However, sleep was not so easily gained for some people, forcing them to seek out alternatives to rest.
Raven's Experiments, Part 2
WRITTEN BY: Jamie Jeans
Started: 2004/12/014
Finished: Dunno... forgot! But it was sometime in December of 2004.
Edited: In the far distant future of early January, 2005!
e-mail: characters do not belong to me but to the fine folks at DC, I am
merely borrowing them for the moment.
Raven tossed and turned in her bed for about the fiftieth time that night, mindful of the bumps and aches she was feeling, and sighed. Staring up at the same ceiling wasn't doing much for her, nor was laying in bed.
Perhaps a cup of herbal tea would do the trick...
However, upon reaching the kitchen, Raven found that she was not the only one to be there.
"Starfire?"
"Oh, I hope I did not wake you up, Raven," said the Tamaranian, pulling out a bottle of mustard from the fridge. She promptly stuck a straw in it and began drinking it.
Raven watched for a few seconds, once more silently surprised at her friend's unusual tastes, before making her herbal tea. Without talking, the two took a seat on the couch, sipping their respected drinks and otherwise doing nothing more until Starfire spoke.
"You could not sleep as well?"
"Hardly." Raven closed her eyes, concentrating on the smell of her tea, carmeal it was. "Tonight's battle was especially... taxing..."
"I agree," said Starfire. "After it, I felt like the underside of a Ginourmous Giganasour from Tallon 8... or rather, felt like having been stepped on by one."
Raven glanced over at her. She hadn't expected Starfire to feel sore at all, considering she was about as invulnerable as Cyborg, perhaps even more so. But watching the Tamaranian rub one shoulder idly, Raven couldn't help but spare more than a few concerned thoughts for her.
"We're all overtired, Starfire," she said. Setting her tea down and assuming her cross legged sitting position, she floated out and away from the couch. "We need to relax if we're going to get to sleep." She gave her friend a glance. "Meditate with me?"
Starfire smiled and gladly joined her friend, hovering in front of her. The two placed their hands against one another and spoke quietly,
"Azarath, Metrion, Zintho-ouch!"
Raven opened her eyes, and saw Starfire rubbing her shoulder. "Are you alright?"
"Still sore, it appears." Starfire blushed. "Could we maybe do this without the holding of hands together?"
"Actually..." Raven licked her lips, feeling just a tad nervous about what she was going to do. It hadn't been done before, but in the time spent with Starfire, in the time spent with her friends, she had felt herself become more comfortable in expressing herself, especially emotionally.
And now, with the tired and sore looking Starfire hovering in front of her, rubbing her shoulder, she felt something else well up within her, something new and warm. Starfire looked at her, curious as to what she would say next, but Raven just could not find the words to express what she wanted to do. There was desire in this, yes... but...
Raven took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She moved forward, still hovering, and slipped in behind Starfire, wrapping her arms about the alien princess' waist and pulling her towards the couch, all the while trying to ignore just how much she felt her cheeks burning. Starfire, thankfully, said nothing but merely moved with her, until finally they were on the couch.
Rested up against her, Starfire tilted her head up at the blushing Raven, whom draped her cloak over the both of them, keeping them protected from the slight chill of the room. "Raven?"
"I... I want to do this." But it seemed more as though she were talking with herself then with Starfire. "It's... alright to do this... right?"
Starfire smiled up at her and nodded. "Of course, Raven. Although it is rare for you to give hugs, on my home planet, even warriors were known to comfort each other after taxing battles."
Raven almost melted with relief, and, not for the first time, wondered if she would even have thought of this had the Puppet King not tried what he did. Would she have still been so protective of her heart or would she have done what she was doing now, merely after a longer period of time?
Regardless, Raven now found herself settling into the warm body of her taller friend, and finding that she really didn't mind the minor aches that came from snuggling Starfire. She smiled a small smile, and sighed softly as Starfire closed her eyes.
This need to comfort was yet another new experience she had to thank her for, and Raven, whenever she encountered such a thing, found herself at a loss for words. It was as though the entire situation, as soon as she had decided to work towards exploring her feelings further, was pushing her at a steady rate to feel, rather than talk or think.
Like right now, for example. Holding Starfire in her arms with her cloak wrapped about them, Raven could feel a warmth that was something more than the body could produce, and although several words came forth to explain, there were none she could use aloud.
Starfire snuggled in a little, moving up just so to rub her hair against Raven's chin, and Raven found that it was very nice indeed to rest her chin on her friend's head. It was almost frustrating being unable to express herself so, but it was almost a happy, joyful kind. It didn't make her want to sprout wings and flutter off glistening sunshine, but it was damned nice nonetheless.
Finally though, Raven felt that she must say something, at least.
"Starfire, I want to say... thank you, for everything. Everyone in this team has been... wonderful, to say the least, to the point where, I'm not sure if I can thank them all for all they've done. And... most especially, you. You've stuck it out with me the most and weren't afraid to tell me what I was doing, hiding my emotions. And... it's because of you that I want to stop hiding them. No one else has ever made me feel this way."
"Zzz..."
"Starfire...?"
"Zzzz..."
"Wonderful."
Authour's Notes: This part started out as a little bit, similar to a piece I wrote for Racewing based on Totally Spies! back when I was in Japan, and then it became the second part of this series. This has been a really good challenge, I think, in terms of writing a character whom so closely guards their feelings, and also works as a good exercise towards refining the writing for my original characters.
Although, to be serious, I don't think I would have gotten this far were it not for the confidence and encouragement my friends have given me.