Chapter seven: Incognito
Raven, wrapped in a towel with her cloak and Jinx's P.J.'s in hand, peeked her head out of the bathroom door. The coast seemed clear but that could always just be an illusion. With the technology, random people breaking in, and a green teen that can shrink down to the size of a fly on the wall, things are never as they seem. Starfire was notorious for appearing out of nowhere and squeezing the life out of you in a bone crunching hug. Regardless, Raven stepped out into the hallway. Her bare feet patted silently on the carpet as she quickly closed the distance between her and the sanctuary at the end of the seemingly endless hall. Almost there, don't look back just open the door-
"Hey Rav-"
"In a minute," she cut off the deep voice of Cyborg as she slipped into her room. Why is it that I can never make it to my room without being interrupted, ever? She shook her head as she pulled on a clean shirt, pair of pants, and cloak. As she adjusted her belt something felt odd; it was a tad bit lighter than usual. Raven ran her fingers over the spot where her communicator normally resided and growled. No…how could I forget that, of all things? With a grumble she slid open her door and headed for the common area. She stopped and gave a knock on Cyborg's door, waiting briefly for the teen to stick his head out. "You needed something?" Raven asked in a slightly annoyed tone.
"I was just going to say hey and see how your night was," he raised a brow as her expression changed little, "…I will take your silence as a 'I don't want to talk about it' warning, so…Uhm, oh, I think BB wanted to talk to you," Cyborg smiled and Raven's frown faded a little. Vik's big goofy grin was hard not to laugh at, but the empath tried her best.
"What does Gar want to talk about…oh yeah. Tonight's his date, isn't it," Raven sighed and turned back down the hall. She stopped in the doorway of the changeling's open door, immediately having to duck as a pair of jeans came flying out of the room. She looked in to see half of the green boy buried in his closet, hurling out articles of clothing left and right.
"What are you doing?" Raven leaned on the door frame and crossed her arms in front of her.
"Raven, my date's in two hours and I have no idea what I'm gonna' wear!" Beast Boy gestured to the mess that was his room. Of course, if you asked Raven, she would have said it looked no different than it normally did, perhaps even an improvement. Regardless, clothing was strewn everywhere. "The guys are just as useless at this as I am, and Star doesn't have a clue so that leaves you but, well, yeah. You're you…what am I going to do?"
She rolled her eyes. As pathetic as he was, Raven wanted her friend to at least have a chance at a decent date. If he left the house looking nice it would be a huge improvement to the previous times he went out on a date with a girl. "First of all, calm down. Do you even have any nice clothes?" Raven asked evenly from her position outside the realm of chaos.
Beast Boy took a deep breath and scratched his head as he scanned the mounds of shirts, uniforms, socks and pants. "Yeah, I got that one outfit the time Star dragged me to the mall when you ditched…"
"That blue thing? In case you hadn't noticed, you are a rather odd shade of green. The two don't exactly compliment one another in your case." Raven also looked around the room for anything that caught her eye. "Ah, there…see that pair of black pants?" she pointed, "pull those out."
Beast Boy waded over to the partially exposed pants that stuck out from behind a few magazines. He shook them out the casual slacks and held them up in front of himself, turning to Raven with a questioning expression. "…you know what you're doing?"
Raven glared. "I'm a girl, I know what looks good or not." She shifted a bit and examined the pants. "Those will do. They are a little wrinkled, but you can iron them later. Now for a shirt…" Her attention went back to the floor.
"What about this?" he held up a bright orange t-shirt with a design on the front. Raven just stared. "What? What's wrong with it?"
"It's no wonder you never got a second date…" Getting aggravated, she grumbled and walked into the room and started looking around for something suitable. These had better be clean clothes, otherwise…she cringed. "Gods, haven't you anything besides t-shirts?"
"You don't exactly have much aside from your uniforms either!"
"I have other clothes," Raven snapped back, defensively, gesturing to the pair she was wearing. "Just never the occasion I feel inclined to wear them."
Beast Boy shook his head with a smile. One day, I will get her to go out on a date with someone…hey, that red shirt's sweet, he thought as Raven grabbed it and tossed it aside. Guess not…He sighed and happened to look down at a gray collared button down shirt sticking up through the mass. The changeling smiled and held up the short sleeve shirt triumphantly. "Now this is what you're talking about, right?"
Raven looked over her shoulder and felt herself smile a bit. "Perfect, here, wear this under it," she tossed him a black t-shirt. "You do have shoes right? Anything is better than those sneakers you wear with your uniform."
"Uh, I have these black shoes," he pointed to a box on the shelf in his closet. "Worn them once, have no idea where or why I got them, though."
"Those will work," Raven stooped over the cluttered dresser and pulled out a black belt, tossing it to Beast Boy. "Now just find some socks and put it all together," she gave him a small smile and headed for the door.
"Hey Raven," she paused in the doorway, looking over her shoulder. "What did you do last night, and what's with that text message you sent me this afternoon?"
Keep your cool, it's just Beast Boy; you were at a coffee shop, met a friend, crashed at their place…wait, text message? Raven turned and looked at him. "What message?"
Beast Boy gave her a funny look as he pulled his communicator out of his pocket and tossed it to the girl. "The message you sent me at about 3:30 or so," he set all his clothes on the partially clean bed and began shoving the rest back into the closet.
Raven scanned through the sequence and got to the message that he was speaking of. You smell like butt. Love Raven. The expression on the empath's face resembled that of slight amusement. I'm going to kill that girl. Raven looked back up. "Just wanted to remind you to shower before you get dressed," she coolly played it off as she tossed the com unit back to him and walked out of the room. Beast Boy stood staring at the empty doorway with a confused look on his face.
"What? Wait, what about last night? God, how does she always do that?" He threw his hands up and went back to 'cleaning' his room.
The East District Apartments resided in a quiet area on the edge of the business district in Jump City. The rather old complex held about 60 units in two buildings that faced one another; a wide walkway, some dead grass and a dumpster separated them. On one side of the complex was the bay, giving a clear view of Titans Tower in the distance. The other side was the city the residents of the tower guarded.
Jinx sat outside on the steps leading up to her apartment door. The temperature had risen some from last night and it felt pleasant enough to sit and enjoy what little warmth the sun sent down. The sorceress glared from behind her sunglasses at Eric, who was leaning up against his door across the way, lighting up a cigarette. "What did I tell you about smoking, Eric."
He smirked and brushed a hand through his messy brown. "Something about it not being very becoming?" he took a long drag off his cigarette, slowly blowing the smoke out his mouth.
"So you're not stupid, just ignorant. I understand now," Jinx shifted and adjusted the notebook on her leg. Eric furrowed his brow and leaned on the railing.
"You were out late last night."
"Are you watching me now?" she scribbled something down without looking up.
"No, I heard a loud noise and got up from my computer, thinking someone was busting in to someone's place. I look out my window to see you and your 'friend' crashing into your door," he took another drag and gave her a sideways glance. "What were you two doing, exactly?"
Jinx smirked a bit and looked up at her door, noting the dent from where some part of her or Raven had smashed the steel in a centimeter or so. "Oh we were drunk, who knows?"
"We both know that you don't drink," Eric put out his cigarette on the railing and sat down on his steps. "Come on, I'm a 23 year old college guy. I haven't seen you at anyone's party other than mine and you didn't touch anything. I'll bet you still have that bottle of Bacardi I gave you."
"Well, I guess all the money your parents are spending on your education isn't going to waste after all."
He rolled his eyes. "So what's up then? Did you find another thief to hang with?"
"What makes you think I'm a…" the look she was getting from the boy across the way stopped her mild attempt at deception. "No, Raven's not a thief."
"Raven? As in, the goth that lives over there?" He pointed to the Tower and Jinx nodded her head. "What the hell are you doing with her?"
Jinx shrugged. "We just went out for coffee, have similar senses of humor and stuff. She's nice to talk to."
"And, she does know that you are Jinx right?"
"No, I certainly fooled her, huh? Of course she knows. How many other pink-haired, cat-eyed girls named Jinx are there in this city?"
"So what you are telling me is that a Titan knowingly went and hung out with a thief and didn't arrest you or tip off any cops as to your location? You brought her to your home, how can you be sure she won't just call the police and I'll have to watch the poor bastards try to get you out of your apartment?" Eric leaned back on his elbows and stared up at the clouds.
"Because I know she won't. She wants me for herself…" Jinx mumbled under her breath as she continued scribbling in her notebook. Eric's eyebrows shot up and he looked at Jinx for a few moments in silence.
"Ah, I see what's going on here now…you like her too?" He cocked his head to the side and watched Jinx's cheeks turn a little red.
"Yeah…yeah I do."
"Damn. Off the market again…" He got up and stretched. "Well you be careful, little kitty."
"And you stop smoking," Jinx called out as he walked into his apartment and shut the door. She smiled and looked down at her notebook, adding a few more words before tearing out the page and heading back inside.
It was six-ten pm. Raven sat at the kitchen table with a cup of tea and an empty plate. She was watching Robin stand by the stove and lecture her on the proper way to make dinner. I wonder if he knows what he's doing. We just had Chinese last night and he's making stir fry…oh well. Robin had a stir fry in progress, but a little too much of the meat and vegetables ended up on the stove top, counter and floor. Robin continued to stir and flip the contents around in the hot wok before he picked it up and wobbled over to the table. He dumped a small amount on the plate in front of the empath that was trying not to laugh at the mess the boy wonder had made.
"Guys, food's ready!" Robin called out. A few seconds later Cyborg was seated at the table with a mouthful of meat. Starfire floated over and took a seat next to Raven, smiling to Robin as he scooped some food onto the plate in front of the Tamaranian.
"Thank you Robin, this looks most splendid! What is this mixture?"
"It's called stir fry, Star. It's meat and veggies with soy sauce and garlic and other things. You'll like it." Robin scooped the last onto his plate and sat down. "There's rice in that bowl too." After a minute of awkward silence, he looked around. "Hey, where's Gar?"
"Getting ready for his DAAAA-AAATE," Cyborg laughed.
"At least I got one!" The green teen glared as he walked up to the table dressed in the clothes Raven had picked out.
"Hey, lookin' sharp, BB," Robin grinned from behind his glass of water.
"Oh, friend, you look lovely," Starfire wrapped her arms around the now slightly blue teen.
"Thanks Star," he shrugged off the hug and turned to Raven, who was chewing. "So," he turned around once with his arms outspread, "how do I look?"
Raven stood up and walked over to him. She straightened his collar and flattened a wrinkle on the left side of the gray shirt before taking a step back and giving one last look over. She swallowed "Not bad, Gar. Just learn to tie your shoes and you'll be all set."
The boy looked down and blushed slightly, stooping down to tie his shoes. "All right, wish me luck," he grinned, slinging a plain leather jacket over his shoulders. He grabbed a pair of keys off the table. "Thanks for letting me take the T-Car, Cy."
The titanium man at the end of the table glowered and glared at Robin before glaring at Beast Boy. "Take good care of her, you hear me? If there is one scratch on her, I'll kill you."
"I got this, I got this," he waved before disappearing through the door.
"So, who's got bets? I say he'll be back by nine," Cyborg called out.
"Perhaps this time we will actually hear about the date, instead of the 'it was fine' and Beast Boy hides in his room for the next day," Starfire poked a cube of beef with her fork and inspected it.
"Hey, he might do alright this time, Raven gave him a push in the right direction at least," Robin shoveled a spoonful of rice into his mouth. A quiet silence befell the room; Raven knew what the next topic of discussion was.
She cringed when Starfire turned to her and smiled. "So, Raven, what did you do last night?" The two boys looked up from their food with interest, and Raven slumped a little in her chair.
Great…alright, you can do this. Relax. Breath. Tell them select truth and it will be fine. "I met up with a friend that was walking down the street last night. It was cold so we went to get some coffee and talked for a bit. It got late, and she didn't want me to go home so late alone, so I crashed at her place. Slept in late, you called, I came home. That was it."
"And you were wearing those strange clothes because…?" the Tamaranian princess inquired before taking a bite of some green vegetable.
"It was raining; I took a shower at her place and didn't want to put my wet clothes on again. Those were just some pajamas that she let me borrow."
"So, this friend, anyone I know?" Robin asked.
"No, I don't believe so," Raven was suddenly intrigued by the specks of gray on the table, Got to change the subject…
"Cyborg, do you wish to teach me how to play the race car game after dinner? That way I can engage in recreation with you and Beast Boy and 'play the winner,'" Starfire smiled.
"Yeah, all right. Maybe you'll be better than BB and I'll finally have some competition. You in Robin?"
"As soon as the dishes are done, I'm in," he grinned. "What about you Raven?"
Raven looked up to see the three of them staring at her with that expression of waiting for a response. "Oh…no, I think I'm just going to go read a book," she stood up and placed her plate in the sink before heading for the door.
Jinx scanned the sparse environment on the rocky outcropping around the Tower. Things looked calm and quiet, but without the cover of rain, Jinx felt a little more vulnerable to attack. She bit her lip and sprinted to the front door, placing the small cardboard box she was carrying with her on the floor mat. She rang the door bell and dove for cover behind a large rock. She held back a giggle and kept her eyes on the door. A few moments later, Cyborg opened the massive steel door and looked around a few times before noticing the small box on the ground. He picked it up, shook it and walked back inside, slamming the door behind him. "Score. Time to get going," Jinx slipped away into the night once again.
"HEY RAVEN! PACKAGE FOR YOU!" Echoed down the hall. Raven was contently resting in her room, halfway through a book. She cringed and peered above the book as her door shook against the force of Cyborg's knock. He's going to break it one of these days…she sighed and slid open the door.
"Hey, you got a little something from someone special," he grinned and held out the box for her. She reached out for it but he snatched it up out of her reach just as her fingers graced the box. He dangled it above her reach. "What do you say…" he stopped there when her eyes flashed red, hastily gave her the box and hauled titanium back down the hallway.
Raven shut her door and sat on the edge of the bed. The box was small; plain brown cardboard, with no marking or stickers, other than a strip of packing tape across the top and 'Raven' written in an unfamiliar handwriting. It was light, but also heavy; the object inside was hard and solid. Raven glanced at her desk and grabbed a small knife off the table with her powers; it levitated over. After a quick slice, the top opened and violet eyes peered into the box, immediately knowing who it was from. Her yellow communicator nestled in newspaper. Raven reached in and pulled out her com, noticing a folded piece of paper underneath. After securing her communicator to its rightful place on her left hip, Raven unfolded the paper and read the handwritten letter on lined notebook paper:
Corvid,
Remember to be more careful with your things next time. You'd make a horrible thief. What do you say to a movie tonight? If not, then maybe another time. If so, incognito is the preferred… like people with pink and purple hair can fit in anyway…meet me outside the theater at 8:30.
The Feline
p.s. keep the p.j.'s
Raven's lips curved up into a happy grin and she looked at the clock on her desk. Six-fifty, plenty of time. She got up, placed the note on her dresser and looked down at her clothing. Should she wear something a little less casual? They were going to the movies, it would be dark… Raven furrowed her brow and opened her closet.
Several uniforms neatly hanging on the pole, and a few cloaks rested on a hook on the inside of the door. Raven began digging around in the closet, searching.
She growled now and then when she found something she didn't like and threw it aside. Finally, she found a pair of dark blue jeans that she was almost certain would fit and laid them on her bed. She pulled out a simple, black button-up blouse; the sleeves were three-quarters and the neckline was v-cut. Was it perhaps too low? She pondered, looking down at her rather voluptuous breast. Nope, she yanked off her cloak and shirt before wiggling out of her pants.
The jeans fit nicely, she thought, as she watched herself button her blouse in the mirror behind her dresser. She slipped on a pair of socks, pulled on a pair of black and grey flats, and stood up. Satisfied with the outfit, she picked up her communicator and stared at it.
Where am I going to put this… she looked at the size of her pockets; far too small to hold the mini computer. Raven was never the 'purse' type. They were easily forgotten, easily stolen, and aside from the com, what would she put in it? Therefore, she didn't own any, and certainly wasn't going to ask Starfire if she could borrow one. She clipped the communicator to the back of her belt and pulled the end of her shirt over it. Good enough. She glanced at the clock again. Seven-forty.
"…That took far longer than necessary." Raven pulled on a dress leather jacket, grabbed some money off her desk and slipped it into her back pocket. After a quick glance in the mirror she switched off the lights and headed downstairs.
"I'm going out," she said as she walked past her three teammates glued to the big screen television. Thirty seconds after she had shut the door, they exchanged glances.
"What was Raven wearing?" Robin said aloud the question the three were asking themselves.
Raven stood on the edge of the mob of young teens mulling about in a social behavior common among the high school crowd. She narrowed her eyes as two blondes giggle and walked past her. Stupid kids… Raven scanned the crowd for the pink hair of her date; which shouldn't have been that much of a feat, seeing as the frequency of pale girls with hot pink hair was at a minimum in this city.
"What 'cha doin'?" came a voice from behind. Raven turned to find her pink haired target. Jinx was dressed in boots, black cargo pants, a tight dark purple shirt, and a nice grey jacket; her cotton candy hair hung down around her shoulders.
"You look very nice," Raven quietly said.
Jinx blinked up from staring at the empath's shirt. "…oh! Thank you." She smiled shyly and looked down. "You look very nice as well."
Raven chuckled and shifted from foot to foot, trying to ignore the thoughts and feelings that were emanating from Jinx. For an instant she saw images of bare skin, lips, hands searching; the scent of orchids; hushed whispers. Standing there is the crowded lot of the movie theater, Raven only noticed the woman standing in front of her; only felt her pulsing excitement, nervousness and need. She tried to swallow it all down and remain composed. Oh fuck… she blinked, looking down from the curious pink eyes watching her. Control yourself, Raven…
Jinx quirked a brow at Raven's sudden mood shift. Did she really not get out often? To the point that being in a crowd this big had this much of an affect on her? The thief wet her lips and smiled. "I'm glad you decided to come," she pointed to the door, "shall we?"
Raven glanced to the long line at the ticket booth. "Did you already get tickets?"
"I did, I've been here for a while. Watched you glare at the little kids for a bit before rescuing you," she grinned and walked past the glowering empath. Raven filed behind the sorceress as she cut her way through the throngs of youth with glares and shoves.
Once inside, Jinx handed the tickets to the man standing by the entrance to the theaters and Raven looked up at the screen displaying the titles of the current movies. "What are we seeing?"
"It's a surprise," that Cheshire cat smile appeared. Raven scanned through the list of movies again. "Follow me," Jinx headed to the left and entered the hallway, turning left again. The last theater was showing 'Underworld: Evolution' and Raven sighed in relief. 'Date Movie' was the last thing she wanted to go to. Jinx gestured to the glowing red sign that read 'Undrwrld 8pm' and she held the door open for Raven. "See, nothing to worry about; I've good tastes."
The theater was half full, and the two climbed towards the top, heading for the middle of a row, forth from the last. Raven sat on Jinx's left, and the two stared at all the couples and people in the room.
"Hey, look at the outfit that guy's wearing," Jinx pointed to a blonde kid with spiky hair. He was wearing an old civil war overcoat, huge combat boots, and shorts that came halfway down his shins. Raven shook her head.
"…And people call me weird," Raven remarked dryly.
"You want anything to drink, eat?"
"I'm fine thank you." Raven pulled out the money from her back pocket. "How much were the tickets?"
"Don't worry about it."
"You paid for coffee last night, please, how much were they, Jinx?"
"Ooo, that girl's hair is awesome…"
"Jinx…"
The lights dimmed and the crowed quieted. "Shh, the movie's starting." Jinx smirked and stared straight at the screen; she could feel Raven's glare burning a hole in her face. What neither of them noticed was the familiar green teen and his date seated two rows directly behind them.
Raven continued to brood throughout the movie. Why does she keep paying, oh it makes me so mad. She doesn't have to. I suppose she's doing it to be nice…or devious. Both. Two can play at that game…Raven stole a glance around. Everyone was glued to the screen, even Jinx. Perfect. The empath leaned in closer and closer to the feline until she was mere centimeters away, holding her breath. Jinx still hadn't noticed.
Then in one fluid motion Raven had Jinx's left ear gently, yet firmly in her jaws. The sorceress went ridged; her hands gripped the arm rest tightly. Raven grinned. Oh reeeally…she exhaled slowly, sending hot moist air across Jinx's ear. The girl squirmed and stared in shock out of the corner of her eye. Raven nibbled down the lobe on her ear, trailing the tip of her tongue along the edge. Continued short breaths and the occasional slip of the tongue had Jinx biting her lip to keep from moaning as she squirmed in her seat. Raven let go of her ear and trailed down her neck with teeth and tongue, finishing with a gentle bite on Jinx's shoulder. Raven returned to her original movie-watching position with an innocent look on her face.
Jinx shivered and turned, giving Raven a look. I can't believe she just did that…holy fucking shit, I think I'm dying… The feline rubbed her neck and squirmed one more time, whispering "You're the devil…" before turning back around. She tried to watch the movie but the rather attractive and leather-clad vampire on the screen was no match for the woman sitting beside her. Instead, Jinx spent the rest of the movie sneaking glances at Raven.
Beast Boy stared in slack-jawed shock as he watched Raven bite some woman's neck, two rows ahead of him. He squinted in the darkness trying to get a better view of whoever his teammate was with. Raven is on a date with another woman? That's…that's…kinda hot. But who the hell is she with? When he couldn't figure out who she was he turned to his brunette date and whispered "I'll be right back." She smiled and nodded. He got up and slipped down the stairs to the sloped walkway leading up to the theater. Promptly turning into a fly, he buzzed up into the air and hovered above the two women. He got lower and lower until the other woman's face came into clear view. The pink eyes and vertical pupils were a dead give away; Beast Boy hovered, his little fly mouthparts drooping in an open mouth stare. Oh my god, it's Jinx…