Unexpected: VIII
Starfire was still grinning by the time she'd made it back to the tower. Judging by the moon it was almost ten; the night was still young. She hoped her friends hadn't started the celebration party without her, but she hadn't been gone that long so she wasn't worried. She hummed to herself as she placed her hand against the scanner that served as the front door's main lock. With a beep and a click, the door unlocked and rolled open. The young alien stepped through and set off for the main hall, her head filled with curious yet pleasant thoughts.
She is a curious girl. Jinx returned the belt, but nothing else. Why? And that message… she offered apology. I do not think this is another game, or a tease. She had no reason to send back what she'd stolen; she must have known she wouldn't be getting it back. Perhaps it is a symbol of her sincerity? And yet… how am I to trust her? She is a member of the Hive Five: a villain and a thief.
…but she is also just a girl no older than myself. A girl that may not have been as lucky as we were at finding a reason to fight for something greater than ourselves. Besides, I suppose no one is perfect. Even I find my moral code wavering from time to time… oh! That reminds me! I need to refill Beast Boy's cookie jar before he notices… maybe Raven would be willing to accompany me to the mall of shopping tomorrow.
Her thoughts helped pass the time; soon enough she was at the double doors that opened into the main hall. She could hear music playing already so she didn't waste time. Opening the doors and regarding the scene before her for a moment, she couldn't help but giggle.
Over in the kitchen there were two distinct stacks of pizza; one guarded by Cyborg, the other by Beast Boy. Robin stood between the two of them with an empty plate in his hand and he glanced nervously from side to side, not sure what he was supposed to do.
"Come on Robin, a growing boy needs his meat!"
"No way man, meat weighs you down! I should now, I've been a cow, a pig… even sheep are heavier than they look! What you need is a good slice of veggie heaven!"
"Are you a man or a hippie? Besides, just look at the pepperoni! You know you want it. It's calling your name!"
Robin finally gave in, sending a quick apology to Beast Boy before accepting two beautiful slices of pepperoni pizza from a triumphant Cyborg. Laughing at the dejected look on Beast Boy's face, Starfire flew over to the kitchen and grabbed a plate.
"Please, might I have a slice of this 'veggie heaven,' Friend Beast Boy?" The little green changeling's eyes lit up and he smiled at her reverently before hurrying to fulfill her request. "Sure, Star!"
Starfire smiled back, handing over her plate so he could get her a slice. A tap on her shoulder made her turn around, and her smile grew wider. Raven stood behind her, hood down and face pleasant, with a soda clutched in one hand.
I think this is the first time I've ever seen Raven drink anything but tea!
"What came in the mail for you?"
Starfire opened her mouth, excited to tell Raven all about her altercation with the angry little curator man, but then she realized that in doing so she'd have to tell her whole team how she'd come to have the belt in her possession. She wasn't really sure the mention of Jinx, or any of the Hive Five, would be welcome at their "We-Kicked-the-Hive-Five's-Butts-Today" party. She stuttered, trying to think of something to say, and Raven's curious gaze wasn't helping her think.
"It was, uh… it was a…" Starfire racked her brain, and suddenly words came tumbling out of her mouth. "I-it was, a… bottle of Arkhor? Uh, yes! Yes, it was a bottle of Tamaranean Arkhor!"
She gulped when Raven arched an indigo brow, hoping against hope that she wouldn't call the Tamaranean out on her nervousness.
"And… Arkhor is… what, exactly?"
"Oh! Ah, well Arkhor is a Tamaranean festival drink, made from the fermented juice of the Glizrute berry. It is quite tangy and delicious: a very, uh, mood-lifting drink."
Raven looked like she wanted to question the alien further, but a shadow came over the two girls and Raven's eyes left Starfire's, sliding up slowly to stare over her head. A chill went down Starfire's spine, and it took every ounce of willpower she possessed to not reach around and strike at whatever had come up behind her. Her head turned, inch by inch, and she found herself staring up at the very silent, very serious faces of Cyborg and Beast Boy.
Beast Boy was perched on Cyborg's shoulders, Starfire's veggie slices balanced on his head. His eyes had gone as wide as saucers, as had Cyborg's human eye. The robotic eye had of course remained the same size, but glowed down at her fiercely. The three of them, Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Starfire, remained silent for a few moments, staring at each other. Even the music seemed to have decreased in volume, out of respect for the silent stare-off.
Beast Boy broke the silence. "Uh, Star? Did you say… fermented?"
Cyborg followed, "As in… alcohol?"
Robin could obviously see where this was going (though Starfire could not) and tried to get a word in, "Wait a minute guys, maybe we should-"
But he was interrupted, and this time Beast Boy grinned when he spoke. "As in happy-party-fun-time?"
Starfire thought for a moment. She tried to recall what alcohol was; she remembered watching a documentary about it when she'd first come to earth. It was something Cyborg had required each member of the team to watch… apparently he'd made Beast Boy watch it twice. She didn't remember much of it; a lot of it was technical, scientific talk that Starfire didn't understand. The only science she really knew had to do with space travel. She did remember video footage of a "house party," and there had been a lot of shouting, stumbling, and laughing.
Thinking about it, she guessed that Arkhor could be considered alcohol; it certainly made people act the same way. Though it didn't make people vomit like alcohol did, if she was remembering the documentary correctly.
"I believe so, I suppose it has the same effects-"
"Dude! Go get it!"
The eager grins on her friend's faces made her smile, even though she wasn't sure why they were so happy. The consumption of Arkhor on her planet was by no means "a big deal," so she was surprised they were so excited. The nervous grin on Robin's face further confused her as she headed to the door. By the time she heard Raven say "This is not going to end well," Starfire was completely befuddled.
She waited for the doors to close before she let loose a great sigh of relief. Thank Schlurg she actually had a bottle of Arkhor stashed away in her room, saved from her last trip to Tamaran. If she'd had to explain what she'd really gotten in the mail, she surely would have ruined everyone's good mood and put herself in an awkward situation. She didn't think that Jinx was trying to trick her again, but her friends probably would have assumed the worst and tried to "protect" her from Jinx's "little game".
And Starfire didn't want that.
She was curious about the other girl; she wanted to get a chance to really talk with her, maybe find out what she was up to. She doubted that this simple apology would be the end of it… whatever "it" was.
When she made it to her room she headed straight to her closet; that was where she kept all of her gifts and souvenirs from home. The Arkhor was kept in a long, thin glass bottle that was about two feet from cork to base. Both the glass and liquid inside were a deep amethyst color; the bottle was not labeled or adorned in any way but the glass was blown in such a way that the Arkhor curled as it was poured. This helped to keep the flavor fresh and even.
Starfire couldn't help but sigh as she retrieved the bottle; it was her last one. Still, she was curious to see how her teammates would act under its influence, especially Raven. Arkhor tended to release inhibitions and make people more free with their emotions and affections.
When she arrived back at the main hall the music was louder than before and she heard Cyborg and Beast Boy singing along, though the lyrics were so garbled by the bass she couldn't for the life of her understand what they were saying. The moment the doors opened they called her name and she was assaulted with empty Solo cups; she poured three drinks, then looked around for Raven. She found her leaning against the counter, next to a plate with two slices of veggie pizza. Raven waved her over and Starfire floated over gleefully, happy that her pizza had not been lost in all the madness.
She moved to fill Raven's cup, but the telepath held it just out of reach, a nervous light in her eyes and the faintest of blushes staining her cheeks. "Raven, what is wrong?"
"I-I probably shouldn't… you of all people should now my emotions are-"
Starfire held out a hand to stop her. She knew what Raven was worried about; even though Trigon was no more Raven's powers were still a little unstable. The occasional light bulb still blew out, and doors still sometimes flew open with a burst of black energy, so Raven's concern may have been reasonable. However, Starfire knew that these things only happened when Raven was upset or anxious, and Arkhor was a drink that brought only joy.
"Please, you have helped me with my inhibitions; let me help you with yours."
Raven looked like she might refuse for a moment more, but a grin grew on Starfire's face as she saw the other girl's eyes soften and her resolve crumble. The cup descended and Starfire poured a steady stream of the purple liquid into it, filling it up only about a third of the way. No need to scare Raven away with a full cup.
The telepath took a tentative sip, and when her eyes lit up in surprise at the taste and another sip quickly followed the first, Starfire turned to her pizza. She'd eaten halfway through the first slice before she had to turn to refill the boys' cups. The happy light in Beast Boy's eyes had made her laugh. She didn't pour herself any until after she'd finished the second piece.
Relishing the taste of the sweet beverage, she observed her friends with a knowing smile growing on her face. She'd had a sneaking suspicion her teammates would be a tad more susceptible to the effects of the Arkhor than the typical Tamaranean; they hadn't even finished their second glasses yet Beast Boy and Robin were spinning in a circle, arms locked, and Cyborg looked to be captaining some kind of imaginary ship. As she giggled a sudden weight descended upon her shoulder. Turning, she found that Raven's face was in very close proximity to her own, and the expression on her face was so gravely serious Starfire had to clap a hand over her mouth to contain her laughter.
"Starfire. How much stuff is in this stuff? I've only had, like… this much," the telepath held out her thumb and forefinger to indicate a small amount, "…and my head's all fuzzy. And so is yours… now that I'm looking at it. I thought your hair was straight!"
"My hair is straight, Raven! It's just that compared to Tamaraneans, you and our friends are, how do you say… the lightweights? Come, let us join our friends!"
Propping the dizzy titan up with one arm, Starfire guided them over to the couch, where the boys looked to be playing Duck Duck Goose. When Cyborg saw them he smiled and shouted, "Aw, Raven's drunk! How nice, isn't that nice? Hey, you girls wanna play Duck Duck Goose? If we were all Beast Boy we could play for real, but only Beast Boy is Beast Boy, so we all can't turn into ducks. It's so unfair!"
The rest of the night passed by in a blur, especially after the boys dared Starfire to chug what was left of the Arkhor, considering she wasn't feeling the effects as nearly as much as they were. She remembered laughing, shouting, dancing, the chicken fights (Robin on her shoulders and Beast Boy on Cyborg's), and she remembered Raven smiling all night long.
And now, she stroked the other girl's hair as she lay asleep in her lap whilst the boys watched, transfixed.
"Dudes, I've never actually seen Raven sleep before…"
"I know... I kinda thought she just... meditated at night." Robin paused for a moment, swaying slightly as his mask narrowed in confusion. "It is called, meditating, right?"
Starfire giggled for what felt like the millionth time that night, and the boys did the same. It should have been odd, hearing boys giggle, but seeing as how they were all quite gone it was just funny. Who could have known that a little white lie could have lead to such a rich, rewarding night? And from what Cyborg had managed to tell her between bouts with an imaginary dragon, Arkhor was a much easier drink to suffer through than any kind of alcohol; she'd shivered when he'd told her what a hangover was.
She heard Raven mumble something in her sleep and looked down at her with a fond smile.
"Say again, Raven?"
Raven nuzzled against her leg, smiling in her sleep. Her cheeks were still pink, and she looked so much smaller and fragile than she usually appeared.
"Starfire…"
Starfire blinked? Had she heard that right?
Heat rose in her cheeks. Raven was dreaming about her. Or Starfire was in the dream, at least. Yes, that was probably it; Raven was probably dreaming about the fun they'd had that night… there was no way she'd be dreaming about Starfire. No way at all.
…her blush didn't keep her from falling asleep less than five minutes later, lulled by a symphony of snores from her teammates.
Cyborg was the first to wake up the next morning, and he was shocked to find his head as clear as a summer sky.
Guess Star was right about that stuff bein' special… speakin' of which where is Starfire?
It didn't take him long to find her, and he couldn't help but smile when he did.
Raven hadn't moved far from Starfire's lap, she'd simply traded up for the Tamaranean's smooth stomach. Raven's arms were wrapped around her, and Starfire in turn had one hand resting on Raven's hair. The other was spread out comically across the floor, and the alien was snoring lightly.
Now isn't that cute? Well, better wake Rae up before Starfire does. Don't want the tower exploding.
Taking care as he stepped over Robin and a green monkey, Cyborg reached out and shook Raven's shoulder lightly. Silently hoping she wouldn't want to kill him for disturbing her sleep (there was no doubt she was very comfortable where she was), he let out a sigh of relief when her eyes blinked open slowly, her arms tightening reflexively around Starfire's waist.
"Rae," he whispered, "you'd better wake up. Wouldn't want Star to be the first one up, now would you?"
Raven moaned, still half-asleep, but when his words sunk in she snapped into consciousness. He wanted to laugh, but he knew she'd send him through a wall if he did. Instead, he simply grinned as Raven's face went beet red and she tried to untangle herself without waking her sleepover buddy up. Luckily, Starfire was a heavy sleeper and Raven was able to extract herself without waking her.
Cyborg opened his mouth to comment but Raven cut him off, "Don't you say a word," as she pulled up her hood. He shrugged and headed into the kitchen to start breakfast. With Beast Boy still asleep, he'd be able to cook his eggs and bacon in peace.
Unfortunately though, the world had other plans.
Just as he went to turn on the stove, the alarm sounded.
"Ah man…"
No Jinx in this chapter, but I make up for it in the next one ;)