Chapter 20!

With a sigh, he followed after his female teammates, entering the common room a few minutes after them.

Nearly the whole team was in there.

Cyborg, Bee, and the twins were playing a racing game on the big screen. Aqualad was leaning in the refrigerator. Starfire was finishing up her call to Nightwing and joining Raven who was in the kitchen. The sound of water boiling hinted at the reason she was still with them and not in the infirmary. The only people missing were Nightwing and Arsenal.

It was peaceful.

He wasn't sure which group to join. He could always call dibs on the next game, but he also had this nagging feeling that somebody was watching him. Intensely watching him at that. It was raising the hair on his neck. He's used to being stared at. Growing up with green skin, it's something he got used to. But this feeling was more than just a watch. It was like he was being observed, examined.

Studied.

He hated that feeling.

And he hated that feeling with his team. The only and last time a feeling like that happened was when the Beast first came out. That he understood. Even he didn't know what was going on then. If he had told them what the Beast was doing now, he would understand the annoying but understandable studying he was getting. It would only be out of concern.

But he hadn't told anyone yet.

Only Starfire and while she loves conversation, she wouldn't blab an important secret. She was mortified at realizing she'd revealed Raven's secret to him.

No, she wouldn't tell.

Which meant the staring was uncalled for, and that agitated him even more.

"Stop staring at me," he snapped as he turned and locked eyes with the offender.

With Raven.

Fuck!

Her eyes widen and a pretty blush dusted her cheeks at being caught.

Ugh, he felt so stupid.

"I'm sorry Changeling. I know you don't like that. I just...," she paused, taking a second to push her hair behind her ear and looking away from him. "No," she continued. "There's no excuse. I'm sorry."

She was pulling back from him again. Months ago, she would've outright told him what was on her mind. She wouldn't be so tense and unsure how to act around him. It was like their team was first forming all over again. It took years for her to drop her wall around him.

He didn't wanna go through that again.

"Rae, wait," He was interrupted by the tea kettle whistle and she turned away from him.

The clearing of a throat caught his attention and he made eye contact with Starfire. Even without words, he knew what her face was saying.

'Stop being a clorbag and fix your mistakes!'

He's been called a clorbag enough times by her to know that's what she was saying.

She started to rise, he guessed to give Raven and him some alone time, but she stopped as Aqualad closed the refrigerator. Her face morphed into a pretty smile and she turned her attention to Aqualad who took the seat beside her.

"Friend Aqualad, why don't we go look at the ocean?"

Aqualad, who wasn't getting her hint, asked, "Why?"

"Is it not the beautiful?"

"Yep. I can see it from here."

Raven was beginning to steep her tea and Changeling knew there wouldn't be much time after that.

"Would you not like to know the mysteries of it?," Starfire tried again.

"Star, I know the "mysteries" of the ocean" Aqualad chuckled. "A few giant squids, a Kraken, Cthulhu, if you look hard enough."

"Well," Star seemed to be grasping at straws now, " did you know Aquaman is ranked as the most useless Justice Leaguer?"

"He's what?!"

That got his attention

It also got Cyborg's who added in, "If he ain't by a body of water, he's screwed!"

"Oh my gosh, more people think this?!"

With a sly smile, Starfire asked, "Would you like to prove us wrong?"

"Of course I would!"

Starfire got up and winked at him as she led Aqualad away to the gaming group. The game was paused for the debate.

"How can it be Aquaman! As soon as Green Arrow runs out of arrows, he's done!"

Changeling tuned out the rest of their conversation and turned his attention to Raven.

They were now alone.

Or as alone as they were gonna get at the moment.

She was packing up her mess and she looked ready to leave.

"Rae, wait. Can we talk?"

She paused in her movement. She looked at him, then quickly looked away as she finished the last of her cleaning.

"Of course we can. What about?"

He rubbed the back of his neck.

"How are you?"

That's not what he wanted to say. He wanted to tell her he missed her. That the kiss they shared on the rooftop was magical, to say the least. That he's sorry and sorry again. But there was an awkward air around them. An awkward air that he created and didn't know how to fix.

She responded to him all the same.

"Good, if not exhausted from the amount of magic I'm using."

"Have...have you meditated?"

She picked up her tea and took a sip, looking at him from over the rim of her cup.

She looked away again.

"No. That's probably why I lost control on the roof."

They were talking, but they weren't. It was small talk. Superhero small talk. Instead of saying 'How's the weather?' they talked about superheroing.

Didn't change the fact that they've known each other for years and the most they can talk about now was the surface stuff. The stuff you don't mind telling to a crowd because there was no meat in it.

Emotions, but not deep.

It's how she talked to other members of the team, the ones who joined later on and they've only talked to on a few occasions.

But not to her family.

Not to him.

"I should probably go meditate now. Thank you for that suggestion, Changeling."

She was escaping!

He scrambled to move. Slinking around the counter, he popped up beside her. The slight jump of her shoulders told him he had startled her. The slip of hair she had placed behind her ear broke free again. She kept a good hold on her tea though.

And her eyes gazed into his.

So emotional.

So beautiful.

He felt his tongue tie.

"Uh, can...can we talk?"

"We are." She looked confused. Like she wasn't sure where he was getting at or where he was going.

"No, I mean…" he wasn't sure where he was going either.

His stretched his mind, trying to think of something, anything, he could say to keep her from leaving. Out the corner of his eye, he saw the bag he got from the mall. The gift he got for Raven.

Now or never.

He could do this.

"Rae, I'm really sorry."

She raised an eyebrow.

"You've said this before."

"I….I know, but it's not enough." He rubbed the back of his neck, feeling his frustration rise at not being able to convey his feelings. "I don't think you believe me, Rae."

Her eyes widen before she turned away, clutching her cup closer to her.

"I do."

"I know, but not the way I want you to and I don't blame you. I've been irresponsible, inconsiderate, and selfish. I've lost your trust. I don't want to lose your friendship. I want and need you to know, from the bottom of my heart, I'm really sorry."

She glanced at him and she really looked like she wanted to believe him.

He grabbed the bag, pulling it closer as he reached into it.

"I got you something."

"You didn't have t-" She stopped short as he pulled out the teapot. The sleek, simple, delicate teapot that fit her perfectly. There was just a small movement to her face but he could see it. He could tell.

She loved it.

His heart jumped.

"Changeling, it's…" She looked lost for words.

He was happy to continue. Balancing the teapot in one hand, he reached back into the bag.

"I also got you four matching cups and this tea that I have no idea what it is, but it smelled like you." He paused, holding the cups precariously in each hand and pulling out the tea canister to show her.

"Not that you smell weird or anything. Not that the tea smells weird. It smells good. Really good."

When he looked at her, there was a hint of red on her cheeks and the realization of what he'd said caught up to him. He felt his face heat up and his brain short circuit.

Good lord, he just told her she smelled good.

Not just good.

Really good.

Someone save him.

The alarm went off and roused him from his stupor. He jumped, not expecting the loud ringing to affect him as much as it did. The alarm hasn't always been this loud.

Has it?

He brought his hands to his ears, trying with all his might to soften the sound on his highly sensitive ears.

CRASH!

Even with his ears covered, he heard that.

He opened his eyes and was met with the sight of Raven's magic holding the teapot and two cups. On the ground was the shattered remains of the other two cups and the now open canister of tea .

He made eye contact with her and she looked as worried as he felt confused.

"Titans, trouble!"

Nightwing's voice rang throughout the room and the alarm stopped.

So did the pain.

His ears ranged, but he was able to remove his hands from them. Nightwing's voice was loud, but it didn't making him want to wither around on the floor.

What the hell was that?

He looked back to Raven, but her attention was on the giant screen hosting Nightwing's face.

He turned too.

"What wrong?" Bee stood at the commend. Cyborg and Starfire stood on one side of her and her team stood on the other.

"The Hive Five are making trouble downtown and Overload is attacking the power plant. I need Bee, Cyborg, Changeling and Mas y Menos to handle the Five. Aqualad, Star, Raven and I will handle Overload."

There was a flutter of her cape, and Changeling noticed Raven placing what was saved of her gift on the counter. She floated over to the screen.

"Nightwing, with all due respect, I should stay here. I need to meditate or my powers will backlash on the group."

Nightwing looked at her and Changeling could feel the earlier tension leaving them. There was a faint hint of worry on Nightwing's face before he nodded his head in agreement.

"Okay. Also, it'll be good to have someone with Arsenal, in case something happens. Rest up. We'll talk when we get back."

Raven's body relaxed and she nodded her head.

"Titans, GO!"

Sorry for any mistakes! Thank you for reading. Please review!