A/N: GASP! BEE BOP! I just watched the episode, "Fear Itself," (which, by the way, is one of my faaavorite episodes!) and alas, there IS a window in Raven's room! You know, that part when she wakes up and mentions how she should consider redecorating? Whee! So now... so now we can both finally gain closure over that predicament! Bwahaha, okay, moving on... THANKS x 9999 for the reviews! They made me so stoked to write this next chapter! Oh, K2G by Puffy got me pretty souped as well. Anyway, here is the next chapter, I hope you like it!
Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans... and it pains me to type that. PAINS!
Just Roommates
Chapter Four - Routine
"Well, I'm goin' down to the garage to check out the T-Car after last night's storm," said Cyborg, cramming his last large chunk of waffle into his mouth and scooting down the semi-circle seating around the table. "Fee you ghuys lahter."
"See ya," called Robin after him, slightly waving over the top of his newspaper. Starfire levitated above her seat, collecting the empty plates, then floated over to the sink and gently placed them in. She had been the first awake this morning and, luckily, had noticed Raven's broken teacup on the kitchen tiles. She had carefully picked up the pieces, tossed them in the trash, and threw one or two scrunched-up paper towels over it. She guessed something, as small as it could be, had happened and decided she would consult Raven in private after breakfast; no one else would know.
But Raven didn't come to breakfast.
"The storm probably kept her up last night, we'll let her sleep late," Robin said when Starfire had pointed it out. He seemed awake and alert as ever, obviously well-rested. He and Cyborg were the only ones. Starfire had trouble stifling a yawn as she reached for the sponge and dishwashing liquid, and Beast Boy had bags developing under his eyes. He sat across from Robin at the table, his chin in his hand, poking at his tofu waffles. Starfire had asked him if he was feeling alright earlier this morning, but he just brushed her off. She frowned. Her exhaustion had lead to distraction, and she had begun washing the dishes with her armlets on. Not wanting to scratch the glass, she removed them and tossed them on the island table behind her. As she was looking over her shoulder, she noticed Robin folding his newspaper and stretching. Starfire thrust her hands back into the bubbly water and pretended to be focused on the plate she was lathering.
Robin's eyes briefly fell upon Starfire. She looked intent in her chore, her elbow moving back and forth as she washed and rinsed the dishes. She complained not once about doing her share of chores, probably because she had never done anything like them before on Tamaran. Robin remembered teaching her to vacuum, dust, clean the bathroom, wash the dishes, and soon she even volunteered to clean the outer windows of Titan Tower. Patient and careful, each new task was like an adventure to her. Now she was well accustomed to Earth housework, and usually helped lazy Beast Boy when it was his turn. With a roll of her shoulder, she tossed her long hair out of the way as she reached for the next plate. Robin stood up from the table and cleared his throat.
"I'm going outside. Don't forget, Titans, training after lunch," he announced, making his way out.
"Understood, friend Robin," Starfire reached for a towel and dried her hands, facing him, "Goodbye!" She smiled cheerfully.
He returned the smile. "Beast Boy?" Robin turned his attention to the shape-shifter, who was now absently tracing his finger along the rim of his glass of soy milk. "Beast Boy!"
"What? Yeah, okay," he finally replied, jolted from his train of thought. He picked up his fork and twirled it around in his fingers. Robin scratched the bridge of his nose thoughtfully, then jogged up the stairs, gave Starfire a friendly wave goodbye, and left the room. Starfire stared after him for a moment, then gave a quick sigh and approached her Changeling friend at the table. He didn't seem to acknowledge her presence.
"Might you be finished with the consumption of your 'breakfast'?" she asked politely, holding up a finger. "It is my turn to do the washing of dishes." Beast Boy's emerald eyes slowly drifted to where she was standing. After a pause he pushed himself up to stand.
"Yeah. Finished. Thanks," he brushed passed her and the table and out of the room, leaving Starfire alone and confused with her index finger still in the air. She grabbed the plate, glass, and utensils, scraped the food off the plate and drained the glass in the sink, lathered, rinsed, and dried. She quickly put the glasses and stack of plates in the cabinet and the utensils in the drawer a step or two away. With a brief glance at the door, she put her armlets back on as she hurried to the end table next to the couch. Reaching for the cordless phone, her hand suddenly hesitated. Raven! I must go see friend Raven! She could be distressed... a telephone call can wait, Starfire decided. She felt her feet leave the ground and zoomed out the door, not stopping until she was at Raven's door.
She knocked four times. No response. She knocked four times again. Still, nothing. How strange... Starfire put her ear to the door to see if she could hear any chanting from within, but there was not a sound. She knocked four last times. She always knocked four times on Raven's door. It wasn't some sort of secret code, Starfire was just hoping that Raven would notice the pattern and come to the door when she thought it to be Starfire. Starfire would feel guilty entering Raven's room without permission after Beast Boy and Cyborg meddled around in her things.
"Friend Raven? Raven! I wish to speak with you, are you there?" she raised her voice a little. Nothing. Starfire gave up and continued down the hall. Perhaps she was in another room, as unlikely as that was.
Turning the next corner, she could hear hissing from ahead. She approached the bathroom and found it to be the source of the noise; someone was in the shower. Some steam was emerging from the crack under the door. It must be Raven... I just finished speaking to Beast Boy and the others are not around. Starfire knew something was wrong with Raven... she rarely showers in the daytime. Deciding there was nothing left to do, she uncrumpled the scrap of paper in her hand and departed for the main room.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Raven vigorously scrubbed her scalp with her fingertips and knuckles, then shook her hair out under the stream of water. The steam of the shower was nauseating and she felt light-headed, but she continued to run her fingers through her hair to get the shampoo out. For one thing, Raven regretting not eating breakfast. She already had to lower the shower temperature twice and lean against the wall to rid herself of the sweeping wave of faintness. The insomnia from last night's issue wasn't any comfort, either.
Another thing was that Raven hated washing her hair. She hated her hair in general, one of the many reasons she keeps it cut short. She scowled at the bottle of floral-scented shampoo on the ledge next to her. It belonged to Starfire, and although she told Raven many times she could use her things whenever she liked, Raven never bothered to wash her hair. She rinsed it, occasionally running her fingers through the roots to remove some of the oil, but never shampooed. She didn't want to smell like a daisy, so she saw no point in using the stupid gunk. She never had any terrible body odors, so Raven's showers were usually short and taken before she went to sleep at night. That way, her hair would dry as she slept and she wouldn't have to fuss with it like Starfire did.
So her motivation for showering right after she woke up? Raven wasn't quite sure. Actually, she just wanted an excuse to stay away from the others, or maybe a certain other, but kept telling herself otherwise. Her time in the shower was now approaching 20 minutes, she guessed, and with a final shake of head, slowly turned the handle until the water was only a drip. Pushing the shower curtain aside and getting bombarded with a blast of steam that was lurking in the rest of the bathroom, she told herself that she had to decide what she was going to do about Beast Boy, and right now, too. Raven snatched her towel from the hook next to the shower and wrapped it around her torso, passively letting her body air-dry. She stood there, arms folded across her chest, weighing her possible options. Finally, after several minutes of the droning fan circulating the steam, the now-dry Raven leaned backwards, squeezing the last bit of water out of her hair and into the tub behind her (catching a whiff of it and miserably realizing she did indeed smell like a flower), and collected her clothes. Before she quickly stomped off to her room, not wanting to be seen by her teammates in a towel, she made up her mind. She thought Beast Boy deserved an apology; she knew that much. She also knew she could never pull it off face-to-face.
Hearing her bedroom door hiss shut behind her, she tossed her clothes on her bed and skimmed along the contents of her bookshelf. Pulling out a poetry notebook she grew out of over a year ago, she sat down next to her clothes and opened up to a blank page. Conjuring a pen from her nightstand, she put aside the thought of getting changed. She wanted to write things down while they were still fresh in her mind.
Raven would write Beast Boy a letter.
A/N: RAH! This came out too long. Next chapter Starfire calls Dylan! I swear! Oh well, hate not, my friends, I am very fond of this chapter. What, because of Raven in the shower? Ho ho ho, surely not, you dirty old men! Anyway, I sure hope you guys are liking this story so far, because I know I'm having a blast writing it! Review, please, and tell me what you think! Oh, and suggestions are always welcome!
Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans... and it pains me to type that. PAINS!
Just Roommates
Chapter Four - Routine
"Well, I'm goin' down to the garage to check out the T-Car after last night's storm," said Cyborg, cramming his last large chunk of waffle into his mouth and scooting down the semi-circle seating around the table. "Fee you ghuys lahter."
"See ya," called Robin after him, slightly waving over the top of his newspaper. Starfire levitated above her seat, collecting the empty plates, then floated over to the sink and gently placed them in. She had been the first awake this morning and, luckily, had noticed Raven's broken teacup on the kitchen tiles. She had carefully picked up the pieces, tossed them in the trash, and threw one or two scrunched-up paper towels over it. She guessed something, as small as it could be, had happened and decided she would consult Raven in private after breakfast; no one else would know.
But Raven didn't come to breakfast.
"The storm probably kept her up last night, we'll let her sleep late," Robin said when Starfire had pointed it out. He seemed awake and alert as ever, obviously well-rested. He and Cyborg were the only ones. Starfire had trouble stifling a yawn as she reached for the sponge and dishwashing liquid, and Beast Boy had bags developing under his eyes. He sat across from Robin at the table, his chin in his hand, poking at his tofu waffles. Starfire had asked him if he was feeling alright earlier this morning, but he just brushed her off. She frowned. Her exhaustion had lead to distraction, and she had begun washing the dishes with her armlets on. Not wanting to scratch the glass, she removed them and tossed them on the island table behind her. As she was looking over her shoulder, she noticed Robin folding his newspaper and stretching. Starfire thrust her hands back into the bubbly water and pretended to be focused on the plate she was lathering.
Robin's eyes briefly fell upon Starfire. She looked intent in her chore, her elbow moving back and forth as she washed and rinsed the dishes. She complained not once about doing her share of chores, probably because she had never done anything like them before on Tamaran. Robin remembered teaching her to vacuum, dust, clean the bathroom, wash the dishes, and soon she even volunteered to clean the outer windows of Titan Tower. Patient and careful, each new task was like an adventure to her. Now she was well accustomed to Earth housework, and usually helped lazy Beast Boy when it was his turn. With a roll of her shoulder, she tossed her long hair out of the way as she reached for the next plate. Robin stood up from the table and cleared his throat.
"I'm going outside. Don't forget, Titans, training after lunch," he announced, making his way out.
"Understood, friend Robin," Starfire reached for a towel and dried her hands, facing him, "Goodbye!" She smiled cheerfully.
He returned the smile. "Beast Boy?" Robin turned his attention to the shape-shifter, who was now absently tracing his finger along the rim of his glass of soy milk. "Beast Boy!"
"What? Yeah, okay," he finally replied, jolted from his train of thought. He picked up his fork and twirled it around in his fingers. Robin scratched the bridge of his nose thoughtfully, then jogged up the stairs, gave Starfire a friendly wave goodbye, and left the room. Starfire stared after him for a moment, then gave a quick sigh and approached her Changeling friend at the table. He didn't seem to acknowledge her presence.
"Might you be finished with the consumption of your 'breakfast'?" she asked politely, holding up a finger. "It is my turn to do the washing of dishes." Beast Boy's emerald eyes slowly drifted to where she was standing. After a pause he pushed himself up to stand.
"Yeah. Finished. Thanks," he brushed passed her and the table and out of the room, leaving Starfire alone and confused with her index finger still in the air. She grabbed the plate, glass, and utensils, scraped the food off the plate and drained the glass in the sink, lathered, rinsed, and dried. She quickly put the glasses and stack of plates in the cabinet and the utensils in the drawer a step or two away. With a brief glance at the door, she put her armlets back on as she hurried to the end table next to the couch. Reaching for the cordless phone, her hand suddenly hesitated. Raven! I must go see friend Raven! She could be distressed... a telephone call can wait, Starfire decided. She felt her feet leave the ground and zoomed out the door, not stopping until she was at Raven's door.
She knocked four times. No response. She knocked four times again. Still, nothing. How strange... Starfire put her ear to the door to see if she could hear any chanting from within, but there was not a sound. She knocked four last times. She always knocked four times on Raven's door. It wasn't some sort of secret code, Starfire was just hoping that Raven would notice the pattern and come to the door when she thought it to be Starfire. Starfire would feel guilty entering Raven's room without permission after Beast Boy and Cyborg meddled around in her things.
"Friend Raven? Raven! I wish to speak with you, are you there?" she raised her voice a little. Nothing. Starfire gave up and continued down the hall. Perhaps she was in another room, as unlikely as that was.
Turning the next corner, she could hear hissing from ahead. She approached the bathroom and found it to be the source of the noise; someone was in the shower. Some steam was emerging from the crack under the door. It must be Raven... I just finished speaking to Beast Boy and the others are not around. Starfire knew something was wrong with Raven... she rarely showers in the daytime. Deciding there was nothing left to do, she uncrumpled the scrap of paper in her hand and departed for the main room.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Raven vigorously scrubbed her scalp with her fingertips and knuckles, then shook her hair out under the stream of water. The steam of the shower was nauseating and she felt light-headed, but she continued to run her fingers through her hair to get the shampoo out. For one thing, Raven regretting not eating breakfast. She already had to lower the shower temperature twice and lean against the wall to rid herself of the sweeping wave of faintness. The insomnia from last night's issue wasn't any comfort, either.
Another thing was that Raven hated washing her hair. She hated her hair in general, one of the many reasons she keeps it cut short. She scowled at the bottle of floral-scented shampoo on the ledge next to her. It belonged to Starfire, and although she told Raven many times she could use her things whenever she liked, Raven never bothered to wash her hair. She rinsed it, occasionally running her fingers through the roots to remove some of the oil, but never shampooed. She didn't want to smell like a daisy, so she saw no point in using the stupid gunk. She never had any terrible body odors, so Raven's showers were usually short and taken before she went to sleep at night. That way, her hair would dry as she slept and she wouldn't have to fuss with it like Starfire did.
So her motivation for showering right after she woke up? Raven wasn't quite sure. Actually, she just wanted an excuse to stay away from the others, or maybe a certain other, but kept telling herself otherwise. Her time in the shower was now approaching 20 minutes, she guessed, and with a final shake of head, slowly turned the handle until the water was only a drip. Pushing the shower curtain aside and getting bombarded with a blast of steam that was lurking in the rest of the bathroom, she told herself that she had to decide what she was going to do about Beast Boy, and right now, too. Raven snatched her towel from the hook next to the shower and wrapped it around her torso, passively letting her body air-dry. She stood there, arms folded across her chest, weighing her possible options. Finally, after several minutes of the droning fan circulating the steam, the now-dry Raven leaned backwards, squeezing the last bit of water out of her hair and into the tub behind her (catching a whiff of it and miserably realizing she did indeed smell like a flower), and collected her clothes. Before she quickly stomped off to her room, not wanting to be seen by her teammates in a towel, she made up her mind. She thought Beast Boy deserved an apology; she knew that much. She also knew she could never pull it off face-to-face.
Hearing her bedroom door hiss shut behind her, she tossed her clothes on her bed and skimmed along the contents of her bookshelf. Pulling out a poetry notebook she grew out of over a year ago, she sat down next to her clothes and opened up to a blank page. Conjuring a pen from her nightstand, she put aside the thought of getting changed. She wanted to write things down while they were still fresh in her mind.
Raven would write Beast Boy a letter.
A/N: RAH! This came out too long. Next chapter Starfire calls Dylan! I swear! Oh well, hate not, my friends, I am very fond of this chapter. What, because of Raven in the shower? Ho ho ho, surely not, you dirty old men! Anyway, I sure hope you guys are liking this story so far, because I know I'm having a blast writing it! Review, please, and tell me what you think! Oh, and suggestions are always welcome!