Pitch and Pink

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Normally, I'm all about plot and action, and drama/romance later. Then I wrote a Teen Titans fic. This is a character driven story I guess... It is also a Yuri fic, which means that a couple-like relationship will develop between two females. Don't like? Then don't waste your time reading it. Flames get you-know-where fast with me. Criticism is welcome! Don't hold back.

(A.N.) I've added little notes about where and when the scenes start. Since this is character driven, it sort of just jumps about and I thought this might make things easier.
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Chapter Five

Hours later from last scene.

"And now ladies, animals, and gentlemen! The moment you've all been waiting for! The thrill of the week: the Titan's Raffle!" Cyborg bellowed like a sports event announcer. He gestured to the center of the living room with both hands. There, a top hat rested on the coffee table. "Oh yeah! Shall we start?"

"Sometime before we die of old age would be nice," Raven said. Cyborg frowned at her comment, but then brushed it off.

"Ok. Who wants to go first?" Cyborg asked the group. Starfire shot forward to oblige.

"Ok, little lady. Take your pick," Cyborg instructed. Starfire stuck her hand in the hat and felt around for a couple seconds. She pulled out a card and handed it to Cyborg.

"Dishes and living room," Cyborg read the card. Starfire cheered. Beast Boy and Robin applauded for no particular reason at all. Chore assignment wasn't really a pleasant event so the super powered teenagers thought they might as well spice it up with a raffle.

"Next?" Cyborg asked. He had a scary grin as if there was snake in the hat that only he knew about.

"I'm going," Jinx said, looking determined, "I don't want to be last."

She moved over to the hat and swished the cards around for several long minutes. Growing impatient, Beast Boy demanded she hurry up. Grinning, she pulled out a card and handed it to Cyborg.

"Hmm...Oh this...this looks bad. No. This won't do at all," Cyborg said grimly.

"What is it?" Jinx sniffed carelessly, knowing he was teasing her.

"Laundry duty!" he hollered, smiling like a fool.

"It can't be!" Jinx puffed, snatching the card from him and looking it over. Sure enough, 'laundry' was writen on it. She became nearly as a pale in the face as Raven.

"This is the second week in a row! You guys can't make me do it again. I'm scared of the dryer! It took sumo lessons from Cyborg."

"Hey now-" Cyborg began to interject.

"It did! Whenever I put clothes in it, it starts walking! One foot at a time and aggressively!" Jinx said setting her feet far apart, squatting and imitating a Japanese athlete at least ten times her weight. Beast Boy and Cyborg went into a pleat.

"This thing must be rigged," Jinx said, gaining a suspicious look and training it on the half machine and the animal boy.

"Or jinxed," Raven commented dryly.

"I swear! I only wish I would have thought of doing something like that!" Beast Boy cried between fits of laughter.

"It's wrong!" Jinx protested.

"You doubt the hat?" Cyborg asked, grabbing the hat, "The hat is never wrong! It knows the future of us all! OWhahahahahu-ha!" Jinx tried to snatch it from him but he thwarted her by simply raising it above his head.

"Ok. Put it back into the hat and draw another card," Robin finally said.

"Thanks boss!" Jinx beamed at Robin.

When it was all over, it was revealed that for the next seven days Starfire would do the dishes and clean the living room, Beast Boy would be in charge of security, Raven would do the shopping, Cyborg would do the laundry, Jinx would maintain the training courses and halls, and Robin would clean the bathrooms and everything else.

This was the same day in which Raven declared a truce between her self and Jinx. Jinx awaited the tidal wave of changes but none came. The only noticeable difference was that Raven wasn't staring at her as much. In fact she seemed to be paying less attention to her now. But it was only one day and a half-complete one at that. Jinx retired to her room and hoped for something more from tomorrow.

Next morning.

Jinx paced in the living room behind the black half-a-circle shaped couch exactly two hours and fourteen minutes after breakfast. Raven hadn't shown up.

"What's she doing?" Jinx asked aloud.

"She does this all the time," Cyborg responded. He only gave her qualm half his attention; the other half was invested in the game he was playing with Beast Boy, which was probably easy for a half-robot, Jinx imagined. He had a point, however. There had been plenty of mornings in which Raven did not show up for breakfast. In fact, there were days that went by in which no one would see her.

"I'm going to go see what she's doing."

"Your funeral," Beast Boy called after her.

Jinx turned the corner and proceeded to Raven's room. Her insides felt hollow as she thought about the upcoming encounter. What would be her reason for disturbing the peace of the dark beauty?

'Well, what's the truth?' Jinx asked herself. 'We made a truce and I haven't seen her since! Could it have been some kind of trick to see if I'd act out? Hmm, well... If it is, it'll be too easy to disappoint her. I doubt it is though.'

"Raven?" she called the girl after knocking. Her heart rate doubled as she waited for a response. The door slid to the left just enough to reveal half of Raven's hooded head.

"What?" Raven asked in tone more suitable for someone six times her real age.

"Um...I haven't seen you around lately," Jinx harped.

"Well, you see me now don't you?" Raven pointed out.

"That's funny," Jinx told her.

"Super," Raven said sarcastically.

"Well, you want to do something?" Jinx asked, heart rate thundering in her ears. Why did this damn girl have this effect on her?

"With you? Nothing personal, but I prefer to be alone," Raven told her.

"Oh, well that's ok."

"Right. Bye." Raven said, and then the door slid shut.

Jinx frowned at the door. It was quite a discouraging barrier.

'I won't give up that easily!' Jinx rallied her courage.

"Jinx!" Cyborg's voice rang all though out the tower, "It's your turn."

"Hmm ... might as well make it two for two," Jinx said, proceeding to the living area for the thrashing she was sure to receive at the hands of the guys. No mater how hard she tried she just couldn't beat either of them at even one round of Soul Caliber 2.

Next day. Afternoon.

Smithe Jarard Yager wiped his brow with a turkey sized, hairy forearm. His middle aged, black bearded face looked from right to left, scouting for customers. It was a warm day in Jump City National Park. This didn't bother Smithe. He sniffed and crossed his arms over an apron covered, barrel shaped midsection.

Not too much latter a pink haired youth happened upon his stand. She was dressed in a bizarre black outfit with purple and black striped socks.

"Kids these days," Smithe scoffed.

"Oh! Just what I need!" Jinx said, ogling the freezer before the man.

"And your money is all I need," Smithe said brashly. Jinx raised an brow at his comment. She may have never worked a real job in her life, but even she knew such manners could drive away customers. Shrugging this off, she reached in her pocket to gather some change. She was short.

"Hey buddy," Jinx said, gaining a coy smile. "How's about one on the house?"

"Now how many kids do you think ask me that within an hour?" he snapped, black eyes holding only the warmth of anger.

"But I'm a Teen Titan!"

"Like I haven't heard that one before."

"The other kids ever show you this?" Jinx asked, proudly displaying her Titan's badge and communicator. The man studied it intently and then Jinx's smug face.

"So you're that new girl who usually does more damage to the city then the actual enemy?" he asked her.

Jinx's bright features washed away. Dismay became her visage.

"Look girl," Smithe said, lightly chopping the table as if his following explanation was packaged meat, "This may look like just a couple sugary sweets—what's one under the table? Who will notice?—but this is my business and my life! Now pay or go away!"

"But I saved the world!" Jinx erupted. She couldn't believe the level of disrespect she was receiving.

"Yeah? From who?"

"Uh...Doctor Doom!" Jinx said quickly.

"Never heard of him. You just made him up," Smithe said, shaking his head.

"How the hell would you know?" Jinx growled, tempted to regress back into her old nature. The nerve of this civilian! So what if she was lying somewhat?

"I happen to watch the news. As long as my taxes pay for you to show boat with those other kids and live in an oversized, gaudy letter 'T' shaped building, I figure I should keep an eye on what I'm paying for. And if I'm not pleased, you can be sure that I'll be one of the first to let you know!"

"Harsh," Jinx said under her breathe.

"Well, we saved the world from..." Jinx tailed as her mind scrambled for a name. The 'entire world' had yet to be in danger on her watch. She had only gone up against random offenders and bank robbers with her teammates. She would not let this bad timing, however, stop her from getting free ice-cream. "Galactus!" A name came to her.

Smithe closed his eyes and shook his head.

"Thor? Captain Marvel? The Silver Surfer!" Jinx rambled, "Dude, just gimme some ice cream!"

"What's going on here?" Raven's voice came from somewhere behind her.

"Raven?" Jinx panicked, "Oh, we were just talking about the weather. Cyborg and the others are near the fountains right? Well, let's get going," She talked fast and moved away from the vender she had just been harassing as quickly as possible.

"She bother you?" Raven asked the man.

"We're alright," Smithe said easily, "Wanted free ice cream though."

"The pest," Raven said with a smirk.

'Damn! Why'd that guy have to be such a jerk?' Jinx wondered hunching down near a tree. The other Titan's could bee seen playing football in the distance. 'And what was he rambling on about? Made me feel like I was in an economics class or something.' If she weren't making payments to the city, hundreds of dollars a week, she wouldn't have had to go through all that. What little money she did have she always blew on necessities. Or at least what Jinx considered necessities. CDs, creepy key chains, amusing bumper stickers. The things a young ex-super criminal couldn't live without.

Jinx looked long and thoughtful into nothing. If she were still with the Hive she could have just kicked that guy and took all his ice cream! She sometimes wondered what she was doing on the other side.

"Will you take this before it melts?" an impatient voice broke her concentration. She was startled and looked to its source. It was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. It was a hoodless Raven and ice cream.

"Let that be a lesson to you. If you'd exercise better spending habits you wouldn't find your self weighing the worth of a civilians life and nasty cold food," Raven scolded her the way only Raven could. She handed Jinx the ice cream and walked away. Heading off to read under a tree no doubt. It was a wonder how Robin even got her to come out with them today.

'Oh...That's why I'm here..." Jinx said watching her go. 'I'm so whipped.'

Several days latter.

There are some people who don't need to speak every thought that comes to mind; some who can just exist among others and are accepted. Raven was the kind of person who was content to say what she strongly felt needed to be said and then nothing at all for hours at a time. Days even. Then there were people who just couldn't shut up.

"And I use to have a crush on him," Jinx said, gazing at the ceiling. She was lying on the couch in the largest room of the Titan's Tower. Raven sat next to her—not by choice!—trying to concentrate on her book.

"Aren't you going to ask me who?" Jinx asked, looking up at the book that hid Raven's face.

"No," came the barley audible response.

"The Joker!" Jinx answered, unhinged by Raven's rebuff. Raven actually shuddered

"Yeah? Don't tell Robin that."

'I liked his girlfriend too,' Jinx thought to herself dreading Raven's reaction to such a confession. "You're doing it again," Jinx pointed out.

"Doing what?" Raven asked with sigh.

"Talking to me," Jinx said wistfully.

Raven didn't want to admit it, but she was right. It was happening an awful lot too. Raven almost wished she wasn't growing stronger. She didn't need to meditate as much as she used too and it gave her way too much free time. Free time that almost always ended up being spent with the wild haired volatile loon beside her now.

"This is the part where you tell me about your first boyfriend..." Jinx sang.

"Not interested," Raven said with no noticeable change in her voice.

"I used to think," Jinx shied away from the previous subject just as quickly as she stumbled onto it, "'Look at me. I'll be going up against the Teen Titans someday! Led by Robin, half of the Jokers worst enemy. Pretty stupid, huh?'"

"Yep." Raven said, and then mentally kicked herself. She was talking again and about nothing too! Well, maybe not exactly nothing, but it wasn't very riveting either. She was already well aware that Jinx was once indecorous. Not that she still wasn't at times.

"Your friends are more supportive when I trash myself," Jinx faked a fret.

"Well, someone has to be realistic around here," Raven said, and then mentally hissed at the page. She had been reading this same paragraph for fifteen minutes.

'Ignore her. Ignore her. Ignore her.' Raven couched herself and found herself contemplating her mood. She wasn't actually too upset about the constant interruptions. 'Must be my powers. I have more control now,' she figured. She could now go almost two days without meditation. Not that she would actually try to. No point taking large scale risks. She could simply feel herself getting better.

"Wanna go to the mall?"

"No."

"Play some video games?"

"No."

"Chess?"

"No."

"Make Pizza?"

"No?"

"Say no to everything I say?"

Raven was silent for a moment and then said, "No."

"Well, then," Jinx became interested, turning over to sit on her heels, feet still on the couch, "That means you want to do something. I just have to figure out what."

"No," Raven said.

"What?" Jinx's lips parted in a disbelieving 'O.' Raven found herself smirking at the sight of her. She made sure Jinx didn't see this though, she didn't want to encourage her.

"I said I don't want to say 'no' to everything you say," Raven corrected her. "I will say 'yes' if you offer to stop bugging me. Disappear. Go bug Cyborg. Go-"

"Ok! I get it!" Jinx said covering her ears. The girl finally lifted her body from the couch. "But when I bug them I'm telling them you sent me."

"Fine with me," Raven said a grin developing for reasons she couldn't entirely place.

Jinx left, not to crest fallen. She had been bothering Raven for a long time now and needed a break, but of course she'd be back.

Raven put her book down and watched as the girl disappeared around a corner. She felt a strange kinship for the girl. Unexpected. She had been so dead set on killing her not too long ago. She was so sure she was a spy of some sort. But now it turned out she was just...silly. And actually kind of amusing. Raven rarely found people amusing. Foolish, stupid, immature and countless other things others things, yes, but rarely amusing. She never sought out Jinx's company, but always got it anyway and to her mild surprise it wasn't so bad.

Oddly, Raven felt she had more in common with the former criminal then her other friends. Jinx's sometimes perverse mannerisms often gave her insight and a humor that complemented Raven's own dark satire. Jinx was one of the few who ever countered Raven in a sarcastic verbal battle. Raven almost always got the final word of course and Jinx never took it personally. Their tastes in clothes were similar and while Raven had a short list of pleasures, Jinx's own extensive list had something similar to most of them if not the same. Both liked dark unique clothing and trinkets. Jinx favored horror flicks as much as Raven and though she probably wouldn't understand any of it, Raven knew she could appreciate dark poetry. Yes it seemed Raven had a friend. A close friend, but she wasn't fully giving into the relationship.

'Call me nostalgic, but I think I'll keep my distance,' the dark haired teen thought. The images of her and Jinx attending a café did enter her mind and seemed harmless enough. Maybe they could go stare at the stars or something. She could actually conjure up a lot more comments to Jinx's more serious thoughts but hadn't in previous conversations in an attempt to ward the girl off. But challenging these ideas was Raven's stubborn desire for things to stay as they were. She had grown use to being alone.

'I'm not a big fan of change,' Raven admitted to herself. She let the matter rest for now and picked up her book.
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