Hey everyone. Sorry it took me so long to update but I promise I have been writing this entire time. I just wrote chapter three before writing chapter two. Why? Because I had a clear cut idea about how chapter three played out whereas only a vague idea about chapter two. I thought if I wrote what I was developing in my head, maybe it would help me build a bridge between the two of them.

Also, from my reviews (which I love! Thank you!) I noticed that a lot of you interpreted the last sentence Beastboy says completely differently from how it was innocently meant lol. But in light of everyone's assumptions, I'm adjusting things accordingly ^_^

So here is the second chapter, finally.

Sleepless

2 – Catnap

The corner piece of the couch was the perfect place to sit back against with her back aching the way it was. Raven knew it had more lower back support than any other part of the couch and she was desperate to ease some of her discomfort.

Since it had only been a week since she'd returned to her own time, her friends had felt exceptionally overprotective of her, and when Mumbo had chosen to attack her specifically, they'd all tried to jump to her rescue. Raven was perfectly capable of taking care of herself of course and before they even reached her she had sent him flying through the air, using a nearby car as a weapon.

Starfire had been so pleased to find her safe, that she had given her one of her signature hugs, although perhaps one a little stronger than she had meant. And now Raven's back and shoulders ached horribly.

As she was clearly in pain, Robin had told her to go back to the tower and heal herself whilst they dealt with the police. She didn't think he realised this was too small an injury for her healing powers to take care of for her. They wouldn't kick in automatically, and manually healing it would be pointless, given that whenever Raven healed someone, she had to absorb some and usually most of their pain. It could hang around for days after, sometimes for even longer than if she'd left it to heal as normal. So yes, she could heal the actual injury – the muscle strain – but she would still hurt, so what was the point? She'd rather let it heal naturally and have the pain go away altogether.

She wriggled about in her seat, trying to adjust her arms so that her shoulders didn't hurt so badly. Just as she thought she'd found the perfect position, her communicator beeped.

She swore under her breath, a bad habit she seemed to have picked up from Gar, and retrieved it from her belt. It was excruciating on her shoulders. Opening it, she saw Robin's face looking at her with concern.

"Robin."

"Hi Raven. Are you okay now?" he asked.

"No. I need to rest, and I was doing just that until someone disturbed me," she grumbled.

"Sorry. We're having some problems getting Mumbo booked so we're going to be a little longer. I didn't realise you'd have to rest this off. I'm going to send one of the others back to keep an eye on you – just in case."

"I can take care of myself you know."

"I know Raven, but if you're hurt and we're not there...I don't want to take any chances."

"Fine," she seethed, her eruption point nearing. If she didn't concede, he would push the issue further and she'd end up spouting verbal lava at him sooner rather than later.

Starfire suddenly appeared on the small screen and Raven found herself becoming dormant again at the concerned look on her face.

"Raven! You are better now please?"

"I'm fine Starfire, just a bit sore. I need to rest and I'll be good as new."

"Very well. Please get well quickly now."

The image disappeared as Robin ended the call.

She flung her communicator down onto the couch next to her. No way was she going to mess around trying to get it back into it's pouch when she was in pain like this. It was more trouble than it was worth. She readjusted herself back to the position she'd just found before her irritating phone call. She once again sat so she was resting her elbow on the back of the couch, her arm leaning out towards the TV but down slightly as gravity pulled it. Her fingers dangled, dipping relatively close to the seat of the couch.

That was so much better. Her back still ached, but it was more of a dull pain now. She leaned her head back and closed her eyes, savouring the warm sunshine on her face. It was warm enough to soothe her and helped her slip into as relaxed a mental state as she was capable of right now. She didn't know how long she lay like that, enjoying the relative comfort of the position she was sitting in. The sun remained strong on her face and she began to doze. Her mind swum with recollections of the previous week and she gave an small, uncharacteristic smile as she slipped into slumber.

Her face scrunched up as she started to come to. Something had woken her, but what? She opened her senses and couldn't hear anyone, but there was definitely someone there, she could sense them. She finally opened her eyes and looked around. No one. Strange. She felt out with her empathic abilities but the feelings she received were muted and different to anything she was used to sensing. After a short amount of deliberation, she decided she might just be imagining it, tired and sore as she was.

She was just laying her head back when she felt something touch her hand. She quickly looked down to see a tiny green kitten laying on it's back next to her, swatting at her dangling fingertips, as if she were a piece of string there for nothing but it's own amusement.

He hadn't noticed she was awake yet and continued to gently claw at her hand, jumping up and biting at it although she could barely feel it, he was being so careful. She watched, unable to help smiling a little at the unlikeness of the moment. It was...cute. Oh Azar, she was using words she would normally shudder at. But he was a kitten for goodness sake! A tiny and extremely playful kitten.

Just as he jumped up to grab her finger again, she released a tiny amount of dark energy through her fingertips. The resulting minor shock he got was enough for him to cease his game and look directly at her, still laying on his back and upside down in relation to her in kitten form.

She had wiped the smile from her face and was now scowling at him, obviously trying to frighten him and show her displeasure. If he so much as got a hint that she had thought it was fun or adorable...

The kitten rolled over onto it's front and leapt onto the back of the couch, sitting and watching her, head tilted to the left and eyes wide. Damn him, he was deliberately trying to be cute to avoid the Raven-glare, and possible bodily harm. She intensified her scowl to show it wasn't working, as incorrect as that assumption would be.

"I guess Robin sent you back to keep an eye on me?"

The kitten meowed before standing up again. It gingerly made it's way along the back of the couch until it reached the resident empath and attempted to clamber onto her shoulder.

It was only an attempt because the second he tried it, Raven picked him up by the scruff of his neck and flung him unceremoniously onto the other end of the couch.

The shock of the landing reverted him back to his human form, an obvious groan resounding from his throat. He rubbed his spine, now the proud owner of his own back injury and gave his best impression of the Raven-glare as he looked at her.

"What was that for?" he complained.

"You tried to climb onto me," she dead-panned, "What did you expect to happen?"

"I dunno. That you wouldn't be heartless enough to throw a helpless kitty across the room?"

"It was you masquerading as a cat. Not a cat."

"Well maybe I hoped you'd forget that for just a moment."

Raven looked at him, sulking on the opposite corner of the couch. He was trying very hard to pretend he was annoyed with her, but all she could feel from him was hurt and disappointment. He'd wanted very much for her to go along with his kitten scheme, whatever it had been. Delving a little deeper she found a sliver of embarrassment, and when she looked, she realised he clearly had a handful of broken capillaries across his cheeks.

Curious now, she knew she had to prod at the issue.

"Why did you try to climb onto me?"

His face changed into a look of barely concealed panic and he stuttered incoherently and refused to make eye contact. He didn't make any real attempt to answer her though.

She smirked. It was time for her new hobby. Over the last three days she had become increasingly more comfortable with harmlessly poking fun at his attraction to her. She now better understood why the boys all made fun of each other so much. There was a real element of enjoyment to be made from the other persons slight discomfort. She had always thought it cruel but lately she'd found that as long as she kept things light-hearted, she didn't feel guilty about it. She imagined this might be easier for him to deal with than being put down in her usual manner. Not to mention it seemed to work better at getting him to stop bugging her.

And so she leaned back again and stared at the ceiling, putting him in a false sense of security, before tilting her head to look directly at him again.

"I can probably guess why you tried it," she told him a small almost-snigger escaping at the end of her sentence.

"Umm, yeah?" he enquired nervously.

"Mm hmm. Probably just some stupid excuse to try and get closer to me."

She saw him begin to fidget more obviously now that her words were out in the open. His ears had flattened slightly against his head, a sure sign she'd made him uncomfortable. He tucked his knees close to his chest in a defensive gesture and looked anywhere but at her face. As she had started to notice over the past few days, he stayed totally silent, unsure of how to respond.

"I'm going to take that as an affirmative." she smirked before resting her head back against the couch, confident that would be the end of his annoyances.

"You know the worst thing you can do for back pain is to rest, right?"

"What?" Her head was up again and watching him as he spoke. His face was still stained from his earlier blush but he looked determined to explain himself.

"You heard me. It makes your muscles atrophy slightly and that makes it worse. You have to do gentle exercise, like getting on with everyday stuff around the tower."

She was taken aback at his gall. He was supposed to be embarrassed into silence by now. That was how it worked. But it looked like he was learning. A quick subject change and he seemed to think things were going to go back to normal. She was going to have to find some way to hold onto her new advantage, and quickly.

"You want me to struggle to move through this pain, because it's supposed to help? I don't buy it, I think you're just trying to change the topic away from yourself."

Mistake! He was annoyed for real this time. He didn't like her accusation one little bit and she didn't need to pick it up emphatically to know that. His jaw was set and his eyes were narrowed. Azar, was he pissed at her.

"Stop trying to make everything into your new little game to bug me! I'm telling you the truth. You'll make your back worse unless you get up and move around. So MOVE IT!"

Wow. He wasn't himself. He usually shrunk back from her, whether it was her patented death glare or her scything remarks. He didn't stand up for himself as a rule. He may have pushed and prodded but when she had the upper hand, he usually slunk away. He clearly wasn't going to take no for an answer, and it wasn't in the usual way that had Raven groaning to be left alone. He was a little frightening in a way very reminiscent of her. Assertiveness looked good on him.

She just stared at him in shock at what he'd said, watching as he stood up and walked over to her, still set in his determination to have the upper hand. She watched as he stretched his hand out to help her up. She just looked at it before raising an eyebrow at him, defiantly refusing to take it.

"Don't make me move you," he growled at her, his voice an angry guttural sound.

Out of further shock, she took his hand, her muscles groaning their protest at the movement and even more so as he pulled on her arm tightly to make her stand. She hissed at the pain and her face tightened in response. She expected some of his sympathies, maybe a sorry at least but he was surprisingly unfazed by her discomfort.

"Oh get over it Rae. It can only get better from her – as long as you keep moving."

"It's Raven. And what exactly am I meant to do to keep moving?" she asked him.

"How about we do some light training?"

She gave him the dirtiest look she could muster to show what she thought of that idea. Training? In her state? She didn't care how light it was, she didn't like training under normal circumstances, never mind in agony. Even the walk to the training room would kill her, metaphorically of course.

"Okay, that's a no. Something simple then. Let's go into the kitchen and you can make yourself some tea or something. Maybe I'll even teach you to cook, or at least try to."

He laughed at his own cruel joke. She had to admit, she was such an awful cook, couldn't defend against that statement. It would be an outright lie and he'd know it. She had to give one of her rare 'smiles' to the humour of the comment and her mouth turned up ever so slightly at the corners, barely noticeable but still clearly spotted by the boy in front of her.

"Come on," he encouraged, dropping her hand and putting it on her shoulder instead as a way to get her to start moving forward.

Her smile was gone instantly as the pain started to rip through her during her walk. It was over so quickly, she might as well as not moved at all, but it felt like an eternity as every step sent a wave of fresh pain up her spine and into her shoulder blades.

She reached the counter and leant her arms against it, catching her breath after the horrible journey. Even standing still was putting pressure on her spine that was almost more than she could stand. An irrational part of her wished he'd hold her up so he could take her weight instead of her own feet, but she immediately dismissed that idea and inwardly narrowed her eyes at herself.

"You'll be fine Rae, just keep moving. Come on, which cabinet do you keep your mug in?"

"Raven. And you know which one."

"Well, duh. But it's not me who needs to keep moving, is it?"

She gave an audible groan as a way of voicing her hatred of the situation before reaching up to the cupboard she kept her favourite mug in. The distress was evident in her expression as fire ripped through her shoulder blades at the required stretch. She finally acquired the mug and thumped it down on the counter.

"You know Beastboy, I don't even want tea."

"Doesn't matter, you need the exercise."

"Screw this."

She made to levitate back to the couch when she felt his hand grab her shoulder. The ache in her shoulder changed. It was no less unpleasant but because it was different to the pain she had been in so far, it felt more bearable to her. He once again used his new assertive tone of voice.

"Make your tea Raven."

She wanted to tell him to shove off but he had such an authority about him. She was just considering ignoring him anyway when he spoke again.

"Raven. So help me, I will take your arms and move you about like a puppet if you don't do it yourself!"

She instantly found herself turning back to the mug on the counter. As soon as she did, he let go, confident she was back on course again. What an arrogant bastard. It was the only thought crossing her mind, besides the pain.

She switched the kettle on and went about fetching her teabag and sugar, suffering the whole time. The water finally boiled and she poured it and watched it brew before finally, finally making her way back to the couch with a freshly made cup of herbal tea.

She dumped the drink on the table and went to sit down again when he once again stopped her.

"Have you taken anything for the pain?"

She groaned in response. No, she hadn't because she had no idea where the everyday medicines were kept. She rarely got into pain she couldn't cope with and anything else was usually dealt with by her healing powers. Going to the infirmary for morphine or something similar had seemed like overkill.

"I don't know where the painkillers are kept."

"They're over here," he explained, heading back towards the kitchen and opening a small folding drawer in the corner. He lifted out a packet of Advil.

She held out her hand but to her distaste he simply shook the packet at her.

"Come and get them," he smirked. He was enjoying this, at least it looked like he was. And right now she hated him for it, evil sadist that he was.

"I hate you," she voiced aloud for him but no reaction come of her words. Slowly she stumbled back to him, a single tear threatening to spill over her eyelid. She fought it back. She was not going to let him see her cry. No matter what occurred, that was NOT going to happen.

She reached up and snatched them from his hand, her shoulder burning at the movement. She quickly made light of the paper and foil packaging and popped two in her mouth, gagging a little as they caught in her throat. Beastboy was now offering her a glass of water and she took it, still staring fiercely at him the whole time.

Once her painkiller quest was done, she made her way back to the couch, stiff, sore and furious. She was exhausted from the exertion. All she wanted to do was prop herself up on the couch and sleep this misery away. She sat down and resumed her previous position, groaning with the part release as some of the fire in her spine was dowsed. Her eyes slid closed of their own accord.

"Don't you want a drink of that?"

Her eyes opened again and she looked up at him, pointing at the cup of tea she had made earlier, and gave her worst Raven-glare ever in response. He could go to hell if he thought she was moving again.

"Rae, you've got to keep moving or you'll be stuck like this for days. Hurt a bit now, be fine tomorrow or stay in agony?" he asked.

"There is nothing you can say or do to make me get up," she said more forcefully than she thought was necessary. She wasn't leaving him anything to misunderstand though and that was how she wanted it. She didn't give a crap what her future was supposed to decide for her, right at that moment she hated him.

He refused to let her relax and was causing her worse pain because of it. And he still couldn't get her name right. She had only allowed one person to call her Rae and that was not him. Not yet and at this rate, not ever!

Her powers were crackling dangerously and she could see some mild panic appear on his face, expecting attack at any moment now. Too late, she sensed a mischievous feeling from him and despite her best efforts, she couldn't avoid the shower of now almost lukewarm tea he flung at her.

She leapt up, having anticipated a possible burn but found she was fine. The tea was too cold by now to actually hurt her. She was drenched, however, and she was absolutely furious with him.

"I. Am. Going. To. KILL. You."

"Eeep!"

He dashed out the common room doors, making for the relative safety of his room, desperate to put as much distance between them as he could and considering the pain he'd let himself in for. It would be worth it though - if this worked.

Raven went after him, moving at a speed that could put Kid Flash to shame. She was in full melt down and was going to sort this once and for all. She'd make sure he knew that if he so much as sneezed within her earshot in the future she'd end his miserable existence. She was not going to tolerate any more of his crap.

Her arm bashed against a panel sticking out of the wall slightly as she passed. He was using the maintenance corridors instead of the regular ones and it was getting harder and harder to fly after him in such a confined space. The ceiling for getting lower and lower and she bumped her head slightly trying to avoid another panel on the wall.

She touched down and started to run, a scowl covering her face and all memory of the pain she was in erased by her current burst of adrenaline.

The doors to the common room slid open and in trudged three mentally exhausted Titans. The city had wanted to try a new method of prosecution for super-villains and had been keen to discuss their plans with the young heroes considering their capture of Mumbo could be the first case to be tried that way.

It had been mostly legal nonsense and none of them quite understood the procedures one hundred percent.

Cyborg was irate that Beastboy had managed to sneak away to make sure Raven wasn't struggling. In hindsight he should've insisted he go, given that he was the team medic, but it hadn't occurred to him just how much he's want out of that stupid lecture on legal proceedings. None of them had known what they were getting themselves into.

He stomped over to the couch, determined to flop down in front of some menial video-game that could take his mind off of the jargon rolling around in his head, without taxing him too much. Beastboy would probably join in once he realised they were back and he could always take pleasure from beating BB at every game they played.

He reached the couch but instead of taking a seat, he stopped in shock. His face turned upwards in a sly smile and he beckoned the other two over silently. He did not want to chance disturbing the scene before him.

As Robin and Starfire joined him, he immediately put a hand over the alien girl's mouth, signalling to her not to give off one of her high-pitched squeals. She nodded in understanding, although she couldn't wipe the smile from her face. Robin looked amused but more shocked than anything. His eyes had widened behind his mask as he looked before him.

There in front of the three of them was Raven. She was fast asleep, the chase and the resulting pain catching up to her eventually and knocking her unconscious almost instantly. She had been gently placed on the couch by Beastboy, although none of them could have known that.

What was of interest was that Raven was lying on her side, and curled up next to her, pressed against her chest was a tiny green kitten, also worn out from evading the sorceress for so long. He was purring in his sleep and nuzzling against her, a tiny kitten smile upon his face, as in her sleep, Raven gently stroked his fur.

Cyborg laughed to himself quietly, whilst searching for a camera. His was going to be so much fun when they woke up.