Human Behavior

Chapter Two: Unrealities

Raven smiled teasingly at the dripping wet feline while Jinx stared back at her pitifully on the communicator screen.

"Did someone forget her umbrella?"

"Don't make me do the pouty face—I'll do it," Jinx threatened with a slight quiver of her bottom lip.

Raven chuckled and got up from the kitchen table. A few moments later, one of the large front doors heaved open; the sound of pouring rain echoed in the hallway. Raven leaned on the doorframe, arms crossed, inspecting the creature before her. Jinx' favorite pair of combats adorned her feet as she stood in a puddle; she wore plain black cargo pants and a new dark blue The North Face jacket Raven had never seen before. Her neon hair hung around her face in thick, tattered strands.

"I thought you worked the opening shift today."

Jinx grumbled to herself at her girlfriend's memory and intuitive nature. And that damn empathic ability she was most certainly using at the moment... She flashed a smile and stepped inside, peeling off her jacket. "I got out of it," she leaned down, capturing the shorter girl in a kiss.

"…How fortunate," lips curved into a smug smirk. "You should change out of those wet clothes."

Jinx squeezed out as much of the rainwater from her hair as possible before shaking herself off. "I'm actually pretty dry. Just my hair suffered...its going to look fantastic once it dries…"

"I see. You want something to eat? I made tea and toast," Raven led them back to the kitchen, smiling to herself at the 'squish, squish' coming from behind.

"No thanks, I'm not hungry."

Raven eyed the sorceress as she settled back down into her chair. "Since when are you not hungry?"

"What's with all the questions? I get off from work and ate already and suddenly you're suspicious of something," Jinx plopped down into a chair, letting out a quiet sigh.

Raven shot her a look but said nothing. She didn't think she asked a lot of questions…did it come off that way? Was she suspicious? No, no. She was still just a little edgy from saying goodbye to her dear friend earlier; that was all. Picking up a piece of toast, she produced a small smile "Sorry, it's…I'm just a little off today."

Jinx read the pale girls face carefully, having learned to pick up the most subtle of expressions from the stoic empath. "You finally got rid of him" she said with a sideways look while tracing unknown things on the tabletop with her fingers.

"I did."

Said with such relief and…sadness. Poor girl. Goddamn that bastard…best to cheer her up. But how… "Good. No worries then, right? Tell you what," Jinx slid her chair over, wrapping her arms around Raven, who leaned into the embrace. "How about we go curl up in bed and watch a movie or something. Rainy days are good for snuggling," the feline planted a kiss on her cheek; Raven smiled and hugged back tightly.

Sometimes Raven's reactions still surprised Jinx. Whether it was a smile, smirk, hug, glare, laugh—anything, the feline still found herself doing a double-take just to be sure she wasn't imagining it. Who knew that girl was so, dare she say, warm and cuddly? Obviously not on the outside, Raven wasn't the holding hands, public displays of any affection kind of girl. But, Jinx had happily discovered, she didn't have any problem with intimacy. Some of the sweetest moments were spent lying entwined, just whispering loving words, telling tales never before told in the early morning light. Sure, it may have taken some drastic circumstances and sheer dumb luck to happen upon, but regardless of any and all things as far as Jinx was concerned…Raven was hers.

"Watch a movie or something?" Raven repeated with one brow raised. "If you want something, you should know by now you have to ask for it first…" she grinned and took a bite of toast.

Jinx rolled her eyes. "I didn't mean that—you really do think about sex all the time, don't you?"

"Not since before some irritating girl ran into me in the alley one cold, rainy night."

"I've created a monster…" Jinx slipped out of her chair and meandered to the fridge, opening the door and staring inside; her stomach growled audibly.

"Not hungry, I see," Raven watched as the girl snooped through the various food items for anything appetizing. Jinx pulled out a box of half eaten pizza, her expression deeming said food articles unfit for consumption. She pushed the box back inside and pulled out a banana.

"Who refrigerates bananas?" she asked while peeling the ripe yellow skin.

"I'd presume Starfire. But then again, the other three aren't exactly excluded for lack of common knowledge either," Raven let the hunger issue slide.

Jinx ate silently, never taking her eyes off the table top. It didn't take an empath to tell that there was something obviously on the girl's mind. Raven could feel turmoil, frustration, and anxiety pouring off the sorceress. If she really wanted to know, she could delve deeper into her mind and find out what the trouble was--but that would be rude and break the trust the two had built up against all odds. The moral dilemma rarely prevented Raven from doing much, but she wouldn't do that to the one person she loved. If Jinx wanted to talk about it, she would. Gods know the girl could talk when feeling inclined to…

Raven glanced towards the clock; 6:31am. While she was the official early bird of the group, any second now Robin would be down in the kitchen to make himself breakfast; usually a bowl of cereal, a glass of orange juice or milk, and some form of fruit. That was probably his banana…Starfire would be the next to show her chipper morning face as she floated about in whatever cause for merriment today was. Perhaps the Tamaranian festival of belated moonings or a celebration of the harvest of some ghastly item they consider food. That girl certainly was one of the happiest, celebratory beings Raven had ever met. A little too happy.

Some time around seven Cyborg would march into the kitchen and clamber around the pots and pans, making an unpleasant racket until he found something suitable for making waffles in. If he would just wash the skillet he had used the day prior, he would have it this morning, but that concept was one never grasped by the titanium Titan. And lastly, Beast Boy would drag his sorry hide downstairs whenever the smells wafted up to his room; usually to gripe about the stench of cooking pig in the morning making him want to vomit. Or something of that matter; like the other four somehow managed to forget that their green friend was a vegetarian.

After noticing that the girl hadn't blinked in a while, Raven frowned. "Jinx…is something troubling you?"

Slowly, pink eyes crept upwards until they met the steady, concerned gaze. For a split second, her guard faltered; she felt it, knew that Raven would have instantly picked up her betraying eyes. "No…I'm just tired."

Jinx slammed the rusty back door shut and stood fuming, letting the rain drench her in a feeble attempt to cool everything down. That was her last nerve, the long fuse reached the end and ignited, and in a rather tame fashion she mused. It could have gone much differently, with fire and the works… Slowly, as she watched the little streams of water snaking across the earth, she felt back in control, level-headed and calm.

After a few minutes, she promptly zipped up her old nylon jacket and headed down the back alley to the adjacent street. It was only twenty minutes after five and in combination with the weather, the streets were fairly deserted. Booted feet trudged through the streets, leading the body somewhere neither knew. Thoughts quickly flooded her questioning mind. She had a good job at the café, made decent money, made rent and bills with plenty to spare. But that wasn't who she was. It was so boring and predictable—Jinx was truly gifted in the art of relieving people of their worldly pleasures. She did it with style, grace, and military precision. How could you waste such talent, especially when it was something she enjoyed doing? Sure, it was illegal… apparently some of the best things in life are.

She paused momentarily to get her bearings in the fog. Confirmation came when her eyes focused on the beat up door of an abandoned clothing store once leading down into Luke's lair. What ever happened to the man was still a mystery. When police invaded the underground club, only four bodies were found; three mindless drones and the calculatingly efficient Karl. His brains were, of course, all present and accounted for in their scattered state around the floor. Didn't Raven crush the possessed body of Luke in her tendrils in an effort to defeat Malchior? Apparently not, as his body lay lifeless on the floor the last they saw of that wretched place, no one has yet to find him dead or alive.

The question then rises as to how the two girls got away from legal prosecution for the four deaths. And to answer simply, in a club for criminals the chance for gang-like brawls are high. When asked, Raven gave a statement identifying several big hitters on the warrants list, and by the time she arrived on scene, chaos had escalated and she left for a more urgent emergency. Being an upstanding citizen and honored vigilante had its perks. Something that was very foreign to Jinx.

With a sigh, she turned around, heading ultimately for the Tower. She needed some time alone with Raven to remind herself of how happy she was with the girl. She was worth staying legit for, and usually the thoughts that have become increasingly more frequent lately had never before crossed her mind. What, then, was the cause? Was her whole relationship with Raven and change of life just a manifested form of seducement? That seemed so wrong, not possible at all. What the psion loved about Jinx was her natural absurdity; the feline never changed anything about her personality in order to appeal to the stoic bird. They were generally almost complete opposites, sharing a similar sense of humor and taste in witty conversation. One dark and serious, the other, light and laid back. Yet somehow, against all reason and odds, they two were an almost perfect pair. Jinx felt this new trouble would somehow affect the previous statement. She growled and turned left, walking up Vine St. Her level of irritation grew more heightened as saw a man shuffling down the street under a bright red umbrella, obviously lost in conversation on his cell phone. The perfect target for a pick pocket…yep…what a shame.

Jinx felt herself subconsciously aligning up with the other's path, preparing for the slight bump that would cost the absentminded man his wallet. Closer and closer they drew. A surge of adrenaline and excitement flooded her senses; she found herself allowing what was most certainly to come. At the point of no return, she never felt more alive in her entire life. Years worth of the same feeling sparked up in her memories as rapidly as the rain drops fell. The two brushed by one another slightly, and in a split second, the deed was done.

"Sorry, miss," the man mouthed to Jinx, who only smiled and nodded her head slightly.

No, no. Excuse me, sir…

A smirk told all as she turned back around. After traveling a safe distance away from the clueless sucker, Jinx opened the worn, brown wallet, instantly upgrading her smirk to a solid grin. Four crisp fifty dollar bills smiled back. Why hello Mr. Grant and friends. The pleasure is all mine, kind sirs, but the thanks should go out to Thomas L. Rider for being such a good sport. She pocketed the cash, leaving the wallet beside a bench she passed by, continuing her journey.

Her thieving senses were buzzing with glee; she just had to do more. As if to suggest, the wind howled fiercely down the road, sending chills through the thin jacket she wore. With winter well in swing, she really needed a new jacket with the amount of time she spent outside. An idea instantly announced itself as she spotted one of her favorite outdoor apparel and sports dealers in town. The doors may be locked and lights dimmed, but those were things she looked for in a good target. She felt the corners of her lips curve upwards as she headed towards the back after one good glance around.

Raven watched the girl in silence for a while, trying to shake herself of the odd feelings she just picked up. She came to the conclusion that Jinx just wasn't ready to talk, and, being the one in such situation many a time herself, Raven respected her privacy. "Well then, let's go lay down and accomplish some snuggling, then," she smiled warmly, extending her hand.

Jinx perked up a bit, in eyes and smile, placing her hand in Raven's. In a cool, smoky fog, the two vanished just as a sleepy-eyed Robin made an appearance in the kitchen. He blinked a few times, not quite sure he saw what his eyes had reported, but shrugged it off as something having to do with the dark titan. His stomach was a far more pertinent matter.