I own nothing. Nothing, I tell you! Not a house, not a car (actually, that's a lie), and not even the Teen Titans! I am a man of few possessions (actually, that's a lie, too. I'm a girl with a crapload of clothes)

"So basically we're just running our own little country?"

Raven let out an exasperated sigh. She had expected Richard and Kori to pair up and do their research, leaving her to be with Jinx. But by some cruel twist of fate, Victor declared the pink-haired girl as his partner, and pulled her off towards the Blue team to "spy."

Leaving the pale girl alone. With Garfield. Again.

It was like she couldn't get rid of him, and every time she found herself actually tolerating him, he'd say something stupid.

"Yes, Garfield," she groaned, her elbows resting on the table and her head leaning in her hands. "But with someone like you in charge, it's more like running it into the ground," she muttered.

The blonde let out a snort of amusement. "Good thing I'm the vice president, eh?" he laughed.

Her posture straightened slightly in response; she hadn't expected him to hear that.

"I have really good hearing," he confessed, as if reading her mind.

She shrugged her shoulders indifferently, instead focusing on the flash card before her. Being Secretary of Defense left her with the exciting task of figuring out how to defend their country, which was temporarily named "Logania" due to the lack of imagination her group possessed. Ms. Mae had passed out "Situation Cards" to each student, and it was their job to find a solution to help their country prosper.

And apparently Logania had a bit of a tiff with their neighbor.

"This is so stupid," Raven deadpanned as she tried to figure out a nonviolent approach to her "situation."

Garfield leaned over her shoulder- invading her space was apparently his favorite thing to do- and read her situation card out loud. "'A neighboring country has declared war over a border dispute - it is up to you to take further action.' Huh."

She rolled her eyes in frustration as she pushed his face away. "What's yours?" she asked, hoping to distract him from her fire-y blush.

Thankfully, he took the bait.

"Uh, okay," he began, scooting his chair back to the table. "'The president is sick-' heh, poor Dick, '-and you are temporarily in charge. Please consult your country's Secretary of Defense for your situation.' Hey! Would you look at that!" he laughed, elbowing her softly. "Looks like it was fate!"

Raven glanced towards the ceiling, wondering what she had ever done to deserve this punishment.

"So what's the plan?" Garfield continued, ignoring the dark-haired girl's obvious annoyance.

Casting him a tired glance, she sighed, "Pacifist, remember?"

He couldn't stop his grin as he stared at her mildly irritated expression. "Then we'll settle this with peace!" he declared, raising his fist in the air. "And love, of course," he added, batting his eyelashes playfully.

Raven smiled despite herself- she had to hand it to him, he could be kind of amusing. "Is there any other way?" she mused, batting her eyelashes in return.

He snorted in amusement, looking away from her and back at their cards as he tried to fight back his blush. He was beyond ecstatic that she seemed to finally be coming out of her shell, but he wasn't prepared for the increased attraction he felt for her. Now, not only was she pretty and smart; he had to add "funny" to the list, too.

But he needed to become her friend before anything else could happen. He had tried and failed before by diving head-on into a relationship with a girl he had barely met, and that had turned out pretty ugly. So he was determined to make Raven his friend, even if it led to nothing beyond that.

Raven blushed as well as she pondered over her own feelings. As much as she hated to admit it, he was becoming an actual friend to her- though her expertise on friendship wasn't the best. But regardless, Garfield was nice and seemingly an open-book; something she found incredibly refreshing. She had already dealt with enough lies for her lifetime.

"So how about we just let them change the borders?" the blonde suggested after a somewhat awkward silence settled between them.

Raven arched her brow. "And just let the citizens living in cities on the border change their nationality? Or move?" she deadpanned. "Can you actually attempt to think?"

Garfield glanced up quickly, letting out a sigh of relief at her smirk- she wasn't being serious. Well, at least not completely serious. "Heh, yeah... bad idea," he replied sheepishly.

The pale girl let out a sigh as well when she realized he knew she wasn't trying to be mean. A life full of tragedy and sorrow tended to make someone cynical, though he obviously had no idea what she had been through. Maybe she'd tell him- if she decided to actually let him in.

"Obviously we'd have to call in a meeting with their leader- come to a compromise, rather than a war, but still keep our land. There's not much else we could do, since these are fictional countries and we can't actually have a meeting," she mused, tapping her fingers on the table.

"Yeah, I don't get how this is going to help me with my cat sanctuary," Garfield groaned, leaning his head against her shoulder.

She attempted to ignore their new position, though her blush told otherwise. "It's a government-based club, Garfield. You would have been better off joining the Animal Rights Club."

He let out a bitter laugh, lifting his head back up and looking her in the eyes. "Says the pacifist," he smirked.

She narrowed her eyes playfully. "I did this for my resume- extracurricular activities look great on an application," she explained.

"Oh, so you're just that stereotypical, over-achieving home-schooled weirdo?" he teased, leaning back in his chair.

Raven scoffed in mock-offense. "Well, I'm not some over-socialized bigot," she bit back, suppressing her smirk.

The blonde shrugged indifferently. "I don't know what that means," he admitted with a grin as he laced his fingers behind his head.

The pale girl shook her head in amusement. "That's because you're not an over-achieving home-schooled weirdo."

He rolled his eyes fondly, happy she could take a joke. "Come on, Rae- you and I both know you tagged along for the social aspect; you thought that 'hey, maybe I'll meet an incredibly handsome and funny blonde guy'," he laughed, attempting to mimic her monotone voice.

Her cheeks flushed slightly as she gently smacked him on his chest. "Riiiight- I'm really disappointed it didn't happen," she drawled.

Garfield huffed in amusement as he sat back up. "Uhm, hello," he grinned, motioning to himself.

Raven gave him an inquisitive look. "Pretty sure 'handsome' and 'funny' were on that list, Garfield," she smirked.

He glared halfheartedly at her. "That's cold, Rae."

She shrugged as she stood from her seat, gathering up their situation cards. "It's Raven," she corrected with a small smile.

So I decided to let them continue their everlasting witty banter, but have it be a little more playful- them fighting all the time can get pretty taxing, and make it seem like their upcoming and unavoidable looooove came out of nowhere!

But seriously, my favorite thing ever is banter between couples in denial! All that tension? Ah! I love it!

Anywhoo, review?