Ƹ̴Ӂ̴Ʒ

"Millions and millions of years would still not give me half enough time to describe that tiny instant of all eternity when you put your arms around me and I put my arms around you."

Jacques Prevert

"Today's her anniversary."

She was quiet for a moment, letting the thought sink in. "How long ago?"

"Five years. Five years without someone you love… It's a long time," he sighed, looking at his mother's gravestone thoughtfully.

"I wish I knew what that felt like."

Garfield turned to Raven in confusion, noting her gentle visage watching the sky and arms clinging to her knees. "What do you mean?"

Raven shrugged. "The only person I've ever loved was a maniac. My father could be in hell for all I care. My mother didn't even bother to care for her only daughter. I wish I at least had someone to mourn."

He scooted closer to her, and with some hesitation, he gently placed an arm around her shoulder. She flinched, and for a second, he thought he would pull back, scared she'd retreat into her mind like she usually did. But to his surprise, she leaned her weight onto him and her head fell softly upon his shoulder. Two ill-fitting puzzle pieces finding comfort in each other.

It'd been a month since the first time they'd met there, and every week since then, they showed up without agreement as if they knew this was their spot.

"It's okay. You'll find someone to love one day," he whispered in her ear, sending pleasant chills crawling throughout her skin.

"I hope you do too," she muttered.

I think I already did, he desperately wanted to tell her. But only time would tell.

"We should go. It looks like it's about to storm," Raven told him, and that's when he realized they'd been in each other's arms staring at his mother's gravestone for nearly twenty minutes.

"Okay."

The walk to his car was quiet, and when they got in, they sat there for a moment, the sound of raindrops falling on the car hood setting a sort of peace they'd both been aching for. A peace they could enjoy together.

"What are you going to do today?" Garfield asked.

"I'm probably staying in. It feels like a good day to do that."

"Do you want to come to my place?"

Raven glanced at him with a blank stare. He didn't look at her, instead played around with the ring of his car keys. "I don't know if I should, Gar. You know what happened last time. I… I don't want to hurt you."

"You're not going to hurt me, Rae." They locked eyes, and he placed a hand over hers. "And nothing's going to happen this time. I promise. Today's… not the day. I just don't want to be alone."

"Okay," she smiled gently at him, inciting a bubbly feeling inside his stomach.

And they spent the night together, holding each other, watching movies and laughing. No sex. No kissing. No making out. Just them both, enjoying each other's companies.

And for the first time, Garfield genuinely felt a sense of warmth and happiness… kind of like… like he had back when Tara had been around.

"You two have been spending an odd amount of time together," Victor pointed out one random morning as he prepared breakfast. Every once in awhile he slept over to make sure the green bean was doing okay, though recently he'd been doing it less often because his relationship with his girlfriend, Sara, appeared to be getting more serious by the day.

"Huh?" Garfield looked up from his phone. He had been distractedly shooting Raven a text about going over to her place tonight to hang out.

"Raven and you. You've been spending a lot of time together. Is there something going on?"

"No," he told him the truth. "Not at all."

Victor froze with the blender in hand and raised a curious eyebrow. "I'm confused. First, you act all flirty with her. Then you sleep with her. Then she rejects you and you act all sad about it. Then you almost have sex in public. And now I find out you guys are being all cozy in here? What's going on? I'm worried about you, man."

"You don't have to be worried, dude. I'm fine. Raven and I are friends now. I think… Well, let's just say we bonded."

Victor arched an eyebrow.

"Not like that!" he rolled his eyes. "We reached a sort of mutual understanding I guess, and we promised we wouldn't go back to… whatever that was. We spend more time together because we're comfortable with each other. That's all."

Victor nodded as he spoke, noting the brighter tone he hadn't heard in quite a while coming from Gar, especially over a girl. He put the blender down, placed both palms on the counter, and looked at him seriously. "Tell me something, Gar. Do you like her the way you did Tara?"

Garfield took a moment to contemplate it. Tara and him had had a special connection he hadn't shared with any other person. Their relationship had been one of a kind, even with the problems it brought. Yet they had never reached common grounds with each other. In fact, the more he thought about it, the more he realized it had been a form of puppy love in a way. He made her happy, sure, but not in the way that meant forever. With Raven, things felt different. It was a strong feeling that enveloped him whole and made him feel like he was floating when she was around him. His fingertips felt tingly with every touch, and a warm sensation traveled across his skin every time she let out a genuine laugh.

"No," he confessed.

In a way, Victor appeared a little relieved, like he'd known the true toxicity of his relationship with Tara all those years but had never interfered for fear of hurting him. He continued putting the ingredients for his shake in the blender.

"I think I love her, man."

Needless to say, the confession had made Victor prematurely press the button and the blender had spilled all its contents around the room.

"Friend Raven?"

"Yes, Kory?" Raven asked as she continued typing up some notes for Dick's next important meeting. She took a moment to stretch her fingers and take a drink from her water bottle as she assumed Kory was about to ask for an opinion on a detail for her wedding in the upcoming month.

After a few weeks of alone time (if she didn't include Gar), Raven had decided it was about time to start hanging out with Kory more. She felt for the girl. She had been going through planning her wedding all alone (Dick didn't offer that many opinions despite Kory's insistence) because Raven had decided to be a bitch. But she had finally decided she was going to make an effort to spend more time with Kory and help her with her arrangements, no matter how much energy it took from her.

Thus, it was a Saturday evening and Raven was finishing up some work while Kory sat on the couch scrolling through Pinterest for some more arrangement ideas.

"You and Gar have been spending some time together, have you not?"

Raven nearly spit the water in her mouth all over the screen of her laptop. She managed to swallow before asking, "How did you find out?" She hadn't exactly been sharing with the girl.

"I noticed a jacket that was not yours in your room earlier and considering you have not mentioned anybody else, I had a suspicion it might be him, but I didn't confirm it until now."

That sneaky little- "Yes, Kory. We have been hanging out, recently."

"Oh, glorious!" she hopped up on the couch to face her body toward her, almost letting her phone drop to the wooden floor in the process and making Raven cringe. The girl had already broken three phones in the course of two months, and she doubted Dick would be happy to get her another. "Tell me, are you finally going out?"

"No. I can assure you it's strictly platonic."

Kory appeared to deflate at the news. "Oh. I had hoped you both had finally realized you were meant for each other."

"I told you I don't like Gar like that."

"But, you made love with him, did you not? And now you are letting him visit your apartment. You never let anyone visit your apartment."

Raven cringed at her wording and placed two fingers at the bridge of her nose, trying to calm her riled emotions. "We did not make love. We slept together. There's a big difference."

"Oh."

"And we're only hanging out because… well," Raven couldn't find the words to describe their relationship. She hadn't really taken time to think about what exactly Gar and her were doing. It certainly wasn't anything romantic, not that she knew of. Sure, sometimes they sat on his bed together and while she opened up a book to read, he would play his silly video games. And every once in a while he liked to embrace her from behind while she was brewing her tea in her kitchen (she mostly always asked for personal space but sometimes she would entertain him). Granted, some of the things they did were things people in relationships did often, but they had not established anything of the sort. They hadn't even shared a kiss or had sex since the restaurant. It's not as if they were in the 'meeting the parents' stage or anything of the sort (not that either had any parents to meet).

She sighed. "We're friends. That's all."

But some part of her didn't seem very convinced of that.

"You want me to do what?"

"Come with me to visit Steve."

"I don't know, Gar," she confessed. They were currently lying on his bed watching a documentary about whales on the discovery channel. His head was on her lap, and she had been playfully toying with his hair (to which he responded to like a cat: nearly purring and moving his head closer).

Raven could only ask, "Why?"

"I haven't visited him in a long time, like I told you. And I really want to, but I don't want to go alone."

Raven really didn't want to hurt his feelings, but she wasn't sure it was the best idea. "What about Vic?"

"He's been really busy with work and Sara. Plus, I feel like I'm more comfortable with you with me." He looked up at her with those green puppy eyes that nearly always had some sort of effect on her.

"I don't know, Gar. Is it really a good idea for me to go with you? He doesn't know me, and it could set him off or something. I don't want to cause a scene or make him freak out or something." It was a weak excuse, but she really didn't want to go. Mostly because if she did, it was a form of taking their relationship a step further, and she wasn't sure she was ready for that. She wasn't even sure she wanted that.

"Please, Rae? I promise it'll be okay. He barely recognizes me anyway. I just… want to see him." He let out a deep breath and looked away, appearing a little sad.

Of course that was his way of convincing her.

Raven hesitated, thinking about it for a long moment. So long she hadn't even realized the documentary was already rolling its credits.

"It's okay, Rae. I won't force you to. If you're not comfortable, I can go by myself," he told her, his tone low. He smiled at her anyway, and she knew he was being honest about it.

He wasn't trying to manipulate her like… like he had done. She hadn't thought about him for a while, and she wasn't intending to go down that pit of despair, so she opted for closing her eyes and letting out the word she hadn't been expecting to say.

"Okay."

Garfield appeared shocked, especially considering he had just told her it was okay if she didn't want to go. But he wasted no time contemplating it and instead rewarded her with a huge grin and pulled her in for an embrace.

Raven admitted her body was a little tense at first, but she managed to relax. Had he done it a month prior, she would've probably pushed him away and slapped him for invading her personal space so suddenly for that matter. But she had to admit she had grown a little fond of his touch. Perhaps physical affection was something that was missing in her life because it made her feel warm all over and her face turn red. But it was a nice feeling.

A nice feeling she hadn't felt in a while.

A nice feeling she wasn't sure she wanted to feel right now.

A nice feeling she distinctly remembered from her time with… him.

Had Garfield pulled away from her at that second, he would've noticed her expression of horror. But he didn't pull away. He instead rested his chin on her shoulder, feeling his whole body against her for just a little longer.

That's when Raven realized she was in trouble.

A/N: I spent nearly six hours re-reading Les Miserables by mad-dog13. Man, if you guys haven't read that, you're missing out. A beautiful writing masterpiece I can only aspire to reach. You should check it out! Anyway, hope you enjoyed. We're getting a little closer to the end and some drama as you know my stories contain.

starpana - Thank you! I love fluffiness! It's like a calm before the storm you just gotta enjoy while you can!

Sanzojoe - Haha, Kory is just being Kory as usual. She's too pure-hearted. I love her! You're right about that! Odd place, but I think it's fitting.

Deal With Itt - This is an AU so it'd be odd if he was green in a normal world lol. Thank you so much! I'm so happy you're enjoying it!

victoriagp2222 - Kory is very spontaneous at times! She surprises even me, who's writing her, haha! Thank you! That means a lot 3

Guest - Your wish is my command! (If you guys haven't noticed, when I spend a while not updated, I tend to update when I get a review asking me to update because I feel guilty lol, I'm sorry y'all, I'll start writing outlines to make it a bit easier for me to write my fanfiction)