TT: Parkour Love

It was early. But not too early for us. After all, you know what they say....the early bird(s) gets the worm.

Run.

Ok, bad joke. I usually don't make bad jokes. But when I'm around her, I just feel so giddy inside. Like I want to do everything and nothing at the same time.

Jump.

But of course that doesn't make any sense. Kinda like what we were doing now.

Run.

It's called Parkour. French for 'free running'. It's the art of finding a different path. Of walking where others dare not trod. It's looking at the situation in a new perspective- it's not following the trend.

Jump.

And I like it.

Run.

I couldn't have asked Cyborg to do practice parkour with me. That guy would've been miles ahead of me before I got warmed up. Not to mention he would've smashed everything in his path instead of jumping over it. Couldn't ask Beast Boy- that'd be rather awkward, given for the fact we never talk. I doubt he would take it seriously, anyway. I need someone who understood the deep philosophical aspects of this sport.

And I couldn't even ask Starfire. She has a tendency to fly more than run, and the point of the exercise is to make a masterpiece out of running. I didn't feel like explaining the point of this sport anyway. I'd have to explain how to pronounce the name 'parkour', where it came from, what 'France' is, that 'french fries' didn't come from France, and a million other things.

I just wanted someone who would get it. Who wouldn't have to ask any questions, would go with the flow, and understand why I wanted to do this. Who understood me.

Leap.

So I asked Raven.

Sprint.

-----------------------

I took a deep breath a her door and took a chance, knocking upon it. Raven didn't bother to open it at first.

"Who is it?" she asked in a tone that told me she had just been reading her favorite book. This made me all the more anxious, and my words stumbled over themselves. It was funny, really- the whole world pretends that superheroes have no thoughts outside their mission, no hormones, so sense of insecurity. /My/ whole world though that, at any rate.

"R-Robin. I c-came to ask you if you wanted to go on a special training session with me." I rambled on before she can say no. "See, I was looking up some sports on the internet, wanting to see if we could incorporate any new techniques into our fighting. And I came across this thing called parkour..." As soon as I said that last word, the door sprang open, nearly giving me a heart again.

"Free running." Raven recognized, pulling her hood back to reveal a placid face with the tiniest twitch of amusement. "When I was learning about Earthen culture, parkour was getting popular in other nations. I have a few books on it. It's a pretty intense philosophy. You sure you can handle it?" She cocked a brow in a smug, teasing sort of way. She had been open with me like that for a while now, and I found myself looking forward to it. To see her so comfortable, so relaxed...

"Psh. The better question is if it can handle me." I responded arrogantly, buffing out my chest a little, letting her know I could joke too. Raven let slip a soft, barely audible chuckle mixed a groan.

"I can't believe you just said that..." she mumbled, shaking her head hopelessly, with me grinning like an idiot. "And sure, what the heck? I assume we're going to the city to do this?" I nodded, kicking myself for not mentioning that earlier.

"If we're lucky we'll meet some arch-villain out there too." I commented cheerfully, leaving Raven to roll her eyes. God, I loved it when we talked like this. It was as natural as breathing.

"Just give me a minute Bird Boy, I'll need to get on something more comfortable." She consented, closing her door to go pick out some clothes. A gentle smile appeared on my face as I walked away from her room to go throw on some sweatpants. Just me and her...training...

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And so here we were.

Leap.

We had hit the park first, stretching out a bit to loosen our muscles. Raven decided that parkouring seven miles today would be a good start.

Fall.

I had helped her stretch, gently pressing on her upper back so she could reach past her toes.

Tumble.

She grabbed my hands as she sat across from me, pulling my body toward hers as I sat cross-legged.

Superheroes aren't supposed to have hormones...

Jump.

And then we ran.

It was smooth at first- her and I just pumping our arms, the air whipping at our hair, the energy we had built up releasing in full. Raven made the first move. She leapt like a graceful deer over a clunky boulder, reaching back and tapping her bent foot before quickly returning her legs under her, landing with the expertise of a cat. And she continued running.

Duck.

I made the second move, and I felt Raven's eyes upon me as I did it. I spotted a tree up ahead to my left, and built up some extra speed. As I neared it, I jumped into the air, the wind whistling pleasantly in my ears. Moving my left leg so it pressed firmly against the upper trunk of the tree, I felt my momentum still carry me forward. I powerfully pushed off the tree with that leg, propelling me toward a high but sturdy branch. Grasping the branch with both hands, I was able to swing myself forward with the ease of a trained acrobat, backward somersaulting before landing rather roughly on the ground. And at once I was off again, grinning to Raven, who had caught up.

"Show off." she breathed, no signs of tiring expect for a small bead of sweat moving down her face. I felt my forehead moisten, as well as my chest.

"That's nothing." I retorted quietly, wanting to save my breath.

Hop.

And from then on it was a free-for-all. I plummeted from the top of ledges, Raven flipped over fences, both of us creating an awe-inspiring display of agility, grace, balance, and power. Spectators watched us whiz by as we performed our boastful maneuvers, applauding in approval, their cheers egging us on. We really pushed our physical limits that day- which was supposed to be the point. We made it a point to not run plainly for more than two seconds. The goal was to make an art out of moving- and just jogging didn't cut it.

We weren't that bad at all. In fact, we were amazing. Everything in the environment, my eyes saw it as something that I could jump over, leap onto, climb up. The whole world was seen with so many more options. It felt so...free. Like an artist having the choice of thousands of brushes and techniques.

Seven miles turned to nine. Nine turned to eleven. Eleven to fourteen.

Twist.

It was dark now, the moon guiding our paths. Sweat pouring down from every pore of my body, I watched the stars as the flickered in welcome. Panting heavily, I glanced to Raven to see how she was faring. She looked just as exhausted as I was, her clothes soaked with sweat, her hair plastered to her face, her skin glistening...

No hormones....

Run.

Finally, realizing that we shouldn't kill ourselves on our first session, I slowed my jog to a stumbling walk, knowing we needed to go through the cool-down section of the workout. Raven followed suite, using the back of her hand to wipe off her brow. We walked around a mile in silence, taking enough time to catch our breath.

We came across a beach as we walked, both of us feeling tired, but most of our strength returned. We were mostly quite warm, even though I had discarded my shirt along the way. I felt a little self-conscious without that article of clothing, but it was better than collapsing from the heat.

Our eyes strayed to the ocean, watching the waves smoothly caress the shore before pulling back, the moon sparkling over the waters with a beautiful brilliance. The cool, calming waters...

"Wanna go for a swim before returning to the Tower?" I asked impulsively, my body speaking before my mind could register it. A cold swim would sure end the harsh workout perfectly...

Raven's eyes never stayed from the ocean. "Yes." She said confidently.

And we both dashed forward like our lives depended on it.

Splash.

We spent our last ounces of energy to reach the waves, letting ourselves be submerged for several long moments, the water numbing our sore limbs. Raven and I just floated underwater, at first with my eyes closed, then slowly opening them to meet Raven's gaze. We watched each other for a bit- I looked at how her hair fanned out from the weightlessness that was the sea, the delicate tendrils of hair lazily swaying, the moon illuminating her whole form like she was a goddess.

Her shirt was billowing in such a way if I moved my body horizontally, I could see up it...but, of course, I didn't.

Hormones....

Then, realizing that we were spending entirely too much time underwater (not because we were losing oxygen), we paddled toward the surface, and upon reaching it, took large gulps of air. I noticed Raven laying on her back, serenely gazing up at the sky, and I did the same, floating like a piece of wood.

We floated side-by-side, the silence not deafening but soothing, washing over us just like the waves.

Maybe there was a weird wind that night, maybe the tide had shifted just a little, maybe I unconsciously moved my body...but somehow I found the waters slowly move me to the right, right into Raven.

Our cheeks brushed against each other...she has such soft cheeks...and at the same time, we looked at each other.

And then I leaned forward and kissed her, as gently at the waves lapped on the shore, as celestially as the moon shone on us, as perfectly as the day had gone.

Soar.