9 months ago:
"I'm sorry, why is he here?"
Perhaps not the nicest thing she'd ever said, but judging by the pleased smirk on Garfield Mark Logan's face, far from the meanest.
"He's my rival in love," Dick told her succinctly, ushering her in the door from where she'd planted her feet upon spotting the blond over her friend's shoulder. His penthouse apartment hadn't changed since she'd last been here, the space greeting her with comforting familiarity.
Her eyebrow rose, hiding behind the bangs she planned to quickly rid herself of. "Please don't tell me you've become method."
He laughed, diverting into the kitchen to pour her a glass of iced tea. "No. But we all worked on this movie together for the past year or so, and he's not horrible company."
Raven hummed dubiously, peeking over her shoulder at where Gar, Kori, and Vic lounged on Dick's furniture. Garfield's eyes darted up, catching hers before she quickly looked away. "You don't know him like I do," she muttered, low enough the others wouldn't hear.
"I guess not, but that doesn't mean I know him any less." Cryptic to others, Richard Grayson was mostly full of hot air to Raven.
"Oh please." She rolled her eyes, accepting the glass he held out. He proceeded to put the pitcher of tea back in the fridge, giving her another moment of stalling before she'd have to face him.
He paused in front of her, crossing his arms. "Raven."
"Richard."
Much like her, he had a habit of rolling his eyes. He did so now. "Just… let yourself make friends."
"I have friends," she countered, affronted.
He lifted an eyebrow.
Which… alright. Fair enough. She did have friends, but not many. Certainly none as close as Dick, and they were hardly BFFs. But Raven had been burned before by friendship, and people like Gar deserved better than her weary approach to relationships. Assuming, of course, he wouldn't burn her, too.
The seating arrangement in the living room spotted Dick and Kori curled together on the short segment of the 'L' shaped sofa, Vic sprawled across two cushions around the corner, and Raven a measly three inches away from Gar's knee. She glared at him, resting back against the arm of the couch and sinking lazily into her personal bubble. He met her glare with a happy grin.
"Did you audition for the lead?"
Raven stopped shooting daggers at Gar in favor of turning to Dick for his answer to Vic's question.
"Yeah, but I think I knew going in that I wasn't right for the role."
That was something she liked about Dick. His humility. Sure, he could be cocky and he had no shortage of confidence, but he could admit when someone else would fill a role better than him. He had a diverse range of skills and starred in an impressive variety of movies, but even he had his limits.
It would have been easier to work with him as her male lead, but even she had to admit that Gar completed the character perfectly.
She did get to work with Dick, though, and they had fun. He landed the part of her other love interest. Gar's - Jack's rival. She had found herself contemplating it during filming, however, and she reluctantly decided that she probably wouldn't have been able to sell a romantic attraction to him like she could with Gar. An irritating thought.
"Oh, Raven, I almost forgot." Kori removed her long, lean legs from where they tangled with Dick's. "I purchased an unusual fruit just for you. The kumquat."
Raven couldn't say how unusual the fruit was or wasn't, but the fact that Kori went out of her way to procure them for her confused her immensely. Not only because she couldn't recall discussing the fruit with anyone in her life, but also because-
"Raven doesn't like kumquats."
She turned sharply, raising both eyebrows.
Gar shrugged. "You don't."
No, she didn't. She also didn't know how the heck he knew that.
Kori hummed with disappointment. "Oh. I'm sorry, friend, I was under the impression you favored them."
Her curious stare was getting nowhere with Gar, who stared blankly back, so she turned again to the redhead. "It's fine, Kori. I appreciate the thought. But, who told you I liked them?"
That brightened her mood considerably, and she laughed softly at herself. "Not a reliable source, but one that is usually, ah, on the level." She stressed the idiom slightly, always eager to use English turns of phrase. Though, they didn't always land right, since English wasn't her first language. In fact, it was her fourth, or thereabouts. She bent over to pull a basket of magazines from beneath the side table, shuffling through them until she lifted her target triumphantly in front of her.
The cover boasted a scantily clad, busty actress whose curls had been manipulated into a lusty halo about her face. Raven would die before being spread on a cover like that. More importantly, "a magazine told you I like kumquats?" How random.
"It is a quiz to determine how well you know the stars of the upcoming movie. I know better than to trust these, usually." As she should. Kori wasn't an actress, but she was as popular as one. Model by day, advocate, philanthropist, and generally nicest person alive by night. She was also the strongest woman Raven knew, both literally and figuratively. Despite not getting along at first, Raven admired her as a person, though in times like these she had to question herself. "But, everything written about Dick was true."
Well, if anyone knew the truth about Richard Grayson, it would be Kori Anders. The love of his life. The reason no one took the guy seriously anymore, because he turned into a puddle of heart-eyed goo every time someone so much as mentioned her name.
Victor gave a loud clap of his hands. "Alright, I've got to see this. Hit us, Kori."
Her eyebrows drew together. "Why should I hit you? Have you done wrong?"
It took a minute to get everyone settled - and to teach Kori an exciting new idiom - then for Kori to find the page with the quiz, but it started with the kumquats. Kori cleared her throat and read the question dramatically. "What is Raven's favorite fruit?"
"Fig."
Again, this came from Gar, and again, he met her curiosity with a blank stare.
"Well. It is."
She rolled her eyes.
"The magazine claims the answer to be kumquats. Is it, in fact, the fig?" Raven nodded, and Kori nodded back seriously, like this information was of the utmost importance. Given that the model always went above and beyond to ensure the comfort of her guests, Raven didn't doubt that it was. Kori's smile quickly returned as she lifted the magazine again. "Next question! If Garfield were not an actor, what would his chosen profession be?"
Victor snorted. "A pro gamer, or a race car driver."
"Yes," Gar enthused, pointing at him.
"No," Raven blurted, surprising herself and everyone around her. Gar looked at her, gaze brimming with expectation, urging her to give the right answer. She hesitated, until his lips ticked up in a small smile. "He'd be a veterinarian."
That small smile blossomed, taking her breath away.
Kori clapped. "Raven is correct!"