Chapter 3 - Garage Talk

"What is different with our friend?" It was the nightly meeting after a mission and every titan at the table was somber and subdued. Robin had just ended the last order of business when Starfire blurted out her question. It was what everyone was thinking but no one was saying. Beast Boy had been in a funk ever since the accident and no one seemed able to pull him out. Oh, he would party. He would dance and appear to be enjoying the hell out of himself. Most of the parties of late had been for him. Several members of the titans team had decided that all the green guy needed was some R and R. Aqualad took him to dances at Atlantis. Bumble Bee and Cyborg held big disco slash eating contest at the Titan's East Tower. And Starfire had served traditional tamranian cuisine for the last week. She claimed they were all supposed to promote laughter and feelings of good will (but mostly they just gave everybody a very long terrible trip to the bathrooms). Raven shifted uncomfortably in her seat and starred at her reflection in the glossy tabletop. Cybrog leaned on the table and rested his chin on his hands. "I think this is something..." He began carefully. "Something we can't really help him with." Starfire's eyes started to glow softly. "I do not accept that." She placed her hands firmly on the conference table and stood up quickly enough to knock her chair over. "This is unacceptable! Our friend is in pain! His heart is damaged and we MUST help him!""How?" Raven asked quietly. "What would be appropriate? What would he accept? How do we even begin to know what to do for him?" Robin looked across the table at his dark friend. This whole situation had affected her the most. Everyday that BB had come to breakfast not hungry or come to practice a little too driven, a little too focused on destroying the droids, Raven seemed to take it personally. Robin tapped his fingers on the table and thought about what he'd found on the computer last night. Looking over Beast Boy's charts and comparing all the data revealed a truth that was undeniable and disturbing. Computers didn't lie. But apparently, super hero's did. "Someone should talk to him." Starfire crossed her arms and looked worriedly at the floor. "Yeah," Cyborg muttered. "Someone who's good at telling people the truth." Raven nodded her agreement. "Someone who has helped us all before at one time or another. Someone good at giving advice." Robin looked up from his thoughts and realized everyone was staring at him. He looked from one determined face to the other. "Someone," he began slowly, "like...me." Starfire smiled sweetly and unfolded her arms. "You have often helped me when my heart was troubled." Robin blushed and covered it up by coughing. He stood up and moved toward the door only to be stopped by a hand on his arm. Starfire floated just behind him with a look of concern. "Be careful with your words my friend. Remember to Beast Boy you are his 'boophgob' and that is very important thing. A best friends words are not taken lightly and should not be issued as such."Robin nodded and went to find Beast Boy. From the other side of the room Raven got up from her chair and went over to the kitchen area. "Starfire?" Star floated from the door to the counter. "Yes dear friend?" Raven turned on the sink and scrubbed the dishes. "I thought you said 'boophgob' meant 'genderless friend'?" Starfire grinned and Cyborg brought the plates from the "meeting" over from the table. "It does." Star said. "the word literally means 'genderless soulmate' in your language. It is a person who does not need to be any one thing they are simply the one who completes you." Star looked over at Cyborg and chuckled. "Like what Sarah is for you my friend." Cyborg paused as he picked up a dishtowel. He grinned mischievously and leaned over to Starfire. "Are you saying BB and Rob are-" Raven suddenly interrupted, "I thought you called me your 'boophgob' Starfire." Starfire giggled and took Raven's wet soapy hand. "You are."0ooOoo0Gar wiped the grease from his cheek and growled with frustration. Whatever was making that weird grinding noise he hadn't found it yet. Beast Boy's never really considered himself much of a mechanic and if anyone came down to the garage right now to see the mess he'd made they'd agree. Every tool that used to be hanging on the walls or carefully placed in a toolbox was now scattered on the floor. Beast Boy looked at the mess he'd made and grimaced. Good thing Cyborg isn't in here...he'd freak at this disaster. Only thing worse then him coming in here would be if Robin-The double doors swished open and Robin walked into the room. He stopped short when he viewed the scattered pieces of metal, motorcycle, and tools laying haphazardly all over the room. Startled by the sudden appearance of the one he'd been thinking of Beast Boy frozen. After carefully taking stock of every loose item Robin locked eyes with Gar and smirked. "Garf are you trying to rebuild the million dollar man or change the oil on your bike?" Beast Boy blushed and grinned sheepishly. There was something about Robin when he was being so blatantly arrogant. Robin joking also made the green teen feel warm inside. It made him feel excited and bolder then he'd normally be. Looking down at the mess Beast Boy shrugged and bent over to pick things up. "Heh...yeah...I guess I was trying to do the impossible. This thing is making a noise and I thought I could fix it myself." He grabbed a socket wrench set and a couple of rags and carried them over to the worktable. He stood before the table for a minute and realized how stupid he'd been for even thinking he could accomplish something this complex. He was no genius. He barely had a brain according to some people. Beast Boy closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose trying to stop the headache that always came when his thoughts turned melancholy and depressing. Robin watched his friend carefully. This is what everyone had been worried about. For days, weeks, a month or two whenever Gar would try something and fail at it even if it was the simplest task like remembering to do the dishes he'd become somber and moody. Silently Robin moved beside his hurting friend. Just as he was about to place a reassuring hand on Beast Boy's shoulder all hell broke loose. With a shrieking howl Beast Boy's arms became thick with muscles and covered with heavy fur. He raised his might clobbering fists and smashed the table beneath them into pulp. "BEAST BOY!" Hearing his name seemed to bring the shape-shifter back to earth and he let his arms melt down into their original form. For a time both boys didn't move. Gar with eyes on the floor too ashamed to look up murmured softly, "Sorry...I don't know what...I just felt like I was..." He sighed heavily and shook his head. "Forget it...I just...Sorry...Sorry." Robin felt completely out of his element. On the one hand he wanted to let Gar cool off and have a good proper talk with him. And then again, he felt that if he didn't comfort his friend right then they'd never speak of this at all and he'd have lost his chance to help. Still, another part of him wanted to wrap his arms around those slight shoulders and hold the green boy until all his pain went away. A combination of the three was what Robin finally decided on. He placed a strong hand on Beast Boy's collarbone and he felt a shiver run through Gar's body. Robin leaned close to Gar's pointy ear and asked gently. "It's okay Garf...tell me what kind of noise the bike is making. We'll fix it together." Robin wasn't really sure how his suggestion would be received but he had to try to calm Beast Boy down so they could talk and the bike seemed his best bet. To his surprise, his suggestion was very welcomed. Beast Boy's mood did a total three-eighty and he perked up almost immediately. Spending time with Robin felt like the best idea he'd had in weeks. He grinned weakly at first and turned from the demolished table to the other mess he'd made that day. "Its kinda a grinding sound. Like something isn't fitting right. It's coming from here." Beast Boy pointed to the general area of the chain and Robin nodded. "I think know what we should do...first though we need to get this thing higher up." Robin almost suggested the table but stopped himself short and instead had Beast Boy morph into gorilla and place the bike on a bench. They worked together for some time speaking only in hushed tones and standing closer then they would normally. After the first few spills messes and guesses Robin had removed the top half of his costume and worked with it tied at his waist. Beast Boy watched in mild awe as Robin worked his mechanical magic in his v-necked tank top. Sweat dripping down his neck and over his collarbone made Beast Boy feel electric and the aroma floating in the air of Robin and Beast Boy's perspiration drifted around teasingly. Robin wasn't blind to the situation either and he had made several goof ups already because he'd been concentrating on that wonderful deep purring noise Beast Boy was making every time their skin brushed together. They were getting to the source of the problem when Robin suddenly remembered why he'd sought out Beast Boy in the first place. This was a new feeling for Robin to forget something so important. Normally he couldn't take his mind off a project until it had been completed. Yet here with Beast Boy chatting about bikes, their friends, and working on a hunk of metal Robin felt totally at ease and able to relax. Still, he had to address the conflict at hand and a grinding noise in a motorcycle was not it. With a look of grim determination he handed the socket to Beast Boy and pointed at the place it needed to be used. "Right there and we'll have it." He instructed and watched as Gar carefully adjusted the socket's head to rest perfectly on the bit and started to turn it. Now is the best chance I'll ever have... Robin took a moment to clear is head and focus his thoughts. In the computer that was Dick Grayson's brain he brought up the data he'd been studying the night before. The data he'd been studying since Beast Boy came home. He stepped away from Gar and the bike and took a seat next to an ice chest. He reached in and pulled himself out a soda, cracked it open, then spoke slowly. "Garf?"Beast Boy was too preoccupied to turn around. "Hn?" Robin shifted for a minute then decided he was just stalling and dove right in. "Why did you lie to us?"The wrench clanged as it hit the floor and Robin had a sinking feeling that he'd gone too far too soon. Serty: Yet another short chapter but at least I left it on a cliff hanger. ^_^ I'd like to thank Aquaify who is the only person to have reviewed so far. Thanks to her there was a chapter 3. Chapter 4 will be coming soon...find out what Beast Boy lied about and why its got him into such a funk. Plus!!! A somewhat more graphic interlude between the Boy Wonder and the Green Machine! ^_~ Comments are welcome!

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