Author's Note: This is a headcanon of mine.

-=oOo=-

"I love you," Garfield hummed into her hair as she snuggled against him.

"Mmmm," Raven purred in acknowledgement and shifted a little to feel him better.

"I love you so much," he continued to whisper quietly, his lips caressing her forehead as they moved. She embraced him tighter and pressed her face into his chest.

He ran his fingers through her hair, marveling yet again at its silky softness. He took a deep breath, inhaling her essence, delighting in the tingles it spread all over his body.

"Did I mention I love you?" he chuckled and landed a small kiss on the tip of her widow's peak, just above the gem. It made her lift her head and look at him.

"I know, Gar," she said softly and gave him a peck on the lips. "You don't have to say it."

"I want to," he smiled at her affectionately. "I feel I'll just burst if I don't tell you, again and again. Besides…"

Her eyebrow arched. "Besides what?"

"I want you –" he lifted his hand and pressed a gentle finger to the tip of her nose, "– to tell me you love me, too."

One corner of her mouth moved just a tiny bit up. She leaned closer and her lips went over his in a soft, warm, sweet kiss that lasted for a while. She finally ran a teasing tongue over his lower lip before breaking off and pulling back.

"There," she gasped and swallowed, trying to quieten her suddenly quickened breath. "Happy?"

"Hmmm," he grunted playfully and pulled her head in for another deep kiss. This time it lasted a lot longer, and their hands began searching for all those well-known and well-loved places on each other.

"Gar…" she finally managed to pull away, panting. "We just made love, you insatiable –"

He silenced her with a quick smooch. "And your point is…?"

"Idiot!" she grumbled and rolled on top of him, sinking her face in the crook of his neck and nibbling and kissing her way to his throat. "You asked for it!" she mumbled in a muffled voice.

"Hssss!" he inhaled sharply when she hit a particularly sensitive spot. He couldn't see her smirk, but he knew it was there. "Rrrrrrae…" he growled deeply as she attacked the place with zeal, making his hips twitch.

Her teeth gave him a final nip and wandered off, seeking the next vulnerable patch of skin. She knew them all. "God, how I love you," he sighed.

Her head lifted. "Still with that? I already told you –"

"You haven't told me anything, Rae," his lips curled up in a smile. "You just kissed me."

She lowered her head on his shoulder. "It's the same thing."

His hand played with a scented strand of her hair. "No, it's not."

Her head went up again. Her eyes were deep and dark as she studied him. "You know it, Gar. You can smell it, and probably also hear it."

"It's not the same," he persisted through a lopsided grin.

"Of course it is," she dismissed him and bent down to begin her assault on his throat again, but he cupped his hands around her head and brought it gently up.

"Rae…"

She shook herself free from his hands. "Why is that so important to you?"

"Because I love you."

Raven swallowed and looked away. "Gar, I…"

"Just say it."

She frowned and looked back at him. "Of all the traits that the Animal Kingdom had to offer, you went and picked stubbornness as your defining characteristic?"

"Is that the pot calling the kettle black?" his fang gleamed as his smile expanded into a grin.

She rolled her eyes. "Just give it up, Gar!" she grumbled and tried to kiss him, but he stopped her with a finger to her lips.

"I'm not gonna give up, Rae." His eyes shone in the gloom. "I've never given up on you before, and I'm not going to do it now."

She watched him for a few instants, then her eyes moistened. "I know," she whispered hoarsely.

Her head went down and she brushed her lips over his, then slid them slowly over his cheek and to his ear. "I love you."

Her hands gripped him fiercely. He could feel small tremors running through her. He kissed her shoulder, her neck, her ear.

"Good," he breathed. "Now tell me why."