Richard felt a heavy weight on his chest as he began to stir. He looked around, surveying his surroundings. He recognized the plane he was in, remembering dozing off nearly 20 minutes after takeoff. He looked down at the weight on his chest. Raven. He smiled gently, realizing she was just as tired as he was. Bringing up his hand to stroke her hair, sniffing the top of her head like a creep. Lilacs and vanilla. "Excuse me, sir," the flight attendant approached him. "We will be landing momentarily." Richard nodded, gently shaking Raven awake. "Raven," Richard whispered into the top of her head as he shook her. Her eyes began to flutter, slowly opening. "Omigosh!" she gasped nearly jumping away from him. "I'm so sorry," she apologized with large violet eyes wide opened, completely horrified to see she'd fallen asleep on her leader.

"It's okay," Richard gave her a calming look. He loved waking up to the feeling of her on top of him. "I don't mind. I just wanted to let you know, we are about to land." Raven quickly put on her seatbelt, refusing to meet her leader's intense gaze. Her cheeks reddened as she tried not to think about exactly where her head had been. Moments later, she was following Richard to a parked town car, where an old man stood. Raven was so focused on the old gentleman, her body had yet to process how cold it was. "Hey, Alfred," Richard greeted the kind butler. "Master Grayson. Wonderful to see you again, sir."

"And this is- "

"Miss Raven," Alfred interrupted Richard, taking the empath's hand gently in his, an action that shocked Richard. "It is good to see you." Richard almost heard the unspoken again at the end of that sentence. After convincing Alfred they did not need help loading their bags, Richard and Raven were finally able to climb into the backseat. Once comfortable, once Alfred began driving, Richard turned to Raven and asked her mentally, "What was that?"

"What was what?" Raven asked innocently.

"Alfred held your hand…the way he was speaking to you…it was almost as if…" Richard's voice trailed off.

"As if what?" Raven asked when he didn't continue.

"As if you already knew each other." Raven blinked a few times in confusion. "Richard, I just met Alfred," she said. "You saw."

"I know."

"If anything, Alfred seemed to know me."

"What?"

"He grabbed my hand in such a familiar way, as if he knew me." Richard began to flush under Raven's intense stare. "Do you talk about us with your butler every time you visit?"

"N-N-No," he stuttered, "not every time. Sometimes we talk about coffee and tea." Raven raised a brow at her leader. He quickly ended their mind connection. "Well," Raven said aloud after clearing her throat, "you could have mentioned the near-freezing temperature."

"It's not that cold outside."

"Seriously?" Raven scoffed, "it has to be below freezing."

"I'm pretty sure I said to bring a jacket."

"Yeah, but you didn't say I'd need one made from the fur of an alpaca."

"You didn't seem cold when we exited the plane."

"I was so focused on our surroundings…I didn't realize how cold I was until I realized how warm Alfred's hands were. Is it going to be like this the entire time?"

"Worry not, Miss Raven," Alfred looked at the two in the rearview mirror, "I'm sure Master Dick has already thought of all the ways to keep you warm."

"Alfred!" Richard explained in abject horror, wishing he could disappear. Raven covered a smile with her hand as the car's atmosphere instantly changed to one of awkwardness. The kind butler simply hummed a Christmas tune, not at all caring about the car's atmospheric change.

Richard's mind was all over the place as he began to slowly unpack. He hadn't wanted to worry Raven, but the giant chocolate kisses had him worried. He didn't even know how to explain where they came from to Alfred. The old man only stared at Richard blankly as Richard tried to explain the gifts. Eventually, Alfred put him out of his misery, telling him to take the giant candies to the kitchen. "I'll use them in something at the Christmas Eve gala, which is in a week, by the way," he reminded Richard. He was refolding a shirt when he sensed Raven's presence at his open door. "May I come in?" she asked shyly.

"Of course," Richard said. "How's your room?" he asked about the guestroom with a bathroom that connected to his room. Alfred was just so funny.

"It's big," Raven slowly made his way to him. "We share a bathroom."

"I know," Richard rolled his eyes before turning to her. He was going to kill Alfred. "But...um…" Raven sucked her lower lip as she nervously sat on his bed. Richard couldn't figure out why she was suddenly nervous. "Raven," he got her attention, "it's me. What's on your mind?"

"I sensed a change in your emotions," she blurted out breathlessly. "You're worried, but you're trying not to be. Why?"

"This is your first Christmas without the threat of your father hanging over your head. This…I want to make sure you have a good time. I don't want you to spend your first worry-free Christmas, worrying about me."

"Richard," Raven stared at him intently, "if you're stressed, then I'm stressed. And not because you're my leader or teammate. You are…you're…" her voice trailed off. She wasn't sure what she was trying to say. "I can't have fun if you're not having fun. If you're worried, I'm worried."

"But you shouldn't."

"I choose to."

"Why?" he stopped folding, holding the empath's stare. Raven's lips parted slightly to respond. Richard slowly lifted a hand to her face, gently placing a few strands of soft, violet hair behind her ear. He was so happy she'd decided to grow it out. It almost reached her lower back now, and he ached to pull his fingers through the soft strands. His eyes returned to Raven's beautiful irises as his thumb slowly began stroking her lower lip. The air was charged with the energy racing between them. He was going to do it. He was going to kiss her. Raven seemed to be following his lead as she began to slowly lean towards him. Now was his chance, and he refused to miss it. "What's that?" she whispered, her face scrunching in confusion. Her head was turned away from him. Richard followed her gaze. She was looking inside his suitcase where a plastic package lay. "I – I don't know," Richard said, his hand slowly fell from her face.

"How can you not know?" Raven asked, "didn't you pack your own bag?" Richard fixed her with a look. "Sorry," she said, "it's better than the alternative."

"Is there anything in there that you…sense?" Richard asked. If he were truly honest with himself, he would admit that he was sick and tired of whatever game was being played. Raven's eyes and hand glowed black. "Nothing," she said. "I sense…nothing." Richard didn't want to worry Alfred by taking the package to the Batcave. He also didn't want to alert Bruce, who had yet to return from work. "We don't have to open it now?" Raven asked, hugging herself. "Do we?"

"Well, none of the gifts I've received so far have hurt me," he turned to look at the girl looking at him with blatant worry. "Also, I have you here to protect me," he smiled, trying to rid the stress lines from her face. Her face remained the same. Richard sighed before gently picking up the package. It was heavier than it looked. He slowly opened the top of it, pulled out a card, and read the front of it to himself. "Let me guess," Raven spoke after several seconds, "this is the 5th day of Christmas?"

"Yep." He then turned the package upside-down, dumping out the contents. He heard Raven gasp as he did so. On his bed lay 5 rings in 5 separate plastic bags. Five golden rings, as round as bangles and slightly thicker. "Are those…" Raven's voice trailed off as she stood next to Richard. "Those can't be real, right?" she asked. Richard took one out of the package. Upon closer inspection, he saw that they seemed to sparkle…like a starry night…with a gold sky. Raven picked up the discarded card and read aloud, "These are not 100% real gold. I don't have the type of money. Instead, they're 25% gold with a little magic to make them sparkle. P.S. Do you know who I am? This person seems to want you to know who they are," Raven said as she handed the card to Richard. "But they are…" her fingertips stroked the soft metal. "I know it's weird and unnerving, but maybe the person doing this genuinely likes you," she said. "It's not easy making metal look like a starry night, but who could know you so well?" Richard's eyes snapped up to meet hers. "What did you say?" he asked.

"I was just saying that maybe the person who did this really likes you."

"No. After that."

"Who could know you so well?"

"Before that," he said. Raven pursed her lips as she began to think back, but Richard knew the signs of a person stalling. Raven looked at him. A look flashed in her eyes, too quick for him to decipher. She opened her mouth to answer but was interrupted by Alfred. "Have you had dinner, sir?" Alfred appeared in his room. "Oh. I see you and Miss Raven are already settling in."

"She's sleeping in the guestroom, Alfred," Richard said, desperately hoping the butler would shut up.

"Well, of course, she's sleeping in the guestroom, Master Dick. Where else would she sleep?" Richard gave Alfred an exasperated look. "I have a few sandwiches downstairs if that interests you."

"It does," Raven gave him a small smile. "I'll take one."

"Take your time. They're in the kitchen when you're ready. Master Bruce, I'm afraid, had a last-minute work emergency. He won't be in until late."

"Work emergency?" Richard scoffed, "or work emergency."

"No one likes a smartass, Master Dick. Just say what you mean. It's a work emergency." The butler then turned on his heel and strolled out Richard's bedroom, leaving the young man shocked and stuttering. "You were right," Raven said, "I do like him."

"Uh," was all Richard could say.