Fandom: Teen Titans (animated)
Characters: Cyborg, Starfire
Writer: RoseRelease
Genre: General
Rating: PG
Summary: Cyborg and Starfire bond over family troubles and video games.
Word count: 1, 194
Disclaimer: I own none (and make no profit off) of the characters and the Universe/stories they're from, they belong solely to their creator/s and the publishing company.
Notes: This is technically the TT animated versions of the characters, but I mixed in some things from the NTT comic book as well, mainly with regards to Cyborg. (I haven't read the TTG comic yet so I don't know if any of this is addressed or in that canon, apologies if it is and I ended up getting this wrong.) This was also a Tumblr fic prompt, specifically "Invite Me."
"You are still here?"
Cyborg looks away from his video game just long enough to acknowledge the alien. His thumbs mash away at the buttons of his controller, determined to beat Beast Boy's high score before he - or anyone else, for that matter - would return to the Tower after the holidays. "Somebody has to stay behind and keep watch. Why? Sick of me already?"
"Of course not." Starfire floats over the top of the couch and gently takes her seat, legs crossing underneath her. She curiously watches the character on the television sword-fight its way through a vast horde of monsters for a moment before turning her attention to him. "But Robin explained that this day of holi to me - "
Cyborg briefly fights to keep a straight face. This was her first Christmas on Earth and she was still getting the hang of things; he wasn't going to be an ass about it.
" - he said it is a day where loved ones come together to celebrate the season."
"Well, some other stuff too, but yeah," Cyborg agrees.
"Then I do not understand. Should you not be off to be with your family like everyone else?"
"Not everyone's visiting their family, Star. Raven just sort of left. For all we know she's in some other dimension." But she would be back like the others, she said so herself. In her own vague and enigmatic way.
Starfire frowns. It doesn't matter that Cyborg isn't looking at her, he can still feel her eyes burning into him. It's enough to almost make him squirm.
"You are not answering my question."
Cyborg falls for a moment quiet before he lets out a sigh and pauses his game. "Look, Star. I know you mean well and everything, but my family and I don't really see eye-to-eye right now … "
Starfire's frown fluidly transitions into a sympathy and compassion so intense, it makes Cyborg wish he hadn't said anything at all. But before he can say anything, she's already broken off into a hasty stream of apologies. Somehow it just makes the situation that much more uncomfortable.
"It's okay, you didn't know," he says when Starfire pauses to take a breath. "It's not a big deal. Sometimes families fight and don't make up right away. That's life."
He says it like there wasn't a point in his life when he couldn't even think of his father, remember his face, remember what he did to him without seeing red. Like there weren't countless shouting matches and ignored phone calls ever since he became what he is. But anger is a tiring thing, and if Cyborg is anything right now, it's just that: tired. Tired and lonely and sick of thinking about the holidays and what they used to be like.
There's a long stretch of silence where Cyborg contemplates whether it would be rude or not to unpause his game and go back to distracting himself, but it's obvious Starfire wants to say something, even if she's not exactly sure what, so he holds his breath and forces himself to wait.
He's heard it all before, the "no fight is worth your family," the "you're old enough now to handle this like the mature young adult you are." Those anger him too, because they have no idea what he's lost, why he's lost it, and to whom. He's not bitter for the fun of it; he'd give anything to stop feeling as bitter and angry as he does. But forgiving and forgetting is its own battle; he's still working on the forgiveness part. And he could never forget what he's lost. The metal that visibly composes half of his body won't let him.
But when Starfire finally starts talking again, he doesn't hear any of the usual thoughtless rhetoric. Instead she leans over and places a soft hand on his and offers him a sympathetic smile and says, "I am sure that in spite of whatever it is that divides you and your loved ones, they still love you and wish you the best. Even if their actions may not always reflect as such."
Cyborg doesn't know what to say. His usual repertoire of flat thank-yous and non-committal hums are no good in the face of this kind of response. He settles with, "Um, thanks, Star. Sorry for asking, but you got personal experience with this kind of thing, too?"
Starfire lightly shrugs. "My family and I do not always 'see eye-to-eye,' either."
He doesn't know much about Starfire. Outside of the superficial things - her love for mustard, the odd thing about her home planet of Tamaran, and that she is definitely not the type of person you want to piss off - all he knows is that she's an alien from far away. Although she's as bright and open as the sun she draws her power from, she doesn't mention much about her family or her life before she reached Earth.
For a moment Cyborg recalls her and the day the Teen Titans all first met, when she was clothed in armor and shouting at everyone in a language no one understood. Undeniably powerful, yet also terrified.
"Is that why you're still here, too?" he asks when Starfire doesn't elaborate any further.
"Yes." She looks out the large windows that make up the living room walls, but she's not looking at the city that the Teen Titan Tower overlooks, but the night sky. The light pollution blankets most the stars, but a few are persistent enough to peak through haze. "I would return home if I could," she says, "but I am not sure that is possible. It is very far away." She then floats up and off the couch, offers him an apologetic smile. "I shall go now. I am sorry for distur—"
"Star, wait."
She pauses. "Yes?"
Cyborg reaches for the spare video game console controller on the table and gets it a little wave. "Ever played one of these before?"
"No," she replies, taking the offered controller. She resumes her original position and pokes at several of the buttons. Cyborg represses a chuckle as he goes about restarting the console. "How does it work?"
"Easy," he says as he hits the start button. "Here, we'll order in some Chinese and I'll teach ya."
They spend the rest of the night playing as many video games as they can manage and stuffing their faces with chicken fried rice, egg rolls, and ginger beef. It doesn't take long before Starfire's masters the controls and is as much a challenge as Beast Boy is on his best days. But it doesn't matter that Cyborg's thumbs are killing him and he's pretty sure he's going to feel the eye strain for a good day or two. It's the most fun he's had all week. And while he's not ready to go home yet, much less call, he thinks that maybe he can bring himself to send a card come morning. In the mean time, it's nice to be in the company of someone who wouldn't judge him for it either way.