Ummm… hi.
I'lltrytokeepthebabbleshort(butI'mnotmakinganypromises.)Thisisjustaquickbreakfromthenorm,I'mnotswitchingfandom's… again… IguessitreallyshouldbeTOObigasurpriseIlikeDC,Imean – myiconis HarleyQuinnforcrack'ssake…
BUT, I've had ideas for a few years, and now I've finally worked up the nerve to write them out. I really doubt I'll be picking it up much, but… I'm not gonna say I'll never write for TT again.
And heh… this pairing… XD Oh come on guys, it's ME! Actually, it's nice to finally write out some femmeslash after nothing but yaoi porn my entire FF career…. So this a simple, little, not-to-be-taken-seriously one-shot.
So please don't spam me with "I don't like femmeslash pairings" comments, because seriously, idgaf. I'm a bisexual female, I really don't care to hear how girl-on-girl makes you cringe…
Compromise
The clicking sounds from the clock in the corner seemed to be getting louder as the seconds rolled by. They were starting to drive her nuts. She took her hand away from her cheek and placed it on the desk, drumming her fingers.
"Oh, yeah, great solution there." She muttered to herself. Still, the tapping coming from her fingertips were surprisingly more comforting than the insistent clicking on the clock. Maybe because she actually had control over her hand.
Tap tap tap
Click click click
Oh lord, tell me the hour's almost up…
Then suddenly there was more tapping. Not coming from her, though. It made Terra jump, actually. Her knee hit against the underside of the desk, but she hissed off the pain as she twirled her head around to see what the sound was.
A mischievous smile greeted her, combined with an overly-cheesy wave.
Terra rolled her eyes. She stepped over to the window and pushed it open.
"What are you doing here? If anyone sees you flying like that – "
"Hey, I came all the way out here just to see you, and you don't even say hi?" Her voice sounded distraught, but Black Fire still wore that grin.
"Ugh…" Terra pressed a hand to her forehead. "I told you, I got a detention, I'll be out of here in…" She looked over her shoulder to the clock. "Wow, it's only been twenty minutes…?"
"But it's so boring being home alone!" Black Fire whined, folding her hands together in a pleading fashion.
"Sorry I can't afford all the nice things to keep you entertained, and couldyoupleasecomeinside?"
"Relax!" Black Fire giggled as she hovered into the school building. "If anyone saw me, they'd just think it was my dopey-sister!"
"Just… please be careful."
"Just… please relax." The Tamaranian mimicked Terra's voice as she settled her feet to the ground. She gave the blond a light shove on her shoulder. Black Fire chuckled at the motion, but Terra was far from amused.
"Hey," Black Fire calmed, seeing how truly annoyed Terra was. "I'm just kidding around, give me a break!"
"Yeah, I know…" Terra shifted passed Black Fire and sat back down at her desk, head pressed into her arms.
Black Fire stood there for a moment, wondering what to do next. Another prankish move would be pushing it – something was on Terra's mind. Probably whatever reason she was still sitting here in class after everyone else had left.
She walked up slowly.
"So…" she began. "This 'detention' thing… you get in trouble or something?"
"Yes," Terra replied, raising her head from her arms. "And if I leave before the hour's up, I'll get another one. Or worse, a suspension."
"Ooooh, sounds painful, what is it?"
"It's when… never mind." Somehow Terra didn't think she could convince Black Fire that being forced to stay off school grounds could be considered a punishment. She placed her head back down.
"Uh-huh, so tell me…" Black Fire leaned in and whispered into her ear. "What did naughty little Terra do this time?"
Doing drugs. Oh wait, that's what normal kids would be doing… and that would result in more than just one deten-
"It's not important."
"Ahh, but it is, Terra! You better have one hell of an excuse to wanna stay away from me!"
The blond sighed. "You're gonna keep bugging me until I give, right?" Her voice was muffled with her face down, but still audible.
"Pretty much."
"Fine." She lifted herself. "I punched a guy in the face."
Well, it was more of a mild slap, but Black Fire applauded anyways.
"Oh, I'm so proud! My little Terra is finally growing up to be a big girl!" She hugged the blond tightly. "Now tell me, who's the lucky guy? That freak from geometry?"
This was the part when Terra wished she had lied. Or a tornado had magically hit the school, either one.
But whatever, there was no point dragging it out, now.
"Beast Boy came by again."
She felt Black Fire's grip loosen.
And here it starts. Goodie goodie.
"He did, did he?"
Terra simply nodded, not making eye contact.
"Doesn't that boy realize you've got a new playmate now?
"Don't call yourself that."
"Why not?"
Because I don't want to admit this is just a fling.
"Just… just don't OK?"
"Whatever." Black Fire crossed her arms and stood up.
"Why do you care so much?"
"I don't." Terra blinked at her remark.
"Then why are you acting all jealous?"
"Why are you acting all defensive? Do you still like him, then, huh?"
Terra sunk into her chair. Actually, she really didn't know the answer to that question. She didn't want to like Beast Boy, that much she knew, but still… it was hard to let go of a crush. Well, what they had was more than a crush… more him than her, but it still hurt all the same.
But all these feelings weren't fair. Not to Beast Boy, and not to Black Fire.
"Kid, listen. I can get pretty possessive. I like you, and he likes you, and I'm not sure who youlike. But I know this – " she bent down in front of Terra. "He's not getting in my way, got it?"
They stared at each other quietly.
Then Terra felt her eyebrows furrow. The chair squeaked loudly as she pushed it back and got up.
"You can't force me to be with you." She turned around and headed for the door.
"The hour's not up." Black Fire called out.
"I don't care."
She didn't follow Terra. She knew sooner or later, she was going to come home. There wasn't any other option.
…
Terra headed down to the nearest ice-cream shop and bought herself a smoothie. She really didn't have the pocket money to be spending on treats, but screw it if she felt like spoiling herself today.
She didn't take a seat by the window. Maybe if it was five years ago, but today she took a place back in the corner of the store instead. She found herself twirling the straw around her smoothie, the pace picking up as her thoughts did.
ThatdamnBlackFire… whodoesshe – well,alright,shewasaroyalbackonherplanet,shedidhaveanexcusetoactlikeaspoiled… butdammit,shewasn'tstupid,whywouldshe…?OK,maybeIhadbeentooharshbackthere… didweevenreallyhaveanargument,whatwasthat?
She did just drop by and say hi. What, am I just not use to people honestly caring about me? Heh, Black Fire caring about someone, that's funny… oh great, my smoothie's melting.
She quieted her thoughts and just took a long sip. There would be another detention, she knew. The teacher would come back to find an empty room. Terra would tell her the truth – well, the smoothie-half, not the "my girlfriend from outer space got bored and came to visit the school" half. Actually, she might throw that in, if the teacher was in good spirit and the laugh would help get her out of trouble.
Oh, if only just a laugh could keep her from getting in trouble.
What time was it?
The sun was starting to set. She was heading back on foot, so leaving at the moment would be a smart decision. She grabbed her smoothie and headed out. A trash can waited at the door, but she ignored it. The smoothie was only half-empty, and was probably the healthiest thing she was going to eat that night, what with the dinner of store-bought brownies and potato chips that was awaiting her at home. The battle of staying healthy and staying full was never-ending.
When she got home, it was about quarter to seven. Her visit at the ice-cream store lasted longer than she thought. Terra tossed the smoothie container into the nearby dumpster. Didn't need to cause more drama once she got inside. Might've been nice to have gotten Black Fire something, oh wait – that was for people who had money.
Life goes on.
The apartment was fairly quiet, save for the family in room 306, making it all in all, a pretty normal night. Terra stepped up to the door. The knob seem to stare at her as she did the same to it.
Finally she sighed and pushed her key in. When she went to open the door, however, she found it was stuck.
"What…?"
She pressed her side against it, grunting a bit while she continued to pry it open. When it gave, she practically fell over. Catching herself, Terra looked to see what was keeping it shut.
A little bit of everything.
Mostly clothes, some of Black Fire's space stuff that Terra wasn't sure of (and didn't want to find out).
"Been doing some cleaning for ya." Black Fire huffed as she flew out the bedroom.
"I can see that…"
Black Fire hovered over to the stove. She was showing off – she never flew around the apartment like this. Great, she was still mad.
Terra slammed the door.
"What do you want for dinner? Canned soup or Ramen?"
"Oh, the decisions…" Terra regretted her words the instant she said them. Crap, was Black Fire being sincere? They really didn't have anything else to eat…
To her relief, however, Black Fire just snickered.
"I'll take that as Ramen, then." She reached into the cabinets. "Because that's what I'm in the mood for."
"You're the boss." Terra flopped down on the couch.
"Damn straight."
A smile curled up on Terra's face. She couldn't help but think of Black Fire's sister as the Tamaranian floated around, cooking for both of them. The thought hurt too much though, so she stopped.
Gosh, that felt like forever ago… what had it been now? A year? Almost?
Who would've thought she'd have ended up here? Well, at least her life was getting back to normal – as normal as it can be with a flying alien as your girlfriend. Hang on, her life had never been normal, so this was as good as it was going to get.
"Do you think if I got some spray-on tan, I could pass off as an Asian?"
"What?" Terra pushed herself up.
"OK, I'll need something for my eyebrows, too, but seriously. It's not like I'm a green-sludge of an alien. I could pretend to be human, right?"
"Ummmm… what?"
The spoon landed with a thunkand splattered soup around the stove as Black Fire tossed it down.
"I. Mean." She grabbed two bowls and poured the soup out evenly (although she might have given herself a tad more). "You don't want me to go flying around all 'hey, I'm Star Fire's sister', so maybe I could ya know – disguise as a human?"
"That's a clever idea." Terra stated, taking her bowl from Black Fire.
"Er, actually, that one's mine." The alien replied hastily, pulling it back and handing Terra the other one. The blond smirked.
"But yeah, clever idea." She continued.
"Mm-hmm." Black Fire sat down next to her.
"Very clever. Why didn't you think of it before?"
Shock overtook Black Fire's face, but just for a moment. "Hey now, don't give me that, I made you food, adore me, woman!"
They both laughed.
"Oh gosh, you wishyou could earn my affection that easily!"
"Heh, maybe…" Black Fire replied half-heartedly.
"Ah come on, I was teasing!" Terra bumped her elbow playfully into Black Fire's forearm.
"Yeah, sure, nowyou're in a good mood!"
"You made me food, how could I possibly be mad at you now?"
Black Fire put a finger to her lips, pondering in a mocking sense.
"I could take this bowl here," the alien rose her arm. "And dump it onto your head right there."
"You wouldn't do that, it'd be a waste of food." Terra retorted with a slight smile.
"True." Black Fire brought her arm back down. "Speaking of which, you gonna finish that?"
"Help yourself, almighty one." Terra handed over her soup, which Black Fire took without hesitation. "I'm not really hungry."
…
Terra had fallen asleep on the sofa. Black Fire stood in between the living room and their bedroom. They had two beds, couldn't she just sleep on one of those? It's not like they were just roommates, they were dating.
She could stand to act like it! Be happy when Black Fire was nice enough to visit her (she had been worried, after all, but she'd never admit it) and quit flirting with that damn Beast Boy.
OK, flirting was too strong a word, Terra had punched him today or something. The thought of Terra acting violent was a humorous thought, and Black Fire had to swallow her laughter – Terra was a light sleeper.
Black Fire knew that, did Beast Boy?
Oh, why was she still thinking about it? She told Terra she didn't care, right? It's not like they were even serious or anything. Then again, Black Fire came from a planet where your future spouse was an acquaintance. Well, they also slept around freely, so that made this relationship what, somewhat serious?
Either way, Black Fire didn't like the thought of other people playing with her toys. Terra was hers, girlfriend, plaything, whatever – Terra was hers.
Until she got bored of her, at least.
It's not like she would hurt the girl's feelings or anything. They both knew this wasn't "I love you forever", it was just at their own convenience. When it was all said and done, Black Fire and Terra would go their separate ways. And that would be it.
Black Fire had nothing against Terra. She was fun, when she wanted to be. She'd never seen her geomancer powers at their full glory, but Terra sounded fairly dangerous, at least from the stories she told. She'd be a better ally than foe.
Sauntering over, Black Fire plopped down onto the couch, bending down to Terra, keeping herself up with a hand against her cheek. The furniture bounced a little, waking the blond up.
"What time is it?"
"You really won't sell them out to me, will you?"
Terra shifted a bit, waking up.
"Huh?"
"Terra. Please. You know you don't care."
"Just let it be, Black Fire."
"How else am I suppose to beat them?"
"Find a way. You're 'clever' like that." Terra grabbed onto a nearby pillow and buried her face into it.
"Come on," Black Fire urged, pulling herself closer. "You told that one guy."
Silence.
"I have school tomorrow."
"Terra. Who do you like more? Me or them?"
The blond slowly turned around to face her. "You're my girlfriend, Black Fire. I trust you."
"Mm-hmm…"
"I trust you to be you, I mean. You're having fun now, but you'll leave me. I'm not letting that wound get reopened."
"And you won't even give me a parting present? I wonder…" Black Fire took her other hand and cupped Terra's chin into it. "If you won't tell me because you'd feel guilty, or because you know I'd leave sooner."
Terra pulled away from her grip.
"Can't you even wait until morning? Gosh…" She pressed herself into the pillow once more.
"You know I'm not subtle, sweetie."
Black Fire reached out and rubbed Terra's back. She felt the girl relax under her palm,
Cute little thing, really.
It would be useful if she would just learn to cooperate. There was force, but nah. Black Fire wasn't too sure she wanted to mess with Terra's powers, however strong they might actually be. Besides, this was fun.
She was in no hurry.
…
Terra walked outside. As it turned out, the teacher who had assigned her the detention yesterday hadn't come back until an hour past herself (something about a family member getting into a car crash). Anyway, she figured Terra had left at the appropriate time and was now off the hook.
She peered around the school grounds, searching for her friends. Instead, she got a glimpse of something that made her wish she had received that second detention.
Oh gosh…
"Hey, Terra!" Beast Boy called out, running up to her.
Could she lie and say she got the detention anyways? No, she was already out the building, dammit all…
"Terra, listen, please – "
"Did you not get the hint yesterday?"
"Heh, I got something yesterday…" he replied weakly, rubbing his cheek.
"Leave me alone already."
"I just wanted to say I was sorr-"
"Hey Terra!"
Both kids turned around to see where this third voice was coming from.
Hell no, she wouldn't…
There stood Black Fire, hair tied up in a ponytail. From head to toe, she was sprayed down with a tan… that actually made her skin look lighter. She was wearing clothes that – where had she gotten those?
She walked boldly up to them.
"Hey you, how's it going?" She stepped firmly between Terra and Beast Boy. At this close a range, Terra could see that Black Fire also had in colored contacts.
How had she afforded all this? Never mind, Terra didn't need to know.
"Um, do I know you?" Beast Boy asked shyly.
Black Fire glared down at him over her shoulders. "I think I would remember meeting someone like you."
"Err, OK… but you seem pretty familiar."
Black Fire and Terra shared a gaze that seemed to say: If any other Titan were here, this disguise would've been discovered in a millisecond.
Then the Tamaranian blinked.
Lucky us.
"Name's Kuro Hi, little man." Black Fire announced, spinning herself around and facing the Titan full on.
"Your last name is 'Hi'?"
"I'm going to kill you…" Terra whispered, putting a hand to her forehead.
"Yes. It is." Black Fire pursed her lips. "So listen, buddy, my girl over here keeps telling me that you come along everyday and annoy her."
"Well, not everyday – I'm annoying?"
The Tamaranian wrapped an arm around Beast Boy and pulled him in, leaning down herself so they were at eye level.
"OK, I'm going to tell you this once." She held up a finger. "That girl and I, we're seeing each other. As in, dating. As in, we're more than just friends. We're lez be friends."
Terra wanted to sink into the walls at that point. Which wouldn't be all too impossible, they were concrete – DAMN that Black Fire! She learned that "lez be friends" phrase last week when someone shouting it at them for holding hands in the street and now she wouldn't stop using it.
"W-what?"
Don't look at his face don't look at his face don't look at his face
She couldn't help it. Why couldn't she have a stronger will power?
Beast Boy looked absolutely devastated. She was sure he would've fallen over if Black Fire wasn't holding onto him.
"Is… is this true?"
Terra nodded. She was on the verge of tears. She really was going to kill Black Fire after this… how dareshe!
"So!" Black Fire unwrapped her arm and grabbed hold of both his shoulders. "Does this mean you'll back off?"
Always the sensitive one, aren't you Black Fire?
Well, then again, it's not like Terra could talk. She had been dragging this out for how long, now? Still, being so blunt about all this didn't seem right. Again, Terra had no place to talk.
"Um… yeah, I guess, I mean – are you happy?" He looked pitifully at Terra. She nodded again, unable to say anything out of fear that she might start sobbing.
"OK then…" Beast Boy practically whispered. Black Fire let go of him and he slouched. "I'll just, uh… I'll just be going, then."
He walked off. When he reached halfway across the yard, however, he stopped. For a moment he stood there, wanting to turn around, but he didn't. He just kept going.
Black Fire looked positively smittened with herself.
"Well, that takes care of that problem!"
"You shouldn't have done that…"
"What? You were too weak to mention anything!"
"I was gonna tell him!" Terra insisted, not entirely sure if it was true.
Black Fire herself raised an (poorly drawn) eyebrow. "Really, now?"
Terra slid back against the wall. "What was I suppose to say? That I'm dating his teammate's sister who also has tried to kill him at some point?"
"I'm not alone with that 'killing' part…"
"Oh, shut up!"
"No!" Black Fire slammed her foot down. This got some kids to stop and stare, but she didn't notice them. Terra took note, but she knew better than to say anything – that would just egg Black Fire on. "It really is your fault that it went on like this for so long. Forgive me for wanting to take part in my half of the relationship!"
"Alright, fine, you're right, I'm sorry. But honestly, what was I suppose to tell him?"
"You could've mentioned you're dating an Asian chick named Kuro Hi."
"You're so lucky he doesn't speak Japanese…"
"Which is odd, all things considered…"
"What?"
"Nothing…" She bit down on her index finger, thinking to herself for a while. "Now what?"
"This is the part where I kill you."
Black Fire laughed at that. "Oh please, like you're not happy I did that!"
"I'm not…"
"Well get over it, baby." She gripped onto Terra's arm. "He's not coming back, so now you gotta deal with me all the time."
"Joy."
Black Fire continued to smirk, but she was slightly hurt by Terra's attitude. What the hell, she did want Beast Boy to stop bothering her, didn't she? Oh, who cares, she got what she wanted.
"So did they give you any homework or whatever?"
"I just have to read chapters – "
"Oh good, you're free this afternoon!"
"I… sure, why not?"
"Great, what do you want to do?" She looked down at her skin. "Probably should stay away from swimming pools…"
"Do you like smoothies?"
"Huh?"
"Never mind."
…
Saturday night creeped up on them. Literally, the rain was pouring outside, it was like the set-up to a cheesy horror movie. But oh well, spending the weekend curled up with Black Fire wasn't too bad.
Especially with hot chocolate.
"There anything good on TV tonight?" Black Fire asked, handing over one of the mugs.
"Not since 2004…"
"Pfft. You wanna watch a movie?" She took a long sip.
"Since when do we own movies?"
The Tamaranian choked a bit at that question. She put the mug to her lap and smacked at her chest.
"I erm… might have picked up one or two or twenty…"
"Black Fire – "
"The TV has a built in DVD player, leave me alone!"
Terra groaned as she rolled her eyes. "Do you have any idea just how much trouble we could get in if we get caught – actually, forget it, I don't care."
Black Fire blinked. "Huh?"
The blond placed her mug on the coffee table. "You showed up at my school the other day wearing who knows how much spray tan, and yet managed to fool a Teen Titan. So like hell any mall cops are gonna catch you."
Black Fire smiled proudly. "You said so yourself I was clever."
"I guess. What am I even worried about? Getting caught with stolen DVDs and make-up is the least of my concern…"
"That's the right attitude!" Black Fire held up her fingers in a peace sign. Then she pointed to the coffee table. "Are you gonna finish tha-"
"Yes."
"Just asking!"
"Yeah, whatever, space princess." She grabbed her mug again, taking a rather long chug of it herself.
"Dirt-lover."
"Is that suppose to be an insult?"
"Dunno. I'd still rather be a space princess, though."
Terra snorted. "Well, you're not. Anymore, anyways. And I'm not… what I once was…" she peered into her mug. It was just about empty and she could see her face against the white ceramic. Her reflection was bent, distorted.
"Are you happy about that?" The question was serious.
"What?"
"You heard me." Black Fire stated. "Are you happy? Ya know, being here…? Being with me?"
Terra glanced back into the mug, then quickly put it down, unable to look at her reflection again. "I… I guess so. I mean, it's nice to come home and there's someone waiting for me." She put her feet up on the couch and wrapped her arms around her legs.
"Even if the person's me?"
"Especially since the person's you – " Terra's head shot up. Oh gosh, had she really just said that?
Even Black Fire looked genuinely shocked. "Ya know, girl… you confuse me. You do nothing but yell at me, and then you go and say something like that?"
"I'm sor… well, what about you?" Her voice rose so sharply and so quickly that Black Fire jumped back a little. "All you ever do is try to squeeze information outta me for some, sick revenge plan, and then you go a chase away a target because he keeps on coming after me? What am I, just a plaything? A toy? Don't answer, we both know that's it. And I can deal with that, Black Fire." She unwrapped her arms and pivoted her body so she was facing the alien. Her hands were at her chest, over her heart.
"I can handle being used, I've been through it before. There's no downside to this, as long as I can let you go. And I try, everyday, not to like you too much. I try to tell myself everyday that you're gonna be gone soon. And it can be really easy. Sometimes. So why, why do you have to go and ask me if I'm happy? Why do you have to pretend that I actually mean something to you?"
Black Fire just sat there, completely stunned. Terra also sat there, completely stunned, and breathing heavily. The only other sound was the thunder rolling outside.
Then finally, Black Fire raised her hands. She brought them together. She was clapping, applauding really.
"Wow." She replied. "How long ago did you prepare that one?"
Terra's breathing stopped. She didn't move, except her eyes, which were shining with tears. Just as they started to fall, she stood up and headed to the bathroom, slamming the door behind her. Black Fire rubbed her forehead, sighing.
"OK, OK… that was wrong." She called out. Nothing.
Dammit, was Terra really going to make her try and apologize?
Fine. For now. She'll get even some other time.
Black Fire stood up, placing her mug down next to Terra's before walking up to the bathroom, leaning against the door.
"But ya know… I seem to always be doing the wrong thing. I mean, you tell me it's wrong, but I don't see what the big deal is, and… no, that's not it… um… let's see. You – no. I… screw up. And… dammit, Terra, I'm not good with this apology crap!"
"Keep going, it's tragically hilarious."
Black Fire couldn't hold back a smirk. So, Terra had a dark side to her. How interesting.
"Alright, let me start over. My whole life, I was an outcast. I had to fight for everything, and… I like to cheat. I like to steal…"
"This is a monologue of remorse?"
"Shut up, I'm trying! And I'm saying this to a door, do you have any idea how awkward this is?"
She stood there with her arms folded. There was shuffling behind the bathroom door and after about a minute, Terra cracked it open.
"Go on." She gave her hand a wave.
Black Fire put her arms to her sides and cleared her throat.
"I mess up. But you… you accept me anyways. I feel like I can be myself around you and not have to crush other people – well, OK, except for Beast Boy, but whatever. Pointis, you know about all the horrible stuff I've done, and you don't care, you just like me. That's… pretty cool."
Terra shrugged. "I just don't feel like I have any right to judge you. I've done horrible things, too, and you don't care."
"Look, kid, anyone who's tried to kill my little brat of a sister is alright in my book."
The blond giggled half-heartedly at that. They could've gone on. They could've kept talking about how Black Fire was eventually going to get revenge on her sister for banishing her, and how to do that, she would need to take down the other Titans. They could've gone on about how Terra was key to helping.
They could've brought up that Terra could join her.
But they didn't.
"So… I'm sorry."
"Why were we fighting again?" Terra asked with a smile.
"Because it's easier than this mushy junk!" Despite her words, she embraced Terra and they both laughed. "Hey, you still wanna watch a movie?"
"Did you manage to steal anything good?"
"I'm not into chick flicks, if that's what you mean."
"Eh, why not?"
The two girls broke away from each other, but still held hands while they found their way back to the living room couch and sorted through DVDs.
"You want any snacks?" Black Fire asked after the previews began.
"What, ya mean, munch on dry Ramen noodles?"
"I… may or may not have come across some gummy worms through questionable means."
"I really am going to kill you…"
"Yeah, yeah…"
Terra leaned into the couch. The movie was playing, but she kept her attention on the alien fussing around through cabinets, looking for the stolen goods. She smiled.
So maybe this wasn't going to last forever.
Maybe it wouldn't even last until next week.
But they were here now.
And she was going to enjoy it.