All the auxiliary members were encouraged to spend at least a day every two months at the Tower if possible. Nothing could be enforced. Even Robin wasn't about to kick somebody out for not showing up. People had lives. They had their own crime fighting to do in their own cities or countries. But the idea was to be sure that auxiliary members were familiar with all the infrastructure of the Tower and up to date with ongoing investigations. It was also to bring the auxiliary members more into the fold and so that Robin had an idea of what was going on in the lives of each and every auxiliary Titan.

Herald had been candid with Robin that he traveled a lot for his civilian job, usually staying on the west coast with his jazz quartet but going up and down the coast, from Vancouver in the north to gigs in Mexico, at times in the south. He promised Robin that he'd do his part but likely through being at the Tower a couple days one month then not at all for a couple after that as he traveled with his quartet.

Herald, Mal Duncan to civilians, had family just up the coast north of Jump City so he would tell his three bandmates that he was going to stay a couple extra days outside Jump to see his Aunt and Uncle.

The truth was that Herald was conflicted. He loved playing jazz trumpet and he loved making a difference as a crime fighter, too. So, he kept his feet in both worlds and advanced in both worlds even as he developed a foreboding sense that something was going to happen in one or the other that would push him to being either just Herald or just Mal Duncan.

He liked his time in the Tower just fine. Everybody there was cool. Well, Robin wasn't, but he was uptight with everybody so it wasn't like he had some kind of special animus in his case. Who else would have all the titans joking that a lump of coal up his butt would come out a diamond?

All the communications center protocols were a bit confusing. Answer JCPD one way. Answer Interpol another. Inquiries from the NSA or FBI get dealt with yet another way. Why did it have to be so complex? It seemed like a Robin thing, making everything more detailed than it had to be. Eventually, he got the hang of it. But it took a while.

It wasn't like it was solo time, anyway. He wasn't a lonely night watchman. Jinx and Kid Flash would drop by when they weren't going at it in their room. Beast Boy was always bouncing around. Cyborg was kind of stand offish for reasons that Herald never quite got. Did he see Herald as a rival in some way? The other black guy or something? But, whatever. Fine. Starfire would come by and offer him horrible looking food with a smile and a nod. She meant well, even though stuff would crawl off the plate if you left it alone.

But this latest time, the surprise was how much he saw Raven. The last time he'd been there, a few months before, she walked by a couple times in the middle of the night getting a cup of green tea then an hour later bringing the cup back once muttering "Hi" and the other time giving a nod in his general direction. They never even made eye contact.

This time, she first sauntered out from the kitchen with a cup of green tea and stopped by the communications center and gave him a big smile and a "hi". A while later, she shuffled in from the hallway with an empty cup and saucer but turned left toward the communications center instead of right toward the kitchen. He looked up under the edge of his blue hood. To his surprise, the curvy sorceress sat her sweet booty down on the counter right next to the keyboard.

"I feel like I owe you a bit of an apology," she began softly, the lights of the city almost reflected twinkling in those pretty violet eyes. "Last time you did an auxiliary duty I just walked by you like you weren't even there, didn't I?"

"Well . . . yeah, you kinda did," he said back just as softly in that deep, slightly nasal voice of his but with no hurt to it.

"Sorry," she smiled casually putting her hand down right next to his on the communications center counter. "I get so wrapped up in my thoughts sometimes I-I probably seem like a bitch."

Herald shrugged. "No. And I sure wouldn't want people judging me by how sociable I am when I'm learning a new song, either."

"Yeah," she smiled. "Your music. You know, I-I used to hear Jinx and Kid Flash playing jazz music sometimes and-"

"Herbie and Miles," grinned Herald. "That's what they're crazy for."

"Um, yeah, Herbie-Herbie Hancock and Miles Davis. I didn't realize but you've recorded those, too, haven't you?"

"Those are some difficult tracks to make come out whack," he smiled,"but totally worth it."

"I didn't realize how complex your music was till just recently. I listened to that Oliloqui Valley one by Herbie Hancock. It's . . beautiful the way all the threads of it tie together."

Herald nodded then went on for the better part of an hour, prompted by Raven here and there, about Herbie Hancock, Miles Davis, the Empyrean Isles album, Kind of Blue, Bitches Brew and more. It was . . not quite a relief, he didn't feel pain that the joy of his music wasn't recognized most of the time. The joy was so great that it was more than enough. But it was satisfying. It made him feel so fulfilled that this exotic beautiful girl got it. If she got it, she got him.

He was surprised that their kiss didn't seem to take her by surprise at all and that she joined in right away. They had only kissed and groped a minute before heavy steps, Robin's approach from the elevator, made them jump apart.

The boy wonder looked at them suspiciously. The white eye covers of his mask would narrow when he squinted at you. Robin gave them a skeptical look. But he didn't even quite know what to expect. He returned to familiar ground and quizzed Herald on the communications systems protocols. Herald messed up a few of them. Raven slowly drifted away from there to the kitchen where she got another cup of green tea and went back to her room.

The next day, almost the same thing happened again. Herald was doing a couple days in a row so that he didn't have to show up for a couple months. Late at night, she stopped by and one thing led to another leading into another kiss. They were going further when they heard the Ding! of the elevator and then Clomp! Clomp! Robin approached from the hallway. They hurriedly separated and again pretended there was nothing going on.

The little street light immediately started quizzing him on all those damn pointlessly complicated communications procedures again. Send a message to Interpol like this. Contact the FBI like that. Herald groaned at the whole deal. And Robin even sent Raven to the Tower basement saying she was behind in some obscure training regimen. Not enough days this year. Gotta stay in peak crime fighting form. All that uptight stuff that only Robin would say. Kid Flash would always tell everyone that, behind all the leader bluster, Robin's really a nice guy. At moments like that Herald found it hard to believe.

But the funny thing was that it all backfired. All of it only made her seem hotter. Robin sort of trying to keep them apart only made Herald want her more. Oh, she was pretty and she had the booty and a rack but he'd never been into her. Argent, yes. Bee, yes. But never really Raven. She always had that nasty condescending vibe about her. The way she ran down poor little Gar!

But, getting to talk to her now, he saw another side of her. It intrigued him and suddenly it was hard to be there at the Tower at the same time as her.

Robin kept messing with the auxiliary Titans' watch schedule. Over the next three months, he moved Herald's watch days three times, each time to some day when Raven wasn't going to be around and each time Herald made a deal with another auxiliary, Hot Spot then Red Star, then Argent to switch to another day. And all the sneaking around that he and Raven did to meet each other made her seem more desirable than ever. All the hiding it from Robin somehow made it all better.

They exchanged a series of texts.

Lil bat cant read these can he?

No. He's busy with other expressions of OCD anyway.

Lookin forward 2 seeing you grl.

Same here.

. . .

U around this weekend violet eyes? Might be able to swing by Jump.

I'll be waiting. I still haven't seen you under that mask and the rest of your uniform.

Two weeks later, Herald wasn't even scheduled for auxiliary watch duty. But he dropped by the Tower anyway. His quartet was in Vancouver, but once the gig was over, a little lie about taking a different train south, a little portal opening horn and there he was, in the Tower.

Hot Spot was at the communications center desk, his head not on fire at that moment. He was answering a sort of pop quiz from Robin about the encryption used in all the Tower emails and rattling off the multiple ways it was done like nothing. Herald turned away, both because he didn't know the answers to those questions and because he didn't have a good answer for the obvious question. What are you doing here?

And why should he have to, wondered Herald, as he got in the elevator, feeling more defiant with every step. You're not my father, little bat. This ain't no 1950's with a curfew or some such shit. And everybody here can do anything they want with whoever they want to do it with. You didn't have to be married like Flinx, either.

It was in this assertive frame of mind that Herald knocked on the door to Raven's room. She opened the door, cloak off and looking fine. He didn't have to say anything. She knew.

He took her in his arms and kissed her and kissed her. When he finally let her go she gathered herself a second and then threw up a hand. Wait! Not here. She insisted that they go off to one of the other rooms that the auxiliary members and guests used. He followed her down the hall with a smirk. He gave that fine, swaying booty a pinch enjoying the slightly startled look back she gave him and then was surprised himself when, while she was working the lock on the door with one hand, she stroked the length of his dick through his pants with the other. Whoa, girl!

With the door closed behind them, he pulled off his hood and mask tossing them aside with his horn. He undressed the rest of the way as did she. That purple hair and light gray skin were so sweet together. He thought he'd get more of a reaction from her when he showed it. The ladies were always extremely impressed. The guys in the locker room would laugh and joke but the ladies would always have the same suppressed, but wide eyed reaction. He grew to expect it and to love it. But, surprisingly for a girl who'd gone for it out in the hallway, he almost thought he saw disappointment in her violet eyes. But that couldn't be.

Then he thought he figured it out. He remembered what one girl had said. He kissed Raven and rubbed those titties with their little purplish nipples. "Don't worry, girl," he told her with a confident smile. "It's not too big. We can do it."

And they did but, damn, it'd never been like that before. He felt . . . small inside her. Inadequate. Him?! The whole damn thing was off. It was like that time that white boy from some candy ass conservatory had tried to fill in for Clyde on bass when he was sick. He and Curtis and Ty were working the Herbie as smooth as ever and that damn white boy managed to be both too fast and too slow in the same song. Da fuck?

He thought of it as he was getting up and putting on his Herald uniform. He thought of that damn white boy that had screwed it all up at every turn. Because that was him. This time that was him. Every time he thought she wanted to go fast, she wanted slow. Every time he did one thing it was something completely different that she wanted. He started off all excited but she wanted slow and building. And then it didn't matter how he worked his tongue, he couldn't flick that bean to please her.

"Mmm . . . How 'bout this way?"

Sigh. "No. You're not . . . that's not the right . . "

" . . . wait, I got it . . . "

Sigh. " . . . no . . . "

"Mmm. Mmm. How 'bout . . . ?"

" . . that's not it either!"

He tried everything he knew but nothing worked right. He just couldn't get on the girl's wavelength or something. Even the main event didn't satisfy. God, that feeling of being small! Him! He shuddered as he put on his mask and then hood.

On the way out the door he muttered something about calling her. She didn't say anything. They both knew that after this completely unsatisfying experience they'd never date again.

He didn't even wait but opened a portal right outside the door and stepped back into his hotel room in Vancouver.

Back inside the guest room, Raven's thoughts exploded in recriminations as she got dressed.

Jackrabbit sex?! Seriously?! That was your first impulse?! And that was foreplay, that arrogant bit of pawing at me? And the . . . ! Melvin and Timmy have more technique licking ice cream cones. And what a vain jerk!

She imitated his exaggerated swing of his hips as pulled off his underwear. Oh, am I . . accidentally making it swing around for your visual pleasure, baby? Jerk! Don't worry girl?!

Nowhere near big enough!

Raven sighed with a feeling of defeat. He's not even smart. He can't get the stupid communications protocols right! Gods, Beast Boy got that right the first time out. He's almost dumb and sucks in bed and he's still not big enough. I put up with all that to try to get satisfaction and it was all a waste! Aaarrrggghhh!

She made her way back to her room but felt a crushing despair over the night's events and didn't want to feel this terrible feeling in the surroundings of her room, with all her prized possessions around her. She jumped at the notion of getting a cup of tea and left her room for the kitchen.

Outside her room, she stopped trying to hold back all the horrible feelings of depression and loneliness. Tears were welling up in her eyes as she got out of the elevator on 14 and walked by the great room on the way to the kitchen. For just a second, she caught a glimpse of Kid Flash and Jinx on the couch. She had her back to the hallway. She'd said something funny and Kid Flash had laughed and, oh gods. Now he was smiling at her, the pure affection he had for her, looking at her and listening to her! Pure acceptance and adoration.

She could have regarded it as an example of love that she should strive for. She took it as a reproach.

I'll never get that.

Never.

Raven looked away and marched to the kitchen, her mood descending to pits of depression she had never plumbed even when certain that she was going to cause the earth to be taken over by her demon father.

Outside, skies that had been clear with twinkling stars were now clouded over. Gusts of wind could be heard buffeting the glass of the tower as raindrops streaked down the side of it, first in isolation and now as part of a raging squall.

Raven started a kettle on the stove and went over and stared out the window. The ocean below was all storm surge and white caps. The skies as black as her mood.

What now? What do I do now? Who can I see now? Who else is there?!

She felt herself go a bit limp with the realization that there wasn't anyone else. There weren't any other Titans who were romantic prospects? What was she supposed to do, take a cue from Kid Flash and date a villain? They're all psychopaths! And besides, the karma of being villains makes their equipment smaller. Argent had talked about it. Didn't Jinx say that Zatanna had confirmed it? Maybe that's why villains were always so angry.

Raven lightly shook her head. This was so unjust. Why me? Why is there someone for everyone but me?!

She felt herself spinning out of control. She barely controlled her breaths. Outside, the storm raged.

She cried, ashamed of herself for it. In all her years as the prophesied cause of Trigon laying waste to the earth she'd never permitted herself the pointless luxury of crying about it. She wept quietly, able to keep from going into a full out sob but unable to stop the tears.

She stared out at the stormy black night wishing she knew what to do next, wishing she could rouse herself to some action, any action toward that next process. But she felt weighed down by the crushing despair. She couldn't move. She couldn't do anything. She just stared out the Tower for how long, she wasn't sure.

The first sign was unexpected warmth. It cracked her all encompassing despair. It felt . . good.

Wh-what?

Her arms, her shoulders felt warmer. He wrapped his arms around her so gently that she barely felt it only realizing it after the fact. She just suddenly noticed the comfortable warmth of him, his arms around her, his legs against hers, his body behind hers and then the soft heat of his breath at her ear, whispering, "Please don't cry!"

"Please don't cry," he whispered again speaking from so close that she felt one fang against her ear as he hugged her tight holding the embrace through the slight shudders of more tears. When she finally got it together a bit more he whispered, "I'll always be there for you."

After wiping a tear she caught a glimpse of their reflection in the floor to ceiling glass. He didn't look like just a pretty boy. His face was so . . strong.

With her last tears gone she sighed. It just felt so comfortable in his arms. He kissed her on the neck and she felt his fangs just touch her skin then one of his long, pointy ears rub against hers. "I'll always be there. Whatever you need, I'll be around."

He kissed her and kissed her while his hands caressed her all over with a soft touch at first that only slowly escalated, perfectly matching her awakening from feelings of despair to building pleasure. She finally turned to face him and he bent down and kissed her as though it was the most natural thing in the world. She had no idea how long they kissed but skies outside were placidly moonlit, every galaxy visible, when they finally separated. Neither said a thing but both simply started walking toward the elevator. A minute later they were in her room.

Everything that Herald had done wrong, Beast Boy did right. When they undressed he was completely oblivious to his own nudity but smiled at the sight of her and gasped, "You're beautiful!"

They kissed and kissed caressing each other, green hands finding all the right spots, doing all the right things. This was so much better than Herald but not just him. It was so much better than with Speedy and he was the master seducer. But he didn't lover her and she could feel with every kiss and every touch that Gar did.

Several times he stopped right in the middle of kissing her or licking her and gave her the gentlest of touches, his palm to her skin as if burnishing her to a perfect shine and whispering, "You're so beautiful, Rae."

He licked her so perfectly, exactly the way she wanted, without ever asking that she filled with a delicious warmth that overcame her. She pulled hard at his pointy ears and his hair.

Out in the hallway, Robin was walking quickly back to his room. He'd left a set of data printouts there that he wanted to check against some Interpol data. As he turned the corner, he slowed. Some flowers in a vase . . unwilted. They'd gone dry and brown and now they looked as new and fresh as ever. He slowly picked up the pace again and was just steps away from his room when he swore he could hear the sounds of screaming coming from Raven's room. Even virgin, prude Robin could tell that these were not screams of despair. This was complete delight. He fumbled with the palm reader and quickly went into his room.

In Raven's room, Beast Boy settled against Raven atop her bed. He took her in his arms and kissed her.

"Whatever I need?" she said.

"Huh?"

"Before, by the windows, you said you'd be whatever I need. Did you mean that?"

"Of course, Rae," he punctuated this with another kiss. He couldn't keep his hands off her.

"Then, be the bull, now."

"What?"

"Be the bull now. That bull form you like to be so much."

"The bull? Now?"

She nodded insistently.

"But I want to make love to you, me."

"It'll be you, just with a much bigger booty," she said with a slap of his green buns, "And . . . " she smirked with a glance at his already impressive green organ.

"So . . you . . want to do it with me as a bull?"

She nodded insistently, again.

He sighed. "For you."

A second later, male model Gar was a massive bovine animal taking up most of the area between the bed and her dresser. He snorted and tried to rub one of his long horns on her breast but she cut him short.

Raven circled him, inspecting her lover in his new form. Somehow, she liked this. He was not free to manipulate her with his swirling tongue and darting fingers. He was a 1400 pound herd animal. Even if his mind was completely there, he was huge and awkward, not the nimble skinny pretty boy he'd just been. His shoulders were a yard across. He didn't have the round little green buns that the fangirls shrieked about. He had a giant rump that must have weighed hundreds of pounds. He had no fingers but thick hooves.

She playfully pulled on his tail eliciting a snort of complaint. She smiled. All his tremendous mass didn't give him strength in this situation. It only transformed slender Gar into a great big object for sexual activity and not a prime actor. She would determine everything.

She circled round him giving a pat to his rump and then the burgeoning organ underneath him. Gar snorted helplessly. There wasn't even enough room for him to turn around there between her bed and her dresser. She finished circling and looked him in the eye from as close as possible, feeling the hot breath out of his big, black, wet nose.

"You're completely Gar in there, aren't you? If so, count five with your left front hoof."

The huge green bull stamped at the carpet five times with his left front hoof.

"You desperately want to get it on but you're too huge to do anything, aren't you? Blink three times if true."

The green bull blinked its green eyes three times and then adopted a pleading expression. Despite trying to catch it, a line of drool slipped off his wide mouth to the carpet below. Raven smiled. She kissed him between his twin foot long horns that both went out a few inches from his head then curved to point forward. She rubbed and caressed him all over but, as she had thought, only one place gave him sexual pleasure. Being a woman, she was not so limited. She let him put his wide mouth and his giant tongue to her breasts. He snorted with pleasure at this. She let him lick her all over with that tongue. His organ was throbbing, hard beneath him. He looked her in the eye and then down at his giant organ then back at her with a pleading expression.

"Just one more thing," she said, producing a 2 inch diameter steel ring that she held in a hand of black energy. She could see him look at her quizzically. She moved it next to his nose. Now he understood. He gave her another pleading look. Do I have to?

Outside in the hallway, thick sheaf of data printouts in hand, Robin was walking past Raven's door on the way back to the communications center when the sound of a large animal wincing in pain and then snorting angrily could be clearly heard in the hallway. The boy wonder stopped.

What the-?!

What goes on in there?!

But he wasn't sure what to do, if anything. So he paused there a moment but kept on going back to his room casting one more worried look over his shoulder as he went. Wh-what the f-?!

Using the ring, Raven pulled her now massive green boyfriend over to where she wanted him then gave him a push backward. He snorted in protest as sitting in this way was not easy for him with his huge, ungainly body. But all thoughts of protest left his mind as she mounted him.

She gasped with delight at the sensation, finally satisfied by Gar's gigantic bull maleness. He snorted, more of a bovine whimper at his difficulty in controlling himself. She expertly used him, sliding up and down him faster then slower as he started to whimper then finally faster again then slower, reproaching him with a tug at his big steel nose ring,"You don't have much to do here. You have one job. If you love me, last longer than you ever thought possible!"

He grunted a deep, guttural rumble of agreement.

She slid up and down him, a sexual bull rider using her boyfriend's power to give her pleasure she couldn't get any other way losing any sense of time or anything around them but pleasure and Gar. Finally, she was losing control herself and heard him snort and whimper with an urgency that indicated finality. She sped up and rode her shaking bull boyfriend back to the corral.

She climbed off him and he turned himself back into pretty boy Gar immediately taking her in his arms and kissing her. Her eyes were closed. Her thoughts were elsewhere. She suddenly thought of the Oracle and the prophesy from the ephemeral tome, the Book of Love. It had said that she would not be satisfied by earth boys. Well, he hadn't been a boy just then, had he. She let out a carefree chuckle and looked him in the eye.

She saw his half smile half questioning look.

"Another prophecy that didn't mean anything," she explained.

"Nobody can predict love, even the lovers don't see it most of the time," he said and gave her another kiss.

They kissed quite a bit longer then she sent him up to the kitchen to get some tea and some lingonberry bread with Tamaranean jam. He fumbled around a moment looking for his uniform then, not finding it, grabbed a small towel from her bathroom and went out into the hall that way.

Up in the kitchen, most of the other team members were there. Robin was at the communications center desk. Jinx and Kid Flash were seated at the leather banquet table whispering softly while Starfire was trying to get Cyborg to try one of her crazy casseroles.

Beast Boy padded in wearing only a towel barely big enough for him. He could see the others all stop and look at him but just wanted to get Raven her things.

"Um, Gar?" asked Jinx. "Why do you have a big steel ring through your nose?"

Gar reached up. God, it's still there!

He hadn't even noticed it. It hung down and touched both his lips but he'd just been accepting it.

"No biggie. I was just a bull," he said then reached into the cupboard for the jam and the lingonberry bread as he started a kettle to boil on the big stainless steel stove.

"You were just having the wonderful sex with Raven, yes?" asked Star, as she reluctantly put her casserole dish back in the fridge after failing to sell Cyborg on the delight of still crawling food.

Beast Boy would not say a word. He absolutely refused to be anything but a gentleman. But he could not suppress a smile. Cyborg, Starfire, Jinx and Kid Flash all sported grins, looking at him with expressions that bespoke congratulations.

Robin stepped around the corner from the communications center into the kitchen and slowly shuffled closer as the kettle was just starting to boil. Beast Boy could see him approaching, an expression of mild disgust on his face.

He got the extra large cup and saucer and the special green tea packets that Raven preferred. He spread the jam on the bread and then pulled the screaming kettle off the burner and poured the water letting the tea bags steep. He got everything together on a tray and almost ran into Robin who was now right behind him.

"You . . you have ring through your nose because you were just a bull . . . and you were just having sexual relations with Raven."

Beast Boy rolled his eyes. Sexual relations?

"So . . you two were indulging in . . bestiality, weren't you?" said Robin half shocked statement of fact and half accusation.

"Well . . technically . . but in a good way," said Beast Boy and he walked past the boy wonder amidst the guffaws of the others and went back to his beloved.

"Whatever you need, baby," he muttered to himself at the elevator. "Whatever you need."