A/N: Ugh…I just noticed the last chapter was more dialogue than anything. I hate it when that happens. I bet this chapter will look just like that. XD Thanks for the reviews, and I'm glad you all liked that last chapter.
Chapter Nine: Maturity
They two Titans flew in silence and after a short while they landed on the rocks in front of the tower. Raven punched the password in quickly, hoping that they had gotten home in time. However, the door opened, and they were greeted by Cyborg.
Well that's just great, Raven smugly thought.
"Hey you two," Cyborg said while grinning, "Have fun ignoring tower rules?"
"Hey, it's not like we were locked up," Beast Boy said, quoting Raven. "We could have left if we wanted."
"Calm down," Cyborg told him, "I probably would have done the same thing…the only difference is that I wouldn't have gotten caught. Look, just be careful. Robin's a little ticked off that you two just up and left like that, and he's especially disappointed in you Raven."
Beast Boy entered the tower and walked over to the couch and sat down. "Well I'll be ready when he comes."
Raven stood still, and Cyborg looked at her, concerned. "You've been acting different lately...are you alright, Rae?"
"I'm fine," Raven told him and proceeded to walk past him, but Cyborg stepped in front of her.
"Look, I'm just worried about you. You literally skipped practice today, with no worries…like Beast Boy. You also went and decided to up and leave when you were supposed to stay at the tower."
"Robin will get over it."
"He may get over it," Cyborg told her. "But it's going to be a long time. He and I were the only ones who showed up for practice this morning."
Raven raised her eyebrow. "What about Starfire?"
"She had to go to class this morning, remember? Look, the guy thinks the team is falling apart, and he's already depressed that he never really gets to see Starfire."
Raven pondered for a moment. "Wait a minute...if Starfire didn't come to training today, then where was she? She wasn't in the tower with me and Beast Boy."
"She took a walk," Cyborg explained, "She trained this afternoon after school, but not on other days. She also had homework this afternoon. I think those classes are really taking the energy out of her."
"Oh."
"If you're worried about her, I'm sure she'll be back soon. She's a strong girl."
Robin walked into the common room and stared at the three Titans who were occupied there. Cyborg and Raven stared at him while Beast Boy calmly sat on the couch. Robin ignored him, and went straight for Raven.
"Mind telling me why you weren't here when we came back?" He gruffly asked.
"We didn't want to stay in the tower all night, Robin."
"You had no problem doing that on previous nights," Robin pointed out to her. He took a deep sigh, not wanting to yell at her. He then spoke softly, "Raven...what's going on with you lately? You seem so different now."
"How different…?"
"Careless."
"If you're wondering, I care about the team, okay?"
"It's not just the team, it's everything else."
There was a slight pause between them. "I'm fine, and I will be fine, Robin. I think you're just a little upset that Starfire's been gone all day," Raven told him. She didn't even show fear while doing so.
Beast Boy looked up at her in awe and Cyborg firmly put his hand on Robin's shoulder.
A silence passed in the room, until Robin spoke. "This has nothing to do with Starfire."
"All right then. Then it's settled." Raven walked over and out of the room, ending the conversation. Robin wriggled from Cyborg's grip and took one last look at the entrance to the tower. Then, he quietly went to his room.
Cyborg and Beast Boy stayed in silence, until Beast Boy broke it.
"So is he too good to yell at me or something?"
oOo
Robin came back to the common room later than night, when it had finally cleared out He sat on the couch where Beast Boy sat earlier, and he could tell from the tofu smell. But that wasn't important at the moment. He needed to see Starfire.
He began to ponder on why she would need to take a walk. If she was tired, she would lie down. It was most likely because school and training was putting too much pressure on her. That would mean half of the reason was his fault. Robin groaned and put his head in his hands.
In this position, he wondered where Starfire was at that moment. It must had been one long walk she was taking, but no matter how long it was he would wait for her.
The wait was not easy, however.
He began to think about ways to apologize to the Tameranian, or to greet her when she came back.
Starfire flew through the main entrance beaming, not at thin air, but at him. She then flew to the couch and hugged Robin. "Thank you for waiting for me, friend," she said, "That was very sweet of you to stay up so late."
"You're welcome," was all Robin could manage. "I'm sorry about being hard on you for practicing."
"You were hard on everyone, not just me."
"Ok."
"I missed you very much, Robin," she continued, "I thought about you a lot during my walk."
"I thought about you too," Robin said, "I worried about you while we were at the bowling alley."
Starfire blushed as she moved closer to him. Robin wasn't even nervous at all. He followed suit and closed his eyes, and although his eyes were closed, he could tell that her eyes were closed as well. They leaned closer until he could smell her...but instead of what he expected, she stunk...badly...
Robin opened his eyes to see Beast Boy playing Mega Monkeys on one player mode beside him. He didn't seem to notice that the sleeping Titan next to him had awakened, but when Robin sat up he did.
"Robin!" Beats Boy said, alarmed. "You're awake! Sorry I sat on the couch while you were sleeping, but I just had to play Mega Monkeys, I couldn't sleep."
"Yeah...whatever." Robin rubbed his eyes. "How long have I been sleeping...and what time is it? Did Star come home?" he interrogated.
"Only about an hour, it's midnight, and yes I know it's late. I'm pretty sure Starfire came back. She's probably in her room."
"Only an hour," Robin muttered, "Seemed longer than that."
"I told you, you can't sleep well on a couch," Beast Boy said.
They sat in an awkward silence. The two were different, very different, so what could he say? Robin was about to leave the room, but he decided to stay. He wanted to clear things up with Beast Boy.
"Beast Boy…do you remember that day when we were at the bank—"
"How could I forget?" Beast Boy mumbled. He kept his eyes on the screen of the game, as he smashed two monkeys.
Robin shook his head and sighed. "Look, all I wanted to say was that I'm sorry about the things I said—especially about you being a Titan. I was just angry…I don't know what came over me. I just started saying things I don't really mean."
Boy, did Raven know everything.
Beast Boy suspiciously looked at him. "Did Starfire put you up to this?"
"No, she just talked to me that day when I flew with her. Her condition after school made me think of apologizing to you. Since Star's been tired all the time now…and you and Raven rarely come to practice anymore, I feel like I've been pressuring the whole team."
Beast Boy looked away from the game he was playing. "I didn't know you felt that way," he muttered. "Sorry I was a little annoying to you…I thought it was just me you were angry about."
Robin shook his head. "I wasn't angry, just frustrated."
Beast Boy gave a small grin. "So…were cool buds now, right?"
Robin gave the changeling a funny look, and his eyebrow rose.
Beast Boy paused the game he was playing and put out his right hand. Robin grasped it with his own hand and shook it. "Yeah, we're cool."
Ever have one of those moments when you feel all grown up? Well, I just had one.
Once Robin planned to go upstairs, he wanted to check up on Starfire, but he was too tired by the time he got up there. He lied down on his bed and set the alarm. He had to get some sleep, since he had to get up in five hours.
A/N: Now half the story is posted!That last part in italics in supposed to be Beast Boy thinking by the way. I just wanted to make clear who it was. This chapter has one of my favorite scenes. Can you guess what it is?