Beast Boy Goes for a Swim
Title: Beast Boy Goes for a Swim
Series: Teen Titans (Animated)
Characters: Beast Boy/Aqualad
Rating: G
Wordcount: 1,680
Author's notes: Don't own 'em, kinda wish I did. Set after Deep Six before the end of season one. Think of it as an alternative to season two's Every Dog Has It's Day. Comments/Critiques incouraged and appriciated!
Beast Boy Goes for a Swim
"Hey guys, I’m gonna go do a circuit on the Bay. See if anything is going down."
"Really?" Robin didn’t even look up from the schematics he was analyzing. "Check with Cy before you go. He said he has some stuff he needs picked up from downtown."
"Uh, Robin, that’s not what I meant..." Sighing, Beast Boy knew it was hopeless. Robin was already mumbling to himself about motion sensors and backup plans. It would take another fifteen minutes of pestering to get through to him again. "Not like that’s ever gonna happen." Beast Boy muttered to himself.
Taking the lift up to the roof, Beast Boy sighed. Robin was always ordering him around or had his nose in some sort of research. It was getting old. Yeah, maybe it was good that Robin always knew which criminals were released from jail that day or whatever, but Beast Boy missed his friend. Same with Cyborg too, actually. He was always working on some new project or something. Usually with Robin’s help, too. And man, as cool as Starfire and Raven might be, they weren’t exactly "one with the humorous activities".
"This totally blows." Stepping onto the roof, Beast Boy was blinded for a moment. Through his near-foul mood, he’d forgotten what a beautiful day out it was. Smiling and laughing, he turned into a crow. "Dude, this is a perfect day to go flying. Or for a swim. Either way, those busy bodies downstairs are totally missing out." Cocking an eye over his feathery shoulder, he sighed again. "Whatever man. Time to ditch this pop stand o’ boredom."
Taking off, Beast Boy let the sun warm his dark feathers. It felt so good, flying free of all restraints. He wasn’t the Titan’s delivery bird. He was floating here on the air currents, enjoying himself. And if those idiots ever learned anything from all their studying, they’d know to be out here with him. "Psh, that doesn’t matter. I can do whatever I want out here. I have other friends I can hang with... I think."
Beast Boy looked down at the glistening bay. Maybe what he needed was to cool off, go for a swim. He didn’t need any more doom and gloom in his life. Especially after trying to hang out with Raven yesterday. That had been a major mistake. Turning into a peregrine falcon, he plummeted towards the water. “Haha, yeah!” Rocketing through the air, it was a total rush. Hitting the surface, he transformed into a dolphin. It’d been a while since he’d gone fishy, and boy did it feel good! Though last time he’d done dolphin, Aqualad totally cramped his style. "So what if one dolphin finds other dolphins? At least that means they can chill together."
"Speaking of the fish-boy, where is Aqualad? Haven’t heard anything from him since we gave him that communicator. He still owes me that race!" Swimming around indignantly, Beast Boy switched to a seal for better handling. "How did he do that telepathic-thingy? Maybe if I think his name a whole bunch he’ll just appear."
"Or, you know, you could just drop a green dolphin into the bay with enough force to uproot seaweed."
Beast boy looked around, trying to find the source of the sarcasm. Then he spotted him, float-leaning against some coral.
"Hey dude! How’s it... floating?" Beast Boy was pretty sure the giant grin on his face still looked dumb in seal form.
"Haha, like a piece of driftwood, I guess. How are things up top?" Aqualad drifted over to him.
"Meh, really, not too cool. The rest of the team’s pretty lame, actually. All the guys are busy working on stuff, and the girls are, well, girls." Even mentioning it all made him feel more down and pathetic. "But, hey dude, I’m down here now, and you still owe me a race!" Beast Boy flitted around him, dancing between different varieties of fish and porpoises.
"Fine, man," Aqualad smiled as the water shifted and rushed with the emerald body darting past him again and again. "Pick a single form and you’re on!"
Beast Boy’s half smirk, half grin was completely hidden on his Sailfish face. "We’ll go from here to the first pylon of the Golden Gate Bridge. First man back to this rock wins!"
"Dude, its coral. Show some respect."
"Fine. Coral. Ya ready?"
"Since before you dropped in!"
"Haha, okay. Then GO!" and with that, Beast Boy rocketed off to the bridge. Aqualad smirked, and followed almost lazily after him. The two were just darts of green and blue from the surface, easily mistaken for a fast moving current. Every time Beast boy rounded a rock or a boat, he was sure he’d taken the lead, but they there would be Aqualad, effortlessly an arm’s length ahead of him. It just didn’t make sense. He’d picked the fastest fish in the sea. He was using the most direct root, too. There was no way that Aqualad could be faster with his roundabout paths and languid stroke.
By the time they’d reached the pylon, Beast Boy was out of ideas on how to beat him. Each reversed direction, in unison to a point that the motions seemed flawlessly rehearsed. They were matched, and yet Aqualad wasn’t even breaking a sweat. If he could, you know, sweat and stuff. But anyways, it didn’t matter. Here he was, busting his fishy butt to win this race and Aqualad wasn’t even trying. The race really didn’t feel that worthwhile if the competition wasn’t gonna give it their best shot, too.
"Man, what’s with you? How do you go so fast without even trying?!"
Aqualad tilted an ear as he dipped below a buoy. "Eh? Oh, haha! That’s not me. That’s the ocean."
"What? That makes no sense!"
"It does, if you’ll let me explain. But that would mean we’d have to finish the race later."
Beast Boy would have grimaced if not for the lack of facial muscles in Sailfishes. Everyone was trying to ruin his fun! First all the guys at the Tower, and now Aqualad? This was becoming completely stupid. However, he was just a little bit interested in the whole "Ocean makes you go faster" idea. Turning into a hermit crab, Beast Boy scuttled over a rock to Aqualad. "Alright, but don’t think that just cuz you’re showing me stuff about swimming doesn’t mean you don’t owe me a race. You’re gonna eat my, uh, bubbles when we do!"
"Yeah, yeah, I get it. So, are you ready to hear what I have to say?"
"Yep." Somehow, a small note of exacerbation slipped into the word, but its not like he was going to say sorry yet. This day was pretty much the suck, and Aqualad seemed like he was only going to make it worse.
"You know when you swim around, you drift sometimes?"
"Yeah. It can be kind of a pain to navigate against when that happens, too."
"Tell me about it. However, it can work in the opposite way, too. They’re called currents, and can push with you as much as they can push against you. You just have to learn how to work with them."
"Ohhhhh!" Shifting into a guppy, his eyes glistened with anticipation. "So kinda like when I’m flying around, there’s air currents that I have to keep track of that can help me fly. Sweets!"
"Um, sure. To be honest, I don’t really know how air currents work. But here’s the trick with ocean ones: you can predict them, to some extent. For example, look at the rock you were just resting on" Beast Boy turned around with a flick of his fins, but was suddenly tumbling backwards, away from the rock. Aqualad reached out a hand and caught him, though, "See, that’s a current. They become more powerful when they try to squeeze though small spaces. Try finding a few good currents that’ll really get you moving." With that, he tossed his emerald pal back into the flow.
Beast Boy tried his best not to panic as the salty water gushed past him. Letting his gills work a bit, he then set off, feeling the ebb and flow as he drifted around the pile of rocks. He could feel the pressure as he was forced in between two large boulders and the sluggish pace of the fluid as it almost oozed over the pebbly floor. After a few minutes of investigation and fooling around, Aqualad got Beast Boy’s attention again.
"Getting it?"
"Totally. Man, now it all makes sense. This is massively fun, and will probably be useful later. Or something."
"Haha, that’s good. You know, there are a lot of cool things about the ocean that I could show you, if you ever wanted to know." Aqualad tried to make it sound like an off-hand offer. Not that he’d wanted to offer to show Beast Boy anything since they had met.
"Really? Man, that’d be totally awesome!" Beast Boy was instantly a seal again, big eyes looking almost puppy-like in hopes of spending the day learning cool things about the ocean. This was his chance to hang out with someone besides those busy bodies. Dude, this was totally going to rock.
"Haha, yeah. I think you’re a cool guy, Beast Boy, and I do get a little bored down here. Plankton don’t exactly make great conversationalists."
"So you wouldn’t mind me coming down here every once in a while, to, you know, learn stuff?"
"Not at all. As long as there are fish in the sea you can always come find me."
"Thanks man." Beast Boy’s mood was permanently improved. Knowing that he could just jump out of the tower and go swimming with gill-head here whenever things got, well, like they were now, was totally cool. "So hey, what’re you gonna show me first, teach?"
"Well, ever hear of the giant squid?"
"Wait you mean...?"
"Yeah."
The two colored bodies disappeared off into the great depths, leaving only a trail of bubbles in their wake.
Series: Teen Titans (Animated)
Characters: Beast Boy/Aqualad
Rating: G
Wordcount: 1,680
Author's notes: Don't own 'em, kinda wish I did. Set after Deep Six before the end of season one. Think of it as an alternative to season two's Every Dog Has It's Day. Comments/Critiques incouraged and appriciated!
Beast Boy Goes for a Swim
"Hey guys, I’m gonna go do a circuit on the Bay. See if anything is going down."
"Really?" Robin didn’t even look up from the schematics he was analyzing. "Check with Cy before you go. He said he has some stuff he needs picked up from downtown."
"Uh, Robin, that’s not what I meant..." Sighing, Beast Boy knew it was hopeless. Robin was already mumbling to himself about motion sensors and backup plans. It would take another fifteen minutes of pestering to get through to him again. "Not like that’s ever gonna happen." Beast Boy muttered to himself.
Taking the lift up to the roof, Beast Boy sighed. Robin was always ordering him around or had his nose in some sort of research. It was getting old. Yeah, maybe it was good that Robin always knew which criminals were released from jail that day or whatever, but Beast Boy missed his friend. Same with Cyborg too, actually. He was always working on some new project or something. Usually with Robin’s help, too. And man, as cool as Starfire and Raven might be, they weren’t exactly "one with the humorous activities".
"This totally blows." Stepping onto the roof, Beast Boy was blinded for a moment. Through his near-foul mood, he’d forgotten what a beautiful day out it was. Smiling and laughing, he turned into a crow. "Dude, this is a perfect day to go flying. Or for a swim. Either way, those busy bodies downstairs are totally missing out." Cocking an eye over his feathery shoulder, he sighed again. "Whatever man. Time to ditch this pop stand o’ boredom."
Taking off, Beast Boy let the sun warm his dark feathers. It felt so good, flying free of all restraints. He wasn’t the Titan’s delivery bird. He was floating here on the air currents, enjoying himself. And if those idiots ever learned anything from all their studying, they’d know to be out here with him. "Psh, that doesn’t matter. I can do whatever I want out here. I have other friends I can hang with... I think."
Beast Boy looked down at the glistening bay. Maybe what he needed was to cool off, go for a swim. He didn’t need any more doom and gloom in his life. Especially after trying to hang out with Raven yesterday. That had been a major mistake. Turning into a peregrine falcon, he plummeted towards the water. “Haha, yeah!” Rocketing through the air, it was a total rush. Hitting the surface, he transformed into a dolphin. It’d been a while since he’d gone fishy, and boy did it feel good! Though last time he’d done dolphin, Aqualad totally cramped his style. "So what if one dolphin finds other dolphins? At least that means they can chill together."
"Speaking of the fish-boy, where is Aqualad? Haven’t heard anything from him since we gave him that communicator. He still owes me that race!" Swimming around indignantly, Beast Boy switched to a seal for better handling. "How did he do that telepathic-thingy? Maybe if I think his name a whole bunch he’ll just appear."
"Or, you know, you could just drop a green dolphin into the bay with enough force to uproot seaweed."
Beast boy looked around, trying to find the source of the sarcasm. Then he spotted him, float-leaning against some coral.
"Hey dude! How’s it... floating?" Beast Boy was pretty sure the giant grin on his face still looked dumb in seal form.
"Haha, like a piece of driftwood, I guess. How are things up top?" Aqualad drifted over to him.
"Meh, really, not too cool. The rest of the team’s pretty lame, actually. All the guys are busy working on stuff, and the girls are, well, girls." Even mentioning it all made him feel more down and pathetic. "But, hey dude, I’m down here now, and you still owe me a race!" Beast Boy flitted around him, dancing between different varieties of fish and porpoises.
"Fine, man," Aqualad smiled as the water shifted and rushed with the emerald body darting past him again and again. "Pick a single form and you’re on!"
Beast Boy’s half smirk, half grin was completely hidden on his Sailfish face. "We’ll go from here to the first pylon of the Golden Gate Bridge. First man back to this rock wins!"
"Dude, its coral. Show some respect."
"Fine. Coral. Ya ready?"
"Since before you dropped in!"
"Haha, okay. Then GO!" and with that, Beast Boy rocketed off to the bridge. Aqualad smirked, and followed almost lazily after him. The two were just darts of green and blue from the surface, easily mistaken for a fast moving current. Every time Beast boy rounded a rock or a boat, he was sure he’d taken the lead, but they there would be Aqualad, effortlessly an arm’s length ahead of him. It just didn’t make sense. He’d picked the fastest fish in the sea. He was using the most direct root, too. There was no way that Aqualad could be faster with his roundabout paths and languid stroke.
By the time they’d reached the pylon, Beast Boy was out of ideas on how to beat him. Each reversed direction, in unison to a point that the motions seemed flawlessly rehearsed. They were matched, and yet Aqualad wasn’t even breaking a sweat. If he could, you know, sweat and stuff. But anyways, it didn’t matter. Here he was, busting his fishy butt to win this race and Aqualad wasn’t even trying. The race really didn’t feel that worthwhile if the competition wasn’t gonna give it their best shot, too.
"Man, what’s with you? How do you go so fast without even trying?!"
Aqualad tilted an ear as he dipped below a buoy. "Eh? Oh, haha! That’s not me. That’s the ocean."
"What? That makes no sense!"
"It does, if you’ll let me explain. But that would mean we’d have to finish the race later."
Beast Boy would have grimaced if not for the lack of facial muscles in Sailfishes. Everyone was trying to ruin his fun! First all the guys at the Tower, and now Aqualad? This was becoming completely stupid. However, he was just a little bit interested in the whole "Ocean makes you go faster" idea. Turning into a hermit crab, Beast Boy scuttled over a rock to Aqualad. "Alright, but don’t think that just cuz you’re showing me stuff about swimming doesn’t mean you don’t owe me a race. You’re gonna eat my, uh, bubbles when we do!"
"Yeah, yeah, I get it. So, are you ready to hear what I have to say?"
"Yep." Somehow, a small note of exacerbation slipped into the word, but its not like he was going to say sorry yet. This day was pretty much the suck, and Aqualad seemed like he was only going to make it worse.
"You know when you swim around, you drift sometimes?"
"Yeah. It can be kind of a pain to navigate against when that happens, too."
"Tell me about it. However, it can work in the opposite way, too. They’re called currents, and can push with you as much as they can push against you. You just have to learn how to work with them."
"Ohhhhh!" Shifting into a guppy, his eyes glistened with anticipation. "So kinda like when I’m flying around, there’s air currents that I have to keep track of that can help me fly. Sweets!"
"Um, sure. To be honest, I don’t really know how air currents work. But here’s the trick with ocean ones: you can predict them, to some extent. For example, look at the rock you were just resting on" Beast Boy turned around with a flick of his fins, but was suddenly tumbling backwards, away from the rock. Aqualad reached out a hand and caught him, though, "See, that’s a current. They become more powerful when they try to squeeze though small spaces. Try finding a few good currents that’ll really get you moving." With that, he tossed his emerald pal back into the flow.
Beast Boy tried his best not to panic as the salty water gushed past him. Letting his gills work a bit, he then set off, feeling the ebb and flow as he drifted around the pile of rocks. He could feel the pressure as he was forced in between two large boulders and the sluggish pace of the fluid as it almost oozed over the pebbly floor. After a few minutes of investigation and fooling around, Aqualad got Beast Boy’s attention again.
"Getting it?"
"Totally. Man, now it all makes sense. This is massively fun, and will probably be useful later. Or something."
"Haha, that’s good. You know, there are a lot of cool things about the ocean that I could show you, if you ever wanted to know." Aqualad tried to make it sound like an off-hand offer. Not that he’d wanted to offer to show Beast Boy anything since they had met.
"Really? Man, that’d be totally awesome!" Beast Boy was instantly a seal again, big eyes looking almost puppy-like in hopes of spending the day learning cool things about the ocean. This was his chance to hang out with someone besides those busy bodies. Dude, this was totally going to rock.
"Haha, yeah. I think you’re a cool guy, Beast Boy, and I do get a little bored down here. Plankton don’t exactly make great conversationalists."
"So you wouldn’t mind me coming down here every once in a while, to, you know, learn stuff?"
"Not at all. As long as there are fish in the sea you can always come find me."
"Thanks man." Beast Boy’s mood was permanently improved. Knowing that he could just jump out of the tower and go swimming with gill-head here whenever things got, well, like they were now, was totally cool. "So hey, what’re you gonna show me first, teach?"
"Well, ever hear of the giant squid?"
"Wait you mean...?"
"Yeah."
The two colored bodies disappeared off into the great depths, leaving only a trail of bubbles in their wake.