A/N: This is my first shot at a romance fic and I wanted to go with a couple not commonly seen; Cyborg and Terra. The rating may go up in the near future. You can flame me if you don't like the pairing, I really don't care. I'll die before I fall victim to the more typical pairings (you know which ones I'm talking about).
Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans, and for good reason.
Of Man and Machine
Cyborg let out a small sigh as the aroma of cooked bacon filled his nostrils. One thing he could always count on was that cooking would be something simple. Such a simple task gave him a break from more complicated things, such as maintaining the tower's network or making modifications to his T-Car.
And then there were other, even more complicated things he had to worry about. Things that couldn't be diagnosed through slash commands or fixed with a wrench. Things that invaded his mind even when doing something as ordinary as cooking breakfast, which is probably why all he could see as he gazed into the pan was the face of a familiar violet haired titan.
He wasn't exactly sure of when he had started to feel so attracted to Raven. It could have been as far back as when he and Beast Boy had set foot in Nevermore, or it could have been as recent as their adventures in Tokyo, when he saw Raven on the covers of magazines advertising for some kind of gum. Either way, it was apparent now more than ever that he had come to fall for the dark titan.
A wave of sadness suddenly came over him, causing him to ignore the growing smoke coming from the pan. And just why would Raven want to be with him? After all, she was smart, beautiful, and actually very caring despite her demeanor. And he was… well… perhaps not even half a man?
And it definitely didn't help that Raven and Beast Boy had been growing closer and closer as of late.
"Cyborg!" His eyes widened as a feminine voice snapped him out of his thoughts, and the delicious smell of cooking bacon was replaced by the foul smell of burnt bacon.
"Great." He said as he immediately switched off the burner and watched what should have been good bacon go to waste. He looked over to the blonde titan standing next to him. She had her hands on her hips and was regarding him with a disapproving look.
And then there was Terra. To most of the team, including Beast Boy, her return had been rather…unsettling was the word? After all, not only had she betrayed them, but she had also lied to Beast boy a second time by pretending not to know him. And while most of them had warmed up to her slightly over the past few months, there was no doubt that heavy tension still remained between her and Raven.
That probably explained why she hung out with him so much lately. Terra would even come down to help him with his car, which was probably because the garage was the furthest thing from the roof, where Raven often meditated.
But while her return had been unsettling to the others, it had been a godsend to Cyborg. Now, with Terra back, it meant that she would be with Beast Boy. Which meant that Cyborg would have an even better shot with Raven.
"What's wrong, Cy?" Terra's expression became softer upon seeing the saddened face of her friend.
"It's nothing," he responded. "I guess I just wasn't paying attention. Come on, the others will be down any minute and we still got a lot to do." Cyborg inwardly thanked Terra for helping him prepare breakfast. Four hands were definitely better than two.
It wasn't long before all six titans were now seated at the table, conversing and enjoying the wide variety of breakfast foods, excluding bacon.
"Did somebody burn something?" Robin asked. Cyborg just looked down at his plate and said nothing, not noticing the small glare Terra sent in the boy wonder's direction.
As Cyborg sat in his seat in between Terra and Raven, he could sense something was off. There was an odd aura emitting from Raven and Beast Boy, one that he didn't like. Beast boy was also unusually silent. Usually he was cracking jokes and trying to get Raven or Terra to try his tofu eggs.
But this morning, there was a strange sense of giddiness radiating from the green titan, one which seemed to also be coming from Raven. Furthermore there also seemed to be something weird with the way Terra kept looking over to him. He pretended not to notice it, but he would catch glimpses of her out of the corner of his eye. She seemed to be doing that a lot lately…
It wasn't long before breakfast was over and Starfire was kind enough to clear the table and offer to do the dishes. Thankful for not having to clean up himself, Cyborg was about to leave when Beast Boy suddenly spoke up.
"Everyone, I have an announcement." Everyone but Raven stopped and looked at the changeling, who had what was probably the widest grin Cyborg had ever seen.
"Me and Raven are going out! Can you believe it!?"
The world froze around Cyborg. Everything went silent and he felt his whole body turn ice cold, probably to numb the horrible pain that was welling up in his chest.
And then there was some noise coming from all directions, but he really couldn't make out any of it. As he looked around in a shocked state, he noticed Robin and Starfire smiling and congratulating their close friends. To them, two of their best friends were now together and it was a time to be happy.
But to Cyborg, it was a time where he wanted nothing more than to be offline.
He could tell from the sweet taste in his mouth that the wonderful tasting liquid was blood. And as he looked around him, he noticed everything was covered in it.
He saw the corpses of countless heroes and nameless villains, all old and young, covered in blood. He saw buildings that even as they burned and crumbled, still remained soaked in the crimson liquid, as if they had been bleeding it themselves.
And as he took in the carnage around him, he noticed a winged figure off in the distance.
Terror filled him momentarily as the demonic figure approached him. And as it got closer, its demonic horns, claws, and other traits slowly disappeared.
And before he knew it, he was standing in front of a man. A man who he knew well.
The man reached out to him, and he absent mindedly took his hand. Suddenly, all the death and chaos began to swirl around them, and the screams of millions of people filled his ears.
And the very last scream that he heard was his own.
Brother Blood woke up in a cold sweat. He was breathing heavily and his heart was racing. But unlike others who experienced such horrifying nightmares, Blood was not scared.
No, in fact it wasn't long before his heavy breathing slowly turned into an insane, twisted, and maniacal laughter. From there, it became obvious that this was not the first time the madman had had the dream.
"Soon, very soon my dream will come true…won't it, Victor?"
A/N: What do you think so far? Good? Bad? Longer? Shorter? Please review!