It was a cold and dark night in Jump City. The wind barreled across the cityscape as and raged against the coastline. The forecast had called for a sudden and severe storm and for once had proven to be accurate. Rain had started falling around sunset and had only intensified as the night went on. Lightning flashed across the sky and was immediately followed by the deafening boom of thunder.
Across the coastline nestled on an island stood the iconic Titan's Tower which was housing an additional guest this particular night. Jinx had returned to the city on a job and needed a place to take shelter from the storm raging outside. She had ran into Nightwing who had assisted in subduing and apprehending her targets for this contract.
She had volunteered herself to help take the criminals in for processing and the two had gotten to talking while waiting for paperwork to be finished. He was understandably apprehensive about her presence given their history, but wasn't an outright ass to which she was thankful for. She eventually admitted to returning for the sake of work and offhandedly mentioned not having plans to stick around.
Of course that was about the time the news alert came with a severe weather advisory. She had internally cursed herself for not booking a room in an advance, and began to excuse herself from the Bird Boy's company when he stopped her. It was a simple offer he presented, one night at the Tower for the help in taking down a small criminal group. She accepted the offer and the two were soon on the way to the tower.
He had set a few ground rules for her: she wasn't allowed to roam the tower unattended, she wasn't to use her powers unless under duress, and finally she was forbidden from going near or inquiring about their security protocols. All in all, at least in her opinion, a pretty fair and square deal given her past. The two approached the tower as the rain began to fall.
Dinner was an interesting experience for her; not as awkward as she expected. She had sat back and listened to Cyborg and Changling debate over video games and the merits of meat versus tofu. Starfire was as bubbly as ever and had given her the most attention; she had all but bombarded her with questions about what she had been up to. The girl wasn't interrogating her, but rather seemed genuinely interested. Raven had been the most silent only speaking up whenever someone spoke to her. Finally Nightwing seemed to be simply observing the rest of his team and her.
At some point she had garnered the attention of the whole room as she told Starfire a story about one of her jobs down south involving some eco-terrorists attempting to sabotage an oil pipeline. To her, the story wasn't much but apparently it was fascinating to the everybody else. She had even caught Raven's attention as she explained the idiocy of the terrorists' plan of blowing up the pipeline and endangering not only several towns, but the ecosystem they claimed to want to protect.
Suddenly she was receiving questions left and right from her former rivals about her like of work. Cyborg seemed interested in her knowledge of tech while Changling gravitated towards her adventures in environmental protection. Admittedly that wasn't her sole focus, but she hardly turned down a job that dealt with that regardless of pay. Nightwing had even started asking questions about her experiences in combat and her training. She didn't feel completely comfortable going into detail on H.I.V.E. training, but she was happy to trade tactics with the former Boy Wonder.
Raven, for her part, didn't actively participate in the discussion. Jinx did notice the sorceress listening intently as she talked shop with the rest of the team. Starfire at some point asked if she was still involved with Kid Flash. She gave her usual answer of being philosophically different people with conflicting physical attractions. The blank stares she received brought a smile to her face; she loved wording their breakup in such a wordy way. She clarified for the group stating simply, "I'm attracted to women."
A collective "Ah" seemed to sound from the table. She caught Changling's face turning red as what she said registered. Her eyes roamed the table before landing on Raven who suddenly seemed a bit more interested in what she was saying. The violet haired sorceress locked eyes with her for a second before she turned her attention to her plate. A smirk graced Jinx's lips at that; she had, had a certain attraction to the enigmatic girl across the table for a while now. Honestly, it was nice to be near the girl once again.
Dinner soon ended and the group began dispersing to their various corners of the tower. Cyborg escorted her to her room. A simple guest bedroom with little more than a bed and a small desk greeted her. A large window overlooking the bay acted as a fourth wall in the room. A small bathroom was located just off to the side for her. Cyborg made sure she didn't need anything before departing for the night. Once she was squared away she began to disrobe and quickly fell into the sheets of the bed.
Which brings us to now. The sudden boom of the thunderclap startled her awake for the third time this night, "Goddammit!" she bellowed with frustration.
It was a little known fact that Jinx had a slight fear when it came to storms. There wasn't much the pinkette was scared of, but storms particularly thunder frightened her. It had been one of those fears she hadn't fully been able to shake from childhood, and it didn't help that she nearly lost her life in a storm while on a solo mission. Like most things in her life, she kept this secret close to her chest. Her old teammates were really the only ones who knew about it.
She threw the covers off of her and began to pace around the room cursing the elements as she walked the room. Ordinarily she would simply turn on a television or radio for noise to drown out the storm, but her room didn't have such amenities. Out of frustration and desperation she rooted around the room before finding a baggy t-shirt to throw on and leaving the confines of the room.
She knew she was going against the simple rules of her host, but dammit she couldn't just sit around jumping at every loud noise. It was simply embarrassing and given the time, roughly two in the morning, she assumed the rest of the inhabitants wouldn't be wandering about.
She made her way back to the common room where she knew there was a large television and a comfy looking couch that she would claim. She figured Nightwing wouldn't be too upset if she simply stayed in the one area. After all she knew the place had security systems that would alert them if she were to try to venture into one of the more secure rooms.
She entered the room and quickly found the remote for the television. One of her metahuman abilities consisted of low light vision and it made navigating the room a breeze. The light of the television blinded her for a moment and after her eyes adjusted she made her way to the small kitchen nook for a drink. She found a small coffee mug and decided that some tea might help to calm her nerves.
Another crash of thunder caused her to jump and almost drop the mug in her hands. She swore once more as she set the mug down and set about for the kettle. Surprisingly she found it resting on the stove and still hot. Her brow furrowed as she poured herself a cup of the soothing liquid within. She jumped once again as a monotone voice cut through the background noise of the television, "What are you doing out here?"
She spun around to face Raven who stood with her arms crossed sporting a loose black t-shirt and purple and black pajama bottoms. It was hard to find the violet haired girl intimidating given her current attire, but given what she knew about the girl before her she still felt a bit nervous. It didn't help that a part of her found her wardrobe adorable. "Uh…couldn't sleep?" she said with more of an upwards inflection than she meant to have.
Raven crossed the room without a sound and grabbed herself a mug before pouring herself a cup of tea, "Nightwing was very clear on you staying here. You aren't to be wandering the tower without supervision," she said as she finished pouring herself some tea, "So, I'll ask again. What are you doing out here?"
Jinx sweat dropped as she struggled to come up with a lie. She really hadn't expected anyone to be up, let alone the one person in the massive building she had a crush on. She was about to speak when a brilliant flash of lightening and another round of thunder filled the room causing her to visibly startle. Raven eyed her curiously for a moment with one eyebrow raised. Jinx sighed in defeat. She could tell by the look of the girl she knew the reason, "Alright, alright look I don't do well with storms okay?" she admitted, "I'm not trying to snoop around or anything, but the room you guys stuck me in doesn't have anything I can use to drown out the noise."
Raven nodded, "I see, so you're just intending to sit out here and watch TV," she said, "Still, I don't think Nightwing would appreciate me simply leaving you out here unattended. I'll join you," she said the last part without leaving room for debate.
"Uhm, okay," Jinx said as she grabbed her mug and made for the couch.
The girls sat on the couch in silence and watched some old movie that neither had heard of. It wasn't quite awkward, but rather comfortable. The girls finished their tea shortly and set the mugs on the table in front of the couch. Another round of thunder caused Jinx to jump and inadvertently close the gap between her and Raven. A blush crept across both girls' faces as Raven asked, "What do you think you're doing?"
Jinx pulled back a bit, "Sorry, sorry I told you I don't do well with storms," she said looking away from the sorceress.
"Jinx," Raven began, "Are you scared of thunder?"
Jinx put on a front of bravado and locked eyes with Raven as she spoke, "Me? I'm a master thief and an accomplished mercenary of course I'm not afraid of a little thunder," she said before another boom echoed throughout the building causing her to jump, "Goddammit! You've got to be fucking kidding me!"
Raven smiled a bit at the girl before her. There was something cute about seeing the pink witch in wuch a vulnerable state. She shook her head and chuckled at her reaction before speaking, "It's alright to be afraid. Everyone has fears, it doesn't make you weak."
Jinx rolled her eyes at that, "Yeah this coming from the girl who doesn't know the meaning of the word fear," she said.
"Actually I know fear all to well," Raven admitted gaining the pinkette's attention, "I once denied fear and my powers acted on their own accord and endangered my whole team. Since then I don't discredit or disparage fear be it my own or someone else's."
Jinx visibly relaxed at her words, "Huh, I would never have guessed that," she said, "If you don't mind me asking, what the hell scared you so much for something like that to happen?"
"Changling got us all to watch Wicked Scary after we stopped Control Freak in our early years as a team," she said.
Jinx grimaced at the mention of the movie, "Dude, fuck that movie!" she exclaimed earning a small laugh from Raven, "Watched it once and couldn't sleep for like a week. Never. Again."
Jinx took note of Raven's laugh. It was light, but like everything with the girl somehow elegant. The two settled back into a comfortable silence for another short while. It wasn't much longer before Jinx began to drift off to sleep sitting up. Her body tilted and her head fell into Raven's lap causing the girl to blush. She was about to ask what Jinx thought she was doing when she heard the girl begin to lightly snore. She rolled her eyes and let the girl be for a bit.
After about a half hour, Raven began to get tired herself and moved to get up and leave the girl on the couch. Suddenly two hands clasped onto her pant legs causing her to stop. The faint voice of Jinx could be heard as she looked up sleepily, "Please don't go," she pleaded.
Raven was unsure of what to do in this situation. She had fought monsters and villains for years, but had never been in a situation quite like this. She wasn't sure why, but she moved to sit back onto the couch and felt Jinx nuzzle her lap as she got comfortable. Admittedly the couch wasn't the most comfortable place to spend the night, but for whatever reason she couldn't bring herself to leave the girl in her lap.
She sighed as she repositioned herself so her back was resting against the arm of the couch and she felt Jinx move with her. She smiled down at the girl in her lap taking in her peaceful features. A serene smile spread across the pinkette's face as she began to fall back asleep. Raven began running her hand through the girl's hair in a soothing motion. The girl gave a slight sigh and somehow began to relax further at the feeling of having someone comfort her. Eventually Raven let her head fall back and she to drifted off to sleep.
Raven was the first to awaken feeling eyes upon her. Her teammates stood around the couch with curious looks on their face. Cyborg was the first to walk away with a grin as he set about preparing breakfast. Changling stood there with a dumbfounded look on his face and Nightwing stood with one eyebrow raised. Starfire squealed seeing her awake and began speaking, "Oh wondrous! Friend Raven you have developed feelings for-"
That was all that she heard as she faded into a pool of darkness and appeared in her room with Jinx who was suddenly startled awake. "What the shit was that?!" she asked shuddering from the sudden teleport, "Did you use that creepy darkness thing on me?!" she asked as she reeled on Raven.
Raven shrugged and motioned for the bed, "Creepy darkness?" she asked with a chuckle, "My team saw us on the couch and the couch isn't a comfortable sleeping space. Come on, we're going back to bed."
Jinx eyed her curiously for a moment as she realized she was in Raven' room. She blinked as she watched Raven climb into the bed and motion for her to follow, "Uh okay?" she finally said as she moved to the bed, "Thought you would have redecorated since we took over the tower."
"So it was you who went into my room " Raven said glaring at her as she entered the bed.
"Surprise?" Jinx said freezing in place.
She was afraid she was about to be teleported again when she felt Raven pull her into the bed. She felt Raven's arm drape around her and she moved into the crook of her arm. She let out a content sigh. "We are not done talking about this," Raven said sternly.
"You smell good," Jinx blurted out.
"Go back to sleep Jinx," Raven said. That was all it took and the two girls were soon sound asleep and enjoying each other's presence.
Author's Note:
So, given my slowing update progress on Frostbite I decided to write out a little idea I had a while back. I was going to use this idea in Frostbite, but I wasn't sure how I would work it in. A scene similar to this may still make it's way in, but no promises.
Personally I love a good storm, but I know plenty of people who struggle with fear of storms as adults. Jinx is one of those people who never quite shook the fear which leads to a nice bit of fluff for us to see! I'll confess, I love reading a good bit of fluff in fics! Call it a guilty pleasure or what have you, but man it's nice to read! I hope I did some fluff justice here, and if you enjoy this feel free to check out Frostbite my more serious and slow burning work.
To my followers of said story: I promise I am beginning work on Chapter 9 and hope to have it up in another week to three. Thanks for reading and as always feel free to drop me a review or a PM if you enjoyed it.
Sincerely,
R.