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For Now, Jericho and Kole

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From this height, the waves looked like little ripples of foam on the surface of a cup of morning coffee after a good stir. Kole, peering over the edge of the concrete walls of the rooftop of Titans Tower on tiptoe, took in a deep breath of the fresh ocean air. She had never voiced it to Gnaark, but she had missed being aboveground. She had missed the sky and sea. Not so much the mountains, probably because her underground home had mountains aplenty.

Someone gently touched her shoulder.

Kole spun around, surprised. A boy with tousled blonde hair and piercing green eyes stood there in the sun. He deftly moved his hands into various shapes. It only took a moment before, she realized his motions as sign language.

"I'm sorry, I don't know – "

She was afraid she might have offended him. But he just smiled and nodded, saying "Ah." Well, Kole knew that that was what he had said, even if there was no sound. Both stood there silently, and Kole felt that she should be the one to introduce herself, since it was because her ignorance that he couldn't speak or communicate with her.

"Hi, I'm Kole. Jericho, right?" Awkwardly, Kole stuck out her hand. Jericho took it and gave it a shake, nodding with that gentle smile of his. Something about him made Kole relax, and she smiled back, a real smile. Then, Jericho's face turned questioning, and he pointed to his eyes, then at hers.

Kole hesitated. Jericho was a hero, she knew, it was just that she did not know him well enough to trust him so completely. Giving him control of her body just seemed like a far jump… When she looked back at Jericho, something clicked within her mind. He wants to talk to me.

With a mental shrug, she decided to take the plunge.

"Ok, but you have to promise to get out when I ask." said Kole firmly.

Jericho nodded, and Kole got the distinct feeling he wanted to add "Of course."

To ready herself, Kole took a deep breath before meeting Jericho's eyes. The entirety of his eyes turned black except for his irises, which brightened to an almost neon hue and became a glowing ring as the pupil enlarged. A funny feeling came over Kole as Jericho disappeared before her eyes; she was aware of herself, yet was almost completely powerless to act, like the moment right before falling asleep. Her own voice (yet in her mind it echoed mingled with a different voice, a masculine voice) said, "You shouldn't stand too close to the edge."

Kole shrugged, and was surprised when her arms actually obeyed easily. Realizing Jericho wasn't using his full power on her was strangely comforting.

"I was looking at the ocean," her eyes trailed to the blue expanse just over the concrete fence, "I'd missed it."

"Mm." Jericho smiled. "It is amazing, isn't it?"

They both breathed in the salty sea air together, literally. Kole giggled. Jericho cocked his head questioningly…or Kole's body did.

Kole just giggled even more. "This is the weirdest thing I've ever felt. If anyone came by, they'd think I was crazy."

Jericho let out a laugh too. "I just wanted to talk. It was frustrating, not being able to."

"I got that. That's why I let you, you know." Kole left it off there, unsure how to label the situation.

Jericho did not finish Kole's sentence. Instead, he said, "That was thoughtful of you. Thank you."

Kole just shrugged again, slightly embarrassed. She looked at the sea again. There was silence between them, filled only with the crash of the waves that could still be heard even at this distance. It was Kole who spoke up first.

"So, I guess we should introduce ourselves." Having nothing to look at while talking, her eyes stayed on the blue horizon. "Um, I guess I should start with my powers…I can turn to crystal."

"I can possess other people by looking into their eyes."

Both were interested in the other's story, but did not ask. These things were rather private, and all too often painful recollections. Standing clamlike didn't seem like a good option though, so Kole spoke again.

"I lived in an underground sanctuary up at the North Pole with Gnaark to escape people who wanted to use me. I thought we'd be safe there, but I guessed wrong because this second-rate villain, Dr. Light, tried to use me as a prism."

Jericho smiled. "The same Dr. Light we just fought?"

Giggling, Kole replied, "Yes, it's the same guy. He wasn't that wimpy when we – the Titans were there too – fought him up at my place."

"So what happened?"

"Of course we all defeated him! That was the start with my friendship with the Titans, and so I'm here. What about you? Where did you live?"

For a brief moment, Kole thought she felt Jericho hesitate, but as he soon started talking, she wondered if she'd only imagined it.

"I lived on a mountaintop with a lot of yellow flowers and my guitar."

"Alone?"

Jericho nodded and Kole's eyes widened in surprise. "Weren't you lonely?"

This time, Kole was certain Jericho's smile held a note of sadness. "I had my guitar," he replied. "Beastboy was the one who came to contact me right before the Brain fiasco. The villains the sent to get me didn't really know my abilities, so I was able to defeat them."

"Right, I was forgetting! You were part of Beastboy's team that saved the rest of us!" Kole exclaimed admiringly.

Jericho blushed. "Well, uh, yeah…" he stammered, suddenly flustered. "It wasn't all that amazing, really, we'd have been flattened if you and the rest of the Titans didn't show up soon after."

"Still!"

The sound of footsteps hurrying up the stairs behind them could be heard, and Jericho hurriedly left Kole's body. The door banged open, revealing Cyborg.

"There y'all are! C'mon down, we've got pizza and Gnaark is frantic." chuckled Cyborg, addressing the last remark to Kole. "Seems to think we've done you in or something."

Kole slapped her forehead with the heel of her palm, albeit smilingly. "Not again!" she said. "I told him to relax and have fun and not worry about me."

"Well, you better be down quick, or you know there won't be any food left."

"Between you and Gnaark, no kitchen on earth can last!" Kole's voice held a note of laughter. She waved him on. "We'll be right down after you, Cyborg!"

Waving back, he stomped down the stairs again. They could hear his loud voice booming something about tofu and grass stains. Giggling again, Kole shook her head in amusement.

"Well, I should hurry down and calm Gnaark," she said to no one in particular. Looking back at Jericho, she called, "You coming?"

Jericho's face had become slightly overshadowed. He wanted more than anything to ask Kole who Gnaark is, (though it was none of his business really, he chided himself) but he didn't and couldn't, obviously. For some reason, there was a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach every time either Cyborg or Kole said that name. An image of the large caveman that had accompanied Kole flashed through his mind. At Kole's voice however, he forced a smile and nodded.

Kole cocked her head inquiringly, but did not ask. Impulsively, she grabbed Jericho's hand and pulled him along with her.

Live in the moment.

A voice Jericho had once admired so much echoed in his memory. Though now he abhorred the owner of that voice, for now he accepted the advice and let himself be pulled through the darkness by a small, slight hand.

A/N I hope you all know who the "voice" that Jericho hates is. Well, those of you who know the comics will. ^^ Not sure if that person ever did say this, but it's a fanfic, not a canon comic, so I'm going with it for the moment.

Huh. I thought I'd start this fic with RobStar, but I didn't. I thought for sure the next chapter would be RobStar, but it wasn't. ^^; Hope you enjoyed! Please review.