I don't own the characters, they are property of DC and Warner Bros.

What happens when you write this thing by committee, you end up with some random chapters. And the longest one yet!

We hope you enjoy what we have been cooking up...

Chapter 11

When Raven had made herself presentable, meditated for a little while, then floated down for breakfast, she was surprised to find a cup of her favourite tea waiting for her. It had been tucked behind the kitchen appliances so she would see it, but no one else would spot it and she could practically hear Beast Boy purring as she gave him a mental pat and let him know he was a good boy.

I might need to make more use of this, she thought, as she collected a plate of waffles from Cyborg and sat down at the table, eyeing what the others were doing sat round the TV. Robin and Beast Boy were playing a game she didn't recognise, while Starfire watched from the sofa and Cyborg from the kitchen. It looked to be some sort of fantasy strategy game, though if she was any judge, Robin was wiping the floor with Beast Boy.

A few minutes later, after she had finished her breakfast, it was clear who the winner was when the green hero stomped off in a sulk and Cyborg took his place. Raven had floated out the room, muttering about meditating, while Beast Boy declared he was going for a flight. When they were close to their rooms, Raven pulled him aside to see how he was doing.

He told her he just needed to blow off a little steam, being a bit frustrated at Robin running rings around, but happily accepted some more head scratches before she sent him on his way.

Later on, Robin asked for her help with a new training idea he had. It involved her using her telekinesis to practice moving objects, while her teammates tried to get to her. The first few times, Robin made it to her and tapped her shoulder to signal the end. Starfire did the same, until Raven experimented with controlling roped to wrap the flying hero up. Cyborg tried blasting through, ramming through, or just running, but her increased control meant she could keep up enough of a barrage of objects to keep him away. Same for Robin eventually, when she was able to levitate up to thirty items before she started getting a headache, she was able to keep them all from getting to her. It was three on one though, so she was excused when she had exhausted her energy, leaving her teammates battered but proud of their progress as she floated off to her room.

Her mind and body ached, collecting BB Jr on her way, she intended to spend the rest of the day meditating to recover. When she found a green crow rapping on her window, which curled up in her lap with the black cat, she smiled to herself, playing with them both before settling into her trance; very much aware of the comforting presences sat with her.

"We should go on another date" Beast Boy declared when she reemerged. Her eyebrow rose in bemusement while regarding him, who was now in his human form and playing with the kitten.

"You're not still competing with the cat, are you?" what almost passed for a smile ghosted across her face, while Beast Boy's jaw dropped and he attempted to come up with an answer. BB Jr nuzzling his face while his brain played catch up was too much, Beast Boy nearly falling off the bed as Raven giggled softly.

"Finally!" he declared in victory, BB Jr leaping clear as his name sake did go tumbling off the bed this time, missing Raven's eye roll. "I said I'd get you to laugh one day and today is that day!"

"If this leaves this room…"

"No no, don't worry, this all just for me," he assured her, a trademark grin on his face despite being laid on the floor in a heap.

"You are ridiculous" she sighed, levitating him upright, "We had better go and see about dinner, before they start wondering where we are. He exited out the window again, while she floated out her door, cat curled up in her hood. It was nice having him there while I meditated.

Robin sprang a surprise training exercise on them later that evening, meaning that when it came time to sleep, they collapsed into Beast Boy's bed and just curled up to sleep. While it came quickly, she found herself waking up at 3am, the remains of a nightmare leaving her. Grumbling quietly, she extracted herself from her partner and headed for the kitchen to get some tea.

While waiting for the kettle to boil, she glanced over at the tv, thinking about that new game they had been playing. Something too complicated for BB, might be something to help wear her brain out for sleep. Heading over with her cup when it had brewed, after some experimentation she was able to get it setup; years of watching the guys play this thing actually coming in handy.

Going through the tutorial took a little getting used to, she had played from time to time, to show willing, but it was still not something she was much good with. Once she got past that and into the campaign, she had to admit she was impressed. Better the different nations and races, units and magic, there were a lot of ways to play this game. No wonder BB couldn't get on with it, she sighed to herself, before realising she had spent the better part of three hours playing this game.

As she headed back for Beast Boy room, curling up in his arms again, she wondered if there were any books based off the game; as she heard that was popular these days.

"Booyah!" Cyborg announced, jumping up in victory, while Beast Boy dropped the controller and slumped off. "Who's next?"

Given Raven was the only other person in the room, he looked dejected when he realised, until he heard "I'll have a go". He turned his head in shock, to see her place her bookmark, close the book and set it aside, before floating over and levitating the controller into her hands. Beast Boy was stood in the kitchen and looked to be having a stroke, though Cyborg wasn't looking much better. Setting up a new two player game, she settled down onto the sofa and looked at her opponent in expectation.

She had played the game the last few nights to deal with her insomnia, not that the others knew that, so hid her smile when Cyborg got over his shock and gave her some pointers before playing.

When they got going, he was distracted making sure she knew what she was doing, so quickly found himself playing catch up. When she had found teleportation magic, she had been over the moon, quickly finding all sorts of uses for it. Her weaker early game units would appear from seemingly nowhere, either engaging in hit and run attacks, or sacrificing themselves to slow her opponent down. Before long, he had teleporting magic units joining in, breaking up his units of heavy infantry and outmaneuvering him at every turn.

If he had been playing properly, he might well have still given her a close game, but underestimating her cost him dearly. Beast Boy was hanging over the back of the sofa, watching in complete disbelief. She hadn't bothered with infantry, using mounted units to pin Cyborg's mobs in place while her magic units hammered them, his brute force being taken apart by precision.

A few minutes later she gave a satisfied smirk, setting the controller down and floating off to make a cup of tea, leaving the other two sat there looking like they had seen a ghost.

She was left in peace for the rest of the day, based off what she could sense, Cyborg and Beast Boy had spent the afternoon trying to prove she was an alternate dimension version. Robin had no idea why there was a bunch of whiteboards set up in the garage, but was glad they looked to be doing something mentally stimulating for once. Starfire actually came and asked her if anything had happened, as they were acting unusual and having been doing training with Robin, she was most confused at their actions.

When Robin found out what had freaked his teammates out so much, he had to confirm it for himself, which lead to Raven getting the second knock on her door in as many hours. When she confirmed the guys story, Robin declared the only way to restore balance (to Cyborg and Beast Boy at least), was for him to challenge Raven. She shrugged and accepted, once he had explained about the freak out downstairs the others were having at least.

Dramatic music was playing when they walked into the common room, the others having really gotten into this unexpected showdown. Cyborg was firmly on team Robin, While Beast Boy was team Raven. Starfire was torn between who to support, her secret lover or her best friend, so in the end cheered for the team. BB Jr was confused about what was going on and elected for sitting on the lap of his namesake.

She gave it her best, but in the end it was stacking less than a weeks worth of experience against years. He had grown up playing things like this, combined with his tactical insight, he had her pinned down and beaten quicker than it had taken her to beat Cyborg. Afterwards the team congratulated her, as Cyborg didn't last as long against Robin on strategy games, and Robin had been impressed by how quickly she had picked the system up.

She retreated to her room, embarrassed at all the attention, though Beast Boy came knocking later on, checking she was alright and if she wanted company. After a brief moment of hesitation, she opened the door with her powers, sitting cross legged on her bed meditating as he wandered in with BB Jr and sat with his back against the bed.

"So when did you decide to give video games a go? Aren't you worried about rotting your brain?" She opened her eyes to glare at him, pausing when she saw him. His face was upturned to look at her, a smaller, more affectionate smile than his usual grin, she could feel he was more intrigued than anything.

"Well I haven't been sleeping well lately and I thought I should try something you like…" Raven trailed off when she received a glowing smile from the green hero.

"You tried it for me? That's sweet Rae!"

"Well, erm, I suppose I did…" Raven had hidden her head under the hood, waiting for the usual teasing that followed moments like this. When she felt his weight on the bed, she wasn't sure what he was doing, until he pulled her hood far enough back to kiss her forehead. He always finds new ways to surprise me, she thought to herself, looking up at him.

"I was been serious Rae, I know how you like to keep to your comfort zone to avoid outbursts, so trying something new for me means a lot" taking her hand and rubbing it gently with a thumb, he smiled as she blushed, looking away, but gripping his hand back. "Still getting used to the emotional part huh?"
"Yes, though, I think I'm getting better."
"I'd say so! You might have taken to the physical parts easily enough, but you've yet to throw me out a window or explode anything, except my poor book…"

"...the book is fine, I just faked the destruction and hid it, I couldn't bare to actually damage one…"

"Rae! When did you get so sneaky!"
"I blame Robin."

"...Yeah I can see where you got it from now…"
"BB, can you stay a little while? After having to deal with people so directly, today, I could use the company…" Raven was hesitant to admit it at first, thinking it was one thing, but saying it aloud that she needed him was a whole new step. He sat down beside her, one arm around her shoulder and nuzzling their heads together gently.

"I can stay for a bit, but I made a bet with Cyborg about watching this new horror film he found…" murmuring softly, taking her hand in his again. "But I have to make sure my special lady is taken care of first."

"Thank you…" it was another one that was so soft anyone else might have missed it, but he treasured them, suspecting she did it on purpose for his ears only.

When it came time for him to depart, she grabbed the front of his costume as he turned from the goodbye hug and kiss, pulling him back for one last loving moment before letting him go. Once he was gone and her door secured again, she went to retrieve her book and have a quiet evening. She didn't mind horror films so much these days, being more open to admitting she was scared when they did bother her, but from past experience Cyborg would have found the goriest film he could and it just didn't appeal.

A couple of hours later, she felt a disturbance on the other side of her door. Knowing what it was likely to be, floating over and opening the door, she regarded a scared Beast Boy, who had been working up the courage to knock, when the door opened for him and left him nearly knocking on Raven's head.

"Come in BB" gesturing for him to enter, before he even had time to ask, "I don't mind you staying the night, just remember, it's my sanctuary, treat it with respect."

"Thanks Rae, just not sure I could sleep tonight on my own…" he scratched the back of his head nervously, following her in and locking the door behind them. He didn't need to say the rest, getting a kiss on the cheek as she could sense what he wanted. Curling up together on her bed, she rested her head on his chest, listening to his heart beat as it slowed down, while he relaxed and then fell asleep, holding her hand as he did. Smiling in contentment, she followed suit shortly after.

It was 5am when she awoke, she had gone to sleep earlier than normal to comfort Beast Boy, holding him when he stirred in his sleep, easing the nightmare he was having and soothing his worry. It was nice having someone they could go to when struggling, she knew he would be there in a heartbeat if needed.

Sitting up and looking down at him with affection, she had to concede that maybe her Emotions had a point about them balancing each other out.

Well he won't be awake for hours yet, I might just go and get a couple more rounds in before he does...

Having finished all the single player content and finding them rather tame, Raven decided to start hitting the harder difficulty. While her mobile tactics had worked before, the AI seemed to be adapting more to counter her, producing the units to stop her forces and making her be more flexible with her approach.

Having just finished the level, she sat back with a sigh that was part frustration, part victorious, when she noticed a green mass in the corner of her eye and jumped up in shock; barely grabbing the control before it hit the ground.

"Morning Rae" he grinned at her, jumping over the sofa and landing next to her.

"How long were you there?" she growled, hand on her chest while she fought to get her pulse under control.

"About when you started the map, didn't feel right sleeping in your bed without you, so thought I'd follow you down, but you were so engrossed in the game I didn't want to interrupt."

"What do you mean didn't feel right?"

"Well it's your sanctuary Rae, I don't want to do anything to mess it up!" She couldn't think of a comeback to that one, she had requested he respects her room and he had done just that. It was his first night there so it made sense, he was less comfortable in her room than she was in his, having spent more time than she would have thought possible sleeping in his bed rather than hers. "Besides, I want to get some tips on this thing, got to beat Cyborg somehow and now I have a sexy coach to help me do so!" he added, grabbing a controller and looking at her, hoping she would say yes.

"Oh fine, but not because of your compliments" she pretended to grumble, loading up a two on two game for them to play. With a few pointers, she did enjoy playing with him in the end. He was happy to follow her suggestions and they worked well together, maybe she should look into more of these games, he was willing to try new things for her, why shouldn't she do the same.

What neither of them noticed, was Cyborg sneaking out with a plate of waffles, smirking as they argued about what map to play next. Little sis sure has mellowed out lately.