Me: (Writing for the much-anticipated chapter of This Star)
Oneshot Plot Bunny: HEY!! QUIT THAT!!! (Jerks book from me)
Me: HEY! What are you doing!?
PB: What am I doing? What are you doing?!
Me: Writing…?
PB: Writing what?
Me: (getting wary) This Star?
PB: (glaring) For whom?
Me: (cringing) The Chapter Story Plot Bunny?
PB: YES!! WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU WROTE A ONESHOT!?!?!?
Me: Umm…(gets something shoved in my face and starts coughing) Ugh, what's that
PB: YOUR ONESHOT BOOK!!
Me: (still coughing) It's so dusty
PB: EXACTLY!! YOU'VE BEEN NEGLECTING ME!! (jabs pencil at me) WRITE!!
Me: (takes pen) Yes ma'am.
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PB: Skyler knows she doesn't own Teen Titans, and she only THOUGHT she was rid of me! But she WASN'T! SHE WILL NEVER BE RID OF ME!!
Me: (pleading) Help me.
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It was the day to be lazy.
It was a rare occurrence, but occasionally Robin would remove the bo staff from his you-know-where and declare that the team of heroes could have a day of no training, no missions, no uniforms, and no villain research (the last was more of a condition, on Starfire's insistence).
The second to last, however, was in full effect when Robin entered the Ops Room. While Cyborg didn't really bother with civvies, the rest were dressed in the casual and comfortable.
Beast Boy had a dark brown graphic Tee that had a picture of a cell phone and a piece of paper, underneath, saying "Gotta Pen?" A Wicked Scary hat was on his head, and wore a pair of blue jean shorts and for the sake of humanity, had black converse hightops with dark green laces covering his feet from our eyes.
Raven had lost her hood and leotard in favor of a black long sleeved corset shirt and a black skirt—that's right skirt—with indigo lace hitting a little above the knee. She wore no shoes, but her dark purple toenails looked freshly painted, no doubt Starfire's handiwork.
Robin himself had abandoned his garish attire for a much easier on the eyes baggy blue jeans and a black shirt with the Batman logo on it (Not. A. Word.) He had even taken off his mask, but black Terminator-like sunglasses sat firmly on his nose. He was also still wearing his steel-toed boots, simply because he liked them. Even his hair had received a day off, and there wasn't a speck of gel to be found in its alluringly unruly black mass.
At the moment, though, he looked nervous.
"Titans—Guys," he reiterated, remembering what today was, "I need to talk to you."
Beast Boy and Cyborg grunted, neither taking his eye from the game being played.
Robin gritted his teeth, "In the Meeting Room," he tried again. Raven didn't even look up. "Now," he said a little more forcefully. Some eye-rolls and whining groans later, they had reached their destination.
Best Boy pouted and plopped into one of the seats, "This had better be good," the changeling huffed, "I was this close to beating Cy on Wicked Scary: The Nightmare on Nintendo!"
Cyborg turned to his game rival in shock, "That hat must be on a little too tight B, I was smoking you!"
"Well the reason-" Robin tried to put in.
"There has to be screw loose in that metal head Tin Man, I was clearly besting you!"
"Is actually very important to me-"
" 'Clearly besting you'?" repeated Raven, "Look who's become articulate."
"-and I need your help-"
"Yeah, I just finished beating King Arthur's Knights and the Dragon of Kancall on the web and I haven't been able to shake the lingo."
"Should've guessed."
"-to tell me how to tell Starfire-"
"No way you beat that game before me Beast Boy!"
"-that I love her."
"Uh, I think I did Cyborg! I whipped—wait a minute." He focused on Robin, "Did you just ask us to tell you how to tell Starfire that you love her?" The half-robot and half-demon now had their full attention on their leader, eyes wide open.
Robin met their gazes squarely, "Yes I did—Augh!" he was suddenly jerked off his feet and strapped to a chair, seated directly under a glaring white light.
"Who are you and what have you done with Robin?" demanded Cyborg, who was scanning him with one hand while looking at the read outs on the other.
"What're you talking about?" protested the more than freaked out Boy Wonder, "I'm Robin."
"Quiet Imposterman! Raven, do your psychic thingy and find out where the real Robin is!"
"Hello! I'm right here—OW!"
"I said be quiet!"
"Uh…Beast Boy?"
"Beast Boy let me go! I'M Robin!" The green boy slapped him again, "OW!"
"Shut up and tell us where Robin is!"
"Yo BB."
"How can I shut up and tell you where I am at the same time?" Robin countered.
Beast Boy looked stumped for a minute before slapping his supposed leader once more, "Don't try your mind tricks on me! I'm asking the questions here!"
"BEAST BOY!!"
Attention successfully grabbed, he whirled around, "What? Have you found Robin?"
"Yeah, he's strapped to the chair."
"What?"
"That's the real Robin."
"It is?"
They nodded, and Cyborg held up his arm to show the positive match.
"Uh-oh," he turned to face the seething kung fu trained teen. "Ummm…sorry for hitting you…"
"Beast Boy?"
"Yeah Raven?"
"I see 100 laps around the Tower in your future."
"Those laps wouldn't happen to be in the T-Car would they?" He rapidly found himself on the business end of three scathing glares. "I'll go do the laps now."
Raven shook her heard and removed Robin's bindings, where he started mumbling things like "Beast Boy," "stupid," "hits too hard," and "kill."
Rolling eyes was now included with head shaking, "So, you wanted help on how to tell Starfire you love her right?" There was a snort, followed by loud laughter.
The duo turned to Cyborg, who was nearly doubled over in his hysterics. "I-I'm sorry, I r-really am!" he protested to the glares now directed at him, "Its just that…it just sunk in, Robbie wants advice for his love life!"
Robin's face was the epitome of humiliation. Raven took pity on him, "So what exactly is the problem? I mean, you've admitted it, which is the first step."
Robin forgot to scold the empath for making his feelings for Star sound like he was at an AA meeting in favor of his current problem. "I've been trying, trust me, and I get a whole plan, and have a romantic speech ready—WILL YOU KNOCK IT OFF?!?" he shouted at Cyborg, who had burst into a round of highly unmanly giggles.
"But when I'm standing in front of her, "he continued, "and she's just looking at me and smiling like she does…my brain just leaves on vacation."
"Sounds like Beast Boy," commented Cyborg, who had recovered, somewhat.
Raven ignored him and nodded slowly, "You want us to tell Starfire you love her because you're too much of a coward to tell her yourself?"
Robin's face quickly grew horrified, "NO! I just…need you to help me find a way to tell her without, you know, saying to her face."
Raven and Cyborg exchanged a raised eyebrow glance before speaking. "You could write her a letter?"
"No way," Robin denied instantly.
"Why not?" inquired the miffed Azarathian.
"Well I read this short story where I gave Star a letter and—"
"Wait, what!?" cut in Cyborg.
"Oh, there's this crazy website where people write stories about us. Its creepy."
"How so?"
"Well," Robin grimaced, "Some people put you and me together."
Raven looked like she had swallowed a sock while Cyborg cracked up.
"Don't laugh just yet," advised Robin, "Some of the weirdoes put you and Beast Boy together." A half-mechanical jaw fell.
"EWWWWWWWWW!"
The funny thing was, though, that another voice had said the exact same thing in the exact tone of horror. And it had sounded astoundingly like a certain green hero. Raven snickered.
"Anyway," Robin continued, "the story I read was a little weird, so no, no letter. Next."
"Call her on your communicator," suggested Cyborg, who seemed to have mainly recovered from his shock.
"That might actually be a good idea."
"Robin," cut in Raven, eyes narrowed in menace, "You tell Starfire that you love her over the phone, and I will make you continue life thinking you are a four-year-old girl."
The civvie-clad hero drew back, "You'd do that?"
"I'll have Starfire braid your hair," she promised.
He touched his hair protectively, paling.
Beast Boy walked in, panting. "Maybe you could dedicate some mushy song to her or get those one of those awesome planes to write it in the sky."
Robin whirled on him, "Sure," his voice was oozing with sarcasm, "lets announce that Starfire can be used against me to the world."
Beast Boy grinned, "Hate to break it to ya," he said, sounding anything but, "but I think they already knew that, I mean, you aren't really that good at hiding it."
A twitching eyebrow and a low growl was emitted from the enraged and embarrassed teen. The shapeshifter sweat-dropped, "Um, another hundred laps, comin up." He sprinted out the door.
And so things went like that for a little while. Ideas were brought up and systematically shot down by either one or more of the trio, with BB frequently stopping by to input his two cents and just as frequently getting sent back out for more laps.
"Give her roses."
"No."
"A teddy bear holding a heart?"
"No."
"Make her a big breakfast?"
"Beast Boy, you know that means a betrothal on her planet!"
"That's the point!"
"…"
"I'm running I'm running!"
"Give her one of those heart shaped candies that say 'I love you'."
"That's been done already!"
"…By who?"
"You don't wanna know."
"Paint her a picture!"
"NO!"
It was finally too much for the half demon, "Why don't you just tell her through a brick wall?!" she yelled, and the sound of something exploding followed by an anguished scream was heard. Raven enveloped herself in her black energy and disappeared, and Beast Boy ran in moments later cradling something like it was the Hope Diamond.
"Cyborg! She blew up the remote!" he screamed, and held out the entrails of the deceased. A moment of silence please...
OK, moment over.
"NOOOOOO!" was the agonized reply, and Cyborg rushed to the channel changer remains, tears streaming from his human eye.
Robin watched this heartbreaking scene and felt his IQ drop. "Thanks guys, you were a lot of help." He received no reply or recognition as he left.
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Before he could talk himself out of it, he rapped on the door in front of him.
A muffled "One moment please," came from the room before soft footsteps approached the door, which slid open.
And there was Starfire wearing a white tight fitting button down blouse and white jean short shorts (he silently praised the inventor of short shorts and noted to declare lazy days more often). Her hair was pulled up and of course, her bangs were not apart of the ponytail.
Robin noticed a million things in an instant. Like how different but beautiful she looked with her hair pulled back, how strange it was to see her without her arm guards and neckplate, how nice she looked in her civvies, how much white made her orange tan stand out and almost glow, and Robin also noticed how (gulp) long her legs were without the boots. And how much shorter she was. With him in his boots and she without her platforms, they were actually seeing eye to eye.
Which was almost the worst possible thing that could've happened.
Leaf green eyes pinned him in place before melting him on the spot. Then the absolute worst possible thing that could've happened happened. Those eyes lit, her mouth widened, and her lips parted to reveal a gleaming smile that was as every bit as white as her ensemble. And then she spoke. "Greetings Robin!" she chirped, "What brings you to—Robin?" She stared in confusion as the Boy Wonder started to slide her door closed.
"I can't believe I'm taking Raven's advice," he muttered.
When the door closed and her adorably confused yet insanely beautiful face was gone from sight, Robin felt much better.
"Hi Star," he finally answered, feeling ridiculous.
"Greetings?" she repeated, "Robin, is there any particular reason for you conversing with me through my door?"
"Yeah, because not seeing you is much easier." He clapped his hand over his mouth and mentally stun gunned himself too late when he heard Starfire's hurt gasp. "N-no! I'm sorry Star I misspoke. I meant to say that what I need to tell you is best told when we're not face to face." Starfire apologized for misunderstanding him and Robin blinked in surprise.
Did I just explain something to Starfire without stuttering? I did, and it was because of the door...I love you Raven.
No offense Robin, but ew. Thats what you need to tell Starfire.
Raven!?
Yeah?
WHAT'RE YOU DOING IN HERE!? GET OUT!!!
No need to shout, she chided before exiting.
Somehow, he felt a lot more confident about what he needed to say, and wondered if the empath might have had anything to do with this.
"Star, do you think we could still be friends?"
"What do you mean? Have we not always been friends?"
"Yeah we have but, do you think…if something…big, happened, if I told you something about me, would you still want to be my friend?"
He heard a giggle, "Robin, we have been through very much, and with all due respect, I have seen and discovered unpleasant things about you and we have still remained friends. I am most confident that our friendship cannot be destroyed by what you need to tell me."
It was just what he needed to hear. He took a deep breath, "Remember how I said on that planet that I wasn't good at expressing what I feel?"
"Yes." Did her voice sound a little sad?
"Well, I found out part of the reason for that, and it's why I'm talking to you through the door. Its easier to tell things, to tell you things, when I can't see you."
There was a pause, "Is there something…displeasing, about my appearance?"
"NO! No way Star, trust me, there's nothing displeasing about the way you look."
A longer, more embarrassed pause ensued. "Th-thank you."
Robin laughed nervously, "That was kind of one of the things I couldn't tell you to your face."
"Why?"
He looked heavenward, of all things… "Well, did…have…" the answer suddenly came to him. "Do you remember how Beat Boy acted around Terra?"
"Yes, he was excited, and nervous, and seemed incapable of being articulate or finishing a sentence, particularly when he was trying to give her the compliments."
The hero hugged the door for making this possible, after making sure there wasn't a peephole for her to look through. "Why do you think he acted that way?"
"Because he felt love for her."
Hearing that one word from her lips was all it took to turn him back into jelly. "W-well then, um." The door shook on impact frim his head and Starfire squealed in surprise.
"Sorry Star its just…that…Dammit Star! It doesn't seem to matter whether or not I'm looking at you, I'm gonna turn into a babbling moron, so may I say what I need to before any more of my brain shuts down? And I apologized for the language."
"Yes, you may, and apology accepted."
"Thanks. OK, well, you obviously know how BB acted around Terra and why he did, well, have you ever noticed that I kinda act the same way? Don't answer that. I get stuttery and I can't form complete sentences and I well, turn into a babbling moron. It's partly your fault—Let me finish—because any guy would have to be dead inside or like your brother if he wasn't nervous around you, simply because of the way you look. Star, me saying that your appearance wasn't displeasing didn't even begin to cover how gorgeous you are, inside or out. But I can go into that later, when I have more time and brain cells.
"Starfire, ever since I met you, I always felt kinda funny, like I floating, but at the same time I wasn't able to breathe. No I wasn't sick, I had actually wondered if I had caught some alien bug—illness Star. But then I realized that is was attraction. At first I thought it was just because you were so beautiful, but as I got to know you, my attraction became more focused on what kind of person you are, how nice and smart and caring, I could literally go on forever. And I still didn't know exactly what that feeling was until a few weeks ago. And it drove me nuts in the simplicity of its answer, and the complexity of the task I therefore had. I even asked the other Titans to help me get out of this, which didn't work out."
He was reaching the end of his rant, and he could feel more of his brain turning to mush, because he could feel Star, through the door. He knew she was leaning on the other side of it, no doubt gaping in shock, eyes wide at his confession, head resting on the cool metal from the mental overload. He knew she was doing this because it was what he was doing himself. And he could faintly smell the shampoo she used.
Robin decided to speak before too much of his sense was lost and took a step back. "The reasons for me doing all of that are for the same reason our green friend had. Love. I love you Starfire, and if it takes me having to be on the other side of a door to say it, then so be it."
It was the longest silence in the history of the world. He heard the sound of her skin rasping against the metal as she stood back from the door, and the soft beep of a button being pushed, and a whoosh as the chrome door opened.
And there was Starfire, looking beautiful and determined. She grabbed a fistful of his shirt and dragged him close, eyes narowed with seriousness.
"We must speak through the door more often."
He laughed, "Definitely," he agreed and leisurely captured her lips in his, slowly embracing her form.
It was, after all, the day to be lazy.
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Me: Hmm, its nice to write Oneshots again.
PB: Nice enough to ignore the CSPB some more?
Me: Notta chance.
Leave a review, get a response, and kudos if you can tell where I got the door thing.
L8r
SAT