Let Me Love You

By Tonyf9685

Robin is the ever-serious leader of the Teen Titans; he immerses himself in stopping the bad guys, by any means necessary, and he doesn't show much emotion. Can anyone crack the 'tough-guy' barrier he's put up? Maybe....A Tamaranian girl? Robin/Starfire, possible lemons...Please review! :-)

Chapter 1

It had been three weeks since Slade made his return, and Robin had become more reclusive than ever, trying to track his every move. It seemed as if the leader of the Titans spent every waking moment locked in his room, trying to find a trace on Slade's whereabouts. "Where the hell could you be?" He mumbled, staring at his computer screen. A gentle knock on his door finally stirred Robin from his trance, and he stepped over to see who dared bother him now. "Any news on Slade?" Robin asked, before the door was even fully ajar. "No, Robin. It's just...I saved you some of the round, cheesy circle from earlier, and since you skipped breakfast and lunch, I thought you might be hungry." Starfire responded, her eyes glued to the floor. "No thanks, Star. I'm fine. Please tell me if you hear any news about Slade, though." Robin said hurriedly, as he shut the door in her face. Starfire let out a deep sigh as she slowly floated down the hallway, away from Robin; away from the man occupying all her thoughts. "She's worried about me, as I'm sure all the Titans are. She just wanted to give me some pizza, to make sure I'd eat something and be okay. Why do I need to shut them all out? Why do I need to shut HER out?" Robin thought to himself, as he put his head down on his desk. Just then, Robin's computer picked up something. It was Slade; Robin was sure of it! "Titans, GO!" He yelled, as he burst out of his room.

The Titans quickly arrived at the old steel factory, and Slade was nowhere in sight. "Be careful, Titans. He could be anywhere." Robin whispered, leading the way through the dark building. "Or he could be nowhere, and this could be another false alarm." Cyborg said with a sigh, as he lit the way with his arm. At this comment, the leader of the Titans turned around and sent a mighty sneer towards the half-man, half-robot. "Or, he could be EVERYWHERE." A haunting voice rang out, echoing through all the Titans' ears. Before they realized what was going on, the Titans were surrounded by hundreds of Slades, or copies of Slade. "They're all robots, guys...Take 'em out fast, while I search for Slade!" Robin yelled, running towards a large shadow by the exit. "Come and get me, Robin. If you can, that is." Robin fumed, as he heard that familiar raspy voice, taunting him. Slade was Robin's single greatest foe, the one criminal that seemed to out-smart and out-maneuver him on every level. To beat Slade, Robin would have to be better than him, and that was something he had been unable to do. Yet, anyways.

The Titans fought valiantly, and they tore apart the robots with excellent efficiency. "These robots aren't presenting much of a challenge." Raven pointed out, as she trashed seven of them at once. "Less work for us! I'm not complaining." Beast Boy yelled, turning into a rhino and steamrolling a group of robots. "Something seems fishy, though. I can't explain it, but there is definitely something weird going on here." Raven said, looking as if she was deep in thought as she thrashed more robots. "I say that you shouldn't look a gift-horse in the mouth. These things are easy to destroy because Slade didn't have them made well, apparently. Might as well have a little fun, right?" Cyborg pointed out with a grin. "YEAH!!!" Beast Boy said, while turning into a T-rex. Finally, the robots were just about COMPLETELY trashed. "Yo, guys?" Cyborg asked, as he destroyed the final few robots. "What?" Beast Boy and Raven replied, in unison. "Where's Star?"

"You won't win this time, Slade. I won't let you!!!" Robin yelled out, as he leaped from building to building. Slade was on the run, and Robin was staying close behind. Finally, Robin caught up and tackled him. After a short tussle, Robin had Slade down on the ground, and his staff was pushed against the madman's throat. "Give it up, Slade. Finally, it's all over." Robin whispered, trying to catch his breath. "That's what you think, Robin." It was that voice again! Except...It was coming from above? Robin looked up at the nearest building, and was stunned by what he saw. There was Slade, the real deal, holding an unconscious Starfire in his arms. "S...Slade?!?! How?" Robin sputtered. "You were fighting a robot, Robin. More advanced than the others that I set against your friends, but a robot nonetheless. As it turns out, I was one of those 'robots' that you left your friends to deal with. Some leader you are, Robin. This girl would never have gotten hurt if not for your ignorance, and your impatience." Slade answered, taunting Robin with his haunting tone of voice. "What the hell did you do to her? If she's hurt, I'll..." Robin started, before Slade interrupted. "You'll what? Attack me, and you'll hurt the girl. She isn't hurt, by the way; just unconscious. If you don't follow my orders, though, it could be much worse. You're mine now, Robin. All mine."

The other Titans finally arrived, but they were forced by Slade to stop in their tracks, as he held up the unconscious Starfire. "Now, Robin. You are my apprentice, and the first thing I want you to do is take out those three annoyances." Slade growled, pointing at Cyborg, Raven, and Beast Boy. "You can't be serious?!?" Robin yelled. "Yes, I'm very serious, Robin. Do not disobey, or this girl will NOT see the light of another day." Slade replied, dangling her over the edge of the building. "Don't hurt her!!!" Robin begged, a look of terror on his face. "Then get moving." Slade replied simply, pointing towards the Titans. Robin leapt into action, and fought with his teammates. Slade took delight in watching the pained expressions on his face as Robin attacked each one, hitting them with a barrage of punches and kicks. They didn't really know what to do, since they didn't want to fight Robin, so the other Titans took the abuse and eventually fell to the ground. During this battle, though, Starfire had regained consciousness (unbeknownst to Slade). She looked towards Robin, trying to catch his attention by lighting her eyes up to a bright green. He looked up at Slade dejectedly, having just knocked out his teammates, his friends. It was then that he caught on to Starfire's being awake, and what she was planning to do. "What do you want me to do now, Slade?" Robin asked quietly, looking down. His hand went to his side, as he readied his grappling hook. Slade laughed, getting extreme enjoyment out of Robin's displeasure. "Well, Robin? Next, you will.....ARRRRRRRGGGH!!!!" Slade yelled out, as Starfire fired a bolt of energy at his leg. He loosened his grip, and Starfire quickly flew up in the air. Robin shot his grappling hook at Slade's other leg, and pulled him down towards him.

Slade landed with a thud, close to where his fallen robot lied. "Game over, Slade. You lose this one." Robin said with a grin, walking towards the fallen villain. "Hardly, my dear Robin." Slade replied, jumping to his feet. His leg was injured, but he wasn't one to let PAIN slow him down. The two men battled it out, matching one another blow-for-blow. Starfire wanted to help Robin, wanted to fly down and attack Slade. Something told her not to, though. This was Robin's battle, and he was handling it better than he ever had before. It was as if Robin completely changed his fighting style; became more patient and refined. He wasn't rushing, and wasn't trying to punch Slade into oblivion. He was parrying Slade's blows and following up with solid attacks of his own. The villain was thoroughly impressed, as Robin landed numerous shots to his body. Finally, Robin caught Slade in the stomach with a left, and then he bashed the villain in the head with his staff. Slade stumbled backwards, and fell backwards off the roof. Just barely holding the edge with the tips of his fingers, Slade yelled out for help. THAT was certainly something that Robin never expected to hear. The building was at least 30 stories in the air, and a fall from the top would be the end of Slade. He yelled for help, but Robin was glued to his spot. Being a Titan, he was supposed to help everyone in need. Slade, as much as he hated to admit it, needed his help now. And Robin was unable to give it. He stood his ground, not moving an inch as Slade's fingers gave out and he fell off the edge.

Robin and Starfire silently helped their friends regain consciousness, and the Teen Titans all went home together. Very few words were spoken on the way home, as only Beast Boy asked what had happened with Slade. Robin replied with a quick, "He's gone", and that was the last of the conversation. When they arrived back at the tower, though, Robin finally explained everything. Starfire listened intently as Robin explained what happened, although she had witnessed the entire thing. She watched as Robin beat Slade, and watched as he let the madman fall to his doom. She was happy for Robin, that he had finally taken down the man who haunted him so completely, the man who had taken over all his thoughts and made him disregard his needs. Slade was gone. Now what would Robin do? Could things go back to the way they used to be? "Will he let me back into his life?" Starfire wondered sadly, remembering how Robin had shut her out in recent weeks. It was then that Robin stunned all the Titans with an announcement. "I'm leaving the team." He said simply, acting as if it was no big deal at all. "What do you mean, dude? You're our leader, and you can't just LEAVE!" Beast Boy asked, shock still coursing through his body. "I don't belong here anymore. Not right now, anyways. I need to go off on my own for awhile, and try to find myself. I've never been much of a leader, nor much of a teammate. You guys will be better off without me anyways." Robin replied, turning away from his teammates. Starfire wanted to yell, wanted to scream, wanted to grab him and tell him to stay. But she couldn't. She could only watch as Robin walked out of the tower, and only watch as he walked further and further away.

FINALLY, it was Starfire who broke the stunned silence. "I am sorry, friends. I need to leave as well." She said simply. After giving them each a quick Tamaranian goodbye, Starfire flew after Robin. She didn't know what she could do for him, or even if he would want her there. But as she watched him walk away, Starfire realized something. She realized that even if he didn't feel the same way, she NEEDED him. She couldn't spend her days without Robin by her side. "Is this love?" She wondered, as she followed silently behind the boy wonder.

--- Whew, that's all for this chappie. Don't expect them all to be that long, folks... :-P There wasn't a whole lot of romance in this chapter, though, so expect a lot of Robin/Starfire romance in chapter number 2...This first chapter was just to get the story going, so I had to have a lot of action; I'd say that Slade dying (maaaaaaybe ;- ), plus Robin and Starfire leaving the Titans was a decent amount of action. So be expecting a good amount of ROMANCE in Chapter 2...PRETTY PLEASE, hook me up with some reviews? I want to know what you think, so please don't forget to review after reading? Thanks!!! Luv ya all!!!!! ;-) Tony ---