Raven felt a strange sense of guilt mixed with satisfaction mixed with happiness. She knew she would have to leave Terra alone soon, and go back to the Tower before the sun rose in the sky and the rest of her teammates noticed that she was gone. Raven thought of making up an excuse, like a late night visit to an apothecary shop or something of that nature…

She moaned as she stretched, and looked over at Terra. Her face was flushed with giddiness, and a small smile was on her face as she slept. A smile of Raven's own graced her face as she saw Terra sleeping beside her; her clothes were thrown beside her as the night had worn on and she had fought to get comfortable. Raven was vaguely aware of her own pajamas that were worn and loose around her form; her arms out of their sleeves and the neckline just barely covering her breasts.

Raven watched Terra for a time as she slept soundly.

Whatever fear she'd had when Raven had first come to her last night was well beyond gone. For now at least. Raven hoped that it wouldn't come back; she couldn't keep running back to her at the every beck and call. She sighed and shifted, disturbing Terra in her sleep.

Terra moaned and mumbled something, her muscles slightly twitching and her eyelids fluttering. Raven waited for her to finally open her eyes and acknowledge that they were together. At least that way, Raven would be able to say goodbye to her.

Terra didn't, though.

Her moans and twitching stopped and she was at peace again. Raven sighed and looked up at the ceiling of the cave. The sun still hasn't risen yet, and she guessed it wouldn't for another hour or so.

Should be plenty of time to get back to the Tower, Raven thought to herself.

Terra shifted closer to Raven in her sleep, and Raven found that she didn't mind. Welcomed it, in fact. Terra's hands reached forward to touch Raven's open palms, and then a second later the rest of her body followed. Her dirty blonde hair scrunched up beneath her head, and some of the sand got caught in the strands. Sleep sand was crusted over her eyes, and a thin sheen of sweat was coated to the inside of her sleeping bag.

"Terra," Raven whispered, tapping her on her arm.

Terra didn't even stir.

Raven tapped her again, more forceful this time. "Terra," she said as she hit her arm, "Terra. Terra?"

Terra stirred again, a small groan and her eyes twitching. Finally, the sleep sand broke and she opened up her eyes.

It was still dark out, and the cave was quiet. In the lightening darkness, Terra could see Raven laying next to her on her side, her clothes disheveled and looking straight at her. Raven still held onto her arm.

"Hey," Terra said when she remembered to talk. She yawned and stretched, then closed her eyes again, shifting in the sleeping bag as if she planned on going back to sleep. Raven put her hand on her and shook her back awake. Terra opened her eyes again, repeating, "Hey."

"I'm going to have to go," Raven told her.

Terra only said, "Okay." If she hadn't been so sleepy, she would have shrugged.

"Are you going to be okay here alone?" Raven asked Terra.

"Yeah," Terra replied. "I'm gonna be fine. Trust me."

Raven remained silent for a long time, doing nothing more than laying next to her, watching her with a blank stare and becoming lost in her own thoughts. Terra still held onto her, her hands clasped around Raven's own. Raven didn't even think about it until she tried to pull away and Terra's grip on her tightened.

"Terra…"

Terra didn't reply. Maybe she had already fallen back asleep, but Raven thought not. She could still feel the buzz of consciousness stirring in her emotions, and though she was still deep in between those two thin lines of consciousness and unconsciousness that created sleep, Raven knew she was awake. Just enough for her to know what she was doing. When Raven tried to pull her hands away again, Terra's grip tightened even more.

"Terra," Raven repeated. "I know you're awake."

No reply.

Raven sighed.

She sat up suddenly, and Terra was finally forced to release her grip on Raven's arms. When Raven sat up, Terra opened her eyes again and turned over onto her back to look at her. Raven didn't look at Terra, but right at the rocky ground in front of her instead. She could feel Terra's eyes on her, though, and reluctance bubbling under the calm exterior. Disappointment, too.

"Upset that I'll be leaving?" Raven asked, finally looking into Terra's blue eyes. There was a slight smirk on her face, though Raven didn't realize it.

"No," Terra said.

"Something tells me differently," Raven said, arching an eyebrow.

Terra leaned up in her sleeping bag, propping herself back on her elbows. Some of the sand grains left her hair as she sat up, and fresh air hit her skin. It made Terra wake up fully. She slowly started edging her way out of the sleeping bag, the cold morning air kissing her sweat-coated skin and chilling her. Just the way she liked to be woken up.

"Well…you're wrong," Terra said. Though, she knew, she wasn't fooling Raven. She could tell by the look on Raven's face.

"Thanks for last night…"

They both looked away and blushed at that.

The silence between them turned from peaceful to awkward. Not what pre-dawn silence should be. Raven was desperate to get rid of it, to return to the sleepy quiet that they'd shared just a few minutes earlier.

"So…um…" She looked around for her cloak. "Will you be okay on your own today?"

"Yeah," Terra answered, "I should be fine."

"Great," Raven returned awkwardly. She finally spotted her cloak, rolled up and bundled in Terra's clean clothes and toiletries. She grabbed it and pulled it around herself, not bothering to put her arms back into her sleeves. It shielded her from the chill in the air, a little bit, but she didn't make any move to pull it tighter around herself.

"So…no talk about last night?" Terra asked Raven, just when the quiet was about to settle over them again.

Raven shook her head, no, but her lips said, "If you want to."

Terra crawled out of her sleeping bag and sat cross-legged on top of it. She looked at Raven intently before asking her question. "Did it mean anything?"

"Mean anything?" Raven repeated.

"Yeah," Terra said, shifting closer to Raven.

When Terra was close enough, she reached out and put a hand on Raven's bare knee. Raven glanced down at it before flicking her eyes away. She tried focusing on rocks on the wall, or a certain dark spot, but in the end she just decided to let it land on the shirt that Terra had slept in. Eventually, Raven let her eyes travel back up to Terra's face.

"Yeah, I mean, I've always heard that it was supposed to be really special…"

Her voice dropped down to a whisper and she blushed, hugging her knees to her chest. "And that it's supposed to be like angels singing and you're crying because it's all so emotional and everything…"

"…Well, clearly it wasn't," Raven said.

Terra sighed and nodded.

"…Were…were you hoping…it'd be like that?" Raven tried asking.

"I dunno," Terra said, releasing her knees and sitting cross-legged once more. "I never did like the thought of crying during…well, that."

Terra closed her eyes and let her memories take her back to the night before.

Raven had been with her for about half an hour and her muscles were becoming sore from laying on the hard rock, and Terra had wished that she had room in her sleeping bag for Raven to lay in, if only to make her comfortable. She had used her cloak as both a blanket and something soft to lay on, but it was still not enough. So Raven had shifted closer to Terra, craving that softness. And Terra wanted her closer. Terra assumed Raven had empathically picked up on that want, and she moved closer when she realized she was welcome.

Terra distinctly remembered the sigh that escaped her lips when Raven was close enough to her. When she could breathe in her scent, and feel her body pressing closer to hers between the sleeping bag. As time wore on, Raven's arm draped over Terra's body, and she felt a certain sense of comfort. Of being protected. She'd felt warm inside, and a feeling of…something akin to trust…blooming inside of her.

Now, as Terra looked at Raven, she felt that same emotion inside of her.

Terra leaned forward, wanting to be close to Raven again. Raven didn't move away from her, even when Terra came close to her face. She only sat there, less-stoic than Terra came to expect, and she thought about placing a kiss to her lips. Only, she hesitated, and Raven seized the moment. Leaning forward, Raven placed a quick kiss against her lips that lingered despite the speed.

"Either way," Terra said, "I enjoyed it. I mean, well—" she rubbed her arm, "—it wasn't like in dreams or movies on any of that. But I don't think I'd have it any other way." Terra's face turned bright red; that was not what she wanted to say. She wanted to be smoother, speak as if she didn't care and that this was so easy for her. Only it wasn't.

She closed her eyes and let her memories take her back, again, to last night.

The feeling of Raven's breath against her skin, against her hair. Terra shifted closer to Raven, wanting that same warmth and comfort to be returned. Raven seemed to relax when Terra returned her advances. Terra shyly had reached out and put a hand over Raven's, causing Raven to open her eyes. Even in the dark of night she could see a faint blush on Terra's skin, but she said nothing of it. Terra's eyes were closed, and the quiet was too serene to break.

After a minute had passed, Terra began to make slow strokes across Raven's palm.

She couldn't remember exactly, but she could have sworn at the time that Raven's breathing pattern changed. And she had taken that as a sign of something…else. So she had continued to stroke Raven's hand, and Raven liked it.

It was comfort, it was softness, it was soothing…

It was intimate.

Raven's thumb had began to stroke her hand in return. A smile quirked on her face.

And then Raven's hand traveled up, up her arm, resting on her elbow and bicep for a time before moving up towards Terra's cheek. Terra leaned into her touch as Raven make slow back and forth motions across her cheek, and a sudden urge to cry came to her. Only because she was so happy, and so…

What?

Terra couldn't remember. She was happy, she remembered that much, but also...nervous? Excited? Self-conscious?

Looking back on it, Terra saw that she had sensed what was about to come, and she was most likely nervous about that. But more than anything, in that moment she had been happy. She wasn't alone in a cave, just like she wasn't alone now.

She had let someone in with her, spent the night, shared a part of her world…

Terra leaned in for another kiss, and Raven returned it.

Terra brought her hand up to Raven's cheek and gave it a few strokes. Her eyes closed when she kissed Raven, and even when the kiss ended but still lingered on their lips, she kept her eyes closed. Terra absent-mindedly gave a few more strokes to Raven's cheek, smiling only to herself, before she finally opened her eyes again.

She remembered that when she had pressed up to Raven—for comfort, warmth, security…whatever it was—her hands had eventually strayed to Raven's cheek back then, too. Raven's eyes had fluttered open that night, when she and Terra were in the cave. Terra had touched her cheek, giving soft strokes to her soft skin.

Any minute Terra thought that Raven would stop her. To smack her hand away or give her some biting remark or just glare at her…but she hadn't. Maybe she was too tired…

Or maybe…Terra thought, a small bubble of pride rising within her… Maybe Raven had liked her touch.

Someone as creepy as her probably doesn't get touched very often, Terra though. Then immediately she felt stinging guilt for thinking such a thing. Raven was…well, she wasn't her friend. She didn't think so. Probably not even an acquaintance. But still, she shouldn't have called Raven creepy. Not even in her head.

"Terra…"

Terra blinked once, twice.

She finally registered that Raven had called her, making her focus back on the present. Raven's face swam up to meet her when she finally snapped back to reality.

"Sorry," Terra said, "I was just…thinking…"

About last night? Raven wanted to ask.

Images…thoughts…touches…all different memories that were cluttered in her head as she recalled what had happened just past midnight. The feel of cotton panties, her hands cupping unfamiliar breasts, the snap of Terra's waistband when she pulled her fingers away from the fabric that just barely covered her up.

…and dry lips that had been bitten far too much.

Raven remembered that more than she would have liked to.

Terra's body was starting to cast a shadow. It was slight, but Raven noticed it as it slowly crept along the cave floor, across the sleeping bag and the mess from Terra's backpack. It was getting early, and Raven needed to head back. She took a few deep breaths, preparing herself to finally get up and leave. But she sat cross-legged on the cave floor, wrapped up in her cloak and sitting close to Terra, putting it off for longer and longer.

The shadows continued to darken as the sky lightened.

Raven finally stood, causing Terra to jump up with her.

"I need to go," Raven stated.

She turned towards the mouth of the cave, but only glancing Terra over once. Her rumpled top that she'd tried to put on and then pull off and then put on again, and her panties that Raven had touched far too much last night. Raven thought that if she'd looked close enough, she might have been able to see indentions from her fingers, and the smallest stain of wetness from Terra's arousal.

Raven bundled her cloak tightly around herself as she walked towards the mouth of the cave.

Her eyes were focused up towards the sky, watching as the dark navy blue turned to a purple and then a pale yellow, the colors bleeding upwards from the horizon. Looking up, she watched the stars slowly fade. She named a couple of the constellations just before they could disappear.

The breeze was cool against her legs.

Raven then remembered to tuck her arms back into her sleeves, attempting to keep herself warm. Of course, she had to open her cloak up to get her arms back in. The slight morning breezes caught the edges of her cloak and blew it open, exposing her to the air. When her arms were tucked back inside the soft black fabric, she pulled her cloak closed.

Little did she know that someone else had seen it.

Had let their eyes drink in the sight, if only momentarily, before shrugging it off.

Terra walked up behind her. Raven heard her approaching, her footsteps light up against the rock floor. She put a single hand on Raven's shoulder, and Raven spun around to face her.

"Well, see you soon," Terra said, giving her a sheepish smile.

"Yeah," Raven said, pulling the hood of her cloak up.

"Raven?" Terra said, right before Raven could fly away, back to her room in the Tower. "You will come back today, right?" Terra held her breath in the silence, waiting for Raven to respond.

"I might," Raven said at last.

She paused.

"Besides, you should be fine on your own. You've been on your own for how long?"

Terra didn't answer her question. She only darted her eyes down at her feet and picked at one of her nails.

"I'm assuming you can handle yourself. Just don't get too emotional and you should be fine."

And with that, Raven flew off. Back towards Titans' Tower, a speck in the sky that grew smaller and smaller. Terra watched her go, eyeing her form as it shrunk and then disappeared entirely. She wrapped her arms around herself, in a feeble attempt to keep herself warm. Goosebumps appeared on her skin…

…but she had the feeling it wasn't just because of the cold.

Terra looked around the rocky landscape, searching for a large, hulking figure that she knew too well. She stood there for a few moments, scanning the rocks and stone pillars and sloping grounds and cliff walls… She saw nothing, but that didn't stop the suspicion from eating at her. When she had finally contented herself that no one was watching, she turned and went back into the cave.

Terra planned on getting a few more hours rest, but it wasn't the same without Raven.

She felt exposed, vulnerable, though she knew she shouldn't be.

She'd spent plenty of nights alone. And she was more than capable of defending herself. Eventually, as she curled back into her sleeping back, she starting craving Raven's presence again. Terra missed her, and she wasn't afraid to admit that to herself.

Terra wrapped her arms around herself, and let herself dream the memories she had of last night.

Skin…gray cotton…soft whispers…and quick, nimble fingers.