Just Peachy

The most incredible part of being extraordinarily close to someone you love are all the amazingly small things you learn to know about them over a given period of time. All the little "knick knacks" of a personality that is hidden from the basic public view, all the little fears, the specific predictions of actions and even secret or buried hopes and dreams are all able to be memorized by a true significant other. With this vass amount of knowledge of a different being, the second person might as well be within the same mind and spirit of the other.

At least, that's what Garth's belief was.

Ever since he and Roy had oh so hesitantly admitted their strong romantic feelings towards each other eight months ago, the two had formed a seemingly unbreakable emotional bond. The two were practically inseparable. They had become mentally and emotionally wielded together.

Soon, their notorious bickering turned into a unique style of flirting. Their arguments had morphed into that of play and simply poking at each other's buttons. Any previous attempts at venomous retorts simply were washed away and replaced by meaningless names. From any external or third party perspective, it seemed plainly obvious as to why and how the two boys, completely opposite in personality, seemed to harbor such a steady and legitimate relationship.

The two could easily be thrown into the "opposites attract" concept category.

After all, Roy was narcissistic and egotistical. Making sure his signature red hair was evenly combed just the way he liked it always seemed trump anything else of importance. The archer was known for not ever having a filter when it came to speaking his mind, which only accompanied his excessively impulsive decision making skills. His genuinely aggressive and often dominating demeanor was rumored to have sprouted from his abusive involvement in drugs, or perhaps his shaded, struggle-filled, rebellious background. But with those characteristics under his belt, he was protective and passionate about what he did. He was witty and quick-thinking, never a bad quality as a crime fighter. Though he knew what he wanted, and sure as hell was impatient about it, more often than not he yielded to other's wants and needs first.

Garth on the other hand was almost too polite at times. He always made sure to exercise a perfect amount of public manners in the right situations. His filter was fine and selective, always taking the time to examine all possible repercussions or consequences of any major decision. Though his brutal history of being exiled from Atlantis for an unpreventable genetic mishap of purple eyes stained his underwater reputation, the Prince stood with his head held high, dignity and self confidence silently radiating off of him. He was kind and genuine, not hot-headed or impatient. Garth did his best to respect and obey authority despite his personal opinions. He was motivated and persistent as well. However, he did lose his temper every once in a while if anything harmful threatened his beloved home under the sea.

Their personalities seemed to be a complete representation of yin and yang, balancing each other with just the right characteristics to counter any other dominating one. Hot-headed narcissist paired with a cool and collected observer.

Yet it was such a vague interpretation of their relationship!

The Atlantean had soon discovered how complex Roy actually was as a person. He had been able to peek deep inside Roy's mind and heart, patiently waiting until surprise after surprise blew into his face with a harsh gust or a gentle breeze.

For instance, Garth had uncovered the brave archer's worst fear. Roy was terrified to the core of drowning. He wasn't scared of the water, he was not scared of swimming. He was scared of the act of drowning itself. The idea of his lungs being compressed by unstoppable incoming water was unthinkably horrifying to him. This fear is the sole reason as to why Roy was actually a very advanced swimmer.
He also learned that Roy was quite neat and organized, but only when it came to his own personal possessions. Speedy's room was always neat and tidy, the floor vacuumed once a week, and dust was a truly unwelcome entity that was monitored very closely. No clutter ever littered the floor, and two designated hooks on the wall were there for the archer's bow and quiver.

Some of Garth's own personal seams had been gingerly undone as well. Without hardly knowing it, Roy had learned some of his own hidden wants, desires, fears and thoughts. The dark haired male had revealed it was an odd yearning of his to be able to explore his very own oceans, but in the confinement of a land dweller's submarine. He always believed he could obtain a foreign perspective of his homeland this way, and that idea itself enticed him and teased him on many numerous occasions.
Garth had also served out the fact his opinions weren't always so...soft and sugar coated...

"You know, Karen needs to learn to take 'no' for an answer sometimes! Whatever she's objecting to, she can shove up her ass because some things are not changing just because she fucking wants them to!"

However, the most startling thing that Roy had revealed to Garth was something so simple and plain, you'd think it to be something mentioned on a first date.

Roy's absolute favorite food in the entire universe were peaches.

Garth had learned this spontaneously one night when they were sitting in Roy's room. It was late and the archer suddenly stood up and walked over to a cupboard next to his closet. He reached deep inside and pulled out a can of peaches. Garth had lifted a very intrigued brow. Why this surprised him, he doesn't really know.

"What are those?" he mused.

Roy pried open the can with the conveniently placed tab (bless the brilliant person who invented that wondrous tab, by the way). He stuck his bare fingers in and retrieved a perfectly shaped slice of peach, drenched in heavy, sugary syrup. The red head slurped it up, utterly satisfied.

"Peaches."

"...Peaches."

"Yeah, the round fuzzy fruits that look like butts."

Garth covered his mouth and pushed down bubbled laughter, "Y-You keep a stash...of canned peaches...in your room?"

Roy frowned as he slurped up another one.

"They're my favorite food!" he almost whined in defense, "Though I love raw peaches, canned peaches taste better and they don't go bad, so why not?"

"I always thought of you as a fish taco, chips and salsa type of guy."

"Well sure those are fine foods but peaches triumph every time. You see, when i was like...what? Four? Five? My mom would always come home with a bag of peaches fresh from the market. First thing she'd do when she came home was slice one up and serve it with fresh cream just for me. She'd always make something delicious with them too. Pies, cobbler, muffins, cakes...you name it she made it with those peaches. Eventually she ended up growing her own tree with one of the pits. That tree ended up being her pride and joy."

Roy paused as he ate another. His mask-less eyes were trained on the fruit inside of the can, an expression of nostalgia and appreciation converting his usually cocky grin. He seemed so content, so satisfied. His cheeks even were dusted lightly, and could easily be considered...rosy. Roy smiled barely, but it was a wonderfully fond smile that made the other teenager's heart throb.

Garth understood now.

The archer's memories of his mother and those peaches were probably just a few remaining happy memories of the hard life Roy had lead. It was like the archer's own silver sliver of hope that life did have its good qualities, after had being cursed with countless of life's bad ones. It was personal salvation and sanctuary that Roy could always go back to just in case.

A sanctuary no one could or would ever be able to destroy or corrupt.

It was Christmas Eve. The entire team of Titans East had spent hours decorating their tower for the original Titans' visit for the following morning.

A series of lights lined the windows and bordered the large T. A Christmas tree proudly standing almost fifteen feet tall was centered in the common room. Garlands were strung in wavy designs against the walls while icicle lights were webbed across the ceiling.

Karen had just put out all the ingredients and materials to make gingerbread cookies with Kori on the counter. Más y Menos had set up the Game Station so it only needed to be turned on to be enjoyed. Games and activities were sprawled around the large room just awaiting to be energetically used by ten rambunctious, super-powered teenagers.

'Twas a dark, cold night, and all through the tower, not a creature was stirring at such a late hour...

Actually, that was totally a lie.

Though the two were quiet enough, chuckles and muffled laughs still escaped two pairs of dancing lips. Hands lovingly roamed bare skin as legs braided themselves with the sheets. The sheets slithered as the two rolled around, fighting for dominance.

Roy gave a nip to Garth's neck as he managed to roll on top of his partner. Garth could only laugh and kiss Roy back as their lips attatched to one another's for the fiftieth time. As the two played around a bit more, the archer completely lost in the sensation of their bodies pressing against each other, Garth suddenly sat up and flipped the two around. He pushed the red head down onto the mattress with a light thump, holding his wrists firmly.

The Atlantean smirked triumphantly as the other boy struggled and writhed to free himself.

"I win," Garth declared.

Roy huffed and his brows creased.

"No fair, fish paste, you have superhuman strength!"

The sea sweller let out a quick breath and smiled, his brow arched in slight sympathy. He stared into Roy's bright green eyes that cut through the darkness of the room. They almost glowed it seemed.

"Sorry, copper head."

The one sandwiched between the mattress and the Prince was given the opportunity to sit up properly.

"I have something for you," Garth informed.

He slithered half way down the bed, his torso arching and his arms extending to reach into the depths of underneath the bed. With a small grunt, he forced himself back up and re-positioned himself onto his lover's lap, successfully retrieving the item.

"Before you ask why it was in such an obvious place, you and I both know you hardly ever keep anything down there so you would have no need to look," the dark haired one fired out before the latter could protest.

In his hands rested a small box no bigger than a few inches in size. It was a red box topped with a yellow bow. An all too familiar "S" insignia was printed in the corner.

"Why are you giving this to me now...? Why not wait until morning?" Roy lightly interrogated, taking the box anyways.

"Because it's a bit...more personal."

The box was routinely shaken next to a curious ear, in hopes of possibly finding out the gift before hand. Just a number of clops of multiple objects hitting the lid...no specific indicators.

The ribbon was slid off and dropped to the side. The lid came off next. Roy stared at the content of the box, his eyes widening slightly. By the lack of reaction, the Prince knew he had done a good job.
Roy bit his lip. He didn't speak for a while, simply looking down at the gift.

His head raised and his eyes were glazed a bit with...what in the world were those! Tears? He embraced Garth firmly, pulling him close. The box was still in his hand.

Garth gasped out slightly, returning the favor, arms winding around each other securely. Roy dropped a kiss on Garth's shoulder.

"Thank you..." he whispered, "I love it."

"I love you, Roy."

"I love you, too."

Roy peered down at the box again. Nestled down in the protective nest of cotton were five perfect peach tree seeds.

YOU HAVE NO IDEA THE PAIN I WENT THROUGH TO WRITE THIS.
I by a whim started writing this on MY PHONE last night. I was really happy with it. But then, when I tried to make another copy of it to send to my email, I REPLACED THE ENTIRE STORY WITH SOMETHING I HAD COPIED PRIOR.

I lost the entire fucking story and there was no way of getting it back.

I was very upset. :c

But I was able to remember all that happened and waited an entire day to come home from school to write it again! And here we are! I was given the support by a friend that the new draft could be better. Which I believe she was totally right.

Unfortunately I might have missed out on some details I had incorporated in the original version...so I hope the feelings of this were not sacrificed due to the lack of details.

All these things mentioned are definite head cannons of mine. HAHAHA... I want Roy to love peaches. I don't know why. I want Garth to want to be in a submarine. I don't know why. ;A; -pain-

Well anyways I would more than appreciate reviews because this was such a hardship on me fff.

thank you for reading!

Aqualad/Garth or Speedy/Roy Harper do not belong to me neither does DC.