Disclaimer: Characters here are property of their owners, none of which happen to be me. Correction – Yoko's mine.

Initial Notes: One step at a time.

A Cup of Sugar, pt.6

"You... lived here?"

Wreckage, construction equipment and the aura of destruction dominated the view, as Jinx nodded slowly. She kicked her feet as they dangled from the roof, having brought them to a nearby parking tower, one in sight but not too far from downtown. The wind picked, bringing with it the sound of the town behind them, as it blew Jinx's hair out before her face. "Feels like a lifetime ago, but it's not," she said quietly, tucking a stubborn lock behind an ear.

Yoko looked from the girl sitting beside her, arms crossed over the bar of the railing and feet dangling over an unnoticed dozen or more stories, back to the veritable crater a block away. Blinking once, she looked back to the tense girl beside her, "Wasn't that... from the news?"

"Hive headquarters," Jinx offered quietly, a small sad smile curling her lips. "Home."

I oOo I

The chiming of her doorbell roused the former Thief with a start from where she'd sprawled on her couch, and she screamed at it almost immediately, "We don't want any!"

A heartbeat pause, before a muffled voice carried to her from the direction of her door, "But I have tea?"

"I lied, we do want!" Jinx cried, flipping up from the couch and nearly careening into a wall. Righting herself with a spin she landed against the frame of the front door with a muffled thud. Pulling the portal open a crack, she leered at the blinking Titan standing there. "Well hi there."

Raven, taken slightly aback by the other girl's rollercoaster behavior, just stared for a handful of heartbeats. "Oh. Um, I brought some teas, you may like. Figured I could do a little to add to lunches?" Holding up the small wooden box, she smiled slightly, feeling more and more unsettled by the former Thief's expression.

Giggling, Jinx reached through the door and tugged the hapless Titan inside, ushering her into the kitchen, "Hmm, so tell me which ones you brought?" Bustling about at a rather fast pace, Raven was left to stare as her host seemed a vague blur in her own habitat. She was tempted to let her empathy sweep over the hyperactive ex-Thief but resisted the urge. "I have a few of my favorites, some odd ones I haven't tried yet, and some of my staple ones," she answered, realizing she'd fallen quiet in thought too long.

Nodding, Jinx rounded on the Titan and pulled up a chair, settling beside her with a sigh. "Water should be all set in a sec," running her hand through her hair, the former Thief stared out the windows, mind running over the day as she probed the darkness outside with her cat's eyes. "How was your day?" she finally asked, somewhat lamely as the silence between the two stretched out.

"It was fine," the shorter girl answered almost immediately, as if expecting the question. Jinx sighed as she tried to settle her thoughts into something less disorganized, the effort more difficult than she'd expected. "And yours?"

And there was the question she'd been afraid of, Jinx mused. "It went well, uh. Water," Hopping up the former Thief retrieved some mugs and the steaming pot, rounding back to the kitchen table while Raven picked and sorted her teas. For a moment, Jinx stopped and stared, the scene spread out before seemed... comfortable. Like she'd been doing this for ages. Shaking off the odd impulse, she settled things onto the table, taking the offered tea from Raven with a small grin. "So which is this?"

"Lemongrass, to settle you," Raven answered, grinning as Jinx blushed slightly and looked away. "I'm just saying, you seem tense and preoccupied. What's on your mind?"

"Too much," the former Thief groaned, leaning over to peer through the small steam from her cup. Sighing, she started shuffling thoughts, trying to put them in some semblance of order, something she could relate in conversation as opposed to her own internal whirlwind. "Classes. The date, how complicated things are suddenly, after so long of just... being. I suppose." Swirling the steeping leaves, she looked up, Raven's expression guarded. Jinx grinned slightly. "Why do I get the feeling you don't really want to hear about my date?"

Blinking, Raven's mouth worked for a moment before she turned her face away, lips set in a line. "I... I'm curious. But if you don't want to talk about it-"

"That's not what I said," the ex-Thief said quietly, cutting her off. Sighing, Jinx looked steadily at the Titan till she returned her gaze, a somewhat sad expression in her violet eyes. "Raven, will you just tell me what it is that's on your mind?"

Laughing suddenly, the Titan favored the Thief with a sardonic grin, "Turnabout fair play? Fine," pulling her tea from the steeping water, she seemed to fold in on herself, expression going guarded and cold while her eyes relayed nothing. "I guess the other day, when we were talking and sharing some history, something clicked." Meeting her gaze, Raven continued, "I liked your company, not just because you're helping me. Not just because we share some history and can relate, or go to the same college. I liked your company," emphasizing Jinx's part in those words, the Titan went silent after, complacent for the moment to scrutinize her tea.

Jinx had almost laughed herself, as she looked back and forth between her tea and the Titan. What was that... was Raven saying...? "I mean, I like... " At a loss for words, Jinx sat and watched the steam from her tea fade, as it cooled. Another long silence spread between them, things unsaid crowding out the silence surrounding them.

"So. Tell me about your date," Raven's voice, lacking inflection roused the former Thief finally, and she looked up. Raven's gaze was cool and quiet, a marked difference from the subdued but growingly expressive girl she'd come to expect.

"It was nice," Jinx's mumbled response was barely a whisper, refusing to look up again. "We had some dinner, talked some. Came back home."

"Well that sounds rather interesting, really. I mean if it was nice, shouldn't the things you did warrant a few more than nine words?" Failing to keep her cynicsm in check, the Titan winced, realizing the bite her woulds would carry.

She would have apologized but Jinx held up a hand, stilling her. Jinx shook her head, eyes still on her hands. "No need to apologize... but you counted? Kinda weird... look. I'm sorry. I didn't know-"

"Neither did I. Not till later. But I'd like to know how it went, because..." her tone, the ice around it melted as she spoke, and finally the Titan reached over, laying her hand on Jinx's own briefly. Jinx watched, her expression stoic for once, but didn't pull away. "For all it's not been so long, I'd like to think of you as a friend. I want you to be happy."

Looking up, Jinx smiled, and loosed a breath she'd not realized she was holding. "I don't think there's anything wrong with that, and despite being from opposite sides of the tracks... I like being around you," the Hive girl said, stirring her tea with a finger. "Odd isn't it? How time changes things."

Nodding, Raven considered that phrase, perhaps more seriously than Jinx had meant. "It does. Yet some things don't change."

"Do you know how weird it is," Jinx asked, her eyes strained as she stared through the table, not seeing it. "How weird... being ex-Hive, and trying to live a normal, sane, typical life? It catches up. Like here." Pulling her collar down, Raven blinked suddenly, seeing the tattoo below Jinx's collarbone for the first time. It was a small thing, but simple and easily recognized. The Hive symbol, with a small numeric code beneath. "Some day, not matter how I hide it, what I do, this will come up and all over again, the Hive has a hand in my life. It makes sure that I never really move on," Jinx said, voice going quiet as her memories caught up with her. "Human operatives, or those that can pass, didn't get the brand. But the wilder Metas, we get tagged. Makes us easy to keep tabs on. Track," bitterness welled up in her voice, but Raven kept contact, urged her to continue. "If someone got arrested, held, this would be the way we'd be found again. Assets.

"All that isn't important, but this is," stabbing a finger back at the now-covered brand, the former Thief looked up, eyes watery. "I can't hide who I am forever. At some point, all this, this illusion I built for myself, will crash down." Resting her head in her hands, the girl shook her head, "I care about Yoko, it scares me to think someone like her could suffer because of me. Scares me to death."

"Did it worry you when you were with Flash?" Raven's voice was quiet, as she absorbed what Jinx had said, the implications. How much the former Thief seemed to care about the quiet librarian.

Shaking her head, Jinx laughed a little, leaning back in her chair as she spoke, the weight of her own thoughts lightening. "No, he was the Flash remember? Why would I worry... we could have handled anything thrown at us." A rueful smile creeped along Jinx's features. "Now, I have so much to lose, and so does she.

"It's funny," she said, and Raven couldn't imagine she spoke to anyone but herself, "when I was in the Hive, I had nothing. I was free to do anything, free to fuck up, fail and move on, and the only people who'd suffer, the only one that mattered was me." Looking up to the Titan, her eyes looked haunted, something in her creaking from the strain. "Now? I feel like I'm living in a house of cards, and fate's tied a blindfold around my eyes."

She understood now, the anxiety behind her growing friendship with the other girl. Yoko wasn't a hero, or a villian – she was just Yoko. It made Raven wonder why Jinx had agreed to this at all, if she was so concerned, but she kept that question, and the voice that asked, buried deep. For now. "Does she know?"

Nodding slowly, Jinx motioned to the living room, and the two moved to the more comfortable couch it offered. "I took her to a place I go to now and then, that overlooks the wreckage of the Hive. I go sometimes when I'm thinking, remembering who I am."

"Jinx, that place... your tattoo, your name, all that. That's not who you are," the Titan murmured, as they settled onto the couch. With a small pang she noticed the distance Jinx sat from her, but let it go quickly. The Thief was still wrapped up in her own thoughts, after all. "Who you are, what you are – you define that yourself. No one else can do that to you."

"That's a pretty idea, Raven. It really is, but you know it's a lie," despite the recrimination in her words, Jinx smiled at the Titan. "I don't blame you for it, the Titans had nothing to do with making us what we were, with what we did. But there's nothing I could have done to change the labels we were given."

To Raven's surprise, the Thief pulled her closer, turning her so her back was to the taller girl. Easing her back, Jinx started to unbraid her hair, laying it out on her shoulder. "Jinx, what are you..." she stilled, as Jinx's finger laid on her lips.

"I'm indulging in a little bit of girl-girl bonding that I missed out on in the Hive. You're my hapless victim in this. Sound fun?"

Raven's shoulders shook with quiet laughter. "Alright, my captor, do continue what you were saying," trying to settle her suddenly shaky nerves, the Titan attempted to relax as Jinx's hands carefully worked on her hair.

"When I was growing up, Metas were either kept as pets by labs and experimented on, shoved off on orphanages and then to government watchdog agencies, or observation slash detainments camps, or like me, ditched the paper trails and went solo," Jinx explained, curious as to why Raven of all people didn't know this. "So basically, because of what I was, I had to be either hidden away and kept under guard like some kind of walking bomb, or go off on my own, and survive day to day."

Nodding, conceding the point, Raven still argued for her views, "But did it mean you had to be a criminal?"

"Honey, what kind of looks did you get, before you let the admissions office know you were a Titan?" she asked, smiling down at the now blushing Raven. "I thought so. People judge, quickly. Sometimes you never get a say in how."

Some of what Jinx was saying was familiar, but Raven had to admit... she'd never thought about it in perspective. "So, most of the people in the Hive...?"

"Runaways, orphans, kids that were scooped up by the Brotherhood patrols and sent in. The minority of them were those that came on their own." Smirking a bit, Jinx tickled the Titan's ear with a tuft of her own hair. "Enough about the Hive though. Suffice to say, I worry because some day all that will come back and bite me on the ass."

"Well... it is a cute ass."

Blinking down at the Titan, Jinx raised a brow. "You looked?"

Shrugging, Raven closed her eyes, having relaxed into the other girl's lap. "Just because no one thinks I have emotions or attractions, doesn't mean it's true. I just have to... had to, keep them under control very tightly."

Cocking her head to the side, the quirky girl raised a brow, thinking over those words carefully. "I remember... there were notes. Things in the Hive database, about your emotions. How they tied in to your powers," watching the Titan's expression, Jinx let her thoughts untangle as she ran slender fingers through Raven's hair. "You just said 'had to', rather than 'have to'. Has something changed?"

Nodding slightly, Raven looked up with a slow smile, "Without my father and all the dangers he represents anymore, I'm free to explore my emotions more." Making a wry face, the Titan continued, "Well, mostly. I still have to be careful not to get too emotional. But I'm making progress."

Letting the violet locks slip through her fingers, Jinx considered all the things Raven had said, as she coaxed small tangles from her hair. "So, does this mean you date? When we, well when I was visiting at the Tower, you seemed pretty withdrawn."

Shaking her head slightly, the Titan shifted, throwing her feet up on the armrest, while her arms crossed just above her waist. "I don't really date I suppose. I had a pretty bad experience a while back, and then there was my father to worry about." When Jinx made a small curious noise, the Titan continued. "Well, there's a good chance... well very much like what you were saying. Something bad would happen, either because of me, or because it was me."

Jinx started a bit, as the girl beneath her hands made a low, happy sound, and the former Thief realized she'd let her fingers gravitate from parting and smoothing her hair, to simply making small patterns on her temples, across her forehead slowly. "Mm, sorry. Letting my mind drift."

"I don't mind, if you don't," Raven said quietly, her color rising. Closing her eyes again, the Titan let her words follow the drifting of her memory, as opposed to her immediate thoughts, "I never really thought about any of the others like possible... well dates. Lovers. Relationships." Cracking an eye open, she noticed Jinx's blush and grinned slightly. "Sorry. Maybe a bit blunt."

"No, I guess I understand. I was more like a babysitter or substitute mother to most of my cell. I mean c'mon, Gizmo, Mammoth, Billy and Seemore?" Laughing quietly, Jinx leered down at the Titan as she opened her eyes at the sound. "Though, have to admit, Billy had potential."

Snorting, the Titan wrinkled her nose. "I couldn't have gotten past the accent."

"Yeah, it was pretty severe. But then again I wasn't really planning on talking to him..." Jinx smirked at Raven's cough, her silent laughter.

"You're horrible. But hold on, I'm a bit confused," On one hand, there's Flash, and we all know you guys pretty much paid for that one night clerk's vacation with how often you needed 'supplies'," holding her hands above her head, Raven fended off the pillow attack that the Thief launched, swatting at her indignantly. Laughing, the Titan continued when they'd declaired a temporary peace. "But here you are, dating that cute little librarian."

Considering the point, Jinx shrugged, going back to braiding Raven's hair where it draped across her crossed legs. "I don't really think about it. I mean, to a degree it seemed weird, but it's more that... well I dated Flash. I've only really indulged in my attractions to boys, but I've always found girls," pausing, Jinx looked back down at the girl laying in her lap and bit her lip, realizing that the topic was dangerous, at best. "I guess I find girls more aesthetic?" Shrugging, she tried to calm her blush, before the Titan could call her on it.

"I think I get you. You're bi."

"Well if you want to simplify it, sure. The thing is, I never really thought to label or define it or whatever. I guess it never came up," Jinx drawled, rolling her eyes. "But seriously, I was kinda blindsided by Yoko. I wasn't expecting... or thinking, about her like that. To be honest, she's like my best friend, and it worries me, where things are going."

Tilting her head, Raven blinked up at her host, "You mean, other than the whole, um. Hive backlash thing? What else worries you?"

"Well, what happens if things go badly? I lose her... and I'm really fond of her company-"

"You just never thought about it like this?" Raven asked, piecing together the puzzle Jinx represented, understanding the reasons behind her odd mood and disturbed demeanor. "Why didn't you... well, say no? Keep things platonic."

Jinx shrugged, and with a small disappointed sound from Raven, sat the Titan back up. "Stay put, be right back." Nodding, the Titan leaned back against the armrest Jinx had vacated and waited, her mind a slow happy muddle from the combination of contact and talk with the quirky Thief. She only remotely found it odd, that her realization from the other day led her to this place.

Like a bolt, there it had hit Raven as she meditated yesterday after leaving. Yesterday when she'd left, and Jinx had wrapped her in a hug, her breath so soft on her ear, she'd realized two things. One, she liked that sensation. Closeness of a more intimate type, the feel of a person under her hands, against her skin. Nothing so visceral as sexual attraction, but the simple, honest contact. Two, she liked that contact, with Jinx. Not one to lie to herself, regardless of the topic, she admitted easily her time with the quirky girl was some of the most defining moments since her break with the Titans. She'd had fun, grown into the easy habit of feeling at ease around the former Thief, and even offered her comfort, something she had never really imagined doing before. Raven understood friendship, had partaken and given it for many years. What Jinx was in her mind floated in a gray space that wasn't within that scope.

She wasn't a fool, though. Yoko held a place with Jinx that she wouldn't tread on, or try to complicate. But that didn't mean she wouldn't work for her own ideals too, and as the afternoon progressed, she had to admit, their closeness was a glowing moon in the nighttime of her mind.

Then Jinx came back in with a pair of small single-serving ice cream tubs, and Raven just smiled. "I take it you like ice cream?"

"I see strawberry. Gimme."

Laughing quietly, Jinx handed the small tub and spoon over, popping the top of her own, pausing when Raven gestured her closer. Scooting nearer the Titan, she was turned and pushed down, blinking up at the smiling hero as she loomed above her. "Your turn."

"Oh. Right," Jinx meeped, deciding her mint chip needed some attention. "You mentioned a bad experience... want to talk about it some? I mean it's cool if no-" she nibbled on a bit of strawberry ice cream that suddenly was occupying her mouth, choosing wisely to hush.

Raven retrieved her spoon before the quirky Thief stole it. "It's fine, you worry too much. Well, there was this story I used to adore..." As Raven's fingers worked out the bands that held Jinx's hair in place, she related the story of Rorek, and her own mistaken romance with Malchior. "In the end, I realized that the story was just a ruse, really. Perhaps it was really true, but in all likelyhood, the only thing I could really trust was that the dragon used the book's story to trap people. Rorek's guise was the lure."

"Wow, that's pretty messed up," Jinx said finally, shaking her head. "I can see why you were hesitant, well other than the other reasons. That's a pretty serious burn." Peering up into the Titan's violet eyes, she looked for traces of that long-past, in Raven's words, sadness, but found only a detached attention to her work. That being apparently, braiding Jinx's hair into a forest of tiny sprouts. "So what happened with the book, and the dragon eventually?"

At this Raven's features took on a slight tinge of annoyance, "I lost track of it years ago. I think the enchantment on the book is such that when the owner no longer could be used to release Malchior, it moves to another. I've tried to track it down, as it's a dangerous book with the dragon's tendency to teach powerful magic as a lure, but can't find it."

Nodding slightly, Jinx had to admit it was a good trap. She would have likely fallen for it herself, "I'm sorry. That's really beyond anything I could compare, I think."

"We're not comparing hurts to win a trophy, silly," Raven replied, laughing silently. "But I have to admit, it really put a damper on my urge to find someone to be in a relationship with." Smiling down at the practically purring Thief in her lap, she began to come to the full realization how much alike they really were, in so many-

"So, did you like... get paper cuts?"

Blinking, Raven's mind stalled and ground to a halt. "Er. What?"

Gesturing lewdly, Jinx made her point and leered up at the incredulous Titan, "You know, from the sharp edges? Serious ow there."

"No. No paper cuts." Eye twitching, the former Titan nearly dumped the cackling Thief into the floor, but decided to turn the tables instead. "So, was Flash the fasted boy on earth... with everything?"

Paling, Jinx cleared her throat and shrugged, looking away. "Well, that is..."

"Ah, so the rumors were true," Raven jibed, happy to make the quirky girl twitch in payback.

Jinx finally rolled her eyes and sighed, "Yeah well, he didn't have stamina issues per se, well not that I'm really a good judge of these things – small pool of experience, but he definitely had could have used a bit more patience."

It was Raven's turn to look away, as the mental images of Kid Flash and Jinx flashed through her mind. "Er. Right."

"Hey, you asked," smirking, Jinx squirmed, settling with her head on Raven's thigh, bringing a blush to the Titan. "You know, you have a comfy lap."

"Th-thank you. I think," Raven stammered, continuing with great concentration to braid Jinx's candyfloss hair. "So, uhm. Are you and Yoko going out again?"

Nodding, Jinx's expression took on a slightly thoughtful cast. "She asked, yeah. I don't know precisely when, but I said yes." Looking up at the Titan, her lips thinned slightly as she contemplated that, and her own feelings toward her best friend. "I guess that wasn't the brightest thing to do, was it?"

Shrugging despite a small stab of envy, or jealousy, Raven wasn't sure which, she stilled her hands on the the other girl's shoulders and held her gaze for a few moments before answering. "I guess it depends on what you want. Do you want to be her best friend, and something else? Just because of who you are, that doesn't mean what you'll have is doomed," she said, the effort took her own eyes locked on the coral-hued ones below her growing with each word. "I can understand your worry. Sometimes I wonder how people manage it. All these complicated, strong emotions ruling them."

"All these?" Jinx asked, here eyes half closing as she lazed there, warm in the Titan's closeness. "I guess it is complicated. But isn't that what makes people so interesting?" Reaching up, she slipped a hand behind the Titan's head and pulled her down, the other girl unprotesting.

She paused, millimeters before their lips met, and Raven could see the edges of Jinx's lips curl slightly, barely forming a grin as her own heartbeat threatened to deafen her. "Complicated," Raven felt more than heard the whisper, against her lips. The warm wash of her breath, so close again blasted what small reservations and hesitations she had to so much dust. Eyes closing, and a held breath shaking loose from her chest, the Titan closed that distance.

Raven was quietly pleased, at the small purr she felt through those lips, the gentle pressure pulling her closer, as a brief touch against her own lips caused her to gasp-

It was at this point, in a swirl of pink and lambent black, that every light in the room was blown, the filaments parting with a series of loud pops. The pair started in the sudden darkness, laughing and pulling themselves up, looking at one another and grinning. Jinx broke the silence, and the distance, reaching over to slip an arm around the Titan's waist. She smiled, to makes sure the Titan didn't mistake what she soon said, "This... us. I don't know Rae. Can you be ok with me not knowing?"

Raven considered this a moment, the myriad meanings behind the quirky girl's words, and nodded, slowly. "I think so. But... I won't be a complication to you and Yoko. I can be ok, with not knowing precisely what..." reaching up she tucked an errant lock of hair back behind Jinx's ear with a grin. "What this is. But I'm also patient."

"So when I know, when I figure out what me and Yoko are," Jinx began, reasoning out the Titan's meaning slowly.

Nodding, Raven favored her with one of her rare smiles, "Then we can figure out what this is."

Smiling in response, Jinx handed the Titan her ice cream, reaching for her own after. "I think I'd like that."

I oOo I

Mornings, as she'd remembered the Tamaranian princess saying, were glorious. Jinx hummed, going through her waking routine with a smile, her talking, as well as the small heart-to-heart, with the Titan having settled quite a few of her anxieties. Singing in the shower, she giggled, planning out her day ahead, looking forward for the first time in quite some while, to everything.

Packing a fast lunch and a little something extra for Yoko, the Thief smiled. "How did I get so lucky?" she pondered, wrapping everything up and organizing her pack. She'd pulled out some books to read during the more droning lectures, opting for her recorder today. She could do some note transcribing before the Titan arived that night for their session. She grinned, debating what they'd learn that night, and if it'd have anything to do with classes. Dismissing her whimsy, Jinx slipped on her shoes and made the small trek to the train station.

She knew whatever she shared with the Titan may be something they both were curious about, but nothing would come of it, yet. Raven respected her feelings for Yoko, even if Jinx was unsure of them, and what direction she wanted them to go, herself. "Lucky," she murmured again, humming to herself and garnering a few glances as she moved her lips in time to a song.

The day progressed as she'd hoped, classes played out and passed in a blur, her recorder picking up at points she was more inclined to either work on some studies of her own, or simply dive into one of the novels she'd picked up, the same ones she'd given to Raven.

Best to be familiar with her own material, after all.

Lunch came soon, and she practiclaly skipped to the lounge, spying Yoko with her back turned to the doors with a grin. Sneaking around the room, she was careful to keep out of sight of the girl, intent on her goal. Lowering her bag carefully, the Thief prepared herself by crouching by the table, a mischevous grin on her face as she watched the librarian look over a book she was supposed to be sorting, seemingly more intent on reading it.

Just as she was turning to place the item on the proper rack, a pink blur swooped up and tackled her, the pair falling behind the desk with a muffled thump. "Ouf, my god Jinx, what are yo- Noo! Not the ear again, Aiiiiee!" A single brown loafer flew over the desk, landing beside Jinx's pack.

Raven grinned, raising the book she was reading on the other side of the library back up to hide her face. She may have feelings for the quirky witch, but that didn't mean she couldn't enjoy watching her have fun at someone else's expense. After all, what good are friends, if you can't scheme with them?

A/N: This is a rewrite of my original Ch.6, minus some angst, and with a bit more... happy. Understand: This had nothing to do with the somewhat negative feedback I've gotten regarding the progress with Yoko. Two things, real fast. The character pairing this is listed under was purposeful. I'm exploring an idea, where my intended romance plot is apparent, not immediate, but natural. Not every friendship stays that way, not every romance is definite, immediate and stable. This is me spearheading an idea I don't see often, in which the first romance you see in the story, isn't the one under which it's listed. That doesn't mean it's not planned.

Enough spoilers. I almost feel obligated to put that there, with the number of PM's I've gotten calling me out on "Why is it", "Well, way to lie about" and the like. I will be pleased one day to find a reader with the patience to enjoy a plot, because it is the road, not the destination.