My Fiction. My Blog. My Life:After braving the vast world of the internet with fanfictions, I've decided to expand my portfolio with short stories, blog posts, and snippets of my novel.
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Chapter 20Raven reclined in the chair a little deeper as Gar went further into his story. He had been in such a great mood that he couldn't stop talking. It wasn't about anything in particular, though it never strayed near last night. Let alone their sex life, or potentially love life. But after seeing him so shocked and miserable on that battlefield only days before, she couldn't change the subject. If he wanted to talk about silly stories that excited him, she would listen. Raven did have to admit she enjoyed listening to him. His deep voice and contagious laughter had become a source of comfort for her. Smiling she nodded her head, "I remember that night a little differently though. As I, and probably everyone else," she added lower," remember it, you got stuck and Dick ended up turning off the missiles." His laugh was deep and hinted at mischief. "I did not get stuck. I was convincing one of the guards to give us the codes. How do you think Dick unlocked it so fast?"
Raven snorted and raised a brow, "Gar, I was right beside him. He unlocked it." He was trying to give her a believable lie. And knowing he was caught, he shrugged and rolled his eyes. "Fine," he said, "I got stuck. But I was close to getting those codes." A light dinged on the dashboard closest to Gar and he stole a quick glance. "At least we'll never be out of a job." He muttered. "There's a bank robbery on 5th. Looks simple enough though." And just as he went to scroll through more information, the blinking cut off, signaling no more backup was required. Gar lounged back in his chair, his eyes flicking over the various buttons and lights, letting the ship grow quiet for once. The legs of his uniform rubbed against the seat as he scooted down, giving note to how quiet it had gotten. Raven gulped loudly. It signaled a bit more anxiety than she wanted to. But Gar didn't even glance at her, he kept his eyes vaguely on the buttons, lost in thought. She wanted to bring it up, after all she had been the one that brushed off relationships so easily before. It could all be resting on her. Though, the ease he had with moving on every morning would say differently. Or the way with which he casually passed off their feelings before leaving. But it was all she could think about and as they had prepared for the trip, including now, she felt like she was just going through the motions of a regular mission. Every step passed by like a blur, staying just long enough that she could mentally check it off as done. A different ding sounded through the ship. They had taken a larger ship out of the titan's growing fleet. They wanted to have room for the child to stretch out if he needed to, or have a bed to lay down in. The sound died down, ringing through the empty quarters behind them. It meant they were about ten minutes out and should prepare to land. Usually it meant prepare for battle and Raven was already stuffing her feelings up in rehearsed fashion. Even without the cause for alarm her body was telling her it was time to act. If everything went correctly, it would just be one peaceful pick up and an even more peaceful drop off. The ship descended with little guidance as the silence grew less awkward and more practical. There was nothing else to plan. And nothing that should distract them. After the ten minutes, they stepped out on the flat plateau watching the passengers of the other plane do the same. "Hello!" called a voice. Raven couldn't make out the figure but Gar's light touch on her arm told her he could and all was fine. "Hello Scott!" Gar called back, quickening his pace to reach the others. "It's been awhile." Gar shook the man's hand and pulled him into a hug. Though Raven could see the look on the man's face read he wasn't exactly the hugging type. Crossing her arms, Raven told the others she would not be doing the same. "It has. It has." Scott scanned the two of them. "Well, I'm glad you could pick him up for us. We got another big project coming up and we'll be below ground awhile." Raven caught the little boy peer between two women at her. He could probably tell who she was and why she had been the one to be called. Raven tried to smile reassuringly at the boy, but he only stared wide eyed and nervous. Gar appeared in front of the boy, kneeling so their faces were about level. "Are you ready to go Marcus? We're going to take you to your new home." He spoke softly and held a hand out, though not actually reaching for the boy. Raven had forgotten the boy had just lost his mother. His sunken eyes and sniffles brought the pain of that day back. And it hadn't even been her mother to die. But she had heard the scream just as well as Gar had. The women separated slightly smiling down at him. They were nice enough, but like Raven unsure of what to do with a child. Raven had partly expected the boy to run into Gar's familiar arms, but it could be that he didn't even remember him. As if on cue, Gar pulled back his arm and asked, "Do you remember me?" The boy shook his head. Gar leaned back on his heels a bit, giving the boy a tad more space, then shifted into the fluffiest dog Raven could imagine. A bright smile lit up the tiny face and he nodded excitingly. Rushing over he wrapped his arms around the dog, barely meeting on the other side. His hands formed little fists as he held on tight, giving the dog the strongest hug he could muster. Raven could see the fists move as he giggled. The green fur parted with each jump and Raven cringed at the thought of her body hair being pulled on by a child, but Gar didn't complain. Just wagged his tail and gave the boy a few kisses. "Thank you," Raven said as the two started walking to the ship. The scientists nodded and turned to board their ship. They contributed great research to the Justice League and Titans and Raven sort of liked their over rational, emotionless, reactions. They didn't say much when it didn't touch on their current research or research that might take place. And so their conversations with Raven were always to point and appreciated. When Raven boarded she felt her blood run cold at the sound of a shrill scream. Flying in, she landed to hear the end of the scream. Another series of giggles. Gar was a soft chubby groundhog and currently being smothered by the clumsy hands of a child. Raven wanted to guess the child was about three. He seemed to have a lot of teeth, but she wasn't even sure what age that started to happen. Her own trio of adopted kids hadn't taught her the proper mother voice she heard most women use. So as monotoned as she usually was, she patted the seat and told the boy he had to at least sit down for take off. But he didn't budge. Her kids had also grown to listen to her, though they had become far more mature than most their age. Gar wiggled again in the boys arm and Raven waited for him to change back and fix this himself. But he also didn't move for the seat. Groaning enough to make even a groundhog smile, she thought over her options. If he was anything like her, she didn't want to anger the child. "What do you have there?" Raven asked, trying to lighten her voice. It sounded fake, but the boy perked up a bit. "Dog." The boy replied. Raven also wasn't sure what age children started speaking. Though it was nice to know he could. "Do you like that... dog?" Raven asked, reaching over to scratch Gar on the nose. "Yeah. He's soft." The boy flopped the groundhog forward, almost squishing Gar's nose on the ground as he held the green back out to Raven. As instructed, she pet him, letting her short nails dig into his skin lightly as she knew he liked. "Well you have to keep him safe, okay?" The boy looked at her confused. "We're going to take off so you have to sit down and buckle yourself in. Then hold him on your lap. That way he'll be safe." The boy stood up without another word and let her sit him down in the child seat they had installed for him. Reaching down Raven let her gaze wander over the small child. He appeared to be a normal boy. The skin of his bare lower leg grazed her arm as she clicked the buckle into place. It was burning hot. Glancing at Gar while the boy was distracted and fiddling with the remaining strap, she mouthed the words 'he's hot'. He nodded and scurried over to crawl on the boys lap. The boy didn't question the fact a groundhog, or dog, was able to clip him in, let alone jump like that to his chair. "Marcus," she said, forcing herself to remember him as a person and not just the strange being called 'child'. "Are you ready to go?" "Yes," he replied, squeezing the groundhog tight. The trip was quiet for Raven. After they had reached a cruising height the boy had gotten down and kept playing with the shifting green creature. Laughing as if nothing was wrong in his life. No one had said how much Marcus had been told, or even what he could do. And Raven couldn't bring herself to break his innocent ignorance on the matter. Dick had instructed her to dig into his powers or mind and warn the monks what they were in for. They might need to increase the number of fire extinguishers or keep a few extra pounds of salt around. Who knew. But right now, it wouldn't be Raven, she hadn't the heart. Though she certainly had the heart for the small green gerbil playing hide and seek. Raising her hand, she tried to block the blush but knew they could both catch her smile had they looked. And after a few minutes, Gar did. Raven bit her lip as he held her stare. He had to have figured it out by now, especially with the stupid grin she had on her face. Marcus wasn't paying her the least bit of attention. He was busy looking for the rodent on the other side of the box. And the longer she held Gar's gaze, the more assured Raven became that the message had been received. People don't stare longingly at each other that long for nothing. The noise sounded and Marcus climbed up as soon as instructed. This time though, the noise hadn't smothered Raven's emotions. She was too busy nibbling on her lip, thinking of what they might say or do. By the time the doors opened she was almost floating off the floor, feeling a bit like Star in delight. Raven turned to get the boy up, only to find Gar back in human form talking to him about what would happen next. He was calm and gentle with the boy, trying to convince him that these monks would treat him well. And after a few minutes, they all walked off with a confident small boy in Gar's arms. And a proud young woman walking in front, still blushing at the thought of finding Gar's skills with children so damn appealing. Glancing back, she thought of the serenity of the temples they had come to. If she were to bring any of her friends here, she was glad it ended up being him. The nervousness of being around such honorable monks was overwhelmed by the fact that she had shown up with the quietly laughing man that had cheered a greiving half demon up. They both decided to tour the grounds with Marcus and the monks. And Raven found herself comfortably not watching Gar, as if their silent confirmation had been enough and she no longer needed to anxiously watch him. But when she did glance his way, he would always match her for a long second. As they rounded the last bend, back to the opening hall they caught the sight of a monk and small girl. They were practicing a mantra together. It was one Raven had heard before and she paused, smiling at the two. Everyone remained quiet and their tour guide let them stay as long as they wanted. A slight touch caught Raven's attention on her hand. It was Marcus. He had somehow silently walked up to her and was trying to hold her hand. Taking his tiny hand up in hers, they stayed there for a few minutes. Glancing down, she caught his eyes were closed and he was leaning against her. Raven had no clue why he had approached her, but right now their strange shared heritage didn't seem so foreboding. Maybe he would be just fine. After all, she had grown to almost like hers in an odd way. Everyone quietly left the two meditating residents to step out front of the main building. Gar bent down to hug Marcus goodbye while the monk took the chance to lean towards Raven. "You know, I believe you would be a great teacher here." He stated. "What?" Raven whispered tearing her eyes from the adorable boys. "I have heard a lot about you Raven. And I know you have practiced this art seriously. Not to mention I could see the love you have for it as we toured the ground." Another monk had joined Marcus and Gar and was giving the child more information about his bedroom. A little taken back by the offer, Raven just looked at the man. But he simply raised his hand to tap the middle of his temple. It was all the answer Raven needed, someone had read her on the trip around the grounds. Though it didn't seem as intrusive as it should have. It was almost comforting that they would trust a half demon enough to even touch her soul, let alone read it. "I do have great appreciation for everything you do here. I just..." Raven paused, glancing towards Gar. He had stood and was waving goodbye to the boy. Approaching them, he smiled raising his eyebrows. "What? I think that sounds like a great opportunity!" Gar said. "Really? I would be staying here." Gar shrugged indifferent, like the location didn't matter, "I know. But who knows more about this? You would be perfect Rae!" His voice was high and full of joy. Giving her a big grin he nodded at the monk beside her and stepped away to board the ship. The monk remained calm, only smiling politely at her. "I um," Raven started with what she knew. "I am greatly humbled by your offer." He nodded. "I..." She couldn't accept. The words stuck in her throat. Gar's reaction had absolutely stunned her. There was no shared intimate look. In her hope and fear, she had pictured something totally out of thin air. The disapointment was almost too much to hide even with her training. So reaching out for his emotions she desperately searched for something positive to grasp at. If leaching off his excited feelings helped her get through this conversation, then she had to do it. Grasping at his emotions, she sucked in a quick gasp and glanced his way. He was casually strolling to the ship, happily looking at the beautiful mountains. "Can I think about it?" Raven asked, turning back to the monk. The whole secret interchange took less than a minute and she hoped she had covered it up well. "Of course, you take all the time you need." His voice was still just as calm, like nothing had changed. "And if you ever need an escape you are always welcome here." The monk bowed and Raven followed suit. "Thank you, I appreciate it." Marcus had already climbed his way into the second monks arm and was smiling at something in the monk's free hand. They both glanced up as she approached. "Good Bye, Marcus." She said softly. His little arms reached up as high and wide as they would go. Normally she didn't come in contact with children much, but this seemed like a good exception and gave him a tight hug. "You'll have fun here. Remember to listen to your teachers." She smiled, lightly touching his nose with the tip of her finger. Marcus laughed and looked at her with his bright wide eyes. This could be her last chance seeing him for awhile and she pondered the last words she could leave him with. Had it been years earlier she would have given him the same advice the monks had given her. Tell him to never feel ever again. But breaking that beautiful smile with talk of overcoming his heritage seemed cruel. She knew better now and would be back. By the time she got back to the ship, Gar was already scanning over a report on the screen. They must have missed something else. "I heard you and Victor talking before we left." She started, leaning on the opening to the main room. "Mhm," he said not looking up. "I heard him say he was concerned about us mixing feelings into this." "Yeah," his finger scrolled the page up further, "I said we were fine." "I know. Well, I heard you tell him I was fine." She paused and saw his eyes still on the screen, he wasn't pretending to read anymore. "But it wasn't me he was worried about, was it?" His cheek curled slightly with a crooked smile, though it looked anything but happy. "Don't worry about me, Rae." Finally his eyes rose to look at her but only for a second before he scooted in his chair uncomfortably and resumed the scrolling. "I'm fine." He muttered. "Gar..." She started, but he stood, cutting her off. "Hey I know what we started. I can deal with it." He went to walk down the other tiny hall, but she moved to stop him. "Deal with what?" Crossing her arms she stared at him. "Nothing." "Gar." "Why do I have to say it?" He whined. "Because I want to know I'm not giving up this opportunity just for sex." Part of her was irritated that he was trying to beat around the bush, like he hadn't walked back to the ship absolutely devastated. Though, covering it with a convincing smile. And the other part was building in excitement that she hadn't been wrong. "Rae," Gar sighed. "That's exactly what I don't want. I don't want you to limit yourself because of me." Raven huffed out a short laugh, "Like I would let some man hold me back. I can always come back here later." She said 'some man' with plenty of venom, though the smile that followed after her statement gave away her seriousness. A smile broke for a second. "Promise?" Though it dropped as his eyes danced over her face. "Yes." Raven bit her lip, her smile growing. Being forced to talk about her emotions, she looked down at her feet kicking one boot against the other a few times. "I would actually be miserable without you." Both of his arms reached forward to wrap around her back and pull her closer so he could nuzzle into her neck. Laughing at the tickle Raven jerked her head to the side. "So, it's not just about the sex?" Gar teased. "Though," she answered as he began his light kisses, "could you really have blamed me had it been? The sex is pretty good." He chuckled, his chest shaking against her body. "Pff, pretty good?" His hands started to explore further, grabbing at her butt as he started to pull her up. But the alarm drew a long exhale out of him. "I'm not sure how normal our relationship could be." He murmured against her, still holding on for one last minute. Raven pulled back and looked down at him. "I'm a demon that became lovers with a shapeshifter because he found a video of me having sex with a female alien, and you expect that to be a normal relationship?" Raven laughed and leaned forward to give him one last kiss before adding, "I don't think we even know what normal really is." With a light laugh Gar placed her back on the ground and they walked to the dashboard together. Their minds were already transitioning to work, the details of the relationship could be figured out later. Because a majority of it was that they were heroes first, and that's just how their minds worked. That's just how it was, and it upset neither one of them.
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AuthorI am split between a world of fantasies and science. {Blog}
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