Thanks to titanfan45, Black Raven 13, sinomin, and FoxFireOrenji for the wonderful reviews! Sorry to everyone for the long update, but I've been battling writer's block, college, essays, exams, and a job search. Also, I read a book called The Highest Tide, author Jim Lynch. Wonderful book, read it for English 101. (Thanks Professor Weil!) Now, on with the show. Oh, and I guess a disclaimer is in order. Okay, now, just read this sign, and you can leave...
Alma: I should turn you into blood soup, but I don't feel like it, so... Raven of Alaska does not own the Teen Titans. If he did, the show would still be running. There, happy? *nods head as she disappears* You can't hide from me... I'll be back!
Warm. That was the first thought that came into Rachel's mind as she stepped into the shower. So soothing, so relaxing. Rachel wished she could stay in the shower for hours. But, it was Christmas Eve, and she still had some wrapping to do. As well as making cookies with Garfield , call Bumblebee and see how the repairing of East Tower is going, and pick out a dress for said party. Also, she and Garfield had forgotten to get an angel to put on top of their Christmas tree yesterday. So much to do, so little time. Well, at least the Christmas lights were strung on the tree. That was out of the way. Knock, knock. "Morning, Gar-gar."
"Morning, beautiful," Garfield replied. "I've got some shopping to do, be back in a bit." He then continued down the hall, whistling We Three Kings. After putting on his black, leather jacket and his light, green cowboy boots, he walked out into the chilly winter air, unaware that he was being followed...
Shopping? At this early in the morning? What was it? Seven? Eight? What did he need to get? Unless... she thought, he's still got some presents to buy. You think that the pile in the living room would contain enough presents to last her a lifetime. Well, Garfield doesn't think so, or at least it seems he doesn't Oh well, more time in the shower for me. Or finish wrapping gifts. Shower. Gifts! Shower! Gifts! Thus, she continued arguing with herself for a while, eventually deciding that she'd spent too long in the shower and that she needed to finish wrapping those presents. After getting dry and dressed, Rachel went to her closet, pulled out the remaining gifts, got out the colorful wrapping paper, turned on the radio, which was playing Santa Claus is Coming to Town, and started wrapping.
Wind howling in his near-frozen ears, Garfield Logan trudged down the street, intent on reaching his destination. Granted, he felt like a human icicle, and wanted to quit, but his heart told him to go on. It's not much further, he thought, eyes gazing through the crowed streets, looking for the store he had seen it in. Ah, there it is. He smiled and went inside, the doors to Cce's Toy Shop opening and closing quietly. It won't be long now, he thought, searching through the doll isle. Ah, here it is. Wait until Rachel sees this. After paying for the doll and explaining it was for his girlfriend, he rushed home, renewed strength giving him the energy of a hundred men. Oh, it won't be long at all.
"Finally," Rachel exclaimed in proud triumph, "I'm finished!" After placing her gifts neatly under the Christmas tree, she turned on the Christmas lights. At once, the tree was ablaze with a rainbow of red, gold, green, and purple lights that danced on the walls and bounced happily off the bulbs. Rachel closed the twilight blue drapes over the windows, turned out the lights, and suddenly the room was bathed in color. Rachel smiled, taking in the amazing sight. She made some toast, and went to go give Bumblebee a call.
The door opened slowly, and Garfield strided into the living room, closing the door behind him and collapsed on the couch. He was cold. He felt as if every bone in his body was encased in ice, and his organs were frozen solid. Breathing heavily, he got the doll from it's case, grabbed some tape, and put wings on, then placed it on top of the Christmas tree. Garfield smiled as he stared at the Christmas angel on top of the tree. Raven's going to love this. He then proceeded to fall asleep on the couch, covering himself with a nice, warm blanket.
"Good. The living room looks like nothing's happened to it. We're having a party from 1:00 p.m.-midnight. Think you two lovebirds can come?" Bumblebee asked. "Great! Of course, if you have other plans, you can leave early! You don't have to stay for long. Most of the partying will probably be done around 11:30 or so. Just us, Kid Wykkyd, you two, and a whole lot of food, drinks, and music! Okay, well, I'll see you at 1:15 then. Au revoir!" Bumblebee hung up and went to go train. The Tower might be down, but villains are still around. Although villains are usually inactive this time of year, a little training goes a long way. Besides, the rest of the Tower can be repaired later. Alert and communication was back online, and most of the lights were working. Now there was just one problem; the walls looked like Wolverine had passed through in a rampage. You could go anywhere in the Tower, and there would be scars lining the walls like crazy. Sighing, she went to go blow off some steam. Little did she know, the training room would be in worse condition after she left then when she entered.
Rachel put the phone down. I don't think we'll be partying till midnight, or else Santa won't come. One of the first customs she'd learned on Earth was about the belief in Santa Claus. It was a belief that she quickly accepted, though they didn't have anything like Santa on Azarath. She heard a door open and close. Must be Garfield. Going over to the bed, she laid down, and buried her head in a pillow. That way, she won't be able to see what Garfield got her. She waited, and waited, and waited. Anticipation washed over her like a tidal wave over the sand. Rachel just couldn't wait for tomorrow. Christmas, don't be late. After about ten minutes, Rachel lifted her head. Nobody had come in or out of the bedroom. What's taking him so long? Fed up with waiting, Rachel opened the door, crept silently down the hallway, and entered the living room. The only light in the room was the blazing colors that were radiating from the Christmas tree. Garfield was nowhere in sight. Look with your ears, not your eyes, one of her old instructors had said. So she got into a lotus position, closed her eyes, and listened. Rachel picked up the faint sound of breathing, and frowned. He's asleep. Well, I guess that means I'll have to wake him up. She got up, went to the couch, and was about to wake her boyfriend when something caught her eye. A shadow of a man bounced up and down, as if it were jumping. Someone's here! She looked at where the shadow was coming from. Nothing. Looking back, the shadow had disappeared. Must be seeing things, Rachel thought, the Christmas lights playing tricks with my mind. Rachel glared at the tree, as if wanted to scold it dearly for scaring her. Then she noticed something that had failed to catch her attention earlier. Rachel stared in awe.
There was an angel on top of the Christmas tree. It wasn't just any angel. It originally hadn't even been an angel. The wings were taped on, as she could clearly see. This wasn't what awed Rachel, however. The doll used was....dramatic pause.... a Raven doll. While she didn't see herself as an angel, she knew that there was only one living person in the entire Multi-dimensional universe that considered her an angel. Only one who ever called her an angel. Garfield. It was so sweet of him to do this. Raven, half-demon daughter of Trigon the Terrible and Arella Roth, was the angel that that graced the top of their Christmas tree this year. She decided to wait for Garfield to wake up. After all, how long could he sleep?
Two hours later...
"Wake up. Breakfast is ready. So get it while it's hot." Rachel stated to the drowsy Garfield. "By the way," she said, kissing him gently, "I love the angel." This woke Garfield up. They quickly ate breakfast, and she told him about the party. "So, you want to go?"
"We can go for a few hours. Don't eat too much, though, I have a surprise for you." Garfield stated, grinning ear to ear. "A very big surprise." He chuckled to himself before finishing his ham and eggs. All the while, Rachel's curiosity was going wild.
Trees, bulbs, Santas, and reindeer lined the cookie tray. Twenty cookies going into the oven, another twenty ready when batch one is done. Knowing that Garfield would keep watch over the cookies like an eagle eying its prey, Rachel left the apartment and headed out to find a dress.
To light. I'd never wear pink! Red, no. Green? Maybe. Yellow. Orange Black. Nope. Nothing seemed to suite her tastes. Where's the blue dresses? She asked a store clerk, and found out that they were sold out. It was the same story for two more stores. Either they didn't carry many blue dresses and were sold out, or they just didn't have any. Stepping inside a yet another clothing store, Rachel zoomed over to the dresses, and looked. Finally, she found a blue dress. Most were a very light blue, too light for her. "C'mon, I know you have to be here somewhere.." Rachel muttered. After half an hour, Rachel had almost given up. Turning to leave, she recognized she'd been searching in the wrong place. To her left, there was a dress, a beautiful twilight blue, just like her cape. It had a purple collar, with the tips lined with gold. Snatching it off the hangar, she checked the price. $82.50!! I'm not sure I have that much, Rachel thought as she pulled out her wallet. As luck would have it, however, she had two fifties. Smiling happily, she went to the check out line, gorgeous dress in hand.
It was 5 o' clock in the afternoon before Rachel made it back. The cookies were done and ready for frosting. Garfield had a nice fire going, orange flames dancing inside the fireplace. One thing that surprised her was that Garfield had even put the ham in the oven, and it wasn't burnt. I've got to start believing he can cook. The radio played Jingle Bells and Rachel dashed into the bedroom, where she collided with Garfield. "Sorry. Could you get out for a minute?" she asked sweetly. Garfield complied, and went to go check on the the ham. Rachel quickly hid the dress in her closet, and went to join Garfield in making Christmas Eve dinner.
Winds howled, shaking a few buildings. Snow danced about, descending from the Heavens towards the ice cold ground. Christmas Carolers stood defiant of Mother Nature, singing their songs door to door, outside of homes and office buildings. Some even having the distinct pleasure of singing for the Titans East. Of course, they'd let any carolers into their Tower, even give them a cup of hot apple cider. They just had to promise not to tell anyone about the state of the inside of the Tower. Families everywhere gathered in the spirit of the holidays, huddling together for warmth, to sing songs and watch Christmas specials, and in an apartment on the East side of Steel City, two lovebirds were sitting down to eat.
Ham, mashed potatoes, cherries, biscuits and two glasses of eggnog covered the table. Additionally, Rachel and Garfield each had a turkey leg. The only light they had was light from the fireplace and the Christmas tree. "Cheers" Rachel and Garfield said in unison, raising their glasses high. Taking a few gulps of eggnog, they dove into their feast. Succulent ham, creamy potatoes, juicy cherries, soft biscuits, and tender turkey legs were washed down with a cool, calming swig of eggnog. Munch, crunch, gulp. The meal was devoured, as a blood thirsty dragon devours a heard of sheep. Of course, they were polite and didn't make a mess, but still, the were hungry! When they were full, none of the turkey or cherries remained, and most of the ham and mashed potatoes were gone. There were still plenty of biscuits to go around. After the dishes were put in the sink, the ham, mashed potatoes, and biscuits stored for breakfast, Garfield and Rachel cuddled on the couch, gazed at the fireplace, at each other, and at the Christmas tree. It got late, how late they didn't know. All they did know is that, in their hearts, love blossomed like a flower in bloom, and burned as fiercely as the flames from a dragon's throat. Climbing into bed Garfield whispered "I love you" to Rachel, to which her only response was a kiss.
Outside, he waited. After following the former Titan around all day, and waiting for him and his sweetheart to fall asleep, he was finally rewarded with the sounds of snoring. He glided towards the apartment, entered through the unlocked door, and reappeared fifteen minutes later, an object in hand. Then he glided out into the night sky, disappearing in a cloud of fog.