I try to rub off the sleep that won't seem to get the hell out of my eyes with my free hand as I carry my guitar in the other, quietly climbing the steps to the roof of Titans' Tower.
The sounds of my bare feet touching the steps and the swish of my wind pants are the only thing to break the silence.
I look up ahead groggily and open the door as I enter the realm of the pre-morning sky.
It's still dark, but the sky's gradually turning gray as the faintest of pinks peaks over the far off horizon.
From the top of the Tower anyone can see over the skyline of the City and far off towards the horizon on the East, covered by long roads and empty space.
The horizon to the West, still dark as night, covered in nothing but the ocean.
Taking in the morning air with a deep breath I sit down and go to tuning my guitar. And this is about the time I notice the shadowy figure over by the edge of the roof.
She only catches me off guard for a second, because it's obvious it's her. For a few reasons. A) She's the only other one besides maybe Robin that would be up this early B) She's always meditating at that spot and C) the fact that I can see the side of her face perfectly.
I smile, and even though her eyes are closed and I've made next to no noise I know she knows everything I've done. Hell, she probably knew I was coming up here before I did. What with being an empath and all.
I go back to tuning my instrument while she floats, cross-legged.
…
Something about that makes her all too cute.
And as if sensing something, which ironically she probably did, she turns with a blank look towards me. Blue-violet eyes boring into my skull.
I smile big and wave emphatically.
She rolls her eyes and angles her gaze back out over the City's skyline.
I let out a mute breath, take the pic out of my pant's pocket, press my fingers on the three frets that start my favorite song, and move my right hand to strum.
It might have been the shifting of her head, or the intensity of her glare that catches my attention, but if looks could kill, my guitar would be obliterated. And she's close to getting that powerful a glare, because I swear her eyes are physically holding back my hand from strumming the instrument.
Letting out her own quiet sigh she gives me a tired look.
I grin sheepishly and gently set the guitar down, and then I back away, hands in the air.
She looks at me, her tired expression now laced with sarcasm that is barely being held back from forming words.
Nice of her to not speak at my expense, after all I'm kind of un-armed when it comes to battles of verbal wit. What with being mute and all.
She once again turns her face towards the East, and for a moment I just stand there and watch.
She's not the most stunningly beautiful female to ever be hormonally sized up by guys like me, but she's high up on the list. In an earthy, girl-next-door-who-might-be-a-vampire-but-is-just-interesting-enough-you're-willing-to-find-out kind of way.
I grin slightly and take a few barefoot steps towards across the cool roof of the Tower. Once next to her I turn to face East myself, and plop my butt down on the edge of the surface, my legs dangling out over the abyss of the bay so many stories below.
She gives me a scrutinizing look, raising one of her brows above one of those beautiful blue-violet eyes.
I smile warmly, my best woo-ing smile, and hope my hazel eyes are every bit as charming as hers appear to me.
Of course, if I wanted to, I could turn on my power just a little, share part of an existence with her for just a second now that we have eye contact. But where would the fun be in that? Besides, on someone like her, I'm not even sure it would work.
And for the next moment there we are… staring into each other's eyes, our bodies a few inches apart, faces about a foot or so. The cold air warming ever-so-slightly as the East turns more pink and the West turns more gray.
She closes her pretty eyes and shakes her head from side to side as if to dismiss my stupidity. In the motion of her head going back and forth it was slightly hard to see, but the smallest of smiles had put itself upon her pale lips. By the time her head stopped shaking she had her mouth under control again. She closes her eyes and gives her now blind gaze to the East.
…
I keep staring at her, not moving a muscle from my earlier pose.
…
…
The lid of the eye closest to me opens up halfway and one of her optics is staring at me, annoyed.
I smile bigger, goofier.
She gives me the same annoyed look, but she wouldn't do anything else, so I'm not surprised. She closes her eye back up and continues her meditation. Trying to make it appear I'm unwelcome.
But it's obvious she doesn't really mind me here… as I am still here. If she wanted me gone, I'd be gone.
Physically. Hopefully just thrown down thru the ceiling and not over the edge of the roof.
In any case, I turn my own face towards the warm East, eyes still in a dreamlike haze, the subtle grin of someone truly content set on my face.
The air curls about us, just cold enough to make us notice how warm our bodies are.
…
I scoot over towards her, purposefully obvious, and the inches between us are cut down by three fourths.
…
She doesn't scoot away.
A good sign.
I lean back onto my hands and gaze out into the East with her, my legs swinging slightly over the sides.
Her eyelids open just a sliver and her blue-violet eyes turn without her face moving to take a look at me, and the fact that I'm still here and so close to her. It didn't seem to be out of annoyance, but confirmation.
The small smile came back, and this time wasn't blurred and, much to my pleasure, stayed awhile as she opened her eyes more and looked at the horizon she had been meditating towards for who knows how long.
And for the next few minutes… hours… whatevers, we'll sit there together.
Waiting for the sun to rise.
---
I awake, shaking my head a little to solidify my foothold in the world of the conscious.
I was in one of the large chairs in the Main Room by the couch, were I'd fallen asleep earlier to the soothing sounds of Cyborg and Beast Boy bantering back forth as they played video games.
I look around the silent room, and find them absent, the TV turned off and their controllers tossed at the consol haphazardly.
I notice that Robin is also missing, Starfire as well. Not even Silkie is anywhere to be seen.
Swiveling my head from my seat I begin to think the room is empty… before I see.
There, sitting in the middle of the couch, reading a book.
She.
The couch is long, and large. And she is… not. Her petite body seeming even more small in her cross legged form, leaning her face down into her book. Her cloak rapping about her.
Honestly, I am reminded of a blue pillow.
…
Wait… a pillow?
What the hell?
I snicker mutely at my own strange hormonal depictions. Drawing an annoyed look to peek over the very top of her book.
Taking notice, I smile and wave daintily at her.
She rolls her eyes and returns to her book.
I smirk, and then take notice of my wrist still waving daintily at her of it's own accord.
I give it a look and slap it down, the small noise deafening in the silent room, earning myself an even sterner look from the mystic girl on the couch.
I look befuddled on purpose, and then smile sheepishly.
She sighs at my pathetic attempts as flirtation, and returns to her book.
My hazel eyes squint, and scrutinize how interested she is in her book. It has her complete attention, she is rapt in its words, willfully under the thrall of it's plot.
Her small pale hands hold the spine and one cover with a delicate, protective, and loving grace.
…
And now I'm jealous of a book.
There must be something wrong with me.
….
But still… I'm not about to be shown up by some cocky inanimate object! Yea, screw that noise! I'm taking this book out! It can't keep Raven's attention like this, no way. This is mah house!
I get up out my chair silently, and tip toe behind the couch… heading for the fridge.
Raven looks up and notices that I'm not in my chair anymore, she raises up her head and peers around the Main Room.
I'm nowhere to be found.
She shrugs after a moment, and returns to her book.
…
…
…
…
………….
Then, she looks up, blandly.
And there I am, a bag of food in one hand, smiling at her. Her eyes, barely above the top of the book, give me a scrutinizing look. I smile and wave, then reach down into the bag and pull out…
An apple.
…
One of her brows rise over one of her eyes.
I stand in front of her and bring the apple to my mouth with a grin… and bite slowly down into it, and my objective soon becomes apparent to the mystic girl as the apple juice comes out of the apple, and dribbles down my chin.
…
Her other brow rises.
I smirk, set the apple down without wiping the juice from around my lips, and reach into the bag to pull out.
…
A strawberry.
With an ornery smirk, I bring it to my lips and make a show of eating it in slowly and with ridiculously overplayed passion.
…
Since the bottom half of her face is covered by her reading material, I can't tell if Raven is blushing, smiling, frowning, or not responding at all. The last of which is the highly most likely.
But in any case, she is definitely looking at me.
Take that book. You big, lame…book! Reader's Digest is more interesting than you! Oh snap! Someone call the burn squad cuz I got you good!
The thought won't occur to me until much later that it may be mentally unhealthy to put on a semi-playful homoerotic show in competition for a girl… against a book. But right now, I really am too absorbed in the fact that I have her attention.
Putting down the remains of the strawberry next to the apple, I reach down in the bag and pull out the last item in it.
A banana.
…
Raven's eyes widen ever so slightly.
Whir… STOMP STOMP STOMP!
Before I can do anything I would probably later regret, we both turn our gazes to the side door and the people walking thru it.
A one Cyborg… mysteriously covered from head to toe in what was assumably mud. And a one Beast Boy, not covered in mud but currently blue faced and caught in Cyborg's merciless headlock, trying desperately to get out.
I glance at Cyborg with a look that says 'What's up?'… not remembering to take the banana away from my lips.
Cyborg is too mad to notice as he glares at the two of us, stonefaced. He clenches his jaw, his rage too boiling for him to form words. All he does is point to the changeling in his grasp to the mud on his person.
We both nod, understanding whatever happened is Beast Boy's fault.
He nodded, jaw still clenching.
He then points at me, and then points down to the floor.
I raise a blonde brow over a hazel eye, wondering what in the world he's talking(or isn't) about.
Then it hits me.
The garage.
My hazel eyes widen in shock and fear. Cyborg just nods at me.
N-no, my car!
I drop the banana and dash out the door from which my large friend came, sprinting faster than a bum chasing a dollar caught in the wind.
As Cyborg angrily stomps off, the struggling Beast Boy looking like he's about to pass out, Raven closes her book, levitates off the couch, and follows slowly after me.
---
I'm on my knees, wailing mutely to the heavens as I lament over my car.
The garage door is currently open… and the garage is currently caked in mud.
Outside the door a large indention can be seen slopping up towards the Tower… how or what Beast Boy did I have no idea… but my car. The red paint is covered in thick, sloppy mud! The Stang!
I walk up, sniffling, and wipe some mud off the hood with my hand. I look down underneath it and see…
More mud.
And whats worse… my windows were down. The offending brown substance is all over the interior… in the vents… into the cracks of the frame… I tentatively open the glove box and another wave of mud pours out onto the floorboard.
…
I sob mutely.
…
After a few moments, I hear a quiet, low whistle come from the doorway in the Tower. I turn around miserably and to my surprise I find Raven. Her head swiveling around at the muddy sight… before her eyes fall on myself and my Mustang.
She frowns sympathetically and floats up to me.
I turn back to my baby.
…
My lower lip quivers.
She pets my back… rolling her eyes.
…
After I moment I look up at her, and I'm met with a small smile. Suddenly and from no apparent place Raven pulls out a bucket of soapy water, a sponge cloth in the bucket.
My hazel eyes widen and I look at her with surprise. It's a very… gracious gesture.
Not very Raven like at all…
I put my hand on her forehead to see if she's running a fever.
With a frown she slaps my wrist away and gives me a stern look. After stepping back from her, I smile satisfied. I then reach for the bucket, but before my hand can grab it she pulls it back, the water sloshing.
I give her a questioning look, and am met with a small but undeniably mischievous smirk on her pale lips.
…
I continue with the questioning look.
Her smirk grows as she reaches into her cloak and pulls out the banana from earlier. I jump back, startled. I glance quickly and nervously down towards the offending phallic fruit… and back to Raven's face, mischievous smirk still in place.
…
There's something definitely wrong with Raven. Maybe I shouldn't interupt her meditation… first offering me help with washing the stang… and now………… Ah, what the hell. At least I got her attention.
With an awkward step forward, I take the banana from her hands and slowly bring to my mouth with an uncertain frown. I cast her a long glance as if to ask 'Do I hafta?' Her maniacal smirk gives me the understood affirmative.
With a gulp I close my eyes and open my mouth, now wondering why in God's name I'd decided to do this. With my eyes closed I am unprepared for Raven's hand, which comes flying at the banana, pushing it forward and smearing the offending fruit all over my face.
I love the girl, but at the moment I'm pissed. And I respond accordingly by giving her an angry look.
She smiles at me, holding back giggles, sublimely pleased with herself.
I make a move towards her. And to evade her person transmutes into a radiating black shadow which sinks into the floor and thusly encompasses the entirety of the mud-caked garage, my Mustang included.
A moment later the room-covering shadow called Raven starts flowing towards an air-vent, and in the span of ten seconds it's gone, the mud from the garage and my car along with it.
I sigh, mix of relief and settling anger, as I stand there alone for a moment.
…
A little piece of banana falls off my face onto the garage floor. Taking notice I decide to go to the bathroom and clean it off. I turn around and make for the door, but I'm soon delayed as my foot goes into Raven's bucket of soapy water, splashing it all the way up my leg and causing me to fall face first to the floor.
…
I lay there for a moment and in the back of my head I can just hear Raven cackling with glee at her witchery.
---
I stand bent over the bathroom sink, washing the banana off my face. I finish and turn the faucet off before grabbing a towel and dabbing my face. Turning myself around towards the door, I'm met with a fellow Titan; smirking about the banana she rubbed in my face.
I frown and go into a flurry of angry sign language so violent it would be indiscernible to her if she could even read sign language. With a smile and a shake of her head she takes a step close towards me and puts her arms around my neck, her face close to mine.
I stop and take a deep breath… Something is definitely wrong with Raven, she's gotta be sick.
She smiles uncharacteristically and moves her face closer to mine.
Can't let her go to the doctors… ever.
A few moments away from what would be the biggest ego boost of the century a loud whiny voice shakes thru the Tower and interrupts our moment as a pathetic green teen, somehow regretfully free from Cyborg's furious grasp, calls out, "GAH! How did all this mud get in my room?"
I take my gaze off of the ceiling, shaking from the volume of Beast Boy's scream, and look back down at Raven, I smile.
She returns the favor.
We lean in and share a kiss and I know something's not right, but I don't care.
…
What are you still doing hear, fool? This ain't no peep show!
Jericho gives you a disgusted look as he continues to kiss the presumably mentally unstable Raven, he puts a hand forward and closes the bathroom door in your face.
SLAM!