Guess who's back? Foamy's back, tell a friend! *music in the background*

*stops and looks at readers before easing over to the boombox and cutting it off* Oh...ahem...Welcome back! I got another chapter of this story out sooner than I thought I would. I figure there 'might' be two more chapters of this left in me. I haven't decided, but I will admit that I enjoyed the hell out of writing this. Now for my lovely reviewers!

Toto01- Wait no more my friend! Enjoy!

Artemis Raven Courtney- Aint it tho? lol. Ngl, his reaction to Aqualad's BS mimics my own.

Detrametal- I'm happy you liked it! I hope you like this one too, especially since I'm of the line of thinking that a certain reaction is unique amongst the various fanfic on the site :D

RPGPersona- Wish granted, my friend! It's not what I would call lengthy, but the volume of characters I added makes up for it (I hope)

Mind - Thank you, I hope you like this one too!

ForThereWillComeSoftRains- Thanks dude, I'm glad you liked it! Enjoy this one as well! (It's full of fluffy goodness!)

Sparity101- I like to think so lol. Here's to hopin' you like this chapter too!

Mochafraptor- Thankee kindly friend. Enjoy this one while yer at it!

Slayershero3- Thank you for your words, my friend. Here's another chapter (hopefully as enjoyable as the tofu bacon smothered in bbq sauce lol)

Tsubaki87- OMG dude, i am sooooo sorry! That's gotta suck! But at least I cheered you up :D Enjoy this chapter too!

Taygon55- Thanks lol. As for his past, when I get around to finishing my plotline for the next chapter it'll be all about his past (and his current relationship with Raven). And yes, I sidestepped Terra.

Why?

Because fuck that bitch. That's why.

And with that, I bid thee adieu. Read and Review please! And welcome to the next chapter of...

The Legend of the Beast:

One Family

"Raven...are you…are you pouting?"

"No." Came the sullen reply.

"Oh my god…you're actually pouting…"

"I am not!" The empath snapped.

"Jesus Christ, Raven, he's only on the roof with Cyborg!" Nightwing shook his head.

"So what?" Raven huffed. "He can do as he likes, he doesn't have to be around me all the time."

The capeless crusaders' eyebrow rose. "Oh really?"

"Yes!" She snapped again before going back to the book she was reading.

"Okay okay, you aren't pouting." Nightwing threw up his hands in defeat before a grin snuck on his face. "But tell me one thing…"

Raven glared up at him. "And what would that be?"

"Why have you been reading your book upside down for the past hour?"

She looked down at said book and scowled. "You obviously distracted me so much that I turned it upside down."

Her team leader snorted amusedly as he walked away. Raven huffed and turned her book rightside up and tried to get back to reading.

But try as she might, she couldn't do it. It was all Garfield's fault that she couldn't focus.

Yeah, that had to be it.

The more she thought about it the more she was certain that was the truth. After all, they had become even closer ever since his little spat with Aqualad few weeks ago. She had never considered herself the type of girl that needed to be defended like that, but it was actually kind of thrilling to watch him beat the arrogant Atlantean into a pulp. And the fact that he had stood up for her not because she wanted or needed him to but because he wanted to had not been lost upon the empath.

Unable to concentrate, she set the book to the side with a sigh. Garfield was on the roof with Cyborg, helping him test the new rocket boots her older brother had been so determined to make for himself. He had said that he had finally gotten tired of not being able to fly like the girls or even glide like Nightwing could from a tall building.

Unfortunately, Cyborg weighed A LOT more than everyone else.

That means finding the right power placement, the right amount of thrust, and the right weight displacement was his top priority in becoming more mobile on the battlefield.

"Crap crap crap crap crap crap CRAAAAAAAAAA-"

Raven glanced at the window just in time to see Cyborg sputtering around outside it before he dropped out sight like a twelve ton brick. A huge green shape followed only seconds after and Raven smiled.

At her suggestion, Cyborg had begun to teach the shapeshifter about dinosaurs, mostly the tyrannosaurus rex, the pterodactyl, and the ankylosaurus; attack, mobility/flight, and defense. He had done remarkably well the first time with all of them, though to their surprise it was his first time flying as something that wasn't an insect. His first flight had been something of a panicky situation when it looked like he was going to smash headfirst into the ground but he pulled up right in the nick of time.

Raven had yelled at him for forty five minutes for scaring her to death like that.

The changeling had chuckled softly before rubbing noses with her. "Raven isn't getting rid of Gar that easily."

"I don't want to get rid of you at all." She had mumbled back before leaning her head onto his chest. He had wrapped his arms around her and told her over and over that he wasn't going anywhere until she calmed down. She made him promise to be more careful and he did just that.

It had sincerely bothered her for a while that she almost had a panic attack over his near death experience. It wasn't that she was denying her attachment to him. In fact, she was fairly open about it now, just not to the extent of accepting being his mate. The other Titans simply referred to them as boyfriend and girlfriend, which had confused the changeling greatly. She had had to explain the terms as "possible life-mates".

His response was a huge smile and nuzzling her chakra, which had left her floating around the tower giggling once again.

The sight of Cyborg being carried in the claws of flying dinosaur Garfield drew her attention from her musings. She sighed once more in frustration.

Okay, maybe she was pouting.

Maybe she was bored without him around.

Maybe she was jealous that he'd spent all day with Cyborg instead of with her.

Maybe she should just go join them on the roof.

Maybe she should kis-

"Raven!"

She yelped in fright as Garfield's face suddenly appeared in front of her. Despite her surprise, she decided to play a little joke on him. Grabbing at her heart and covering her face with her cloak, she swooned to the side and fell over onto the couch.

"Raven?" Garfield asked confusedly as he poked her leg gently. When she didn't react, he poked her harder. Still nothing. He frowned. He could literally hear her heart beating just fine, so what was she doing? Playing dead?

A mischievous grin found its way on his face a moment later.

He set his hand on her knee and slowly began to spider-walk it up her leg. He felt her shiver underneath his touch as he reached her thighs. His grin widening, he slowly continued upwards. When his fingers brushed her inner thighs, he heard her heart skip a beat. When his fingers crawled up her waist, she shivered again.

When his fingers reached her ribs, she abruptly sat up.

"Okay okay! Enough!" She yelled as she pulled up her hood to hide her red face.

Garfield chuckled. "Can't play possum with a possum, Raven."

She stuck her tongue out at him and was completely unprepared when he rushed up to her face. Wide eyed, she was staring at him with her tongue still out as they came nose to nose.

"Is that an invitation?" He growled softly.

"I-I-I don't know." She stammered as she looked deep into those emerald tunnels that were his eyes. She could see what he was asking for and it made her shiver in anticipation.

"Ooookaaaay you two, take it to another room!" Cyborg called out.

Raven snapped from her euphoric stupor instantly and turned to look over the couch at her chuckling teammate.

"You should have seen her a while ago, Cy, she was pouting!" Nightwing called out from behind his newspaper. Raven glared daggers at him as Cyborg started laughing more.

"I'm sorry Rae, I didn't mean to hog all his time" The cybernetic man grinned cheekily. "You two can go make out now, don't mind me."

Before Raven could retort, Garfield spoke up. "I don't know what making out is, but if Raven is involved I want to do it!"

You could have heard a feather drop onto a shag carpet in the silence that preceded the monumental laughter that came from Cyborg and Nightwing. Her face as red as Starfire's hair, Raven turned and tried to scold the changeling.

"Garfield! You can't just agree with anything they say!"

A sad look came across his face. "But Raven, I want to do everything with you."

Raven made a face that sent her friends into borderline comas of amusement. Cyborg was now laughing so hard that he had fallen over and was rolling around on the floor. Nightwing, on the other hand, had to set his newspaper down so that he could lean on the table. Even Starfire, who had been trying to be quiet, was tittering with laughter off to the side.

"WILL YOU GET YOUR MINDS OUT OF THE GUTTER?!" Raven roared as her eyes split into four shards of crimson rage. The shadows about her coalesced into a towering visage of herself and tendrils of dark magic slithered towards her teammates.

"But friend Raven, none of us mentioned anything dirty." Starfire said gleefully. "You were the one who thought something of the promiscuous manner."

"YOUR DEATHS WILL LOOK LIKE AN ACCID-" Raven's threat tapered off into a yelp as Garfield swept up from behind and wrapped his arms around her waist. Before she could understand what was happening, he had slid his arms up to tuck under her breasts and swung her around. The green teen took the purple teen over to the window and set her before it. She turned around, completely embarrassed with how he had frog-marched her over there and opened her mouth to scold him for it when he put a finger to her lips.

"Raven." He said quietly. "Don't be mad at them. Be mad at me for not understanding."

She faltered. "How am I supposed to be mad at you for that?"

He shrugged. "It doesn't matter how. But they have been your packmates for a long time now. They might be extra pressing it wrong, but they are happy that I can make you feel good."

"It's expressing, Gar." She sighed. She stared off into space for a moment before nodding. "Alright, I won't kill them."

Garfield raised an eyebrow. "But…?"

Raven smiled darkly and turned her head to look at her giggling friends. The look on her face killed their laughter immediately.

"Starfire, why don't you ask Nightwing what he really thinks about your cooking? And Cyborg, why don't you tell Nightwing about that little secret project hidden behind the back wall in the garage?"

"Secret project?" Her team leader snapped his head towards Cyborg, who had paled to a lovely shade of light brown. Fortunately, he was saved by the resident alien princess.

"Boyfriend Richard, what does friend Raven mean? I was of the opinion that you enjoyed my cooking…"

It was Nightwings' turn to pale as he struggled to find an answer. "I…um…It's really….let's see…oh, would you look at that? I left the security cams running, better go turn them off!"

He ran out the door without another word, followed by a confused Starfire. "But Richard, I thought we were to leave the cameras on at all times?"

Cyborg turned to Raven, an upset frown on his face. "Raven! I thought you weren't going to tell him about that?!"

"I don't like being mocked." She said flatly. "The teasing isn't so bad, but that was taking it too far."

"That's because the only teasing you like comes from Tarzan over there." Cyborg muttered under his breath as he stomped out of the room.

Now that she had Garfield's attention all to herself, Raven knew just what she wanted to do with him.

"No matter how many times I see it, it still weirds me out." Bumblebee shook her head.

Cyborg glanced up from the kitchen counter, where he was making a sandwich. "Why is that, Bee?"

The black girl gestured to the sight before her on the couch as she spoke quietly. "This is Raven we're talking about. Excuse me if I'm not used to her snuggling a guy, not to mention having a boyfriend."

Fortunately, said empath was blissfully unaware of the conversation going on around her seeing as she was sleeping peacefully on top of the dozing Garfield. She gave a slight twitch and tried to snuggle moreso into his chest as his strong and steady heartbeat continued its rhythmatic lullaby. Her cloak was spread out on top like a blanket and Garfield had his arms wrapped around her as she slept. The look on her face was one of utmost tranquility and it made Bumblebee slightly jealous.

"Seriously." The insectile heroine pouted. "I don't remember the last time a guy held me like that."

Cyborg stopped mid bite of his sandwich and glanced at her. They had dated for a while about a year or so ago. It had been a fun relationship while it lasted and they had parted as good friends.

She felt his eyes on her back and her shoulders sagged. "Yeah, I know, Sparky."

He gave a little shrug and started chowing down again. He had come to terms with their parting, but sometimes seemed that Bumblebee hadn't. It wasn't that he didn't hurt from it, it was more that he had accepted it and used that hurt to reforge his confidence with the opposite sex from thereon out.

"I thought you and Malcolm were talking?" He asked through a mouthful of food.

"That's just it…we're talking." She grumbled. "I've dropped a dozen hints over the past few weeks but he just doesn't seem to be catching on."

Cyborg chuckled very quietly to himself. He knew that Malcom, better known as the Herald (the leader of Titans West), was very much interested in the black and yellow clad heroine. But Malcolm was a very laid back guy with a deep passion for romantic jazz music. He'd keep Karen (Bumblebee) on her toes for just long enough for her to get frustrated, then swoop in with some outrageously romantic date that would make her fall head over heels for him.

The tin man took a sip of his soda while contemplating. Malcolm would take good care of Karen and they would be happy together. But would they be as happy as Raven is right now?

Not likely. He snorted in amusement.

Beside him, Speedy looked up from his sandwich. "Hm?"

Cyborg shook his head. "Nothing man. Anyone know when the rest of the Titans will be arriving?"

"West will be here within the hour." Nightwing called out from the other side of the room. "South will be arriving shortly afterwards and North will be here within about fifteen minutes of them."

The cybernetic man rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "We should keep them out of here until they all get here, then let them meet Garfield."

Nightwing's eyebrow rose. "You just want to embarrass Raven, don't you?"

Cyborg smiled innocently. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Is that…Raven…snuggling a guy?"

"Are you kidding me?"

"The Ice Queen of Darkness looks so calm and relaxed right now. This is a joke, right?"

Said empath groggily opened her eyes to find herself surrounded by what appeared to be every member of the Titans group. But that was a silly thought. Why would they all be here? She blinked and rubbed her eyes as she sat up, her mussed hair swaying freely as she looked about. Something about where she slept felt funny too. Looking down, she found that she was now straddling the bare chested changeling she had become rather attached to.

"Oh my god, she really was!" Someone whispered loudly.

Her eyes widening, Raven looked around once more. Everyone really was here, staring at her sitting on top of Garfield. As the implications of their position sank into her mind, she did the only thing she could think of.

She panicked.

Blushing furiously, she opened a dark portal underneath herself and the changeling and they disappeared into it. They landed unceremoniously with a thud onto her bed, which woke the changeling instantly.

"Wha-? Raven? What's wrong?" He sat up instantly and wrapped his arms around her.

"T-the other Titans are here!" She stammered. "WHY?!"

Garfield nuzzled her chakra, effectively calming her down. "It's okay Raven. You said we're all the same pack, so what's wrong with them coming to see us?"

She sighed and shook her head. "Nothing, I was just surprised."

He laughed. "You don't panic like that when I surprise you!"

"That's because your surprises are a lot more pleasant." The empath mumbled. The changeling laughed.

A knock on the door drew their attention as a muffled voice spoke. "Hey Raven, Garfield, come meet everyone. Y'all can make out later!"

"Cyborg!" Raven hissed. "I'll get him for that!"

Ripping the door open with her magic, Raven found the cybernetic man hauling his metal ass down the hallway as quickly as he could. His amusement could be felt quite clearly to the empath and it made her seethe with anger.

"Azarath Metrion Zintho-oh!" Her incantation was cut off as Garfield swept up behind her once more and picked her up princess style in his arms.

"W-what are you doing?! What if someone sees us?!" She stammered. Back in her bedroom, her embarrassment shattered her bedroom window.

"Let them look!" Garfield grinned. "I got the bestest girlfriend on the entire universe!"

She was so embarrassed that she couldn't even correct him. Instead, she wiggled from his arms and took him by the hand. Even though he was smiling like a fox in a henhouse, she had to repeat her mantra in her head to stop her powers from going haywire.

It was ridiculous, really. She hadn't had this kind of problem keeping herself under control when she dated Robin and most certainly hadn't had this kind of problem with Malchior. But Garfield brought out this raw feeling in her, this desire for his attention that was so powerful that she didn't give the slightest damn what happened with her powers.

All she wanted was this wonderful feeling he made her feel.

They made their way to the common room quickly and quietly. On the other side of the door she could feel the score or so members of the Titans group. It felt like everyone was there, even from the farthest branches of their little family.

A tugging sensation on her hand made her look back into the eyes of a very upset Garfield.

"What's wrong?" She asked instantly.

"Something…feels…wrong in there." He shivered. "Like…a sickness…but it feels like Star's starbolts too…"

"It feels wrong but feels like Starfire's starbolts?" Raven repeated to herself as she thought. "So, what, you can feel someone's energy?"

Garfield gave a little shrug. "I don't know. It just doesn't feel right. I don't want to go in there and I don't want you going in there either."

She thought about it for a moment. "Gar, I'll be fine going in there. Just give me a minute to see about what you're feeling and see if I can make it go away. Okay?"

She sensed his extreme reluctance as he released her hand. Before she turned away, however, he leaned forward and nuzzled her chakra.

"Come back, okay?"

Her heart aching with his concern for her well-being, she nodded and proceeded through the door. Every head in the room instantly turned towards her, many grins painted on faces like graffiti on a wall.

She held up her hands. "Before anyone jumps on the hype train, I need to know who has energy-based powers that can be confused with sicknesses."

"That's…a weird thing to ask." Killowatt called out. She glanced at the electrical man.

"That it is, but it's bother him quite badly. He refuses to come into the room."

Aqualad gestured to the assembled people. "The only ones I know of that are really energy based are Argent, Starfire, and Cyborg."

"That is not true." A voice with a thick accent called out. Many people parted and a tall, powerfully built foreign man stepped forward.

"I believe I am responsible for your…companions discomfort." He said after an awkward pause.

"Red Star! Of course, radiation sickness!" Raven almost slapped her forehead, having cleanly forgotten he was attending. "Can you do something about lowering your passive power output?"

He nodded immediately. "Of course."

Within seconds he had done so and almost immediately afterwards Garfield poked his head through the door.

"Raven!" He called out.

"I'm here, Gar!" She called back. "It's safe now, come on in."

He strode through the door and made a beeline straight for the empath. Despite the fact that he could hear people whispering about his green skin and heavily scarred body (he was wearing a white tanktop and khaki shorts), he only had eyes for the violet haired girl before him. He didn't hesitate to wrap his arms around her waist when he got to her.

"Raven safe?" He asked as he leaned down to inspect her.

"Of course, Gar. These are my friends, they wouldn't hurt me." Raven responded, surprising him with a nose rub. She could feel the shock of her teammates washing over her, but she didn't care.

Garfield let out a sigh and pressed his forehead to her chakra. "Good, I was worried."

She couldn't stop herself from smiling at him (eliciting another shocked reaction from her friends). "It's okay, Gar. Really. Now let me introduce to you."

Within minutes, Garfield was introduced to Red Star (who apologized profusely for upsetting the shapeshifter) and his team, Titans North, which consisted of Kole (a pink haired girl who could turn into diamonds), Gnark (an ancient caveman with superhuman strength and durability), Jericho (a guy who could possess people by locking eyes with them), and Argent (a girl with an energy based power that was used to create constructs of said energy). Next up was Titans South, which was led by Hot Shot (who flinched as they shook hands), Pantha (a super strong and super durable woman from Mexico), Wildebeest (an animal-human hybrid native of Africa), Sandstorm (a very polite young woman from Egypt with sand manipulating powers), and Killowatt (an electric man).

Titans East Garfield had already been introduced to, though Aqualad greeted him in a much friendlier (and slightly subservient) manner. Of Titans West, he knew the Herald (a dark skinned man with a magical horn), then met Bushido (a silent foreign man with impeccable swordsmanship), Kid Flash (a young man with insane speed), and Wonder Girl (who was some sort of warrior from a tribe hidden on an island somewhere).

After that he was introduced to some of the members of the farther branches and affiliates of the Titans group. Titans Europe consisted of a white haired girl called Ravager (an ex assassin), a red skinned man called Kid Devil (who smelled of sulfur and fire, much to the changelings dislike), a strangely armored man with a strange accent called Blue Beetle (he had quite a strange lump on his back that spoke to him), and a tall and well-dressed young man in blue named Captain Marvel Junior (what the junior part meant, Gar would never know).

In addition to them, he met quite a few others who were 'part-timers' as Raven called them. There was Static (a dark skinned electric man that Gar instantly took a liking to), a foreign man named Bunker (who could create energy constructs and smelled strongly of other males), a tall and powerfully built young man named Superboy (who was, as Cyborg said, "a freaking tank made flesh"), Superboy's green shapeshifting girlfriend Miss Martian (Garfield was ecstatic about meeting someone that was like him up until the point where they explained she was from another planet where this was natural to her; he still liked her anyways), Bat Girl (whom strongly reminded Gar of Nightwing for some reason), a young man named Red Robin (again, someone who reminded Gar of Nightwing; perhaps they were related?), Thunder and Lightning (two brothers who had the power of their elements and loved pranks), a young blonde woman with a bow and arrow who introduced herself as Artemis (she smelled like she was Kid Flashs' mate), a man wearing red and white named Hawk (who was described as super strong and durable like Superboy), a woman named Dove (who apparently had some sort of light based powers along with being like Hawk), and a dark skinned man that smelled similar to Aqualad (He named himself Kaldur'ahm and stated that he was Atlantean like Aqualad).

"So many packmates!" Garfield said, holding his dizzy head as he dropped onto the couch next to Raven. The empath immediately held a glowing blue hand up to his temple and focused. The ache in his skull disappeared after a moment, making him smile at her and rub noses once more. "Thank you Raven."

Blushing, she returned his gesture and leaned into his side. She looked around the room, noting the surprised looks on everyone's faces. Casting her eyes away from them, she spoke. "What?"

"I'm sorry, Raven, it's just…unusual to see you…like this." This came from Captain Marvel Junior, who was rubbing his chin.

"Yeah, I totally wasn't expecting to see you all snuggled up to a guy." Static joked from the other side of the room. Raven glared at him.

"Are you implying that I'm incapable of feeling affection for someone?"

Static shook his head and held his hands up in surrender. "No! No no no no no! I'm just saying that…well…um…"

"Yer kind of an unapproachable hardass, Raven." Ravager called out from Kid Devil's lap, where she was comfortably reclining.

"Oh, shut it Rose." Raven huffed. "You're still mad that I turned you down."

The sword wielding heroine shrugged. "Your loss. We could have had fun."

On the other side of her, Blue Beetle nudged Red Robin. "Pay up, amigo, she's not lesbo."

The red suited young man scowled and pulled out his wallet. On the other side of him Kaldur'ahm spoke up. "I believe what they are trying to say is that, while we are all happy to see you so jubilant, it is a tad…shocking."

Raven huffed once more. "I'm not the unfeeling harpy everyone seems to think I am."

"Woah, Raven, no one ever said or thought that!" Superboy called out from the kitchen. "I mean, I know I called you that once, but I apologized and meant it."

After a moment of thought, the empath nodded. "I know, Connor. Thank you."

"You said he's like an animal, right?" Kid Flash popped up in front of the changeling. "So that means he's got animal reflexes, right? How fast is he?"

"I like to think I'm quick." Garfield grinned at the speedster before hopping up. Kid Flash flashed him a grin and began racing around the changeling. Gar's eyes got really distant for a moment before his hand snapped out.

Kid Flash raced away, laughing. "Good luck with that! Nobody here can catch me!"

"I don't think I can catch you, but I almost can." Gar grinned as he held up something. Kid Flash peered at it before gasping and reaching up to the ear piece of his mask. The changeling had ripped off one of the lightning bolts of his costume!

"How what who why HOW?!" The speedster sputtered.

His grin widening, Garfield tossed the piece to its owner. "I watch TV when Raven isn't around. This cool show called Animal Planet told me that there are flies that react at speeds of something called millipede seconds. Since I can turn into that fly, I figured I could move as fast as it too!"

"Its milliseconds, Gar." Raven chided him softly.

The changeling nodded. "Milliseconds, right. I'm sorry Raven."

She waved her hand at him. "It's fine Gar. I know you're still learning English."

"Tio verde here doesn't speak too well, huh?" Bunker said as he got up and approached the shapeshifter. He leaned against Garfields' shoulder nonchalantly. "I could teach him a few things, eh?"

Raven frowned. "Miguel, don't even think of hitting on him."

"What is hitting on?" Gar asked, his face screwing up in confusion.

"That means he finds you attractive!" Kid Devil laughed, as did several other Titans.

"He does?" Gar looked at Bunker. "But shouldn't you be looking for a female as a mate?"

Bunker paused and shook his head. "I…uh…like guys."

"You look for males as mates?" Gar asked, wide eyed. "Why?"

The Latino hero gave him a little shrug. "It's just who I am, tio verde. I like guys."

Garfield tilted his head in thought as he looked at the strange male before him. He gave it several minutes thought before he shrugged. "Okay."

Bunker stared at him. "That's it? Just okay? You're not going to make fun of me or ask me all sorts of weird questions?"

"Why would I?"

The open honesty the changeling's face left the homosexual hero speechless. A large number of people shunned him for his sexual preferences and just as many harassed him about it. But this weird guy in front of him was completely and totally accepting it as if it were nothing.

"Look, someone actually shut Bunker up." Cyborg snorted and nudged Nightwing. There were multiple snickers and some chuckling going on as the Latino quietly made his way back to his seat next to Static. Garfield, unphased, hopped back on the couch next to Raven. The empath was smiling as she leaned into his arm as it propped up onto the head of the couch behind her.

"So, Mowghli, why don't you tell us about living in the jungle?" Speedy asked from his seat next to Artemis. Something about the way both of them used bows for weapons made Gar think of them as hunters. Despite this, he nodded eagerly and launched into a story about how he had tracked down a group of strange men in the jungle one day.

As he set about giving them a detailed description of how he stalked them through the underbrush, something drew his attention. It was a very quiet sound, almost unhearable beneath the chatter of the Titans surrounding him.

Garfield, if you can hear and understand me, I want you to twitch your left ear.

The changeling twitched his left ear, wondering what Cyborg wanted.

Good. Now, I want you to listen very carefully…

Some time later, most of the Titans sat there staring at the animorph in awe.

"Garfield…just how many people have you killed?" Static asked, his voice shaking.

Gar tilted his head to the side in thought. "I dunno…a lot? Why, is it a bad thing?"

Nightwing spoke up. "As you were…I suppose it wasn't at the time. But as you are now, here with us, we don't kill."

The changeling nodded. "Raven told me. I don't agree with it, but I understand."

"You don't agree with it? Why not?" Kaldur'ahm asked as he leaned forward and propped his head up on one hand.

"Well, in the jungle it's eat or be eaten. When it comes to territory, the strongest pack survives and the weakest dies." Garfield shrugged. "I don't see why it has to be different out here, but I understand that it is that way. I will do as the packleader says and not kill anyone."

"Thankfully." Aqualad muttered. Garfield heard him and shot him a mischievous smile.

"What's that, Aqualad? Would you like to challenge me again?"

"NO!" Aqualad shouted before jumping up from his seat and hiding behind Superboy. This action elicited many raised eyebrows and questioning looks from the assembled Titans. They all knew Aqualad was no pushover and he was most certainly one of the strongest Titans. To see him run from a new guy…this was unprecedented.

Raven chose this moment to swat Garfield on the arm. "Stop scaring him!"

The changeling laughed. "I apopolgize Raven."

She let out a little sigh. "It's apologize, Gar."

He grinned. "I'm sorry, Raven. Thank you for helping me, I don't know what I'd do without you."

The empath tugged her hood up to hide her blush and she tried to sink deeper into his embrace to hide herself from her smirking comrades.

"Hey Raven, make him say it!" Cyborg said gleefully.

"Say what?" Several voices said at the same time.

Rolling her eyes, Raven looked up at her boyfriend. "Garfield…say cinnamon."

"Cimanon."

"Cinnamon."

"Cimanon!" His face screwed up in irritation. "Cinmanon! Cimomanon! Cinanom! Cimanonamon!"

As the sounds of laughter filled the air around them, Raven suppressed her own grin at the struggling changeling. "Say it with me, Gar. Sin…"

"Sin…"

"Ah…"

"Ah…"

"Mon!"

"Mon!"

"Cinnamon!"

"Synonym!" Garfield blinked several times as the laughter increased to a dull roar around him. Frustrated, he slapped a hand over his face. "Damnit! Why can't I say it?!"

Raven buried her face in the crook of his arm to stifle her own laughter as he furiously began attempting to repeat the word once more. This continued for a solid five minutes before the irate changeling had had enough of embarrassing himself and refused to talk anymore.

Raven wiped a mirthful tear away from her eye and looked up at him. "Come on, Garfield, it isn't that bad."

"You're just gonna make fun of me again." He pouted. The look on his face was priceless at this moment and it was ripping the empath apart on the inside to look at him.

On one hand, she wanted to wrap her arms around his head and kiss it until he understood she was sorry for laughing at him. On the other hand, she wanted to tease him like he always teased her when she was embarrassed.

"Don't worry, Garfield, ol' buddy. Even if you can't say cinnamon, there's all kinds of neat things you can do!" Cyborg snickered. A warning flag shot up in Raven's mind as his emotional spectrum bottomed out in mischievousness. She glanced at him just in time to see him tap two fingers to his head, then his nose, then his lips as he stared at the changeling in her embrace.

"What? You want me to do that now?" Gar asked, causing Raven to snap her head in his direction.

"A-yup." Cyborg grinned.

"Well okay…"

Raven glared at the changeling. "Garfield, what did he put you up to?"

Garfield looked down at her with a grin. "He taught me a neat joke! Knock knock!"

There were several groans, one of which came from Raven. "You have got to be kidding me."

"Knock knock!" He repeated.

She sighed. "Who's there?"

"Surprise!"

"Surprise who?"

Garfield locked eyes with her and it made her shiver as he spoke. "Surprise you."

Before she could utter so much as a single syllable, he leaned in and kissed her right on the chakra.

Her reaction was immediate as a shockwave of magic pulsated from her body. It rippled outward and over everything in the room, but nothing seemed to happen. Raven herself, however, has lost all the breath in her body. Her eyes were dilated to the extreme and she didn't seemed to be breathing at all.

This didn't stop Garfield from kissing her on the nose, then leaning down to softly kiss her on the lips.

The sound of something shattering filled the air as another shockwave came and this one definitely had effects. Everything that wasn't nailed down began to freely float upwards into the air, much to everyone's surprise. The hero's themselves floated as well, drifting through the air as they clamored to return to their floating seats. Chairs, couches, cups, food, plates, knives, forks, pencils, cell phones, a hairbrush, a pair of shoes, a single glove, and all manner of loose change filled the air in the spaces between the Titans as they struggled with the new lack of gravity.

The only one who wasn't affected was a scowling Cyborg and that was because he weighed so much.

Raven, however, had leaned into Garfields' kiss for as long as the contact remained. When he pulled away, she too floated up in the air. But instead of panicking, she slowly pulled her knees up in a fetal position while covering her mouth. She drifted through the air silently, occasionally bumping into a stray chair or another hero.

"Friend Raven!" Starfire called out as she flew to her friend. Bumblebee was close on her heels.

Raven slowly turned her head to look at her concerned friends. When she finally spoke, it was in a very soft and un-Raven-like voice. "He…he kissed me."

Bumblebee traded glances with Starfire before she flew close enough to take Raven by the shoulder. "Uh, yeah, we saw that. It was really sweet."

Raven shook her head. "No…you don't understand…he kissed me!"

Unbeknownst to her, her cloaked began to change colors until it was a bright pink. Seeing her friends confused expressions, the empath continued. "Me! He kissed me! He likes me! Me, not someone else! Not you, not Star, not Argent, not anyone else here! He kissed me!"

The excitement was evident in her voice as it escalated several octaves, which no one was aware it could do.

"Me!" She repeated. "He wants me! He's always so excited to see me, so calm when I need to relax, so understanding even if he doesn't understand, so patient, so attentive, so sweet…he wants me!"

She started giggling in a very un-Raven-like mannerism as she floated lazily through the air, paying no attention to the things she bumped into. Feeling concerned for their friends' mental stability, the girls approached her once again.

"Look, Raven, that's good and all but…"

Raven looked up at her from her upside down position in the air. "You still don't understand. He wants me…me, the creepy goth girl…me, the one everyone is afraid of…me, the demon spawn…me…the one nobody wants to be around…"

Her cloak went from bright pink to a dull gray now as the light in her eyes faded.

"Me…the one that's always alone…"

This rapid shift in moods sent up warning flags in the mind of many Titans. They all knew when Raven's powers went berserk that whole buildings could be wiped out in seconds. As the sorrow in her voice escalated, tendrils of her dark magic could be seen creeping up the walls and engulfing entire pieces of furniture. They needed to calm her down, fast.

Fortunately, there was a quick and easy solution to that.

And its name was Garfield.

Seemingly unphased by the floating effect, he came up from Raven's side and once again scooped her up in his arms. She gave a little gasp of surprise as he did so and looked up at his softly smiling face.

"Raven, you're not as alone as you think you are." He kissed her chakra. "And as long as I'm here, you'll never be alone."

Raven began to blush deeply as she lay her head against his chest. Curiously enough, her cloak went from gray to a deep and rich purple as she shyly looked up at Garfield.

"C-can…can I have another kiss?"

"You don't have to ask for that, Raven." He said softly. "Get one whenever you want it."

She gave him a little nod before leaning up for her second kiss. As they made contact, the empath felt the passion and love for her radiating from his body like rays from the sun. It set her mind, body, and soul on fire with an overwhelming urge to just stay there in his arms for eternity, forever locked in his embrace. She felt herself reach up and wrap her arms around his neck and pull him closer to deepen their kiss.

When she finally pulled away from him, it was only because her lungs were screaming for oxygen. She lay her head against his chest and listening to the steady beating of his heart for a moment before speaking.

"Gar…did you mean what you said about not leaving me alone?" She murmured.

His reply was instantaneous. "Of course."

She buried her face in his chest to hide her tears and spoke very, very softly. "Then…I want to be your mate."

Down on the floor, Cyborg grinned as he watched the floating lovers. "Welcome to the family, Garfield."

The feels on the bus go 'round and 'round...