I do not own, nor will I ever own, the Teen Titans. Although I do own a few of their comic books. OK, I own a lot of their comic books, satisfied.

Hidden Talents – Part 1

Dawn, definitely the quietest, most tranquil time of the day. Most folks who break the law tend to do it either at night or later in the day. Very few villains operate in the early morning. For some reason, evil plans hatch during the evening and the necessary preparations to put them into action occur during the night. Consequently, by daybreak, villains are asleep, waiting for the afternoon to put their nefarious plans into action.

So it was a perfect time for Robin to be doing paperwork.

It was also helpful that Beast Boy was still asleep. Robin needed very little sleep. Cyborg only needed a set number of hours to recharge, which he usually did when everyone else was asleep. He didn't need to, but generally did so that his interactions with his friends could be something approaching normal. Raven mediated a lot, this reduced her need for sleep. Her mind relaxed partially through mediation and, therefore, the need for dreaming was lessened.

She didn't like dreaming much anyway. Her dreams were not pleasant, to say the least.

Starfire's metabolism operated differently than human beings. Robin, although trained by a master detective, never could figure out the actual sleep cycle that Starfire's body operated under. Sometimes, she slept for several hours, sometime several minutes. Once she slept for three days. Of course, that was after she made the Pudding of Restfulness, so that might have had something to do with it. Robin just assumed she slept when she needed to and left it at that.

Then, there was Beast Boy. Sometimes he slept at night, sometimes during the day. Never for less than eight hours, seldom more than ten. Robin assumed it had to do with the various animal DNA that had been injected into his system. Some animals were nocturnal, some were not. Still, you took advantage of those times when Beast Boy was asleep to take care of mundane tasks.

Otherwise, nothing would get done. The problem was that whenever BB was around, things happened. He was a catalyst. The four other Titans could be in the same room, quietly, thinking, reading, watching TV, whatever. However, once you added BB to the mix, things happened. Arguments, shouting, explosions (usually from Raven), laughter and any variety of weird occurrences. It wasn't particularly that Beast Boy tried to cause chaos, he just did. He attracted chaos like a magnet and brought the rest of the team with him. Truth be told, he was a lot of fun and brought a lot of enjoyment to their lives. Even if Raven refused to admit it.

So Robin did the necessary paperwork in the morning when everyone, especially Beast Boy, was asleep.

Regardless, it was early in the morning. Robin was doing paperwork, drinking coffee, going over bills, wondering how the electric bill could keep rising every month when nothing new was being used and the Titans were out fighting crime half the day. No one could watch that much television. There weren't enough hours in the day.

A rather large, hulking mass staggered through the doorway. It made several strange noises, a number of creaking sounds and made its way to the coffee. Cyborg was up. Although he would eat a huge breakfast (as well as a huge lunch, afternoon snack, dinner and late night pick me up), the first thing he needed in the morning was coffee. Without that, he wouldn't talk or interact with anyone, that was one thing Cyborg and Robin had in common. Both were coffee fiends. Raven drank tea, Starfire drank water and mustard. Beast Boy was kept away from ANYTHING that had caffeine in it. He was hyper enough. Hopped up on caffeine, he might break the sound barrier. But Cyborg needed his coffee before he started eating.

"mrng Rbn"

"Morning Cyborg"

"Good morning friends. Is it not a glorious sun filled day. A day full of joy and happiness. What shall we begin with? Friend Cyborg, are you making the fast of break?" Starfire flew into the room, happy as always and ready for the day. Robin's face broke into a smile at the sight of the girl he was more than thrilled to spend his free (and not so free) time with. He likes her, she likes him and they like to spend their days together.

What, you thing because he's serious he's an idiot? I said he was a detective. He knows how he feels, he knows how she feels. He knows the situation between them. Shyness does not mean he's an idiot. Well, not completely, anyway.

"Kill me." Said Cyborg. "I haven't had my coffee and Star's up 15 minutes too early. I NEED my coffee before I'm ready for happy."

"Star, why don't you see if Raven is up yet? Maybe she would like some breakfast as well." Robin suggested to Starfire.

"As you say, friend Robin. She is often awake at this time. I will check her room and then the roof to see if she wishes to join us." With that, Starfire flew out of the doorway towards Raven's room.

"There, that bought you ten minutes. By the time she finds Raven and convinces her to come down here, you'll have time to fuel up. I suggest you get started." Robin smirked.

"Thanks bro'. I owe you one."

"Actually, you now own me 47. Believe me, I'm keeping count. And I WILL cash in at the most inopportune time for you. "

Cyborg started muttering behind his back. It sounded faintly obscene, so Robin decided not to pursue the subject anymore. Meanwhile, Cyborg poured himself a large cup of coffee, added a couple of teaspoons of sugar (it had been hidden behind the mustard. Sugar was something else Beast Boy was not allowed to have) and drank half of it in one gulp. You never knew when Star would come back.

It turned out to be a good decision. Starfire was back much quicker than expected with Raven.

"Wonderful news my friends. Friend Raven was already awake and making her way here for her morning tea." Starfire practically gushed with excitement. She flew around the room several times, up to the ceiling once and then made a perfect landing on one of the kitchen stools, balanced on one foot. She then plopped down onto the seat and began to pour the mustard Cyborg left out into a glass.

"Morning everyone." Raven said in her normal monotone. "I see Beast Boy has not graced us with his presence yet. Anyone have an idea how long the peace will last? How much time do I have before I need to escape?" Robin rolled his eyes at this statement. He knew Raven truly liked BB, probably more than as a "friend" (detective, remember). However, she had an image to maintain and emotions to keep bottled up. BB was, at times, a strain on regular folks. He could only image how that whirlwind affected Raven's emotions.

"No idea Raven. According to the computer, he seems to have finally conked out about 2:30 last night. At least that's when his computer shut down and the lights went off." Robin replied.

"That doesn't help. Is he currently on a nocturnal cycle? He might be up any minute."

"DUDES! It's tofu time!"

"Speak of the devil."

"Aww, come on Rae. Devil's are red, not an adorable green like I am."

"I'm color blind."

At that, Beast Boy burst into laughter. Robin gave a bit of a smile. Raven, when she wanted to, had a marvelous dry wit and, like BB, Robin found her extremely funny. He just wouldn't go overboard like BB did. For one thing, he wasn't the belly laugh type. For another, he didn't want to be thrown against the wall as Raven seemed about to do. Correction, like she just did.

Meanwhile, Cyborg continued to stare into his coffee cup, wincing at BB's laughter and Starfire looked confused. Apparently, Robin would have to explain to her (later) about color blindness in humans.

"Robin, what.."

"I'll explain later Starfire."

It was a perfectly normal morning at Titans Tower. Then the doorbell rang.