Author's Note: I tried to write a monster story for Halloween, but I'm unhappy as to how it's turning out. So I scrapped it and instead I wrote some fluff. I hope you don't mind.

-=oOo=-

The Dream

She was laughing.

She was laughing as she never had before. As she never could, as she never dared.

She didn't care. Nothing could touch her, nothing could harm her, nothing could mar her happiness. Not her father's evil, not the waywardness of her power, not the shyness and insecurity in her mind. Nothing could spoil this sensation of freedom and ecstasy and love that was flooding her soul and drowning her mind and swelling in her heart.

Her arms went around the thick, green neck before her. "Faster, Gar!" she shouted in delight. His ears flicked and he snorted and nickered in response and his gallop picked up speed. Her laughter flew with them like pearls shaken in a wine glass.

They thundered over the meadow, his mane whipping her face and her short hair fluttering in the wind. The rhythmic thud of his hooves, the loud hammering of his heart and the heavy roll of his breath vibrated between her thighs and in her loins and climbed up her spine to burn her heart and dazzle her mind.

She had no saddle, no bridle, no stirrups. She didn't need them. He carried her because he wanted to, and he'd make sure she was safe. "Faster!" she whooped, and he obliged. The clear peal of her laughter drove him on as strings of foam escaped his mouth to spatter on his flanks and her ankles. The fragrant morning air filled her lungs with its delightful smell even as it mingled with his essence, an intoxicating combination of horse-scent and his own musk.

A wheeze entered his heavy breathing and she sensed it. She bent forward again and pointed to a clump of trees nearby. "There, Gar! There we can rest a bit!"

He shook his head with a snort and sped over, clods of grassy loam flying from under his hooves as they pounded the soft ground. Soon they approached and he slowed down to a quick canter. She ran a caressing hand over the coarse hair on the neck, feeling the powerful muscles tense and throb under the skin.

He trotted into the shade under the trees and transformed himself back into human form. He fell to the ground breathing heavily and turned over to look at her. She sank to her knees, still straddling him. Her hair was messy, her cheeks rosy and her eyes glowing.

They both took a few seconds to quieten their gasping, panting breaths, but the whirlwind of feelings that roared through them and the hard thudding of their hearts would not go away or slow down. Her hands sank into the tall grass beside his shoulders and her head dipped lower, her lips hovering just over his own. His sweet breath burned her face and the pink glow on her cheeks deepened.

"What are you thinking?" she asked with a playful smile.

He remained silent, but his eyes shone. His tongue darted around his lips, wetting them. Her smile widened.

"Tell me," she demanded. "Tell me what you're thinking."

He swallowed. "God, you're beautiful…"

"I am?" she teased.

He nodded. "The most beautiful girl in the world."

She threw her head aside to shake off a stray lock that fell in her eyes. "I know that!" she smirked, then leaned closer again. "Tell me the other thing."

He gave her a lopsided grin. "What other thing?"

"You know," she brushed the tip of her nose against his. "The thing you're really thinking."

His face got serious and his hands went up to cup her face gently and tenderly. "I love you."

She tried to laugh it away, but she choked and swallowed. "You do?" her voice trembled. "I don't believe you."

"I love you," he insisted hoarsely.

Her face burned under his warm hands. His eyes were dark and deep and earnest. Her head felt heavy, so heavy that it crept down another fraction.

"I love you, too," she breathed. She sensed a shiver go through him as their lips touched and slid softly over each other. She closed her eyes and deepened the kiss –

Loud knocking tore her away from the dream.

"Yo, Raven!" his voice rang from behind the door. "Did I hear you laughing?"

She needed a few seconds to get her bearings and fight the feeling of longing and loss that swept over her. His insistent knocking made her lift her head and scowl at the door.

"C'mon, Rae! What was making you laugh?"

She rose and approached the door. He knocked yet again.

"Hey, I wanna hear that joke! It must be great if it made you lau – gulp!" he swallowed as the door was swept aside with a force that stripped the gears off the opening mechanism and made it spark and smoke.

Garfield's eyes widened when he saw Raven's expression. Her eyes were not glowing red, and there were only two of them, but still the grin dropped off his face and he paled. He took a stumbling step back.

Black strands of magic enveloped him and dragged him into her room. The door slammed shut, completing the destruction of the opening mechanism and sealing them inside. He was carried over to her bed and thrown unceremoniously on it as she climbed in and sat astride him.

Her face loomed over his. "You woke me up," she whispered. "And I was having such a nice dream."

He shivered. She noticed it and smiled. "I was doing something very pleasant in my dream, Garfield!" she hummed. "Since you interrupted me, it's only fair you help me finish it."

His eyes were still confused and apprehensive, but a glimmer of a much deeper, stronger and fiercer sentiment began glowing in their depths. Her smile turned slightly crooked. Not exactly the same as in her dream, but it would do.

Her head lowered and their lips touched. It was just as electrifying and euphoric as the dream suggested. Still, there was a big difference. Nothing and nobody would wake her up from this.

She enjoyed that thought for a moment or two, then pressed down harder and deepened the kiss before surrendering completely to it and forgetting about everything else.