a/n: based on your bbrae dream <3

Raven Roth lived a simple life. Aside from fighting supervillains, dealing with magic and demons, keeping her supernatural powers in control, living with an alien, a metahuman shape-shifter— Anyway.

It was common knowledge that Raven Roth lived a simple, unambiguous life. Aside from all the chaos and drama happening around her, she herself had a very quiet and straightforward personal life.

All the things that happen in her daily life follow the same schedule as usual. Superhero-ing had also been part of her routine from quite some time now, although crimes had decreased as they slowly grew older. The major super villains were defeated, or on hiatus, leaving the battlefield for petty criminals; but those fights didn't really last long, the Titans usually handled them in pairs, or sometimes even solo instead of the whole team bursting in together. In other words, crime-fighting was not really as big of a deal as it used to be.

Back to the point, Raven lived a rhythmic, uncomplicated, almost boring life. Plain. Unsophisticated. Black and White.

But, that was, until a tiny drop of grey... or rather green, appeared seemingly out of nowhere on her canvas, smudging her simple monochromic painting into a whirlwind of unforeseen situations, surprises... and emotions.

Raven had to admit, (rather shamefully; being an empath after all), that she had not seen it coming. But honestly, no one could blame her. Not a single person, themselves included, would ever imagine that Raven, the unfeeling and creepy one, would ever feel anything (except annoyance) towards the resident green comic relief guy.

It started happening gradually, slowly... almost at a non-existent pace. She couldn't pin-point when it happened, or how, for that matter, but unknown to everyone, something unexpected and sweet had happened.

But, it wasn't even all that imperceptible. It had started out with small, subtle gestures.

Sometimes lowering the volume of the TV or getting headphones whenever she entered the room. Or a cup of tea waiting for her at the counter after an excessively tiresome battle; with cute little uplifting notes in his squiggly handwriting, which always made her smile. Sure, they were considerate yet small gestures, but slowly, unbeknown to either of them, they were creating some big emotions.

And then, just... poof!

One day, he was Beast Boy, the annoying, jokester roommate who always got on her last nerve, and then the other, he was Gar Logan, her best friend, a person whom she could share everything comfortably with. Someone who brought her warmth and made her feel things she'd never felt.

Once, on his 19th birthday, Raven had even gone as far as to try and kiss him, her best friend; but she learned, with a rush of relief and warmth, that he was happy to comply.

After many, many stolen glances and discreet reddening of faces, both of them realized that the state of their relationship was... complicated, to say the least.

Nothing was official, but one thing the both of them knew, and were sure of, was that they really liked each other. It didn't matter as to what the label of their relationship was, as long as both of them would stay together.

But, that was 4 years ago.

Raven let out a tired sigh, tucking her now long hair behind her ears as she shifted in her seat on the bench.

The sun was shining brightly above her. She was on the open lands of the Jump City public park, though there were comparatively less people even though it was a pleasant sunny morning.

She low-key glared at the worn paperback copy of Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson in her hands. How could she be thinking about her love(?) life while reading a murder mystery was a mystery to her.

Suddenly, her phone rang, and she lazily closed her book after placing the bookmark in its place before bringing her cell to her ear. 'Yes, Kory?'

'Friend Raven! Where are you right now?' A very excited alien princess asked from the other side, and Raven could hear a lot of commotion happening around here.

'I'm at the park...?' The empath replied. 'I thought I told you before I came here.'

'Oh, yeah, you're at the park!' Kory exclaimed, and Raven could hear a bit of "I-told-you-so" in her voice, which made her raise an eye-brow. 'I was just doing the confirming.'

'..Okay?'

'Well, anyway,' Kory started, a bit more normally this time. 'Are you going to return soon?'

Raven let out a breath and looked around her. She was sitting under a large tree and the atmosphere was quite peaceful. She glanced at her book and then at the kid's playground at the other side of the pathway. 'No.. I think I'm going to be here for a while. But if you nee-'

'Okay, bye, thanks!!' Kory exclaimed for the last time and cut the call.

'Well... that was.. peculiar.' The dark haired girl picked up her book and started reading from where she'd left off; The conversation between the detective who wore all black and the messy jokester of the house.

~ 

"Could you move?" she said. "I need the milk. I might as well get my money's worth." 

He smiled even more broadly and stepped away from the fridge door.

"Of course," he said. "The girl detective needs her breakfast."

Stevie smiled right back as she poured the milk and replaced it. 
"Daddy issues needs his therapist," she said.

He laughed out loud- a little cough of a laugh.

That little exchange should have been enough. It would have been perfect had it simply ended there. 

But, of course, there was no escape. He lived here too. He took a seat at the end of the table and stared down the length of it. 
~

'So that's why I started thinking about him.' Raven couldn't help but chuckle at herself. If it were out of mirth or because she was pathetic, she wasn't sure.

She remembered when they were younger, she and Gar used to bicker in the same fashion. They could argue about totally random and useless stuff, and sometimes, she wondered, if this was what had fueled the spark between them?

Even after they'd become best friends... or whatever they were to each other, they'd tease each other, or debate over aimless stuff, just for fun. Maybe that was their "thing".

Until one day... it was gone.

It wasn't their teasing that had stopped, it was him who'd disappeared. Gone. Just like that.

No one knew where he went... Or why for that matter, but it was sure that he wasn't about to be found. He'd just... vanished.

Gar hadn't only left her, but the Titans as well.

Cyborg had found a note in his room, it was short and it simply read,

"Don't worry about me guys. I just have something important to be taken care of. It'll be no use trying to contact me, I don't think there'll be any reception there lol.
Love, Gar."

Even though, they'd tried to find their dear friend, but true to his letter, he seemed impossible to contact.

For the first few nights, everyone had been in a state of denial. Obviously, he'll come back at night. Maybe he'll come back the next day. This was maybe one of his pranks anyway.

The other Titans were confused, heartbroken, and they couldn't help but feel betrayed.

Months after his disappearance, the Titans had finally no other option but to accept the truth.

The first few fights after he'd left were terrible for the Titans.

It wasn't because the fights were too nasty or dangerous. But maybe because they were expecting to see a giant green gorilla jump out of nowhere and surprise Control Freak. Or maybe someone to whine when Mad Mod come to terrorize the city again. Or probably a green-

'-Man?' Raven unconsciously spoke out loud, noticing a somewhat familiar man at the end of the grass-lined pathway.

The man, from what she guessed from the silhouette, was wearing a fishing hat and a black mask and sunglasses on his face. His sleeve-covered hands were thrusted into his pockets.

Something about the guy reminded her so much of Gar.

He was always happy to go out and about in public as Beast Boy; flashing his then non-existent muscles and dropping some very lame jokes. But she remembers how, as they'd grown older together, he'd grown reluctant to go out as Gar Logan. Always wearing excessive clothing to hide his (beautiful, in her opinion) green skin.

She remembered one such memory, when the two of them had gone out for the day. After her basically scolding him about it, Gar had finally worn something normal instead of looking like one of Disney's Minutemen.

But she understood him then, because she saw those judgmental and skeptical glances, those whispering ladies and the guys giving him almost pitiful looks. Had they forgotten he was the same guy who saved their sorry butts on the battlefield?

So, Raven did the only thing she could do then, hold his hand and give it a little squeeze, gently placing her head on his shoulder, to simply let him know that she was with him, but that gorgeous thankful smile on his face in response to her small gesture did everything to give her butterflies and whatnot.

Back to reality, she noticed the aforementioned man was walking towards her.

Shit. Her face reddened. Had she been staring for too long?

As he walked closer, rather than being nervous about the fact that a total stranger was going to approach her, Raven was more transfixed on studying the way he walked, how he was looking at her, but at the same time, at anything but her. Maybe she was acting like a creep, but he seemed to have a weirdly familiar... vibe.

'Hi.' His voice greeted her, the word coming out muffled through his mask.

'Hello...?' Raven gave him a small curious smile. Now that he was standing in front of her, the feeling of knowing, yet not knowing, was eating at her.

'Uhm...' He let out a confused sound for a few seconds, and then as he understood the situation, he sighed and took off his hat. And his sunglasses. And his mask.

And there he was.

And there he was.

He was right there, standing in front of her with a chagrined expression.

'Hey, Rae.'

The same green skin, on which she'd run her fingers over so many times. Those same lips, the canine still poking out in it's signature style. Those same sparkling jade eyes, the same eyes that she'd missed so fucking much.

She stood up in shock, her book falling beside her on the bench, the specific page she was reading long forgotten among many others.

'Yow,' Garfield winced, 'Not marking your page? I'm in for something nasty, aren't I?'

She tried to keep her face deadpan, but too, too many emotions were hitting her altogether.

"...You're back." She tried saying sadly, with a bit of nostalgia and maybe longing.

"You're back?" Anger? Anger.
He'd left the Titans, without any proper explanation. Had he forgotten about his duty as a hero? Had he not even thought about what she might've felt? Not once?
How dare he leave her, leave her all heartbroken, and then show up again. Just like how suddenly he'd left.

"You're back!" Happiness and relief.
He'd left, sure, but he had his reasons. And he was back. He was safe, he looked healthy, and he was right in front of her. Screw the past, he was here again. And one of the things she'd learn from Gar himself was to forgive and forget right? The forgetting part might be a tad bit hard, but she could surely try to forgive him. Because she cared about him. Because all she'd ever wanted was for him to be safe and healthy. And he was here now. Really?

'Umm... Rae? The suspense is kind of killing me now.' Gar called out with a pained expression.

Okay, so seemed like all of that had happened inside her head.

As she looked at him again, really looked at him, Raven actually couldn't believe it.

Out of all the possible scenarios in her head, she did something neither she nor Gar had expected.

She walked forward... and hugged him.

'Oof-' Stumbling backwards from her unexpectedly strong hug, Gar's arms went around her tiny frame almost as soon as Raven had taken a step forward.

'Oh God, Raven,' He stuffed his face at the crook of her neck, smelling her sweet homely scent. 'I missed you so fucking much, Rae.'

Even though his voice was muffled, it sounded like he was crying.

Raven only tightened her grip around him, nuzzling into him and feeling all the fatigue and troubled emotions drain out of her, replaced with a calm and giddy feeling.

'Gar... Gar.' Raven breathed. She felt moisture on his shirt's fabric, confirming she was crying too. 'Gar... you're here.'

They broke out of their cozy embrace, Gar reaching forward to wipe the tears off of her face with tears and a dopy grin on his face. 'I'm here, Rae. Don't cry... I'm here.'

'I'm not crying, you are.' Raven whined, touching his face, almost as if to make sure he really was standing in front of her and she wasn't hallucinating.

'I am.' He sob-chuckled.

For a long moment, both of them just stood there; touching each other's faces and just soaking the other's presence in. As a comfortable silence had settled in, Raven, for the first time, broke it.

'...You're late.' Raven muttered with a small smile, looking into his eyes.

'I'm sorry...' Gar frowned, concern, shame and frantic panic clouding his face. 'I didn't want to, I swear. It was just that I really needed to go, to understand my powers and get to control-'

'Shhh,' Putting a finger on his lips, the empath shushed him.

'I don't need an explanation from you, Gar,' She spoke up. 'Maybe later... but right now, I'm just really... really happy that you're here.'

'Me too.' He contently sighed.

As a moment, a spark, passed between them, both of them gravitated towards each other, like they'd so naturally done all those years ago. With half lidded eyes, Gar-

'Mister,' The sudden voice made both of them jump and look towards the source. 'Who are you and why are you making her cry, huh?'

Only when the young blonde girl pointed it out did Raven realise that there were still some remanets of her tears on her cheek. Wiping her cheeks with a chuckle, the empath turned towards the young girl, who had two young boys standing behind her.

'Mister?' Raven called out to her. 'Don't you remember him, honey? It's Garfield. Beast-'

'BEAST BOY!!' The eldest of the boys, the red-head spoke up with a hyper active squeal. 'You're the one who can turn into animals!'

Gar laughed good manneredly with genuine happiness filling him after so many years.

'Yeah. And you are..?' As he looked towards Raven to ask for the kid's name, his eyes widened, as if a lightbulb lighting up in his head. He looked at the three kids, blinked, and then looked at Raven, watching a knowing smile spread on her face as if she could see the gears running in his head.

'Wait-- Waiiiit! Melvin, Timmy and Teether Tantrum!?' Gar exclaimed, mirth and nostalgia lighting up his face. 'Oh my gosh, you guys! You've grown so much!!'

'Well...' Raven walked up towards them, Timmy coming forward and holding her pointer finger in his small hand. 'It's actually Melvin, Timmy and Teether Roth now.'

'Holy fu- cow!' The shapeshifter crouched on the ground, running his hand over his face, too high on adrenaline and happy, mushy feelings and unexpected surprises. 'You didn't! Raeeee!! You should've told me! Oh my God-' He gasped with a chuckle as Teether climbed on top of him.

'I would've,' Raven replied with a small smile, watching as both the boys hanged from his shoulders as he stood up to his whole height. 'But I- we had no way of contacting you.'

'Yeah... right.' He looked at her with a sheepish grin.

'You know, you haven't changed a bit, Beast Boy.' Raven told him, both of them lazily walking towards the playground with the three kids.

'Oh, yeah?' Gar offered her the same mischievous grin she'd always see on his face. 'Then what about these bad boys?' He boasted, posing with his muscled arms. The kids gasped with astonishment, while Raven only rolled her eyes, feeling as if they'd already fallen into their usual routine. 'And, and! I think I've also gotten more handsomer.' He wriggled his eyebrows as the kids ran towards the swing set, calling out for him.

'Well, joke's on you,' Raven muttered. 'Because I thought you were handsome back then too.'

Raven had barely heard herself say it, but she knew he heard it with his super-hearing. Or at least she guessed he did by the way his ears and cheeks turned red.

Coughing to cover up the sudden awkwardness, the empath looked up at her... Friend? Teammate?

Raven shook her head. She looked up at Gar and asked him a question that was nagging her from the moment they'd started talking.

'So... uhm,' She began. 'Are you, uh, here for... I mean, are you just visiting or...?' She couldn't make herself say it.
She'd just gotten him back, the idea of losing him again was too much for her to handle.

She felt his hand slip into hers, giving it a firm squeeze.

'I'm not going anywhere, Rae.' He gave her a meaningful smile, as if reading her mind.

Squeezing her hand back, Raven let out a content smile.

'Mr. Garfield!' They heard Melvin call for him from the swing set.

'Coming!' He called out to her, sparing Raven a look as if asking for permission. 'And please, call me Gar!'

As Raven walked closer to the four of them, she had a lot of thoughts going through her head.

He was back. He was back and he had no intention of going back either.

Well, for all she knew, he had no intention of going anywhere when they were teens either, but somehow, in spite of her better judgement, she found herself believing him.

Maybe because she trusted him. Maybe because after all these years, in the end, he was still here with her. Maybe because even if she didn't admit it to herself yet, she loved him. Way more than she let on.

The sudden realization hit her almost like a physical blow, her eyes opening wide and automatically focusing on him.

With Timmy on his shoulders, Teether hanging to his legs and Melvin gripping his hand and chatting about happily, Gar threw his head back and let out an unadulterated happy laugh. As his eyes met with Raven, the moment became more meaningful than any of them had ever expected.

Both of them were here, still in each other's life. And both of them were happy.

Like last time, they had no idea what to make of their relationship.

He'd just returned. But also, he'd just returned, but he was so happy with her.

All Gar was sure of was that he wanted to be in Raven's life forever, and he was sure Raven felt the same way too.

What could've been was in the past. Now it was time to think about what could be, with both of them finally together. 

a/n: thank you so much for reading this! i hope you enjoyed it and be sure to leave a comment and vote!