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

Chapter 31: Tim, Gar: No Face

Gar came back with a story about Cozumel and a Brazilian lingerie model which absolutely no one believed, which was normal, but also with a newfound thoughtfulness and courtesy, which was not. Immediately upon his return, he made a point of apologizing personally to each and every female Titan, past and present, for being a huge jerk. He also stopped leering at every attractive girl he saw, and stopped making remarks about them or to them. He still flirted—nothing short of death could make him stop doing that—but the flirting was now more friendly and fun than suggestive.

Tim didn't put two and two together for a while, but then Rose called to tell him she wasn't coming back yet.

"I'm really enjoying this trip a lot more than anything else I can remember," she said. "I've made friends, I've been training at Yukie's old dojo—since I already dual-wield swords, Jian Wu is a natural next step for me. Fencing with her, though, is like sticking your hand in a food processor. I even sat in on Tokyo University Boot Camp one day, and I found out I could pass the math part of the admissions exam easy, even for enrolling in  the science program! Getting into their colleges is a lot different than in the States. Here you just have to pass the admission exams, and you're in. There's so much less bullshit."

"So that's really something you'd be interested in doing?" he asked.

"I like knowing I could if I wanted to," she answered. "Anyhow, you can stop covering for me. In fact, I want you to tell everybody where I am and what I'm doing. I've been one of the Titans for two years now. Nobody can say I haven't been there doing my part, that I didn't have their backs. Maybe you all took me on out of pity, but that was back then. If I haven't earned my place by now, then I'm never going to. If that's the case, then I'd rather have it over with. Oh—did Gar get back home okay?"

"Uh—yes." It was a fast change of subject. "Okay. I'll tell them, and I'll text you once they've voted."

"Thanks. If I'm cut, then I'm cut. I'll survive. Whatever happens, though—you were my friend when I really needed one, and I'll remember that. Bye, Rob."

Funny, though. Even as he hung up, he felt like he could have—and should have—been a better one. He would have liked to be the one to help her find her confidence and shed the depression. He'd gotten so used to Rose the way she was—moody, dull, always a little unkempt, always a little desperate. Then again, he'd never known her any other way.

He went in prepared to argue hard in her defense, only to find out it was hardly needed. Kid Devil spoke up for her, too. Nobody seemed to think it was a big deal—but then there was hardly anybody left who had ever known Joey, let alone fought Grant, and Deathstroke had been keeping a lower profile, as well as keeping away from them. Consequently, Rose was still a Titan.

The real surprise vote was Gar's. He voted that she could stay. He was the one Tim expected to object, and loudly, too, since he was the one who had been there all through the Wilson saga.

Then he remembered how Rose had asked if Gar had gotten back okay. He wasn't her favorite person—far from it—yet she had asked about him with real concern in her voice.

So he cornered Beast Boy one day and asked. "So—are you ready to talk about where you really were? Before you start in again about Flavia de Oliveira, you should know I talked to Rose."

"Oh," Gar said, and looked hunted for a moment. "How much did she tell you?"

"Not as much as your face just then. So—what happened? You thought you'd follow her and find out where she was going?"

"Uh—I kinda stowed away in her carry-on. Obviously I had no idea she was going all the way to Japan, but I knew she was going to meet up with her father." Gar rubbed the back of his neck, turning a darker green as he did so.