Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans, Before Sunrise of the poem "Delusion Angel" by David Jewell.

Chapter 8 - the MILKSHAKE

Raven and Gar stroll hand in hand along the Danube. The sky was fairly clear and the light of the moon shoe down on the two lovers. Gar would steal occasional glances at her, her face highlighted by the rays of the moon. They walked together in silence. Then suddenly, he lifted up her hand to his lips and kissed it. She smiled at him and blushed, then he decided to break the silence.

"So, would you be in Paris by now, if you hadn't gotten off the train with me?" He looked at her, waiting for an answer. Raven furrowed her brow and thought about it.

"No, not yet," she turned to him, "'Bout you?"

"I'd probably be hanging around the airport, reading old magazines, crying in my coffee," he pouted and mimicked a sad voice, "'Cause you didn't come with me." She punched him on the arm and he kissed her hand a few more times.

She went in front of him walking backwards so they were facing each other, "I'm having a great time." She watched as his eyebrows rose.

"Yeah?"

She stopped, leaned up to peck him on the nose, "Yeah." Hugging his arm, she drew nearer.

"Me too." They began walking again.

"If we were around each other all the time, what do you think would be the first thing about me that would drive you mad?" It was just a random question, she didn't even know how it came up.

He laughed, "Nothing, nothing at all."

"Well, if it had to be something. What would it be?" Gar made a show of thinking about it.

Then he smirked, "If it had to be something, if I had to think about it, I... I kind of didn't really like this reaction back at the palm reader. You were like this all-knowing prick."

She chuckled, "Prick?"

"Yeah. You were like a little girl whining because all of the attention wasn't on you," he turned to her, "Were you an only child by any chance?"

"Alright. Listen, the woman robbed you blind okay?"

"You were like a sad little girl crying because her daddy wouldn't give her a milkshake or something. Ow!" She laughed as she punched him on the arm yet again, when they were interrupted by a voice from behind. They turned to see a man on a small dinghy in the river. The suit he wore looked worn out and over used, the jacket donned various beer stains, the inner shirt was buttoned wrong. He was smoking a cigarette and wearing a dirty black jacket. In front of him were papers and notebooks with starched writing on them. He repeated what he said in German.

"Sorry, I understand a bit. But he doesn't," said Raven. The man nodded in understanding. Gar and Raven began to walk away when the man stood up, dusted his coat off and called to them, asking for them not to leave. Gar shrugged and started to walk back.

"So, I would like to make a deal with you. I mean, instead of just asking you for money, I will ask you for a word. Yeah, you give me a word, I take the word, and then, and then I will write a poem, with the word inside. And if you like it, I mean, if you like my poem, and you feel it adds something to your life in any way, and then you can pay me whatever you feel like. I will write in English, of course." The man spoke flawless English after all. Bot Gar and Raven shrugged not seeing a downside.

Gar nodded, "Great, alright." A moment of silence passed between all of them. The man simply waited.

"So pick a word." Gar and Raven looked at each other and shook their heads, not being able to come up with a word.

Gar's eyes flickered with mischief as he turned to the poet and said, "Milkshake."

The poet nodded to them both, confirming, "Milkshake? Milkshake, okay." He turned towards his papers and began scribbling down words. Gar and Raven turn and begin to walk away again. Quietly, they can hear the poet whistling.

"What can I say, I like this Viennese version of the bum," Gar whispered.

Raven whispered back, "Yea so, uh, were we having our first fight back there?" Gar grinned at the thought.

"No"

"Yeah, I think so. I think we were."

"Well, even if we were a little bit, y'know. Why does everyone think conflict is so bad. There's a lot of good things coming out of conflict."

"Hmm, I think I have to agree. There has to be passion, tension in a relationship. I mean can you imagine spending the rest of your life with someone who agreed with everything you said?" Gar jokingly shuddered at the thought.

"I think humans have competitiveness programmed in us. I mean I could be doing the stupidest thing, like throwing darts or shooting pool, and all of a sudden, I feel it come over me, 'I have got to win'" She smiled.

"Is that why you pulled me out of the train? Competitiveness?" The poet behind them ripped out a page from his note book and approached them, but they were too engrossed in each other to notice.

"What do you mean?" All of a sudden the poet was there, standing in front of them.

He stretched his hand out and gave Gar a folded piece of paper, "Okay, there have a look at it. It's your poem." Gar began to open it when Raven snatched it out of his hands and handed it back to the poet.

"Will you read it to us?" He scratched his head and nodded dumbly.

"Oh, Ok.

Daydream delusion.

Limousine Eyelash

Oh, baby with your pretty face

Drop a tear in my wineglass

Look at those big eyes

See what you mean to me

Sweet cakes and milkshakes

I am a delusioned angel

I am a fantasy parade.

I want you to know what I think.

Don't want you to guess anymore.

You have no idea where I came from.

We have no idea where we're going.

Launched in life.

Like branches in the river.

Flowing downstream.

Caught in the current.

I'll carry you. You'll carry me.

That's how it could be.

Don't you know me?

Don't you know me by now?"

He handed the paper back to Gar and waited for approval. Raven turned to Gar and nodded, "Thank you." She pulled out some coinage from her pocket and handed it to him.

"No, no. Thank you." The man turned and began to walk away. Soon Raven and Gar were on their way again.

"That was interesting."

Raven scoffed, "Do you actually believe he wrote that, do you? I mean, you know he wrote it, but he probably just plugs that word in, y'know, whatever 'milkshake'..."

Gar turned to her and stopped walking, shaking his head.

"What?" He turned again and kept walking, still shaking his head.

"See what'd I tell you? Cynical."

A/N: I really don't like that poem, but I had to put it in because it went so well with the story. Anyways, from now on, more poetry.