Four Degrees Under Fun
"And what exactly is the point of fighting while using the balls of snow? Is this an Earth custom?"
Starfire is ducked down behind a short snow wall with Robin, as they hide from the onslaught of snowballs that Cyborg and Beast Boy are trying to attack them with.
"We're not really fighting. Well, we are, but it's just a game," Robin explained patiently. By now, he was used to all the questions his alien friend would ask. "Think of it like the video games we play."
The Tamaranean was well acquainted with the pastime her teammates – save Raven – were so fond of. Speaking of Raven, the enchantress was standing on the side-lines, having opted out of the game, despite Beast Boy's best efforts to convince her to play. They all settled for at least having her stay and watch them play; no way were they letting her skip out and stay in her room all day.
"I understand now!" Smiling widely, Starfire grabbed a few of the snowballs Robin had been diligently piling up and peeked over their wall.
Having not had to defend for the past couple of minutes, she caught Cyborg and Beast Boy standing up in front of their own wall, completely exposed.
"Ahah!" With the gift of strength far greater than most humans, the snowballs she let out were fast and hard. The other two suffered and onslaught of direct hits to their bodies and their egos.
"Nice one, Star!" Robin grinned and took advantage of this to throw a few of his own snowballs.
"Cy, we're getting wrecked! Do something!"
"Why don't you do something?"
"Uh…um..er." The green skinned youth transformed into a wooly mammoth, moving in front of Cyborg to take the rest of the attack. Cyborg jumped over to take cover behind their snow wall. 'Oh, I know!' Beast Boy used his trunk to suck in a few snowballs. With a glint in his eyes, he turned to Robin and Starfire and started shooting back.
"Hey, that is called the cheating, is it not?" Starfire exclaimed, diving out of the way.
"Nu-uh," Cyborg called over. "Starfire can't turn off her super-strength so we get to use our powers too."
"You asked for it!" Robin shouted back. He still had all his equipment on him, even in his winter gear, so he pulled out several birdarangs. He threw them at the incoming snowballs, accurately splitting each one in half before they could reach them.
He grabbed a few more snowballs, flipping over the wall and throwing them at Beast Boy and Cyborg, all the while dodging the ones aimed at him.
"Oh yeah? Two can play at that game!" Cyborg got out his canon blaster and destroyed the snowballs aimed at him. "Boo-yah!"
At this point, Robin noticed that his teammate had flown off somewhere. "Uh guys, where did Starfire go?"
"Dunno, she just took off," said Beast Boy. He was now back in his human form, going back to the classic style of throwing snowballs by hand.
They would have continued in this fashion, if not for the sudden shadow cast above their heads.
The teens stared up at the sky, looking terrified.
"Wait, no – "
"Hold up!"
"Mummy!"
"Oh brother…"
"Haaa!" Starfire cried as she hurtled the ridiculously massive snowball down at them.
"Ahhh!"
Whoosh.
The giant snowball exploded as it landed, covering everyone else in snow.
…
"Friends?" Starfire floated down. "Friends, are you there?"
There was a moment of silence before Raven phased out from the snow, having used her magic to shield herself. "This is why I wanted to stay indoors," she said blandly, though she always spoke in that tone. Phew, Starfire was glad she didn't cause Raven to get angry.
There was a shifting sound and then one after another, Robin, Beast Boy and Cyborg's heads all popped out from beneath the snow. Beast Boy turned into a mouse and got out of the hole, and then turned back to normal to help Robin out. Starfire in turn shoved her hand into the snow and pulled Cyborg out.
"So…Robin and I won the game, yes?"
"Technically, since you're the last one standing," said Cyborg, "but you ain't supposed to take out your teammate too!"
"Oh…" Starfire's mood visibly sunk.
"It's alright Star," Robin said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "It was your first game. You can make up from it next time."
"That sounds like you're ready for a round two!" Beast Boy pumped a fist in the air. "First round goes to Robin and Starfire, but it's best two out of three! Wanna join us, Rae?"
"…Fine. But no more giant snowballs."
"Wonderful!" Starfire cheered. She pulled Raven and Robin back to their side.
"Hold on! Since we lost we get to have Raven!" Cyborg argued.
"Starfire's still learning how to play. It's only fair we get Raven," Robin countered.
Beast Boy shook his head. "I'm the one who asked her to join!"
"Can we please just get started? You're going to give me a migraine."
As her friends continued bickering, Starfire started shaping the snowballs for the next round, reminding herself not to hit her own teammates next time (once they decided who was on which team, that is).
Earth customs were still sometimes bit strange to her, but they were certainly very much 'the fun'.
A/N: Tadaa! So, the prompt was 'Stranger in a Foreign Land' and because I was in a Teen Titans mood, I ended up writing this. 'Cause Starfire is a precious alien girl. Super precious. And the rest of the Titans to. They're my OG bbys. Yep. TT was technically my first fandom ever but I never wrote for it until now. In terms of timeline this would take place...anywhere that the Titans aren't having a serious arc, haha.
Also, don't think I wasn't tempted to call this one 'Stranger in a Four-ign Land'. Because I was very tempted. However it wouldn't make a very good title. (Everyone: It's not a very good pun either. Me: Too bad mwahahahaha you can never unsee it). Actually my current title needs some explaining too. Zero degrees is 'fun' and the colder it is the more fun it is so…negative four degrees is super fun.(Everyone:…what. Me: Ehehehehe ) Don't ask me what that is in Fahrenheit cause I don't know xD ...This fic probably applies more to the 'foreign land' than the 'stranger part'. Technically Starfire is still a 'stranger' to the customs so it kinda fits. Ahem.
In case you're confused, this was for the Twelve Shots of Summer Challenge which is super fun and you should all go check out the fics on there.
Thanks for reading!
- Dina