You think your days are uneventful
And no one ever thinks about you.
She goes her own way.
She goes her own way.
You think your days are ordinary
And no one ever thinks about you.
But we're all the same.
And she can hardly breathe without you.
She says she has no time, for you now.
She says she has no time.
The last time that all six Titans were in the same room was at the wedding of Richard Grayson and Kory Anders, although, despite the strategically placed name cards which said otherwise, the groom and bride were still addressed as Robin and Starfire. It was a wonderful event; Cyborg got a little tipsy early on and proclaimed his love for a lampshade, and Raven even danced. This was only after the tag-team urging of Starfire ("Please, it would make me ever so happy! Do not upset me on the day which I am wed!") and Beast Boy. ("C'mon. C'mon. C'MON!") Eventually she gave in, and Terra reluctantly gave up her beau for the empath, or rather, she watched in hysterics as he dragged the poor girl on the floor during that horrendous Bette Midler song. In spite of herself, Raven enjoyed it.
There was laughter and dancing and champagne promises that everything would always be this way. But as the stupor of that whimsical weekend began to fade, so did the contact between the team. The glue that bonded them together was pulling apart into the fine strands of a spider's web. Robin and Starfire sailed to Europe on their honeymoon. Cyborg returned to his shop in the city. Beast Boy became more active in the health food industry than the McCartneys with Terra on his arm. And Raven...Raven just vanished.
The Teen Titans had not seen each other in over five years.
---
Garfield Logan woke up that morning to the gentle hiss of the shower and the sweet humming of his wife. Yawning, he fisted an eye and scratched his exposed stomach, rolling the bitter taste of morning around in his mouth. He attempted to sit up, but feeling far too lazy, he decided instead to sprawl out on the bed and bask in the warm rays of sunshine seeping in between the blinds.
A moment or so later, Terra emerged from the bathroom, toweling her long golden hair dry and throwing a smile towards the bed. Garfield grinned.
"Mornin', beautiful."
Her blue eyes sparkled as she combed out her soaking blonde locks. "Good morning, sweetheart. Sleep well?"
"Very. Though I must say not much sleep was done." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively and she rolled her eyes, crossing the room and playfully hitting him in the shoulder as she entered the large walk-in closet beside the bed. Garfield flipped onto his stomach, tilting his head over the side of the bed and balancing a hand on the floor to watch her.
"What are you doing up this early?" He drawled, readjusting his hold on the chilly wooden floor. Terra reappeared, holding a professional pink button down blouse in one hand and a pair of sleek black dress pants in the other. She dropped the clothes onto the bed, careful not to wrinkle them, and went to the mirror to apply her make-up.
"I told you already." she said with pursed lips as she ran a stick of ruby red lip gloss across her full lips. "I have a meeting with the board. We're discussing a new marketing plan." She smacked her lips together to ensure that the coating was even, and picked up a small brush to spread her eye shadow neatly across her lids. Carefully, she pulled down her lower lid gently and began to put on the eyeliner as her husband watched in fascination.
"Again? You've had 3 meetings this week!" He sat up, dropping his chin into his 2 open palms and jutting out a lower lip childishly. Terra giggled and spritzed a generous amount of perfume along her neck and wrists. When she finished that, she moved to the bathroom again, snatching up the clothes as she went, and kicked the door partially shut. The faucet was turned on within, followed by the immediate sound of brushing.
"I'm sorry, Gar, but there's nothing else I can do. Someone's gotta bring home the bacon around here." Her voice was slightly obscured by the contents of her mouth, and he heard her spit.
"Hey! You know I resent that phrase!"
The water turned off and there was a slight rustling inside before Terra came out, fully dressed and ready to go. She combed her fingers through her shimmering, straight flaxen hair. She was one of the few women in the world who possessed hair that did not require a blow dryer because it dried on its own perfectly. "Sorry, sorry. I'm just saying that with you unemployed I've got to pull the extra weight." Garfield raised an eyebrow, a little offended.
"What are you talking about? I gave you a foundation, I created an entire health food empire from scratch while you sat around and did your nails. I think a little role reversal is in order." He crossed his arms defiantly and she sighed, deciding to ignore the comment to get away from any confrontation.
"Fine, fine. Sit around in your underwear and watch Maury all day. See if I care." There was a pause, before Garfield lit up with a wide grin, and snagged his arm around her slim waist and dragged her on top of him onto the bed. She squealed in objection and laughed, feigning strain as she tried to get up. Her gorgeous shining hair caught the attention of the sunlight and seemed to radiate on its own as it fell around Garfield's head, enclosing them into an intimate cave.
"My little free spirit, the CEO of a fortune 500 company. Who'da thunk it?" She chuckled to herself and began tracing small circles on his chiseled chest.
"Times change, Gar. People change. It's the way of the world." Her words sounded a bit more cryptic than they should have, though he did not notice. Terra made a move to rise, but Garfield was firm and didn't release his hold. She furrowed her brow, a little annoyed. "Bubby, I've gotta go. I'll be late." She'd picked up the nickname for him when she was seventeen and she heard an elderly Jewish woman use it to address her son. Thinking it was adorable, she immediately adapted it to sound like the boy's former initials.
He made his eyes wider and did his best to look innocent. "A quickie before work?"
"I just showered." She whined, but his bright green eyes were too irresistible. She sighed, pretending she was giving up a great deal by giving into his wishes. "Oh, alright." she muttered, and was quickly captured in a wild kiss and thrown into a sea of giggles and flying bed sheets.
---
With his hands stuffed into the deep pockets of his winter jacket, Garfield leaned against the doors on the elevator, waiting to be brought from his 10th story apartment to the ground level. He wasn't going to wear the coat; actually he wasn't even planning on heading out that day. After his coffee machine spontaneously combusted, the friendly weatherman with the radiate teeth on channel 7 coaxed him to take a walk. The elevator bell rang, and so Garfield hoisted himself up, waited for the doors to open, and stepped outside.
He exited the building, slamming the elegant glass door behind him, and slid down the banister of his stoop. It had rained the night before, so the air still possessed a twinge of chill despite the glorious sunshine. Garfield puffed out a breath of air, watching it swirl in an opaque mist around his head as he observed the scene around him. Mothers were kissing their children goodbye as they hopped jovially onto the big fat yellow school buses, the windows rattling with the squeals of delight and disgust. Businessmen in starched, pin-stripe suits chattered senselessly into their cell phones, clutching their Italian leather briefcases protectively to their sides. Street vendors rolled out their carts and warmed up their vocal chords for the long, eventful day.
Garfield smiled. He really adored the normalcy of his new life. He was treated like any other ordinary person. True, once in a blue moon a fan would recognize him and hassle him for his John Hancock, but he happily obliged each time and went on his way. He was living the perfect, Leave It to Beaver life; a substantial amount of cash, a gorgeous, loving wife, and most of all, he was happy.
But, as Terra said herself, things change. He just hadn't realized how soon.
The shape shifter had ambled for about four or five blocks before the weather finally wore him down and he ducked inside a random café. Rubbing his hands together to get the feeling back in his fingers, he looked around the shop as he undid his coat collar. There was the average morning caffeine rush and a cluster of employees were frantically trying to fill out orders, but otherwise nothing was out of the ordinary. He hopped in line and watched bemusedly as a young, frazzled brunette, probably no older than 19, moved busily to and fro. She glanced up at him and raised her eyebrows, indicating she was available and ready to take his order. The green man was caught off guard and he stumbled to the counter with a foolish grin.
"Slow morning?" he joked, skimming over the large menu overhead.
"May I take your order?" she finally asked, a hint of annoyance in her voice. Not wanting to hold up the line, Garfield chose the first thing that came to mind.
"Uh, yeah. Can I get a tall mocha latte with soy milk? And," he scanned the counter for anything else he could purchase as compensation for pissing her off. He snatched up a newspaper and a box of mints. "These too." The girl punched a few numbers into the cash register, producing a series of beeps and clicks and held out her hand expectantly.
"7.82. For here or to go?" Garfield pulled out his wallet and handed her a ten dollar bill and she made a move for the register.
"Keep the change. And I'll be right over there." He pointed to a vacant table he had located in the back of the room. The girl nodded, muttering something about his order being with him shortly, before tilting her head to the side and screaming "NEXT!"
Massaging his sensitive ears, Garfield slinked away to the empty seat, setting his paper out on the table and sitting down. He opened up the paper, knowing exactly what section he wanted, but quickly noticed that two pretty blondes were passing him on their way out the back door. Even though he was married, he couldn't resist being a little flirtatious every now and then. He scattered the sheets all across the table before finally retrieving one particular section and holding it out in front of him nonchalantly.
"Ah. The business section. A fine choice for a successful businessman like myself. Ah, I see the stock market went up eight-thousand points. Being a successful businessman, I find this most pleasing. Perhaps I will celebrate by taking a ride on one of my many yachts, or perhaps taking a stroll on the veranda. The possibilities are endless for a successful businessman like me!"
The girls exchanged a look, and burst out into laughter, leaving for the exit and leaning for support on the walls. Their fit of giggles was so powerful and loud that it lingered even after they left the store. Garfield leaned back in his seat, checking if the coast was finally clear. He smirked to himself and carelessly tossed the business section behind him and picked up the section he had wanted all along; the comics.
"Heh heh heh...the perfect crime." he muttered, amused, and crossed a leg as he opened the paper to read. The waitress set down his drink on the table, but scurried away before he could thank her. He shrugged it off, and went back to his conversation with Haggard the Horrible.
He was halfway through his latte and 2/3's the way through the 4th page when something caught his attention. It shouldn't have been out of the ordinary. Considering where he was, it really was just like any other customer. On another day he may not even have looked.
Later on, he would know that looking was the best decision he had ever made in his life.
The morning rush had faded so now only a few customers trickled in every 15 minutes or so. People would stay for a couple of minutes to warm up from the harsh weather, but their presence was fleeting and so for the most part he was alone. Around 10:45, the bell laced on the door rang again and a cold rush of air swept through the store. Garfield shivered, but didn't pay much attention otherwise. That exact thing had been happening for the past hour so he saw no need to acknowledge it.
The particular strip of Funky Wilkerbean was less than stellar, so Garfield decided to use his advanced hearing abilities to his advantage. With the paper still held high enough so his face could not be seen, he eavesdropped on the scene.
There was a pair of heels walking quickly to the counter, so he knew the guest was a woman. He could hear her unwrap a scarf from around her neck and fold it over her arm. He then heard her drumming her fingernails (he could tell by the sound that they were real, unlike Terra's acrylics) on the countertop. But the next thing he heard really threw him for a loop.
"Hello. Can I please have a cup of herbal tea?"
He nearly dropped the paper.
No. Way.
That voice. The throaty, wise, experienced voice that he hadn't heard in years.
It couldn't it? No, no. Just a coincidence.
But the herbal tea? It was a little too weird. How many people did he know that ordered herbal tea? He had to look. It would drive him crazy otherwise. Ever so discreetly, he peered over the top of his paper, just for a peek.
To say that his breath was taken away would be an understatement.
There she was, as beautiful and pristine as the last day he saw her. She had grown out her hair a little so it grazed evenly just between her shoulder blades, and two twin strands framed her pale, mature face. She was wearing a black turtleneck to accentuate her curvaceous hourglass figure and a long skirt with a slit halfway up one side, giving a peek at one of her shapely legs. The chakra still remained plastering in the middle of her forehead. She was stunning, and he was floored.
Raven paid her price and sat at a table on the opposite side of the café, her nose buried deep in a leather-bound book. Garfield watched, astounded, as she casually sipped her tea. This was unreal. It was such an average day, and suddenly he was inundated with every memory she ever appeared in. He needed to talk to her, if only to be polite. But God, what to say? Five years is a long time, chatting mindlessly about the weather simply didn't seem appropriate. It didn't matter, he was a gentleman and it was the right thing to do. Taking a breath and dropping his paper to the floor, he crossed the shop and made his way over to her.
He got about halfway passed the cash register before he turned around and decided he needed a breather. This was a huge step, to just jump back in time as if nothing happened. He was normal now, he wasn't supposed to ever see her again. She was just a reminder that he had grown up and his life as a carefree teenager were over.
He sighed, bit his lower lip, and continued, running a thousand potential openers through his head.
"Hey Rae! Long time no see!"
"Raven! I thought you died!"
"Whose been gone for half a decade? That's right, you have!"
He was hovering over her now and with a nervous swallow, he cleared his throat and spoke.
"Raven?"
She was startled by the sudden sound, and looked up vexed that her tranquility was broken. Her eyes went wide in shock and she nearly spilled her tea across the table. Her well-formed eyebrows scrunched together in suspicion.
"Garfield? Garfield Logan?" He grinned, ecstatic that she even remembered his name.
"Wow! Raven! I can't believe it! You look fantastic!" She offered a small smile, but before she could reply he swept her up in an enormous hug. He felt every muscle in her body stiffen uneasily and he quickly dropped his arms. "Sorry, I'm really sorry. I know you don't like that stuff. I'm just...wow, it's so great to see you!" He was babbling and he knew it, but it was like someone flipped a switch and he couldn't figure out how to flip it off.
Raven tucked a wisp of her lavender hair behind her ear, exposing her flushed cheeks. "It's fine. Really. I understand." He rolled awkwardly on his heals for a moment before she finally smiled and gestured to the seat. "You CAN sit, if you'd like."
"OH! Alright! Thanks!" It was his turn to flush as he took the seat opposite of her. He fiddled his thumbs, trying to think of a topic. "So...wow. I'm amazed. How've you been doing?"
"Can't complain." She replied with a shrug. He had to smile. Same old curt, straight to the point Raven.
"So...you keep in touch with the others?"
"Every now and again I'll get a letter from Kory, but that's basically it."
"Really? How are Kory and Dick?"
"She's pregnant." Garfield lit up, grinning wide.
"Pregnant! That's wonderful! When is she due?"
"September. It's their second child." His jaw dropped.
"No! Really?! They already have a kid?"
"A daughter. And, actually..." Raven glanced down modestly, swirling her finger along the rim of her mug. "She named me her Godmother." Garfield felt like squealing, then he remembered he was in a public place, he also remembered that he was a man, and so he restrained himself.
"That's awesome! Congratulations!" She smiled and fumbled with the cover of her book. There was a brief silence when they both realized the conversation was over, before Garfield thought of something else to discuss.
"So...what have you been up to? I mean, it's been five years and all..." He saw something spark in those deep amethyst eyes and he knew he said the right thing.
"Actually...I've been writing." He raised an eyebrow.
"Writing? I didn't know you could write. Well, I mean I knew you could write, just not, you know, creatively and...you talk now."
She giggled very slightly and brushed her hair off of her shoulder. "I've been writing under a pseudonym. I didn't want my fame with the Titans to obscure what people thought." He nodded, fascinated.
"Good call. What have you been writing?"
"Poetry mostly. I've written one novel, but it's yet to be published."
"I'd love to read it sometime. I don't read much of anything anymore." She smiled again, stirring her tea. He liked this. It reminded him of when Raven was first purified, when she first met Rorek. She was free and unbounded, and it was beautiful. She showed a side of her personality she thought he would never see. And he loved it.
"What about you? What are you doing now?" she asked, and he was pulled from his recollections back to the present. He scratched the back of his head and smiled rascally out of the side of his mouth.
"I did a lot a little while back with the animal activists. I even created my own line of vegetarian food! I made a lot of dough, but right now I'm just kinda sitting back and letting the wifey do all the hard stuff."
There was a spike of something through Raven's eyes, like a knife through paper. He saw it, but he couldn't tell what it was. Her expression remained the same, although it seemed a bit more forced, and her eyes suddenly looked dull and dark.
"Wife? You're married?" she asked, slightly softer that she had been speaking a moment ago. Garfield held up his left hand, showing the gold band around his finger.
"Terra and I got hitched about three years ago. You remember her, right?" Underneath the table, Raven's leg tensed again.
"Yes. Of course. Terra. Who could forget?" Her tone had shifted now, it was a bit darker and almost peppered with...malice? No, that couldn't be it. "I always knew you two would end up together. Right from the start." Just as drastically as it swung one way, it swung the other. Her voice was at the same level, yet it seemed faint and distant. Garfield was baffled. Raven sighed and gathered her things.
"I really should go. It was nice seeing you again."
NO!
"Wait!" He grabbed her arm. She raised an eyebrow as if to ask what he was doing. To be honest, he didn't know. "I-I mean, it's been so long, and we have so much catching up to do and I don't want to you walk out again. I-I miss you, Rae."
Her eyes gave her away again.
"...Alright. A few hours. But I need to get some work done, alright?"
He beamed, snatched up his coat, and exited happily with her.
---
A few hours sped by, and soon Raven and Gar were spending the entire day together, reminiscing about the old days and laughing at jokes long past their punch line. Garfield had forgotten how pretty Raven's smile was. It was rare and precious, like a tropical flower, and it was meant to be treasured. He specifically continued to act silly just so her smile would stay on her face.
It was 9:00 at night, and the pair was sitting on a bench in the park. It had gotten much colder, and Garfield could feel his lips turning blue. Raven rose and brushed herself off, tightening her scarf around her neck.
"Garfield, this was amazing, but I really need to get home." His ears drooped in disappointment, but he nodded.
"I understand. You live around here?"
"Over on Greenway Alley. It's small, but it's comfortable. I enjoy it. And you?" He eyed the ground awkwardly and kicked an imaginary pebble.
"Er...Up on the boulevard." Her eyebrows were raised in genuine shock.
"Wow." She said. "Ritzy. I'm sure you worked very hard to get there. I-I should go." There was a pause between them. "I really enjoyed this, Garfield. I....I don't want....I..."She bit her lip and he could sense that being this open was not the easiest thing for her to do. "I'd like to do it again. I don't want to lose our friendship." He was glowing, grinning like a drunken fool.
"Yeah! Sure! I'd love to!" He realized his overzealousness and cleared his throat. "I mean, yeah. That would be great. Here." He fumbled through his pockets and found a pen and an old receipt to some groceries. He messily scrawled his name, number and address on the back and handed it to her. "Here, call me anytime." She smiled and in turn gave him a small card with her information.
"The same goes for you." She responded. With a nod, she turned and left the park, heading home in the opposite direction. Garfield watched her until she was enveloped by the darkness of the night. He smiled again, and turned on his heal to head back home. Everything was so exciting. He couldn't wait to tell Terra.
---
In the dark, shadowy depths of the South side of town, where the crime rates soared and you couldn't enter a children's hospital without being strip-searched, a woman sighed contently, her dull, stringy hair falling across one eye. The sheen it possessed still remained, but now seemed more similar to a slick of oil. She coiled the covers around her naked body and lit a cigarette, letting it bob up and down between her full ruby red lips. She clamped her long, elegant fingers around the cylinder and took a long drag, letting the smoke snake out through her nostrils. A looming figure stood in the doorway, tying a robe around his massive form.
"That's a terrible habit, you know." He said, and she smiled wickedly, rolling the cigarette around in her fingers.
"I could say the same thing about you." She replied, and inhaled again deeply into the white stick. The man's face was partially obscured by darkness, but a passing car flashed a light into the room so she could briefly see a smirk curling on his chapped, worm lips.
"Touché." He answered, and sat beside her, stealing a cigarette from the box at her side. "Tell me, Terra, exactly how long will it be until your husband realizes that you have not attended a board meeting in over 6 months?" She lit the stick for him and waved her own around in the air.
"He's not the brightest crayon in the box. I doubt he'll ever catch on. Besides," she flicked the cigarette offhandedly to the side and rolled on top of him, her hair falling around his head in greasy clumps. "I do have some business to attend to here." He smirked again, and he consumed her completely.
Wow. That was ris-kay. Hope I don't get in trouble for that one.
Few things- Thank you all SO much for the reviews. They really brighten my day. Leave any constructive criticism, I've never done Terra before, so please tell me if she was off. Raven's tricky too, since she's older now. So leave any comments pertaining to that if you wish.
Also- I am NOT done with Forbidden by any means. I will update it, at some point, but the current chapter is very slow going and not very, dare I say it, fluffy. So I'm kinda trying out a few new writing styles so maybe it will open a door or something.
Lastly-OMFG I USED SYMBOLISM!! –squeals- Can you find it? I spent a good 10 minutes discussing it with my dad because I was so proud.
As always, please review! Thanks again!
