Disclaimer TEEN TITANS and all other related characters and material are the property of DC comics and Cartoon Network, I claim no ownership.

Chapter 18: Fearing the Truth

By: Ansa

Cyborg sighed and fell back on the stiff hotel bed, staring up at the popcorn ceiling. The sounds of the city still echoed silently from outside, reminding him very much like home. Gotham was quite different from what he was used to, a dark dingy city that seemed to be stuck in the renaissance as fare as architecture goes. Everywhere he looked, he couldn't escape the cold stare of a thousand stone gargoyles perched high upon the roofs, their talons sharp and curling over the edge. Such a fitting place to be home of the infamous Batman, the city almost a direct representation of his character. Almost as if Batman shaped the city himself, molding it to fit his own persona.

That was outside however; inside the cement walls of the many buildings things were no different from any other metropolis. The hotel room in which he currently lay was like any other in the country, no different than those few that he had already been in. The beds were firm, the blankets and sheets stiff and sterile, and although furnished, it seemed so very empty.

He looked over to the red stare of the digital alarm clock on the night stand next to him, one o'clock, the new day had already started without the sun. He really should have gone to sleep, this he knew, he had a long drive ahead of him tomorrow. One thing nagged at him however, and wouldn't leave him be until he did something about it. He had already called her when he arrived, checking in to make sure she was ok…and that she was behaving herself. Still, he missed her. No, he shook his head, trying to convince himself that he was missing everyone. That this empty room could be filled with anyone and he would be happy. Deep down, he knew that wasn't true. He knew there was only one person he wanted to see, to talk to right now. Why exactly, he didn't really know. They have been apart for much longer than this when she was in jail, the only contact being the occasional visit which was obviously shrouded with some act to convince the guards he was questioning her. Why did he miss her so now then?

Finally he groaned and gave in, hitting a few buttons on his wrist communicator. It was late, and he would most likely he would be waking her, that is if she was indeed behaving like she agreed too. He waited impatiently as the com attempted to connect, static filling the small screen with speckled snow. Finally, the snow broke to a black screen, the audio quite faint. A few seconds passed before light started to flicker on the screen, yet only faintly. Now it could be seen that there was a room on the other end of the com, the light most likely coming from a small lamp. The light seemed only to affect a small area around wherever the communicator might be, leaving the rest of the room in darkness.

"Mmmm…whhaaa? H-hello?" Her voice came first, still leaving the image of a slightly lit room. The screen jerked and blurred as Jinx picked up the small silver disk from off the nightstand, squinting at it in her tired eyes.

"Hey babe…did I wake you?" A stupid question he knew, but it was force of habit.

"…yes." Her eyes still hadn't adjusted to the light, but annoyance was still clearly visible as she squinted. "I hope there's some kind of reason you are calling at this time of night. Is everything ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just…um…checking in I guess"

"…" Jinx blinked, at least he thought she did, it was hard to tell with her eyes half open. Whether she did or not, Jinx turned her head and looked off screen, most likely to some kind of clock. For when she returned her attention to the screen she wasn't too happy. "At one in the morning?"

"Sorry bout that." Cyborg scratched the back of his head slightly. Even if she was slightly annoyed, and her hair was a mess from the pillow, it was good talking to her. He wished he didn't have to wake her, but still he smiled.

"What?"

"Hmm?"

"What are you smiling about?" Her eyes finally adjusted, now looked at him with a mix of confusion and annoyance. Being waken up in the middle of the night for no apparent reason didn't exactly put her in a good mood, to see him smiling only provoked her, not sure if he was amused at this or not.

"Oh, nothing." He tried to stop but couldn't help himself, no matter how hard he tried the grin remained on his lips.

"Right, whatever, so can I get back to sleep now?"

"Sorry, guess I just…" His mind clicked, not sure whether or not he should tell her the real reason he called. It wasn't particularly a big deal, but still, it was hard for him even if he wasn't sure why. He cared for her, she made him happy, why is this such a horrible thing to admit to someone? If anything, telling her would be a good thing, make her happy. There was something about it however, some strange void in his heart that filled him with fear. Something that made him terrified to show any kind of further affection to her, but why?

"Just what?"

"Um…nothing, nevermind." He looked away, thinking of ending the conversation there and going to sleep. Or, to be more accurate, lay awake in bed and wonder why he could no longer let her know how he feels about her…Then it hit him, harder than anything ever could in his life, or anyone's for that matter.

"No, what is it? You got me up you might as well tell me."

He could just barely hear her voice in the back of his mind, all of his attention on this sudden shock. He was ashamed that he didn't see it before, that he ever thought otherwise. It was all so clear now, and yet, it only complicated things further. Knowing this now would only make the relationship harder on him, and her, but only if she told her. This brought up yet another question…should he tell her?

"Hello?"

"Huh? S-Sorry…what did you say?"

"What's up with you tonight? You sure everything's ok?"

"…" He thought for a moment, still not sure on whether or not he should tell her. With this problem held its own fear, a fear of rejection, a fear of losing her. And what would happen, if his fears weren't realized? How could they live with this in their current situation? Things were hard enough, and this would only make them harder. This fact above everything else came up the most, and would be the deciding factor on what was to be done.

"Babe?" Jinx sat up slightly, seeing the look on his face. It was clear he was in deep thought, but with what? Whatever it was, the saddened expression in his human eye gave her nothing but concern, her annoyance being pushed aside…for the moment at least.

Cyborg sighed, looking back at the screen and taking a deep breath. He had to tell her, holding it in would only hurt him more. That, and the not knowing of whether or not she felt the same way. He had to forget the consequences, all the fears, and the hardships that were sure to follow. This was stronger than any of that, and they were both entitled to have it. If Raven and Beast Boy could work with it, so could they.

"Baby what's wrong?"

"I…" Just before he could say those three little words, the anthem that would usher in a change in both their lives, Cyborg felt a rush of cold night air rush into the room. Quickly his head shot over to the window, wide open. Inside it with one foot already on the hotel carpet was a rather hurt looking Dick Grayson, clad in his Nightwing uniform, and a paper bag in the shape of a bottle in his right hand.

"…Up for a drink?" Dick stumbled slightly as he made his way in, closing the window behind him. It was quite clear that he had already enough to drink for the both of them, but alcohol wasn't what he really needed. He didn't know what happened to put him in such an inebriated state, but he did know he needed to find out; he needed to be a friend and be there for him. Cyborg returned his attention to the glowing image of Jinx on his wrist com and sighed. As much as he wanted to tell her, he needed to be there for his friend as well, besides, this was the sort of thing that was best told face-to-face.

"Sorry…I got to go."

"What? But what were you-…" Before she could finish the small silver disc in her hands that once held the image of her Cyborg flickered and filled with snow. Static replaced all audio, leaving her in the silence of her bedroom.

It's short I know, but I needed some kind of transition into the next part of the story so this will act sort of like an intermission. I tried making this longer with adding a BB and Rae part to it, but I was having a hard time with it and didn't want to force things. Forcing it wouldn't give the best quality and that wouldn't be fair to you guys. Later Days!

ANSA