A light sweat coated the back of her neck and hands. Wiping her hands on her skirt, Jinx's eyes wondered back over to the girl next to her. Kole stood tall, her pink antennas swirling in the breeze, and her blue eyes locked forward. As she walked, she hummed a tune that Jinx didn't recognize, one that she couldn't join along in.
"So," Jinx said, her pink eyes meeting Kole's for a moment before breaking away and looking to the ground. "Are you excited about the museum?"
What a ridiculous question, Jinx thought. Why did you even suggest coming here anyway? She's probably seen all the stuff inside back home with her friend Gnaark.
Then again, the fossils inside would probably still be alive.
"Yes," Kole responded, her voice ever chipper. She spoke in the same tone of voice that she had used when she had accepted Jinx's offer of a date a few days earlier. "Are you?"
"Definitely," Jinx responded.
"Oh, I can't wait to see the space exhibit! It looked so cool on the brochure." Kole's smile widened. "What are you most excited to see, Jinx?"
For a moment, she could only blink. All that she had read on the museum's brochure was the bright cover and the ticket costs.
"I'm excited about everything; I haven't been to this museum in a while." She could still remember the last time perfectly; back then, she had still been evil. Despite what Wally had said, she had never been secretly good and just hiding it. Back then, the museum had been nothing more than a place with fancy glass cases holding pretty items that she wanted to snag.
Don't think about Wally right now, she reminded herself, her eyes returning to the ground and her hands going into her pockets. What happened with him was in the past; we both agreed to move on.
Kole had dressed casually for the event, trading her usual costume for a cream colored blouse and black khakis. She looked more like a schoolgirl than a superhero, and that was probably the look that she'd been going for. Jinx, in turn, had let her pink hair down and worn a simple black T-shirt and matching colored shorts with a dark blue belt. Still, her stomach couldn't help but twist at the idea that someone - a security guard, a person selling tickets, or another member of the museum staff - might recognize her. Though she had finally managed to break the spell that had turned her skin purple, returning it to its natural dark brown color, she still couldn't shake away the fear that her past crimes would come back to haunt her. After all, not everyone was as forgiving as Kole and Wally; a lot of the Teen Titans still held a grudge against her, and she didn't expect the Jump City Museum staff to be much more forgiving.
Jinx took a deep breath, and then let it out. Whatever happened in the past had happened, and there was no way that she could change it. Backing out now would only make things worse for both her and Kole.
Kole was still smiling, ever excited about the museum trip. Jinx couldn't blame her; after today, she only had a few days left in Jump City before she headed back home underground. Depending on how well today went would determine if Kole kept in contact with her, or if her first real date since her breakup with Wally would turn into a big flop.
Make this count, Jinx thought. You can't mess this up.
Kole wrapped her hand through Jinx's own, doing it as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Jinx smiled and squeezed her hand back.
The museum came into view, and the two girls walked faster. Once they had safely crossed the street, Jinx reached her only free hand into her pocket, wrapping her hand around her wallet.
Inside at the ticket booth, no one batted an eyelash at either girl. Jinx simply paid, grabbed their tickets, and the two walked in.
The large central room had a large map showing what was inside the museum. Once a few other guests had finished looking at it, the two girls walked forward. Their hands were still wrapped together; it felt so natural, Jinx's own hand fitting easily into Kole's.
"Want to see the space exhibit first?" Jinx's eyes ran across the map. The exhibits were listed out, and none showed the Egyptian exhibit from a few years before. Jinx gave a sigh of relief, glad that an exhibit on traditional folk tales from around the world now replaced it.
Kole nodded, and the two girls walked in the direction of it.
Once inside, Jinx's mouth widened. No wonder Kole had been excited; this exhibit was beautiful! Whether she was looking at high definition photos or videos on stars and planets, looking at real moon rocks, or looking at an actual space suit, everything was amazing. Kole pulled her forward, and both took their time looking at the exhibit's pieces. A few pieces were even interactive.
"This is so different from just looking up at the stars," Kole said. "I think I might just end up getting a telescope. Even Gnaark would like that."
"Imagine getting to go into space," Jinx said. "I bet that it's fantastic."
"Me too!" Kole grinned. "Hey, maybe we should ask Robin if he ever needs us to go on any missions to space; I would gladly do one."
"Maybe we would even get to go as far as Tamaran." Sure enough, there was a piece on it, with a large picture of Starfire on it. Both read over it, even if they already had inside information.
"That would be so cool! Imagine what we would see on the way there." Kole closed her eyes for a moment and raised her head upwards, as if she were already imagining herself up among the stars.
The two looked on, until there was finally nothing left to see in the exhibit.
"I'm so glad that you suggested that we come here." Kole said as the two exited the exhibit. The two sat down on a bench for a moment, letting their legs relax.
"Hey, I'm just glad that you like it." Jinx smiled and squeezed Kole's hand. "So, what exhibit do you want to look at now?"
"That one on animals," Kole replied. "It looks really cool."
The two found another map and then went to go look at it.
After that, they looked around the rest of the museum, taking in everything. None of it was as good as the space exhibit had been, but it was still pretty cool, and definitely worth the admission price. Like Jinx had suspected, Kole didn't take long in the fossils exhibit.
Before they left, the two stopped at the gift shop. Kole darted from spot to spot, looking at T-shirts one minute and stuffed animals the next. It was hard to keep up with her, but Jinx finally caught up with her again at the section of space items.
"These look so cool," Kole commented, her eyes jumping from one item to another. Her hands darted from product to product. Finally, she picked up a telescope. It wasn't the fanciest (being the least high tech of all of them, which Jinx was sure was a choice on Kole's part), but it was definitely going to give her a closer look at the night sky.
"That telescope there definitely looks cool." Jinx reached her hand into her pocket. "How about I buy it for you?"
"You would?" Kole's blue eyes widened, and she wrapped Jinx in a warm hug.
"Of course I would do that for you."
"Oh thank you, thank you, thank you!" Kole leaned forward and kissed her straight on the lips.
When it ended, Jinx was grinning from ear to ear and her heart was racing. She probably looked like a ridiculous lovebird, but she didn't care. Walking up front to the counter, she paid for the telescope, Kole at her side.
She definitely paid for all of it, getting some change back from the twenty she handed over. Old habits died hard, but she had made sure that her sticky, ever ready to steal hands had been buried.
The two left the museum, their hands again entwined, and Kole's other hand holding a plastic shopping bag with the museum's logo printed on it.
This went great, Jinx thought. Her large grin from earlier was still on; after everything that had happened, it was hard not to smile. Everything had been (unexpectedly) fantastic, and went against every worry Jinx had earlier.
And hey, she hadn't expected a kiss on their first date, let alone in the museum gift shop. Her fears really had been for naught.
"Hey, Jinx, can I ask you something?"
"Yeah?" The two walked on, headed back towards the Titans Tower where they were temporarily staying.
"Do you think we could sit on the roof tomorrow and try my new telescope out? I heard that it's going to be a really clear night tomorrow, and I don't want to miss it. I hope that you can come look at it too."
"Believe me, Kole, I wouldn't miss it for the world."
I want to note in the original comics that Jinx was Indian (for anyone who might be confused on the line about her skin no longer being purple).