A/N: Another long chappie...

Um...anyone who doesn't like making out scenes can skip like two or three paragraphs somewhere in the middle.

I think that's all I can warn you about...

:ponders:

Hmmmm...guess so...so read and review please!

Lubbeth yoo all!

Chapter 6

Raven's eyelids fluttered open and her lips parted slightly while she shifted slowly in her spot only to feel Garfield's left arm firmly around her waist and she couldn't help but let a small smile creep onto her lips; he had held onto her despite the fact that she had tossed and turned in her sleep and now was facing away from him. She stayed very still for a moment, conscious of the fact that his face was nuzzled into her hair, his warm breath caressing the nape of her neck. She let her fingers drag the blanket covering her higher up so that it concealed half her face and was surprised—though she really shouldn't have been, this was his room after all—to find that it smelled like him; slightly that of a wet dog, slightly musky, slightly sweaty…and though it wasn't the most pleasant of smells, it was distinctively his and for some odd reason, she found some comfort in that.

Smile.

After what seemed to be a while, she gently lifted herself up, careful not to disturb the arm that was still gripped around her, and finally she was sitting up. For some odd reason, the winter morning felt hot and she didn't know if it was because she had slept so closely with someone or if it was just her imagination, but either way, she regretted wearing her jumper to sleep. Either way, she thought that it would be better if she wore a T-shirt or a tank top next time she slept here.

Next time…

Raven blushed despite herself and tried to shake the traces of red out of her cheeks even though there was clearly no one around to witness it. Her thoughts wouldn't go away though; would there be a next time? If not, why not? If yes, would the circumstances be any different to the one now? Would she come to his room willingly or only if she was troubled by a thought or another? Next time would they merely sleep together or would they actually sleep together? She shook her head once more, willing her thoughts to go away; she didn't want her thoughts to overcome the comfort and the safety that she was feeling right now, the innocent bliss that came with being held by Garfield Logan for a whole night.

She turned away from the window and let her gaze linger on him; he looked so…happy and peaceful when he was asleep that at that moment it was quite impossible to imagine that this person fought crime and saved lives almost every single day, impossible to think that he was anything other than someone who had been pampered and shielded his entire life. Her eyes traced his features and she realised that even though she saw him every single day, she never actually really looked at him. She realised that she really didn't notice—or appreciate—how, despite the fact that everything about him was green, there were subtle differentiation in shade and tone of the colour on every aspect of him; his skin was the green that you often found in colour pencil sets, a green that you couldn't really specify and just called it 'green' though the area that ran across his jaw was a darker green, almost, but not quite, moss green and she realised that it was darker because of the shadow that stubble often created. Her eyes traced upwards and saw that his shaggy, constantly messy hair was the darkest green that she found on him and at first glance she would have definitely just called it forest green but when she looked closer she saw that it was an array of different greens, ranging from the moss green that she found on his jaw line to a peculiar looking sea green colour that caught her off guard. The most interesting—and admittedly, appealing—feature was, however, his lips…and it wasn't just because of how, even in his sleep, the corners of his lips curled ever so slightly to form a mischievous smile or just because he kissed her—on the top of her head, on her cheeks, on the tip of her nose, on her forehead, on her neck, on her knuckles, on her lips…she shook her head, blushing at the thought, now was not the time to think about kissing—with them constantly, but it was also because of the peculiarity of the colour of his lips; they were almost the exact same colour as his skin and yet instead of being blue-based like the rest of his features, she found that his lips were more yellow based and so they were a sort of…olive green colour. It was a completely unromantic way to think about a facial feature that could be deemed as something so—she racked her brain for the right word—sensual, and yet…the colour of his lips really did intrigue her and for some odd, abnormal reason, she felt an urge to find out why his transformation had led his lips to turn that particular shade.

"By Azar Raven," she murmured to herself, trying to stop herself from being distracted by her thoughts concerning her boyfriend, "it's only a face, no need to get so analytical about it…"

But she couldn't help it, there was just something distinctive about his face that made her want to mull it over…it was as if his face was so open with emotion that you knew exactly what he was thinking about and how he was feeling, but sometimes she wondered if the emotions he showed on his face were truly his emotions or if they were a cover up for other emotions that he didn't like to reveal…of course there was her empathic powers but those skills only went so far…

Suddenly, she felt Garfield's fingers twitch and wiggle on her stomach then they gripped her jumper a little harder than a few moments ago. She felt a twinge of panic as she realised that for the last few minutes or so, she had been staring at him, and so as quickly as she possible could, she pulled her gaze from him and counted in her head to cool the heat generated by her skin; one, two, three, four, five—breathe, Raven, breathe—six, seven, eight…

She heard a chuckle from beside her, consequently making her even more flustered than before, "Baby doll, you don't have to look away…you can look at this sexy beast for as long as you want." She felt him grin.

"I was…" Raven took a deep breath before she turned her head to face him, "I was not looking at you, Gar, by Azar you can be a bit up yourself, can't you?"

"Whatever you say, baby doll, whatever you say." He beamed at her, "But I do have," he coughed before putting on a faux English accent, "dashing good looks, yea, Rae?"

She groaned, "You are so up yourself, it's not even the slightest bit funny."

"So you don't deny it?"

"I didn't say that you had dashing good looks." She rolled her eyes.

The edges of his lips twirled into a cheeky smile, "But you didn't say that I don't have dashing good looks, either." He exhaled heavily with his eyes closed before opening them once more.

She felt her empathic powers instinctively reach out to figure out how he was feeling and she was pleasantly surprised to find that he was content and comfortable. Her fingers reached out to touch his hand on her stomach, interlocking with his fingers, knowing that though the actions were simplistic, they felt extremely intimate and she knew that he knew of how it felt to her, despite how casual it felt to him.

"Hey, Rae…?"

"Mmmmm…?"

There was a pause before he continued, "What's that on your back?"

"What's…" Her right hand felt at her back slowly, figuring out if there really was anything on her back, and suddenly, she felt her cheeks turn red as she realised that, at the back, her jumper had ridden up ever so slightly to reveal some parts of her lower back. She bit her lip then pulled the jumper hastily down so that it concealed her bare skin, "It's nothing." Raven stated shortly.

She felt his hand touch the bottom of her jumper, and for a moment, she thought that he was going to pull it up to get a closer look, but—she sighed with relief—he seemed to think better of it and put his hand back down again, "That wasn't nothing. That was totally something." She turned her head once more to look at him, "It looked like wings…like it was painted on." The fingers on her stomach flexed a bit and she found the way his eyes widened quite amusing, "Like it was painted on…" he repeated to himself, then gasped, "Raven," he started, his tone serious but his emotions seemed to be bouncing around with excitement, "you have a tattoo."

She stayed silent, biting the inside of her mouth.

"Oh my God…baby doll, you have a tattoo!" He grinned childishly, "You have a tattoo! That's so cool!"

Raven paused for a second as the rush of exhilaration and curiosity hit her suddenly. He was excited, it seemed, that she had a tattoo and it seemed to stem from the fact that he thought that it was so out of character for her to have one and that it was located in such a…private…place.

"I didn't know you had a tattoo, Rae…when did you get it?"

Raven thought for a moment before replying, "After the incident with my father, I presume."

"Oooooo…" He whistled, "Quite a long time, baby doll…four or five years, I think? Man, I can't believe you have one and I don't. I always wanted one…but needles scare the hell outta me…not cool, I know." He nudged at the spot with the top of his head before she heard him speak again, "Can I see it?"

"No." There was no hesitation in her answer.

"Aw…why can't I see it?" He whined, his voice oddly high-pitched, "Baby doll, I wanna see!" He pleaded, "Please, please, pretty, pretty, please…!" She didn't budge and he moaned, "Aw, c'mon Rae…it's cool that you have one! I just wanna see it! Please?" He pouted.

She smirked as he continued to beg for just a glimpse of the tattoo, telling her that he would do whatever she wanted for a whole week if he was allowed to look at the tattoo on the small of her back as a whole instead of just partially. His face contorted to that of eagerness and she smiled at how innocent he looked, like a kid begging his mum to be taken to the zoo or to a movie that his mum deemed inappropriate.

"Not now." She stated shortly and as he saw his face fall, she quickly added, "Maybe later." Raven stopped for a second to think about what she was going to say next, "I'll show you the whole thing one day. I promise." She left it at that.

"The whole thing?" His tone was suggestive and she cringed at what he might be thinking of, "You'll show me the whole thing one day? You promise?" She felt his fingers trace circular shapes through the jumper on the area located on the small of her back, right on top of the tattoo she was trying to conceal.

"Get your mind out of the gutter, Gar; it can't be too good for you to have your head in there all the time." She rolled her eyes, trying to regain some type of composure.

He grinned at her slyly, "I didn't say anything Rae, I just wanted to make sure that you would, y'know, show it to me one day."

"You were thinking it." Raven accused him, and she suddenly felt a spark of amusement come from him.

"You love me really." He laughed, and though the words felt casual, she knew that there was something behind it, "Now where's my morning kiss, eh Rae?"

Raven turned her whole body towards him now and leaned over him as he lay on his back, a grin spread on his face like messy food on a baby's lips. Her hair fell to one side, as if shielding her from the public and a smirk played up on her own lips. Her face was close to his—about two hand spans away from his face—but not close enough that he would be able to sneakily pull her head down so that she would unwittingly kiss him, but she knew that he was thinking of a way to do it.

"What morning kiss?" She asked, keeping her tone innocent, while widening her eyes to emphasise her 'innocence' even more, "You're presuming that I would kiss you when you haven't even brushed your teeth yet?"

"You haven't brushed your teeth either, baby doll, so it makes no difference either way. Plus it would just be plain cruel to not let me have a kiss when you smell so good." He whined, his bottom lip thrust out.

"You and your obsession with cranberries." She rolled her eyes but inwardly she smiled.

"Awww…c'mon, baby doll, y'know you wanna." He teased while his right hand played with her hair, "You know you wanna kiss the lips you've been staring at for the past half an hour." He pouted exaggeratedly, making kissing noises to accompany the action.

Raven hit him on the shoulder, earning a wince from him, "I told you that I didn't stare at you. Especially not for half an hour." She grumbled, "I was going to give you your morning kiss but I guess you don't really want it…" Raven let her words falter as she found herself smirking at the sullen expression that suddenly appeared both in his aura and on his face.

"No fair, baby doll, I was only joking…" she remained silent, causing his pointy ears to twitch, "Baby doll, don't be like that…I take it back! You weren't staring at me for half an hour! Five minutes, maybe, but not half an hour! I swear, I take it back! I never said a word; zero, zip, nada." He made a face, "Please don't throw me out of the window…" He added and she laughed inwardly at how high pitched his voice became when he panicked.

Raven raised a brow at him incredulously, "Garfield Logan, you are such a wuss. You know I wouldn't throw you out of the window—"

"You threw me outta the window last week!" He interjected in protest.

"You groped my breasts in the middle of a training exercise." She stated pointedly, "I think I had a right to throw you out of the window."

She watched as he chuckled weakly, "Um…bad hand-eye co-ordination?"

She glared at him, "Exactly."

"So…no kiss?"

Raven didn't reply and so the silence that came often blanketed them, leaving her to her own thoughts. Why was he so persistent in wanting to receive a single kiss? It wasn't like she wasn't ever going to kiss her ever again if she didn't kiss him now, they could always share kisses later on in the day. With her brows contorted together, she scrutinised him subtly, feeling for strands of emotions that would give her a clue to what was behind his happy-go-lucky expression and was surprised to find that she found nothing suspicious; all she could pick out from the mass of emotions in him was happiness, contentment and affection…a lot of affection, so much that she figured that it would be quite disrespectful to call it that and keep on denying that what he felt for her was love; pure, geniune, untarnished love. So, OK, it wasn't completely untarnished…but it was untarnished enough that she felt comfortable around him, felt comfortable enough for him to get close to her.

Hmmmm….

The discussion they had last night made her more alert than usual, but still, she felt nothing; it was like he had been waiting for them to talk about it and when it finally came about, everything that worried him and bothered him just came splurging out like an uncontrollable waterfall. He had held something back, she knew, but that something apparently wasn't worrisome enough that it affected him now. It was odd though, because she knew that even though he appeared to be unsystematic, she had figured out that he had a sort of pattern that he unwilling—she supposed it must be unwillingly because she had a sneaking suspicion that he had a conscious aversion to anything orderly—followed and this time, he wasn't following it. Usually after a discussion, no matter how happy he seemed to be, she knew that he would brood about the topic for at least a day or two before it finally resolved to how their relationship usually operated and yet…and yet this time it seemed like he had instantly gotten over it…like he was content with the situation he was in now, as if he knew that he had no power over their particular situation and that he would let things be as they were without tampering them. It was confusing and unneeded at a time like this, especially when their relationship was constantly at one extreme or another—either they were getting along so well that their friends seemed confused over the matter, or they didn't get along at all—and sometimes she felt like between the two of them, she was the only one that looked at their relationship from both he birds eye view and the detailed view. They were both getting older and she found that getting older complicated things…being and thinking like an adult complicated things and topics such as the concept of sex, jealousy, and the inevitable separation hover above the two of them relentlessly. Maybe he had decided to forget—or at least try to—about those topics and just follow the current until it reached some kind of destination, maybe he had decided—like many times before—to embrace his motto of carpe diem and just seize the moment whenever the opportunity came, and maybe he had decided that today was a safe day and that it was OK for him to ask her for a kiss, instead of initiating one himself.

She pondered on these thoughts for a while before deciding that now would be a good time to break the silence that accompanied them; it was comfortable at times but sometimes she did feel that if they were left for too long, the silence became strained and awkward…and she couldn't afford for the situation she was in to be even more awkward…she was in his bed, after all.

"Hey Gar…?" She started, not really sure how she was going to go on.

He cocked a brow at her, she noted that he had been doing it more since they had started dating, "Yea, Rae?"

"Good morning."

Raven leaned closer to him until their forehead and noses touched, pausing there for a few moments before her lips finally met his. His lips were soft, but not overly soft, and by the sharp tingle that she felt in her chest, he seemed surprised—but pleased—that she had actually initiated the kiss that he had requested for. She pressed forward once, and with a small smile against his lips, pulled away to end the kiss…but clearly Garfield had other ideas. His hands curled up to hold the sides of her face, through the soft strands of her dark hair and he gently pulled her down closer, as not to finish the kiss, and his lips responded to hers tenderly, and an emotion that she could only think of as annoyance came about when she attempted to finish the kiss, annoyed it had been completely one sided and he wasn't given a chance to respond.

At first, she resisted, knowing full well that despite the control that she prided herself in, there was just an element in his kisses that made her melt under his touch, that made her want the kiss to lead to other things. His lips were drenched with emotion—caution, protectiveness, comfort, lust, love—that sent her and her empathic powers on a drunken high; the physical aspect was all good and well but there also had to be something driving the kisses and touches from behind or else it would leave Raven feeling extremely unsatisfied and exploited…she had experienced it before with the kisses she received from Malchior back then…they were cold and unfeeling and just plain empty.

Her fingers curled behind his neck, supported by the soft pillow that lay under him and she slowly traced the nape of his neck in continuous downward motions, satisfied by the physical and emotional shudder that she felt from him. He nibbled at her lower lip playfully in return utilising his sharp, well-shaped, white fangs to nip here and there, their breaths mingling with each other; her cold, misty breath with his warm, heady one, when she realised midway that they were adults with a responsibility—no!—a job to keep the city safe and that they had to stay as alert as possible, and making out first thing in the morning didn't usually fall into the category of being both alert and responsible, so she decided that even though she was enjoying this immensely—and he was too, by the way his excitement grew as their lips kept contact—she knew that she had to end it; it was, after all, the only logical choice.

Instinctively, she pressed into his lips—eliciting a husky purr from him—for a last, long, and lingering kiss before pulling away from him gently so that the loss of contact with him—with his lips, with his hands, with his forehead and his skin—was lost in one, slow but fluid motion. Raven sat up, her lips still tingling from the kiss, and she pursed them in thought as he flashed a grin at her.

"We shouldn't be doing that this early in the morning. It's irresponsible." She added as an afterthought as his expression changed to that of confusion.

He licked his lips, stretched out like a cat, then placed his hand under his head in a relaxed posture, "Now that's what I call a wake up call." The Cheshire grin grew bigger, and in reply she just hmph-ed and crossed her arms under her chest, "What!? You know you loved Garfield Logan's own sweet brand of lovin'."

"We have jobs to do." She stated shortly, trying to calm down her thudding heart as he smiled at her like that.

He groaned in return, "Duh! We always have jobs to do, we're the Teen Titans." He sat up in his place, facing Raven, "Doesn't mean we can't have a bit of fun, baby doll…plus you are one hell of a kisser, did ya know that?"

She smirked, "As a matter of fact, I did." She laughed throatily as his jaw dropped, causing her to roll her eyes, "Oh, come of it Gar…I know because I'm an empath and felt your enjoyment, OK? Not because someone else told me that I was a good kisser."

"Hmph." He pouted sullenly like a spoiled child, "You could've told me that in the beginning…no need to be mean."

She bit her lip to hide her amusement, "Well, life isn't all peaches and cream, and I can assure you that I'm anything but peaches or cream." Raven paused for a moment before continuing, "I'm going to go and have a shower now, I have a feeling that the criminals are enjoying the fact that Nightwing isn't here."

"Is that an—?"

Suddenly a loud blaring was heard throughout the Tower, earning a groan and an almost triumphant look from Raven.

"Speak of the devil." Raven stated shortly, "I guess the fun will have to wait."

She closed her eyes to concentrate her powers on phasing herself back to her room to get her clothes—there would be no time to have a shower…she was just glad that she got one before she went to bed last night—preparing herself for the cold that came with the black energy she possessed but was interrupted momentarily when she felt his hand grab at her wrist, almost urgently.

Her eyes flashed open, "I'll be seeing you in the Common Room in a couple of minutes, Gar." She heaved a sigh in frustration.

The grip on her wrist loosened a little, but it still held, "I know." His emerald eyes were hazy with…something…but she wasn't sure what it was, "Straight after this—and I don't care if I have to threaten you with Kori's curling tongs to get you to do this—but we're going to go the that bookstore, get you a book, and get some tea afterwards at the local teahouse."

It took a few moments for this to sink in and though there were a lot of questions that she wanted to ask him right now, she felt like this was not the time, "OK."

Finally, he let go of her wrist and she was engulfed in freezing black flames for an instant or so before finding herself in the familiar setting of her room. Without a single thought, she grabbed the first uniform she found in her wardrobe and stuffed herself hastily into it, willingly blocking out all thoughts that didn't have anything to do with whatever the trouble was in Jump City. The fabric was stretchy and though it had the appearance of spandex, it did not itch and it allowed her to move however she wanted to and—as she pushed her right arm through the sleeve—it was dark.

After what seemed to be a couple of minutes, she placed her hood over her eyes so that all that was left to be visible to the naked eye was the lower half of her face though she knew that her earrings would be shining quite brilliantly right now, and at times when she was utilising her powers, so would her chakra. It was this single action that made her think about the normality that was sacrificed when she willingly took this job as a member of the Teen Titans—though, to be fair, she was never normal to start off with—but she quickly dashed these thoughts as they were irrelevant for the moment; if she must think of those things, she will think on them later.

Without that much effort, she whisked herself off into the Common Room and found everyone there—minus Nightwing, obviously—waiting for her, Cyborg being at the head of the briefing of what was currently troubling the citizens of their beloved city. His face was grim, and he seemed to be tired, but for all that, she sensed that he was quite happy and Raven thought that it had something to do with a certain pink-haired minx and their outing last night.

"…this one's in the city centre…the mayor's office of all places, so we gotta act fast."

"What is it?" She asked urgently at the bleak look on their faces, "What happened?"

Cyborg shook his head, "Another fire." He grunted shortly before pointing up towards the roof, "Let's do this, Titans!"

With the unfamiliar command that was elicited by their temporary leader, the Titans flew out of the Tower through the roof, towards the open skies, and eventually towards the city centre where the fires were burning. There was no wind today and though the air was cold, it wasn't unbearable; it only started to become a bother when she sped towards their destination and because of the speed, the cold air had become thin knife-like pieces against her bare skin, cutting cruelly though leaving no visible mark.

She glanced uneasily at the odd pair of the Tamaranian carrying the mechanical man; her with her super strength carrying Cyborg as if he were nothing, and he was swinging unsteadily from side to side at the speed that everyone was flying at though he did not show his fear or his—she thought wryly for half a second—air sickness, and all that she saw—in that very quick glance—was a face that reeked pure leadership, though was burdened with the turmoil that came with it; he was not the natural born leader that Nightwing was but he was a good one nevertheless.

Suddenly, she saw it, a great billow of smoke wafting through the thin winter air, stinging her eyes with flames that were reaching higher and higher, attempting to lick the very tips of the white clouds that were above the fire. It was apparent that her team mates saw this too, as they dived alongside with her towards the fire, ignoring the sharp smell of ash and flesh that came about with fires. As she dived, her chest felt like it was constricting, the mass of emotions from the victims and from the families of the victims were flung at her with such strength that it was a surprise to even herself that she was still capable of flight and was not falling and falling and falling helplessly like a rag doll.

She ignored it.

"Titans!" She heard Cyborg's voice vaguely through the gusts of the cutting wind as they got closer to the, "Get as many people outta there…the firefighters will deal with the fire. Just make sure no one gets hurt!"

There was a vague atmosphere of agreement and understanding before everyone rushed to do their jobs, none of them thinking about the harm that might come to them by rushing into a fire to rescue others that they had no connections or relations with, it was almost selfless if not for the self-satisfaction that came with every job that was accomplished well, and every self-loathing that came with a job that did not go through as planned.

Raven glimpsed at the outside for a mere second, horror gripping at her throat, before following the others inside; it was horrific to say the least, a human barbecue that mercilessly scorched the building and everything surrounding it, the red and orange flames engulfing the white marble like tentacles and the heat was unbearable…it was like a hot summer's day but without the humidity and with a lot of ash. The air tasted of blood, pain and loss; there had already been some deaths, it would seem, but as she continued to pick out the emotions—and the loss of emotions—in the air, she figured—thankfully, but not without some regret and sadness—that there were not that many dead as of yet.

But there was no time to think of the losses right not—that would come later—and she scanned the area she was assigned inside the building for any victims, anyone trapped somewhere in a cupboard or under rubble, anyone who had survived. Her steps were cautious, as she knew with fire; caution was always what was needed as at any moment it was possible that the whole building came down on everyone that was in it. She was alert, both mentally and physically, for any sign of the living, alert even for the dead bodies that the families will want back. There was no one as of yet, but she had to be alert…

Suddenly, she heard something shift and then stop; someone was trying to get out…but the lack of oxygen and the lack of physical strength was probably constricting whoever that was. Raven rushed to the area where she had heard the shifting and was relieved to find, not one, but two people and though they seemed quite unconscious at the moment, they were alive and—though there was an abundance of bruising on both of them—well; her empathic powers made sure of that. With a flick of her hand, she moved the rubble from off them and enveloped them with her powers, until they finally disappeared from her sight; she had transported them straight outside to where she knew all the medics would be, and they would be safer there than they were in here with her.

The air crackled around her, indicating the profusion of carbon dioxide in her surroundings, and without a single thought behind it, she covered her mouth with her cloak, determined to stay alive at least until the last victim was sent back to safety. Rescuing people from disasters always felt different to her than that of fighting off a criminal; they always seemed to be a surreal, dream-like essence to them that made everything seem to go in slow motion, made everything seem less harmful than it really was and now it was the same. There was a sense of urgency, but it was different to when she was fighting, and it was deceitful, hiding behind her senses to make the situation seem less dangerous, less time-dependent.

Another aura pricked at her senses and she removed the beam that was pressing against the woman's chest, breaking her ribs and putting pressure on her heart. The woman was in pain, her breathing heavy, her body twisted in an unnatural way but she was smiling—or at the very least, there was a small ghost of a smile on her lips—and it scared Raven, because she was welcoming death as if it was an old friend that she had not seen in quite a while. Breathing in deeply, she ignored the heat on her back or the ways that the flames seemed dangerously close, and placed her hands gently on her chest, feeling the flows of healing go through her fingertips and into the woman, reconstructing her physical wounds and in return, the pain that the woman had was transferred back to her but it was more numb, like an afterthought, and she tucked it in somewhere in her so that she could forget about it just like she had forgotten about all the other pains she had taken and from whom, in consequence of her healing them.

"Sorry." She whispered, before transporting her, "It's not your time to die yet."

The stink of burning flesh seemed to grow even more the longer she stayed in the building even though she currently couldn't find anyone else. She stumbled around clumsily, gagging at the smell, and at the same time, trying to keep her concentration on finding others. Her eyelids felt heavy, and so did her movements, and she suspected that the heat had something to do with the drowsiness of her actions.

She paused for a moment, leaning on a wall to catch her breath, when she felt it crumble under her weight, sending herself flying backwards, the false sturdiness unable to support its already weak structure. Her back hurt as she fell, the concrete and various other materials poking at her back and for a moment, the pain made her thoughts woozy, her concentration waver…

Crack!

Her eyes flickered open harshly as she heard the crackling sound, and found herself looking upwards to see that the ceiling was falling apart due to the fallen wall, and she pressed her hand upwards, sending the black energy to support the falling pieces; if she had hesitated for just a second, she would have been trapped and would most likely die…it wasn't a pleasant thought but it was still the most likely outcome. Closing her eyes once again, she muttered her mantra hastily, the words tasting bitter in her mouth, and she cut off the connection between the supporting black beam and herself, so that it would stay upright for a while, just long enough for her to gather as many people as possible.

Once that was done, she scurried around the place, using both her hands and her powers to unearth various people out of the rubble; all were alive, all were injured, some only mildly and some were dying and those that were dying, she healed as much as possible without exhausting herself before sending them outside to the medics, to get professional help. It was hard to filter things out now, everything was going on at once; screams were heard, crying, the hiss of the flames, the soft wispy touches of the ash but she knew definitely that her friends weren't anywhere she could detect now, and for that she wasn't sure if she was glad or not…it could mean that they were safe or it could mean that…

She silenced her thoughts ruthlessly.

Her empathic powers picked out the auras of the living, sending her to wherever her empathic powers indicated for her to go, crawling into small corners if she had to, and hovering over piles and piles of rubble. Their auras were like cool pools of water compared to the damning flames that threatened consume the whole area and everything in it and yet…some of those auras died out before she could reach them…detecting them too late for her to heal them before their last breaths were omitted…and every time that happened in this hell that they were in, she mourned shortly, touching their foreheads in hopes that they will journey safely to the afterlife….then sending them outside so that they would be identified by the police and mourned by their loved ones.

There was a particular pair that made her heart ache—not that it didn't with all the others, but this pair was endearing to even the most stone-hearted—it was a man and woman, probably in their mid-twenties, and the male had placed his body over the female to protect her from the rubble that had been coming down on them since the fire started and he had died in the process, his blood splayed all over the concrete, and she had died too. The female had her hands clutching tightly on him, as if trying to fight him off, to deny the protection that he would give her…but it had all been in vain and they had both died in the process…both died while trying to protect each other…

"…Tom…" A croak came out from the lips of the woman.

…or not.

Raven rushed towards her, pushing the debris away from her, gently removing this…Tom…off her. At this movement, the woman growled slightly and tried to hold onto the sleeve of the man even more, and with some force, Raven finally got her clutches off him.

"Tom…" She repeated, other words seeming to get stuck in her throat, "Tom…Tom…"

Tears stained the woman's delicate brown cheeks, making the cuts on her lips and cheeks less significant than her hurt. Raven shook her head softly when the woman tried to grab for Tom, crying out for her Tom, for Tom to live again, for Tom to breathe out her name again. This emotion was beyond her empathic powers, it tore out at her chest, exploding and imploding at the same time…and yet she knew that even with her powers, she could not understand or empathise with this woman truly because she did not love this Tom…did not know this Tom as someone endearing to her heart.

"Shhhh…" Raven urged, attempting to make her tone of voice soothing as she healed the worst of her wounds, "It's going to be OK now…it's going to be OK…"

With a heavy heart, she transported the couple—the man in the arms of the woman—to the outside where they would return from the burning building physically—she noted sadly, her thoughts lingering with the man—if not mentally. To have found a love like that and to have lost it in such a way would break anyone's heart…even those of a half-demon with an obligation to suppress her powers, she thought to herself…it would most likely break her heart if Garfield…

The world in her eyes grew hazy, her eyes stung from the smoke, and her chest tightened as they took in carbon dioxide instead of oxygen. Her feet stumbled around clumsily and her arms tried to spread itself out to balance herself and prevent herself from falling. How long had she been here? The thought came to her abruptly as she clawed at her eyes; desperate for them to see clearly, how long will I be here for? Even in her weak state, she could sense that there was no one left in the area she was assigned to and that her task was done, meaning that she was able to phase herself out of the building and to somewhere less hazardous.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos…" She firmly whispered, her tongue fumbling over the words.

Yet her powers refused to comply with her need to get out of the building, and though some sparks seem to be ignited by her words, there was nothing that could help her…she simply did not have the energy to do anything. Her eyes then directed themselves to look upwards and found that the black beam that was supporting the ceiling was dissipating quite quickly, and would soon—if it did not do it now—fall apart. She grimaced at the thought, and at the prospect of dying; she did not want to die now…not now that she had finally found a family…not now that she actually belonged somewhere…not now that she had finally found what she thought might be love…that she might…

She coughed, "By Azar, Raven, you cannot die now…not now…and not because of a measly fire…" Her words sounded determined but they tasted empty in her mouth.

Her knees buckled under her and she gripped at the ground, trying to find something…anything…that would help her out of this nightmare—no!—this inconvenience; a fire was nothing! She had faced much worse before, much bigger things and a fire cannot be the reason that she is to die!

She closed her eyes once more, summoning as much energy as possible, before trying to phase herself out again…and failing once again…her mind drawing a blank and sinking into cold nothingness.

It was comfortable, this nothingness…cold…but strangely familiar…and with all the nothingness, the ashes and the smoke and the burning flesh disappeared from her senses and she…and she…

Suddenly a burst of emotion slammed into her chest, emotions that certainly weren't hers but felt like hers; they were determined, urgent and scared and…very, very familiar…she knew this person and was somehow a part of her. Her mind sparked at the familiarity, struggling to get a grip on her concentration, struggling to find out who this person was but the other parts of her mind refused to comply, and her vision blurred mercilessly.

"Raven? Raven, wake up!" The voice urged her.

Her eyes flickered open, her senses sharpened at her name and she found herself looking at a familiar face…though it couldn't be his because…because he wasn't supposed to be in Jump City right now.

"Night…" she coughed, "…wing?"

The figure nodded grimly but her weak senses told her that he was amused that she had recognised him. He gripped her arm and flung it over his shoulder to support her, and her legs straightened out so that she would be less of a burden. As her eyes regained some sort of vision, she realised that though the heat still lingered, the flames were starting to look less harmful than they did before and the smell was there, but it was numbed by something. Nightwing had his arm around her waist to make sure that she wouldn't fall as he was running quite quickly now to avoid the fragile structure as he was trained to do. His leaps were light even with her weight against him and he was agile when it came to the flames that still insisted on roaring.

"You don't tolerate well in fires, do you?" Nightwing asked, a ghost of a smile on his lips, "Would've thought you of all people would be able to withstand it, being a demon and all."

Briefly, his grip on her waist got tighter as he grabbed a bar to leap over the hold that was under them and to cross to safety.

Even in such a vulnerable state, she still managed to roll her eyes, "Half demon." She corrected him, "It wasn't like I was brought up in Trigon's dimension." She added dryly.

She heard him grunt in reply before running quickly again, zigzagging past the falling pieces and the licking flames.

"Gotham…?" She managed to croak out as they barely missed half of the ceiling falling to the ground.

"Done. Came here this morning." The short answers satisfied Raven and she merely nodded, "Heard about the fire as soon as I got here. Surprised you weren't the first one to get out." The masked man cocked an eyebrow at her.

"Lots of people in my area; both dead and dying. Had to get them all out. Exhausting work." She added matter-of-factly.

He nodded, looking straight ahead as he dashed towards what seemed to be light, "Beast Boy freaked out." His free hand grabbed at the rubble blocking their way and tore it down hastily, "Wanted to go after you but we all knew that even though he knew your scent, he would've been confused by all the other scents so it would've taken longer to find you. I volunteered." She threw him a look and he chuckled gruffly, "The bond…makes it easier."

She shrugged and found her looking at the light that was straight ahead of them. They were nearly there, and she was glad…she didn't think that she would be eating meat in quite a while. The breeze that came from the outside was refreshing and the smell of smoke and ash was dissipating quickly.

He scooped her up once again and she noticed that his breathing was haggard and both his and her uniform were slightly singed by the fire, but all in all still in the same state that they usually were. She noted that there was something strange though; he was happy. It wasn't that he was happy that made her suspicious…it was because it wasn't the happiness that came with the fact that his friend was doing fine in Gotham…but it was something else…something…

Suddenly, they were bathed in bright light, caressed by the cool breeze and enveloped by clean, fresh air. She heard urgent footsteps running towards her, accompanied by a worry that was cut in deep and relief; cool, cold relief.

"Raven! Raven!"

Nightwing let her down from his arms and she found herself being crushed by Beast Boy in a bone-crushing hug that would've rivalled even Starfire. He smelled of burning wood, and there were bruises and cuts all over his face but he was warm against her chest.

He gripped the sides of her face, his green eyes piercing into hers in disbelief, his breathing as ragged as everyone else's, "Raven…shit…don't ever fucking do that again." He pressed her into his chest once more, holding her by the small of her back, "Don't ever do that again. Shit! Who else is going to make fun of me if you go off and get yourself hurt!?" His tone demanding, implying more than his words let on.

"Everyone makes fun of you…even Starfire." She murmured against his chest.

"Ha ha." He pressed her closer, "As much as I love humour, that might've been going a bit far."

She smiled, her voice croaky to her own ears, "Are we still going to the bookstore?"

"Are you nuts!?" He growled, "OK, maybe not nuts...but I think we should get you back home for a brief check-up first."

"Hmmmmm..."

After a while he finally released her from his embrace only to be bombarded by flashes of light by what seemed to be paparazzi and reporters. She sighed; this wasn't really how she thought about finally revealing her relationship with Beast Boy…but then again it was always going to come out sooner or later, and it wasn't that important anyway…it's not like she paid attention to the tabloids or the gossip shows.

"Glorious!" Starfire squealed and hugged her for a second or two before releasing her, "You are unharmed." She beamed at Raven, revealing her perfect pearly whites in between her dark pink fleshy lips, "It is a good thing that Nightwing showed up when he did. The bond is useful in this way." She giggled before hugging Nightwing to show her thanks.

Cyborg grinned, a thumbs up in one hand, "You got us all worried there, girl. What happened in there?"

"Nothing out of the ordinary." Raven shrugged, subconsciously touching her hood to make sure that it was in place, "I just had a lot of people in my area and I wanted to get them all out."

"Well think more of yourself next time, eh? We don't want our lil' sis getting hurt in action." His red eye analysed her to make sure that she wasn't hurt.

Starfire shot Cyborg a look before smiling at Raven, taking her hand, "Raven has a good heart, does she not? Those actions came from the heart." She defended Raven, "Though friend Cyborg does have a point…you must be more careful the next time, yes?"

She nodded slowly, not really sure what to say. Though she was glad that she was finally out of the wreckage and that she had saved as many people as she possible could, there was something about the emotions around her that set her empathic powers itching. It was Nightwing, she was sure, but she wasn't sure why she was worried about it; he did say that his business was done in Gotham, and the fact that he came here as soon as possible showed his commitment to the team…but there was still something that he wasn't letting on.

"Team, we've got to get to work as soon as possible." His gruff voice interrupted her thoughts, "There was something suspicious about this fire…and about the fires that were here before when I was away." He tapped his chin in thought.

As Nightwing explained his suspicions—because the fires had only started when he had left, and also because they only happened to large buildings or large areas—she continued to watch her team mates' reaction to his return; Cyborg slipped back quite easily into the routine of being second-in-command, nodding as their team leader elaborated on what he saw when he was monitoring Jump City from Gotham, Starfire was practically ecstatic at the sight of her lover come back from his dreary childhood home and it showed by how high she was floating off the ground and by the giggles emitted by her lips…Garfield however, was unreadable, and her tired empathic senses refused to figure out how he was feeling.

Her attention went back to Nightwing, her analysing eyes hidden by the cowl of her hood and pondered on her thoughts and on the emotions that were hers but not hers; he was happy and for some odd, peculiar reason, she didn't like it.

Raven didn't like it at all.

A/N: YAY! Another chappie done!

So, OK, it drags on a bit but...yea...um...can't think of an excuse.

:grin:

Ah, yes, and the tattoo...done in typical fanon fashion (actually...I'm not sure...is it fanon or canon?) but I couldn't resist! I swear! I know it's a cliche but still!

:giggles:

BTW has anyone heard The Kooks' version of "Young Folks" isn't just the prettiest and coolest cover ever?

Hell Yes.

Though I do still love the original!

So anyway, read and review please and hope to see you all back here soon!