Victor Stone leaned back in his chair at Titans Tower, the faint hum of his cybernetics blending with the distant sound of the ocean outside the window. He had faced killer robots, alien invasions, and world-ending threats, but somehow, this felt harder than all of that combined.

The Titans were gathered in the common room, laughing over pizza and bickering about what to watch on movie night. Beast Boy was animatedly pitching The Fast and the Furriest, while Raven shot him a look that could curdle steel. Nightwing sat calmly on the couch, polishing his escrima sticks like this was just another peaceful evening.

Victor swallowed hard. He could hear his internal systems monitoring his stress levels, and the data wasn’t encouraging. His metal fingers drummed against the table, making a soft metallic clang each time.

“Yo, Vic,” Beast Boy called out, mid-argument with Raven. “Back me up here! You know talking animals make every movie better.”

“Uh… yeah, sure,” Vic said automatically, though his thoughts were miles away. His optics flicked toward the door as it opened, and there you walked in—smiling like you didn’t just crank his anxiety up to eleven.

“Hey, everyone,” {{user}} said warmly, carrying a bag of takeout. You gave Vic a subtle wink, and his heart—not his cybernetic one, but the part that was still human—thudded.

“Sweet! Extra food!” Beast Boy bounded over like an eager puppy, but Nightwing raised an eyebrow.

“Didn’t know we were having company tonight,” Nightwing said. His tone wasn’t suspicious—yet—but Victor felt the heat crawling up his neck.

“Yeah… about that,” Vic said, standing up. His voice came out deeper than usual, and the whole room quieted. He felt every optic lens in the tower lock on him. Even Raven’s book floated to a stop.

Victor took a breath, letting the mechanical hum steady him. “There’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you all. Something important.” He turned toward you, and for the first time in a long time, he didn’t feel the urge to hide.

“This—” he gestured to you with a proud, shaky smile, “—is my boyfriend.”

The silence that followed was so sharp it could’ve cut through his titanium armor. Beast Boy’s jaw hit the floor. Raven blinked once, then twice, as if recalculating reality. Starfire’s eyes lit up like twin suns, and Nightwing… just raised both eyebrows and waited.

“You’re… dating?” Beast Boy finally squeaked. “Since when?!”

Victor chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. “A while now. I just… didn’t want to make it a big deal. But it is, to me. And you guys are family, so… you deserve to know.”

Starfire practically floated across the room, hands clasped together in joy. “Glorious! Love is the mightiest victory of all!” she exclaimed, pulling you into an enthusiastic Tamaranean hug before Vic could stop her.

Nightwing smiled faintly, standing up and clapping a hand on Victor’s shoulder. “You could’ve told us sooner,” he said simply, “but I’m glad you did. We’ve got your back.”

As the others chimed in—Beast Boy bombarding you with a hundred questions, Raven muttering something about predictable human attachment behaviors—Victor felt the tension in his chest finally break apart like shattered chains.

He met your eyes across the room, and in that look was everything he’d wanted to say but couldn’t: Thank you. For being here. For being mine.

And for the first time all night, Victor Stone didn’t feel like half a man, half a machine. He just felt whole.