Their relationship was perfect as far as they were concerned.

They had their nightly rituals of still sneaking after hours to Raven's room when everyone was asleep. They have been intimate in every way possible, and have expressed their love towards one another 5 months in. They had their date nights every two weeks, because if it was every week, it would make it easy for someone to figure something was going on.

"Why are we still waiting Rave? We have been together in secret for almost 7 months now, don't you think we should just straight up tell them?".

Raven bookmarked her page and put her book down with it still open, hoping that this conversation will end as quick as it started. She was able to sense his emotions shift before that tense statement from the relaxed state it once was. His head was on her lap while he was playing with his Nintendo switch but then promptly sat up and faced her. This wasn't the first time he has brought this up, and he feared it was not going to be his last.

"Do you not like how it is going right now? Why put that at risk?", Raven told him calmly, even though that drove him more insane.

"Rae, don't you spin it back on me, you KNOW how much I love us, and this", he pointed back and forth between the space between them. "But I know a part of it is fake since no one knows about it".

She snapped her book shut, "Excuse me? Fake? What part is fake to you?". Hook, line and sinker, he knew exactly what to say to get the emotion out of her. Just what he wanted.

"I said that only to give you a taste of your own medicine, but at the same time, us keeping it a secret makes me doubt our validity", he told her bluntly.

"What do you mean?", asked a concerned empath, feeling all of his anxiety, anger, and in her opinion the worst to emotion to feel from him, hurt.

"Raven I love you. You know I would give my life for you without a moment's notice, but I feel like us keeping it a secret kinda makes our relationship seem not real. Star and Rob have been public since the beginning, I think Cy is getting suspicious on me always bailing on Friday nights, and I just don't want to keep this up… I want everyone to know about us. Hell, I want people all the way in Azarath to know about how much I adore you. I am proud of us, and I don't know. I feel like you don't want others to know because you are ashamed or embarrassed of me…".

She reached for his hand and gripped it hard. She then put both hands on his face and had him face her and see the sincerity and seriousness of what she was about to say.

"Gar, I love you with all of my might. I am an empath so I can know how you feel on demand, but you can also sense my body language and intentions from your powers as well. Know the genuineness of when I say, I am not ashamed of you. You can embarrass me, yes, I would be lying if I denied that, but I am not embarrassed of being with you. At all. I just fear change. You know how hesitant I was to even consider a relationship, I just don't want anything to jeopardize what we have". She said this almost as a plea to drop this all together, and she was able to feel his anxiety and anger wither away, but to her dismay the third emotion overcame it all.

"Raven, I will fight for you, for us, till my last breath. We can go wherever whenever, sure we will get some teasing, but Star and Rob get them from time to time as well. We will get through it. Besides, if anyone says anything too inappropriate, we can just rough them up a lil".

There it was, it was an entire 5 minutes without him lifting up the mood, she was starting to get too concerned. "We have powers after all, we should put it to use. That'll show 'em".

She was glad to hear the shift into his comedic tone, but still was curious what brought this up in the first place. "Don't be so dramatic, no one is dying nor needs us to die to go public. Okay, we will make us public". She was sure she would regret those words the moment he responded back.

Garfield stood up and headed towards her door before she could change her mind, "Great! I will go call them up…".

"NO!", Raven stood up from her lotus position and ran towards his place near the door. "We have to plan this out. We have been hiding around for 7 months, they will not take that too lightly".

"Hm, I get your point. It is a pretty big announcement and I think Robin will reevaluate his entire time with the Bat if he didn't notice two of his team canoodling under his bird nose. Soooo what is your suggestion? Hide another 7 more?", it was her time to eyeroll.

"Okay I get your point. But no, I think we should get them all together in the common room and make sure nothing is going on outside in the city, we don't want to do this in the middle of one of Robin's paranoia sessions".

He rubbed his chin wondering when Robin wouldn't be in one of his moods. "Okay we can wait still. But by the end of the month I want to be able to smack your ass in front of Cy and you won't have to send me to the Bay nor would he have the right to pummel me out of the tower".

"Okay calm down now, no need to be crude now. Even with everyone knowing, we are limited to handholding and occasional cuddling. Besides, if anyone is going to smack anyone around here you can bet it's going to be me to your face once you try to feel me up during movie night or something".

"If that was the case, a slap would be well worth it", he smirked with his lower fang sticking out just the way she loved it.

It was settled, they would gather their teammates, coworkers, friends, family about their secret, but very real relationship, that they have been hiding for over half a year. What could go wrong? Well, that they would figure it out without them telling them of course.

She is not sure how it all happened relatively close to one another, but the team found out without them sitting them down like how they intended to. At least how Raven intended to. She still has some doubts that this was all per "chance" or just a mere coincidence as Beast Boy claimed it to be. She still thinks he had some part into it, those ears were not just for show, he could sense people from a longer distance than most. So how did the unexpecting members find out?

The first was of course the one who Raven saw as an overprotective, but well-intentioned big brother, who also happened to be Beast Boy's best friend. Beast Boy was overjoyed to have him find out first so he can rub it in that he was getting some, but of course accompanied with a smack in the back of the head of his girlfriend and accompanied with an egregious shove of a previous footballer turned hero. It's not like he caught them doing the dirty deed on the couch. Even though that situation has been presented a few times and only didn't happen because Raven had the better mind of teleporting them straight to her room, even if it was at times to Gar's dismay. When Raven looks back at it, it actually was not revealed in such a bad way. It could have been much worse, such as seeing BB leave Raven's room at random times in the middle of the night, or if he would've caught her wearing his clothes that she once forgot she was wearing when she was on her way to the kitchen. Good thing she always noticed before anyone saw her so she could go back to get redressed.

He caught them one night when they both were just talking after one of their dates and have situated themselves in one of the boulders in front of the tour. Normally she would be against them being out like this especially right outside of their home where anyone could walk in, but she let her guard down due to the beautiful night. Living in the Bay, the wind would often get strong and the waves would roughly splash against the large rocks by this time, but not tonight. It was a gentle pleasant breeze during their 80-degree weather summer. It really was a beautiful night, and what harm could half an hour just basking in the moonlight and looking at all the city lights bouncing off the gentle waves do?

Cyborg was at home all day fixing up the car and renovating some new tech and had to go outside in order retrieve a package that was sent earlier that he completely forgot about. Normally the mail and packages would arrive at a PO box somewhere in the city, but this was delicate equipment that had to be special ordered to the tower which was also why it was sent during night to limit its exposure to the harsh sunlight. He was excited to bring in his shiny and cool new gadget, little did he know that he was going to walk in on Raven snuggled in between BB's right arm watching the moon's reflection against the gentle waves. He thought he was going to see Raven slap BB for getting too close, but nothing happened. Those 30 seconds felt like eternity to him but what he expected to happen didn't. In fact, he saw Beast Boy's ear twitch a bit and move in closer to Raven and gave her a kiss on the forehead. He swore he saw BB glance his way for a second before leaning in. Cyborg quickly picked up the delicate delivery and scurried inside trying to make as little noise as possible. As soon as he came back inside, he found that he couldn't help but break into a small smile for his friends shared happiness. He can beat BB's butt tomorrow.

In reality, Beast Boy heard the garage door opening even from that distance. The lack of wind made it easier to hear from that distance. Raven didn't sense him until she felt a wave of confusion and a smidge of distress hit her senses. She was about to turn around and check who finally caught them, but Gar brought her closer and kissed her chakra. The figure soon disappeared, and she was able to feel the once anxious emotions turn into something of relief and warmth, which in turn made her smile and accept Gar's loving embrace.

With one out of three knowing, it eased Raven's nerves a bit she must admit. They both had to approach Cy the following day to confirm their relationship where they were both embraced in a crushing hug that normally would make Raven want to teleport far away, but she accepted it knowing the kind sentiment behind it. The pair made sure to have Cyborg oath to not tell the remaining unbeknownst couple about their relationship just yet. They wanted to let them know themselves because they felt that it would be disrespectful if they used their friend as a messenger of this big news. Raven wanted to rip the band aid off at once by telling them both at the same time, however she was still trying to get accustomed to Cyborg knowing. She figured after this weekend would be fine since Gar promised her a special night that she quite frankly did not want to get spoiled due to all of the insistent questions from the whole team. Turns out, the weekend couldn't wait.

Gar made reservations at a nice restaurant on the outskirts of town in the hopes they would go unnoticed, however, somehow the press was alerted that the team's social favorite was going to such an intimate restaurant, and they had a camping session right outside to see who the new "flavor of the month" was. They were especially intrigued since there were no dating rumors for quite a while for the green hero, so this would especially catch the eye of their curious readers. The owner of the restaurant called Gar personally to alert him of the situation and apologized personally to whoever in his staff may have leaked the information and offered to make it up to him in the future with a special reservation. While Gar was frustrated and disappointed, he knew that it wasn't their fault that someone leaked to the press. Hell, he wasn't even that mad at the person that ratted him out. He was aware how hard it was to make ends meet, so he tried to not take it personally. He was just more concerned on what to tell Raven. Of course, she was always understanding, but he knew that tonight was the reason why she wanted to put off telling Robin and Starfire. He was sure she just used that as an excuse, but nonetheless that had to mean she was looking forward to it if she used it as an excuse in the first place. Without wanting to have the night go to waste, he decided to still give her a special night, but have it in the tower. He let know Cyborg of his plans to keep Robin at bay, so he asked him to play a gamestation game against him which the leader could not refuse due to all the shit talking Cyborg was doing the last time they played. When Cyborg asked where Starfire was Robin just replied, "She is in her room probably looking up places where our vacation is going to be at". Cyborg's human eye gave a questioning glace, "Y'all are going on vacation? No offense, but I would never imagine you outside and not on a mission". Robin waited to reply right when he got his worthy game adversary to a corner, "Yeah well because this isn't just a normal vacation…I am planning on proposing". Cyborg lost all motor function as soon as he heard that, and just like that, Robin had the upper hand and beat the bewildered man at the game. "Yo, are you for real? Like you are going to propose?!". This was just too much for the poor guy to handle…first he sees his little sister having a relationship with his best friend and now his other friend is planning to pop the big question, where did he all of a sudden become the poster child of loneliness? Like sure he was seeing Sarah, but they were still in somewhat casual terms. Both couples here live under the same roof. Robin wasn't planning on telling anyone just yet, nor was he trying to keep it a secret. He was relatively open about anything with his friends about his life if they were to ask and if it was appropriate enough, he did trust them with his life after all.

"Dead serious. The vacation isn't anytime soon though, it's in about 5 more months or so, and knowing Star she would want the event to be huge, so we are going to need about 2 years' time of planning…at least that is what Bruce has told me". Cyborg was even more surprised. He rarely spoke about his surrogate father. There was no animosity between them, but he rarely brought him up in casual conversation. Cy wasn't sure anymore if this counted anymore as a casual conversation. Dick had to be dead straight about his intentions if he let the Bat know already.

"Out of curiosity, how did he take it? I remember you said last time that he had some alien security concerns regarding leaked information to other planets…".

"Yeah, well I reminded him about how he has an alien on his team as well, whose people actually tried harming Earth. Martian Manhunter is one of the most formidable and honorable members on his team. It wasn't fair for him to judge Star like that. When I introduced them to one another, I admit Star's bone crushing hugs didn't help the situation at the moment, but when he really got to know her and read her body language, he realized that her hugs were the only threat she really posed. Now when we have our monthly calls, he asks how she is and not in an interrogative way, but in a way that he actually cares how she is doing. I really never thought I would see the day… but in the end Bruce is my father. He wants the best for me, which is why he was always hard on me, but now that he knows I can take care of not just myself but a team as well, he wants me to be happy…and we all know that is only possible with Star".

Cy was moved. All of his friends were happy, and he was happy for them as well. He was not trying to settle anytime soon, but all this newfound realization made him start wondering if he should solidify his relationship with Sarah. He was nervous, but also excited from what could come from that. Victor patted Robin on the back and said, "I am happy for you man, I really am. You and Star are match made for each other…Wait did you say like 2 years? And add the other 5 months?... Damn, I guess it is too early to plan your bachelor party…".

Richard gave him a playful shrug, "Yeah well, next round determines who has dish duty for the night".

"Oh, you're so on tweety".

With Star in her room searching for possible vacation resorts, she was having a hard time narrowing down her options. Sure, they have traveled around the world for missions, but they hardly spent any time in the tourist locations. She read all about how Paris was the city of love and of course all the fashion that was just awaiting her, but what about Hawaii and its beautiful beaches and customs? Or what about Greece with the beautiful buildings and amazing views? So many to choose from…so her only logical solution was to ask her dear friend Raven. She walked over to Raven's room which was two doors down from hers and saw a note on the floor. Starfire normally wouldn't read something that was not for her, but she saw that there was no name attached and it had a heart drawn on the outside of the note that she could only assume was fromRobin. She figured that the note may have been swept towards Raven's door because of an open window or due to one of the boys running through the corridor. She became all giddy to open the secret love note from her beloved which read,

"Don't bother changing out of those beautiful clothes. Come as you are ,and meet me at the top of roof at 9 pm.

XOXO from all yours"

Starfire looked at the time on her phone and saw it was 5 minutes till 9. Robin was always on time, so she was sure whatever he planned was ready by now. With no hesitation she flew upstairs to the roof with a loud squeal. As soon as she left, Raven came out of the door confused on all the racket and explosion of emotions in such a small timeframe. She noticed the note, now half opened, and read it and realized what just occurred.

"Oh no".

Raven teleported up to the roof at once and was now met by a very confused alien and a now sweating Beast Boy. There were rose petals scattered on the floor with a small table for two with takeout put on fancy plates. Albeit it the food looked fancy and the centerpiece of deep red roses were lovely, but nonetheless it was takeout and not really the concern at hand. Gar was nice and dressed up in a dark blue sports jacket with Raven wearing her brand new tiny little black dress that Starfire always insisted any young woman should own for such fancy occasions. Well, that occasion was apparently tonight and Starfire was literally in the middle of it. The Tamaranean might have been from another world, but she knew what was going on. The squeal she let out was nothing compared to what was heard in the corridor. She rushed over to give once again both of them a death grip vice of a hug and only let go when Raven had to squirm her way out. Star decided to break the tension in the air, "Friends! Why did you not tell me you both were courting one another?! This is such delightful news! We must have the double dates soon! Oh friend Raven I cannot wait for one of our mall outings and all of the new girl talk we will have…oh I am so excited I must alert Robin to tell him to find a place to accommodate a double date as soon as possible!". To everyone's surprise, it was Beast Boy who got Starfire's attention by grabbing her wrist in one of his feline like reflexes. "Wait Star! You can't tell Robin just yet. He doesn't know. No one knows, except well now you and Cy…". Star's face fell. "You both decided to tell our dear friend Vic, but not me?". The princess looked as if she was about to cry.

This is where Raven interjected, "Starfire, I would never tell Cyborg without telling you first. You are my best friend and I would have told you first, trust me. Cyborg was just at the wrong place at the wrong time, similar as you are actually…".

Like seriously, both events in the same week occurring after their talk? Seems too coincidental in her opinion. "Anyways, now you know, and we would appreciate a bit of privacy before we tell Robin. I highly doubt Richard would appreciate knowing that he is the last to know, so we would like to tell him ourselves in a private manner".

Beast Boy interjected with, "I know right? So much for the world's best detective…", which was met by a shove from Raven. Starfire sighed but nonetheless it was quite evident how delighted she was about the situation and for her friends. She gave them one last hug and wished them a splendid rest of their evening.

Now that 2/3 members knew, Raven felt more relieved but knew they had to deal with Robin tomorrow, but she didn't want the beautiful display and effort Gar made to be put to waste. They both decided to enjoy the rest of their unexpected night. The night still went well with Gar following Raven back to her room for the afterparty. It was now about 1 am and they were simply enjoying one another's embrace in bed after a romantic night. Gar broke the blissful silence, "What a crazy day huh? What are the odds?... So how do you think we should tell good ol' Dick?".

Raven sighed, "I am not sure. I feel bad that he is the last to know, but it was all due to chance. I guess the earlier the better tonight. I will try to catch him tomorrow early morning when he takes his coffee when he is usually alone. I will wake you up, I am sure you don't mind waking up early for one day, right?".

Gar rolled on his back, "Are you serious Rae? We had such a marvelous night and you want to ruin it by waking up early? Can't we just send a communicator text to him or something?". Raven rolled her eyes and told him goodnight but was surprised he got up and walked towards the door. "Where are you going right now?".

He looked back at her, only wearing his boxers. "Don't worry I am just going to get a glass of water".

Before she could voice her concerns about him leaving her room without transforming into something, it was too late, he already left the room. A minute barely passed where she felt an onslaught of mixed emotions. Was that fright? Followed by shock? Then anxiety and then again doubling down on shock? The changeling came back to her room as if nothing happened and laid down next to her casually. She laid back in her bed reciting her mantra thrice before saying, "Let me guess, you knew he was in the hallway right at the moment he would turn to see you exiting out of my room in nothing but your boxers at 1 in the morning and just decided to tell him point blank".

She heard Gar mumble an "Mhmmm" between his pillows.

She responded with, "You traumatized him and did all that just so you don't wake up early tomorrow?".

"Mhmmmmmmmmm".

She should have known he would have pulled something like this.

Of course.

He heard Victor as soon as that door opened but pretended he didn't. He didn't knock on her door as soon as he left that note but rather wanted to have Starfire find it thinking it was for her. He also wasn't checking the time before going to bed, but rather probably texted the same alien to make sure Robin was in the hallway to go get the very same thing he went to go out to get, which made sense on why she heard a faint squeal across the hallway a few moments later. Raven really didn't give him the credit he deserved.

"So, where is the glass of water?".

Hello! I am so sorry for an update that is over a year overdue? Time flies. Since then I won a NASA grant that is paying for the rest of my PhD, became a PhD Candidate, traveled out of state for the first time since COVID and guess what? Got COVID (no worried I am perfectly healthy). Nonetheless, sorry for the wait! Again I have so much written for this fic already but I have so much to write also in between it. Busy life doesn't make it any easier but I really hope to update more frequently, so here is a longer one as a thanks for all of the wait. Hope you enjoy and stay safe!