Better chapter? Emotional whiplash for sure, but at least the going's good. For now.
Enjoy!
When Danny and Beast Boy announced they would be dedicating the day to cleaning the latter's room, Danny did not know what to expect. There were many things that happened at that moment: from Starfire's blinking, Beast Boy's mildly offended look, and Robin's shocked silence, to Raven's widened eyes and Cyborg's silence before he tossed a surgical mask and apron at Danny, seemingly out of nowhere, insisting that Danny would "need it". Starfire zoomed up to Danny, not noticing his mild flinch. "Friend Danny," she began, looking him deeply in the eyes, "who is forcing you to commit this act?" Danny laughed, and the Titans seemed surprised at the sound from the usually depressed halfa.
"No one," Danny assured, and he dragged himself and Beast Boy to the kitchen. "I just thought it was finally time to face the demons in that room." Danny ignored Beast Boy's 'hey!' in favor of bumping shoulders with the green boy. Beast Boy glared, but the corners of his mouth were giving away his playfulness. The two ate in silence, Danny tapping his fingers against the counter as he downed coffee, and after assuaging the Titans that he wasn't being forced to clean Beast Boy's room, the Danny and Beast Boy ventured off into the room, trash bags and cleaning supplies at hand. Danny tossed an apron to Beast Boy as he tied on his own apron and surgical mask if only to tease the other. Beast Boy put on the apron, and they began. Danny started by throwing out the pizza box that had been there before he even arrived and dumped it into the trash before stripping the bed sheets and spraying the mattress. "I know hiding your scent like this is uncomfortable, but it's for your own good," Danny said through the thick surgical mask. Now that the filth was circulating through the air, the usually calming aura of Beast Boy's room burned his eyes. "Put the clothes into a pile and separate them by white, purple, or dark," Danny asked, and Beast Boy rummaged through his clothes with a sound of displeasure. Danny mimicked the sound; marathons were not his favorite things, routine cleaning was, but this was important and there was no way he'd let this chaos continue. Beast Boy called out once he had finished sorting the clothes and Danny dumped them into laundry baskets accordingly. They made small talk, the humidity of his words tickling Danny's nose inside the mask.
"Do you actually like to clean?" beast Boy asked, opening the window to let the moldy scent escape the room somewhat. Danny, against his best judgement, pulled down the mask. The smell instantly watered his eyes, but he focused on his own words.
"It's… something that keeps me from thinking. And it feels nice, walking into a clean room." He laughed to himself and glanced at Beast Boy's confused look. "Once I thought my parents were divorcing and I vacuumed the walls." Beast Boy made a weird chuckle, the kind made only to laugh along, and he shook the rug to let all the dirt fall to the floor where Danny was sitting. Danny yelped, dropping the moldy cake that was now splattered on the floor. Danny pointed an accusing mold-caked glove at Beast Boy. "Honestly! Can you not!" he asked, but there was no anger behind the words, and Danny turned himself intangible to watch the dirt flutter to the floor. He turned tangible when the cuffs hissed. "We need to improve these things," Danny muttered to himself, and Beast Boy perked up.
"You're smart," he said, and Danny blinked. The many failed tests crossed his mind. "You could probably invent new cuffs." Danny shook his head, insisting he was very empty-headed. Beast Boy frowned and leaned on the broom. "Dude, you're like, probably a genius. NASA obsession? Scientist parents? C'mon, bro. You have some brain in you. At least more than me." Danny made a small smile.
"You're emotionally intelligent," he said, and Beast Boy made a noise that could translate from the language of yelps to 'proof you're smart'.
"You know a big term!" Beast Boy insisted, and Danny shook his head, laughter desperate to come out. Instead, he fist-bumped Beast Boy's leg. "Dude!" Beast Boy said before putting his fist at Danny's level. "Fist bump properly!" Danny gave a proper fist bump and Beast Boy went back to sweeping, humming what sounded like a lullaby to Danny. He wiped the floor where the remnants of the once-cake had been.
"Nice song," Danny finally commented, and then Beast Boy was silent. Danny cursed himself for ruining it. "It was really nice; you should keep going." Beast Boy shook his head.
"Nah, that was the end of the song," he lied. Danny's shoulders dropped as he went back to cleaning. Maybe this was a bad idea and Beast Boy secretly hated him, he thought. Beast Boy nudged Danny out of his thoughts. "It actually was the end of the song." Danny relaxed and hummed his own little song, and Beast Boy hummed his over again, and it was a discordant harmony that comes from a calm clashing of beats. Beast Boy put the lack of the muck from sweeping into the trash. "The place feels lighter, he noted, as Danny shoved the last of the rotten food into the trash and piled the plates and cups into an unstable stack.
"Yeah," Danny agreed, now in the zone of cleaning as he climbed the dresser to dust a spot just out of reach, and then Beast Boy yelled out and— a green lion softened the fall. Dust fell around the room again.
"I'll have to sweep again," Beast Boy said before checking Danny for injuries. Danny shrugged.
"I got in the zone," he admitted, and Beast Boy shot him an easy grin.
"Seriously, take care of yourself." Danny's smile faltered before he recomposed himself, Beast Boy having looked away before his face contorted itself.
"Yeah," Danny muttered, wiping the dresser to get rid of his footsteps. The two fell into silent routine as Danny panicked over whether or not Beast Boy was upset. Beast Boy sighed out and stretched, back popping a few times.
"Okay, now the sweeping is done. I'm gonna throw the food away," he said, and Danny hummed as he, too, wiped his gloves on the apron and put the mask back on.
"Starting on laundry," Danny slurred through the mask. He ran down the hall and began loading the washing machine to do several cycles of the white clothes stained yellow from the floor. Surprisingly, Danny wasn't disgusted by the state of Beast Boy's room. He was amused. Beast Boy was really messy, and it was probably partly for nesting reasons and partly from teenage procrastination. Danny finished loading the washing machine and set the cycle to repeat itself before walking back to the room. Beast Boy was there, sweaty on the bare mattress, leaning back, and he patted the bed to encourage Danny to lie down, too. Instead, Danny sat on the floor, leaning against the bed. He cradled a dry mop and eyed the soapy water.
"Thanks," Beast Boy began, and Danny blinked. "I've been wanting to clean the place up a little but always got overwhelmed. So like, really: thanks." Danny nodded dumbly.
"No problem BB." The two say in silence, recovering, and the sun was about to set when they finished. The floor was mopped, the air freshener container sat by the spotless window, mostly unused as to not kill beast Boy's nose, and the bed was neatly made. The clothes were put away and no sign of mold or old food was to be seen. Danny, being himself, had reorganized the DVD and game disc shelf as well as wiped the dust from the TV and console in an attempt to calm down while talking to Beast Boy. Cyborg and Robin leaned in, almost scared of what they'd see. Their jaws dropped.
"I can actually see the floor," Robin whispered to himself, before saying something that might have been a common phrase in what sounded like Romanian to Danny. He wouldn't know. Cyborg just exclaimed his surprise and clapped Danny on the shoulder so hard the latter was reeling forwards before regaining his balance. He was tired, and his lungs burned in a good way. He could see Beast Boy feeling the adrenaline high, too, and smiled. The made eye contact and broke into laughter.
"My nose died," Danny joked, and Beast Boy didn't miss a beat in replying.
"Yeah, from the detergent!" The fist bumped, and Danny wondered when touch as a concept had stopped scaring him, but the thought slipped away as Danny ripped off the mask and apron as he dumped them into a waste bin.
"Waffles?" Danny offered, staring out the window to face the starry sky. It had taken a full day but the clean air and hospital corner beds as well as Beast Boy's smile made him regret none of it. Beast Boy grinned and walked to the door.
"No need to ask." The waffles were good, as all waffles are, and they talked back and forth before taking showers and meeting up again, Danny leaning on Beast Boy's door. Beast Boy shrugged. "You can take the bottom bunk whenever you want," he offered, and Danny's silence made him look at Danny in concern. Danny was near tears, smile spitting his face.
"Thanks. Tonight?" Beast Boy motioned for Danny to come in, and Danny sat above the sheets of the bottom bunk.
"Thanks," they said in unison, and snorted before chuckling, because the room was clean, and both of their worries felt like they didn't matter. The lights turned off and Beast Boy climbed up the bunk before plopping into bed, sheets crumpled like a nest as he curled up in a way only Beast Boy could find comfortable. Danny rolled over and stared at the door in silence.
"Good night," Beast Boy offered, and Danny smiled to himself. He felt safe.
"Goodnight."
The next morning, Danny found himself cornered as the Titans all wondered if he could clean their rooms, too, or at least the garage or the gym, or man if you could clean the entrance I'd pray to you at night—
"Enough, enough," Beast Boy said, jumping out in front of Danny. "He'll clean when he wants." Danny smiled and held up his coffee as if he were cheering.
"To Danny's Cleaning Services," he mentioned, and the Titans raised their drinks or hands jokingly. It really did feel like home.
Considering changing the cover for this story. Any ideas?
It's never until I'm writing that I realize how much love I pour into this thing. It's like, a part of life now, and I love it.
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Love y'all and see y'all around, hopefully not his late at night.