Ryuu no Taiyo- hands a handkerchief. Sorry about that. Maybe it won't be so sad later, but I'm not spoiling any surprise or pulling a single punch. Glad the cliff-hanger left you wanting to read instead of run at me with a pitchfork.
jj- I try to update regularly, especially when I'm farther in writing than I am in typing.
moo- Thanks for the review, and I hope I won't keep you waiting too long.
Fernnu- I'd keep writing if I had one fan. Glad to hear the reviews will keep coming. Reviews really do help me out with writing.
Raven is a bit OOC. I felt this was pretty much a given, now that emotions are coming out, she decided to go and find herself the old-fashioned way (without therapy- I don't think Earth's psychiatrists are ready for "I feel guilty because I almost destroyed the one place I've ever had friends" business). Everyone's growing up, so expect a few changes, but nothing too drastic. Reviewers rock my socks off. You know what to do.
"I'm talking to the police commissioner in Gotham. I met her last week as Richard Grayson. I- Bruce wants me to take over his company. I'll also be taking over crime patrol when he wants a break, and when he doesn't- other places could use the help. I meant to tell you after Christmas, but I don't know how long I can keep a secret from you guys."
"Robin?"
He blushed visibly beneath his mask. He knew what Starfire meant. "You could be a real help- I'm used to having you as backup. There's a company suite of apartments that will be vacant, but I'm sure Alfred won't mind if you stay in the mansion. I think we're about done fighting crime here, anyway. All the villains are in specialized containment cells as of four months ago, and if one breaks out, it will be an isolated incident. The Teen Titans aren't needed any longer." If the way Starfire attached herself to him in a hug that threatened to constrict his organs to the point of danger was any indication, she accepted his offer.
"You're serious?" Beast Boy couldn't believe it. What Robin said made perfect logical sense, but this was Christmas. No one there was very religious, but he knew that it was supposed to be a time when everyone was happy to just be together. "Well, I'm glad you and Star are set. Me and Cyborg will be just fine, of course."
Cyborg blushed. As he was half very dark-complexioned and half robot, this meant he was nearing fuchsia before it showed. "Bumblebee called me. Gizmo hacked into the government's browser, and left a tag saying exactly who he was. They arrested him and put the tech in a completely old-school prison, with keys and bars and huge cell-mates named Bubba. Gizmo sent a letter, and that's when she decided he wouldn't be getting out for a while. They all want someone to control technology of Titans East in case he wanted to target them from in prison, and I'm their half-man, half-robot."
"So, I'm left to fend for myself?"
"Go to college," Robin suggested. "You'd be brilliant at animal sciences, even without too much background in high school science." Robin sounded sure of himself. Too sure- he earned a few knowing looks. "Okay, so I talked to Dr. Thomas. I don't think I want to know how Raven found out. He'd love to accept you into his course- they look at animal behavior and instincts."
"She did it herself, Robin. She found a book by Dr. Harry Leed." He read the note again. "I guess I have a choice."
"Try any college with a similar program- they'll want you in, and bend over backwards to get you." Cyborg still felt guilty about planning to leave without even thinking of a plan for his friend, the best grass stain of a friend a robot could hope to have. "You're pretty famous, being green and all."
"Will she know?"
"She just admitted to having a crush on you," Starfire said carefully, without misusing a single English phrase. She had been practicing. "She'll know. We'll all be in touch."
"How long have you been planning this?" Beast Boy had to know.
"Since before Raven left. Bruce has been at me about replacing him for years. He pulled a few legal tricks of sleight-of-hand, and I'm his legal heir and appointed successor at his new company. Starfire could get a job in anything there, even without my recommendation."
"Bodyguard," she interjected.
"What?" Robin didn't understand the girl. "You've fought with me. I don't need a bodyguard."
"As Robin, you don't. Richard Grayson would need a bodyguard a little better than company issue. He could also afford a semi-retired superhero to moonlight as a bodyguard."
"By moonlight, he's fine. It's day he might have a problem with." Cyborg didn't bother to hide a laugh at the expression on Robin's face.
"It's a good idea." Beast Boy had his own quiet revenge. "Cyborg can be the technology consultant, if he ever will find time away from Bumble bee."
"Look, grass stain, I'm still bigger than you are-"
"But I still beat you at video games," the 'grass stain' countered.
"I still don't need a bodyguard," Robin reminded them.
"Yes, you do," Cyborg and Beast boy said as one, leading into the classic debate that always erupted during such a fight.
"Do not!"
"Do too!"
"Do not!"
"Boys, stop this," Starfire scolded over Cyborg and Beast Boy's retort. No one listened.
"Do not!"
"Do too!"
"Do NOT!"
"Do TOO!"
"DO NOT!"
"DO TOO!"
"DO NOT!"
"DO TOO!"
"BOYS!" Starfire finally yelled loud enough that all of Jump City heard her. "Is it not Christmas? I have made rolls of cinnamon, just like Raven showed me. I thought they would taste better with fungus of morels, but she insisted these were don't-add-a-thing treats." She left the hall, trailed by boys who smelled cinnamon.
The Tower itself seemed to have a mood of false gaiety that lasted beyond Christmas and the surprisingly edible cinnamon rolls, even until January 2nd, the designated Moving Day. Robin and Starfire helped each other pack, but spent more time kissing. They had started on Christmas. Starfire had been first, ruining Cyborg's longstanding bet. It had happened while eating cinnamon rolls, and was overly sentimental and mushy enough to make Beast Boy swear that frosting was forever polluted.
Cyborg only decided to take a few cinnamon rolls with him on his quick Christmas visit to Bumblebee. Beast Boy insisted that Cyborg should visit his girlfriend without feeling guilty, even if Robin and Starfire were cutting off his video game enjoyment by their presence in the common room. He stayed in the kitchen until he distinctly heard mention of "the kissing of the French." That was the point where he decided that his room sounded like a very nice place to be.
Cyborg ended up staying with the Titans East for a few days, getting to know them while they stopped a flood from damaging an entire block of the city. Beast Boy decided that sitting on the roof in the slush, watching the sun rise while wearing the fur of a wolf, was better than listening to Robin and Starfire coo at each other. Starfire giggled too much, and the last thing he had ever wanted to hear was a sentimental and in-love Robin. Some images just don't fit together.
Beast Boy would be the last to leave on Moving Day, but the good-bye-for-now's started early. He waved to the Amazing Velcro Pair, and had no choice but to accept a hug from Cyborg that bordered on bone-shattering. He e-mailed a message to Raven, and taped a printed copy to her door. He hoped she did and didn't find it at once. She had made the first move, so he hoped she meant it. If not, he didn't know what he'd do, but it would be something drastic. He used painter's tape for the note, just in case. He was in no mood to be pounded by Raven for defacing her room.
Moving out was too easy. Starfire and Robin had a chauffeured limousine, courtesy of Bruce Wayne. For a second, Beast Boy couldn't recognize a black-haired tuxedo-clad man. Robin had taken off his mask, and hung up his cape- for Robin, at least. Starfire was looked at doubtfully by the standard guard in all limousines- Gotham could be dangerous. After she dispatched him neatly in a quick sparring match in seven seconds (without use of any super power), he shook her hand. He closed the door after the couple and waved to the following truck, filled with their possessions.
Cyborg loaded his two boxes and suitcase into the trunk of the T-Car. He barely remembered to ask Beast Boy if he needed a ride. Beast Boy declined. His roommate was dropping by, and he had no idea how well the idea of green skin would go over. Cyborg waved a final time before tearing away, pushing some new addition to the car to its limit.
Beast Boy waited for his ride while standing on the roof. It was noon, but he still thought of the place as hers. Finally, he saw a car pull up, a tiny Volkswagen that he couldn't identify- it wasn't a Bug. He dove from the roof as a peregrine falcon, pulling up from the ground at the last possible second. He changed into his human self at the right altitude without a conscious thought. Only after he was standing did he think that the unintentional display might be a problem for his roommate.
"I take it you're Beast Boy." His roommate climbed out of the car, too small for the lanky man. He offered a hand to shake. "Do you always go by that?"
Beast Boy took it, surprising the other with his strength. Beast Boy wasn't using his full potential- he liked to think he was pretty strong, even if Cyborg and Starfire beat him physically every time. Raven usually just used telekinetic energy, her own brand of strength. "It's Gar. Gar Logan. Beast Boy's my super hero name, but I'll just be your everyday green shape-changing college student."
"Sam Brosnan. Is Gar short for something? Sam's short for Samuel, but no one uses that except my mother."
"Garfield."
"Gar it is." Sam grinned. "I think you'll be a much better roommate than the last guy, Mart Meducci. He wouldn't recognize a joke if it danced around in front of him naked, unless it wore a badge that had pi on it."
"He sounds like a girl who used to live her. She had a reason, though. If her emotions went haywire, the entire world went to Hell. So she's excused for not laughing at the classics." He paused, giving a dramatic effect. "Two guys walked into a bar. The third guy ducked."
Sam laughed before countering with one of his own. "Bars, is it?" He was ready. "A nun, a priest, and a lawyer walked into a bar. The barkeeper said, 'What is this, a joke?'"
"I think," Beast Boy said with mock-gravity, "that this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."
"Speak for yourself, spinach skin." Sam could see he had hit a nerve, even if Beast Boy didn't say a thing. "Sorry. I just thought- well, I wasn't thinking. I won't say anything about it."
"It's fine. It's just- she called me that, sometimes."
"Did she break up with you?"
"No, we never really got together. She left here the instant she turned eighteen, off to do something or other. I haven't heard back since, except for a Christmas present. She gave me this college's number." He decided it was time to change the subject. "So, how'd you get lucky enough to end up with a green roommate?"
"A girl on campus was looking out for a friend of hers. She had gorgeous eyes- purple ones. I don't see many of anyone with purple eyes, especially not bombshell brunettes. She had a list of characteristics, and even interviewed a few people. She was offering a pretty nice bonus, in the form of sold-out concert tickets with really nice seats, the ones reserved for celebrities."
"Did she give a name?"
"No, can't say she did." Sam frowned. "Well, the concert was worth any irritating habits you have. She said you snore. Enough about college- I want to hear about your mystery girl. Let's see a picture, Romeo."
Beast Boy had two photographs. One was the first day they were together. Starfire smiled bemusedly at the camera, Robin looked uncomfortable and was trying to remain distant, Cyborg was trying to figure out why the camera hadn't taken a picture, he was trying to get Raven to smile at some stupid joke or another, and Raven was scowling at the camera. The second picture was just six days before Raven's eighteenth birthday. Robin and Starfire were very close to each other, Cyborg was pushing Beast Boy towards Raven, he was surprised at the hard shove and trying to balance, and Raven had a ghost of a smile on her lips.
"Which one?"
"The violet hair, cape, and the chakra." He pointed as well, finding her image with the ease of a little too much practice.
"What's a charka?"
"Chakra. It's one of these." He took the small red stone used in meditation from his pocket. "She threw it at me, on the day she left."
"She's the girl who talked to me- I'd know that face anywhere. You still like her?"
"Yeah."
Sam grinned. "Great. All the girls you meet and don't want to date because you're mooning over her can be referred to me. All girls are my type."
"Too bad they won't say the same."
Still joking, they loaded Gar's belongings into the back seat of the car. He had left the Tower, even if he still carried a pair of pictures, a close-up no one else ever saw that Cyborg had made for him, and a memento that he would return, given the chance. He was Beast Boy no longer. He was Gar Logan, soon-to-be college student extraordinaire. That was what she wanted, after all.