A/N: I'm working on the finale for Exhibitionist as we speak, but I'll be flying out tomorrow for a week vacation and since I have no idea if I'll be bringing my laptop or what the wifi situation will be, I'm posting this a smidge early! Also, a happy early birthday to a dear friend, HodgePodge, whom I wrote some much needed fluff for. :) Also, this story has some potential for a continuation probably depending on the feedback/interest it generates.

"a sky full of stars and he was staring at her..." atticus

pillow talk

...thirty-two, thirty-three, thirty-four…

"Mmm…" He stirred from beneath her touch, the crisp, the white sheets nestled around his waist twisting about his legs with the delicate movement.

Thirty-six...thirty-seven? Probably…

Even with his eyes closed, he was awake, she knew that. A lazy smile betrayed his intents, growing on his lips like a flower bloomed in the sun; slow and beautiful. His hand found hers, encircling her fingers before she could continue her path along his collarbone.

"What are you doing?" he drawled slowly, curious, his eyes still shut. His voice was husky and laden with sleep — deep and reverberating, like a ghostly, delightful tickle tracing up her spine. Contagious, she couldn't help the way his emotions flooded her. She was always at her most vulnerable after they'd made love.

"Counting," she mused, admiring his warm, green torso — and the delicious ripple of muscles — from beneath her chin.

"Counting what?" The briefest flicker of his long lashes as he peered down at her through barely open eyelids. The vibrant green caught the rays of early morning light peering in through the curtains. Outside, palm trees swayed in a gentle summer breeze, to the tune of distant waters.

Bringing her fingers to his lips, he placed a tender kiss on each one of her pale knuckles.

"All the spots the sun stole kisses from your skin…"

He chuckled beneath the graze of his mouth against the back of her hand. "Never thought you'd be a jealous woman, Rae."

She climbed over top of him, her limbs resting between his own just beneath the sheets. He watched her with unblinking eyes — intensely enough to make all of her skin flush with a desire she'd thought sated. "They're fascinating, your marks," she cooed.

Slipping her hand out of his grasp, she went back to highlighting an invisible path with her fingertips between his freckles, just below the curve of his shoulder, like she was mapping out a new constellation. Nestling her head in the crook of his neck for comfort.

"Forty-two, forty-three, forty-four, forty-five…"

"That's probably a scar, Rae," he pouted, watching her fingers dance along his skin.

She lingered on the spot, analyzing it with a scrutinizing gaze.

Then, with a pinched expression and lines creasing her deep-set brow, she asked, "What aren't you telling me, Gar?"

"Huh?"

He stirred, his arm snaking down to wrap around her slender back, fingers brushing the dip of her spine just before her buttocks. It caused a delightful, involuntary shiver to run down her back, from the electricity of his touch. Wearing a puzzled look, he glanced down at the top of her head, her hair the colour of obsidian — so dark, it appeared to devour light itself. A beautiful contrast when it was messily splayed across the pale skin of her arched back, like oil paints dripping down a clean canvas.

Raven had stopped counting, but her fingers remained tracing down the curves of his taut torso, even with her tempered frown. "You were different tonight. You felt different."

"Different? As in...it wasn't any good?" If he hadn't been awake before, he certainly was now, at full attention when his performance was brought into question. "I thought you enjoyed it...Unless you were faking it. Oh, God. Tell me you didn't fake it, Rae!"

Quickly sitting up in bed, Garfield banged his head against the board of the bedframe and exclaimed loudly; "Ow!" He rubbed at the tender spot and winced, hissing in pain.

Mildly unhappy with the change in position — one she'd been perfectly content with, having snuggled into his side and pressed against his warm, naked body — Raven lifted her leg over to the other side of his waist and straddled his hips from beneath the linen sheet. She then shook her head in answer to his question. "No, you were...more than adequate." There was a delicate, rosy hint to her cheeks as she admitted to this, biting down on her bottom lip as she glanced down at his abdomen, the palms of her hands splayed overtop of him to support her.

Meanwhile, it was all Garfield could do not to openly gawk at her breasts so prominently on display before his very eyes, the small, dark buds of her nipples erect in the cool chill of the room. Tiny red pinpoints marred the porcelain flesh around them, resembling teeth marks — no doubt where his fangs had grazed her when he'd taken them into his eager mouth. Unconsciously, he'd reached out and ran the pad of his thumb along the supple flesh where he'd marked her, eliciting a soft, whispered moan from his girlfriend. "Mmm, don't change the subject, Gar," she instructed breathily, eyelids fluttering shut when she involuntarily ground her hips down against his.

His hand journeyed up along the swell of her breast, past her collarbone, towards her neck, until he cupped her jaw, his fingers tangling in her messy hair. Raven gripped his wrist with her hand and leaned into his touch, lips parted when she pressed down against him again, in sweet agony as he throbbed to life beneath her. He met her thrust with equal fervor this time, lifting his hips in tune with her own. "I want you so bad, Rae. I want to be inside you again," he huffed, feeling breathless already, anticipation making him impatient and frustrated.

She pushed her hand down on his abdomen, hard enough to still him. "Not before you tell me what it is you don't want me to know," she warned. He could see that she, too, was struggling with her own desires, her nether lips slick with moisture where she sat atop him, beads of sweat sliding down her temple, and her features foiled deeply in consternation.

"I don't know what you're talking about, babe. You know I don't keep secrets between us." He sighed, sitting back and waiting for the build-up of sexual tension to ease.

Her expression was one of stone — impossible to read, but the way she stared at him was enough evidence that she didn't quite believe him. "You planned us a romantic getaway on a private resort with our own private beach, amid all the chaos back home. Then, last night...when we were intimate...you were different."

"Different how?" Even as he asked her, he already knew what she was going to say.

"Your touch was...desperate. Like you were saying goodbye. Like you were committing everything to memory." Sorrow tugged at her features, and she frowned, her eyes searching his own. "Like...it would be the very last time we ever made love."

Taking in a deep, gasping breath, Raven caught herself before her emotions betrayed her worst fears. "Are you...breaking up with me?"

"What?! No!" He reached out and held her by the shoulders, pulling her into him tightly. Into her hair, he whispered, "Rae...I can't even remember the last time I've ever been this happy in my life. Like hell I'm going to let you go."

Brushing the long strands of her dark hair behind her back, he brought his mouth down and kissed the tip of her slender shoulder. "I love you, more than anything."

"And I love you, too, Gar. So, what is it you're so afraid to say?" She pulled back enough to be able to gaze into his eyes — green like the leaves of the palm trees swaying just outside their window. Warm, like the gentle breeze that lazily pushed itself in through the curtains.

It was on the tip of his tongue, she could sense it. The inner conflict as he looked at her with a growing, aching sadness as he considered his words carefully. The words seemed to catch in his throat, and Raven gulped, prepared to fill in the blanks herself. "He's sending you away on another mission, isn't he?"

No answer. Gar dropped his gaze, his arms still around her, fingers digging into the flesh of her hips. "Yes...and no."

"Garfield…," she said sternly, fear becoming a lump in her chest, making her heart throb painfully.

The palms of his hands — warm and rough — massaged her back, his fingers barely slipping beneath the ends of her long hair. He let out a deep breath. "I'm not leaving this time. The job is to go undercover."

Raven tucked some hair behind her ear. "As in...radio silence?"

"Actually, no. I'll be within reach at all times," he explained, but it still felt as if he was merely offering her half the story.

"But…?" she prompted.

He appeared pained, and he took in a shaky breath, running one hand through his hair like he always did when he was nervous or apprehensive about something. "Dick wants me to reconnect with someone he thinks is tied to the experimentation on metahuman children. I can't give out too many details, but I need to get close enough to find some sort of evidence he needs."

Raven's brow furrowed in thought. "That doesn't sound too difficult."

"Well, no. It isn't...It's just…"

He couldn't look at her anymore. "It's just...this contact of mine, she's...an ex of sorts."

"An ex…?" Raven parroted, her stomach already doing nervous backflips.

Nodding once, Garfield pressed on. "We had a...mostly physical relationship." The sting was there with a single word, no matter how much Raven tried to deny it; she couldn't help the stab of jealousy that came with the information. Of course, she knew Garfield had had previous partners, but she'd remained ignorant on the matter and had liked keeping it that way. Her boyfriend, however, didn't seem to catch the flicker of emotion on her face, and he continued on, albeit painfully, "If I'm going to reach out to her again, it won't work out unless she thinks I'm...single."

"So you are breaking up with me." Raven surmised, disheartened.

"It's more like, I'm fake breaking up with you?" he corrected, trying to sound reassuring. It wasn't working; the empath still appeared distraught, like her heart was breaking and all he had was some cheap, dollar store tape to try and fix it. Still, he had to try. "It's only temporary, I swear. Soon as we find the proof we need linking her to it all, I'm out."

Raven shook her head forlornly. "I don't understand…"

"We have to pretend we had an amicable break-up...Literally no one is allowed to know besides you, me, and Dick. Not even Kory or Vic. Which means...we need to make it believable," he explained hastily, rehashing what Richard had told him during the debriefing so as to make it as diplomatic sounding as possible.

When he saw the way Raven was looking at him however — strained and subdued — he softened, reaching out to cup her face in his hands where he tenderly stroked her cheek with his thumb. "They're just kids, Rae. Just like I once was. And they're hurting them. I can't just sit by and let it happen. Not when I can do something to help."

"I know that." Tears still burned behind her eyes, shimmering like a pool of amethyst waters. "It's the right thing to do, it's what we're supposed to do." She sounded like she was trying to convince herself, but her bottom lip was still quivering, her emotions barely contained, like a dam about to spill over. "I just don't know if I can stand idly by and watch you pretend to fall in love with someone else."

In a moment of weakness, she brought her hands to her face, obscuring the heartache and pain from his view.

Garfield pulled her in, gripping her by her hips until her body was flush against his. He then removed her hands gently, tilted her chin upwards, and pressed his mouth against hers in a feverish kiss. She trembled beneath him, but kissed him back all the same. When he glided his tongue along the seam of her mouth, she granted him access and he slipped inside to war with her own. They only parted when they were both in desperate need for air, coming apart breathy and flushed, lips bruised where they'd sucked and teased.

Pressing his forehead against hers, and taking a moment to breathe her in — to breathe in the moment they shared — Garfield said, "I don't like the thought of being away from you, either. It's eating me up inside just thinking about it. Thinking of not touching you. Not having you. Not being able to kiss you like that…" He nipped at her lips again for added measure, mesmerized by the way she tasted. "I hate it so much, Rae," he hissed, jaw clenching when his teeth gnashed together in frustration.

He took both her hands in his and brought them to his lips, kissing every finger with enough longing and care to make her pulse quicken and inhale sharply. "All I want to do is spend every single day of my life just like this, with you, and now I have to do the exact opposite instead. Just say the word, Rae. Say you don't want me to go through with it, and I'll tell Dick to find someone else."

She couldn't deny it; she was tempted. More than anything, Raven knew she ought to be a little selfish. But she'd been in the hero business for long enough to know that she was morally obligated to do her part in this as well. If more children showed up dead, the blood would be on her hands, and, as much as it would hurt her going through with such a plan, she'd have a harder time living with herself knowing she could have prevented senseless violence.

"No." She sniffled, but her voice was firm as she'd reached her decision. "No, you have to do this, Gar. I can...I can manage. I'll move my things out of our apartment when we get back." There was something empty and hollow about how she spoke, and she'd moved, climbing off of him so as to cover herself with the sheets.

"You don't have to move out…" Before he finished saying the words, he already knew she was right. "We could pretend to be roommates."

"Gar, if you have to bring her into our house — into our bed, there's no way I'll be able to stomach any of it."

"I'm not going to sleep with her—"

"And even if you don't, I can't be in the same place with you and not...be with you. It'll be too difficult. Better for the both of us — easier — if I move out."

She was right and he knew it; like hell he'd be able to keep his hands off her if she'd be in such close quarters. "But where will you go?" he probed, unable to mask the way his voice stuck in his throat.

Raven lay next to him, the sheets pulled up over her chest, tucked beneath her arms. Rolling onto his side to face her, he ran his fingers up and down her shoulder, making note of every beauty mark on her lovely skin.

"I can stay with Kory. I'll just tell her it'll be temporary until I find a place of my own. Hopefully, before she grows too suspicious, the farce will be over and I can move back in with you." Raven spoke plainly, and it almost stung how casual she'd become about the matter.

"Rae…," Garfield called out softly. "Rae, I don't want this to ruin things between us." He was desperate, pleading, holding onto her like he was just about to lose her forever if he dared let go.

"It won't," she reassured him, a small smile returning to her lips. "Afterall, I know about the ring."

He blinked rapidly, opening and closing his mouth as speech escaped him. She'd thrown him a curveball. "Wh-what ring?" Even as he spoke, his voice cracked.

Raven's smile grew, and she took his arm and draped it protectively over her waist. She then tangled her fingers with his, admiring the way they fit perfectly in between the spaces. "The answer to the question you've been too afraid to ask, if you didn't already have it figured out, is yes, by the way."

She squeezed his hand and his heart went aflutter, feeling like all his capillaries within his chest had burst. Raven herself felt like she was light as a feather, floating even without drawing on her more latent powers.

"I'll keep that in mind," he croaked once he was able to find his voice again. "In the meantime, we still have a couple hours left before our flight back." His hand drifted from her grip, down her bellybutton, slipping beneath the sheets, and between her creamy thighs. Raven gasped softly when he touched her. In between the butterfly kisses that he trailed down her neck and made her shiver, he added in a raspy, lust-filled whisper , "And there's a couple of activities I'd love to try again before we leave…"

~FIN