AN: thanks for all the lovely reviews. You should have all received a reply via pm so long as you were logged in.

A further thing to note is that the story has been moved up to an 'm' rating for a good reason ;)

"I'm pretty sure you shouldn't be doing this," Jinx scowled as she watched her girlfriend methodically stretch each part of her body.

"I've been in bed for a month, apparently. Any longer and I'll suffer from muscle wastage," Raven replied without looking up, her out-stretched hands reaching for her toes, her face scrunched up in pain as her back protested.

"And maybe that was because of how injured you were. You can afford a few days rest."

The empath straightened up, grinning. "What's the matter? Afraid I'm going to beat you?"

"Afraid you'll slip a disk," Jinx replied. "Fine, but we'll take it slow, okay?"

Raven nodded, before asking, "Are you going to warm up?"

"I'm always ready," the thief replied and to prove her point laid her hands flat by her feet, her legs perfectly straight. Demonstrating strong core control her back smoothly straightened, bringing her legs up off the ground and higher until she was in a handstand. She held it a moment before going over and down, executing the perfect slow motion front flip.

"Show off," Raven muttered as the girl grinned at her.

"What's the matter? Afraid I'll beat you?"

Getting into position Raven told her, "We're just going to do some hand to hand combat. It will help me assess just how hurt I am, and what areas of my body need the most focus."

"Well I could tell you that," Jinx grinned as she slowly and very deliberately moved her eyes down her girlfriend's body. She moved to stand opposite Raven though. "You want me defensive or offensive?"

"Offensive."

"Ooh my favourite." The light hearted tone didn't match Jinx's body language as she rushed forward, swinging for a punch.

And pulled up short.

Raven scowled, her hands going to rest on her hips. "You actually need to try and hit me for this to work."

"Well duh, but you didn't even look like you'd make it out of the way or… anything."

"I could sense you were thinking about pulling up short. You're not going soft, are you?"

"Soft? Yeah, alright. You best be ready."

Jinx lunged at the empathy again, once more swinging her fist. Raven moved to block it but the thief fainted and using the opening dropped low, swinging her foot round behind Raven's and tripping the empath. She went down with a bang, and Jinx smile didn't last more than a second.

"Too much?" she asked as she offered the titan a hand up.

"I'm just out of practice," Raven shook her head, allowing Jinx to pull her to her feet. "Again."

The hex caster regarded Raven as though she were crazy but started circling, the empath moving with her to protect her back. Jinx threw a few quick punches, flipping back before swinging into a kick. She carefully monitored Raven's blocks. They came easily – almost effortlessly.

The thief picked up the speed, forcing Raven slowly across the room. The titan started messing up. First the odd kick penetrated her defences, then Jinx's fist skimmed the empath's shoulder, her ear – each attack getting closer and closer to hitting its target.

"Do you wanna take a break?" Jinx asked as she continued to push Raven further across the gym.

Raven shook her head.

"You know-" Jinx's fist grazed the girl's ribs. "-if you're struggling to block an attack move away from it. Dodge." Her foot connected with Raven's shin and the titan stumbled.

Jinx continued to humour Raven for another ten minutes before wiping her out in two moves and riding her to the ground. She sat straddled Raven's waist, both arms raised in celebration as she declared, "And the winner is… me!"

"Congratulations, you beat someone fresh out of a coma," Raven replied dryly.

"I still get victors rights,"

The empathy grinned up at her, "Victors rights? I said you'd beaten me," Raven carefully tensed her body so Jinx wouldn't notice. "I never said you'd won."

Raven quickly twisted onto her side, a forceful hand on Jinx's arm taking the thief with her until Raven was no longer pinned down. She'd started to stand when her back seized up, and ended up back on her ass.

Jinx leaned over, smiling sweetly as she whispered, "Like I said. My victory." She planted a quick kiss on Raven's cheek before asking, "Seriously though, you okay?"

The empath nodded. "My back just had a spasm."

"Well then you just relax," Jinx told her as she moved a hand to the back of Raven's neck and gently massaged. "I know the perfect was to limber you up."

Raven shuffled back until she could sit against the wall, Jinx moving with her. Letting her head rest against the wall, she closed her eyes and relaxed. When Jinx kissed her she happily reciprocated, a hand tangling in that pink hair to stop any ideas the thief might have had about pulling back. Jinx's hand moved from the empath's neck to her shoulder and down her ribs, still massaging while her kisses grew more intense.

It wasn't until the thief's hand had slipped between her legs that Raven caught onto what she was doing. Pulling back almost instantly, she tried to tell Jinx, "I'm not sure I'm well enough for-"

"I'll do all the work." Jinx interjected, the words murmured against Raven's neck.

A shaky exhale escaped the empath's lips as the thief's hand cupped her, gently squeezing. "We can't do it here." She gripped on tightly to Jinx's shoulders as the thief nudged her legs apart and knelt between them.

"Sure we can."

The titan could feel Jinx's finger tracing the skin at the edge of her leotard, and had to admit Jinx was right about one thing. She already felt more relaxed, he back not hurting even half as much. She still couldn't get past the idea of them being in the gym, however. "What if someone comes in?"

"You'll be dressed. Anyone asks, we were sparring," Jinx suddenly stilled her hand, oblivious to Raven's scowl. "There aren't cameras in here are there?"

"Why would we need cameras in the gym? Of course not."

"Good."

Jinx kissed her again, this time with a sense of urgency, halting any protests and making Raven forget about her fear of being discovered. She pushed the fabric of Raven's leotard out of the way and Raven raised her knees almost automatically

The thief broke off from the kiss to watch her girlfriend's face as she slowly slid one finger in. Her gentle movements pushed Raven to the edge, and she was shaking when she eventually demanded, "For Azar's sake just… please!"

Raven might not have known exactly what she was asking for but Jinx did. The resulting moan caught the thief off guard, the loud 'crash' that followed telling her Raven had broken something.

"Shhhh!" The sound was broken up by laughter. "Do you want someone to find us?"

Raven didn't respond, her eyes still closed as her face scrunched into a look lf concentration, her breathing becoming rapid. Jinx's smile turned into a grin.

"Missed you too, babe."

(…)

Robin was sat watching the news by the time Jinx and Raven had mad their way to the common room. Had the empath gotten her way, the pair would have been locked away in her bedroom, however Jinx had put her foot down, worried Raven would end up injuring herself further.

Robin made a point of glaring at Jinx before he commented, "There was a lot of noise earlier."

Raven's hood hid her blush. "I asked Jinx to spar with me," she replied as she took a seat on the sofa.

Robin scowled and for a moment considered reprimanding her. He ended up asking, "How did it go?"

"I won," Jinx grinned, making sure she sat down on Raven's left, away from the leader of the titans.

"Only because my back seized up," Raven frowned before telling Robin, "It was only hand to hand combat. My back and legs seem to be the main setback at the moment. My abilities seem to be recovering nicely too."

"You could say that," Jinx smirked.

Robin chose to ignore her. "You damaged your spinal cord. You're lucky to be walking. Cyborg won't be happy when he hears you've been fighting. He let you out of the infirmary yesterday out of kindness, not because you're healed."

"I had to test what I could do. Cyborg doesn't know the full extent of my healing abilities. Hell, even I don't. Treating me like another member of the team is pointless."

"We're not. Ignoring Starfire perhaps, we'd be burying anyone else."

"Wow. That was pretty dark, bird brain," Jinx muttered.

The empath just rolled her eyes at her leader, otherwise didn't respond, and after a few minutes of uncomfortable silence, Jinx found herself asking, " So, what's going on in the world, bird brain? Anything interesting?"

Although it was Jinx who'd asked, Robin spoke to Raven when he answered, "O'Connell has been on the local news."

"Well, that was quick. What was it about?"

"He officially closed the Shadow case. Also mentioned he'd seen you and you're well on the road to recovery. I wish he hadn't. We're going to get a rush of villains trying to do one last robbery before we're back to our full strength as a team. I know it."

"O'Connell really bugs me. He's such a ponce," Jinx piped up, shrugging when Robin scowled at her. "What? He is. He's got one of those personalities you can't help but hate."

"He's a well respected man," Robin told her.

"A well respected cunt," Jinx muttered.

Raven had never seen greater look so taken back before, not since her bombshell about her father. She couldn't help but smile slightly.

"Well, you would say that, considering the side of the law you're on."

"Ain't got nothing to do with it. Cops are just doing their job, like you lot. O'Connell's more than happy to take credit for police work when it's somethin' that attracts positively media attention, quoting his little speech about his professional training program and his management. He changes his tune pretty damn quick as soon as he's attracting negative media attention. And even you can't say he doesn't have a nasty attitude towards metas."

"He doesn't," Robin told her.

"Uhuh. So you're saying he's happy to communicate to other members of the team besides you on a regular basis?"

Robin frowned, "As team leader it makes sense-"

"Is he involved with your second in command?" She interrupted, and grinned when Robin didn't answer. "Thought not. Who is it, by the way?"

"None of your business," the leader of the titans scowled.

"Uhuh. Rae, you want tea?"

Raven nodded, and both Titans watched her move into the kitchen.

"The commissioner respects all the team," Robin told Raven quietly.

She shrugged nonchalantly. "He deals with us when he must. A lot of cops don't like meta humans, considering the amount that go criminal." Watching her leader frown, she added, "Jinx talks a lot lf shit – just take it with a pinch of salt."

Neither of them spoke, Robin going to watching the news while Raven listened to Jinx move around in the kitchen. The leader of the Titans eventually asked,

"What do you think our chances are of having a quiet month?"

"In this city?" Raven replied, "Not a chance. It could be worse though."

Robin gave her a sceptical look. "How?"

"It could be Gotham. Ignoring Slade, the majority of our villains are thieves and annoyances. They're not interested in owning the city or mass genocide."

"She has a point," Jinx grinned as she brought Raven's mug of tea over. Both titans ignored her.

"Where is everyone else anyway?" Raven asked. "I can sense Cyborg but…"

"Beast Boy is on patrol. He's covering your shift."

"And Starfire?"

"Walking Silky."

The thief's attention perked up as she accused Raven, "You never told me you had a pet!"

"I don't, and trust me, you don't want to meet it." Raven scowled, 'Actually, I'm surprised you haven't already been introduced by Starfire."

"I told her it had to stay in her room while we had company," Robin frowned.

"What's so bad about having a let?" Jinx asked.

"You mean when it's not eating everything in sight?" Raven asked her. 'And I mean everything."

"What is it? A dog?"

"We have Beast Boy for that," Raven replied dryly, instantly regretting the lack of Cyborg's presence.

"What in the hell is it then?" Glaring at Robin, she told him, "Come on, seeing your pet isn't going to give away any top team secrets or anything."

Threaded of the team glared back stubbornly, unwilling to let the thief get her own way, even over something so trivial.

"Just let her see the damned thing," Raven eventually muttered.

The staring match continued for another minute before Robin relented. "Fine. On one condition. You see Silky, then you pack up and go – you've already overstayed any welcome you had."

Jinx thought about that a moment, looking at her girlfriend before telling him, "We still have the problem of daylight. If someone sees-"

"Cyborg will drop you off some where quiet. Anyone sees you in the car and they'll assume you're being arrested.

"Well, I can't exactly turn down a free taxi, can I?

Frowning, Robin pulled out his communicator. "Robin calling Starfire,"

The Tameranean didn't answer straight away. "Robin, am I needed back at the tower?"

"Sort of," he muttered. "Bring… Silky to the common room when you get back, would you?"

Raven could hear the puzzlement in the girl's voice when she replied, "I will, though does this mean he no longer has to remain confined to my room?"

"Umm…. Sure."

"Oh, Silky will be most pleased! Did you hear that my little bumgorf? You shall once more be able to enjoy the entire tower!"

Jinx frowned at the empath, who just shook her head. "Don't ask."

"See you later, Star."

"Yes, and you Robin."

The hex caster waited until the leader of the titans had shut his communicator before saying, "something's telling me you two don't like Silky."

"Beast Boy brought it home without asking up, though somehow it's ended up as Starfire's pet more than his. Probably because he can't even look after himself," Raven told her.

Robin turned the TV up, signalling he was no longer interested in conversing with Jinx. Raven looked over at the chessboard and the unfinished game the two girls had been playing earlier. "Fancy another game of chess?"

Starfire arrived within about ten minutes of the call ending, and Jinx took it as her chance to flee the chess game she was badly losing. The alien was carrying Silky in her arm, and it wasn't until Jinx had nearly reached the alien that she realised what she was looking back.

She kept back, a look lf disgust on her face. "what the fuck is that?!"

"This is Silky," Starfire replied, smiling as though she'd been oblivious to Jinx's reaction. "Silky, say hello to Jinx."

The thing gurgled, wriggling round in the girl's arms. Jinx looked back at Raven as though asking for help, so she didn't see Stafford approach until it was too late.

"I think he likes you! Here, you should hold him for a bit."

"Star, no, no-" she tried to back up but couldn't get away quick enough. It became a matter of either hold the titan's pet, or drop it, as the alien shoved it into her.

A shudder of disgust ran through her as she held the pink and yellow worm at arm's length. Offering Starfire the best smile she could manage, she said, "It's not as… slimy as I thought it would be."

Silky gurgled again, and Jinx almost dropped him.

"He must be hungry from his walk. Jinx if you could watch him for me, I shall go prepare his lunch."

"Star, wait-" The alien was gone, and Jinx slowly turned to give the two remaining Titans a death stare. It didn't make her feel any better when Raven quietly laughed to herself. "Can someone take it? Please?"

Robin ignored her and pretended to watch TV so Jinx couldn't see him smirking. Raven shook her head. "I don't have anything go do with Silky, and I plan on keeping it that way."

"You could have warned me," Jinx scowled.

"I did."

She continued to scowl at her girlfriend, then the thing wriggling in her arms. "It looks like a maggot. A giant, fucking maggot."

"It's a mutant moth larvae," Raven told her.

"oh yeah, cause that's so much better."

The empath shrugged. "You wanted to know."

"so what are you going to do when it grows into a mutant moth? Ride it into battle?"

Raven smiled slightly. "If it grows. Ignoring one incident where Starfire fed it radioactive berries it hasn't changed much in the three years it's lived here."

Jinx let out a sigh of relief when Starfire flew back into the room, quickly passing the pet back.

"Many thanks, Jinx."

The thief thought about letting the alien know exactly what she could do with her 'thanks', but decided against it, muttering instead, "Sure, no problem." She looked round at Robin, who had conveniently stopped ignoring her. "Best tell Cy I'm ready to go then."

She wiped her hands on her tights as though she had touches something dirty as she walked over to Raven and, ignoring Robin, made sure she gave her girlfriend a proper kiss goodbye. The empath didn't protest, though her cheeks were burning red when the thief pulled back. Jinx knew it was because Raven was embarrassed but didn't care – she'd got her ultimate finger flip at Robin.

"See you soon gorgeous," Jinx was grinning when she turned to face Robin. "Are we going then?"

(….)

Beast Boy rushed from the table the moment Cyborg had cleared their plates from dinner, jumping over the back of the sofa and grabbing the TV remote. He put the TV onto his favourite sci fy channel the moment the picture loaded. Getting comfortable he announced, "Re-runs of Clash of the Planets! Perfect."

"Sorry Beast Boy," Robin said as he walked over and snatched the remote off the changeling. "But it's my night to decide what we watch."

"But it's a classic!" Beast Boy whined as Robin put the evening news on.

"You've seen it about 50 times," Raven told him as she joined her teammates on the sofa.

"And Robin watches the news every day. What's your point?"

"The news changes, your TV program doesn't."

"I was hoping we could watch the TV documentary on-"

"If it has anything to do with fungi or food, no," Cyborg interrupted the disappointed alien from the kitchen. "I do not wanna know what goes into our food, I just wanna eat it."

"Everything is nice and quiet in Jump City at the moment. Even the weather's looking up. Isn't that right, Pam?"

The TV changed from the man sat in the studio to a woman stood next to a moving weather map.

"That's right. Actually over the next week we're looking at what could be a heatwave with temperatures reaching as high as 99 degrees Fahrenheit, which is very unusual for this time of the year. Lf course that cool sea breeze will keep things from feeling too hot. There will be a little cloud cover later in the week but-"

"Sounds like perfect BBQ weather to me," Cyborg declared. "If we get any free time I say we're due a date with central park."

"And we can play some football, BBQ some tofu, maybe take Silky…"

"No one wants your nasty tofu," Cyborg shook a half washed plate in Beast Boy's direction. "How many times do I have to tell you that? Now. I was thinking a rack lf ribs, some burgers, chicken-"

"Quiet."

Everyone looked at their leader, shocked by his abrupt interruption. He didn't say anything else, his full attention on the TV.

"Gotham's police department have released their crime census early in hopes it will help citizens keep safe after accounts of domestic abuse, gang crime and drinking related violence almost tripled in the space of a month. Although the city has always been well known for it's network lf criminals, including the Joker, this drastic rise is currently unexplainable. Should you have any concerns yourself, or have witnessed such an event, you should contact your local police department."

"Well, unexplainable ain't good," Cyborg muttered, walking over. "Sounds like Gotham's turning into a free for all."

"Everything has an explanation," Robin spoke.

"And until that explanation is found you'll be following the news even more religiously that usual," Raven told him. "Why don't you contact Batman?"

"Because it's no longer my city. The last time something like this happened it was because Scarecrow had flooded a neighbourhood with fear gas. Batman will be handling it."