Flipping through the notes again, Raven sighed. There had been another report Kon trying to track down Marcus. Although he had been way off his target, it was unsettling to Raven and the other Titans. Something was nagging at her, digging into her nerves to tell her to find him. Not for her own satisfaction, but for that small boy. His smile had embedded itself within her memory and she wanted him to remain that way forever. Happy and free from the disgrace she felt growing up.

The lines in front of her were blurring together till she realized she was no longer reading. So she sat back, resigned that she needed a break, and watched the top beside her. It was floating at eye level, spinning on an imaginary point. It was an old toy Gar use to use to preoccupy himself when he felt fidgety and had to sit through a lecture or lesson. A few years ago she had found it on his desk, abandoned for something better. Gar had explained what it was and offered it to her as he watched her spin it in mid air. At the time she took it because she didn't know how to say no, but one day picked it up and began practicing the same thing he did. Except for her it was a mental restlessness not a physical one. And now she was restless to find something better on Kon than they already had.

A light on her desk caught her eye. It was her communicator signaling Gar was still alive. They had returned from their mission to find more awaiting each of them. A few had been at home, another robbery and a kidnapping. But the latest one had sent Gar across the country to help Dick, and potentially Batman.

They had spent that last night together, though too tired to do anything but lay side by side. Raven had tried to start talking about her feelings a little more. Especially since she felt guilty prying into his more frequently. And even though his focus was fully on her, listening as she laid on his chest, talking about her dilemma with Marcus, he was inwardly wrecked with nerves.

Pushing up to her elbow she looked down at him, "You're going to do fine." Despite being able to tell which emotions he was feeling, she still wasn't sure why he was feeling so nervous. It was a dangerous trip, and he had just as much respect for his mortality as anyone else, but it was also a trip that could include Batman.

He smirked, "Of course I will." Raven could feel his nerves die down just a tad, so she didn't argue his refusal to admit them. She just smiled and kissed his cheek, before resting back down on his chest. Inwardly she was facing her own nerves. They had only been dating for a week, but she already felt the desire to tell him she loved him. It seemed way too early and sort of clingy. Biting her lip she thought about saying it, running it over in her head a few times. Though it had never come out. She knew it was true, this was Gar after all. It wasn't like it had really only been a week, they had known each other for years. And in one form or another, she had loved him that whole time. It had just evolved.

In the end, she hadn't said it. When he had boarded the ship to leave, she thought about the danger of the trip and that he might not come back. If he didn't she would have never said it, and that would be tragic. But then again, if she did just in case he died, that could jinx the entire thing. So she resolved that she would say it when he returned. Because he would return. They also hadn't talked about what they really needed in a relationship, but somehow slipped into this simple notion of letting each other know they were still alive.

Reaching over, Raven responded with a simple click, not really knowing how long her own communicator had been flashing. But this was how it was meant to be. They were both busy on their own mission, their own lives, and they just wanted that simple reassurance that everything was fine. Raven let her mind drift to Gar for the first time in hours. Their relationship had just sort of started. There was no rain, no crying, no dramatic screaming, or even a confession of love. They had just sort of agreed that they enjoyed each others company more so than anyone else's. And that they should, in one way or another, be committed to each other.

It was comforting knowing that when Gar returned, he would spend the night in her room. That he would be there to hold her at night. Or nearby if she wanted to talk. Raven loved being around him, loved how he made her feel desired and special. But yet, she wasn't sure if she really needed him. True it would be nice to vent her frustrations to him right now concerning the several dead ends she hit yesterday. Or even just read the letter she received from the monks explaining how well Marcus was doing. But she didn't need to.

Drumming her fingers she ran over the other times Gar had left. This was perfectly normal for them. They were often separated like this and life went on just the same. She didn't need him. But then again, she had never considered what she would do if he wasn't gone. Before it was just a fact that he was gone. But now she was actually thinking about him being gone and what that could mean about her dependence. On the other hand, it was hard to separate herself from all the women in stories, real or not. A reasonable devoted girlfriend was supposed to miss her boyfriend, she was supposed to need him.

Raven had a secret deep desire to be better than all those women she had seen as weak. The ones that completely crumbled after a breakup as if their lives were solely reliant on their boyfriends. And without them, they were nothing. That wasn't Raven, hell she was a warrior. She could live her whole life completely independent. Chucking the communicator to the bed she groaned. Gar deserved a real relationship though.

The communicator sprung to life, its light poking out from under the pillow it had slid under. Without really thinking about it, Raven found herself pouncing on it.

"Hello," She shot out before it even had a chance to finish its first ring.

Gar's eyes widened at her breathless voice and for a second just looked over her. "Hey," he spoke, much softer and more in control. "We got what we needed. I'll be home tonight."

"Okay." Raven bit her lip and looked over the screen. That desire to spill everything was building up again. A few noises could be heard coming from the tiny speakers by her fingers. Machines of some sort, water maybe. Darting her eyes around his head she tried to see behind him, see where he was. It was just a dark wall of rock and there was no way to tell who he kept glancing at beyond his own small screen. So she kept quiet just in case. Neither of them seemed real sure of what to say, there was almost an unspoken notion that they were supposed to say more.

"Um," Gar started. They spoke so easily in person, where was this coming from. "How about a date tonight?"

"Tonight?" Raven asked, immediately focusing on the practicality of it. "Don't you need sleep? You've been gone for days."

He shrugged, "I'll sleep on the plane. But I could use a night not being green." He gave her one of his playful winks. She knew it was for show, an old tease to show her just how fine he was. But it still worked, her spine found it's comfortable curve again, and she relaxed into her headboard.

"I could too," Raven said, smiling at the thought of throwing all her Kon research into a locked box for the night. Then Gar's eyes ran across the top of the screen, watching something pass, and his playful smirk appeared. His eyes returned to hers, sparking a fire in her stomach.

"And if my night is anything like it was last time I saw Rachel," he wiggled his eyebrows, "we might be MIA for quite a while." Flushing, Raven went to respond. But just as quickly as he had turned it on, it went away. His face sobered and his voice rose to a normal level, void of its deep sultry tone. "I'll see you around 7, I think. No wait, 7 here, 4 there? Huh... yeah?" His voice rose as he shouted to someone else. "Till tonight, my dear." He murmured quickly and flashed away.

Rachel's finger thumped rapidly on the bar. On the way in, Mark had excused himself to the bathroom. Leaving her alone at the bar to wait on drinks, with only her rambling thoughts. Part of her was relieved to be out as Rachel and Mark. There were things crossed off the list to talk about already and she was perfectly fine temporarily forgetting about her past few days of failures. But there were also things that normal people still talked about, such as relationships. And that was the part that scared her and watching her own frantic finger made it worse. People pushed up against her without much notice, till one gentleman leaned in towards her.

"My, what's a beautiful woman like you so upset about?" The voice was deep and casual. Raising her eyes from her fingers, she gave him a quick once over. He was tall with that natural disheveled look that was somehow sexy. The strands of his chin length black hair had been pushed around several times, finding themselves in random heaps. That messy sort of look one would try to imitate with gel, but never fully master. His black shirt was tight across his fit body, but his loose black coat hung open to invite you in. Rachel wanted to fire back a quick excuse to get him to leave, but his light smile and raised eyebrows actually looked concerned.

She gave him a soft smile in return. "It's just been a long day." Nodding to the bartender she reached for the two drinks as he offered them. It wasn't a complete lie, she had been thinking about what to tell Gar all day. It might be best to try and get these things out, even if you aren't sure what the ground rules you need are. Or it might be best to let things naturally evolve, they had gotten this far without really discussing their relationship.

"Ah," the man's smile widened. "Hopefully it's not due to whoever is receiving that other drink." The pointer finger on his beer left the bottle to point at the glass remaining on the bar. Before she could respond a hand pressed into her back, and Mark's presence washed over her. He was only stopping her from backing up into him as he reached around for his drink. But the feeling of him calmed her. And turning, the sight of him brought an excited bubble to her chest. To her, he had to be one of the most handsome men in the bar. And he was here, with her.

Glancing back to the man, smiling much more so than before, she answered his question. "Of course not, this is Mark, my boyfriend." The words sounded strange in her mouth. She had never wanted to be the possessive kind, but right now she was living in her own sort of honeymoon phase. Mark didn't seem phased at all by the word.

"Heh heh," The man chuckled deeply, "In that case, I really hope this isn't the source of your tiresome day." Reaching out his hand he smirked at Mark. "How are you doing Mark?"

"Good, it's been awhile since you've been here." They smiled at each other much more fondly than Rachel has anticipated and as they spoke they held each other's gaze.

"Yeah, I've had other...jobs in a few other places." The man said, flashing his eyes back to Rachel, assessing her again. "I'm Jason," he said reaching out towards her, "I don't think I mentioned that before. I hadn't known you were here with Mark. Had I known, I would have whisked you away before he returned. Save you the trouble." He playfully winked at Rachel, not entirely unlike the other man beside her. Feigning hurt, Mark placed a hand on his chest, though he laughed slightly.

"Hey, I'm great company."

"Ah, but so am I, my dear." Jason wiggled his eye brows and gave her a beautiful smile. She wasn't sure if it was her own intrigue of this handsome man or the humored emotions of Mark, but she actually laughed at his playful attempts at flirting. The men obviously knew each other and Mark didn't seem to be taking these advances seriously. He didn't appear threatened or jealous, just relaxed and happy. And that was just what Rachel wanted.

"And what is it you do, Jason?" Rachel asked, taking a swig of her drink.

"I am an expert in acquiring and dealing rare items." Jason's attention went fully to her as he spoke, pausing as if waiting for a response. But Mark interjected first.

"Pah," He snorted out, "Expert? I don't think your last exchange in Dallas went so well." Rachel raised her brow at him, trying to run over anything that had recently happened in Dallas, but nothing came to mind.

Jason groaned, "I might have slipped up on that one I will admit. But I don't think I'll be the only one eating crow tonight." His eyes widened slightly with a smirk as he glanced at Rachel, then focused on Mark. Clenching her teeth, Rachel quickly reached for Mark's emotions. But he was still calm, though amused. If this Jason guy knew who he was, she supposed it wouldn't have been a long stretch to assume he was dating a teammate. And her short stature would rule out Starfire.

"Maybe not," was all Mark offered.

"Well, I am glad you are both doing well. It's been far too long." Jason nodded at each of them, as if it had been far too long between his and Rachel's last meeting as well, and turned away.

Still feeling the nonthreatening mood from Mark, Rachel quipped under her breath, "There is a difference between ravens and crows." Mark laughed and pointed to an empty table at the end of the room, away from the crowd.

"Shall we sit?"

They were only situated for a few seconds before Mark was changing the subject. His emotions seemed troubled now, obviously, something was on his mind.

"I'm sorry I couldn't talk much this morning. I had someone watching me. It just didn't feel right to ...well to talk about that stuff around stiff ol' Wayne."

"Ga..." Rachel started, before slightly shaking her head, "Mark, it's fine. I don't know what I was expecting to change, but I'm not sure I really want that much to change. Our personal life will always come second, I think I've grown to accept that by now."

Mark gave her a small smile, then shrugged, "I just felt like I should give you more now." Slipping her hand into his, Rachel squeezed him tightly.

"I was thinking the same thing. But maybe we just keep going as we have been. If one of us needs something more, we'll just say so. But right now, I'm happy. And I know if I seriously need something from you, you'll be there." Mark's smile brightened and his worry faded away.

"I am too." With his agreement, her own worry slipped away. Their lives would never be like the movies, and maybe that meant their love wouldn't either. But that was just fine.

"Whose Wayne?" Rachel asked, sipping her drink.

"Bruce?"

"Oh, I didn't realize your work would deal with billionaires."

"Heh, there was an opportunity it could," Mark spoke slower than normal and raised a brow.

"What!" Rachel dropped her voice and leaned in. "And he just told you?"

"No, I happened to run into Wayne as I was leaving another lead and noticed a familiar smell about him." The hand that had been gripped in hers moved, pointing to the man they had just spoken to.

"Same way I knew that was X." Rachel turned to look at Jason. He was talking to another man, smiling and laughing at something. Jason was pointing to something on the man's shirt, then reached over to touch whatever it was. His hand lingered on the man's chest as he spoke, causing the man to smile even more. Before she could look away, Jason's eyes flicked to hers and he gave her a small raise of his glass while his friend looked down at the shirt in question. At least now she understood why Mark had been so calm. She didn't really find X a threat either, more just an annoyance with a hidden noble streak.

"And when were you comparing smells with him?" Rachel asked, honestly interested in what she had just seen between the two men at the bar. X openly hit on her and Star during fights, but that's not what his type appeared to be right now.

"We ran into him at Intercon I think. Anyway, I realized he had been the same guy I had been with that night. I might have faltered a bit during an interaction between the two of us and somehow he caught on. He's very perceptive." He stated as if sleeping with an enemy was mundane as anything they did.

"What did you do?"

"Nothing that day. We bantered lightly about what had happened the night before. He thought he was smooth and tried to distract me so he could leave, but I was a bit better and snuck the chip from his pants before he left. Though... I did let him go. Pissed Dick off. And I think that gave me a tad bit of satisfaction, not gonna lie." Rachel smiled and glanced back towards Jason again, still talking to the same guy.

"And after that day?" Rachel asked, turning back.

Mark's skin flushed a bit with a naughty grin, an unusual sight for someone normally green. "We met up from time to time. Nothing planned, just if we happened to run into each other. He was the only guy that ever picked me up at a bar."

"Really?" Raven looked back at the charming man, curiosity growing. "And how does that work? How did he know you would even sleep with a guy?"

"Well, it was a bit easier for me..." Mark said, shifting in his seat, gearing up for his story. A story about the first man that took him home. Perhaps this was the same excitement he had experienced listening to her story about her and Star. If only there was a movie to go with it, she mused, sipping her drink again.