Title: your rocking chair next to mine

A/N: Written for the BBRaven zine, which was unfortunately cancelled. I wanted to do an older version of them, when they finally get to retire and just be, as opposed to saving the world every afternoon.

Summary: Raven listened to the sounds of children shrieking, to Garfield's laughter as he played with them, and there was nowhere she'd rather be.

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Children shrieked, their high-pitched voices filling the summer air, and Raven almost summoned her shadows out of habit. A peek outside her living room window confirmed what she already knew: Garfield was babysitting the kids again. Or rather, a lumbering green rhino was babysitting the kids.

There was a reason he was their favourite uncle.

Taking a deep breath, Raven stepped back from the window, calming down the darkness that swirled within her. A lifetime of super-heroing had made her training almost instinct now, and it took more than five years of retirement to change that. Especially when retirement had an asterisk next to it, with everyone from the newest batch of Teen Titans to the latest iteration of the Justice League calling them every other week for help.

Fortunately, today wasn't one of those days. Going back to the couch, she opened her book again. She only had a few days—

"I'M GOING TO GET YOU," Garfield roared, his voice reverberating through the room.

—before she had to return it to the library and—

"Hide, Liam!" Ma'ri Grayson shouted in a panic.

—she was at the climax, where they were planning on catching the killer—

"Not fair, 'ncle Garry!" Jai West grumbled, slightly out of breath.

—and it looked like today she was definitely not going to finish the story. Again. With a sigh, she slipped her bookmark in place and set the book down. She'd just have to renew it once more. Hopefully no one else wanted it; at the pace she was going it'd be a year before she finished it.

Accepting her fate, Raven stepped out onto the porch and leaned against the railing to watch. Garfield was now a gaunt bear, shaking his head with a silly grin as he stalked through the grass. Just in front of him, Iris and Jai West were running from him. At six, the twins were the oldest and the fastest of the bunch, hints of their father's powers exhibited by the short bursts of speed as they sprinted around Garfield.

"This way!" Iris yelled, charging at Garfield's flank.

Garfield laughed, his lips curled back revealing a row of sharp teeth. Unintentionally, Raven was sure, but the appearance was intimidating nonetheless. "Try again!" He swatted lazily at his side.

"Watch out!" Jai tried to stop but tripped over his feet instead. As he fell, he latched onto Iris's leg too, sending her sprawling face-first on the ground.

"It'll take more than that!" Garfield boasted, slowly padding up to the pair. The twins scrambled to their feet as they tried to escape. In their haste, they only bumped into one another, tangling them together.

Giggling erupted from behind a shaking bush and Raven spotted the bright green eyes of five-year-old Ma'ri as she giggled. She covered her mouth hastily when Garfield slowly turned toward her. He squinted at the bush. "Is there a little girl in there?"

"No!" Ma'ri declared, giggles still escaping her.

"I don't know, that sounds like a little girl." He took a step forward and the bush rustled some more.

Before Garfield could do anything, the baby of the group, Liam Harper burst out of the bushes. Hands outstretched, she ran straight at him. "Here! Here!"

A toddler, she didn't fully understand the game beyond running. Frozen in surprise, Garfield watched as she got closer and closer, until she grabbed his head. Garfield stared at her wide smile. "Huh?"

"Now!" Not one to miss an opportunity, the twins attacked him again.

Ma'ri burst out of the bushes, joining them. Weak starbolts hit his flank and the twins pummeled his side. Raven winced as Garfield let out a pained bellow before slowly collapsing the ground. "I give! I give!"

Resting her cheek on a hand, Raven tried not to laugh. Fully claiming their prize, the kids started to climb on Garfield like he was a giant, bear mountain. Even Liam joined in, her chubby fingers pulling on his fur as she tried to climb up his head. Raven applauded lightly, congratulating the children. "Good job."

"Thanks, Auntie!" Iris grinned, already on Garfield's back.

"Raven?" Garfield looked up at the porch. Gently, he started to rise, rolling his shoulders and slowly shaking his back as he tried to get up. "Alright, alright, break time."

"But we won!" Ma'ri whined, clinging to him tightly. When he gave a gentle shake, she dug in harder. "We're suppose'd to get a ride!"

Garfield sat down, letting Iris and Jai slip down his back like it was a furry slide. "But I'm tireeeed," he complained, letting a long tongue loll out of his snout. Looking every part a silly bear, he glanced balefully at Ma'ri. "Just a little break?"

Ma'ri crossed her arms, face scrunched up as she considered it. "You promise."

"I promise," he repeated solemnly.

She squinted harder at him before finally giving a consenting nod. "Fine."

Finally free of the children, Garfield transformed back into a middle-aged man. Despite his fears from their various meddling with the future, he hadn't ended up pot-bellied and balding. Maybe he wasn't as fit as he used to be and there was a touch of grey to his temple, but while she had never considered Garfield particularly handsome, age had given him a more dignified look. The few times she'd told him so, he'd given her a wide, ear-splitting grin, looking just as he had when they were teenagers and still getting to know each other.

Just like he was smiling now, his eyes lighting up as he jogged to the porch. "Raven!"

She shuffled over, giving him space to stand next to her. "All four of them again?"

"Yeah." Garfield sighed, drooping over the railing. Small beads of sweat littered his skin and he moaned. "And they're so big now! Those hits hurt."

"Are you sure you're not getting slower?" Raven half-teased, patting him lightly on the back.

"Not you too." Pouting, Garfield looked at her. His cheeks were puffed up like a chipmunk's and not for the first time she wondered if some animal traits were just permanently grafted into his DNA, stuck there from overuse. "Batman said he could hit me in his sleep. In his sleep."

Raven smiled wryly, picturing the latest incarnation of Batman. Despite how much Dick had tried to soften up Damian Wayne, there was too much of his mother's bite in him. "He probably could."

Garfield opened his mouth to protest. Thinking better of it, he rested his forehead against the railing once more and groaned. "Okay, sure, that's true—he's an assassin. He could probably kill me without blinking and holy crap, why do we have so many criminals on our side." He stood up straight, counting off their friends on his fingers. "There's Rose, Damian, Cassandra, I definitely count Jason—"

"We're really good at reforming people." Gently, Raven folded his fingers in, disrupting his thoughts before they could go any further. Before he started going in the reverse. Time healed all injuries and while Terra's name no longer hurt like an open wound, it still ached to think of her. Of what could have been.

"Yeah." Garfield grinned cockily, intertwining their hands. He squeezed lightly. "We're real good at second chances."

She looked away, the tips of her ears hot. Despite the years they'd been together, he still somehow was able to make her react like this. "Yeah."

He affectionally shoulder bumped her before turning his attention back to the yard. The twins were giving Liam piggy back rides, taking turns as they zipped around. Next to a particularly thick patch of dandelions, Ma'ri was building a flower crown. "You don't think Vic's gonna have a kid soon, do you? I don't think I can handle five."

"You don't have to babysit them all at once, you know," Raven pointed out dryly.

"I guess." Garfield perked up as he realized something. "Wait, with five we could have a basketball team." He leaned back, only his grip on the railing keeping him from falling. "We could conquer the neighbourhood!"

There were practically stars in his eyes when he turned to her and she tried not to get caught up in his enthusiasm. "They might not like basketball."

"Ice cream can solve that," he stated matter-of-factly, completely confident of his solution. Resting on the railing, he studied their friends' children. "Jai and Iris could be offense, Ma'ri defense, and Liam…" He winced. "Um…well, maybe she has Roy's aim. Vic's kid will have to be an all-rounder."

Raven glanced at him, then at the kids playing on their lawn. Despite all of his complaints, Garfield really loved babysitting. Loved kids. There was a glaring omission from his list and she tightened her grip on the rail. Softly, she asked, "Do you regret it?"

"Hmm?" Blinking, Garfield stared at her. When she didn't add anything, he cocked his head and scratched his chin sheepishly. "Did I forget to buy milk again?"

"No, not that." Raven took a deep breath. Watching him carefully, she clarified. "That…we won't have kids." That years ago, she had asked him for a single promise and his smile hadn't wavered when he'd agreed. She lowered her eyes.

Garfield's eyes widened, his expression turning more serious. "Oh that." A beat passed, a long beat where everything was too loud. Raven could hear her heart, Garfield's breath, the snap as Ma'ri broke another dandelion stem. Finally, he asked, "Are you happy?"

Surprised, Raven slowly nodded. "Yes."

Wrapping an arm around her shoulder, he squeezed her tight. "Then no regrets."

"That's it?" She stiffened slightly in his hold, still processing his answer. "You love children."

"Yeah, but then we'd have six kids and there really isn't a sports team for that." Garfield laughed and she could feel the reverberation running through his body and into hers. "Don't get me wrong, it'd be really cute to have a little you, but there's no way the world could deal with two of me. It can barely handle one!"

Raven stared at him. "Garfield."

Realizing how serious she was, he rubbed the back of his head with his free hand. "I mean, yeah, it…it would have been nice. But. Well." He shrugged. "If you're happy, I'm happy."

Now she was certain more than just her ears were red. Leaning into him a little, she let her bangs hide her face. "Huh."

"Raven—"

"Thanks." She cut him off, leaning up to kiss him softly. There weren't many times were Raven felt affectionate, where she wanted to start something, but for Garfield, she wanted to give. If only to match how many times she'd received.

When she pulled back, his green skin was as red as a tomato. "Ra—" Before he could finish, he yelped in pain.

"Got him!" Ma'ri crowed, her hands glowing as she stood across the lawn. "He's weak!"

"Whyyyyy?" he groaned, rubbing his arm.

"They really like you," Raven offered, trying not to snicker.

Leaning close to Raven, he kissed her head and murmured, "We'll finish this later." Then he quickly strode down the steps, already transforming into chubby hippo as he ran towards the troublemaker. "I'll show you weak!" Garfield growled.

Children shrieked again and Raven smiled absentmindedly as she watched her husband terrorize the future generation of Teen Titans.