The Not-So-Breakup Haircut

By Carnifax
Teen Titans
Garth/Roy
Rated T
General/Romance
Aw, who did you break up with, fishy? Did you break some flounder's heart? SpAqua oneshot.

Volte-Face's chapter is almost done, but I just can't seem to end it properly. It's hard to switch from a Karen-Roy conversation to a Raven-Robin conversation… This is why I need a beta… (sigh) And I forgot to add the question for the last chapter… (Sorry… xD)

AMO's chapter basically died, and I just now managed to write a majority of it. You'll get to meet Finian and Lark, once I post it…

So, instead of writing something decent (and yet very indecent…), I just typed this out. It's only a bit less sugary than A Bitter Taste in the Mouth, so it's still harmful to anyone diabetic…

Here we go…

"You look like an emo kid," was the first phrase to come out of Roy's mouth, unadulterated thanks to what seemed to be half-amusement and half-shock, surmising from the look on his face.

Garth smiled tightly, nodding and continuing to eat his breakfast. "Thank you," he mumbled between bites of pancake. "That was so the look I was going for."

Roy came closer, inspecting his teammate's new haircut. Besides being Garth's trademark to fangirls, his long hair had been shoulder-length ever since the aquatic wonder had joined the team. Now, it was only long enough to qualify as 'shaggy' and was side-swept across Garth's forehead, nearly hanging over one eye.

"Why didn't you tell me you were getting your hair cut?" Roy wondered, plopping into a stool across from Garth.

The dark-haired boy swallowed a mouthful, took a sip of juice and shrugged. "I didn't realize I needed to get permission to cut my own hair. Sorry, won't do it again."

"Ha-ha," Roy said, his lips curving into a sneer. "Very funny, fishstick. You know, Karen's going to ask about it too. It's not every day—"

"I wanted a change," Garth sighed, putting his fork down. He looked the archer in the eye. "The rest of the Titans might want to look the same all the time, and that's fine. But I just wanted a change. Is that okay, O Mighty Hair-Guru?"

Laughing, Roy nodded. "Sure. Just curious why you went with 'emo,' is all. You could've gotten a buzzcut—flatheaded fishstick, what a riot… Maybe I should go bald?"

"Don't worry, you will eventually… Hey!" Garth shot a glare at Roy as he nabbed a stray piece of pancake from the edge of the plate. "Get your own food…"

Roy simply stuck out his tongue.

"Very mature. Bravo, bravo…"

"You know," Roy suddenly said, looking serious, "this reminds me of that show we were watching a few weeks ago—you know, the one with the girl who broke up with that Josh-guy?"

"…what?"

"No, really," the redhead continued. "The girl broke up with the guy and she got a break-up haircut 'to signify the new start of her love-life.'" Roy's lips broke into a grin. "Aw, who did you break up with, fishy? Did you break some flounder's heart?"

A moment of silence passed and Roy finally caught the shocked look on Garth's face. "Oh hell," Roy laughed. "You did get the haircut 'cause you broke up with someone! But… you weren't dating anyone, were you?"

"It's not a break-up haircut…" he mumbled. "It's not…"

"But maybe it's… an idea break-up haircut?" Roy stood to follow Garth—he had begun to escape toward the hall. "As in, you were in love with someone… But you got rejected, and so you cut your hair in mourning?"

"Not a break-up haircut!" Garth sing-songed.

"Who were you in love with?" Roy caught the prince's wrist and yanked him around. "Was it Raven?"

"It's not a—"

"It was… Karen? No—Jinx? Starfire?" Garth wriggled his arm, trying to get out of the redhead's grip. He only managed to cement himself between the wall and Roy with nowhere to go. The archer continued, laughing. "Was it… Robin?"

"No! I'm—"

"Beast Boy? Cyborg? Red X?"

"No—Roy, please, let me—"

"Were you in love with… me?"

Garth leveled his gaze with Roy's and said, very carefully, "No."

"Ah," Roy laughed, leaning toward him, "but that got a different reaction, didn't it?" He was closing the two-foot gap quickly; Garth strained back against the wall, kept in place by the archer's arm. "Which means it must be true…"

"Roy, it's not a break-up haircut, or whatever other kind of haircut you think it is—it's a haircut-haircut!" Garth turned his face away, struggling again. "Ro-oy—"

"Ga-arth," came the answer, whispered against the exposed underside of Garth's jaw. "It is a break-up haircut, stop denying it…"

"It's not, so stop it," Garth muttered. He tried pushing out of Roy's grasp but the archer's other arm grabbed him too and then, abruptly, his teammate's entire body was pressed against him, keeping him against the wall.

"Are you very sure of that fact?" Roy breathed, smiling.

"Yes," Garth growled, finally summoning some measure of strength. He rocked himself sideways, turning them both so that now he was pressing Roy against the wall, half a smirk across his face. Before Roy could throw out a remark, Garth caught the archer's open mouth with his own lips, only remotely surprised when Roy overcame the surprise and kissed him back.

Regrettably soon, Garth leaned away, imperceptibly licking his bottom lip. He swallowed, met Roy's eyes again and smirked. "It wasn't a break-up haircut," he said for a final time. "Promise."

Roy merely stared. "But then," he managed to say, "what was that for?"

He shrugged, beginning to walk away. "You're wrong about the haircut, but… otherwise, you're right."

Roy's hand found the Atlantean's wrist again. "It was… just a haircut?" he asked, spinning Garth to face him. "Really?"

"By Poseidon, Roy," Garth sighed in exasperation. "Yes! It's just a—"

Roy grabbed him around the waist, holding him tight against his body, running a string of kisses up the side of Garth's neck. "Good," he chuckled, lightly taking a patch of skin between his teeth. "I like it, then."

The archer could feel the silent laughter echoing in Garth's chest. "Well," the prince said. "Thank y—"

"Good morning," Karen said from down the hall. The boys sprung apart, shocked.

"Karen," Garth took a step toward her, "we can—"

"You got a haircut," she mused, passing them casually. "It's very… emo."

(I just realized that I never rate anything less than T…)

Review and I might actually work on a chapter fic… xD