Everyone knew that if something went missing, the first place to check was Beast Boy's room. It was common knowledge that the green boy was quite curious and always horded away "interesting" artifacts… only to forget about them. He had taken everything from a ceremonial dagger, to a specially made car part, to the key for a private Dojo… once he had even horded the male version of a Tameranian thong. Needless to say, he was like some odd ball rich man with nothing better to do.

And since Raven couldn't find her iPod anywhere, she knew just where to look.

Frankly, it was annoying that Beast Boy was the living vacuum of the tower. She had once left a peculiar looking tin of tea in the kitchen, which he had picked up. Three months later, he found it under a pile of deceased-smelling clothes after Robin had ordered him to clean. She had cracked accidentally a window when he returned it, smiling sheepishly. 'Serves me right, trying to have something fancy in the tower.' She sighed, pausing at his door.

She could feel him moving around inside, all his intensely animalistic emotions causing her heart to leap. It was partially frightening- she was human after all, and they did tend to fear the overwhelmingly dominant feeling- and partially, well… exciting. Whenever she was around him, it was like a shot of adrenaline. Flirting with danger had never really been her thing, but years of crime fighting tended to do that to you.

Still, the amount of pure emotions that rolled off him sometimes made her blush. Either that, or ignore him all day and meditate on the roof. 'Joys of being an Empath.' She knew his animal lust was directed at everyone- male or female- though it tended to be stronger with females. She also knew that he couldn't control it, that it had nothing to do with his actual preferences. She understood the reasons, the how and the why. She certainly was no fool. She was an excellent Empath, one of the best on Azarath. But she couldn't for the life of her understand why those feelings got so tremendously daunting when he looked at her.

For now, since it was so early in the morning, she decided it would be easiest to face him- knock, get iPod, have a nice day. He'd still be in a state of semi-unconsciousness until eleven, which meant his senses would also be dulled. Nodding briskly to herself, she knocked on the door.

She listened as, customarily, he stumbled up, stubbed his toe, cursed, and finally flung the door open- as far as it would go in the mess. A strange, ominous smell seeped towards her. Raven ignored the need to run away and bathe.

"You should learn to clean." She dryly commented, violet eyes scanning the mountain of mess behind him.

"Uh, right…" He grinned shyly before holding back a yawn. "Why are you here?"

"You have my iPod." Raven gritted out, narrowing her eyes at him. Beast Boy was like a child. He needed to know for sure when someone was angry at him, and why, or he would never learn. She was all too happy to comply.

Beast Boy, sensing her loathing, backed away slightly…the little sucker. She took a step closer, through the door.

"Well?" She inspected the room as she spoke, growing more and more disgusted. She doubted even Starfire had that many clothes- let alone dirty ones. "Is that…. Pizza?" 'Oh Azar..' "On second thought, don't answer that."

"Ixnay on the etailday. Loud and clear, Ray." He began to dig around the room while she eyed the "pizza" with growing concern. Previously, she was blissfully unaware that soy and tufo products could mold, but judging by the layer of fuzzy whiteness on the surface- it could. She shuddered, trying to ignore the green slime pooling around the base. The rest of the room looked no better. They were going to need a professional cleaning company to get this relatively clean... scratch that, it would take a biohazard team.

"Erm, it's around here somewhere, I swear." Beast Boy- transformed to a canine form- dug through a pile of clothes with reckless abandon. Raven dodged a pair of boxers, trying to keep her temper in check.

"Beast Boy!" He turned to face her, tongue lolling out. The tension in the air swelled, the impulses making Raven lightheaded for a moment. The animal lust- so pure and strong- had come out of nowhere, catching her with her guard down. She quickly gathered her wits, steeling herself against the closed door. "Control yourself... and I will help you clean."

He morphed into his human self, and immediately, a large part of the lust dissipated. He nervously rubbed the back of his head, chuckling uncomfortably. Why she had ever volunteered herself for such a hopeless venture, she would never understand. Perhaps, it was a negative consequence of the strong emotions clouding her mind.

"Gee, Raven! Thanks!"

"Make no mistake- this is only until I find what's mine."

He had already dived into a pile of things, rigorously sorting through the various items. With a sigh, she joined suit, using her powers to shift away several questionable items.

So much for her plans for the day... Maybe the week.

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It was about midday when Beast Boy finally broke the silence.

"Here it is! I found it!" He churped in a sing-song voice. It couldn't have come at a better time- the mix of the odd smell, the lust, and just being around Beast Boy were doing horrible wonders to her brain. She could seriously feel the cells dying one by one as the seconds ticked by.

Fortunately, their task had put a dent in the garbage heap known as her teammate's room. The carpet- though likely in need of several deep cleaning treatments- was visible in a good portion of the room. The closet could maybe be closed, and the door to the room could be opened all the way- finally.

"Excellent. I'll be going now." She held her hand out. He stood, turning the glimmering device in his hands.

"Oh, I don't think so, Raven." Her eyebrows rose at the frank candor in his voice.

"And, why, pray tell, would you dare?"

"Well, the way I figure it, I have something you want. And you have something I want. So, let's strike a deal."

"Someone paid attention to one of Robin's seminars, I see."

"Sure did!"

"Could have fooled me, I thought you were asleep."

"Appearances can be disleading."

"Deceiving or misleading… Are you sure you didn't learn it off a movie?"

"You caught me. They had to come in handy sometime other than with Control Freak."

"I guess so... now, iPod."

"I'm 'fraid not, miss. This is my hostage."

"I am starting to get very, very annoyed, Beast Boy. I'd advise, for the health of this tower and you: Give. Me. The. IPod." The cackling black energy pitching around her was a testament to just how aggravated she was. But, unlike the usual times, the green male did not back down. In fact, she could feel his need for dominance sparking her own irate emotions.

"Hm… Make. Me." He stuck out his tongue at her, clambering up the nearby desk, which was still unsorted. A pillow exploded on his bed as she lunged forward. He managed to hop away in the knick of time.

Both knew to the other's battle movements. They could anticipate each other. This could go all day- they both realized it after ten minutes of cat-and-mouse.

"Ok, what do you want?" She grunted out, lunging again for the iPod.

He expertly dodged. "Help me finish cleaning."

"Not happening." She huffed, jumping again.

"Then say goodbye to RayPod." He leaped away, happening to land awkwardly and stumbled. She took her opportunity and pounced, landing on top of him. He wriggled underneath her, flailing his arms away from the pale girl. She grabbed at the flashing metal, and grabbed again, just missing it each time.

"Hold still!" She grunted, looking down to pierce him with a glare. But the moment their eyes locked… time stopped.

Both stopped moving, a divine peace passing silently between the two. The air became heavy- both were already panting from their fight- but was suddenly not there anymore. Raven could feel the animal lust stifling the both of them, tangling with the heat of their bodies. The addictive dizziness seeped into her mind. The intensity of the gaze sent shivers down her spine. She knew she should get off, get away, escape. How could she, when he was looking right through to her soul?

Ages later- generations maybe- the tweeting of a communicator broke the spell. Raven scrambled off, flipping her hood to hide her blushes. Beast Boy gave her a nervous grin as he answered.

"There were noises of a fight coming from your room. Is everything ok?" Robin's voice rang from the device.

"Yeah, I was just… cleaning." He chanced another glance at Raven, who was fervently ignoring him.

"Cleaning. Are you sure you're ok?" The titan sounded skeptical even through the distortion of the com.

"Yes! Dude~" He whined, frowning at the screen.

"Alright. Training at 4." A click signaled the conversation was over.

The green shape-shifter turned to his company, trademark nervous head-rub in tow.

"So, that was-"

Raven chose that moment to propel herself at him.

"Arg!"

Catching a person offhand was a dirty move, but she was no too far above that. Unfortunately, hero training kicked in, and her target flitted just out of reach, back on top of the desk.

"Now, Ray, this again?" He teased, fitting much more easily into the usual roles.

She clawed at his legs, pulling them out from underneath him. Down he went, unrooting a chair in his getaway. This sent the moldy perhaps-pizza flying through the air: right into Raven's face.

Beast Boy had the sense to duck under the bed before the impending explosion.

Residents of Jump City still fearfully recall that day. Most don't dare to speak about it.

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Wow. It has been a while! I apologize for the wait. Of course, I never intended for this to be a scheduled update thing, but I had at least hoped to update more than once every few years!

Thanks for those who stuck around! More to come soon, that is a promise! Until then, I hope you enjoyed, and have a good life!