Hello dear readers. I know you've all been looking forward to this. I know I have for a long time. I'm not doing reviews this time because for some reason my phones browser keeps crashing during editing and it'd piss me off to keep losing responses each time it dies.
So instead, I'll respond next time, promise.
With that being said, get comfy. This chapter is the biggest one yet and I took out two scenes for it. The first little section is borderline saucy in a sense.
But the end? *chuckles* Well, I better be hearing from you readers. *smirks mischievously*
Garfield wasn't entirely sure what woke him up, but that was okay. He was nice and comfy and warm. Rather warm, really. No, that wasn't quite right. There was something warm pressed against him. He wasn't sure what it was, only that it was almost as warm as he was. It was kinda weird though. It was 68° F in the room and he was almost sweating. Oh, wait, he did throw that extra comforter on the bed last night.
Remembering that he was in a hotel room with Raven and Emelia, he took a deep breath, drinking in their scents. Yup, they were both still here and sleeping. That was good. Of course, this didn't explain the extra heat pressed against him. For a comforter, it was awfully warm. Maybe it was actually electric and Raven turned it on before sleeping? Sounded pretty reasonable to him, so he used the arm not under a pillow to start looking for the dial. It couldn't be that far away, after all. It took him a minute, but he found something.
He wasn't entirely certain what it was, but it wasn't a dial. It was soft and squishy, somewhere adjacent to his waist. It had a curious clothe-like texture for most of it, but a soft, silky texture on the bottom. He tried wrapping his hand around it, but it was too big and seemed to jiggle back into place. It was really weird, so he decided to give it a little smack. It jiggled in response.
Weird. He thought to himself as he tried to turn it, only for it to jiggle back into place. What kind of dial doesn't have a knob? Oh wait, maybe it's a button?
With that in mind, Garfield left the weird part of the blanket alone and resumed his search. At first, his hand trailed down, following the silky texture. When he didn't find it, he turned his hand upwards, thinking that it might be near his head. He encountered the clothe once more, but moved past it. Within seconds, he found a secondary clothe texture and some sort of gnarled spot below it. It almost felt like a rope, it was curled so tightly. But that's just silly, putting a rope in a blanket.
As he pondered the strange rope, he noticed that his neck was unusually warm. Judging from the silky texture, the comforter was obviously wrapped around his neck. Just lovely, almost strangled in his sleep by a blanket. If he had died, Raven would probably bring him back to life just to kill him for being stupid.
The thought made him chuckle sleepily as he inhaled Raven's unusually strong scent. Damn, she smells good.
Resuming his search, he noted that the 'comforter' actually had a shape to it. A curvy shape. This made him curious. Blankets don't have a shape. So this couldn't be a blanket. But what was it?
His hand trailed upwards a little more until his thumb brushed against something new. It had the clothe texture, but it was roundish and pressed against his chest, so he could only wrap his hand around part of it. Though his eyes were closed, he furrowed his brow as he tried to think of anything in the bed that could be round. When nothing came to mind, he gently ran his hand across it.
Dude, this thing is soft! He thought as he grasped it. It's big and soft and squishy like a marshmallow! What the heck is this thing?
He lay there for a moment, squishing the big squishy thing in his hand, pondering what this warm and squishy thing pressed against his sternum was. A body pillow? No, there wasn't one in the room. A bag of marshmallows? Wait, no, he didn't have any. It had to be the comforter, but even that didn't make sense.
It wasn't until the mysterious squishy object shuddered and made a soft noise that Garfield's sleep-addled brain remembered that someone was sleeping next to him. He slowly opened his eyes and let them adjust to the darkness before looking down into the sleeping face of Raven, her body pressed against him, her arms around his neck, and his hand on the part of her chest that wasn't pressed against him.
Sleepiness instantly turned into panic as he struggled to not shriek and push her away. There was no way he could talk himself out of this one, even if it was an accident. He needed to get away from her before she woke up.
It was a great idea, except that he was on the edge of the bed and her arms were anchored to his neck.
Crap crap crap crap crap crap crap crap! The panicking boy thought as he removed his hand from where it didn't belong and tried to wiggle free of her grasp. His now free hand snaked up under the blankets and gently pried Raven's arm from his neck. When he was in the clear, he slowly started to ease himself away from her and off the bed.
Raven stirred and he froze. Her eyes fluttered open and Garfield had but a single thought.
And this is how I die.
Raven looked at him through half closed eye, mumbling something that he almost didn't catch.
"Sit boy."
He made a face. Did she really just say that?!
She rolled over, her hands reaching out and wrapping around Emelia. In her sleep, the little girl wriggled in her mother's arms.
"Mommy, stop, your big boobies are squishing me." The little girl grumbled as she tried to shove the older girl away.
Huh…so Raven's a sleep cuddler? Didn't see that one coming. The changeling thought to himself as he got out of bed. Keeping an eye on the sleeping girl, he made his way to the bathroom and quietly shut the door behind him. Sitting on the edge of the tub, Garfield dropped his head into his hands and took a deep breath to calm himself.
He honestly didn't know who was at fault here. On one hand, even as sleepy as he was he should have remembered Raven was next to him. Granted, he had never expected something like that would happen anytime soon. This was Raven, after all. The no nonsense, quiet as a mouse, super serious, tea loving, bookwormy introvert Raven would kill him if she knew he had done such a thing.
But it was her fault too. She was the one cuddled up to him. What the heck was up with that anyways? He thought she didn't like being touched, yet there she was, body all up on him, those big boo-
He shook his head rapidly, slinging those thoughts from his mind. He can't blame Raven for this, it was his fault.
He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Just another thing to add to his list of 'Things to Make Up To Raven', which now included the screwed up morning greeting, the itching powder prank from months ago (his last prank on her, actually), the whole Rose situation, and now this.
Man, he was going to be doing a lot of butt kissing for a long time.
A tiny knock at the door jarred him from his thoughts.
"Daddy? Can you come back to bed? Mommy's cold and won't leave me alone." Emmy's small voice whined through the door.
Garfield shook his head in disbelief before opening the door and shutting the light off. The changeling picked his surrogate daughter up and put her back in bed before taking his spot back. Emmy was right, the bed was cold. He looked around and spotted the spare comforter on the floor. He must knocked it off when he got up. He shifted his arm into a tentacle and grabbed the blanket, spreading it back out over them. Raven, who had been shivering, let out a soft sigh and rolled over to face him. She was still very much asleep.
Garfield bit his lip, lamenting the fact that he had Raven sleeping in his arms and he hadn't the sense to enjoy it while it was happening. He let out a disappointed sigh, mentally kicking himself.
Of course, he nearly jumped out of bed in fright when she abruptly snuggled up against him once more, mumbling softly.
"So warm."
Even though his heart was full of happiness, he could only smile sadly at Raven as he gently wrapped his arms around her.
I don't deserve this. He thought as he kissed her chakra. Within moments, he too had fallen asleep.
When Raven woke up several hours later, the first thing she did was to check if Garfield was awake. Negative, which good and bad for her. Good because he'd never know she slept snuggled up against him, bad because his arms were around her and she wasn't sure if she had ever been more comfortable in her life.
We shouldn't be doing this. Timid whispered in her mind.
I know, Timid, I know. Raven responded sullenly. She then set about wriggling out of his embrace.
I want my kiss, Raven. Affection pouted.
Raven hesitated in her escape, her eyes drawn to the delectable green lips that weren't too far from her own. She licked her lips nervously before leaning over and pressing them against his. It was soft and tender in a way that made Raven feel like she was floating without her powers. After a moment she pulled away, relishing the taste of him.
We shouldn't have done that. Timid said nervously. What if he had woken up? How would we explained it to him?
We would have found a way. Knowledge said reassuringly.
Raven finished easing her way out of Garfield's arms and climbed quietly out of bed. The room was cold, but it felt nice after the warmth of the bed. It cleared her mind by washing away the heat from her body, no doubt a subtle attempt by Desire to entice her creator into staying with the boy.
Nothing slips by you, huh? Desire chuckled. And you're half right. Lazy didn't want to get up at all.
Raven rolled her eyes before entering the bathroom. Afterwards she stepped out onto the balcony once more for meditation. This time though, she wasn't interrupted until Emelia got up some hours later to use the bathroom. Garfield woke up shortly after that.
"Did you sleep better than you did the other night?" Raven asked as she unfolded her legs from her floating lotus position and touched down upon the balcony. The changeling gave her an innocent smile.
"Sure did Rae, thanks to you." He said sweetly. It sent a shiver down her spine, though over what she didn't know.
"I just didn't want you sleeping on the floor." Raven said as nonchalantly as she could. "Better for you to be in bed with me than on the floor and uncomfortable."
He raised an eyebrow at her but kept his grin. "You're right, as usual."
Raven raised her eyebrow at him in response. Since when did he get so agreeable? She thought. When none of her emoticlones had an answer, she ventured a question of her own to the relaxing changeling as she sat at the table. "Are you okay?"
He gave her a big, toothy grin now. "Right as rain, Rae. I slept like a baby curled up with his favorite pillow."
"Umm…okay?" The empath said as monotonously as possible while her emotions began to panic. He knows! They yelled.
Impossible. Raven told them. Now be quiet.
She never saw Garfield's grin widen as she set about getting ready for the day.
Their morning was relatively quiet, although Garfield hummed something the entire time. Raven didn't have the slightest idea of what it was, but then again, she wasn't one for music. From what experience she had with Robin's rock, Garfield's rap, Cyborg's 'funk', and Starfire's 'singing', music was nothing more than a patience-testing nuisance. It wasn't until they were in the elevator that she heard the first snatch of lyrics uttered under his breath, barely audible in the mechanical transportation.
I cannot live, I can't breath unless you do this with me.
Whatever he was singing sounded awfully romantic and it made Raven shiver. What would make him sing something like that this early in the morning? Did he really enjoy sleeping next to her that much? The thought was starting to make her giddy, Happy bouncing around in her head. He did enjoy being around her, he did enjoy being next to her, and he did-
"What are you so happy about?"
Raven turned and looked at Garfield, a slight and sly smirk on his face and a knowing look in his eyes. She looked away, a slight flush on her face from embarrassment. Was she that easy to read now that she could feel more openly?
"Nothing." She mumbled.
He let out a low chuckle. "You don't have to be shy about it, Rae. It's good to see you like that. Happy and stuff."
Although Happy was going berserk now, Timid jumped in while the ecstatic emotion was doing cartwheels and took over. Within seconds Raven was too embarrassed for her to mutter anything more than "Thank you." before the elevator dinged open.
They made their way to the lobby and had breakfast. Raven wound up filling half her plate with sausages to accompany her waffles. Though it made her scowl, she ate everything she took from the counters. She didn't like wasting food, save the things Starfire cooked. But that was a different situation altogether.
There wasn't quite as much traffic today as there was the day before, so the trip back to the convention center was almost ten minutes shorter. Neither teen could keep the little smiles from their faces today and their quiet cheerfulness had infected their daughter. The little girl was in the back seat quietly singing some song from one of the various cartoons she had watched with her father.
A wiki wiki mai lohi lohi
La we mai iko papa he na lu
Pi'I na nalu la lahalaha
O ka moana hanupanupa
Lalala I kala hanahana
Me ke kai hoene I ka pu'e one
Helehele mai kakou e
Hawaiian roller coaster ride
Raven glanced at Garfield, her eyebrow raised. "What's she singing?"
He listened for a moment. "One of the songs from Lilo and Stitch. No idea where she learned Hawaiian though."
"I wonder if she's just reciting it from memory?" Raven mused as she watched cars pass by. They were in the parking lot, once again looking for someplace to park. Garfield wasn't foaming at the mouth this time (a/n: I made a funny), instead just cooly looking around as he drove.
"Dunno Rae. She gets all her smarts from you, so its possible." He said, a wry grin on his face. He wasn't sure what Emelia got from him. But that's okay.
Shortly after that they found a parking spot, parked, and got out. Raven had just shut the door from retrieving her daughter when she heard an odd noise.
She looked up at Garfield just time in to get her picture taken. Again.
"Really?" She scowled, Emmy giggling in her arms.
"Really really." The changeling chuckled. Raven rolled her eyes and brushed past him. Seconds later she heard another click and whipped around to glare at him.
"Did you just take another picture of me?" She growled.
"Nope." He said innocently, though they both knew he was lying through his teeth. Raven huffed at him and resumed walking.
Garfield didn't think it was possible, but he was having even more fun than yesterday. There were a whole lot of new people there, and quite a few thought his and Raven's 'costumes' were cool and asked for pictures with them. Garfield, pretending to be 'Beast Boy', found himself in a number of photographs with random people, ranging from Solid Snake to Ironman to Archie to Zero Suit Samus. One particular set of girls, wearing little to no armour in their 'blood elf' cosplay, wanted pictures with him too. He was happy to oblige the hottie's until he heard the unmistakable sound of growling. Glancing over at Raven, he found the empath glaring at him. If looks could kill, those girls would be dead.
He might be dead too, judging from how angry she was when he meekly came back to her side. Behind him, the girls tittered with laughter.
"Were you having fun?" She all but snarled.
He flinched. "Uh…"
"That was a rhetorical question." Raven growled in a way that reminded Garfield of an angry tigress. He needed to choose his next words carefully.
"I know…but even if I was having fun with them, its nothing compared to the fun I have with you." He said slowly, praying to any god that would listen that he didn't just screw that up.
Raven didn't answer, but he could tell that what he had said pleased her. The glare faded from her eyes somewhat as she turned away. Emelia, in her mother's arms, frowned at her father. It took a little while, but Raven did calm down. Garfield keep his head down and mouth shut during that time and his camera never left his pocket. They wandered for a bit until he found something he just couldn't pass up.
"Um, Raven?" He said carefully. Even though she wasn't angry anymore, he didn't want to risk anything.
She glanced at him. "Yes?"
"I want to get in that line." He pointed at a rather extensive line of people, all holding various items. Raven traced the line to the front, where a little old man with big sunglasses was signing a comic for a kid.
She raised an eyebrow. "Who's that?"
"Stan Lee, the guy who owns Marvel comics."
"The same Stan Lee that got our hotel room?"
"Yup." Garfield nodded.
Raven shrugged. "Alright."
An hour and half later…
"Hiya Mister Lee! It's a great honor to finally meet you! I've loved Marv since I was a kid!" Garfield gushed, thrusting his recently acquired comic at the man.
The older man smiled. "Is that so, kid? Who's your favorite character?"
"Easy, Iceman!" The changeling grinned.
Stan Lee smiled as he scribbled his signature on the comic. "Guess that makes sense since ya dressed like Beast Boy."
Garfield chuckled. "Something like that, yeah."
The old man handed the comic back to Garfield and then shook hands with him. "You and your girl there do a good Beast Boy and Raven cosplay. Yer a cute couple."
Raven blushed a bit, as did Garfield. Despite this embarrassment, the changeling chuckled again. "Thank you sir, but we aren't cosplaying."
The old man raised an eyebrow and chuckled too. "Right."
Raven smirked at him. "Look at your hand."
Stan Lee looked down and found there was no green body paint on his hand. Impressed but still skeptical, he looked back up to find Raven and Emelia staring back at him with four glowing eyes and Garfield with a tentacle in place of the hand he had just shook. The old man's jaw hit the floor as the trio returned to normal, the people behind them none the wiser of what had just happened. Raven held up a finger to her lips as they walked away, leaving the creator of a universe of superheroes absolutely speechless.
"Maaan, the look on his face was priceless!" Garfield laughed as they retreated from the area. More and more people were lining up, so he wanted to get his girls away, just in case.
"That was oddly satisfying." Raven agreed. Emelia giggled and hugged her doll.
"He made Mr. Spooky laugh." The little girl said.
Her parents looked at her and spoke in unison. "Mr. Spooky?"
Emmy nodded and held her doll out. Both teens raised an eyebrow, looked at each other and shrugged. Emelia just rolled her eyes at them. The gesture made both her parents laugh and Garfield took the opportunity to pull his camera out for a picture. Raven saw this, but just gave a little sigh and a helpless shrug towards him. He grinned and held it up.
Man, that outfit looked great on her at the restaurant the other day, but it looks so much better on her today. The changeling thought to himself as he lined up a shot. Raven was giving him a little smile and Emmy was grinning and holding up her doll. His smile widened and he took the shot. Another beautiful pic of the most beautiful girls I know…
His line of thought derailed as he spotted something in the background. It was another autograph line, not as long as Stan Lee's, but a line nonetheless. He wasn't sure who the celebrity was, but he most certainly recognized the items people were getting autographed.
Now he knew what to get Raven.
But how to sneak away to get it and surprise her with it?
"Garfield, can we go to the food court?" Raven asked as she watched someone with a hamburger pass by.
He grinned. "Sure thing Rae."
Raven shot her companion a glance, wondering what he was up to. He'd been acting odd for the past twenty minutes, a strange combination of excited and nervous with a tinge of guilt tied in. Perhaps he was enjoying being here with her but feeling guilty of his shared instincts?
Raven wasn't sure, but what she did know was that this hot dog was delicious.
"Daddy, what's that?" Emmy asked, pointing at the bowl of ice cream in front of him. Shy he had chosen that at a time like this, Raven would never know.
"This, angel cakes, is a root beer float." Garfield said between mouthfuls of it. "It's vanilla ice cream and root beer mixed together. Want some?"
"No, I don't like vanilla." Emmy shook her head.
"Too bad, you don't know what you're missing out on." Her father chuckled before turning to her mother. "Wanna try some, Rae?"
Raven looked at it dubiously. While she did enjoy the taste of vanilla ice cream, she was still on the fence about root beer. Judging from the smell, the concoction was sweet, which wasn't particularly high on Raven's list of preferred tastes.
"I don't know, Garfield…" She said slowly.
"Just one bite? I'll never bring it up again if you don't like it." The green boy pleaded.
Never? Rude said in Ravens mind. Sounds like a good deal to me!
It doesn't hurt to try new things. Knowledge commented.
None of her other emotions could really dispute that since it was just ice cream, so she gave Garfield a little nod. He grinned and started looking around for something.
Mayhaps he's looking for a spoon? Knowledge suggested.
Blockhead. Rude snorted.
Just take his spoon! Affection, Brave, and Desire demanded.
And so Raven did, pulling it from his hand and dipping it into the cold dessert. His head whipped around so fast he almost broke his neck, his surprise evident on his face as she brought the utensil up and deposited the food in her mouth.
A little grin found its way on his face as he watches her. "Soooo…?"
"It's…weird." Raven said, dipping the spoon down for another bite. "But in a good way."
Garfield chuckled, pleased with himself. Raven hid her own smirk with the spoon, wondering how such an insignificant thing such as ice cream could make him so happy.
He's such a weird boy. Affection sighed almost dreamily.
What does that say about us? Rude grumbled.
Raven ignored them and posed a question towards her companion. "So what else is planned for today?"
The changeling's face turned thoughtful. "Hm. Well, the Magic the Gathering Tournament is starting in an hour, so we could watch that for a little bit."
Raven raised an eyebrow. "What's Magic the Gathering?"
"A way more complicated card game than Yu-Gi-Oh." He chuckled. "There's so much strategy to it that it can get overwhelming. And the lore can get pretty deep and twisted too."
Interesting. Knowledge murmured. Raven inclined her head and repeated the statement to her crush. The boy grinned. The violet girl gave him another little smile before her face took on surprise as the spoon was pulled from her hand. Looking down, she found Emelia dipping the spoon into the ice cream.
"I thought you didn't like vanilla?" Raven asked the child.
Emmy shrugged. "You're a lot pickier than me, mommy, so if you like it enough to eat more then it can't be bad."
Raven scowled halfheartedly at her daughter as Garfield laughed.
"If you two like it so much, you can have it." He said suddenly.
Raven glanced at him. "Is that so?"
He nodded. "Yup."
"Why?"
"Why not?" The changelings grin widened, mischievousness filling his aura. Raven stared at him suspiciously until he laughed. "Okay okay, you got me. I didn't want it to go to waste."
She raised an eyebrow. "Why would it go to waste to begin with?"
"I, uh, need to go to the bathroom and there's a line. Might be melted by the time I get back." He admitted. ""I spent nine bucks on it, figured you'd fuss at me for wasting money if I only ate a few bites."
"Hm…" Raven eyed him, noting that he wasn't telling the whole truth. He was partially right, she wasn't fond of spending excess money. But it was his money too. But what was he hiding?
Before she could ask, he got up and darted away.
Hmmm… She thought as she watched his retreating figure, her eyes trailing down his backside to his bottom.
Mmmm… Desire murmured. I wonder what he looks like n-
Shush. Raven commanded. Neither the time nor place for that.
The empath sat there with her daughter, watching the various people come and go as they finished off the root beer float. There were all sorts of individuals running around today. Men in armour, women in armour, guys in brightly colored clothes with girls in next to nothing, one guy was wearing a dark blue tuxedo and carrying around what appeared to be a screwdriver, and, oddly enough, there was a girl dressed like Harley Quinn.
There are some strange people in the world. Raven thought as she watched a trio of girls in nearly identical uniform with short skirts walk by. Each uniform had a different trim color and each girl had a plastic wand of some sort, with the leader's being a crescent moon on a pink stick. A little boy with a shaved head and a big blue arrow painted across his cranium walked by, his hand being held by a woman wearing what appeared to be monk robes, just like the little boy. A man in armour, similar to the 'Master Chief' that Garfield pointed out yesterday, walked by, his red and blue armour reflecting bits of sunlight from the skylight above. Behind him was another man in a black robe, a mask on his face that only showed his eyes. At his hip was a curious metal rod attached to a glass tube. A particularly buxom woman wearing practically nothing stalked by in the opposite direction, a pair of fake guns holstered at her hips as she sauntered through the crowd, drawing more than her share of stares. A boy a bit younger than her strolled by in an orange jumpsuit, his fingers intertwined with those of a girl wearing some sort of ninja uniform and white contacts. Raven could feel the happiness pouring off the younger couple and it made her sigh wistfully.
A boy with hair dyed bright orange walked by, his black robe swaying behind him as he lifted a large fake sword and called out to someone. A man dressed like some sort of lanky purple robot with a skull-like head waved back, nearly hitting a girl wearing a yellow jumpsuit with blue stripes and a pointed mask. The man on the other side of her, wearing a blue jumpsuit with 'Vault 101' on the back, scowled and scolded the purple man, who apologized sincerely.
A flash of red caught Raven's attentions as a crimson clad samurai walked by, his long red hair reminding her of Starfire's hair. Beside him was a green and black clad samurai who carried three swords at his hip. They were laughing at some private joke as they made their way around a little boy in a yellow mouse costume, his mother, dressed in a tight yellow shirt with blue shorts and red suspenders, and his father, wearing blue jeans and a matching shirt/vest combo with a red hat, who had all paused to let a short fat man wearing red overalls and a red cap walk by. The red clad man paused in front of the boy and pulled out a yellow star-shaped cookie. Receiving the parents permission, he gave it to the happy child.
Stranger and stranger. Raven thought to herself as a young man clad entirely in green and wearing fake pointed ears pulled his sword and shield from his back and beat them together with a clang. Another young man, identical in costume, approaches him, but instead of green it was all black, including his body paint. Within seconds they had started a mock fight.
Raven raised an eyebrow as the figures bounced around the area, drawing cheers from all sorts of people watching. A little girl in a sparkly green dress tugged eagerly on her mothers shirt while a little boy dressed like a red robot with a blue head jumps up and down beside her. Another woman is weaving her way through the crowd, a crying child, no older than Emelia, in her arms. The woman, clad in a one piece purple dress and wearing a long red wig, sat at a table close to Raven and her daughter. Raven could hear the child sobbing in her mother's arms, but couldn't understand her words at all. Fear permeated both her aura and her scent; something had frightened her badly. The mother held her daughter close, cooing soothing words and rubbing her back gently. Raven listened and discovered that the woman was singing a song of sorts.
A lullaby, huh? She thought, casting her gaze at her daughter, who was licking the bowl clean. I never got any lullabies growing up. It was always 'be calm, child, there is nothing to fear but fear itself' or 'your night terrors are nothing compared to what lies ahead of you'. I don't even know any lullabies, for that matter. Does that make me a bad mother?
Raven's inner monologue was cut off by the reappearance of her wayward companion, cheeriness permeating his aura and his hands behind his back. He was obviously hiding something.
"If you took pictures of more girls, you're walking back to the hotel." She threatened.
He flinched. "I wasn't, but I do have a car, ya know."
"Not if I take the keys."
Garfield pulled one hand from behind his back and made a calming motion at her. "Woah now Rae, settle down. I didn't do anything wrong, promise!"
"Right." Raven replied distractedly, wondering why the scent of ink was drifting from him. She got her answer seconds later when he held something out to her. She looked down.
It was a book.
She looked up at him, eyes wide and mouth slightly ajar. He grinned at her.
"Take it Rae, its for you."
Her hands trembling, she reached up and gently took it from him. It was a thick book, paperpack, with big yellow words on the front.
The Dark Elf Trilogy by R.A. Salvatore.
On the front was a elfin man wearing orange and black and wielding two curved swords. His ebony colored skin matched pieces of his armour and his long mane of white hair accented the exoticness of his character. In front of him were a trio of similar men, but judging from the exquisitely drawn anger on their faces, they were after the other elfin man's head.
"Open it up." Garfield said softly. Raven obliged him, opening the cover to find a neat scribble on the inside.
For Raven, one of the true hero's in the world. Thank you for everything you've done. I owe you my life, as well as my family's lives. Forever in your debt- Bob Salvatore
Raven looked up at Garfield, her mouth and eyes open in amazement. He chuckled again.
"I wanted to get you something as a thank you for being here with me, Raven. I know you like to read, but I don't actually know what you like to read. So I figured I get you a book, signed by the author himself. He didn't believe me when I told him who we were, so I turned into a dog and proved it to him. He didn't charge me for the book or the signature, but I had to take a picture with him." The green boy said, his hand scratching the back of his neck nervously. Emmy peered at the book, curious. "I didn't know if you'd like it…but I decided to try anyways."
Garfield watched Raven look at the book, then at him, then the book, then back at him.
It looked like she was about to cry.
"Garfield…" She said softly, standing up. "I-"
"I heard there were a couple of amateurs running around, but I didn't think anyone could mess up a Beast Boy or Raven costume." A nasally voice said loudly.
Both teens jerked their heads towards the voice, instantly irritated at the interruption. They found a short chubby guy wearing blue jeans and a white button up shirt, complete with a mustard stain, standing there. He had short and curly reddish brown hair, acne for days, bland blue eyes, and ruddy cheeks. He looked quite displeased.
"Hey buddy, can ya buzz off? We're having a moment." Garfield snapped.
"Sure, as soon as you admit you're terrible cosplayers." The young man grinned cheekily.
"What does it matter to you what we dress like?" Raven sighed in aggravation.
"Well for one, its obvious that neither of you know anything about Raven or Beast Boy."
"Is that so?" Garfield deadpanned.
The guy nodded. "Uh, duh? Everybody knows Raven wouldn't be caught dead in public with Beast Boy."
Both teens bristled. "Why not?!"
"For one, Beast Boy is too much of a joke of a hero to be good enough at Raven's side. Two, Raven is way too high class to even look at him. Three, Beast Boy couldn't even keep Terra as a girlfriend, so he obviously couldn't even begin to make Raven happy." The guy ticked these off on his fingers.
Garfield had frozen solid, anger pouring off him, so Raven took initiative. "I don't recall telling you what I look for in guys! As a matter of fact, I-"
"You aren't the one in question. Raven is." The guy interrupted. "For clarification, Robin is the only one for her."
Anger turned into disgusted horror for Raven. "Robin?! Are you serious?!"
"Very."
Raven fought the urge to vomit and shook her head. "Look, if you think I'd be into him, you're insane. How in Azar's name could I care for someone who's controlling, obsessive, secretive, and single minded like him?! I mean really, he chases after Slade at the drop of a hat like some kind of neurotic hound dog, he rarely tells people the whole truth, if any of the truth, about important things, and the way he focuses on training its almost like he has a narcissistic muscle fetish. That boy has more secrets than the rest of the Titans combined and you think I'd be interested in that? There is no way, in this universe or any other universe that I would love such a pompous prig like him!"
"Again, you aren't Raven." The guy said smugly. Raven began to shake with anger, barely restraining her demonic half from simply erasing him from existence.
Fortunately, Garfield had recovered.
"You know dude, you keep saying that without thinking. What if we are Beast Boy and Raven?" He said, his tone dark.
"Impossible. You look nothing like them." The guy declared.
Both teens looked at each other in confusion. "Huh?"
"Freaking amateurs." The guy rolled his eyes. "We'll start with Beast Boy. He's short and scrawny, like a rat that hasn't eaten enough, and he constantly makes terrible jokes. He's obviously the weak link on the team, but the others keep him around to laugh at, so it kind of evens out."
Raven knew no words to describe how shocked and hurt the changeling was upon hearing those words, but the tenacious guy in front of them didn't cease speaking.
"Raven, on the other hand," He said, "Is taller than him. She has a lithe figure, small supple breasts, and a tiny bottom. She is the epitome of grace, intelligence, and beauty with her lavender hair and porcelain colored skin. She is a goddess amongst men, cold and deadly."
Raven looked down at her hands. Porcelain skin?
"You two, while a cute couple, don't look anything like the real thing." The guy continued. "You, mister Fake Beast Boy, are way too muscled and tall. And you haven't made a single terrible joke yet. I mean really, can't you at least try to stay in character?"
"Hey, people change!" Garfield said defensively.
"Right." The guy said sarcastically as he turned to Raven. "And you…well, you turned the goddess Raven into a chubby, grey-skinned gargoyle. Its actually kind of creepy that you think Raven looks like that. Seriously, did you even try to think about staying in character?"
"Chubby…gargoyle?" Raven said weakly, her mind and emotions unable to process what he was saying.
The guy looked at Emelia, who was staring at him intently. "And as for them having a kid-"
"Take it back."
The guy looked at Garfield. "I don't think you understand how insulting you are to the real-"
"You called Raven a chubby gargoyle!" Garfield growled, his skin rippling as his fangs elongated and claws lengthened. "Take. It. Back."
Unfortunately, the guy didn't notice those things. He shook his head. "I won't."
"Mommy, daddy's really mad." Emmy said, tugging on her mothers sleeve.
"I'm not particularly happy right now either, you know." Raven mumbled, her shoulders sagging. She had been aware for some time that she had gained a few pounds, but she didn't know it was that noticeable. The only reason she was self conscious of her weight was because the monks of Azarath maintained a strict diet and weight that they impressed upon her. As for her skin, she had never thought much about it…until she was likened to a gargoyle.
Being called creepy was just salt on the wound.
"No mommy, daddy's really really mad!" Emmy whimpered as she scrambled to the other side of her parent and his behind her. "I can't calm him down!"
Raven looked finally looked up at Garfield.
"Last chance." The green boy snarled, his body shaking in barely-contained rage. "Take. It. Back."
The guy snorted. "No. I'm not scared of you, security will-"
"Wrong answer." Garfield spat before changing.
The cracking of bones splitting, growing, and connecting filled the air, accompanied by the sounds of the tearing and stretching of skin as the enraged changeling began to grow. Within seconds her was twice his natural height and still growing. Scales sprouted across his shifting for, his jaws elongating, horns sprouting from his head and sweeping back. A ripping sound split the air as a pair of scaly wings burst from his back.
Screams filled the air as people scrambled to get away from the monstrous form the changeling was taking. It towered over everyone present and grew yet more. His neck stretched to impossible lengths, as did the tail that sprouted from his backside. His claws, on both hands and feet, became long and hooked talons, his pupils slitted, and his growl became reptilian. He took up all of the available space, his titanic body filling the void where air once was.
Raven found herself staring at a colossal green dragon, its head easily twice the size of a car, talons longer that Cyborg was tall, and fangs longer still. It's kite shield -sized scales glittered emerald in the sunlight peeking in through the skylight.
It was, in essence, viridescent death.
She almost screamed.
Almost being the key word, seeing as the scent of urine filled her nostrils and hit her like a brick wall. It shook her from her stupor and she looked around. It wasn't herself or Emelia, who was cowering behind Raven.
She found the source seconds later in the form of their verbal abuser, a dark stain spreading across his pants as he lay shaking on the floor looking up at Garfield.
"Do not make me repeat myself."Dragon-Garfield growled so deeply that the windows in the building rattled. The very air itself seemed to shake in the wake of his anger, leaving Raven trembling.
"It's Smaug!" Someone cried out.
"Don't be stupid, he's green!" Another voice yelled.
"Well, he's the size of Smaug!" The first voice yelled back.
"No he's not! If he were, the building would be crushed!"
"Frank, you obviously don't really know how big-"
"Don't sass me, Allen, I taught you everything you know about dragons!" The second voice yelled even louder.
"Last chance." Dragon-Garfieldrumbled, ignoring the civilians as he brought his head down to stare at the prone man. He opened his mouth slightly, allowing the full length of his fangs to be seen by the guy.
"I'M SORRY! I DIDN'T MEAN IT!" The guy shrieked. "PLEASE DON'T EAT ME!"
Dragon-Garfield snorted derisively and began to shrink back down. Within heartbeats he had returned to his normal size, but Raven could still feel the waves of rage rolling off of him. He stood before the terrified guy, glaring down at him with so much hatred that the empath wondered where it came from.
"You know, dude, I can take the insults." The changeling said coldly. "I'm used to it. I get it. I'm the goofy one, the clown, the prankster, the funny guy. I've got pointy ears, fangs, claws, and green skin. My only power is turning into animals. I'm not a top notch superhero, I know that. I'm clumsy, mess up tactics by getting excited, and I'm slacking on my hand to hand combat skills. That's fine though. I don't mind. I love being me. Get it? I'm happy. I know my friends don't think I'm the weak link. I know we all keep each other sane. I know the things I've screwed up. I know I failed to help Terra. I know my jokes give people headaches. I know I'm the person on the team that shouldn't be taken seriously because that's how I want things. I don't like being serious. When I'm serious, it's too easy for me to get angry. I don't like being angry. I make dumb decisions when I'm angry. So I'm fine with the way things are. I'm happy."
There was a silence in the area before Garfield began speaking again.
"But ya see, the thing is that right now I'm very angry. You just insulted the one person on this whole freaking planet that means more to me than anyone. You just insulted the girl who saved THIS ENTIRE FREAKING PLANET!" He shouted, spittle flying from his mouth. "YOU WANNA HARASS SOMEONE?! TRY ME! IVE HEARD IT ALL! THERE'S NOTHING YOU COULD POSSIBLY SAY THAT I HAVEN'T HEARD BEFORE!"
He stopped shouting long enough to wipe his mouth, then glared down at the guy once more.
"I honestly can't believe people like you exist. Its one thing to respect us for putting our lives on the line to save you. Its another to idolize us and want to help people like we do. But to put us on the same level as God? You're delusional. What nutjobs like you don't realize is that we're ordinary people that can do extraordinary things. Do you have any idea what we do when we aren't fighting crime? I'll tell you: the same things everyone else does. I play video games and read comics. Cyborg plays games with me or works on his car. Starfire cooks or exercises. Robin solves suduko puzzles, crosswords, and exercises. Raven reads books and meditates. We're just as normal as you are ninety percent of the time. So this whole 'making us out to be way better than we are' thing needs to just stop. We're different, yeah, I get that. But unless we're doing our superhero thing, just treat us like you would everyone else. And that means NOT CALLING RAVEN A CHUBBY GARGOYLE!" Garfield punctuated this last yell by changing his right arm into an ape's and slamming it into the floor, cracking it for a dozen feet in any direction. He was struggling hard to not let his rage take ahold on him. Every animal in him demanded his tear apart this inferior male for insulting his mate and Garfield was so very close to listening to this. He quite literally could not see straight, he was so angry.
Mere seconds before his animal instincts became the voice of reason in his head, something tugged at his sleeve.
His vision hazy, he turned and found Raven standing there, Emelia in one arm, and a solemn look on her face.
"We should go." She said softly, nodding at all the frightened people around them.
Garfield nodded, his head woozy. "Yeah, okay…no, wait."
Before Raven could respond, he turned back to the sobbing man.
"People like you disgust me, putting others down just for your own sick pleasure. You're nothing more than a bully and I hate bullies." He spat. The man on the floor cringed, but Garfield turned back to Raven. "And you…"
Raven was startled, but even more so when he stepped forward and gently took her face in his hands. He spoke softly, gently, to her.
"Raven, I want you to listen to me, okay? I know this is probably overstepping my boundaries, but this is stuff you need to know. First off, you are not chubby. You are curvy in all the right ways. There are girls out there that would kill to look like you do. Second, you are not creepy. You are mysterious. Figuring out what makes you tick has been one of my favorite pastimes for years. I will probably spend the rest of my life trying to figure you out and I'm okay with that. Last, and definitely the most important, you do not look like a gargoyle. Your skin isn't grey or stony looking. It looks more like you're carved from living moonlight. Combined with your violet eyes and hair and it's like I'm looking into a twilight night sky every time our eyes meet. There is no girl on this planet that is as unique as you are. No one will ever have your special brand of natural beauty, no matter how much makeup they put on."
Raven could only stare at him dumbly, her mouth ajar.
When she didn't say anything, Garfield released her and looked around for the exit. Finding it, he gently took her by the wrist and pulled her in its direction. The crowd parted for them like the sea did for Moses. It took her a few moments to comprehend everything that just occurred, but when she did Raven still found herself speechless. Despite this, she managed to weakly wriggle her wrist from his grasp until it was her hand in his instead.
Garfield noticed but said nothing, mostly because he wasn't certain of what he should respond with.
Emelia would have commented on this, but she was too busy trying to catch the little shadowy hearts trailing behind her mothers head.
Upon arriving at the hotel, it was decided that they would return home that evening instead of the morning. This was mostly because Garfield was still fuming and Raven was still in shock over what he had said to her. They showered, packed, and headed to the lobby. Dave was there, though he would be getting off within the hour.
The poor guy thought Garfield would be angry with him for not being able to refund the last night, but the changeling waved it off. While it was true that he paid good money for the room, it was just a room. Nothing special.
With a goodbye to Dave and their bags in hand, the trio returned to the car once more. It would be evening before they reached the tower, but they were fine with that.
Well, Garfield was.
Raven, on the other hand, immediately opened her new book when they got in the car. Within minutes she was completely and utterly consumed with the story.
That was okay with Garfield though. She wasn't upset or anything from earlier with that jackass, she didn't get mad when he stopped halfway through the trip and asked her if she wanted anything from the gas station until she answered, and she barely responded when he announced that they had arrived in Jump City. It wasn't until Garfield parked the car in the garage of Titans Tower that she finally looked up.
"We're home already?" She asked in slight confusion. "But I just started my book…"
Garfield, who had cooled off a couple of hours ago, glanced at the item in question. Raven had practically devoured three quarters of the book in five hours. It was astounding.
"Uh, if you say so Rae." He chuckled lightly.
Raven set her book in the dashboard as she got out and unbuckled Emelia. The little girl took off like a lightning bolt, racing through the garage door into the hallway where the bathroom was. Garfield shook his head, amused. He went to retrieve their luggage, but when he opened the trunk he found them disappearing into a dark portal. He glanced up at Raven, who was clutching her book to her chest.
"Thanks Rae." He said, shutting the trunk.
"It was nothing." She responded in a soft tone. "In fact, I should be the one thanking you."
This made him confused. "Huh? For what?"
She smiled at him and his heart stopped for a moment.
"For this weekend, of course."
"But…you came for me." Garfield said slowly.
She nodded. "I did, yes. But still…this weekend…it was nice."
"Woulda been nicer if we stayed for the rest of the convention." The changeling sighed, crosses his arms, and leaned against the car. Raven came closer and put a hand on his arm.
"We didn't have to leave until tomorrow." She said quietly.
Garfield shrugged. "Technically, yeah. But if we had run into that guy again…"
"Thank you."
He looked at her curiously. "For…?"
"For standing up for me like that." She said, inching closer.
He shrugged again. "It's nothing, Rae. I couldn't let him badmouth you like that."
"I know. Thank you." Raven bit her lip and cast her eyes to the side. "And…thank you for the things you said about me."
Garfield couldn't help the blush that found its way on his green face. He gave a weak cough and looked away. "U-uh, yeah, well, I wasn't going to let him lie to you about how ya look. There's nothing wrong with the way you look."
"Nobody has ever said anything like that about me before." Raven said quietly.
He jerked his head back towards her. "Huh? Nobody?"
She shook her head. "No one. Not even Malchior."
"I…um…well…" Garfield stuttered.
"And nobody has ever given me a book before." She said so softly that he barely heard her. He couldn't stop himself from looking at her like she was crazy.
"What are you talking about? We get you books all the time! Heck, I've gotten you bookshelves!" He said.
Raven shook her head. "You all give me books on holidays. Holidays that I didn't celebrate or even know existed before I came here from Azarath. I still don't see the point in them, but I accept my gifts because of the whole 'holiday spirit' thing you all go on about. In Azarath, I was never given books either. Books were loaned to me for my studies or I went to the library for books. Azar was the only person to ever give me a book and even then it was just a blank paged journal. To give me a gift would have risked forming an emotional attachment and they wouldn't stand for it under any circumstance."
"I'm not trying to be rude, Rae, but the sound like a bunch of pricks if you ask me." Garfield huffed.
Raven's face became solemn. "That is a bit rude because they needed me to be strong enough to defeat my father, but I don't disagree with you. I think that if they had formed the bonds with me that I have with you all that I could have defeated Trigon even easier. But that's not what's important. The point is that you, Garfield, are the first person in my life to give me a book simply because you wanted to."
He gave her a meek little smile. "Well, if you like it that much then I should get you some more, huh?"
Again she smiled and his heart leapt into his throat.
"I would like that." She said softly.
Garfield smiled back at her. "If it makes you happy, then I'm all for it Rae."
Raven stared at him for a long moment before her smile grew. "Happy? Yes, it makes me very happy."
He chuckled. "Well-"
"In fact." She interrupted him. "It makes me so happy that I'm going to do something completely out of character."
Garfield looked at her, his brow furrowed. Out of character? What did she mean? He knew she was happy right now and that he was about ready to do back flips from sheer joy, but what she said wasn't making sense. He looked deep into those violet eyes and wondered what the heck she was talking about.
But before he could ask, she leaned over and kissed him.