Disclaimer: The Teen Titans. I own them not. Probably for the best.

Author Note: My second story! Woo! Another oneshot, though this one is a bit longer than my other one. Actually, almost four times longer. It's also a lot more serious though, so...Yeah. Anyway, I don't know just how deeply Beast Boy's time with the jewel thieves was explained, so there may be some inaccuracies and what-not, in which case I claim artistic license. Or something. Enough rambling, though. Enjoy!

A Taste For Flesh

Eyes glued to the page, Raven continued her reading in peace. It was mid-day at the Tower, sunlight streaming in through the window to hit the floor without reaching far enough to bathe the main couch in its glow.

It had been relatively quiet that day, other than the usual argument between Beast Boy and Cyborg about what should be for breakfast. Which, she mused as she turned the page, should be starting up again soon now that lunch was approaching. She almost looked up to see what was keeping the two, since she knew they were in the room, when-

"What the hell was that for?!" Her head jolted up and in the direction of the voice. The voice belonged to Beast Boy, with such an undisguised malice in it that even she winced. What could've caused such an outburst from the normally happy-go-lucky teen?

"It was just a piece of meat! Chill out, grass stain, it ain't gonna kill ya'." Indeed, sitting on the table between the two was a piece of partially chewed brownish mush that had presumably come from the 'veggie' burger in the changeling's hands.

Apparently, Cyborg had gotten the bright idea to switch them for real meat. The half metal giant was still grinning, though the sudden angry outburst had stopped the laughing fit he'd been hoping for. Even with his grin, the surprise in his expression mirrored Raven's own.

"You're right, Cy, it won't. But it might just kill you."

"Woah, woah. What the hell's yo problem, man? "

"You know, for all that I don't like watching you eat meat, I've let it slide. Hell, I even kinda enjoy our arguments. But this?" He waved the burger in the air with one hand before continuing, "This is just uncalled for." Without another word, Beast Boy turned and stalked off, slamming the burger into the trash can on his way with way more force than was strictly necessary before he disappeared from the room entirely. Cyborg looked at Raven with an almost worried expression, and the gaze was returned for a moment.

"He ain't been that mad since the whole Beast thing. I hope he isn't relapsing…I'll go and talk to 'im." Raven simply nodded as the half metal man turned to leave the room, while in the meantime she turned back to her book. With her concentration broken, however, she could only think about one thing. For all that Beast Boy was completely furious about being tricked into eating meat…

…Why had she felt a stab of pure, carnal desire from him right before he spit the meat out?

Beast Boy had fled to his room after blowing up on Cyborg, and was currently doing his best to put a hole in the wall with his repeated punching. He knew that Cyborg didn't deserve what he'd gotten, he hadn't told anyone about the real reason –or at least not all of it- for his aversion to meat, and almost immediately after leaving the common room he'd regretted it.

Unfortunately, there was no way to put the words back in his mouth. At least Robin hadn't been there to witness it, or he'd be knee deep in uncomfortable questions already.

When there came a knocking at his door and the slightly muffled voice of Cyborg on the other side asking to talk, he sighed. At least this way, the interrogation would be one on one. He walked over and collapsed on the lower bunk of his bed.

"The door's unlocked. C'mon in, Cy."

The door opened and Cy stepped inside, the changeling's mouth running before the larger man had a chance to speak.

"Look, man. I'm sorry. I blew up, and you didn't deserve it, and I know, I knew it even when the words came out that it was the wrong thin-"

"Can it, green bean. Don't matter what you said. I'm more interested in why you said it. I'ma be straight with you; is the Beast acting up again?" The metal man stepped over the threshold, door sliding shut behind him as he made his way over to a partially buried in old clothes chair that was, luckily, still a functional seat.

"What? No, no. It's not the Beast. Meat is just a…sensitive subject, you know? You wouldn't really understand, Cy. None of you would."

"Wanna talk about it anyway?"

"No, not really."

"Too damn bad. Start talking."

"Dude! I just said you wouldn't-"

"Man, I don't care if I'll understand it or not. You obviously got some things you need to get off your chest, and I'm here to listen. Now start talking." Beast Boy sat up, giving his friend a hard, but not particularly angry, glare.

"I told you I don't eat meat. I thought that would be enough."

"Look, little guy. Just 'cause you don't wanna eat somethin' you've been as before ain't no reason to blow up like ya' did back there. So there's something else goin' on and I wanna know what."

The changeling fixed Cyborg with a glare that was returned with equal intensity. Still, the green skinned boy was the first to break eye contact, lowering his head and letting out a sigh. "It goes way back. Before the Titans. Before the Doom Patrol, actually. I was lost after my parent's died. I mean, I returned to the village, and everyone there was real nice, but it was painful without them around, you know? It didn't feel like home." Running a gloved hand through messy hair, he fell back onto the bed, staring at the bottom of the upper bunk.

"After a while of living in the village, I'm not sure how long exactly, I was picked up. Little did I know, the couple who came to fetch me were criminals looking to exploit my abilities." Cyborg blinked at that; he hadn't thought that the most laid-back member of the Titans would have anything like that in his past. However, there wasn't time to be surprised just yet.

"For a while, I refused to do anything for them. I was a kid, yeah, but I knew right from wrong, y'know? Then they started beating me when I disobeyed. Among other things. Starvation, beatings, verbal abuse, the whole nine yards." It was then that a small bubble of anger started up in the pit of the half metal giant's stomach. Beast Boy was his best friend, after all, and nobody could stay calm hearing something like that about a friend.

"They stuck me in a cage, dude. Collar, leash, the works. Sometimes shackles, just for the hell of it. Those few occasions I was fed, I was given meat. I didn't wanna touch it, man. But I was starving, literally. Between death and picky eating, the choice is pretty obvious, right?"

"Okay, okay. I can see that you probably got some bad memories about meat., BB. But that doesn't quite chalk up to what happened back there. There's somethin' else, ain't there?"

Beast Boy sat back up, looking at Cyborg with a strange mix of shame and hatred in his expression. His mind was in the past, the larger Titan knew; that hatred wasn't aimed at him. "Cy, man…I'll tell you, 'cause I guess somebody's gotta know. But you hafta promise me, man. Nothing leaves this room."

It was Cyborg's turn to hesitate. There was something about his friend's tone that suggested this wasn't a thing to be taken lightly. Given that he wasn't even used to Best Boy being serious, the dead-set and determined expression on his face now gave the larger teen pause. However, after a few moments he raised his right hand solemnly. "I swear on my life, BB. Nothing leaves this room. Not by me."

"The meat wasn't always cooked, bro." Cyborg paled slightly at that, as much as a dark skinned man could. But before he could open his mouth to say anything, Beast Boy continued. "Hell, most of the time it wasn't even dead yet." Gloved hands met unkempt hair yet again, Beast Boy's hands resting in his hands while his elbows were planted on his knees. That did it. Cyborg was up and moving across the room, planting himself next to the smaller male and resting a firm hand on his shoulder.

"Stay cool, man. It's all in the past now, right? I promise I won't try to swap yo' tofu for meat anymore. Even if it is still nasty."

However, Beast Boy didn't seem to be done with his story. "It started with small stuff. Mice, mostly, at first. 'You're an animal', they said, 'So you can eat like one, too.' Then they moved up to rabbits. Stuff you could catch outside, you know? They forced me to eat everything, dude. The meat was…It was sick, at first, but you got used to it. Hard to tell with the mice. But then when they moved up to rabbits and cats…It was the organs. They were just so slimy, and…"

It was around then that the first of the tears fell. His hands were gripping harder at his hair, and at first Cyborg couldn't tell that he was crying, what with the angle of his head. He kept the sobbing to a minimum, but the occasional sniffle was unmistakable. The larger man's hand tightened slightly on his friend's shoulder.

"S'alright, BB. You ain' gotta say anymore. I get you."

"Nah, man. I gotta just…Get this off my chest. They gave me a dog after a while. A bigger one. At first, they did it so their little tool wouldn't die. I think though, after a while, it became some kinda game to them. To see what they could force down my throat next. Transforming takes energy, so I have to eat a lot. Not as much as Kid Flash, sure, but a lot compared to most people. It was…I think it was about three months into my captivity that they…" He choked, then. He curled up further into a ball, pulling his knees to his chest.

"…They threw a hand into the cage, Cy. A human hand. I must've stared at it for hours, but I was so hungry…I just…" Cyborg heard the sounds of the kid next to him gagging. Since it was obvious that, for all that it sickened him, he really did want someone else to know, Cyborg went full big brother mode. Not something he needed to do often where Beast Boy was concerned, but he was happy to do it if it would help.

"After that day, they started becoming more bold. They'd take the corpses of people killed out on the job and toss them in the cage for me to…Dispose of. They weren't murderers, more like petty thieves. It didn't happen often, thank god, but when it did, they dragged it out. First would be an arm. Then the other, and then a leg. The torso, and finally the head. When I escaped, it was because they had killed each other, and their bodies were just…They were just sitting there, you know? I figured, nobody else would need them. And…I had the chance to refuse, Cy! I could've just walked away! But I didn't. I didn't, and I ate them. And they were…They were so good."

Cyborg couldn't have kept the flash of disgust off his face if he tried. However, he was in luck, as his little friend was too preoccupied to be looking his way. Pulling the changeling into a sidelong hug, he alternated patting and squeezing his shoulder. He knew Beast Boy needed this. Bad.

"Now, every time I taste meat; real, genuine meat that is, meat substitutes don't taste real enough to do it, all the memories come flooding back, and my instincts kick into overdrive. It makes me want more, Cy. You see? Eating meat is…It's dangerous, for me. It's like, all of a sudden I can smell Star's flesh, or I can hear the blood pumping through Robin's limbs, and I just want to…It makes me sick."

It was while he was describing this that something suddenly occurred to Cyborg. Hesitantly, he voiced his thoughts. "What about…What about me?" Beast Boy turned his head to look up at his best friend, a sad smile on his lips.

"Nothing. I don't like saying it, but…Deep down, I'm happy for whatever accident happened that turned you into Cyborg. Because truthfully, you're the only person I'm safe around. Robin, Star, Raven…Especially Raven. They're all reminders that I'm not as human as I'd like to think I am."

"It's kind of a dick move, but I get where you're coming from, BB. Hell, if you weren't you, we never woulda met, you know? " He blinked. A chance to lighten the mood and change the subject had just jumped out at him. "Whaddya' mean, especially Raven?" Though it was hard to tell, he thought he could see the tone of the changeling's cheeks shift slightly, as though he were paling…Or blushing. It was followed by a nervous chuckle.

"Oh, you know, she just…Smells natural, I guess. I mean, Star wears perfume, and Robin smells like cheap hair gel most of the time. Raven doesn't do any of that, though, so she smells…Good, alright? Really good. Lavender, most of the time. Scented candles, old books. It's, like…Nice."

"Dude, BB. D'you-"

"It's not like I like her! She just smells natural. That's all, alright?"

Aight, aight. If you say so, grass stain. You feelin' up for some video games? I think we could both use a break from all this serious talk."

"It's like you read my mind, Cy. Let's go!"

As the two got up and headed for the door, they were both smiling. There was nothing like dark secrets to strengthen the bond between brothers. Just as the door slid open, had either of them been looking down, they might've noticed a black spot disappearing into the floor. As Raven phased out of the floor and into the safety of her bedroom, she took a seat on the edge of her bed.

"Well that was almost awkward. And just what did he mean by 'she smells'?!" After a quick glance to either side, the sorceress tilted her head and lowered it to her shoulder, taking an experimental sniff. She didn't smell anything different, but…

…Maybe she should go take a shower, just to be safe.