Not what you'd expect.

“Terra, look, I’m sorry,” you blurted out, unsure what else to say as you came into her room. You shut the door behind you, hoping to keep the shouting Terra was sure to have ready for you as quiet as possible, but to your great surprise she only looked at you with an odd mix of confusion and annoyance.

“Sorry? What are you sorry about?” Terra rolled her eyes as she spoke, jerking one thumb back towards Jinx’s room. “Jinx doesn’t have to apologize either, but it’s still gross! Who the hell can possibly sleep with that many pillows?!”

“Wait… you’re just upset… because Jinx used too many pillows?”

“Hell yeah!”

Terra slammed backward onto her bed, which was now devoid of all sheets and extras except for a single blanket that she quickly threw out of the way. Even the single pillow left was thrown into a corner of the mattress, all but forgotten as she propped her head up on one arm and stared at you.

“Seriously, what gives? Even this mattress feels like it belonged to some princess or something, why so soft?!”

Terra almost seemed angry that you had tried to provide something luxurious for her, and you found yourself a little indignant. Granted, you had wanted these girls to be realistic (to some extent), but couldn’t she show a little appreciation?

“Excuse me for trying to make your life a little more pleasant, instead of making you use rocks for pillows like you’re used to,” you growled, moving forward towards the bed. Terra continued to show displeasure, rolling her eyes and actually huffing as she slammed a fist into the mattress next to her.

“Yeah, well, not excused! Seriously, how’s a girl to sleep like this? I prefer the rocks, I’m used to it. Not like I’m gonna be here long anyway, you’ll throw us out like everyone else. Everyone always throws me away.”

Suddenly the annoyance you had felt melted away. Was that… was that an emotional moment? From Terrra?

“Sorry, I- Look, it’s not your issue. Blackfire’s got me on edge, that’s all,” Terra vented, flipping over onto her other side and facing away from you. Despite not looking into your eyes she continued to speak.

“That doesn’t sound like stress, that sounds like a pretty big issue.”

“Yeah, well we’ve all got issues!” Terra said, back to snapping. “Like you’re so perfect! Taking five young girls into your home out of the goodness of your heart, yeah right! You just want sex!”

“I don’t-“

“Well you know what, so do I!”

Abruptly Terra pulled you down into her, leaning up and grabbing you before you even had a chance to react. Jinx’s trap had been a menagerie of cloths gently wrapping you into the perfect position and gently holding you there so you couldn’t move. Terra’s abrupt ambush was more like trying to brute a lock - you were trying to simply correct your balance, but every time you moved on top of her she grabbed whatever moved and clutched it to her. Meanwhile, she was violently attacking your neck in a mixture of not-quite-nibbles and kisses, working her way along your collarbone as she grabbed you by the collar and ripped your shirt off in one moment.

“Terra, you don’t have to-“

“Fuck that, I told you, I want this!”

You were overwhelmed by her passion as she reached for your pants. You frantically tried to cover up your zipper, hoping not to lose another article of clothing.

“Alright, alright, I don’t believe you!” You shouted, grinning nervously as she faltered. “What’s going on with you? You act like you don’t care about the place, then you say that I’m going to throw you out, now you’re trying to bang me, I just don’t know what to think anymore. This is a lot to take in.”

“A lot for you? How about us? It wasn’t that long ago that the four of us were just living in peace in Titan Tower, then all of a sudden Jinx is there like she never tried to kill us or anything at all. Now Blackfire’s rehabilitation has her joining up, and all of a sudden we can’t stay at the tower because we have to help her adjust where it’s safe and she can’t cause trouble?”

“You’re upset because you can’t stay at the Titans’ tower?” I asked, a little unsure of what was happening or where this was going. You knew they were supposed to take care of the story, but you hadn’t expected an outburst like this, much less the mood swings Terra was demonstrating.

“I don’t care about the tower, it’s a building. Same as any other; some rock, some metal, a little bit of cloth… but I was just starting to call it a home.”

“You’ve… you’ve never really had a home, have you?” You asked, suddenly understanding a little bit more about what Terra’s issue was. Why she insisted on a bed that was too comfortable to get used to. Why she was so upset to see you bonding with someone besides her. Why she tried to reciprocate and do the same things for you that she saw others do, and why she had insisted on getting as much food and comfort as she could the second you opened your door.

“What’s it matter? I’m not gonna be here long, anyway.” Saying that, she buried her face on your bared chest, not looking you in the eyes anymore.

And there it was. Terra was torn between her desire for a home and her inability to trust. There was probably more to it than that, things you weren’t going to discover for a long time to come - these robots were practically human, if not something more. But for now, all you needed to understand were the feelings of a scared little girl who had never known with any real certainty if she would get to sleep in the same bed two nights in a row.

“Hey, listen… come here. It’s okay. It’s all gonna be okay,” you mumbled, unsure of exactly what to say, but knowing that you had to say something. “I didn’t offer to take you all in for no reason, you know. I don’t have any intentions of kicking anyone out. Much less singling out one of you. You don’t have to try to seduce me, or work yourself to the bone, or whatever else you think you need to do to keep your place here. I invited you in because of who you are, not what you could do for me.”

“What are we that’s so great to you?” Terra asked. Her voice wasn’t harsh, though, more disbelieving. You felt a wetness on your chest and realized that she was crying.

“You’re just who you are, that’s all I ever wanted. Everyone knows you five - Raven, the mysterious sorceress. Starfire, the alien goddess. Blackfire, her evil sister, and Jinx the troublemaker, both reformed by law and by conscience. And, of course, Terra, the girl so kind that she’d rather run away and isolate herself than risk anyone else’s safety or happiness for her own.”

“You… how do you know this? Did Beast Boy blab about this too?” Terra asked, lfiting her head and wiping at her eyes.

“No, Terra. But I didn’t take any of you in without knowing as much as I could about you. It’s not much, though… but, if you’ll have me, I would love to learn more about you. Learn everything there is, so that I can understand your fears, and do my best to make them go away.”

“…”

There was a pause, long and pregnant, as Terra looked into your eyes. Despite her tears it was hard to read her, and almost impossible to tell exactly what she was thinking. At least, until she burst out into laughter, sobbing and crying and pulsing with humor all at once.

“If I’ll have you? You give me a house, tell me you care, want to ‘make all my fears go away’, and you ask if I’ll have you? You’re something else, you know that? You’re probably full of shit, but you’re really something else.”

“I’ll take that as a yes, then. How about dinner?”

“Dinner?! That sounds awesome!”

“Go easy,” you said, rolling your eyes, “you already destroyed half my pantry with that little snack raid.”

“Hey, when a girl’s gotta eat, a girl’s gotta eat.”

As Terra bounced off your chest, you wondered what else was in store with these girls. Terra had proved herself unpredictable, as had Jinx, to some extent. What about the others? Were they going to be sex-crazed Robosluts? Or… something more?

Only time would tell. Starting with dinner time.