"Hey Gar? We gotta talk."

Gar looked up from his bowl of cereal to find Vic standing next to him. Although he didn't have to wear clothes, since 95% of his body was cybernetic, his friend was wearing his favorite red sports jacket, one that made him look like a football coach. Though Vic normally didn't visit the tower, a few hours after apprehending the ragtag members of Superman-Prime's team, a few of the original Titans stopped by to help repair the damage done to the tower in the aftermath of the battle.

He turned back to his cereal and said, "yeah, we can talk. What did you want to talk about?"

Vic pulled the chair in front of him out, sitting down and turning to face Gar. "I wanted to talk about you…and Raven."

Gar stiffened visibly. These days, nobody ever talked about him and his ex-girlfriend in front of Gar, much less confront him about it. But since Vic was his friend, he would let it slide, just this once.

For now.

"Look, man…I don't know how you haven't noticed it by now, but you can just tell she still…has feelings for you. It's so obvious that a blind man could see it. Talked to Tim the other day…even Bart sees it, man. And you know Bart is kinda slow on realizing things — "

"Well, who gave her this talk when I was the one tripping over my own feet just to get her to notice me?" Gar interrupted.

Vic sighed, exasperated with his friend. "Gar, you know she's emotionally stunted. She denies her emotions all the time. 'Sides, I think she did love you back then, it's just that she thought it was better for you that she break your heart so no one would hurt you trying to get to her. Her brothers literally beat you to a bloody pulp when you tried to stop them from turning her. You think anybody would want their significant other to go through that? You can't say you still don't have feelings for her. Tim said that she seemed upset when you all came back from that Hindu dimension or whatever. She suspected you thought she was turning again when she attacked Solstice. And again when she "left her behind," Vic said with air quotes.

"Kiran's just a kid, Vic. She reminded me of Power Boy…"

"And Tara?"

"Her clone, yeah. Too innocent about the world around them. So much more to learn."

"He also told me you went on a date yesterday night. With a civvie," he continued.

"Am I not allowed to move on?" Gar asked, the spoon clanking loudly against the ceramic bowl.

"Not if you had a one-night stand with her two months ago."

Gar coughed in surprise, choking on the milk in the bowl. He coughed violently a few more times, Vic thumping his hand against his back to help, before he stopped coughing. Once Gar could speak again, he said, "what?"

Vic scoffed. "Come on, man. If you're gonna have a rendezvous after you've been cleared from quarantine, at least be quiet about it. And at least try to cover up all the hickeys."

Gar sighed. "Vic…that happened on the spur of the moment. Besides, she left for a month afterward. If she'd wanted to start over, she would've either stayed or came back sooner and didn't pretend like nothing happened."

"Gar, you're looking at this from a you perspective. She was probably confused as well, and dealt with it in the only way she knew she could — denying that it ever happened. You moved on, great. But she hasn't ever moved on. It's pretty clear that it hurts for her to be near you — you're so close she could touch you, but she can't. And it's killing her, not being able to express that emotion.

"Her feelings for you haven't changed since you rescued her from that church four years ago. You have to admit it Gar. She still loves you. And deep down, someplace in your heart, maybe you do as well."

With that, Vic stood up and left the kitchen without another word, leaving Gar alone to his cereal and his thoughts.

Gar found her, sitting outside on the ledge of the wall overlooking Starfire's garden, hood down and in the lotus position. He wasn't sure if she had chosen the spot to meditate or to simply think, although knowing the quiet empath, it was probably a mix of both. Gar leaned on the wall next to her, watching her expression to see if she would give away any hint that she knew he was there.

It was slightly breezy, and he caught a whiff of her scent in the air. Vanilla and lavendar. Something deep inside him stirred, and he had to resist the sudden urge to run his fingers through her jet-black hair.

"Hello Gar," she greeted him, her voice in its signature rasp. He smelled a change in her scent, telling him that her body was releasing dopamine.

"Hey, Rave," Gar replied, his voice surprisingly soft. He didn't even realize he had used his own nickname for her until her face twitched in surprise.

Am I doing this? He asked himself. He took a deep breath to calm himself, and thought, yeah, I'm doing this.

"Hey, uh…you okay? I know Headcase did a number on you…" he paused, racking his brain for what to say to her. "…but ever since Solstice came to the team, you've been more closed of than usual."

He expected her to say, I'm fine, or I'm doing well, thanks, but what she said next surprised him so much it threw him off what he was going to say.

"It started long before that, Gar. I've been suppressing my emotions for years. Fearing what darkness dwelled inside. But…it was my feelings for you that scared me most."

Vic was right, Gar thought suddenly. She does still have feelings for me.

"Yeah." Gar ran his hand through his hair, mussing it up in the process. "Yeah, it uh…it scared me too. I was…on a date tonight. She was fun and nice, but…all it did was make me think of you. And…us."

It was true. The woman he met last night, Gloria, was nice and didn't seem to mind his unusual appearance, but throughout the entire date, Gar couldn't help but compare her to the empath. Though he had gone back to the restaurant after the battle, and apologized for having to take the call, he didn't bother to ask her on another date, nor had he any intention to.

"I…am sorry. You should not be weighed down by my curse," Raven replied.

You can't say you still don't have feelings for her, Vic's voice said in Gar's head. She still loves you. And deep down, someplace in your heart, maybe you do as well.

I do, Gar realized. I do still love her. Despite everything we've been through. I want to be there for her.

Steeling himself, he placed a hand on her shoulder. "I can't escape that. I don't want to."

Raven looked down, her hands in her lap. "And…I don't want to reject the positive emotions in my life out of fear of the negative ones." She looked up, her hand coming to the side of his face. "I must learn to take the good with the bad."

She's touching me again, Gar realized. I remember those days where I used to touch her all the time…

He gave her a warm smile. "It's called being human, Raven. And I think you've worried enough about the bad. How about we focus on the good for a change?"

She kissed him.

Gar didn't expect such a passionate response to his words. He always joked that he could charm his way out of any situation, but in this case, it looked as if it actually worked out. Her hand was sill on the side of his face, and Gar gave in to the urge to run his hand through her hair. He couldn't help but notice how her lips were as soft as a rose petal, and his other hand came to rest at her hip.

They separated far too early for Gar's liking, and Raven looked surprised, like she didn't quite believe she'd done that. "I…I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do that," the empath apologized, dropping her hands to her lap.

It's fine," Gar replied quickly. "I just…wasn't expecting it, that was all."

Raven was quiet for a moment before Gar reached down and took her hand in his, the callouses of his palm contrasting the smooth skin of hers. He cracked a smile at her, before gently pressing his lips to the back of her hand, keeping his eyes on hers.

"You have no idea how long I've been wanting to do that for," Raven whispered to him.

Gar smiled. Me too.

They sat in silence for a while longer, before Raven spoke up. "So…what is this? Are we…a thing now?"

Gar shrugged. "If you want it to be. I'm willing to give this another try, as long as you are too. And I want it to be better than last time. No more beating around the bush, no more skirting around what we are versus what we aren't. I don't want what happened last time to happen again."

Raven nodded. "That seems only fair." She leaned into him, laying her head against his chest, and Gar's arms tightened around her. He didn't know where this would lead them both, but for once, he was hopeful for a brighter future, one with her by his side.

A/N: My own take of the very last issue of the 2003-2011 Teen Titans comic run. Y'know, when they get back together.