A/N: Hey! I've been experiencing writer's block on my other story so I finished this drabble that I started a couple of years ago. I headcannon that Terra used Beast Boy first and foremost to find out info on the Titans so she could pass their secrets along to Slade, and here's a short chapter to illustrate that, so flashback to Titan Rising and how the Titans brought Terra into the fold.
Pairings: Rob/Star (ish) and slight BB/Terra (he wishes).
"Are you sure you like it?" Terra asked, holding up a mess of green and black construction paper by the piece of yarn attached to it by the corners.
"It's awesome," Beast Boy replied, beaming.
Terra didn't know if she could trust Beast Boy, but she put the finished product to the side anyway and picked up a few pieces of blue paper, some silver ribbon, and a silver permanent marker to start another. The two of them had been working to create name signs for all of the Titans' rooms for the past half an hour, but with all of their chit-chatting they'd barely finished the ones for their own rooms.
She looked at the time on her T-comm: 2:30 p.m. "Do we have somewhere we were supposed to be right now?" she asked.
Beast Boy scratched his temple in deep thought for a moment before shrugging his shoulders. "Not that I can think of. Hey, can I have my sign? I don't want to forget it or anything."
"Yeah, here," she replied and passed it to him.
Before starting, Beast Boy had insisted that they do one another's signs and she had to admit she liked the outcome: he'd spelled her name with dried flower stems and glued dandelions in the corners; black, yellow and white strips of paper laid across the background in diagonal stripes and he'd even managed to attach coin-sized rocks to the bottom by wrapping yellow yarn around them and tying the yarn to the bottom of the paper. She didn't know how she'd get it to stay on her door—she couldn't exactly drive a nail into the steel—but she appreciated the effort, especially considering how it looked compared to Beast Boy's sign.
He'd loved it of course, but then, she could've written his name in pencil on a plain white sheet of paper and he would have acted like she'd given him a masterpiece of a painting. Not that she hadn't tried. She thought she'd been creative, using colored pencils to draw a green, fanged face eating the paper cutout letters of his name and gluing a border made of crayon vegetables around the edges, but like most of her interactions with the Titans, the effort only made her feel…lesser.
Beast Boy grabbed a fresh stick of glue from the craft box and handed it to her so she could start work on Cyborg's sign. "So anyway, first rule about Robin: don't mention Batman."
Her guilt probably extended beyond the sign. Their entire conversation she'd been pumping Beast Boy for information regarding the Titans and how to stay out of trouble with them. And even as they laughed over Beast Boy's warnings to avoid future offerings of Tameranian food and suggestions over what video games to play with Cyborg, she knew she would have to relay the information back to Slade, which turned her stomach more than a little.
"Don't mention Batman? Seems weird." Terra frowned and took the plastic tube. "But I-"
Beast Boy waved his hand back and forth and the purple ribbon caught between his fingers swirled in response below. "Nothing. No questions, no clarifications, no passing comments. He doesn't like it."
"And I thought I was gonna have to watch out for Raven," Terra said glumly. She squeezed out a thin line of glue onto the square of white construction paper and pressed it lightly onto the blue paper resting on her floor.
"You do," Beast Boy agreed cheerfully. "She's got a nasty temper and loves to take her anger out on people, which is why it's best not to interrupt her when she's meditating." He attempted to tie the ribbon into a bow but failed miserably and tossed the knotted material onto the floor. "But Raven's moody, so she'll get mad anyway, and when that happens, it'll be better to have Robin on your side. Then you can never get in trouble. Pass me the pink glitter?"
Terra picked up the plastic vial as if touching something diseased and watched as Beast Boy dumped a mountain of the stuff onto the sign in front of him. "Robin yells at you all of the time, though. He's always giving you extra chores."
"Sure he does. That's 'cause I'm usually on his bad side," he replied and tapped the paper on the side of a small garbage can so that only the glitter covering the glue stayed put.
"Then who-"
He held up the paper to reveal letters written in elegant, stenciled script, now shining in the fluorescent light: "Starfire."
"Duh!" Terra exclaimed and slapped her palm against her forehead. "That's how she gets away with so much stuff that you and Cyborg get in trouble for."
"Please," a soft voice pleaded from the hallway door. "What is this 'stuff' with which I abscond?"
"Star!" Beast Boy squeaked and tipped backward dramatically.
She thought she'd closed the door to her room after Beast Boy came in with his craft materials, but Terra could see a single green eye peeking through a gap of about three inches between the door and her wall.
"Er, it's nothing big," Terra said sheepishly and put down her project.
Starfire smiled warmly at the pair and pushed the door the rest of the way open. "Size is of little concern to me. But I would appreciate your perspective on Robin's interactions with me."
Beast Boy and Terra exchanged looks, silently conferring on where to start and who would speak first. Terra began.
"You know how sometimes you call things by the wrong name? Or when you ask a billion questions about something little—like what makes popcorn kernels pop or what hotdogs are made of?"
"Yes," Starfire answered and stepped inside.
Beast Boy continued. "We were just talking about how Robin gets, like, super annoyed when I ask lots of questions or call his utility belt a fanny pack."
She knelt down to their level and tapped her chin with her finger. "It is true that he does not appreciate when you ask him who would win in a fight between Batman and Chuck Norris."
"See," Beast Boy whispered conspiratorially. "Don't talk about Batman." He stood up as Terra rolled her eyes at him and fingered the cap of the pink glitter.
"But I do not see how this example represents the favoritism that you implied I enjoy from him."
"Um, I don't know how to explain. Maybe I'll point it out the next time I see it," Terra offered. She looked to Beast Boy for help and saw the changeling wink at her.
"Oops!" Beast Boy exclaimed as he accidentally-on-purpose tipped the plastic vial over Starfire's head. It exploded in a cloud of shiny pink dust and Terra leaped up to avoid it landing on her.
Starfire shut her eyes tightly and tensed her shoulders as the spray settled into her hair, onto her shoulders and down her back and chest. "Beast Boy!"
"Don't move," Terra said entreatingly. "If that stuff ends up on my carpet it'll never come out." She recognized the hypocrisy of her statement as she said it. She wouldn't be here for much longer, after all, but sometimes things slipped out as if she would be.
"What's going on in here?" A new voice asked. Robin stood in the doorway to her room wearing a quizzical, and slightly annoyed expression.
Beast Boy darted behind Terra and poked his head out from in between her shoulders. "Ah, just got a little carried away with some arts and crafts."
Robin knelt down and whispered something to Starfire so softly Terra had to lean forward to hear. "Keep 'em closed, Star. Glitter can hurt your eyes."
Starfire nodded and Terra cringed as another wave of glitter fell to the ground.
"See how the fierce sidekick of the Batman turns into a little teddy bear when Starfire shows the slightest degree of helplessness," Terra thought.
Robin slid his fingertip across her brow but the material of his glove did nothing to wipe the mess away. "Ah, hold on. Sorry," he said and pulled off his glove.
"I've never seen his hand before," Terra realized. "Of course the first time would have something to do with Starfire. I bet she's seen him without his mask, too. Better ask later."
Robin attemped to wipe the glitter away from Starfire's still-closed eyes a second time, moving the pad of his thumb lightly across her lashes and the bridge of her nose. "You can open your eyes, now."
Beast Boy shook his head and Terra felt the tips of his green hair brush her ear lobe, sending a shiver down her spine. "Rob, you're such a softie."
"And you two are in big trouble," Robin said, glaring at the pair. "You were supposed to be in the training room ten minutes ago for combat practice."
Beast Boy pointed an accusing finger toward Starfire. "But!"
"No 'but's. Now get down to the combat room with Raven and Cyborg and start with some laps. No powers. Me and Star will join you shortly."
Terra felt Beast Boy's grip tighten on her shoulder as his anger surged. "Come on man, Starfi—"
"This isn't a discussion. Go."
Terra grabbed Beast Boy's hand and lead him from the room. "It's all right," she told him once they reached the hallway. "He just proved the point we were trying to make to Star. We'll point it out at dinnertime and laugh at their matching blushes."
"Yeah, you're right." He chuckled and broke away from her to sprint for the staircase. "Last one there is a rotten egg!"
She couldn't help but laugh along with him as she pelted forward and lifted herself into the air by the rock fragments that made up her shoe soles. "We'll see!"