A/N: Aaaaaaahhhh...I finally finished this chappie...it was taking me ages!

It's basically about...well...I won't tell you since I know some people hate spoilers (personally, am a big fan of spoilers...I have no idea why) but its from Rae's point of view...

Though admitedly I didn't really like my execution on this chappie because it's a bit jumpy here and there and after rereading I feel like I've taken you (and Raven, actually) forcefully into the deep end and while some people might like that, I know that other's aren't really partial to the idea.

Oh yea, also, warning:

- May be some implications of sex (though there isn't any)

- Also some making out...but it's not detailed...I hope.

- Raven also seems (even to me) quite OOC

BTW I've changed the rating to "M" just in case because I'm not too sure about ratings and whatnot...better safe than sorry, eh?

So anyways, read and enjoy eh?

Chapter 2

Flicker.

Her eyelids snapped open and she gripped at the duvet covering herself, feeling the damp sweat that ran down her face and the harsh breathing of her lungs. Her grip tightened as her eyes regained their ability to see and she found herself in a setting that she was sure was not her room; the walls had the same odd grey wash that everyone else had in the Tower and the size was about the same but—she let her eyes skim through her surroundings—there was a lot of mess, huge posters on the walls and—she took a good look at the duvet she was holding onto so vehemently—the duvet was green, which meant only one thing; she was in Garfield's room.

That explained a lot.

"Azar."

Ravens felt at her chest and was relieved that her shirt was still on and though she knew that he would never do anything that made her feel—for lack of better word—uncomfortable, her dreams believed otherwise.

She shut her eyes momentarily.

The dreams had started off typically—though she didn't like the fact that she had gotten so used to them…it wasn't natural!—with her reliving the past, her father's ghost of an image haunting her nightly and the pain and suffering that came with the prophecy was embedded in her mind every singly night and it burned sometimes…burned so much that she frequently rejected the welcoming embrace of sleep and forced her body to stay awake late into the night. It was just that last night her body couldn't take it anymore and the warmth of Garfield's embrace had seduced her into closing her eyes, however unwilling she was.

She bit her lip.

Then…then it changed…her dream, she couldn't explain how but she knew it had something to do with her empathic powers and the way that they liked to roam freely in the dark of the night. She had been in the middle of another dreadful nightmare—though now she couldn't remember it as vividly as she usually did—and then there was just this sudden warmth that spread through her, momentarily making her forget about her dream; it was a gentle warmth, slightly sentimental and in her unconscious state, she vaguely recognised it as being Garfield.

And when it changed, it was like she was bombarded by different sets of emotions both physically and mentally; she felt like she could still feel the sensations that were triggered by the dream, sensations that Raven never knew existed and she wasn't sure about them.

She gripped the covers over her neck.

It was just the way that he touched her, his lips tracing themselves on her throat, his face buried in her hair as he took in her scent—he had always mentioned cranberries whenever they talked about that particular subject even though she had stopped using cranberry smelling soap some time ago—the way he purred in her ears and the way he caressed her when he…she shook her head; no, she just wasn't ready yet. It really wasn't the actions that bothered her—though it did bother her slightly but it was excusable since he was a guy and was bound to think of those things—but it was just that the actions seemed so real to her, like they were actually happening. Her arms were actually tingling from where he had traced his fingers and her breathing felt a little ragged, as if she had been physically involved in the dream…but she wasn't, and that's what scared her most.

Not that she didn't want to, of course, sometimes she did want to, especially when he kissed her the way he did and told her that he loved her and wanted to love her forever and ever…it was sometimes…quite persuasive but being the product of rape almost always interfered whenever she was almost…persuaded. It was also quite strange…did he really feel so strongly about her? Well, to be honest, there wasn't any question about it…sometimes just the way he felt about her was enough to knock her off her feet…it was just that she wasn't sure about her feelings towards him.

Raven sat up from the bed and found that Garfield had taken to sleeping on a bean bag near the bed; at least this way she knew that he still knew where the boundaries were. His arms were crossed in front of him, his legs spread out widely and his head lolled to the side helplessly; he was uncomfortable, and that was self evident in the way his brows furrowed together to create lines on his forehead, the corners of his mouth downturned in frown…no, he wasn't in the least bit comfortable but he had decided to sleep on the bean bag for her and for some odd reason, that very simple action almost made up for the way he thought about her in his sleep.

Almost.

She pulled the blanket firmly off her—watching as the thick fabric fell clumsily on the floor—and got out of the bed, walking towards him, then stopping just a couple of centimetres away from the bean bag. She closed her eyes and thought about the bean bag, to be the bean bag—it sounded silly, really, but that was the way her powers worked—and with a flick of her hand, she pulled the bean bag from under him, causing him to fall on the floor with a loud thump and a groan.

She smirked, her arms crossed defiantly in front of her; that felt good.

Garfield groaned once more, his eyes shut firmly, "Wha…? What happened?" A broad, green hand rubbed the side of his head in circular motions, "My head hurts." He whined.

"Good morning." She ignored his question though she could tell that the sweetness of her greeting made him suspicious.

"My head hurts." He repeated but then she saw his eyes glance at the bean bag which was at least a metre away from he was now, "Hey! You did your weird power things and pulled the bean bag away!" He pouted and sat up from the floor, "What was that for!?"

She sat back down on the end of the bed, a smirk gracing itself on her thin lips, "That's what you get for not keeping your mind out of the gutter, Gar." Amusement sparkled inside her chest as he threw her a confused look, "Aren't you going to say good morning to me?"

"My mind out of the…" He paused, and she could see that his hands were just itching to scratch his ears, but he settled on raking his fingers through his mass of moss green hair instead, "You know, half the time you talk to me—when you do bother to talk—I actually don't understand half of what you're saying but right now I'm just a bit…uh…blank."

She shrugged almost casually and crossed her legs; a foot dangling up in midair, "Your dreams last night were extremely…" Raven paused, a finger touching her lower lip in thought, "vivid."

He frowned and she realised that though she attempted to keep that last sentence light-hearted—or as light-hearted as she was capable of being—had failed completely and that her tone of voice was a little more serious than she thought it sounded in her head. She still didn't understand him when he was like…this; when he decided to shed his happy-go-lucky skin and actually display his concern over her…it was slightly disconcerting. Garfield had always been one to keep his heart on his sleeve but it was always covered by a shroud of—distasteful—comedic input, but when it came to these moments, he threw away the humour altogether and just concentrated everything on her; it made her cringe sometimes.

And it was no different now; his lips were pursed, his hand inevitably scratching at his ears, his other hand bundled in a tight fist, his brows scrunched together, and his eyes had lost all mischievousness it had had prior to her statement. His—to put it crudely, though it wasn't exactly correct—aura had changed drastically too, just like his body language had, and she couldn't put her finger on how he was feeling, just that he was more alert than usual, more alert and more self-conscious.

She shook her head, crossing her arms in front of her, "Forget about it Gar, it's nothing." She threw him a smile, "How come you didn't bring me to my room?"

The look that he was giving now had always disturbed her in one way or another but for a fleeting moment, she smiled; it was the same look that he gave her when he first found her sleeping on the couch.

"You changed your password again, remember? I mean, I tried waking you up but you didn't seem to want to, so I carried you here…I hope you don't mind…I mean I know you don't like me carrying you but I really didn't want you sleeping on that couch…ever…again." He stood up for a moment then went to sit next to her on the edge of the bed.

"Not that I had much of a choice, did I?" She realised that even to her own ears, those harmless words had an edge to them.

"Baby doll…" he touched her shoulder momentarily then laid his hand back at his side, "what's wrong? No offence or anything but…you smell wrong. Not that you don't smell gorgeous like usual but it's covered up by this really nasty smell…it smells like…" he sniffed subconsciously before she found herself watching as his eyes widened, "You're scared?"

It was a question, "No…not really scared…just…self conscious, I guess."

"Of what?"

She bit her lip and remained silent, refusing to see his eyes…it didn't really matter anyway, it wasn't like it was real.

But it felt real.

He took her chin gently in his hands and turned it ever so slightly so that she would be facing him, "You know you can tell me anything, baby doll, and it doesn't matter that you're doing that 'I'm-so-indifferent-to-everything' face…I still can tell that there's something wrong, something you're worried about." He sighed, "Rae, all I want to do is help and I can't do that without you giving me some kind of information on what's bothering you."

The silence remained, blanketing the whole of the room and the only sounds you could hear were the sounds of their breathing and the way they differed; Garfield's breathing could sometimes be described as erratic and he always breathed in and out like he had just done a marathon whereas her own breathing was calmer and more controlled…it was funny how even their bodies described how they were personality-wise.

"You said something about getting my mind out of the gutter and my vivid dream…what did I dream…?" he stopped his verbal trail of thought and a splash of horror ran through his emotions, causing her to almost physically flinch away, "Oh, baby doll, I didn't…I didn't mean to…I didn't know…" Garfield's words trailed off and then when they continued, there seemed to be a certain sharpness to them, "Did you see…everything?"

She felt her chakra glow briefly and by impulse she touched it, as if it would stop the glowing, "More or less." Her voice was monotonous.

He snarled and she presumed that it was more to himself rather than towards her, "Baby doll, you know I'd never…I wouldn't…I…shit!" He raked a hand through his hair, "Rae…you know I would never do anything to you…not until you're ready, anyway."

She sighed and freed her arms from the crossing position they were before and laid them on her side, her hands pressing into the soft mattress below her. With those actions, he reached out to hold her hand and interlocked her fingers with his ones, once again fascinating her with the contrast of colours; the contrast of their lives and personalities. Of course, it was slightly absurd for her to see anything deep and meaningful in such a simple gesture but sometimes she couldn't help it; it was there...she could feel it.

"I know…" she heaved another sigh and looked up from their hands to meet his startlingly green eyes; they looked like uncut emeralds right now, cloudy with concern, "that's why I tried to put the subject off."

"Yea, but you brought the subject on by pulling my bean bag away…though I guess I deserve it."

Raven shook her head in protest, "No, I don't think you did. I mean, you have every right to think of me, however you want to think of me—though I truly hope there is more to our relationship than that…or your hopes for that—but I was just a bit edgy because the actions were so…real," she shuddered, "and your emotions were so loud. It was like I was really there…like I was really the one you were sleeping with and not just what your mind could conjure up of me." Raven paused before continuing, "Do you really consciously think of sleeping with me with so much…fervour?"

"Honestly?" His face was questioning, as if he didn't know if she really wanted an answer or not.

She nodded.

"Then, I guess…yea. I mean I try not to…like consciously…or else I'd have to have a lot more cold showers than I already do now—"

Her brows rose, "I really didn't need to know that."

He chuckled nervously, "You did ask, baby doll and you did want the truth." He shrugged in a non-committal sort of way, "I can't help it if you look gorgeous all the time."

"Thanks…I guess."

She really didn't know what else to say; at one point it was the answer that she knew she would receive but on the other hand, she had hoped that there was a different answer…one that was less—was safe the right word for it?—something.

He suddenly gritted his teeth, as if he was holding back another titbit of information that he probably thought that she didn't need to know, but wanting to tell her it at the same time anyway. She watched as his face suddenly smoothed out and a smile lit his face…but there was something odd about it…like…she shook her head; though she was usually quite an observant person due to her empathic powers and her introverted nature, she still wasn't sure if she really did see the weird way his eyes flickered when he looked at her before looking down, his cheeks stained dark purple.

"Sometimes…sometimes I think that you're too much for me…" he sighed and gripped her hand tighter, "It's just…everything about you makes me go crazy and sometimes just being near you is unbearable…I don't know if it's just me since I've got some primal characteristics—to breed and to survive—in me but the way you make me feel is quite…intense."

"I know…I'm an empath remember?"

He grinned, "Oh yea, sorry…but the point is that I can still control it and will control it until…well…until you're ready." His smiled suddenly turned soft and she couldn't help but smile back, "And not before."

"Even if it takes me—what?—two years?"

"Yea."

"Five years?"

It was his turn to cock a brow, "It's a stretch, but yea."

"How about…ten years?" She smirked, challenging him, and secretly happy that though the atmosphere had not completely settled, there was some light-hearted feel to their conversation.

"Now that's just taking the cake, baby doll." He sounded outraged but the gleeful look on his face told her otherwise.

She closed her eyes and let his emotions wash over her; they were comforting—to say the least—and though anyone could tell how he was feeling just by the way he was acting, it was always nice to know that she was the only one who could tell if he was a hundred percent happy or a hundred percent sad. He was just so familiar to her that she had to laugh inwardly whenever she thought about the times when they were younger, less accustomed to sharing with others, less able to deal with each other's personalities…and she laughed at how she could've thought that being in a relationship with him was ludicrous.

Suddenly, she felt a surge of emotions bombard her and physically she felt his lips kiss the tip of her nose softly and in her mind's eye she could see him do just that with his eyes closed as well and his hand never leaving hers. As his lips left her nose, her eyes flickered open to find a very uncharacteristically serious Garfield.

"I was joking, baby doll; if I have to I'll wait forever until you're ready, I'll wait," He grinned, "and if there was something more than forever, I'd wait even longer and if you're still not ready, even longer than that."

"You're so soppy, it's quite ludicrous." She felt the edge of her lips twitch, "You know I found the whipped cream quite amusing." She had to suppress a giggle as his face turned to horror.

"The…the…the whipped…cream?" He stuttered helplessly and she had to bite her lip to stop the laughter from spilling out, "W-what whipped cream?"

She couldn't help but smirk, "However, I would've thought that you'd object to using whipped cream…it is, after all, made from milk." Amusement bubbled in her as his jaw dropped even lower than it had before, "Maybe it was made from soy milk?" She knew she was smiling now but she couldn't help it.

"Whipped…what…soy milk…cream…uh…how…what…" He closed his eyes in frustration and pouted.

"I was just joking, Gar…there really wasn't any whipped cream involved." Raven breathed a low, throaty chuckle.

He frowned, his lower lip jutting out defiantly, "You know you should leave the funny stuff to me…you are so not funny."

She threw him a knowing smile and shrugged, "You do realise no one finds you funny either, right?"

"I so am funny…I mean…I mean I know that you find me funny." He grinned.

Raven flashed him a pained look, "Happy does not count."

"Sure she does." His grin grew.

"Hmmmm…"

There was silence for a while but then he moved in closer to her and as if by impulse, she closed her eyes and just revelled in his warm breath. Her skin tingled oddly as he brushed his lips against the skin of her cheekbones, sliding them downwards towards her jaw line ever so slowly. She breathed a small sigh as she felt her heart beat faster and her hands slipped away from his large hands and they curled up on his torso, before settling itself on his chest and—she felt it!—there was the odd syncopated beat that always triggered something in her and in turn made her already speeding heart beat faster still. He had once told her that if she had lost hope in his affection for her then she should feel the beat of his heart and he said that the odd, erratic, syncopated rhythm was made by her and her alone yet she didn't disbelieve him, it was just that it was nice that she still had—after all this time—some effect on him.

His hands raked through her hair and she felt heard him take in her scent, his breath ragged against her cold skin. She kept her eyes closed as his lips traced their way to her eyelids and at that very moment she didn't just feel things physically but mentally also and it made for very…strange sensations; the way that his wanting intertwined with the way he touched her cheeks with his fingers, the way his reluctance showed itself when his shoulders accidentally bumped into hers, the way he seemed self-conscious whenever her hands travelled away from his chest and the explosion of affection whenever she nuzzled her nose against his own…it was so explosive that maybe it could've been love but seeing as she had never explored that emotion herself, identifying it was a difficult thing to do.

She felt a shudder run down her spine as his fingers traced her collar bones, the calluses of his fingers rubbing against her skin and her thoughts about his dreams were all but forgotten even though it had disturbed her to quite an extent that she had caused him some physical harm. His lips finally met hers though they were mere touches and nothing else—it was like he had taken their conversation into consideration and was trying to be careful with her—and the reluctance in him was strong, though not strong enough for him to willingly pull away from her.

Then amidst all the light kisses she felt him speak against her lips and what he said caused her eyes to widen, "Love you, Rae."

Three simple words, and yet it was enough to turn her stiff as a board and to push him away gently with what force she had after their intimate gestures. Her eyes flashed open and she found him looking concerned and—if not—a little upset at her actions but she couldn't help it…there was just something in those words that made her freeze up and react the way that she did.

"Rae…are you OK?"

She attempted a smile, "I'm OK…it's just that…you…smell…ever so slightly." She screwed up her nose to seem more convincing, though she wasn't sure if he believed her or not, "You didn't change your clothes last night."

And though she hadn't realised it before she had spoken those words, she just realised that what she had just said were true; he did smell and he was still wearing his uniform.

His frown remained but he still answered her question, "I forgot…I guess…I didn't think past getting you on a bed."

The uncomfortable silence was back again and she shrugged to herself, as if it would make the painful quiet slip away from her shoulders.

"I'm sorry 'bout that before…" he looked at her sincerely, "I couldn't help myself, I guess." He chuckled nervously, "If I knew that you were so pretty in the morning then I would've probably insisted that you slept in my room every night so that the first thing I see is you."

"It's OK; I guess…it wasn't like I didn't enjoy it either." She felt her cheeks heat up as those words came flying out of her mouth.

He beamed at her, "You enjoyed it." His tone was teasing.

She raised a brow at this comment, "I believe I just stated that I enjoyed it."

"You enjoyed it…more than you enjoy meditating?" He fluttered his lashes at her.

"Meditating is a necessity; I don't do it for entertainment." She crossed her arms in front of her.

"Fine." Garfield pouted, "More than you enjoy dancing with me?"

"I guess."

"More than reading your favourite books?" It didn't matter that he had 'matured'—in a sense—he still loved to tease her.

Two could play that game.

"Now, Gar, let's not push it so far, shall we?" Raven threw him a knowing look and smiled as he seemed to choke.

"That's just plain mean." He moaned and stuck out a tongue at her, "You're a mean girlfriend."

"And you're green…we can't always go around stating the obvious, can we?" She rolled her eyes.

Garfield reached out to tuck one of her stray hairs behind her ears, intertwining it softly between his fingers before finally tucking it in, "Doesn't matter that you're a mean girlfriend…you're my mean girlfriend." He kissed her gently on her forehead.

"Am I supposed to reply with something like 'it doesn't matter that you're an idiot, you're my idiot'?" She felt herself smirking almost automatically.

"I guess something along the lines of that…just not as mean." He suddenly grinned, "Hey do you wanna play the GameStation with me today? Please?"

"You're an idiot to think that I'd play that mind-rotting junk."

He laughed, "But I'm still your idiot and you love me for it." He sent her a pleading look but when she didn't budge, he sighed, "Fine. Since you obviously don't appreciate the fine art of game-playing, do you wanna help me with my paper? This zoology course is a bitch."

"Sure, let's have breakfast first. You look…" she wasn't too sure if it was the right word or not but it was the first that entered her mind, "hungry."

As if on cue, his stomach grumbled and he had the grace to grin sheepishly, "Great idea baby doll…let's go." He took her hand.

"First though…you are going to take a shower…or at least change your clothes…I'm not exaggerating when I say that you frankly smell quite disgusting." She wrinkled her nose at him.

"Fine." He pouted then kissed her lightly on the top of her head, "I'll see you down soon. Do you want me to make you tofu waffles?" He asked as an afterthought, his ears perking up eagerly.

She cocked her brow, "You do realise that despite the fact that I'm with you, I still have an aversion to tofu, right?"

"I know, I just thought that you might've changed your mind already."

"You really are a strange creature."She took her hand away from his grip, "I'll be going now."

"What? No goodbye kiss?" He pushed his lips out mockingly, amusement sparkling in his eyes.

"Really now, Garfield, I'll be seeing you down soon."

She closed her eyes and imagined the kitchen in her mind's eye and she suddenly felt cold as her powers enveloped her to take her to the kitchen but before she was transported, she thought that she heard him call out to her; his familiar voice travelling lightly to her ears.

"I love you baby doll, you do know that, right?"

It was a relief to find that her powers had taken her away before she was obliged to reply to his unfamiliar words and that she didn't have to be a bumbling idiot stuttering because she didn't know what to say back to him. It was a relief to find herself in the extremely clean kitchen with it's odd utensils that she had no idea how to use—and her friends had warned her not to use…ever again—and with food that sometimes were…dangerous…to say the least. It was not a relief, however, to find Vic sitting on the table, eating something that seemed to look like a meat patty in between meat buns with meat fries; she had to admit, sometimes Garfield did have a point, the amount of meat that Vic seemed to eat was sometimes very disgusting and just downright nauseating.

Maybe, if she phased out really quietly out of the kitchen, he wouldn't notice her.

"Hey Raven."

He noticed her.

She sighed, "Morning Vic."

She made her way to the cupboard and fished out her powdered chamomile tea before scurrying off to try to find the china cup that she used during her tea sessions. After she found it, Raven scooped up the right amount of powdered tea into her cup before turning around to face Vic again.

"Nice sleep, Raven? Not too tired from watchin' that weird movie that Gar played last night?"

She frowned, "It was decent…not that I get much sleep anyway with the alarms ringing at night and all." Raven poured hot water into her cup, "I was surprised that the alarm didn't go off again last night, actually."

"Well, with Red X and all, the police force are the ones who are taking down the minor crimes and shit…ever since the Mayor's found out that his suit used to be Dick's…well…it hasn't been too pretty."

"Mmmm…I know…" She took a sip and found that it was still too hot, "It's not helping Dick out much either, whenever I accidentally sense his dreams, they're always either too hot or too cold…it hasn't been helping…" Raven slowly shrugged and stared down at her cup, "Suffice to say…Kori's a bit worried." She stated shortly.

"Yea, but she's always worried…especially when it has somethin' to do with Dick…" He chuckled before taking a bite out of his meal.

Raven scrutinised her drink for a while, "I guess so…" she sipped and sighed as the warmth coursed through her body, making her forget about the cold winter air, "So, enough about that…how're you and Jinx?"

She bit a laugh back as he choked on one of his meat fries and his red-eye went haywire for a second or so, "J-Jinx? What…what about Jinx?" He tried to compose himself for a moment by downing a large glass of milk but it honestly didn't work, "I haven't seen her in a…while."

"You know it's not that easy to lie to me…I seem to have to keep reminding people that I'm an empath and can sense things." She rolled her eyes, "So, has she told you her real name yet? It's a very nice name, if I may say so."

He sighed in resignation, "We haven't gotten that far yet…she hasn' been too trustin' since she and Flash broke it off…I've only actually seen her once since we've…started."

"When did it start anyway? I mean, I have a pretty good idea but I still can't put my finger on the exact time."

"Around the time you two go serious." He didn't bother to mention who the other half of the 'two' was.

Now that got her attention, "Around the time we got serious? When exactly was that?"

"'Bout seven or eight months ago, I'm guessin'."

"And how would you know when we got 'serious'?"

He grinned at her, that infuriating, knowing look that he had on his face a lot, "This eye," he pointed at his mechanical one, "records everythin' and stashes it away in some folders in my head so that I can recover 'em anytime I wanted." He tapped his eye once again, "And I don't miss much."

"Elaborate." She moved from the position she was before and went to sit next to him.

He cocked a brow at her but didn't say anything, "Man, you're in a really chatty mood today, are you sure that you're feelin' alrigh'?"

She glared at him while simultaneously sipping on her tea, "Don't push it Vic, it's a rarity just for me to talk to anyone in the morning so you better count yourself lucky."

"Haha, OK, OK, I get it…I am now the luckiest man in the world." His full-fledged grin came back again.

"So, enlighten me."

"OK, well he's done three things that he would have never done if he wasn't datin' you; one, he's lessened the time he spends tryin' to make kissy faces when he's around Kori and Dick, two he actually goes to the library to take out a book—it still amazes me that he can read—instead of goin' there to draw moustaches in the picture books and newspapers and three," he took out three fingers for more emphasis, "he actually gets down to do his school work, like properly…I mean it might just be because he has some animal genes in him but he's doin' pretty well at that uni. I mean, they ain't the highest grades but they're steady and as long as he ain't failin', I give props to him."

"They're a bit superficial, aren't they?" Raven asked, referring to his answers.

He shrugged in return and finished off the last of his meat fries, "But you gotta admit, those changes are pretty big for someone like him. He's not the little runt that we first met all those years ago."

"But that just proves that he's serious about me and not vice versa."

"Yea, well, it's a bit harder with you but I just know that it's there." His voice seemed to tell her that he was unsure himself but determined to stick to his convictions, "What's it to you anyway? You never seemed interested in this before…you just, y'know, went with the flow and shit. You seemed to anyway." He added as an afterthought.

Raven paused and let her fingers slide off the fragile porcelain cup for a while and they tingled individually with the traces of warmth that was still on the very tips, her mind pondering on the question he had just posed; why did she want to know, anyway? Was it because of the way he dreamt about her? Those extremely physical visions that made her blush every time she thought about them? The way that he made her feel every time she felt his presence, his touch? Or maybe it was the way that those feelings contradicted the way she felt about the prospect of sex; how daunting it was and how uncomfortable it made her feel whenever the topic was brought up? Yet she had a feeling in the back of her head that it had something to do with those three little words and the way that he said it just made her want to rethink it all even though she knew that they were perfectly fine…a little unsteady at times…but still fine.

She shook her head and placed her fingers through the cup handle daintily.

She was over thinking everything, definitely and—Garfield had even taken the time to notice—she actually did it a lot and—he also pointed out—it wasn't too good for her. Especially in the morning—she closed her eyes thoughtfully for a moment—he had told her that thinking too much in the morning was not in the least bit productive and could even cause someone to become stagnant because of being stuck in their own thoughts.

She smiled inwardly at the thought.

Over thinking things was definitely not the way to go, she decided, and maybe Vic had a point, maybe she just had to go with the flow and see where that flow leads her to, hopefully leading her to something bigger and better…or maybe not bigger…just better. They were, after all, still young and maybe in terms of relationships she was even younger in age than she was in reality, than maybe he was despite the fact that she was a year older than him. Right now, she was comfortable and loved, sometimes she was extremely annoyed at his behaviour, but she still felt loved and though she wasn't too sure about her own feelings towards him, on whether or not they were as strong as his were towards her but she wasn't going to rush it…rush this. Maybe in time, when she felt mentally stable and mentally ready, she would speak those three little words back to him without blowing anything up.

Maybe in time…maybe…

Suddenly she heard the door swoosh open to reveal a young man in his early twenties stumble through the door clumsily, a sheepish grin seemingly glued on his face permanently. He caught her eye and winked at her, revealing a pair of glistening white fangs that she found quite intriguing from time to time and the way his dark brows curled at the edges when he smiled was amusing. His olive green hand raked smoothly through the mass of moss green hair found atop his head and his pointed ears perked up—alert—when he caught her giving him the tiniest, most miniscule of smiles. As soon as he entered the kitchen, everything about him promoted happiness and laughter; the way his broad shoulders were straight and proud, his long—but even—strides as he made his way towards her, the way his arms swung casually by his sides and the low chuckle that he emitted now and then.

Raven glanced at Vic, a smirk curled on her lips and the voice that sometimes sounded so venomous suddenly sounded solemn yet understanding, "Serious, huh?" She murmured, almost under her breath.

He found herself not seeing, but feeling the small, knowing smile that graced her brother-figure's lips.

Maybe…

…but not yet.

A/N: Ahhhh...so...what did you think? No, honestly, really...just don't be too mean about it...please?

If no one's guessed yet...this is gonna be one of those "cracks" that she wants to mend though how it becomes a "crack"...well I'll never tell!

:giggles maniacally:

And one more thing...Cyborg was supposed to play a bigger role in this chappie with the whole Jinx thing (because I swear I need to put more chappies in with him dagnammit!) but it just kinda...I dunno...failed?

Anyway, something almost out of context...I was wondering...for those who read RENOVATION do any specific songs come to your mind? Coz I'm in a music rut right now and need some music to listen to...and it would be nice to listen to music that reminded me of my first TT ficcie...also if it reminds u of a specific chappie can you tell me which one it is...please?

Man, I love you guys too much for words.

Muchos Luvos!