Hey, Guys-
Sorry I haven't updated in forever. It's been really, really, really crazy, so crazy that I don't know how I could've.
Also, my oldest brother died of brain cancer this morning.
You might ask me why I'm writing, and the only answer I have is that….it's like therapy.
This was already planned to be a melancholy chapter, anyway, so I didn't have to worry about ruining a happy chapter, which was good…..
Thanks to rephiamluvers123, kellygirl6754, bs13, chris, I'm. Only. Human. Dude., HollywoodUndead4Eva, jaytennis, purpleraven23, Psychotic Twin, MelonLord28, mischevious5100, Katwizzle, a friend of old, yezib23, dylanbiancamano, Guest no. , Guest no. 2, Cool Bubblegum, Guest, Princess Rae1230, alixx, and for reviewing. It really meant a lot to me to see all of those crowding up the inbox!
Special props to , because she figured out how to cheat the system and review twice :D
Thanks again to Riley Was Hur, RheaThePsychoticNinja, Azari Gother, Cool Bubblegum, vickidoll, wolfking98, Princes Rae1230, and for following.!
And thanks for the third time to Riley Was Hur, EvanescentDream93, vickidoll, wolfking98, bullface, and , the people who favorited!
I have an idea for another story….I'm still deciding on whether or not I want to publish it…..any thoughts?
But anyway…chapter eleven, here we come, yes?
Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans, Ed Sheeran, The lyrics to the song Kiss Me, Bruno Mars, Uncle Kracker, or anything else of actual value to anyone but me and my circle of friends in this story.
Falling In Love At A Coffee Shop
Tuesday, 10:41 a.m., Wayne Manor, the den:
Rachel squirmed slightly in the plush armchair as the stares of all her friends bored into her.
"Where were you last night, Rachel?" Karen said evenly, the calm tone of her voice masking the fury in her eyes.
"In my room. Here." Rachel said slowly, keeping her eyes on the polished wood that made up the floor. Karen was like an alpha female- looking her in the eyes was a sign of aggression.
"No, you weren't. Because Jessica, Argent, Kole, and myself all snuck into your room at exactly 1:00 a.m. And you were not there, were you?"
"Gar dropped me off." A bead of sweat slipped down Rachel's neck.
"Oh, did he? What time?"
"Around three in the morning."
"Around three? Oh, okay," Karen said slowly. "Then I suppose you have an explanation as to why, apparently, Flash and Jessi went blind for about and hour?"
"Um…" Rachel bit her bottom lip.
"Because, since they were both downstairs at three, watching season two of Seventh Heaven, it's highly illogical that they didn't hear, see, or smell you all last night. So, because Gar dropped you off at three, they must've, for all intents and purposes, become vegetables for an hour, right?"
"Rache, you might just wanna confess," Vic said, pity in his eyes. "She's got the bit between her teeth now."
"Okay, I stayed the night at Logan Lodge." Rachel admitted, shuffling her feet slightly.
There was a collective gasp from the circle around her armchair.
"What happened?" Jade hissed, clutching Roy's arm with her sharp, turquoise nails.
"Um…well…"
"Tell me you didn't." Jessi seethed, from where she sat on Flash's lap. "Tell me you did not spend the night at Logan Lodge, doing god knows what with Garfield Mark Logan, that you did not have him drive you home and did not refrain from telling us every single dirty detail."
"Calm, Jess. Calm," Flash stroked Jessi's pink curls, trying to sooth her.
"He's Gar!" Argent shrieked. "Gotham's resident angel child!"
And isn't he getting married? Joseph signed.
"When we planned for you to homewreck Terra, we didn't mean, actually go and get with her fiancée!" Karen said from inside her hands.
"Wait, but didn't we, though?" Kole said slowly.
Roy wolf-whistled as Jessi blushed and Flash raised an eyebrow.
"Guys-" Rachel started, only to be interrupted by Kori and Adam bursting through the door.
"Hello, all!" Kori beamed, unwrapping her scarf and laughing as Adam flicked her with his own snow covered one.
Richard scowled.
"Oh, do the guessing of what!" Kori gushed, dimples popping on her flushed cheeks.
"What, Kor?" Isiah sighed, visibly exhausted by Kori's cheeriness.
"I have a baby!"
Argent spit out the mouthful of Sprite she had, spraying the side of Rachel's armchair with the sticky liquid.
Tuesday, 11:01, the den, again:
"What's her name?" Jessi asked in wonder as the little baby girl stretched and waved her tiny fists.
"Sarabeth Maureen Gregory," Kori beamed.
Richard said nothing, only glared at Adam and Kori's entwined hands.
Isiah laughed as Sarabeth grabbed onto Flash's pinky and stared at it with wide eyes. "And Koma's just letting you babysit her?"
"Of course. I am, after all, little Sarabeth's aunt," Kori giggled. "And Koma has not be out with her husband since the little bumgorf was born. She has waited six months….I am more than wiling to sacrifice an afternoon."
"Hi, Sarabeth, " Flash cooed, shocking everyone into a stunned silence. "I'm Wally, but you can call me Flash, okay? And that," He smiled, pointing in the general direction of Kori, "Is your aunt Kori. And over there-" He pointed fondly at Jessi. "Is Jessi. She's my girlfriend, and she's pretty amazing. Although, not as amazing as you," He smiled as Sarabeth gurgled and laughed, obviously satisfied with the compliment.
"Dude, what are you doing?" Roy said slowly.
"I'm talking to the baby, idiot." Flash snapped. "Can I hold her, Kor?"
Kori beamed her approval, and Flash took the little girl into his muscular arms, cradling her gentler than Rachel would've thought possible for such a clumsy guy. But it was the expression of fierce protectiveness in Flash's blue eyes, the same expression he got when he held Jessi, that made the picture strange.
"You've got a weird boyfriend, Jess," Rachel smiled, turning to her friend.
Jessi's hair had come out of its ponytail, so it now hung around her in sheets of silvery pink curls. She was wearing a simple black sundress with knee high boots, classic Jessi, but, Rachel noticed, there was something different about her expression as well.
As her friend looked at Flash holding Sarabeth, Rachel saw a sense of longing emanating off of Jessica.
"I want one." Jessi murmured.
"What, a weird boyfriend? I don't think it gets any worse than that, Jess." Argent smiled, motioning to Flash.
"No. I want a baby."
Of course, it was at that moment that Flash decided to look up from Sarabeth's wide brown eyes.
"What?"
"Master Richard," Alfred's calm voice came from the doorway. Richard and Rachel spun around at the same time. " You have a visitor."
"Well, this is awkward," Gar smiled, his tall shadowing falling next to Rachel's.
Tuesday, 1:00, Logan Lodge, Gar's private sitting room:
"She really is adorable," Rachel heard Gar laugh as he watched Sarabeth crawl around, alternating her home base between Flash and Jessi.
"You'd think she was Flash's own kid, the way he fawns over her," Rachel said from inside Gar's closet. "What is this?"
Pulling out of the dusty, dark space, Rachel brandished an old Little League jersey.
"It's my old Little League jersey," Gar smirked, watching Kori and Adam laugh, their heads bent together.
"No chiz, Sherlock," Karen called from where she, Vic, Argent, Isiah, Roy, and Jade were crowded in front of the flat screen, watching The Hills reruns. "She wants to know what it means to you."
"Chiz?" Isiah questioned, running a lock of Argent's hair between his fingers.
"I'm trying something new," Karen said defensively.
"I've always loved baseball," Gar shrugged, and Rachel tossed the jersey onto the floor, where it landed on top of the stripped couch.
"Kole, what are you and Joseph doing with all of those sofa cushions?" Gar laughed. "The last time my couch was that messy, Flash and Jessi had just finished…getting acquainted."
Roy laughed. "That must've been fun."
"You've no idea," Flash snickered, dodging Jessi's swat.
We're making a fort, Joseph signed.
Jade coughed into her Dr. Pepper. "And what exactly are you planning on doing inside the fort?'
Playing, Joseph smirked.
"What is it with your sense of humor, guys? Can't you see there's a six month year old in here?" Jessi said fiercely, pulling Sarabeth on top of Flash's stomach. "Dumb a- I mean, idiots."
"What is it with you and cursing?" Karen countered.
"You're right, Kare," Jessi rolled her eyes.
"Your friends are hilarious," Gar beamed from where he sat on the foot of the table.
"You can have them," Rachel sighed. "With these jokers, one hour is enough to give you the migraine of the century."
"I HEARD THAT!" Kole yelled from inside of the fort.
"C'mon," Rachel said, moving to where he sat and offering him her hand. "Let's get out of here,"
"You two are not allowed to hide somewhere and make bumgorfs," Kori warned sternly. "It is enough that Flash and Jessica are…I believe the word is macking? On eacn other, but I do not need you as well."
"Like you and Adam aren't doing the same thing, curled up in that armchair, " Vic snorted. "I know y'all ain't doing that to keep warm,"
"Vic, that's really not fun-" Adam started, only to be cut off by Kori kissing him, hard, on the lips.
Argent clapped a hand to her red- lipsticked mouth, and Kole popped her head out of the fort, her hair mussed. Joseph came out next, pale pink lipstick on his jaw.
"That is why we need to leave," Rachel said in a monotone. "Ten to one Richard's about to throw something at Adam."
"And if he accidentally misses and hits Karen-" Gar started, an impish gleam in his brown eyes.
"Hell hath no fury."
Tuesday, 1:15, Logan Lodge, The Kitchen:
"I thought this was like Georgette's domain," Rachel said as Gar opened the heavy wooden door.
"It is, but I managed to convince her to loan it to me today," Gar grinned.
"So, why did you choose the kitchen out of all the places in this palace to come to for solitude?"
"Because," Gar said as he fiddled with the dial on an old radio. "We're going to bake cookies.
Tuesday, 2:30, Logan Lodge, The Kitchen:
"God, how long until these things are done?" Gar said for the fifth time, bouncing on the balls of his feet.
" The answer hasn't changed since five seconds ago, Garfield," Rachel said through clenched teeth.
"But it's taking so long," He whined.
She simply looked up at him from where he stood in front of the stainless steel ovens.
"Okay, okay," He sighed. "But I've always had a problem with patience."
Ed Sheeran's voice warbled through the old speakers on the radio, and with a jolt, Rachel recognized the song: Kiss Me.
The same song she'd been listening to in her French class the day after she'd meet him. It felt so far away, that day at Yoli's, him kneeling on one knee, grinning so crazily she'd had no choice but to say yes.
She felt her stomach ache, the pale silvery scar from when she'd seen Reggie in the park throbbing. That, too, seemed far away, somewhere deep in her memories.
Gar turned to look at her, the eyes that had only a moment ago been lit with a childlike impatience now filled with the seriousness of adulthood.
I'm falling for your eyes, but they don't know me yet…and the feeling I forget…I'm in love, now,
Ed's voice slowly faded away, replaced by the song Smile, by Uncle Kracker.
"C'mon." Gar said, extending his hand to her. "Let's dance."
"What? Um, no."
"Let me rephrase," He smirked. "I'm about to dance with you. You can either grin and enjoy it, or act sullen and still secretly enjoy it."
Grabbing her hand, he pulled her to her feet and twirled her around.
She smiled, and then quickly shook her head. "Dang you."
"What?"
"You're making me smile."
"So?"
"So, I am not a smiler. Never have been, and I probably never will be." Rachel shook her head.
"You smile around me!" Gar said, indignant.
"But that's just for you," Rachel said. "I know how much you love it."
Gar smiled softly and twirled Rachel again, laughing when her hair burst out of its weak ponytail.
The timer on the cookies beeped, and Gar finally released her, donning oven mitts and setting the cookies on the stovetop.
"They look really good," He said weakly.
Rachel snorted. The cookies looked like misshapen hockey pucks, with lumps of caramel, M&Ms, and almonds sticking out of the sugar cookie dough like warts.
"Well, I bet they taste delicious." Gar defended himself.
"Sure. I can't smile, and you can't cook. Home Sweet Home." She said, flicking him with the ends of the backing towel.
"First, I could kick your behind in a cooking contest so hard it wouldn't even be funny, and second, don't joke like that."
"Home Sweet Home? Why?"
"Because I do want this place to always be your home." Gar said, poking at one of the cookies with a butter knife gingerly.
"Even when you're married to Terra?" Gar stopped midpoke. It was the first either of them had mentioned his wedding.
The wedding that, Rachel realized, was taking place tomorrow.
She took a cautious step closer to him. "Even when you're not….mine anymore?"
"I'll always be yours," He said fiercely, his back still turned to her. "No matter what."
"Gar-"
He stopped the words with a quick kiss. "Here, try the cookies."
He placed one, warm and crumbly, in her hand.
Looking into his deep brown eyes, she slowly took a bite.
"Well?"
"They're amazing," Rachel said slowly, blinking back her tears. "They're really, really, really amazing."
"Good." He said, the tremor in his voice revealing that he'd seen the sheen of tears building on her eyes. "C'mon. Grab a few, and then I'm taking you to my favorite place in the world."
Tuesday, 3:02 p.m., Logan Lodge, The Observatory:
"So this is what the glass dome on top of the Lodge is, huh?" Rachel said, turning slowly around.
The observatory was obviously very recently built, and it was more of a greenhouse than an observatory, save the telescopes lining the east wall.
It was very calm and quiet, and the smell of dirt and growing things was heavy in the air. Looking at Gar, Rachel saw a new side to the man, the quiet, doctor side that he hid.
"I thought the Ballroom was the highest level?"
"It was," Gar answered. "When we went there. But during the time we weren't together, I had this built."
"Why?"
Gar smiled. "Wait until 9:30 and then you'll see."
Tuesday, 9:30 p.m., Logan Lodge, The Observatory:
"Wow," Rachel breathed as the fireworks erupted, bathing the glass dome ceiling on the observatory in multi colored lights. "It's beautiful."
"Look at the roses, Rachel. The white ones." Gar said nudging her head with his own in the direction of the sweet-smelling bushes.
The white roses had been bathed with the jumping lights, painting them all different colors, and giving the entire observatory an eerie glow.
"That's…indescribable." She said.
"But my favorite part is the moon." Gar said quietly. Rachel followed his gaze to the tiny white sliver in the sky, surrounding by blinking stars.
"Why?"
"Because, it's….so lonely, even when it's surround by the stars." Gar mused. "It's lost itself in everything, and now it hangs alone, even in the middle of the crowd. It's so beautiful, but sad."
Rachel groaned. "Great. Now every time I see the moon, I'll think of you." She rolled over so she was lying on his chest, and his arms went around her waist, pulling her close.
"You say that like it's a bad thing." He smiled, planting a soft kiss on the top of her head.
"It is! You're getting married tomorrow. Thinking of you is the last thing I should be doing!"
"Why? I mean, I'll still think of you." Gar said.
"Even when you're a blooming newlywed? Yeah, right."
"No, I'm serious, Rachel. Every time I'm with her, I'll think of you. Every time she so much as looks at me, I'll see you. You've become a permanent part of me."
Rachel sighed. "Did you tell her about last night?"
She felt him tense. "No."
"So, this is goodbye, then?"
"No."
"It has to be-"
"No, it doesn't." Gar said, looking down into her eyes. "Goodbyes are subjective. They mean different things to different people."
"It's the same-"
"And I promise you, Rachel Roth," Gar said, ignoring her protests. "I will never say goodbye to you."
It was a beautiful moment, cut short by the ringing of the house phone, which Gar reluctantly got up to get.
When he came back, his face was drawn and pale.
"What is it?" Rachel asked, concerned.
"Terra." Gar said, passing a hand over his face. "She's here."
A.N. DUN DUN DUN…..
So, facts:
-Yes, there will be a wedding next chapter.
-No, a bus-although that did cross my mind- will not mysteriously hit Terra.
-Yes, you will find out why he's marrying her.
-Yes, Terra is keeping a secret from him, a horrible, evil, secret.
-and yes, this chapter is crappy. Sorry.
-and yes, I did not send out PMs for last chapter, I am soooo sorry, but I TOTALLY forgot, what with everything going on.
Reviews? Please?
If only one word?