Unexpected: IX
Jinx was tapping her foot, a nervous habit born out of impatience. Her eyes scanned the sky for a moment longer before she turned her head to survey the heist going on behind her. The bank wouldn't have opened for at least another two hours, so no tellers had shown up and the building was still dark. While the boys were busy tearing the vault apart, Jinx was keeping watch for the titans, who would surely be showing up any minute.
She'd volunteered for the job, of course.
She needed to talk to Starfire, and the only way she was going be able to do that would be to get the titan alone for a few moments. But how? Jinx would need to take her by surprise; it wasn't like she could just grab Starfire and force her into a corner, let alone keep her there long enough to get her point across. In a building half-hidden in shadow, this wouldn't be too hard… but she was nervous.
Starfire obviously hadn't forgiven her; she must have thought the apology gift was another kind of trick and gotten even angrier. While Jinx was upset, she supposed she could understand. After all, she wasn't exactly known for any kind of forgiving or compassionate nature, herself.
But if she could just talk to Starfire, she was sure she could straighten everything out.
"Come on, ya kludge-heads! We gotta get outta here before the titans show up!"
Jinx snorted in a most unlady-like fashion before turning her gaze back to the sky.
The titans better show up soon…
Robbing the bank had been her idea; it stood to reason that if the Hive Five got up to trouble, the titans would come to the rescue. And Jinx would get to see Starfire. So far though, the titans were nowhere to be found, and Jinx was getting nervous.
Last night, after she'd resolved to make Starfire hers, Jinx couldn't hope to fall asleep so she'd stayed up, planning out what she would say to make Starfire understand. A large pile of crumpled up papers lying in her wastebasket back home marked her attempt to get her thoughts down on paper… her failed attempt. Even now, Jinx wasn't really sure what she was going to say, and her restlessness wasn't helping any.
Every time she tried to plan out a speech or figure out how to make her point without looking like an idiot, her thoughts just kept coming back to, 'Where the hell is she?' This whole heist would be a waste if the titans didn't show, and then she'd have to plan another. And it would have to be soon; she wasn't sure she could take another sleepless night without biting someone's head off.
But hey, if I have to take someone's head… might as well be Gizmo's. The boy talks way too much for his own good.
Even now he was shouting about something. Her ears perked but her gaze didn't waver as she continued to search the skyline.
"Dude! What're we gonna do if the titans show up? I am not getting shot out of the sky again, no way! Well… not this soon after, at least! I mean, we just got our butts handed to us yesterday! Why are we trying this so early anyway? Whose bright idea was this?"
"Uh… Jinx's?"
She saw five heads turn to search for her, but she was no longer at the door. Now she was hiding, poised behind one of the columns that supported the bank's ceiling (there were two lines of them, one on either side of the carpeted walkway that split: one way leading to the tellers, the other to the vault itself) and hidden in shadow. Why was she hiding? And with an excited little grin on her face, at that?
The titans were here, and Gizmo was the first to realize. She saw the boy's face go pale as he raised a hand and pointed an accusing finger at the entry way. "Crud! The titans are here!"
She was sure that the little tech genius would've called out to her, demanding she show herself and explain why the lookout deemed it fit to go missing just as the titans showed up, but Cyborg cut him off.
"Man, why y'all gotta do this so early in the morning? What's wrong with you? We just beat your butts less than 24 hours ago! You can't honestly tell me you're ready for another serving?"
Now, Gizmo and Cyborg couldn't stand each other. This was common knowledge. Cyborg because no one hacked the big man's systems and got away with it; Gizmo because Cyborg was constantly tearing his tech apart and he was constantly having to rebuild it. If anyone but Cyborg had been the first to speak Gizmo probably would have retreated, but he was always raring to screw with Cyborg's systems.
"Oh yeah, Tin Can? I seem to remember you running around in circles like an idiot not two days ago! Besides, if I'm keeping score right, it's our turn to do the beating!"
Jinx rolled her eyes as the fighting began. Gizmo's backpack erupted into four robotic spider legs and he immediately went after Cyborg. Billy Numerous did his thing and filled the bank with carbon copies of himself. She saw Seemore sigh before he switched his eye to its laser mode, taking aim as Kyd Wykkyd remained silent beside him. Mammoth, of course, charged forward without a clear plan.
The titans responded in kind; Robin, Cyborg and Beast Boy charged forward, each letting loose a battle cry. Raven shielded them from Seemore's laser as they ran, and when the two sides hit it was like bedlam.
But Jinx wasn't paying attention to the bedlam; she only had eyes for Starfire. She was flying just behind the boys, watching over them as they charged, hands glowing. Seeing her both excited and terrified Jinx, and the question 'How am I going to do this?' repeated itself over and over in her head.
HowamIgoingtodothis HowamIgoingtodothis HowintheHELLamIgoingtodothis
Starbolts met lasers blow for blow; not a single blast of energy from either Seemore or Starfire went unmet. And when Seemore was encased in black and thrown across the room Starfire didn't waste any time; she traded Starbolts for fists and she went after Mammoth, fighting with him as easily as Cyborg or Beast Boy could have. Well, if Beast Boy was a gorilla or a bear, or something.
Jinx remained hidden in the shadows; thankfully her absence had been temporarily forgotten by her teammates and gone unnoticed by the titans. Some part of her was miffed that no one had realized she was missing (who could forget her presence?) but the rational part of her mind was thankful for it.
Starfire and Mammoth were grappling now, hands locked together and feet planted firmly on the ground as they each tried to push the other back. In a rare moment of intelligence Mammoth suddenly switched tactics, lifting the titan up off the ground, spinning around and hurling her across the room.
Jinx's heart almost stopped. Starfire was heading straight for her, and Jinx sent up a silent 'Thank You' to the heavens for they had presented her with a perfect opportunity. Crouching like a jungle cat on the prowl, Jinx waited for her moment to strike.
The momentum behind Mammoth's throw carried Starfire past the line of columns and would have sent her crashing into the wall had she not twisted in midair and caught herself. With her feet planted on the wall, Starfire for a moment resembled an Olympic swimmer at the starting block, ready to spring forward and take the gold.
Jinx saw every muscle in the other girl's body tense and felt her own do the same, a sly smile stretching across her face.
Starfire kicked off from the wall with a cry, eyes alight, and at the same moment Jinx leapt up from her spot on the floor, arms outstretched. Praying she'd timed it right, Jinx wanted to squeal in delight when she felt her body hit Starfire's and the power behind both lunges sent them reeling back into the shadows and away from the fight. Surprised, Starfire was unable to stop them and soon enough they were tumbling across the floor together.
When they finally stopped, Jinx found herself in a most pleasant position. Starfire was underneath her, back against the floor. Jinx was on top, hands on either side of the other girl's head, holding her up. Bright green eyes stared up at her in surprise, and the proximity of their faces had heat rushing from every part of Jinx's body and collecting in her cheeks.
"U-uh, hi? I mean," Jinx cleared her throat and smiled nervously. All of a sudden her confidence was gone, and she was almost thankful she'd never managed to come up with a speech, because she surely would have forgotten it. Instead words just came tumbling out of her mouth, "I wanted to, uh, talk to you about the belt because, well, I figured you were still mad and maybe you thought it was a trick or something and I can understand why you might but…"
Starfire continued to gaze up at her, curiously now… but her gaze held no malice or anger so Jinx continued on, though she had no idea what she was saying.
"So I figured today I'd try and, ah… get you… alone… so I could talk to you and maybe straighten this out and tell you I really am sorry and I really wanted you to get that because I don't want you to hate me, that's why I sent the belt back and…"
She was acting like an idiot. She was disgusted with herself, really; she was never this nervous. She was Jinx, for crying out loud! Tease, villain, bad luck incarnate! She wasn't supposed to ramble! She sighed heavily and shook her head, ashamed.
"And you must think I'm an idiot. I'm sorry; I'm never like this… I never get nervous! It's just that, well, I really wanted to make sure you knew that I was sorry and I mean it and I was kinda sorta hoping you might forgive me, though I guess I could understand if you didn't…"
Idiot! We want her to like us, what the hell are you doing telling her it's okay not to forgive you?
Jinx remained still for a moment, eyes closed, waiting to get blasted off, or to get laughed at… but nothing came. When she cracked one eye open, she saw that Starfire had closed her eyes, her face expressionless.
Crap… I'm gonna get starbolt'd again, I just know it!
But no Starbolt came. Instead, Jinx's eyes opened wide in surprise as a slow smile spread across the other girl's face. Two thoughts entered her head, one right after the other.
The first was: Uh…
The second was: She's beautiful…
A sound somewhere between a squeak and a gasp escaped her when warm hands came upon her waist and stayed there; her blush intensified as Starfire's eyes opened and stared into hers, shining brightly, warmly even.
Jinx could hear her heartbeat pounding in her ears; she could practically feel her body pounding along with it. She was worried Starfire could hear it too, but then again any dignity she had left had probably been destroyed with that little squeak she'd just made.
And then Starfire was rising, her hands keeping Jinx in place as she righted the both of them. When they were both back on their feet Starfire (unfortunately) let go of her waist, too soon in Jinx's opinion, but didn't step away, which was a good sign.
"You do not need to worry about forgiveness, Jinx. You already have it, so tell your heart to cease its thundering." Jinx wanted to die, right then and there, but Starfire's giggle made her smile.
"Well that's good news. I thought for sure you hated my guts after, well… after yesterday."
Now it was Starfire's turn to blush, and as Jinx thought that there was nothing more beautiful in all the world, the titan scratched at the back of her head, embarrassed.
"I believe I must apologize for that. You see, I had not yet then received your gift, so I was still quite… how do you say… miffed? It was not until I returned home that I found the belt, and your note." She paused, clutched her hands together, and bowed. "I am sorry for treating you so poorly, Jinx. I do hope you'll forgive me, so that we might be 'even' as they say."
Jinx looked down at Starfire, thoroughly shocked. This was going better than she could have hoped for! Not only had Starfire forgiven her, but she herself was asking for forgiveness. Plus, Jinx had gotten to learn first-hand how warm the titan's hands were… they were quite nice. For such a strong creature, Starfire had quite the gentle touch.
Jinx's eyes slid shut as she crossed her arms; she shook her head and chuckled at the irony of the situation.
"Why couldn't my apology have been as eloquent?"
Starfire looked up at her, curious. "So… I am forgiven?"
"Of course you are! I think we could agree I deserved it. Besides, I'm fine now, aren't I? I did just tackle you in midair, you know. But I'll be honest, I didn't expect you to apologize, I-"
"But I wanted us to be the even!"
Jinx blinked, and then laughed. "Well we are, so don't worry about it. So… you liked the belt?"
Starfire nodded vigorously, smiling as she did so. "I did! It was a beautiful thing, truly."
Jinx smiled, but she was confused. Her eyes flicked down to the titan's waist (she tried to keep herself from staring but failed… then again she didn't really try too hard) and her smile faltered slightly.
"So… where is it?"
Starfire cocked her head, confused. "I returned it to the museum, of course."
"You returned it to the…" Jinx groaned and her shoulders sagged. Damn this girl's good nature. The belt was a gift; Starfire hadn't been supposed to return it, she was supposed to wear it. Sure, the belt had looked fabulous on Jinx, but silver was a part of Starfire's everyday hero outfit; it would've looked equally as fabulous on her. Yes, it was meant as a sincere apology, but could you blame a girl for wanting to see her crush in something sexy? "Starfire, you weren't supposed to give it back to the museum! It was a gift!"
"I am not in the habit of accepting stolen goods as 'gifts,' Jinx."
Jinx paused, heart rate increasing again. What she said here was critical, she could just feel it.
"Well… maybe you'd let me buy you a real apology gift then? Like, say, dinner?"
The few seconds that passed before Starfire answered felt like years. Regarding Jinx curiously, Starfire's face remained unreadable for a moment, before bursting into a happy little grin. Jinx felt her heart soar, and now it seemed that the heat in her cheeks had eased into a warmth that settled over her entire body. "I would be delighted."
Yes!
"Meet me at the south side of the park, say around eight?"
Starfire held out a hand, still smiling, and Jinx grasped it with equal joy. She reveled in the softness of the other girl's skin, and the light in her eyes. No matter how big a fool she'd made of herself today, she was leaving this fight a winner. A very lucky winner.
"I look forward to it."
Starfire's grip tightened, but when one emerald eye closed in a wink Jinx was not worried. They had to keep up appearances, after all.
So when Starfire lifted her off the ground, eyes alight, and flung her back into the fray, Jinx could only grin.
I have a date tonight! Oh crap… what am I gonna wear?
I wanted to update as soon as possible, since the last chapter didn't have much action, and no Jinx. So this time I give you a chapter written completely from Jinx's perspective, and hey! Jinx finally asked her out! All I have to say is: took her long enough!
Reviewing is a wonderful thing.