A Matter of Pride: Chapter twenty-eight; Pride

Terra didn't normally cry. She could count the number of times she had cried in the last five years on her fingers. And when she did cry, Terra was alone. That wasn't the case this time, obviously. In a matter of seconds, she felt Beast Boy's arms around her and Repeto's hand resting on her shoulder. But Terra couldn't even acknowledge her friends. She felt like a child, unable to stem the tears but loathe to cry anymore. Neither Beast Boy nor Repeto moved.

She didn't how much later it was that she ran out of tears. Such an overused term, but it was true. She took a few deep, shaking breaths and looked at her friends.

"Thanks," she mumbled abashedly, rubbing her eyes.

"No problem," Repeto said, while Beast Boy answered with a quiet "Any time."

Terra stood, ignoring the way her legs shook slightly, and left the house. Beast Boy hurried to walk beside her while Repeto trailed a little bit behind. Terra was hurriedly trying to slip into her 'hero' persona - happy, glib, and sometimes too confident for her own good. Neither Beast Boy nor Repeto was buying her act, but it was comforting to her.

Outside, Terra looked at Repeto. "Keb said he needed to borrow you for something, so I guess we'll see you later," she said, a little bit sadly. In the life of a super hero, things happened quickly and Repeto was her friend. She liked him a lot.

"Ghosts, dead people, purple hippos!" Repeto said in exasperation. "Is it too late to go back to being a normal freak?" He hugged Terra briefly and shook Beast Boy's hand. "I'll visit your Tower sometime, if I'm allowed."

"I'll make sure you're welcome," Beast Boy assured him. Repeto smiled.

"What are you waiting for? You guys had better go."

Terra nodded and lifted a chunk of rock of carry her. Beast Boy transformed into a big eagle. Terra waved one more time to Repeto, and then she and Beast Boy were on their way back to Jump City and the Teen Titans.

---

They - the Titans - welcomed them back enthusiastically. Even Robin seemed happy, though that was probably Beast Boy's return more than hers. Raven... well, you could never really tell with Raven, but she seemed less frosty than usual. Terra smiled at everyone, except the standoffish Raven. She had the feeling that smiling would only provoke Raven.

Terra was allowed, again, to stay at the Tower. She loved it - what could be better than living with your best friends?

"The crime rate is starting to rise again," Robin said at breakfast, the day after she and Beast Boy had returned. "We need all the help we can get. Terra, would you mind becoming a full Titan again?"

Terra's mouth dropped open, revealing a mash of mostly-chewed waffles. She shut her mouth again quickly and swallowed. "R-really?"

Robin nodded. "We could use your help. And I think you deserve it."

Terra fumbled for something to say, but Robin had left by the time she found her voice. Beast Boy, the only other one in the room, whooped and gave her a congratulatory hug.

Terra was a Titan. She couldn't wait until Repeto showed up; he'd be happy for her, too.

---

A month passed and Terra had settled right back in to being a Titan. She did any training Robin told her to, and some extra, and fought her hardest in battle. She wanted to remove any doubt that she was anything less than fully devoted to living up to her title. Raven still didn't trust her, obviously; the sorceress looked like she suspected Terra of working against them all the time, and using the extra effort to win everyone over.

Everyone else told Raven she was being paranoid.

Terra got along well with the rest of the Titans. Starfire used her to test all of her latest concoctions, since Terra didn't mind the strange food - it was no better than a week old cheeseburger fished out of a dumpster - and even quite enjoyed it. I mean, really, who wouldn't like pickled Zorkaberry Glifnorgs? Beast Boy claimed that he was practicing his video game skills with Terra so that he could be better than Cyborg. Cyborg said that Terra, unlike Beast Boy, could actually give him a run for his money.

Repeto had yet to show up. Terra couldn't help but be worried. What if, on whatever job Keb wanted him for, Repeto had gotten hurt, or even killed?

She told herself to stop worrying, that he was probably having trouble moving from Ashkum to Jump City, as he couldn't fly and didn't have his own car.

But she couldn't stop worrying.

As the days passed, Terra became used to the small, nagging worry. She could ignore it, function in spite of it, but it was always there. She noticed a change in Raven's attitude, as well. The dark Titan seemed to trust her more, after a month of showing no signs of ill will. Raven could stand to be in the same room as her, now, even if they were always as far away from each other as the room would allow. It was a start. They weren't friends by any stretch of the imagination, but they were getting there.

So, basically, life was good. Even the increase in crime wasn't hard to manage with five other people helping.

---

Two more months passed without hide or hair of Repeto. Terra had resigned herself to the fact that she probably wouldn't see him again.

She had rather expected Beast Boy to ask her out, but he admitted to her that he wasn't as in love as he had thought, and any romantic feelings for Terra had died down. Terra thought she would be offended by that, but she found that it didn't hurt at all. She was alright with it. (She couldn't help laughing a little when he went on to admit that he had a crush on Raven, of all people. He got defensive, but he must have known how ridiculous and unexpected it was because he laughed as well.)

Raven didn't know about Beast Boy's crush, obviously. He was still in this dimension, after all. And in one piece.

At the moment, Beast Boy had somehow convinced Raven into going grocery shopping with himself and Terra. His excuse was that Terra didn't know her way around the store very well and he only knew where the tofu was, where-as she knew her way around pretty well. Raven had conceded to the fact that they were both idiots and had accompanied them.

"...Okay, next item on the list... Tofu!" Beast Boy announced cheerfully.

Terra, walking in front of him, turned around and laughed. She was walking backwards now. "Beast Boy, you've said that three times now! You're the only one that eats it - how much tofu do you need?!"

"I'm a growing boy! I eat a lot!"

"We know, we live with you," grumbled Raven. "It smells horrible while it cooks. And it takes forever to scrub off of the pans."

"And another thing," Terra continued, "why didn't you just get loads of it when we were there the first time, instead of putting it on the lis - Oh! I'm sorry!" She was still walking backwards, not paying attention to where she was going, and had crashed into someone.

"That's alright," replied a familiar voice. Terra whirled around and was met with a pair of very familiar brown eyes.

"Repeto!" she squeaked, throwing her arms around him. Repeto laughed and hugged her back. "Where were you?! Keb said you'd be gone for a couple days! Did you get into trouble or anything? Were you hurt?!"

"And this is..." drawled Raven. The two former apprentices stopped hugging and Terra turned to her friends. Beast Boy was grinning at Repeto.

"Sorry! Raven, this is Repeto. Repeto, Raven, one of my teammates."

"Pleased to meet you. Terra's told me a lot about you." Repeto held out his hand for Raven to shake.

Raven took the hand, one eyebrow raised in a way that might have been controlled amusement or judgment, or a number of other emotions. "Likewise, although Terra never mentioned you." They shook.

"But why're you here, Rep? And how long are you staying?" Terra asked excitedly. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed movement. Beast Boy was reaching for Raven's hand, though he was staring with interest at the opposite shelf.

"I thought it was about time I came for a visit," Repeto answered with a shrug. "I also kind of wanted to find an apartment and get a job here. Lovely climate... I've never been this close to the Pacific."

Terra smiled. Even with her family dead by her hand (twice, in Rhea's case) she couldn't imagine being happier in that moment. She was a Titan - a glance at Beast Boy and Raven made her grin, as Beast Boy had managed to take her hand without getting himself blown up - and Keb had forgiven her, and one of her best friends was going to live in the same city.

In a way, she was glad for Rhea's pride.

End

Author's Note: Sorry for the bad ending, everyone, and thanks for sticking with me this long! I hope you enjoyed Terra's adventures, even if they weren't as exciting as I'd have liked. Thanks again for reading and reviewing! Oh, Suzaku, this is the second story I've ever finished. -shudder-