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A/N: Hey dudes, dudettes and non-dudeish folk. As you may have noticed I'm getting a little slack with the update schedule. Have no fear, this metaphorical ball will keep on rolling, it just might be slower from here on out. It won't be unusual for a few weeks to go by before another update, so please be patient with me. I may as well give a few acknowledgements while I'm here. RPGPersona you're probably the sole reason this train is still on rails at all, I appreciate all reviews equally, but I don't consider this story truly updated until one of your comments appears on it. SamyJo your input was great and along with Artemis Raven Courtney you spurred me on to that pivotal 10th chapter. HunterMoore your comment was short and to the point, but I found it brilliantly uplifting. Thtgrlwthsox, hope you feel a bit better while reading this. Thank you all for the messages and I'll see you again in the Author's Notes somewhere along the line.

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Garfield had fallen asleep beside her.

It was not something that either had planned on, but somewhere in the night talking had become whispers, which became murmuring and that in turn, had shifted into slumber.

Raven was the first of the pair to rise, as she always was. Finding the changeling in her bed was nothing thrilling, as there were few nights over the last week they had spent outside of one another's company. If anything waking up to find Beast Boy curled up at the edge of her bed was almost… Soothing.

His even breaths and half muttered words were familiar to her, even if the language he spoke was beyond her knowledge.

Raven slipped from the bed, gathering her daily clothing and elf boots, floating across the hall to their shared bathroom. As she prepared for the coming day, the sorceress considered her options as Garfield had laid them out to her the night before.

There was the idea that they keep finding one another in secret, hushed words and stolen glances all that constituted their romance until the night, were they fell asleep in one another's embrace.

This wasn't really an option to Raven, considering the damage she had wrought after only a few days of such a relationship. The tension and constant stress of wondering how quick their team mates would be to notice the change in their behavior was unbearable.

Having their relationship in the open however, was just as abhorrent to Raven. The very idea of media cameras seeking a shot of the couple together made the young woman shudder, for she had witnessed how the paparazzi had reacted to Starfire and Robin's relationship. The two could hardly find a moment of peace whilst in the public eye.

Attention was the last thing Raven needed.

And so, she must find a middle ground, a neutral place in what was essentially one of the most emotional experiences of her life.

Smirking at the dramatic tone of that thought, Raven drifted from the bathroom up through the ceiling towards the common area.

Moving as a specter, she fetched her tea pot, brought it to boil and made a calming herbal tea mixture, using the infuser that Robin had gifted her for Christmas last year. Tea in hand she settled at the table, floating her half forgotten novel over from the lounge and turning to the last place she recalled leaving the heroine and her skeletal companion.

Robin's emotions sharpened not a moment later, zipping from one corner of his room to the other before finally marching to the elevator and ascending to their shared living space. As always his confidence and pride shone through, giving way to curiosity only after he had nodded silently to his cloaked friend, set down both his coffee and newspaper on the table and parked himself before them. Gotham had run dry of good news it appeared, a picture of the Penguin plastered over the cover along with the title "Rogues Regroup For Record Crime Spree".

Starfire's jubilant attitude shot through the empath some time later as her alien best friend surfaced from whatever strange, chaotic dreams grasped her in the night. Raven tapped the table, eliciting a second, amused nod from her leader.
"Happy morning my friends!" The princess beamed, shooting across the room to embrace an incredibly startled Raven. Carrying the smaller girl high above the table, Koriand'r only released her once they were past the hearing of Robin who had glanced at the kidnapping with mild interest before returning to his papers. "Friend Raven, I am sorry you were so unhappy with last night's going of the ons. I was most distracted by the children and did not realize you felt so uncomfortable."

"Kori, it's fine. I was dealing with personal issues, it had nothing to do with… Well, it had little to with the gala." Raven reassured her golden friend, levitating from her grip so that the two might speak in hushed tones inches from the common room ceiling. "I'm… I'm going to tell the team something today Kori, and it's going to be big. I'd like if you were on my side, when everything comes out."

"Friend Raven," Starfire frowned, touching the empath's shoulder only briefly. "I shall always be on your side."

When Cyborg arose and waltzed into the common room, Starfire and Raven had retaken their seats on the ground, though this fact was short lived, for Sarah emerged from the doorway behind their electronic brother in arms, eliciting an excited squeal from Koriand'r, who rushed across the room once more to hug the blonde college goer. "Sarah! I thought you went home after the chandelier fell?"

Raven's control slipped, just a fraction, when Sarah smiled over Starfire's shoulder at the sorceress, who had missed her emotions in the overwhelming onslaught of Cyborgs own feelings. In the kitchen, several draws flew from their rollers and unloaded the contents within them across the floor. Standing hurriedly, Raven returned Sarah's smile though her own was more apologetic than the college girl's.

"Sorry Sarah, I'm just not used to breaks in routine." The spellcaster lied, gathering up utensils and cooking implements, pausing only slightly when Sarah's tanned hands joined her own as they sought out the scattered kitchenware.

"No no, I really should have warned you." Sarah laughed. "I know it's hard to keep your powers in check when you're surprised, don't worry about it."

Feeling all of three inches tall, Raven nodded mutely and returned to the table, feeling Starfire and Robin's eyes on her every step of the way.

Cyborg joined Sarah in the kitchen and began preparing breakfast, slipping into the easy rhythm that each morning in the Tower flowed on, in the half-robotic Titan's eyes this time around there was simply one more person.

As eggs and bacon hit the pan, that sizzle and pop of oil and fat caused the last Titan to rise. Reluctance emanated from Raven's room, followed by confusion and a slight sense of loss. He had found her missing from the bed.

Panic enveloped his being for a split second before he regained composure, relief flickering through him only to be replaced by amusement a moment later.

There.

Another unexplainable feeling exploded from the changeling. It was pride and envy and hunger all at once. It was a lion overlooking his Pride or a wolf stood before the Pack in the heartbeats before a hunt.

Raven latched onto the emotion and steadied herself with it, anchored her being to the familiar strangeness of Garfield's aura. As he awoke and slunk from her room to his own, Raven caught herself following the young man with her empathy and quickly recoiled mentally.

Frowning, she watched the elevator doors dutifully as Sarah passed Cyborg a plate of tofu.

"MURDERER! Hey Sarah. SLAYER OF THE INNOCENT!" Beast Boy roared, bursting from the lift with pointed finger and indignant tone.

"That's a bit harsh." Cyborg muttered, giving his girlfriend the salt shaker tamely.

Garfield deflated slightly, bewilderment practically exploding from his demeanor. "What? No yelling back? No snippy comment about flavor over ethics?"

"Come on B-Man, I think we're both a little too mature for all that." Cyborg chuckled, sprinkling pepper into a pot of mashed potatoes.

The changeling tilted his head back and squinted suspiciously at his metallic friend, comprehension lightening his features as those emerald eyes flickered between Cyborg and Sarah. With a half sighed "Okay" the shapeshifter took his seat beside Raven and awaited the coming meal.

"What were you feeling, before getting changed?" Raven asked, pleased to see that for once it was Garfield taken by surprise.

His gaze skimmed every face in the room, making sure no one was paying attention to the duo. "I was just, you know, getting a hold of my senses. Hearing you guys speaking up here and moving around."

"You were listening to us?"

He nodded slowly. "Yeah, but it's like… I know you're all HERE right? I can feel you around me, with me. I didn't wake up to find the Tower empty."

"Why would the Tower be empty?" Raven frowned. "We live here."

"That's no comfort." Garfield muttered. "People leave."

Cyborg began slapping plates laden with food in front of them, saving Beast Boy from Raven's questioning, though her eyes still sought his own out in the ensuing rush for people to stack their plates high.

As everyone finished organizing their meal and prepared to eat, Raven took a single, decisive breath.

"Garfield and I are together."

The Garfield in question almost cried out mid-swallow, causing himself to devolve into a heaving, coughing mess. Cyborg frowned over the table at Raven, a quiet "Couple of what?" before his lips formed a perfect circle and his single eyebrow strained to reach the ceiling. Sarah clapped her hands to her mouth and Robin looked forlornly at the first scoop of food on his fork before sighing and placing it back on his plate.

Starfire, caught in the middle of chewing, was the only Titan that seemed unfazed by the announcement. The red haired alien simply gave a slow, profound nod as though this was old information.

Garfield regained the ability to breath and used his newly returned power of speech to splutter unintelligibly about how they "Didn't mean to keep secrets" and "Were waiting for the right time" only to be cut off being Robin raising a single hand.

"How long?" He asked, weaving his yellow gloved fingers together.

"A week, or about a week." Garfield said quickly, turning to Raven, who nodded. "Yeah, a week."

"We've established," Cyborg drawled. "That it's been a week."

"How serious is it?" Robin questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"Enough that I'm telling the team about it." Raven dead-panned, meeting everyone's eyes, causing Sarah to blush. "But I don't want the media knowing, I've got enough to handle without cameras and journalists involved."

"Calm down Ebony Dark'ness Dementia Raven Way. They won't hear it from us." Cyborg snorted sarcastically, receiving a confused, but grateful smile from the sorceress. "What you and the grass-stain get up to is your own business."

Robin sighed tiredly. "You know I have to ask this Raven. Can your powers handle it?"

Raven opened her mouth to reply, but closed it slowly, frowning down at the table before looking her leader in the eye. "I'm trying."

Starfire grasped Robin's wrist, turning the boy wonder's attention to her. "Raven knows what is best for her and her well being. I think we should trust her in this, as we would trust her in anything else."

Robin hesitated, but nodded at the wisdom of her words. "Right, yeah."

"Can we eat now?" Cyborg whined, his human eye winking at Raven as the others consented and returned to their meal.

All but Garfield, his lips moving silently, all emotion ceasing to reach Raven's empathy.

As he had done once before, Beast Boy was blocking her out.