Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans
Rule 1: Richard can and will be forced to go to go to sleep if he has been awake for more than 24 hours.
It was already 7 a.m. but he was still going through evidence and old files. Titans East had requested all the information on Red-X that the original Titans had, and having made the suit himself in secret, there weren't a lot of data files for Cyborg to send, and a lot of hardcopies and gadget blueprints that Nightwing had stashed away and now needed to find.
He ignored the swooshing sound of the door opening. He knew that he was running out of time, but there was still so much to do. Warm hands touched his shoulders, with a sigh he looked up at Starfire, who was floating just behind
"How is your search?" She asked, her fingers moving to the exposed skin on his neck, her thumbs rubbing circles beneath his hairline.
He knew what she was doing, but it felt so nice that it took him a few minutes to refocus on the task at hand. He moved away from her hands and deposited his more recent findings in the almost full evidence box.
"It's going slow." Dick ran a hand through his hair, "I've still got three more blueprints to find, and then I have to scour the database for anything Cyborg might have missed."
"It is not likely he missed anything. You may wish to reserve that for later" Starfire followed him across the room.
"I've got to be thorough. It's my mistake Star, I made the suit, the weapons, and then I let it all get stolen from me." He said refusing to look her in the eye. "It's one thing when he causes trouble here. Now he's in Steel City making trouble for our friends."
Starfire never did like it when he wouldn't look at her, so she grabbed his chin and turned his head until she found herself staring into his domino mask.
"The enemy of one Titan is the enemy of all Titans; Red-X will captured or he will flee."
Dick half-conceded, "I'd like to be thorough, just the same."
"You have the hour to be as thorough as you please." She kissed him, long and deep, making him almost forget the entire concept of Red-X.
Starfire broke away, her hands trailing down his chest "Do not keep me waiting."
"Yes ma'am." He agreed.
Two hours later he was rifling through the vault where he had kept the suit originally, hoping that he'd find his last blueprint there, if Red-X hadn't stolen it when he stole the suit.
"There you are." Raven's voice cut through the silence making him jump.
He turned and glared at her "You need a bell."
Raven stared blankly at him, but the slight twitch of her fingers let him know that she was annoyed with him, "Starfire is looking for you."
"Shit."
"Exactly." Raven said, raising a glowing hand, "Now hold still."
"Wait, why?" He asked, but he figured it out soon enough as he dropped through a pool of Raven's magic and landed in Starfire's bedroom six floors up.
He landed hard on his rear and when he opened his eyes sunlight coming in from the windows blinded him temporarily. He grunted as he stood up, hearing Starfire giggling at him from her bed.
"Creative, using Raven like that." He said taking off his mask and stepping towards her.
"You did keep me waiting." She told him, raising up to her knees so she could help him out of the neoprene suit. "You were deserving of pay-back."
"Still not as bad as when you had Cyborg come after me." Dick admitted sliding his uniform off completely before crawling into bed with her, "I still think he had far too much fun with those lasers."
"You were most deserving then too." Starfire recalled, wrapping her arm around his midsection, shifting so he could put his arm under her head.
He kissed her forehead, "Yeah, sorry. It's just that Red-X…"
Starfire put a finger to his lips and sternly told him, "Speak of Red-X again, and I shall have to harm you."
He chuckled. "Yes ma'am."
Rule 2: Both retain the right to kick the other one out of bed.
They were dead asleep. One of those good solid sleeps that only happens after you and your girlfriend just ruin each other in bed and the only thing you have energy for afterward is pulling the covers back on. Sure, his entire body would be sore and covered with hickeys in the morning, but right now he was enjoying a pure, dreamless sleep with Starfire wrapped up in his arms. Life was good.
He heard something slam against a wall. Dick sat straight up in bed, knocking Starfire out of her position against his chest. He wildly looked around the room, reaching for his utility belt on reflex.
"Richard?" Starfire yawned, "What is wrong?"
Dick waited for the sound to happen again, but it didn't come. He put the belt back on the night stand with a sigh of relief. Laying back down he smoothed out Starfire's hair.
"Sorry Star, thought I heard something."
He had just closed his eyes again, when the noise came back, three times, and he knew for sure it was coming from his door.
"Hey! Boy Blunder!" A high, shrill voice emanated from the other side.
"Is that Jinx?" Starfire asked.
"Yes." Dick groaned and then turned his voice towards the door, "Come back in the morning like a normal person!"
Dick let his head drop back onto the pillow, but he felt Starfire leave for the door. He half considered stopping her, but knew there was no chance of it actually working. Opening one eye, he was glad that she thought to at least throw on one of his shirts before answering.
"Woah." Jinx said eying Starfire's lack of clothes, "Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt."
"Oh you have interrupted nothing dear friend!" Starfire greeted, almost strangling the other woman in a hug .
"Yeah, okay." Jinx coughed, "Look, I need the passcode for the guest room, I'd ask Stone, but I'm sure I'd need a sledgehammer to wake him up."
"titan006. No spaces no capitals." Dick called from his spot.
"Thank you!" Jinx called back, "Well I guess I'll see you at breakfast then."
Starfire flew into the hallway to stop Jinx from getting to far, "But you must tell me what brought you here at this hour. Are you in some sort of trouble? Is someone chasing you? Did you forget which tower you call home?"
Jinx rolled her eyes, "No, no, and no. I just had a fight with Flash and I didn't want to be home tonight."
"Oh, no!" Starfire frowned, "Well, you must stay here and discuss your boy woes with me."
Jinx tried to protest, but Starfire grabbed her by the hands and practically threw her into Dick's room.
"Hey!" Dick shouted, scrambling to make sure he was covered. "Kori! What are you doing?!"
Pouting, Starfire floated over to him, "I'm so sorry, but I need you to leave now."
"What?!" He asked wide-eyed, "It's my room!"
"That is exactly why you need to leave." Starfire continued, "Your room has the miniature fridge with the snacks and the punching bag in case Jinx needs to vent her anger."
"That actually doesn't sound half-bad." Jinx piped-in.
"You're kidding me." He deadpanned.
"Please?" Starfire's eyes sparkled at him. "She is our guest, and she is in pain."
"Yes, so much pain." Jinx said, breaking face by snickering, "I don't even know how I'm standing."
Dick glared at her, but then looked back to Starfire. "You realize that you are kicking me out of my room, my bed in the middle of the night, just so you can have girl talk?"
Starfire seemed confused, "Did you not kick me out of your bed just last week because Beast Boy required your consultation?"
"That was different! He was all freaked-out about something that happened between him and Raven." Dick explained.
"And I am the freaked-out about what has happened between Jinx and Flash!" Starfire insisted, "She is my friend and I am concerned for her well-being and you will leave as I have left in order for you to care for your friend."
Dick saw that this was a lost battle. Grumbling he secured the sheets around his waist and grabbed his utility belt and slung it over his shoulder.
"I hope you're happy." He frowned at Starfire.
"Yes, very." She smiled and kissed his nose, "I appreciate this very much."
"Yeah, yeah." He said, walking out.
He heard the door close behind him and Jinx's laughter regarding his departure. Just as he was about to reach Starfire's room, his communicator went off. He swore profusely as his tired hands searched for it among all the compartments in his belt. When he finally managed to flip it open, Wally's face greeted him.
"Hey, know it's late, but I just had to check and see if Jinx showed up there tonight. She and I kinda had a fight and well, she took off."
"She's here." He deadpanned, "Star kicked me out of my room so they could gossip about whatever your fight was about."
Wally sighed in relief, "Oh man; that takes a load off. Did she still seem mad? I mean, I know she always seems kinda mad, but like was she ready to hex someone? Or maybe she was crying, if she's crying you gotta make sure there's chocolate somewhere."
Dick pinched the bridge of his nose, "Wally, what part of 'Star kicked me out of my room' makes you think I give a damn? I'm going to bed, and if you or your crazy girlfriend wake me up again I'll hang you both from the tallest building in Jump."
Wally gulped, "Nighty-night."
The call disconnected and Dick trudged into Starfire's room, falling face-first into her bed and conking out.
Rule 3: Clothes are optional, but cuddling is mandatory.
Tamaran was always a lot farther away than Dick ever gave it credit for. Maybe having Starfire teach him her language and integrating her holidays and traditions into the fabric of their lives made Tamaran seem closer than it really was. Sure, they made space travel seem simple, people shuttled back and forth between Mars and Earth every day, but Tamaran wasn't even on the same side of the galaxy as Earth. It had been over three weeks since Starfire took off to visit her home planet to attend the birth of Galfore's child.
Now she was finally back, and Dick watched her flit about her room as she unpacked. She went on endlessly about her trip.
"There were blaach tails and glurk scales, oh and the glorg was especially good." Dick noticed that she couldn't stop smiling. "Oh, Richard I wish you could have seen Galfore's daughter."
"Cute baby?" He grinned at her.
"The cutest." Starfire gushed as she began to hang her clothes back in her closet. "Her eyes were like the gems, I almost wondered if Mumbo or some other villain would try to take them from her. Also her grip was so strong for such someone so young. She'll make an excellent Grand Ruler one day."
Dick nodded along, "So, will you have to go back every time Galfore has a kid?"
Starfire shook her head, "No, it's only required that I should meet the heir to the throne and pledge my allegiance. Though I would like to travel back should he have more and if Laefore should ascend to the throne in my lifetime, it will be expected of me as the former Grand Ruler to attend her coronation and give my blessing."
"So no going back for a while then?" He clarified.
"No, I hope not to return for a very long while. It was a tiring trip." Starfire sighed.
"Why don't you come sit down then?" Dick suggested. "You haven't stopped moving since you got back."
"I fear if I stop I will not begin again." She said more to herself than to him.
He watched her unpack for another half-hour, mostly because he didn't think he could stop her without accidently being packed into a drawer, and partly because after so long without seeing her, it was good to just watch her, to see again how her muscles rippled beneath her skin and how her hair swayed as she flew, how her eyes lit up when she talked about the things she had done on Tamaran.
"Kori," He grabbed her by the arm, "Come to bed."
Starfire glanced at the crates she still had to deal with and sighed, "Allow me to change first? This outfit is most uncomfortable if one is laying down."
Dick smiled, "Wear you want, or as little as you want."
Starfire gave a tired and amused smile in return, "Thank you."
He dropped her arm so she could go change, which of course she did in front of him. Tamaraneans didn't have the same ideas about shyness that most earthlings did; something he personally appreciated about her. And he particularly appreciated the view.
Wrapped in an oversized sweatshirt she had gotten for Christmas she joined him in bed, propping her long legs across his lap as she rested her head against the front of his shoulder.
"Would you accept moving the consummation of my return until tomorrow?" She asked nudging her nose against his neck, "I believe I would just like to snuggle."
He laughed and pulled her closer, feeling he warmth of her body against his. "Sounds good to me. Tell me more about your trip."
"No," She shook her head, glancing up at him, "I would much rather hear about what you and our friends did."
"Well, Bee stayed for the first two weeks, which was pretty great. She and Cyborg make a great cooking team, she even knew some vegan stuff for Beast Boy." Dick started, rubbing circles into her back.
He went on and on, talking about different little stories that happened. He avoided any mentions of battles or injuries, because she would just be upset that she wasn't there to help. Starfire asked after each one of their friends in turn, asking if they had done a certain thing or another, if Raven left her room enough to eat with the team, if Más y Menos were still trying to teach Beast Boy Spanish.
"And you Richard?" She asked finally, "What did you do while I was away?"
"Missed you mostly." He told her honestly.
"That is unacceptable." She chastised, "Next time you will find a more productive means of spending your time."
"Next time I should just come with you." He smirked.
"Perhaps you should."
Silence enclosed on them like a blanket. Starfire found one of his hands and encased it between her own. Dick shifted his legs so she sat completely in his lap. Her breathing flowed evenly back and forth across his clavicle and she listened to the steadiness of his heart.
"Richard?"
"Hmm?"
"I missed you mostly as well." Starfire admitted.
Dick smiled and kissed her forehead, and then her nose, and then her mouth. Soon, he felt whole by her. Her arms encircled his neck and he tasted zorkaberries on her tongue. They shifted together until her knees were taut against his sides and his hands dipped beneath her sweatshirt.
"I do not think we need to wait to consummate my return." She whispered to him.
"I don't think so either." He agreed, her fingers hooking into waistband of his pants.
"And we will continue the cuddling afterwards?" She asked, peppering kisses down his throat.
"Like always." He confirmed, rolling them over so he could welcome her home properly.