Well it's been forever since I've done anything with fanfiction. This morning I was talking to one of my friends and she got me thinking about it. Then when I was trying to do some non-fan fiction writing it seemed daunting so I decided to make this little one shot. :
It's not amazing, as I only wrote it in one day, but it was meant to be fun and cute so it's okay that it's not.
Flames of Summer
It was summer. Finally, deliciously, happily summer. The light was merry and bright as it pierced through the glittering glass of the windows. It was quite in the house, as if the light had lulled the inhabitants to sleep like cats that bask in the heat. The warm water lapped up against the rocks on the shore, singing a soothing lullaby that the cicadas just had to join in on.
For once, the television was off, silenced by the pure noise of the world around it. Bright emerald eyes squinted out the window thoughtfully, imagining other people roaming the streets of the nearby city. From across the bay the city seemed like a picturesque unmoving scene, but everyone knew that images could be deceiving. Teenagers and parents alike squirmed like ants between buildings and beaches, enjoying the sun as they went about.
But what did they do? The eyes stared hard at the city. What kept all those people up so late? What did all those people do at the bonfires on the beaches? It was a world away, a world that the flame haired alien would never be comfortable in.
Starfire sighed and rubbed at her eyes. She sat cross-legged in front of the large window in the control room, one finger tracing shapes on the glass. The sun poured down on her, caressing her hair and making it sparkle like fire. She loved the heat in summer, the intensity of the sunlight. It comforted her and lifted her spirits whenever she started to get homesick or just lonely.
Nothing had happened at all today. No battles, no hanging out, no nothing. Robin had flown out to Gotham late last night to visit his mentor and had yet to return. He hadn't even said good bye to her. He just ran off in the middle of the night and left a hastily scribbled note behind. He hadn't even had the decency to come wake her up and tell her. He hadn't even called today. And it wasn't like Bruce Wayne was in trouble, she told herself, or else he would have said so in the note.
It would have been alright, if Cyborg hadn't run off to the get pampered at the shop while Robin was gone and if Raven hadn't decided to go on some stupid spiritual journey. So she had been alone all day. Beast Boy, she assumed, was still asleep because he had a habit of staying up all night.
As she sat in the sun the heat began to get to her. Even though the air conditioning was on her pores began to sweat. Her long legs started to itch under the material of her boots as the sweat dripped down her skin. Twisting gracefully to the side, Starfire stretched her legs out, hoping to dispel the uncomfortable sense that had started to gnaw at her.
No matter which way she turned her boots continued to feel like clamps around her clammy legs. Sighing, the alien peeled them off, throwing them in a heap next to her. Returning to her place staring at the city, she smiled in contentment. That felt a whole lot better. With absent minded movements she stroked her leg, dispersing the droplets of sweat into the air around her.
Wistfully she gazed out at the slowly sinking sun. She had wasted her day sleeping and dreaming in the sun and now it was almost over. She longed to go out and do something, to prove to Robin that it didn't matter to her that he just left. She could get along fine without him.
Starfire floated to her feet, a fierce desire burning inside of her. She would do something tonight. Something she had never done before. But what she wanted to do, she had no idea. Gliding down the hall ways, the alien princess mulled over her newfound energy. She came to a halt in front of Beast Boy's room. Tilting her head to the side she let her hair spill over her shoulder. He might know something that she could do. He might even know what 'normal' teenagers do.
Without knocking she opened the door and flew into his room, her breath freezing as soon as the door slid shut behind her. Beast Boy lay sprawled on the floor, arms wrapped around a blanket and shirt forgotten on his bed. His room was a mess as always, and he lay in the center of it, his breathing deep.
"Beast Boy," she whispered, still in the air. Starfire didn't really trust his floor and she definitely didn't want to stand on it in bare feet. "Wake up," she floated closer to him, wrinkling her nose at the smell that pervaded the air. "Beast Boy," carefully she nudged herself over so she was only inches above him, "wake up." With a thin finger she prodded him gently on his arm. "Wake up," abruptly altering her volume, Starfire yelled in his face.
Her emerald eyes widened in surprise as his snapped open. She was sent flying as he instinctively sat up and knocked into her. Starfire landed in a heap across the room from him as he blinked at her, trying to understand what was going on. As his eyes slowly gained focus, a bright red blush began to blend with his green skin. He glanced down at his exposed body, then back at where she lay, limbs spread and tan legs uncovered.
"Um, Star?" he choked out, alternately glancing at her face and some thing that must be lying beneath her. A little scared at what she was sitting on, Starfire sat up and let her graceful legs extend in front of her. "What are you doing?" He felt a little guilty, but he couldn't help staring at her legs when she was looking about the room. It wasn't his fault, when she left them bare and spread them slightly apart in front of him. She should know better.
Starfire tried to come up with a good answer, "I wished to know if you knew of any activates I could partake in, as everyone has left." Her eyes caught on a picture of the five of them by the tower. They were all smiling at the camera, their eyes glinting.
"Oh," Beast Boy rubbed a weary hand against his eye and ran it through his tussled hair. "What were you thinking?" He kept looking down every now and then, as if there was a stain on the carpet.
She leaned in like it was a conspiracy, her brilliant hair flowing around her. "Something that teenagers do."
Beast Boy blinked and stared at her face, his blush returning in full force, "What?"
"The ones who always have so much fun doing the hanging out at the beaches," her eyes were determined and excited. "Do you know what they do down there?" her voice was so full of curiosity that Beast Boy had to laugh.
"Yeah," visibly he began to relax, "but you don't want to do that. Trust me." He climbed to his feet and stretched his arms above his head, giving Starfire a chance to watch his stomach muscles wiggle. He picked up his shirt from his bed and casually slipped it on.
"But I do," she said in earnest naivety. "Tell me, what is it that they do?"
"They have bonfires and…" Beast Boy did not feel comfortable talking about this with the innocent girl. He walked over to her and whispered it into he ear, somehow saying it softer made it less bad.
Her mouth turned into a round O as her eyes grew in understanding. She glanced up at him, observing his rueful face. For a second she couldn't think of anything to say, instead just staring up at him. Beast Boy was about to step away from her and go get a snack when she finally spoke up.
"Robin would not like it if I did that." Starfire said it matter-of-factly, with hardly any inflection, so different from her usual happy way of speaking. "He would not approve."
"No, he wouldn't," Beast Boy laughed, hoping to make that far off look leave her face, "and no of the others would either." He made a face at her, eyebrows and mouth turned down, mimicking their friend's reactions. She hardly noticed, just staring ahead, thinking fast.
"Would you?" staring up at him, her sharp eyes scrutinizing his face as it changed from laughing to silent surprise. She was patient as he grappled with the question. His green eyes looked back at hers, but his lacked some of the confidence that the beauty had. He could feel her looking through his face, through his insecurities, through his jealousy and his temptations. He could see her chest rising and falling with shallow breath, the only evidence that she was as nervous as he was.
Without answering he turned and walked away from her, the sudden urge to get something to eat a welcome excuse to get distance between him and her eyes. Damn those eyes. They were so clear, so bright.
Beast Boy could hear the wind behind him as she flew along. He began to fiercely wish that she would put her boots back on. Nobody should have legs that long and a torso so little. Nobody should have skin that wonderfully tan and hair so much like fire.
His mind kept returning to when she had sat in front of him, innocently letting her legs flop and not even thinking about how short her skirt was. Starfire was so naïve, and Beast Boy did not want to be the one to take that away from her, but it was so tempting. It's not like anything would happen anyway, he explained to his racing heart, it'd just be two friends having fun. Nothing more, nothing less.
Starfire glided to a stool as he got to the refrigerator. He opened it wide and grabbed at a jug of some juice, taking a giant drink out of it. He stared at her, a mischievous feeling growing inside of him. Nothing would happen. It could be fun. "Okay," he said, watching her watch him. "You get the stuff for the bonfire, and I'll handle the rest." Before she could exclaim in happiness he had rushed forward and leaned towards her. "But you have to promise not to tell Robin, or Raven, or anybody." Starfire nodded solemnly. "And," here he dropped his voice to a whisper, "we're going to turn off the security cameras, okay?" Again, a nod. A nod that made her hair bounce delightfully.
When he turned Starfire started to giggle in delight, her excitement shining through her laughs, brighter than the fading sun that came through the window.
Two hours later, Beast Boy was flying to the tower, a heavy bag strung across his back. His talons cut the air as he soared, his hawk eyes seeing from far away the place that Starfire had set up for their bonfire. He swooped down in big circles, still thankful for all the people who owed him favors in Jump City who he knew would stay quiet. Starfire was waiting for him, sitting on a log that she had found in front of a giant pile of twigs and branches.
He changed back before he landed, falling a few feet onto the log next to her. She grinned at him, "Hello, friend. Have you finished your tasks?"
"Yeah," Beast Boy's breath came in fast bursts, his blood shaking in his veins. So many things could go wrong. No one was supposed to get home until the next morning, but what if they got back early? What if something happened in the city? What if…Starfire tugged at his hand and smiled at him, banishing all the worries from his mind.
"I turned off the camera," she whispered impishly, her cheeks already flushed with anticipation and some other emotion that Beast Boy couldn't decipher. Night had fallen quietly around them as they had prepared. A cool wind blew off the bay, keeping them safe from the scorching summer heat.
Beast Boy cleared his throat and stared into the mountain of twigs. "Well," he tried to hide the shake in his voice, "want to light it?"
"Of course," he was amazed at how excited Starfire sounded as she fired starbolts at the sticks and watched the first licks of the fire grow. They sat there for a moment, waiting for the fire to grow and staring up at the pale moon above them. The stars were reflected in the water that danced only feet away from where they sat. When the flames had started to chew away at the bigger branches, Beast Boy carefully took off his back pack and displayed its contents to her wondering eyes.
One big bottle whose clear contents glittering in front of the flames. Gently Beast Boy put a small glass in Starfire's waiting palm, and handed her a can of Dr. Pepper. He dug around the bottom of the bag and brought up a can of Pepsi. He was sweating, and his fingers kept shaking where he had them wrapped around his own minuscule glass. "Are you sure you want to do this?" he couldn't hide his anxiousness anymore.
Starfire's crystalline eyes were bold as she stared at him, a grin on her face his only answer. She reached over him and began to unscrew the top, her hands steady as she handled the delicate material. How could she be so calm? Beast Boy's mind demanded to know how she could maintain such elegant composure. Robin would be so mad if he found out. And wasn't she even a little nervous…hadn't she heard the stories of what people did when they…
"Here," she poured it for him first, and pushed her can of pop towards him, indicating that that was his job. As she filled her shot glass he handed her the chaser. Starfire put the bottle back onto the ground and turned to take her soda. She stared at him and the way that his hand shook when he offered her the drink. Gently she took a hold of it, fingers laying over his. Starfire stared at him over the can, while Beast Boy was intensely aware of the softness of her skin against his. "Do not be nervous," she said softly, "This will be fun."
They sat, knees touching, both with the drink in one hand and the chaser in the other, unsure of who should start. "Well," Beast Boy gulped, scared and comforted at the same time, "it's now or never." With no more hesitation he took a sip of Pepsi and downed the drink, quickly gulping down more pop to cover up the awful taste. His peripheral vision told him that Starfire had followed his actions.
Beast Boy's head swirled a little and looked at Starfire full on. She was laughing to herself. When she saw his eyes on her she said quietly, "That tasted horrible."
Beast Boy's laugh joined hers as the changeling agreed. A tickle in his throat kept him laughing until Starfire pulled a big box from behind the log. "What's that?" he asked, still laughing.
"I brought some music," she said, flipping it on, "I've seen other teenagers play music." Her eyes were giggling, and her cheeks were bright red. Her lithe fingers changed the dial so the music that came out of the radio was upbeat and energetic. "Pour me another drink," she said, her voice still full of clarity and sense that he could barely understand. Did she know what she was getting herself into?
But as Beast Boy poured more into both of their glasses he told himself that she was doing what she wanted to do, and there was no point in telling her to space out the drinks and that the effects can sneak up on…damn her eyes were so pretty. They drank at the same moment, Starfire saying something about being a teenager. Before the liquid had even made it's way to her stomach she had stood up and began to dance.
Beast Boy leaned back and watched her sway to the beat. She spun and twisted, her hair blending in with the fire behind her. She was laughing, her eyes glued to his face as she twirled. "Am I a good dancer?" the princess giggled at him.
"The best in the world," this brought more laughs out of her mouth. Her full lips open wide. Her legs were still bare, her toes making tiny imprints in the sand as she moved. Her eyes stood out in stark contrast to the red around her, two bright leaves floating in an amber sky.
As the song changed Starfire gasped and exclaimed, "I love this song!" Beast Boy couldn't recognize it, but its pounding rhythms brought a smile out of him. He didn't know how long she danced, or how long he sat watching her before she came tripping back and asked for more.
"Star," he laughed, feeling warm and slightly dizzy, "slow down. You need to space out—"
"But it has already been twenty minutes!" she giggled, her face falling close to his. "Please, friend?" Even though her face was so flushed her emerald eyes stayed clear and focused on his face.
They followed the pattern that they had made, chasing down the liquid with pop and laughs.
"It feels so nice out here," Starfire said dreamily as she flung out her arms and spun in a circle, her short skirt swishing around her hips. She grabbed at Beast Boy's hand and roughly pulled him to his feet. "Doesn't it?"
"Yeah," he agreed, gripping at her hand. When she tried to pull it away he just held on tighter, "I'm very…" His words were lost in the music and the fire, caught in the space between the air particles.
"You are very funny," Starfire finished his sentence. "You are so funny that I would watch you if you were on the television." She laughed as if it was the most comical thing she had ever heard and Beast Boy joined in merrily.
"Thank you," his fingers were squeezing hers. Where had her other one gone? With clumsy movements he grasped for it and in a lucky sweep took hold of it. "I don't think anyone else would," the bitterness in his voice took him by surprise.
Pushing her body towards him Starfire said with as much seriousness as she could muster, "Do not think about them. They are not here." Beast Boy took strange solace in that. That and the fact that Starfire was gripping his fingers back and was only inches from him. "Dance with me," she said with a careless smile. She pulled him towards the hot fire, hips swaying to the music.
Beast Boy said something that made her laugh, but seconds later he couldn't remember what it was. Starfire put his hands on her tiny waist and let her own hands fall onto his shoulders. She began to shake and dance and swirl in such a mesmerizing way that all Beast Boy could do was move from foot to foot. Sometimes her hips would brush up against his and it was all he could do to try to breathe slowly. The fabric of their clothes was so close that the shades of purple blended together.
"You know," Starfire said, using his hands to hold her up when her feet began to lose balance, "sometimes, I think of what would happen if we were together." His heart just kept beating faster and faster. "Instead of Robin." She had stopped dancing and was now just leaning against him, her stomach pressed up against him, the scent of her hair mixing with the smoke from the fire.
"And?" The word was more of a gasp out of his lips. Before she could reply a malignant burst of wind tugged him backwards, ruining what little balance the green boy possessed. Beast Boy fell back, hands clasping at Starfire who still clung to him. He landed with a thud on the ground, his fingers tracing the small of her back, one of her legs beside him and the other tantalizingly between his.
She was laughing again, a light noise that sounded more like a bell than anything. Her fingers were running up and down his chest, drawing out his breath in little bursts. He wanted to tell her to stop, that they shouldn't be doing this, that this was all a bad idea…but her sparkling eyes told him that it would all be okay.
"Well?" he whispered, his breath on her face bringing a smile to her lips. Her beautiful full lips, redder than ever even beside her blushing cheeks. Beast Boy could feel the muscles in her legs tense as she prepared to sit up. His fingers held her down harder against him.
This only made her laugh more. "You are silly, Beast Boy," she whispered in his face, a spark of something in her emerald eyes, "Now let go."
"Wait," his ears were full of cotton balls and her words weren't loud enough to get in, "What?"
"Beast Boy," Starfire murmured, her legs relaxing. She flopped down against him, her entire body pressed against him. "You are not making this easy," her words were a slur as they tripped over each other to get out of her mouth.
He couldn't hear her, only feel her lips moving against his cheek. He turned his head to the side so that their noses brushed and their eyelashes began to intertwine. Beast Boy could feel Starfire's heart beating just as fast as his was with their bodies overlapped. "Starfire," he didn't make a sound, just mouthed the word, his lips brushing ever so slightly against hers. He could smell the alcohol on her breath but that did nothing to stop the smell of lavender that was always around her.
Starfire took a deep breath and stared and his green eyes.
His tooth that stuck up over his lip.
His breath on her lips.
His hands on her back.
Her mouth pressing against his with an urgency that sparked the fire he had been trying to quell.
The fire was everywhere, in his veins, in his mind, and burning through his mouth. Starfire was pressing against him, pushing him down into the sand and dirt. Her strong legs had him almost trapped beneath her. His hands traced her spine up to her long neck, her thick hair. He wove his hands in an out of her flame colored hair, pulling her head down hard. He needed her taste. He needed her smell.
Starfire slipped her fingers down to his waist, where she slid them up the fabric of his shirt. She could feel his skin clench delightfully beneath her fingers, drawing her on. She could almost hear him laughing at her feeble efforts. In a burst of strength Beast Boy flipped her over so that she lay beneath him, his mouth still glued onto hers.
Tearing his fingers from her hair he pulled his shirt over his head, waiting until the last moment to bring his lips away. Starfire laughed as he threw his shirt dangerously close to the already fading fire and sat with his legs still interlocked with hers. She sat up and wrapped her arms around his neck, not wanting him to forget the feel of her body against his. Every moment was precious, every second one more that they could not get back.
Automatically he put his hands on her back and stared into her emerald eyes. His grip was strong against her skin, pulling her forward, always closer to him. Heart beating loud as a gunshot, Starfire slammed her lips onto his, letting her Tamaranian instincts take over. Beast Boy lowered her onto the ground, giving his hands free reign as hers played across his back and chest.
When his fingers brushed against her hips she opened her mouth wider, constantly egging him on. Constantly feeding the fire. Suddenly her hands disappeared. His eyes snapped open to see her unhooking the armor she always wore around her neck. His veins roared like thunder.
As Starfire threw her armor to the side and returned her grip to his back, he slowly put his hands on the back of her legs and placed them around his waist. She clung onto him with a ferocity that almost surprised him. Lifting her off the ground Beast Boy somehow found his way to the entrance of the tower. Starfire was gasping as she held on, painfully aware of how short her skirt was and how hard she was being pressed against him.
The door opened robotically and Beast Boy rushed past the threshold to the facing wall, pressing her back against it. Starfire's finger found the elevator button that was luckily only inches away. The doors opened behind them, leaving the two to fall backwards onto the floor of the elevator. Beast Boy's foot found the button for the floor, his eyes opening only for seconds to find it. The elevator began to rise, breaking the two apart for moments before they found each other again.
When the elevator opened neither was sure what to do. They lay on the floor of the elevator for minutes before Starfire squirmed out from beneath him and ran towards her room. She stood in the doorway, all her weight on the frame, waiting for Beast Boy to catch up to her. His hands appeared suddenly around her waist, his lips caressing her neck.
Grasping at his hand she drew him forward, the door gently closing behind them.
The morning light was tender as it outlined the two faces that lay so peacefully in the tangled purple sheets. Clothes were strewn across the room, dotting the normally clean room with happy imperfections. Green eyes opened, and the gasp that followed was enough to wake the city outside the window. Another pair of eyes opened, emerald and calm.
"What did we do last night?" The voices were hushed, afraid of being found out.
"Remember…" They were unable to say it, though they both know the truth.
"Of course, I just…" So many things were left unsaid in the morning light.
"Tell me," the honesty and pain were evident in the watery eyes, "Would you have wanted to do that if there had been no alcohol?"
The seconds were like knives before the answer came, "Yes. Would you?"
"Yes," the instant response brings out a crude smile.
"Do you think that…we could…be something?" Bodies that were so close the night before act like strangers.
"There are a lot of problems," though neither wanted to admit them, "But I can't just give you up."
Confused hands grasped at bodies, hanging desperately and hoping for an easy way to make this right.
"I feel the same way."
The morning air was ignited as hunger, urgency, and lingering despair flared up to feed the insistent flames.