Teen Titans © DC Comics
83. Breakfast
"Don't look at me! Lightning did it!"
"Kid Flash is a liar! Jinx hexed the toaster!"
"You guys set the kitchen on fire when you two got into a fight that I had to break up!"
The argument between Kid Flash, Lightning, and Jinx was during the aftermath of the breakfast disaster. They set the kitchen on fire, engorging everything in flames, and all over Lightning's inability to work a toaster. Thunder and Argent were not amused when they had to activate the emergency sprinklers, wetting everything in the process, including their nuked breakfast. As their friends continued bickering over who was at fault, Argent felt a vein probe in her forehead, threatening to explode. Noticing her imminent rage, Thunder gently clapped his hands. Instantly, an annoying ringing sound boomed in their ears like a fly buzzing around their skulls.
"Enough fighting! Let Thunder make breakfast," Thunder proclaimed, crossing his arms.
"What?" the other besides Lightning shrieked.
"Can you make the ringing stop first before we ask you why you didn't suggest it before?" Kid Flash asked, holding his ears.
Thunder softly snapped his fingers, effectively cutting the aggravating noise. "Before my brother and I joined this team, I had to cook in order to feed us."
"How come Lightning couldn't cook?" Jinx wondered.
"The last time he made waffles resulted in our apartment in Hype City exploding," Thunder deadpanned, glaring at his brother.
"It was not my fault the toaster-!"
"I told you countless times before, Lightning! Waffles go in the waffle-maker!" Thunder snapped, pointing his finger at his fuming twin.
"How was Lightning supposed to know that?" Lightning shouted.
Thunder groaned, placing his hand to his forehead. "Please, stop. I cannot deal with your foolishness. What do you all want for breakfast?"
"Pancakes!" Kid Flash blurted excitedly.
Thunder stated at him, surprised at his outburst before shrugging his heavy shoulders and started out. "Then I shall buy the batter and make them tomorrow."
"Why can't you make them now?" Jinx asked, frowning.
Thunder bluntly narrowed his eyes, pointing to the burnt cupboards, the stove, and then to the appliances. "I would, but you fools set the kitchen on fire, and we must wait until we receive the proper cooking tools."
The others, excluding an annoyed Argent, gazed around, wincing. Their entire kitchen was nearly burned to the ground, leaving black, charred remains of what appeared to be the stove and refrigerator. Argent glared over to her teammates, watching, as they sheepishly looked anywhere their mess was not. Hearing Thunder's thumping footsteps start walking away, Argent turned to him and asked where he was going curiously.
"To retrieve the pancake batter so I will not forget," he called over his shoulder, stopping at the doors when they opened. "I will be back momentarily."
When the doors shut, Jinx quietly sighed and said to her male companions, "This is your fault."
As Lightning and Jinx began a screaming match, Kid Flash attempted mediating them. Argent rolled her crimson eyes, shaking her head at their blatant stupidity. Deciding to let Kid Flash suffer their argument, Argent flew over to the nearby closet and removed a simple black jacket with silver zippers. Stating she was going out, she internally smirked when Kid Flash shrieked at her backside to not leave him. Closing the door, Argent chuckled to herself when Lightning's indignant roar surged through the air when Jinx called him a "ferret", the team's pet name for him.
Argent took to the skies blissfully, embracing the soothing wind. The day was as lovely as it could be without a single cloud in the sky. Well, except for one. She easily spotted Thunder's fast-moving cloud a few yards above her. Whistling, she sneered and waved at the confused elemental, making him nearly trip at the sudden, random intrusion. Floating up to him, she snickered gently at his flustered expression.
"A-Argent, I had not been expecting your arrival," he stammered, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.
"I didn't know you could cook, blue boy," she commented, stepping onto his cloud with arms crossed.
He smiled quirkily, glancing away. "Oh, I merely keep it as a hobby of mine. My brother is, well, unaccustomed to such things."
"I can tell. Last time he tried to make microwaved pasta ended up with the microwave exploding," she recalled, shaking her head. "Seriously, you cook?"
"For the most part, yes." Thunder continued flying his cloud, and she held onto his arm for support. "When my brother and I were exiled from the mystical village of Hsuan, our birthplace, for our destruction, I found cookbooks and studied the, Using whatever we had, I made us food so we would not starve."
"Wait, but you're a demigod, right?"
Thunder nodded, proudly of his heritage.
"Why couldn't you just go back up to where the other gods were?"
He bit his lip, unsure of what to say. The truth of the matter was that the brothers were deemed unworthy of becoming full, pure gods due to their longing for the mortal world. They enjoyed the humans, believing them to be kinder and far more amusing than regal, arrogant gods like their father, Raijin. He banished Thunder and Lightning to the mortal realm, stating they were an embarrassment. The farthest they could travel up to their father's godly place was in their haven, the clouds where they constructed wondrous storms. Realizing he was taking too long in answering, Thunder nervously chuckled and shrugged.
"My brother and I, uh, we like this realm more," he replied, breaking eye contact and concentrated on Iron City below. "Oh, look! Th-the marketplace."
She raised an eyebrow, deciding against calling him out for lying. As he descended, Argent felt the strong muscles in his arm tense considerably, only proving her suspicions. When they landed, Argent stepped off, and Thunder waved his hand, making the cloud vanish. They entered the supermarket, and Argent noticed how many people were inside, grabbing and throwing whatever food they could into metal carriages. People stocked up on everything and hurried to the register to pay as quickly as possible so they could escape the madhouse. Feeling Thunder's gaze on her, Argent looked up and asked if he knew why the place was so busy.
"When I go shopping for goods, Sunday is the busiest day for the market, and today is that very day," he explained as they walked inside.
"…You…food shop?"
Thunder reddened slightly and nodded.
"You know, you really should have been born a girl," she sneered, elbowing him playfully. "No offense, of course."
Frowning darkly, he nudged her gently in the shoulder, jeering, "Well, dear, at least I can cook. The last time you cooked resulted in Kid Flash vomiting."
"Okay, that was low!" Argent blurted as he laughed. Punching him in his arm. She huffed and flew down the batter and pastry aisle. Taking the pancake box. She tossed it at Thunder who rubbed his slackened arm. As he fumbled to catch it, she learned in close to his face. "You know what? I just realized that out of us five, you're the only one who can cook."
"True," Thunder stated, checking the price.
"Well, what if you died? We'd starve to death," Argent mused, and before Thunder could respond, she snapped her fingers. "That's it. I've made up my mind. Thunder, you're gonna teach me how to cook."
Thunder stared at her in perturbed silence. Suddenly, he erupted in a fit of boisterous laughter, holding his sides before falling to the floor. Pounding his fist against the ground, he rolled onto his back, still bellowing with laughter. She had to be joking! Argent? Cook? What an amusing thought! He still had trouble containing himself, but jolted to a stop when Argent's boot smacked down onto his chest. Stunned. Thunder cut himself off, cringing at the death-bringing glimmer in her ruby spheres.
"Uh…I did not mean that," he meekly commented, clinging to the box like a shield.
"Listen, blue boy, I'm the leader of Titans South, and you're my second-in-command. If I say I wanna cook, then you should help," Argent hissed, glowering murderously.
Thunder feebly whimpered, nodding, and she helped him to his feet. He watched her curiously, maneuvering through the crowd of stupefied shoppers that paused to watch the show. Underneath her layers of cool frigidness was a girl who only wanted to help her friends. Besides, if he did die somehow, the team needed a team or they would order take-out every night, and that was not good for a superhero team's image. Yet, Thunder wished she would open up more and lower the guards around her heart so he could try to know more about his friend.
As they ascended home to their Tower, Thunder stopped her on their doorstep. "I have a question for you, Argent. Why do you wish to cook now?"
She glanced back to him as she unlocked the doors by tapping in a code into a keypad. "Honestly, I've never made a meal for myself in my life."
"Huh?" His eyes widened, surprised at her revelation. "Never? Not once?"
Argent shook her head almost sadly, shrugging. "I was raised in a bloody mansion. Yes, I was spoiled, I'll admit it, and maids made grub for me. When my dad kicked me out when I turned into…" She raised her hand, looking morbidly down to her almost glimmering silver fingers. "…this, my mum brought me down to her mansion before I became a Titan. I harnessed my powers, but to spite him, I became New Zealand's own superhero. Strange how a spoiled, rich girl could ever become a Teen Titan."
"Strange? I do not believe it to be odd at all." Thunder smiled at her, patting her shoulder comfortingly. "For my godly father, Raijin, banished my brother and I from the godly realm. He deemed us many foul words that I dare not repeat. For a while, my brother and I were vengeful, causing chaos against him, but Raijin always brushed us off no matter how much pain we caused." Thunder sighed, ruffling her hair playfully. "When my brother and I became Titans, I suppose we joined for reasons much like your own. See, my dear? We are not so different."
Argent stared at him, concentrating on that solitary world: banished. It made sense now about his lying. He was embarrassed to admit it, just like she was, and they could sympathize with each other. When Argent was booted from her home, she could hardly face her father. Just like Thunder, she did not want to be ridiculed because of her past transgressions. Grinning at him, she thanked Thunder and wrapped her arms around his neck.
Thunder blushed, dropping the plastic bag that carried the batter in shock. For a moment, he internally panicked, having a peculiar, twisting feeling that she might have thought of him as a rejected failure. Yet, the softness to her face as he unintentionally revealed his secret touched him. There was an understanding between them, of knowing their troubles were meshed. Slowly, he embraced her back and felt a ghostly smile grace his round face. She had finally lowered her guard for me.
"Ell-oh-ell, what?"
Thunder and Argent quickly detangled themselves, facing forward to find Kid Flash watching at them. He blinked, an exasperated, large smile plastered on his peach face. They stared at each other for a few moments that seemed to stretch on forever. Slowly, Argent knelt down and picked up the batter, looking frustrated before chucking it at Kid Flash's face, knocking him backwards. Thunder quietly hoisted the delirious speedster over his shoulder and placed him in the laundry room, activating the defense shields to prevent Kid Flash from vibrating his molecules and escaping.
"Blue boy, if he ever speaks of this again, we deny everything," Argent stated.
Thunder nodded, crossing his muscular arms. "So, perhaps I should teach you how to cook?"
She smiled, swinging her arm through his once he retrieved the pancake batter. "I'd like that, blue boy. I really would."
...
I ship Thunder/Argent more than Hot Spot/Argent. ;D