The Bat

Jealousy is a rather new concept for me, it is one that I have only experienced during my time here on Earth, and seemingly to only felt it over one being, Robin. I am not proud of my actions regarding jealousy but my strong feelings for my leader have driven me to them without hesitation or even comprehensible thought. Tamaraneans feel our emotions with everything we have, when we are happy we are overjoyed, when we are sad we can fall into deep depression and it seems that even jealousy is heightened for my species.

The first instance is one I regret the most, from the very beginning of the formation of the Titans I could see bonds forming in our group. Beast Boy and Cyborg had become what they say "bros" and had become virtually inseparable. I had quickly taken a shine to Robin and so decided that he could be my acquaintance, however it seemed to be short lived as I noticed that I did not share a lot of the same interests as Robin did and his work meant that I was unable to spend much time with him. I did not mind as much as a I realised that he was busy, however I began to notice that another Titan was getting more time conversing with him, Raven. I should have realised from the very beginning that they shared very similar mind sets, they were both very tactical and analytical and so it seemed they worked well together.

It made my blood boil as I watched the two spending more and more time together and I felt I was reaching a tipping point. It had been a busy day and the two aviary named Titans had been working together for the majority of the day. My envy had blurred by logic and every comment Raven had said made me want to grab her and crush her. I had had enough when Raven had leaned down over Robin to review something on the computer and I could see that Robin's eyes had subtly lowered slightly to admire the spectacle of her chest in front of him. I felt my ears burn and without thinking I had grabbed Raven by her cape and dragged her out of the ops room and into my room, before slamming the door. I stood there snarling at her as Raven looked at me bewildered.

"You do not speak to him anymore!" I cried

Raven stared at me in vivid confusion "Who?...Why?"

"You do not fool me, Raven. I can see the way you look him!"

"Who!?" she shouted back in confusion

"Robin!" I snarled in response

Raven stared at me, even more confused than before "What do you mean look at him?...What do you think I've done?"

I wanted to scream at her "You have the feelings for Robin and I wish for you to stop!" I realised how childish this demand was but my emotions had took the best of me.

"Feelings for...no I don't have feelings for him!" she replied with a tone as if I had insulted her intelligence

"I have seen how much you do the speaking to him!" I shouted dismally, I seemed to have overdone it as a few tears began to escape from my eyes.

Raven stared at me but then she softened and smiled softly "Starfire. I don't have feelings for Robin"

"You do not?" I replied weakly

"No, Robin's my friend. I don't see him that way" she smiled at me reassuringly and patted my shoulder "It seems you do though"

I wiped the few tears away from my eyes "Well…yes…"

"You've got nothing to worry about Starfire. I'm not trying to steal Robin off you so you don't need to be upset"

"You are right, friend. I am most sorry for yelling at you" I replied extremely ashamed of myself

"Apology accepted" she said as she headed towards my door "I'll just tell the others you needed my advice on girl stuff or something, they won't ask questions" she said with a grin.

I gave her a smile of gratitude.

I promised myself that after that incident I would not allow my jealousy to get the better of me again and I was successful for many months however one night destroyed that previously good record. The night of the blonde she-witch that was Kitten's 'prom' had arrived and Robin had been forced to attend against his will, otherwise the city would be destroyed. I remember how mad I had been at the proposition and when Robin had agreed to it, it felt like he had slapped me in the face. I forgot about the threat to the city and in that moment his acceptance of the outcome seemed like a rejection of me, I wanted to cry as he left to go to this 'prom'. I donned my nicest dress and decided to attempt to steal Robin away from the evil Kitten like what happened in the Rom-Com movies that I have watched. My rage was clear to all those around me as the blonde physcopath attempted to kiss my Robin and I was immensely relieved when Robin refused to kiss her.

I believed that this would be the end for my jealousy, I could see now that Robin felt something for me from his previous actions. I knew that it was time for me to reveal my feelings to him and hope that he did the same, with my head held high I planned out that I would tell him before the end of this week.

When Wednesday morning approached, I awoke with a cheerful smile. I would tell Robin today and get it over with. I climbed out of my bed floated into the ops room with a large smile on my face. "Good morning, friend!" I called to the figure sat on the couch, as I made my way into the kitchen. After a few moments I realised that no one had answered, I wandered out of the kitchen and made my way to the person sitting down "friend?" I asked again.

The redhead swivelled around and smiled at me "Hi! You must be Starfire"

I nodded my head in confusion "Yes…"

"I'm Barbara Gordon, you can call me Babs if you want" she greeted with a cheery smile

I racked my brain for a moment, I had remembered that Robin had mentioned someone named Babs before but never in great detail. Not wanting to be rude I smiled at the visitor "Greetings then, friend. May I ask why you are here?"

"Oh, I came to visit Dick" I stared at her blankly in response, "Robin" she corrected after a moment

My heart ached, Robin had never told me his name before and it pained me that she knew his name and I didn't, despite the fact Robin and I were meant to be the 'best friends'. "Oh, I see. How long will you be staying for?"

"Not long, I told my dad that I was visiting a friend for a couple of days so I can only really stay until Friday" she took on a sombre look "I haven't seen Dick-…Robin, since he left Gotham. I really missed him…"

I began to feel remorseful for my previous thoughts, she had known Robin a lot longer than I had so of course she would know his name "I am sure he has missed you as well" I replied with a smile

The common room door swished open and Robin strolled in, "Morning Star, I'm guessing Babs has introduced herself?"

I nodded with a smile "Yes, I was just conversing with her"

"We were gonna watch a movie, do you wanna join us?" he asked as he hopped over the couch and took a seat next to Babs.

I was unsure of what to do, on one hand I wanted to spend some time with Robin but on the other I did not want to interrupt his time with Babs considering how long they have been apart for. Deciding that it may be rude if I declined the invitation, I took a seat on the other side of Robin. Throughout the movie my attention seemed to have picked up on the fact that Babs had been subtly moving closer and closer to Robin throughout the duration of the movie. I had done this many times before whilst we were watching movies together but somehow watching Babs' actions seemed almost like a threat to me. Without really realising what I was doing, I found I was also edging myself towards Robin. This show of dominance as it was, ended quickly as I looked to my right and noticed that Robin's face had gone bright red.

He stood flustered, and stared at the door nervously "I'm just gonna….errm…get something to eat" he said quickly as he made a dash into the kitchen.

I stared after him for a moment guiltily as I realised how uncomfortable I must have been making him, I focused my eyes back on the TV to try and hide the scowl I would have been targeting at Babs. If she had not attempted to do the making of a move, Robin would not have been embarrassed.

Similar events seemed to be happening frequently over the day, Babs would brush up against Robin when they were walking together. She would 'accidentally' rest her hand on his knee for a few seconds when they were sat together. I had to avert my eyes from the pair for most of the time for fear that I would end up grabbing Babs and launching her out of the ops room window. I wanted to like Babs but her 'flirting' with Robin was not making it easy for me.

That night I came up with a plan, it was obvious that Babs would be making a move soon and so I needed to strike first. I decided on a location where I could invite Robin to, alone, and reveal my feelings for him, then he would forget about Babs. I tapped my finger against my chin and I smiled brightly as it came to me, the park. I lifted off of my bed and hovered over to Robin's room, I knocked and cheerfully waited for him to answer.

The door slid open and he smiled at me "Hi, Star. What's up?"

I steadied my nerves and practised my words over and over in my head to make sure I would relay them correctly "I…was wondering if you would like to go to the park with me tomorrow?"

He smiled "Sure, Star. That would be great. I need to finish off some work before I go to bed so I'll see you tomorrow?"

My heart fluttered and I gave him the brightest smile I could "I am most looking forward to it"

The next morning I couldn't stop myself from smiling, I decided against my usual uniform and I found a bright green summer dress that I had bought after Raven reluctantly accompanied me to the mall of shopping one afternoon. I strolled out into the ops room and I spotted Robin chatting with Cyborg at the computer terminal. "Greetings friends" I said cheerfully.

I found it difficult to contain my smugness as Robin's jaw hung slightly open as he turned to look at me. "Wow…umm…nice…dress, Star"

I smirked inwardly at his lack of words "I thank you, Robin"

"I feel underdressed now" he said with a smirk as he looked down at his T-shirt and jeans

"You need not to, you look perfectly acceptable" I replied and smirked again at his slight blush

"Looking good little lady" Cyborg turned from the terminal "you guys going to the park?"

"Yes, we will be leaving soon" I replied happily

"Oh, you guys are going to the park?" that infuriating voice came

"Yeah, why?" Robin replied

"Mind if I come? I've never seen the Jump City park" she replied

Robin looked hesitantly at her and then back at me "I think Starfire just wanted it to be me and her"

"Oh come on guys, I've never been before, you won't even notice I'm there" she pleaded

Robin looked anxiously at me again. I knew Robin extremely well, he didn't want to hurt Babs' feelings. I sighed deeply, It was not very fair of me to make him disappoint his friend "You may accompany us if you wish" I answered, attempting to act nonchalant

"Cool, I'll grab my coat" she replied dashing out of the room

Robin looked at me apologetically "Are you sure you're okay with Babs coming?"

I gave him a small smile in return "Why would I not be?" I replied remorsefully

"Okay. Let me get my jacket and we can head off"

Cyborg came and stood at my side and placed his large metal hand on my shoulder "You were gonna tell Rob how you felt today weren't you?"

I looked up with a mix of confusion and shock "How did you?..."

He gestured to my dress "It's not hard to see you have a thing for him. Last time you wore anything other than a dress was when you tried to stop Robin from going to that Kitten girl's prom. I can tell you don't like Babs"

"It is not that I dislike her it is…-"

"That she's messing up your plans with Rob" he finished for me

"Yes" I replied in a soft, sad tone

"Nothing's final Star, let the spiky haired wackjob know how you feel" he replied comfortingly as he patted my shoulder

The door swished open again "You ready to go, Star?" Robin asked

I smiled and floated over to join him "Yes"

A light breeze blew through the park and the warmth of the summer afternoon emanated all around us as we sat on a grassy bank under some trees. The calming silence was broken by the voice of my rival "This place is really pretty" Babs pointed out

"Yeah it's not bad, were usually too busy to come out here. It's been strangely quiet the last week" Robin replied

"This park is so bright and colourful, nothing like the gloomy ass park back in Gotham"

The mention of the city seemed to jar Robin "Babs, I never asked before…how's Bruce?"

"He's not bad. Things haven't been the same since you left though. He works alone now, he even turns down my help most of the time. I think he regretted pushing you away and so he doesn't want that to happen again. He'll get over it eventually, he just needs time" she replied with a smile

"That's good, tell him and Alfred I said hi when you go back to Gotham" he replied, a faint ghost of a smile forming on his face. He had not told me very much of what happened but I wished he told me more about his past.

Babs seemed to perk up at something and she scanned the area for some unknown sound "Is that an ice cream truck?" she continued to look around and eventually her eyes landed on an ice cream truck parked on the other side of the street from where we were sat "yeah, it's over there!" she began rummaging in her bag and pulled out a $10 note "Starfire, could you fly over there and get us some ice creams?"

Robin gave me another apologetic look "She doesn't have to, we can get some later when we walk closer to that way"

I sighed and took the bill from her "It is fine. Which flavours would you like?"

"Vanilla" Babs replied in an over cheery voice

"Can you get me a strawberry one please, Star?" he looked guilty as he requested it but I smiled to reassure him that it wasn't his fault

"I will return shortly" I replied bolting through the air towards the ice cream truck. I landed and made my way to the window of the truck, a few people who were stood around the truck stared at me for a few moments but then returned to their ice creams. "I would like a raspberry, a strawberry and a vanilla please" I requested with a smile

The man in the truck smiled at me and handed me them, I reached into my pocket and took the money out but he simply smiled at me and shook his hand "The Titans have saved my business more times than I can count, this ones on me"

I smiled warmly at the man "Thank you, friend…" I squinted to focus on the badge on his uniform "Charlie" I finally concluded.

He smiled widely back at me "Have a good day Starfire!"

I took the 3 cones and awkwardly held them in my hands, before taking off to the air again. This time having to lower my speed to avoid that ice cream flying out of the cones and directly into my face. I smiled as the warm rays of the sun soaked into my scan and I admired the blue sky above, I lowered myself gradually down to the ground just around the corner from where the other 2 were sat and I walked up the grass bank as I licked my ice cream.

I looked up and I gasped in horror. I stared at the sight of Babs with both her hands cupped on Robin's cheeks as she was kissing him. Within moments, I could feel hot tears running down my eyes and it felt like I had been stabbed in the heart over and over and then snapped in half in front of me. The 3 ice cream cones were crushed into mush in my hands as my tears leaked down my cheek.

Robin pulled away at the sound and stared at me in horror "Star!"

I couldn't listen to what he was going to say, I knew that if I listened to him telling me how I was only a friend to him that it would destroy me and I just wouldn't be able to cope. I rocketed up into the sky with his voice calling behind me, I clutched to any good memory I could think of to keep my flight sustained and I angled my descent quickly towards the tower. I felt my flight slip away as I staggered onto the gravel roof of the tower and I ran down the stairs and into my room and dove onto my bed as the last of my calm slipped away. I buried my head into my pillow and sobbed more than I could even believe was possible. Scenarios ran through my head, how could I stay on the team when the mere sight of Robin would make destroy my calm and confidence, how could I manage to only be friends with the person that I love the most?

After about 10 minutes I heard a soft knock on my door "Star?"

The voice only brought more tears to my eyes and my sob grew louder.

"Please let me in" he said with almost desperation

I lifted myself off of my bed and trudged over to the door and let it slide open "Do you require something, friend?" I asked miserably

He stepped quickly into the room and pressed his lips firmly to mine, I was completely stunned by his action but I felt myself begging to melt into his embrace and I wound my arms around his neck. My sobs died down quickly as he stroked my hair soothingly.

"I'm so sorry, Star"

"It is not your fault?" I replied quietly

"I shouldn't have let her kiss me, I should have realised her feelings from the beginning"

"But I thought you did the liking of her?"

He sighed "When I used to live in Gotham I did, but she broke up with me. For some reason she thought that even after all this time I would still feel the same as I did then. I don't feel the same way about her anymore"

"Why?" I asked, almost in disbelief

"Because it would be wrong of me to like another girl whilst I am already in love with the one stood in front of me"

I tackled him and our lips did not stay apart for much longer.

The End

Author's Notes:

This is the first one-shot in this short collection. I may add more to this collection in the future but I thought it would be good to group these 2 stories as they share a similar theme.

If you enjoyed it, give it a favourite and a review to let me know what you thought.