AN: I do not own Teen Titans and Please Do Not Review Until End of Fic

Chapter 7: Roth Manor

A week had passed since Ravens admission of being friends with Gar. In that time they had seen each other two more times, at the lounge of course. They would sit and they would talk for hours, getting a little bit closer. Gar could feel that Raven was starting to get more comfortable with him every time they met. Finally he worked up the nerve and asked if he could see her outside of the lounge.

"And just where would we meet?" she asked, not looking up from her book. He found it funny that even though he was there and they talked the whole time, she still read a book during the duration of their time together.

"Well, where would you allow me to meet you?" he asked. "I know you get all weird in public and I want you to be comfortable."

"I should warn you that there aren't many places I feel comfortable in," said Raven. "Just my lounge, the café, and my home."

"Well, I guess that leaves us with the café or your home," said Gar. "So, I guess the café it is. Does that sound good?"

"No, I've gotten a bit sick of the café," said Raven.

"You got sick of something?" he laughed. "You come here almost every day, read a book every day, and drink soda water every day. You never go to the café. How could you get sick of it?"

"Let's just say every time I've gone there lately I've been bombarded by gawkers who do nothing but stare and whisper about me," said Raven. "I guess word got out that I go there."

"Awe, that sucks," said Gar. "So you can only come here or be at home? Don't you feel like a prisoner?"

Raven was quiet for a moment then she said, "At times, yes. But I also feel comfortable."

"Is there anything I can do?" asked Gar. "I don't think it's fair that because of what some assholes did you can't go out and be a normal person."

"I don't think it's fair either," said Raven. "But this is the life I'm used to. I don't think I could be any happier any other way."

"Well, maybe I can change your mind," said Gar. "If you'll let me, of course."

"We'll see," said Raven, looking above her book for a moment.

"So, I guess we can't see each other anywhere else," Gar sighed. "Oh well, I like the lounge anyway. Definitely different then what I've been used to. But I don't mind going out of my comfort zone for you."

Raven looked up from her book and their eyes met. She wasn't sure why, but whenever they made straight on eye contact she felt as if her whole body was being filled with a glowing warmth. No man had ever had such an affect on her. And as much as it scared her, it secretly intrigued her as well.

She tore her eyes from his and looked back down into her book, hoping he couldn't see the blush forming on her cheeks. "Well, I suppose I could allow you to come to my home," she said, trying to hide how nervous she was about offering this.

Gar did his best not to let his jaw drop as she said this. "Do you… do you mean it?" he asked. "You'd let me come to your house?"

"I believe you've earned my trust by now," said Raven with a small smirk. "So… do you want to? Come to my home?"

"I… I would really like that," said Gar with a smile. "But, only if you really feel comfortable with me coming over."

Raven bit her lip for a moment then said, "I do."

The rest of that evening flew by in a blur, neither really caring what happened afterwards. They exchanged numbers and decided that Gar would come over to her home that Saturday at six o'clock, where they would have dinner together… as friends, of course. But, friends or not, this was a huge step!

And now the Saturday had arrived and time was winding down. Gar was currently driving in his car, trying to find her address. As he drove down the street the houses seemed to get larger and larger and fancier and fancier. He knew she was a millionaire, but for some reason he hadn't thought of her living in a large house. Money really wasn't important to him, so he was still naïve on how people with money would live like.

Finally, he found the right address and looked up at the house. His eyes went wide and his jaw dropped. It wasn't a house at all. It was an all out mansion! There was even a large gate at the head of the driveway and a guard sitting behind it in a little hut. He pulled up to the gate and pushed an intercom button.

"May I help you?" asked a burly man's voice.

"Yeah, um, I'm here to see Raven," said Gar, nervously.

"May I have your name?" he asked.

"Gar Logan," he responded.

"Thank you," said the guard. Moments later the gates began to open and Gar was able to pull in. He saw the guard and gave him a kind wave, to which the guard just stared at him with a serious look. He quickly sped up and drove down the long driveway as quickly as he could.

He reached the mansion and parked right outside of it, not really sure of where to put his car. He figured he could just move it if it were in a wrong place. He walked up to the grand door and rung the bell. While he waited for what he guessed would be a butler to open the door he made sure his clothes looked okay and that he didn't smell. He was known for sweating profusely when nervous.

The door opened and he was shocked to see her standing on the other side, not a butler. "Hello," she said with a small smile and stepped aside. "Come on in."

He stepped inside and couldn't help but stare in awe. Everything was so bright and clean; he almost felt like he was in a museum. He saw the grand staircase and wondered if that was the one she'd fallen down when the shootout happened.

"Whoa, nice place you got here," he said, trying to hide how overwhelmed he was.

"Thank you," said Raven as she closed the door. "I know it's a bit much, but I like it."

"Well, it's certainly you," he laughed. "It's so clean here. I can't even keep my room clean. How many cleaning ladies do you have?"

"None," said Raven. "I clean my own home. I have no need for assistance. The only person I employ here is my guard, Sam."

"Yeah, what's with that?" asked Gar. "Why do you need a guard?"

"Gar, I'm the daughter of a dead, but still hated, mobster," said Raven. "And the widow of a dead, but still hated, mobster. I need protection."

"Ah, that's right," said Gar. "Forgot about that."

Then he heard something that confused then shocked him as well as fill him with joy. He heard her chuckle and perhaps even giggle. He looked to her and saw that she had a bemused smile on her face.

"Y-You're laughing?" he asked.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't hold it in," she said, calming herself down. "It's just, I never thought I'd meet anyone who didn't care about my past or who I am. You really are a breath of fresh air, Gar. You really are."

Gar smiled widely; he'd never felt so happy before. "Well, I'm glad to know that," he said. "Thanks."

"No, thank you," she said still smiling softly. "Now, come on, dinner will be ready soon. But, I have to warn you, I'm not a very good cook."

"Hey, it's kinda hard to screw up vegetarian cooking," he chuckled. "Uh, you did know that I'm a vegetarian, right?"

Raven stared at him for a moment then said, "No. You've never mentioned that before. Why didn't you tell me?!"

"Oh, uh, I thought I did?" said Gar. "I always tell everyone that I'm a vegetarian. Shit, I bet I just ruined our dinner, didn't I?"

"Yes, but I also happen to have a lovely selection of numbers for places that deliver," Raven sighed and went into her kitchen. She opened a draw and took out a neat and organized folder. She opened it up and pushed it towards him. "Pick something."

Gar looked through it and said, "How about we just get a pizza? You like pizza, right?"

"Oddly enough, yes," said Raven.

"Awesome, then let's get pizza!" said Gar, looking for the phone number for a pizza place in her little delivery book. But he was stopped when Raven held a phone out to him.

"Here, just press the star button and then three," said Raven.

"You have pizza on speed dial?" he laughed.

"So?" she said, growing a bit agitated. He knew it was because she was feeling embarrassed.

"Nothing, I just think it's awesome, that's all," he said and pressed the buttons. "What kind of pizza do you like?"

"Cheese," said Raven. While he ordered them a pizza Raven put a hold on the dinner she'd been preparing by throwing it away. It was burnt anyway, so she was glad she didn't have to serve it to him. She wasn't sure why she cared if he liked her cooking or not but for some odd reason… it did.

"Hey, can I get one large pizza?" Gar ordered. "Half cheese and half veggie… Wait, don't you need the address?.. Oh, uh, okay… Yeah, thanks, bye. Well, they said they'd be here in like a half an hour. Pretty weird that they know your address."

"Let's just say I order often and they know my address by now," said Raven.

"Wow, you must really be a bad cook," he laughed.

"Let's just say I'm very close to hiring a chef," said Raven.

"Well, I hope the pizza guy gets passed your guard there," said Gar.

"Don't worry, he knows," said Raven. "That phone is tapped so that he can hear it."

"You mean… Sam the guard just heard me order a pizza?" he asked.

"Yes," said Raven.

"Whoa, creepy," he shuddered.

Raven shook her head and another phone rang. "Excuse me," she said and went to the phone. Gar saw that there were four phones lined up on the counter. He guessed each one must have had a specific use. She answered, sighed, and turned back to Gar. "I'm sorry, I have to take this. You can look around if you want. It may be a while," she said.

"Okay, is anything wrong?" he asked.

"No," said Raven. "I just have some work to do concerning The Gem. I thought we could hold off until tomorrow, but they're demanding I make decisions now. I really am sorry."

"Hey, don't worry about it," said Gar, casually. "Besides, I wanted to sneak off and look around this place." He rubbed his hands together evilly.

"Have fun," she said, rolling her eyes. "Just be respectful of my possessions."

"Will do," he said with a smile and went off into the mansion to look around.

Raven wasn't sure who she was at that very moment. She had just let a man she'd only known for about two months loose in her house. She really hoped this wasn't a bad decision on her part. The fact that not many of her decisions in life had been good ones didn't really make her feel any better.