Author's Note: Sleep is avoiding me. And work is kicking my ass. So, why not release another one-shot. So, read and review!
Gregory Tegan was a seventy year old man, going completely bald on the top of his head, and considered his only proud accomplishments in life to be winning a marathon at age nineteen, marrying his high school sweetheart, and opening up his flower shop. The arthritis in his knees stopped him from running. His wife had died four years ago. And his flower shop, the only thing he had left, had nearly been destroyed when those weird superheroes had decided to make the whole city their playground. He read the news and knew it was mostly this Slade and Terra person.
The papers were still making a mess out of this whole thing. The Titans were doing their best, but it was evident that they were in way over their head. The accusations were flying and more than half of the city population had yet to return. Some streets, and nearly every building, was in need of repair. Gregory didn't want to wait for the repairmen, so the things he could fix himself he did. Not that it really mattered; he didn't have any flowers to sell yet, and no one felt safe enough walking around the streets by themselves.
That's why he was so surprised when he was busy fixing one of the counters, it had been completely splintered when he was allowed to come back home, and he was having a rough time putting in the screws.
"Do you want a hand with that?" Gregory nearly stabbed himself with the screwdriver. He turned around to find one of fighters, the green one, standing a few feet in the store.
"Way to give an old man a heart attack."
"Sorry, I sort of forget to warn people before I come in." Gregory waved him off.
"Don't worry about it."
He went back to what he was doing, and then he looked up when he saw that the kid was still there.
"Is there something you want?" The kid held out an envelope.
"We're helping take a list of things that need to be replaced or fixed. If you could fill it out, that'd be great." There was a flatness in the kid's voice that Gregory didn't like, but he didn't point it out. Not like he cared. All he wanted was his quiet little shop back. Standing up, Gregory wiped his hands off on his jeans and starting looking for a pen.
Unfolding the paper, he starting writing down what needed to be repaired. There was a lot of things to be done, and Gregory knew he wasn't going to be able to afford this.
"You don't need to worry about the cost. We're covering the damages to the city." Gregory looked up.
"That's going to be quite the bill."
"We should pay it. After all, it was our fault that we caused half of the damage." When he was finished, Gregory slipped the sheet back into the envelope. The kid took it and told him to have a good day.
Gregory watched him walk to the next store, then until he was out of sight. Something didn't feel right, but he couldn't figure it out. Shaking his head, and deciding that he wasn't going to get anymore work done today, he started to lock up his store. Not that it mattered; he had nothing to steal, and no one was around to steal from him. His house was silent when he walked in. Old pictures, the only things not covered in dust, greeted him with frozen smiles. Most of them were of him and his wife. Dead wife.
Before the depressing thoughts could come at him all angles, he hurried through the hall and into the kitchen. He made himself a meager meal, nothing like he used to, then sat down to read an old book he found in the attic. It was dark by the time he got tired, and when he went to bed, he avoided touching the other side of the master bed, not wanting to mess of the sheets. His wife had always been a stickler on that. It was raining the next morning. There wasn't anyone on the streets, and, strangely, Gregory found himself keeping an eye out for the kid.
It was an odd thing to do; he had a job, and so did the kid. He'd probably get a check in the mail or something. Two days later, when he was buried up to his elbows in dirt and dust, he got his wish. At least this time the kid knocked.
"That was a fast turnover." Gregory wiped his hands down as he accepted the new envelope. It was thicker than the last one.
"It's easier when the owner is still here. Then we can just process it quicker." The kid looked more ragged than last time. Weren't teens supposed to be bursting with energy? All the kids he had met were.
"I've got some coffee in the back, you want any?" For a moment the kid looked stunned. He recovered quickly from it.
"Ya, sure, thanks." They both took their cups black and Gregory studied him while they drank.
"How many more stops do you have today?"
"Three." It was progress. Maybe things would pick up again in a few weeks. This city had always been busy. "Thanks for the coffee."
"You looked like you needed a pick-me-up." Gregory stated. The kid looked awful. There were some dark circles under his eyes and the eyes were dull. It reminded him of how he must have looked when he lost his wife. Then again, hadn't they just lost a teammate or something? That was something media was forgetting. This girl had been something to the group of kids in charge with keeping them safe. Maybe she was important to this kid as well. "Sorry, I didn't mean to be rude."
"It's ok, we haven't been taking a lot of time to rest anyway. Too much stuff to get done these days."
The kid didn't stay around much longer after that. Gregory almost wished he did, since it was nice actually talking to someone, and he wondered when he had gotten so lonely that a green kid was enough to make him forget it. It soon became a cycle for them; every few days, he'd pop into the shop, Gregory would make coffee or tea for them, and they'd talk. At first, it was just little small talk things. Then it branched out. Like when Gregory said he needed to redo the walls and the kid offered to help him paint.
Turns out the kid was pretty good with a brush. He even did some border work for him and didn't take any cash for it. Gregory suspected that he just needed a reason to get out. Not that he minded. He was beginning to enjoy those few hours talking to someone else. When the shop was finally up to standards, the flowers started to come back. The kid, who had to keep reminding him his name wasn't kid, didn't have a green thumb with plants, but could water them and take off the dead leaves. It worked out for them.
Overtime, he was able to find out a bit more about the situation. While the media had begun to die down with the all the news articles, the team itself was trying to rebuild. Of course, none of them had ever been betrayed by a teammate, even if she was only there for a short time. Gregory suspected that there was more to it, but he didn't push. If coming to see him for a few hours was enough to put the kid into a better mood, Gregory didn't mind. He enjoyed the company and he suspected the kid did too.
However, one day, the kid didn't show. Or the next. By the time one week had gone without sight of him, Gregory was getting worried. He didn't get the chance to slip into a full blown panic, though, as the next morning his most frequent guest had shown up. Looking more tired and his smiles seemed more forced than before, but Gregory was glad nothing serious had happened to him. Slipping back into the normal routine they had, Gregory brushed him away from the plants and sat him down for a bit. They both could relax this quiet morning.
"Busy week?" Gregory asked gently as he poured the hot water into the cups. It looked like it was going to rain today, so he pulled two tea bags out of the small cupboard, and wrapped the string around the handle of the mug.
"We had some calls to take care of. Nothing serious, but since the police force is already stretched thin, the criminals think that they can get away with more." He looked exhausted. Another wave of concern rolled over Gregory, and he wished his wife was here instead. She was always the better one at reading people.
"I think you're pretty stretched thin too. When was the last time you got some decent rest?" The shrug he got didn't sooth his worries.
"There hasn't been a lot of time for that. And even when we do get a chance… I don't really sleep anyway." Gregory frowned at the comment.
"Why don't you. It's not healthy to skip out on sleep, kid."
"It's not getting to sleep that's the problem." The kid couldn't meet his eyes for the next part of the sentence. "It's staying asleep that is." So, nightmares probably. They had to be some nasty ones.
"Have you talked to your friends about this?" They had touched on the subject of the team once or twice, enough for Gregory to know that they all cared about each other, but this betrayal had left some deep wounds. Maybe the reason the kid had kept coming back was because Gregory wasn't involved. He didn't have any prior knowledge, or memories, of a time before all this. He could understand that. What he didn't understand was that this was going unnoticed.
"It wouldn't help. They have them too, it'd only make it worse. Besides, I've dealt with them before."
The bare hint of exhaustion seeped into the statement. Gregory wanted nothing more than to order the kid to talk to his friends, but then he got struck with an idea.
"Tell me about them." That head snapped right up. Those eyes, which always seemed to express what the kid was feeling, narrowed in suspicion. But Gregory didn't back down. "You said you didn't want to bother your friends. So, bother me with it. I'm a grown man, kid, and I've seen my fair share of stuff." It was true. You didn't get this far in life without some horrors.
He had come from a rough neighborhood, some of his buddies had been drafted, and he had to sit by and watch as the only woman he had ever loved died. Granted, he was some mutant with amazing powers, but he did have a good listening ear. Plus, the benefit of confidentiality. All the people he might have told were dead. Gregory didn't force the kid to start talking. He waited patiently, and while he thought it over, he stood up and refilled their cups. Had the kid ever actually told anyone what went on beyond what the media knew?
"Are you sure you want to talk about it?" The kid asked when he came back. Gregory pointed a finger at him.
"I asked you to tell me. I wouldn't have done it if I didn't care. So, you can be as specific as you want, talk as much as you want. But, you need to talk about it or it'll eat you alive, kid." That part was true. He'd lost a lot of people because they couldn't pull themselves out of that dark hole. Gregory wasn't a sappy guy, but he wasn't about to lose this kid as well.
Over the next few weeks, things started to pick up. People moved back into the city, businesses came back to life, and every couple of days Gregory got to see the kid. It became a common thing for him to have two mugs set aside each day, and his assistant knew not to bother him when his visitor came by. He was looking better too. Less tired, more upbeat, and occasionally Gregory caught sight of the other members of his team. They never came in, which didn't bother him. It meant he didn't have to share his green companion.
So, he was pretty surprised when the bell above the door went off, and it wasn't the person he expected. The metal titan, Cyborg he remembered after a moment, stood awkwardly in the doorway. Gregory couldn't help the snort that escaped him.
"Well, come on in. I don't bite. Just be lucky I lost my cane." The feeble joke got him to smile and the titan walked up to the counter.
"So, this is where he's been running off to." Gregory raised an eyebrow.
"Were you expecting something different?" Cyborg shrugged.
"We were just curious. Beast Boy never told us where he was going." Gregory wasn't mad; if anything, he was slightly flattered. It was often that he had someone that went out of their way to spend time with him. Which made him wonder where he was today.
"He usually comes around every couple of days. Is everything ok?" He kept up with the new more than he used to. The kid tried to convince him not to, but Gregory didn't listen. Ever since the chaos that happened, he wanted to be more in touch with the city he called home. He wouldn't be surprised like that ever again.
"Ya, he just got held up back at the tower. I was actually hoping to talk to you for a bit." Gregory raised an eyebrow, but didn't try and rush him. He didn't have anything to hide. "Does he tell you anything? It's just," Cyborg hurried to explain when he saw Gregory's look. "He always comes back… happier. I just figured he was telling you more than us."
"We talk, but whatever he tells me I won't blab out. I gave him my word." There was an odd pressure behind Cyborg's eye.
"You're right. But, if it was serious, you'd tell, right?"
Finally, Gregory stopped what he was doing and looked Cyborg in the eyes. He was always careful in observing the kid, taking note of the dark circles under his eyes going away and how he seemed to be in better spirits each time he came to visit. But, if these people couldn't tell something was wrong, Gregory wasn't sure if the term friend was the right fit for Cyborg.
"Nothing serious happened. But, like I said earlier, I won't betray his confidence. You might have noticed that he wasn't sleeping, at least." Cyborg looked down at his feet.
"He wouldn't say what they were about. We did know, but every time we made the effort to ask him, he'd just refuse to answer. He is getting better; it seems cheesy, but he was smiling the past few times he's come back from seeing you." Gregory smiled at him. There wasn't any ill intent here, just a friend who was trying his best, too.
"He didn't want to worry you. A weak excuse, I know," Gregory held up a hand when Cyborg opened his mouth to go on again. "But I went with it. I think this helped him."
Cyborg laughed. "I'm not trying to pry. All of us have been on edge for the past few weeks. Your mind kinda goes to worse case scenarios when a friend starts wandering off for hours at a time." He left shortly after that. Gregory told him he could stop by again whenever he wanted and went back to tending the plants. Briefly, he wondered if he would be getting visits from anyone else. Cyborg said all of the members were curious, which made him curious to meet them, and he made sure his door was propped open to other visitors.
Overtime, he got to meet all of the titans. Cyborg popped in more now that Gregory had reassured him. It was a long time before any of them started coming in with the kid. No, he still wasn't going to call him by his name. He never pictured himself playing host to the protectors of the city, but if they managed to find some sort of relief when coming to his shop, then who was Gregory to deny them that. As the year progressed, and the city came back to life, he noticed other things too from the small group.
Now that the others knew Gregory, the kid was more open about talking. Certain subjects that Gregory couldn't bring up were slowly introduced to the conversation and Beast Boy didn't hesitate to answer. The others seemed to be along the same lines; once they realized that anything they said in the shop wouldn't leave, they could relax around him. Starfire was curious about the plants, and Robin occasionally poked his head in. Cyborg mostly came in for weekly checks and usual update on the happenings in the tower. The purple haired girl, the one that the kid always seemed to skirt around, only started coming in a few months down the line.
Gregory was pretty old, but he saw things for what they were. Keeping his observations to himself, he let the years wash away the memories of a blonde haired girl that hadn't stayed around long enough get replaced with another. Raven wasn't anything like his wife, but she seemed pretty good for the kid. Besides, now he had a front row seat to the romance. After he retired, he remained in Jump City. And when he got that wedding invitation, he was the only man to arrange the flowers.