A/N: Fellow TT writer ZadArchie (go check out So Coal Black Grew the Elder One, cause I like it a lot and I have excellent taste and so do you cause you're here, aren't you?) recently brought to my attention the admittedly large disparity in the length of my chapters, so I'm shooting for a ballpark that is now somewhere between 1,200-1,500 words. This episode almost tops out at 1,440 with some good ole fashioned fluff between two of my fav characters, Cyborg and Raven. Their potential romantic relationship was fleshed out in one story I read, and it was actually so great that it made me ship them on the down low (cause BBRae still ultimate OTP of the series, but I guess this can be read as Cy/Rae if you squint). xD

Shout-out to Allen Blaster for favoriting and following AtET!

SEMI-IMPORTANT NOTE—Begins right after the episode ends, so a grease-streaked Raven has just shot Cyborg a wide smile after he handed her the socket wrench and closed the hood of the T-Car.


Season One, Episode Eleven: "Car Trouble"

Cyborg grinned back at Raven and asked, "Wanna take her out for a spin?"

Her smile faded as she replied, "Sure. I'll get the rest of the team."

"Actually, I was thinking it could be just you and me."

"Really?"

"Really," he chuckled. "You never did tell me where you wanted to go."

She knew she was blushing slightly as she handed him back the socket wrench, but she didn't feel the need to raise her hood like she did with the others (one green other specifically). "We can check out my favorite dark, depressing café if you want." He raised his eyebrow, leading her to explain, "It's how Starfire describes it."

"That's our girl for you." Putting the tool away, Cyborg grabbed the rag and swiped at her cheek to remove the streak of grease, making the sorceress blush harder to his barely concealed amusement. "Well, I did say I'd take you anywhere you wanted to go, so hop in, grease monkey."

The teasing comment turned her flush into a scowl as she raised her hood irritably, which only made the young man laugh as he walked over to enter the car. She followed suit, trying to convince herself she was already regretting this as the engine they'd just installed roared to life. "Call me that again, and this'll be the last time I help you with your car."

"I didn't know there'd be a next time," he replied as they pulled out of the garage into the underwater tunnel that lead to the mainland. "And she's more like our car now."

Raven snorted at that and tapped the slot on the dash where his circuit-key had been inserted. "I don't do babies, and she's still yours."

"You'd make a great mom, gurl! Those kids would be kept in line."

Lowering her hood as she rolled down the windows, she saw the perfect opportunity for revenge. She kept her gaze directed outside and said in a dead-pan voice, "Is that some sort of proposition?"

"Wha?! No way!" Cyborg sputtered before he noticed her small smirk. "Ha ha, very funny. 'sides, B would kill me."

"What's Beast Boy got to do with any of this?"

"Ah, nothing! So, where're we heading exactly?"

Glaring slightly at his abrupt change of subject, she directed him towards the Dark Roast Café. The blue-cloaked mage lead her fellow teammate inside as he excitedly rambled about how well his baby was handling in mechanical jargon that she only half-understood. Taking a seat at her usual table in the corner, she hummed in all the right places, offering a faint smile here and there in agreement or an eye-roll in opposition.

Unlike Starfire or Beast Boy, the half-robot noticed her lack of words but was content with her silence, knowing he still held her attention. Robin was the same in that regard, but he wasn't much of a talker either. She hadn't expected to enjoy working on the T-Car with him so much, and had offered to help mainly as a form of apology for her earlier clear disdain of the vehicle as well as for the prank she'd pulled on him with Beast Boy (which, having yet to beat the new high score, he had taken to subtly mentioning throughout the week in a passive-aggressive manner that suited herself more so than him and which she'd been ignoring for the most part).

But Cyborg—despite being the changeling's best friend—had great maturity, and also unlike Beast Boy was content with periods of silence, especially when he was immersed in his work. He never pressed her for more when she was unwilling to add, teased lightly but never pushed too hard, and Raven found that she really enjoyed spending time with him. Perhaps that's why she felt the urge to bring him with her to her favorite café, to share a piece of herself the way he'd shared one with her. And perhaps, in doing so, find someone who understood her?

"Hey, Raven," came a familiar monotone voice, and she looked up to see Goth Boy standing by, ready to take their order.

"Hey," she greeted him in return, handing him the menu with no need to browse through it. "I'll have the usual."

He nodded, jotting it down before turning to give Cyborg a flat stare. "And for you?"

"Hmm...y'all got any real food? Like steak?"

"Uh, no." Goth's stare was growing less impressed by the second, and his gaze flickered to her as he raised his single visible eyebrow as if asking, Where'd you pick this guy up?

The sorceress quirked her shoulders in response to the unspoken question before turning to her companion. "Get the flan, you'll like it."

"You're the boss, Rae," he grinned. "The flan, please."

"It'll probably take a minute," their server replied with an uncommon amount of flippancy before he turned back to her. "Yours'll be right out."

"Thanks." As the teenager walked, she looked over to see Cyborg still grinning. "What."

"Seems you got an admirer."

"Who?" For a dreaded moment, Raven thought he meant Beast Boy but then realized that was ludicrous (as Cyborg wasn't a naïve alien princess and as his best friend he'd know for sure that the changeling did not like her). "Are you talking about Goth Boy?"

"That's his name?!" he crowed much too loudly for this establishment, and she shot him a glare to shut him up.

"How would you know he's into me? You just met him."

"Are you kidding, Rae? The dude sending out vibes of dislike from the instant he saw me. Did he even take down my order?"

"He's always like that," she dismissed.

It didn't put the other Titan off. "Not to you, he ain't."

There wasn't a chance to reply as the teen in question was already returning with her order. "One jasmine tea. Wanna make any musical requests?"

"I'm good."

"You sure?"

One eyebrow rose despite herself. "Yeah, thanks."

"Yo, man, how long you think the flan will be?"

Goth turned towards Cyborg with notable reluctance. "It'll probably take a minute."

"I know, that's what you said earlier—"

"Then I don't need to repeat myself." He turned back to Raven, and his mascara-laden lashes wavered in what could not possibly be a flutter. "You need anything else, Raven?"

"Uh, no."

"You sure?"

The second eyebrow joined the first. "Yes, I am."

After he'd finally left, Cyborg let out the cackle he'd been holding in. "Told ya so!"

"Shut up," she growled.

To her pleasant surprise, he did quiet down, only to ask her, "What's the problem? You're not interested in him? Too much make-up?"

Violet eyes rolled upwards at his jock-like assumption (for all his maturity, she was reminded that he had been a football player). "That's not the problem. It'd just be too...complicated." At his questioning gaze, she briefly stated, "With my powers," before taking a sip of her tea.

He didn't push, for which she was eternally grateful. Instead, he changed the subject as he asked with a smirk, "So, you do like show tunes?"

Fighting off both the urge to blush and the urge to zap Cyborg out the window, the blue-cloaked mage calmly replied, "My favorite is 'No One Mourns the Wicked' from Wicked."

He was shocked, and she waited for it to wear off and turn into laughter. But he shocked her in return by giving her a genuine smile as he stated, "For me it has to be 'You Can't Win' from The Wiz. Who can measure up to MJ?"

They spent the rest of the time debating which adaptation of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz—which they had both read to the other's surprise—had the best songs, which devolved into a debate about their themes. Goth finally brought out the flan just as Cyborg decided to have the other patrons settle their dispute. And as the jukebox belted out show tunes while Raven was forced to watch her friend embarrass both of them with his dancing on the stage from beneath her hood, she decided she couldn't regret inviting him along despite her best attempts to.

Or his, she tacked on as he cut a move with a triumphant, "Boo-yah!"