A/n: Hello Teen Titans Fandom. I've been out of the writing circuit for a little while, but I'm finally starting to come back in. I noticed while I was browsing here that a lot of the focus is on romance, and that poor Cyborg seems to get little attention. So, this is a Cyborg-centric little one-shot. Enjoy
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I think my third-favorite time of the day is when it's late. My second-favorite is when we're all eating pizza, and I'm trying not to be grossed out at the crazy things Star puts on it. And my first-favorite time is when we finish kicking some bad-guy butt, and either Robin or I get to say something cool and snappy. But this time by myself is kind of nice, too.
I might be the only one awake in the Tower, but I doubt it. I think Raven sleeps, but she might just meditate or something. In any case, she's not coming out of her room until morning. Starfire sometimes sits up on the roof, looking at the stars. No matter how much she likes Earth, I don't think she'll ever stop missing Tamaran. But it's too cloudy for stargazing tonight; She's probably curled up with Silky right now. Unless Beast Boy has him or something. Then again, B.B. could still be playing video games. I can't even start to count the times I've found him asleep at the controller in the mornings. And then there's Robin, who's been specifically trained not to need sleep and to act quietly. He could be right behind me, and I wouldn't know if he didn't want me to.
And me? I don't need to sleep. It comes with having a battery. I can just sit here re-charging and think about whatever I want.
Every night, I like to think about the fights we fought during the day. Sometimes this takes a lot longer than other times. It's really an amazing thing to be the way I am. I can pick apart a fight on every level. It makes me a pretty good strategist, if I do say so myself. Every bit as good as Robin. He may lead this team, but where would any fighter be without a good strategy?
I remember how I used to spend my nights. Before the accident. Even then, I wasn't much of a sleeper. My father always called me a night owl, when we were sitting together on our front porch. Sometimes we'd stay out there all night, and let the sunrise wake us up. If the crickets would let us sleep at all, that is.
There are always crickets. Everywhere. Even right here on the water, there must be thousands of them. I can hear them even better now than when I was a kid. But sometimes, I wish I had my old hearing back. All my old senses. I mean, it's not like infrared vision and extra-sensitive hearing and all that don't come in useful. But they just feel unnatural. Synthetic. Like all the rest of this body.
Of course it helps being a cyborg, these days I don't know how I'd fight crime without my metal parts. But being human is still something I miss. Raven calls it Pinocchio Syndrome. Like I want to be a real boy, not just a heap of materials.
I think about all these things while everyone else is asleep. Or at least quiet. In away, times like this are really what help me stay human inside. Robots don't think about their deepest feelings, or fondest memories, ya know. Even just doubting myself, wishing I'd never turned into this, that proves I haven't really changed.
It's starting to get light out. Has it been that long already? My arm beeps where it's attached to the wall; the battery's full. It seems really strange to think of myself as human when I'm plugged into a socket. But I'm just the same kid I always was; up all night, listening to the crickets and waiting for the sun to rise. Somewhere inside all this metal, I'm still Victor Stone, still a real boy, still a night owl. Even though now, they call me Cyborg.
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A/n: Well, if you read this far, I can only assume that you enjoyed the story. In case you didn't know, Cyborg's real name is Victor Stone (not that you couldn't have picked that up from the context, but I just wanted to make sure no one was horribly confused). Please forgive the small jump from cartoon to comic ; I thought that using his real name was a nice way to drive the point home.
Please review if you have time, con-crit is definitely appreciated. Also feel free to browse the rest of my fics, if you know any of the fandoms. Thanks for reading!