Falling Up

A Teen Titans Fanfiction by Jacob McDonald

Opening Notes: When I started this story, I wanted it to be really fluffy and cute, and full of positive emotions. Then I wrote this chapter, reread it, and thought, "Crap. It's getting really dark."

That brings us to the here and now. This chapter turned out to be the middle of the story. I'm working on the last part now, but don't expect to see it for at least a week or two. I have other things to write, and school is winding down now, which means lots of stuff to do. Have fun with this part though, and look for more within a month or so.

Standard disclaimers apply: I don't own Teen Titans, and wont until I can engineer a corporate takeover of Warner Brothers.


Chapter 2: Falling Down


Raven padded into the living room of Titan tower early the next morning. She smiled fondly at Cyborg where he was passed out on the couch, cartoons playing on the muted TV in front of him. Walking to the kitchen, she took out her kettle and went about boiling water for some tea.

"Hey." she jumped from where she was standing next to the stove and turned around to see Cyborg standing there yawning, "Man, I had some messed up dreams last night."

Raven watched as he staggered over to the coffee maker and began dumping instant coffee into it. She glanced down at herself as he continued to ignore her and wondered why he hadn't freaked out that she was wearing nothing except her black silk robe. Even her feet were bare.

"Um... why don't you tell me about them?" she asked as she shrugged and turned back to her tea, "Dreams can sometimes hold deeper meaning than you might think."

"Well, to start with, I dreamed up Beast Boy eating all of our ice cream. Something about Star being upset... I don't know. Then... um... oh yeah. You'll get a kick out of this one," he chuckled, "I dreamed that BB told me that you and Robin were having sex all night last night!" he slapped his thigh, "Aw man... told ya they were messed up."

"Yeah." Raven swallowed hard as she began to process all of this information, "Real messed up."

"Something wrong, Rae? You don't sound so good." he looked over at her and his eyes popped open as he really saw her for the first time that morning, "Holy... Rae! Where's your uniform? You have toes? Is that silk?"

She turned and glared at him, the robe falling open in the front a little, revealing the curves of her breasts, "My uniform is in my room, yes I have toes, and of course it's silk. I don't own any robes that aren't."

Cyborg took in her state of undress, her tussled hair, her exhausted stance, and the slowness with which she moved. "Holy shit. You did have sex with Robin all night last night!"

"No, I didn't." she turned back to her tea, "We only went at it for three hours or so."

Cyborg's mouth fell open, "You... and Robin? I thought he was sweet on Starfire!"

"Well, since he's my boyfriend now, I'm guessing that's not the case!" she snapped, and a glass that was sitting on the counter exploded.

"Whoa... calm down Rae." Cy took a step over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder, "I'm cool with that, but it just kind of... came out of no where, you know?"

"Yes." Raven shook her head, "I'm not sure it was the best idea in the world, but... we'll never know if it will work if we don't try. That's all I want. To just... try to do something for me." she looked over at him imploringly, "Does that make any sense? That I'm sick of always doing things to please everyone else, and to save everyone else... I just want to be selfish and do something brash and impulsive."

"I can relate, Rae, I really can... but don't you think sleeping with Robin is a bit... over the top? I mean, what about Star-"

Raven threw her hands up and faced him again, a look of utter exasperation etched on her face, "Fuck Starfire! Fuck her feelings! Fuck what she wants!" Raven reached out and grabbed his arm, her eyes pleading with him, "What about what I want? What about what I feel?"

Cyborg took a step back, "Calm down, Rae! You'll level the tower if you don't!" the walls were shaking.

Raven took a deep breath and calmed herself. Turning back to her boiling water, she quickly placed several tea bags in it. She tapped her bare foot for a moment, then whirled back to face Cyborg again, "I'm going to finish making my tea, and then I'm going to take it upstairs to my room. There, I will spend the rest of the morning lounging in bed with my boyfriend, probably naked!"

"Aw, now come on! I didn't need to hear that part!" Cy wrinkled his nose.

"Then," Raven continued, "we'll have sex again before we come down here. When we get down here, there will be drama, I'm sure, but until then," she took a step closer to Cy and put a finger in his face, "until then, I do not want to be disturbed by anyone, least of all Starfire. Do you understand that?"

"Loud and clear, Rae." Cyborg shook his head, "You just go on with your bad self."

"Good." and she turned back to her tea, ignoring him for the rest of the time she was in the kitchen before she swept out of the room and back up stairs to Robin.


Beast Boy opened his eyes slowly, the bright light and the pinkness of Starfire's room assaulting his retinas in a rather painful manner. How she woke up to it everyday he would never know. Maybe it was something to do with her being Tameranian.

"Good morning, Lar'gatal." Starfire said from where she lay next to him in the bed, writing in a diary.

"Um... morning..." Beast Boy yawned as he sat up and looked over at her bare body, "Damn... you're sexy."

Star giggled and continued writing.

"What's a Lar... gat..."

"Lar'gatal." Starfire said it slowly so he'd be able to under stand it, "It is the Tameranian word for... well, Lover I guess."

"Lover... is that what we are now?" Beast Boy became a cat and stretched his legs out in front of him. Morphing back into himself he flopped back on the bed, not caring if she saw him naked any more.

"I do not know." Star smiled anyway, "We are friends who share sexual relations... what do you call that on Earth?"

Beast Boy shrugged, "Any number of things. Let's see," he thought for a moment, "Fuck buddies?"

"Too vulgar." Star smiled and shook her head.

"Bed buddies?"

"Not vulgar enough." Star winked at him.

"Um... friends with benefits?"

"That sound acceptable. Are there any others?"

"Casual sex partners?"

"I think we will stick to friends with benefits."

"Okay." Beast Boy nodded and sat up again, "I'm going to head back to my room for a shower." he glanced at her diary, "What are you writing about me?"

"Nothing you will ever be able to read." Star showed him the page she was working on and he saw that it was written in odd squiggles that he assumed was her native language.

"Oh." he shrugged, "Okay."

Star laughed and pointed at the door, "Go take your shower, Beast Boy, and we will meet down in the kitchen for breakfast in half an hour."

"Alright." he got up and starting pulling his clothes back on, "See you then!"

She watched as he stepped out of the door, and it slid shut behind him.

Only then did she allow herself to frown and look back at what she'd been writing about Robin.


Raven stalked into her room at a brisk stride and set the tray that held the tea she had brewed and two cups down on her nightstand with more force than was really necessary. The noise startled Robin from his half sleeping state and he sat up in the bed.

"Hey..." he said in a soothing voice, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing... just... everyone knows already." she sighed, "I was hoping we could tell them together this morning."

"How'd they find out?" Robin looked confused.

"Beast Boy." was Raven's flat reply.

"Hmm..." Robin scratched his head, "I guess we weren't exactly trying to keep it down last night."

"I only really screamed once..." Raven shrugged and slipped out of her bathrobe, joining her boyfriend in bed. Pulling the tray over to rest across their legs as they sat up side by side, she started pouring tea into the cups, "I ran into Cy down in the kitchen and all he could talk about was Star's feelings, and what this would do to her."

"We should consider Star's feelings." Robin said gently as he stroked her arm, "She's always been a great friend to both of us. She's my best friend, and I know that the two of you get along on a girly basis so don't even try to deny it."

Raven smiled at him, "Star always makes me feel like a girl. You make me feel like a woman though." she kissed him lightly on he lips and he smiled back at her.

"We'll deal with it later." Robin said after a few moments of tea sipping silence, "Until then, I plan on enjoying every last second I have you naked in this bed."

"That sounds like an invitation."

"You bet it is."

Raven giggled as Robin set his tea aside and started kissing and nibbling her neck.


Beast Boy walked into the kitchen to find Cyborg sipping a cup of coffee and staring off into space, "Hey, man. What's up?"

"Hmm?" Cyborg looked up at him and smiled weakly, "Nothin. Just... thinking."

"Bout what?"

"Raven. She was... really intense when she was down here just a little while ago."

"When is Raven not intense?" Beast Boy asked with an arched eyebrow as he opened the refrigerator to find something to eat.

"Not like that." Cy shook his head, "She got real pissed when I mentioned Starfire. She was really insistent that she and Robin were an item now, and that she didn't give two shits what the rest of us thought about it."

"Really?" Beast Boy looked back over his shoulder, slightly surprised, "It's not like them to not think things through."

"Tell me about it. Look... I think we should let them work it out with Star on their own. Raven made it pretty clear that it was none of our business."

"I can't do that." Beast Boy shook his head.

"Why not?" Cyborg stood up, bringing his empty cup over to the sink to rinse out, "Robin should be the one to talk to Star, and she and Raven are going to have to figure something out to get along... how did your talk with Star go last night anyway? Is she feeling any better?"

"Oh yeah..." Beast Boy blushed as he turned back to the refrigerator, "She's good."

"That looked like a blush there, B." Cyborg smirked, "You make a move on Star now that Robin is with Raven?"

"Uh..." Beast Boy didn't answer, and after a moment, Cy laughed.

"You did! Dude, how bad did she shoot you down?"

"Um... well... thing is..."

Just then, the doors to from the elevator to the living room opened and Starfire flew in, looking just as she did every day, if not a little less cheerful. Flying into the kitchen, she landed next to Beast Boy and he stood up.

Cyborg looked back and forth between them for a moment. Beast Boy blinked back at him and Star smiled happily, "Good morning, Cyborg! How are you this fine day?"

"Um... I'm okay..." he was still looking at them and wondering what was going on.

"Hello again, Beast Boy. I trust any neck cramps you incurred from sleeping in my unfamiliar bed were cured by a hot shower?"

"Yeah." Beast Boy once again threw caution to the wind. Who cared if Cyborg knew? He leaned in and kissed her on the cheek.

Cyborg's mouth fell open as Star giggled and slapped Beast Boy's arm playfully, "Perhaps we should keep the displays of affection to my bedroom, Friend with Benefits."

"Holy shit." Cyborg fell back into a chair, "You and Star?" he pointed at Beast Boy.

"It's not like we're dating or anything dude... it was just... you know... sex." blushing again, the green changeling went back to browsing the fridge, "You want some tofu eggs, Star?"

"I would be delighted to partake of your tofu!" Star nodded and flew to the stove, "I shall ready the pan of frying!"

Cyborg stood up abruptly. Walking briskly to the door, he stopped only when Beast Boy called after him.

"What?" he asked, turning back to see his friend stepping out of the kitchen.

"Dude... don't be mad at me... I don't want this to make you... uncomfortable."

"Yeah?" Cyborg scowled at him, "Seems to me there isn't a person in the whole fucking tower that cares what I feel." and with that, he stalked into the elevator and closed the doors.

Beast Boy fell back against the countertop and sighed, "Fuck." he swore, and turned back to help Starfire with the fake eggs.


Raven smiled and moaned a little as Robin kissed up her neck. Water from her shower beat down on his shoulders and her back, and he was doing divine things to her with his hands, but it was getting to be late in the morning, and she wanted to get a start on the day.

"Richard..." she pushed him away gently and held a bar of soap up in his face, "We're supposed to be taking a shower."

"But this is more fun." he smiled his trademark lopsided smile and his hands reached out for her again, but again, she pushed them down.

"Behave." she said with a gentle smile and a firm voice. He sighed and turned his back to her, putting his hands on the side of the shower stall.

As Raven began to scrub his back, he rolled his neck and spoke, "Do you think I should talk to Kori alone?"

Raven frowned, "I'd rather do it together, actually. Less of a chance of her trying to put the moves on you that way."

"I wont let her put the moves on me, Rae."

"She's a lot stronger than you, and she might be upset enough by this situation to try and convince you that she's a better... erm..."

"Lay?" Robin turned back around and took hold of one of her arms as the water rinsed the soap form his back. He began to gently wash her soft skin with a wash cloth, "After last night, I don't think I'll ever have decent sex again unless it's with you."

"Decent?" Raven leaned in to him and her tongue flicked across his bottom lip.

Robin pulled his head back with a grin, "Behave." he reminded her, "If you want to do it together, we'll do it together."

"Okay." she nodded, and used her own wash cloth to start on his chest, "Let's just make sure we're good and clean first."

Robin grinned and kissed her.


Cyborg sat at his desk in his room, tapping one finger on the wood. He stared intently at a framed picture that decorated the upper left corner of the desk, and frowned in contemplation.

The picture had been taken by, of all people, Terra. She had snapped it while they were all just sitting around watching TV one day, but it was still his favorite picture of the team. There was Robin, sitting in between Raven and Star, just like he always did, and Cyborg himself on Star's left, his arm across the back of the couch, giving Robin bunny ears. Beast Boy sat on the floor, leaning back against Raven's knees, smiling up at the camera while he grabbed a handful of popcorn out of the bowl on her lap.

The thing that really made the picture stand out though, was that they were all smiling. Even Raven had a slight upturn to the corners of her mouth. They looked like a family, the only one he'd known for a long time.

Now it seemed like his family was flying apart at the seems. Raven and Robin were dating. Beast Boy and Starfire were sleeping together, even if they claimed they didn't share any romantic feelings. It just left him, out in the cold, all by himself. He knew they still cared for him, but... not like they cared for each other.

Sighing, he flipped up the screen of the computer built into the top of his desk and punched up a com window. Entering the proper codes, he watched as a screen popped up, telling him that the connection to Titans East was opening.

After a moment, a blurry eyed looking young black woman with her hair pulled back into a pony tail answered his call.

"What's up, Cy?"

"Hey, Bee. How you holdin' up out there?"

"I'd be doing better if you'd stop calling at seven in the morning. Five hours of sleep after a long night patrolling Steel City isn't exactly my idea of a good nights rest."

"Sorry." he blushed lightly, "I just needed someone sane to talk to, and you were the first to come to mind."

"Robin not in his right mind again?" she asked with a yawn as she rubbed her eyes. Cyborg had to smile fondly. Even though she was tiered, even though he'd woken her up, she was still willing to talk to him. They shared a close friendship, comforting the other from across the country when their respective teams got to be too much for them to handle.

"I'd say he's lost it big time." Cyborg sighed and rubbed his own eye, "He's started dating Raven."

"Raven?" Bumble Bee sounded shocked, "I always thought that he and Starfire would end up together!"

"We all did, until they proved us wrong. WAY wrong."

"How wrong?"

"They were having sex most of the night last night if you believe Beast Boy's ears."

"God damn." Bee shook her head, "Is Star...?"

"Oh, she's fine. Ran right into Beast Boy's arms, and fucked his brains out."

Bee was silent for a moment as she just stared at him. After a few seconds, she blinked, "That's fucked up."

"They claim that it was just sex. Just friendly sex, you know? Like... I don't know... it'd be like you and me having sex, then saying that we were just really good friends."

"Is that an offer?" Bee waggled her eyebrows at him.

Cyborg glared at her, "Sure, just let me bust out my hydraulic penis attachment and we can go at it."

Bee sighed and shook her head, "You know I was just kidding around, Cy, don't get all pissed." she looked him in the eye, "I know about your inability."

Cy deflated a little and looked away from her, "Yeah, I know."

"Is that was this is about?" she leaned forward on her hands so that her face took up the whole screen, "Are you... jealous of Beast Boy and Robin?"

"No!" Cyborg looked back at her with a scowl, "Why would I be jealous of those two..." he saw her look and frowned, "Okay, so maybe I would like to be able to have sex someday, but it's not like I can just work that kind of hardware into my system!"

"I know." Bee leaned back again and smiled, "But if you ever do, I better be the first girl on your list." she winked.

Cybrog blushed a little and she laughed at him.


Raven and Robin walked into the living room together, both looking about with purpose. When they spotted Beast Boy and Starfire sitting on the couch, watching cartoons and eating tofu eggs, they looked at each other, then started over.

"Um... Beast Boy?" Robin asked as he stopped behind the couch, "Raven and I need to talk to Star for a few minutes... privately."

"Sure dude." Beast Boy nodded, not looking back at the Boy Wonder, "After this show is over."

"Actually, we really need to do this now." Raven said as she stepped forward.

"Gee, guys, can't wait until after breakfast to break a girl's heart?" Beast Boy glanced over his shoulder with a scowl, "Punk off, we're watching TV."

Robin looked mildly shocked, but instead of reprimanding Beast Boy, he turned to his best friend, "Star, could you-"

"No. I do not wish to speak to you about this yet." Star shook her head not looking away from the TV, "As my friend with benefits, Beast Boy, has said, I wish for the both of you to punk off."

"Friend with..." Robin looked even more flabbergasted, "Star, what are you talking about?"

There was a flash of green light from Starfire's eyes, casting the room in it's glow for a moment. Still not looking at either of the two lovers behind her, Starfire growled out in a low, dangerous tone, "Leave me be, Robin."

"I-" Raven put a hand on Robin's shoulder as he tried to speak again and pulled him away. She shook her head at him and turned back to their friends, "Starfire-"

"I lied to you, Raven." Star said, handing her empty plate to Beast Boy as she rose from the couch in a graceful manner. Turning to face her slightly shocked friend, she narrowed her eyes, "You looked like a brazen hussy in the outfit you were wearing yesterday. Perfect for seducing a boy you know your friend was in love with."

Raven's mouth fell open. Robin's mouth fell open. Beast Boy's mouth fell open.

Never had any of them ever heard a single hurtful thing come out of Starfire's mouth. To hear her openly insult someone, least of all Raven, took all of them by complete surprise.

"I will be in the gym, training." Starfire quickly flew towards the door, "I do not wish to be disturbed." and then she was gone.

"Dude..." Beast Boy looked back at Raven, still slightly shocked, " You got burned, girl."

"Shut up, Beast Boy." Raven narrowed her eyes at him, and the plate Star had handed him cracked.

"What was Star talking about when she called you her friend with benefits?" Robin asked with a frown.

Beast Boy stood up and started walking towards the kitchen. As he passed Robin he scowled at the slightly taller boy, "Just because you don't want her doesn't mean no body does. You made your choice, and she made hers." Robin just stared after the changeling as he made his was to the kitchen. Turning back and glaring at both Raven and Robin, he sneered, "It's a little late to be getting jealous, Robin. Unless," he grinned an evil little grin, "you think you made a mistake last night."

"Shut up." Robin took a step forward and clenched his fists, narrowing his eyes at Beast Boy.

"Or what?" Beast Boy turned and faced him fully, "You'll beat me up? Go ahead! I'm sure that'll go over really well with Starfire!"

"I'm warning you..." Robin started forward.

"Calm down Robin." Raven said, floating forward and putting herself between the two boys, "He's just angry at you for what he thinks you did to Starfire. Don't let his childish behavior get to you."

"Childish, huh?" Beast Boy scowled at her back, "I'm not being childish. THIS is being childish!" and he hurled the plates he was holding into the kitchen wall, where they exploded into little ceramic bits.

"Beast Boy!" Robin shouted, "Chill out, now, or I'll kick you off this team so fast, it'll make your head spin!"

"FINE!" Beast Boy stalked past them to the elevator, "I'll start clearing out my room. Who wants to be on a team with a leader who can't even be trusted to think about his friends before he does something stupid?"

"You take that back!" Robin started forward again, but Beast Boy just glared at him as the doors to the elevator shut in his face. "Damnit!" Robin slammed a fist into the door, and hung his head.

Raven was behind him then, "Calm down, Robin." she said in a serious voice, "You can't let your emotions rule you like this... I'm starting to loose control too, trust me, but you of all people need to be strong right now. You can't let the Titans fall apart because of this."

"I know." Robin took a deep breath, then let it out, "I'm going to go talk to Cyborg. Why don't you meditate for a while? Regain your focus."

"I'll do that." Raven leaned into him and wrapped her arms around his waist, "We'll make this work. I know we will."

"Yeah." Robin turned to her and held her in his arms. Kissing her forehead, he pulled away. With a half smile, he said, "Titans, go."


Cyborg laughed, "So the girl really shot him down that bad?"

"Yeah, Speedy wouldn't show his face for days." Bee laughed with him, "He was so embarrassed that he'd been so totally shut down that he just hid in his room."

"Well, after all the talk he does about how he's such a lady killer... it's a good thing you called his bluff. Taught him some humility."

"Yeah..." Bee laughed a little more, then calmed down, "So... what are you going to do?"

"I'm going to stay the hell out of it. I'll let them figure it out on their own."

"You sure?"

"No." Cy sighed, "I'll get dragged in somehow, especially if they start squaring off. They'll want me to choose a side... I don't think I can."

"Honesty is the best policy." Bumble Bee said with a smirk, "Just go with your heart Cy... it's the greatest asset you have."

Cy smiled at her, "You're a real pal, you know that Bee?"

"Yeah, you too. And I still expect to be the first girl to get a ride on the hydraulic penis."

"I'll start drawing up the blueprints right away."

"I walked in on a really bad part of this conversation, didn't I?" Robin asked from where he stood in Cyborg's doorway.

Bee blushed when she heard his voice, "That's my cue to buzz off. I'll talk to you later, Cy."

Cyborg glared at Robin from his desk for a moment, then turned back to the screen, "Yeah, check ya later." and he signed off. Turned back to Robin, he stood up, "Didn't your parents ever teach you how to knock?"

"My parents died when I was twelve." Robin replied with an arched eyebrow, "And we lived in a circus before that, so there were never any doors."

"I'd hate to see what kind of manners Bruce Wayne has then." Cyborg shook his head as he walked over to a computer terminal and checked the Tower's power grid, "You have something you want to talk about?"

"Yeah... I was wondering if you could go convince Beast Boy not to quit the team."

Cyborg turned around and looked at his friend incredulously, "Jesus, Robin! What'd you say to the kid?"

"Nothing! He just flipped out on me about the whole Raven and Starfire thing!"

"What Raven and Starfire thing?" Cyborg asked, arching his eyebrow.

"You know what I'm talking about. Raven told me you know."

"So why are you embarrassed to say it?"

"I'm not!" Robin slugged the doorframe, glaring at Cyborg, "Why does everyone think that this was such a huge mistake!"

"Because it just... happened!" Cyborg exploded at him, "One minute you're mooning over Star, and teaching her everything there is to know about Earth, then the next, you're fucking Raven for hours at a time and ragging on Beast Boy because he's upset about you breaking Star's heart!"

Robin glared, "I thought you'd understand. I thought you'd be objective." Robin shook his head, "I guess I was wrong."

"I'm not going to choose sides here, Robin." Cy looked away, "You think you feel shitty, think about what it's like to know that you're the only one in the Tower that didn't have sex last night." he turned back to Robin, "Think about someone other than yourself, Boy Wonder."

"That's the point." Robin said, a note of desperation entering his voice, "For once in my life, I wanted to do something for myself, not for everyone else-"

"That excuse works for Raven, but not for you." Cy glared, "You do things without consulting us all the time. Red-X being a shining example." he noted Robin making fists with both his hands, "Look how well that turned out."

"I've already made Beast Boy leave the team, Cy, don't make me do it to you too."

"If you think just you and Raven can be the Titans, then go right ahead, 'cause I'm sure Star would quit if you kicked me out too."

Robin sagged against the doorframe, defeated, "What do you want from me?"

"First, I want you to apologize to Beast Boy. Then I want you to wait for Starfire to come talk to you about this mess. She's probably hurting pretty bad, Rob. Just give her time."

Robin looked away, "First things first. I'm sorry, Cy. I didn't mean to get mad at you."

"I know man. Now go get B before he actually leaves the Tower."

Robin took a shaky breath, and turned away. The doors shut as he left, and Cyborg leaned against the computers he was standing next to.

"That went well." he said with a sigh.


Starfire hit the bag again. Then again.

Cyborg had designed a punching bag for her to help improve her combat style. It was practically indestructible, and was bolted down to the floor of the training room, as well as welded, as well as glued with the worlds strongest adhesive.

Still, today she was almost knocking it off of it's base.

Damn Robin for being such an insensitive jerk, and damn Raven for going after the one man that she was in love with.

WHAM!

What she had shared with Beast Boy had been great, but it should have been with Robin. He should have loved her. He should have wanted her.

WHAM!

But he chose Raven. Of all people, he chose the worlds most unfeeling, uncaring, cold hearted bitch.

WHAM!

The punching bag flew across the room, smashing through Robin's weight set, and crushing the computers on the far wall. Breathing heavily, Star blinked once, then took a step forward.

That had felt good.

Looking about, she searched for something else to throw.


Robin stood in front of Beast Boy's door and took a deep breath. Letting it out slowly, he reached out and knocked, "Beast Boy? It's Robin."

He heard foot steps walking up to the door, then some buttons being pushed. The panel next to the door suddenly flashed red, indicating that the electronic lock had been activated.

Robin groaned, "Come on, BB, don't make me do this..." when no response came from within, Robin sighed and shook his head. He quickly punched in his personal override code that opened any door in the Tower, and stepped back as they slid apart, reveling the mess of Beast Boy's room beyond.

Except there was no mess. All of the trash had been shoved to one side, and there were two large boxes in the middle of the floor. One was labeled 'clothes' and the other was labeled 'stuff', both in Beast Boy's untidy scrawl.

Beast Boy himself was currently digging through his closet, tossing different articles of clothing into the clothes box. He leaned back out of the closet and scowled at Robin as the Boy Wonder stood in his doorway.

"Were you ever going to tell any of us that you could do that? Or was it just another little way for you not to trust us?"

"I'm not here to fight, Beast Boy. Come on, man, talk to me here." Robin stepped into the room and sat down on the bed, his head in his hands. Beast Boy just continued to glare at him. Sighing, Robin peeled off his mask and set it aside. Rubbing his eyes and then pinching the bridge of his nose, he leaned forward.

Beast Boy was slightly taken aback by Robin's sudden removal of his mask. He knew the young hero's identity; they all did, but the Boy Wonder wasn't known to take his mask off for anything. It only served to enhance his shock as Robin spoke again in a faint and quavering voice.

"I made a mess of everything, Gar. I really fucked this one up."

"Wha..." all anger fled Beast Boy's heart as he saw his friend and leader looking so broken and defeated. Robin never showed weakness, especially not to his team, "Dick... you okay man?"

"No." Robin shook his head as Beast Boy walked over and sat down next to him. Sighing again, the black haired young man looked at his friend, "I love Raven, Gar. I really do... but I don't want Kori to be so angry with me, or her, that she wont even look at us, let alone talk to us... she's my best friend... I don't want to loose her over something like this."

"She loved you a lot, you know." Beast Boy said with a frown.

"I know. I've known for a long time. I just... couldn't return those feelings. She's... a sister to me. No... more than that... she's the kind of girl I could date."

"But Rae's the kind of girl you could love." Beast Boy said with a nod, "I think I get it now."

"I think I was being too much of an insensitive jerk to explain it right." Robin shook his head, "That and the whole friend with benefits thing kind of took me by surprise."

"Yeah, about that..." Beast Boy rubbed the back of his head, "Don't be too mad at me, okay? I mean, I really tried to tell her we shouldn't do it, but she was very... um... convincing."

Robin arched an eyebrow and stared at him with pricing blue eyes, "How far did it go?"

"Um..." Beast Boy grabbed a pillow, "All the way."

BLAM! He barely got the pillow up fast enough to protect his face as Robin's fist flew at him. The impact still knocked him off the bed, "Jesus Christ, Beast Boy! Comforting her is one thing, but sleeping with her?" Robin had stood up and was now looming over the changeling with his fists clenched in front of him.

"Dude!" Beast Boy scrambled away from him, "We're being rational here, remember? And it's not like she didn't want to or anything! She's the one that convince me!"

Robin took a few deep breaths and calmed down, "Okay... I'm willing to except that... it's just... like I said, she's my best friend... I'm still concerned for her... erm... dignity."

"Well, we're not exactly dating, but I can tell you up front Dick, I'll treat her right." Beast Boy smiled up at his team leader from the floor and stuck out his hand.

Robin smiled a small smile and grabbed the hand, pulling Beast Boy up, "Alright." he clapped his friend on the shoulder as he continued to shake his hand, "I trust you, Beast Boy. I really do."

"I know, dude. And I trust you too. With Raven's feelings, and her well being. I just wish... you would have told Star first... maybe broken it to her gently instead of her finding out by seeing the two of you stripping each other's cloths off in the hall way."

"She saw that?" Robin paled, "Oh shit... I'll have to apologize a lot when she comes to talk to me."

"You're going to wait for her to talk to you?"

"You think I shouldn't?"
"No, but that's not like you." Beast Boy grinned as he stepped over to his cloths box, "You talked to Cy about this, didn't you?"

Robin reached down to the bed and grabbed his mask. Smoothing it back down over his eyes, he turned and glared at Beast Boy, "So what if I did?" he sounded mildly insulted, but the upward turn of the corners of his mouth gave him away.

"Smartest thing you've done all day." Beast Boy chuckled, "Now help me get this stuff back in my closet. I don't think I'll quit the team after all."


Raven's eyes popped open as she heard a loud crash. Unfolding her legs and landing from where she'd been floating in the middle of her room, meditating, she walked out into the hall way.

Another crashing sound came from the level above her.

Someone was tearing apart the gym, and it didn't take someone with her keen intellect to figure out who.

Assuming the form of her Soul Self, Raven phased through the ceiling as a large black bird of prey. Rematerializing in the gym, she looked around for Starfire.

Her eyes grew wide and she hurled herself to the floor as one of Cyborg's weights flew past where her head had just been. It slammed into the far wall, lodging it's self there. Raven looked back over at where Starfire held another on the weights in her hands, ready to pitch it as well.

"Sorry." Starfire said, sounding entirely unrepentant, "I didn't see you when you materialized."

Raven let the unintentional attack slide, "What the hell are you doing in here Star? You've torn the whole place apart!"

Star looked around. She had indeed ripped most of the equipment up and hurled it to various other parts of the room. There was a large hole in the wall, leading into the equipment storage room, from where she'd hurled one of the I Beams that Raven bent with her powers in order to gain finer control of them.

Shrugging, she floated down to the ground and tossed the weight aside, "I was frustrated." she said simply and started for the showers.

Raven blinked as she stood up, "Frustrated? You wrecked almost a half a million dollars in work out equipment because you were frustrated?"

Starfire chose not to dignify her with an answer as she walked primly through the door into the locker rooms, and the showers beyond.

Growling out a curse, Raven followed.

Upon entering the locker room, she saw Starfire had already tossed her skirt aside and was currently pulling off her top, revealing the lacy white underwear beneath. Standing and staring for a moment, she marveled at why Robin had chosen her when he could have had that.

"You know, Star, you're... really good looking."

"Apparently Robin thinks you are better looking than I am." Star turned her back to her friend and lifted one foot to pull off her boot.

"I'm sure that's not true." Raven shook her head, "He probably thinks you're the hottest chick on the planet, like every other male of heterosexual orientation. He chose to sleep with me, and to be with me, because... well..." she faltered, and blushed slightly, "he loves me."

"As he loves me." Star replied shortly as she yanked off her second boot, "Do not think that I don't realize that he went for you because you offered him more than I had in the past."

"I offered him what he wanted, yes, but he asked me out first, Star. He... really..." she trailed off again, realizing that her friend wasn't listening to her.

"You should leave me alone now, Raven." Star said quietly, "I am very upset with you, and do not wish to grow so angry that I may do something I would regret."

"You can't hurt me, Star. We both know that." Raven was mildly offended that Starfire thought that her powers were even a match for the pure, frightening darkness she commanded.

"Really?" Star whirled around, her eyes blazing green, "Why must you assume you are better than me at everything, Raven?" and she blasted the other girl back out into the gym with twin beams of energy from her eyes.

Raven hit the ground with a grunt of pain, but rolled up quickly. She knew Star would be on her in a second if she tried to speak the words of power that she needed to pull out the big guns, but she could focus enough through the pain to use her lesser powers.

The lockers around Starfire all slammed open and various items started flying out of them. Hair brushes, deodorant, shampoo, hair gel, Beast Boy's socks... all became projectiles aimed at the tower of rage that was Starfire.

"Ew!" she shouted as she slapped aside the foul smelling foot covers that hurled in her direction, "Raven!" she screamed and hurled a starbolt at the other girl.

Raven ducked it and dashed forward, bringing her hands up while the Tameranian was distracted, "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" she shouted out, and the benches in front of the lockers uprooted themselves and bent like the cheep mettle they were, wrapping around Star and pinning her arms to her sides.

"You... you..." Starfire's eyes burned with green fury and she growled at Raven, "Bitch!"

Raven stopped her forward advance and glared. Lifting her hands again, she enveloped the lockers on either side of Starfire with black energy. Tearing them free of the walls, she slammed them together, crushing the glowing green girl between them.

"Get out of that." Raven smirked and started to walk away. She hadn't made it three steps before she whirled back around and threw up a shield.

The lockers, the benches, and all the contents of the locker room blew apart in a maelstrom of green energy as Starfire burst out of the prison Raven had created for her. Twin beams of emerald energy blasted into the half demon's shield, and wore it down to nothing in a matter of seconds.

"Holy shit." Raven breathed as her powers faded. She had no idea that Starfire could focus her energy beams into such deadly blasts. Her shield could stand the force of a rocket, or protect her from high powered energy weapons. Starfire had just burned through it like it was nothing.

There was no time for her to ponder much more about her friend's powers though, as Starfire came hurling out of the clearing smoke and tackled her to the ground, ripping at her clothes and scratching at her face.

Raven, calm and focused as she was, fell instantly into the classic girl-fight mode and started clawing at her assailant as well. They pulled hair, bit each other, scratched, and started rolling all over the training room, even as the sprinklers started going off from the smoke that was pouring up to the ceiling.


Robin was laughing at the fact that Beast Boy actually owned a beanie with a helicopter blade on top when the explosion rocked the Tower. Both young men looked above them and then back at each other.

"You don't think Star would really blow the Tower apart do you?" Beast Boy asked.

"Not without provocation... and that means Raven probably tried to talk to her."

"Shit." they said in unison and dashed out the door. Cyborg met them as they ran past his room, and was hot on their heels in a second.

"This had better not be what I think it is." he said in a grim tone.

"Just help us get them apart." Robin shouted back with an irritated sounding voice as they all piled into the elevator.

A few second later, they were running out of the lift and down the hall to the training room doors. Robin wasted no time unlocked them, and the three of them burst in, ready for anything.

Anything accept Raven, her cloak missing and her clothes torn to shreds, and Starfire, wearing only her bra and panties, wrestling on the floor, both soaking wet. All three of their mouths fell open as they listened to the fight rage on.

Star slammed Raven down into the ground and shouted in her face, "Love stealing, dark, creepy, cold hearted, bitch!"

Raven slammed her forehead into Star's, sending the other girl reeling back. She took the advantage and tackled her opponent over, pinning her to the ground, "Empty headed, over emotional, ditzy, stupid, slut!" she leered at the girl beneath her, "Did you really think Beast Boy would be a good stand in so you could fantasize about fucking my boyfriend?"

"YES!" Star screamed back, lifting Raven off of her, and hurling her into a wall, "Yes, he was an excellent stand in! And he made me feel wanted again! Something I'm sure you'll never do! You or Robin! You both make me sick! I wish nothing but the worst for you!"

Raven picked herself up and glared at Star, "Well, if you're ever feeling lonely and need to feel like Robin wants you, just go right ahead and fuck Beast Boy's brains out. Just stay away from my man."

"You do not own him!" Starfire screeched, and hurled herself at Raven again, "Someday he will see you for what you are! A cold blooded demon with no real emotion or compassion! On that day, he will come to me, and I will not need Beast Boy to make me feel wanted any longer! On that day, you will be nothing but a cold, forgotten woman!"

Raven's eyes narrowed and she opened her mouth to say something, but another voice cut her off, "That's enough."

The two girls turned to look at Robin, where he stood in the doorway, shutting off the sprinklers. When they shut down, he turned and walked into the room, glaring at them, "Both of you... just be quiet and listen to me. I smoothed things over with Beast Boy without us pummeling the crap out of each other, only to find the two of you hell bent on killing one another." he shook his head and glanced back at Beast Boy, who looked slightly ill after hearing Starfire's words, "I thought better of both of you."

"Robin, I-" Raven started but he held up a hand.

"No excuses. Another word from either of you and I sell the Tower's security footage of this to the first tabloid I can find."

Starfire and Raven looked at each other's state of undress in mild shock and then both glared at Robin, "You would not." Starfire said in a dangerous tone.

"I will." Robin stared her down, and she looked away. "Now, we obviously need to-"

The room flashed red and a siren started going off. Sighing, Robin turned away from them. Clenching his fists, he started for the door, "The two of you go to the medical lab and get patched up. Beast Boy, Cyborg and I will take care of whatever this call is. You two just... stay here. We'll call if we need you." and he walked away.

Cyborg stared at them for a moment longer, shook his head and turned away, "Ya'll better do what he says. See ya' when we get home." and he too left.

The two girls stared at Beast Boy, who looked like he was trying to decide if he should be angry or furious. He gave Starfire a cold look, and she took a step back.

"I told you I didn't want to be just a Robin stand in, Star. Thanks for lying to me, taking advantage of me, and then making it seem like it meant something to you. You're a real pal." he turned away as she started to fly forward.

"Beast Boy! Please do not..." but he had already run down the hallway, and into the elevator. She landed in the hall and her shoulders slumped.

As Raven walked out to join her friend, she heard the sob that escaped from her, and knew that she was crying, even though her back was turned. She placed a hand on Star's shoulder and spoke quietly and gently, "Let's go get cleaned up, Kori."

Nodding silently, Star plodded along behind Raven as the two girls headed down the hall to the medical lab.


Closing Notes: Not as dark as some of my stuff, but it's way darker than I planed on it being. Oh well. Thanks to everyone that reviewed, and I'll have some extended thanks at the end of part three.