Chapter Text
Raven: Are you awake
Raven: Hey
Raven: Gar
Raven: Did you hear that
Raven: Garfield
Raven: How am I the only one awake right now
Raven: Please wake up
Something large brushed against her one-person tent and Raven’s heart stopped, terror shooting through her veins. She shrank back into her sleeping bag, quickly locking her phone to extinguish the light and clenched her jaw to keep from gasping, wide eyes fixed on the tent’s zipper.
“Rae?” Gar’s whisper floated in from the other side of the thin nylon. “What are you doing blowing my phone up at 2 a.m.? You okay?”
Raven released a deep sigh of relief and wriggled forward to unzip the flap several inches to peer out at Gar, who was squatting right outside. “Did you hear that?” she breathed, fear still prickling along her spine.
Gar rubbed an eye with the heel of his palm. He had clearly been deeply asleep and had thrown on the first hoodie and sweats he found before coming to check on her. She suddenly wondered if she was being naive. This was her first time camping -- but the others didn’t need to know that.
“Hear what?” he asked groggily, now not bothering to keep his voice down. Aside from them, all was silent.
Raven stared at him for a moment. Had she actually heard anything? She knew she had been asleep one moment and awake the next, adrenaline and fear ripping through her. Had she made Gar get out of bed over a nightmare?
“It- it sounded like a woman… screaming,” Raven murmured, looking past him and the long-extinguished fire pit to the dark trees beyond.
Gar frowned. “We’re in the middle of nowhere, Rae. There’s no one around for miles. Dick made sure of it.”
“I know,” Raven breathed, wriggling closer and sitting up to grip the tent flap. “So, what was that?”
“Blair Witch?” Gar quipped as he sat back and crossed his legs in front of him.
Raven scowled and began zipping up her tent, but Gar grabbed her hand. “Don’t be like that,” he said with a grin that quickly vanished. “Are you sure it wasn’t a nightmare?”
“I…um,” she felt a flush creeping up her neck and was slightly horrified at the fact that she couldn’t tell if it was because of her embarrassment over the possible nightmare or that she was just now realizing how distracting his warm hand was. “I don’t-- I don’t remember…” she trailed off quietly.
“Do you wa--”
A scream ripped through the air, cutting Gar off mid-sentence and startling Raven, her heightened fear combined with the very unfamiliar surroundings and the confirmation that it was not a nightmare causing her powers to lash out. A rock lining the firepit exploded, sending shrapnel in every direction, and Gar yanked his hand away to grasp the side of his head. “Fuck!” he yelped and quickly stood.
Raven felt like ice water had been dumped over her as she scrambled after him, fighting down the panic threatening to choke her. He had taken several steps away, but she could see the blood starting to trickle down his neck.
“Wait--” she called, finally finding her feet and following him.
“God, Rae, I know you think I’m fucking annoying, but I didn’t think you’d try pulling an Old Yeller on me,” Gar said as he pulled his hand away to see just how bloody it was. He grimaced and gripped his head again before beginning to pace in front of the fire pit.
Raven’s heart clenched and, not sure what else to do, she summoned the first aid kit from wherever Vic had stashed it. “I’m so sorry--”
“I mean, you could have at least walked me out into the woods first,” Gar said, obviously not listening as he gestured with his free hand.
“I’m sorry, I-”
“I’m like a fucking golden retriever, you ask me to go for a walk, I’m gonna wanna go for a walk!”
“Gar, I didn’t-”
“We just go out into the forest or down to the lake, you make me sleep with the fishes, and the next morning-- oop! Where’s Gar?! Who knows! Not Raven!”
She pressed her lips together as she grabbed the sleeve of his hoodie and pulled him over to sit on a log bench. The lump in her throat had grown the longer he talked and she couldn’t remember the last time she had felt so guilty.
Gar fell silent as she gently pulled his hand away to inspect the damage. To her relief, there was only one cut, and while it wasn’t shallow, it wasn’t so deep that a regular person would need stitches. It began at the apex of his earlobe, just beneath the tip, and ended above his eyebrow.
“I’ll replace your hoodie,” she murmured, barely above a whisper.
Emerald eyes flicked up at her words and she struggled to keep her face neutral under their scrutiny.
“What’s wrong?” he asked after a moment. “Still spooked? It’s okay, it’s probably dead now.”
Raven didn’t answer and willed her breathing to remain even as she blinked back tears. Displeased with her silence, Gar tried to turn his head to get a better look at her but she kept him still as she focused on making sure the cut was clean. Satisfied, Raven placed a hand over the wound and closed her eyes, the white energy flowing from her very pores, painlessly smoothing his skin back together.
When she was finished, she felt a larger, much warmer hand close over hers and bring it down to an equally warm cheek, holding it there and making her stomach flip.
“Raven.”
She slowly opened her eyes and looked down at him. “I-- I have a wet cloth to-- to clean your face…”
Gar just stared at her.
“I…” Raven swallowed hard around the lump in her throat and felt her bottom lip tremble slightly. “I don’t think you’re annoying.”
He furrowed his eyebrows. “Rae, I was just picking on you.”
“But I hurt you,” she said, tugging her hand while blinking rapidly. “A couple inches to the side and--”
“It would have hit you,” Gar interrupted with a wink. “A much worse outcome in my opinion.”
Raven frowned. “That’s not what I was going to say.”
“It was an accident.”
“I shouldn’t be making those types of accidents at this point in my training. It puts you at risk.”
Gar opened his mouth to respond but paused, something occurring to him. He grinned. “Just me, huh?”
She faltered as blood rushed to her cheeks. “You’re right here talking to me.”
Gar nodded quickly. “Right, right, of course.”
Flustered, Raven looked around for an out and spotted the wet cloth. She snatched it up with her free hand. “Here, let me clean the blood off your face.”
Gar glanced at it. “You know I can just do that, right?”
“Did you bring a mirror?”
“No--”
“Then how will you know if you got it all? You’ll get dried blood all over your pillow.”
Gar shrugged and scratched the back of his head. “I could just stick my head in the lake…”
Raven rolled her eyes and gripped his chin to make him look up at her. “Just let me do it.” Leaning down, she squinted against the low light and gently dabbed at his face, beginning at his eyebrow and working her way toward his temple.
Gar had no idea where to look and could feel himself becoming the flustered one. He got a whiff of her lavender shampoo when she released his chin to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear. She then cupped his jaw and tilted his head slightly and he tried to remember if her hands had always been so soft.
“Let me know if I’m being too rough,” she murmured. “This cloth isn’t exactly microfiber.”
He smirked but didn’t answer, not trusting what he might say after feeling her breath on his face.
Too rough. Was Raven this gentle, this doting and fussy when she took care of the others?
Gar felt a pang of jealousy deep in his chest. He didn’t want anyone else to experience this intimacy with Raven. He wanted it -- he wanted her -- for himself.
Raven leaned closer and tugged the collar of his hoodie to the side a bit to reach the blood that had dripped down his neck. He gripped the log bench, his face now practically half buried in her hair.
She’s an empath, so it’s not like she didn’t already know how he felt. He just needed to push the envelope a little more. The constant flirting had obviously gotten him somewhere since Raven had texted him in the middle of the night.
Gar smiled, hope making his heart feel light. Raven had woken up afraid and he was the first person she thought of for comfort -- or protection. He’d take either one.
Raven straightened slightly and took his chin again to inspect her handiwork. Now the only place Gar could look was at her.
She matched the night sky on a brilliant winter’s night, and he suddenly felt like he couldn’t breathe. Deep violet hair framed her heart shaped face and accentuated the amethyst tone of her eyes. This close, he could pick out flecks of cobalt near her iris. When she rose to her full height, he immediately missed her closeness.
A hand waved in front of his face, and he blinked, realizing she had said something.
He grinned and scratched behind an ear. His staring had to have been obvious. “Uh, what was that?”
Raven raised her eyebrows slightly. “I said I think I got it all.”
Gar gestured at his neck. “You sure? You don’t wanna double check?”
“I’m sure,” she murmured, then began gathering the first aid supplies and putting them away. A comfortable silence fell over them, the only noise beside her movements the now-trilling frogs in the nearby lake.
Gar didn’t want them to go their separate ways once she was done packing up the kit. An opportunity like this probably wouldn’t present itself again. It had taken about a year of planning on Dick’s part for them to even take this retreat and now here Gar was, alone in the middle of the night with his dream girl, who he was pretty sure had been hinting at liking him, too.
He glanced at her as she snapped the kit closed and picked it up. Swallowing his nerves, he brought a hand to the side of his head. “Now that I know head wounds make you dote on me, I’ll have to put myself in the line of fire more often.”
The corners of her mouth twitched, delighting Gar, and she shook her head in exasperation. “Why do you do that?” she asked quietly.
Confused, Gar furrowed his brow. “Why do I do what? Get myself hurt? I don’t really mean to…”
Raven rolled her eyes, then looked directly at him. “No…why do you flirt with me like that? You do it all the time…and it’s just me. Don’t think I haven’t noticed.”
Gar’s grin returned, a fang poking out. “Uhhh, probably because I have a huge crush on you?”
Surprise flashed across Raven’s face and Gar huffed a laugh. “Oh, come on, Rae. Like you didn’t know.”
Her eyebrows shot up as her cheeks reddened. “I- I didn’t. How could I have known?”
Gar stared at her for a moment, confused again. “Because you’re an empath? There’s no way you haven’t felt what I-- how I-- you know!”
“Gar,” Raven breathed, now clutching the first aid kit to her chest. “I’ve been tuning out the team’s emotions for years-- to give you all privacy.”
His heart dropped to his stomach as bile rose in his throat. He thought he might be sick. “Are you serious?” he whispered.
“Are you?” she murmured, searching his face, guarded.
It took a moment for Gar to process her words. He then buried his face in his hands. Raven thought he was joking.
“Oh my God,” he groaned. “I never had a chance. I’m such a fucking idiot.”
Raven’s face fell and she quickly set the kit on the log bench before turning toward him. “That’s not what I--”
Screams ripped through the air, coming from multiple locations in the surrounding forest and Raven whipped around, eyes wide as she scanned the imposing tree line. She backed up without realizing what she was doing and stumbled a bit when her heel hit the rocks lining the firepit.
Gar’s head snapped up, his focus instinctively narrowing in on the one person he always sought to protect. Time seemed to slow down as he took in her startled expression, dilated pupils and the awkward placing of her feet throwing her off balance. His ears twitched at her increased heart rate and her usual scent of lavender suddenly had an acidic edge -- fear pheromones.
She was genuinely afraid.
He was on his feet and moving before he was aware he had made the conscious decision to do so. The only thought he could focus on, that he could hear over the cacophony of animals fighting for control in the back of his mind, was to get between Raven and the perceived threat.
Reaching out, Gar gripped her arm just above the elbow. He pulled her forward and steadied her by wrapping his other arm around her waist. To his surprise, she took a step closer and huddled against him while clutching the front of his hoodie.
“They’re all around us,” Raven whispered, her tone a bit frantic.
Gar couldn’t help but grin again, much to Raven’s dismay.
“What are you smiling about?!” she demanded.
He chuckled, his grin widening. “It’s just a pack of foxes out hunting. What you’re hearing is them calling to each other.”
Raven gaped at him, then scanned the trees. “That’s what a fox sounds like? That’s terrifying!”
Gar laughed, but quickly realized he was essentially holding her. With a suddenly aching heart, he dropped his arms and took a step back. Rubbing the back of his head, he avoided Raven’s questioning look as he turned toward his tent. “If you’re all good now, I’m, uh, just gonna go back to bed.”
He started walking away without waiting for an answer, not wanting to hear an outright rejection. When he was several feet away, an inky black swirl of energy appeared and Raven stepped out with her arms crossed, blocking his path. “We weren’t done talking.”
Gar grimaced, still avoiding her gaze. “Ah, look, Rae, can we just pretend like I didn’t say anything? I really don’t want things to be awkward between us.”
Raven moved her hands to her hips. “Why would things be awkward between us?”
Gar rubbed his eyes, feeling frustrated. He gestured at himself. “You know, because you don’t, like, feel… that way… about me.”
“I never said that, Garfield,” Raven said quietly.
“But you--”
“--weren’t given the chance to say anything about how I felt.”
“I- I just-” Gar fumbled with his words, unsure of what to say.
“You just assumed I didn’t want to be with you, that I didn’t feel the same way,” Raven murmured. “Gar, I woke up in the middle of the night, terrified, and I wanted you with me. You didn’t stop to think of why that might be?”
Gar shrugged noncommittally as he stared a hole in the ground, bracing himself against the familiar pain of heartache. “Well…Dick and Kori are obviously dead to the world and Vic’s powered off to conserve battery sooo…kind of slim pickings, huh?”
Raven let out a deep sigh and pinched the bridge of her nose. “Azar. I did not text you as a last resort. I texted you because you make me feel safe.”
Emerald eyes flicked to amethyst and away again, still apprehensive. “The others should make you feel safe, too.”
She shook her head, violet hair falling forward to frame her face. “Not like you do.”
Gar clenched and unclenched his jaw as he stared at the ground, toeing a pebble around and turning her words over in his mind. He knew Raven wasn’t always the best at interpreting her own emotions despite being an empath and didn’t want to be hurt when she realized she only wanted him as a bodyguard, not a boyfriend.
“Rae, when I told you how I felt, you asked if I was serious-- as if I was joking,” Gar said, ears drooping.
“You just surprised me,” Raven breathed. “I didn’t expect you to be so direct and I just-- I guess I just wanted to hear you say it again.”
Gar finally met her eyes and saw an earnestness there that brought down the walls he had put up. Winking at her, he felt his heart lighten when her cheeks turned pink.
“Well, Rae, I’m fucking crazy about you,” he said, then grinned. “You’re all I think about, baby.”
Raven tried to hide her smile behind a hand out of habit but redirected to tuck her hair behind an ear again. She felt overwhelmed by the strength of her own emotions and found it hard to look at him. “Then you should know that I feel the same way about you. I really, really like you, Gar.”
He rubbed the back of his head, elation coursing through his veins. Raven actually returned his feelings. Beautiful, intelligent, witty, powerful Raven liked him. Maybe he was still sleeping or the hit to the head had knocked him unconscious.
Raven closed the small distance between them and wrapped her arms around his middle. She set his heart racing by nuzzling into the underside of his jaw, just by his ear. “You have the most adorable smile I have ever seen,” she murmured, then pressed a kiss to his neck.
Gar’s skin tingled from her touch and all coherent thoughts that didn’t revolve around the light of his life went right out the window. He gently cupped her face, bringing it to his and lightly brushing his lips against hers.
Not satisfied with this, Raven squeezed him closer and rose onto her tiptoes to deepen the kiss. Gar hummed and combed his fingers through her hair as he tilted his head to reach more of her mouth. When the kiss naturally broke, he immediately went in for another, desperate for more.
Raven dug her fingers into the back of his hoodie, clinging to him in a poor attempt at staying grounded. Her mind was in a daze, the taste of Garfield making her stomach flutter, and he was quickly becoming the only thing in existence. She leaned against him heavily, letting him take the lead, and thought her heart might give out when she felt his tongue trace her bottom lip.
Opening her mouth, Raven surprised herself by moaning softly when he slipped his tongue inside. Emboldened, Gar tilted her head back and explored her mouth hungrily.
When he finally pulled away, he nipped at her lip again, eliciting a quiet gasp that made his knees feel weak.
“Gar,” Raven breathed, moving her arms to wrap around his neck.
He pressed a kiss to the corner of her mouth and trailed kisses down her jaw before burying his face in her hair. “Yes?”
Raven moved a hand to touch one of his ears, then waited for a reaction. When none came, she used a finger to slowly trace its outline, lobe to tip and back. “You’re my boyfriend now, in case you were wondering.”
Gar chuckled, thinking if he were any happier he’d be downright delirious. “You only want me for my ears.”
Raven hummed. “How did you know?”
He turned his head to peer up at her and waggled his eyebrows. “Chicks dig the ears.”
Raven rolled her eyes in mock annoyance, then lightly gripped his chin to bring him up for another kiss.
“Perhaps Friend Garfield did the sleepwalking?”
“No,” Dick shook his head, one hand on his hip and the other on his chin. “The first aid kit is over on the bench with some blood droplets, so something happened last night.”
“Well, grass stain’s the one with blood on his clothes,” Vic said.
The trio stood in a semicircle a few feet away from Raven’s still-open tent, stealing glances inside as the mid-morning sun beat down on them. They had slept in, with Vic the first to rise and deciding to check on his friends. He started with the green bean. When he found Gar’s tent empty, he felt concerned, wondering what could have dragged the notorious sleep-lover out of bed before anyone else.
Vic had gone ahead anyway and found Dick and Kori as he expected before proceeding to Raven’s tent. He was confused when he saw it was left open, but looking inside had left him trying to stifle a dramatic gasp.
Gar, sporting a bloody hoodie, had squeezed into Raven’s one-person tent, positioning himself between her and the opening. Not only that, but he was spooning her-- and she was letting him.
They were both fast asleep, with Raven snoring softly.
Utterly delighted with this new ammo, Vic had scurried away to alert Kori and Dick, who were equally as stupefied.
Dick shrugged noncommittally. “Maybe Gar hurt himself and woke Rae up for help.”
Vic shook his head. “Nah, he wouldn’t want to bother her. He’d just patch himself up.”
“Could he have simply returned to the wrong tent?” Kori asked, twisting a curl around a finger.
Vic shot her an incredulous look. “You think Rae would’ve let him just scoot on into her tent and cuddle her all night? He’d be in a different dimension right now.”
Kori pursed her lips. “Stranger things have happened.”
Dick ran a hand through his hair. “You know, when I said I wanted to go on a retreat to strengthen team bonds, this isn’t exactly what I had in mind.”
“You’re telling me,” Vic said in mock anger. “Now I’m out here fifth-wheelin’ it, bird brain.”
Dick started laughing when a quiet ‘hey!’ came from the direction of Raven’s tent. They all looked to see an annoyed and slightly disheveled Garfield glaring at them.
“Some of us are still trying to sleep,” he hissed.
Vic took a few steps closer, eager for an explanation. “Dude! What happened?”
“Foxes,” Gar grumbled. He then rolled back over and pulled his hood up.
Vic stared at his best friend’s back for a beat before looking at the others. “Did he just say foxes?”
Kori glanced between them. “Are these foxes a common occurrence?”
Huffing a laugh, Dick turned away to go in search of breakfast. “No, so we should celebrate with pancakes.”