Hello my dear readers, Foamy here! Lovely to see do many of you participating little poll. I'm also really happy to hear everyone enjoyed the last chapter. Fortunately, things are going to be a bit more serious soon, which is a good thing. Too much silliness ruins a story. This was just something I had to work out of my system.

I'd do reviews today, but I'm a tad worn out from work so I don't have much energy to spare (quick, get me a sensu bean).

Actually, there is ooonnee or two I'll address.

Jarec- now now, don't be blaming Emelia for everything going smoothly. Its not like the genetically engineered child has any sort of psychic/empathic powers or anything. She couldn't possibly be influencing everyone.

Or could she?

Who knows? *chuckles*

Also, I'll give due where due is deserved. I don't emphasize on environments much because you're all here for the people. But I will admit that I should put a bit more effort into that detail and I'll try to do it.

DV8IN- I've raised a few hundred cats, actually. Lol. I know very much how they act, as you'll see here.

Dark Azarathian- omg, that's a good one! I can haz?

Marco Polo- I agree, its time to get serious again. And I know juuuust how to get that ball rolling...

Anyways, read and review please! I love hearing from you guys/gals!

*passes out* zzzzz


Garfield went from having a terrible morning to having an awesome morning.

Presently, he was laying on the couch in the common room with Raven laying on him with Emelia clutched to her chest firmly. The little girl was having slight difficulties breathing, seeing as she was partially smothered by her mothers breasts. Garfield was laughing about it because it was almost like payback for her blackmailing him.

"Dadddddyyyy!" Emelia whined pitifully.

"Yes angel?" Garfield said innocently.

"Make her stooooop!"

"Yer mom can't even understand English right now, how am I gonna stop her?" He chuckled evilly.

Emmy pushed against her mother, trying to wiggle free. "Mommmmyyy! Stoooppp! Your big boobies are squishing me!"

Garfield choked on his laugh as Emmy dug her little elbow into his sternum. He let out a pained gasp and flinched. Raven released Emelia and faced him, meowing in concern. Emelia immediately bolted, taking off while her mother was distracted.

"I'm fine, Rae, don't worry." Garfield pet her head gently. She lay her head back down just below his chin. Her 'tail' flickered back and forth a little bit.

"So. This is weird to see."

Garfield looked up to find Robin leaning over the back of the couch, Starfire beside him with Martin in her arms. He shrugged. "Well…I did what Star said. This is what Raven wants, so…"

"Friend Raven looks most comfortable." Starfire commented with a knowing grin.

Garfield couldn't help but to blush a little at that as Raven tilted her head up, gave his cheek a little lick, then buried her face in his neck.

"Most comfortable indeed." Robin snickered at the blushing boy.

Garfield's blush deepened when Raven started purring, gently butting the side of her head against his jaw. His hand automatically came up and started petting her head, causing the purr to deepen a little. Garfield's friends were struggling to not laugh at the situation and scowled at them.

"Yeah yeah, laugh it up." He grumbled as his hand trailed down Raven's back. "We'll see who's laughing when Raven snaps out of it."

"Sorry Beast Boy, I just thought I'd never see something like this." Robin chuckled, shaking his head. "It was rare for Raven to touch someone, so this is just a little much."

"I do not see why, beloved." Starfire said. When both boys looked at her, she continued. "Friend Raven spent most of her youth alone, receiving no affection from anyone because of her birth. Since she has joined us, she has opened up in many ways considerably. Does it not make sense for her to crave the things she never received while plagued with the prophecy? Were I in her situation then I too would desire the cuddling of someone who cares. I too would desire to be touched by a loving hand. I too would want to be wanted. There is nothing strange about how she is acting. She is simply getting the things she has always deeply desired."

Both boys were quiet for a long moment before Beast Boy spoke. "Hey Rob?"

"Yeah?" The boy wonder replied.

"I'm beginning to think Star is secretly the smartest one on the team."

"You know, Beast Boy…I am too."

Starfire merely smiled at the boys before walking away to the kitchen. Robin joined her moments later and Beast Boy could hear them starting the late breakfast once more.

The changeling lay there pondering Starfire's words, knowing that the alien girl spoke true. Raven, while intelligent and witty, had never easily been able to say what she was feeling. Her whole demonic power thing had ruined that for her a long time ago. Even after defeating her father, she hadn't expressed things well, but that was because it was ingrained into her.

That meant that right here, right now, this animal influence was allowing her to speak her heart out loud through actions.

Christ, I'm such an idiot. Garfield thought himself. I spent all that time thinking she was acting weird when all she wanted was my attention. I thought that if she wanted my attention that she would say something. I didn't think she didn't know how to say it. That means all the time I spent with Rose really did bother her too. But that's weird, she told me she wasn't looking for a relationship all those months ago. Did I do something to change her mind?

Garfield lay there thinking about these things, mentally scolding himself for not paying more attention to her. His desperation for attention had led him away from the girl that he had paid attention to for a long time, only for that girl to come to want his attention after he got attention elsewhere.

How's that saying go? You don't know what you have until its gone? Is THAT how I got Raven's attention? He thought.

He was roused from his musings by the sound of Raven's purr deepening once more. Shaking his head clear, he peered at the girl in his arms. Nothing had changed that he could see. With a slight shrug, he resumed petting her.

Well, he would have if his petting hand wasn't gently grasping Raven's butt.

"When the heck…" He muttered as he tried to wiggle his arm free, which was somehow pinned between Raven and the couch. The violet haired girl merely snuggled more into his embrace, her purr deepening once more. It was the purr of utter contentment and relaxation, reverberating throughout her body and into his. She tilted her head and gave him another lick.

I…guess she's okay with this? Garfield thought. Shoot, I'm not gonna complain!

He gave her butt a little squeeze and was rewarded with a pleased noise from the unstable empath. To him, this was awesome. He had never touched a girls butt before (not counting the hotel incident) and it was the second best thing he'd ever held in his hand (including the hotel incident, which, coincidentally, was the best thing). He gave it a few more squeezes, grinning all the while, each one a little firmer than the last. Hehe. Squish squish squish.

He was stopped by the sight of Raven's 'tail' rapidly flickering back and forth. That was a sign of irritation, so he released her butt and looked down at her slit eyes. She growled and he only had time for one curse before she bit his neck and jumped off of him.

It was obviously not one of his smarter ideas.

Clutching his injured neck (damn, her teeth are sharp!), Garfield shot up and looked around. Raven had disappeared the instant she got off of him. Silently cursing, he hopped up, pausing only when he heard a growl behind him. Turning, he found Raven looking up at him from the other side of the couch arm, her tail twitching in irritation and her ears laid back. He reached out for her, to pet her head until she was calm, and she growled again. He went for the petting anyways and she swung a shadow magic-covered hand at him. If not for his inhuman reflexes, she might have taken his hand off.

Apparently she doesn't like her butt being touched very much. A little, but not much.

Rubbing his bite mark, Garfield sighed in frustration. He should have known better than to press his luck, but once again he had crossed a line with the girl he fancied. Figuring he might not be getting any more cuddling for a while (damned feline temperament), he went around the other side of the couch and away from the irate cat girl.

Robin and Starfire were sitting at the kitchen counter, eating waffles with their son. Emelia sat on the other side of them, trying to pat down her hair. Raven's improvised 'bath' had messed up the girls hair when it dried, leaving the girl with a cat-astrophe for a hairdo. Garfield chuckled at his joke and made his way to his daughter, who wasn't eating the waffles in front of her.

"Come on Emmy, eat your breakfast." He said, sitting next to her.

"I need a bath." Emmy muttered, reaching for her fork. "A real bath."

"I'll ask Auntie Star to give you one in a bit." Her father said reassuringly. Emmy mumbled something even Garfield couldn't understand, making him chuckle. He felt like he was being stared at, so he turned and looked at Raven, who was curled up in her recliner, her tail still twitching in irritation. His humorous mood started to fade since he had to find some way to calm her down…again.

The common room door opened and everyone turned to see Cyborg walking in with Fixit.

"Dude!" Garfield called out. "Where'd ya go?"

"Raven dropped me off in the deepest part of the basement." Cyborg chuckled. "It was kinda scary at first, but I had my lights and my bacon so I was good."

"So you were down there this whole time?" Robin asked, watching Star wipe syrup from Martin's face.

Cyborg shook his head. "Nah, I was hanging out with Fixit."

"The company was most welcome." Fixit said monotonously.

"You live here too dude, come up to the common room more."

Fixit nodded in acknowledgment and the late breakfast resumed. It was relatively quiet for a time and anyone who glanced at the unstable empath found her napping in her chair, fairly relaxed. Every now and then an 'ear' would flicker slightly and her tail would wind up wrapping around herself. Garfield made sure to leave her alone during this time.


"Alright team, how are we going to help Raven?" Robin said when breakfast was done and over.

"Can we not just leave her be?" Starfire asked.

"No, we don't know when she'll snap out of it. It could take quite some time before her spell wears off." Robin shook his head. "We need to do it now."

"How we gonna do that?" Beast Boy asked, eyeballing the resting empath. He wasn't entirely sure if that position was comfortable for a human to lay in.

"Well, we need to find magic that could counteract Raven's magic, so I was thinking that we could call Jinx." Robin said.

Beast Boy nodded. "I was thinking that earlier."

Robin returned the nod and looked to the others, who agreed. He pulled out his communicator and dialed Jinx's frequency. Within a few minutes she picked up, a towel on her head.

"Robin!" She said, surprised. "Never thought you would call me. What's up?"

"We're having a magic related issue and need your assistance." He replied.

Jinx raised an eyebrow. "Raven can't take care of it?"

Robin hesitated. "Raven…is the issue."

The eyebrow raised higher. "And just how is the most powerful sorceress I know a problem?"

Again he hesitated. "You might wanna just come see."

Jinx frowned but nodded and turned away. "Wally! Finish up and dress, Robin needs help with something."

Robin clicked the communicator shut and sat there quietly, as did the others. Within ten minutes Wally appeared in the room, Jinx in his arms. Her hair was down and still slightly damp, but she was dressed in her uniform, as was her boyfriend.

"Hey kids." She said warmly to Emelia and Martin. "You been bad like I told you to?"

"Hi Auntie Jinx!" Both kids replied.

"Franok Raven ish acting funny!" Martin said loudly.

Emmy frowned. "I don't wanna be bad, I don't like the corner."

Jinx laughed and looked around. "Alright, so where's…"

She trailed off upon spying Raven, still curled up but one slitted eye open and watching her. The tip of her tail was twitching slightly and a single ear had pivoted in the direction of the witch.

Pink stared at purple and purple at pink for a moment before Jinx turned to Robin.

"What the f-"

Garfield's hand snapped up and over Jinx's mouth before she could finish the word. She glared at him and shoved his hand away.

"What the hell is wrong with Raven?" The witch demanded.

Robin looked at Beast Boy, who sighed and began his story once more. Jinx and Kid Flash stood there and listened, making no noise until the story was over.

Jinx facepalmed. "Oh for crying out loud Raven. Why does everything you do have to be complicated?"

Robin looked at her. "Do you know what she did?"

"Not a freaking clue." Jinx shook her head. "But there's got to be something in her spell books. Wally, fetch those enchanted glasses I got you."

Kid Flash darted off and reappeared seconds later with both a pair of thick black rimmed glasses and a rose. "Here ya go babe."

Jinx took the rose first, noting that he had once again kept the thorns. She shook her head a little as she smiled. "You're such a flirt, you know that?"

"Only for you babe." He replied, kissing her cheek. The witch the took the glasses and headed for Raven's room.

The boys decided to converge on the game station while Starfire cleaned the kitchen. There wasn't much to do while Jinx was researching, so entertaining themselves sounded pretty good. Even if there was crime, Kid Flash could fill in for any of the girls easily.

Everything was set. All they had to do was wait.


And wait they did. It would be hours before something happened. And that something wasn't anything crime related, magic related, or complicated.

It was Raven.

She was…lonely?

Garfield moved his gaze to the empath, who was still curled up in her chair. Her back had been to them for some time and she had hardly moved. Her tail was swishing down from her bottom, the tip brushing against the floor. She was bored and lonely. Not a particularly good sign, but she didn't appear to making any sort of changes to what she was doing.

It was Garfield's mistake to think she'd be okay for a while longer.

It was probably a good thing that he was in mid stretch, his arms above his head with a controller in one hand, when a portal appeared in his lap and Raven plopped into his lap. He almost jumped up in surprise, but the sight of violet hair instantly killed his reaction. The others jerked away in surprise, but Garfield instinctively lowered his arms around her. Raven meowed at him (which caused the others to look at her like she was crazy) and gently headbutted his chin. He tilted and lowered his head and she nuzzled it, starting to purr. Garfield brought one hand up to pet her head.

"That's just…freaking weird." Cyborg muttered, shaking his head.

"Uh…BB?" Kid Flash said slowly. "Aren't you dating some chick with white hair?"

Raven let out a low growl, causing Garfield to shake his head. "Nope."

Both Robin and Cyborg were surprised. "What? When did you break up?"

"The other day. I had something more important to focus on." Garfield replied casually as the cat-girl in his arms resumed purring. She meowed when the changeling brought his hands back to his controller.

"Hold on Rae, gimme a minute." Garfield said, trying to focus on the game the boys were playing. Raven meowed again, looking at the controller then him. When he didn't respond, she knocked the controller out of his hands. He looked at her in shock. "What the heck Rae?!"

She meowed again and he frowned. "Seriously? Come on, I'm gaming!"

Another meow.

Garfield sighed. "Fiiine. I need to log off my account though."

Raven meowed and hopped off his lap to sit on the floor and watch him. He went reaching for the controller, but Raven abruptly lay down on it, belly up. She was slightly curled up, but her stomach was presented to him like she wanted a belly rub. She had a teeny tiny little belly button that was very visible on her exposed navel. Her lovely moonlight colored skin looked soft to touch and, judging from her purr, she actually did want a belly rub.

"It's a trap." Cyborg said, eyeballing the unstable girl.

"Nah dude, she wants a belly rub." Garfield said before reaching down and rubbing her stomach. The muscles were firm but her skin was soft. She started purring again, her eyes half closed, as he gave her a belly rub (keeping his hands away from anything that might suggest anything inappropriate). He chuckled. "This is kinda neat."

"Where the heck is that purr coming from?" Wally asked, watching her tail swishy lazily.

"I haven't figured that out yet." The changeling admitted. "I think it has to do with her magic, but then again, humans can purr too."

"They can?" Robin asked, raising an eyebrow.

Garfield nodded. "Yeah, but they gotta actually work at it. It'll never be as deep as a cats, but it can be done. Squirrels can purr too, ya know."

At this point, Cyborg had an idea. While it wasn't technically a bad idea, it wasn't really a good idea either. With a grin, he stopped gaming and reached over to pet Raven on the head.

When his slightly warm metallic fingers touched her head, her eyes popped open and she looked up at him. She meowed again, but Garfield had no idea what this one meant, so he couldn't translate it for his friend. Cyborg shrugged and kept petting her.

She lay there staring at him for a moment before her 'clawed' hand snapped out and swiped his hand clean off.

The four boys stared at the stump in shock for about thirty she seconds before any of them reacted.

"My hand!" Cyborg cried, jumping up.

"Okaaaay, that's just…yeah…" Wally shook his head. "I'm not even going near her now, this is just too weird."

Robin picked up his friends hand and inspected it. "Clean cut, at least. Should be an easy fix."

Beast Boy, on the other hand, had what he thought was the best reaction.

"That cat's dynamite!" He shouted, jumping up, startling Raven. She bolted into a portal, reappearing behind her chair and peeking out. Sighing when nobody got his joke, Garfield turned to Emelia, who was sitting on the other side of the room (as far from her mother as she dared), and said to her, "Emmy! Think you can calm your mother down?"

Emelia looked up from her book. "She's not mad but she doesn't want to be touched now."

"Of course she doesn't." Garfield grumbled, looking at the unstable empath. "Now what are we gonna do?"

"Nuncle BB!" Martin shouted, running up. "I gorra idea!"

Garfield and the others raised an eyebrow. Martin proceeded to explain.

"We needs tha holy ham grimade of antcrotch! Ish one of franok Raven's very favoritest things! Emmy! Les get tha holy ham grimade!" The little boy shouted, taking off. Emelia, confused beyond belief, followed.

Beast Boy, Cyborg, and Kid Flash all looked at Robin. "He's getting what?"

Robin shook his head slowly. "I'm not entirely sure."

Within minutes the kids returned and presented their 'holy ham grimade' to their elders. The boys, confused by what they were seeing, leaned in.

"It's…a ball of yarn?" Beast Boy asked.

"With two sticks?" K.F. took the purple yarn from the kids and inspected it.

"How does it, um- how does it work?" Robin asked, frowning. "I don't know anything about knitting."

K.F. shrugged. "I dunno dude."

"Ravens knits?!" Beast Boy exclaimed.

Robin turned to Cyborg. "Google how these work, I don't want to mess it up."

Cyborg frowned, but shrugged. "Alright, let's see… yarn and cats…"

Martin hopped up and grabbed the ball of yarn and needles from Kid Flash, then held it up as high as he could as he started talking.

What he was talking about, nobody knew. Yet.

"Anna Saint Attla raiseded that ham grimade up an' said 'O Board, bless that holy ham grimade so thatta we can blower up Auntie Raven's kittycatness anna make her normal again!' Anna that Board did eat meat anna cereal anna waffles anna noodles anna fishes anna ice cream anna candy-"

"You're taking too long Martin." Emmy interrupted.

Martin, unperturbed, kept going.

"Anna tha Board said, 'First you gotsta take out the needlers! Then you gotsta count to three, no more, no less! You can only count to three! You cants count to four anna you cants count to two unless yous counting to three! Five is just bad , don't do that unless you wanna go in the corner. Once you count ta three and only three, throwa that holy ham grimade of antcrotch at Auntie Raven to getta her kittycatness out of her!'"

Robin looked at Beast Boy, who had facepalmed (apparently someone did get his joke). "Beast Boy, please stop corrupting my son with British comedy."

The changeling frowned. "Are you kidding? This stuff is gold!"

"Amen to that." Wally chuckled.

Martin darted forward, yarn ball in hand. "Imma throw it! One! Two! Five!"

"Three, Martin!" Emmy interrupted.

Martin nodded. "Three!"

And with that, he threw the yarn ball. It was a mighty toss, for a four year old, and the ball sailed across the living room. It came slightly unraveled as it struck a chair, but the impact corrected the course it was taking, bouncing it right near where Raven was hiding. The teens waited with bated breath to see what she'd do with it, the kids peeking around the furniture as well.

Raven reached out, batted it with her hand a few times, then abruptly lost interest.

"Well, that was anticlimactic." Garfield grumbled.

"Hey, I got an idea!" Kid Flash said suddenly. "Cyborg, turn your eye on!"

The others stared at him for a moment before Cyborg finally understood what he meant. Grinning, the one handed cybernetic man internally adjusted the minor system for his eye. After doing so, he looked over at Raven and turned it on.

A little red dot appeared on the carpet before her and her attention instantly snapped to it. Her eyes followed it as Cyborg moved it across the floor. When he moved it out of her sight, she disappeared into a portal and reappeared nearby the dot, watching it intently. There was a chorus of smothered chuckles at the boys tried to restrain their laughter at the sight of Raven crouching low like a hunting cat, her tail twitching and ears erect. It was hardest for Cyborg because he had to keep his eye steady for the dot.

This laughter abruptly died when Raven became enshrouded in the colossal shadow cat and brought a clawed paw smashing down onto the dot. The floor buckled and burst underneath the might of Raven's magic, showering the floor below with large debris. The hole she had left was roughly the size of Cyborg and the floor was left cracked in many places surrounding the hole. The 'cat' sat on its haunches and tilted its head in confusion when it couldn't locate the dot. It started looking around, swinging it's head in all directions, making a strange 'kekekeke' sound.

The shellshocked boys stared at the hole with open mouths.

It was about five minutes before Robin spoke.

"Cyborg?" He said.

"…yeah?"

"Please turn the light off."

"…yeah."


When an aggravated Jinx returned to the common room that evening, she found Robin, Cyborg, and Kid Flash sitting on the couch playing a game, a huge hole in the floor off to the side, and Raven curled up in Beast Boy's lap in her chair.

"Do I even want to know?" She said, eyeballing the hole, which had some caution tape around it. The boys had erected a fence of sorts, using a couple of brooms, a mop, and a rake as posts, encircling a five foot radius around the outermost cracks stretching out from the hole. The makeshift poles where held up by various items, ranging from buckets to cases of soda.

"Probably not." Kid Flash said as his on screen car darted around Cyborg's.

"They were picking on mommy." Emelia said. Jinx looked around to find the little girl sitting near the kitchen counter at the smallest table in the room. Before her was yet another coloring book. Jinx had no idea why kids loved coloring books so much, but since it kept them quiet she didn't complain.

"Where's Martin?" The witch asked, not seeing the boy anywhere.

"With Auntie Star taking a nap. She was mad at uncle Rob and them for picking on mommy." Emelia shrugged.

"Is that so?" Jinx frowned. A malicious grin then spread across her face before she snapped her fingers in the direction of the boys. All three were launched from their seats, the game station became unplugged, and the couch exploded from her magic.

"What was that for?!" Cyborg cried out.

"This is serious and you idiots are goofing around!" Jinx snapped. "I can't find squat about this spell and I've been through so many books my head hurts!"

"How serious?"

Jinx looked at Beast Boy, who had spoken quietly from the chair in was seated in. She gave him a half-hearted chuckle. "Well, ask yourself this…would she have kids one at a time or a whole litter?"

Garfield paled to a shade of light green, his eyes huge.

"Yeah, you should be worried." The witch crossed her arms and gave him a little frown. "It wouldn't be safe to be around her next week."

"Why not?" Kid Flash asked, dashing up to his girlfriend. She glared at him.

"It's a girl thing." She snapped again.

If the room hadn't of been quiet before, it was deathly still now. All eyes were on Beast Boy, who was so pale he was almost white. Jinx's words carried heavy implications. The boy's knew what she was referring to, but it wasn't something they had ever discussed. It wasn't that the topic disturbed them, it was out of respect for the girls in the tower. It was a normal bodily function and it wasn't something to joke about, after all.

But the differences between humans and animals is vast in many ways.

"We need to fix Raven now." Beast Boy said in a small voice.

Jinx sighed. "I know that, BB. I don't want anything to happen either. Its weird enough being an aunt at my age, I don't need any more kids calling me that so soon. The problem is that I don't know how to dispel this. Its magic that's waaaay out of my league."

Kid Flash piped in. "I could ask Flash for help. Zatana or Doctor Fate could fix this."

"The problem with that, Wally, is that Zatana hates Raven because she's a half demon." Jinx shrugged. "And Doctor Fate comes and goes so much no one can keep track of him."

"What about your magic?" Beast Boy asked suddenly.

Jinx raised an eyebrow. "What about it?"

"Can't you use your bad luck to make the spell fail?"

The witch hesitated. "I…I don't know. I've never tried something like that before."

"Will you try?" The changeling pleaded. "I just got things going good with Rae, I can't let things blow up already!"

Jinx bit her lip but nodded. "I'll try once. If it doesn't work…"

Beast Boy nodded. "What do you need me to do?"

"Since your forehead was were she initiated the magic, I'll use that as the focus point." Jinx said as she pulled out a pair of bulky black glasses. "These let me decipher magic and see enchantments, so I'll target the spell binding you together. Its technically a type of enchantment. I think."

Beast Boy nodded once more and gently grabbed Raven's head. She squirmed in his lap for a moment, but he eased her up to his face and pressed his forehead to hers. Her lips weren't two inches from his when she let out a soft meow, as if asking permission to get closer.

Just as he was closing in on what little distance there was between them, he heard the snap of fingers and his head exploded in pain. He jerked back with a cry, clutching his temples and hearing a similar cry right in front of him. Garfield forced his hands out of his vision in spite of the pain and looked at Raven, who was clutching her own head and whimpering. Her head was in his lap again and she was rocking it back and forth.

"Sweet Azar, that hurt." She moaned in pain.

"Welcome back." Garfield chuckled, rubbing his temple. Raven's eyes popped open and widened as she stared up at him in horror.

"That wasn't a dream, was it?" She asked in a whisper. Garfield shook his head and she paled before looking out at her other friends. They stared back at her, uncertain of what to say. She looked at Cyborg, then down at his hand (which he had reattached not too long after her cutting it off) and he wiggled his fingers. She looked over at Emelia, who was poking her head around the couch. The little girls' hair was still pretty messed up, seeing as her father forgot to ask her aunt to bathe her. Emelia was eyeing her warily, with good reason.

And then Raven looked up at Garfield, who gave her a weak smile.

"Excuse me. I'm going to go die of embarrassment now." She said before vanishing into a dark portal.

"Well…that went better than expected." Cyborg commented, much to Garfield's annoyance.


Knock knock knock

Knock knock knock

"Rae…I know you're in there. I can hear your heart beating. Literally." Garfield said gently to the unresponsive door. There was a soft reply.

"Go away."

The changeling sighed. "Look, we've all been super embarrassed about one thing or another here. For Cy, it was reinitiation after the defect to the Hive. For Starfire, it was explaining that grebnaks are not an appropriate topic in the mall. For Robin, it was me and Cy finding out that he wears Batman themed boxers and then gluing them to the R-Cycle. For you…well…we never really had anything on you. The cooking and magic mirror things were bad but oddly understandable. So…ya know…we aren't gonna laugh at you about this."

There was a moment of silence before she replied. "What about you?"

"I'm the team clown, Rae. Embarrassing stuff happens to me all the time. I can't pick just one." Garfield chuckled.

"That time Cyborg put dye in your shampoo and turned you brown for three days was actually pretty funny" Raven softly chuckled through the door.

Garfield raised an eyebrow. "You actually laughed at that?"

"Yes." She paused. "Well, on the inside. I couldn't do that out loud back then, remember?"

"Yeah, I know." Garfield sighed as he sat down in front of Raven's door. This could take a while.

"How about that time Mad Mod seriously hypnotized you? You were a pain to deal with, but it was kinda funny how floppy you became. Almost like a rag doll."

The changeling frowned. "I couldn't help that, a lot of insects in me are fascinated with lights."

"How about when you got upset and jealous of Aqualad and made an ass of yourself?"

"Ugh, don't bring that up."

Raven chuckled again. "Okay, how about-"

"Raven." Garfield interrupted. "Would you open the door, at least a little? I like seeing you when we talk."

There was a long, silent pause before the door cracked open a few inches and a violet eye peeked out and down at him. Garfield smiled.

"Thank you Rae." He said warmly, making her heart skip a beat. She didn't answer, but she did sit down and lean her head against the door, casting her eyes away from him.

"I'm sorry Garfield." She said softly.

Said boy was confused. "For what?"

"For…today."

"whaddaya mean? What's there to be sorry for?"

"Everything." She said with emphasis. "I'm supposed to be calm and in control, I'm not supposed to let my emotions control me, I'm supposed to be-"

"Happy." Garfield said, interrupting her. She looked up at him in surprise and he took this as a chance to keep going. "You're supposed to be happy, Raven. That's all any of us want for you, especially me. I want you to be happy, Raven. That means I'll do what I need to to make you happy. If you need me to carry books, I'll do it. If you need me to cook, I'll do it. If you need me to watch Emmy, I'll do it. Making you happy is all I've ever wanted, even if I was bad at showing it. I had to learn the long and hard way how to get along with you and make you feel better when you're down. So I'll do whatever you want, okay? I don't mind, really."

He could tell she was speechless, so he added just a little more.

"Look…I know you have issues expressing your emotions, so…if you need a cuddle, tell me and we'll cuddle. If you need a hug, give me a hug and I'll give you one. If you need a…kiss…" He faltered and blushed at this, for even thinking of kissing Raven made him unbelievably giddy. His mouth flopped open and shut a few times just to prove how embarrassed he was.

Raven was deathly quiet, even for her, for a long moment.

And then her door opened all the way, allowing the girl to reach out and wrap her arms around his neck. She pulled him in close for a hug and for the first time, he returned it. They sat there for a while in silence, enjoying each others company.

"Every time I think I understand you, you surprise me." Raven murmured into his neck.

Garfield let out a low chuckle. "I could say the same thing about you, Rae. I didn't think you were a cuddler."

Raven sighed in exasperation. "I know in the past I kept everyone at arms length and emphasized on my half demon blood. But I'm half human too. I need affection just like anyone else. I was just…too afraid to admit it and reach out for it."

"Lucky for me then. Animals are always honest with how they feel." Garfield laughed into her violet hair.

"I suppose you are lucky." Raven murmured before turning her head and giving his cheek a little peck of a kiss. "Thank you for being patient."

Garfield flushed a little and grinned before giving her cheek a little kiss as well (which he noticed immediately gave her goosebumps). "Thank you for putting up with me."

Raven sighed in contentment, leaning her head against his. "This is nice. A calm quiet conversation without any-"

Beep beep beep beep

"You jinxed it!" Garfield groaned in exaggeration. Raven rolled her eyes, released him, and got up yo look for her communicator. Finding it on her nightstand, she flipped it open.

"Raven here." She said with a hint of monotone.

"Are you okay?" Robin asked.

She nodded. "Yes. Talking to Garfield calmed me down."

"Never thought I'd hear that." The boy wonder chuckled. "But that's good. Dinner will be ready shortly."

Raven nodded and clicked the handheld device off. She returned it to the nightstand, the looked to Garfield, who was leaning on the doorway with a little grin.

"What?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Nothing." He chuckled. "Just wondering how long you're going to keep my clothes."

Raven looked down to find that she was indeed still in his shirt and shorts. Crossing her arms over her chest, she scowled and looked back up at him. "Get out so I can change!"

Garfield chuckled again before turning and stepping back into the hallway. "Yes mama."

The door slid shut behind him and he waited several minutes before it reopened to reveal a uniformed Raven standing there. His clothes were no where in sight, which meant she had kept them again. He didn't say anything, but he did chuckle again. Raven merely huffed and started walking away. Garfield easily caught up to her, but she whipped around and eyed him sternly from underneath her hood.

"Garfield." She said in an odd tone.

"Yes?"

"Don't touch my butt again without permission." She said firmly before turning around and walking away, trying (and failing) to hide her blush.

Garfield couldn't stop himself from laughing this time. "Yes mama."


A/N: Damnit Landon.