Good books have a way of drawing me into them and blocking out the things around me. That's the effect that the Book of Azar had on me, because I had lost all awareness of the time and found myself reading until it was nearly five in the evening. I made myself tear my eyes away from the book's pages and slink out of my room.

I descended into the living room, where the plans for dinner were already taking place. Robin and Starfire stood wearily at a good distance away from the table, where Beast Boy and Cyborg were arguing over the main course. The bottle of barbecue sauce and the spatula on the table signified that Cyborg had planned a barbecue of some sort.

"Dude, do you have NO respect for vegetarians!" Beast Boy howled. "All you ever eat is meat, meat, MEAT! If I ate any of that stuff it would be just as bad as you, I dunno, eating Robin!"

"Do NOT drag me into this," Robin said warningly.

"You know what I absolutely hate?" Cyborg retorted. "The way you force that tofu crap on the rest of us. Man, get the picture, YOU'RE THE ONLY ONE WHO LIKES IT!"

"That is SO not true! Star likes it."

"Well, if you think everyone else has such good judgment, then let's ask them what THEY want!" I was beginning to regret abandoning my quiet time for this. "Robin, what do you want? Meat or crap?"

"I'm not contributing to this until you sort out your differences with Beast Boy. Peacefully."

"Fine! Star?"

"Idon'tmind, whateveryoutwowant, pleasedon'thurtme!" the poor Tamaranean squeaked.

"Raven?"

I stared at him coldly. "…Herbal. Tea."

Cyborg's human eye twitched and a vein in Beast Boy's forehead pulsed visibly. The two testosterone-charged Titans faced each other with fixated glares, practically steaming.

Robin finally gave in and stepped into the line of fire. "All right, I have an idea…we can still have a barbecue outside if you like. And Beast Boy Can grill some vegetables or tofu or whatever," he added quickly on the changeling's look.

Cyborg and Starfire looked instantly relieved and a fanged grin spread across Beast Boy's green face. "All riiight! It's a perfect day for my famous tofu kabobs."

"I still can't believe that the two of you haven't thought of a compromise before," Robin scoffed at them.

I strode across what used to be a battlefield to get my teabags from the pantry. At the same time Beast Boy dove into the refrigerator. "Aw man!" I heard him cry in dismay. "I'm out of tofu…"

I gave a long, shuddering sigh. The box in which I kept my teabags was completely empty; I'd forgotten that I'd used the last one for my morning tea.

"Hehehe…" Beast Boy peered over my shoulder. "I guess we both need to hit the grocery store…"

I could have sworn that there was a possibility of the vein in my temple bursting.

XXXXX

Beast Boy and I flew over the bay, him in bird form, without saying a word.

Well, I suppose that it would be difficult to strike up conversation with a hawk on even a normal basis…

We reached the grocery store not too long after we left the Tower. To my annoyance, I found him following me, as the shelves with the tea were close to the refrigerated section. My eyes searched hurriedly for my favorite kind of tea—a decaf, chamomile flavored tea—while Beast Boy came up behind me, having already gotten his tofu.

"Why don't you ever get flavored tofu?"

The two of us were both surprised as I spoke suddenly. I suppose that it was just too creepy to have him standing behind me, watching me, without saying anything.

"Uh…what?" he asked, in light astonishment.

"You always get the ordinary, tasteless kind," I pointed out. "There is tofu that comes with flavor…teriyaki, meat alternatives…and you've never gotten any of them. What's even weirder is that you go out to Asian cuisine take-outs, get boxes of ordinary tofu, and just eat it out of the box. You're vegetarian, Beast Boy, and you don't know how to mix tofu with food?"

Slight pause there. "Uhm…well…I guess I'm just weird that way, huh?" Beast Boy said finally with a weak chuckle. I get the feeling that I overwhelmed him slightly.

I found my tea and we made our way back to the checkout counters. I was careful to put one of the red plastic barriers between my tea and Beast Boy's tasteless tofu, to save me from paying for everything.

The two of us got odd looks from the passersby as we flew over their heads to our home. I figure that we were quite a sight; after all, I was flying next to a bright green hawk with a shopping bag in its beak.

XXXXX

Once home I heated up the kettle and got out a pair of teabags. I was going to take a Thermos full of tea outside with me while everyone else either ate the barbecued meat or veggies. Nearby Cyborg and Starfire were unloading the refrigerator of a large assortment of meats, deciding what to bring with them.

"We might as well bring it all out," Cyborg reasoned as he set the last set of chicken wings on the table, among the variety of beef and pork in the pile. "BB can eat all the processed junk that he wants…but nothing's stopping me from having an all-meat explosion tonight!"

"But are you not afraid that friend Beast Boy will take offense?" Starfire inquired uneasily.

"Star, what's offensive is all the times that he's snuck tofu into our breakfasts," Cyborg replied confidently. "Could you help me carry all this to the grills?" Here he gestured to the mound of bits of packaged carcass. Starfire gave a sigh but obliged, easily lifting up half the pile with her alien strength and following Cyborg out the door.

As soon as the kettle sounded its readiness, I poured its contents into the Thermos to join the two teabags. I stirred the mixture with a spoon as it steeped, inwardly enjoying the minty aroma and warmth. But no one was going to see that.

I rejoined my teammates behind the Tower with my Thermos and Book of Azar in hand. I occupied a spot several yards away from the grilling, entranced by the words of Azar, with the occasional tea-sipping. The other four Titans were crowded around a picnic table Cyborg had set up, among the platters piled-up with meat. My awareness of everything else was dropping…until a certain green changeling approached me with a skewer loaded with tofu cubes and veggies drenched in sauce.

"Hey, Raven," Beast Boy began.

My eyes slowly tore away from the book and locked with his. "What do you want?"

"Ih-h-h…would you like a free sample of my famous tofu kabobs? I, uh…mixed the tofu with food." His eyes were extremely hopeful as he cautiously extended the kabob down to my reach.

He really wanted me to try it, the poor kid.

"…I guess I'll humor you."

He looked somewhat shocked. "R-really?" A burst of sudden joy overcame his face as I gingerly took the skewer in my fingers. "Wow…I'm sure you're gonna like it, Raven!"

With as much grace and dignity as you could have while eating barbecue, I plucked a cube of tofu off the stick and put it in my mouth. A slightly nutty, sweet-and-sour flavor assaulted my taste buds…but it was actually quite good. "Thank you, Beast Boy. It's…"

"Yeah?"

"…Not bad at all."

Overjoyed, he morphed into a green puppy, chased his tail in a circle, and bounded back to the others to gloat.

I'm not quite sure if I can ever understand him. Why does my opinion matter so much?