Tim squinted, the sun shining directly into his eyes. What…where…? Last night was a little fuzzy. He didn't remember much. But judging by how naked he was, it had to have been quite a night. He heard a moan and felt the bed shift behind him. He slowly realized…he was not alone. He was afraid to look. He slowly rolled over, mentally preparing himself for the worst. WHAT! He was actually pleasantly surprised as he took in the sleeping face of his best friend. Tim relaxed, staring softly at the female facing him, still asleep. A small smile crept onto his face as he began to remember bits and pieces of the night. Heavy breathing. Small hands slowly creeping down his naked chest. Head thrown back in ecstasy. Large, violet eyes with pupils blown. Now he remembered. Tim smiled as he gently removed a strand of hair from in front of the empath's face. Her face scrunched as she began to stir, but then she relaxed. Tim then rolled onto his back, hands behind his head, staring up at the ceiling with a silly grin on his face. Scenes from the past began to play in his mind as he reminisced on the journey that led him here, next to her.

In the beginning, I never thought it would be you

(AGES – 15, 13)

He wasn't going to lie. She scared the crap out of him. She was very serious and very powerful for a 13-year-old. Tim didn't even think she knew how to laugh. Her face was always blank – emotionless. She was dark and mysterious and always wearing a hoodie of some sort. She was always the only one wearing black and very dark purple. And no matter how hot it was outside; her hood always covered her face. Tim didn't know why she chose to hide her face, she wasn't ugly. Suddenly, her head lifted up from the pinball machine she was watching Garfield and Bart play. She turned her head. Big, round, violet eyes met his blue ones. Tim immediately looked down at his plate of fries, his face heating up. Empath. Right. Of course she'd be able to sense when someone was thinking about her. "Tim, are you even paying attention?" a female asked. Tim's attention turned back to Connor and Cassie, who were sitting across from him in the booth. "Sorry," Tim said. "Just thinking about a case Bats was telling me about." Cassie and Connor rolled their eyes before continuing their conversation. Tim glanced up once again at Raven. She was once again watching the two boisterous teammates whoop and holler at the pinball machine. Tim turned his attention back to his two closest friends and teammates, glancing up at the empath every once in a while, for no reason at all. There was something about her that he found…interesting…attractive. Nope! Not attractive. There was no attraction there at all. Tim forced himself to listen to Cassie. His weird feelings towards the empath could wait.

-Present-

Tim gently sucked on his own lower lip as he remembered bits and pieces of their amazing night. Her lips were so soft. She teleported them to his room at the manor. She was straddling him, pulling at his shirt without breaking the kiss. Tim had one armed wrapped around her waist, holding her close to his body, while his other hand was buried in her silky purple hair. He once again looked at the empath sharing his bed. She snuggled deeper into his pillow. Tim reached a hand up to stroke her face as another memory broke through his foggy brain.

But we got closer, 'til you were eating off my spoon

(AGES – 18, 16)

Rose stared at her two teammates in confusion as she watched the scene play out in front of her.

Tim and Raven were sitting on the same side of the booth. "Just try it," Tim said. He was trying to get Raven to try some, weird, ice cream concoction. He held his spoon out with one hand under it to make sure the ice cream didn't drip, trapping her against the wall. "Gross. No. It even looks weird," Raven said, playfully shoving his hand away.

"Try it. Try it," he continued to coax her.

"Tim, no," Raven said with a small laugh. "Mint chocolate chip is not supposed to be red. It should be green."

"It's the cayenne pepper causing the discoloration," he tried to explain.

"How much cayenne pepper is in that thing!" Raven exclaimed in mild horror.

"You can't knock it until you try it," Tim said, not moving his hand.

"Fine," Raven relented with a smile. "I want my own spoon."

"Don't be ridiculous; I don't have cooties." Raven rolled her eyes as she leaned forward to eat the ice cream off of his spoon. Her violet eyes met his blue ones for a split second, causing Tim's stomach to do that weird thing it sometimes did when they hung out. Her face scrunched in disgust as she swallowed the frozen dessert. "Ew. Gross. I need to get the taste out of my mouth," Raven said as she began scooping spoonful after spoonful of her chocolate ice cream in her mouth. "You have such a weird palate," she complained.

"You don't like the spice?" Tim asked in wonder.

"I'm never going to get this taste out of my mouth." She gave Tim a playfully, serious punch on his shoulder. "Ow," Tim said. His blue eyes shone with happiness. "It's not that bad," he said with a laugh. "You're being dramatic. Hold still." She had a speck of ice cream on the corner of her mouth. He reached up and began to wipe it away with his thumb. Tim heard her sharp inhale as skin made contact with skin. He froze meeting her stare. The atmosphere quickly changed from playful to serious. Raven's breathing changed just a little as her lips parted slightly. Tim didn't know what was happening, but he sort of liked it. "Is it gone?" Raven asked breathily.

"Yep, got it," Tim said, his voice oddly high. "Who knew you were such a messy eater?" he said after clearing his throat. Raven once again rolled her eyes. She did that a lot when she was with him. "Move, I want to get out," she said as she began pushing Tim out the booth. "I need to get this taste out of my mouth. I'm ordering another one." Tim held out a hand, which Raven grasped, as she exited the booth. (He didn't even realize he had done it.) "I'll go with you," he said as they walked up to the counter. "I want another one."

"No," Raven said, shaking her head. "No. No more for you."

"What do you mean 'no more for you?' I'm the one who is paying," he said with a laugh as they walked away, out of Rose's earshot.

Rose remained frozen in her spot. Her ice cream forgotten. She was so confused? Raven had earlier explained her relationship with Tim was purely platonic. Like siblings. But siblings didn't look at each other the way Tim and Raven looked at each. ( Well…most siblings didn't. There was always that rare exception.) She heard their laughs before they returned to the booth, not even acknowledging her existence because they were so caught up in each other. She felt so forgotten…was this what Raven felt like whenever she hung out with her and Jason?

-Present-

Tim sat up just a little, surveying the damage to his room. Minimal. A crack in the walls here and there. A crack through his flat screen. But that was it. Tim was so happy she had decided to wear the power inhibitor cuffs despite Rose saying it clashed with her outfit. The sound of a groan emanated from beside him. He rolled onto his side as he watched Raven slowly waken. She rubbed her eyes with the palm of her hand. Blinked a few times. Before zeroing in on Tim. He was immediately taken back to what happened just hours ago. Her eyes shone like jewels in the darkness as she watched him crawl on top of her before kissing her passionately. Her head was throne back as he kissed her neck and throat. Raven's eyes quickly widened as she realized where she was and what happened hours before. Tim felt a moment of fear and panic. Did she regret it? Was she having second thoughts?

Tonight we'll just get drunk, disturb the peace

(AGES – 22, 20 – the night before)

"Tim, Rose and I aren't 21 yet," Raven said as they crossed the street to the nightclub.

"Relax, little bird," Jason said as he threw an arm over the empath's shoulder. "It's all taken care of." Tim fought back the spike of jealousy he felt as Jason pulled Raven closer. "Get off of me," Raven pushed Jason away. Tim smirked before saying. "Jason is right. It's all taken care of."

"Does Bruce own the building or something?" Rose asked as they bypassed the line, heading straight to the bouncer.

"No," Tim scoffed as Jason showed the bouncer a badge. The bouncer looked at it, and stepped to the side, allowing all four of them to pass. "Bruce doesn't own this club," Tim said.

"We do," Jason rendered the girls speechless.

"Come on," Tim pulled Raven deeper into the club. "Let's go."

Tim leaned against the bar, watching Raven enjoy herself, dancing with Rose in the middle of the dance floor while simultaneously monitoring the plethora of males dancing around Raven. (He'd already thrown a few out for getting handsy with the empath.) Tim allowed his eyes to roam Raven's body. She was wearing a black sheer top - a bedazzled red bra could be seen underneath - and very short shorts with black heels. Her purple hair flowed in soft waves down her back. Big, silver hoop earrings adorned her ears. And of course, power inhibiting cuffs around both wrists. Tim remembered watching her walk down the steps of the manor. She had walked over to Tim and said, "This is the last time I play Barbie for Rose," Raven said. "I feel naked."

"You look hot," Jason had responded before receiving a knee to the gut from Rose. "It was just a compliment," he gasped as he doubled over. "Why so violent?"

"You're making her uncomfortable," Rose said. "And stand up. I didn't knee you that hard."

Tim was broken out of his memory when Jason sidled up next to him at the bar. "Is Raven drunk?" Jason asked Tim.

"Not completely," Tim answered loudly, making himself heard above the thumping music. "She's mostly buzzed."

"How?"

"The cuffs," Tim stated. "They disable 85-90% of her powers. She can drink, let loose without worrying about bringing the place down."

"Cool," Jason said as he got the bartender's attention. "You gonna go dance with her or are you going to continue kicking guys out every time they glance in her direction?" Tim opened his mouth to retort, but immediately stopped when he realized Raven was staring at him while she danced. Her eyes. They were calling him over. She wanted to dance with him. He confidently made his way to the dance floor, ignoring Jason's "yeah, Timmy. Go get some." Raven held out her hands to him, pulling him into her body with a laugh. (Find your hands all over me) At first, their dancing was innocent. But the closer they got to each other – the longer they stared into each other's eyes – the more their hands roamed each other's body. Tim had to swallow a groan as Raven pushed her back against his front and began grinding on him. Something in him snapped; and suddenly, he was tired of holding back. He pressed his body into her. He placed his hands…everywhere. At one point, he even kissed her neck and sucked on her ear. Raven turned to face Tim and threw her hands over his shoulder, looking up at him with wide eyes, pupils blown, breathing heavily. Tim's eyes fell to her lips briefly. Raven shyly bit her lip before pulling Tim's head down an inch or so and kissing him soundly on the lips. "Let's go all the way," Raven whispered into Tim's ear. And what had started out as chaste touch of lips soon turned into a full-blown make-out.

-Present-

"Hi," Raven gasped, a soft blush covering her cheeks.

"Hi," Tim answered in return. He began to softly stroke her cheek. Raven closed her eyes, basking in his gentleness.

I know you're nervous, so just sit back and let me drive

Raven slowed her ministrations once she realized they were now both completely nude. She looked down at Tim whose body she was currently straddling. She was scared. Tim immediately sat up and pulled her into a heated kiss. He then flipped them over, putting himself on top, his tongue tangling with hers as his one hand began trace up her thigh. He stopped kissing her moments later. Both young adults were gasping for breath. Tim's forehead rested against hers. His blue eyes pierced her violet ones. "Tell me to stop, and we'll stop," he said seriously.

"No," Raven answered immediately. "No, I want this. I want…we're going all the way."

-Present-

Tim's thumb gently swept across Raven's lower lip. "Did I hurt you?" he asked. She shook her head. "Did I hurt you?" she asked worriedly.

"A few scratches on my back, but that just means I did my job very well," he finished with a smirk. Raven rolled her eyes. "Your room!" she shot up in a sitting position, quickly covering herself with the sheet. But Tim's eyes homed in on her neck where 6 or 7 hickeys were clearly visible. "Huh," Raven said, "I expected much worse," she turned back to look at Tim.

Just take me to the other side

I see that sexy look in your eyes

-Last Night-

Tim could feel the pressure building as he continued rocking into Raven. Their bodies heaved in unison, and he saw fireworks. He quickly placed his mouth over Raven's as they continued moving against each other. He rolled over, letting Raven be up top. She broke the kiss, looking at him nervously. "I don't know how –" she said, "what do I –" Tim placed his hands on her hips and began moving her, setting the rhythm. She soon got the hang of it.

And I know, we ain't friends anymore

If we walk down this road, we'll be lovers for sure

As they began to come down from their high, Tim realized they had just gone all the way; and not once did he think about what this would do to their friendship. He gently stroked her soft lips with his thumb, feeling her hands slowly creep to his chest – her hands slightly shaking in awe over what they just did. There were so many things they needed to discuss. Her wide violet eyes studied his blue ones intently. The unspoken question: should they talk about what just happened? "Tomorrow," he said as he firmly attacked her lips with his, swallowing her gasps and soft moans.

So tonight

Kiss me like it's do or die

And take me to the other side

He placed both of her wrists above her head and held them there with one hand as the temperature in his room once again increased exponentially. His free hand traced up her body before resting on her breast. She gasped as he kissed his way down to her chest. He wondered - What round was this? Three? Four? He groaned as Raven arched into him and began to rub her body against his as best she could. Whatever. He'd figure that out later. Right now…he was in the middle of the best night of his life.

-Present-

Tim slowly sat up, not breaking eye contact with Raven as the they silently communicated with each other. "Do you regret –" Tim began to ask.

"No," Raven said immediately. "No. Not at all." She placed a comforting hand on Tim's shoulder. "I was afraid you would," she said.

"No, no, no, no, no," he said over and over again. "I enjoyed every single moment," he scooted closer to her, cupping her face with one hand. She leaned into his hand with a sigh. Tim placed a soft kiss on her lips before pulling back, gazing at her with admiration. "You make me feel…wanted," Raven said very, very softly. "And…and loved," she admitted shyly, casting her eyes downward in embarrassment. Tim cupped her other cheek with his other hand. "It's because I love you," he said. Her eyes shot back to meet his, staring at him in awe and wonder. After a moment or so, Raven's eyes began to water. "I didn't mean to make you – Umph!" Raven's lips covered her his. Tim laid back down, bringing Raven with him, half of her body on top of his. "I love you, too," she whispered as she kissed him deeply, earnestly. He pulled his fingers through her hair before maneuvering her onto her back, not breaking the kiss. He was just so happy that they had finally crossed that friendship line.

And take me to the other side