"Woohoo!"
"Oh, c'mon. You just got lucky, snot skin!"
Cyborg's grumbling fell on deaf ears though as there was no denying the exuberance exuded by Changeling upon achieving his unforeseen victory. The words 'Player 1 Wins' hung from the huge screen as a final testament of the event. Watching the young man perform his customary victory a.k.a gloating dance, Raven struggled but failed to contain the smile forming on her lips. Her reputation was shielded however, courtesy of the book hiding her features from her two teammates. Changeling's joy had always been infectious and her empathic sense picked them up way too easily.
As she gradually got her impassive facade back on, Raven felt Changeling jump and land on the spot next to her. The new proximity between them brought a faint blush on the young woman's cheeks.
"Did you see that, Rae? Cyborg was like, 'Haha' and I was like, 'Woah', then he went all, 'Oh Crap!' and I also went, 'Oh F-'"
"Language, Gar."
Chuckling sheepishly at the admonishment, Changeling went on about the game. He didn't need to actually, considering that Raven had been an unwitting spectator to it all. It wasn't as if the book she was reading was so engrossing. In actual fact, carrying a book with her was more a force of habit than anything.
Cyborg was still sulking at his 'fall from grace' before coming up with an excuse to upgrade the T-Car rather than challenging Changeling to a rematch.
"Thank Azar that's over," drawled the sorceress once the elevator doors closed and Cyborg's incessant grumblings ceased which caused the Changeling to laugh. Seeing this, Raven could not help but giggle along.
The pair resumed a companionable silence as Raven returned to her book while Changeling started a single player campaign on another game. Occasionally, Raven found herself stealing looks at her teammate and secret crush from the corner of her eyes. Ever since his return, she had been meaning to at least initiate a new kind of progression in their relationship. She admitted to herself that neither of them were probably ready for a committed relationship with the other and to be frank, the empath for all her powers had no idea if the shape shifter also harboured romantic feelings for her. It would have been serendipitous if it was.
"You wanna have a go? I'm currently at some new level and, well, Cy's being a sourpuss and it'd be great if you could play with me."
Knocked out of her reverie, Raven turned to stare at Changeling's smiling face as he offered her his game controller. Due to her shock, she retorted defensively, "Why would I want to rot my brain from-.."
Catching herself before saying anything more, she witnessed the momentary look of hurt that flashed through Changeling's features before he resumed his lackadaisical demeanour.
"Well someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning," remarked the young man with a chuckle that failed to reach his eyes. Flushing with guilt and embarrassment, Raven began to apologise profusely for her hurtful remarks but Changeling merely brushed them aside.
"Nah, it's okay, Rae. I shouldn't impose on you just because I like it. I mean, I probably would feel the same way if you forced me to read that 'Flies' book the other day."
"Lord of the Flies?"
Snapping his fingers, the young man nodded.
"It's not the same…,"muttered Raven as she looked down in shame.
'It always ends up like this. Every time an opportunity arises to get closer to Gar, I screw it up one way or another. It's almost a skill!' fumed the young superheroine to herself. Her internal self hatred was interrupted upon realising Gar's gloved finger gently lifting up her chin have her look at him.
"It's no big, Rae," said the Changeling gently. "You got your stuff. I got mine. Just more things to find out, right?"
Maybe it was the really close distance between them but for that single moment, the world seemed to disappear around the two. All that existed was the man in front of her. Now if only she could get her act together and stop herself from doing or saying anything stupid.
"Your game's not paused," remarked the sorceress before she could stop herself. Whirling around so fast, Gar's horrified expression was too comical for words.
"Say, what?!"
There it was on the big screen. Written in bold red letters accompanied by a droning voice trying too hard to sound ominous were the words, 'Player One lost!'
"Damn it!"
'Damn it!'
A/N: Hi everyone. I decided that it'd be fun to have a continuation of The Return. Home will feature a lot on the relationship between him and Raven as well as Raven's attempts to win his affections. Chapters will not be linear but I hope the progression will be satisfyingly gradual. Until the next chapter:)