I'm sorry that I took my time in updating, but I wasn't sure if I was making my readers happy or not. I mean, when I don't get any reviews (sob) I feel a little, well, sad. So, hopefully people will be nice enough to leave reviews this time? (nervous smile)
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Raven wished with what was left of her heart that she wouldn't have to set foot on ground again.
She didn't want to have to touch the ground and confront Garfield, to look him straight in the eye and ask him why he didn't respond to her, and to gaze at him without being haunted by the image of that girl hanging off his arm like a gaudy purse.
But her wish wasn't granted, like so many times before.
She, Robin, Cyborg, Starfire, and Garfield all landed, and engaged in "I'm so glad to see you again" hugs and "Wow look at how you've grown" smiles. Raven wished she was spared.
But her wish wasn't granted, surprise surprise.
Garfield didn't beat around the bush, for once, and immediately gave Raven a hug and an awkward kiss on her cheek. Stiffly, she returned the former gesture.
Garfield grinned at her, his eyes sparkling, "You've changed, Rae. More than any of us."
Raven was puzzled. All she had done was grown out her hair and gotten new robes. Surely he didn't mean physically, then.
"What do you mean?" she asked. He shrugged.
"Your eyes aren't as…cold as they were before. They're softer." He paused, then goaded, "Are you a softie now, Raven?"
Raven narrowed her eyes and he jumped back. He was still afraid of her. Wisely afraid.
She smirked at him and he chuckled nervously. "That wasn't so bad now, was it?" she thought to herself. He distracted her from thinking, which was good, very good.
"You've changed a lot, yourself," she offered. He frowned.
"I'm not so sure," he replied, scratching his chin. Raven nodded persistently.
"Of course you have. You're more mature, and you're taller," she said. Garfield laughed.
"I think I like your changes better," he said. Raven blushed crimson. Was that some encrypted message a.k.a. flirting or did she need to stop assuming things?
Garfield blushed as well and busied himself with exchanging hello's with the other ex-Titans.
Raven pulled her hood up, her hair spilling out one side of it. It was too long to keep in a hood now; the only real disadvantage of having long hair.
Robin proposed the idea of going to their favorite pizza joint. They were only a few states away, after all.
……………
A night and a couple hours later, all five Titans were ready for breakfast, even if it was pizza. Well, pizza that was half tofu and half meat-lovers.
Cyborg and Garfield began their famous argument. Richard and Starfire cuddled and made googly eyes, just like before. Raven sat there and criticized them all.
But in the midst of her criticizing, she realized that this was the way she preferred things. She missed fighting crime and watching the two "men" of the group fight over the pizza toppings and game console. She missed making fun (silently, of course) of Starfire and Robin. She missed being there, being the mediator and settling things.
The waiter came out and asked for their order. While Cyborg and Garfield bombarded him with shouts of "TOFU" and MEAT LOVERS," Raven got up and said quietly, "Could you make the whole thing pepperoni and have two large bottles of mustard on the side? And could I have another, smaller pizza with just tofu please?" The waiter jotted down the order and went inside.
The ex-Titans regarded Raven with shocked looks. But she merely raised an eyebrow and deadpanned, "What? I got something in my teeth?"
The four people opposite of her shook their heads and went back to what they were doing before.
And Raven smiled. This was the way things needed to be.
……………
The pizzas came half an hour later. Garfield was horrified when he saw the pepperoni on the pizza and shrieked when he saw his smaller tofu one. And when he noticed that Raven had nothing to herself, he offered a slice of his to her.
Genuinely impressed, Raven accepted.
They sat at a different table, sharing the small pizza. They ate in silence, and it was comforting. But when Garfield polished off his two slices and Raven was finishing up, he asked her awkwardly, "Meet anyone new lately…?"
Raven shook her head and continued to eat. Her hood was up, concealing her face. She didn't want Garfield to see her laughing through her food. They didn't see each other for five years and that was all he came up with?
It was sweet, in a way.
She set her crusts down and wiped her mouth and fingers off. "Who was the girl?" she asked sharply.
He was blown away. Garfield looked at her with glassy eyes and he grunted, "Whaddaya mean? What girl?"
Raven rolled her eyes. "The girl I saw you with?"
Garfield's eye twitched and he asked in a silent scream, "You followed us to Venice!"
Raven snorted and shook her head. She continued, "No, why would I bother?" He looked hurt, and Raven felt a flash of guilt before sweeping it away. "I sent a message to you, mentally, but you didn't respond. And I saw a girl with you."
He rubbed his hands together nervously. "Oh, you mean Tara?"
Raven's eyes bugged out of her head and she was about the yell, but he quieted her with, "No, it's T-A-R-A, not T-E-R-R-A. And she was, I'm sorry, a biznatch."
Raven raised an eyebrow. "Biznatch?" she repeated.
Garfield lowered his head and whispered, "You know—bitch."
Raven nodded. "Female dog and all that?"
Garfield nodded.
They were once more in silence. This time, it was uncomfortable.
He sniffed and blew his nose in his napkin. Raven folded hers and put in on her plate.
"Soyouwannagosomeplacesometime?" Garfield blurted.
Raven looked at him quizzically and repeated in her mind slowly, "So you wanna go out sometime?"
She blushed under her hood, but replied in a firm voice, "If you mean out to eat, then I suppose. But if you mean out to a carnival or something, a big no."
Garfield grinned, his elfish ears perking. He grinned at her so his eyes were shut and said happily, "Great! Then tomorrow's cool for you?"
Raven gulped. That would depend on what the other three Titans wanted. Speaking of, she turned her head to check on them…
…and in turn the mentioned snapped their gaze back to their empty plates and each other, a desperate attempt to not be caught looking. "So they like to watch?" Raven mused silently.
Garfield was still grinning, assuming Raven was looking at him. But when he cracked an eye open, he saw her looking at the other ex-Titans. He smiled; they hadn't changed a bit. That was a comfort.
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I generally try to get chapters four pages long, but this one was a sentence away from that. So I apologize if it was short!
Why is there a waiter at a pizza joint? I honestly have no idea, but I had to put the poor guy in there somehow. Otherwise, the whole things would be ruined.
The small things do count, in a twisted sort of way.
If Raven seems a little, I dunno, AU it's because I had a major mood swing today and I just threw everything out of whack. But I should keep the gory details to myself.
Their actual date is to be saved for another chapter!
Remember to Review!
-Midnight-
