Another Alternate Universe

Chapter 27: The soft side to a hard Robin

The room was dark, well almost dark. A Tv light lit up the room, the black walls danced with color as the noise from the TV fought against the silent from the space  surrounding the common room. Cyborgs eyes slowly opened and came into focus. He looked around the room,still in a state of half asleep limbo. Two giant mushrooms lit up the screen in front of him. Word of fungus reruns, Stars favorite show. He thought of all the times she would drag him or robin to the couch with her to watch the program, he smiled but that smile quickly faded when he remembered the previous events of that night. Memories began to flash through his mind and appear before his eyes, Star thrashing around and Raven lying lifeless in his arms. Both were dying slowly, one physically and one mentally. Raven was a fighter no doubt, that girl could take a wrecking ball to the face before she broke & starfire, she had been through so much that she didn't know what to do anymore. She was lost, she lost herself and was still trying to find her way back. Cyborg was trapped in the memories when he felt a shift beneath his arm, he was so caught up in the events of the day and still half asleep that he failed to realize that there was a beautiful girl lying on his chest. Bee. He cared very much for her, BeastBoy made jokes about how he loved her even, but he really didn't know what they were. All he knew is that when she was around he got this overwhelming urge to do anything in his power to protect her. He shook her arm a little.
"Bee wake up" he said quietly. She mumbled and shifted. He smiled, gently sliding out from under her and softly laying her down on the couch. He stood over top of her and stared at her relaxed expressions, something about her was different. Maybe it was the light from the tv or the magic of the night but she was glowing in his eyes. Everything from the tiny freckles on her cheeks to the bright yellow of her standard uniform. It all gleamed and glistened in the light.  He took one more longing look at her before walking over to the tower security panel and setting the tower in lockdown for the night, from there the metal doors opened and he walked down the halls to med bay.  He came to the metal doors with a big Red Cross on them.
Med bay.
The doors slid open to reveal a tired yet hard working Alfred.
"Hello Sir Cyborg, I trust you have had a good rest?" Alfred asked.
"Yea I'm just here to take over for you." Cyborg replied.
"Are you sure? It's only been an hour I can handle it for awhile longer." Alfred said.
Cyborg smiled.
"I got it, you should go get some rest." He rested his hand on Alfreds shoulder. "Thank you"
"Well if you insist" Alfred smiled. "Although I must warn you, BeastBoy almost mauled me when I walked in to check on them. I must have frightened him, he turned from a cute puppy to a threatening wolf very quickly. In record time I may say."  Cyborg chuckled as Alfred walked out of the doors down to his guest room. He glanced over at Starfire's room as the memories came back to his thoughts. He walked over to the door and slid it open slowly, trying not to make any noise so that he wouldn't disturb her. The room was dark but the light from the slit in the door gave way to a average sized slender figure standing in front of her bed, watching the room like a hawk.
"Has she woken up yet?" Cyborg asked.
"No, she's stirred around and mumbled but she hasn't woken up." A familiar voice replied. Robin, deeper than his normal voice and much raspier. Cyborg could tell he had either just woken up, or was exhausted, and by the looks of it Robin wasn't sleeping anytime soon.
"She started crying, begging for him not to leave. Begging for me not to leave. Shes scared cyborg, she thinks she's alone, she was screaming get away from me. It has to be a lot steel right?" Robin asked. Cyborg put his hand on robins shoulder. "We don't know what fully happened yet, we will have to wait for her to wake up but I wouldn't doubt he had something to do with it." Robins body tensed up. "I should've done something sooner. I should've never let him in the tower, I should've told her how I felt from the beginning. I should've..." Robin sighed. "Even when I finally told her how I felt it wasn't exactly how I planned. I sounded stupid, I choked on words, I could feel heat rise to my face, I never even really said what I wanted to. I saw her eyes light up when she caught on to what I was trying to say and she grabbed me and hugged me tight. Before I knew it she was off to Raven's room and I was still standing in a pool of my nervousness. Nothing has ever had me so bad like that Cy. Nothing. & I was such a jerk to her, I wanted her but I couldn't accept that I did want her. I believed I was a hero and nothing more and that me and her couldn't never be anything more. I always had her second guessing herself worth, I practically drove her to steel, because of me she got hurt cyborg. I won't let it happen again. I will protect her, at any cost. Even if it means death."  Cyborg stopped for a minute and stared at his friend. He knew that there was always more to Robin than the brooding moody hero he was, he was kind and caring. He was loving and loyal. There were so many different sides to Robin, and Starfire brought them all out. 
"She was in this room for me day and night, and when she wasn't here she was outside of the door waiting. She's great, more than great, amazingly everything I've ever needed in a person and then some." Robin walked up to the aliens bed side and stroked her hair. He felt tears come to his eyes. "I can't loose her Cy, I just got her." His voice became choked & cracked. Cyborg walked over to his leader and friend. He looked at Robin, for once even with the mask on, he could see passed it. He could see the person that lied within, the soul that it carried, and the heart it held. He smiled and embraced Robin in a bear hug. "It's okay Rob. She means the world to all of us, she's a sister to me and BB, a best friend to Rae. And she's the lover for you." He could feel Robins breathing become more staggered as he struggled not to let any fear, pain, sorrow or worry slip out through tears.
"Robin the strongest people in the world are those who don't hold it in, they know when to let it out and understand that they are not alone." Cyborg said. Robin whimpered. "It's okay to be human, you have emotions, feelings, thoughts. You aren't a machine, no body should ever expect you to act like one and you should never make yourself act like one. That's coming from the half human half machine guy." Cyborg laughed as he felt Robin laugh a little and finally let go of everything he had been holding in. Sorrow from his parents death. The pain of loosing them. The fear of loosing Starfire. The worry he had for her. Everything slipped out and fell down his face, soaking his mask. "Sometimes all you need is someone to be there for you." Cyborg said as he tightened his hug on Robin. It was then that he finally saw the side to Robin that the world never knew existed, the little boy that lost his parents, the young man who has the love of his life and is afraid to loose her next. He saw the one thing he never thought he'd ever see his leader be... scared.