The Problem With Orange

Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titan characters. But if I did, they'd eat candy and drink root beer all day long.

Chapter 4: House Call

"Raven, are you certain that it must be done this way?"

"Star, the shirt's ripped anyway. And if you try to take it off yourself, you might hurt your arm again. Now, sit still."

Riiiiip.

Starfire sighed. It hadn't been her favorite shirt, but it seemed so wasteful to tear it to shreds just because she couldn't get it over her head. At least the jeans survived, although they were a little torn. Raven had already given Starfire something for the pain and was currently examining her arm. She had managed to heal the worst of the damage with her powers, but it was still going to be bruised and stiff for a while.

"And it's still broken. I can heal you a little at a time for the next few days, but I'm afraid that if I do it any faster the bones will heal wrong," Raven told her.

"Then I must be very careful with it," Starfire said. Raven nodded.

"By the way, how is the other thing working out?" she asked casually as she began to bind Starfire's arm. "I noticed that the orange faded."

Starfire grinned at her. "It is gone for the moment. I am very relieved. It is a difficult thing to deal with."

"So you didn't try to, ah, have your way with anyone?" Raven asked, eyes glimmering with humor. Until she noticed Starfire's stricken look. "What did I say?"

"Oh, it is nothing. Merely the pain in my arm," the Tamaranian said quickly. Raven raised an eyebrow and stared her straight in the eye for a long moment. Finally, she lowered her eyes back to the broken arm.

"All right, I'll buy that. For now. But you're going to have to tell me sooner or later."

"And why is that?" Starfire wanted to know.

"Because you won't be able to help yourself."

- - -

He was pacing. Again. To the left side of the room, then to the right side of the room. Left, right, left, right, left, right.

"Robin, will you knock it off!" Cyborg finally said when he couldn't take it anymore. "Look, if you're so worried, why don't you go see her?"

Robin stopped long enough to glare at him, and then resumed pacing.

"He doesn't want to talk to her. But he doesn't like her being hurt, either," Beast Boy said from the couch. They were in the living room, Beast Boy playing Monster Trucks I: Annihilation on the giant TV, Cyborg chopping vegetables for stew in the kitchen, and Robin pacing. For the last half hour.

Robin whirled around and stalked--there was no other word for it--to where Beast Boy was sitting.

"What would you know about it? You probably don't even care that she's hurt," he said in a scathing tone. It was irrational, and he knew it, but the bubbling emotions inside him wouldn't let him settle down; he wanted someone to take it out on. Why not someone he was already mad at?

Beast Boy stuck his tongue out at him and kept playing while Cyborg looked on, stunned at the way Robin was acting. What had happened between the two of them? And when had they gotten so childish? Whatever it was, he was sick of watching it. He dumped the vegetables into a pot on the stove and then untied the ridiculous apron he insisted on wearing whenever he cooked. It had a caricature of the Terminator pointing a spatula like it was a gun, and underneath in bold lettering it said, "Come With Me if You Want to Eat."

"Right, well, if you won't go see her, I'm going to." He gave the other two a stern look. "Try not to kill each other while I'm gone, okay?"

- - -

"Just a minute," Cyborg heard Raven's voice call from inside. "Okay, come in."

He stepped in and looked curiously at Starfire, who had a blanket wrapped around her top half. It was too warm for a wool blanket, wasn't it?

"I had to rip her shirt up to get it off," Raven said in response to his questioning gaze. "I'm glad you came to see her. I was actually just trying to decide whether to go get her a new shirt or stay here. I gave her some pain medication, but I'm not sure if there'll be any side-effects and I wanted someone here with her just in case."

"Uh, Rae, are you sure that you gave her the right amount? Some of this stuff could take down small elephants with just a small amount," he said uneasily. She merely raised an eyebrow at him.

"The dosages are written on the bottles. It doesn't take a genius to read them and give the correct dosage."

"Ah. Well, hurry back with a shirt. And make sure Robin and Beast Boy aren't pounding the life out of each other, will ya?" Raven gave him a startled look and rushed out of the room. Geez, he was just kidding.

Mostly.

"Hey, Star, how are you feeling?" he asked. She smiled.

"The pain tablets have given me relief from much of the pain," she said. Then she frowned. "However, I cannot feel my toes. Should they not be wiggling when I tell them to?"

Cyborg was frowning now, too. What had Raven given her that would make her feet go numb? Then he realized the reason. She was sitting on her feet, and circulation to her legs was being cut off.

"Here, Star, lemme help you move so we can fix that," he said gently. She shifted and he moved her around until she was stretched out in a position that made her feet feel tingly instead. She grimaced.

"I do not like this feeling in my feet. It is too much like having them swallowed by a zemlar." Cyborg didn't want to know what a zemlar was, or how she knew what it was like to be swallowed by one. It didn't sound pleasant.

"So, is it okay for us manly men to be around you again?" he asked jokingly. She seemed to take the question very seriously.

"For the moment. The...Problem will return next month, most likely. What exciting new invention are you working on in the garage, friend? I have heard the screaming of metal and the shout of machinery hitting the metal for many days now."

He let the subject change go. If she didn't want to talk about the Problem, whatever it was, that was up to her. "Well, it's a new tracking device. See, the problem with the old ones are..."

- - -

"Yeah, well at least I got to!"

"Yeah, and I'll bet you enjoyed every minute of it!"

"You know what? I did. There, I said it. I liked it."

Robin couldn't have looked more shocked if he had been slapped.

"You take that back!"

"No!"

"Fine, then I guess I'll have to--"

"That's enough." A dark wave of power spilled over the room, trapping the yelling occupants in midmotion. "This is the second time that I've come in to see the two of you arguing. It's pointless and childish. If the two of you can't be in the same room without acting like this, then I'm going to put you in separate ones."

With that, the two were sucked into the ceiling. There, let them be mad at me instead. Maybe it'll take their minds off of each other for a while. Raven deposited each in their own room, locking the doors with a bit of power that would degrade with time. She figured they'd both find a way to escape before that time was up, but it was the best she could do.

She rubbed her temples. What was going on here, anyway? It had been quiet for weeks. No emergencies. No major villains. No one fighting. Then Starfire's biological problem, a crazed old hag, and two of her best friends nearly tearing each other apart all in one week.

"Stressed, who, me?" she murmured. She allowed herself to sink into her power and let it bring her to Starfire's room. The pure darkness that she could control was frightening, but not without its uses. She hunted through Starfire's closet until she found a complete version of her normal purple outfit--now that the orange tint had disappeared, Raven thought that she would want to feel normal again.

She stepped into the hallway and stopped to listen. She could here muffled shouts, cursing, and the sound of strong fists--or maybe that was claws?--being used on the doors. She made her way back to the medical room with a smirk playing around her face.

- - -

"Ah, Raven, you have come to join us!" Starfire said joyfully, flinging her arm, and the part of the blanket it had been holding, away from her. Cyborg's eyes widened, and then he turned away so fast that he nearly tripped over himself. A dull flush began to creep up his neck. Raven rolled her eyes.

"I take it one of the side effects was euphoria and a sudden lack of inhibitions?" she asked archly, making her way over to Starfire. She covered the other girl up, who had only been wearing a lacy white bra and her ripped jeans under the blanket.

"You got it. About five minutes ago she complained about being too warm and started to take it off on purpose." Cyborg said, his voice remarkably calm. If the worst memory he ever had of Starfire was her in her underwear, he could live with that. Uncomfortably.

There was a tentative knock on the door, and Beast Boy poked his head into the room. He winced when his eyes fell on Raven, but instead of angry, she looked quite impressed.

"How did you get out so quickly? I reinforced the door," she asked curiously.

"I crawled through the vents," he replied modestly. Then he made a face. "Those things need to be cleaned, though. There are spiders everywhere."

Cyborg chuckled. "Well, I'm not volunteering. I'm gonna go check on my stew, though. It should be done soon, so see y'all at dinner."

"Hey, Star," Beast Boy greeted as Cyborg left the room. She had scooted off the medical bed and leaned over to embrace him heartily, remembering this time to keep the blanket closed.

"Beast Boy, my friend! It is so good to see you!" she said cheerily. He shot a puzzled glance to Raven.

"It's the medicine. It's making her act a little strangely," she explained.

"Gee, Star acting weird. Like that's new," he muttered bitterly. He ignored Raven's arched eyebrow and concentrated on prying away the elated red-head that seemed to be glued to him.

"I'll just let you handle this," Raven said, amusement playing around her lips. Of course, she would think this was funny.

"Yeah, yeah, get outta here." He watched her go, still trying to get Star to stop crushing his personal space to death. She hadn't really moved in a while. What'd she do, fall asleep on me?

A delicate snore informed him that that was precisely what had happened. With a sigh, he maneuvered them over to the medical bed and attempted to lay her down on it. It took a lot of creative shape shifting, but he finally made it happen. For a moment, he just looked at the peaceful girl.

Something seemed strange about her. After a moment, Beast Boy realized it was the exhaustion written all over her face. Well, I guess I haven't been the only one not sleeping so well, he thought wryly. Starfire murmured something in her sleep that sounded distinctly childlike and full of wonder. He smiled for the first time in days, and affectionately smoothed her hair behind her ears.

Maybe they had made a mistake, but nothing could change the fact that they were friends. Nothing more than really good friends. And he was fine with that. Now if only he could get Robin to see the same thing.

- - -

His stomach rumbled. It was after six in the morning. Hmm, must be time for dinner. I wonder whose turn it was to cook, he thought to himself. Oh, wait, it's my turn! Oops. But why didn't anyone call me down? Lessee...Rae's probably reading, Cy's puttering around in the garage, and Starfire is still acting strange. But Beast Boy at least should have come up here to whine by now. Maybe he made his own dinner.

He sat up from where he'd been reading Martial Arts Monthly and started for the door to go down stairs. He would make something before anyone realized he had forgotten and came up to yell at him.

And then I'll check on Star. She hasn't been out of her room in a while. And I miss her. The last thought came unbidden, but didn't surprise him as much as it should have. He had been doing a lot of thinking and had realized that he wouldn't be happy until he figured out what he really felt for her.

Maybe I should ask her out tonight, he considered, biting his lip and walking absentmindedly in the general direction of the kitchen. We could go tomorrow, for dinner. Wait, no we couldn't. Our dinner happens when everyone else is having breakfast. But we could go out for breakfast. For dinner.

Maybe I need to think this through a little more.

At this point, he reached the bottom of the stairs leading to the living room. A small noise brought him back to reality, and he glanced over at the couch. And stared. There, lying in a tangle of limbs, were Beast Boy and Starfire. His girl.

The shape shifter was lying on top of her, looking very happy to be there. He was kissing her eagerly, and she had her arms wrapped around his neck. There had to be some mistake.

It didn't look like they thought it was a mistake.

He backed up, still staring, until the backs of his feet hit the stairs, nearly tripping him. As he turned to stumble up them, he heard a low voice mumble something and then a loud thump. He fled, not wanting to know what was happening behind him. Dinner didn't seem so important anymore.

- - -

Robin smashed his fist into the door again. It didn't work any more effectively than it had for the last hour, but at least it drove the memory from his mind. Fresh pain welled through him, not all of it from his fist. Didn't she feel what he felt? Was he wrong about the two of them?

And why Beast Boy, for goodness sakes?

He's good-looking. He has that animalistic edge. He's laid back; not nearly as competitive as you are. And he made a move, his mind supplied helpfully. With a growl, he lunged at the door again; the light from his lamp made it look almost like it was laughing at him. And why not? His predicament was funny, wasn't it?

The next time he saw Raven, there were going to be words. Very strong words.

Whenever Starfire had boyfriends in the past, he'd made it work. He could work around it. Nothing had really changed that much. Right?

Except for the part where you love her. He started. Love? That's right, he did love her, didn't he. What an amazing discovery. He was in love. No wonder this sucked so much.

Robin sank to the floor, his back against the offensive door. Why did this have to happen now, when she appeared to have made up her mind about someone else? Because nothing worth having is easy to attain, another corner of his mind whispered.

Where the hell was the off switch for that thing? Cyborg didn't know how lucky he was.

He glanced up at the door sensor and frowned. Hadn't it been pulsating with Raven's dark power earlier? Come to think of it, the it had been normal-looking for some time now. He reached up and put his hand in front of it from his sitting position. It opened the door, spilling him onto the hallway floor.

He picked himself up, glancing around to see if anyone had witnessed his embarrassing and ungraceful sprawl. No one was. He stood for a moment to collect himself.

The door was open. Now the question was, what next?

End Chapter

Whoa, that's the longest one so far. How exciting.

To my reviewers: Thank you, thank you, thankyouthankyouthankyou!!!! You guys are awesome support; I don't think it would be moving along so quickly without you. And NalaravatheRed? Thanks for the "Write More" song. That was so cool. -grins-

And someone finally noticed that it hasn't been any worse than PG-13 up 'til this point! I didn't expect to get so side-tracked...The lemon is coming, although there might not be much of it in this particular story. (Which means there is a sequel. You didn't really think this was a one-shot, did you?)

BTW, if you're looking for a bit of silliness, read oBsEsSiVe AnD hYpEr's profile page. It's hilarious!

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