Pens and Cameras
6 Years Old
"Say cheese!"
The black haired boy in blue polo shirt and jeans exclaimed as he held a girl his age and lifts the toy camera above.
The girl cringed at his touch. "Stop it Rich." She shrugged him hand away. "Besides, it's a fake camera."
Richard stuck his tongue out at her. "Stop being such a grown up Rachel." She huffed at him, her shoulders slouching.
Rachel just stared at him before turning her attention to her notebook, her chestnut bangs covering her eyes.
Richard pouted.
"How about a deal?"
If possible, Rachel deadpanned him.
"What?"
He smiled widely. "A deal! If we're still bestfriends 20 years or more from now, we buy each other a pen and a camera." He gleefully stated as he sat beside her.
Rachel jolted her head to his direction. "That's unfair. Do you have any idea how much a camera is?"
Richard just giggled. "Yep! But I never said the pen is cheap."
"But what if we change our hobbies?"
He shook his head.
"No we won't."
"But what if—"
"Raven."
Rachel gazed to her side when he called her by her nickname. She was still uncertain of her friend's statement. Richard pouted at her actions and gave her his cutest puppy eyes.
"Pretty please?" He murmured in his sweetest, most innocent voice.
Rachel's shoulders slouch. "Okay."
Richard suddenly stood up and jumped in glee. "Yay! I can't wait for my camera." Rachel blushed and looked down to her writings. But deep down, she's also happy.
16 Years Old
Click
She was supposed to study.
Supposed to.
But all she could hear was the shuttering noise of his camera. The resident Ice Queen resisted the urged to grab it and smash it to the ground or whack her notebook to her friend's head.
But she can't.
The last thing she wanted is Richard's nagging and crying over it.
Click
She moaned as if in agony and dramatically slid herself over her books. "Can you stop taking pictures just for at least five minutes?" She exasperated.
The glare Richard was giving his camera was suddenly turned to her.
She seemed unfazed, but deep down she almost whimpered and hid her head with her arm. "My lens is broken." She heard him reply.
Rachel resisted the urge to sigh. Instead, she slightly banged her head on the table thinking of ways to help her fix him camera. Yes. She, a writer, was thinking of ways to help him, a photographer, with his camera.
Again.
She finally sat up and looked at him. "Give it to me." Richard complied and watched her inspect it. His eyes widen when she pulled a thin plastic wrapper.
He blushed.
She laughed.
"Next time, make sure your brothers won't get a hold on your camera."
26 Years Old
As a writer, Rachel learned to always expect the unexpected.
As a photographer, Richard learned that unexpected things are always perfect.
These are the reasons why neither exploded when they saw each other here, in an unexpected place. Yes, there were a few reasons to jump in joy. Like how each other's physique and personality changed or the years of no contact with each other. But they are different that most people; a connection, they once concluded.
And that connection was the one thing they hope hadn't changed.
"Hey." Richard said, settling his camera on his neck.
"Hey too." Rachel replied, closing her notebook.
He sat beside her.
Silence reigned, but they don't mind.
Bestfriends rarely do.
"It's been so long. And we lost touch." Richard softly murmured as he stared down at his camera.
Rachel nodded. "Five years." She hummed and looked at him. "But here we are now."
She gave him a smile.
A smile he knows all too well—
A smile that was only for him.
Always.
He smiled back.
"We always know how to get back to each other, don't we?" Rachel said, now lost in her own thoughts. The sound of his laughter echoed through the cold winter air. Her smile widened as she realized that she missed it.
She missed him.
Richard finally looked at her. "Always." His smile was still there, showing happiness and contentment.— and that everything didn't really changed at all.
He then laughed and threw his arms around her shoulder.
"Come on. Let's buy some coffee." The writer said as she stood up.
The photographer stood up with her and pouted. "I want ice cream."
She shook her head. "We're in Amsterdam and it is winter, Dick."
"I don't care."
Rachel sighed.
Maybe some things never change.
36 Years Old.
"Papa! Mama!"
Rachel looked up from her laptop. "Yes dear?"
The twins rushed to their mother's side. "Mama! We heard from aunt Kori that today is your and dad's special day." Her male mirror image, Vincent, said.
Roxanne, the mirror image of her husband jumped. "It's your anniversary!" She exclaimed.
Rachel laughed and ruffled her son's hair. "Yes it is."
Richard suddenly appeared, seemingly out of breath.
"What is your aunt Kori doing here twins?" He panted.
The twins grinned. "Well, since it's your special day, we called aunt Kori—" Roxanne started.
"— and asked if we could stay with her so you two can spend time together!" Vincent finished.
Rachel choked on her saliva. "But—"
"It's okay mama! We already packed our things." Vincent said as he and Roxanne rushed out.
"Don't worry mama, papa. We'll be good! See you!" Roxanne managed to shout.
The pair was bewildered. It took them about a few minutes before regaining composure. They stared at one another. "What?" Richard asked, his shoulders slightly rising.
Rachel stared at him with a raised brow. "It's your fault the twins are devious." She said. Heat travelled to his cheeks, from embarrassment or annoyance, he didn't know. She always had this effect on him.
Her laughter broke him out of his thoughts. He watched her stood and strode up to him and hugged him tightly. "I never thought we'd go this far." She commented. He hugged her back. "Yeah, me too."
Rachel pulled back and stared at him. "Happy anniversary." She said with a smile.
Richard smiled. Confusion suddenly etched his face when Rachel tilted her head sideways. Richard curiously peered to where she motioned and saw a medium sized box. "Go ahead." She said nudging him.
Richard walked towards the box. He carefully opened it and his eyes widened at what's inside. He quickly turned to Rachel. "Is this— I can't— " he stuttered. "A Polaroid camera?" He quietly asked.
She nodded and sheepishly rubbed her nape like a shy high school girl. "Remember our deal when we were kids? Well, I figured out it's time to end the deal since, you know, we made it. I thought it would be a nice anniversary gift so I bought a camera you don't own yet." She explained with a red face.
Richard's face went red and opened his dresser. He took out a rectangular wrapped gift and walked towards her. He shyly gave the gift to her. "I thought the same thing too." He said as she slowly unwrap his gift.
Rachel stared at his gift before smiling. It was the antique fountain pen he has her eyes on for a while. She then looked at him. "How did you know?"
"I always see you in front of the antique store eyeing that pen. So I thought why not?" He said while shrugging.
Rachel stared at Richard before hugging him tightly, nuzzling her head on the crook of his shoulder and murmuring a 'thank you' and 'I love you.' Richard laughed and planted a kiss on her forehead. "Don't be. I love you too my dear writer." He teased. She felt him smiling on her forehead.
Everything seems perfect.
"Hey Rachel—" He said as he held up the camera to their eye level. "Say cheese!"
Rachel laughed and smiled this time.
Author's Note: Uhm.. Hello? I'm still alive. I'm so sorry for not updating but I'll do my best to do so. I will update all of my stories this vacation and hopefully manage to finish them one way or another. And I have to thank kouichi kimura 4eva who wrote "Picture Perfect Words" for the writer-photographer theme. It's an amazing story guys btw! I recommend it!
Oh and again, sorry for being inactive.
Disclaimer: Teen Titans is a property of DC Comics and Warner Bros.
Read and Review :3
[EDITED 6/5/201] Well... I really can't say anything about this. Read and review?
Disclaimer: The Teen Titans is a property of DC Comics and Warner Bros.
