If you had ever told Roy Harper that one day he would be dating another boy, he probably would have shrugged and agreed with you. If you had told him it would be an Atlantean boy, he would have raised an eyebrow. Tell him that Atlantean boy would be his teammate, Aqualad, and he would have laughed in your face before kindly knocking your lights out.
It's funny how easily things can change.
That's what was running through Roy's mind as he took the elevator down to the basement of Titans East Tower and down a corridor, towards a barely noticeable door. He and Garth had only been together a short while, almost a month, but they were already seeing how amazingly happy they were with each other. Sure things were still going pretty slowly, what with it being Garth's first relationship and Roy's first serious one in quite some time, but it was still totally worth it. And with this off day from their usual duties, they were going to spend as much time together as humanly/Atlanteanly possible.
He didn't even bother to knock before entering Garth's room, shivering and zipping his hoodie when the cold air hit him. The other boy didn't seem hindered at all, wearing shorts and sandals with his t-shirt; weirdo. What was concerning though, was the fact that his head was laying on the desk he was sitting at and there were headphones over his ears. Roy arched an eyebrow at this before waking over. He ran a hand through the long, black hair and asked, "You okay, Gillface?"
Garth turned and looked up, more from the physical contact than the words. He sat up and moved the headphones around his neck. "What did you say?"
"What're you up to?'
Garth frowned a bit and fiddled with the headphones, "I mentioned to Karen about how music isn't that common in Atlantis…" he purposely left out about the period of time he where was just with Tramm, "So she lent me a few CDs. I'm not sure how much I like it though."
Roy gave a look of consideration as he picked up the small stack on the desk and flipped through the cases. It was mostly R&B, maybe a little Hip-Hop thrown it. Nothing too bad, Karen had taste in music, but probably not the kind to strike a chord in Garth. He put the CDs down and reached over to pop open the walkman. He pulled the headphones off hi boyfriend's neck and smirked. "Come with me."
The walk up to Roy's room was mostly quiet, with the occasional glance or brush against each other. When they finally arrived in his room, Roy nodded towards his bed and instructed Garth to sit down. He moved towards the small bookcase on the opposite wall and started looking through it. "Velvet Underground…William Control…Tool…" he muttered the various names under his breath, occasionally pulling out something if it called to him. Music had always been something of a hobby for him, second only to archery. He kept his taste varied and was always looking for something new to add. He has even been a drummer in a band for a while. It was one of the few things he carried over from "Roy Harper" after becoming "Speedy" almost full time.
Well, that and the remaining scars of track marks. But he didn't really talk about that.
When he felt that he had a decent selection, Roy put the disks in his small, surprisingly outdated, stereo. He his play and waited to hear what came on first.
"So there was this woman and she was, uh, on an airplane and she was flying to meet her fiancé…"
Roy made a sound of approval and nodded. "Bright Eyes, I guess that's a pretty good start." He sat down next to Garth on the bed. He smirked a little, "Sure, they can get a little political, but that doesn't change the sound."
Garth gave a tentative smile as he placed his hand over Roy's and an acoustic guitar joined the spoken dialogue.
- o -
The minutes passed easily from there. The two boys had shifted positions a couple of times until they were laying on the bed, Roy's arms around Garth's waist while the other's were snaked around his neck. It all felt so amazingly peaceful and normal. Like they weren't heroes and just two not-so-average teenagers. Even though they loved being Titans, sometimes Roy and Garth wished things could always be this nice. Maybe because it would mean their world wasn't always in peril.
The last notes of "Train Under Water" floated in the air as Garth smiled slightly. Roy caught the expression and lifted a hand to run through the other boy's hair before placing a soft kiss on his forehead. Too perfect…
The next song really caught Garth's attention. It wasn't anything complex or that different from any of the others, but something about it just hit something in him. Maybe it was the affectionate and heartfelt lyrics or the simple melody – it just couldn't be placed for him. All he knew was that he liked it.
And even though he had heard it so many times before, Roy noticed something that sent a spark through his mind.
"And you said, 'This is the first day of my life. I'm glad I didn't die before I met you…'"
Oh god. So many times, so many times he had been close to dying before he met Garth. Fighting beside the Green Arrow, his time slo, random accidents, and heroin. How many people had he seen die in similar situations. How many of his "friends" had O. right in front of him? He could have been one of them. He might have never lived, moved forward, and met the one person who made him want to see the next day and keep going. It all hit so close to home.
"Garth…" he managed to choke out.
Garth looked at him and masked green met dark purple. Arms tightened around his neck and they moved closer. Roy's had cupped the back of Garth's neck before leaning down and pressing their lips together.
It was everything a first kiss should be. Awkward and sweet, affectionate and nerve wracking. Their noses even bumped into each other. And they broke apart, the song ended.
They were both panting and shaking a little, which was kind of surprising since Garth didn't even need to pant. Roy laughed a little and stroked the back of his boyfriend's neck, holding him close. He hummed into his hair, grin plastered across his face, "I'm so happy to be alive. So fucking happy."
Little did Roy know, but Garth was thinking the same thing.
Maaaaawwww, I can write creepy shit like Where the Purple Grass Grows and then come out with diabetes-educing goop like this. My writing is just as bipolar as my taste in music.
Anyway! I've been wanting to do this for like the past month and now I finally did. I was originally going to use Emilie Autumn instead of Bright Eyes, so I could connect it to another idea I was considering for a while, but then I realized…you can't give EA to someone totally unprepared for her, and I didn't want to use one of her earlier songs so…yeah! Then Bright Eyes came on and I was all "yeah, this shit works".
If you're all wondering why the Titans are using dated things like CDs, walkmans, and stereos instead of iPods and docks…shut up. (Read: while Doku does use her iPod religiously, she prefers the sound of CDs in a stereo. So yeah, she's a freak).
For those of you wondering where the last chapter of Mourning Morning is: I'm working on it, it just doesn't want to be written. For those of you wondering what those two songs are: "At the Bottom of Everything" and "First Day of My Life". For those of you curious about the title: "Pure and Easy" by The Who. For those of you who want to know what other CDs Speedy picked out: The Who, Emilie Autumn, Joy Division, Sublime, and Billy Joel. Or y'know, you can fill in with other bands. Now I wanna write Roy at a metal show.
This was for Kiss Bingo prompt time: first. I own nothing, seriously. Not even a Bright Eyes CD. I used iTunes for those two songs. See ya next time. Love ya~!
Ooh! Speaking of EA, she just came on!