Disclaimer: Characters here are property of their owners, none of which happen to be me.

Initial Notes: Turnabout is fair play.

A Cup of Sugar, pt.4

The shower was nice enough, seemed clean and there were plenty of towels, soap and the usual things one wanted, in a shower.

Raven just wondered why it was she happened to be considering taking a shower in the home of an ex-Hive member, particularly a home belonging to Jinx. "What I get for agreeing to things just after waking up," she mumbled, shrugging off her anxieties, at least temporarily. Sleeping in, the Titan had been in bed still when Jinx had called, and though she could dodge going out easy enough, a persistent Jinx was hard to derail. Jinx's interruption of her night had been a welcome, if badly timed surprise, as she'd just finished up her nightly meditations, and was planning on working on homework after. Perhaps that had swayed her abrupt trip which ended with her naked in another person's home.

The unsuspected pleasantness of company had made her forget those plans, last night. "Too easy to get sidetracked with her around. I wonder how this whole tutoring thing is going to work out," Raven mused, scanning the room once more, eyes pausing by the missing bedroom door briefly. Blinking, she looked closer, seeing that the original hinges were still in place, but the door itself seemed to have been simply removed. In it's place, or the reason why, was a single, reinforced and rather solid looking bar that sat at a height she could just brush with her fingers. "Never would have figured her for a fitness nut," she idly thought, but reconsidered. Seemed that many a thing about the other girl she'd assumed or taken for granted were wrong.

Shrugging off her briefly worn clothes, the Titan went about the business of waking up and showering. With the warm water came more alertness, and she considered the day briefly. Studying with Jinx, lunch, a chance to get out of her cramped, uncomfortable dorm. A spacious shower. Nothing, superficially to complain about. Beyond that, she was concerned.

Jinx was Hive. Raven didn't believe for a moment that the few years since her time as a full-scale terrorist had changed that much in the girl. She had used the printout to get her personal contact information, as well as seemed to have no issues abusing school computer systems to send her spoof emails. Who knew what else she'd do? Was it right, even considering all that to hold it against her though?

The fact the quirky witch was doing so much better than her also rankled the Titan. Her original plan on teaching may have been hasty, given, but to be making one to two points lower than her in GPA was verging on the embarrassing. She had considered changing majors, but the grim truth of the fault for her grades caught up with her quickly. The reason she did badly in school, was that she'd never been. Study habits, quizzes, tests and homework were all completely foreign to her. Despite that, she was adjusting quickly, just not enough to salvage her grades.

Then there was this house. "How the hell," was all Raven could muster, too content with the heat she could coax from this shower. Hers, being tied to the dorm system, barely got above 'mildly tepid', whereas Jinx's sat steadily at 'lobsterize'. A number of things didn't add up. Those things gave Raven pause. Yet despite it... she had been the one to make first contact. Given, it was under the assumption that her Professor's suggestion was to someone normal. She'd had no idea when the door opened a few days ago, it'd be a taller, more matured Jinx, squinting at the afternoon sun that would greet her.

Sighing, she'd later berated herself on her weak ploy. "A cup of sugar... real bright." It was an idea she took from some older show on television. She'd initially wanted to proposition the girl Jennifer Wrangler to help with her studies, at a Professor's urging, but hadn't thought of a good way to make contact.

So she borrowed a queue from TV-Land.

She should have known something like this would happen, considering. Trying to salvage the attempt, she'd been surprised at how well the two of them seemed to be getting along, considering their history. History that apparently had gotten her sat out on the stoop, regardless.

How bitter she had been, Raven mused as she worked shampoo into her hair. The warmth was making her far too relaxed, but it was so nice she found herself humming quietly. Shrugging, she sang a few verses to a familiar song from home, her home in Azarath, as she scrubbed.

It was, after all, the small normal things that seemed to make her smile.

I oOo I

"Is it supposed to do that?" Jinx muttered before shrugging and closing the oven again. Wiping her hair from a somewhat damp brow, she leaned against the kitchen's counter and listened to the sounds of her shower running. Very faintly she could hear something else, but was at a loss to place it, but her curiosity was running rampant as it seemed to be coming from the shower as well.

Rolling her eyes at the images running through her mind, the former Thief put some final touches on the lunch she'd assembled, hoping she'd made enough for two as originally her food stores weren't quite up to feeding more. Muttering to herself about good intentions, she was pulled back from her inspections at a peak in the noise coming from her upstairs shower.

"What the hell is that?" she asked, eye twitching slightly at the impulse to run up and listen to the shower door.

She chided herself for being too nosy, and the rudeness of imposing on the privacy of a guest for such a thing the entire trip to the hallway door she'd led Raven to earlier. Staring hard at the door, she crouched and listened again, waiting for whatever it was to sound again. About to write off the odd phenomenon as a trick of her home's acoustics, Jinx was rewarded with the rising sound of Raven's voice, echoing around the shower and bathroom. Blinking, she circled to her bedroom, noting how the steam from the shower was curling along the ceiling in languid tendrils.

She opened her window to keep the humidity from fouling her posters when the sound, unobstructed by a door started again. Eyes widening, she turned slowly and stared through the door, the lack of a barrier giving the words definition.

It was singing.

Raven, was singing.

In her shower.

Blinking slowly, she crept up to the doorway and chanced a peek around the jamb, fog from the shower obscuring her vision. Despite it, she grinned at the image she saw.

Swaying back and forth behind the frosted glass, the dusky skinned Titan sang, voice cast in a language Jinx was unfamiliar with. Lips quirking into a grin, the Thief padded back to the kitchen, content in her newest theft. Humming the tune for the song quietly to herself, she tried to place it but wasn't succeeding. Setting some plates for herself and her guest, she turned on the radio to try and find a different song to fixate on, not wanting to embarrass or annoy the empath with her spying. Not long into the song Raven appeared, towel around her hair again but this time in clothes rather than a bath robe.

"Short shower," Jinx said, while flipping cookies off a sheet into a basket. The Titan only nodded, staring at her. The Thief fidgeted, doing odd things until finally she sighed and looked at the stoic girl. "What?!"

"You tell me."

"It was only a peek!"

Eyes widening slightly, the empath crossed to the table and sat, shaking her head. "Too easy."

Blinking, Jinx looked around the room before it dawned on her. "Oh for fuck's sake!"

I oOo I

"So what was that song?" Jinx mumbled around some sandwich, trying to keep some of the crumbs local. Raven smirked, seeing the attempt fail horribly.

Taking one for herself, the empath sighed, trying to think of the best way to explain to the quirky girl. "Well, for starters, what do you know about me?"

Rolling her eyes, the former Thief pointed a pinky at her and murmured around her food, "Well for one, you wear too much blue."

"Serious here."

"Was being," Jinx replied, grinning. Leaning back in her chair, she considered the question, expression turning serious. "Well, hm. Considering... I guess we can cut the dissembling and get to the point, between us yeah?"

Nodding slightly, Raven tried one of the cookies, nibbling on the corner. "These are good, what's the recipe?"

"Sorry, have to get Willy to let me tell, it's his," she said, looking out to the deck with a glazed expression. "Hive records... Classified as grade 3 operative – they topped out at 3, need-to-know. Real name unknown, all background information missing or fabrication." Recalling the information sent her back into memories she'd tried long to get past, but irony seemed to be prodding her more and more these days. Rolling with the punch, she continued. "Using JLA measuring standards, you were classed an Omega level event."

"Omega? What's that mean?" Brow furrowed at the reference, Raven tried the tea Jinx had made, finding it rather tasty. Being told what her Hive records contained felt oddly nostalgic, like she were an old soldier trading war stories with a buddy. The fact her friend was on the other side of the front didn't really matter. At least at the moment.

Jinx snorted, shaking her head slightly. "We had a nickname for you, in operations command."

When the former thief paused, rifling through her nearby backpack for something, the empath drummed her fingers on the table, causing her host to raise a brow. "Well, what was it," she blurted finally, impatience getting the best of her.

Pleased to see she could still get a reaction from the violet-haired girl, Jinx leaned conspirationally across the table before continuing. "Well, for one we called you Apocalypse Chick. Omega's are people who can cause globally affecting events, that involve extinction level circumstances."

"Good to know I was so highly regarded," Raven growled, shaking her head slowly. "And how much of the mechanics of that did you know?"

Cocking her head, Jinx grinned and stuck her tongue out slightly, "We were told not to piss you off."

"You really had issues with following orders didn't you?"

Laughing, Jinx offered the Titan an aged paperback book. "You have no idea. This is for later, just hang on to it," memories came easier, and with them, the impact of her current state. So fragile, she mused, thinking on her life. A small push in one direction or another, and it'd all crumble. Suppressing a bout of giggles, she grinned fully at Raven, noticing her eyes widen slightly at her change in mood. "Basically we were told how to handle, and fight you. Beyond that not much. Oh we knew about the prophecy thing; agents in places to get into the JLA records, via the Brotherhood. We just didn't care, and a great many details were likely left out."

Glancing at the cover of the book, she set it to the side, blinking. The Titan looked at her hard for a few moments before replying, "You're serious. How could they – you, not care?"

Studying the state of her nails, Jinx regarded her askance a moment. "Brainwashing helps. But you forget who you're talking about. Your apocalypse, our apocalypse. Same thing. Different flavor.

"Back to the point," she began, before Raven could go on about the madness her former organization was infected with. "Demonic power, empathy, emotional instability. The usual."

"Usual," Raven repeated, hollowly. Sighing, she shook her head and brought the conversation back where it was originally. "Well, the song you asked about was one from home, as much of one as I'd ever had. Where I grew up in Azarath."

Nodding, it made sense to Jinx. Raven had spoken, all be it briefly, about the place when she'd discussed schools with the Titan. Oddly, it hadn't crossed her mind that "Home in Azarath" would equate to "Which is someplace in another dimension". The words to the song she'd been singing didn't seem to be any language she'd heard, and this explained it nicely. "Catching tune though, have to say."

Shrugging, Raven blushed slightly, "It was a popular one, more of a nursery rhyme."

Nodding, Jinx stretched and seemed lost in thought for a few moments. Raven nibbled quietly on some of the food, but mostly watched her. She liked the fare, just didn't need to eat as much as the quirky girl had made. Minutes passed and the Titan was beginning to feel somewhat out of place, as she'd tried to enjoy lunch, but with Jinx so preoccupied that she wasn't even pretending to eat, the task was difficult. "Are you ok?" She asked finally, starting to worry something was wrong.

Snapping her head up, Jinx grinned and nodded, but wouldn't meet her eyes. Sensing something wrong, the Titan put her food down and turned her attention to her host. "Jinx, something's bothering you. Do you want to talk about it?"

Looking torn, the former Thief nodded, but stayed silent a moment more. When Raven was about to ask if she'd really wanted to talk or was just saying that without thinking, Jinx held up a hand to stall her. "Just... I guess it's kinda hard to talk about this sort of thing. I mean, with our history.

"The other night when I was walking back to the library, one of your friends dropped in to talk to me a moment. They asked me to not come in contact with you."

Taken aback slightly, the Titan could see why Jinx was hesitant to bring this up. "Why... who?"

"Beast Boy."

Narrowing her eyes, Raven nodded once, slightly. "He would, if anyone. He's always been nosy and overprotective-"

"Raven," Jinx started, expression grim as she leaned forward, her chin resting on interlaced fingers. "It wasn't about who I am, but I'm sure that didn't help my case in particular. What he'd said was more on the lines of 'don't help and let her get over this phase'."

Stunned silent for a moment, Jinx was surprised when the cup in Raven's hand broke, the glass slipping along her fingers and tearing wicked gashes in her skin. "Fuck, c'mere," dashing to her side, Jinx pulled broken cup from the Titan's now slack hand, the girl's violet eyes unseeing as they watched the slow rise of blood along the cuts. She rose woodenly as the other girl pulled her by her forearm and elbow to the sink.

Jinx didn't know what had caused Raven to crush the glass in her hand, but she knew it was her fault ultimately. She didn't even look the sort to be able to do so honestly, but she'd be damned if a guest in her home was going to get injured and ignored. She set the water to tepid and watched as Raven stoically regarded her hand, no emotion at all going through her face or eyes. That look bothered Jinx to no end. She pulled the small medkit that she kept in the kitchen out, setting some necessities on the counter with practiced speed. "Raven! Come back to me," whistling shrilly, the empath looked up with a blink, the haze lifting from her eyes.

"Sorry," she mumbled, brows furrowing as she looked back to her hand, wincing at the shards of glass still embedded in her skin. "Ow."

"God you're hilarious. Now hold this," handing Raven a tennis ball sized rubber duck, the former Titan blinked and looked between the quirky witch and it once, before voicing the confusion clear on her features.

"What is this for?"

Smiling mirthlessly, the former Thief rinsed a pair of tweezers in the tap. "Squeeze when it hurts."

"Squeeze whe-AZAR!" The duck squeaked loudly.

"Thatta girl."

I oOo I

"Wasn't as bad as it looked, really," Jinx noted, putting the last of the bandages along Raven's palm. The glass hadn't gone too deep, and not many had really done much damage, but at last one had been severe enough to make her suggest stitches. Raven solidly refused.

"I'm sorry about that, I guess I got a little carried away," in all honesty, she was still livid, but hiding it admirably. The congress of her emotions was in an uproar, various voices all crying out at once. Most were raising questions, such as if Jinx was being honest, if Beast Boy really would do something like that, and why. Following that train of thought, was what she needed to do if it were true...

Shrugging, Jinx settled the medkit back under the sink and looked back at the Titan worriedly. "Listen, I'm sorry I made you upset, I had almost decided not to tell you but... well I figured you had a right to know." Sighing, she went about clearing off the table, and putting away the dishes. "You can go sit in the living room, there's a TV there, but I don't know how it's set up. Never got around to it."

Nodding, Raven padded quietly to the couch in the other room, taking her backpack with. Doubts about Jinx's honesty vanished, as she let her empathy touch the girl's mind as she spoke. Still wrapped in her own thoughts, the Titan blinked at the remote and the large flatscreen, eye twitching as memories of Titan Tower flashed in her mind. No screaming or noise of game assaulted her ears here, though, and with a small smile, she ticked the power on the remote.

Static met her efforts. Glaring slightly, the empath rose and inspected the device, wondering at it's disuse. "You really don't watch this much do you?"

"Came with the place, but yeah. I think I pay for cable with the internet, but damned if I've hooked it up," Jinx called from the kitchen, poking her head around as she saw Raven up and wandering in her peripheral. "You don't have to mess with it, I'll get it in a second."

Snorting Raven grinned over her shoulder at the girl, carrying two stacks of plates and some tupperware precariously balanced somehow. "I'm fine, besides, you're busy."

"Mmph," was Jinx's only response. Raven went about inspecting the television. Her time with the other Titans had given her ample experience to repair and do basic work on entertainments systems, plus just being around Cyborg had it's fringe benefits. A quick analysis showed the major issue – luckily it was well within her ability to fix.

She hooked up the cable.

The system came to life, and while Jinx put away the remainder of their lunch, Raven programmed some channels into memory for the system, in the event the quirky girl decided to use it. "How long have you lived here?" She asked, curious how long the system had sat neglected. It was a nice entertainment arrangement after all.

Jinx came out of the kitchen, carrying her own pack and looking thoughtful, "Oh, you got it running, cool." Sitting on the far side of the couch, she cocked her head and seemed to consider the question a moment before answering. "Probably a year and a few months."

Boggling at the other girl, Raven settled into the couch with a small sigh. "Well, it's working now if you want to use it." Pulling out some of her textbooks, the Titan tried unsuccessfully to suppressethe feeling of Deja Vu that the situation brought on.

Years ago... she'd been sitting in the Tower, in much the same place as she was now. Folded up on the end of the couch, holding a book. Across the room she could see the others, playing games, talking, being themselves.

Beast Boy was as always being hyper competitive with Cyborg, who was humoring him because Cyborg liked making people happy. Spying into the kitchen, Robin and Starfire were sitting, talking quietly to one another, looking as lovestruck as usual since that last overseas mission. By the computers at one of the tables they'd brought in, sat some of the new Titan's East members, local from a meeting with their own team. Speedy and Bumblebee sat across from Jinx and Kid Flash playing cards, all eyeing each other skeptically.

"Ah, why did I pick this memory to fixate on," she wondered, remembering that night. Regardless, she let it play out...

"Call," Karen announced, putting her bet in. Her goggles up during downtime, despite the rest of her bee-motif uniform being in place.

Jinx's look of glee was obvious, and Raven wondered what luck she'd had in the past playing poker, being so transparent. It was then she noticed where Flash's foot was... and looked away quickly. "Fold!" she announced with a flourish, as Raven looked to the boys for their part.

Speedy seemed torn, but finally shrugged and made his move. "Raise fifty," he said simply, as Raven noted his demeanor. Of the four, she figured he had the best poker face, but knew his tendency for chance taking. Likely he was bluffing.

Flash grinned and seemed to not be paying as much attention as the others, which caught up to him as she looked from Bumblebee and Speedy, "Oh right. Fold."

"God, you two need to just get a room," the archer said with a sigh. "Can you at least pretend to play cards the next hand?"

"Sure! Can you pretend to not look at my chest instead of my face?" Jinx quipped, earning a laugh from the rest of the table, while Speedy reddened visibly, despite his claims to the contrary. The next hand was Jinx's to deal, and she did so with remarkable flourish. Raven assumed they had plenty of time to play in the Hive, or perhaps the girl had picked it up in prison, she supposed with a smirk. She'd certainly spent her fair share of time there.

The deal went well enough, and the players kept fairly good time. Flash seemed to be rolling well with this hand, playing with some confidence. "Raise," he said again and the turn went to Karen once more, who was looking more and more sour as time passed.

"Hrm. Call," ever careful, she was doing this more and more, but the looks she was giving the pink-haired former Hive operative weren't missed on Raven. Something was there... and it made the empath nervous.

Speedy sighed and folded, looking to Bumblebee briefly with a nod. Getting up, he crossed to the hallway, on the excuse of using a restroom but Raven didn't miss the stares he managed at Jinx and Flash's cards on his way past. The rest of the table went on, only the quirky witch and her beau talking, as Karen seemed to get more and more reticent.

With Speedy's return things went downhill quickly. "So which of you two won?" he asked, looking pointedly at the pair across from the table. Blinking, Jinx pointed to Flash as the speedster made a show of his winnings. "Thought so."

Karen snorted and went back to shuffling, her round to deal. "Vote to ban the feline from dealing."

Silence fell over the table as Jinx's expression went from contented to disbelief. Flash simply looked between the two while Speedy had a small smile on his face. "What's that supposed to mean," the former Thief asked finally, her teeth grating audibly.

Shrugging, Speedy leaned back in his chair and leveled a knowing glare across the table. "I saw the hands. We got nothing and you two both end up with solid deals? On your deal? Do the math."

Flash was about to say something, when Jinx interrupted, which was quite a feat considering the speed of the boy's mouth. "Listen you bad B-movie standin, if you want to say something, maybe you should loosen those tights so your balls will get some bloodflow. You suck at being vauge."

Bristling, Karen's hand on his arm stilled the archer. "See? She's getting defensive about it. Maybe we should call it a night."

"Guys," Flash started, standing after he set his winnings aside on the endtable, leaning across to level an even stare at his east coast teammates. "Just because she was in the Hive, doesn't mean she'd cheat at a poker game, c'mon."

"Says the boy who won," Speedy snorted, while Jinx simply glared death at him.

"Seriously, how can you trust the little traitor, I mean remember-" was all Bumblebee managed before the table flipped up and smacked the bitching girl square in the face. Stumbling back she glared at the snarling visage of an enraged Jinx as she settled her leg back to the ground, the noise getting the attention of all present.

"That's it. I not going to take bullshit like that from a spy who was so pathetic at her job she had to sleep her way into Blood's good graces," Jinx snarled, making Bumblebee pale and sputter in response. Speedy looked wide-eyed from one to another as the bad luck charm rounded on the still prone girl.

"Y-You promised! I trusted you, and you promised never to tell-" Bumblebee screeched, her fist leading her charge strait at Jinx. Jaws dropped, all but Speedy's as the tableau played out.

Sneering again, Jinx ducked to the side and let the enraged powersuit clad girl speed by her, missing widely. "Then perhaps you shouldn't accuse me of bullshit in front of everyone, when I'm not doing anything. You think I can't be trusted – maybe I can't. Maybe I only turned on the Hive for my own survival." Glaring, she strode up close to Bumblebee and ducked under one of her electric-laden punches. Coming back up she took the girl's chin in hand and yanked her face up to Jinx's, the girl's eyes glowing an ominous neon. "But get this, and get it now. I'm not petty. I'm not cheap, and I sure as fuck don't need someone who's as bad if not worse than me, accusing me in public like I'm trash." Extending the arm holding the girl's chin sharply, Bumblebee went flying back, as Jinx turned her back to the now useless poker table and stalked away.

The sound of the door to the dormitories was the signal for the others present to start breathing again, as Karen shook and ran for the dorms herself. Robin came in, looking from the fleeing girl, to a slack-jawed Cyborg and then back to Speedy, the East coast's lead. "How much of all that was true," he asked quietly, settling beside the still stunned archer as he lay against the wall.

"You don't understand, but all of it..." he said quietly. Sighing, he figured nothing could fix what just happened, but some reasons may dull the impact. "Blood was impossible to fool. So she made some sacrifices, and put herself in some dangerous situations to get information. Spies have the worst jobs ever, and women worse than most," he spat, looking away from the room.

"No one was judging Karen, Speedy," Robin said quietly, as the rest of the room digested this latest drama. "I mean, Blood messed with everyone he was around."

Shaking his head again, Speedy stood and dusted himself off. "Well, it would have come out eventually. It became public at the Hive at one point... which is part of why we had to extract her," Scrubbing a hand through his hair, he cursed. "Damnit, if Jinx hadn't cheated that deal none of thi-"

"Will you drop that?" Kid Flash snapped, suddenly in the archer's face. Raven winced at the tension in the boy's hands, while Speedy stumbled almost falling again. "She didn't cheat, just drop it."

"Will you listen to yourself? We all know where she's spending her nights, but just because of that, you don't have to defend her." Robin was about to step between the two when a sudden noise caught their attention, the doors to the dormitory opening after.

Jinx stood, hauling Bumblebee into the room by the ruined remains of her flight pack. Both girl's were bruised, and Jinx's lip was bloody, but aside from the East team's second in command, she also had a duffelbag slung in tow. "Keep your pets under control," she spat, shoving the girl to the side as Starfire came to see what had happened, catching the unconscious girl as she was unceremoniously tossed her way.

"I'm done. I've been here for months, and nothing changes with you people. So fuck you, I'm done," she mumbled, the venom in her voice apparent none the less. Without so much as looking back, she'd walked to the elevators and was gone. Cyborg was busy accessing the security cams for the dorms, bypassing the usual gender-locks that let only the females on duty see those room, as the images on the main screen made them all wince. The last few minutes hadn't been pretty.

The grainy recording picked up as Jinx went into her room, leaning on the door to her room and laying her arm across her eyes. She sat there for a few moments till a shock seemed to jolt her away from the portal, a moment later Bumblebee barging in swinging.

Things went from bad to worse, as the suited girl was no match for the former Hive operative's training. Jinx didn't pull any punches, as Cyborg finally got the audio to work they had more to think about.

"-you care? Those are my peers out there damnit!" Bumblebee screamed, swinging wildly for Jinx's face. The feline didn't so much as blink, but took the hit anyway.

"Do you think I care? Listen to me, you two faced little bitch," Jinx snarled, yanking the other girl close by her outstretched hand and putting her elbow in the way, catching the suited girl high in the stomach. Sounds of retching followed, as Jinx leaned down beside the prone Bumblebee. "Those people you betrayed, sold out to the Titans? Those were my family. It hurt turning my back on them, but I tried, you have no idea how much, to get them out.

"But you people only see two colors. Black and White. I'm not a civilian, so in a box I go," she said calmly, stepping back as Bumblebee rose again, panting and winded. "I've been toeing the line since that day Flash brought me here, against my ideas. You know how sick it makes me to be here? But for him I try, because he tried for me.

"And every time one of you pissant little kids gets your tights in a bunch," ducking another wild swing, Jinx seemed to sigh, sweeping a leg under Bumblebee and taking her feet out from under her. The girl landed on her hands and knees, and without preamble Jinx slammed the heel of her boot into the girl's pack, the arcing of it's failing systems knocking the prone girl out. "I end up being blamed for something else," leaning she said something else, but the room missed it, so Cyborg rewound and turned up the volume, attempting to catch what was said again.

"- didn't cheat. All I did was try to be here, be one of you. Apparently, no matter how hard or long I try, it's not enough."

Flash was gone as they turned to look at Speedy and Bumblebee, still being held by Starfire.

Raven pulled herself from memory, as Jinx seemed to be staring at her. "Bad daydream?" the feline asked, blinking at her. Raven took a breath and nodded slightly, looking away from those eyes.

That day... perhaps it was why she remembered. Beast Boy's warning, Jinx. That day had been the first step in her separating from the Titans, while for Jinx it had been the last straw. Soon after, Robin had parted ways; He'd come to the decision that the things he'd been asking them, some of them barely more than children, to do, and the things that had happened were more than he could stand. Details of the Hive operations had been the last step, as he put it. Slade, Terra and Raven's Prophesy had exhausted their leader, left him feeling empty and powerless to defend them, his friends.

In the end, he blamed himself for much more than was his fault. His last act to try to protect the team was to try and disband the Titans, but he'd been overruled by the rest. Regardless he left, going back to Gotham alone. Starfire had been lost and utterly broken after, and soon had left for space. Cyborg had let them know that she'd retaken her role as ruling force on Tamaran, and was well, after a brief and undetailed message reached them. Cyborg, the Tower being the last traces of his family, wouldn't leave, and so was made leader for a time, as things got worse and worse. The call went out, and more young people answered, the Titans roster in a period of massive flux.

It was soon after that that Raven had parted ways. Feeling lost in a group that was either broken-hearted from their friend's absence, or made of new faces trying to fill those spaces, she'd been unable to keep on. Seeing in those they saved day to day something she envied – a past, a fate that had nothing to do with the end of the world, she made the decision to try and join them.

Her leaving had nearly broken the team again, as she was the cool center of the storm that raged in the Tower. Beast Boy had nearly gone into hysterics, while the new members seemed to shrug it off well enough. Cyborg had been quietly sad, but she could tell he'd seen this coming. What funds they'd had, he'd set aside a portion as a stipend, a savings for her.

Due to collateral damage and their own expenses, it wasn't much, but it got her by.

"-Raven?"

Blushing, the empath snapped her head up from where she'd blanked out again, lost in memory. With a small start she realized she'd been staring at Jinx's chest. "Gah-"

Smirking, Jinx looked down and tugged at her shirt slightly, a light blush dusting her cheeks. "I know they're nice, but you were out there for a while again," turning serious on a dime, her expression dropped into a more concerned cast. "Are you sure you're ok? Maybe those cuts affected you more than you thought. Want to lie down for a bit?"

Her suppositions on the girl kept being remade, as she dealt with her. The other day she was mocking ransom notes to get in touch with her, now she was bandaging her hand and offering to take care of her after an injury... Times truly had changed Jinx, despite what she'd felt not hours before.

Shaking her head, the empath stretched quietly and smiled reassuringly at her host. "No, no. Just lost in memory. Nothing so serious," she lied, partially. Looking around for her notebook, the Titan noticed she had taken one end of Jinx's wall-spanning couch, while her host was on the other. Thinking back on her time in the Tower, she resolved silently to change, at least some things that she had the power to do so.

Picking up her things, she earned a questioning glance from Jinx, who stilled in what she was doing till the Titan sat down a few feet from her, turning and folding her legs under her as she sat. "I don't like shouting across a room," she said quietly, making Jinx laugh slightly.

In truth... she'd always felt bad for never stepping in during that argument so long ago. She could tell Jinx hadn't cheated, and maybe if she'd tried... but if wishes were fishes, she mused, we'd all cast nets.

What she could do now, is try. Close those gaps, and show someone that she trusted them. Maybe it was too late, or just her trying to lamely undo the past, but she had to admit...

It was nicer, to sit closer to someone.

"And this has nothing to do with your breasts, despite my staring, so you know," she added, causing Jinx to sputter and almost spit her tea. Smirking at the Thief's surprised expression, she gave in and laughed, pleasantly surprised herself when she joined in.

A/N: This chapter tempts me to rewrite. I was originally planning on only putting things in Cup, in Jinx's perspective, with less POV from others. Realizing I'd set a precedent already breaking that... I just did it anyway. For those of you noticing, it's mainly a Jinx story, but Raven is the 'other' here. Changed the category from Humor/Romance to Friendship/Romance, to reflect how this is proceeding. For those of you looking for a fast slash... sorry. Not my cup of tea.

And yes, in the timeline I set, Kid Flash and Jinx were an item. Defining the breakdown makes this more AU, but it doesn't matter.

If I felt like it, I'd make Robin wear pink, purple and lime green, as his default colors and you'd still read. Why?

Because I just may, leak my cookie recipes. That's why.

More to come. I don't know where this is going, because I write it as I think it up. If you follow Fate, more due there soon.