Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans

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The sky was grey.

It was a cool morning, good for running, but part of him liked getting sunshine and clear skies. At least the clouds brought shade.

Garfield Logan stopped at an intersection, briefly looking at his phone. 10:37. So I've done what, like two miles in 18 minutes? Lil' slow, but I'm just gettin' warmed up.

He stretched his legs a little, then continued on. It was a little humid, so he was sweating a little more than normal, but other than the minor discomfort, it wasn't anything too bad. Crossing over another street, the blonde picked up the pace a bit. While running wasn't exactly a routine for him - he went to the gym more - it was still something he enjoyed. There was something relaxing about the physical exertion, where there was nothing else to worry him and all he had to do was focus on putting one foot in front of the other. It was tiring, but invigorating at the same time. There was something peaceful about it.

Garfield stopped at another intersection, waiting for the light to turn. A couple moments later, someone ran up beside him. He turned.

"Mornin'."

There was no response. He turned. It was a girl.

The light turned green and she ran past him.

"Rachel? Hey, Rae, wait up!"

She was surprisingly fast; he had a hard time keeping up with her, especially since they were running uphill. The humidity in the air grew denser as a slight drizzle began to fall around them. Cool droplets ran down his skin as he pursued her. They turned through several streets. He heaved for breath in the heavy atmosphere, lungs gasping for oxygen as he tried to maintain her speed.

The dark leaves of trees appeared above. Garfield looked up briefly, not recognizing the small park they were in, then looked forward again. She was nowhere in sight.

"God damn," he muttered. "Rae, why're you runnin'?"

He looked around rapidly for a moment, then caught sight of her between an arc of small trees. Pursuing her, he gathered his strength and ran faster.

They turned. A long stretch of road spanned out in front of him, a straight path of pure grey carved out of the surrounding trees. Cast in monochromatic color of falling rain, he had a clear view of her ahead of him. She was there, within sight, but somehow slipping farther and farther away.

He became painfully aware of the slow burn in his legs, realizing that he couldn't keep up with her. Down the long path, she was far ahead of him… too far away, too far out of reach. Yet, he pursued, working his legs as hard as he could to at least keep her in sight.

… then again, why was he even chasing after her? They weren't even real friends, not really – they were just two people who happened to know each other and sometimes planted flowers together. So why was he chasing her?

But then, the reason probably didn't really matter.

Sweat dripped down his face and back. Gasping for breath, he felt the muscles in his body ache with the continue exertion. The rain fell harder. Rivulets of cool water poured from the sky, casting the grey world into an even darker shade. Ahead, her form blended in with the hueless world. It was a painful, long chase through the straight road, watching her draw farther away with each passing moment. Somehow, he knew he had to catch her. Why? That could be worried about later.

She turned.

Blurs of muted green and brown streaked past his vision. Faintly, Garfield was aware that they were no longer in the city proper; here, there were plains and trees, fields of little flowers and small cottages. Somehow, he knew exactly where they were. The question was, why was she running this way? It couldn't have been a coincidence.

They ran down a winding rock path. He slipped a little, but caught himself before he fell. His vision blurred in the pouring rain. Garfield shook his head rapidly. The fast run in the thick rain was gruelingly painful. The aching burn had become a searing pain in his legs, but somehow he managed to ignore it and continue pursuing her.

His vision cleared a little.

Ahead, her dark shape took on a different form. She was no longer just a girl, but something like a dark angel, a shadow slipping through the rain, or perhaps a raven gliding smoothly and elegantly over the monochrome world. Her movements were eerily smooth and elegant.

She turned once more. The trees grew thicker again. This place was intimately recognizable. It couldn't have been a coincidence…

She slowed a bit. The distance between them closed. Somehow, he knew that it was intentional on her part. She couldn't have been trying to get away from him or she would have done so earlier. He was meant to follow her here. Why?

And why had he followed her?

Her paced slowed further. The rain thinned. Garfield panted for breath as he approached.

Her hair was gathered into a small, sleek ponytail. In the dim light, her pale face was pointed and angular, glistening with the rain. Shadows covered her eyes and hollowed out her cheeks, giving her a gaunt, haunted appearance. Her body was thin and slight – for some reason, she was wearing long sleeves and long pants, but then again, that was all he had ever seen her wear.

If anything, her garb today was more form fitting than he had seen from her yet. So she wasn't exactly attractive in the normal way, not in the sense that he looked at other girls. She wasn't curvy, she didn't have a chest, her face was unemotional and dark, too plain…

Somehow, it didn't matter. There was something alluring about the gleam of her eyes through the silky drizzle of rain. Violet amethyst pierced the veil between them.

Rachel drew a low breath. Faintly, he was aware that she was a little bit winded, but not nearly as much as he was – it was all he could do to keep upright, let alone continue following after her. Luckily, she decided not to run any longer.

She stretched her sleek, toned muscles briefly, then walked down the path a little farther. He already knew where she was going.

There was a small fence up ahead. She put her arms over the edge and stared into a cemetery. The grey sky lightened a little.

It was silent for a long while as he regained his breath, watching her stare motionlessly outward. There was something terrifying about her posture. Something screamed at him to approach her, and something else screamed at him to stay away.

Garfield took a deep breath. His legs protested when he tried to walk. They burned painfully; he took a few steps anyway, limping a little toward where she was.

Rachel turned. Violet and green met again.

The dark gleam of her eyes was captivating. He stared, enthralled for several minutes, entranced by the pair of dusky gems radiating a plethora of unidentifiable emotion that her face did not. The smoothness of her pale skin was too plain – he had thought – too restrained… too shadowed. She wasn't an emotional person. She wasn't a nice person either. She just didn't care about anything else… she was just totally self-absorbed. That was what he had thought.

Somehow, those eyes spoke differently. What was it about them?

Her lips twisted. Rachel wrinkled her nose, then looked away.

"You stink."

Garfield took a long breath. "Dude. You coulda ran slower."

"Who said you were supposed to follow me?"

"If you didn't want me to, you woulda lost me long ago. You meant for me to follow."

Rachel put a finger to his chest. "That's what you think."

"That's what I know."

"Men," she muttered under her breath. "What makes you think you were supposed to follow? We barely know each other, Garfield. I don't mean this in a harsh way. I'm just saying that we only met about two weeks ago. There's no reason for me to expect you to follow me on a long run out here."

"No reason I shouldn't. You definitely wanted me to follow you. Don't pretend."

"One, there is no possible way I would have wanted you to follow me. That falls under the realm of stalkers. Two, why would you take the effort to follow me this far? You shouldn't even care to do that."

"Dunno. I was curious. Besides, thought you might like the attention. Since you never seem to get any."

Her eyes narrowed. "Is that so? Did you see a nice piece of ass and think 'I'm so going to get that in bed with me tonight'? Am I just a whore to you?"

"N-no. I didn't mean it like that."

"I saw you staring at me. You were checking me out."

He held his hands up defensively. "Yeah, so? I wasn't really ogling you or anythin'. I just looked for a bit. No need to freak out about it. I don't see what your problem is. Not really a big deal."

"The problem is men," Rachel retorted. "You men just don't know how to take things slowly. You're just aggressive and whenever you see something you want, you try to take it as soon as you can without a second thought. It hasn't reached your brain that friendships and relationships are things you develop over time."

"That's totally not-"

"You're just like them. You're just salty that you can't get anyone to like you because you're childish and assume things that just aren't true. Look, if you wanted to be friends, there were other ways to do it than this."

"Dude, what's the problem? I know you're in a bad mood, but c'mon. Or… don't tell me, is it that time-"

"The problem is you assuming things. You just assume you know what I want, and when I tell you you're wrong, you can't accept it. You just want to force your own assumptions onto me so you feel justified in chasing after someone who can actually tolerate you."

"Hell, who'd want to be friends with a stiff prick like you?" Garfield threw his arms up. "You'd think that an ugly freak like you would want some friends. But I guess you stay holed up in your stuffy little witch den all day for a reason. You just think everyone else is garbage for caring even a little."

Her lips worked furiously, but nothing came out.

"I'm sick of the shit that comes out from you! I run through all this stupid rain and take hours of time to chase you and all you give me is this dick-ass attitude! All because I thought maybe you'd want to make a friend some time in your life, and maybe I could give you a chance."

Rachel put her arms over her chest.

"Look." He shoved her back. "I don't know what you think about me and I dunno what kind of guys you've talked to, but I'm not like some of the dicks out there, okay? I'm not just tryin' to get into your pants or 'nything. I thought that since you looked so pathetic a few days ago, I'd make myself available if you wanted to talk. Instead, I find out you're just as sour on the inside as you are on the outside."

Her look softened. Not noticing, Garfield grabbed her shoulders and squeezed. Part of him was very tempted to hit her, but he settled for tightening his grip on her.

"And for the record, I've had plenty of girlfriends way prettier than you. Why the hell would I have to settle for someone like you? I'm even a guy who looks for personality in a girl. If you're not pretty, no big deal. If you're nice and fun to be around, that's great too. But you? You're ugly and you're a jackass, and all you do is take it out on other people! Maybe you're smart, but that's all you've got goin' for you."

Garfield squeezed harder. A flash of pain across her features brought him to his senses and he let her go. His own words echoed back at him through the falling rain. The blonde boy stepped back, a swirl of emotions simmering away at the dejected look in her eyes.

"I'm sorry," she muttered softly, rubbing her shoulders. "My anger was unjustified. You're right."

He took a moment to respond, choosing his words more carefully. "Look, I didn't really mean-"

She held a hand up. "It's fine. You were expressing your true feelings. Maybe I'm ugly. There's not much I can do about that. I know I'm difficult. I shouldn't be blaming you for making an effort to be considerate. I simply misinterpreted what you said."

Garfield paused. A ghost of a melancholic smile crossed her lips. She refused to meet his eyes. The way she was rubbing her shoulders seemed to suggest-

"Hey," he reached forward. "I didn't mean to hurt you…"

"I'll bruise a bit, but it should be fine," she waved him off. "I understand. You don't want to deal with someone like me. That's very understandable. You shouldn't have to."

"Rachel…"

She turned away, untying her hair and letting it shroud her face. "Just leave me be."

"Come on."

The dark haired girl hugged her arms around her ribs and walked away. He followed.

"Dude, no need to get so down about it."

She ignored him. Soft steps carried her past the entrance to the cemetery. She walked on the sodden earth, looking wordlessly at the grove of tombstones. Garfield cursed to himself and ran after her.

"I know I was mad. I didn't mean all those things I said. I just blew up 'cause you were bein' hard on me."

She didn't stop. He put an arm out and touched her shoulder. She flinched, wincing. He drew his hand back quickly.

"Sorry. I really hurt you, didn't I?"

"I'm fine," Rachel's voice was very soft. "I sort of deserved it."

Garfield took a slow breath. "Is it too late for me to take it back? Honest. I don't actually think those things. I know you're smart. You're actually kinda nice in a lot of ways. You're not ugly. I actually think you're cute, if that matters at all to you. You know how people just tend to insult others when they're mad. And I guess… I don't know. I'm just tired. I struggled a lot to keep up with ya, and it's rainy and…"

"And what's wrong with rain?"

"What, you like rain? Figures. That's just like you."

Rachel nodded slowly. "An astute observation. I'm not being sarcastic, by the way."

"What, surprised? I mean, I kinda picked up on a few of your habits after hangin' around. That's kinda what friends do, so I figured maybe you'd think of me as a friend by now. You know, considering we do things together and sort of know each other."

"Following me out here, though…"

"Yeah, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have just assumed that you wanted me to, 'specially after you told me you didn't want me to. I was just frustrated like I said. I'm just not good at being patient."

Rachel continued walking. He followed her.

"So I guess we both acted kinda shitty there, but I know where you're comin' from. I'm not one of those guys, ya know. I know I might act kinda goofy sometimes, but I don't just wanna get in your pants. I do care about you as a person."

The pale girl stopped again. It was just then that he realized that she had something in her hand. Flowers?

She looked around. They were underneath a small grove of trees, where there were two graves side by side in the protective cover of the trees.

Rachel knelt and laid the flowers at the foot of the tombstones.

"I had originally brought these for a different purpose, but this is fine as well," she whispered to herself more than to him. Rachel stood again. "Garfield, do you know what Aster symbolizes?"

"Patience, right?"

She nodded. "How did you know?"

"I'm not an idiot. Since we've been plantin' a bunch of violet flowers, I looked up some so I'd know how to take care of 'em. Aster was one of the ones that came up. It can mean a lot of things, but patience was one of the ones listed."

"I thought it was fitting."

"So you put 'em on my parents' graves?"

"I hope you are not offended. I grew them myself, as you must have suspected."

"N-no, it's nice of you to do that. But what'd you bring them for originally?"

Rachel knelt again. She trailed her fingers over the petals, then shifted her gaze toward another flower beside them. It was wilted by now and the petals were scattered, but she still recognized it. It was something that had been placed there by someone else.

Obviously, she wasn't going to answer his question. "This is a white rose. You grew it?"

"Yeah," Garfield put his hand behind his head. "Like I said, there aren't that many so I could only bring one a few days ago. Least it's got company now."

…

"I appreciate your flowers. I really do. They're special."

"You think so?"

"Yeah. You put so much care into 'em. Like that carnation you've got. Or whatever's in that corner where I'm not supposed to go. So I'm always surprised when you act emotionless or like you don't care about anything. Like, if you can take such good care of flowers…"

"Flowers aren't people, Garfield," her voice dropped. "Some people are shit."

"What? I didn't hear-"

Rachel paused briefly. "I will have to see your rose bush sometime. I have never seen your place yet. If you are willing to forgive me…"

"O-of course! Rae, I might've got a bit mad there, but we can work this stuff out."

"Yes, we can. Thank you. I will work on my attitude. However… this does not mean you can call me 'Rae' just yet. My name is still Rachel."

"Right. I'll try to control myself too. I know I said that you act emotionless, but you definitely have feelings too. I'm sorry for hurting you. I won't do it again."

"I wouldn't make promises you can't keep."

"I'll try my very best."

Rachel closed her eyes and tilted her head up. With the grey light falling around her body and the soft wind blowing her tangled locks of raven hair around her angular face, she looked different. She was enthralling after all, not overtly pretty, but striking in a different sense.

Glowing mauve opened in thin slits again. "I appreciate your concern. Nobody has put up with me like this before."

"Hey. You might be stubborn, but I'm stubborn too. Don't underestimate me."

Her lips tilted up. "I see." Rachel put a finger to her lips. "So, there is one more problem."

"There is?"

"Yes," she intoned breathlessly. "We still have to run back."

It took him a moment to digest those words. As soon as he did, his legs turned to jelly. Garfield groaned.

A/N: Rather rocky relationship, huh.