Morning came and Nightwing was, as usual, the first one awake. He sat up and looked at his team. His eyes landed first on Beast Boy and Raven. They were still in the same position, sound asleep. He could see how Raven was comfortable, but he wasn't sure about Beast Boy.

He then looked at the bed Starfire had chosen only to find it empty. He then looked over at where Mockingbird had been sleeping to find Starfire holding Mockingbird protectively, both still fast asleep. He vaguely remembered hearing Amanda cry out in her sleep then Starfire speaking to her in what he'd been told was Filipino. Starfire had acquired the language from Mockingbird before she even became active as a member of the titans. He assumed the young girl had a nightmare and Starfire went to console her.

Mockingbird had sometime during the night tucked herself under Starfire's chin and the older girl had wrapped her arms around her, one under her head the other around her midsection. He would hate to be the one to accidentally wake Starfire up, she was so happy-go-lucky it was easy to forget she was a warrior and waking her when she was in this protective mode was foolish at best as she'd awake with star bolts at the ready.

He went to the main room to see Cyborg had found a way to recharge his power cell and was with an unfamiliar brunette who had brought food for them.

"I'm Thea Queen" she said "I'm a friend of the Arrow…" not exactly the truth but close enough Nightwing was going to let it slide especially since she was feeding his team, something he was in no place to do at that moment.

"I'm Nightwing, I assume you met Cyborg." He said as he looked to see what she'd brought.

"Yes, we met… Arrow told me what happened and I'm sorry you ended up here this way, but I'm happy to meet you." She smiled. "Have some breakfast… Felicity messaged me and told me you had a member on your team that is vegan, so this is his…" she said holding up a bag "Two vegan croissant sandwiches, the rest are sausage, egg and cheese."

They looked up as Raven entered the room looking more energetic than she had since they got there. Beast Boy wasn't far behind her.

"Good morning, Raven…" Nightwing said.

"Morning…" she replied sounding a little more like herself.

After eating Raven went to the training area to attempt to meditate. She wasn't sure if she would be able to get into the right headspace with the fact that she couldn't levitate as she did normally, but it came as easily as it always did.

She had been meditating for a good hour when she felt something on her thigh. She opened an eye to see a small, green animal navigating its way onto her thigh, or attempting to, he wasn't being very successful.

"Didn't think this one through, did you, Garfield." She said picking him up, taking this rare moment alone to call him by his actual name.

He just made several strange squeaking noises at her in reply as in this form he was incapable of human speech.

"Don't know what you're supposed to be… but even I'm loath to admit it, you're cute… even though you look like you stuck your nose in a light socket." she admitted looking him over. He was long from head to rear but his legs were short and stubby, and his fur was longish and stuck out in various directions. She placed him in her lap where he obviously wanted to be and somehow was able to return to her meditation even though she'd never done this before.

Beast Boy wasn't sure why he decided on being an Abyssinian Guinea pig, but he was seriously questioning the decision until Raven noticed him and placed him in her lap making an offhand comment that the form was kind of cute. Before their relationship got serious, she would have never reacted this way.

"Raven… are you okay?" Cyborg asked just as it seemed she was settling back into her meditation.

"I'm fine, Cyborg… just meditating." She replied sounding surprisingly calm for how annoyed Beast Boy could tell she felt.

"Okay… sorry" Cyborg replied and left her alone.

Next Starfire came in to check on her and her response was a little terser, by the time Nightwing came by she was getting downright testy. Cyborg returned and it was clear she was not only back to her old self but getting sick of them coddling her. Amanda needed to be coddled, she didn't.

Sara Lance returned to the foundry and began her workout not really paying attention to the young woman meditating in the corner. She didn't seem too bothered by her presence, so Sara wasn't going to worry about her.

She looked the girl over as she sat in peace, her hair was a dark shade of purple which would have looked odd on anything but her pale, greyish skin tone which made it look like it was natural. Then Sara noticed the gem in the center of the girl's forehead, and it became clear who this was, Raven, the one of legend, the one who was sired by and subsequently vanquished the demon, Trigon. The league had learned she wasn't on this earth thus had no interest in trying to track her down, and it was far from Sara to alert anyone of the girl's presence. She was, by Sara's figuring, as faultless as a child could be of the events of the prophecy, after all a child could not choose her biological parents.

She remembered the back and forth between Cyborg and Nightwing about her and she felt that she was well loved in this team and didn't want to make waves. She watched silently as the teen delt with each of her teammates, getting more and more aggravated with them. Clearly, she'd indulged them a little too much the night before because now they were still in that vein of coddling her and she was feeling more than a little stifled by them. She waited until the animal-shifter left to join the younger girl.

"Let me guess, last night wasn't your best moment and they're all getting a little overprotective." She said sitting down beside her.

"You can tell?"

"Oh yeah… Arrow gets that way with Felicity from time to time, but unlike you, she needs protecting… you… I get the feeling if things were normal, you'd be abundantly capable of taking care of anything any of us could throw at you." She paused "But then, don't tell him I told you this, but he's completely in love with her, he just won't admit it."

"Who are you?"

"Sara Lance… and you're… Raven, right?"

"Yeah, how'd you guess?" then realization began to crash down on Raven, this woman knew more than she let on.

"You didn't have to guess; you know who I am…"

"I know where you came from, I know who your father was, but that doesn't mean I know who you are." Sara replied "Look, if you had met the Arrow and me ten years ago you would never guess that we were the same people as we are now." She replied, "Your team… your friends, they clearly love you dearly or they wouldn't go so far out of their way to coddle you now." She paused "if you're worried that I'm going to go to the Arrow with what I know, don't, I can see by the way you're loved by your team you are good. Dredging that up wouldn't do anything but stress you and put fractures where they don't need to be so… I'm good with keeping my mouth shut, and… I'm good at keeping secrets. I promise." Sara's smile became sisterly as she reached out for Raven's hand. "You've spent your life living down the evil of your father, you don't need that burden… you just need to be you."

"I wish I knew how to do that…" Raven sighed.

"You'll figure it out, I just wish I could see you in action… I get the feeling you are a sight to behold at your best."

"I don't know… my powers… can be… dangerous."

"Hey… don't be so hard on yourself… if I'm right about the amount of power you have the fact that you can control it is impressive."

"You don't know me… you don't know what could happen if… if I lost control… I can't afford to lose control, Sara… but…"

"But you desire the freedom your friends feel… you have someone you love, but you're afraid that if you let go and feel that you'll lose control and put him at risk… the shapeshifter… I think Felicity said you call him Beast Boy… maybe you should sit him down and tell him about your fears. If he truly loves you as much as Felicity seems to believe he does, he'll help you face your fears." Sara smiled sisterly "That's the thing, Felicity is exceptionally good at reading people."

"I know… I just… it's hard for me to express what I feel… I've had to suppress my own emotions my entire life or risk losing control of my powers… now that I can, to an extent, express them I don't know how to."

Sara wanted so badly to hug the girl in front of her, but if she gathered right, she wasn't that much for physical contact. Sara wondered if that was an ingrained part of her personality or just that she had gotten so accustomed to going without physical affection that she didn't know what to do with it when it wasn't on her terms. She knew Raven's powers were tied tightly to her emotions and wondered if in teaching her to subjugate her emotions many of her childhood emotional needs like the need for touch and being shown affection in that manner like an embrace had been neglected. She was still a young girl, still needed to know that she was loved and sometimes that knowledge included being held when she was frightened.

What they didn't know was Beast Boy hadn't gone far, he was listening.

'Raven… how do you not realize I know this… that's why I've never pushed you for more than you've given me… I want you to feel safe, feel like I'm not going to hurt you, not like he did… I'm moving slow for you… I know I could scare you away and I'd hate myself for that. I've fought too hard to get where I am.' He turned and walked past Cyborg with a growl that stopped the cybernetic teen in his tracks.

"B… what the hell" Cyborg said watching him.

"You don't get it, do you… why we kept you three in the dark…" he said his voice subdued but clearly raw with emotions.

Cyborg watched as Beast Boy fought with himself, he'd heard what Raven said to Sara, they both had heard. These were things she would never have wanted them to hear, what he thought she'd never tell anyone, but Sara seemed to understand her better in moments than some had in months. Then some would argue she was more open than she had been when she helped found the titans all those years ago and it was because of their hard work that Sara could get in closer than she'd ever let them in the beginning.

"Na… B… I think I get it better than you think… She was burned bad by Malchior and you… Terra… damn that girl did some damage… and we weren't exactly paragons of support for you." Cyborg paused "B… Rae needs to understand that you get her… she doesn't need to fear… but words, they aren't going to be enough… but you're doing the right thing keeping it low key… build her up and let her know you ain't goin anywhere. The whole idea of relationships like what the two of you have… it's kinda new to her."

Beast Boy looked at Cyborg in confusion.

"Yeah, I know this is not how you thought I'd react… but don't think I won't hesitate to skin your green ass if she gets hurt…" Cyborg said giving the younger man a gentle shove back to where his girlfriend was sitting, unaware of his eavesdropping.

"Get in line, I think Nightwing or Star would get me first." Beast Boy sighed honestly, not sure who he should be more afraid of. Then turned around to go to Raven, they needed to talk and there was no time like the present.

Sara noticed Beast Boy in the doorway before Raven did.

"I get the feeling you two have a lot to talk about… just remember, he needs to know everything, or he won't be able to help you." Sara smiled, finally surrendering to the desire to at least give Raven a side hug before standing to leave them to their privacy.

Beast Boy nodded to Sara as she passed him by, he didn't know her well, but he knew that what she'd gotten out of Raven was a great help to him. He owed her a debt he couldn't begin to repay. Raven stood from her lotus position on the floor and put her hood up.

"How much did you hear?" Raven asked as she hugged herself all the while not looking at him.

"Enough… Rae… why didn't you tell me…" he said his voice soft "I know this isn't easy for you, but… why didn't you tell me you were afraid? I could have done more for you if I had known you were struggling with yourself."

"Because… you know how hard it is for me to admit when I'm scared, and, Azar knows, it's foolish for me to be afraid, but I am… I am terrified." She replied turning to look at him "I am terrified of my own powers, terrified if I lose control that I will hurt you and I love you so much it would kill me to hurt you."

"Raven…" Beast Boy didn't know what to say. He walked up pushed her hood down then hugged her gently "Raven, you don't have to be scared, I know what your powers are capable of, but remember you have control we're going to be okay… I'm not going anywhere. I wouldn't have admitted I loved you if I wasn't ready to show you that every day and just help you face this, you and me… no matter what."

Raven was stunned by how mature Beast Boy was acting in this relationship. She was used to Beast Boy being a bit of a goof but as she entered this relationship with him, she began to realize there was more under the surface that she didn't know, that nobody knew.

Beast Boy leaned in and claimed her lips in a kiss. He had only tried one time to use tongue and she'd broken the kiss immediately, so he never tried again. He wanted to so badly, but he understood that he'd jumped a little too fast for her. She had known what he was trying to do, she'd told him as much, but she had also said she didn't feel like she was ready to take that step. That was almost a month ago and something was driving him to try again. So, nervously he touched his tongue to her lips, silently asking for access to her mouth.

He waited a second sure he had ruined it, and she would break it off but slowly, tentatively, she opened her mouth and let him in. He took the next step slowly letting her get used to the feeling of his tongue in her mouth before prodding gently at hers to get her to interact with him.

At first Raven wasn't sure if she wanted to try this. She had told herself that the next time he attempted this type of kiss she'd let him, but she was so nervous about it so when he prompted it, she hesitated to let him in. She didn't know what to expect as she opened her mouth for him but as his tongue entered, she realized what she'd missed the first time. The rush of pleasure at the contact between his tongue and her own was overwhelming and for once she was glad to be without her powers as her knees went weak and she found herself being supported more by him. She wasn't sure what she should do so she let him guide her. The kiss broke when it became clear they needed to breathe.

Beast Boy didn't say anything, truthfully, he didn't know what to say. He had never expected her to open her mouth and let him in.

"Are you okay?" he asked gently.

She nodded into his shoulder, not fully trusting her own voice at that moment. That kiss had been like nothing she was prepared to take in.

"I… I'm fine… I just didn't expect that to be so…"

"I know… I didn't think you'd let me do that." He replied honestly.

"I almost didn't but… I'm glad I did."

To Be Continued…