Gar and Grant had recently got back from testing out Gar's new car on a drive around the city. When Grant had caught sight of it at first, he couldn't stop drooling. He had begged and pleaded with Gar to let him take it out and drive. However, he was willing to compromise on riding around with Gar while he was the one who drove.

The whole time, the girls had looked on in amusement at how a man in his early twenties was acting like such a child. He was the oldest boy of the group, but yet acted sometimes like he was the youngest. The girls watched as Gar smiled as Grant bounded around the car with more energy than a five year old hyped up on a sugar high. They waved as Gar pulled out of the the garage and took off into the night.

Grant had said something about taking a shower as he took off towards his room. It was quiet and Gar looked out the window of the main room to the night sky and bright lights of the night. His thoughts ranging from one thing that seemed to plague his mind.

He didn't want to do comparisons, but he couldn't help it. Grant had started to remind him of how Cyborg used to be with him when the Titans had first started. He was like a big brother and seemed to look out for Gar. The only difference is that it had happened over time with Cyborg. With Grant, it had seemed to take shape almost immediately.

Then there was Rachel. She had become this big sister figure who talked to him about things that he couldn't voice to the guys. Sharing your emotions with one of your boys didn't really seem to be the 'manly' thing to do. Talking to her about them and having her be willing to sit there and listen and offer her advice was a blessing. He knew she could never replace his own sister, but he had started to feel like she was one.

The door to the main room opened and he could hear light footsteps enter the room. He knew it was a girl, and tried to figure out who it was based off of scent. Flowers and honeydew filled his nostrils and a smile came across his face.

"What's up Cass?"

He turned to see her look at him quizzically and chuckled at her expression.

"How you know it was me?"

He pointed to his nose and offered her one of his old signature grins.

"I could smell you as soon as you entered. Don't worry, it isn't a bad smell. It's actually rather nice. Nothing like the car oil and rusted bolts that used to fill up my nose every time Cyborg walked into a room."

A giggle escaped Cass as she covered her mouth to quiet the sound. Seeing the response she gave, his grin got a little bigger.

"Sounds disgusting."

A playful roll of the eyes and groan confirmed her statement.

"Trust me. Nothing like waking up and being greeted with the smell of a auto shop."

She smiled and shook her head at his antics and went to sit on the couch. Patting the spot next to her, she gestured for Gar to sit next to her. Seeing that she had something she wanted to talk about, he walked over and made himself comfortable.

"You know, you should be careful about seeing me this late at night. It is rather scandalous."

A laugh left her throat and was followed by a light smack on the arm.

"Quit being silly. You know I wouldn't do that to Rose."

He grinned at her and chuckled as he tried to calm down. After a few more moments, both were calm and collected again. Seeing that he was paying attention now, Cass decided to talk.

"Do you worry about them finding us?"

That sobered him up quickly. He turned his head to stare ahead of him at the table that was in front of the couch. After a deep breath and a clearing of the throat, he nodded his head.

"I do. I can't say that I'm completely comfortable with forgetting about them. I'm sure Robin has been having the team search and I can bet that the League is doing the same."

She gave a nod of the head and looked down at her lap. He watched as she seemed to be struggling internally about something. He noticed her face seemed to age in a matter of seconds and her eyes grow tired. It finally clicked and he voiced his thoughts.

"You've been thinking about this a bit haven't you?"

Once again she nodded. She looked up and released a breath before schooling herself and speaking.

"I worry about if they find us, how will they react. You know that your team had been after Slade for a long time. If the find out that we left to join him, will they think we are enemies now, or will they just scorn us?"

He raised an eyebrow at her. Besides being slightly surprised at how well her English had improved, he knew her thoughts were valid. Even if being aware of the fact that his new team could easily mop the floor with the Titans, he couldn't help but wonder what it would be like when the Titans finally do find out. He wasn't naive and knew that eventually over time they'd learn the truth. Whether it be by catching it on the news or by word of mouth, it would come out eventually.

With that being said though, he would rather deal with them at a later date then it be so soon. He knew Robin well enough that when he caught wind of it, he'd have his blinders on and dove head first right into bringing him back. Whether it be to save face or to genuinely miss him, he wasn't so sure.

"I know how you feel. That's why when I saw the camera crew and news people today, I had you and Jaime hop into the car. With it being so close to when I disappeared, Robin would immediately try to come here and find me. I have been hoping to give it time and push it off. Jaime, you, and me have to lay low for a while until the main priority of the Titans isn't to find us."

She nodded her head in agreement and felt slightly relieved to know that he had been harboring the same thoughts as her. Even back when they were still with their old teams, she knew he was smarter than what he lead the others to believe. She could look past the mask that he had put perfectly in place when he was around the Titans. Now that they were free from them, he could allow his mask to slip a little.

She gave a small chuckle and shook her head at the memory. He quirked an eyebrow at her and suddenly became interested in what she found amusing.

"What is it?"

She finally looked at him and smiled when she spoke.

"I was thinking back to when we first met and how you would always act as a clown. You hid your emotions from your team as well as intelligence. But when it was just us, you actually allowed me to see the real you."

He chuckled at the memory and shook his head.

"That's because they were so used to me being the comedy relief. Up until I had finally had enough, I didn't really want them to see the real me. Could you imagine how they would've reacted if they knew I could actually read a book without pictures in it?"

She laughed at the joke and shook her head.

"They probably would have thought you were abducted and replaced by an alien."

He smiled and nodded his head at the comment. He glanced back at her and smirked.

"I noticed your English has improved a lot. You can actually talk to me more and it not be a one sided conversation."

She blushed at the comment and lowered her head.

"Jaime has been teaching me. When I joined, he was the only I had known here and wanted to help me settle in. I would spend hours with him going over sentences and him teaching me how to speak properly."

A grin came over Gar's face and he couldn't help himself from what came out next.

"Cass, are you trying to tell me something? Are you and Jaime hiding something from our little family?"

She glared at him and smacked him lightly on the arm.

"No. I was just telling you how my speech improved. Just because I spend a lot of time with him doesn't mean we're together."

He held up his hands in surrender and tried to show her he was only joking.

"Calm down girl. I didn't mean to make you upset or anything. I was just messing with ya. I'm actually impressed at how far you've come and I'm proud of you."

Her glare softened and turned into a pleasant smile. She could see the honesty in his eyes and it filled her with joy.

"Thank you. Sorry for reacting that way. I just didn't want someone to assume that something was going on when there really wasn't."

He smiled and nodded his head.

"I understand. You should know that I would never try to make you upset. I'm sure Rose would have my ass if I pissed off one of her friends."

Cass smiled and tilted her head.

"Speaking of her, I'm happy that you finally have someone. She's a good girl to have in your corner. But if you want truth, I think she's really lucky to have you."

He smirked at her and quirked his eyebrow in amusement.

"Oh yeah, why would you say that?"

He watched as her eyes softened and her face became serious. He could tell what she was about to say was going to be very truthful and not some sort of banter like he would have with everyone.

"Your heart is one of gold."

He looked down and couldn't help the smile that came over his face. He wasn't used to compliments and it still kind of felt embarrassing to him at times. But to have a good friend tell you something like that and be so honest about it, he couldn't help but smile at her words.

"Thank you. I mean it."

She nodded her head at him and returned his smile. He felt his smile grow a little bit and reached a hand out to put on her shoulder reassuringly.

"Don't worry about the Titans, or Batman, or whoever else from the League that you think would come and try to take us away. I won't let them try to guilt you into going back to a life where you felt like you were lesser of a priority than what you should be. Focus on where we're at now. Slade has changed and he's given us a team where we can be open and honest with each other. I know you've grown close to the girls, as have I with the guys. I'm sure you don't want to go back to being alone and cooped up at the Batcave."

She nodded her head and patted the hand on her shoulder.

"You would be right about that. And thank you. It seems that Slade was right about making you our leader. Imagine how the Titans would feel if they knew what you were truly capable of."

Her words caught him by surprise and he had to stop himself from showing how confused he really was. His hand slipped off her shoulder as he regained his composure. Narrowing his eyes in curiosity, he spoke.

"How'd you know about me being assigned leader?"

She shrugged and smirked at him.

"Rachel told me and Jaime. We were helping with dinner and the conversation about it came up. Seems like everyone thinks highly of you, as they should. You're not the same boy that started out with the Titans."

A smile appeared on his face as he let her words sink in. He was glad to hear that she approved of him being leader. He felt that Jaime would also be happy, but he'd talk to him to confirm his thoughts at a later time.

The sound of the door opening again interrupted their conversation as the two turned to see Rose walking in. She smiled at the two with her eyes lingering on Gar a little longer than they did on Cass. She walked over to them and Gar reached out to pull her into him.

"Hey babe. You getting ready to go to bed?"

She nodded her head and looked up at him.

"Yeah. I talked to Grant to see where you were. He told me that you might still be out here. I hope I didn't interrupt anything."

Cass shook her head and smiled at the girl.

"Nope. Me and Gar were just talking about old memories."

This caused Rose to look up at Gar questioningly.

"It was back when we were on our old teams. You know, when I was the free-spirited goofball and she was little Ms. Quiet."

Rose chuckled and leaned against Gar as she shook her head.

"You still can be that way. As for Cass, she has seemed to open up quite a bit."

A smirk formed on said girl's lips and she tilted her head in amusement.

"Well that's because I had someone take the time to teach me. There's actually this thing called 'bonding' over here, instead of worrying about some guy with a face full of makeup."

The couple laughed at her joke and even Cass let a chuckle escape. Gar glanced at the clock as it read 11:15. He turned back to the two girls and nodded his head towards the clock.

"It's getting late. I supposed we should be getting off to bed. I have to get up early anyways to go over stuff with Slade."

The girls nodded their heads and Cass left after saying goodnight. When it was just the two of them, Gar wrapped his arms around Rose and looked down to her.

"Have Jaime and Shae found anything?"

She nodded her head and leaned back a little so she could look up to him.

"The found the warehouse. They informed Rae about it once they got the correct location. She said she would talk to you about it tomorrow once the two of you have the time to go over the information."

He nodded his head and smiled.

"That's good to hear. Once I get done with Slade tomorrow, I'll go and talk to her. The sooner we get this thing situated the better we'll be."

She nodded her head and placed a hand on his cheek. He could see her eyes darkening and he couldn't help the excitement fill up inside him.

"You do know you will be sleeping with me tonight right? I let you get away with it last night since you had your little mission with my father. But since there's no big deal tomorrow, you'll be accompanying me to bed."

A grin spread over his face and he leaned down to capture her lips in his. She returned it eagerly and wrapped her arms around his neck. Once the two decided to come up for air, he gave her a pat on her butt and leaned in close.

"Lead the way my love."

She grinned at him and pulled him along to her room. Once they were in, they quickly undressed and showered together, which took quite a while since their hormones were running rampant through their bodies. After another heated session in her private bathroom, they fell into bed together and drifted off to sleep with smiles on both of their faces.