Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans. And I don't own a pair of bowling shoes. But I will return either of those in good shape.
AN: Beast Boy's experiences with meditation are loosely based on my own. However, your mileage may vary.
Chapter 3 – Laundry Day
It was strangely quiet when I got back to the Tower. Admittedly, I'm usually the noisiest one of the bunch, but usually when I get back, the noise of Cyborg's tools can be heard coming from the garage. And Robin should be taking his frustrations out on some poor punching bag in the gym. Starfire would usually be making a new batch of pudding for some bizarre occasion that she would push on us – or Silky. Sneaking that larva home had been one of the best ideas I ever had. Instead, I heard none of that.
What I did hear as I approached the kitchen was the whistle of a tea kettle. 'At least Raven is here,' I thought, comforted by the idea that the tower wasn't completely empty. I've never done well when there's no one around. And I couldn't think of anything I had done today to piss Raven off, so I decided to see if she knew where the others had gotten off to.
Still sore from the last time I had upset Raven, and knowing that she doesn't care for people sneaking up on her, I scuffed my shoes against the floor as I entered the kitchen. Her back was to me, the hood of her cloak down for a change. She had taken the kettle off as I entered and appeared to be pouring the hot water from the kettle into a tea pot. I'd never known Raven to do anything half-way, and her tea making was one of the rituals that she was very particular about. Without turning around, she greeted me, "Hello, Beast Boy."
"Um, hi, Raven. How'd you know it was me? And where'd the others go?" I responded. I watched her slender hands get down a tea cup. 'Hard to believe that so much destructive power could be contained within such a delicate vessel,' I thought.
"I knew it was you because the others left for pizza 15 minutes ago. I stayed here."
Her reply effectively answered both of my questions, and left our conversation with very little life. However, I'm not the kind of guy who can let a dying conversation pass away without going to heroic efforts to save it. "So, why'd you stay here?"
"I stayed because I didn't want to see if Starfire could find something worse than mint frosting to put on pizza. And to have some tea," came her reply, as she poured a cup of tea from the pot into her cup. Then her voice dropped to an even, dangerous tone. "Tea," she said, "that isn't going to get spilled."
"Right, um," I said as I scratched a sudden itch between my shoulders and started backing out of the kitchen. "I guess I'm going to go hang in my room for a bit. If you get bored…" She turned her head to look at me, and I had the distinct feeling that she was going to have to be a lot more than "bored" to seek out my company. "Never mind, then," I said as I turned and ran down the hall to my room.
I opened the door and quickly walked in, again tripping over the pile of laundry I had left near the door. 'Hell. Forgot about that. May as well do my laundry now.'
The amount of laundry that I have to do never ceases to amaze me. I'd spent most of the afternoon down in the laundry room of the Tower, bored out of my mind, and I had recently started my last load in the dryer. 'Come on! How can it take this long? I only have one kind of uniform! It's not like I have to sort my wash by colors. Unlike some people…'
There was a veritable mountain of clean uniforms, socks, boxers and sweats sitting on a table, waiting for me to fold – or drag back into my room and toss on the "clean" pile. The others had come back twenty minutes before, but I have learned that if I leave a task unfinished I'll never finish it. And leaving my laundry half done in the shared laundry room was a recipe for Raven to be pissed off at me. Again.
Pacing, I put my hand in my pocket, and found the egg timer that John had given me that afternoon. "Why not," I said to myself quietly.
I sat down in one of the chairs I had dragged down here a few months before. I placed my feet flat on the floor, back straight over my hips, and tried to sit like a mountain. I set the egg timer out on the floor in front of me, its sand pouring down the five minute time. I closed my eyes and began.
'In. Out. One.'
'In. Out. Two.'
'In. Out. Three.'
'In. Out. Four.'
I opened my eyes a few minutes later, and was surprised to see that the egg timer had run out of sand. And I had no idea of how much time had actually passed. This time I had thoughts wander into my head, and I had been able to look at them and let them go without getting angry. I had also noticed that more often than not, Raven was a part of those thoughts. Either I was coming up with a new scheme to get at Cyborg which I needed Rae's help with, or I was coming up with a scheme to make Raven smile.
I felt a little odd at the amount I was thinking about Raven. 'Guess it's because I want her to do things with me and the guys,' I thought.
The dryer buzzed, signaling its completion. Knowing that I was never actually going to put my laundry away, I grabbed the warm clothes from the dryer, piled them on top of the mound already done, and dragged it all back to my room.
I headed back to the rec room after I had dumped my laundry in the "clean" corner of my room. On my way down the stairs, I noticed that Raven was in her usual chair, reading one of the books that seemed to be semi-permanently attached to her. 'I wonder if she feels naked without one of her thick, creepy books nearby… Like I do when I forget my watch,' I wondered. Sitting on a small table was a cup of her tea.
Keeping my distance from the table with the tea on it, I made my way for the couch. As usual (well, usual for when I get around to doing laundry), Robin and Cyborg were sitting on the couch playing on the GameStation, and Starfire was behind Robin, cheering him on. I smiled slightly at that. When Cy and I played, she'd cheer for both of us equally. If Robin was playing against Cyborg or me, Starfire didn't seem to notice that we existed.
'If Robin doesn't notice how much Starfire is into him soon, I may have to try something drastic. I wonder if I can get a gerbil army to chew 'Starfire loves you' in Robin's sheets.' Sitting down on the couch, I announced my presence, "Hey. I play winner."
"Okay," came Robin's terse reply. Cyborg and Robin were playing Furious ATV Off-Road Racing 3, which was not one of my favorite games, but still fun. Robin's red ATV and Cyborg's blue one were neck and neck as they approached the finish line. Suddenly Robin swerved into Cyborg, causing him to crash into a tree, allowing Robin to win.
"Glorious, Robin! You are the victor!" cheered Starfire
"Nice move, Robin. I couldn't have done that better myself," Cyborg said. His relationship with Robin is very different from that with me. Far fewer accusations of cheating and more quiet respect. Sometimes I envied that. Cyborg tossed his controller to me, saying, "You're up, grass stain. Come on Star, let's go make Robin some 'Pudding of Victory'."
"Wonderful!" Starfire exclaimed.
I saw Robin get pale as he protested, "No, Star, Cyborg. You don't have to do that. Really."
"But, Robin, it is no trouble and since you were victorious it would be most appropriate! And with Cyborg's help, I am certain that it will not take long to prepare," Starfire said, her lips beginning to pout.
Robin shot Cyborg a look that I was sure could kill any normal man, as he said, "If it'll make you happy, go ahead, Starfire."
As Starfire and Cyborg left the room, Robin started a new game. "So," I asked Robin, "how was lunch?"
"It was good, Beast Boy. We couldn't find you to ask if you wanted to come."
"Well…." I really didn't want to tell Robin where I had been, especially since Raven was still behind us reading. And she seemed to have hearing nearly as good as mine sometimes. "I had other things I needed to do. So I left the Tower a little early."
We were nearing the end of the first lap, and I had started to bite my lower lip. Unfortunately, Robin wasn't finished yet. "It's not like you to go out before lunch. Are you okay? Anything bothering you? Starfire said that you were acting a little off this morning."
I looked at Robin. One of the best – and worst – traits about Robin has always been his concern for the well-being of his teammates. With Raven behind us, it did not seem like a good time to tell Robin that I had been out to a meditation group. "I'm fine, Robin. Nothing bothering me. Except that you're ahead of me."
We raced in silence for a few minutes. A lot of the time it isn't fun to taunt Robin. He just doesn't respond the way Raven or Cyborg would. 'Between his obsession with Slade, and trying to make Starfire feel accepted, there's probably not a lot of room in his head to deal with taunting,' I thought.
"You know, BB," Robin said, "I don't know why you even try racing against me. I'm just going to beat you."
'Okay. I guess he can taunt.' Indignant, I responded, "No way, Robin. You can beat the Tin Man, but you are not going to beat Beast Boy, master of the GameStation!"
As we approached the finish line on the final lap, Robin spoke again, "I've got you now, BB. How's it feel to lose?"
"Dude! I haven't lost yet," I exclaimed, and tried the same stunt I'd seen him use against Cyborg. And it had the same result. Robin's ATV crashed into a virtual tree, and I won the race.
From behind me, I heard Starfire. "Glorious day, friend Beast Boy! You have won, and the 'Pudding of Victory' is ready! I shall serve you some!"
I turned to look at Starfire. She was floating a few inches above the floor, holding a bowl that contained an unhealthy looking, bright pink 'pudding'.
I heard Robin say, very quietly, "Told you I'd win."
