Daydream

By: Tina the reviewer

Chapter rating: PG because of Starfire.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans, nor will I ever, unfortunately... (Do you not hear my pitiful sobs that echo into the night?)

A/N: To all those who read and reviewed, thank you so much. For those who reviewed, some of you are truly eloquent and brilliant with your words, even though it is just to review, to the point it makes me feel unworthy of your praise. I am humbled.

Chapter 3: Tragedy?

Not long after we left off from the previous chapter, Starfire had proceeded to the kitchen, indeed in the process of answering the sweet call of a very special bottle of honey mustard. It was her favourite kind of mustard overall and was the last bottle of honey mustard in the tower at the moment. Everything else was just the normal mustard, which she enjoyed, but obviously not as much as her precious honey mustard. She had been saving it for a special morning like this, when she could have it with a nice warm pretzel or bagel, or leisurely sip it straight from its container.

That is until she heard a crash from the kitchen as she exited the elevator. Fearing the worst, Starfire had flown to the kitchen at a faster speed than normal.

Not much time after…

"You Glorfbag!"

"Star, I already said I'm really, REALLY sorry! What more do you want from me?"

"Your SUFFERING!"

"Star, you can't be serious!"

"Oh my sweet darling, how could this have happened to you?"

"Are you listening to me?!"

"Silence fool! The Princess of Tamaran, that is I, mourns!"

That was what Robin had heard when he had reached the kitchen. He was met by the sight of Starfire on the floor kneeling near a mess of broken glass and a yellow substance he recognised as Star's beloved honey mustard. Robin was worried that she might hurt herself amongst all that broken glass but she appeared more torn between saving the yellow liquid on the floor and throttling Beastboy. Said boy as well as Raven and Cyborg were perched on the high stools on one side of the kitchen 'island' counter, to stay away from the broken glass.

Beastboy looked as if he did not know whether to be extremely apologetic or miffed that Starfire was getting so worked up over a bottle of mustard.

Cyborg looked like he was having the time of his life, seeing Beastboy in trouble with the usually easy-going, and forgiving Starfire.

Raven looked like she was starting to have a migraine.

"Anyone mind filling me in? Starfire? Beastboy?" Robin started.

"Do not talk to him friend Robin! He is what you Earthlings call a 'loser'!"

They all almost gasped in union at Star's harsh remark. She must have been pretty upset to lose that jar of mustard.

After a bit more squabbling, Robin had managed to get the entire story out of everyone's contributions.

It was silly. Beastboy simply should have been more careful and 'for Tamaran's sake use a chair' to reach places he could not reach instead of jumping and Starfire should not have overreacted ('more like, go berserk!'), for honey mustard was not a precious mineral that was hard to obtain.

After everyone helped to clear away the mess (mostly done by Starfire and Raven, who could fly to avoid stepping on the glass shards), both of the Titan's youngest members had cooled down considerably, thankfully. Starfire was still mourning, though in silence, and Beastboy, truly apologetic for her loss. Both were ashamed that they had upset each other though, and sought forgiveness.

"Star, is there anything I can do to make it up to you? Other than replacing the mustard?"

"Mustard of the Honey" she gently corrected, but otherwise remained silent.

Star already knew what she wanted from him, but pretended to think about it. For some time now, Starfire had been thinking about Beastboy's diet of tofu, and how he could possibly stand it. There were only so many ways you could prepare tofu, and the ways that the Titans knew of, were not that great. That or they were just terrible at preparing tofu dishes. So what Starfire wanted from him was a day to be the opposite of vegetarian. To eat nothing but meat. She hoped it would encourage him to eat more meat. It would do him good, build more muscle, and gain some height and what not surely. She voiced this out.

"Star, you can't make me do that! That'd be like chewing my own arm! I turn into animals, or has the loss of the mustard threw your brain into whack, to the point you can't remember?"

"But Beastboy, it surely cannot be healthy to consume this much soy product! You must live your life –"

"Hell yeah!" Cyborg exclaimed in full agreement.

"- And it is not as though you are going against your religion. And it is this once, that I ask of you to eat meat. Please Beastboy!"

"Star, I can't, please don't make me do this!"

Star thought about it a little more, trying to remember an argument point that she thought up not very long ago, in preparation should this conversation arise. Beastboy looked hurt that Starfire would ask such a thing of him, when they all knew how important being a vegetarian was to him – it almost made Starfire relent. Almost.

"Do you not often turn into big cats and dinosaurs? And bears and other big animals! They eat meat! And a little meat will be good for you! And in return –"

"That's different!"

"And in return!" Starfire repeated, "I shall go vegetarian. You will nothing but meat, while I'll eat nothing but fruit, vegetables and tofu. Think about it, you have in the past managed to sway me into going vegetarian with you, if only for a little while. It is most fair, and you did smash my last jar of honey mustard!"

And so, after some thinking and muttered curses and vulgarities, Beastboy agreed to Starfire's terms. They were to start tomorrow, both needing the 'mental preparation' to face their task. Cyborg looked like he was going to cry tears of joy. They could practically see any gears of his mechanical mind whirring away, planning tomorrow's menu for both Beastboy and Starfire.

But mostly Beastboy's.

All the while Robin and Raven had just been spectators, Raven with a mug of now warm blackcurrant tea and Robin with a cup of his disgustingly sweet cup of cocoa and coffee mix. In the middle of the counter top was a large plate of toasted things like toast, pop tarts and bagels. It was the simplest thing to prepare.

Raven noticed that Robin's gaze often strayed to a particular part of the counter top and not without a tinge of pink on his cheeks, which was becoming increasingly familiar. She let this go unquestioned; whatever was on his mind was probably embarrassing. Plus, she was feeling too tired for any conversation, she had been up all night again. The only reasons why she had gotten up from bed this morning was because she had to keep up appearances (lest Beastboy manage to convince the others that she was in deep trouble and barge into her room in an attempt to rescue her… again) and because her stomach had began to voice its displeasure at being neglected. The extra meditation and training sessions she put herself through were beginning to take a toll again.

-TT-

Eventually, breakfast had to end, and the Titans went about their scheduled day:

Starfire went out on a solo patrol. It was her turn that morning to go around Jump City to give it a quick scan for any criminal activity. She usually took about an hour or so, even thought everyone's patrol varied in length of time; Cyborg's patrol took longer than Beastboy, Raven and Starfire's because he could not fly. Robin's however, was the longest, being the responsible/cautious/paranoid person we know and love. It was in the evenings that the whole team went out to prowl the city.

Cyborg was helping Beastboy with a math assignment due that week, and knew that he would have to check Starfire's work when she got home.

Yes, the Teen Titans, protectors of Jump City, were getting an education, whether they liked it or not. In between crime fighting, training, resting and goofing off, all of them took correspondence classes with the local institutions. While crime fighting was their main priority, all of them made an effort to make sure they advanced to the next level. Or at least they made an effort when Robin started to breathe down their necks or began to nag until they could not take it anymore. Especially Beastboy and Starfire, who used to be tutored by Robin when they needed help.

Used to…?

It was a funny story really, of how Robin had been replaced from his 'post' as tutor, especially because he taught them for just a short period of time. This was because on a few occasions, he was nearly successful at driving Starfire and Beastboy (but mostly the latter) to tears. While Robin was intelligent and overall an excellent student, he was a terrible teacher. He was often strict and impatient, breaking pencils from his tight grip out of frustration and confusion when they could not grasp a physics or mathematical theory after he had explained it to them again and again and AGAIN! And if the pencils were spared, there were holes drilled into the text books and papers, all rimmed with the charcoal black of the pencil lead; A trail of minor destruction that Robin left behind.

So, for the health of all, Cyborg took over teaching the 'younger' ones, being more patient than Robin and more tolerant of Beastboy than Raven. Robin wondered whether he should have been insulted or relieved that he had been replaced, so he did both. And while Robin often tried to stay away when the others were studying, they all at one point or another had caught Robin snooping around Beastboy and Starfire's papers on the dining table, checking that their work was nothing less than perfect. It was ridiculous, but seeing as he was doing no real harm, they ignored this idiosyncrasy of his.

But continuing with what the Titans were currently doing…

Robin and Raven were in the laundry room. They were separating whatever articles of clothing that needed to be separated for the next load.

Like for example, the red top of Robin's fighting gear. Its colour tended to run and irreversibly stain other people's clothes, as the whole team had to learn the hard way when they first came to live together and were to lazy to separate the colours from the whites. Everyone had at least one article of his or her undergarments dyed a faded pink, much to everyone's dismay. After that incident, everyone diligently separated the laundry into proper categories before putting them in the machine to be washed.

There was relative silence in the laundry room. The whir of the ongoing wash cycle was the only noise that could be heard.

This quiet however, was far from being that of companionable silence. Robin's thoughts somewhat resembled organized chaos, only with more 'chaos' and less organization. He was wracking his brain for anything that they could talk about.

About the team? Past villains? Harry Potter? (Why do you think the mould in the fridge is always blue?) Slade? Philosophy? Past missions? (Do you think Sirius is really dead?) His secret identity? Her meditations? Life? (Want a hint to my true identity?) His research? Lunch? The weather? His dream!? (You know, I had a dream about us making out on the kitchen counter last night… Want to help me re-enact it?)

What?!

Part of him wanted to get to know her better, past the inane things like what her favourite flavours were or what her favourite colours were – he already knew that. Her ice cream flavours of choice was chocolate mintand maple pecan and her favourite colours were sky blue and dark red (it matched the colour of the chakra on her forehead she once explained). In fact, everyone in the tower knew most of everybody else's likes and dislikes. Having had lived together for so long, they slowly learnt about each other through questions, intentional and subconscious observation. And with time, Raven had opened up to them, little by little, telling them fragments about her past and how she came to be the person she was today. Considering the person she was, that was quite a lot, but Robin wanted to know everything about her.

But mostly he just wanted her attention and to enjoy her company. Conversations with her were always fascinating and interesting, if a bit on the short side. Raven was intelligent and had sharp wit.

"You know what, Raven? I think you're really smart…"

Silence…

"… You're having one of those weird moments again aren't you? … "

More silence…

"Yes… yes, I am… sorry, Raven…"

"That's alright. But for that, I request the use of your shoulder so that I may rest my smart head. Wake me when this load is done."

And with that, she did lay her smart head on his shoulder and drifted off. Robin had been caught off guard with her request but certainly did not mind their close proximity. Besides, she looked really tired.

Even though his attempt at conversation had been thwarted, Robin was more than happy to have this moment with her. Afterall, they could talk later.

"Ok then. Sweet dreams Raven."

As a darkness that accompanied sleep welcomed Raven, she decided that Robin's shoulder was definitely one of the most comfortable places that she could nap on.

To be continued…

A/N: whew, glad this is finally out. Sorry if you waited long, but I found this chapter surprisingly hard to write, and is surprisingly twice the normal chapter length (word count proves it!). What I originally wanted in this chapter I decided to put into a later chapter and I have decided to put a little plot into this fic, although for better or worse is yet to be seen.