Author's Note: I do not own the Titans or anything else from the DC universe.
She didn't need to know that I was keeping an eye on her. As she walked up and down the grocery store aisles reading the different labels, I took up a position at the end, pushing my black-tinted shades further up the bridge of my nose. I resist the urge to run a hand through my hair, but I'd spent too much time combing it out of the spiky style I preferred and back into my face to mess it up now. I rested my forearms on the shopping cart handle, watching Starfire out of my peripheral vision while I pretended to check the price of ground beef.
Every time a new shopper entered the aisle she was in they always did a double-take. I couldn't blame them. She was like nothing we had on earth. Her skin was an exotic mango, and that hair… I've got a thing for red-heads, I admit it. Babs' hair is a bright carrot orange, but Starfire's hair is like a summer sunset, all fiery and red. Catching the unsettling train of my thoughts, I turned back to the selection of hamburger meat. I needed to get a hold of myself. Heroes don't date teammates. It was one of those rules that Bruce drilled into my head, as if he had always known that one day I would set out to lead a team of my own and find myself in exactly this situation. Damn him, it wouldn't have surprised me if he had somehow manipulated me into forming the Titans. The thought left a bitter taste in my mouth. I chanced a glance back at Starfire, though I knew she hadn't moved from where she was comparing brands of green beans and probably trying understand why the same thing came in so many different packages.
I sighed. If she was one of Bruce's tests, I was probably destined to fail.
She bent over to return the cans to the bottom shelf, and my eyes nearly crossed as her tight purple mini-skirt slid up the back of her thighs and threatened to reveal the curves of that perfect bottom that I'd been studiously pretending not to notice whenever she glided past me in the common room.
From the other end of the aisle, a tall guy wearing a thick padded jacket came around the corner. At first he simply scanned the top shelf for whatever brand of tomato sauce he was searching for, but then he caught sight of the goddess standing a few feet away. My hands tightened around the handle of the shopping cart as I saw his face go slack. Judging from the way she was bent over, he was probably getting an eyeful. She did like her low-cut tops… Don't do it, Dick, I told myself, watching the guy make the decision to approach her. She can take care of herself. I knew she could. Heck, she could flatten me with one hand tied behind her back, but I still didn't like the way the guy was staring at her with his cocky little smile that told me he would probably try some stupid pick-up line I'd end up having to explain to her later.
"What's for dinner tonight, babe?" he asked, sidling right up to her.
My eyes rolled back into my head and I covered my face with my hand. This was going to be even more painful than I thought.
Starfire lifted her head and slowly straightened to her full height. I hid a smirk as the guy tilted his head back to maintain eye contact. Starfire was nearly six-foot of sculpted muscle—not to mention a few generous curves. Already the guy was rethinking his decision to approach.
"Excuse me?"
"You making dinner for your man?" he tried again. Once again stupidity won out over good sense.
She tossed her hair over her shoulder, clearly trying to make sense of his comment..
"I have no man. Cyborg does most of the cooking in the tower." She was so innocent. It was one of the things I loved about her—Yikes!—I mean one of the things that I found appealing in a strictly platonic way.
"Baby, if the little batwing isn't man enough to scoop you up, then let me pick up his slack. My place is only a couple of blocks from here. I could show you what you've been missing…"
"If you are referring to Robin then I assure you he has made no mistakes where I am concerned. If not for his kindness I would never have stayed on this planet. And as you have insulted him I have no intention of accompanying you to your home." I doubt the guy had ever heard such an eloquent shut down in his life. He was looking a little dazed again, like he was trying to decipher the linguistic smack-down she had laid on him. I grinned, more than a little smug to hear that she had chosen to stay on Earth because of me. But the loser just refused to give up.
"Look, you don't have to be like that. I don't mean any harm," he said, stepping closer. A warning prickle worked its way up my spine. If he touched her…
"I assure you that I have no fear that you could cause me harm," said Starfire with a trace of arrogance I'd never seen in her before. My eyebrows lifted with interest. I almost wanted the creep to keep going just to see what she would do about it. Turns out he wasn't quite that stupid.
"Man, whatever bitch," he muttered. She turned away, completely unfazed, but I bristled. No way did he just call her that. I rotated my head on my neck until I felt the vertebrae give a satisfying pop. Leaning over my cart, I glided into the next aisle where he had stopped to scowl at the rows of cereal. He didn't even notice me walking toward him. Moron. I'm always aware of who's around me. For example, I knew there were exactly thirty people in the grocery store at that moment, including the five cashiers, the four clerks stocking the shelves, Starfire, myself, and her inept Romeo. We were nearly even with each other when he realized I was there. He twitched, and then jerked his thumb toward the other aisle with a conspiratorial grin.
"Hey man, did you get a load of Legs over there? I thought I'd seen it all but that's the finest piece of ass I've ever—"
He didn't get the chance to finish before he had my forearm at his throat.
"Shut up," I said quietly, "just shut up." He struggled and even tried to throw a punch at me, but I caught his amateur swing in midair and simply held it in place while he tried to put all his weight behind it. It didn't budge. I felt him gulp.
"That girl that you're talking about happens to be a close, personal friend of mine. Now the only reason you're not charbroiled right now is because she doesn't know that you just insulted her. But I do."
"And who are you, her boyfriend? Get off me!" he said loudly. He was trying to appear tough, but I could tell he wanted someone to hear and come to his rescue. His salvation was coming around the corner dressed in thigh-high purple boots. I smirked as he realized he was caught between a rock and a hard place.
Starfire glanced between us, registering the tension. She wouldn't recognize me, not without my mask and my hair combed in a different style. She'd never seen me out of uniform, and I had purposefully chosen a bulkier jacket to disguise myself. He glanced between us again and then chose the cowards way out, slinking away again with his tail between his legs. When he was gone, Starfire looked at me with a strange, knowing smile.
"Do I know you?" she asked. The way she said it made me uneasy. My hand twitched to run through my hair but I resisted the urge, knowing it would give me away faster than slapping a mask on my face and pinning a yellow cape to my back.
"I don't think so, cutie," I said, flashing her a grin before I rolled past. I wheeled my cart all the way to the front of the store. She didn't need me watching over her. She could handle herself. Still, while I was here…
A bouquet of flowers arrived later that night at the Tower. At first Starfire didn't know what to do with them, but as soon as the smell of roses hit her nose she inhaled deeply and hugged them to her chest.
"Um Star," said Beast Boy with an uneasy glance my way. "Who's sending you flowers?" I folded my arms across my chest and did my best to look stern. The others couldn't know or else I'd never hear the end of it. As it was, Cyborg was studying me out of the corner of his eye with a little too much suspicion for my liking. I put on my leader face and plucked the card out of the enormous bouquet. Flicking it open I read the words out loud for the group to hear:
See you around, cutie.
—X
Oh how I would regret that line…