Cold-Blooded: A DC Universe Fanfiction (#Wattys2015)

Chapter 16: Gar, Yukie: Lost in Transition

With breakfast came the welcome news that the room next to the Asago suite was now available for Rose's use, thereby removing the need for sound-dampening headphones and biting, not to mention embarrassment or mortification on anyone's part. However, Slade did add the caveat that Rose had better not do anything foolish with her extra freedom and privacy, such as sneak out or sneak in—that was, to sneak anyone in.

What none of them knew was that she already had, albeit unintentionally. Garfield Logan, AKA Beast Boy, had overheard her talking to her father on the phone, and since he had never entirely trusted their sworn enemy's kin, he was immediately on the alert. Noting her suspicious behavior and furtive manner in the weeks leading up to her flight to Japan, he decided to transform himself into a bedbug and hid in her knapsack. Later he took the form of a mouse, the better to snack on the candy and pretzels she'd packed. (Rose did not appreciate the droppings he inevitably left, thanks to the length of the flight and then having to stay hidden in the bag.)

He had certainly never expected to end up in Tokyo, phoneless and without a passport or wallet. Worse still, instead of some sinister plot, all Deathstroke seemed to be up to was going on vacation with a lady friend, and worst of all, he hadn't been asleep when Slade and said lady woke up and got busy. He hadn't heard much, but he'd heard enough to know what was going on.

Yes, he knew that people their ages could still have sex sometimes, but ugh, what were they doing that took so long? For despite everything that he boasted about, Gar was a virgin and at the stage where his libido was on a hair-trigger. He could not imagine that it would ever take him longer to get ready or, for that matter, to finish up. Nor did he have the least clue how female sexuality worked.

And yes, he did spy on Rose when she was naked, because he was a terrible horndog.

However, once Rose had stowed the backpack in her room and gone back to the Asago suite to share the meal, the green-skinned youth crept out of the bag, quickly opened the window, shifted to the form of a seagull, and dove up into the sky. Soon he discovered that Tokyo was home to flocks of cold-hardy parakeets, descendants of pets that had escaped and gone feral. While they had bright pink beaks, their feathers were green. Perfect camouflage!

The problem was, he should have taken the form of a homing pigeon or some other animal with an excellent sense of direction when he left the inn, or paid more attention to the neighborhood, because he very shortly became lost. Unlike Rose, Gar did not speak Japanese…

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At the mirror, Yukie combed her drying hair and looked into her own eyes without really seeing herself.

'Marry me.'

At the time, she thought Slade was joking. If she understood the subtle hints and signs, now it seemed as if he had only said it in a joking manner. She would much rather he were joking.

'It's clear to me I'm never going to do better than you, so there's nothing else to be done.'

Then he pulled out the jewelry box and dropped it in her lap.

'If you don't like it, blame my daughter. She insisted.'

It was a remarkably heavy thing, for something so small. The symbolic weight was even heavier.

'She wants to meet you.'

The gift was no cheap trinket. The weight of the chain, the perfect little rubies, and the purity of the gold meant it had to have cost at least several thousand dollars, perhaps significantly more. And he had told his daughter about her. One did not tell a child about a casual, meaningless sex partner. Or even a casual, friendly sex partner.