It was late in the night when the Tamaranean girl shot up from her bed with a gasp. Her shaky hand covered her mouth as her body was racked with uneven breaths. She could feel the cold sweat like a film that coated her skin. Her emerald eyes darted across the room rapidly to the erratic beat of her heart. There is nothing there.
Once she concluded that there was no one or thing hidden in the shadows of her room, Starfire carefully slid back down into the warmth of her bed. She turned onto her side facing the door and watched it intently, unable to distract her mind from replaying the horrible images she just witnessed. Everything is okay.
She closed her eyes in an attempt to force herself back into sleep. Her mind was reeling with the anxiety of returning to what she had just escaped. She felt her body heating up again quickly from the overwhelming sense of suffocation. She surrendered her fight to go back to sleep and threw the blanket away from her body. If I only go and see them then I will feel ready for slumber.
The hallways of the Tower were dark and silent as the rest of her team was fast asleep in their respective rooms. She turned down the hall in the direction of Beast Boy's room first and tried not to think too much about how eerie it was being awake this late at night. Once she made it to his door she opened his door and poked her head in. Sure enough her green friend was fast asleep in his lofted bed, snoring with some drool trickling out of his mouth. Starfire smiled to herself at the sight of her friend peacefully resting and shut his door quietly.
Next she walked across the hall to her dear friend, Cyborg's, room and opened the door slightly. She sighed in content when she saw that he was also fast asleep on the slab of metal that always looked quite uncomfortable to her. Cyborg never complained of having an ill night's sleep though so she did not question it.
Certainly she was starting to feel a little better as she walked further down the hall to the empath's room. Starfire hesitated for a moment as she thought about Raven's wish for nobody to go into her room. However her need to see her friend won the battle and she opened the door as quietly as possible. It was hard to find Raven at first since the room was darker than the others and she was buried underneath the dark purple comforter. Once Starfire locked in on the small lift of the blanket as Raven breathed, she felt relief.
Starfire walked back down towards her room with a small smile knowing that her friends were unharmed and sleeping. But she knew that she would not feel completely at peace until she checked in on one more person. Instead of turning into her own room, Starfire faced the door opposite of hers that had the name 'Robin' engraved on the front. Throughout the years, Starfire had heard and seen Robin awake late into the night working on a case or researching. So she decided to knock softly on the door in case he was awake now. After a few moments of silence she opened the door to peer into his room.
It was neat except for his desk that had scattered papers covering the surface. The newspaper clippings of all of the different criminals and villains they faced pinned to the wall above his workspace. Starfire admired his dedication and determination to protect the city. She also appreciated the work he put into keeping the team safe. She scanned her eyes over the room and over to his bed but was surprised to see that it was perfectly made.
"Robin?" She called out quietly into the room but there was no answer.
Starfire ducked out of the doorway in confusion as to where the Boy Wonder was at. Perhaps he was in the Ops Room working on research or surveying the city which he was known to do when he couldn't sleep. She followed that thought and walked into the common living area only to be greeted with darkness and silence.
"Robin?" She called again into the empty room but there was no reply.
Her eyes were drawn to the wall of windows to her left that overlooked the city she swore to protect. Tiredly, she walked over to look out across the water and wondered at the citizens who were sleeping peacefully with the knowledge that the Teen Titans were always on guard. Oh, how she wished she could slip into that restful state now.
Deflated, she turned on her heel and started her trek back down the hall to her bedroom. However she decided to take a detour to the rooftop before trying to sleep again. Even though her favorite time to be on the roof was at sunset, and the sunrise was not going to be coming for another couple of hours, she still thought it would be nice to breathe in the fresh night air.
Once on the roof, she took in a deep breath and walked to the edge where she always sat. The wind slightly blew her hair behind her in tousled waves. She smiled slightly as her mind was finally starting to come back down from the fright of her terrible sleep. Her focus was captivated by the moon reflecting off the soft ripples of the water below that she did not hear the footsteps walk up behind her.
"What are you doing up so late?"
Starfire jumped at the interruption as goosebumps covered her skin either as a result of the scare or his voice, she could not tell. His form sat down beside her as she looked at him with delight, forgetting the reason as to why she was up there now. She instantly noticed the concern that crossed his face when he saw her face.
"Are you okay?" He asked softly.
"Yes," she began, "I just…" Do I bother him with my fears that now seem so foolish?
He was still transfixed on her as he waited for her to finish the sentence. The defeated sigh that escaped her lips appeared to trouble him some more.
"I had a horrible image as I slept that woke me up. I was unable to go back to sleep so I thought that if I could just…" Starfire trailed off and a hint of red tinged her cheeks as she thought about how childish it was of her to check in on her teammates.
"Just what, Star?" She could feel the intensity of his gaze on her and somewhere deep down inside of her was a flutter of something. The same feeling she has whenever they are alone together.
"It sounds so childish now to say it out loud."
"It's okay, Starfire. You can tell me anything." He smiled at her, a smile that made her feel like he would never judge her.
"I thought that if I could check on our friends to ensure that they were safe, that I would not feel this strange feeling anymore." She drummed her fingers against her legs as she quickly spilled out her explanation, the heat in her face increasing.
"You had a nightmare," Robin stated matter-of-factly. "And you are probably feeling some anxiety because of it. That is perfectly normal." He smiled and placed his hand comfortingly on her shoulder.
"What is 'anxiety'?" She asked curiously.
Robin looked off into the skyline for a moment as he tried to find the best explanation. "It is usually like a strong feeling worry or unease. Sometimes I feel that when the alarm sounds because I am always waiting for Slade to come back."
"Oh, yes, Robin, that is what I am feeling." Starfire lit up at the realization. "The images were horrible and made me feel the unease very strongly."
"Bad dreams can have that effect, especially when they seem so real." Robin hesitated a moment and asked, "What was the dream about?"
"We were fighting against Slade, but we were not succeeding." Her eyes dropped to look at her hands in her lap. "Our friends were hurting and I could not move to offer my assistance. I could only stand and watch as Slade attacked you."
Her soft voice trailed off and a gust of wind swept her hair away from her shoulders again. Robin's hand found its way back to her shoulder and lightly brushed away a few random strands of hair. It was a soft touch at the curve of where her neck met her shoulder but it relaxed her in a wonderful way. She felt the tension in her shoulders dissipate and she closed her eyes.
"Star," Robin started gently. "I have those nightmares too."
Starfire looked at him in surprise because Robin did not fear anything. He was too brave.
"But Slade is gone," he continued. "He is never coming back. And even if he did we would take him down again. We're strong, Starfire, and we don't back down without a fight."
His small smile was one of encouragement and Starfire leaned slightly into his side in response. He moved his hand to her opposite shoulder and pulled her in closer. There was a moment of quiet as they both looked out across the water. Starfire felt her eyelids falling heavy and threatening to close on the beautiful scene. However, Robin spoke a whisper into her hair that completely erased any remnant of the horrible nightmare and the subsequent unease.
"I won't let anyone or anything hurt you, Star."
Who doesn't love a little Robin and Starfire oneshot?!
I got this idea because whenever I have a particularly bad dream it is often hard for me to fall asleep afterwards. However I'll get up and just check in on my family and when I see them sleeping peacefully I feel much better! That might be weird but it helps a lot!
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this and that you review it to let me know that you enjoyed it.
THANK YOU!