Unexpected: VII

Starfire was flying across the night sky in a state of pure ecstasy, the happy little grin on her face highlighted by the silver shimmer of the moon and stars. Never mind that the night was getting chilly as the sun moved farther and farther away to light up other parts of the world, nothing could bring her down. The alien princess hadn't felt this giddy in a long time!

She'd just returned the stolen (then promptly returned) silver belt, but this wasn't why she was so happy. Not completely, at least.

Raven is going to be so proud!

When she'd arrived at the museum, alone (she wasn't sure her friends would have seen anything but bad intentions in Jinx's little surprise so she'd left without a word to anyone), she'd just managed to catch the curator as he was leaving the museum.

Starfire had been so excited to return the belt; surely the short, bald little man would be just as excited to see the belt returned to its proper place. So when the tiny man had looked up at her over the rim of his glasses with one eyebrow raised, lips pursed, she'd felt her eyes go wide with shock.

"Well, how wonderful. One of the, ah… many pieces stolen from this fine establishment. I pray that the rest of the collection may be returned, as this piece has been, just as… swiftly." Condescension laced every word, and the angry little light in his beady eyes did not diminish even as the corners of his mouth had twitched upwards in a smile so obviously fake. Starfire's face had fallen in disappointment.

"Well, if you would…" His pudgy little hand had extended towards the belt, still held in Starfire's hands. But before he could grab it, the titan's hands retracted to hold the belt just out of reach. The curator had been still for a moment, hand still extended. He had the strangest notion that he shouldn't speak… instead his gaze drifted upwards slowly, and when his eyes had met the Tamaranean's a shiver had gone down his spine.

Starfire had allowed only the slightest amount of starbolt energy light up her gaze; her pupils were still clearly visible, narrowed down at the old man. Her smile though had remained sweet, sickeningly so, as had her words. "It is indeed unfortunate that your collection was taken, though I know you place no blame with the titans. My teammates and I are trying our best to see it safely returned… however, if you are not satisfied with our results and would be more willing to express your gratitude when the exhibition is returned in full, I would be more than happy to keep this fine piece. Until the rest of the collection is found, of course…"

Whether it was the hidden threat in the girl's words, the eerie green glow in her eyes, or even something as simple as her height advantage, Starfire had succeeded in scaring the little man half to death. Mentally cheering herself, she had continued smiling sweetly as she'd handed over the belt to the curator, who'd become very meek and apologetic.

Starfire couldn't recall ever having been less than cordial to a human being since the titans had first formed; admittedly, threatening the irritating little man had been a lot more fun than she'd expected. A far more pleasant experience than submitting to his sarcasm and condescension would have been.

So now, as she returned home as swiftly as she could (she was looking forward to Cyborg's makeshift victory party) she couldn't keep the smile off her face.

Out of nowhere however, the Tamaranean felt that she was being watched. Slowing to a stop so that she remained stationary in the air, floating silently above the city lights and sounds, she tried to discern a direction. She tried to pinpoint where exactly this feeling was coming from; oddly enough she didn't feel at all threatened, nor did the notion that someone was watching her bother her as nearly as much as it should have.

A few moments passed and Starfire could see nothing, feel nothing, or sense anything that would lead her to the source of the strange sense of security that had overcome her.

"Hm…" Glancing upwards at the full moon, she smiled and shrugged before setting off for home again.

Returning to the lair was painful for Jinx in so many ways. Her head was pounding, blood had stained her favorite top, and her heart was in utter turmoil.

I don't get it… Starfire had to have gotten the belt… how could she not forgive me? Did I really take things too far last night? Did I really hurt her? I guess… I guess I took that smile for granted. Assuming she would just forgive and forget… thinking about it, I wouldn't forgive me, either. It was stupid of me to assume a dumb 'Sorry' would just smooth things over…

Jinx turned to hide her face in Mammoth's chest as a single tear dripped down her cheek, falling down past the blood that had dried all along the side of her head.

I'm such an idiot!

When the Hive Five were finally back home Mammoth brought her straight to the medical ward. He set her down gently on one of the beds then let loose a great sigh as he plopped down onto the adjacent one. Gizmo's medical bots whirred to life, two moving to spread Mammoth out onto the bed properly and another appearing in front of the wounded sorceress. Without so much as a robotic word or a beep, one metal appendage extended towards her, a bright light appearing at the end.

As the light passed back and forth Jinx tried to think of some possible explanation for Starfire's actions. But as we all know, it's very hard to think positively when every fiber of your being is screaming 'F.U.B.A.R.!' and you're inclined to agree. Every time she tried to convince herself there was some reason Starfire had acted this way (maybe she hadn't gotten the package, maybe she wanted to get revenge for last night before she was ready to move on, maybe she was trying to prove something to the sorceress) she just kept coming back to the fury in that green gaze, and the feel of warm blood running down past her temple.

"Concussion test: Negative. Fit for duty."

Standing up absentmindedly, a quick glance at Mammoth showed that the hulking villain would be in the medical bay for at least another half hour. The two medical bots looked to be proceeding with a series of x-rays, and if the state of her teammate's uniform was anything to go by he'd taken quite a few hits today. While Jinx doubted anything was broken, she was sure that quite a few things would be bruised.

Her first step was met with a sudden flash of pain; Jinx winced and put a tentative hand to her head, resolving to take a shower immediately when she felt the blood. Her second step was less painful, and pretty soon she was making her way back to the living room, each step painless though her head still ached. When the sliding doors opened, it was clear she'd walked into some kind of deep discussion.

Gizmo was on tech-genius auto-pilot; as he shouted at Seemore his hands were fast at work repairing his jetpack, which was shooting sparks and making the oddest clicking noises. Seemore was hunched over on the couch, and it was clear he was too tired to argue with what the younger man was saying.

What is he saying?

"Well that sucked! I thought that space-head was supposed to be some kind of sweetheart; if I'd known she was gonna go full commando I never woulda thought this was a good idea!"

"Yeah, I guess. It doesn't make sense though… the see-through vision trick always gets her. Guess Jinx took it a step too far… it was nice while it lasted though."

"Hah! Lasted? Please, we got one score! Yeah, it may have been the best score we've ever made, but still! And we probably won't make another one like it anytime soon considering how we got our butts kicked today!"

Jinx sighed and passed through the room, head hung low. She saw Billy in her peripheral, leaning against the kitchen counter with what looked suspiciously like a jug of moonshine clutched in his hand. Where it had come from, Jinx had no idea. She ignored the pitying glances Kyd Wykkyd and Seemore sent her way and ignored Gizmo when he called her name.

The trip to her bedroom went by in a blur; she could barely remember to retrieve a towel from her closet before heading into the attached bathroom. The boys shared a bathroom, but during construction Jinx had made it very clear to Gizmo that if he didn't give the sorceress her own, she'd act on her title of 'witch' and put the little boy in the oven to bake. She'd also requested a private passage to the roof: a hidden elevator built into the wall of her walk-in closet. She often went up to the roof to think… it was quiet up there: perhaps the only quiet spot in the entire complex.

After placing the towel on the rack beside the glass shower stall, Jinx began to undress. First went the hair bands. She didn't risk shaking her head to loosen her hair; she settled for simply wetting her hands at the sink and running them through each horn until she felt the pink locks brushing her shoulders, no longer defying gravity. When she pulled her hands away there were traces of blood on her fingers, and with a sharp intake of breathe she rubbed them away under the running water, disgusted.

She sat down on the toilet to remove her boots, striped purple stockings following. Tucking the shoes in a corner but leaving the stockings where they lay, she stood to undo her skirt. After that came the button-up top, and soon enough Jinx was standing in just her lacy black unmentionables.

She found herself shivering without her clothes so she moved to the shower to turn on the water but didn't get in; she turned the shower head until the water came out in a firm but gentle pulse, her favorite remedy for sore muscles. Letting the water caress her hand for a moment, Jinx sighed heavily. She moved back to the sink to retrieve her body wash and hair care products from the medicine cabinet as steam began to rise from within the glass. As she shut the door her reflection stared back at her, and for the first time she saw the blood coating the side of her head; it wasn't as bad as she'd thought, but it still made her want to vomit. Jinx wasn't fond of blood, she never had been.

She especially wasn't fond of it now; seeing the blood made her think of Starfire, and her eyes squeezed shut as the memory of Raven and Starfire standing together, smiling, resurfaced.

Maybe I should just give up… maybe she would be better off with someone else. Someone better. Better for her, at least, because there's no way Raven is 'better' than me… or is she? It looks like at least she's honest about her feelings, unlike me.

Her hands curled into fists and she felt her shoulders clench; before she could get any more miserable she practically ripped off her underwear and hurried into the shower.

The hot water felt like a dream. If her head hadn't been filled to the brim with doubts, anger and misery she probably would have been purring, relishing the feel of the steady stream of water massaging her sore muscles. But instead she could simply appreciate the warmth surrounding her, the steam hiding her away from the rest of the world.

She remained still under the water for a few moments before starting to wipe away the sweat, grit, and blood. The smell of her favorite vanilla body wash brightened her mood by the moment as the feeling of being clean began to increase. Dirt and blood ran down her body, falling down onto the floor and washing away down the drain, leaving pale limbs and a toned stomach fresh and rejuvenated. Pink hair lay flat against the sorceress' face, shoulders, and neck, water weaving in and out to wash away evidence of injury. Shampoo made sure every strand was free of blood, and conditioner made it as smooth as silk. When she was clean, she was content to simply rest under the falling water.

Ironically, the water thundering in her ears as all pain fled her body had managed to chase away the turmoil in her head and heart.

When she finally turned the water off there was a calm, relaxed look to her face, though she wasn't quite smiling. Wrapping the fluffy black towel around herself, Jinx ran a hand through her hair and breathed a sigh of relief when her digits came away clean.

Leaving the door to the bathroom open to let the steam loose, Jinx went to the walk-in closet to find some pajamas. Settling on a soft pair of black sweatpants, the kind with the elastic at the ankles, and a plain white tank top, Jinx wrapped the towel around her shoulders to let her hair air-dry.

She wasn't quite ready to go to sleep; there were still things she had to think about. So she headed to the hidden elevator and called it down by placing her hand against a nondescript black panel that was set in the wall. It scanned her prints, and the sound of metals against metal came steadily closer as the elevator descended. A classic 'ding' announced its arrival, and Jinx stepped in. She held her thoughts at bay by closing her eyes and focusing on the elevator music: something that sounded very 30s and though Jinx couldn't understand a word of what the vocalist (a female) was singing, she enjoyed it.

When she arrived at the roof, she walked over to the railing and looked out over the city. Leaning against it, the questions came. Should she give up on Starfire? Was there no point in trying? Had she ruined any chance she had with the beautiful titan? Should she leave her to Raven? Would Raven make Starfire happy? Happier than Jinx could ever make her? Admittedly, she'd hate to lose anything to the irritating telepath… but if she made Starfire happy, then Jinx had no right to interfere.

Every question convinced her that giving up would be the best option, maybe even the only one. Somehow though, despite all the logic, the thought of letting Starfire go just made the sorceress incredibly sad. Not angry, not jealous, just sad.

She rested her head on one hand, the other resting on the rail. She turned her gaze from the city lights to the starry sky above, her eyes searching the stars for an answer.

What she found was even better.

Pink, cat-like eyes widened in shock as they found Starfire herself soaring among the stars, her figure lit up by both the neon of the city and the light of the moon. The beautiful creature was smiling, eyes alight with joy and pride, Jinx could see it from here.

All thoughts of giving up were burned away and replaced by a bigger, fiercer desire to make Starfire hers… to see that joy, that bright, beautiful smile, directed at her. Screw the titans; she wanted to be the one Starfire was flying home to. She wanted to run her fingers through that beautiful red hair, feel the warmth of the other girl's body pressed against her.

The need was all-consuming; no matter what Starfire had been thinking earlier today, Jinx knew she had to get her feelings across. No matter what the cost. Hell, she would've run to Titan Tower right now and scaled the walls… you know, if she hadn't been bra-less.

Instead she simply smiled: smiled like a love-struck fool. Because after all, that's what she was.

Not a very exciting chapter, I know. Other than that? Not much to say...

Review after reading ;)