The characters belong to DC and Time-Warner, and I in no way own them or plan to make money off of them, but the story belongs to me.


Moments Part 2

Bench

He sat on the bench and stared at his metallic hands… hands that had once been flesh and bone, hands that once could feel and touch. Sure there was tactile feedback that registered in the cybernetic side of his brain that translated the sensation of touch, but it was not the same. He could no longer feel hot or cold, the roughness of bark or the satiny feel of skin. Instead the sensors in his hands only told him the temperature in Celsius, Fahrenheit or Kelvin, or tell him that he was touching a tree and give him the composition of the bark or how much pressure to apply when touching a living thing. He could remember how these things felt, but could no longer experience them.

Cyborg looked out at the people running, playing and relaxing in the park. At the couples who were talking to each other, holding hands, cuddling or making out; all things he believed he would never experience. Sure he had his friends the Titans, but even they had somebody special in their lives. After years of dancing around each other, Robin and Starfire were together, Raven and Beast Boy were closer and he suspected there was more involved, but they kept it quiet. There was Jinx once, but she was with Kid Flash now and ever since Herald joined up with Titans East, it seemed that Bumble Bee was cozying up to him. Hot Spot had Argent, Jericho and Cole was growing close and Red Star and Pantha had been seen together from time to time. Yep it seemed all the Teen Titans were pairing up and where did that leave Cyborg? Alone, that's where it left him.

Of course he was alone, what girl wanted a man who was more machine than man. He had the mind, heart, soul and desires of a man, but his body was wires, circuits, gears, servos, and hydraulics all encased in a nearly indestructible metal shell. Face it Cyborg, that's exactly what you are a cyborg and that's all you'll ever be. At least he had friends and he was thankful for that. He just wished that…

"Mr. Cyborg?"

Someone was talking to him. He looked around and saw a petite, yet pretty blonde young woman standing in front of him. Even with him sitting down, he was a bit taller than her.

"That's me, Cyborg," he said as he gave her a friendly smile.

She smiled nervously back at him. "Uhm… I don't mean to bother you sir, but I wanted to ask you a favor if I could?"

Cyborg smiled even more, "Why sure, what can I do for you little lady?"

The girl giggled and her cheeks flushed, "Well… um… my name is Sarah Simms and I… uh… was wondering if you could take time from your busy schedule, and um… come speak at the school I teach at? The kids there would love it."

Cyborg stroked his chin in thought, then smiled at her again, "Sure, I'll get the other Titans and we can…"

Sarah held up her hand, "Oh no, just you. They only want to see you." She looked down then back up at him. "You see, my students are all disabled. Many are amputees and wear prosthetics. You are their number one hero…" she trailed off

Cyborg was stunned, "Really?"

She nodded her head. "Yes they see you as one of them and they want to be like you one day."

Cyborg looked seriously at Sarah, thinking about what she said. Sarah shrunk back and started to turn away.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you…" she mumbled out as she walked away.

Cyborg shook himself from his thoughts and stood up to reach out to her. "Oh hey… Wait! You didn't offend me, just that I was stunned at what you said. I'd be glad to come by."

Sarah stopped and her face lit up a she turned back around to face him, "Really? You would come. My children would be so happy to see you at their school."

"Sure, little lady no problem," Cyborg said, and unconsciously stuck his chest out a little more and had a grin on his face.

"Here… here's the number and address to the school, oh and let me give you my cell phone number too…" she said as scribbled her number down on the back of her business card then handed it to him.

"Thank you, Mr. Cyborg, the children will be so excited!" Sarah said, the excitement barely concealed in her voice.

Cyborg smiled brightly at her, "I look forward to it, Ms. Simms"

"Oh, you can call me Sarah if you like," she said blushing.

"Sure, and you can call me Cy," he said reaching out his hand to her.

She took his hand and shook it, "Alright, Cy it is then," she said then turned to walk away, but hesitated and turned back to him.

"If you don't mind me saying, I think you're a very handsome man. You can call me if you like." She then blushed even more and walked away at a brisk pace.

Cyborg watched her as she headed to the parking lot. A smile crept across his face, "Well Cy, old man, things are definitely looking up."

Beaten

Pain, pain everywhere, he felt like he'd been hit by a semi-truck that had backed up and run him over again. His uniform was ripped and torn in several places. He could feel a swelling in one of his eyes, his head was pounding, but Cy said he didn't have a concussion. His body was bruised and some of his ribs were cracked, he could barely move. He had made a good show of it after it was all over, but now that he was in his room he could feel the pain and it was only going to be worse in the morning. He took the ibuprofen Cyborg had given him and prepared the hot/cold packs to use. Raven had helped some with the healing, but she was already exhausted from her mental joining with him. She told him, she'd see him tomorrow, after she'd rested.

He used a bird-a-rang to cut off his tunic and trousers, kicked off his boots a gingerly lowered himself to his bed. The pain was intense, making him dread the morning even more. Sadly though this wasn't his worst pain, no instead it was the knowledge that he had hurt Starfire that pained him more than any beating he could ever have. It wasn't only the emotional pain of yelling at her, but it was the fact that he physically hurt her and even raised his hand at her. The look on her face was more than he could bear and it was that which haunted his mind and dreams through the night.

How could he hurt his best friend that way? She was doing her best to help, and even after he hurt her like he did, it was her that stopped him from fighting with his friends and it was her that found him in the basement of the Tower, nearly dead. He'd given up on her, but she never gave up on him. He wouldn't be surprised if she never spoke to him again let alone trust him. What he did was unforgiveable and he deserved nothing less than spite from her. He didn't deserve to have a friend like her and no apology would ever make it right. Hopefully she would avoid him and never talk to him again.

He must have fallen asleep, because he didn't remember the storm ending. He felt something wasn't right though, it was the scent that alerted him, the scent of her, the unmistakable scent of her shampoo and perfume. He lay very still, as to not alert her that he was awake. He felt her unbelievably soft hand gently touch his forearm then take his hand in hers. He thought heard her sniffle, followed by a quiet sob. He sensed her lean closer to him, then her lips gently touched his forehead. He watched her under lidded eyes, hoping she wouldn't notice. She sat there a moment longer then quietly stood up and walked to the door. The door slid open and she took a step, then stopped and turned back to him and watched him for a moment.

"I forgive you Robin," she whispered, lingering a moment more, then the door slid shut behind her as she walked out into the doorway.

Robin closed his eyes, and strained to hold back the tears. No he didn't deserve a friend like her.


Angst, it makes for great drama.