Summary: Robin has Starfire. Beast Boy has Raven. But who does Cyborg have? "What, did you think you'd seen the last of me Sparky?" Cyborg/Bumble Bee. Christmas Songfic to "Let it Snow!" Please review!
Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans or anything in association with it.
Cyborg couldn't say he felt like a third wheel regarding the relationships of his teammates. It was worse; he was more of a fifth wheel now.
He was happy for them without a doubt; he had watched over the years as their feelings for one another grew and prospered regardless of the battles and struggles they had suffered through. Especially considering the times when it had seemed impossible for any love or affection to bloom at all, and when tensions had almost torn their group apart.
Christmas was approaching, a thick blanket of snow having already covered the city in its blissful presence. Lights could be seen faintly from the roof of the tower, flashing in various, vibrant colors that made even the nighttime darkness seem festive. Their trees had been selected, decorated and standing pleasantly in the center of their living room and down in the foyer. Some gifts had already accumulated upon the homemade tree-blanket that Starfire had crafted, a few for each of them and growing every night, when they would sneak from their rooms and place a few more anonymously underneath the tree.
They all had someone to catch underneath the mistletoe Beast Boy had maliciously hung, all but him. He didn't let them know he felt left, but that by no means got rid of the feeling itself . He wished he had someone to spend the holidays with on a more personal level than just friends, even if their holidays were both cheerful and amusing.
"Friends, look what I have purchased this day!" Starfire suddenly announced, sending him headlong out of his thoughts and back to the present where he laid half-asleep on the sofa. Cyborg sat up and watched as both Starfire and Robin trudged in after some last-minute expenditures at the local mall.
Cyborg knew he probably didn't want to know, but before he could even question Starfire had already cast something onto him. He looked up and saw two, fuzzy antlers sticking from the glimmering, surface of his head, bouncing up and down a little from the oppressively festive force that had placed them there.
"Uh…thanks?" Cyborg choked out, though he admitted the Christmas hat made him feel ill, especially when Starfire placed an elf's hat on Robin's head. He first felt a strong desire to laugh, but the stern look from Robin silenced him before even a chuckle escaped him.
"Oh, the weather outside is frightful,
But the fire is so delightful,
And since we've no place to go,
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow."
Before long they were settled in front of the television, watching a horrible rendition of the once classical story of 'A Christmas Carol.' Beast Boy had his arm around Raven's shoulder and held her close, and Cyborg didn't think he'd ever seen the usually goofy and loud teenager so content and relaxed. Raven herself was this same way too, and he was positive he'd never seen her that way, blushing slightly with her head resting against Beast Boy's chest. Robin and Starfire were huddled up together as well to his left, their forms interwoven as they held one another in the same manner as his other two teammates.
Cyborg sighed; it wasn't enough to tell himself that they were happy and that he should be happy for them. He wished he had someone that close as well, someone to spend a holiday such as this with. But his thoughts were interrupted before he could acknowledge the gnawing pain of it.
There was a sudden, steady knocking that echoed up from the bottom of the Tower where the front door lied, and Cyborg already knew it would be his duty to go and allow entrance for whomever it was, that is, unless it was a choir of Slade's robotic minions coming by.
He trudged down the stairs and finally made it to the looming, darkened front doors into their home, fishing out an identification card to unlock its intrinsic mechanisms. He wondered who it could be besides enemies though at this point he felt so down it hardly mattered to him. But he was in for a big surprise when the doors finally hung loose and opened for the unexpected guest. He gasped at first, having not seen her for several months ever since the destruction of the HIVE's second academy.
"What, did you think you'd seen the last of me Sparky?" Bumble Bee asked, smirking at him in her usual way. He stared at her for a moment, questioning what she was doing here. "Well, aren't you going to let me in?"
"Oh yeah, sorry about that. The holidays got us all a little stressed I guess," he said, opening the doors wider though it wasn't necessary and stepping aside to give her passage. She walked in, removing the crimson winter coat she had been wearing and revealing a plastic bag filled to the brim with tightly wrapped gifts. Though this seemed to provide a good enough explanation for her appearance, Cyborg sense an ulterior motive behind this.
"So, what brings you here Bumble Bee?" Cyborg asked, closing the doors once more and hanging up her dismembered coat onto the rack nearby.
"Well, the holidays should be spent with friends shouldn't it?" she asked, setting aside her delivered presents and taking a seat on one of the armchairs that lined the corridor. "Besides, the trail for Brother Blood went cold quite a while ago. Literally with all this snow we've gotten," she paused to laugh softly. "Aqualad returned to Atlantis for some strange variation of Christmas they celebrate there, and…well, I didn't want to spend the holiday season entirely by myself. You don't mind me crashing here do you?"
"No, no, not at all. Oh, you can put those gifts underneath our Christmas tree over there," he pointed to the massive tree that they had managed to keep steady, standing at least two stories tall since Starfire had misinterpreted how big they had wanted it to be. They had barely managed to get it into the Tower.
Bumble Bee quickly placed her gifts under the tree, one for each of them and extra one that she placed off to the side. "I forgot to give Aqualad his gift before he returned to his home. I'll just leave here with you guys and you can give it to him when he shows up again."
"So…how have things been going, you know, besides the Brother Blood thing," Cyborg asked, sitting across from her and she took her seat again and put on a weary smile.
"You mean there's more to life than work? I've been manning the hunt for that slimeball for so long it feels weird taking a break even for Christmas," she said almost sadly, and Cyborg felt a brief connection to her at this time, knowing how it felt to be alone on the holidays.
"Well, at least you had here to come to, and we're definitely glad to have you," Cyborg said, and Bumble Bee smiled a bit wider with this claim from him.
"Thanks Sparky, it means a lot to know there's somewhere you can always go if need be," she replied, and Cyborg actually found himself uncaring of the once annoying nickname she had selected for him. In fact, he found himself blushing slightly even now in her company.
"So…do you want something to drink or eat? We've got loads of popcorn and hot chocolate in the kitchen sittin' around," he offered, and he was happy to see her brighten a bit.
"Sounds good Sparky," she said, standing at the same moment as him and following him into their messy but stuffed lower kitchen, crammed with holiday cooking and accidents from attempted holiday cooking. He blushed an even deeper red from embarrassment of the unholy mess, but she simply laughed and helped him pour their drinks and prepare the snacks.
"It doesn't show signs of stopping,
And I brought some corn for popping;
The lights are turned way down low,
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow."
They settled back into the foyer within a few moments, both now in possession of a bowl of popcorn and a simmering cup of hot chocolate. They decided to share a loveseat rather than sit apart, both inwardly needing the company of someone though they wouldn't voice it.
"You seem a bit down yourself; did something happen to the Titans, to one of your teammates?" Bumble Bee asked, looking a bit concerned as she took a brief sip of her drink and hoping her suspicions weren't correct.
"No, nothing like that. It's just been a bit…lonely is all," he said, and Bumble Bee seemed baffled by this though she could sense he was speaking the truth of his gloomy mood.
"But how could you be lonely with four other people living here? Sure, the Tower's huge, but it's obvious you all worked together to get it all decorated and everything else," she asked, and he sighed, setting aside his hot chocolate.
"Well, it's just that…the relationships between my friends have hit an all-time high this season, but don't get me wrong. I love seeing Robin and Starfire together, and Beast Boy and Raven finally admitting their feelings for one another, but…"
"Wait a minute, Raven and Beast Boy? I could see Robin and Starfire had something for one another, but those two…?" Bumble Bee laughed, and Cyborg found himself have a bit of a hearty laugh as well.
"Funny isn't it? After all that time of ridiculing one another and getting into a so many fights. I guess it was just their weird way of flirting with one another," Cyborg said as they finally calmed a bit from the realization of the strange relationship.
"So I guess you're feeling like a fifth wheel right about now huh?"
"A really worn down one."
"Don't let it get you down Sparky, you'll find the right girl for you someday," Bumble Bee said, tossing a few kernels into her mouth and patting his shoulder in a comforting manner.
"Yeah, sure. Who's ever gonna fall in love with someone who hardly even has their original body anymore. All people have to see is these metallic parts and they automatically think I'm less than human or something," Cyborg said a bit sadly. He hated coming to terms with his artificial parts at times, especially right now. Bumble Bee saw his pain and placed her hand once more on his shoulder, looking at him sorrowfully.
"Oh c'mon Sparky, I never once thought that when I saw you. I mean, look at your friends. Look at me. We're hardly the ones to set standards for what's normal or not," she laughed softly, and he seemed to cheerful up a bit as a faint smile came upon his face.
For a moment there was a silence that could have cut with a knife, ruined only by the sounds of the movie playing several stories up and the snow hitting gently against the windows.
But the seeming perfect moment was ruined when suddenly Bumble Bee's watch went off, blinking a fluorescent blue color as a message ran across it. She seemed regretful from the start, bringing her expression down to the small machine and reading the alert that flash across it.
"A new lead just came up on Brother Blood; the city commissioner and I have a link so he can send me info whenever it comes in. I gotta respond, considering I'm in charge of the case as part of the department itself now," she said sadly, standing at the same moment once more as Cyborg.
"Make sure your friends get those gifts of yours all right?" she said quietly, tugging her coat back onto with a remorseful expression that she couldn't stay any longer and had to reenter the continuous snowfall outside.
"When we finally say good night,
How I'll hate going out in the storm;
But if you really hold me tight,
All the way home I'll be warm."
"See ya later Sparky," she said, turning and heading towards the door with her purse dangling loosely to her side and her head hung a bit.
"Wait, Bumble Bee, hold on just a minute," Cyborg said, rushing across the carpet towards her. She halted and turned to him, standing just perfectly in the light that shimmered through the window over the front doors. Cyborg had never clearly seen just how beautiful she was even with her sometimes gun-ho attitude that he hadn't been able to stand. Now here he was, having absolute trouble admitting that her appearance had made his evening far less painful than it had been before.
"It…it was really great you stopped by Bumble Bee. While you've been here, I haven't felt alone anymore, like…" he was stumbling across his words with horrible accuracy, but Bumble Bee appeared to be getting the point.
"Same here Spar…I mean, Cyborg. I know how much that name seems to get on your nerves. I'm just sorry I can't stay longer," she said, and Cyborg suddenly felt the urge to express how he felt, only without the awkward and fearful words he had only just attempted.
"The fire is slowly dying,
And, my dear, we're still good-bye-ing,
But as long as you love me so.
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow."
It started with a simple embrace, but before Bumble Bee could even react to this alone, Cyborg bent down and kissed her, following his feelings to the end.
Another piercing moment of silence followed, with neither of them fighting this feeling of bliss in being around one another. The snow continued tapping against the windows, and they were both now bathed in the unhindered moonlight that flooded through the snow-powdered window above.
Finally they parted, but now smiling with the rapture that had been felt by them both in the simple gesture of affection.
"Think you could use a hand? I still owe Brother Blood a good beating for the last two times he's messed with me."
"I can always use a helping hand. Think your friends will care you skipped out on Christmas Eve to hunt down a notorious villain?" Bumble Bee said, blushing now slightly herself with his arm still wrapped around her shoulders as they walked out the front doors.
"Something tells me they'll hardly notice I'm gone tonight," he said, closing the doors and giving one more glimpse up to the massive windows through which his four friends were experiencing the same happiness as he himself was right now.
He then turned and followed Bumble Bee back towards the city.