Chapter 3: Morning Coffee

The tea kettle whistled loudly announcing to Raven the water for her tea was ready. She quickly ran to the stove, cranked the gas pilot off and pulled the pot off the stove. The whistling kettle relented as light wafts of steam billowed out. Raven pinched the knob open and carefully poured the hot water into her tea strainer. She lifted the strainer up and placed her tea cup underneath then watched the water slowly change to amber and filter down into her cup. Unconsciously she began to hum the tune her mother sang to her in her dream.

"Well I'm glad one of us is in a good mood this morning," Cyborg chimed in from behind her.

Raven turned and saw Cyborg slumped at the table with his head on his hand for support. His one eye was extremely blood-shot and dark circles were etched underneath it. He looked absolutely horrible.

"You look awful," she commented. "Are you sick?"

"Naw," Cyborg replied wearily. "I couldn't sleep last night; had a whole mess of weird dreams. Maybe it was something I ate last night. How about you?"

Raven thought for a moment but couldn't really remember anything unusual about sleeping last night. She did wake up with a faint recollection of one of her dreams but the exact content had escaped her in the twilight period of consciousness most people have before they're fully awake.

"I don't think so," she replied. "How about some coffee?"

"Thanks," Cyborg roughly said. "You're a sweetie."

Raven filled the coffee maker and started the machine. The bitter aroma of coffee soon filled the kitchen.

"A little warning for you," Cyborg spoke up. "Both couples are on the war path this morning. I heard BB and Terra really going at it earlier."

"How about Robin and Starfire?"

"They're not talking."

"Then they're not fighting, right?"

"No, they're NOT talking to each other, at all," Cyborg emphasized the not to indicate there was something wrong.

The coffee was done and Raven pulled out a mug for her friend. She paused then found one of the larger coffee cups and filled it nearly to the top. She brought it over to the table and gently placed it in front of her friend being careful not to spill any of its precious contents.

"Cream or sugar?" Raven asked.

Cyborg cradled the over-sized cup with both hands and slowly raised it to his mouth. "Not this morning thanks." He briefly blew across the top of his cup then slowly tilted it to spill its contents into his awaiting mouth. He closed his eye and savored his relief.

"That's exactly what I needed," Cyborg announced in a relieved voice.

Robin staggered into the kitchen and dragged out a chair then wearily slumped down into it. He clasped his head with both hands, closed his eyes and groaned lightly.

Raven quickly poured another cup of coffee, walked over to the table and placed it in front of Robin.

Robin opened his blood shot eyes looked down and lowered his one hand to grasp the steaming cup of rejuvenation. He raised it to his mouth and took a quick slurp. "You're a life saver Raven, thanks."

"Rough night?" she asked him.

"Yea, I slept horribly. Starfire is locked up in her room. She wouldn't come out when I knocked on her door," Robin said in an annoyed voice. "I'd like to know what bug crawled up her ass this morning."

"Easy Robin," Cyborg gently corrected him. "Don't get that girl pissed. She's likely to tear down half of the tower if you do."

Robin grunted then took another long swig of coffee.

Beast Boy strode angrily into the room yanked a chair out and roughly deposited himself into it. He folded his arms across his chest and glared at the table.

Cyborg looked over to their new arrival. "Let me guess, you didn't sleep well last night."

"That's only half of my problems," Beast Boy curtly replied.

"How about some coffee?" Raven quickly suggested.

Beast Boy looked over and nodded in approval. "I don't know what's up with Terra. Is it that time of month again?"

Cyborg looked behind his friend and froze in horror. Terra was standing right behind him and had caught every bit of Beast Boy's bitter comment. She placed her hands to her hips as her blood shot eyes narrowed in anger.

"Why don't you turn around and say that to my face you little shit," she said in a strained voice.

Beast Boy's head sunk as he drew in a deep breath bracing himself for the worst. Cyborg looked over to Raven seeking some way to rescue his friend from this perilous situation.

Raven quickly poured some coffee into a plastic travel cup and pressed the lid closed. She grabbed a small cloth napkin to insulate her hand from the steaming liquid.

"Hey Beast Boy, I've got your coffee," Raven interrupted. "Why don't we go outside for a bit?"

"Yea," Cyborg added. "Let me get you some coffee Terra. Take a seat."

Beast Boy stood up without making eye contact with Terra. Terra watched him leave the table then took his seat and pushed her hair out of her eyes.

Beast Boy passed by Raven and headed for the door without taking the travel mug she had prepared. She looked at Cyborg who nodded his head encouraging her to follow him. Raven understood his unannounced message; they would try and separate the two antagonists and talk them down. She grabbed her tea and followed Beast Boy out of the kitchen.