Watched "Deception" and "Wavelength". Was stunned by amazing possibilities of Cyborg/Jinx-ness. Was scared out of mind to think about what kind, thoughtful, dedicated, Robin/Raven-loving reviewers would say to drastic change. Was annoyed by having to re-write said Cyborg/Jinx oneshot five times. Was even more annoyed at 12:04 in the morning, after fifth rewrite, when realized that said oneshot was stupid and disgustingly OOC and altogether a bad piece of work.

Decided it didn't matter. Because also decided am in desperate need of love and support. Because am terrible review whore.

Am also in drastic need of being able to put "I" in front of sentences.

Please don't hate me.

It was the jasmine that did it.

It wasn't her looks or her charm or her intelligence or her sense of humor—well, it was, actually. He liked all of those things. She was pretty. And charming. And smart. And funny.

But she used this amazing shampoo. And it smelled like jasmine.

Sometimes when they were sitting in class, she would lean over her paper to erase something, or to make sure her battle plan schematics were absolutely perfect—and he'd catch a whiff of it. Her plans would turn out perfect. His would be covered in doodles of beautiful glowing eyes.

Or maybe they'd be eating lunch, and she'd play some kind of prank on Gizmo. And when she laughed, she always grabbed his arm and her face would get really close to his, and even though her eyes were closed, everyone would be watching Gizmo freak out so it wasn't like he could bend down and sniff her or anything. But he'd still be swimming in the smell of jasmine.

He wasn't a stalker or anything.

But her hair—it smelled really, really good.

It smelled so good that whenever they were in enclosed spaces—like the elevator that took them to the gym or the stairways that led to the dorms—the perfume of her hair would fill up the air so that his head buzzed pleasantly. No one else seemed to notice it. And he really couldn't ask her about the brand or anything. If he had had an option, he would have snuck into her dorm one night, found her shower, copied down the brand of her shampoo and raced to the nearest supermarket so that he could buy a bottle and smell it periodically every hour.

Cyborg would have done it in an instant. But he couldn't. Because he wasn't Cyborg. Because he wasn't with the Titans. Because if he was caught, he would have gotten detention for sure.

But most of all, it was because like it or not, "Stone" had a reputation to keep.

--

It was the night of the dance.

And all he could see was Jinx.

She was by herself in the middle of the crowd, swaying to the candy-punk music, lost in thought. And he was…captivated. By something. It wasn't the way she was standing alone in a sea of pairs; or the fact that all the dancing couples had formed a space around her, two feet thick, that no one seemed to penetrate; or even the way they were all shooting her looks, like "What's up with this loser?". It wasn't any of that.

It was the way she looked. Peaceful. Serene. Like there was nowhere else she wanted to be.

Oh. And then there was the dress.

Normally she looked pretty, in her standard outfit: short skirt, heavy black boots, her pink hair bound up in those metal cuffs. It brought out the pink in her cheeks and the glow of her eyes.

But she was wearing a dress now. It was black, and floor-length, and it sparkled when she moved. There was shimmery stuff on her eyelids and her lips were very pink. She had let her hair down, and it flowed with her movements, waving loosely down her back. The boots were gone. She was wearing heels.

She had traded a skirt for a dress.

She had traded boots for heels.

She had traded stripes for sparkles.

She had traded "pretty" for "beautiful".

Cyborg put the tiny punch glass he had been swigging from down on a table, and without really thinking, made his way onto the dance floor. As he broke through the invisible barrier that separated her from the swaying couples, she opened her eyes and grinned at him. The jasmine-smell made his head buzz.

"Don't you clean up nicely, Stone," she said, eyes sparkling mischievously.

"I could say the same for you, Jinx," he shot back, grinning too.

The stood there for a second, and the song changed to something slower. "Oh, hey," she said suddenly, and grabbed his arm. "I love this song!" She was blushing a little (maybe it was just the pink stuff on her cheeks?) but looked up at him and smiled. "Wanna dance?"

"Um…oh, uh…I, uh…sure?" Jinx was already pulling him onto the dance floor. The barrier was broken. The dancing teenagers pressed in on them, but Jinx wove her way through the crowds and found an empty spot.

They swayed back and forth for a while—not particularly well, but it could probably be classified as some sort of dancing. And they didn't talk or anything either. But it was nice that way.

After two and a half songs, she suddenly looked up at him. "Something's on your mind," she said. It wasn't a question. It was a statement.

How does she know these things? Cyborg thought. He had been wondering briefly about Robin, wondering if she should sneak away from the party to give an update. It had been…three? Four days? Five, even? But he pushed the thoughts away and concentrated on the calming smell of her hair, and the way her skin was so soft when her arm brushed against his.

"Nah, not really. I was just thinking how amazing you look in that dress." The words tumbled out, somehow seeming much cooler than anything he had ever said before.

She flushed, then spun herself out of his arms and smoothly back in.

"You don't have to do that, you know."

"Do what?"

Jinx swayed a little to the music, her eyes half-closed, before replying. "You know. Giving me compliments. Making me feel like…like I do. You don't have to do that."

Cyborg was confused beyond reasoning at this point. "Making you feel like what?" Was she talking about the way he always wanted to tell her how pretty she looked, but somehow wimped out at the last second? Or the way she'd accidentally bump against him sometimes and he'd want to ask her if she did it on purpose, but was too afraid to form the words?

She sighed a little and opened her eyes fully. The flickering lights glittered in her pink eyes. "You make me feel…" She huffed again, and this time he was sure she was blushing. "You mean you don't even know?"

The song ended suddenly, and her last word seemed to throb in the air. The silence lasted…a second, an hour, a day, a year, an ice age. It took forever for the next song to start, and when it did, they found the beat clumsily.

You mean you don't even know? Cyborg inserted a thick finger into his ear and wiggled it around for a second. No buildups of earwax, no sonar damage…but that was impossible. She was saying things that didn't even make sense. Surely there was some kind of mistake.

"Jinx, I have no idea what you're talking about."

She looked up at him for real then, and the jasmine was devastating. "You make me feel special, Stone," she whispered, his fake name falling easily from her lips. "You make me feel like I'm…like I'm good. Like I'm not just another high school dropout with no future. Like I don't make a living off of crime. Like I don't enjoy hurting people."

And her eyes closed for a second. "Like I'm not just bad luck."

Suddenly her spangled fingernails were abruptly covering her mouth. The glowing pink eyes were horrified. "I—I have to go," she blurted, and twisted out of his arms.

"Jinx—wait!" Cyborg's mind was spitting out sparks at the speed it was going. It was—it was too much. Everything. The music was too loud, the room was too warm, the people too close, crushing him…he saw Jinx at the far end of the hall, tripping on her long dress, and he sprinted after her. "Jinx!"

Teenaged criminals were turning to look at him, craning their necks to see what kind of fool in shiny shoes and a tie was chasing after some girl with the five-inch heels—but neither of them noticed.

"Jinx!"

He finally caught up with her outside of the auditorium, leaning against the wall, face twisted in pain. "Oh, crap—Jinx, are you okay?" The jasmine was diluted now, and he could think more clearly than he had all night.

Jinx turned to him. "Oh, yeah, I kind of just fell in these stupid heels. No biggie. Maybe I'll just, um, go back, and…"

He stepped closer. "D'you want me to take a look at it or something?"

She looked appalled. "No! No, I just, um…I'll just be going now, you know…"

Cyborg knelt down and slipped her heel off. Funny how he hadn't noticed how ridiculously high it was until now. His fingers were careful on the flesh of her ankle, which was already puffy and swollen, but she gasped anyway when he pressed down at the joint.

"Sorry—does that hurt?"

"I wouldn't be leaning against a wall for support and letting a teenaged criminal poke my ankle if it didn't," she said, more than a trace of sarcasm in her voice.

Cyborg smirked. "Hm. Well, you'd better stay off of this foot for a couple days. Chill for a while." His heart pounded as he straightened up and he was almost knocked off of his feet by the scent of jasmine. "So, I'll be…going…"

She smiled tightly. "Yeah. Thanks. For the medical aid." The pounding beat of the band was loud even down here, in the deep heart of the school. "Maybe I could…just go back…" she murmured, a wistful look in the pink eyes.

She took a step forward but stumbled as she landed on the hurt ankle. Cyborg reached forward instantly to help her—

—and as she staggered into him, their faces got close, and he felt her lips brush against his. Just for a second. They were both startled backwards as electricity passed through their mouths.

It was just a second. Barely a touch.

But it was enough.

Jinx's eyes were wide and her cheeks looked pale suddenly. "Did you—"

He shook his head a little. "Was it you—"

She shook hers too.

There was silence for a second.

Cyborg inhaled the jasmine smell again and was strengthened by it. "Well, I enjoyed it," he said simply, almost horrified by what he was saying.

Jinx's traditional smirk was back on her face. "Did you really?"

"Yup."

She smiled slyly. "Enough to go back for seconds?"

He moved closer, heart racing, and put a hand on her waist.

"Definitely."

Their lips touched again and the jasmine seemed to fill him with its very essence. He gathered her closer, holding tight, and maybe her heart was racing or maybe it was his or maybe they were both bouncing off each other…

…but he felt happy all the way down to his holographic-shoe-clad toes.

They stayed like that for a while, lips touching for just a moment at a time. And it felt really, really nice.

Finally she pillowed her cheek against his shoulder, and he found the courage to say something he'd wanted to for a really, really long time.

"Hey, Jinx?"

"Uh-huh?"

"Do you use some kind of jasmine shampoo or something?"

She lifted her head, eyes glowing, and there was a ridiculously wide grin on her face. "You noticed?"

Cyborg shrugged self-consciously. "Well, yeah, I guess—"

But he didn't get any more words out than that, because she was kissing him again.

Dude. I'm sorry you had to read that.

Please don't hate me.

But...but...but I was just so bored of angst!! And so refreshed at the thought of a shiny, brand-new ship to worship: Kid Flash and Jinx!! :O Can you believe it? How AWESOME is KF/Jinx? :D :D :D (And yet somehow you are reading a Cyborg/Jinx oneshot...hmm...)

Ahem. If the whole jasmine thing was idiotic, I apologize profusely. If the whole freaking THING was idiotic, I am even more sorry and will go and wallow in self-pity.

Please, please don't hate me.

Cheers!

Phi-Phi (you can thank XxNightfirexX for the nickname )