Sorry for the lateness!

The next few days were quiet as the Titans did their usual routine of training, patrolling, and the occasional interaction with criminals. Because of all the extended training, the villains were easily taken down, allowing the Titans some much needed spare time to rest. Robin was still in over-controlling mode, but he calmed down when he realized how his team no longer complained about the extra training. Raven knew that when it came to their leader, he was a bit of a softy when he realized that his team followed his orders without hesitation. Raven, though she was still pushed beyond her limits, more so than the rest of the team, noticed her fighting movements were swifter and stronger. Her muscles were firmer, and she could feel a new lightness in her steps. Though she would never admit it out loud, Raven was appreciative with the extra training because the results were rather admiring.

Saturday came by, and Raven was a nervous wreck. Meeting Anthony was one thing, especially since she met him before falling for his brother, and she had gone to visit him in the hospital a few times now without Jason knowing, but meeting Jason's surrogate family? People who cared for him when his own family didn't give him a second thought? Now that was intimidating. As Raven put on a loose, blue circle skirt that reached a little below her thighs, showing off her legs nicely. She put on a eggshell colored, bandage crop top that made a wrap around her upper stomach, a light jean jacket, and she finished off with some light brown ankle boots. Deciding to leave her hair down, the sorceress said goodbye to her friends and transported herself to the edge of Jump City's public park. As she made her way through the park, she realized that she had no idea where exactly the picnic was supposed to be. Taking out her communicator, Raven paused from her walk to call Jason.

"Hello?" answered the voice in the other line.

"Hey," said Raven. "I'm here, but I'm not exactly sure where –"

"I'll come get you," said Jason excitedly. "Where are you?"

Raven looked around before answering, "I'm over by the monkey bars. I'll wait at the bench."

"I'll be there in a bit."

It wasn't long before Raven was standing from her spot on the bench to greet her date. Jason, wearing some blue jeans, and a maroon button up shirt, smiled brightly as he caught sight of her. He jogged up to her, wrapped his arms around her waist, lifting her and spinning her in a circle. Raven let out an involuntary squeal at the action, but wrapped her arms around his neck nonetheless. When he finally placed her back on the ground, he didn't release her, but instead looked at her straight at her eyes, his gaze wandering down to her lips for the briefest of moments.

Raven felt his arms tighten around her waist, and she found she didn't mind it whatsoever, especially since she tightened her grasp around his neck ever so slightly. When she saw his eyes flicker to her lips, her insides tingled at the wave of longing that surged through her veins. Before the courage she was feeling at that moment left her completely, Raven stood up higher on her tiptoes and placed her lips on top of his. If Jason was surprised by her actions, he did well in hiding it, as he didn't falter for a second in returning the kiss that started off slow and uncertain, almost as they were experimenting. Pressing softly against each other as their lips molded together, the kiss became deeper and full of craving that only grew with each second.

Raven held on tighter to Jason as she felt her knees go weak from the effect the kiss had on her. It was like her body was in flame, burning with desire that had been subdued for so long, engulfing her with such intensity that she was sure would leave her insides scarred with desire. It's been years that Raven had kissed someone, and even then it was just out of necessity and desperation for temporary release. This time, the desperation was more permanent, stronger. She needed him to be closer; she needed to feel the flames dancing around her skin as she gave herself over to temptation, even if just for a moment. Based on the low rumble coming from the back of Jason's throat, she knew that he was ablaze as well.

After who knows for how long, both reluctantly pulled away and inhaled much needed air. When everything became less fuzzy, Raven saw Jason grin at her and she couldn't help but smile back. "Hello."

"Hi," chuckled Jason. "I'm not going to lie, but I really like this new greeting thing."

Rolling her eyes, Raven disentangled herself from his arms, though she still held on to his hand, before saying, "I guess it wasn't so bad."

"You know you liked it," snickered Jason, leading her away from the bench. "If anything, you liked it a lot."

"Don't push it Jason."

"You should know better to know that I'm going to anyway."

They continued badgering each other for a while as they walked through the park, stealing kisses every now and then. Jason made sure to make each kiss last as long as it could – to Raven's chagrin. As much she enjoyed the way Jason pressed his lips against hers, it was unnatural for a Titan, particularly the dark sorceress, to openly engage in PDA, especially in a place that was filled with children. She could've sworn that she heard a few cameras click somewhere and was already swearing about media exposure, but those vulgar thoughts were immediately forgotten as Jason pulled her in for another mind-numbing kiss.

"There you two are!" said a voice not far from them. As the pair separated from each other, they found the source of the interruption. It was one of Jason's basketball teammates, the one that had worn the headband. Currently, he just had his curly hair down, barely reaching his neck, and a huge grin on his face. As he jogged up to them, his grin widened. "Didn't think it would take that long for you to get back. Hi, I'm Eli."

"Raven," said the sorceress, taking his outstretched hand. "It's nice to meet you."

"And you finally," said Eli. "Jason seems to be very smitten with you."

Jason let out a groan before gesturing Raven to move forward. "Alright, how about we go introduce you to the rest of the gang Raven." Eli snickered as he walked beside Raven, whispering to her how ironic it was that Jason was sensitive when it came to talking about his feelings when he was willing to make out in front of a crowd of people. As the trio walked over to the group of people surrounding the tables that were filled with food, Jason's smile became more at ease as he was greeted back warmly by the people at the gathering, his eyes twinkling with warmth and joy. As three more guys their age walked up to them, Jason placed his hand on Raven's lower back. "Raven, these are my friends. Mason," the boy with a shaved head from the basketball game gave her a playful wink, "Aaron," the identical twin, though he had more hair than the first, reached out to shake her hand, "and Theo." The boy with the dreadlock gave her a sharp nod, his eyes narrowing a bit as he took in her presence. Raven could tell that he was uncomfortable with her being there, and she was pretty sure on his reasons for being so, but smiled politely nonetheless.

"It's nice to meet you guys," she said. "Jason's told me a few stories about you."

"Hopefully not all of them," muttered Theo grudgingly, earning a warning glance from Jason. Raven looked between the two, feeling the tension, before placing a hand on Jason's chest.

"No," stated Raven, "not all of them. I figure he'll come around to them eventually though." Theo's eyes snapped to Raven's, widening ever the slightest amount. Whatever he found in the sorceress' eyes made his breath hitch before nodding. It seemed as though they had reached some form of understanding.

Clicking his tongue, one of the twins, Aaron, chuckled uneasily, "Well that was awkward. How about you allow my brother and I to take you to meet the rest of the family Miss Raven. I think Jason and Theo have some things to discuss."

"Just Raven, please," replied Raven with a nod. "And sure, that would be great."

"Great," said Aaron. Turning to the rest of the boys he said, "Eli?"

"Yeah, I'll stay," sighed the curly haired boy, waving them off as though it was something he was used to.

As Raven was hauled off by the twins, she turned her head around to see Jason and Theo already in a heated argument. She could feel irritation, anger, and even fear radiating off from both of them. Eli was seemingly keeping the peace, but whatever he said was going into deaf ears as the two kept going at it. However, Raven was soon distracted from the pair's argument as the twins began to introduce her to all the attendants. "Raven, this is Gloria, Theo's sister", "This is Eli's step-dad", "This is our cousin Jeremy, and our Aunt Delia". There were more, but by the end, Raven struggled to tell who was who.

While the food was being set up at the joint tables, Raven was sitting with Theo's sister and the twins. Remembering Theo's cautious behavior towards her, Raven couldn't help but ask, "So Gloria, is your brother usually so…?"

"Moody?" offered Mason.

"Crabby?" suggested Aaron.

"I was going to say preserved," said Raven as the twins just shrugged nonchalantly.

Gloria smiled and shook her head. "No, he's not. He's actually really nice and fun to be around. He just gets defensive when it comes to family and friends."

"I'll say," mumbled Raven. "He didn't seem too keen on my being here, or at the basketball game for that matter."

"You heard our conversation?" asked Aaron, sharing a look with his brother.

"Heard, but not understood," replied Raven. "But I'm an empath. My powers allow me to get a feel of another person's emotions. Theo doesn't seem to like me very much from what I got."

"He just needs to get used to you," assured Gloria, brushing some of her long, straight black hair behind her shoulder. "He's careful around you now because he doesn't know what your intentions are with Jason. Jason and the rest of their group are pretty close so Theo is very protective of them. Give him time to know you, to get used to you, and he'll open up."

"I guess," sighed Raven. Though the sorceress didn't really care about what people thought of her, nor did she ever feel like she needed to gain approval from anyone, she knew that Jason and his friends had a bond between them that united them in a way that she knew too well, especially since she had it with her own friends. Seeing them together, feeling the tenderness that everyone had for one another, the admiration and affection – Raven knew that Jason didn't bring her here to gain anyone's approval; he brought her here so to show her what he wanted her to be a part of. Because of that, Raven knew that for this one time, she would have to care about what someone else thought of her.

"Food is ready!" announced an elderly lady whom Raven remembered to be Eli's great-aunt. "Everyone, come get your plates!"

Raven followed the twins and Gloria to the table, chatting with a few people as they started to fill their plates. Raven was halfway filling her plate when she saw Jason, Theo and Eli laughing and walking over to them. Theo had his arm around Jason's neck, messing up his hair with his other fist, as Jason punched his gut. 'They seemed to have worked things out,' thought Raven, smiling softly. As the boys walked away from each other, Jason went over to the empath, grabbing her burger and taking a huge bite out of it.

"Everything okay?" asked Raven, handing him the plate as she reached for another.

"Yeah, we're fine," replied Jason, piling on more food to the mountain he created on his plate. "Don't give Theo too much thought. He's just protective. He's like the older brother of the group."

"I see." The couple went to sit down on one of the blankets, making small talk before the rest of Jason's friends joined them. Aaron and Mason were arguing about some computer game, and Theo and Eli were debating about some work-related system thing. Raven could easily see why this group was so close. They seemed to understand each other well, whether it was for work or just general conversation. Raven figured that they had to get along to work together for so many things. It was almost unbelievable that the President's safety relied so much on a system created by these five teenagers.

"…so Aaron over here started crying," laughed Eli as he recounted a story of their visit to a supposedly haunted house in Jump City. "He was banging on the door, just begging for us to open it."

Mason, in a perfect imitation of his brother's reaction, cried, "C'mon guys, it's not funny! I'm freaking out – open the door! Ah – something grabbed my arm! Something grabbed my ARM!" Aaron punched his brother hard on his arm.

"Did you open the door?" asked Raven, trying to gain her breath from laughing so hard.

"Nope," stated Eli smugly. "Aaron grabbed one of the chairs and threw it at the window. He didn't even look back at us! He just shot out the broken window and ran for almost three miles."

"It was only two," assured Aaron, as though that made it any better.

"Either way," said Theo, "he lost one of his shoes on the run. And when we finally caught up to him, Jason grabbed his arm, and he just jumped into the bay because he thought the ghost followed him."

Everyone but Raven and Aaron started laughing. Glancing at Jason, Raven said, "Well, being half demon, I can tell you that spirits do roam the Earth and try to get your attention one way or another." Everyone quieted down as Raven spoke, curious as to what she had to say about ghosts. "One thing for sure, if a spirit were to get a hold of you, it would basically claim you as its own human." She turned to Aaron and frowned. "If a spirit were to claim you, it would stay with you until it can take your body as its own."

Everyone stared at Aaron, who paled as the words sunk in. Jason leaned his head into the crook of Raven's neck, biting her lightly to keep from laughing. He knew that Aaron, though he had seen many horrors in this city, was completely terrified of ghosts, to the point of crying like a baby. Seeing his friend now, it seemed like that might be the case. Aaron was still for a moment, but when he saw the smirks forming on his friends' lips, their shoulders lifting as though they were stifling their laughter, his face became red.

"Oh, you're all assholes!"

Raven laughed along with the rest of the boys. Yeah, ghosts were real, but she might have exaggerated a bit to get a rise out of the poor guy. It was good to see that they didn't take it quite seriously. Her friends understood her sense of humor now, but there was a time when they took everything she said to heart, at times making her miserable about how dark it was. These boys were more into teasing each other, playing pranks on each other – 'Beast Boy and the twins would get along great,' thought Raven – and laughing at each other. Something about it made it so easy for Raven to enjoy herself. Perhaps it was because back at the Tower, they could hang out, but the threat of a villain at random times always kept them on edge, not really allowing them to actually…enjoy their time together. 'Shame,' thought Raven. 'I would think this would be something nice to come home to.'

"I'm going to go throw away my plate," announced Raven, taking Jason's with hers as well. As she stood up, she was surprised to find Theo standing as well.

"I'll go with you," was all he said.

Feeling Jason's wary eyes on them, Raven smiled in what she hoped was gratefulness at the African-American male as they gathered all the empty plates and walked to the nearest trashcan. When they turned back around, they found Jason and the rest of his friends discussing something between themselves, thoughtful expressions on them. 'Probably work-related,' thought Raven. Before she could take a step closer to them, she felt a grab on her arm, keeping her in place. Turning around, Raven narrowed her eyes at the seriousness of Theo's expression.

"Yes?" she asked. Theo released her and stuck his hands in his pockets, his serious turning to unsteadiness.

"Jason is good as his job," began Theo, his deep voice giving no chance for interruption. "He's the best of all of us. What we're working on – it's going to change the lives of many people."

"Okay?"

"Jason is also a good person," continued Theo. "When he makes a promise, he keeps it. He does what he can for his brother, and he is willing to do anything to make things better, no matter what it is."

Raven raised a brow at him as he paused from speaking. "I have a feeling you are trying to do more than just selling Jason's good qualities to me. I know he is a good guy. I know that he might do things in an unconventional way, but I can see it in him to do what he thinks is right. What I don't know is why you think it would be necessary to tell me all this when you see that we are clearly enjoying getting to know each other."

"Getting to know each other is one thing," stated Theo matter-of-factly, "Knowing who someone is a completely different matter."

"Sounds like you're trying to warn me that there is more to Jason than meets the eye," said Raven, "that there is something about him that I might not like."

Theo shrugged before smirking. "I simply told you that Jason does what he has to do to get the job done, whether it is for our actual job, or to keep a promise. He's the kind of guy people would look up to if they were to see his intentions. What is not to like about that?"

Returning the smirk, Raven shook her head. "Nothing. Nothing at all." As she began to turn away from him, she stopped as Theo cleared his throat.

"Jason seems to genuinely like you," he said. "No ulterior motives, no hesitation; he actually wants to open up to you."

"'Wants to'," repeated Raven. "He hasn't already?"

Theo glanced behind her to his friends and back again. "You're an empath aren't you? You should know." Raven bit her lip before nodding. She knew from the very beginning that Jason was different, that there were things about him that he wanted to keep hidden. She could only guess what those things were, but even for an empath, going off on feelings is like going off on a limb.

"All I know is that Jason has important jobs that he is highly qualified for. I know that there is more for me to learn of him, just as there is more for him to learn of me. I know that he cares deeply about the people that he has in his life. I know that he sees you, Eli, Aaron and Mason as though you were all his brothers. I know he has a determination about him. For right now, that is all I need to know."

"For right now," repeated Theo, taking in her words. Nodding, Theo stretched out his hand, which Raven gripped with hers. Leaning in, Theo whispered, "My friends and I are willing to give our lives for Jason. He deserves the best of everything. He's found that in you Miss Raven. Just know, that no matter what you think of him later on, what he's feeling for you now will only grow. I promise you, it will be the same on your end. So don't hurt him, because if you do, I assure you, you will be hurting just as much."

As walked back to his friends, Raven finally understood. Theo wasn't worried about secrets of their job getting out; he was worried about what she would do to Jason if she didn't like what she found out. He was worried that she was going to break Jason's heart – earn his trust, and then shatter it. He wanted her to be worthy of him, just as her friends wanted Jason to be worthy of her. 'His sister was right,' thought Raven. 'He was just being protective. But still, he should know that things will get even more complicated as we continue this…relationship. Nothing is just right and wrong anymore. I just hope I'll be strong enough to see the difference by then.'

The picnic continued on for a few more hours. The sky had already darkened, and those in attendance gradually reduced in numbers as time went on. Raven remained one of the last few, watching as Jason and his friends interacted with each other and their family members. Eli and his step-dad were very close from what she could tell, and the twins seemed very fond of their cousin Jeremy and his mother. Theo definitely had his sister high up on a pedestal, and of course Jason absolutely adored his brother, whom they chatted with through Skype for over half an hour. It was almost overwhelming, all the positive emotions circulating through the decreasing crowd, but Raven felt at peace here. Or at least she did until an all too familiar beeping sound rang from her belt. Taking out her communicator, Raven came face to face with her leader.

"Raven. Mumbo's decided to pay a visit to the Alcina collection. He's over by the Jump City Zoo."

"I'll meet you there." Closing her communicator, she ran over to Jason, who had just won his third arm wrestling match. "Hey, I have to go. Emergency over by the zoo."

"Who would want to rob a zoo?" asked Mason.

"Mumbo decided to give the Alcina collection a visit," explained Raven, putting on her discarded jean jacket.

"That doesn't make much sense," said Jason standing up. "Isn't the Alcina collection for the elite only? Why is it at the zoo?"

"The jewels are separated at different locations around the city," said Raven hastily. "Mumbo figured one out, and I've got to go to make sure he doesn't get away with it." Kissing Jason briefly, she fell into her soul self, allowing it to take her to her desired location.

All kinds of different species of birds were squawking and screeching as Raven landed in the middle of the bird exhibit. Taking a moment to sense through the air, Raven was able to locate a heart that was beating with excitement. Running through the different exhibits, the sorceress heard an explosion a few meters from her location, which sent all the monkeys into frenzy, and she knew that her friends had just arrived as well. Before she could contemplate how Robin would react to her arriving after them once again, she saw a blue and black figure running down a path not far away from her. With a raise of her arm, a wall of black energy rose up from the ground. Mumbo, not seeing the wall, slammed right into it, the pouch in his hands flying out.

"Good work Raven," declared Robin as he caught up to her, the rest of their team running up to them.

"Blue boy must've been running fast," announced Cyborg as he went to check on Mumbo. "He's knocked out cold."

"Where's the diamond?" asked Beast Boy.

Raven looked around, frowning at how dark it had gotten. "I saw it fly into the bushes. I can't say for sure where though."

"I'll find it," said Cyborg, turning on is ultraviolet eye. As he searched for the diamond, Robin put Mumbo in handcuffs, handing him to Beast Boy who flew him out of the zoo and straight to the Police Station, and Starfire went up to Raven to ask how the picnic went. After just a minute, Cyborg frowned as he came up empty. "There's a problem guys. I can't find the diamond anywhere."

"You guys are making this way too easy for me." All four Titans looked up at the top of one of the monkey cages. There stood Red-X, his black cape flying behind him, a small black pouch wrapped flauntingly in his hand. Throwing it over to his other hand mockingly, the Titans could almost see a triumphant smirk forming on the half-skull mask. Taking out the diamond from the pouch, he allowed the Titans to see it for a moment. The diamond was round; a foggy blue orb with eight lines, lightning bolts, shooting from the middle.

"The Star of India, founded in 1257. Looks nice, don't you think?" Red-X admired the diamond for a moment before putting it back in its pouch. "I was going to save this one for tomorrow, but seeing as how Mumbo tried to stick his hand in a cookie jar that just wasn't his, well I had to push my plans forward a bit."

"Why are you taking them one at a time?" asked Raven, hoping that Beast Boy would come back soon to sneak up on the thief. "Why not just go for the entire collection at once?"

"Would be less work," admitted Red-X, "but where would be the fun in that Sunshine? I'd rather just keep you guessing. Let's see – which do you think would be next?" Before anyone could say anything, a green hawk swooped down directly at the thief's head, screeching as he aimed for its target. With precise skill, Red-X moved out of the way before Beast Boy could get to him, throwing out some red smoking powder. As the powder died down, Beast Boy, in his original form, fell from the air unconscious. Starfire flew to him, managing to catch him before he hit the ground. Red-X chuckled. "You might as well rest up while you can Titans. I'll see you on Thursday."

He transported away, and as Cyborg and Raven made to follow him, they were surprised to hear Robin ordering them to stop. "He would've gotten away anyway," he said.

"He could still be close by," said Cyborg, frowning at his teammate.

"No," said Robin, putting away his bo-staff. "We didn't have the element of surprise, and he already had the diamond in his hands. Our only way of stopping Red-X is by taking him unawares and being one step ahead of him."

"And how do we do that?" scoffed Raven. "In case you haven't noticed, he has something planned out. There are still nine jewels from the Alcina collection – there is no way we can guess which one he'll go for next."

"But at least now we have one clue," stated Robin. "We'll need to make a plan for Thursday."

Next time on Twelve Lover of Alcina

Red-X seems to get into a tight spot:

"So? Are we finally going to see the face beneath the mask?"

"You bet we are."

And a conversation we didn't know we were waiting for:

"What do you want with the Alcina Collection X?"

"Wouldn't you like to know."

"...I know you're looking for the Fountain of Life."

"Would you stop me if I was?"