"The fireworks are most lovely." Starfire commented, staring up at the brightly illuminated sky while lying on a blanket on the roof of Titans Tower.
"They really are, aren't they?" Robin turned to look at the girl lying beside him. She was most lovely herself with her flowing red hair, her bright green eyes, and her radiant smile. She was perfect.
Now she was looking back at him, and the sound of the fireworks began to fade away, "Robin?" she said.
"Yeah Star?"
"My experience with the 'chick flicks' as well as the 'girl talks' with my female companions has taught me that this moment is an appropriate time for the boyfriend to initiate the 'perfect kiss'."
Robin's face turned bright pink, "Yeah, um, that is true, uh-"
Starfire looked disappointed, "I see. It is the 'only happens in the movies.'" She started to get up.
"No!" Robin grabbed her arm, "I want to, um…kiss, yeah, you…tonight." Starfire was beaming, and Robin quickly added, "But I'm not so great at the whole 'perfect moment' thing. How does it go in your chick flicks?"
"Well," Starfire began, "First, the boyfriend stares lovingly at the girlfriend,"
"Check" he said.
"Robin," Starfire said knowingly, "I must see your eyes as well."
"Oh, okay then," Robin peeled of his mask, "What comes next?"
Starfire stifled a giggle, "The boyfriend compares the girlfriend to something beautiful."
Robin smiled, "Starfire, you are more beautiful than these fireworks; you are more beautiful than anything, in my eyes."
Starfire blushed, "Oh Robin, you are a leg-puller!"
"I mean it Star! You're gorgeous!"
Starfire blushed even deeper at the sincere compliment, "Next, the boy moves the girl's hair out of the way, followed by a non-awkward silence that precedes the kiss."
Robin gently took a piece of her hair from her face and placed it behind her ear. Starfire blinked slowly and leaned in towards him.
Their lips met just as the fireworks finale began, and at the same time the three other Titans came to the roof to watch the finale.
"Wow! They really went all out this year!" Beast boy shouted over the sounds of explosions. He and the other two didn't even notice their teammates in their special moment a few yards away from them because their heads were toward the sky.
"Man! I wonder what kind of launchers they used for these babies…" Cyborg commented.
"What do you think Raven?" Beast boy asked.
"I think… fireworks are okay." She said offhandedly.
Meanwhile Robin and Starfire's kiss had finally broken and the two were staring into each other's eyes. Starfire reached for Robin's mask and replaced it on his face.
"The others are here." She whispered.
"Yeah," Robin nodded.
"Shall we go someplace more private?" She suggested.
"Yeah," He said again.
The two stood up as the finale came to a close, and snuck past the other three. They hardly broke eye contact as they walked through the dark halls towards Robin's room.
Outside Robin's door at last, the two turned to each other.
"I love you, Star."
"I share those feelings with you, my love."
"I would never leave you."
"Robin, kiss me for X'ahl's sake!"
They kissed, more passionately than before, but they were both more nervous than they had ever been.
Robin took Starfire's hand, as a reassuring gesture, and pulled her into the room.
The next morning Robin woke up alone in his bed, much to his surprise.
He had spent the best night of his life with Starfire, and he had hoped to wake up next to her. But he shrugged it off, assuming she had gone to shower or eat breakfast.
Robin took his morning shower then headed to the kitchen in hopes of finding the love of his life.
But when he got there he only found Raven and Beastboy, talking in hushed voices on the couch. He took note of the oddity of Raven and Beastboy not fighting and apparently getting along, but he pushed it to the back of his mind. He wanted to find Starfire.
She wasn't in any of her usual favorite spots, and when Robin checked the tower body counter, just in case, he found that there were only four people in the tower.
Now Robin was starting to feel a hint of fear, after all, when was it ever hard to find Starfire?
Robin walked back to the kitchen, and found Cyborg, Beastboy, and Raven sitting silently in the lounge with the TV off.
Robin stopped when they all stared at him with looks of sadness, guilt maybe, and nervousness.
"What's going on?" he asked, breaking the silence
"Robin." Cyborg started, glancing at the other two, "Uhh, there's something… something happened."
Robin came in and sat down at the end of the couch. Cyborg was sitting next to him followed by Beastboy and Raven at the other end with her eyes closed.
"What is it? And where's Starfire?"
"Dude, that's what we want to talk to you about." Beastboy said, scratching his neck nervously.
"We received a call from Tamaran. It was her." Raven said, opening her eyes.
Robin was stunned. Why was Starfire on Tamaran?
"Apparently she left early in the morning. That's just what BB and Raven told me, they're the ones who talked to her."
Raven stood up and walked to the window, "She said she is sorry she left without warning and that she is safe, but she can't come home until she sorts out some things on Tamaran. She said that she couldn't tell us anything and that this is the only way."
Robin shook his head in disbelief, "I want to talk to her."
"Robin-"
"No! I want to hear it from her!"
"She didn't want to talk to you, Robin! We asked if she wanted to see you and she said it was best if you didn't see her until she returned home." Raven explained, turning to face him directly.
"When will she be back? Did she say?" Robin asked.
"It could be a while. It could be a few months or it might be a few years, but she will come back. She stressed that she would return eventually. For now she said to tell you to trust her and do what she wants you to do, which is to carry on."
Robin rubbed his hands across his face, "This is just… not right. What reason could she possibly have to leave us like this, without a way to contact her, without being able to see her for a few years?"
"Dude, we're just as shocked as you are, but I really think Starfire was sincerely sorry that this came up like this, and yeah we're all really gonna miss her there's really nothing we can do." Beastboy said.
Robin sighed and stared at his hands.
"There is something else you should know, now that we are all gathered." Raven said, "Beastboy and I are going to Azarath."
"Say what?!" Cyborg shrieked, "You two are going on a trip together? Just the two of you?! First off you two don't get along, and second, why wasn't I invited?!"
Ignoring Cyborg's questions, Raven said, "I haven't seen my home in a long time."
"And Raven thinks there might be some monks there who can help me unleash my potential to turn into creatures I don't even know exist!" Beastboy exclaimed.
"A week from today the doors to this world and the world of Azarath will be in the best positions to travel from here to there. There won't be another opportunity like this for a many decades. The opposite is true for Azarath; the doors will be aligned on Azarath in what would be about a year and a half on Earth.
"Now that's just freaky! Raven getting homesick and Beastboy going on some sort of spiritual journey?! Robin, help me out man!"
"I suppose those are some good reasons to leave unexpectedly." Robin said bitterly.
Raven walked over and put a hand on his shoulder, but Robin pulled away roughly. She tried to ignore his anger and said, "There is nothing that you or any of us can do about Starfire so just… try to move on."
"I can't. Not when she leaves me like this." Robin said, and then got up and left, presumably to be alone in his room.
"Man this sucks!" Cyborg exclaimed, "Not only are three of my friends leaving for long time, including my best friend who's leaving me for some wacko monk deal," he glared at Beastboy, " but now I also gotta deal with Robin while he mopes about Starfire while ya'll are gone!"
"It's okay Cy, we'll be back before you know it."
Cyborg just grumbled to himself in response.
"He just needs time to get used to it." Raven said, "Come on, Beastboy, we have a lot of packing to do."
Raven started walking towards the door. Beastboy stayed behind, staring at Cyborg for a few more moments before he ran to catch up with Raven, who was already in the hallway.
Once the doors to the kitchen closed behind him, and he was sure Cyborg was out of earshot, Beastboy pulled Raven inside an unused storage room.
"What are you doing, Beastboy?" Raven asked, clearly annoyed.
"I feel so bad about lying to Cyborg, he's my best friend, and he's gonna be so mad when he finds out-"
"You heard Starfire. She only wants us to know about this and we promised we would make sure it was so."
Beastboy drew circles with his feet and accepted defeat. He knew he had to keep his promise to Starfire, but he hated hurting his best friend, "Man, he's gonna be pissed at me when we come home with, well, you know what."
Raven's communicator buzzed in her pocket. She flipped open the screen, "Its Starfire," she pushed the 'answer' button on the device and Starfire's worried face appeared on the screen.
"Friends, how did it go? How did Robin respond? Does he hate me for leaving?"
Beastboy pulled the screen towards himself, "Let's just say he didn't take it well."
Starfire sighed, "That is to be expected. I wish badly to be able to tell him the truth! But this is the only way I will be able to see him again."
"Is there anything else you wanted to talk about? Because this room isn't soundproofed. Who knows when one of the other guys will walk by and figure out that something's going on?" Beastboy said in a hushed voice.
"Of course. I only wish to give you the 'good luck' for your journey to Tamaran, and to thank you for what you are doing for me, you are nearly giving up your lives for me."
Raven gave a tiny, sad smile, "We're your friends, Star. We'll do whatever it takes to help you get through this."
"Yeah and It was life or death!" Beastboy exclaimed, "We have a duty to do this."
"Thank you, both of you. I shall see you in a week."
"Goodbye." Raven closed her communicator and sighed, "You sure you want to do this, Beastboy?"
"Course I'm sure. I agreed to it this morning, didn't I? And this is personal; I'm not going to back out of it." He assured her, "But are you sure that you want to do this? I know you don't really like me."
"I'm sure I want to do this. I know I don't show it much, but I do care for all of you, and Starfire, well, she's my best friend. And you, I don't dislike you. We are just two very different people who sometimes don't get along."
"You could say that again."
"But we are the same in some ways."
"How's that?" Beastboy asked.
"Both of us were so willing to give up so much for our friend. I doubted you would ever do something like this. I even doubted myself. But when the time came, we both did the right thing, and I'm glad we have that in common."
Beastboy grinned, "Okay, let's get out of here."
"Sure." She started heading out but Beastboy grabbed her arm, "What?" she said looking down at his hand with a slightly annoyed look.
Beastboy was staring into space and didn't seem to notice what he was doing. When he did he quickly let go and blushed, "Sorry," he said with an embarrassed grin. He quickly darted out of the closet.