The Next Generation

Neal just listened to the entire story, imagining all of it happening. Wow, you think they would have heard about something like that. Crazy, Neal couldn't help but wonder what the demon was though. They supposed that it didn't really matter though, as long as Beast Boy and Raven stopped it which they obviously had. Neal just smiled the entire time as the story came to an end. They've been working for nearly nine months together now, so it must have happened right after Neal and Rose left to go after Deathstroke.

"That's quite the story, sounds like you two make quite the team though," Neal said with a smile as he leaned back in his chair slightly. "It sounds like we really are moving on, it's a strange thought. I kind of thought my entire career would only be with you guys. Look at us now,", he said as he motioned to the four of them. "Time just gets away from us sometimes doesn't it?" Neal asked before holding up his drink.

"To friends and old times, may they always have your back when you need them"

"Time does go by pretty fast," Beast Boy replied, with a nod. "Especially when you're not paying attention to it. Sometimes, I wish we had a little more time to stop and smell the roses." When Neal raised his glass, Best Boy did the same, with a friendly smile. "Not just to friends, to family, what we've always been."

Raven slowly lifted her glass as well, nodding. "And may we always be happy."

"Yeah, all that good stuff," Rose responded, doing the same.

Their meals arrived a short while later, much to Rose's relief. She'd been beginning to think that the grumbling in her stomach was going to persist all night, but now she had a nice, large steak sirloin sitting in front of her, and her mouth was practically watering at the sight. It had been forever and a day, it seemed, since she had a meal like this. While trekking all over the globe, they hadn't exactly had time to stop and sit down at a nice restaurant.

When they were finishing up the last of their meals, Rose let out a long breath and stretched her arms out, then stood up from her seat. "I'm off to use the restroom, I'll be back."

"I will... go as well," Raven said, also standing up, and following her fellow woman to the bathroom.

"I never will understand why women always go to the restroom together," Beast Boy said with chuckle.

"I suppose that we can always take the time when we want to. You have to take advantage of those times of peace right?" Neal asked before looking right at Beast Boy. "Of course.....to family," Neal repeated after Beat Boy.

As their food arrived, Neal was quick to dig in. While the food that they had eaten while on the road wasn't terrible, it also wasn't the best. This was the first time that they could really just allow themselves to sit and actually focus more on enjoying the food rather than working out where their next target was. Right now it was just about them, and spending time with those they cared about. Well, more for Neal than Rose really. He wasn't really sure how she felt about Raven and Beast Boy.

As their meals came to an end, Neal watched as Rose and Raven got up to go use the bathroom. "Who can say, I guess it's just a girl thing," Neal said with a shrug as he finished up the last few bites of his meal. After wiping his mouth with a napkin he looked over at Beast Boy. "So you and Raven huh? How well is that working out?"

"Yeah, me and Raven," Beast Boy said, with a disbelieving chuckle. "I know, I'm still having a hard time believing it myself, though surprisingly, things are going pretty well. I mean... I don't know if you knew, but we kinda had something a long time ago... way long time ago. Never really anything official, we never went on a real date or anything like that, but... I don't know, we had a couple moments. A connection, I guess. But when I tried to push things forward, like actually get involved, man did she ever shoot me down. Hard. Like, chew your heart up in a blender and spit it back out hard. She pretty much flat out told me that there would never be anything between us."

Taking a long sip from his drink, he set his glass down after and continued. "But I guess people do change, right? I don't know what it was, maybe just working together by ourselves for so long, or the fact that I've matured... somewhat. But for whatever reason, she let me in, let me get close in way I've never been with her before. Not a lot of people understand her, you know? Never have... but the Titans always stuck by her, no matter what. And I always did everything I could for her, that's why it hurt so much back then when she shot me down. But now, just thinking about it... me, really with her... it's like a dream, man."

He paused a moment, taking the last bite of his tofu salad. "She told me what happened between the two of you, and all, and I really am sorry about that. At first I thought she might just be using me to get over you, or something like that, so I asked her about it, asked her if I was just a stepping stone or if I really did make her happy... and for whatever reason, I still can't think of it, she said that I really make her happy. Heh, imagine that."

Neal listened as Beast Boy explained about how the entire connection had started. Yes, Neal had heard something a little bit about what happened between the two of them but he had never really received any level of detail. "I had heard a few things, but it was really only in passing. In truth I had a lot of other things on my mind," Neal said with a laugh as he thought back to when he was rushing in to tell everyone about Darkseid's invasion. It was amazing how Neal had never asked Raven for more detail about it. Perhaps he just didn't feel threatened about it at the time.

"You don't need to be sorry. What happened wasn't your fault..........hell it wasn't even our fault. It was just the way things were. It sucked, but perhaps it happened for a reason," Neal said with a small smile. "Rose and I.......there's a connection there as well. Please don't tell Raven, but I think it's stronger than the connection that her and I even had. Much like the two of you we've worked together for almost the past year without anyone helping us. It does a lot to strengthen you," he added before taking a long sip of his drink.

"Anyway, I'm happy that you and her are happy together. If you make each other happy, than there's nothing I could hope more for," Neal said honestly. "It's just hard to believe that's all. So much has changed since I left the Titans. After I beat Deathstroke, it's like I finally proved that I deserve to be here. I'm not just part of the team anymore. I'm a real hero ya know?" he asked although he was certain that Beast Boy understood perfectly. "I'm just curious as to what Rose and I will do next"

"Yeah, I hear ya," Beast Boy responded, leaning back in his seat. That had been a really nice meal, he had to say. It had also been good to catch up with some old friends. "Spending that much time together with someone does tend to bring you close. And really glad to hear about the whole Deathstroke thing, by the way. After what he did to you, and hell, especially after everything he's done to Rose, not to mention who knows how many other people he's hurt, it's good to hear he's finally been taken in. Hopefully for good this time."

He gave Neal a friendly pat on the shoulder, then straightened himself back out in his eat after almost toppling over. "So, speaking of which... you and Rose, eh? Gotta say, didn't see that one coming. Well, sure, I probably saw her getting you into bed at least... or the other way around, you do have a weird bit of magic in that department. But as far as dating? Dude, that girl is the last one I would have expected it from. I mean, she's always been a little... ya know... unstable."

---

"So, you and Beast Boy?" Rose said, standing by the sink with her arms crossed. Raven was in the middle of washing her hands. "I mean, for real? This isn't some kind of practical joke?"

"No joke," Raven said, reaching for a paper towel to dry her hands. "Gar is... he is a very kind, very caring person. He has one o the biggest hearts I know... and he really does care for me. He always has... I foolishly pushed him away for just that reason a very long time ago."

"Uh huh, I see... interesting. Just, out of all the most unlikely people to get together, you two would have to take the cake. I mean-" Rose suddenly stopped and lifted an eyebrow. "Wait a minute... Gar?"

Raven glanced back at her. "It is short for Garfield."

Rose blinked once, twice, then burst out laughing. "Oh my g- are you serious? Garfield? His name is Garfield?! Oh my god... oh my... Oh if only he were orange, we could make him turn into a cat!"

"I think it is a fine name..." Raven muttered, then walking out of the bathroom along with Rose.

"Believe me, I'm sure that everyone's glad that maniac is locked up," Neal said with a smile as he remembered how Batman and Wonder Woman had escorted the man into prison. He also remembered the note that Deathstroke had sent to Neal. It was sweet, but it didn't absolve a man from all the wicked deeds and killing that he had done. Slade might have been a partially good father, but it didn't make up for everything. "If he breaks out we'll stop him again. That's what we do after all"

As Beast Boy brought up Rose, Neal couldn't help but hold back a small laugh. There were still times when he could hardly believe it ever. "Yeah, I have to admit that I was surprised that it happened myself. I think that she took me seriously because I didn't hold anything against her. I was a little shocked that she was Deathstroke's kid.....but that didn't define who she was ya know?" Neal asked as he looked towards Beast Boy. "That in combination of saving her life, defeating Deathstroke, and helping rescue her brother..........I guess she finally decided that I was someone she could give a shot to"

"Yeah, well, I guess that really would warrant giving it a shot, huh?" Beast Boy said with a small laugh. Those two really had been through quite a lot with each other over the past year, same with he and Raven. "Hope it works out for you, in any case."

The two women returned to the table a moment later. Raven calmly sat back across from Beast Boy, while Rose was still in the middle of snickering over Beast Boy's real name. It was just too priceless, honestly.

"This has been... nice," Raven said, after sitting down, referring to the four of them reuniting and catching up. "Fun."

"Yeah, fun," Rose said, still trying to fight back her laughs.

Best Boy gave her a funny look. "Uh, you okay Rose?"

"Oh yeah, just fine," she responded, holding a hand over her mouth. "Hey, by the way, how's Otis?"

"Uh... what?"

"Indeed, at least I'm hoping that's what she's thinking. I made her promise me a date but she's the one that brought it up tonight and insisted that we go out," Neal admitted as he crossed his arms. "And I hope the same to the two of you, and don't forget to call and catch up every now and than. We should be easier to reach now,"

As Raven and Rose came back, it was evident that something had happened. Rose looked.....a bit too happy. Neal just stared at her curiously as she spoke, not having any idea as to what had just taken place in the bathroom. "Who's Otis?" Neal asked as he was in just as much confusion as Beast Boy.

"I'll explain it to you later," Rose whispered back over to him, smirking. She really shouldn't be taking this much enjoyment over a simple goofy name, but she couldn't help it. For whatever reason, it was fucking hilarious to her. "Well, anyway... while this has been fun and all, I think it's about time for us to head out."

Beast Boy took out his phone a second later and checked the time. "Oh, shoot, us too. We have to catch a movie in like ten minutes. At least the theater's right around the corner."

"Yes, we should hurry..." Raven said, standing up. "I like seeing the previews."

Rose glanced back at Neal and took his arm, wrapping hers around it and leaning into him. "What about you? Think we should go catch a movie, too? Or would you rather just... stay in?" she asked, giving him a little wink.

"Alright than," Neal said in a still confused tone. He had no idea what had just taken place, but apparently it was funny enough for Rose to burst out laughing like this. Neal glanced down at his watch as Rose mentioned that they should go. "Yeah you're probably right, it's getting a bit late," he said before hearing about how Raven and Beast boy needed to catch a movie as well.

He glanced back at Rose as she took his arm into her own and held it before speaking to him. At the wink he got what she was trying to say. "Ah, such tempting choices either way," Neal admitted as he scratched his chin. "Well, I said this date was all about you right? So I will be fine with whatever you would like to do"

Rose lifted an eyebrow and grinned. With those words, he'd just sealed his fate for the night. "All about me, huh? Well... then I think I know what we can do. Or rather, what you can do for me. Come on, we're going to have a fun night. See ya later guys."

"Try not to have too much fun!" Beast Boy called over his shoulder, giving a small wave as they went their separate ways.

---

Since they still didn't have a permanent residence, Rose and Neal were currently staying in a hotel. It was a nice one, though, four stars. Normally that would be ludicrously expensive, but considering that, after Deathstroke was taken in, she'd sort of tapped into all his bank accounts and siphoned away his cash, they had more than enough. Hey, it wasn't like he was going to miss it. Some time the next morning, Rose was taking deep breaths, sprawled out naked on the bed with the sheets half covering her. Yeah, last night had been good... really good.

"Mmm... I don't want to get up," she muttered. Her body was still practically numb from last night, with how many times she'd... been happy. But, she still wanted to get her morning work out in, and the hotel had its own gym downstairs. "Ugh... what time is it?"

"Oh gee, I can only imagine where this is going to lead. And believe me, you'll hear no complaints coming from me," Neal said with a smile before turning towards Raven and Beast Boy. "It was good to see you guys, we'll catch up again soon I hope!" Neal called after them. It wasn't long after that before Rose began to pull him away as soon as they had paid their bills.

---

Best first date ever. There was no doubt of that in Neal's mind as he lay upon the bed next to Rose. He couldn't even remember if he had gotten any sleep, all of it just seemed to come and go in a huge blur of pleasure. Granted, he wasn't going to complain at all. Rose had taken Deathstroke's money and given it to the two of them, with money like that they wouldn't ever have to work a day in their lives. Life was going good.

"Neither do I, I haven't been this tired in a long time," Neal admitted with a laugh as he glanced over at Rose. "In regards to time......its right about 9:00 A.M." Neal said as he took a quick glance at the clock on the stand next to the bed.

"Mmm... already getting late," she muttered, starting to push herself out of bed. She let out a long yawn as she stretched her arms out. "Gotta get my workout started soon, have some breakfast..."

"Well, it's about time you two woke up," a voice said, from across the room. Sitting there on the couch was an unknown figure, facing away from them with his attention turned to the television, the volume turned low. "I was beginning to get a little impatient."

Rose let out a startled shriek and fell back in the bed, pulling the sheets over herself to cover up as frantically as possible. One hand meanwhile reached for one of her swords near the side of the bed. "Who the hell are you?!"

"Oh come on, Rose, that any way to greet a friend?" the man said, turning his head As it turned out, he was wearing a mask... or rather, a cowl.

"Tim?" Rose said, squinting at him. She almost didn't recognize him in the Red Robin uniform, as opposed to the regular Robin one. "The hell, have you ever heard of knocking?"

"I did knock," he responded. "Nobody answered, so I let myself in. Decided to wait until you guys woke up. Got some important information."

Rose narrowed her eyes. "Okay, well you could have just called, or something."

"Tried that, too. Your comms are turned off." Apparently, Tim had every excuse in the book to be sitting in their hotel living room.

"You go on without me, I think that I'm going to take this morning off," Neal admitted. For the past several years he had been training and working himself to death. Today they woke up, no one knew where they were, no one was trying to kill them, life was good. Or at least, this was what Neal thought about.

"Ah!," Neal said in surprised before turning his head in the direction that the voice had come from. Neal's lower half was already covered by the blanket anyway, so thankfully he didn't have to full cover himself up like Rose needed to. "Who the hell are you?" Neal asked before it was revealed to be Red Robin. It was a person that Neal had only met once, and it was definitely not under the best circumstances. Neal had been working for the League.

As Red Robin revealed that he had something that he needed to share, Neal grew more curious. "We're working on our own right now, does the League need us for something?" Neal asked curiously. What could be so important as to track Neal and Rose all the way back to Metropolis?

"Hm? No, I'm not here on behalf of the Justice League," Tim said, standing up from the couch. He briefly cracked a few sore joints and then folded his arms. "I'm here on behalf of Cyborg. Told me he's trying to put together a new team. Some old faces, some new ones. He's sending out invites to a bunch of people, holding a tryout/orientation at the new tower. You're on the guest list."

Rose lifted an eyebrow. "Seriously? Titans tryouts? Right, I'll jump right on that. In case you haven't noticed, we're good right here, thanks."

"Just thought I'd let you know," Tim said, with a shrug. "What you do with that information is entirely up to you."

"Face it, Tim, the Titans aren't ever going to be like the way they once were, especially not after the... what's this been, like the fiftieth disbanding and reforming? Not worth it, in my opinion."

Neal raised an eyebrow as he heard that Red Robin was here on behalf of Cyborg. That was a name that Neal hadn't heard in a while, he was wondering what that guy had been up to. Apparently he was trying to form a new group of Titans, and Fade and Ravager had made the list of new team members. Interesting.

Neal glanced over at Rose as she made it clear that she didn't really want to have anything to do with the new team, not that this entirely surprised Neal. She hadn't really been much of the team player type. Still, Neal couldn't help but see what kind of value the new Titans could provide. He stayed silent though as Rose spoke.

"When is this meeting? Just in case we change our mind," Neal said as he looked over at Tim.

Tim walked over to Neal and handed him a small slip of paper. "All the information is on that slip. The where, the when, and who else will be there. In any case, Cyborg probably figured you wouldn't be up for officially joining the team, or any of the older members for that matter. if that's the case, then he'd at least like you to come down to give input on the potential new members, maybe even stick around and act as mentors. Anyway, time for me to get going. See you around."

Once Tim exited the hotel room (through the window), Rose let out a long breath. "Well that was an unexpected start to the morning," she muttered, letting the sheet drop off her finally. She then stood up and walked over to the table, grabbing her eye patch and putting it in place. "I could use a shower before i head to the gym, how about you? I feel a little... sticky."

Neal took the slip of paper and examined it for several moments, reading it all and allowing it to slip into his mind. It was only once Neal read it that Tim mentioned that Cyborg just wanted them around to mentor and train newer members. Or at the very least he would like them to give input as to who should be allowed into the new team. "Thanks for all of the information Tim, appreciate it," he said before Tim finally left.

Neal glanced over at Rose as she stood up and went over to get her eye patch and place it on herself. As Neal listened to her question about the shower, he couldn't help but get the idea into his mind that he would really like to go back to the Titans and help mentor the new ones. What if there was someone on the team that needed someone like Neal? What if Neal could prevent someone from making the same mistake that he had made?

"Yeah, a shower sounds nice," he said as he got up. He wanted to talk to Rose about this, but he wasn't quite sure how to approach it. She made it pretty clear that she wasn't interested.

"Then what are we waiting for?" Rose said, pulling him along towards the bathroom. In retrospect, she probably should have just left her eye patch where it was, considering now she had to take it off again anyway. Oh well. Once they were in the bathroom, Rose turned on the faucet to the shower and stuck her hand under the water, waiting for it to heat up to optimal temperature. "So, what did you want to do today? I'll have to stop by the hospital for a while to see Joey, but then we have the whole day free. It was pretty clear she was trying to avoid the subject that had just been presented, but she could only avoid it for so long.

Neal stood there and waited as Rose had begun to try to get the right temperature. Neal knew that he was probably acting different, when something was on his mind he had a pretty bad way of hiding it. Perhaps that was a side effect of having a brain that worked as fast as Neal's did. Or maybe he was just one bad liar, who knew? "Yeah, we'll definitely go and see Joey. We can do that whenever you'd like to go," Neal said before going quiet for a minute.

After a while Neal finally let out a breath of air. "Rose, I'd really like to help the Titans regroup," he finally said as he looked towards the ground. "That group is the reason I became half the man I am today. They did more good for me than I could even describe.........I just at least want to help them rebuild if that's what Cyborg wants," he said as he brought up his face to look at Rose.

"If there even a small chance of you considering going back?"

Rose was silent for a good while after Neal spoke. She let out a deep breath and bowed her head, staring over at the water as it rained down from the shower. She had known it was coming, but she still wasn't prepared for how to answer it. "I... don't know," she said, finally. "You know I feel the same way about the Titans as you do. They were mroe than just my friends back then. They were my family, they took me in, gave me a chance when no one else did... but at the same time, that was the old team, the one I remember. Now, with most of the old members gone, it's just going to be a bunch of newbies that I don't know and probably won't like. Besides, if we left for wherever the new base is, I'd have to leave Joey behind here... I just, I don't know, Neal, I really don't."

Neal gave several nods as Rose spoke, meaning every single one of them. He understood her feelings and why this was so hard for her. Things weren't the same, it wasn't the same team that had helped her to feel loved and accepted as before. He couldn't blame her for being hesitant, they were looking at it differently now. Neal was concerned about the next group though. Neal and Sarah turned out as well as they had because the Titans were able to mentor them, but what if someone new showed up that Cyborg couldn't relate to? What if they needed Neal or Rose?

"I guess I feel like I owe them. I remember when I first started it was like walking into a whole new world. The only reason I turned out so well was because of all the Titans. If I could help just one of them, it'd be like I gave back you know?" he asked as he glanced at Rose. He quickly shook his head though. "But.....I understand. I could never ask for you to abandon your brother. I know how important Joey is to you, I'd never make you choose between him...........I'm sorry. I guess I was just thinking out loud"

Rose sighed again, holding one hand against the far shower wall as the water started to pour over her body, weighing down her hair. She still couldn't think of anything to say. They were both conflicted on what they should do together... He wanted to go, she wanted to stay. And she wasn't about to have them both go their separate ways, not now. She didn't want to be alone again, not when she had finally found someone to be close to. But then there was Joey to consider, as well. She wasn't going to leave her brother behind, either.

"Tell you what..." Rose said, taking in a small breath. "I'll think about it... while we're in the shower. But while I'm busy thinking... you'll be busy doing something else." With that, she pulled him inside and slid the clear glass door shut behind them. Leaning up against the back wall, water pouring over her, she moved into a special position and held her finger up, waving him over. "I'll have an answer for you by the time we're done here."

Neal glanced up curiously as Rose began to speak. He listened to her proposition, smiling and laughing as she pulled him quickly into the shower. He didn't want to rush her thinking, and Neal didn't want to break up over this. Rose was too important to him, if she wanted to stay than he would remain with her. He didn't want her to feel like he was backing her into a corner. "Alright, well I will see what I can do about that," Neal said with a smile before moving close to Rose. "Just remember Rose, I love you," he said for what was the first time in their entire relationship before he embraced her with a kiss.