A/N: My sister has decided to close her account, so I'm uploading some of the stories we worked on. As always, I hope you enjoy them and look forward to feed back. I remain,
Agent X
The mysterious supporter of pairs!
Disclaimer: TEEN TITANS and all related characters and elements are copyrighted trademarks of DC COMICS. Neither do I make any pretentions to owning the songs used throughout these stories.
Raven shivered as she walked round the corner (someone had left the heating off again). Not just the corridors, but the Tower itself had seemed rather empty lately… at least for the past few days. If she had had to pinpoint a date for the change she would have chosen twelve O'clock, three days ago. Monday.
She had never trusted Mondays. All they brought was a new week, a new day and new troubles to come her way. Ever since their encounter with a new extra terrestrial villain (the name was not important) the team had noticed a rapid decline in Starfire's spirits. She was getting homesick.
Personally, Raven just wondered how her sensitive friend had avoided the issue thus far. Meeting with a fellow outsider had certainly shocked it back into her. That afternoon Starfire had returned to the Tower drooping somewhat and with a far away look in her eyes, before announcing she was retiring early. The rest of the Titans just left it off to exhaustion.
Come Tuesday it had definitely become more apparent as to what was bothering Starfire. Even Beastboy had worked it out, to his credit. The little alien was missing Tameran. How had they found out? Aside from the rather somber change in personality Starfire had made it blatantly clear how much she missed home.
Raven thought she could still taste the Zorka berries.
This half explained why she was currently sneaking around the back of the Tower, within the confined metallic safety of long dark corridors. The other reason was that, by Wednesday, Robin had decided that they should all talk to Starfire, to try to cheer her up and make her feel more at home. Raven was hopeless at consolations.
Raven was avoiding Robin.
Which is what made the situation all the more ironic when she bumped into him. Raven, of course, had had all her attention focused behind for the first sign of metal tipped boots, because of this she hadn't noticed him till those same boots ended up treading on one of her feet before she was knocked ungracefully to the ground.
Robin's excuse was that he simply hadn't been concentrating. Watching the dark floor pass by beneath him had demanded a lot of attention, what with worrying about Starfire still on his mind. Sure, she had looked contented when he left her but…
It wasn't until he was on his backside, on that very same, rather cold (he wondered if he should get the heating fixed), and quite hard floor, with a pair of angry violet eyes in his face, that he really snapped back to reality.
"Sorry Raven! I was… I'm really a little preoccupied at the moment. Y'know, with Starfire. Here, let me help you up…"
She ignored his offered hand and straightened, brushing off imaginary flecks off dust in a subtle attempt to keep her dignity.
"It's okay." was all she muttered. Robin grinned sheepishly, then his smile started to fade a little. He frowned.
"What are you doing back here?"
Raven froze. "Me? I could ask you the same thing."
"You could. Then I would reply that I had just been to one of our numerous storage rooms to search for something from Starfire's old stuff." He paused. "What would you say?"
Raven was extremely tempted not to answer, but then something on the floor caught her eyes and she raised her hand gradually to point somewhere behind Robin. "That you just dropped whatever it is you were bringing Starfire. And that it's broken."
A few profanities later Robin had calmed and was handing Raven one of the pieces of a square-ish disk that had been snapped in two.
He stared forlornly at the bits in his hands. "How am I meant to explain this to Star?"
Meanwhile Raven had been examining her own 'disk'. She traced her fingers along one of the intricate silver edges and weighed it in her hands.
"From what I can tell it's made entirley of metal. Perhaps if you welded the pieces back together…" She held it up to a critical eye, ".. and soldered the joins of these silver strands here (they seem soft) it might work. I'm sure Cyborg would let you borrow his sol–"
Robin had already started off down the corridor, towards where he had been heading previously. With a sigh Raven went to join him, levitating the bits and pieces of metallic slate close behind. He halted at an intersection, seemingly at a loss.
"Where is Cyborg?" he said, turning back to her.
"Games Room."
Robin nodded and motioned to the solitary aura of black behind her. Raven moved the bits into his hand. She waited with baited breath as he counted the pieces and began his retreat towards the light.
"Can you go tell Star what happened. She's in her room. Tell her I'm sorry and I should have these fixed soon, no worries." He mumbled back to her.
Her breath was expelled just as his head disappeared 'round the corner, before he added
"Besides, it's your turn to talk to her anyway."
She knocked impatiently on the door.
For some reason Starfire always took a while to answer her door. Raven knew this extensively from the many times she had had to fetch the Tameranean for meals, training and missions. So she had been slightly startled when it whooshed open almost immediately, revealing a normal, smiling Stafire.
"Raven!" Starfire exclaimed, "I have not been expecting your company." She moved out into the hallway, to glance down the corridor in both directions before enquiring "Whatever has happened to Robin?"
Raven hesitated. She was meant to comfort Starfire, but Star didn't seem to need comforting at all.
"Robin asked me to tell you something. May I come in?"
She made her way in cautiously once Starfire had stepped aside, eyeing with mild interest the assortment of trinkets around the room. Perhaps most interesting was the collection of candy wrappers, all straightened out and stacked neatly in a corner. Raven decided to ignore it.
Starfire watched her for a little while before speaking up.
"Yes Raven? What is the message you wish to convey?"
"… Starfire… the others and I have noticed lately that you seem a little… off."
Raven watched carefully for Starfire's reaction. The alien simply smiled benignly at her friend, her usual cheerful self.
"It is true that I had been feeling 'off', as you say, for the past few days. I am shamed to admit that I was missing the company of my people most fiercely after our recent crusade. However all the endeavours of my friends here; BeastBoy's constant attention, Cyborg's kind words and Robin's positivity, have made me deeply regret making you worry so. Please, take my assurances that I am perfectly glorious, and I do not wish you any further troubles."
Unsure of what to do, now that her consolations were not needed, Raven stood in silence, until Starfire hesitantly put forward "Was there not something else that you had to tell me?"
"Yes," She looked up to focus on her friend, "I met Robin while I was… on the way here. He was carrying something for you."
"Oh!" Starfire exclaimed, eyes alight. Raven could tell that she had understood exactly what the object was that she was talking about.
"Unfortunately whatever it was he was carrying broke during the delivery. Robin has gone off to fix it and asked me to tell you what had happened. He should be done soon."
"Oh."
Starfire's shoulders slumped suddenly. Raven watched as the alien sat dejectedly on her bed, eyes at her feet. Then Starfire smiled tersely at her friend.
"Thank you for the deliverance of your message. I will await here for Robin's return. Please, let me trouble you no longer."
Raven didn't move.
Starfire looked up, looked down, looked up.
"Please, you may go."
They faced each other silently. Raven sighed. It seemed it was time to give the ol' empathy a work.
She moved over to join her friend at the bedside.
"Starfire… Star, it's okay to miss your home."
Starfire grimaced.
"Please, do not think that it is because I am not at home here, or that I do not consider this tower my home and it's occupants my family, because I do. It's just… I am so different to everyone here. How will I ever completely fit in? And all your ways are so strange to me. There is no festival of Blorthog, no traditional Glorg meals, no more Zarneks! I am the only one of my kind within light years, I am sure. And I do so dearly miss Tameran."
Unsure of what else to do Raven just sat precariously in place, watching as Starfire continued her tirade.
"At home they have countless fields of Nimfracks, they speak Tamaranean, they remember all the festivals of celebration and they have the heating! I know that I shall 'get over' my nostalgia soon enough but until that time I cannot help but miss the place and people of my birth."
Starfire paused and looked away.
"I just wanted something to remind me, in case I had forgotten it."
Raven leaned forward to try and look her friend in the eye. "What was that disk that Robin was carrying?"
"It was not a 'disc' but a Tameranean instrument." Raven took a little time out to picture the featureless slab of chrome as being able to produce any remotely musical sound, "Rather common and simplistic on my planet, but it was a gift to me. I had hoped that listening to it's sounds would decrease my unhappiness."
"Music… makes you happy?"
Starfire nodded. She began to fiddle her fingers nervously. Raven shrugged.
"I have a collection of compact-discs, if you'd be interested in listening to them."
"Oh!" Starfire exclaimed in response, "then you must know many Earth-musics, yes?"
Raven was deliberating how to answer when Starfire mistakenly took her silence for confirmation.
" – Wonderful! Please enlighten me. I would so dearly wish to hear you sing." She looked sadly at the ground, "It has been so long since anyone has sung for me."
Raven froze. "Uhh… Star?"
Starfire's eyes fixed hopefully on Ravens face as Raven herself was desperately seeking a way to refuse without offending her friend.
"Why not ask Robin to do it?" Raven questioned defensively. Starfire tilted her head in confusion.
"Robin is not here."
"Of course he's not." Raven muttered.
Silence.
Raven stared. She didn't want to do this.
Silence.
She really didn't want to do this.
Starfire's smile began to fade. "It is okay, if you do not wish to– "
" –Twinkle, twinkle, little Star
How I wonder what you are
Starfire's eyes remained motionless, held to Raven's dour face. It was obvious that her friend would rather have been caught dead than singing this little nursery rhyme to her, but that was okay. Starfire didn't mind…
Up above the world so high
Like a diamond in the sky
… she could appreciate the little things.
Twinkle, twinkle, little Star
How I wonder what you are."
"Thank you Raven. I am much contented." Came Starfire's voice sincerely from her position on the bed.
Raven nodded, paused, and turned on her heel to walk out. But as the door whooshed open she stopped.
"Oh, and Starfire?"
"Yes?"
"You realise that if you tell anyone about this I'll have to send you to an alternate dimension."
Starfire nodded solemnly. There was a pause.
"That goes for you two, Boy Wonder."
From the darkness there came the clatter of a square, metalic disc hitting the ground.
As she made her way to her room exclamations, both of joy and distress, drifted down with her.
Yes, their resident alien was definitely back to normal.
Raven shivered slightly as she trudged off down the corridor. It was true, the Tower had seemed empty.
She'd liked it that way.
Fini