Yes, so far all the chapter titleshave been lines from Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" from the album "A Night at the Opera". The significance of this information will become clear within the next few chapters.

But for now, I don't own the Titans, and enjoy!


Chapter Six: Open Your Eyes

Cyborg was on the roof of the tower, dressed in his apron and a chef's hat. In front of him was a grill of his own design. Massive and powerful, this baby could put out more heat than anything commercially available. It was perfect for the huge rack of barbeque ribs he had on it, and the burgers and hotdogs, and the tofu something that Beast Boy insisted on.

Speedy stood beside him, kicking back a root beer in a longneck bottle. They were watching as Raven lowered a hot tub shaped volume of seawater into the hot tub. Aqualad was standing opposite her, helping her guide it in. They weren't really paying attention to him, though.

Cyborg spoke up first, choosing his words carefully. "Raven in a bikini is…"

Speedy finished. "Nice?"

"Unexpected."

A flame shot up, engulfing the food on the grill. Speedy looked down. "Flame on." Cyborg flipped some of the burgers and returned his attention to the Atlantian and the Azarathian.

Cyborg flipped some of the things on the grill. "You sure they're an item now?"

Speedy nodded. As if to answer the question, Raven walked around to Aqualad and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Another flame shot up on the grill, whether it was the result of something catching fire or a random emotion from Raven, no one knew.

At that point, Speedy's cell phone went off. He looked at the screen and smiled brightly. He flipped it open and the tone of his voice indicated he was obviously speaking to someone female. Cyborg could only hear half of the conversation. "Yes, hello? Well, fancy you calling me of all people. Oh, nothing much, just on the roof grillin' like a villain. You don't? You should, or maybe you just aren't one after all?" At this point he walked to a corner of the tower to take the call.

Cyborg was left wondering what all that was about when Bumblebee walked up and grabbed a drink from the cooler. "Hey Sparky, how much longer do we have to wait for something to eat?"

Cyborg gritted his teeth. "Longer than if you don't call me Sparky. A whole lot longer."

The wind blew the smoke off the grill towards Bumblebee who deployed her wings and with a soft buzzing sound blew the smoke in a different direction, away from both her and Cyborg. He noticed this and let out a slight laugh. "You know, they say smoke follows beauty."

Bee slowed her wings for a second, looking at him strangely. "Cyborg, I do believe that that is the nicest thing you've ever said to me."

Cyborg looked up from the ribs. "Hmmm? Oh, no, you're pushing the smoke over towards Starfire." Starfire and Robin were playing volleyball against Beast Boy and Terra. Bee glared at the metallic man. He put up his hands in defeat. "Kidding…just kidding."

Bee walked off and Speedy returned, picking up another bottle of root beer. "What was that all about?"

Cyborg sighed. "Don't know, don't care to know."

"Ahh, all becomes clear. You are desirous of the woman who stings."

Cyborg turned his cybernetic eye towards the archer. "You sure you're drinking root beer?"

Speedy put up his hands and walked away. "Robin has Star, BB has Terra, and Aqualad has Raven. All I'm saying is that everyone else has a date to the opera next week."

"Not everyone. You're as single as I am."

Speedy held up his cell phone again. "Don't worry about me. I've got it all worked out."


Cyborg sat in the living room, the screen in front of him showing a mass of cars as he played Super Land Racer 4 in single player mode. Normally he would have competition, but the three resident couples were out doing whatever couples do and Speedy had gone into town. The fact that Cyborg was alone in the tower with Bee did not escape his brain, either human or machine.

It wasn't long, either, before she came up to the living room and started rummaging around in the kitchen. He was trying to concentrate on his game, but she called out across the room. "You want something to eat?"

Cyborg's blue car crashed into a wall. He sighed and got up. "Yeah, food would be good. What were you thinking of?"

She shrugged, her wings ruffling a little. "Well, there are still leftovers from last night, or we can go out."

Cyborg opened the refrigerator. Inside, the all encompassing blue mold was moving inexorably towards the new additions on the shelf. One day he would have to incorporate some form of antifungal or trash removing device into the fridge. Not today. "Let's go out. Pizza?"

"Half meat, half vegetable."

Cyborg blinked. "When did you become the reasonable one?"

"Hush, you. We'll take your car. I want to see those new rims that you just had to buy."

Cyborg shook his head and started walking towards the elevator. "You're going soft on me, you know."

She nodded slowly. "Is that going to be a problem?"

"No. It ought to be a welcome change."

"I thought so, too."


Dinner went well for them. Small talk came easily and laughter came quickly. It was still early in the evening and they had decided on a walk around the park. They had found an ice cream cart and were walking away from it with frozen treats in hand when they saw it, towering before them. Bee spoke first.

"That is the biggest swing set I've ever seen."

Cyborg nodded silently. "That's gotta break a city ordinance." There was a pause and then he walked towards it. "C'mon, I'll push you."

"You're not going to swing?"

Cyborg sighed and lifted his foot, the soft ground beneath had compressed into a perfect image of his footprint. "Not tonight."

Bee took a seat, arranging her wings behind her. "You know, it's easy to forget about that sometimes."

Cyborg stood behind her and gently pushed her, making sure to use a human amount of force so as not to send her rocketing back towards the tower. "Easy for you to say. You don't stick a power cord into your chest every night."

"You're more human than machine. Everyone knows that. You're a far better friend than any toaster oven could ever be."

Cyborg stood stock still and blinked. "Thank you?"

Bee nodded. "You're welcome."

Time passed, the sun dropping lower on the horizon, turning the sky into a palette of reds and oranges. Finally, Bee spoke up. "Big push."

Cyborg gave a big push and at the apex, Bee pushed off from the swing and took flight. She swung around and landed beside him and placed her hand in the crook of his arm. "Let's go home." Cyborg nodded.


They arrived back at the tower some time later. The three resident couples were sitting on the couch and Speedy was in the kitchen. He looked up and being the only one noticing them enter, saw it first. He smiled at Cyborg who winked in return.

The metallic man laughed and pointed at the archer. "And then there was one."

Speedy just shook his head. "I told you, I'm all taken care of."