-Yesterday-
Blue eyes stared back at him. Sandy beach hair atop a head with skin kissed by the sun. When he was alone, like he'd been since the team had become busy over this past year, he would extend his powers in new and exciting ways.
One year. In one year, he had progressed his powers further than he could have ever imagined. What started as a jumbled mish mash of ideas and theories, slowly turn into experiments, then progress, and finally results. He was in awe of himself. The things he did, the things he made. He had kept his improvements to himself, first out of self doubt. Even giving it his all, he didn't believe that he could accomplish what his imagination dreamt. But then he saw more progress, and that self doubt disappeared, and turned into a hunger. A thirst. A desire to keep trying when he saw little change, then positive outcomes, then finally big leaps.
He looked down at his arms, and thick iron strong scales grew from
his flesh.
"-ever since these new villains we've been encountering, I think this will be a good opportunity to see where you can take your powers."
Garfield sighed, in all the time that he had trained, no villain had stepped out of the shadows. It was like, now that he was trying to reach his fellow teammates heights, the villains threw in the towel. Called it a day. When he could have performed beyond anything he ever did on the field, to show his friends how far he'd come, the opportunity just vanished. Super villain crime in Jump City crashed, and the only wrong doing in town the police took care of.
There were no more bad guys. And Dick started making better relations with BludHavens mayor. Victor took a six month retreat with his fellow lab workers to improve Steele City's power grid. Kori attended and aided Tamarans largest political peace treaty with nearby planets. And Raven... he was losing her.
His ear twitched, and within a second, he was the old Beastboy that everyone knew and loved. Like he hadn't changed at all. He smelled the air... Lavender.
It was finally here. He sensed it these past few days they were together. He had regressed back to his childish self, pretending that it wouldn't come. Only to enjoy the last days he would have with her. But then remembered he had 'grown up.' That he owed it to himself and her. So not long ago, he shed his final tears. Like his time capsule, he would place his heart in it. So that it could be remembered fondly.
"Garfield... we need to talk."
He turned around and looked at Raven. Rachael Roth. The love of his life. He smiled and stood. He walked right up to her, and extended his hand.
"Sure Rae."
She hesitated, but finally reached over and interlocked their fingers together. Knowing that he loved being entwined with her. She stood in place, almost lost. So he pulled and guided her out of the common room. Down the hallway past the utility closet, passed the guest room that once belonged to a titan.
-
"You should totally do it Rae!"
"... I don't know..."
"Don't doubt yourself, are you scared?"
"I-I'm not scared... its just.." She didn't continue.
He crouched down in front of her as she sat on her bed. Arms hugging the sides of her legs and he looked up into her eyes.
"You are scared Rae, but its okay. You're so much more than you were back when you first came to Earth. Your no longer the daughter of Trigon. You're Raven. The strongest and most amazing super heroine ever. The Justice League doesn't deserve you. We both know this can lead you to what ever your heart desires. I know it's what you want Rae, don't regret not taking this chance."
She smiled, that smile that was reserved for only him. The smile that he'd work so hard for. And when he thought he couldn't love her more, she'd grace him with it. and his heart soared even higher.
-
The walked along the hallways of Titans Tower. Their home. In the city they never believed to find friends, family, and love. The sun had peaked in the sky, overhead Jump City. Where they had lived together. Fought crime together. Struggled and shed tears. Where he had fallen in love with the 'dark and mysterious' Raven. And she grew to love the lousy comedian and prankster Beastboy.
The walk through their home never felt so long, but Garfield took that as a blessing. Because it meant that he could have Raven for just a little while longer. Here, holding hands with his girlfriend.
-
Raven looked up to the TV that stretched across the common room's window. And Batman returned her gaze.
"This has been a long time coming Raven, but I and the Justice League would like to express our deepest apologies for our response to you all those years ago. You have every right to dismiss our attempt at rectifying our mistake. But we would be honored if you'd let us make up for what he did."
Raven nodded, and looked over to her teammates. Her family. She looked to Gar who gave a big thumbs up, and a smile so wide she could have sworn she saw his fang glint in the sun light. She looked back to Batman.
"You have proven to be a prodigy of a sorceress, surpassing other magic wielders that have more age and experience than you. So we at the Justice League would like to extend to you... Any and all support in your desire for higher learning in the magical arts. We will supply and aid you anyway we possibly can. Be it learning, exploring and testing. If you would teach any magical users, be they Justice League, or any other group that seeks to aid the fight in protecting our world. We would be grateful.
And with her passion for reading. Her desire to learn the intricacy's of magic. Her wish to be more than what she had spent the majority of her life believing, Raven smiled.
"I accept."
-
And at some point in there journey, she finally started to lead, and she pulled him right up to his bedroom door.
He leaned forward and pressed the keypad. He smiled and gestured to her, 'ladies first.' So she walked into the room, waited for him to follow and the door to shut, before heading to his bottom bunk and took a seat. He slowly walked over, taking in her features. She was ready, and he would be there for her. He took a seat beside her, never dropping his smile. He asked for her permission with an open palm, and she answered with a small delicate hand. And they looked into each others eyes. One with sorrow and regret. The other with love. Love that was there the day he met her, before he even knew he could love her. And there was silence.
"I'm pregnant..."
He never stopped smiling, never looked away from her. He would help her through this. Just like he helped her escape from loneliness. Her self doubts.
"I know." he said.
And her hand squeezed his. her neutral features began to waiver. With just that small statement. He'd toppled the entire conversation she had worked so hard to prepare. Surprise and shame began to seep through her features, and she didn't know where to go from here. How did he know? How did he know, and still smile, still hold onto her all this time?
"I've known since the beginning. Before you even learned you were expecting..." He lifted his other hand and tapped his pointer finger to his nose. She understood immediately. His animal senses had picked up that she was pregnant. So they must have also... Her mouth finally sank into a frown and her eyebrows crashed into one another. He knew... He knew from the very start. She looked at him and silently asked as tears started to blurry her vision.
"It started when you first left to help the Justice League. When you and the others began to help them, and got involved in the different departments that were a part of the league. Not long after that, you spent more time fighting global enemies than you did Jump City's. You came home with new scents and an aurora that was unfamiliar. But that was okay, because you were experiencing a new chapter in your life. You were meeting new people, in new places. Rekindling with old friends during our Titan adventures."
Her grip began to loosen, but he wouldn't let her drift away. She needed to hear what he had to say.
"And then you were paired with him. And you didn't smell like the other hero's and facility workers in the Watch Tower. You began to smell like him... I was jealous at first. Every alpha animal in me was clawing and biting to come to the surface. But I told myself it was what you wanted. That that was how the league wanted you to function, partnered with a new league member. To show you the ropes and give you an introduction to what it would be like if you became a full member."
Garfield had to swallow his spit due to his throat getting dry. Raven made no move to interrupt, so he continued.
"Then you discovered the magic of his home, locked away from our world. I remember you were blown away by its origin and difference from all the other magic you were used to. And that interested you so much you began to visit his people. Spent more time than was asked of you while helping the league..."
Smile never faltering, he looked to her face as tears began to fall down her cheeks. And his eyes began to get misty, but he willed the tears away.
"I know when it first started Rae. When i could smell him more and more. Stronger everyday you came back to me. When all the things i had given you here at Titans Tower wasn't enough anymore." he paused and rubbed her hand with his thumb. "I know when it first started, when you first came home and i realized i was losing you."
She bowed her head. And she began to shake.
"I remember the first time you and him were together. And the time after that..."
And she began to whimper, with a cry that broke his heart. But he wouldn't stop. For her he told himself.
"I knew you never stopped loving me Rae. I knew I was always in your heart. I'm not an empath like you, and my animal shape shifting doesn't have the power to read your feelings. But I knew that every time you came back to me, it was with the love for me that grew in our home.
So I waited Rae, waited to see what you would do. What choice you would make. But you didn't decide Rae. You kept coming back, slipped into my arms because you were happy to see me. Be with me. And you left, left to help the league, left to learn what you could from the world of magic that wasn't here in Jump, left to slowly slip into his arms."
By now, he didn't know if she was even listening to him anymore. The anguish that spread from her face to her body looked as though she was in her own world. But he felt her, the aurora that she would blanket around him when they were together was tightly secured around him. She was with him, no matter how much pain she was going through. He fully turned to her, and reached up with his free hand to cup her cheek. He gently turned her face to his. And their eyes met once again. Her beautiful amethyst eyes were dull from heartache, but also glistened with the tears that ran down her cheeks. Mesmerizing eyes that had captured his attention all those years ago. And still he smiled at her.
"You love me Rachael... And you also love him... I don't know what its like... to have two people that you cant decide between. But I'm sure that if you love him, he's got to love you too. And that's something i CAN understand."
She was hugged by the love in his eyes and words. Captured in the view of the schoolboy who turned into the young man before her. All this time, all this time she carried the guilt of sharing herself between two men. She was greedy and selfish. She didn't WANT to choose. Because that choice would hurt not only one of them, it would hurt her also. No matter what she believed she was doing, how she was juggling her time between the two. She didn't deserve either of them. Because she was selfish, she wanted both. But most importantly, despite what she did to keep this relationship going, she did choose...
His smile finally began to fall. Until it was gone, maybe gone for good. And a sorrowful look took his features. With a futile attempt to dry her tears once again, and with the most confidence he'd ever expressed in his short life, looked into her eyes, into her soul, and said.
"It's him... isn't it Rae." It wasn't a question.
And there on his bed. In his room. In the Teen Titans tower that they had grown up in. In Jump City, their home. Garfield Logan and Rachael Roth were no more...
"I'm sorry Gar... I'm so sorry."