Excerpt that I would include in the summary if I could:
"What else do you want me to do?!" he yelled, a hand thrown to his chest.
"I want you to like her, Mento!"
And like that, he was Mento again instead of Steve, which was just another leap further from 'Dad'.
"You know she was worried about this trip 'cos you were such an asshole back in the Amazon?" Gar barked, heaving up his years of spite like a raucous cough that had been stuck in him far too long. "And I said it would be fine. So now I'm the asshole!"
Steve watched his son seethe where he stood, watched the tears gather over burning, sage eyes.
"She's incredible," he croaked. "And instead of believing that, you're gonna keep doubting her till she 'proves' she's good enough for you."
Steve swallowed.
"Just like you did with me..."
Author's Note:
Do you like established relationship/meet the family fics? Do you like your OTP cuddling by the fire and slow dancing in the living room of a mansion at 2am?
Me too! Which is why I wrote this story!
Basically a fic in which Garfield and Raven are majorly in love and adorable and supportive, Rita is a mum, and Steve still struggles to not be a dickhead (because people don't just change their toxic ways on a dime, unfortunately).
Takes place in the same universe as my fic, 'Violet Tide', even though that fic isn't close to being finished. This transpires around 3 months into Raven and Beast Boy becoming a couple.
Continuing with that fic is still my main priority, but I just wanted to start on another project for whenever I need a break from it, and I got so excited planning this out that I couldn't possibly wait till I finished VT.
There will be no spoilers for Violet Tide in here, and this can also be read as a standalone. All you need to know is that BB and Rae get together (which you knew would happen anyway, 'cos I would never give you an unhappy ending).
My writing might be slightly lazier/less detailed in this one, more dialogue heavy, just 'cos it's meant to be more of a relaxation project for me, whilst VT is my passion project. But it'll still be good, 'cos that's what you all deserve!
CHAPTER ONE
"Can you see me yet?"
"Nope, still just audio," Beast Boy said for the third time, staring down at the blank screen of his mobile. He heard an exasperated groan rumble from the other end.
"I'm sorry, honey. It's this phone Larry got me for my birthday. I don't know what's wrong with just using my communicator."
There was a more distant voice then - deep and dry. Negativeman.
"Everybody has a phone now, Rita. I'm helping you keep up with the times."
"If anything, it's slowing me down!" she said, bringing a fond smirk to Gar's face.
"Can you see the camera button? It'll be somewhere in the corner," her son explained.
"Which corner?"
"Oh, jeez," Larry groaned again before Beast Boy heard footsteps nearing the mic. "This one. Here."
For the first time since their call began, seven minutes prior, an image of a brunette woman with chestnut eyes appeared, her face pressed far too close to the screen.
"Oh!" she yelped, finally graced with the sight of a green complexion, smiling bright, just as she remembered him.
"Success!" Beast Boy cheered, throwing a hand up above him.
"I see you!" she smiled back. "Oh Garfield, you've gotten so handsome. Is your hair a bit longer now?"
"No way, has the kid got a mullet?!" he heard a voice that sounded like Robotman shout from several feet away.
"It's grown like an inch, Mom," he said, running his free hand through the mossy tufts and giving the faintest of eye rolls.
"Well, it suits you," she went on. "You look so much older, how much taller are you since we last saw you?"
The last time Garfield had seen his family was under pretty dire circumstances. There had been little to no time for catching up, and tensions ran high all around.
Even now, he felt inescapable guilt at the fact it had taken the Brotherhood of Evil's return for them to all reunite since his departure from the team.
That battle had been six months ago.
Still, Rita had a keen eye, for even in that short time Gar had indeed grown a fair bit. It seemed eighteen had been the magic number for him to finally start filling out of his wiry frame, gain five inches of height, and have his cherub face pull into something sharper.
Not that he looked that much different, but he hoped it was still noticeable enough. Rita wasn't letting him down on that front.
"I dunno?" he said with a chuckle. "You're lookin' good too. How's everyone been?"
There were footsteps moving about again and Rita's head turned to the side.
"Alright, Reetz. You been hogging him for like ten minutes now," Cliff began to say, taking the phone from her.
"But I just got the camera working!"
"We'll give him back in a sec," he heard Larry tag on, then instead of his mum, there was a copper robot and a bandaged face seizing the screen.
"Hey, runt," Cliff said. "What's this about a mullet?"
"There's no mullet," Beast Boy said through a wry smile.
"Shame. That would've been great roasting material." This time, the quip came from Larry.
"Guess I'm just unroastable."
"Don't test us, kid. We got all Christmas to come up with new stuff," Cliff challenged before Larry spoke again.
"Looks like short jokes are out the window now, though."
"He's still a squirt in spirit."
Garfield straightened, waving a hand before him.
"Wait wait, go back. What do you mean 'all Christmas'?" he asked, confusion bleeding into him just as Rita cried out.
"You ruined it!" She was in view of the screen again, smacking the men's arms with a pointed frown. "The one thing I said was that I wanted to tell him!"
"Tell me what?"
The woman paused, shooed the other two out of frame, then granted Gar her full attention.
"Well, it's more like ask you," she began, taking hold of the phone with both hands and further fuelling the shifter's curiosity. "It's short notice, Garfield, but... we were hoping you might join us for the Christmas holiday this year?"
He could hear the hesitation underlying her tone, and knew it was because he hadn't visited Dayton Manor - hadn't visited them - in what might as well have been forever. With that hopeful look passing through her eyes, he felt himself gulp against the glut of guilt swimming deeper inside him.
"Really?" Beast Boy uttered.
"Of course. We'd love to have you," she said, a smile plucking at coral lips.
No one could say no to those eyes.
He nodded once, thinking on the idea, then felt himself go on nodding more.
"Yeah... yeah, Mom. That'd be awesome," Gar said.
"Marvellous! We were thinking a ten day stay, if that works for you?"
"I'll have to talk to Robin" - he looked to his door, as if the Boy Wonder would just appear to give him the go-ahead - "but I'm sure we can figure it out."
"I hope so, dear." Rita's kind, honeyed voice slid over him like a warm blanket. "It's been too long since my boy's been home."
He saw how her brows turned up at the bridge as she said this, and the guilt flared again.
"Well, ya' know..." Beast Boy shrugged, gaze falling to his lap. "Things get busy here."
A silent understanding passed between the two; a memory of the conditions under which he had left in the first place. That was years in the past though, and in many ways their mission had forced a sense of unity once again.
Things would be different now, she tried to tell him through her eyes alone.
"I get it, hon." Rita gave a soft nod. "Steve's eager to see you too. He's out getting groceries right now."
It went unsaid that she'd thrown this in to settle any doubt that his father wasn't on board. A gesture that was wholly appreciated, for he felt the knot in his stomach begin to unravel.
"Right," he nodded back, then caught himself on a stray thought. "Hey, uh. Can I make one request?"
"A second team to go to and now he thinks he can make demands," Negativeman drawled, earning a riled glare from Rita.
"Hush. Go on, Gar."
Beast Boy's lips ticked up. "Would it be cool if I brought my girlfriend?"
"Of course, sweetie. Any friend of yours is..." He watched her almond eyes blow wide open. "Wait... Did you say girlfriend?!"
"He's got a girl?!" someone blared across the room.
"Who—"
"Thanks, Mom!" Gar gave a cheeky salute and hopped up from his desk chair. "Gonna sort things with Rob. Will keep ya' posted!"
Then he was flipping his communicator shut, relishing in the thrilled thumping of his heart, and setting out through the tower halls in search of his leader.
- T -
"It was that guy, he must've done it," Cyborg said, pointing at the suspicious face donning the TV screen.
Raven sat on his left, legs tucked up to the sofa and a mug of hot chocolate cradled in her hands. There was another girl squeezed up against his right side, snuggled into the crib of his arm, slung about her thin shoulders.
"Dude's giving me major creep vibes."
Raven felt her nose scrunch.
"Come on, it was clearly the wife," she volleyed back, as though it were obvious.
"You come on, Rae. It's always the crazy neighbour! He had spare keys to his house!"
"And the wife didn't?"
From the corner of her eye, she watched him sink back into the couch with a grumble, arm clinging tighter to his girlfriend.
"You'll see," was all she got, and she left it alone. But then Sarah was shaking her head and speaking boldly into her coffee.
"I think you're both wrong," the blonde challenged, earning raised brows from the two heroes.
"Oh yeah, Poirot?" The mecha sent a sly smile her way, looking down and giving her a shake. "So who did it?"
Sarah shrugged. "That barmaid looked shifty to me. And her alibi had holes."
"Because she didn't want the family to know about the affair," Raven provided in a level tone.
"Look, I just think you two goin' on like this is gonna make it so much more embarrassing when it's revealed that I'm right," Cyborg said with a lift of his nose and a swing of his free hand.
Before either girl could respond, another voice called out from the hallway beyond the common room doors.
"Raven?!"
The trio turned at the sound and witnessed the double doors slip open, Beast Boy jogging through and descending the steps.
"Yes?" Raven replied.
In no time he was approaching the sofa, leaning one hand against the back and propping the other onto his hip.
"Well hello there, gorgeous," the boy said through a charming grin and tilt of the head. His girlfriend unfolded her legs.
"Shnookie-Pie, I thought we agreed, not in front of the girls," Cyborg whispered, poking his gaze around Raven to pout up at his friend.
This earned him a swift smack to the back of his head from a frowning Sarah.
"Ow!"
Giving no mind to his teammate, Gar leaned further into his arm, bringing his front to hover that much closer over Raven. Had their friends not been present, she likely would've leaned closer too. But unlike her boyfriend, known for his theatrics, Raven felt no urge to spotlight her affections when in front of an audience.
"Guess where we're going this Christmas?" he chimed.
Her mug set down in her lap and back straightened as she blinked up at that Cheshire face.
"Um. Here?" she said. And if it had been an hour earlier, she'd be right on the mark.
Every year, Robin was invited to celebrate the festive season at Wayne Manor. And every year, he declined in favour of his friends.
This time, however, they played dirty, latching onto the relationship status he'd been lacking last Christmas and inviting Starfire too.
"Robin, we cannot decline," the alien had said, before going on to express how she deeply wished to connect with his family, in spite of their reputation.
In the end, against his better judgement, Robin caved to those pleading emerald eyes. So the plan was for Cyborg, Raven, and Beast Boy to hold down the fort during their absence, with Sarah joining, if she so wished.
But plans change.
"Nnnope," Gar returned with a pop. "I got a call from Rita today. We are gonna be spending the holidays at the one and only, Dayton Manor!"
His eyes were alight as he stood, arms splayed out. Raven stilled.
"... Heyyy, that's... that's great!" Cyborg's voice peeked out when no other sound came. He knew exactly what Raven was thinking by how her face drained to a paler shade.
It helped that he too had had the displeasure of meeting the Doom Patrol before - and under the same circumstances, no less.
"Everyone's gettin' cosy with the in-laws..." he tried, sending worried eyes to his friend above a strained smile.
Raven watched Gar begin to deflate, and knew she had to say something fast.
"What's wrong?" Sarah whispered into her boyfriend's ear through a forced smile of her own.
"Later," Cyborg whispered back from the side of his mouth.
Raven instantly recognised the two responses clashing inside of her.
Of course she wanted to be involved in Gar's life, and that extended to his family. But family in general was a topic both obscure and intimidating to her.
She had never really had a family – at least, not before the Titans – and in that instant she couldn't quite settle on whether this was meant to be good news, or terrifying news.
Their mission in the Amazon six months ago had been very high stakes, and perhaps not the best conditions for any first impressions to be made. At times, the tension had seemed like a thick fog between the two teams, with Beast Boy caught helplessly in the fray.
They weren't what you would call a 'normal' family by any means. Not that she would know anything about that. But with Mento as the head, the word 'healthy' didn't spring to mind, either.
Still, they were his...
There was a brief hesitation after Cyborg's remark, but she quickly gathered herself, placing down her mug then looking back up at Gar.
"They... know about me?" Raven said.
It was an assumption, but the least she'd like to know was how they planned to approach this endeavour, delicate an affair as it was.
His ears fell slightly, eyes darted to the side before meeting hers again.
"I... told them I was bringing my girlfriend?" He held his hands up in a sort of half-shrug. "Does that count?"
Raven offered him a patient but wary look as her head tilted to one side.
It wasn't like she didn't know how his mind worked. She had her suspicions that he intended to surprise his family by showing up with a member of his team, but she couldn't help but overthink it.
The Doom Patrol didn't exactly strike her as the type to enjoy surprises... and especially not at their front door.
Though they'd only interacted in a professional setting, the older team's unwavering sternness had left a lasting impression in Raven's mind - in all the Titans' minds - and when she tried to see them beyond that stone-faced visage, she struggled.
There was also Mento, who was at the top of her list of concerns.
In truth, her first thought regarding the implacable leader was that he'd disapprove of his son dating one of his 'colleagues', because God forbid it distract him from the mission.
She could see his cold stare, his arms folded firmly across his chest. Then she was seeing that same stare pointed down to a younger Beast Boy.
A younger Beast Boy who would never be good enough in the telepath's eyes. A younger Beast Boy who would go on to feel the weight of that stare for years to come, even after escaping that hole of toxicity and finding some gratification in a shiny new team.
For all she wished to share in Gar's excitement, she didn't want this to be just another desperate attempt to bend for a man who would proceed to step over his spine.
"You haven't told them," she said.
Gar crossed his arms.
"Well, nooo..." he admitted, eyes slowly rolling back before returning to her. "But that's how surprises work, right?"
There was that endearing, hopeful smile again.
"Please? It would be so cool to surprise them with this! I mean, Mom and Dad are on the same team, and we're on the same team, so I just... I thought it'd be, y'know... nice?" he finished on an awkward grin.
"That is kinda cute, Rae," Cyborg said. An unhelpful comment, Raven thought.
As ever, Beast Boy's intentions were nothing but pure, and who was she to think she would know his family's reaction to such news better than himself?
Still, the doubt lingered. It pulled the corners of her mouth down and set her brows tautly on her head.
"What about the tower?"
"Hey, no complaints here," their metal friend grinned. He jerked his chin down to the blonde, still small beneath his arm. "Sarah and I will be quite happy havin' this place to ourselves."
"Ew."
Sarah's head perked up.
"I apologise for him," she said in the same moment Raven considered her boyfriend was just as bad.
"Sorry, Cy." Beast Boy looked to him. "Robin clearly doesn't trust you with the tower, since he's bringing in backup while we're gone."
This had Cyborg sitting up, offended.
"Say what?" he balked, before Raven came in to rescue him.
"I'm gonna guess it's because Sarah can't just don a cape if the alarm goes off."
Appeased, Cyborg relaxed back into the cushions and shrugged.
"You could pull off a cape," he told his girlfriend.
"Thanks, babe."
Raven was standing then, making her way around the sofa to join Gar.
"We'll be right back," she said as she took him by the hand, intent for the exit to grant them some privacy in discussing the matter further.
Cyborg watched them leave through the doors, pursed his lips then faced the TV.
"Fine, but I'm not pausing, so hurry up if you don't wanna miss me proving you wrong!" he called back to her.
She suppressed an eye roll as the doors slid shut on them. Sarah leaned in close to her boyfriend.
"So, what's the tea?"
Cyborg inhaled. "Okay."
Once they'd walked an ample distance from Ops, Raven released Gar's hand and turned to him.
"H-haaah..." Some nervous laughter escaped, his smile weak as a sweat drop formed. "Am I in trouble?"
Raven sighed and brought her hands to cradle her elbows in a show of vulnerability, not attack. With a small shake of her head, she met his eyes.
"I'm just... nervous," she confessed plainly. As she went to elaborate, she felt her gaze helplessly stray from his face to linger on the carpet. "Your family has a history of being... intense, Gar."
Violet locked to green again as she hoped he'd read her true meaning.
What if they don't like me? What if we get all that way and it's awkward? I know you think Steve's improved, but are you sure you want to spend your holidays around the man who tormented you for years?
Gar had gotten better at reading Raven over time, though the bulk of progress was made during the past several months. Still, even with two sentences and a glance away, he was told everything he needed to know.
Closing his eyes, he took a breath and thought carefully on what he should say.
He knew better than to blindly assure it would all be okay; she needed actual reason to believe things could go well.
"Listen Rae, I get it. They weren't their best when you guys met them," he told her, hands resting just beneath her shoulders. "That's because they were the Doom Patrol then. They're... different, at home."
How do you know that? Raven didn't say. You haven't been home in years. Do you even remember why that is, or do you just not want to?
"There's more to them than that. And I really want you to come, because I love you, and I want them to love you too."
She wished she could pinpoint the moment he'd become this way; a source of comfort, who could read her worries and know just what to say to soothe the ache they left in her.
Raven watched on as he spoke, chin dipped and eyes raised to his. She sensed how his smile lit a warmth that seemed to flourish from the inside out.
At his last words, she felt herself draw towards him, taking a small step forward to place both hands at his sides.
"So, you don't think we'll be spending Christmas morning running drills?" she asked, only half-joking.
Gar chuckled and shook his head.
"Nahhh. We just do double the training on Christmas Eve." After a moment's pause, his smile fell. "... That was a joke..."
She met him with judging eyes and a playful tilt to her lips.
"I hope so," Raven murmured, leaning her weight closer to his front. "For your sake."
And that look she gave him, teasing and intimidating at once, made him melt a little bit.
Thank God their relationship had never once stopped her from keeping him on his toes, because he was certain he'd miss that rush like a jungle cat starving for its next meal.
With hooded eyes, he brought her into him, until she had to flatten her hands across his chest just to maintain that small space between their lips.
"Sooo, road trip?" Gar smirked.
Raven smiled back.
"Road trip."