A/N: Hey there! Thank you for starting this story. Just so you know, this is the sequel to "Candy". If you haven't read it, you might want to as it will go into more detail about what this chapter and the following ones are about. To all of you who came here because you read Candy. Thanks for your support and I hope you love this story as much as the first!

It started like any other morning for Raven except for the past six months, she found herself with a companion in the early hours. It was one of the rare times that her blinds were open since the sun had yet to start coming up and it allowed her to meditate and soak in the starlight before the bastard of a sun peeked its head up the horizon.

It had taken Richard Grayson a few nights to get used to the fact that she did not stay in her bed, but would wake up at odd hours to meditate, read, or simply stare at him. That last one was a new one. What started out in the spring as a naughty joke and a piece of candy turned into a love Rachel Roth never thought she would have. Robin, the leader of the Teen Titans, had fallen madly in love with her and she reciprocated entirely. Of course, there was a battle with an undead lich, the multiple instances of playing the slut, and winding up dying on the cold marble floor of the ballroom. Here she was, alive and whispering her chant to keep from disturbing her lover who was softly snoring.

Lover. How was that possible? The half-demon sorceress, the mystic Titan, had a lover and had lived past her eighteenth birthday. Even though that was five years ago, Raven was still shocked she was alive. Wasn't she supposed to die bringing hell down upon the world? Wasn't that what the monks told her that her fate would be if she ever left Azarath? Yet here she was.

Richard rolled in the bed, wrapping himself in her blankets, muttering an explicit thought that made a smile tug at the corner of her mouth. To say that they had not been busy since they returned to Jump City would have been a lie.

Raven sighed as she released her soul-self gently to bask in the starlight that funneled through the glass. It was one of the few lights that she could sense, probably because of being part creature of the night. It was peaceful in a way and it soothed her. That was until the spike of pain shot through her chest.

It started under her rib cage and then arced up her ribs, past her lungs, and into her throat which cause her to gasp and fall back. Raven had been floating in the air for a foot or so and immediately hit the ground with a heavy thud. She tried to hold in the cry of pain, but it wormed its way out and instantly Robin was at her side.

"Are you okay?" he said, helping her back into a sitting position and holding her close to his bare chest.

"Yeah," Raven responded, trying to catch her breath. "Just one of those shocks I told you about."

This was not the first. It was actually the fifth through the last two had been closer together than the first and not nearly as rough as the one she just felt.

"You got any ideas?"

"Yeah," Raven said, kissing him on the chin and pushing herself away and up on to her feet. "Side effect of dying, I think."

The mystic Titan meant it as a joke, but the hard expression on Robin's face did not leave. His blue eyes studied her uncomfortably.

"If it's something serious, I can reach out to Batman and see if he can get one of the JLA's specialists to come and take a look at you."

"I'm fine," Raven admonished with a wry chuckle. "It was a joke."

"Oh," Richard responded, his expression softening. "I'm not used to you making non-biting jokes."

"I save all of those for Garfield," Raven said, pulling him up on to his feet and pulling him close, their bare flesh pressing together in a familiar but unfamiliar way. "Plus, I think I'm supposed to be nice to my bed warmer."

"Bed warmer?" Robin said with a laugh. "Is that all I am to you?"

"Oh, you're my toy too," she giggled, pushing him towards the bed. "and I think you owe me some attention after last night."

The two fell backward. There was an hour or two more before daylight.

Robin hurried towards the standard room, tugging his fresh red, green, and gold uniform into place. He had left Raven in the shower a few moments ago and wanted to get the team all together before she came out. It would have been a lie to say that the dynamic had not changed, but in this case, Robin thought it was mostly good.

Two months from returning to Jump City, Cyborg had taken Robin aside, and they had the heart to heart talk about what Victor was going to do if he thought any of Robin's actions jeopardized the team because of his relationship with one of the team members. It was a hard conversation as both were forced to be candid with each other, but in the end, the boy wonder felt that any concern that Victor had was addressed and since then, the team had functioned like usual. Well, except Beast Boy now made kissy faces at Robin when he thought he wasn't looking to get Bumblebee to laugh or the fact that Starfire wanted to know everything about their sex life.

When Robin strode into the room, all eyes turned to him from their respective places. Beast Boy and Cyborg were on the floor tinkering with some gadget while Starfire held a manual upside down.

"Umm….what, are you doing?"

"They are attempting to upgrade a robot called a Roomba," Starfire pronounced. "Cyborg thought he could improve its tracking technology."

"Stupid thing keeps missing crumbs from around the sofas 'cause its beam is too wide."

"And?"

"I think he fried it, dude," Beast Boy sighed holding up a blackened chip.

"Hey! I can fix it."

Robin shook his head as he made his way past them towards a computer panel. He brought it up to start sorting through the mail.

"I've already got most of the stuff sorted for you," Starfire offered. "There are quite several invitations to events. Since the crime rate has dropped with many of our old nemeses leaving town, the mayor of Jump City wants us on more of the PR campaign."

"Ah," Robin said, noting the subfolder with one hundred and forty-three emails.

"And the league. Have they responded to-"

"No," Starfire said, shaking her head. "and I don't understand why you wish to give up your Robin identity."

Richard smiled at her. He had made it known that he had requested an identity change to a new persona called Nightwing and was only waiting for confirmation. Bruce had told him that he was training a new person to take on the persona of Robin and had actually asked quite nicely if Richard would be willing to relinquish the title. As much as he was fond of the name, the title belonged with Batman.

"I already explained," Robin said with a smile as he went over to the kitchen portion to get some coffee. "Batman is training a new Robin, and as you know, the Treaty of Heroes requires us to have unique identifiers if we are going to do hero work. That's why the police let us help because they trust the JLA's intentions."

Oh, he remembered when the first proposal of the Treaty of Heroes came about when he was still young. Some had compared it to the Nazis registering the jews, but Superman had explained that no one had to register unless they were going to work as a hero. It was more about vetting those who would be helping law enforcement and making sure that everything was done above book. Many superheroes were surprised at how many of their cases against criminals had been thrown out due to bad evidence handling or the fact that it was not done correctly.

Any registered superhero must meet the following requirements: basic knowledge of criminology can prove they are trained with their powers and are a trusted member of the community. No criminal was going to get away now claiming they had been apprehended against their will by someone who was not law enforcement.

"I still don't like the colors you picked. It is too dark," Starfire pouted.

"Noted, Star."

The water was scalding hot, but that was how Raven liked it. Of course, Richard had joined her in the shower for a little more fun, but she turned it up to drive him out. Now, she had the steamy room for herself. She loved him, but sometimes it felt like he smothered her, not wanting to leave her side. Raven knew it was not that he thought she was weak or needed protecting, the guy was just a sweetheart and wanted to be with her. The fact that anybody wanted to be with her was a shock.

Raven spent a few more minutes lathering herself down before finally turning off the water and getting out. As she began to towel herself off, she felt it again, this time starting in her abdomen and shooting down to her legs. It was sharp, like electricity trying to burn out her nerves. As she buckled and caught herself on the sink, she felt it explode upward, taking her breath away and turning her face warm.

Raven heaved herself up, feeling strange and quickly rubbed the fog away from the mirror. She sucked in a sharp breath at the face that was looking back. It was hers, the gray skin, the intelligent features, the asymmetrical cut purple hair, but...her eyes. They had gone predatory slit like a cat, and the purple had been replaced by a flaming pink. As quickly as it was there, her pupils returned to normal, and the pink shimmered back into deep amethyst.

"Shit."