A/N: Don't ask me where this came from, because I don't know. Also, it's canon, so if you're upset about R/S, then... get over it. Because they are what they are.

Also, to any and all readers of "The Price of Freedom" I beg forgiveness. I will finish it, believe me. It just might take me a while. Life got in the way. Sorry.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. There are so many references and stealing going on here, it's not even funny. I don't think I'd ever be able to list them all.

A Bedtime Story

It was at times like this when Robin wondered why he opened up the Tower to any visiting Titans. These times too made Robin want to figure out the reason for giving out so many of those stupid communicators (which had almost led to their downfall). He also questioned why, in the name of all the good and glorious things in the universe, he had let so many heroes become Honorary Titans. If he could go back in time...

But, for all the powers that the Teen Titans had, time travel was not one of them. Thus, Robin could not go back in time and take back giving three kids communicators, could not go back in time and un-invite them to the Tower, and he couldn't go back in time and somehow find a way to be anywhere else but here at this moment. It was impossible.

If memory serves, we've done the impossible before.

Robin shook his head briefly. Where did that come from?

He shook his head again, harder this time. This could not be happening. It just couldn't. After all...

Robin finally looked back up and cringed away at Timmy's scowl. When his masked eyes took in the sleepy Teether, and the slightly-amused Melvin, his shoulders slumped. It was happening.

"Man!" Cyborg boomed from behind him. "What do you mean, we've gotta tell them a bedtime story?"

Robin couldn't help but agree. He never got a bedtime story when he was working with The Batman. Why should they?

Raven frowned briefly – if you didn't know her, you wouldn't even see it. "They want a bedtime story. I had to tell them one a while back; now it's your turn."

Timmy folded his arms. "A good one! Since you're all here."

Melvin nodded. "It'll help us get to sleep..." she cooed serenely.

Robin sat back in his chair and crossed his legs. "Uh huh," he grunted. He didn't trust that wide-eyed innocent look. He had used it too when he was a kid.

Starfire looked around in bafflement. "I do not see the problem; please, why can we not relay a story of the time of sleeping for them?"

Cyborg shot her an annoyed look. "'Cause we don't know any!"

"Oh," she murmured, ducking away from his loud voice. She knelt down beside Robin and laid her hands on his knees. Shyly, she peered up at the tense leader. "You do not even know a few?" she asked timidly.

Robin glanced down at her, and snorted. "Not any stories I'd be willing to tell them," he announced, nodding towards the kids. "They're too young."

"Dude!" Beast Boy exclaimed, popping up from behind Cyborg. "Why don't we make one up?"

"Say what?"

Beast Boy levelled a glare at the hybrid. "You heard me! We could make one up. And when one person gets stuck, then someone else'll take over."

Robin frowned thoughtfully. "That could work..."

"See!" Beast Boy struck a gallant pose. "I'm awesome."

Raven rolled her eyes. "Your modesty amazes me."

Robin craned his neck back to look up at Cyborg behind him. "What do you think, Cy?"

Cyborg blew out a long breath and eyed the three kids. "...Fine."

Beast Boy cheered and leapt unto the end of the kids' bed. "Sweet! I'll start."

Cyborg stepped around Robin and sat down next to Beast Boy. Raven sighed softly, then levitated herself into the air and folded her legs beneath her. Starfire crossed her arms over Robin's legs and rested her head on them, smiling to herself. Robin settled back in his seat and folded his arms over his chest.

"'Kay," Beast Boy began, grinning at the kids. "Once upon a time-"

"Man, why does it have to start with 'Once upon a time?'" Cyborg interrupted.

Beast Boy spun around and scowled at him. "Because it always starts like that!"

"No way." Cyborg crossed his arms. "The best stories always begin with, 'A long time ago...'"

"No, they don't! Are you crazy?" Beast Boy shouted, waving his arms in the air.

"The old English used to start with 'Two hundred years ago,'" Raven tried.

"That's a stupid way to start!"

"It's better than the cliché way," Cyborg argued.

"Dude! 'Once upon a time' has tradition! And tradition is awesome!"

Robin bent his head down to Starfire's. "How did your stories start?" he asked quietly.

She looked up at him and blushed. "As Cyborg said, 'A long time ago...'" she mumbled.

"Ah." He nodded and straightened. "Well... Then I guess I have to start."

Raven eyed him. "You know how to start a story?" she asked.

Robin felt his cheeks heat up. "Well..." he blustered, before falling silent. "My mom did," he whispered a moment later.

Raven looked away. "Oh." Then she glared at the two arguing boys. "Hey. Robin's going to start."

Beast Boy paused, then spun around. "Oh, is it because he's the leader?" he asked snootily.

"Actually, it's because the rest of you are hopeless," Robin answered. "So, if you'll shut up..."

He cleared his throat and looked over at the very-awake kids. "I'm about to tell you a story. Now, this story didn't happen in my mother's time, or her mother's time, or her mother's time, or her mother's time, but it might've happened in her mother's time, but we're not really sure since she's dead."

Starfire sat up and held her head. "I believe you have confused me, Robin."

Robin shrugged. "It happens. You guys followed it, didn't you?" he asked the kids.

They all nodded and settled back into the large bed.

He nodded. "Right. Well, I'm done."

"What?" Beast Boy exclaimed. "That's all?"

Robin shrugged again as he leaned back in his chair. "I got it started for you, didn't I?"

Beast Boy frowned. "Fine. Well, back in those times," he began, sending a glare Robin's way, "there was a castle. And in the castle lived a prince. He was a very, very handsome price, and everybody loved him," he declared.

"What was his name?" Melvin asked.

"Uh..." Beast Boy glanced around nervously. "It was..."

Raven smirked suddenly. "Say it."

Cyborg snickered. "C'mon, B... Say it."

Beast Boy drew himself up, and with oddly-coloured cheeks (that colour that you get when you mix green and red together) said loftily, "His name was Garfield."

Robin snorted and started to chuckle. Starfire covered her mouth with her hand as she giggled.

Beast Boy glared at them. "Garfield is an awesome name," he declared.

Cyborg muffled his laughter. "Alright, then; what happened next, o' grand storyteller?"

Beast Boy folded his arms. "I'm not going to tell you."

"Say what?"

Robin sighed impatiently. "But this story isn't just about Prince Garfield; it's also about... a raven."

Starfire blinked at him. "A raven?" she repeated.

Robin nodded nervously, hoping his train of thought wouldn't leave him at the station. "Yeah. But, uh... This wasn't any ordinary raven!"

"It wasn't?" Melvin asked.

"No! It was actually a human that was transformed into a raven by an evil magician," Robin announced.

Raven looked at her nails. "This sounds an awfully lot like that Disney movie, with the princess and the swan..." she trailed off.

Robin aimed a glare at her. "This is a raven! And that wasn't a Disney movie, it was something else."

"Uh huh."

"Anyways," Robin continued, ignoring Raven, "this raven didn't have a lot of friends, since she was a raven. She had lost hope that someone would break the spell placed on her, and spent every night staring up into the sky and wishing that someone would be her friend."

"Why did she want a friend so bad?" Timmy muttered.

"Because it was the only manner that would break the spell!" Starfire declared. "She must find a friend. Is that not right, Robin?"

"Exactly. And this raven wasn't very sociable when she was human, let alone when she was a raven. So she was kinda depressed," Robin said.

"So, while the raven kept staring up at the night sky and the prince kept getting lots of love from the people, there was this awesome hero!" Cyborg announced. "And this hero's name was Stone. He had super strength, and lots of brains and everyone loved him. He rescued the people everyday and was stinking rich because of it."

Robin eyed Cyborg carefully. "What does that have to do with anything?" he asked.

"He's important too, you know!" Cyborg cried, injured. "Everybody loves Stone!"

"Meanwhile, Stone had a kick of the side," Starfire murmured. "A boy who had lived on the streets for quite some time. He was a very poor boy, but he was rich in heart. And though Stone did not feel he needed a little helper, this boy was always there for him."

"Does this kid have a name?" Timmy said.

"No," Starfire said mournfully. "For he was so poor, no one cared enough to bestow a name on him."

"But he needs a name!" Melvin cried. "...What about Sidekick?"

Starfire frowned. "I do not think he would like that name..."

"Shadow?" Melvin tried again. "Since no one liked him?"

"Oh! That is perfect!" Starfire clapped her hands together. "His name was Shadow!"

"One day," Raven interrupted, "Stone was called to Prince Garfield's kingdom. There was a great big monster terrorising the land and they needed him to get rid of it."

"So of course," Cyborg continued, "Stone packed up his bags and set off for Prince Garfield's kingdom."

"And behind him, Shadow followed," Starfire whispered.

"Oo! I know!" Beast Boy bounced on the bed as he grinned with his new-found knowledge. "When Stone finally came upon Garfield's kingdom of..."

"Beastopia," Robin supplied, smirking slightly.

"Yeah! Beastopia! Anyways, when Stone finally came to Beastopia, he demanded to see the prince. And so the prince came to see him."

"'What seems to be the problem, Your Highness?' the hero asked.

"'Well, you see, we've got a major problem,' the prince said. 'In fact, we're screwed.'"

"Watch your language, B, G-rated audience," Robin warned.

"Yeah, yeah," Beast Boy said, waving it off. "Well the hero was so impressed with the prince, he declared that he's totally kill off that evil monster. The prince was very pleased, but said that Stone wasn't here to kill the monster, but to help Garfield kill it. 'Cause Garfield could totally have handled it by himself-"

"Except that the monster smelled like rotting flesh," Raven interrupted. "And since Price Garfield was a vegetarian, it made him sick. He had a weak stomach," she supplied in a whisper, which made Melvin and Teether giggle.

"So Stone said that he'd go to war against the monster," Cyborg continued, ignoring the stewing Beast Boy. "So they saddled up their horses and got all their weapons and travelled to the monster's lair: The...uh..."

"The Lake of Loch!" Beast Boy jumped up, eager to pick up his story. "There were lots and lots of legends about this place, a couple of them about mermaids!"

"Mermaids?" Starfire questioned.

"Half human, half fish," Robin explained.

"Oh. How interesting!" she exclaimed.

"So on they travelled, over hill and dale with their horses keeping pace as only horses can! And Shadow, that boy that no one cared about, followed." Beast Boy took in a deep breath and released it. Now things were motoring along. "When they got to the Lake, they decided to get a boat, since they knew that the monster lived deep within the lake. But when they tried to get a boat, Shadow tried to stop them.

"'Stop!' he cried. 'Please, you mustn't go out there! Evil monsters live within the lake, and they'll kill you!'

"'That's stupid,' the prince said. 'We're heroes. Nothing can kill us.' So they ignored the boy's warnings and went out onto the lake."

"During this whole exchange," Raven took up, "the raven was watching them. She knew the boy was right, and that the two wealthy men were fools. But, despite being depressed," she shot an annoyed look over at Robin, who looked away innocently, "she was kind-hearted and so she followed them across the lake."

"Shadow, seeing the raven against the night sky, believed it to be an omen of tragic circumstances," Starfire continued. "He stared up into the dark sky and prayed that a being may protect those he loved."

"They sailed across that lake for a very, very long time." Cyborg shook his head. "A really, really long time," he described. "And all night the prince and the hero stared into the water, looking for the monster. But they couldn't find it."

"Why not?" Timmy asked. "A monster can't be that hard to find."

"Uh..." Cyborg glanced around, looking for some help. "Because it blended into the darkness."

"That's stupid," Timmy muttered, crossing his arms.

Cyborg narrowed his eyes. "Life's full of stupid things. Anyways, since they couldn't find it after searching all night, when dawn came they decided to sleep."

"When they slept, the raven took advantage of that and landed on the deck of the ship," Robin said, jumping into the story again. "But when she landed, the prince startled awake and made a terrible noise. This noise travelled far below the surface of the water, and reached a monster living down there."

"The monster?" Melvin asked, her eyes growing wide.

"No," Robin answered, shaking his head. "This was another one. The first one was never there."

"Oh," she mumbled, her eyebrows creasing.

"But that doesn't make sense!" Timmy cried. Teether nodded solemnly.

"Yeah, dude! It doesn't make sense!" Beast Boy agreed.

Robin frowned at them. "Yeah it does. You'll see."

"But this is my story!"

"Did you start it?" Robin asked. "No. I did. So, it's my story."

"You're just saying that cause you're the Boy Wonder!"

"No, I'm saying it because I started this story."

"That's not fair! You just gave us a beginning!"

"And you can't start without a beginning!"

"But nothing you said made sense!"

"It made perfect sense!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"When the monster heard all the screaming," Raven smoothly interrupted, her tone level. "It growled irritably. How dare these idiots wake it up? It was more powerful than humans would ever be; and birds? Birds were merely food.

"It rose from the water, stretching high above the tiny vessel-"

"Vessel?" Timmy asked.

"The boat," Raven monotoned.

"Oh."

"The prince screamed in horror and told the raven to fly away. But the raven refused to leave these men, and stood her ground. The noise also woke the hero and he struggled to reach for his crossbow."

"What a crossbow?" Melvin asked.

"A really powerful bow," Robin explained, stretching his arms out like he was aiming to shoot an arrow.

"Actually it's-"

"Don't confuse them," Robin muttered to Raven. "Just keep telling the story."

"Right. But the monster saw that the hero was reaching and so, it struck with its mighty tail, causing the boat to capsize."

The kids all gasped and huddled close together.

"The raven flew up to safety, barely escaping the crashing waves the sinking boat had caused," Raven continued. "She stared down into the water and waited for them to come swimming up to the surface. But they never did. So she gave up and went back to staring at the night sky, the boy named Shadow died as he waited for his friends and the monster ruled the lake. The end."

Beast Boy spun around. "That's it?"

"Yup."

"That's a horrible ending!"

Raven shrugged. "Horrible endings happen."

"But that sucked!"

Robin shook his head. "That's not what happened, is it, Star?" he asked, turning to the pretty alien.

She shook her head, a smile creeping up on her face. "No, indeed. Instead, the hero and the royal boy sunk far beneath the water. But there lived more than just a monster in the depths. There was also a maiden of the water."

"This was a very pretty mermaid," Robin continued, winking quickly at Starfire. "And she had seen the damage the monster had caused. Since she was a very good mermaid, nearly as good as she was pretty, she swam through the waters to save the prince and hero."

"She pulled them unto the shore," Starfire said. "And was startled when hands assisted her in this task. When she gazed up to see who the hands belonged to, she grew horrified. A young human had seen her."

"Man, you're gonna ruin it if you put in romance," Cyborg grumbled.

Robin shot him an annoyed look. "You're interrupting, Cy. The boy was, of course, Shadow, and he asked the mermaid what had happened. She told him of the monster, and he asked what the monster's name was."

"And it was Nessie!" Beast Boy exclaimed. "The monster's name was Nessie!"

"...Right," Robin muttered. "'What made... Nessie so mad?' the boy asked.

"'They were making much noise,' the mermaid explained. 'Nessie likes her peace and quiet.'

"'But what could have made them cry out so?' the boy asked.

"Hearing this, the raven swooped down and landed on the boy's head. The mermaid was quite taken with the raven, and asked the raven her name."

"But ravens don't talk!" Timmy cried.

"'Said the raven, Nevermore,'" Cyborg quoted, chuckling to himself.

Raven narrowed her eyes and a black hand popped the back of Cyborg's head. "Behave," she droned.

"But the raven had forgotten her name," Robin said. "It had been so long since anybody had talked to her-"

"But what happened to the prince and Stone?" Timmy interrupted.

"They were unconscious," Robin explained.

"But why?"

"They swallowed a lot of water."

"But why?"

"Because that's what happens when you almost drown," Robin muttered through gritted teeth.

"But why?" Timmy wailed.

"Because!" Robin shouted.

"What a wonderful father you're going to be, Robin," Raven remarked.

"Oh, Robin shall be a wonderful father!" Starfire declared. "No other shall equal him!"

"Uh..."

"I personally liked Raven's ending," Cyborg decided to add. "It was simple."

"Simple is best," Raven agreed.

"Wait a minute!" Beast Boy shouted. "Who was the monster in the town?"

"An evil girl with an army of killer moths her father had created," Robin said simply. "She was pure evil."

Beast Boy blinked before he scowled. "That's stupid."

"You're stupid," slipped out of Robin's mouth before he could stop it.

"And that was stupid too!"

"Well if you can think of a better ending-!"

"I can!"

"I'm sure!"

"The maiden of the water then decided that she would be the new friend of the raven and would give her a new name. But once she had said so, the spell placed upon the raven was instantly broken, and she was returned to a human girl!" Starfire giggled with glee at the twist she had caused the story to take.

"Of course," Cyborg boomed over Robin and Beast Boy's arguing. "At this point, Stone, the mighty hero, woke up and recognised the girl for who she really was – a princess!"

"The betrothed of Prince Garfield!" Robin inserted.

"Yeah!" Cyborg said. "So, Stone woke up Garfield and said, 'Yo! You're engaged, man!'"

"The prince was still weak though from almost drowning, and so said nothing. And the raven-turned-girl was still so shocked that someone actually wanted to be her friend that she too stayed silent."

"Yeah! And Stone, having picked up a licence along the way, decided that he would marry the two on the spot!" Cyborg grinned, enjoying himself and the unusual silence from Beast Boy.

"So he did, with Shadow as the Best Man-"

"And the maiden of the water as a most joyful audience," Starfire interrupted Robin.

"Since Nessie had gone back down to the water," Cyborg continued, "they decided that they would go back to Beastopia to introduce everyone to their new princess! And when they got there, everyone was super happy, except for the evil girl with the killer moths. So, Stone took care of the killer moths, since it was his heroic duty-"

"And the new princess took care of the evil girl," Robin announced. "For ravens are great fighters and that inner instinct hadn't left her, even if she was now human."

"So, the evil girl was gone, and Stone had a new kingdom to protect, and Prince Garfield and Princess Raven were adored by everyone-"

"And Shadow and the maiden of the water became best friends!" Starfire said. "Oops," she mumbled, when she realized that she had interrupted Cyborg.

"And so, everyone lived happily ever after. The end," Robin finished.

The kids blinked at them.

"That was a stupid ending," Timmy decided.

Melvin crossed her arms. "What happened to Shadow?" she asked.

Teether frowned and blew a raspberry in all of their faces.

Cyborg wiped the saliva off of his face. "You guys really hated it?"

The deadpan looks on the children's faces said it all.

Robin leaned into Cyborg. "I think they've been hanging out with Raven too much," he muttered from the corner of his mouth.

"Agreed," Cyborg mumbled.

"What?!"

Everyone jumped as Beast Boy exploded.

"Dude! There is no way I'm marrying Raven!" A shudder shook the green boy's entire body. "Gross!"

"Technically speaking," Raven finally spoke in an eerily calm voice, causing the other three Titans to flinch, "I should be insulted. But since I agree, I think I'll just get over it while I listen to the rest of you scream."

"Dude!" Beast Boy jumped up and down on the bed, glaring at them. "You ruined my story!"

"My story!" Robin shouted.

"Mine!"

"Mine!"

"Mine!"

"Friend Raven, you truly despised the ending?" Starfire asked timidly.

Raven glared at her with blacked out eyes. "Do I need to answer that?"

"Well, I liked it," Cyborg said brightly.

Raven's head did a ninety degree turn and she smiled evilly at him. "Oh, you did, did you?"

Cyborg's face turned into a mask of horror.

Melvin sighed and folded her arms. "Teenagers are so immature," she muttered under the shouting of Robin and Beast Boy and the pleadings of Starfire and Cyborg.

"I still want a bedtime story," Timmy grumbled.

Teether's eyes welled up with tears and his lip quivered. He sniffed, then suddenly burst into tears.

"Oh, Teether!" Melvin cried, reaching out over Timmy to hug Teether. "Don't cry. I'll tell a story."

"What about?" Timmy asked, trying to stay indifferent.

"Bobby." Melvin nodded, content with her answer. "You'd like that, wouldn't you Bobby?" she asked the empty space beside the bed.

A low groan sounded in the affirmative.

"Alright," Melvin nodded. "One day, Bobby decided that he wanted to go to New York City..."

...Afterwards, when Melvin's story had put the boys to sleep, and she had fallen asleep too with a mug of hot chocolate warming her stomach, and Starfire had managed to drag Raven off to her room, and Cyborg and Beast Boy had decided to cool down with a final game of Super Mega Monkeys 6; Robin fell unto his bed with a tired sigh.

Oh yes. Robin hated times like those. Maybe it was a good thing Batman had never told him a bedtime story.

- - - END - - -