Hello hello! Welcome and thanks for coming back to my story-hope you enjoy this next chapter. It takes place during Where Loyalty Lies. (You don't have to read it to understand what's going on-all you need to know is Starfire is on Tamaran and this is before they started going by their real names.) Let's get right to it-I don't own Teen Titans or any of the wonderful characters.

Chapter 9: Ignorance is bliss-5

Cyborg was in a bit in a funk-it had been four months since Starfire had decided to stay on Tamaran and he'd be damned if he didn't need her right now! Stupid civil war and the need to reconstruct the government. Not to mention Nightwing being a pill to her since breaking up.

Rolling his neck, he shrugged his shoulders as he began to walk down the hallway aimlessly, trying to think. Since he started dating Bumblebee a few months ago, things have been getting super serious-super fast. Plus, she had bugged him to find a couple to double date with and since she was visiting this weekend-the pressure was on. If Nightwing and Star were still together (well, and the small fact that Star was still off planet) they would automatically have a couple to go with-and Starfire could tell him how not to mess up!

And the only other female he could turn to was…

Turning around, he beelined to Raven's room. Okay-so she may not have the most dating experience but she had to at least be somewhat helpful. She was good at advice and stuff, right? His mind made up, he turned the corner down the hall toward her and Beastboy's rooms to go knock on her door-and froze in his tracks.

Cyborg's mind went blank-he couldn't compute what he was seeing. What in the world-"Noooooo." He whispered to himself as his brow furrowed. "You have got to be kidding me…"

In front of him stood Raven and Beastboy, her arms wrapped around his shoulders. They were quietly talking as the green man leaned his forehead against hers and laughed quietly. Obviously trying to resist smiling, she rolled her eyes and shook her head.

It all made sense now. He thought it was all over after they got back from Tamaran and those two had stopped that weird flirtation thing. Obviously-he was wrong.

"What the hell is going on here?!" He shouted, feeling steam blowing out of his ears. The couple jerked apart from one another, startled. Beastboy cocked his head with a raised eyebrow as he looked at Cyborg charging at them.

"Dude-chill! We were just talking!"

"That-that was not talking!" The mechanical man stopped in front of them, arms crossed over his chest. "I know what talking looks like! This-what we are doing-is talking! Now what the hell is going on?! First it was that thing on the roof, spending way too much time together, what looked like holding hands during movie night-and now this?! Man-I thought we talked about this!"

Raven and Beastboy glanced at one another before looking back at him. Beastboy's face was extremely red but surprisingly Raven seemed unfazed. "Dude-relax. We're dating-and what we talked about is NOT going to happen for a long time-if ever!" Raven gave him a funny look but he merely shook his head as if he would tell her later.

Cyborg's jaw hung open. "Dating…you guys are like…dating? And you didn't tell me?! Why did you hide it from me?"

Beastboy's mouth fell open, his eyes wide and confused. Cyborg took a step closer to him but Raven shifted in front of the green man and stared Cyborg down. "We all need to calm our emotions-Cyborg, we haven't been hiding it from you. You did see us holding hands and we have been spending time together because we have been going on dates." A feeling of hurt went flared up in Cyborg's chest-there were so many emotions going through his mind that he couldn't process everything. He vaguely heard Raven ask Beastboy what talk and the green bean responding saying it was nothing important.

Turning back to his best friend, Beastboy had a tentative look on his face. "Cy, we didn't want to make a big deal about it because we thought you already knew and were ignoring it…plus we were worried you'd act like you are now-all overprotective and stuff." His green eyes implored at him but Cyborg wasn't done processing. His best friend and his practically little sister…together?

"But you guys fight all the time and get on each other's nerves! It will never work-"

"Cyborg." Raven stopped him mid-sentence, her eyes serious and narrowed. "We have been dating since we got back from Tamaran. Garfield and I haven't truly fought in over two years." Her face flushed as she realized she was being vulnerable. She tugged at the hood of her cloak but took Beastboy's hand in hers and glared at him. "And it will never work if people keep saying it won't work-so mind your own business." The sudden mood-swing startled Cyborg as he saw her swirl on her heel and march down the hallway and sharply turn the corner.

Emotions swirling inside, Cyborg turned to glare at Beastboy. With an awkward chuckle, he took a step back and shrugged his shoulders. "Hehe-maybe she just needs to cool down. I'll talk to her." Obviously avoiding an awkward conversation, he dashed after her, leaving Cyborg to fume.

Later that day, he angrily devoured a pizza, ranting to Bumblebee. "And they never told me! Can you believe that?! Like-seriously? I'm their best friend!"

"I thought I was your best friend." Bumblebee quipped, handing him a napkin.

Snatching it from her hand, he angrily dabbed the corners of his mouth, not getting off any of the tomato sauce from his face. "Girl-you know what I mean!"

Rolling her eyes, Bumblebee crossed her arms over her chest and narrowed her eyes at him. "They didn't hide it from you-they were just being private about it. Both of them are weird when it comes to relationships. Honestly-I always saw this coming since I meet you guys. Plus, I kind of figured they were together but I didn't want to ask. I think you're upset because this changes things."

"You're crazy! Why do I even keep you around again?"

With a wink, she smirked at him, resting her face in her hand. "Because you love me." She shifted to a serious look on her face. "But seriously-why are you so upset? Because I don't think it is because you feel like they hid it from you."

Cyborg slowly swallowed the last bite of his pizza as he straightened up to look at her. "What do you mean?"

Before she could answer, the doors to the Common Room swished open, revealing Nightwing engrossed in a file. He glanced and closed the file before coming to the table. "Mind if I join you?" He sat down and placed a piece of pizza on a plate. Blinking, he looked at Bumblebee with a raised eyebrow. "Everything okay?"

"It's fine. He just found out about Green Bean and Goth Girl."

Shooting a look at his girlfriend, Cyborg shook his head. "Did you know about this?"

While taking a bite of his pizza, Nightwing shrugged nonchalantly. "Yes." He said matter-a-fact. Noting Cyborg's face, he backtracked. "It was obvious. They have been dating since…" He paused, pulling at his collar as if his throat suddenly got tight. Cyborg rarely saw him show vulnerable emotions like that. "Since Tamaran."

Cyborg wasn't having it-seriously, did everyone know?! "They would have told Starfire if she were here! And you knew! Bee knew! Why didn't I know?" Shoving his stool back, he jerked up. "I'm gonna-"

"Drop it. They are good together."

Swiveling his head, he glared at the team leader. "Seriously? I can't just drop it!" He looked between the two-were they not seeing it? "They won't work! It'll blow up!"

"Why?" Nightwing swallowed a bite of pizza, irritation evident on his face. "Why not?! Look at Kori and myself. We broke up and we are…fine."

"Isn't she on Tamaran right now?" Bumblebee snorted.

"That's unrelated."

With a chuckle, Bumblebee turned to Cyborg, leaning her elbows on the table. "Look-I'm here for a couple more days before I have to go back to Steel City. Why don't we just ask them to go on a double date and we can see what all the fuss is about-and we can use halo rings."

Double date? Seriously? Groaning to himself, Cyborg looked up at the ceiling. Just what he needed. "Fine."

Fifteen minutes later, Cyborg stood outside of Beastboy's door. Inside he heard the clacking of a video game module. Did he really want to do this? Groaning to himself, he rapped twice on the door. He heard a call to come in and the door swished open. Taking a step inside, Cyborg blinked, noticing how much cleaner it was from the last time he was in here. Was this Raven's influence? "What up?" Beastboy mindlessly called, not taking his eyes off the videogame.

Biting his lip, Cyborg shook his head. He could do this. "I just came to ask if you and Rae want to go on a double date with me and Bee." He closed his human eye, seeing Beastboy freeze, tensing his whole body. Slowly, the green man paused his videogame then slowly turned in his chair to look Cyborg in the eye.

"You sure about this? This could be…really awkward…"

Huh. That wasn't what Cyborg was expecting. Opening his human eye, Cyborg took in Beastboy's face-since when did he become so grown up? Guess hitting 20 years did that to a person. "Anything is awkward with you, Grass Stain."

"HEY! I'm not awkward!...Yeah, you're right."

"Just…meet us at the T-car in an hour, okay?"

A couple hours later, the two couples were all in a small restaurant on the beach. Cyborg glanced at Bumblebee, who looked the most like herself with her halo ring. It always startled him to see himself as human and even more so to see Beastboy as a blonde.

"This is nice." Raven looked around, her discomfort evident. She looked down at her pale skin and frowned, running a hand through her black hair. "At least the media won't have a field day seeing us in public." She continued to run her hand through her hair awkwardly. Beastboy laughed, pulling her hand down and entwining their fingers.

A strange feeling of overprotectiveness swelled in Cyborg's chest. Surging forward, he grasped a bread stick, smacking their hands apart in the process. Raven and Beastboy turned their heads and looked at him incredulously.

"Smooth." Bumblebee muttered.

The evening continued somewhat smoothly, Raven and Beastboy acting only as friends-though Cyborg did catch them sneaking glances at one another. He bit his tongue to stay civil. It was so much better when he didn't know-he now understood what the phrase 'Ignorance is bliss' meant. Finally, the waiter brought them their meal. "All right-Spaghetti and meatballs with extra meat sauce!" Inhaling deeply, he sighed, the smell tickling the back of his nose. He looked around at everyone else's food, his eyes stopping on Raven's meal.

"Going vegetarian on us too, Raven?" Bumblebee laughed, poking her fork at her. Raven merely shrugged.

"Nah-she still eats meat. She's probably just sucking up to me!" Beastboy laughed, winking at his girlfriend. Annoyance spiked in Cyborg and he couldn't resist letting out a huff. Everyone turned toward him, Beastboy furrowing his brow. "What? Are your meatballs not full of enough dead animals for you?"

Before he could stop himself, Cyborg throw down his fork angrily and glared at his best friend. "Are you making her change for you?"

The table went silent. Bumblebee put a hand on his forearm. "Vic-stop."

"What does that mean?" Raven asked, a deadly tone in her voice. Usually people would steer clear if they heard Raven speak to them in that way-but Cyborg wasn't most people.

"All I'm saying is Raven is now eating vegetarian-did you make her, BB?"

"WHAT?" Beastboy cried, hurt flashing across his face.

"Victor Stone." Raven's voice was low but her tone was serious. "I choose this meal because it seemed fulfilling. It was my choice and I would never change myself for someone-and Garfield would never do that to me." She tightened her jaw. "I'm surprised you didn't ask that of me-most people would assume I would be the one to force him to change."

Bobbing his head, Beastboy tried to keep a calm look on his face. "It's true. I would never do that! And Rae would never do that to me either!"

"Seriously? Raven-you never let anyone call you Rae!"

"Dude, chill!"

Bumblebee threw down her napkin, tugging Cyborg's arm. "He's right! What is wrong with you right now?"

"What's wrong is they aren't acting like themselves anymore!"

Suddenly, Beastboy thrust himself up, his usually playful nature overcome with anger. "No Cy, you're the one who isn't acting like yourself. It's obvious-you don't think I'm good enough for Raven!" Realization flashed across his face but he merely dipped his head. "I…ah, I gotta go." Without saying anything, Beastboy turned, tugging off his tie before turning the corner. A few seconds later, the sight of a green hawk flew away toward the city.

Embarrassment and guilt bubbled up in Cyborg's chest as Raven's face turned to stone. She slowly stood up, pushing her untouched food away. "Thanks for dinner." Before anyone could say anything, she sank through a portal through the floor. Cyborg couldn't believe himself-he literally just attacked his two best friends! How could he do that…

Bumblebee tucked her lips into her mouth before turning toward her boyfriend. "Well, that well went."

It took a while for them to get back to the Tower. After Bumblebee went to bed early, Cyborg went to the one place that made any sense in the world-the garage. Pounding away at the car, he thrust himself onto his back and slid under the vehicle. He felt like such a jerk. How could he have done that-but didn't they see what was happening? Something was bothering him besides that-but he couldn't put it into words.

Cranking the jack, he gave himself a little more room to remove a bolt. "Cyborg?" Jerking his head, he slammed it against the bottom of the car. Oww…That was unexpected.

He rolled himself back out from under the car to see Raven standing over him, a strange look on her face. "Ohh…hey Raven."

She merely sat down on a box, patting the one next to her. "We should talk."

Slowly getting up, he wearily moved to sit next to her. He was still angry-though he wasn't sure if it was at Beastboy, her, or himself. Maybe all three. "Okay. Talk."

Raven dipped her head, running a shaky hand through her hair. Cyborg blinked-she was nervous and upset. Guilt lurched in his stomach. She was hardly holding to together. "You know emotions aren't my…strong suit." She started, frowning before looking up at him. "But…I want to understand what is going on in your head." She paused before looking at him earnestly. Cyborg blinked-he didn't even know she could do earnest. Was that something she had picked up from Beastboy? "Also-we didn't hide our relationship from you."

Frustration. Guilt. Anger. Hurt. Uncertainty. Confusion. All these emotions bubbled in his mind. Evidently his emotions were extremely loud to the empath, because she placed a hand on his shoulder. Instantly, his emotions calmed and he could think straight. "You know, using your empathic powers on me is cheating, right?"

The corners of her mouth tugged upward. Since when did she smile like that? "What is really going on, Cyborg?" He paused at her question. Now that all his emotions were out of the way-what was really the problem here?

"I guess…I'm worried about you guys. About all of us. With Starfire gone, everything feels so…off. I know she's coming back but it still is weird since she and Nightwing broke up. And now you guys are together and I just…worry." Raven raised an eyebrow for him to continue. Cyborg swallowed, realizing his throat was tight. "I love you both so much, Raven. I just worry about what will happen. I mean, look at our teen years. I know you both are now 20 but man-you guys were constantly arguing. That first year as the Teen Titans was a battle zone!"

The words continued to tumble out of his mouth like a flood. He hadn't really processed Starfire leaving and not saying when she'd return, his relationship with Bumblebee, or even his relationship with the team.

"Sure-we're all grown up and you guys obviously are getting along now but you are just both such different people! And what happens if you break up like Nightwing and Star? I'm not sure I could handle the fallout. I love you both so much and I don't want to choose. I don't want to lose you like I lost my mom and sort of lost my dad and I just…I don't want to see either of you get hurt either."

A strange look crossed Raven's face. Suddenly, a tear rolled down her cheek. Instantly, Cyborg felt regret letting his emotions affect Raven. Thrusting himself up, he began to pace, flailing his hands about. "Oh Rae! I'm so sorry! I didn't realize my emotions were affecting you-or are those your emotions? It is so hard to tell-"

"I'm fine." Raven quipped, quickly wiping a hand across her cheek. Her face flooded red as she thrust her hood over herself. She finally looked back up at him, silently telling him to sit down and stop stressing her out. Taking a deep breath, Cyborg sucked in some air and sat back down. Raven followed suit by taking two deep breaths. Cyborg felt honored she was being this vulnerable with him-she wasn't this vulnerable with anyone except…

"Oh." Beastboy. They did have a bond that he couldn't understand. Both had been hurt in such ways that it really must bond them together. Both cope in different ways but truly they were similar people.

A glance at Raven's face brought Cyborg into the present. Still struggling with her emotions, Raven wouldn't look him in the eye. "We've discussed this ourselves, Cyborg. I didn't want to start any relationship but…anyway, this is why we haven't discussed this openly with anyone. Kori would have known what to say and do but I'm glad she isn't here for this...but I also wish she was here. We just want things to progress naturally and for none of your fears to happen."

Suddenly, she looked straight into Cyborg's eyes. Taken aback, he blinked at her intensity. "Cyborg, I care about you." She pulled down her hood, allowing him to see her face. "And…if you cannot handle us being together, we will stop dating. Your relationship to me-to him-it too important."

In the moment, Cyborg had never felt so loved in his life. His friends truly loved him. To sacrifice like that…for him?! Furrowing his brow, he shook his head. "No…I don't want that." Raven's face twitched at his response, obviously hiding her relief. His heart warmed inside his metal chest. "I love you both. You're like my little sister." Her face flooded red but a soft smile crept on her lips. He paused. It clicked in his mind. "You love him, don't you?"

She glanced down at the floor, shuffling her boot before looking back up at him through her eyelashes. Dodging his question, she said, "Maybe you should talk to Beastboy about this."

"Maybe you should talk to him about that."

"You're hopeless." Rolling her eyes in annoyance, she shoved his arm before walking off. Smiling after her, a new feeling of acceptance crept into him. But there was one thing he had to do. Quickly following her out the door, he made for the one place he knew to look for Beastboy.

Making his way to the shore, he spotted Beastboy skipping rocks in the cool, night air. It struck Cyborg that this was his and Terra's old spot but stopped himself. No…this was his and Raven's spot now. He noticed Beastboy's ears twitch as he approached but the green man ignored him. He chunked another rock with a bit too much force, causing it to only skip once and sink into the ocean.

Sucking in a breath, Cyborg closed his eyes for a moment before speaking. "BB, I owe you a big apology." Beastboy didn't respond. He merely skipped another rock over the waves. Sighing, Cyborg glanced at the ocean, not looking at him as he spoke. "I'm sorry I acted like such a jerk. It's just…I was worried about our friendship and the team and what will happen if you broke up. Things have changed so much these past few months and you guys are my family now since I don't have anyone left. I can't lose anymore family…"

Cyborg surprised even himself as he throat tightened, tears threatening to spill out of his human eye. Blinking rapidly, he coughed into his hand, pretending to scratch his face. In the corner of his eye, he noticed Beastboy run his hands through his green hair before turning to look at Cyborg with red eyes himself. "Dude…" Cyborg's heart lightened as Beastboy spoke with a small grin on his face. "You're my family too!" His face quickly became stern. "I'm sorry I insinuated that you thought I wasn't good enough for Raven. I know you don't think that…though sometimes I kind of do…"

A frown pulled at Cyborg's lips. "BB, she's the only person that is good enough for you."

Beastboy blinked, the small smile returned to his face. Shaking his head side to side happily, he took a couple of steps closer to the cybernetic man. "Sorry we didn't tell you right away. But we really weren't hiding it from you!"

"I get it."

The two friends looked at one another before Beastboy thrust his arms around him. Cyborg clapped him on the back twice before letting go. "You've got yourself a good girlfriend. She really loves you."

A smirk developed on Beastboy's face as he waved his hand nonchalantly. "I know-she just hasn't said it in words yet." Cyborg chuckled.

"Man, things were so much easier when I didn't know about you guys!"

"Yeah, they were. It's like Raven says, Ignorance is bliss."

"That's exactly what I said!"

"Sweeeeet. Hey-want to go play some video games?"

"No-we need to have one more chat before we go. If you ever do anything to hurt Raven-"

"Dude! This is Raven we're talking about-you'd have to get in line!"

Hope you enjoyed that chapter! It is always interesting to think about how people would react to changes in their lives. Cyborg has had so many loses in his life-from his mom, to his relationship with his dad, to his normal life and future-losing his friends would be the last straw. As you guys have read in the past chapters, he is okay with them in the future and supportive of their relationship. Just with his overprotective nature-I feel he would have gone overboard in the beginning. I also wanted to stress (without too many words) the importance of relationships in his life. All the heroes look at one another as family-but Cyborg never truly says how important family is to him. Anyway, thank you again for reading, following, favoriting, and commenting. Let me know what you think of this chapter and if you feel like this is how he would have acted toward them or not. Thank you again and until next time!

Derekctomlinson: Hahaha that sums up the chapter well! Bumblebee would definitely be more open than Raven to wearing the geeky clothing! Thank you so much for your support and encouragement! I really appreciate it!

Eris: Thank you so much for your encouragement! And yes-the BB and Cy shenanigans will continue in future stories. This time I wanted to focus on how important relationships are to Cyborg even if he doesn't realize it. And yes-that UFO and Halloween skeleton costumes are some good ideas!