*Yes, I know, this is extremely delayed but don't be too harsh on me, I've been running around crazily with all the stuff I need to do and don't forget that to write something, you need to have the proper inspiration, and I was in some sort of…a writer's block, so please excuse me. I'm back now and I honestly hope you enjoy this chapter. Thank you all incredibly much for supporting this and for waiting. Happy reading!
PS.: I'm no Tamaranian expert, I don't know many details on the planet, so excuse me if I make mistakes on things about the planet that have been clarified before. *
CHAPTER SEVEN
Ever since Robin came back to the Tower, it had been quite hectic for Cyborg. It seemed like he couldn't wait a single day to go to Tamaran and check on his precious Starfire. Though he could understand him, he wasn't too amused with all the extra work he had to put on for their jet to be ready for the space travel, especially when Beast Boy had updated their videogame collection and his spare time was just enough to get a breather between fixes on the jet.
That breather, though, was enough for him to notice that everyone was back to normal, but Raven was a bit off. He didn't know what had happened in just a couple of days to disturb her, but she was spending an awful lot of time in her room and barely ever seemed to greet him or find something to say. True, she wasn't exactly the babbly type but her demeanor was too silent, even for her own standards and Cyborg wished he knew what was happening more than anything. In between system checks and screwing and unscrewing panels on the deck, he found himself wondering about it and making wild guesses, none of which seemed reasonable at all, and so he was left with a riddle that puzzled him constantly. Many times he thought he should ask but he always decided against it, thinking he would find out on his own sooner or later.
The last weekend had flown by, and Robin had been yelling to get everything ready before Monday's sunrise, so they could get going as soon as possible. Sleepy as ever, but packed with enough coffee for the trip, the Titans boarded the jet. Robin with Raven on the front, Cyborg at the back panels and Beast Boy lounging on his seat, waiting for instructions to help if he was needed. Robin pressed some buttons, Cyborg confirmed that all of the systems were up and fully functional and soon, they took off, just as the sun began to make its appearance on the skyline.
"Estimated arrival: in five and a half hours." Robin announced.
Raven suppressed a yawn and spoke. "Please remind me why we had to begin so early?"
"Trips always begin early." Robin replied, checking something on a monitor.
"Roadtrips, when you need the sun to see properly. It's not like we'll be getting much light in outer space, Boy Wonder."
"He's just impatient!" Beast Boy said. "It's our Star we're talking about, give him a break. I mean… I would be anxious like that if it was trip to get to my…Star…" He said with a peculiar color in his voice, making everyone feel awkward, as he pinned his eyes on the back of Raven's chair.
Cyborg tensed up upon hearing him and found himself clenching his fists over the mechanical control panels. Everyone knew what he meant and he felt like shouting 'Leave her alone, she doesn't want you!'. Yet, he maintained his composure, knowing he was in no place for doing such a thing to his friend. It was Raven's business and Raven's only.
Raven felt like a small thunderbolt ran though her spine. Why, why on Earth, did he have to say such a thing? Her eyebrow twitched and she felt him eyeing her spot. "You lost the flight of that trip." She said monotonously, keeping her gaze fixed straight forward.
"There's always going to be a next one." Beast Boy insisted.
"There's no airport anymore." Raven spat again and Cyborg gave a smirk to himself, unclenching his fists.
"Speaking of which," Robin said, breaking the awkward discussion, "Beast Boy, check on Tamaran satellite images for any surface typhoons we need to be aware as we land."
"Right away, Captain." The shapeshifter said, weirdly giggling to himself.
OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO
As soon as their jet landed and they disembarked, the Titans were greeted by a small squadron of guards. Robin made all the necessary introductions and was happy to realize that many of the guards remembered them from the last time they were on the planet, to help call Starfire's trap-marriage off. They accompanied them to the palace, where they were asked to wait for permission to enter.
"Not much has changed around here…" Robin said, taking a look around the entrance yard of the palace.
"Well, I doubt much of what is going on in a planet would be imprinted on a single building…" Raven said and Robin shot her an exasperated look.
Before long, the front doors opened and out came Starfire, followed by five guards. Robin's eyes widened and that look of ever-lasting adoration didn't go unnoticed by neither Raven nor Cyborg, who simultaneously turned to look at each other and nod in mutual notice.
Starfire was in her royal attire, eyeing them intensely. She had her hair in a French cut, reaching just about the level of her neck in length, and seemed to be somewhat taller too. A few silent moments passed before she decided to act, having looked at all of their faces. She jumped up and flew to them swiftly, hugging whomever was in her way first, eventually dragging all of them in a group hug.
She giggled loudly, mumbling some things along the lines of 'what are you doing here?', 'I've missed you so much, friends' and something in Tamaranian. When she let them go, she invited them inside to speak, floating over the hallways happily.
"What brings you at my planet?" She asked, when they were seated at the dining hall and waited for some local delicacies- not to the rest of the Titans' particular impatience.
"You, really." Cyborg said, jumping to the point.
"Oh, I am humbled. I notice you…have regrouped?"
"Yeah!" Beast Boy said. "But we're not fully regrouped without you, Star!"
"Um…" Starfire averted her eyes.
"Starfire, is everything here alright?" Robin asked, not knowing how to put it. He was dying to know what she had to do while on Tamaran, fearing for the worst.
"Yes, everything is absolutely fine, I assure you." The princess replied, giving him a meaningful look. "I'm back on my duties as this country's legitimate ruler."
"Single, we'd like to think." Raven said, paying attention to no subtleties.
"I am in no state of matrimony." Starfire clarified. "I would never accept a marriage over my own will now." Raven gave Robin an 'I told you so' look and he nodded.
"How are you findin' it, rulin' a country?" Cyborg asked.
"Oh, it is most challenging, friend Cyborg. I have much still to learn but I am lucky. I have many wise counselors aiding me."
"That's nice."
"Would Tamaran manage without you?" Beast Boy asked, his eyes shining.
"Are you implying that-"
"I'm implying that you need to get back to Earth and back to the Titans, duh."
"It is a difficult thing you're asking me to do, Beast Boy."
"Oh, come on. You've done it before, you can do it again!"
"We are trying to make a fresh start for Tamaran and my counselors insist that I am crucial to that effort." Starfire stated, fixing her crown.
"I bet we-"
"Starfire," Raven interrupted Beast Boy, "are we allowed to stay for some days here?"
"You are most welcome. I have already ordered some rooms to be prepared for you."
The doors opened and three people walked inside, carrying large trays of unidentifiable Tamaranian food. "Feast, friends!" Starfire exclaimed, before practically throwing herself at the dishes.
OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO
"We need to be coordinated." Robin began when they gathered at his room to organize their 'get Starfire back' plan.
"At least she's friendly." Beast Boy said. "Hasn't changed."
"Still, she's the country's ruler now. She can't just run away, right?" Cyborg said, taking a seat on a bizarre armchair.
"She wants to come." Raven said. "She just can't."
"Can't we show her what she's missing?" Beast Boy asked. "We'll be all crazy and playful and stuff, like back at home, and she'll remember the times and want to come with us again!"
"She hasn't forgotten." Robin said. "She has other obligations now."
"Robin, you had other obligations too." Cyborg said. "What made you come back to the team?"
Robin exchanged a look with Raven and rubbed his chin. "I guess the right buttons were pressed…"
"Let's press Star's buttons too!"
"We need to have some very compiling arguments." Raven said. "The 'we all miss you so much' just isn't enough."
"Let's be clever here." Cyborg said. "I'm going to be a little straight forward, so sorry if I'm bein' indiscrete. We know that Robin's the one closest to her."
Robin frowned deeply and mumbled "Am I, anymore?"
"These things don't change so easily, man. I don't know what really went down between you, but I bet there's some stuff you'd like to tell her, right?"
Robin shrugged. "I suppose."
"Well, tell her! It might be just what she needs to hear right now."
"Like an apology or something!" Beast Boy said.
"Hey, I'm not going to play theater over there! What if I don't want to apologize?!" Robin said. "You don't know what happened, stop making assumptions!"
"He's right." Raven agreed. "Whatever went on between them is none of our business and whatever your talk might be, Robin, make sure it's honest. It will help both of you."
"I don't know if it'll work. I mean, our talk is going to be personal. I'm not going to try to convince her about anything."
"Well, why don't you try addin' some spice to the talk? Or maybe after you're done with your bit of talkin', you can pull the ace from your sleeve…"
"What ace are you talking about, Cyborg?"
"One of the things we argued about back then, was the Apokolips technology. Things are getting' dangerous. I have been findin' weapons like those in crimes everyday and just before we contacted Beast Boy, Raven and I found a giant Apokoliptic robot. A prototype, we guessed, and gathered pieces from it after we put it down."
"It is going to get big." Raven added. "And soon. This needs to be handled quickly and, well, maybe, let's say, we could use all the help we can get…?" She said meaningfully.
"You hadn't told me this!" Robin said.
"We were waiting for the group to reform to handle this properly."
"I have the pieces back at my lab." Cyborg said. "Runnin' some tests and stuff. I thought we could crosscheck our findings at some point. If you agreed to sharin' yours, at least…"
Robin sighed. "It was a mistake, not telling you, and a mistake I'm not going to make again."
"Glad to hear that." Raven said.
"So, tell her." Cyborg went on. "She might want to help."
"Alright."
"What if she can't come with us, even after that?" Beast Boy asked, pouting.
"Then, there's not much we can do." Robin said, passing his hand through his hair.
"Go." Cyborg said. "The sooner you talk, the sooner we'll know!"
"I, I'm not ready!"
"These things need to come from your heart." Beast Boy said, acting all wise and pushing Robin towards the door. "You don't need any written speeches. Just blurt whatever fluffy thing passes through your head!"
"What the-"
"Trust your instincts!" The shapeshifter opened the door. "Follow your heart!" He pushed Robin out. "She's right down this hallway." He shut the door after him. "So… Does any of you"-he looked at Raven smiling-"feel like taking a stroll around the planet?"
"I'd rather eat their food." Raven said, turning black and passing through the wall, to get to her room.
Cyborg rolled his eyes at his friend. "She'll come around…" Beast Boy said, somewhat disappointed but persistent as ever. Cyborg decided not to speak, for the best of all of them.
"Too bad we didn't bring the console along." He simply stated, changing the subject.
OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO
Raven pushed the doors of her room's balcony open and went outside, leaning on the railing. It had a good view of the palace's gardens and the city, starting just beneath the palace's tall walls. She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.
Ever since that night –the one she realized what was actually going on with her, she was constantly in a state of self-restriction. Knowing she couldn't possibly indulge or attempt anything –not even understanding if she really wanted to, either, she decided to try and keep it from growing even bigger. Because just as fast as it came, it would grow. And then it'd be even harder to conceal and manage it. So, she avoided conversations with him whenever she could, and tried at all costs, not to be alone with him, because she'd get a flood of feelings that would only do harm if she were to express or act on them. He was her friend. He was a fellow Titan. He was friend to her ex. Also a fellow Titan. Her ex wanted her back. She didn't.
She sighed. Why did she have to be in such a messy situation? And why didn't seem to understand how...well, wrong it was to feel like that? Because she couldn't help but realize that whenever she happened to look at Cyborg, it felt weirdly…right. And she hated having herself feel so fluffy and infatuated with someone. It hadn't been like that with Beast Boy, though it was a crush alright. This was a different one.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the sight of Robin and Starfire, entering the garden; Robin walked slowly, with Starfire flying by his side. They reached a bench by some weird, blue bushes and sat down. Robin hang his head low, fiddling with his fingers. Starfire looked at him longingly and Raven decided to head back inside. She would very much dislike it if their chat was cut short because they felt like they were being watched. She fell on her bed and stared at the painted ceiling.
Some time later, she guessed around an hour, she heard an impatient knock on her door. She dragged herself over, opening the door just a notch and feeling her whole body tense up upon seeing a radiant Cyborg, grinning at her widely.
"What is it?" She asked.
Cyborg giggled goofily and easily pushed the door open, inviting himself in. "Veni, viso, victi!" He said and Raven frowned in confusion.
"You mean, veni, vidi, vici?"
"That thing that Emperor said, the 'I came, I saw, I conquered' stuff…"
"So… You have something to announce?" Raven asked, skipping a Latin lecture.
"Yeah!" He exclaimed, looking at her excitedly. He caught himself thinking she looked so nice, even though that was nowhere near what he had to say. "T'was a success!"
"You mean…she's…"
"Starfire's back on the team!"
"That was quick!" Raven said, smiling timidly. "How?"
"Our ace. She said they'd been havin' some Apokolips stuff on here too and took it upon herself to deal with it for her planet's safety and such."
"And what about her position?"
"Robin said that she said that she was going to speak with the council for a suitable replacement."
"I'm glad."
"I'm glad we decided to do this, Rae!" He said, grinning again. "Glad we bumped into each other that night!" Raven couldn't help but smile back, not knowing what else to do.
Cyborg caught himself being in a state of bliss; the team was back, they were all alright, they had cases to work on and he was, at the moment, with one of the most important people in his life. He felt as if he could burst, and did the first thing that came to mind; he snatched Raven into a breathtaking hug.
Raven's eyes widened when she was pressed to his wide chest, and, instinctively, she wrapped her hands around his waist, wishing with all of her might that her cheeks didn't betray how flushed she felt. Cyborg let go, pushing her just a bit further away from his embrace, having his hands on her shoulders. She sure had a peculiar look on her face. His gaze jumped from her shiny eyes to her lips and back, as he struggled with the fierce urge to kiss the latter. Grabbing on to his reason, though, he simply approached her to him and planted a tender kiss on her forehead.
"Thanks…" He mumbled for some reason, swiftly opened the door and left, leaving Raven to stand like a statue where he left her, not even blinking.
He panted, taking long strides to his bedroom. For some reason, though he realized how complicated his situation was, he smiled. Who would believe he had actually fallen for Raven? And fallen, he realized as well, not so lightly either…
The next morning found them both anxiously trying to find things to get busy with, from chatting with Starfire about Tamaran's politic situation, to cleaning the jet. Luckily, Starfire and her council had many things to appoint them with, since her departure needed to find the country ready and the people aware of it. So they discussed about communications, public speeches, information on Apokolips and helped Starfire make all the needed arrangements. Though Raven wasn't too happy to have a public speech appointed to her, she accepted it with no complaints whatsoever; she got busy with anything, anything at all, to keep herself from going over last night's incident, that had already kept her from getting a full night's sleep. Little did she know that Cyborg was in the exact same situation, offering to boost the planet's defense weaponry, from having to hang around the palace, risking meeting her before he had a chance to make up his mind on what he wanted to do. Because the issue, he found, was indeed of quite an importance to him, and he'd hate it if he messed anything up before it had even begun.
*Here it is, then! The group's officially back together and ready for its pilot mission on the next chapter. Of course, no mission will be our main subject there… Stay tuned! Please leave me some feedback on the chapter and sorry for the delay. I sincerely hope the next chapter will be up sooner than this one. Thanks for reading!*