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I'm Still Here

They swiftly sneaked in through the corridors of Arsenal and Brain's hideout. It'd only taken a few days for Batman, Nightwing, Cyborg and Robin to locate it, which was rather suspicious because it meant the evil duo wasn't too worried about being found. The Titans still thought they had the element of surprise on their side, but they soon learned the villains weren't completely unprepared.

As soon as they stepped inside a particular room that couldn't possibly be avoided and the doors shut behind them, a high-frequency sound that nearly ruptured their eardrums made almost every Titan – and Batman – bend over in pain. It confused their senses and made it impossible for any of them to focus on properly using their powers to escape. There was Kryptonite dripping down the walls as well, and electromagnetic waves damaged Cyborg's inner circuits. And then the ceiling sprayed a highly effective sleeping gas across the room.

Garfield's instincts had kicked in and he'd turned into a snake as soon as the agonizing high-frequency sounds began. With limited hearing, he could still focus and function properly. He fought back the urge to turn human again when Raven screamed in pain and escaped through the vents before he smelled the gas and passed out like his friends. And then he sniffed his old guardian's scent.

Before Raven lost consciousness, her powers tried saving her. Whenever she was about to go down, they instinctively activated an unhinged form of self-defense mode to get her out of harm's way. She suppressed it, because when her powers did that, she couldn't control them and right now she was in a room with all her friends. There's no need to accidentally murder anyone, Gar got out, she thought as she allowed herself to faint with no resistance.

The enormous Werebeast growled menacingly as it entered the control room. His former guardian was wearing the new and improved Arsenal suit and waiting for him. Brain was there too, connected to a huge computer that seemed to power Galtry's armor.

"Hello, Beast Brat. Long time no see." Galtry hissed evilly. "Is that Beastly form supposed to scare me?"

"I have to hand it to you, Green One. I did not think you'd come looking for us." Brain's calm, robotic voice declared. "But did you really think we wouldn't be prepared?"

The Changeling didn't wait to hear more of that speech before charging at Arsenal with all his might, because his friends were unconscious and these two had tormented his nightmares for long enough. It was time to show them what he could do.

Unfortunately, the Brain seemed to already know. Arsenal's armor immediately adapted to fight the Werebeast, suddenly having the exact defensive and offensive mechanisms necessary to send him flying across the room, hitting a wall and falling to the floor with a whimper. Garfield didn't let it slow him down. He was slightly surprised, but he turned into a T-Rex and attacked again. The armor adapted. He turned into Garzilla next. And then into powerful alien creatures, demons, Krypto and a dragon.

Whatever shape he took, Brain seemed to immediately download every data available on the creature into Arsenal's systems and instantly make the necessary adaptations for him to fight it. It's not that Galtry wasn't struggling, because the shapeshifter was coming at him with everything he had and it was a lot more challenging than the villain had expected, but nothing Garfield changed into could take Arsenal down, and Nicholas could tell his former ward was getting tired.

He turned into small things too, to infiltrate the armor and try destroying it from within, which definitely surprised them. Brain had to work fast to protect the suit from his attacks, but he had access to every creature's weaknesses – every creature to ever exist somewhere in the Multiverse. He had expanded his knowledge considerably since their last confrontation. It was the only reason he engaged against this shapeshifter again, since last time he underestimated him didn't turn out so well. But this time, he would win. He shielded the armor and adapted it to expel the smallest of organisms.

"Once again, Beast Boy, you will fail." The Brain taunted. "No matter how hard you try."

Nicholas Galtry slowly walked up to his former ward while the green boy panted, clearly trying to catch his breath and think of some plan at the same time. The villain puffed his chest. This was it. A bit of provocation and he'd recklessly keep shapeshifting until he couldn't fight anymore. Then I'll finally wrap my hands around his throat and watch the light leave this insufferable child's eyes. "Well, the first thing I'll have to do after killing you is murder that witch of yours in her sleep." He smiled wickedly. "Can't afford to have her waking up and finding out I took you out, right?"

The Changeling's blood boiled. He saw red. His body responded by growing in size, the Werebeast wanting to emerge. No, wait. Focus. Garfield's mind went back to her words. You can outsmart him any day. He frowned as his own brilliantly insane mind worked fast. I CAN outsmart him. I just need to get creative. Let's have some fun with it.

"What are you grinning at, green one?" The Brain asked, with a nearly undetectable hint of worry behind it. Beast Boy looked way too confident for his taste. "Do you have a concussion?"

"Intelligence is power, Brain. You've always known that." Garfield said in a low, sure, menacing voice, smiling wider as he imagined Raven's reaction when she found out he'd quoted her. "But do you know what's even better? Actual power."

Arsenal had to take several steps back, because Changeling's body grew huge, taking a yet unfamiliar form as it shapeshifted into something entirely new. He waited for Brain to adapt the suit so he could fight whatever Beast this was. But something breathtaking happened. There was an enormous, green, hybrid creature huffing and growling in front of him. It was part Gargoyle, part Dragon and part Werebeast, and it was the most terrifying thing both villains had ever laid eyes on. Besides, Nicholas could swear he saw a smug smirk on the monster's face.

"What's wrong? No contingency plan for me, now?" The creature spoke in a chilling, ferocious voice. Garfield freaked out internally. Holy shit I can talk!

Arsenal turned to the Brain in despair, only to realize he didn't know what to do either, because for once, he was speechless. Brain had no information on this creature to prepare proper defenses against it, because this creature did not exist – had never existed – anywhere in the whole Multiverse. Nicholas Galtry's eyes widened when he saw his partner at a loss for words.

The first thing the Changeling did was to fly over to the controls, gripping Arsenal with his claws and dropping him on the way, unplugging the Brain and turning all the traps off so his friends could regain consciousness in the other room. And then he turned to Galtry, feeling his animalistic instincts attempting to take over. This man had oppressed him so much as a child it scarred him for life. And now he could smell crippling fear in him.

Lust for revenge turned the shapeshifter's eyes darker. "Murder her in her sleep, was it?"

"No, WAIT!" Arsenal screamed in a desperate attempt to calm him down. What the fuck IS this thing!? "Garfield…SON, I…I wasn't really going to do any of that."

"Don't call me son."

The creature slowly walked in circles around Galtry, preying on him. The vile man's heart was pounding in his chest. He realized there was no mercy in this monstrosity's eyes and shot at him with the most powerful blast he had as the Brain tried to connect with the suit again – Garfield just laughed.

"Well, that tickles." The dragon-gargoyle-beast mocked.

Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck. Stall. Arsenal held his breath, because he couldn't remember ever being this afraid of something in his life. "C'mon, Garfield, what are you going to do? You're no murderer."

"Oh, but I am. I've done it before."

The Brain managed to connect to the suit again and made every adaptation it could on the spot against this monster based on the creatures he used to form it – but there was still no way to predict what an original hybrid like this would be capable of. He could tell Galtry wanted to run away, but that wasn't an option anymore. There was dark and fierce determination in the Changeling's eyes. "Fight him, you idiot!"

Arsenal made one last effort to catch him off guard. He had been saving this for later, for after defeating him, but at this point he was desperate. "Oh, have you? So have I. Who do you think killed Elastigirl?"

That did not have the effect he'd hoped. The Changeling didn't falter at the revelation at all. Instead, the last shreds of kindness left his eyes and primal, raw instinct took its place. The Titans – and Batman – got there just in time to watch it go down. Arsenal engaged against the…they weren't quite sure what it was, except that it was green, so it was definitely Garfield.

"What the-" Cyborg squeaked in shock. "What IS that!?"

"It's new." Raven whispered in awe. I KNEW it. I knew he could do that. "He's creating creatures."

The others turned to her in shock, but she didn't remove her eyes from him. She was so absurdly proud of him she felt like her heart would rip out her chest. They turned back to the fight and gasped. It was violent. Extremely violent. Hard to watch, even. Arsenal's suit was powered by the Brain and full of dangerous tricks, but Gar's creature was something else entirely. He roared viciously as Galtry hit him with attacks that would have weakened any of the three beasts he used to create this form, but did little to slow him down now.

"Should we help?" M'gann whispered.

Raven shook her head, practically beaming. "No need."

There really was no need. The Changeling clearly had the upper hand. Most heroes, proud as they were, winced and looked away at the violence, but not Raven. She loved seeing him like this, facing his inner demons as he ferociously tossed his former guardian across the room and then stepped on him, breaking the armor. She didn't worry until Nicholas Galtry pitifully crawled out of the damaged suit, bleeding and panting, and Gar hovered over him with fury in his eyes.

Miss Martian urgently opened her mouth to tell Raven something, but the empath didn't wait for it, because she knew what it was. She'd sensed it. So she floated to his side and gently touched his tail, decreasing his wrath. Truthfully, he was already trying to tame it on his own and holding back from attacking the injured man further, but he was struggling with it. And if she could make it a little easier on him, she would.

"Sorry, love." The empath said softly. "I just need to make room for your kindness again."

The raging hybrid stopped at her touch and magical manipulation. Garfield hadn't been completely gone, but the anger had definitely clouded his mind a bit. She soothed him and then immediately let go.

"Thanks, love."

There was a whole new round of gasps, because this dragon-werebeast-gargoyle monster was talking to her.

"You can SPEAK!?" Cyborg was the first to shout the question in everyone's minds.

The creature chuckled, and it sounded downright scary. "Heck yeah."

Raven touched him again, this time for no particular reason. She just really wanted to touch him. She ran a hand over his scales and smiled when he turned to her. Even in this menacing form, there was affection in his eyes when he looked at her. And then he slowly diminished to his regular size, resuming his human form and pulling her into a tight, grateful embrace she instantly returned. Raven also didn't fail to notice how bruised and hurt he was, and it made her heart excruciatingly tight.

She glared at Galtry over Gar's shoulder. "What do you want to do to him?"

The Changeling turned around to face his tormentor and realized he'd never looked more pathetic. Still, Gar's face didn't soften at the sight. "He killed her. Elastigirl."

The empath frowned and nodded. "Should I banish him to the Phantom Zone?"

Galtry's face turned pale as he immediately regretted telling Garfield about his involvement in his adoptive mother's assassination. "N-no, wait…"

The shapeshifter chuckled coldly. "You know what? That's a great idea, love."

Raven's eyes instantly turned white and Nicholas decided to beg for mercy.

"Please, I'm sorry! You'll never see me again, I swear!"

"Silence." The Changeling sternly folded his arms. "You get one shot at jail, Galtry. Cause me any more trouble and I'll let her do it. Understood?"

Nicholas nodded hastily and the sorcerer's eyes went back to their regular violet color.

Batman sighed in relief and walked up to Galtry. He gave the Changeling an approving nod as he handcuffed the vile man and Garfield swelled with pride, because there was obvious respect in his eyes.

"Don't think we've forgotten about you, Brain." Nightwing pointed out to the now uncharacteristically silent villain on the upper floor.

"Ah- yes. I suppose I will also go to jail." His robotic voice stated.

Garfield smiled mischievously, glancing at his girlfriend. "Oh, I have a better idea."

The empath raised an eyebrow at him. "Tell me, love."

"I think he's too smart for his own good. Can we maybe help him out with that?" The shapeshifter asked in an utterly amused voice.

Raven grinned wickedly. "Definitely."

If the Brain had a face to turn pale, it certainly would have. It also occurred to him they would make a great evil duo in a different world.

"What are they talking about?" Conner whispered to M'gann.

She read their thoughts for a moment, because she wasn't quite sure either. "I think she's making him dumber." Miss Martian clarified in awe. "I should help. Raven, can I help?"

The empath's face filled with gratitude as she gave their new teammate a sure nod.

"Wait, this isn't necessary at all." The Brain argued. "I can help you!"

"Oh, shut up." Garfield said as Raven levitated the villain towards them with dark energy.

Within minutes, Raven and M'gann combined their skills to kill a few synapses. The Brain wasn't exactly a person, but it still felt more righteous than having Gar step on him and squash him. Brain would manipulate any villain and escape any prison as he was, so they made sure to take some of his advantages away.

When they finally headed back to Titan Tower, Raven immediately pulled Gar aside for a healing session, because he was stumbling and wincing in pain with every step. She did it slowly, gently running her fingers over the bruises before making them disappear. Since she was well rested and Miss Martian had helped out with Brain, it didn't hurt her at all, and he played with a lock of her purple hair between his fingers while she worked, making her blush slightly.

Once he was healed, Garfield fully enjoyed the praises from everyone else. Even Batman pointed out how impressive the whole thing was. But the best part was the way Raven was looking at him from across the room. She was making him feel warm and flustered at the same time, with nothing but a look. It gave him goosebumps.

"Hey, kiddo."

The Changeling's head turned at the sound of Mento's serious voice. His face wasn't stern, though. For once, it was almost…warm. "Oh, hi."

"You killed it."

Gar chuckled and scratched the back of his head. "I mean, I…it wasn't a big-"

"Don't bother. Your robotic friend there filmed the whole thing." Mento tilted his head towards Cyborg. "Honestly, I don't think I've ever felt this proud of someone." He said sincerely, watching his son's eyes well up. The telepath chuckled and patted him on the back. "Well done, kid! I, I mean…"

"You can call me kid, Mento." He laughed easily. "Just, you know…not to undermine me."

"Right. Sorry. I wasn't trying to…you know…I just wanted to bring out the best in you. Obviously I didn't have the best methods…" He noticed Garfield's gaze immediately – and probably unconsciously – averting to Raven. "So, is all this inner change just for her?"

The shapeshifter looked at his mentor again and smiled. "Nah, it's for me, too. It's all real. But…she does have a lot to do with it. She inspires me."

Mento nodded slowly. "You know…I really like what that girl's ignited in you."

Garfield's eyes sparkled and his smile widened significantly. "Yeah, me too."

Things settled down for a few more weeks as very few villains dared to cross the Titans or invade their territory.

And so a while later, the Changeling woke up to a delicious scent – a scent he'd definitely missed last Christmas' Eve. Raven's vegan cookies. He immediately rose to his feet and ran to the kitchen. She had a Beetlejuice apron on and casual clothes underneath and it was such a wholesome sight it instantly made him feel like the luckiest man alive. He discreetly reached out for a freshly baked cookie. "Happy Christmas' Eve, love."

"Don't even think about it."

Garfield dropped the cookie and gasped. "What!? I thought they were for me!"

"They are, but they're for later. If you eat them all now, you'll complain about it soon and I'll have to make more."

He sighed loudly and headed to her side to wrap his arms around her from behind. She's not wrong. "Okay then I'll help ya! What can I do?"

"No, thank you." Raven stated calmly. "You can cook your vegan dish for dinner and I'll try it, but it's my turn in the kitchen now. Step aside."

The shapeshifter pouted, resting his chin on her shoulder. "But I wanna cook together!"

"Every time we cook together you get food all over me and start licking and kissing me and we let something burn." She said in a slightly more amused voice.

Gar chuckled, because once again she did have a point. "I mean, that's pretty fun too!"

The empath rolled her eyes fondly. "Okay but I don't want these to be ruined. They're my treat for you. So go away and stop distracting me."

He reluctantly let her go and went to sit by the counter, leaning his cheek on his hand and watching her dreamily. "Only you can be cold by being caring. It's so charming."

"Glad you think so."

It didn't take long for others to join them and start making their own breakfast, but fortunately, she'd finished her baking by then and gone over to the couch to drink her morning tea while reading a book. About ten pages later, she couldn't focus anymore, because he sat down next to her and the love and devotion pouring out of him were more than enough to make her raise her eyes from the pages. "Yes?"

"I love you."

Raven couldn't help but smile at him, because it was so sincere and out of nowhere and it was so Beast Boy. No one could get through her thick skin like this boy. "Love you too."

"Do you want to be alone?"

She tilted her head to the side and pondered, staring at his childish, toothy grin. If she asked him, he'd leave her in peace in a heartbeat. "Actually, I'd rather go do some charity. I still need to regain people's trust, and…well, I'm feeling particularly blessed this year and I'd like to give back. Would you help me?"

The shapeshifter's face lit up. "Really?! Yeah, of course!"

Garfield liked giving back. He loved helping people. And Christmas was the perfect time for it. He wasn't planning to leave her side this year – unless she wanted him to – because after everything they'd gone through and her still recent time away from Titan Tower, all he really wanted to do was spend time with her. But now this was perfect.

When they brought it up to the rest of the team, Nightwing thought it was a great idea and suggested they all went. And so the Titans spent several hours helping out in charity organizations in any way they could. They cooked, wrapped presents and entertained. Garfield turned into the cutest animals he could think of to play with children. Raven went a little further. She conjured toys and clothes and healed as many wounds and illnesses as she could manage.

By the time they headed back to the tower, they were as tired as their hearts were full. And then they watched Christmas movies and shared light-hearted conversation. Raven leaned her back on Garfield's chest and her head on his shoulder, feeling much more exhausted than the rest of them because of all the power she'd spent. The shapeshifter tenderly stroked her hair while having his vegan cookies and humming in satisfaction.

The empath chuckled tiredly. "Do they taste good?"

"Mmm." The shapeshifter gave her bare shoulder a sweet peck. "So good." He did the same to her neck, enjoying the way it made her twitch. "So, so good." Finally, he gave her cheek a peck, at which point she giggled quietly. His smile widened. "Best girlfriend ever."

The Changeling decided to make an effort for dinner and cook something he thought Raven would love. So after the movie marathon, he started preparing his best African plant-based recipes. The empath approached him with curious eyes.

Raven sat by the counter to watch him as he peacefully sliced vegetables and mushrooms with impressive skill, with a towel thrown over his shoulder, like he knew every move by heart. "You don't need to make anything complicated, you know?"

The shapeshifter shot her a charming smile. "Maybe I want to."

She rested her elbow on the counter and her chin on one hand. "Well if this is supposed to impress me…mission accomplished."

His toothy grin got considerably larger. "Yeah?"

"Why do you think I sat here to watch?"

He looked up at her and winked in the flirtiest way. "Wait 'till you try it."

Raven raised a skeptical eyebrow, but he just chuckled. It didn't take long for her to understand why. The reason behind his confidence was perfectly clear at dinner. In fact, his dish was so delicious that saying it was the best thing on the table wouldn't be an exaggeration. When the others watched her eyes close and her lips curve up as she slowly savored each bite, they decided to try it as well. Garfield grinned proudly, because in the end even Cyborg enjoyed it.

"You know, this is a lot nicer." Superboy said, glancing at Raven. "Last year was the worst with you gone and all these people depressed, destroyer of worlds."

"Second worst." The Changeling promptly pointed out.

Everyone immediately knew he was talking about the canceled Christmas from back when Raven was being tortured in captivity and shivered at the memory, especially Rose – which Damian noticed, so he held her hand under the table.

Conner awkwardly cleared his throat. "Right, obviously. I just, I wasn't here for that one."

Garfield shot him a forgiving look and Miss Martian smiled at him.

"Yes, well, I don't plan to skip any more Christmases." Raven stated stoically when she realized her friends' eyes were all welling up. "So there's no need to get emotional."

They laughed whole-heartedly and chased the bad memories away, finishing their festive meal on a high note.

Raven leaned in to whisper in Gar's ear. "I need to meditate. My room in thirty minutes?"

The Changeling nodded at her and whispered back. "I might have a little surprise for you."

She narrowed her eyes, unsure about what to expect from that, but it certainly wasn't what she found later as she stepped inside her room. Gar was lying on his side on her bed, fully naked – except for the red and green ribbon wrapped around his hips, tied into a bow over his crotch – with a cheeky grin on his face, fangs sparkling under soft lighting. The empath came to a sudden stop and felt her face flushing while she pressed her lips together to contain the size of her amused smile.

"I thought you might wanna unwrap one present tonight." He said breezily, enjoying the pink tainting her usually pale ashen cheeks.

Raven's face became full of endearment, because again, this was Beast Boy. He would always do everything in his power to put a smile on her face. So fucking precious. "I see." She locked her door and walked up to the bed. "So you're my present, are you?"

The shapeshifter sustained his easy, flirty grin. "Well I can be! I'll be whatever you want me to be." He gave her a playful wink. "You can do whatever you want with me, love. Tonight I'm all yours!"

She folded her arms, smirking. "You're all mine every night."

He chuckled happily and blushed. "Okay, true. Still, I'll make an extra effort tonight!"

Raven's lips spread into a loving grin. "Mmm…that is a nice gift."

She lay down next to a beaming Changeling and pushed him to his back, slowly unwrapping the bow around his crotch without looking away from his eyes and chanting the words to deactivate her powers.

He took in her easy, tender smile and adoring eyes and felt his entire body shiver in anticipation. "You happy?"

"Mhmm." Raven nodded, leaning in to plant devoted kisses all over his face, making him chuckle in absolute joy. "You're so insufferably cute."

Garfield passionately brought his hands up to cup her face and pulled her into a long, sweet kiss, whispering into it. "I'm so fucking lucky."

She smiled against his lips and moaned softly, which ignited a spark in him. He spun them around, pulling away from her lips to kiss down her neck, chest and stomach, dutifully positioning himself between her legs. Raven smiled blissfully as her back arched and he made her let out sinful sounds of pleasure. They lay on their sides after she peaked, pleasing each other all night, taking short naps in between. Green and ashen were completely intertwined by morning, as they got wrapped around each other in the most confusing, delicious ways.

"Morning, love." Raven whispered lazily as she kissed his nose and stroked his hair.

"Mmm." Garfield smiled widely, opening his eyes. "Morning, ruler of my heart."

She chuckled softly. "It's Christmas."

"I know." He said peacefully, rubbing her smooth, firm thighs. "We'll go out in a minute. I just wanna look at you a little longer."

The empath's heart ached and she softly pressed their lips together. They lay there, lazily caressing each other for about half an hour before they decided to move.

Before she sat up, Raven cradled his face with both her hands and looked into his eyes. "You are a present. I don't deserve you."

That tightened his heart in a painful way, because she seemed to have forgotten all his mistakes, but he certainly hadn't. "You deserve everything, love."

She gave him another sweet, cheesy peck on the lips and decided not to press, because she could sense it increased his guilt. "C'mon. Let's go open some other gifts."

It was undoubtedly the merriest Christmas to date in Titan Tower. They gathered around the tree to unwrap presents while couples made heart eyes at each other and friends shot each other grateful grins. Raven smiled internally at the fond way Superboy was watching M'gann open her gifts, the feelings emanating from her, and Krypto's approving barks.

Garfield beamed with every present he got. And then he frowned, looking around, because there was one person who's present he couldn't find. And there was no way this person had forgotten about him. Maybe she's conjuring something for me again.

"It's not under the tree." Raven said, scratching Salem's chin as he climbed onto her lap.

The Changeling instantly turned to her. "Oh?"

"Your present." She explained calmly. "You won't find it here. In fact, I'm giving it to you when we go on vacation."

He folded his arms and playfully narrowed his eyes. "Did ya forget me?"

"What an outrageous accusation." Raven said stoically. "I know exactly what I'm giving you. Which is why I should tell you, I know where we should travel to."

The shapeshifter grinned. "Where?"

"Africa. More specifically, to whichever region you grew up in."

That intrigued him. Garfield tilted his head and tried to read her face. It's not that he didn't like the idea, because he had been meaning to go back, but…it was so different from her previous suggestions. "Are you sure?"

Raven gave him a warm, soft smile. "Absolutely. And then I'll give you your present. It'll be worth the wait, too. Trust me."

The Changeling grunted loudly. "AH c'mooooon! Now you're just killing me with curiosity! At least tell me what it is!"

The empath chuckled mischievously. "Not a chance. Now…" She looked around and took the only present she hadn't opened yet. The one from him. "My turn."

Gar crossed his legs and straightened up, feeling a tad bit nervous, because he wanted her to love it. He watched her gracefully unwrap the first-edition rare magic book she had been after for ages. Her eyes sparkled and she ran her fingertips over the cover, admiring it like she always did with a new book, except this time she had an awed smile on her face.

"How…how did you find this!?"

He relaxed and grinned. She loves it.

"Gar, this…I've been looking for this for…" Raven carefully opened her new book and flipped through the pages. It was definitely an original. Even the energy emanating from it was intense. She could learn so much from this one.

He just sustained his breezy grin, enjoying her reaction. The truth was he had a lot of money and he couldn't think of a better way to spend it than spoiling her.

She finally looked up at him. "This is amazing."

"Anything for you."

His devotion tugged at her heartstrings. That toothy, ridiculously enormous smile. It made her defenseless and it made her melt like butter. She scooched closer to him, noticing everyone else was distracted with their own thing again.

Garfield felt his skin tingle from the enigmatic, yet sensual way she was looking at him. "Hey." He said lamely as she snuggled up to his side.

"Hey." She whispered playfully. "So…look up."

The shapeshifter looked up in confusion and his face lit up. There was something hovering in the air above them, clearly freshly conjured by her magic. "Oh. Mistletoe."

"Mistletoe."

Gar stared into her eyes and felt blissfully trapped in them again. His chest swelled with affection and childish joy. "I guess we have no choice."

"I guess not."

He closed the distance between their lips and kissed her sweetly and slowly, smiling into it when she continued kissing him for several seconds. He knew their friends were stealing discreet glances at them, because she didn't usually give him long kisses in public.

"Think we can get some mistletoe over here too, please?" Cyborg chuckled, wrapping an arm around Karen when the empath and the shapeshifter finally pulled apart.

Raven blushed slightly and rolled her eyes cutely, making Gar's heart soar even higher.

"She's not a conjuring machine, babe." Bumblebee stated, smiling at her boyfriend.

"Thank you, Karen." The empath said pointedly.

The Changeling laughed. "Yeah!" He kissed the top of Raven's head, inhaled her hair's scent and grinned idiotically. "She's the love of my life!"

Things remained mostly peaceful until New Year's Eve, when the Titans had a much less wholesome – but equally fun – night. Sure, they got interrupted by a few crime alerts, but nothing they couldn't easily handle. In fact, at this point there wasn't much they couldn't easily handle. Even Nightwing was relaxed, because the level of power and skill in his tower was bigger than his biggest dreams.

"So are we worried things are getting a bit too easy?" Robin asked.

Dick shrugged. "Not to sound optimistic, but I don't see anyone challenging us right now."

Damian raised an eyebrow. "Isn't that level of confidence dangerous?"

Nightwing chuckled. "Maybe. You're probably right. I'm sure life will find some way to mess with us soon."

"Yeah so maybe we shouldn't be getting so comfortable."

"Good thing you're here to remind me, huh?" Richard elbowed his brother. "Seriously though, let me do the worrying. Now go find your girl before the countdown."

Robin rolled his eyes, standing up. "Fine, fine. But just cause she'll be cranky if I don't."

Meanwhile, Garfield had been dancing with Raven in a half-drunken state, grinding their hips together and hugging her waist.

"Last New Year's Eve we were enemies." She pointed out. "Weird, isn't it?"

He chuckled. "I mean, I never stopped loving you. I'm just grateful you're here now."

"Cute."

"You're gonna kiss me at midnight, right?" The Changeling asked hopefully.

She shrugged, faking indifference. "Maybe."

Garfield pouted. "Pleeeease? We can go somewhere private. You look so pretty and your lips look so soft and besides, it's good luck. We need a good year for a change!"

She fought back a smile. "All very good points."

The countdown started and he beamed. "So I'm getting a New Year's kiss!?"

The empath sighed. "Well…"

"Pretty please with a cherry on top?"

Raven narrowed her eyes and pretended to think about it. She could tell he was eager, but he wouldn't be upset if she refused him. Maybe slightly disappointed, but not upset.

"You're right, you're right." Gar said, shaking his head. "It's just a silly tradition."

"Four…three…"

"That it is." Raven nodded at him.

"Two…one…"

She took him by surprise and pulled him into a passionate kiss. Garfield immediately smiled against her lips and held her tighter, his heart racing wildly. Raven tangled her fingers in his hair, massaging his scalp and deepening the kiss.

"HAPPY NEW YEAR!"

Nightwing was also smiling on his end, against Starfire's lips. Seriously though, what could possibly go wrong?

I'm Still Here (Treasure Planet)