Yup, here we are again with my holiday oneshot.
I've decided, from now on, if there's a holiday, I'll do a oneshot about it. :D
Summary: BBRae. In the years after the titans split, most went on to happy lives. Not Gar. Drowning himself in work for an escape, the memories come back when he and a certain other titan meet up. April Fools Oneshot (kind of late).
Rachel Roth was bored.
Not that it was anything new, Rachel was usually bored. Her book had taken a swing for the worse, and she felt the urge to throw the book against a wall and scream at it for it to improve.
She fingered the silver ring on her index finger, engraved with a violet R in bold lettering. The street was busy and hectic, filled with beggars and the homeless to counter the shrewd business men and woman in suits, chattering away to sign business deals on their cell phones.
Yes, Jump City was what one would call diverse.
And it had almost been lost, when the titans disappeared. Rumors were that they died in battle, in the same fiery explosion that had destroyed Slade, for they were never seen again after his demise. Others think that they slipped into civilian life, finally finished with superhero work.
Without the titans, the city succumbed to crime within weeks. Richard Grayson, the rich playboy, had donated large sums to the police academy, providing that they trained longer and harder to stop the villains.
Led by the police captain Victor Stone, a young cop who claimed to be from Steel City, the crime soon slowed. Of course, the meta-human villains still attack now and then, but certainly think twice before doing so.
With the combined donations of Richard Grayson, rising model Kori Anders, and several other smaller facilities such as a newly opened bookstore and veterinary clinic, Victor Stone branched out the academy. The once weak police force that depended on the titans to do their job was strong now; they denied any help from other superhero teams like Titans East, which had become the primary Titan team after the others' disappearance, and the Justice League.
A woman seated herself on the bench across Rachel, sipping a mug as she listened to whatever on her cell phone.
Rachel's mouth watered. She considered where the woman could've gotten her drink; she couldn't tell if it was coffee or some other warm beverage. A new coffee store had just opened on 34th. Sliding the book into the black bag she hoisted over her shoulder, she set off downtown.
---
"Good morning, Gar! Happy April Fools day!" A cheery red-headed waitress greeted, setting down the usual decaf coffee with soymilk. In all eight days the coffee shop had been open, he'd been there everyday. He'd stumbled in with a hangover to kill and had drowned at least three cups off coffee before he was awake again.
He'd been restless for the next two days, and was sure to make every coffee decaf from then on. Sipping the drink, he smiled as the warmth trickled down his throat. He glanced at the sign above the counter, reading 'Free Coffee All Around!' Then, in smaller writing, it read, 'Ha, April Fools!'
Ah, April Fools day.
Once a holiday he rejoiced, he no longer felt the same fire he did as a teenager. Without his friends, who was there left to prank, or to prank with him? A workaholic veterinarian, he and his peers were all work and no play.
Had anyone known Gar as a kid, or as a teenager, you'd be surprised at how much he'd changed. When questioned by the Jump City Tribune on how he felt working so hard to save so many animal lives, he just frowned and said, "I wish I could stop."
Something had changed in Gar, anyone who knew him could confirm. When he'd first arrived as an intern, just out of college, he'd been somewhat depressed, but always cheery. Over the years, he hardened and forced himself to push the boundaries.
The female interns swooned over him; he was what one had so bluntly said, 'drop dead gorgeous'. That was, until they got to see him work.
Some even said that he reminded them of Beast Boy—look wise, only. In the later years of the titans, a few months after the Brotherhood fiasco, Beast Boy had developed a fan club for his newly acquired height and looks; much to a certain half-demon's displeasure. Save for the point that Beast Boy was green, Gar could be his double.
The familiar jingle the bells gave when someone opened the door filled the room, soon followed by the footsteps of a woman in her mid-twenties. Her skin was pale, a delicate porcelain color, eyes so dark the color was almost unreadable. Her hair was dark and black, falling to her waist as her friend's had long before.
But Gar didn't look at those. No, his eyes were set firmly on the silver ring she donned.
She ordered something and sat at a table a few feet away, not noticing him. Eyes never leaving the ring, he got up, and sat at her table.
Ringed finger in his pocket, he gave something he hadn't given in years: a smile.
"It's been a while, Raven," he whispered.
---
When he had first sat at her table, she chose to ignore him. But at this, her eyes darted up from the incredibly boring book and into deep, lovely green eyes.
"H-how do you know my name?" She stammered, feeling most unlike herself at this moment. Only one person, as the team matured, could make her stammer, and he was…he was dead to her.
He retreated to the new-Gar; the smile left his face. "The same way I know that you were a mysterious generous donor to the city's relief fund, the same way that you always recognize the person you love."
Rachel stared at him, breath caught in her throat. Tears rolled down her cheeks, and she hated herself for it. "Gar…"
He leaned in over the table, catching her lips in a kiss. She wanted to sink into him, she did. She wanted to throw her arms around him and let out all the passion she'd learned to release through years of uninterrupted meditation. But she pulled back.
"Stop, Gar…We can't…we promised never to speak with one another after we…the team split," she whispered, biting on her lip hard enough to draw blood. "Just…just say April Fools to me and we can pretend this never happened."
He shook his head and grasped the ringed hand. "Never," he whispered. "I'm not letting you walk out of my life again."
"Why are you making this so hard?" Gar glanced around the café quickly; no one was watching or listening, as far as he could tell.
"Why won't you let me touch you? Raven, I lo—"
"My name is Rachel now, just as yours is Garfield. What he had, when were on the team, I won't forget it. But it's time to move on, Gar! Stop living in the past; what we had…we won't get it again."
"You're so cynical," he spoke with an eerie calmness, "it's lovely."
"No! I'm not going to fall for your stupid charms again, Garfield. I know you! This is just some stupid April Fools prank to you."
"When was the last time you saw me? Four years? Hasn't it occurred to you that maybe I don't believe in joking anymore?"
"Bullshit."
"What, don't believe me? I'm a wreck, if you haven't noticed. My social life is dead, my work consumes me, I push everyone away—what have I got left to joke about?"
"Cut the crap, Gar. You were depressed the whole time you were a titan—don't think I didn't sense it. Ring or not, I'm still empathic."
"Then why? Why would you treat me like shit all those years?"
"I don't know," Rachel sighed, "I just did." She shrugged. "You hurt the ones you love."
"It did hurt, you know."
"I'm sure it did. But let's be hypothetical here. Let's say I let you seduce me with you charms, I fall madly in love with you, but what's your return? Will the relationship be supported only by sex? We both have busy lives, Gar. How do you expect it to work?"
"We could make it work, Rave—Rachel."
"You're living in a dream, Garfield. You need to wake up and sniff the reality; freshly brewed."
Gar's mouth opened, but no words came out.
"I can't be your escape, I'm sorry."
She got up, and gathering her things, went for the exit. She paused in the frame, door ajar. "Oh, and Gar?" She tossed him a folded piece of paper with writing scrawled within the folds. "April fools."
Haha, Raven/Rachel is so mean.
She's all: NO I HATE YOU GO AWAY, then she's like, just kidding! And throws him her number. Which is what she did, btw.
This is kind of stupid, but...yeah. Review, if you want! (you know you want to)