Hey dudes and dudettes! How is it going? This little thing popped into my mind as I was watching the good old titans' episode "Every dog has its day" and that's how my oneshot became a story with two chapters...I don't own anything, except Jewel and her siblings, maybe, but I'm still not sure about that… Enjoy and have fun!

Falling in love OR the unexpected only way to get rid of alien dog drool

"Jewel, everything okay with you?" the green man asked his eldest daughter. The ten year old girl sat at the kitchen table with her youngest sibling, her two year old brother Aurum, who got fed by their father. Raven was out with the seven year old twins Diamond and Gem, they had their official initiation at Azarath into the community. Because Jewel had to attain school they had decided that he would stay home with her and the little toddler. Raven had said that they would probably be back at noon, but they were running a bit late – inter-dimensional traveling was rather tricky and you usually lose your track of time meanwhile.

Usually Jewel would dig in Garfield's homemade tofu-burger with fries, they shared the same appetite and metabolism, but not today. She kept pushing the burger around on her plate, causing her father to worry. She looked up to him and sighed. Normally she discussed such delicate matters with her mother. She was her spitted image except for the pointed ears and the green eyes, possessing the same powers too. But her personality sometimes was more like her father's: openhearted, loud and sometimes an obnoxious brat. Still, when it came to feelings, hurt or confusion, her mother could help her best, probably because she did the same for her father.

She gave him a side glance, took all her courage and asked with a serious tone: "Dad? When did Mommy and you fall in love?"

Gar stopped feeding his youngest and gave her a quizzical look. When she used that tone on him, he knew he was not allowed to joke around or she wouldn't trust him with whatever was troubling her – exactly like her mother.

"What do you mean, puppy? When we got together?"

"No. When you two felt love for each other for the very very first time. You know, the butterflies in the belly, the speedy heartbeat… When was that when you felt more for her then friendship?" she now looked him directly into her eyes, silently demanding his pure honesty and discretion about her concern.

He smiled softly and said in a conspiratorial tone: "You know, it's one of my favorite stories, but Mum don't likes it much. So if it would be okay with you, better don't tell her that I told you…"

Jewel nodded seriously and waited for her father to start.

"It was back in the time when we only knew each other for less than a year, but we already had gone through a lot together. You remember how I told you about Uncle Richard seemingly becoming a bad guy for a really short while?"

Jewel frowned slightly. "Mommy hadn't liked that you told me about, but I really liked the story."

"Right. She can be a little overprotective, you know. She just loves you," he smiled.

"So, you fell for mommy when Uncle Richard was playing villain?"

"Almost, it was soon after it. One beautiful afternoon your Dad was strolling through the city as a dog and out of the blue had been accidentally captured by an alien who confused me with his green alien dog which had run off. Although I proved him quickly that he had the wrong canine, he wanted to keep me. If it wouldn't have been for my friends, I probably still would be drifting through outer space turning into different animals for the amusement of a toddler-like alien giant."

The purple haired girl looked at her father in awe. He had been captured by an alien once! When Xand'r and Iris would hear about this…

"What happened then?" she almost whispered. She always was an attentive audience to the stories of her parents.

Gar continued feeding his impatient son who acted very similar to the alien back then without knowing. "Like I said, they saved me and after regaining my freedom and thanking them, I flew around for a while, all alone. I needed some air after all the attention. When I came back to the tower, everyone was already asleep, except your mother."

"Why was Mommy still awake?"

"Remember the green alien dog? Apparently he had grown a liking on your mother - as they had chased him in order to find me, he had kept jumping onto your mother and licking her face before escaping again."

"Urg, disgusting! Alien dog drool…" the girl stated.

"Yep. And the worst thing of all was: this stuff was sticky. It didn't get of your mothers face, no matter how much or with whatever she washed herself, no matter which spell she used. It kept glued onto her face. At the time I returned home she was desperate to the point that she wanted to try to scratch the stuff off – with a kitchen knife."

Jewel gasped, eyes wide in horror. Although she knew the answer considering her mother's face, she asked: "She didn't do it, did she?"

"Nah, but you can imagine how I shouted at her to stop and made her explain. I didn't know how to help her so I joked, that maybe she'd need an earth dogs drool to get rid of the alien dog drool. But she looked at me seriously and said calmly, that I could turn into a dog."

"No! You're kidding Daddy!"

"No kidding, puppy. I swear. I was shocked at first and stuttered something about not being able to do so, but she was so desperate that she convinced me to help her out. We both agreed to never let any of our other friends know, and it's still this way. So you'd have to keep the secret too now! Got it?"

Jewel nodded, not knowing if she'd have been able to do the same in her mother's situation. A boy licking her face to clean it…

"So, did it work?"

"Sure thing! After she had washed off her face of my drool, which was piece of cake after the alien dog drool, she quickly pulled up her hood again and said thank you. Then she left."

"But, when did you fall for each other?" she asked confused.

"I guess it was during the licking. We were both deeply embarrassed, but my heart beat even faster as I took in her scent and looked at her up this close, I couldn't help thinking that she was the most beautiful girl not in a common way but in her own mysterious way… My knees got weak and I felt like everything started spinning around. Due to my confusion I turned back into human form as I was midway through the cleaning. We both blamed it on my exhaustion of the day and she convinced me to go on like I was, if it would work, and it did… I don't know if her face was redder or mine…"

"And when did Mommy fall for you?"

"She once had told me as we discussed the matter on our own that it had been in the very same moment. The closeness somehow had made our feelings grow but we still didn't realize what it really meant."

Jewel thought about it for a few moments before she asked: "But Daddy, you where only about fourteen back then, right? Didn't you tell me the other day that you got together at almost seventeen? Why did it take so long?"

Gar had finished feeding his son and got up to put the plate into the sink. He smiled sadly at the memory of a missed chance. They could have had what they both were looking for their entire life three years earlier…

"Well, a few days later we met Terra and I had a crush for her. So I didn't think about my confusing feelings for your mother, although I barely let her completely out of my sight and I always regretted when I did."

"I don't like Terra. She was a traitor," the ten year old pouted. She was as quick with her judgment as her father always had been, but she was more persistent to it like her mother. She knew about Terra from the old stories too and she never had liked the geomancer, no matter how hard her parents, especially her father had tried to convince her.

"But she saved our lives," he replied softly while he sat back at the table.

Jewel still huffed: "Out of a situation you wouldn't have been in if she wouldn't have been there!" It wasn't the first time they discussed the matter.

"Maybe, but still she decided to do the right thing."

"And after being revived she was too chickenhearted to become a heroine again! She was a traitor and a scaredy-cat."

"Watch your language, young lady!" her father said with a small frown but still smiling, "but she wasn't the only interruption. Afterwards, there was this dragon and the end of the world and the fight with the brain and Tokio and… well, you see, there happened a lot. But my heart always belonged to your mother, even if I didn't realize it back then."

She fell silent for a while, looking at her almost empty plate; during the story she had started to eat absentminded. "But I don't want to wait for three years…" she mumbled more to herself, she had been so deep in thoughts she had forgotten about her father's enhanced hearing.

"So, who did you fall for, puppy?" he asked as he leaned conspiratorially closer over the table.

Jewel blushed slightly and stuttered: "Who-who told you th-that I-I-I…"

"Lucky guess," he beamed.

She sighed. Her father could be like a bloodhound if he wanted to know something. Maybe she'd better fill him in, before he would snoop around. "Xand'r," she whispered really quietly.

"Kori and Dicks little ray of sunshine? What's wrong with the women in this family to fall for the happy-go-lucky guys? So, when did it happen?" he said half faking desperation. He had known it for a long time now that his little girl, his puppy, would grow up some day, but this was so soon…

Jewel blushed some more. "The other day when he protected me from some meanies. I could have taken them down in a blink, but he stood up for me and shooed them away. Then he took my hand and walked me home… My heart beat so hard I thought it would burst, everything was spinning around and my knees got all wobbly… First I thought I was sick, so I read some of Mommy's books about health, then I found out, that they say that is what falling in love feels like…"

"He's a good boy. Luckily he's not as uptight as his father but it may take him some time to figure out what a great girl you are, Jewel. Boys are slower in this matter…"

"But, Dad, I don't want to wait for three years!" she exclaimed in desperation.

"Well, then you will have to tell him how you feel. There is no other way," he said while he softly stroked her head.

In the meantime, Aurum was getting impatient in his highchair. He had played with his spoon and his feet for a while, but now, he was bored. He had shown more patience than other two year old toddler would usually.

"Daddyyyy, Au'um wants out!"

"Of course, little dude, just a sec!" Gar hurried to help his son out, mentally scolding himself for forgetting him.

When Aurum had ran off to play a little before his father would remind the dreaded naptime, Jewel said quietly: "Maybe I can wait a little, I don't want to ruin everything. I don't know if we still can be friends if he won't feel the same way…"

Gar didn't care that she was getting to old for it as he suddenly lifted her up from where she sat and took her in his arms. "Don't despair, puppy. No matter what may happen, we're still here for you. Always. You have to remember, that you'll always have your family to look out for you!"

"I know Dad. Thank you!" she mumbled, hugging him back.

But Aurum wouldn't be Garfield's son, if he wouldn't ruin their moment. A loud crushing sound came out of the living room, that sounded like something big and heavy had exploded.

"Wasn Au'um, Daddy! TV made boom on his own!"