It was a great relief for Garfield to return to find the tower still standing, and the familair racket of Titans inside. After being gone for two weeks on a mission, even a jokester worries about his team. He returned to a more than warm welcome, receiving hugs and claps on the back from almost every Titan, followed by a feast of a dinner that they had prepared for his return. Safe to say, he was feeling pretty welcome, and he was fucking glad to be home.
During dinner however he noticed something, or rather, a lack of something. Bart Allen was nowhere to be seen at the table. This struck Beast Boy as rather odd for two reasons. Firstly, Bart NEVER passed up an opportunity to eat. Ever. And secondly, because the young speedster was usually buzzing about by Garfield's side while not on missions.
When Cyborg was unable to account for the kid's absence, he decided the young hero's friends would surely know more. He turned to Kon and to ask him about the kid's whereabouts, but the answer was rather unsatisfactory. "Hmm? Oh, the kid, I dunno. Haven't seen much of him. Probably off reading or something."
Even Robin didn't know where Bart was, simply dismissing the question with a very flippant "Dunno. Don't see much of him these days."
After asking around, it becomes apparent that nobody had seen much of Bart in all the time that Garfield had been away. Cyborg was able to point out that he had been spending a lot of time on his own, rarely even joining the othet Titans for meals. He would just speed in, get food for himself and take off to eat alone in his room.
Honestly, that worried Gar. Bart was usually a very social person, who loved being the center of attention. He usually hated being left alone and got bored very quickly. What worried him more was that this seemed to go completely unnoticed by the other Titans, until Beast Boy's concern brought the issue to Vic's attention.
Garfield decided that there was no more point in sitting around talking about it. He was going to go find Bart, and figure out what was up with the kid. Excusing himself from the rest of the Titans rather briskly, not making any attempt to disguise his disappointment that they could all allow Bart to slip through the cracks, he morphed into a sparrow and sped through the halls of the tower to Bart's room.
Morphing back into his usual form, Gar knocked confidently three times on the door, an excited smile adorning his face, waiting to see his favorite speedster.
When the door opened he was slightly taken aback. Bart looked like a mess. His hair was more all over the place than usual, his eyes were red and puffy, and he was clad only in a baggy T-shirt and some loose boxer shorts.
When the door opened, the boy looked far from happy, but that changed a millisecond later once he realised who was at the door.
"Yeah? Oh! Gar! You're back! Welcome home geezyou'vebeengone for aaaages! I'm so glad you're back, how was your mission? You didn't get hurt did you? Was everything okay?"
"Woah Bart slow down!" The changeling chuckled. "The mission went fine. But I just came by to see you. So... the guys say you've been in here alone for most of the time I've been gone. Wanna tell me what's up?" He inquired, leaning casually against the door frame.
The smile was gone from Bart's face the second the question left the taller boy's mouth. He looked up at him with big, sad eyes through his messy fringe, hands fidgiting and looking generally uncomfortable. Gar could have sworn he saw him vibrating slightly due to sheer awkwardness.
"Woah woah imp settle down, how bout this, you and me go back to my room, grab a few snacks, few sodas, watch a couple movies and chill for the night, eh? You gotta sleep over though. Your room's a mess. Dude I can't even see your bed with all these books around the place."
The room did look like a mess. The curtains were still closed, despite the late hour of the day, and to Gar's heightened senses, it smelled like Bart hadn't changed his sheets in quite a while, or done much of anything in the way of keeping the room clean.
The kid looked extatic. "Yeah sure! That sounds sweet! I'll runtothekitchenandget snacks and stuff! Meet you in your room!" And he was off in a blur.
By the time Gar walked to his room the bed was already piled high with junk food and sodas, with just enough room for the two boys to sit at the head of the double bed. Bart was excitedly flicking through Garfield's DVD collection picking out several movies for them to watch. Gar always let Bart pick. He wasn't fussy and the way Bart's face lit up when he found something he really wanted to see made it impossible for the changeling to say no.
A few movies later, Gar decided it was time to talk to Bart. He looked over just in time to see Bart pound yet another soda to wash down the most recent bag of chips he had devoured.
"Listen, Bart, we need to talk for a minute." Bart looked up at him with big golden eyes clearly showing his curiosity. "I need you to talk to me about why you've been on your own so much while I was gone." Impulse immediately began to fidgit, visably uncomfortable. "I'm just worried about you Bart, that's all. Don't worry, you know that whatever's going on you can tell me."
Those big golden eyes were on him again. The kid took a deep breath, clearly trying to settle himself. "Okay, well... you see, the thing is thatyou'rekindofmyonlyfriendhere and I felt uncomfortablearoundtheothers onmyown cause they'reallbusyand I'm just an annoying kid"
He said it all so fast that Garfield almost missed it. Honestly, he was taken aback by Bart's confession. "But, Bart, what are you talking about? You've got lots of friends here. What about Kon and Robin? And, hell, everybody!"
Bart's eyes welled up a little. "No... No everything's changed! Nothing is like it used to be anymore. It's not like before when we were all really close and happy. Now Kon only has time for Cassie, they're all over each other all the time. All they do is each other!" He paused briefly to shudder at the mental image, making a face and sticking out his tongue. Beast Boy found it rather comical, but now was clearly no time for laughter. "And Tim's different too. He never has time to have fun anymore, ever! He never has time for me anymore..."
Garfield had never even realised that Bart had been having problems with his old friends. He hadn't even realised the boy was feeling so left out in the Titans. How could he have overlooked something like this?
"And everybody else just treats me like I'm some stupid little kid that can't do anything right. They think I do nothing but fuck up, and don't try to tell me otherwise Gar cause I can see the way they look at me, and the condescending way they talk to me. They think I'm annoying and useless and don't want me around. So why would I be around them when I know they don't want me there?"
There were tears slowly trailing down the younger boys cheeks. Gar was shocked. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Bart... y-you don't really believe that, do you?"
"Of course I do, it's true! The only people who actually seem to enjoy having me around are you and Wally! And even Wally took a while to grow fond of me."
Garfield stared at his younger friend, still shocked. "Bart... I'm so sorry. I never knew you felt like that before. I can't believe I never noticed. Why have you never talked to me about all this?"
A pink tint spread across the speedsters cheeks. "Well... Cause when you're around it's not an issue. I don't feel lonely when you're around. And when you're away I usually go see Wally, but, he was away too the last few weeks."
"So... You've been all alone since I left? Like, completely alone?"
"Yeah, but you're back now, so I'm all good!" He was looking up at Garfield with a beaming smile, truly believing that everything was fine once his green friend was by his side.
Beast Boy was slightly overcome by how much he meant to Bart. Sure they were really close, but he never imagined that he was one of the only people left in Bart's life. A selfish little part of him swelled with pride. As guilty as it made him feel, Gar was glad that it was him that brought a smile to the younger hero's face. He knew he shouldn't think like that, the kid was 15. He shouldn't be blushing like a schoolgirl because of compliments from a kid. It was wrong.
Still, he needed comforting, and Garfield would always be there for him for that. So he threw his arm around Bart's shoulders and pulled him to his side in what he hoped was a brotherly display of affection. "Bart, you know I'm always here for you right? No matter what. If you ever feel bad about this stuff, you come straight to me!"
Bart looked up from the arm around his shoulder to see Gar wink at him and give him one of his best grins. His cheeks felt like they were on fire, but he managed to smile back at the older boy.
Once Beast Boy was convinced that Bart believed him, he got up to put in a new film on. Feeling fairly confident he had chosen a movie funny enough to hold his speedster's attention, he decided it was getting late. He'd better change out of the jeans into something a little more comfortable. He excused himself for a moment to go root through his closet, but he was fairly sure Bart paid no attention. He was much too focused on what looked like the sugariest doughnut Garfield had ever seen.
Bart looked up from licking sugar off his fingers when he felt the bed shift with the weight of Garfield re-joining him. He glanced over at his friend to offer a welcome back doughnut when his breath caught in his throat. Garfield had returned in only a pair of pajama pants. Nothing else. It was torture for Bart. Admittededly he had a thing for the changeling. It was no secret between the two. He had asked Garfield out once before, but he turned him down. Something about there being too much of an age difference and it being illegal. Bullshit in Bart's mind. But he could see fairly clearly that it was difficult for Gar to say, and he gave him such a cuddly hug afterwards that Bart could only find it within himself to argue a little. He didn't want to make it harder than it needed to be on either of them. Plus, he couldn't risk their friendship by arguing childishly.
But there he found himself, sitting on a bed with a shirtless Garfield, all the while trying to think of a way to thank him for everything that he had said earlier, but no words came to mind that were good enough. He was fidgiting nervously, trying to think of something to say before too much time had passed. If he waited too long it would be weird. But the more he thought the worse the situation got.
Suddenly, his body simply acted on impulse. In a flash he leaned up and planted a swift kiss on Garfield's cheek.
By the time Gar responded, Bart was sitting in his spot once again staring at the TV screen, blushing an impossibly dark shade of red. Gar reached a hand up to his cheek to touch the flesh where the younger boys lips had been less than a second ago.
"Bart... Did you just kiss me?"
Bart turned an even darker shade of red. "I-I just wanted t-to say thanks, for everything, b-but Icouldn'tthinkofawaytosayit, and I got nervous, andyoutookyourshirtoff and... Thank you Gar."
And with that the speedster fell silent, ducking his head to hide behind his floppy fringe of golden brown hair.
"You're welcome Bart. But, I have to ask, do you still have that crush on me?"
At this, gold eyes met green. "Yup. Course I do. Why wouldn't I? You're basically perfect. And you treat me great, and you're always nice to me and you always invite me to do stuff with you, like right now. Plus, I know you like me back."
Beast Boy gasped. He hadn't thought that Bart had noticed. He knew that he wasn't the best at hiding these things, but he had assumed that with Bart's lack of experience in that area he wouldn't notice. Clearly he was wrong.
He sighed, dreading the conversation to come. "Okay, no point denying it, I guess I do like you that way Bart, but it's wrong of me! Soooo wrong. I mean, you're too young. You're only fifteen. You're four years younger than me. Plus, it's illegal! We just can't Bart."
The younger hero gave him a sad smile, letting out a regretful sigh. "I know Gar. You told me all that when I asked you out ages ago. I don't get what's wrong with it though. I like you, you like me, what else matters?"
"I wish it were that simple Bart, I really do"
"Then make it that simple Gar!" Bart interrupted, "it's not like you'd be taking advantage of me, I want to be with you. I want to be with you so bad Gar. When I'm with you, I finally feel like I actually belong on this team. You make me feel like I have a place with the Titans. Fuck, you make me feel like I have a place in this century! I... I think I l-love you Gar..."
By the time Bart's rant had ended, Garfield was in shock once again. For. Second time that night Bart had surprised him with how much the changeling had meant to him. Gar had assumed up to this point that Bart's feelings were just a passing crush, which made him feel even more guilty for how long he had been harbouring such strong feelings for the underage time traveller.
He felt Bart poke his arm, and noticed how long the silence had dragged since he last spoke. "Gar.. umm.. I'm sorry, should I leave?"
"NO!" Beast Boy leapt into a kneeling position and pulled Bart to his chest, hugging him as tight as he could, in the hopes that he'd never have to leave. "Bart, I didn't know you felt so strongly, and it's not that I don't feel the same way, cause I do, oh god I do Bart, but.. but..."
He was interrupted by Bart's lips crashing onto his own. Before he could even think of stopping the wildly inappropriate kiss, his body had reacted on its own, returning the kiss just as hungrily. The kiss lasted a long while, and was quickly followed with many greedy pecks and more intense lip locks. When eventually they were forced to stop to take a break to catch their breath, Gar found himself on top of Bart, one hand knotted in his hair, the other behind his neck. Bart's legs were around his waist, ankles locked at the small if Garfield's exposed back. Both of the speedster's hands were tangled in his green hair.
They stared into one another's eyes, breathing hard, lips mere inches apart, a trail of saliva still connecting them. With their noses still touching, Bart breathed out a "Wooooow", nuzzeling his nose against Gar's, making the older boy giggle.
"Okay, you're pretty persuasive Bart. Maybe I will take you up on that offer of dinner, BUT, only if we take this really slowly. Just dinner. Maybe a kiss here and there and maybe some cuddling. No sex. Deal?"
"Deal!" Bart replied instantly, already vibrating with excitement.
Sure, Garfield had set what he thought was a lot of rules, but Wally always said rules were made to be broken. He wasn't too worried about the rules. Besides, it had only taken him a few weeks to get Gar to agree to a date after he first said no. He was confident that he could convince his green friend that breaking just a few more rules could be fun.
And so, with that in mind, the supersonic teen turned to more immediate matters.
The rest of the night was spent cuddled under Gar's blankets, exchanging gentle kisses and playful giggles, movies, junk food and outside opinions totally forgotten about.