Blanket Disclaimer: Poison Tonic LX does not own the Teen Titans or any characters therein. Don't sue her, please, because if you do I won't have a home anymore…-Ralph, the muse
He smirked as he knocked on the door of their newest member's room.
It peeked open. "Yes?"
"Good morning, Maxwell." He greeted cheerfully as he grabbed the boy and pulled him out of the room, ignoring the poor kid's protest. "Time for breakfast!"
"Umm…okay?"
"Meat!"
"Tofu!"
"Meat!"
"Tofu!"
"Pudding!"
…
"Didn't we decide yesterday to let them try all three?"
"Right! But he'll like meat best!"
"Dude, tofu!"
"Pudding!"
There was another long pause, and he had finally dragged the Original into the dining room.
"This is the Breakfast Brawl." He informed the confused boy as he pushed the Original into a chair. "Call it our way of welcoming you to the team. You will be forced to try Starfire's pudding, Beast Boy's tofu, and Cyborg's meat platter. If you survive, you can stay."
"But if you die, I'm afraid you'll have to leave." The Sorceress added with a smirk. He snickered and winked at her. She blushed, and his grin widened.
"Oh, no, really, I couldn't." The Original said as three plates were placed in front of him. "I've already caused too much trouble…I'll make my own breakfast…"
"You can't break tradition, or we'll all be very insulted." He tsked, though he was sure he had a very disconcerting smirk on his face by this point. "Especially poor Starfire, and didn't we already have a talk about not making pretty girls cry?"
On cue, and showing more intelligence than he had ever given her credit for before, the Dolt jutted her lip out, made her eyes widen and sparkle with tears, and clasped her hands together.
"Please, New Friend Maxwell?" She sniffled.
The Original, like so many before him, crumbled at the sight of tears with a deep sigh. "Fine."
The Dolt brightened immediately. "Yay!"
"And so another man falls to the great persuader that is Starfire." Cyborg said in all seriousness, and they all laughed, with the exception of the Sorceress, though she did smirk.
"Alright, alright, you can stop with the dramatics now." The Original said, flushing, and picked up a spoon, dipping it into the Dolt's pudding.
"Dude, what's up with all the new guys goin' for Star's pudding?" The Comic Relief asked.
"I did it so your and Cyborg's food could wash it down, but I think he did it 'cause he's afraid of hurting Starfire's feelings." He snickered.
"That'd be your fault." Cyborg chortled.
"Yeah. But don't tell me you wouldn't have beat him up if he actually had hurt her feelings."
"Well…that's true…"
"Shh, he's about to eat it." The Sorceress hushed them, and suddenly the Tower was so deathly quiet that crickets would have chirped had this been some sort of children's cartoon. However, since this was most certainly not a children's cartoon, it was just very quiet.
The Original paled, realizing as he had the day before that he probably shouldn't have gone for the pudding first, but bravely stuck the foul concoction into his mouth. The color returned to his cheeks as he swallowed, looking relieved.
"Jeez, you guys had me scared I was gonna die." The Original sighed, running a hand through his hair and then putting it over his heart in a relieved manner.
"Dude, the new guys have wicked strong stomachs or something." The Comic Relief screeched disbelievingly. "That stuff almost killed me!"
"New Friend Maxwell, you enjoyed the cooking of Tameranian cuisine that I spent so much time preparing for you?" The Dolt asked sweetly, batting her eyelashes at him.
Maybe the Dolt wasn't as stupid as he had always thought…she was certainly getting pretty good at manipulating the poor new guy…or maybe…just maybe…was he creating a monster out of the once innocent Tameranian princess…?
"Uh…I don't…hate it…?" The Original ventured weakly, giving her a smile that looked rather like a grimace.
"Wondrous!" She squealed happily, throwing her arms around him.
"Urk!"
"Starfire, he just ate. You might make him throw up if you keep squeezing him like that." The Sorceress interjected, putting a hand on the Dolt's shoulder.
"Oh! You are right, Friend Raven!" The Dolt exclaimed, immediately releasing the bright reddish-purple boy. "I apologize, New Friend Maxwell!"
"I'm okay." The Original rasped, gasping for air.
Again, everyone waited patiently for the Original to regain his breath (should it disturb him that he was getting used to stuff like this happening…?).
"Now try my tofu!" The Comic relief exclaimed, pushing his plate forward.
"Alright…I guess…" The Original said hesitantly, picking up a piece of tofu and eating it. He stiffened, but swallowed without any other reaction, taking a short sip of water before eating another piece, as if checking to make sure it really was that bad. "Ehm…not bad, I suppose…"
"You have one heck of a stomach, Maxwell." He said, impressed.
"My dad was in the military." The Original shrugged. "If it's even slightly edible, I can usually eat it, with a few exceptions."
"Yeah, and I've lived on the streets all my life—I still couldn't but hardly force that tofu stuff down." He said. "Like I said: one heck of a stomach."
The Original gave him a surprised look. "You lived on the streets?"
He nodded. "Yeah. That really so surprising?"
"I suppose not. But it explains some stuff."
He felt his eyebrow drift upwards. "Like…?"
"Like you making your own costumes. And…well, you kind of have a scruffy attitude."
"Scruffy…" He repeated slowly, testing the word out on his tongue. That was one word he had never heard used to describe him before…he wondered if it was a step up or backwards from the cuss words he usually heard…?
"I didn't mean it in a bad way. You're just…well, rough around the edges. Not like most of the other superheroes I've met. Just…scruffy."
"Trust me, Red's not like any of the other superheroes you've ever met." Cyborg chuckled.
"Definitely not." The Sorceress agreed.
"In any case," He interrupted, shooting the two a sharp look, "Try Cyborg's now."
The Original smiled. "Well, I can eat just about anything, but real, good food isn't something I turn down often." He said, stabbing some food and eating it. "'S good."
"Thank you." Cyborg said, smirking at the Comic Relief.
"Dude, this is so not fair!" The Comic Relief yelled angrily, stomping his foot on the ground as if to emphasize his point.
"No one ever said life was fair." The Sorceress shrugged.
"Just like no one's ever said your tofu is good." He added, snickering. He could have sworn the Sorceress was going to smile, or maybe even giggle, but she quelled it at the last moment and smirked at him instead.
"Dude!"
"Now, so long as the Clones don't show up again, today will be perfect…" The Original said as everyone sat down and began stuffing themselves.
"Dude, don't even worry about it." The Comic Relief said, apparently quick to get over their latest jab (he was probably used to it by now, seeing as how he had lived with the Sorceress for so long). "Even if they do show up again, we'll totally be able to handle them."
The Original sighed. "I'm not so sure…"
He smacked the other boy upside the head. "Leave the paranoia up to our great and fearless leader." He said. "One obsessively paranoid nut job is more than enough, thanks."
"Where is Robin?" Cyborg asked, looking around.
"Where else? Looking up stuff about those clones." The Sorceress said.
"That or training." He said. "It's not very hard to figure that guy out."
"You don't give him enough credit, Red." Cyborg said. "He's not so bad."
He shrugged. "It's nothing personal. I'm sure he's a fine fellow. I just don't like him."
"You don't like many people, do you?" The Original asked curiously.
He paused thoughtfully. "No…I don't suppose I do. Call it the effects of living on the streets for so long. Trusting and liking people…isn't really something I'm a big fan of doing easily."
"So, basically, people have to prove themselves to you before you'll like or trust them?" The Sorceress asked.
"You could put it that way." He nodded slowly. "Yeah, that sounds about right. I'm the product of a rotten childhood, I s'pose. But I'm no worse for the wear, really. I'm probably better off this way than trusting anybody and everybody I meet."
"I believe it is better to trust and like everyone." The Dolt said, smiling cheerfully but completely serious at the same time. "Everyone has some good in them."
"Not everyone…" He said softly, wincing.
"Everyone." She repeated stubbornly.
"Not the Clones." The Original piped up.
"Would you stop with the clone thing already?" He asked exasperatedly.
"Fine, but when they show up and someone gets hurt…"
"They aren't going to hurt anyone!" Everyone chorused.
"Badly, anyways." He added helpfully.
"Red, I liked you better when you were unconscious." Cyborg sighed.
He smirked and winked impishly at the metallic half-man. "I get that a lot."
(THE RUSH)