CHAPTER FOUR
MAUVE

As Raven dragged her feet through the tower halls, arms laden with shopping bags and knuckles white from gripping more in her hands, she was reminded why she only ever ventured out to the mall once in a Blue Moon.

Never mind brawling with criminals, taking punches and kicks and being thrown to the ground every other day. This is what left her exhausted. Her whole body was a lead weight, with every muscle wailing for rest.

"I have thoroughly enjoyed today, Raven!"

She looked to the girl at her side and tried not to wince. Despite carrying twice as many bags, each one bulging to the brim, the alien walked on with ease as though they weighed nothing at all. As though she hadn't spent the past four hours on her feet, stopping only once for a small coffee break.

Raven forsook her tiredness, enough at least to meet Starfire's joy with a small lift of her lips.

"It was good to get out of the tower for a bit," she admitted, and for the most part it was true. Though she was more than ready to collapse onto her bed now, she contented herself in knowing that she'd finally restocked on her witchy essentials, as well as treated herself to some books, incense, and a cosy sweater.

Starfire had set out intent for a new wardrobe, and Raven couldn't fully understand it, knowing they were so often required to wear their uniform. But her friend had explained that she sought mostly evening wear - cocktail dresses, heels, accessories - for all the new dates Robin was sure to be taking her on.

So like a good friend, Raven had obliged. She had patiently sat in the changing rooms and given her honest opinion on anything the redhead tried on (and she tried on a lot). Starfire looked stunning in everything, of course, but the magus was certain Robin would adore her even if she one day woke up and decided to trade in all her skirts and dresses for a garbage bag.

"Agreed. I feel we were overdue the catching up." And catch up they did, over one mug of coffee and one cup of Boba tea in a newish café with modern art adorning the walls. They didn't speak of their leader, or of boys at all. Only of memories, of their mounting dislike for the media, of gossip amongst the new honorary Titans and of future plans to anticipate.

"And I am most pleased with my purchases. I thank you again for your assistance," Starfire said through a bright smile as the two neared Main Ops.

"No problem," Raven returned, and though it had been a bit of an ordeal, she had realised long ago that friendships like theirs often meant meeting somewhere in the middle.

"Do you wish to meditate together later? Or perhaps engage in a chess match?"

"Maybe tomorrow, Starfire. I think I just need to switch off for now," she said, knowing her friend would take no offence. The Tamaranean nodded.

"I understand," Starfire replied just as they reached the common room doors. They slid open for them, unveiling a scene of their three teammates gathered on the sofa and slamming at buttons in a three-way game of Smash Bros.

"Friends, we have returned from our journey to the mall!" called Starfire, making Raven's eyes bulge when she went on to raise her arms high, weighted bags and all. The sibyl felt her bones might break should she attempt to lift so much as a finger.

Instinctively, Robin and Beast Boy threw their heads over the back of the sofa, whilst Cyborg stayed latched to the battle taking place on screen. A true warrior - not one to be easily distracted - and this served him well, for the next sound that filled the room was that of Yoshi and Link's defeated cries at the hands of a laughing Donkey Kong.

Robin accepted the loss, not once taking his eyes from Starfire, even as she dropped all her bags and he discarded his controller to one side. She gleefully flew towards the living area, a struggling Raven still lumbering a few steps behind.

"How was it?" he smiled up at his girlfriend, trying to ignore the changeling's harping for a rematch against the robot behind him.

"Oh, we had so much fun," she said, letting her boots touch down as she saw him climb over the back of the couch cushions.

"Tonnes," Raven droned, wearing a face of fatigue before she too let all her bags drop heavily to the floor. Robin had to snort at the contrast between the two, but sympathised all the same. He knew too well what a handful an enthusiastic Starfire could be. It appeared the alien wasn't naïve to this, for she felt herself shrink slightly and grow bashful.

"Ah, but I confess, I am also feeling the exhaustion now," she said through a sheepish smile. Robin smiled with her, breaching the space between them and coiling a comforting arm about her waist. He gave a small, chaste kiss to her cheekbone and she giggled against his jaw.

"You still look beautiful," he told her shamelessly, though with a dip of his voice in the hopes that it would be lost amidst his friends' chatter.

No such luck.

He immediately caught wind of how the boys went quiet, and when he risked a glimpse, they were eyeing each other with cocked brows and sly smirks. Raven often forgot just how in sync the best friends were, but was abruptly reminded when Beast Boy flung himself across the couch into Cyborg's arms, already open as though they'd rehearsed the whole thing prior.

"Oh," the shifter lamented, slumped into Cyborg's chest with a limp hand draped over his forehead. Cyborg also donned a melodramatic guise, looking down to Beast Boy as though his eyes held the very stars in the sky. "I too feel so weary from the toils of the day!"

Without missing a beat, the metal man leaned down to his teammate with a hooded gaze and comical pout to his lips.

"Fret not, my darling angel," he sang back with a voice that bounced off the walls. "Why, you're just as dashing as the day I met you."

If Raven snuck a peek at Robin, she'd see how his blossoming smile was slowly giving way to a hardened glare. But as it happened, the scene playing out before her was much too amusing (or perhaps too disturbing) to look away.

Beast Boy forced out a chortle at two octaves higher than his natural voice.

"Oh, Victor, you tease," he tittered, playfully slapping at the older man's chest. Cyborg took his big, broad hands and planted them on Gar's cheeks until they were squished together like marshmallows.

"Kiss me, you fool," he whispered, and in the next second Beast Boy tackled him in a display of unparalleled passion. The two flung their arms around each other and let them roam frantically as a backdrop of loud, smacking kiss-sounds flooded the space.

Though Starfire took it all in her stride, only ducking her head and pressing her lips together to keep from laughing, Robin looked positively offended. Desperately, his head shot to Raven, but she too had betrayed him, only wearing a similar smirk of satisfaction with folded arms.

So he just slumped.

"Wow, guys. Scandalous," the Boy Wonder droned through his stubborn frown. "I wonder what Sarah would say?"

Upon hearing this name, Cyborg dropped his act and lifted his head from their scramble.

"Hey. As I have stated many times, Sarah and I are just friends," he retorted, pointing an accusing finger at his leader.

"A friend you have as your lock screen," Raven muttered remorselessly beneath her breath. As was often the case, she seemed to be taking neither side here. Beast Boy ripped himself from Cyborg's front with a gasp.

"There's someone else?!" This earned him a light smack to the head.

The lock screen was the only reason any of them knew of Sarah's existence.

None of the four heroes had ever met Cyborg's civilian 'friend', but from her picture, they could discern that she had fair skin, large, almond eyes, and dirty blonde hair that she often wore in a pony-tail.

When Starfire had spotted the image of the pair over Cyborg's shoulder, she had unassumingly announced it to the entire room.

"Who is that girl?"

Cyborg flinched and practically drove his phone into his chest.

"Girl, what girl?"

"The girl you have your arm around in that photo," Starfire said, pointing at the device pressed against him.

After that, he hadn't stood a chance. All eyes had turned to him in rampant curiosity (albeit Robin's train of thought was more attuned to revenge), and he had been mobbed by all but Raven.

They had managed to wrangle out of him that he'd met this stranger very recently. She was a college student who in her spare time had joined the same volunteer programme Cyborg had been a part of for years. They worked alongside each other twice a week, aiding disabled children undergoing treatment at Jump City hospital.

She had no powers. No aliases. No affiliations. Nothing.

Just an ordinary girl with a heart of gold, and apparently everything Cyborg hadn't known he'd wanted in a partner.

Though he had yet to admit it, it was clear enough from his reactions that the Titan was smitten. And though he didn't know it, in persistently denying this, he also disclosed to them all that it must've been pretty serious.

Cyborg was no loner. He had proven time and time again to be someone who knew exactly how to play the field, and play it well. The man was smooth, charming, and without a doubt the most 'experienced' of the team by a mile.

Despite his talent for keeping his romantic life private, his friends had figured out through some investigation that he'd taken at least six women on a date during his time as a Titan, with three being honorary members. Whilst none of them seemed to stick, it was still an impressive number for someone who was primarily dedicated to a profession such as theirs, and he seemed happy enough with the circumstances under which each had ended.

The others sometimes wondered how he was able to squeeze it all in; it often felt like Cyborg just had more time in the day to be a normal guy than anyone else did. Whilst the rest of them had never led any semblance of a normal life, he had been an ordinary student before his accident, and sometimes it was easy to forget that.

Raven suspected that in integrating himself amongst the public, he was given a sense of comfort. It reminded him that, though things could never be 'normal' again, he was still able to hold onto pieces of the life he'd intended to lead somewhere between the chaos of piloting battleships and saving the world.

Whatever he got up to in his spare time, it had certainly granted him confidence in the dating game. Far more than any of his teammates, at least (though there wasn't much to be said for this when put against a withdrawn introvert, a hopeless dork, and two people who had stolidly held out for each other for three years straight).

All-in-all, the man had a way about him. He was popular in his hero life as he had once been in his human life. And yet, for all this bravado, Sarah didn't seem to care much for any of it. She was perhaps the most genuine, selfless person he had ever encountered, and he had at some point decided that she would not be another passing fancy, but someone he wanted to cultivate a real relationship with.

Not that the Titans needed to know any of this yet.

"So, when are you asking her out?" Robin pried, now donning his own grin and releasing Starfire's waist to cross his arms over his chest. It was only fair that he seize this rare opportunity presented to him, especially considering the treatment he'd received this past month. Cyborg gripped one hand over the head of the sofa, remarkably keeping his blush at bay.

"So, when are you asking her- I dunno, Rob!" he parroted back, mocking. "Should I give it another month, or maybe thirty?"

Now Starfire couldn't help but laugh. Even as she raised a hand to stifle it, it came spilling out from her lips whilst Robin's flush merely deepened at her side. He began to bark something of a comeback, but Raven missed the exact words, for she was suddenly gripped by the feeling of eyes upon her.

Amethysts flickered to the source and saw Beast Boy with his upper-half still draped over the head of the couch. One arm hung limply whilst the other propped his head up, a cheek pressed into his hand as he watched her.

His gaze clung in a kind of fog, as though he were lost adrift his wandering thoughts, and Raven suddenly wondered whether she had been right in thinking she'd caught him glancing her way during their card game yesterday too.

It took a second for him to blink back to reality, and in the instant that he did, he tore his eyes from her at lightning speed. Reluctantly, Raven followed suit, also returning her attention to their friends, still chattering amongst themselves.

"So, everyone agreed?" said Robin, and neither Garfield nor Raven had a clue as to what they were agreeing to. Thankfully, he asked for her.

"To what?"

"Movie night. Cyborg's pick."

"Aw, yeahhh." The metal man eagerly rubbed his hands together. "Hope y'all are ready for some Shyamalan-level twists!"

Clearly, he already had a movie in mind, but as was tradition, he would merely proceed to drop hints throughout the day and only unveil the title minutes before they were all settled in to watch.

"Just nothing too loud," Raven said, pressing her fingers to her temple then pacing towards the kitchen. As she took the kettle from its stand and brought it to the faucet, Cyborg placed his hands on his hips and smiled over to her.

"Don't worry, Rave. You're gonna love it," he assured, only receiving a hum in return. She'd be the judge of that when the time came.

"Looks like I'm on dinner," Raven heard her leader continue behind her. "So everyone just be here for seven, then we'll aim to start the movie at eight."

"And hopefully the bad guys will have enough decency to lay off our town for one night," Gar muttered from where he still hung over the back of the couch. Starfire looked to Robin, but was really addressing everyone when she spoke.

"If all is well, then I must now put away my purchases and locate Silkie for his afternoon bath," she said cheerily before giving her boyfriend a swift peck on the lips and once again taking up her twelve shopping bags with ease. "I shall see you at dinner, friends!"

She received a few casual waves on her way out, then the doors shut behind her. Next to leave was Cyborg, who gave a big stretch of his arms and mentioned something about wanting to run a security system update. In the kitchen, Raven finished steeping her tea and tapped a teaspoon against the rim of the mug. It clinked twice and she took the beverage in hand, also slipping away to the exit, no doubt intent for her bedroom.

For a minute the room was quiet, then Robin was hurling himself back over the head of the sofa and reclaiming his abandoned controller.

"Rematch?" he baited the changeling, whose mouth stretched into a crooked grin. He also snatched up his controller, crossing both legs beneath him and hunching forward in excitement.

"Oh, you're on!"

- T -

As planned, everyone was gathered at the dinner table for 7:00pm.

By the time their plates were empty, forty minutes had passed and the golden sky had been swallowed by a wash of deep blue. Honouring his duty for the night, Cyborg pushed up from his chair and collected the dishes before heading to the sink to begin cleaning.

They all confirmed a second time that they would return for 8:00pm, using the next twenty minutes to stop by their rooms and change into their nightwear. Raven slipped the new sweater she'd bought at the mall over her head - a purchase made purely for the purpose of lounging in around the tower. It was a little too big, enveloping her petite frame in its soft, supple fabric, and the sleeves draped a bit too low on her wrists, letting her fingers peek out from the cuffs.

She teamed it with her favourite pair of light-grey cotton shorts, and when she straightened, they almost disappeared beneath the length of the sweater.

The enchantress wandered over to her mirror and briefly peered at her reflection through the darkness of her room. She definitely looked tired. Her pupils were blown-out, making her eyes appear almost entirely black, and beneath them was a dusky hue blemishing her otherwise porcelain skin.

Raven released a sigh, trying in earnest to ignore the call of her bed and convince herself that this movie would be enjoyable. With lazy hands, she swept up her hairbrush and ran it through the tousled locks until they looked somewhat presentable.

A glance to her clock told her she had five minutes to be back in Main Ops, and that was about the time it would take to get there, so she finished up by putting on her slippers and heading back out into the hallway.

The common room doors opened on her approach and she was quick to note that she'd been the last to arrive. Over by the television was Cyborg and Robin, likely quarrelling over the surround-sound settings (as had become routine on most movie nights).

In the centre of the room, just behind the sofa, Starfire was engaged in what looked to be a thrilling conversation with a familiar changeling. His ear twitched as Raven descended the stairs and he regarded her with a welcoming smile.

She really wished he wouldn't do that.

You see, Raven had recently concluded that there was something a bit... wrong with her.

Amidst her craving to be around her friends more often since the Brotherhood, she had also found herself zoning out in public spaces one too many times - a thing her trained mind had seldom allowed for in the past. What was more problematic was the fact that, during a lot of these daydreams, her focus would always seem to shift one way or another to the green Titan before her.

Her friend, Beast Boy. Garfield. The one who she had known since she was fifteen and still trying to build some traces of a life beyond Azarath. The one who had always been a few inches shorter than her, always a touch too fanatical over TV shows and who, in spite of all this, had effortlessly become a part of what made up the very essence of her soul.

Though the two had butted heads in the beginning, they had long since surpassed such behaviour. She had become worldly enough to recognise that their dynamic in those early days had been a result of his insistence to get under her skin teamed with her debility to let him.

It was kid's stuff.

Now the sibyl could look back fondly on such memories, knowing that through all their shared experiences, something at some point had changed. They had changed. And not just Beast Boy and Raven, but all of the Titans.

In so many words, they were growing up; a reality Raven was able to accept, so long as they were growing up together. But then there was Beast Boy. And though she wouldn't voice it, it seemed to be the case that with every passing day, he was changing yet again.

She wasn't sure who else on the team had noticed the glaring truth that their good friend was perhaps maturing a bit too well.

Thus far, no one had made a single comment on the matter, and honestly, why would they? They were probably sensible in refusing to provide any ammo with which he could flaunt his already unbearable ego around the tower.

Raven halted in place and observed how he was now wearing charcoal joggers and a white T-Shirt - the one that always stood out against his clover skin. Its sleeves clung to the shape of his biceps, exposing the subtle vein along his forearm that would typically be veiled by lycra. She allowed herself another moment to linger on his gloveless hands, wider and larger than they had once been; the way his hair sat dishevelled at the crown of his head.

And she was certain that lower canine hadn't always been so endearing...

Raven inwardly scolded herself for that last thought. They were merely minor improvements, but surely everyone else had noticed too. There was no way it could just be her. And it wasn't like any of it even mattered, anyway.

All of her friends were good-looking. Robin was handsome. Cyborg was handsome. So it made very little sense for her to dwell on Beast Boy's handsome any more than she did theirs.

Ultimately, the girl had come to the conclusion that there was nothing to be gained in denying that, yes, he was a touch more attractive these days. A tad more engaging, now he could look her in the eye without having to tilt his head upwards. Though his physique was filling out, he still possessed that boyish face and those elven accents he'd always had, and it was beginning to make for quite the cruel combination.

There was no shame in acknowledging this. She had eyes. It was merely the truth.

Raven absently approached the sofa and was jolted to attention for the second time that day.

"Alright team, looks like we're set up!" Cyborg hollered as he stood from the DVD player. Starfire clapped excitedly then soared to her spot on the couch, where a bowl of popcorn and refreshments awaited on the table opposite.

As everyone else settled down, Raven made to do the same, opting to walk around the edge of the sofa instead of fly. The room was abruptly cast into darkness as Robin flicked the main light switch then hurried to his seat, leaving their faces illuminated only by the glow of the TV screen.

Once Raven reached the front of the sofa she found herself facing another dilemma, the flavour of the day being that her designated spot was always at the end, with Beast Boy to her left.

How is that a problem? said a voice in her head. It isn't. So then why was she suddenly overcome with the desire to squeeze herself in between Starfire and Cyborg instead?

Beast Boy was making himself comfortable, grabbing a soda can before leaning back into the cushions and placing both feet up on the coffee table. In the middle was Robin and Starfire, already snuggling close together with a small blanket thrown over them, then at the other end was Cyborg, holding the remote in his hand.

Raven inhaled and took her seat, immediately folding her legs beneath her.

"So what's this twisty-turny movie, Cy?" Gar said through a swig of his drink. The man in question perked up, ready to beguile them all with a break-down.

"Okay," he opened, splaying his hands out to set the scene. "We're watchin' Knives Out. It's about this family who-"

"Ap-apapapap!" Cyborg was none too happy to be cut off by Robin, who had heaved himself upright to wave his arms in a silencing gesture. "I don't want any clues! I just want to watch and figure out the catch before any of you do," he insisted, reclining again and latching his eyes to the TV.

Raven had forgotten about the boy's tendency to go all 'detective mode' when it came to murder-mysteries. With no room to argue, Cyborg pointed the remote out to the TV to start the film, muttering a bitter 'okay then' as he did.

The first ten minutes alone had the five heroes hooked, engrossed by the movie's fast pace and compelling cast. Though they all shared in a rule to not talk too much during flicks, it couldn't be helped that the odd comment was tossed about here and there.

Daniel Craig was sat in a plush leather chair, interviewing a woman in pink, and Garfield breathed deep, praying that the girl to his right was oblivious to the struggle that had been simmering inside him.

It was such a trivial action, she likely wouldn't even notice it happening. And really, there was no reason at all for him to feel so hesitant in lifting his arm and laying it across the back of his own sofa in his own home. It was a nothing move. He reasoned that they had been sitting there for some time - of course he'd want to stretch his limbs out a bit.

Just do it.

Gar shifted, making sure he was pressed as far back into the sofa as humanly possible. Then, just as he crossed one foot over the other on the coffee table, he also let his right arm crook at the elbow and rest against the head of the couch behind him.

It wasn't… exactly what he'd been going for, but it was a good place to start. And since Raven hadn't reacted whatsoever, he allowed himself a small exhale of relief.

Another five minutes went by, and the changeling decided his arm was about to feel stiff again. So he felt his fingers twitch in readiness, then in the most casual, 'this-is-totally-normal' manner he could muster, he let his arm unfold from where it was bent at the elbow, and set it down soundlessly along the head of the sofa.

His heart was thrumming like a wild thing in his chest, but it had no right to be, as Raven was still completely unresponsive to the movement transpiring behind her. Really, it was something of a let-down. He'd wanted her to be at least a little bit aware, otherwise it might as well not have even happened.

He dared a peek at her from the corner of his eye, and as could've been expected, she looked unfazed, absorbing the movie with that signature air of passivity. Beast Boy's lips pursed to one side before he admitted defeat, returning his attention back to the screen.

By the time the moon was hanging high beyond the window, Raven wasn't sure how long the feature had been running for. But as was the case with most movies, they reached a certain lull wherein the story slowed down a bit. At some point she had unfolded her legs and opted to have them tucked up at her side, her arms wrapped around her torso in a sort of self-hug.

She blinked languidly through the film, watching on as the protagonist crept down a set of stairs and trying to ignore the fact that her eyes were feeling heavier with every drop of her lids. In her chest, her breathing slowed. She felt her ribs expand then fall as a mist crept over her mind, and at every corner of her vision, the darkness began to bleed through.

Soon, Raven found herself viewing shapes and colours through a vignette, and though there seemed to be commotion starting up again on screen, all she could hear was the actors' voices like a dull rumble in her ears.

To her left, Beast Boy brought his soda can to his lips with his free hand, then almost choked on a swallow at the sensation of a weight suddenly pressed against his side. The changeling abruptly ripped his sights from the movie, feeling his pulse stutter at the sight of Raven with her head at a tilt, eyes closed and lips slightly parted.

Oh no.

This wasn't even a little bit fair. Beast Boy was already going through a crisis; he already liked her enough when she would scowl at him, let alone fall asleep against his shoulder.

In that moment, he concluded some evil force of the universe must be testing him. And the worst part was that he had been in this situation once before. Only once.

It had been an exceptionally long trip in the T-Car, and for most of the ride she had had her earphones in, unwilling to interact with anyone. Next thing he knew, that weight had been on him again, leaning heavily into the dip between his neck and his shoulder.

And he had panicked.

It might've been that everyone else was simply too tired to have noticed during that particular drive, otherwise he was sure they'd have taken their communicators out for some blackmail photos. But as it happened, he had had to suffer in silence, much too reluctant to attempt to wake her from her nap.

So he let her catch up on the sleep she'd clearly needed, and eventually she came back to the world on her own, lifting her head and once again causing Garfield's heart to leap in his chest. Trapped in the enclosed space of their vehicle, Raven had only been able to look at him and blush upon realising her mishap.

He had offered a slanted smile, hoping to God that he wasn't about to get admonished for something he had no say in to begin with. But to his surprise she merely sat up straight, stretching the space between them, then looked out the window as though nothing had happened at all.

Maybe if she was convincing enough, she would sway them both into thinking that that was the case.

On that day, her sleep had been an endless void. Now, it was imbued not with dreams, but with memories; a spectre of visions dancing behind her eyes, vivid and real as the moment she had lived them…

"C'mon, Raven. Everyone's gotta be initiated!"

She was sat on the sofa with one leg crossed over the other and her arms folded defensively over her chest. Violet eyes glared daggers at the four cornering her, each wearing their own brand of amusement at the prospect of someone like Raven being forced to travel everywhere in roller blades and a hot pink wig.

"Why is this even a thing?"

"It's tradition!" Cyborg exclaimed. "And you've got it easy, girl. When I signed up on the football team, things happened that you would not want me to repeat in this room." Despite the animosity of his words, he said it all with a tone that was much too chipper.

She raised a brow at him, unyielding, then a redhead popped into her sights, also donning the same pink wig and a clown nose.

"Oh, yes! You must participate in the Earthly tradition." Starfire grinned wide then honked her nose for the umpteenth time, causing her to giggle once again. "I resemble a newborn Whisserfop!"

"Yeah, what Star said!" the green Titan encouraged. "Wait, a Whisser-what now?"

Her masked leader was next to speak, taking a few steps towards her and regarding her with a sense of civility.

"You don't have to wear them if you don't want to. It's a pretty lame tradition," he smiled patiently at her, and she felt grateful to have at least one other sensible person on this circus of a team.

"Boooo!" Cyborg couldn't help but jeer from behind. "No exceptions!" Her frown deepened.

"I just don't see the point," the magus scowled.

"Oooh, okay 'Ebony-Dark'ness-Dementia-Raven-Way'," Beast Boy drawled in return.

What the Hell did that even mean? Her expression hardened and the group was just about ready to surrender.

"Fine," Raven said. "But just the skates."

Ha, the skates were the best part! As she wrenched the offending shoes from Cyborg and began to put them on, everyone looked to each other, psyched for the display of their cold, detached teammate tripping over herself on eight wobbly wheels.

She tied the final knot and let her foot hit the ground, then stood, looking to her team as if to say 'there, are you happy?'

Cyborg and Beast Boy were snickering already.

"Hey Raven, I'm feelin' real thirsty. Think you can get me a glass of water from the kitchen?" the robot said in faux innocence.

"Sure."

The boys could've sworn they felt their spirits break when she then proceeded to levitate from the ground and float gracefully over to the kitchen. She turned back, satisfied at the sight of miffed pouts in place of where their smiles had been.

"Ice?"

Like watercolours, all the hues around her streamed together, realigning her world until a new image formed. She was in her bedroom, and all her friends had fallen away into the shadows.

There was something in her hands, folded in the cradle of her lap, and it took many moments for her to realise that what she held onto so gently was another hand belonging to someone else. Raven looked down to observe it, and felt her stomach swoop at the sight of papyrus against her ivory skin.

"It won't be long now…"

There it was. That voice that made her soul burn. That sweet, sonorous sound, like rich honey.

"I know," Raven heard herself reply. Her vision was tunnelling at where she lingered on their hands, then she did something brave. She peered up at him, and those quiet, spellbinding eyes only lured her in deeper, until she was swept beneath the waves of a silver sea.

Their gazes never broke, even as he freed one of his hands to tuck a finger beneath her chin and guide her in closer.

"You must be patient. I am already astonished by what you have achieved in such a brief time."

For a moment her eyes lowered in determination.

"It isn't enough."

An airy chuckle fluttered from behind his wrappings, and her heart fluttered with it.

"Dear, do you ever grant yourself reprieve?"

He was searching deep into her violet pools, drawing an answer from her, and she allowed his fingers to unfurl and graze lightly along the curve of her jaw.

"Sorry," Raven whispered back. "I just really want…" She swallowed against the relentless warmth beginning low in her belly, then flourishing out to touch the apples of her cheeks.

"I just want you to be free."

"As do I…"

She watched through an ethereal cloud how his face neared hers, slowly diminishing the space that existed between them. Her eyes fell closed at the touch of his forehead to her own, and she wondered whether he could hear the tremble of her pulse at this heady proximity.

"You truly captivate me, Raven."

The words were sighed out on a wistful breath, like her name was a psalm on his lips. In her lap, his hand wrapped tighter around hers, whilst the other settled with a palm pressed steadily to her cheek.

"Would that my lips were not stolen by this wretched curse…"

The sorceress' chest ached, a desperate thing living within it, but as her brows furrowed and breath tremored, the weight of his hand slowly vanished from her skin.

In the darkness of her eyes, new colours and shapes were twisting once more, painting a scene of the ocean by the time she opened them.

"Beast Dude?" he tried again, eliciting a small groan to rise in her throat.

"Okay, okay," the shifter chuckled, a sprightly sound that flitted through the night. "I'm outta suggestions anyway."

She huffed an approving sound from her nose and they both turned back to the ocean, savouring its silence. After a moment, it was broken again by Raven's voice, calm and composed.

"We've all agreed to speak to Robin," she told him. "About the way he treated you." Garfield's brows furrowed as that same flare of guilt returned.

"Rae…" he sighed. "You guys don't need to do that. It was a bad situation."

"And he doesn't know how to handle them."

She wasn't wrong. Though Beast Boy could appreciate his leader's concern and distrust at the time, a part of him still felt undeserving of how he'd been threatened so ruthlessly. How he had been considered guilty until proven innocent.

He could still feel that heat of animosity against the breadth of his neck, the disdain that rolled off Robin's tongue as he leaned in close to accuse him of hurting the one person he knew he would never hurt.

His shoulders fell and spine bowed.

"Honestly, I'll be glad to just let this whole thing die."

"Mm…" she hummed, and he could hear in how it left her that their leader was likely still going to get a stern talking to.

Another pause followed, guided by the stillness of the sea.

There was something gnawing at Raven, and she couldn't quite understand why her friends had not yet pried into this mystery themselves. Though she reasoned she should follow their example and simply let it be, she knew that against her better judgement, the question brimming at her lips was about to escape into the open air.

So she let it.

"Why did it only protect me?"

Where he had been beginning to relax, Beast Boy suddenly felt his whole body freeze.

"What?" he croaked out.

"... The Beast didn't hesitate to attack our friends in defending me. Why?"

He truly thought he'd gotten away with it. But as ever, the enchantress just had to be one step ahead of everyone else.

Beast Boy swallowed, his jaw clenching as he did, and suddenly he felt that the eyelet of his shoelace was the most intriguing thing he'd ever seen.

"Uh… I don't…" He steadied himself. "I don't know."

Trying to find his words was like trying to grasp smoke. He fumbled and clutched, but it still evaded him. Then, somehow, he managed to grab onto something, so he took it without question.

"I mean, it saw Adonis go after you first. Right?" the boy offered, finally finding the courage to look her in the eye. "You were being attacked. Maybe from then it, like… viewed you as something to be protected?"

A breeze blew past them as Raven held his gaze, and for the millionth time, he found himself loathing her talent for being so completely unreadable.

"Maybe."

Raven knew how this memory ended. Now, he was going to give an awkward laugh and move along. He was going to take out his communicator and acknowledge the time, then suggest they should turn in for the night. And she was going to agree, and they would head inside and never speak of the incident again.

Except he didn't laugh. Instead, he frowned, then he was reaching a hand out to land on her shoulder.

"Raven?" he said.

"Yes?"

"Raven."

She felt a flicker of impatience.

"What?"

"Hey... Raven."

In the present, she was thrown from her reveries by a gentle shaking motion. Her lashes fluttered to reveal deep, indigo eyes, bleary with confusion. She blinked through the haze, slowly adjusting to the world around her and taking in the recognisable shade of forest green holding her vision.

She lifted her head from its perch and was startled by how it instantly yearned to be dropped back down. Tenaciously, she fought against the urge, sitting up and quickly garnering the situation she'd put herself in.

"You fell asleep," Gar said patiently, drawing his arm back into him before she could notice the way it had been looped around her.

"Oh…" the sibyl breathed out, wincing against the roughness in her voice. She leaned away even further as the heel of her hand rose to rub at her eye. "Sorry."

This was just Hell for him. In her waking moments, she looked and sounded nothing short of angelic. Even with one side of her hair fluffed from where she'd been resting, even with her eyes slightly pink and her posture wilted. In trices like this, Garfield felt positively honoured to be one of the few people who got to see the demoness with all of her guards lowered.

"That's okay," Beast Boy assured, hoping that his faint smile wasn't betraying the frantic thumping of his heart. Then she placed her palms into the sofa and physically moved away, and he was hit with the notion that, had they not been trapped in a car with nowhere to go, she would've done the same thing the first time this happened.

Unbeknownst to him, his ears drooped a little, but Raven seemed to be more preoccupied with glancing around the empty room.

"Where is everyone?"

"Gone to bed." He decided to miss out the part before they all left, where Starfire had cooed over how adorable Raven looked (she did), and Cyborg and Robin had wished him 'good luck with that one' before abandoning him like the jerks that they were.

At least no cameras had come out - a second lucky escape.

As her eyes finally returned to full focus, Raven noted the end credits rolling across the TV screen, accompanied by an upbeat soundtrack pouring from the speakers.

"What time is it?"

"Late," he replied, following her movements as she went on to stand and adjust the wrinkles in her sweater. When she didn't say anything, he felt that intrinsic need he often felt to fill in the quiet. "Pretty sure you'd prefer sleeping on a pillow, heh."

Why did you say that. All you had to do was not draw attention to it and that's exactly what you did. Hope the laugh you're definitely not gonna get was worth it, you absolute dingus.

Beast Boy thought the darkness might've been playing tricks on him when, after a beat, she smiled.

"Yeah. You're pretty bony."

There was that impish glint in her eye that just begged him to throw something back at her, and he thanked the heavens that he was still sitting, for he was sure all feeling left his legs in that instant.

Saving face, his jaw unhinged and he gasped, bringing a hand to his chest for that added effect.

"Excuse me? I'll have you know I could bench press you!"

Raven glanced him up and down, her look of apathy slowly making its return.

"Ooh. Scary," she said, the sound dripping with sarcasm. And she gave him no time to even reflect on it, as in the next second she was turning on her heel and heading round the edge of the sofa to announce her leave.

Beast Boy bristled and leapt over the back of the couch in pursuit of her, more than willing to rise to their habitual rapport.

"It was comfy enough for you to pass out on!" he called out in retaliation, trying in earnest to catch up to where she paced several feet ahead of him.

Much like how her memory should have ended, the two Titans eventually fell into step as they made the journey to their bedrooms in the tower's West Wing. They each stopped when outside their own door, looked to each other from the distance across the hall, then said good night.

And like in her memory, the incident would have her staring up at her ceiling for what felt like an eternity, never to be addressed again by the time the sun rose.

Author's Note:

"In that moment, he concluded some evil force of the universe must be testing him."

it's me, garfield. i am the evil force. and it's going to get so much worse. :))))

i decided to focus on plotting out the rest of the story in detail this past week, and i think i have quite a solid idea of when and how i want everything to happen now. and knowing what's to come, i just majorly wanna get to some of the best parts, i'm so impatient!

in the planning process, i was also forced to come to terms with the harsh reality that i am not able to squeeze in EVERYTHING i want to happen into one story. like every writer, i have had to prioritise and make sacrifices. some ideas would likely be better written as oneshots anyway, and maybe i will do that one day. but yeah, it's been tough making those decisions. there are just too many ways for these two idiots to approach their feelings for each other and sadly i can't include them all and have it still make sense in one story.

p.s. i don't want y'all to think raven's only gonna notice bb cos of his looks. semi-spoiler but the girl has been in denial for a WHILE now.

seeya next chapter!