Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Titans! Waaaah! Why??

This is just a fluffy oneshot of like, what, maybe... I'm saying 9-year-old B.B. and Mento. He's stubborn, but not such a mean person. And I know mean people. (What?)

It was midnight…or close to it. The night was still and silent. The large mansion owned by the Doom Patrol was as quiet as the black sky overhead, spotted with diamond-like stars. The only sound came from down in the basement where the large computer base was located. There was the faint tapping of fingers on a keyboard.

Mento yawned, exhausted out of his right mind. He had been on the computer for the entire day. And the entire day before that. The last they had seen of the Brotherhood of evil was Phobia. She had unsuccessfully tried to kidnap some scientist up north, but the details weren't important at all. What mattered was simple: what was the rest of the Brotherhood up to? Why had they been laying low? The possibilities were endless, and they were making Mento's head spin.

He drooped down, leaning over his work. Exhaust was making him dizzy. Without meaning to, he allowed his mind to wander to a night similar to this one. Only it had happened several years earlier…

12 straight hours of research hadn't given Mento any leads onto who could be behind this series of crimes. It was dark out now. How many hours ago had the rest of his team gone to bed? He leaned forward again, submerging further into his research. Ok, not much was going on within a 2,000-mile radius. That much he was sure of. He typed a website, password and then shortcut password. A top-secret link popped up. Very few human beings knew of the existence of this site. It should hold something he had overlooked.

Ah-ha! There was a coded message in a document! If he could print it out, Robotman could scan it with him in the morning! To print information off of the site he had accessed, Mento needed to insert a data chip into the printer. That data was…upstairs in a safe.

"Damn it." He murmured. Tiredly, he rose from his chair. He stumbled weakly. He hadn't slept over 4 hours in the last two and a half days. The last thing he had eaten was coffee that morning… that could count as breakfast. He knew he shouldn't feel so tired and miserable right now. It was just plain pathetic. Tightly gripping the rail, he climbed the stairs and made his way down the hall. He paused briefly to close his ice-blue eyes. Feeling like he could fall asleep right there, he snapped his head up and continued. Passing another hallway, he walked by a small figure.

"Hey, Mento, sir."

"Hey, Beast Boy."

He continued to walk, then stopped dead in his tracks. What the--? He turned. Sure enough, the smallest member of his team was happily walking back to his own room, carrying something.

"Beast Boy? What are you doing?" he asked.

The child turned, smiling. His mask was off, revealing his green hair, a few shades darker than his skin. In his hands was a bowl. "Oh, I was just going back to my room. You see, sir, I couldn't sleep. So, whenever I can't sleep, I just get cereal to eat and go back to bed. Is that what you were doing too?"

There was innocence in the question, despite the strange explanation. "No…" he answered slowly. "I was working on something. Why couldn't you sleep?"

"I don't know. I just couldn't I like cereal at nighttime though. It's with soy milk, see?" he offered the bowl for his father figure to see.

"Uh-huh. Why cereal? And at this hour?"

Beast Boy smiled sheepishly. "'Cause it's all I can make by myself." He perked up. "Hey! Do you want some? I can make it for you."

Mento fought the urge to smile. It was so childish. The kid felt so important because he could make cold cereal. A hunger pang hit him. No, he had work to do. He couldn't procrastinate with his eccentric teammate. "No." he finally said.

The green-eyed changeling frowned. "But—you look really hungry! I mean, your voice is weak and you're leaning against the wall. Are you sick, sir?"

Mento hadn't even realized he was using the wall for support. Sighing, he met Beast Boy's eyes. The child looked back, unfazed by the way those light eyes seemed to burn into him. "Fine. I'll try some of yours." He said. Did his voice really sound that weak?

Beast Boy grinned. "I have a better idea! Wait here, Mento! Don't move!" without another word, he disappeared around the corner after placing his cereal on the floor.

Without an audience, Mento allowed a smile to creep across his face. Everything was always so urgent to children. He would just put down whatever he was holding to perform a new task.

Beast Boy returned, carrying another bowl of cereal. The adult's eyes softened with understanding. "Here. For you." The child offered, smiling.

He took the bowl, forcing a weary nod.

"Let's sit down somewhere. Your room is closer than my room, sir. I'll keep you company while we eat. It's more fun to eat with family, after all. Right?"

"Um…right."

Beast Boy led him easily through the winding halls. Finally, he opened a door and switched on a light. Pulling his leader's hand, he guided Mento to the bed. They sat down, the child happily taking a spoon of what now had to be some very soggy cereal. His mentor did the same, feeling his strength return as he finally put some food into his body.

"Yours is with soy milk too. Is that Ok?"

He looked at Beast Boy, whose face was concerned. "Yeah. It's fine this way."

Relived, he nodded and turned back to his own food. "So… when are you going to go to sleep?"

"Whenever I can finish my work. I've got to figure out what the connection between these recent crimes is."

"Is it so important you can't sleep?"

"It may be."

"Oh." Beast Boy fell silent. There was only the clink of spoons against glass bowls for a few minutes. When both teammates were finished, Beast Boy hopped off the bed, but held up his hand when Mento tried to do the same. "While you're here, get some rest." He suggested.

"I'd love to, but I really can't." Mento answered levelly.

"Ok…let's make a deal." The child offered.

"Garfield, there's no deals. I need to get back to work—"

"Oh, c'mon! It'll be a test of your will."

Rolling his eyes, the blue-eyed man agreed. It was comply, or be pestered by this nocturnal pest until sunrise. "Fine."

Beast Boy smiled jovially. "Here's the deal: I'll tell a story. If you can stay awake by the time I reach 'the end,' then you can go back to work. But if you fall asleep, you have to take it easy for the rest of tomorrow. Me and Larry can work for you. And I can make more cereal."

Mento raised and eyebrow at the stupidity of the rules. "Ok. That's Larry and I, by the way. What story will you tell?"

"Um… The Child of the Forest. Rita taught it to me. It's my favorite story ever. You'll like it too. Now make yourself more comfortable." He ordered, plopping himself down on the floor beside the bed and crossing his legs. Mento laid down, propping his head up with his arm and watching the child as he began his tale.

"Ok. It goes… 'Once upon a time, there was a beautiful forest. In that forest, there lived magical creatures like fairies and gnomes and…'"

Mento never did hear the end of the story. He drifted off to sleep, listening to the soothing tone in his son's voice.

Once Beast Boy was sure his father was asleep, he decided to cut his story short. "And they all lived happily ever after. The End.' I hope you liked it." Without another word, he took both bowls and drifted out of the room, smiling at Mento, but not bothering to wake him and tell him he lost the deal. He'd figure that out in the morning anyway.

Beep Beep Beep.

Mento's head snapped up. He let out a gasp. How long had he been asleep? He had simply been reminiscing. The computer screen flashed, telling him he had a message. Hitting a button, a familiar face appeared.

"HEY, MENTO!"

"Hey, Beast Boy."

How ironic. He had just been thinking about—

"Ok, so we're actually in France right now. It turns out this weirdo villain had some weapon technology, and I was wondering if you— hold on."

He turned away from the screen, presumably to speak to a fellow Teen Titan. When he returned to the screen, his face was distressed. "Oh, man, Mento. I am so sorry! I had no idea what time it was back in America! My bad! Cy just told me—"

Mento shrugged. "Don't worry. I was up anyway."

"Yeah. Wait, why?"

"Eh. Just work and stuff."

Beast Boy frowned. "Oh. Hey, I have to get in the T-ship now. We're going home. Boring ride, though. Wanna talk while I'm traveling? I mean, if you're not too busy."

"Sure. I'm not that busy."

"Ok! Well, I have very little updates. I could tell a story! Like Rita used to tell me, for old times sake, Ok?

"Uh-huh." Mento was rapidly loosing resolve. The corners of his vision were becoming dark.

"What story should I tell?" the teen mused.

"What about… The Child of the Forest?" Mento asked.

Beast Boy's face lit up. "Yes! That was my favorite!" he exclaimed.

"Mine too."

"Ok. So once upon a time, there was a beautiful forest…"

Mento smiled softly and rested his head in his hands. Beast Boy didn't mind when his eyes closed, and continued to tell the story even after he knew his father had fallen asleep.

The End

Please Review! Did you like it? I always thought there was more to Mento than meets the eye, but the show and then comic were cancelled before they could put him in it much. (Tears) I hope you enjoyed it. :)