done in thirty minutes?

"I'm waiting." He could tell that she was ready to explode.

Thirty minutes.

"If I tell you, you promise that you won't get angry."

"It depends on your answer." Her eyes twitched and her mouth tightened.

"Well," he scratched the back of his head. "Since you weren't here, I thought that I could go for late-night doughnuts." She blinked. "Sorry, I know that I said that I would only eat late-night doughnuts with the team, but it was like the doughnuts were calling me tonight."

"Doughnuts," she said slowly. "You went out for doughnut?"

He nodded. "You are not mad, are you?" She didn't answer. She moved closed to him and inspected him with her eyes. She walked around him before coming to a stop in front of him. Her eyes bore into his. "Retra?"

She hugged him with the glass still in her hands. "If it was only doughnuts, I will forgive you this time."

"Of course. There aren't too many things that will get me up and out of bed in the middle of the night."

She hugged him tighter and giggled. "You barely get up for sex."

"Hey!" He pulled back a little in her arms to playfully glare at her. "I'm always up for sex with you. Speaking of-" He was bending down when a phone rang.

It wasn't his. The only unique ringtones that his phone had was for the Titans app and for Retra. So, it could only belong to Retra, who had stiffened in his arm.

"Where is your phone?" His voice had deepened to a growl. He sounded similar to the wolf that he had treated a while ago.

"Gar…" He felt her loosen her arms from around him while moving away.

He grabbed her arms. Red was beginning to cover his eyes and mind. He slammed her back into him, causing her to drop the glass. "Where is your phone?" The phone stopped ringing, only to ring again. It was the same ringtone.

"Go get it." He snarled. Fear gathered in her eyes, but the red prevented him from caring. She stepped away from him and rushed to grabbed her phone from the kitchen.

He was right behind her. So, when she reached for it, he was there to snatch it away. He quickly unlocked her phone and answered it before putting it on speaker.

A word didn't escape either of their lips. They stared at one another, waiting for each other to a speak first.

"Hello." A female voice came through the phone. Gar looked down at it, causing him to miss the relief that flooded Retra's eyes. "Hello." The voice repeated. "Are you there? Are you okay?"

"Hi, love." Retra said. "I'm home with Gar now. I'll talk with you later."

"Okay, I was calling to make sure you made it home safely. We hate it when you travel by yourself."

"I know. Look, I have to go."

"Okay, bye." The line when dead. Their eyes reconnected again.

They had both lied to each other tonight. And they both would pretend that they didn't know and live in blissful ignorance. For now.

"We should go to bed." Garfield said. "It's getting late." She nodded.

Victor was still laughing when Willow said, "I can't believe that it's morning already."

It had been a week since the night at the museum. The week had been hectic at the company. Different fires that needed to be put out kept popping up. So, he only had a few free moments during the week. However, when he wasn't busy, she was. It was until Friday that they were able to go out on a date when they were free at the same time.

And they hadn't gone out at all. He had suggested for her to come to the Tower for dinner. With the rumors going on, he wasn't sure how she wanted to proceed. Plus, he was being cautious, because the last 'private' date that he had arranged had went very public.

"Where did the time go?" Vic changed the position of his head to see the sun rise from the window.

"Time flies when you are with good company." She said, staring at head at the window. "The view is breath taking from here. I didn't know the city could look like this."

"It can with good company."

She turned to look at him with a smile. She looked radiant. "Maybe, it is just the company then."

"I think that it is just the company, too." He leaned in to kiss her. She yawned.

"Sorry." She covered her mouth quickly and distanced herself away from him. She was so cute when she was embarrassed.

"No need to apologized. You are tired from being up all night. Plus, we had been busy at the company all this week."

She removed her hand and spoke, "I should probably go home and catch up on my beauty rest."

"You look beautiful without rest." The words flowed out of his mouth naturally.

"If you keep saying sweet things to me, my cheeks are going to catch on fire."

"We can't have that. You're already too hot."

She giggled. "Sto-" She yawned again, this time, while rubbing her eyes. "I really need to leave."

"Stay," he said.

She shook her head. "I can barely keep my eyes open."

"I meant that you could stay and sleep in one of the guest rooms."

"I couldn't…" She yawned. "…impose."

"And I can't let you drive like this." He stopped her before she could argue. "My teammates will be fine with it. Besides, the longer you argue with me, the later your walk of shame will be."

She let out a sleepy laugh. "Okay," she said and allowed him to show her to the guest room.

"If you need anything, press the button on the digital pad beside the door with my name on it." He instructed outside of the bedroom door. "Nightwing will be here sometime before noon. If you run into him and I'm not here for some reason, don't be alarm. He knows that you are a guest here. Do you need anything else before I head off to bed as well?"

"Yes, my question." His heart leaped at her answer. "I've been waiting for it all week."

"Umm, maybe tomorrow." He teased, but, at her surprised face, he said, "I was only joking."

"That wasn't funny."

He chuckled on the inside. It was funny to him along with her reaction. "Okay. I will be serious. Willow, would you like to be my girlfriend?"

She smiled at him and gave him a peck on his cheek. "Maybe tomorrow." She ran into the room and closed the door.

It wasn't funny when the table was turned.