AAALLLLRIGHT! LETS GET THIS PARTY STARTED!
First off, I'd like to apologize to everyone. I intended to get this chapter out halfway through the week instead of this weekend, but work wore me out so much that for three days I passed out right after showering after work. Kinda hard to be productive like that lol. On top of that, this chapter wound up being waaaaay bigger than I intended. I ended up having to take out two whole scenes just to keep it reasonably sized. Don't worry though, those scenes will be posted in other chapters.
Now for reviews!
Bearhow- I made a reference to Al in this chapter hehehe
Disnerdmama- Let the BBRae feels floooowwww
Maxtooth- I'm workin on it lol
18chad88- Sorry man, like i said a moment ago, I tried. I really just need to find a new job. -_-
Guest- Thank you! I hope you enjoy this one too!
I-scream-for-bbrae- I thought about that but i decided something softer was needed for that situation. You'll get to find out how so in this very chapter!
Darth Atrox- Look, I have to work with what I got. Its not like I keep my handy dandy Spanish to English translatory Golem XIV in my pocket, okay? I have to work with google as best as I can because I hardly speak any Spanish. I wasn't particularly pleased with having to do it, but I don't have the time or patience to learn a whole new language right now. So grit your teeth and bear with me. Like, literally lol.
Golem XIV- Here's the comicon!
Kinggamer- I hope you like this chapter too
Rcktkid- There was actually supposed to be another scene with Bunker and Skitter in this chapter, but it got too long and I took it out. Don't worry though, they'll be making more appearances later. I intend to explore them a bit more.
Anonymouse- Look, tbh, I didn't even realize it was a slow burn. Thanks for pointing that out though.
Vince- Thank you! I hope you enjoy this chapter too
Azarath Cat- The P.o.M. joke was DAAAAVVVEEEE!
Luis519RS- Me too, though this chapter had me on the ropes for a bit for multiple reasons.
T-Tawny- Thank you! I hope you enjoy this one as well!
RPGPersona- man, it is good to see you reviewing again. You had me worried for a bit, thought something had happened to ya. As for Skitter, she's a New 52 character and a friend of Bunker's. She wasn't in the comics a whole lot, but i really liked the idea of her character. I'll be exploring her a bit in later chapters along with Bunker. I'd also like to know how you knew who I modeled Bob after *glares suspiciously*
Dark Azarathian- I've been told I have a good, if not crazy, sense of humor lol.
Chaotic Cosmic- Me, tease? Never! *innocently whistles*
Marco Polo- Done! Enjoy!
IHaveAFanficProblom- Yep, you guessed right. And yes, my handy dandy translator Golem XIV helped me with that lol. No regrets!
Now to address something.
I honestly didn't realize this was a slow burn story.
*waits for everyone to stop cursing him*
Done? Yes? Sweet. Okay, now hear me out. When I sat down and started this, I wanted something funny but more thought out than Accidents Can Happen. Since I obviously have some 60 or so chapters plotted, I can say that it's very much more thought out than it originally started. To give an example, THIS chapter was supposed to be Chapter 20. Things are a tad out of hand, but I can wrangle them back up in due time. With that being said, it was the reviewer Anonymouse who made me realize it was a slow burn. I asked Bearhow about it, who quite blankly told me i was crazy for not noticing beforehand. Tbh, i can't help it. I think and think and think about these chapters to the point of giving myself headaches but in an enjoyable way. I also tend to get distracted when i stumble upon a new idea and I tend to lose track of what I'm...
*scribbles something down*
Anyways, I wound up having to shift things around a bit, a few chapters and whole sections got rearranged because of a few inconsistencies here and there. But things are looking better now. As for the whole 'lack of BBRae' thing going on, I can assure you that will be changing.
You lot better be happy, because it might have ended up being another twenty chapters before I got to that.
Also, it's getting hard to keep this story rated T. I don't really want to change it to M, but it might end up going in that direction just from all the things I have planned. Let me know what you think on that, okay?
TL;DR- Foamy thinks too much but thinks he fixed things for you lot.
Also, cats.
;)
Read and review please! I love hearing from you guys and gals!
When Raven awoke the next morning, she immediately resolved to put last night behind her. Emelia's harmless little comment has very nearly given Raven a heart attack. She didn't feel that it was time to tell him of her feelings just yet; something like that was best left for when he broke up with Rose. As much as she wanted him all to herself, she didn't want to destroy the happiness he already had, it would just be wrong to do that.
Of course, what he said last night had shaken that very belief to its foundation and had almost gotten him kissed.
And if I didn't?
Was he asking if she'd kiss him goodnight if he was single or asking if she would kiss him if he broke up with Rose? What if he was asking if she would kiss him period? Did he want to kiss her?
Raven honestly didn't know, so she put it out of her head for the day.
Rolling over, she looked around the dark room. The clock read 5:54 and small streaks of sunlight peeked through the cracks between the curtains. She wasn't certain when the convention started, but it might be better to let her daughter and crush sleep for a little longer. It would be a great time to meditate, she thought as she got up. A part of her was very much wanting to go back to sleep, preferably in Garfield's arms. She put that thought out of her mind too. A quick trip to the restroom and a brief pause to brush her hair was all she needed.
Raven stepped over Garfield, who was sleeping with a pillow on his head for some reason, and headed for the balcony. She opened the door and stepped through into the cool morning air. Since they were on the southern side of the hotel she wouldn't be able to watch the sun rise, but the night sky was nice enough. She shut the door halfway and used her powers to levitate the two-person bench a bit further to the side to give her room. Raven then set about doing a few simple stretches to ensure there were no kinks in her movement. Within ten minutes, she had assumed her lotus position and was softly chanting her mantra.
"Azarath metrion zinthos…azarath metrion zinthos…"
The sound of her own voice lulled her into a state of calmness as she let her mind, body, and soul relax. Just as she had done many times before, she called up her emotions to steel them for today's events.
Silly Rae Rae, there's nothing to get so worked up about. We'll be fine! Happy giggled.
I still need to take precautions. Raven said sternly. If I get overwhelmed by people's emotions, particularly their excitement from seeing us, my powers could react and hurt someone.
At least the civvies back home give us space. Rude snorted. And wake up already, would you?!
What are you talking about? I AM awake. Raven replied curiously.
Not you. Rude snapped. Lazy.
Who?
Raven could feel Rude rolling her eyes. Lazy is one of your newer emotions. You haven't noticed her because she doesn't really do anything. She's just…there.
Has she influenced me at all?
I wouldn't call it influencing in a direct sense, but she is responsible for a few things. Knowledge replied. Having Garfield drive us to the Chinese restaurant the other day is one thing. Logically speaking, we could have saved time by flying or teleporting us there. But she didn't want to make that effort, so she let Garfield drive. Another time was at the bookstore when we made Garfield carry our books so that we didn't have to. A few other things of minor nature as well.
…I see. Raven thought to herself. Lazy didn't appear to have any ill intentions (let alone anything to say!) but if she let the emotion have too much say (so to speak) in her actions it could very well turn into Sloth.
Oh, you don't have to worry about her. She's too "lazy" to influence you that much. A newer, more familiar voice chuckled. It took Raven a few seconds to recognize it as the voice from last night.
Aww, you remembered me? How sweet. The voice said.
Raven gave a silent scowl and turned her attention inwards, bringing up the emotions in their partially manifested state. All of her normal emotions were present as well as the two new ones, who were beside Jealousy and Anger. Well, one of them, clad in a chocolatey brown, was laying down and appeared to be quite relaxed (read: asleep). That was obviously Lazy. The other emotion, clad in a rosey pink (unlike Happy's bright pink), stood beside her sisters with a cocky smirk.
Your name. Raven demanded. Now.
Desire. The emotion replied.
Raven arched an eyebrow. You're going to have to explain. It's too broad of a term.
Desire chuckled amusedly. We'll cut to the chase then, since you obviously aren't going to let this sleeping dog lie.
Yes, let's. Raven nodded.
Desire put a hand on her hip as she started talking. Unlike the rest of your emotions, I am genuinely unique. I was actually made from pieces of them.
Pieces of them? Raven interrupted. Desire's smirk grew wider.
Yes, pieces from them. I am Knowledge's need to know things about Garfield. I am Timid's need to be in his arms and be around him. I am Brave's need for his attention. I am Happy's need to make him happy. I am Rude's need to poke fun at him. I am Affections need of HIS affections. I am Anger's need to keep him in line. I am Jealousy's need to keep girls away from him by whatever means necessary. The smirk turned into a grin and widened. But most importantly of all, I am your need of Garfield. Not just emotionally, either. All these years of observing couples living happily has given me knowledge of the things I want.
Raven had a bad feeling as to where this conversation was going. And…just what do you want?
I want to touch him.
Touch him…how? The empath asked cautiously.
I want to know what it's like to wake up in his arms without Timid freaking out. I want to know what it's like to get a kiss from him while he's awake. I want to hold his hand in public. I want to know what his hands would feel like on my skin, his breath on my neck, his hands running through my hair, all of it. I want to look attractive for him, to know that he finds me good enough to be with him, to have him want to show me off to other people. I want to be wanted, Raven. The emotion said boldly. I want all the things I see normal people doing, I want to DO all of those things. I want the same happiness they have. For example, those times where you can't keep your eyes off his half naked body? That's me. Those times you want to run your hands through his hair? That's me. That insatiable desire to kiss him? Obviously me. Stealing his first kiss while he's sleeping? Guilty as charged.
The emotion paused long enough for her grin to turn mischievous. And that saucey little dream we had? TOTALLY my fault.
I see. Raven said before Desire and every emotion except Knowledge was suddenly and inexplicably cut off from their host. They each staggered, with Timid and Rude actually falling down (so to speak). They attempted to ask Raven what she was doing, but she had cut off their voices too. Raven paid no heed to them, conversing solely with Knowledge on a way none of the others could listen in on.
Right as panic set in with the mute emotions, Raven returned control to them. Before any of them could speak, however, Raven turned her attention on Desire.
There was no sort of warning whatsoever before an ethereal chain burst from the mindscape and latched itself around Desire's neck.
Desire dropped to her knees with a gasp and looked up at her creator. Why?!
Because you are dangerous. Raven replied. I have to keep you under control.
What, like you kept Anger under control? Desire sneered. We all know what happened when she snapped out! What do you think will happen if I'm repressed for as long as she was?!
You misunderstand. Raven shook her head. I acknowledge you. I accept you. But I will not give you control. Your role as Desire will be fulfilled, yes, but at a pace I decide. You are allowed to speak freely, just like the others, and you can request things just like them. I have no issue with that.
But Raven-
There are no buts. Until I know it's safe for him as well as the people around me, I can't let you be free. Furthermore-
"Good morning beautiful."
Raven's eyes flew open as she dropped from the air and landed hard on her butt. Not pausing the slightest, she whipped her head around to find Garfield sitting up and rubbing his eyes.
"What did you say?" She whispered in shock. Every one of her emotions waited with bated breath for him to speak, their conversation from moments ago completely forgotten.
Garfield's brow furrowed as he yawned. Then he groggily looked at her. "I said, 'Good grief, morning already? Just beautiful.'."
"Oh…" Raven said softly, unable to hide her disappointment as she looked away.
The half asleep changeling got up, scratched his butt, flexed his stiff back as best as he could, then went to the bathroom.
After using the toilet and washing his hands, Garfield stood there for a moment, staring at himself in the mirror, and thought about Raven's reaction to his greeting. He hadn't meant to say 'good morning beautiful' out loud, it had just slipped out. She shouldn't have been able to hear him anyways, she was meditating when he woke up a bit ago. But she did hear him, and reacted with genuine shock and hopefulness. More embarrassed than anything, he had denied it out of reflex. He immediately kicked himself when she got disappointed and turned away. He really needed better control over his mouth.
And after some serious thinking last night, he also really needed to talk to Rose.
But that could wait for another day. Right now he needed to find a way to make up with Raven.
Their morning was quiet after that, each teen lost in their own thoughts as they got dressed. Raven woke up Emelia (who was perturbed at being awake before 8, proof that she's her father's child) and dressed her as well.
Today Beast Boy was wearing his Otaku shirt, which he had recently discovered in a bag in a corner of his room, where it had lain forgotten for months. Combined with a pair of blue jeans, his skullcap, and his signature boots and you had one cheery changeling. Raven, coincidentally, wore her Meh shirt, which had also been forgotten, albeit in a drawer. Paired with a similar pair of pants from yesterday's and her sole pair of non-elfin boots, and you had a socially prepared Raven. Sort of.
She still didn't like crowds.
Or people.
Or busy places.
Or being stared at.
Or…well, you can see where this is going.
Emelia, on the other hand, was wearing a black shirt with a big sunflower on it and a little black skirt with yellow flowers. Beast Boy had long since noticed that Raven had naturally gravitated towards yellow for the little girl, but it was still a cute thing to see her pick clothes out for Emmy. He had never asked just exactly why yellow, or even what drove Raven to be so adamant about making sure Emmy was dressed nicely, but he figured it had something to do with Raven wanting Emelia to have the things she didn't have growing up.
He was right, of course. He just didn't know that.
After they were dressed they went down to the lobby for the continental breakfast: biscuits and gravy, waffles, cereal, fruit slices, muffins, oatmeal, sausage, and scrambled eggs. Beast Boy and Emelia eagerly pounced on the food while Raven watched them with a small amused smile. She made herself some waffles, of course.
Before long Beast Boy had a nice bowl of biscuits and gravy along with a heaping plate of fruit, waffles, and muffins. Emelia's plate looked very much like her fathers, minus the quantity but adding some scrambled eggs and a sausage link.
"You really don't mind handling meat for her, do you?" Raven asked as they dug into their food.
Beast Boy, thrown off by this random question, poked himself in the chin with his forkful of pears by accident. Emmy giggled as he wiped his chin off.
"Well…" He said, "I do mind. But I can put that to the side for her because she isn't old enough to really understand why I'm so against meat. When she's older I'll talk to her about it."
"Hmm." The older empath murmured thoughtfully. Beast Boy, still confused with the weird question, went back to his food. Before too long he had demolished his plate and started to dig into his bowl.
Only to have his fork bounce off a disk of darkness that appeared directly above his food.
"What the heck Rae?" He looked up, frowning.
Raven raised an eyebrow. "Did you check it for meat?"
"Huh?" Came the expected reply. "Who puts meat in…"
Beast Boy trailed off as he inspected his bowl closer, Raven's disk having dissipated. He used his fork and stirred the gravy, flipping a chunk of biscuit over to find several pieces of sausage floating there. He visibly deflated, bummed that he couldn't eat his third favorite breakfast.
"I'm sorry Garfield." Raven said quietly. "But it looks just like the kind Cyborg makes, so I had to be sure."
The green boy nodded and sighed. "Nah, its okay. Thanks Rae. I couldn't smell the meat with all the other scents in here."
Raven nodded.
The remainder of the meal was relatively quite, aside from Garfield's astonishment when Raven took the bowl from before and divvied it up between herself and Emelia. They ate most of it.
After eating, they headed out the lobby door and into the parking lot. It took Beast Boy a moment to remember where they parked, but he eventually found the unique scent of his car. If the changeling had to describe it, it was a mixture of motor oil, strawberries, and dirty socks.
He made the mistake of telling Raven that and she made him find the socks (under the back seat and he had no idea when he had put them there) and dispose of them.
After the hazmat team left with his socks, Beast Boy buckled Emelia into her car seat and got onto the car. Raven had already taken her own seat and was buckled in and idly staring out the window when he started the car. He wound up having to pull out the tickets to punch into the GPS that his best buddy had built into the car 'just in case'. Beast Boy had laughed it off at the time, but he was genuinely thankful right now.
Thirty minutes later…
"Holy crap, this place is packed!" Beast Boy gawked at all the vehicles in the parking lot as they pulled in. Raven raised an eyebrow at the huge building before them.
"We're going in there?" She asked, her empathy going berserk from the sheer quantity of people in there.
"Yup." The changeling said as he looked around for a parking spot. "The Los Angeles Convention Center, seven hundred and twenty thousand square feet of awesomeness packed into one building. There's parking for almost six thousand cars, parking for bikes and bus drop off points, four different halls, a concourse, and three food courts. Its hosted auto shows, anime expos, gaming conventions, and it's big enough to have been used in more than a few movie scenes, like Rush Hour and Starship Troopers."
"Impressive." Raven replied non-sarcastically. "Although I don't even know what this convention is for, to be honest."
Garfield chuckled. "I could try to list off all the stuff here but I'd be blue in the face by the time I'm done. Let's just say it's a paradise for nerds and geeks."
Raven gave out an amused snort as he continued to drive around looking for a parking spot.
Even though he was really excited to go inside, Beast Boy found himself becoming increasingly agitated as the time passed. They had been there for twenty minutes already and still hadn't found a parking spot. Raven was quietly sitting in her seat and rubbing her temples. He was guessing her empathy was bothering her. In the back seat, Emelia was making a disturbed face.
Fortunately, he found a spot right before he started yelling at the empty cars.
He scowled at the giant red Hummer he had to park next to. He really didn't like those things. They were terrible for the environment, they took up too much room, and used a lot of gas. Shaking his head, the changeling unbuckled himself and opened the door, pausing when he didn't hear Raven follow suit. He looked at her to find that her palms were pressed hard to her temples and that looked to be in pain.
"Rae?" He asked, reaching out and gently touching her shoulder.
"There are so many excited people." Raven mumbled. "I can't shut their emotions out, there's just too many."
"Emmy, can you help mommy?" Beast Boy asked as he looked back at his daughter, who also looked to be in pain.
"My head hurts." Emmy whined. "Mommy, make it stop!"
"Looks like a no." The green boy grimaced before glancing back at the violet girl. "Is there anything I can do to help?"
"I need…" Raven paused and shuddered as a trio of particularly ecstatic people walked by. "I need something to focus on to filter out other peoples emotions."
"A filter? Like in Rob's coffee machine?"
Thinking about how weird of a comparison that was, Raven nodded. "Something like that, yes "
Beast Boy thought for a moment. Something to filter out other peoples emotions? It wasn't like he could pull a magical coffee filter out of thin air. Did they even make magic coffee filters? Would they filter out emotions? He sure as heck didn't know, he couldn't feel other people's emotions.
And then he had an epiphany.
"Use me." He said.
Raven turned and looked at him curiously.
"I can't feel other people's emotions, Rae. Sure, my senses are way stronger than anyone else's, but it's different than your empathy. So you can use me to filter them out, right?"
"I…could try…" Raven said warily. He had no idea what he was asking her to do, but was the only option she had. She took a deep breath and reached out and gently grabbed his head.
"Hold still and try to stay calm. This is going to be…weird." She said. Garfield gave her a brief nod. Raven nodded in return and brought their foreheads together, touching her chakra to his brow. She began chanting in a language he couldn't begin to understand and the strangest of sensations overcame him.
He could actually feel the people around them, but was like a thick blanket was between them and himself. They were a dull hum on the edges of his senses, there but not there. Raven was right; it was weird.
Raven found herself on an equally weird situation. Her eyesight had sharpened, her sense of smell had gotten a bit stronger, her hearing increased, and she had the strangest craving for meat.
"Woah."
Raven brought her attention back to the boy in front of her, his emerald eyes meeting with her own violet orbs. She could now tell where every freckle on his nose and under his eyes were, as well as hear his heartbeat. Beast Boy had become increasingly aware of a warmth emanating from Raven that wasn't body heat. It was something this new sense was telling him about.
It was…a little intoxicating.
Raven's heart skipped a beat just after his did.
"This is…really weird, Rae. What did you do?" He asked slowly, feeling himself get lost in her eyes.
"I…linked our senses." Raven softly. "You received enough of my empathy to stabilize me and I…wow, I can't even begin to describe everything I'm sensing. This is…wow."
"Yeah, that'll take a bit to get used to." Garfield chuckled.
Has he always smelled this good? Raven thought to herself as his breath washed over her.
Wait. His breath?
She glanced down at his lips, mere inches from her own and looked back up into his eyes. Garfield licked his lips and was about to say something when there was a little whimper from behind them. Garfield and Raven both turned and looked at Emelia, who was on the verge of tears in her car seat. Raven instantly released her hold on her companion's head and phased through her seat, taking the middle of the backseat. She grabbed Emelia's head and repeated the process she had just done.
Garfield flinched when his newfound empathy suddenly sharpened in intensity, but the relieved look on Emelia's face made the mounting discomfort worth it. If it helped his girls in any way, he'd do whatever was needed. Even be a magical filter for empathy.
"You okay Emmy?" He asked his daughter as she sniffled, wondering what flavor he would be of magical coffee.
Emmy nodded. "Thank you daddy."
"You're welcome angel."
"Thank you Garfield." Raven said softly as she unbuckled her daughter.
"Anytime Rae." Garfield replied before getting out. He opened Raven's door for her, then walked around to get Emelia. As soon as they were out he locked the door and they headed off to the big building. Emelia immediately wrapped her arms around him and buried her face against his neck. Garfield could tell that her headache was slowly going away, but it was still present enough to hurt. He felt bad about all this now. This is what Raven's been dealing with for all these years? It's awful. How the heck did she put up with this? Oh wait, meditation. Wait, how much did she actually need to meditate for something like this? She couldn't have done it for more than a couple of hours. That surely couldn't have been enough, she did more than that at home! Especially since she had to deal with him being to active and friendly all the time!
Man, I really need to make this up to her. Beast Boy thought to himself. But how-
"Garfield." Raven said suddenly, jerking the changeling from his thoughts. "Why am I craving meat so much? I feel like I could start drooling any second now."
"Oh, you'll learn to tune that out." He replied casually.
She looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Tune it out? You mean you ALWAYS feel like this?"
"Pretty much, yeah." He glanced at her. "I've got herbivores and carnivores in me, remember?"
"Yes, but-"
"The meat eaters aren't picky, Rae." Beast Boy interrupted her. "And they're aggressive."
Raven hesitated in mid-step, her mind flashing back to the Beast incident. She let out a small 'Oh.' before hurrying to catch up to him.
What Beast Boy failed to mention was just how strong his sense of smell was, how sharp his hearing was, and how acutely aware he was of things moving around him. It was almost overwhelming for Raven to experience all these new sensations. A simple sniff in the air told her who had bathed recently, who had touched whom, and who had been eating hamburgers and hotdogs. A tilt of her head would tweak how well she could hear in one direction, directing her attention to the food court some distance away as well as letting her listen to hundreds of hearts beating simultaneously.
She had yet to figure out how she knew there was a mother and child a foot behind her when she hadn't even turned to look at them or even used her empathy.
Omnidirectional senses were weird.
Garfield, on the other hand, had already tuned out his temporary empathy. It wasn't much different than his senses, he concluded after exploring it as they approached the building. It was just emotional instead of physical. Not so hard a thing to deal with.
There were hundreds of people surrounding them, of all shapes and sizes. The changeling had already recognized dozens of different cosplays, ranging from Spiderman to Sailor Moon to Master Chief to Kim Possible. There were even several Power Rangers, a few He-Man's, and a Ninja Turtle. He pointed out each of these to Raven, whose reaction was borderline nonexistent. It was little more than an 'Okay' most of the time, though she did peer at one older guy dressed like a cowboy and mutter 'Really? Roland Deschain?'. Emmy, her arms still wrapped around Garfield's neck, peered about as they walked around. She was more curious than anything, looking at all the different costumes as people paraded by. The small family kept within an arms length of each other as they walked the bustling pathways, vendors hawking their wares, sizzling food permeating the air, and a generally happy clamor of voices all mashing together in a cascade of new experiences for the trio. It wasn't until Emmy called out that they stopped.
"Daddy, what's that?"
Beast Boy turned his head, as did Raven, to look at the small vendor with a sign that said 'Allen's Odds and Ends'. It had an average sized table with a few dozen different items, two fair sized book cases, one crammed manga and anime, the other crammed with figurines. The object Emelia was pointing at was a small black plushy doll with no features other than yellow eyes. It was humanoid, minus the ant-like antenna on its head.
"Huh. It's a Heartless." Beast Boy said aloud.
"What's a heartless?" Raven asked from his side as she watched someone with a hamburger shuffle by.
"They're from the game Kingdom Hearts. A Heartless is the most common enemy and they're made from the darkness in a person's heart. The worse off a person is, the stronger the Heartless made is."
Raven tore her eyes from a passing hotdog and looked at him. "That's a little…morbid."
Beast Boy nodded. "They're really good games, but most people don't realize that a dark heart isn't just an evil heart. It could be a heart consumed by sadness or loneliness, a heart so completely and utterly lost in its own misery that it changed its very existence."
He sounded so sad that Raven almost grabbed his hand and told him that there was no way in Hell that she'd let that happen to him.
And then she remembered Rose.
Damn it. Instead, she murmured softly. "It's just a game, Garfield."
"I know, Rae." He murmured back. "Doesn't make it any less scary."
"I like it." Emmy said, staring at the toy. "Can I have it daddy?"
While Garfield wasn't particularly pleased with the idea of having the creepy little toy around the tower, he wasn't going to tell her no.
"Yeah, okay." He said as he strode towards the vendor. The person sitting at the table was an older woman who looked quite bored, her dark brown hair curled slightly below her chin as she read a book. Raven read the title and nearly scoffed out loud. The Inkheart books were terrible, in her opinion.
"Excuse me, ma'am? How much for the Heartless plushy?" He called out over the crowd.
The woman looked up and took them in her gaze without batting an eyelash. "Ten."
Beast Boy raised an eyebrow. "For that little thing?"
"Allen hand crafted it himself, it's the only thing he's good at." The woman replied. When the green guy in front of her looked around, she shook her head. "He ain't here. His buddies drug him off to check out the Dating area cause he's too much of a dork to get a girl on his own."
"Right." Beast Boy said as he looked at the bookcases. "Let me look a bit more."
The woman waved him off and he stepped to the nearest case, which had the manga and DVDs. Raven cast a disgusted glance at the other case, where little figures of half clothed cartoon girls were packed on the shelves like sardines in a can.
"Garfield, you're not into those things, are you?" She asked, frowning at one that had her skirt flipped up.
Reading the names of a bright red set of manga, he shook his head. "I collect action figures and a few figurines of rarity, but nothing like that. Besides, the girls I see every day are way prettier than anything someone draws."
Had he been paying attention to her instead of the manga, he would have seen Raven turn bright red.
"Neat, they have the first three seasons of Inuyasha here." The ignorant changeling chuckled.
"Daddy, what's an…inuyasha?" Emelia said carefully as she watched the Heartless plushy and 'persuaded' passing people to ignore it with her little glowing eyes.
"Inuyasha is an anime about a girl freeing and falling in love with a half demon." Beast Boy replied as he flipped the season one box around and read the price tag. "Twenty bucks? That's cheap. It's nearly double that at FYE and that's used."
The first statement caught Raven's attention (she had successfully chased her blush away at this point) and she poked her head around the changeling. "Did you say half demon?"
Garfield looked at her. "Yep. I've seen the first five seasons, but haven't finished it."
"Does the half demon…get to love the girl?" Raven asked slowly.
"As far as I know, yeah." He said as he noted the curiosity in Raven's…whatever her empathy saw things as. "You, uh…wanna watch it?"
She looked at him. "You know I don't watch cartoons."
He shook his head. "It's not a cartoon. Its anime. It's drawn a lot better. Almost artsy."
She looked at him skeptically now.
Beast Boy rolled his eyes. "Tell ya what, I'll get the first season and we'll watch a few episodes. Even if you don't like it, I know I will."
Raven gave him a little nod. "It's your money."
The changeling chortled to himself and took the DVD set over to the plushy, which had a mysteriously large area around it free of people. He cast a glance at the child in his arms, whose eyes were locked onto the toy still. Emmy hadn't shown much interest in actual toys, generally preferring coloring books and reading books more than anything. Why she wanted the creepy doll was beyond him, but it didn't stop him from picking it up and setting both items down in front of the woman.
"Thirty bucks." The woman said with an air of boredom. Garfield didn't complain about the lack of sales tax as he handed her twenty and a ten. She took the money, punched something into a calculated in her lap, and then handed him a little slip of paper from the machine. It read:
Toy- 10
DVD set- 20
Total- 30
Payment- 30
And that was it.
Beast Boy rolled his eyes again. He'd been in bazaar's with friendlier vendors and they gawked at his skin color. At least here no one looked at him weirdly.
Too bad I didn't find anything for Rae. He thought to himself as he led Raven away from the stall, a happy Emelia clutching her new toy and their new show in a bag. They weaved through the crowd for some time, dodging all sorts of cosplayers, pausing here and there at different booths to see what was going on. So far he had seen a dozen kickstarters for various games (only two of which he dropped twenty bucks on), a half dozen tattoo artists (Raven paused to admire an open winged black raven tattoo), dozens of comic book sellers, a handful of publishers, figurine sellers, artists, and a man in a frog suit passing out flyers for some arcade in downtown.
"Garfield, what's going on over there?" Raven suddenly asked. The changeling turned to see her pointing down one of the side halls, where there were dozens of tables lined up with twice as many people around them. Many people sat two at a table and they appeared to be holding something. Garfield swiveled his ear and listened in.
"- and now I pay a thousand life points for-"
"-my Penguin Knight attacks you directly-"
"You've activated my trap card!"
"I summon Winged Kuriboh!"
"I play Swords of Revealing Light and-"
Beast Boy chuckled. "A Yugioh tournament?"
Raven looked away from someone passing with what appeared to be a taco. "A what?"
He shrugged. "It's a card game. It used to be cool until they started with that XYZ crap. Then things just got stupid and started fading away a bit."
"Ah."
It wasn't long until they stumbled upon another tournament of sorts, this one much louder and rowdier.
"A Gears tourny, huh?" Garfield chuckled once more. "I love that game but haven't played it in a while."
"Why not?" Raven asked as she wrinkled her nose at the body odor of the people within.
"It's gorey and has a lot of language I don't want Emmy to hear." He shrugged. "I don't mind not playing it for a while, it's not like its going anywhere."
The older empath gave him a curious look. "You mean…you've given up gaming time just to spend time with Emelia?"
He gave her a funny look. "Well, yeah. Why wouldn't I?"
"Because you love gaming?"
Garfield gazed at the little girl in his arms and stroked her hair. "Yeah…but there's no game in the world that will ever be as important as my family."
THAT was a statement deserving of a kiss! Desire called out in Raven's mind. Happy, Affection, Brave, and Rude cheered out their agreement. Driven by five of her emotions, Raven stepped towards him.
Only to pause as the scent of meat hit her nostrils.
Garfield flinched when he felt a killing intent fill the area around him. Whipping his head around, he found Raven staring intently at a blond boy. He was confused for a moment, until he realized that said boy had a freshly cooked hamburger. It wasn't the boy Raven was looking at, it was the burger. Garfield sighed, already knowing what was going on.
"Come on Rae, let's go to the food court."
"I don't know how you deal with this." Raven said before she started wolfing down another hot dog.
"Very carefully." Garfield shuddered as he looked away from her tiny feast, which had consisted of three hot dogs. The sound of her ripping the meat apart with gusto was making him rapidly loose interest in his soda. He was used to being around the meat-loving Cy and had (mostly) immunized himself from his brother's rampant meat consumption.
But this was Raven in front of him.
"Mommy sure is hungry." Emmy said as she glanced up from her ice cream cone. Raven 'hmphed' at the girl as she continued eating.
Garfield bit back a chuckle.
"I'm guessing they didn't have any tea?" Raven asked as she reached for her last hot dog.
Garfield shook his head. "Sorry Rae, all they had was sweet tea."
The empath grumbled something about ruining tea before resuming eating. She only got two bites in before she set it down and went to stand up. "I need a drink."
"Want the rest of my root beer?" Garfield asked, holding up his half full can. Raven looked at the brown can with a dog on it, her temporarily enhanced sense of smell telling her that it was sweet. Her sharper vision let her pick out the tiny words caffeine free on the side as well.
"You know I don't really drink soda, Garfield." She said, eyeing the can dubiously as she listened to it fizz.
"Well to be honest, this is the only root beer I like." He shrugged. "You might like it too, dude."
Raven was skeptical, but she took the can from him and took a sip, flinching at the fizzyness and sweet flavor. It wasn't bad, she concluded with another sip.
A camera flashed and Raven found herself seeing spots.
When her vision cleared she found a grinning changeling holding a little disposable camera in front of her.
"You did not just do that." She growled, feeling irritated with him. She hated taking pictures.
"Yup." He laughed.
"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't drop you in the nearest bay."
"That's easy." Garfield leaned forward and propped his head in one hand. "Two words. Family photos."
Raven raised an eyebrow. "That's why you brought a camera?"
He shook his head. "Nah, I originally brought it to take pictures off all the hot cosplaying chicks. But this is waaay better."
He was going to take pictures of half naked girls while he was with his girlfriend? Rude asked in disbelief. What the hell?
Their relationship gets stranger and stranger each time we hear of it. Knowledge murmured.
Yes, but remember: he just took the first picture of the camera and it was of us. By his own statement, it'll be full of pictures of us by the days end. Affection noted, her words calming the more irate emotions jumbling around in Raven's head.
Raven would find out the hard way of just how right Affection was. Within an hour of the first photo, Garfield had snapped five more. Raven was in most of them, whether it was her pausing to inspect something or just a surprise picture. Emelia giggled each time her mother glared at her father, who grinned cheekily each time. Emelia wound up in a fair number of pictures alongside her mother over the next two hours as they roamed the building. Garfield took pictures of cosplayers, of course, but his girls had three pictures for every one of stranger.
And the best part was that nobody batted an eyelash at them.
Raven had noticed this too at some point and very slowly let her guard down. There weren't people gawking at them, whispering things other than 'check out that killer Beast Boy and Raven cosplay!' or some such things. It was pleasant to not be the center of attention because she looked different.
Garfield was absolutely certain to catch photos of her grins, smirks, and the occasional smile.
Those would be the pride of his new collection.
Of course, he almost panicked when he realized he forgot the other roll of film at the hotel. Checking his camera, he discovered he had exactly one picture left that he could take. As he pondered what he should use it on, Raven stepped in front of him, half a hot dog in one hand and Emelia in her other arm. When she had gotten that, he didn't know.
"How come you aren't in any pictures?" She asked in a slightly annoyed tone. "If I am being forced to take pictures, you should at least be on a few with me."
Garfield raised an eyebrow at this, but not because he didn't want to be in one, but because Raven wanted him in one with her. He gave it a moment of thought. "Okay, how about one of the three of us?"
"I'd rather not draw attention to us by using my powers on a camera." Raven replied, biting into her hot dog. Garfield thought about it as she finished off her snack.
"I guess we'll just do this the easy way then." He chuckled before turning to the nearest person and tapping them on the shoulder. "Excuse me sir? Could I borrow you for three seconds to take a picture of us?"
The man turned, revealing a heavily muscled body, a bald head, and a broad nose. His eyes were hidden by big sunglasses and there was a black ballcap on his head. He was wearing a black muscle shirt and blue jeans along with boots.
"Sure thing kid." The man said, his voice surprisingly deep and familiar sounding.
"Thanks!" Garfield said as he handed the man the camera, wondering why he felt like he had heard that voice before. He stepped over to Raven and stood next to her facing the man. Feeling a little bold, the changeling wrapped his arm around the empath and put his hand on her shoulder. She raised an eyebrow at him, but also smirked.
"Ready?" The man said, taking a couple of steps back. Several people also stepped away, others stopping others from entering the picture by accident. When the trio nodded, the man grinned. "Now say, 'I Am Groot!'."
"Huh?" Raven, Beast Boy, and Emelia all said, their faces screwed up on confusion as the camera flashed. The man laughed, handed the confused teens the camera, and disappeared into the crowd.
"That was…weird." Raven commented. Beast Boy nodded, not wanting to voice his opinion on who he thought that was until he was certain.
Shortly after that they decided to return to the hotel for the day. The convention itself would go on late into the night, but since it would be more active during that time Garfield didn't want to risk something happening to Raven and Emelia again. His own head had an unpleasant throb from his borrowed empathy reacting to the surrounding people. He hadn't tuned it out as well as he had thought.
Still, the trip back to the hotel was a quiet one. On the way they stopped at a Chinese takeout restaurant and got some dinner. Beast Boy had heard sirens in the distance, but a shift in the wind brought Bunker and Skitters scents to his nostrils. There wasn't anything destructive going on, so he figured they could handle it.
There wasn't much talking between the hotel and the restaurant 'cause Raven was drooling over the scent of cooked chicken. And then she insisted on carrying it too.
It never stood a chance.
She might be worse than I was when it first kicked in. Garfield mused as she ripped her meat laden food to shreds at the table in their room. But then again, she is half demon. I wonder if that makes it worse on her?
A very small burp punctuated his last thought, the sound coming from the child next to him. Garfield chuckled and rubbed Emmy's head affectionately. Emmy was pretty hungry too, seeing as she had eaten quite a bit of lo mein and fried rice with chicken. As he went back to his own box of lo mein and rice, he heard a satisfied sigh from the other side of him. Looked like Raven had finally gotten full.
"Is that all you're eating?" He chuckled.
Raven huffed. "Its these animal instincts of yours. It feels like all I want to do is eat eat eat and eat!"
"That could be a variety of things, but shrews come to mind first."
"Of course they do." The empath grumbled. "And this constant craving for meat is irritating."
"Preaching to the choir, Rae."
"Yeah, well…now that I feel like I've eaten double my weight today, I'm going to go shower."
Garfield nodded towards the bathroom. "Go for it. I can wait."
Two hours later…
"He's kind of a prick, isn't he?" Raven said as the first episode of Inuyasha went off. She was back in the loaned pajamas, sitting on the bed with her crush, Emelia between them. "And what's with the dialogue? Its so…"
"Yeah, I know Rae. But this was the best of the best in its day." Garfield replied. "And, well, yeah he's a prick. You spend a hunnerd years stuck to a tree and see how friendly you are afterwards!"
"One hundred years of peace and quiet? Sounds like my kind of punishment." Raven mumbled under her breath. Garfield rolled his eyes as he started the next episode.
Thirty minutes later…
"Beads of subjugation, huh?" Raven murmured, casting her gaze at her companion.
"The jewel exploded, and that's what you're thinking about?!" Garfield said incredulously, not catching where her line of thinking was going.
"Oh come on. We both know it'll get put back together, its just a matter of time." She huffed. Garfield rolled is eyes.
Thirty MORE minutes later…
Raven frowned. "A hair demon? Really? How does that make sense?"
"It's just a show, Raven."
"And your point is…?"
Garfield sighed. "You don't have to nitpick it!"
Raven raised her eyebrow. "If I was doing that, wouldn't I have said something about how these female demons all have disproportionately large assets and are semi nude?"
Garfield facepalmed this time.
Yet another thirty minutes later…
"Hm. A hair demon born from an ancient comb saturated in the natural magic of the world and used on countless individuals?"
"Uh…I don't think that's quite what was said…"
Raven shrugged. "Plausible enough."
"But-"
"Shush and start the next episode."
Thirty minutes later…again…
"SHE'S A FAKE, YOU IDIOT!" Raven all but shouted at the TV.
"Now Rae, calm down-"
She raised an eyebrow at him. "Cut the crap, Garfield. I know she's a fake. The question is what is she? Not some kind of undead, his nose would tell him that. A skin changer maybe? There are a few demons that-"
Garfield sighed in exasperation. Maybe watching anime with Raven wasn't a good idea.
Oh look, another thirty minutes passed! Again!
"I was right." The empath said smugly. "Also, all that for a sword?"
"It's a really good sword." Garfield replied with a yawn. Raven glanced at the time. Ten thirty nine.
"We should go to bed." She said, stifling a yawn of her own. Glancing down at Emelia, she found that the little girl was already fast asleep and had been for some time. Raven smiled softly at the girl as Garfield got out of the bed and looked at his bedding on the floor. He wasn't looking forward to waking up with a stiff back again.
After clicking the lights off and settling in, Raven lay there and listened to her crush roll around the floor. It seemed like he just couldn't get comfortable and it made her feel bad. He hadn't whined or complained or even batted an eyelash about sleeping on the floor, giving her the bed as if it were a natural thing to do. It didn't feel...fair.
"Garfield." She called out softly. He stopped moving and she had to swallow her nervousness. "You…you can get in the bed."
His head popped up over the side, his eyes shining in the minuscule amount of the light in the room.
"Really?" He said, his voice as soft as a feather.
"I trust you."
There was a little smile on his face as he climbed into the bed as gently as he could. He threw his comforter on top of them, and grabbed a couple of pillows. One for below his head, one for on his head, she noted. Raven couldn't stop herself from inquiring this time.
"What's with the pillow?" She asked quietly.
"This place is pretty loud compared to back home." Garfield responded. "There we're on an island away from everything too. The pillow muffles all these new sounds. It doesn't work entirely, but it helps."
Raven pondered this for a moment before nodding. "That makes sense, I sup-"
Emelia bolted upright, nearly making her parents jump out of their skins. Wordlessly she climbed from the bed, her doll in her arms, and went into the bathroom. As the near heart attack faded from their bodies, Raven found herself alone in bed with Garfield.
This is our chance! Affection and Desire called out simultaneously.
Yeah, screw Rose! Jealousy cheered.
Let's not and say we didn't. Anger scoffed at the other dark emotion.
"Garfield…" Raven called out softly.
"Hm?" The changeling responded sleepily. His eyes had started drooping the moment the fright wore off.
"I…um, well…I…" Raven stuttered, feeling fear rise up in her. DAMNIT TIMID, NOT NOW! Multiple emotions screamed in the empath's mind. She heard the toilet flush as Timid backed down.
"What is it Rae?" Garfield murmured, looking at her with both eyes open now.
Raven opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off by the sound of blasting water.
Both teens jolted and looked at the bathroom. The sound of water stopped and moving clothe could be heard. Emelia came out seconds later and climbed into bed.
Well, she tried to.
After the sleepy child thudded onto the floor a couple of times, Raven reached over and held her hand down. Emmy grabbed it and Raven pulled her up. Wordlessly the child took her place between her parents once more.
"Emmy?" Garfield said, looking at her.
"Hm?" Came the groggy reply.
"Why did you turn the bathtub on?"
"Too short."
Raven clamped a hand over her mouth to stop from laughing as Garfield chuckled. It had never occurred to either that Emelia couldn't reach the sink on her own.
Their humor dissipated as Emelia sat up once more before climbing over her mother. Raven had time for one 'huh?' before the child began pushing against her back.
"What are you doing?" Raven asked curiously, glancing over her shoulder at the girl.
"Move, mommy." Emmy grunted.
Raven scooted forward until the child stopped pushing, her eyes still on her. After Emmy settled back down, Raven repeated her question. "What were you doing?"
"Ish warm." The child replied, obviously referring to where her mother had been laying.
"Uhh…Rae?"
Raven turned her attention towards her front and found herself about six inches away from Garfield.
"Oh." She said meekly, her face flushing. "Um. Hi?"
Garfield raised his eyebrow at her increasing embarrassment. It was actually pretty cute. He chuckled. "Don't worry Rae, I don't bite."
Awwwww! Desire whined in the back of Raven's head. Raven nodded dumbly, Timid quite clearly having control once more.
"Goodnight Raven." Garfield said softly. As much as he wanted to stay awake and chat, he was beat. He hadn't spent that much time around new people since Tokyo. On top of his already extensive senses, he was dealing with Raven's empathy too. His head was pounding, so he needed to rest.
"Goodnight Garfield." Raven said softly back to him. Within moments he was sound asleep.
Raven waited an hour before she snuggled up to him. Inhaling deeply, she drank in his scent as the sound of his heart beat a lullaby that soothed her into slumber.
Rose was right. She thought before sleep overcame her. This is really nice. And he smells sooooo good.
