Victor had never imagined being as happy as he was now after his transformation. He always pictured his life being nothing but misery, each day more torturous than the last. being trapped in a robotic body and losing your mother had that effect on you. And up until almost a year ago, that feeling hadn't gone away. Sure, he was happier since he had friends like the Titans, but after seeing Robin and Starfire fall for each other then Gar with Mariah, he once again felt alone, like the odd one out all over again.

It went on for a while, him successfully covering it up with his usual confidence and humor and his friends not suspecting a thing. Until one day he nearly reached a breaking point. Twice that week Gar had ditched him to hang out with his Terra lookalike girlfriend and when he went to talk to Rob, it appeared he was 'occupied' with his girlfriend as well. As for Raven, well, she was more interested in her novel than in him. In short, he felt as lonely as ever. He tried to avoid his romantically involved friends for the rest of the day, which worked out painfully well. He decided to go to the track for a run to blow off some steam then bury his sorrows in food later on. That was the plan, at least.

He was walking to the track and walked by a little league baseball field when something caught his eye. The team practicing on the field all had either mechanical arms or legs. But that wasn't the only thing that caught his attention, however. What did was the coach. A tall, blonde, beautiful woman who seemed to have more enthusiasm in coaching the kids than he did in eating contests. He wasn't sure how long he stared at her for, but his presence didn't go unnoticed. One of the many kids on the field spotted him out and immediately recognized him.

"Hey! Cyborg! It's you!" The kid cheered. Victor saw the kid and recognized him too. He had played football with him in the park once. When they met he hadn't been afraid to compare himself to Victor, given they both had mechanical arms. He even seemed proud of it. He wished he had that ability.

"Hey kid. How's it going?" He asked, giving him a fist bump. He had finally stopped gawking at the coach and focused on the task at hand.

"Awesome! Wanna come play with us? It'd just be for today cause you're obviously older than me but still it'd be really fun if you played and..." The boy rambled on and Victor honestly wasn't listening. He returned his gaze briefly to the coach again, who was looking at him too. She seemed surprised to see him, but not in a bad way at least. She even smiled at him. He wasn't sure if it was out of friendliness or pity though.

"Sure, man, sure. I just gotta get in first." He told the ecstatic kid. He opened the wired gate and walked inside. Heads turned. It seemed the boy wasn't the only one who recognized him, not that it was hard to do. Some of the kids even went up to him and greeted him. Finally, the coach did.

The woman walked up to him, holding out her hand. "Hey. I'm Sara Simms. Clint's told me a lot about you." She said, giving him a sparkling smile.

He smiled sheepishly, getting lost in her beautiful face. "Uh- Cyborg. 'Course you already knew that." He stuttered. He shook her hand, careful not to break her much smaller fingers.

She chuckled. "Well the kids wanna play ball. Wanna join in?" She asked.

"Y-yeah! That'd be great." He said.

And he did. He struck out almost every time, nearly killed a child pitching, and even fell once trying to dodge a speed ball thrown by some kid named Simon. In short, he made a complete fool of himself. Even though he laughed it off with the rest of the team, he still felt like he had ruined his already slim chances with Sara. It was getting dark out by the time the game ended. The kids said their goodbyes as parents picked them up. He signed a few arms and took some selfies with the kids. That part felt good at least. Once all the kids were gone only he and Sara were left. In hopes of avoiding an awkward silence or embarrassing himself in front of her, Vic started to walked away towards the gate. He expected that to be the end of it. He'd just go home, work on his car some, and continue living his life in loneliness while the rest of his team mates fell in love.

"Hey."

Then she stopped him.

"Huh?" He asked, turning around to see her giving him a shy smile.

She giggled. It wasn't a pretty giggle, but it was still cute. "You were great out there. I just wanted to say, I'm an intern at S.T.A.R. Labs and you look a lot like my boss, Dr. Stone? You know him?" She asked, oblivious to the weight of what she just asked.

"Yeah, I know him." Victor wanted to say. "He's the guy who tried to turn me into robot. He's the guy who raised me more like an apprentice than a son. He's the guy who was never their for my mom. He was the one who let my mom die. He's the guy that turned into this science experiment!"

But he didn't say that. Instead he froze up for a few moments, stammered a bit, then said, "Yeah, I know him..."

"Cool! Well, from what I've heard from my colleagues, he's a big fan, is that you're an amazing scientist and clearly an athlete. Do you wanna meet up sometime?" She asked.

Victor froze up for real this time. Meet up? Was there really a gorgeous woman asking to get together with him? No. He must have misheard.

"Wait...what do you mean?" He asked hesitantly.

"Y'know, grab a coffee or something. You don't seem like a bad guy, so..." She replied, still smiling.

Finally he managed to say something. "I'd love that." He finally answered.

"Great! Here's my number. Call me sometime, 'kay, big guy?" She said, handing him a slip of paper. "I gotta run. Curfew. See ya!" She said, grabbing her bags off the lawn and heading for the gate. She waved goodbye and he did too, still in somewhat of a daze.

He rejained in that lawn for a while, taking in everything. In his hand was the number of a girl named Sara Simms: little league coach, S.T.A.R. Labs intern, and easily America's next top model. She had talked to him. She interacted with him. She had even asked to 'get together' with him. And the whole time she wasn't scared of him.

Vic's opened mouth and gaping expression slowly transformed into a smile. First a small, then it grew into a huge grin. Next he was practically squealing, ready to leap off the ground. And he did, screaming 'Booyah!' and 'Woo-hoo!" at the top of his lungs.

It had been eight months and two weeks since that day.

Now he sat at his desk in the garage, admiring the picture of them together on their first date while he tinkered with an old motor. That picture was from a month later, once he got the courage to ask her if they could be more than just friends. She said yes without any doubt in her voice.

He smiled at the memory. Since then things had been going well- really well. He hadn't felt this confident or happy to get up in the morning since he was in high school, and even then he didn't have an outlook like he had now. Nor did he have an amazing girlfriend like Sarah. All of the past women in his life were short lived girlfriends or one night stands, nothing near what he and Sarah had. He had feared commitment back then, but now he couldn't picture their relationship any differently.

Vic was interrupted by the sound of the garage door opening. "Um...hey, Vic." Said Gar's voice from across the room. His voice was weak, nervous. Vic knew something was up. He had since this morning. His normally energetic friend had been so quiet, even avoiding his team mates. It was only a matter of time before he went to someone.

"Hey, Gar. What's up?" He asked, putting his wrench away.

Gar was silent for a few moments, staring at the ground. He then let out a big sigh and sat on the ground, leaning against the wall. "I messed up, Vic." He said in a melancholy voice he rarely used. This must be serious.

"Messed up at what exactly?" He asked. If he was totally honest, Beast Boy had messed up a lot in the past and he didn't usually make a big deal out of it, so if he ever went to someone, it must be serious.

He sighed. "Well...first off, what if I told you I went on a date yesterday?" He asked, still not looking at his friend.

"Huh?!" Vic almost leapt off his seat when he heard the news. This was fantastic. Now Gar could move on from Terra aka Mariah for good! Not to mention this was easy teasing material. "Dude! With who? Spill! This is-" He exclaimed excitedly. He was so ecstatic he almost missed the un-ecstatic expression. In fact, he looked even worse than when he came in.

"Uh... Gar? Why-" Vic asked again when he had calmed down.

Gar remained silent until it seemed his friend had calmed down. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you." He said softly. If Vic's ear drums weren't electronically advanced he might have missed it.

"Whataya' mean?" He asked, standing up.

"The girl I went out with. You won't believe me when I tell you." He said.

"Well, tell me anyway. Wait- it wasn't Mariah again, was it?" He asked suspiciously.

That finally made him look up. "Hell no! The opposite of her!" He exclaimed, looking baffled by his assumption.

Vic raised his metal hands in surrender. "Easy, I was just checking. Now who was it really?"

"Who do you think? You've been teasing me about her for months now, and who do you think would be the opposite of Mariah?" He asked, as though it were obvious.

That was when it clicked. His best friend, practically his brother, had gone on a date with Raven. The Raven. This was all too much. Still, he had seen signs. Gar always staring at her, the fact she actually paid attention to him. But a date? He didn't know if he should congratulate him or kick his ass. Then it occurred to him: Gar had said he messed up, right? So, therefore, he messed up things with Raven. No wonder he hadn't seen her at all that day. He had hurt her somehow.

"Uh, Vic? You okay? Don't malfunction on me." Gar nervously quipped. Vic finally stopped staring at him and blinked. When he finally spoke, his voice was much harder than he realized.

"What did you do?" He demanded, giving Gar a determined stare down. Gar's face lost its humor and he looked terrified for a moment, before that guilty expression became evident once again.

"I...I messed up everything, Vic. The date was going good, no, great until we got back home. She actually seemed happy...with me...but then I went and fucked everything up." he swallowed back tears, but Vic noticed they were still moist.

"What happened, Gar?" He asked, kneeling down to his level.

That was when he spilled. He told his friend about the insults, the kiss, all of it. He hadn't meant to tell him that much, but it just came out. His guilt had been building up since yesterday until it finally exploded. All over Vic.

"So...yeah. She hasn't spoken to me since." He explained.

Vic stared down at Gar, unsure of whether to slap or comfort the crumbling mess before him. Instead, he chose neither. "And have you spoken to her?" He asked, his voice hoarse and emotionless.

Gar nervously glanced up at him. "Well, uh...no. I figured I should give her space and-"

"Bullshit!" Vic cut him off, frustrated. "You're just scared to face her, aren't you? You're too damn sorry for yourself to swallow your pride and go to her!" He hollered.

Gar put his head down, ashamed. "I know. You're right, Vic." He said.

"Then why are you just sitting around there for?! Get off your ass and go to her!" He demanded.

"Well, I uh..." Gar stammered, tugging at his collar.

"Now!" Vic hollered one last time, pointing at the door.

Partially out of understanding his friend's motives and partially out of fear for his life, the changeling stood and left for the door.

Vic sighed as he watched the young man go. "BB, you'd better pray you don't lose her, cause girls who like that much green are hard to find." He muttered. With that, he went back to tinkering with his motor.

It wasn't that he didn't want to apologize to her. What he didn't want to endure was the guilt he'd feel when he'd look her in the eyes, or hear her say that what they had no longer existed. He couldn't bare to lose her when they had barely begun. But whether he went to her or not, there was a great chance of losing her either way. If he didn't go, though, he had no chance at all.

Before he could listen to his own doubts, he was already at Raven's door. It was too late to turn back now. He let out a deep breath he didn't know he was holding and threw caution to the wind. Finally, he knocked on the door.

"Rae...ven?" He squeaked nervously. There was no reply other than the stone cold silence that filled the air. Either she was asleep or purposely ignoring him; His money was on the latter.

He knocked again, a little louder this time and cleared his throat. "Um... Raven? I uh... was wondering if I could talk to you, about yesterday..." He asked again. Still, the air remained silent. He was beginning to grow anxious.

"Please, Rae. I-I'm sorry. I just need to talk to you. I wanna make things right! Just please let me in..." He begged, leaning against her door. He waited for a few moments, using his sensitive ears to pick up any trace of movement from behind the door. But much to his dismay, there was none.

He sighed, feeling his defeat weigh down on him. He lifted his forehead from the door and gave it a sad look, knowing he probably wouldn't be aloud in there ever again. He turned away, his body facing towards the hall. Had he walked any faster or had the ears of the average human, he may not have heard the small voice from behind the door.

"Get in. You have five minutes." Was all Raven said in her deadpan tone. But to Garfield, she sounded like an angel.

Gar immediately ran back to her door and opened it with shaking hands, partly from joy and partly from fear. His happiness faded, however, when he saw her. Her eyes were red and puffy, her clothes and hair were disheveled, and the utter pain on her face made all of the guilt come rushing back to him, full throttle.

He walked inside cautiously, closing the door behind him. Raven had clearly been trying to meditate, sitting in a lotus position on her bed. Her eyes bore into his as he tried to avoid her gaze. He stopped moving forward once he got within a few feet of her bed, knowing she probably wanted him to keep his distance.

He nervously attempted to speak. "Rae..."

"Don't call me Rae." She snapped, cutting him off; sounding just like the Raven he knew four years ago.

"R-right...sorry." He apologized. After watching his feet fiddle with her carpet he went back to the task at hand. "Listen...I really just need to talk to you, okay? I...I know I fucked up and all-"

"That's an understatement." She muttered, staring at her sheets.

"Yeah, I know. And- and I'm really sorry Rae-ven. I am. And I just want you to know that what I said was absolute bull shit, okay? I know you, Raven." She was looking back at him now, her face as blank as a sheet of paper. He still pressed on, taking a step closer.

"I know you wouldn't do something like that unless it meant something and I took that for granted. I've just been...scared. With the way Terra hurt me I was paranoid that it would happen again even in a completely different scenario. So when you kissed me like a prom which was amazing by the way, I acted like an insecure schoolboy 'cause I was scared. I was worried that there was someone else before or that I wasn't good enough in comparison to whoever else you kissed before, and... I dunno. I was just afraid of losing you so I overreacted and I ended up hurting you in the end. That was the absolute last thing that I wanted, Raven. I'm sorry I put you through that." He concluded after rambling out everything he wanted to say since yesterday.

Raven said nothing, just continued to stare at her bed. The silence lasted far too long for Gar's taste but he didn't break it this time. He wanted her to speak next.

"You are aware that this won't be fixed through a simple apology, correct?" She asked him.

"Of course." He replied immediately, nodding.

Raven sighed, looking at her lap. "Things like this will happen again, Garfield. We will end up hurting each other; by mistake or by choice. We'll either get through it or lose what we have." She stated.

"I don't want to lose it." He whispered, his voice cracking. She didn't reply at first; silence filled the room.

"I know." She replied after a few moments. "So don't."

Gar looked up and shipped his head towards her. "Huh?"

She stood and began walking toward the door. "We're going out now. You're buying me a tea."

Gar sat there lamely fir a few moments before comprehending what was happening. Once he did, he stood straight up and rushed after her to the door.

"You've got it, Raven." He said, grinning at her as he opened the door.

So yeah, long wait and only 3,000 something words to show for it. Hope those words were enough to satisfy you all (for now). I can't say I am but I'll try harder next chapter... I sure hope it works.

With many thanks,

The author