AN: It is my duty to inform you that I in no way, shape, or form own the Teen Titans.
Chapter 6: A Good Morning?
The next morning came and Raven slowly opened her eyes. She was curled up in the fetal position and all the weight of her head was resting on the pillow. She was completely relaxed, and this was a strange sensation for her indeed. She was covered with a blanket and she attempted to sit up, but she couldn't. This was worse than when she had been paralyzed. At least then she couldn't even feel her body. Now she could, but it wasn't responding.
The door opened and Beast Boy poked his head in. He saw that she was awake and he smiled. "Good morning Raven," he said came in. He crouched down next to her and rested his folded arms on the bed. "How do you feel today?"
"I feel… weird," she said, actually pausing to take in what she felt. Something was different, something wasn't right. "Beast Boy, did you drug me?"
Beast Boy looked at her strangely. "No," he chuckled. "Why?"
"Well, I feel… odd," she said, attempting to move so she could see him better. It was a futile attempt and she gave up.
"Here, let me help you," he said and gently helped her to sit up and lean on the headboard of the bottom bunk. "Now, what do you mean you feel odd?"
"I don't know," said Raven, her head leaning back against the wall. "Whenever I wake up I always have this bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. Like I know something terrible is going to happen. But… I don't feel it right now."
Beast Boy smiled and said, "Well that's good! You're feeling happy."
"Happy?" she asked doubtfully.
"Well, maybe not full blown happy, but you're pleasant," he said cheerily. "Doesn't it feel good?"
"I… I don't know," she said, feeling very awkward. She had never felt pleasant in the morning before. Not before she had at least two or three hours of meditation under her belt. "I feel so empty. Like my muscles are gone or something. I can't even lift my arms."
"I think you were being supported by all of that tension you've been holding inside of you all this time," said Beast Boy. "It was like you were a balloon and all of that negative stuff filled you up. But I've deflated you, and now you're… empty. Don't worry, it's a good thing."
"It's a good thing that I'm basically a rag doll now?" she asked upset.
"No, it's a good thing you got rid of all of that negativity," he said calmly. "I mean, take a big breath in."
"Why?" she asked.
"Just do it," he said with a smile. He closed his eyes and took a big breath in himself. "Now you."
Raven looked at him for a moment, then rolled her eyes and closed them. She took a big breath in, the biggest she had ever taken, and then breathed out. She couldn't believe her chest could expand that much. She felt like she had only been breathing in half of what her lungs could actually take this entire time.
"Doesn't it feel good?" he asked sweetly.
Raven felt very confused. "Yes, it does," she said hesitantly and slightly scared.
"Now, wouldn't it be nice to breathe like that all of the time?" he asked.
"I guess," she said.
"Well that's how we breathe everyday," he chuckled. "You've been holding so much tension that even your breathing was getting all tight. But you don't have to worry about that now. You're free to breathe!"
Raven breathed in again and felt energized by it. She looked at Beast Boy and for the first time in a long time all of that tension that was between them wasn't there anymore. It had disappeared and now there was something else in its place. Something happier and more positive. She actually felt their friendship.
"You hungry?" he asked with a smile.
"Uh… yes, actually," she said with the slightest hint of a smile. They were both taken back by that. Beast Boy was shocked, but he quickly smiled even wider.
"Well wait here and I'll be right back with your breakfast," he said and jumped up.
"Why can't I just go to the kitchen?" she asked.
Beast Boy paused for a moment then turned around with a sheepish smile. "Well, you kinda trashed it, but don't get upset or anything. We're fixing it now."
"I… I trashed the kitchen?" she said.
"Well, more than that," he said hesitantly.
"Wh…what else did I destroy?" she asked shyly.
Beast Boy could feel that she was starting to feel bad and he wanted to nip it in the bud. "Like I said, don't worry about it. I'll take you for a tour around the tower after you've eaten," he said and before she could say anything else.
When he arrived in the kitchen he saw Cyborg cleaning up the last of the food that had splattered all over the room. They had already had breakfast, since it was almost 11:00. Robin had gone out and gotten them some donuts and such. Now he and Starfire were sweeping and vacuuming.
"How's she doing?" asked Robin.
"She's awake and alert," Beast Boy announced as he made his way into the kitchen. He got the teapot filled and put it on the stove. "And she's hungry."
"Well we've got some pastry stuff left," said Cyborg looking in the bakery box.
"May I please go see her?" asked Starfire.
"Go ahead, just be really gentle," said Beast Boy. "She's got absolutely no strength."
Starfire smiled and flew off to see her bedridden friend. Beast Boy whistled to himself as he got Ravens favorite teacup ready for her tea. This did not go unnoticed by Robin and Cyborg, who both raised an eyebrow.
"You sure are happy for a guy who's got the one person in the world who hates his guts living in his room," said Cyborg.
"Huh?" he asked as he took the sugar out, or at least what was left of the sugar. "What are you talking about?"
"Raven, she's stuck in your room," said Robin. "You realize she's only going to put up with this for so long."
"Well, I'll have you know that she just about smiled at me a few minutes ago," said Beast Boy smugly.
Robin and Cyborg looked at each other then looked back to Beast Boy. "Yeah right," said Cyborg.
"It's true," he said as he took the now whistling teapot off of the stove. "And she's actually calm."
"I've got to see this," said Robin crossing his arms.
"Well when she's done with her breakfast I'm gonna show her around the tower so she can see what happened," said Beast Boy.
"What? Man, she's gonna flip when she sees what you made her do," said Cyborg.
"Not if I show it to her right," said Beast Boy as he poured the tea. "As long as I take it slow and tell her that it's okay that it happened, she won't feel so bad. Don't worry, the B man's got it covered."
"I doubt that," said Robin under his breath. Beast Boy gave him a glare and then headed back to his room where Raven was lying.
Starfire was giving Raven a tight hug and Raven was almost in tears from it. "Oh friend Raven, I was so nervous when I heard that your powers did the losing of control and then when we saw the tower I was afraid that you would be hurt and then you were asleep for so long and now you look so different and…"
"Starfire!" shouted Beast Boy when he saw Raven in a death grip. "Let her go!"
Starfire released her grip and Raven fell back gasping for air, and bumping her head into the wall since she couldn't support it on her own. "Ow!" she cried and winced with the pain.
"What? What have I done?" asked Starfire fearfully.
"I told you to be gentle," said Beast Boy putting the tray of food he had down on his desk.
"But I believe I was," said Starfire.
"Not gentle enough," said Raven trying not to sound like she was in pain.
"Oh, I am so sorry," said Starfire feeling terrible. "I tried, I really did!"
"I know Starfire," said Raven, feeling how upset Starfire was.
"Star, why don't you go back to cleaning up the tower so Raven can eat," said Beast Boy kindly.
"Okay," she said standing up. "Are you sure you are alright?"
"I'm fine," said Raven. "You go help Cyborg and Robin." Starfire nodded and flew out of the room. Once she was gone Beast Boy ran over to Raven and helped her sit up.
"Are you okay?" he asked, softly rubbing the back of her bruised head.
"No," she groaned. "Now I have a headache."
"I'll get you some aspirin after you eat," said Beast Boy and he went over to his desk, grabbing the tray of food. He put it in her lap and said, "Here you go."
"Pastry?" she asked, surprised.
"Yup, hope you're in the mood for sugar," he said with a smile. "Do you want to sip your tea first or take a bite of this?" he asked, holding up a piece of pastry.
"Pastry first, then sip of tea, then repeat," she said with that soft smile slowly returning. She had never been catered to before, and if felt nice. It felt like she was actually cared about.
"You got it," he said smiling and held the pastry to her lips. She took a bite and closed her eyes as the sweet taste enveloped her mouth. She never ate sweet things, especially not pastry. She had only eaten it once before in her life. This was the best thing she had ever tasted and she let out a happy sigh. She quickly realized what she had done and looked very embarrassed at Beast Boy. He only smiled and let out a chuckle. "Dude, I've never seen you enjoy something so much."
"Oh, well, I'm… really hungry," she said, blushing.
He could feel her wanting to retract back into her shell, but he wasn't going to let her. "You know, it's okay to enjoy something," he said smiling and holding the teacup up to her. "You look more comfortable when you're happy. Don't get embarrassed."
She swallowed her mouthful of tea and said, "I'm not embarrassed." She looked away, if only with her eyes since she couldn't move her head. "I'm just not used to this."
"Well I'm not used to you being so pleasant," said Beast Boy smiling. "It's a really good look for you."
Raven blushed again as she took another bite of the pastry Beast Boy was holding to her mouth. Beast Boy felt his own cheeks tingle and heat up slightly, but he didn't care. He was glad to see Raven expressing a different side of her self. He was glad that she wasn't yelling at him and throwing sarcastic comments in his face.
When Raven was done with her breakfast it was time for her to see the damage she had done. Beast Boy knew she couldn't stand, let alone walk around, so he would have to carry her around. So they wouldn't feel awkward, and the other Titans didn't make fun of them, Beast Boy decided to take her around piggyback style. Raven wasn't sure about this but he gave her three options. She could either stay in bed all day, have him carry her around bridal style, or piggyback. She chose the piggyback.
