Author's note: And here's the final part. School is back in session, there's supposed to be a snow storm coming (right when I need to head back home of course). So, read, review, and enjoy!
The summer air whipped through the park. Steve was enjoying the sun, sitting on the bench in one of Jump City's few public areas, and watched the people go by. It had taken a long time to even be invited into the area. Since that initial first meeting, Steve had worked at building up trust, not with his son, but with the four other members of the Titans. They were serious in helping repair the relationship, that wasn't ever in doubt, but they wanted to know his intentions. They also wanted to know him; countless talks had seen to that.
Steve was beginning to see what his son did in them. Granted, they could get on his nerves, and vice versa, so the progress was slow. Raven, in particular, tended to push him. Starfire had pulled him aside once and told him that she took these sorts of things seriously. People that suddenly walked back into Gar's life didn't always have the best effect. There was a story there, Steve was sure of it, but he didn't ask. Now, almost four months later, he was finally in Jump. Robin had told him that today they'd tell Gar about their situation.
There had been more communication on his end then he could ever remember. His therapist, which he went to twice a week without fail now, was keen on keeping those talking points open. Any deep seeding issues were picked apart and discussed, sometimes with the psychologist, other times with the Titans. Not surprisingly, most of the issues lied with the Doom Patrol. He was sure that he was betraying Beast Boy's confidence at times like these; a certain tail or fact would come up, and he could tell from their faces that gar hadn't talked about it to his team.
Steve was shaken out of his thoughts when another person sat down on the bench. Cyborg leaned forward, so his elbows were balanced on his knees, and nodded in greeting.
"I think it might be best for me to walk you back to your place." He suggested. Steve winced.
"Is it safe to assume that it didn't go over well?" Steve asked. A pair of bikers flew by them. Cyborg sighed.
"I won't lie to you, Mento, B's pissed as hell right now. He has every right to be angry, so we just need to let him be for a while."
"It's been months since I've talked to him." Steve said. All he wanted to was to see his boy. Cyborg shot him a sympathetic look.
"We know you want to see him. All this time you've been dealing with us. Chief was keeping Beast Boy in the loop, but he didn't tell him where you went."
"He didn't figure it out?" Steve asked. The look Cyborg gave him made his chuckle weakly.
"Oh, he figured it out all right. I think he figured we'd own up to it sooner. My point is, it might be for everyone's benefit if we give him a little space." They sat in silence for a few minutes.
"What did he say to you? About all of this?" Steve was desperate for any information.
"Well, he did mention that he finds it rather ironic that we're the ones working on rebuilding the bridge when all of us stated, at one time or another, how much we didn't like you." Cyborg leaned back against the wood. "Honestly, I think he's more shocked than anything. He really didn't expect for you to fight back so hard." Steve wasn't surprised; he never fought hard enough for Gar.
"Is he back at the tower now?" Steve asked after Cyborg went quiet again. He couldn't imagine what Gar was thinking; his powers, while he hadn't used them on anyone in a long time, didn't work well over long distances. "Maybe I should just go and talk to him. This has been going on long enough." This had been going on longer than months. An argument this bad, and the fallout that came after, was years in the making. A lot of the tension was on his end. All he wanted to do was talk to his son about this.
"I'm not sure." Cyborg shrugged. "He stormed off once we told him, said he didn't want to talk to us at the moment. His ears were flat against his head, so we knew he was angry, it wouldn't have been smart to try and follow him." Mento flinched. Gar never had a temper when they used to argue; Steve was able to use words like swords, and many times his son would flee before throwing back his own. Rita said he was too kind to stoop to using low blows. Steve figured he had never been given the chance to.
"Does he get angry like that often?" Steve found himself asking lots of questions like these. He was curious to the dynamics that made the Titan's work. Starfire was more than happy to, and after some time, Cyborg did as well. Raven didn't trust him, and Robin was keeping a close eye on things.
"Not a lot. I can count on one hand how many times I've seen Beast Boy mad. Honesty, I think that he's just gotten good at hiding all the crap that bothers him. Kid just buries his feelings. It's not his fault, or yours, dome head."
Steve snorted at the name. "It is my fault. We never talked about stuff like this, back when the others were around. It was dangerous on the field, and we never knew who our enemies were." He rubbed his hands together as the distant sound of children playing floated over to them. "I pushed him far enough away where he wouldn't have talked to me if it was his last choice."
"He cares about you. Always goes toe to toe with people who try to drag your name through the mud." Cyborg smiles. "He wins those fights every single time."
"Does that happen a lot?" Steve asked sharply. Cyborg hurried to explain.
"Not as much. It was bad, in the beginning, once he came back. Now people know not to mess with it." Cyborg stood up. "Honestly, I think that people stopped arguing because B doesn't give many reasons to start arguments. I think we should get going, Steve, looks like we've avoided this waiting game long enough."
X
Steve should have known what was waiting for him. After all, everything Gar knew about scouting and stake outs came from him. Cyborg didn't follow him in, which didn't help matters.
"Did you follow us, or just find the place?" Steve asked lamely when the changeling didn't make a move to talk first.
"Followed you. I figured one of them would go tell you how it went." Gar didn't give anything away. Steve didn't try to get a glimpse into his mind. "Have you really been talking to them for months?" There was a small note of betrayal, but Steve didn't focus on that.
"Yes. He came here on my own, then they just showed up one day. Turns out they're more stubborn than you." Steve said with a small smile. Gar rolled his eyes and leaned back into the couch.
"I'm not going to focus on how they got involved in this right now. I knew they were up to something, there's only so many patrols Robin could send me on with Aqualad before I caught on." Steve moved to sit near him. "I'd ask Chief how you were. He said you were resting, getting better. He didn't mention that you left the manor." There was a dull throb when he mentioned the house, but Steve steeled himself. Gar was running this conversation, so Steve gave him all of his attention.
"I told Chief I had to get out. It was a bad night, and I called him in a panic. Told him I needed to be closer to you, even though I knew I didn't have a right to be." Steve had practiced how he would explain this to Gar.
"What part of 'I don't want to talk to you anymore' didn't make sense?" Gar asked quietly. Steve wilted.
"It made sense. You were angry, and you had every right to be!" Steve said when Gar glared at him. "But, you're my boy, Gar. You and Chief are all I have left. I'm being selfish here. So, you can be angry all you want. This time I'm not letting go. I can't."
"Did you know I gave Cyborg my old communicator? I told him to get rid of it. Every time I looked at it I felt sick." He hung his head. "I was so angry at you. And it was exhausting. I figured if I didn't have to talk to you, or have anything to do with you, it wouldn't be so bad. It worked well enough for a couple years in the beginning, before Robin started asking questions."
"He mentioned it. Said that he couldn't do that. Robin saved all the messages I sent you. They both said that you tended to shut down after things like this happened. Your way of dealing with everything." Steve told him. Gar finally looked at him.
"That's what we're calling this? A thing that happened? I'm willing to come talk to you, Mento, but I'm not going to let you skirt around what happened. Call it what it is." Steve licked his lips.
"The others died. I made a poor call, and it was my fault." He shut his eyes. "I know I don't have any right to ask you to forgive me. I tried with Chief and I almost got my ass handed to me. So, be pissed. Yell, ignore me, I don't care. Just know that I'm going to try to fix this. Not because I deserve it, but because they would want me to. They loved you just as much as me." The last line wasn't a fair move, and he knew it when Gar's shoulders hunched. Steve's throat was tight.
"That's not a fair move, and you know it." Gar said when both of them weren't trembling anymore. "I'm not making any promises. There's still a lot of things we need to talk about, and I'm still angry at you." Gar straightened up. "Actually, angry isn't the word."
"You want to take my head off, right?"
"Something like that." Steve gave a weak laugh before sobering up. "I wouldn't expect you to stop being angry. I just want you to know that I'm not going to stop. I should have gone after you when you left the first time. There shouldn't have been a second, or a third." He pointed at the changeling. "I'm staying here."
"You said that last time. All you could talk about was how you would keep in touch more, that you wanted to get to know my friends. Then you disappeared." Gar stood up. "Maybe this time you're right about wanting to be involved. Robin seems to think that you're being sincere, and he's usually right." Steve could sense that he was holding his frustration back. There was no way Gar could be so calm about this.
"My track record isn't the best, I'm aware of that. I'd like to change it." Steve looked down. "If you'd let my try, Gar."
"What if I say that I don't want you to." Gar asked blandly. Steve felt a fission of panic hit him, but he pressed on.
"Then I'd say that you're right to think that. All evidence shows that I've never lived up to those claims." Steve stood up to match his son. "The only thing I can do is stick around and prove it to you." Gar nodded. The silence was killing him.
"You need to get better security on the windows. And the cameras here are crap." Gar moved to the door. "Cyborg could help you. Call him tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?" Steve couldn't help the little leap his heart gave at that.
"Yes. If you're staying for the long term, you might as well have better protection." The changeling paused. "We have training tomorrow morning. And patrols till late afternoon, but after that you could come to the Tower. You might as well see the inside of it." With that, he slipped out the door. Steve could feel himself smiling.
It wasn't a sign of acceptance or forgiveness. The only thing Steve could do was show that he meant to stay this time. This time, the tears were happy ones.
