Robin doesn't believe in a lot of things, but Starfire is determined to make him believe.
Make Me
Ghosts
"Man, this TV show's gonna give me nightmares for life," Beast Boy exclaimed, shielding his eyes.
"True dat, man," Cyborg agreed. "Whose genius idea was it to watch Doctor Who on movie night?"
"I'll give you three guesses," Robin intoned.
"It was mine."
"Ra-ven!" Beast Boy whined. "Doctor Who is not a movie. We watch movies on movie night."
"Friends!" Starfire chimed in. "Please, let us cease this fighting, for it was Raven's turn to decide what we should watch, was it not?"
"Listen to the redhead." Raven sat down beside Starfire on the couch. "Unless you're too scared."
Beast Boy bristled, immediately rising to the bait. "I'm not scared!" he snapped. "Let's just watch the damn thing and get it over with."
"What's this episode about, anyways?" Robin queried curiously.
Raven turned on the TV before she answered, "They end up in a place full of statues of crying angels."
Beast Boy took his hands off of his eyes. "That doesn't sound too bad," he remarked in relief.
Beast Boy regretted his words after the episode ended.
"Um, Raven," Cyborg spoke up. "When you said that they end up surrounded by statues of crying angels, you forgot to mention that they were actually aliens who rip out people's brains!"
"Oh my God!" Beast Boy wailed. "When she sneezed and he looked at her and then they looked back and saw the face of the Weeping Angel, like, literally a centimeter away from their faces, I thought I was going to piss myself."
Starfire was holding on to Robin's arm for her dear life. She nodded mutely in agreement.
Robin scoffed, causing the rest of the titans to whip around to face him. "What's the big deal? It's not like they're real, anyway."
Four pairs of calculating eyes met from across the couch.
"Au contraire, Bird Boy," Raven said slowly. "Au contraire."
Sleep came easily to Robin later that night. Before he closed his eyes, a thought that his friends would try to scare him entered his mind, but he shook off the notion and settled more comfortably in his sheets. Seconds later, he fell into a dreamless oblivion.
Robin woke up to the eerie tune of "In the Hall of the Mountain King." It had a distilled, sort of muffled quality to it, but it was still playing, nonetheless. He grumbled to himself and opened his door, preparing to tell everyone to shut up when Starfire slammed open his door. Robin's eyes widened in shock.
"Oh, Robin!" Starfire cried, her eyes glassy with fear. "Please, there is a ghost residing in my closet!"
Robin rubbed his eyes tiredly. What time was it? "Star," he groaned. "There are no such things as ghosts. It was probably Silkie or something. Go back to sleep." He prepared to turn around, only to be dragged to Starfire's room by said-girl.
Stronger than she looks.
"It is in there!" Starfire pointed at her closet door. There didn't seem to be any noises coming out of it, but Robin was vaguely aware that the background music was starting to escalate and crescendo into a faster tempo. This would be creepier if there were such things as ghosts. The Boy Wonder decided to humor his friend.
He sighed. "Alright, Starfire," he said, taking hold of the doorknob. "But I'm telling you, there's no such thing as-" The closet door swung open.
And then Robin screamed.
Magic
"Oh friends!" Starfire cries joyously, clasping her hands together. "Was that not just the most dazzling performance you have ever set your eyes on?"
"Yeah," Raven deadpans. "Dazzling."
"I was simply amazed!" Starfire continues. "How does the person being cut not feel any pain? And when the magician put her back together? I could not believe what was happening!"
Cyborg chuckles and shoots Robin an amused glance, which the Boy Wonder promptly replies with a roll of his eyes.
"Star, you know that none of it was actually magic, right?"
The Tamaranian princess frowns and casts her bright green eyes on Robin. "Whatever do you mean, friend Robin?"
"Dude!" Beast Boy complains. "Way to be a buzzkill!"
"I'm just saying," Robin says emphatically. "It's all just illusions and clever manipulation of shadow and light. It's just science, is what it is."
Starfire shakes her head. "I do not understand what you are saying. It all looked real to me."
"They're not actually cutting up people and putting them back together," Robin explains. "They use special instruments that are designed specifically so the audience will think that the person is cut up. And they angle the lights in a certain way to create illusions to fool people."
Starfire inclines her head, her eyebrows drawing together. "That sounds like magic to me."
"Well it's not! It's – urgh," Robin growls, clearly frustrated. "Here, I'll show you what I mean when we get back to the tower."
Starfire's expression clears and a grin lights up on her face.
Beast Boy and Cyborg share a knowing look while Raven sighs and mutters something that Robin vaguely hears as, "Idiots."
Starfire assaults Robin the moment they step into Titans' Tower. Raven drifts off to her room to meditate and Beast Boy and Cyborg immediately fight over the remote control to watch TV – "I wanna watch Glee!" "No – we're watching Gossip Girl!" It is a sight to behold.
"Come, dear Robin," Starfire insists, tugging at her leader's arm. "You must demonstrate this magic trick of yours."
Robin grits his teeth and fights back an annoyed scowl; the last thing he wants to do is upset Starfire. As much as he wants to take her by the shoulders and shake her until she admits that magic does not exist, he inhales deeply and pinches the bridge of his nose.
"Starfire – it's not magic, it's science."
Starfire's lips quirk up into an enigmatic smile, and Robin's eyes fixate on those luscious, ruby lips. "We shall see, Robin."
Said-teen decides he likes the tingling feeling that runs along his spine when his name rolls off her tongue like honey. He shakes his head to clear his thoughts.
"Er – anyways." Robin's cheeks feel hot. Is he coming down with something? He clears his throat. "Here, I'll demonstrate."
He fills a glass three-quarters of the way up with tap water and takes out a sheet of paper. Already, Starfire is rapt with attention, her uncanny emerald eyes glowing with anticipation. Robin takes the sheet of paper and firmly presses it down over the opening of the glass cup. He waits a few heartbeats, turns the cup upside down, and lets go of the hand holding the paper.
Starfire gasps. "Oh, Robin! How did you accomplish such a feat?" She hovers towards him and inspects the glass from all sides. "This is an ordinary drinking glass, yes? Did you not say men of magic use tricky instruments?" she accuses.
"No, Starfire." Robin sets down the glass on the countertop. "I'm trying to prove to you that it's not magic, it's science. Water surface tension allows a film of water to form a seal around the rim of the cup and greatly restricts replacement air from entering the cup. The air pressure from the outside will also be pushing against the sheet of paper, so it won't fall off of the cup."
Instead of her shoulders slumping as Robin expects, the Tamaranian merely paints a knowing smile on her features. "Robin," she laughs. "The more you are saying to defend your point the more you are convincing me that magic truly exists."
Robin can't help it – a deep scowl twists his mouth down and he crosses his arms over his chest with a glare. "Oh yeah?" he challenges crossly. "Prove it."
Starfire giggles. "Oh Robin, I had the fear you would not ask!" She slowly advances on him with a predatory smile.
Robin is suddenly fearful for his life. He takes a step back, only to have the sink trap him. Good God, felled by a measly sink.
Beast Boy and Cyborg, he finds to his ultimate relief, have compromised and are watching Pretty Little Liars with undivided attention. Robin turns his attention back to Starfire just in time to see her eyes shut and feel her warm lips press against his. A sound that closely resembles "Blarrgumphh" is emitted from his open mouth, but all he can do is stand stock-still, paralyzed with shock. Starfire pulls away and Robin suddenly finds himself weak in the knees. He gapes at his teammate, his mouth opening and closing.
Starfire is speaking. "Do you not see colorful bursts of sparks light up in your sight of vision?"
Robin blinks rapidly to clear the explosions of fireworks dancing in front of him.
"Does your head not become light, and you feel that you will float into the sky and stay there forever?"
Robin grips the edge of the sink with both hands.
"Is your skin not becoming hot and are your cheeks not becoming red?"
It's awfully hot in here.
"That, dear Robin, is magic." She winks flirtatiously before turning around and walking away.
For once, Robin finds that he has nothing to say.
Fairytales
"Once upon a time in a far away land, there lived a king and queen and their baby daughter. One their daughter's first birthday, the king and queen hosted a grand celebration, and invited three of the land's most powerful fairies. However, they forgot to invite one fairy, who was a bit of a witch as well. The fourth fairy was furious and stormed the castle in a wild frenzy. She approached the baby's cradle and declared, 'On your sixteenth birthday, you will prick your finger on a spindle and die!' With an angry flourish, the witch disappeared.
"One of the fairies quickly chanted a magic spell to alter the curse. Instead of dying, the princess would merely fall into a very deep sleep. The years went by, and the little princess grew and soon became the most beautiful girl in the kingdom. She had a pure heart and genuinely cared for others. However, on her sixteenth birthday, her inevitable fate came upon her and she pricked her finger on a servant's spindle and fell into a deep sleep.
"The fairy who had altered the curse sadly told the king and queen that their daughter would continue to sleep until a man with a heart as pure as the princess's were to fall in love with her. The king and queen despaired, for how could a man fall in love with a sleeping girl? The fairy's heart reached out toward the royal family and cast a spell; everyone that lived in the castle – soldiers, ministers, guards, servants, maids, knights, even the king and queen – fell into a deep sleep. Only when the princess awakens will everyone else wake up as well, and life would continue on from there.
"Years flew by, and soon a dense forest of thick and straggling – I'm sorry, I can't do this anymore." Robin shut the book with a snap and an irritated sigh.
"Robin? Why did you not continue with reading the story?" Starfire inquired.
"Because, Star," Robin replied, rubbing his eyes. "This is just some stupid fairytale that people make up because they're sad and lonely people with no lives. I can tell you right now how it ends – a prince comes to the castle and fights his way past many obstacles, sees the princess, falls in love with her, breaks the spell, and they live happily ever after."
Starfire frowned. "How is that stupid? I believe that is a romantic story that deserves to be read all the way through." She fixed an accusatory glance at her teammate.
"I'm sorry, Starfire, fairytales are just twisted fantasies for people who can't deal with reality. Get Raven to read this or something, I'm out." Robin rose up to stretch out his arms before retiring to his room.
Robin furiously attacked his punching bag, mentally berating himself for leaving Starfire by herself. He should have just finished reading the damn thing, even if he did think it was a piece of crap. Maybe after he was done working out he could go apologize to her and finish reading the story.
The Boy Wonder turned around to head out when something struck him in the back of the head, and he keeled over. The last thought to enter his head before his vision completely went black was, fucking punching bag…
Robin woke up groggy and disoriented, and he took him a while to get his bearings and figure out just where the hell he was. He did a quick three-sixty of his surroundings, just in case he and the rest of the team had been kidnapped by an evil criminal again. We really have to improve the Tower's security. Robin made a mental note to bring that up once he got out of this godforsaken place.
Once he was sure this wasn't another botched up plan to kill the Titans, Robin set off. He was in a dense forest of some sort, with towering trees as far as the eye could see. Thick bushes and shrubs dominated the floor, and ugly looking vines were wrapped around the tree trunks. Despite the dense vegetation, there seemed to be no wildlife in sight. In fact everything around him was dead silent. Even the small creek Robin spied ahead of him was made no noise.
"Cyborg?" Robin called. "Beast Boy! Raven! Starfire!" When it was clear that none of the other Titans were near did Robin accept his current predicament with an angry sigh.
It seemed like hours had passed Robin finally managed to escape the forest, but only to be blocked by a massive entanglement of thorny vines. These vines seemed to stretch on and on, and no matter where Robin looked, the vines seemed to be everywhere.
"What the hell is this place?" he wondered out loud.
"You're in a land from far, far away," a disembodied voice sounded. Robin immediately crouched in a defensive stance and retrieved his bo-staff.
"Relax, foolish, human. I am here to help."
"Show yourself!" Robin commanded.
"Very well." A figure emerged from the shadows of the forest of vines.
Robin almost dropped his bo-staff. "Raven?" He gawked at her brooding figure. "Is this some kind of sick joke?"
Raven held out a hand. "Silence," she said in a drawn out monotone. "I don't know how you came to know of my name, but you are obviously here to save the princess."
"W-what the fuck are you talking about?" Robin spluttered. "I don't even know where the hell I am! Do you know if Cyborg or Beast Boy are okay? What about Starfire – is she – "
"Silence," Raven repeated in the same tone of voice as before. "You have obviously hit your head somewhere in that forest. Princess Starfire is sleeping in the castle just beyond these vines. You have come here to rescue her, a feat which I commend you for. Now…" She conjured a small backpack from behind her and handed it to the speechless Robin. "Use the contents wisely." With those lovely parting words, she submerged herself back into the shadows and disappeared.
Robin wasted no time in rummaging through the backpack. Somewhat disappointed with his findings (a box of tofu, a Nintendo 3DS, and a suspicious worm-creature of some kind), he shouldered pack and traipsed into the vines. He hadn't walked that far along when a green dog appeared in front of him.
"What in the flying – Beast Boy!" Robin run his hands through his hair in aggravation. "Don't tell me–" He was cut off when the dog leaped at him and morphed into a dinosaur mid-leap.
Robin jumped out of the way. "Look, I don't wanna hurt you – I just want to get out of here."
The dinosaur paid him no head and roared, this time charging at him with its head lowered. Robin growled in frustration and reached into his backpack to retrieve the box of tofu. The dinosaur instantly morphed into a cute little puppy with big, shining eyes and a tail the wagged so fast the motion was blurred.
"You want it? Fetch!" Robin chucked the thing with all his might and the stupid puppy scampered after it with a bark.
"This is too easy," he muttered and carried on. He had only walked a few steps when the thought occurred to him. He smirked. "And I can make this even easier."
The Boy Wonder grabbed a disc grenade from his utility belt and threw it deep into the jungle of vines. Seconds later, the vines had caught on fire, and with a satisfied smirk, he ran through the collapsing vines.
By the time Robin reached Starfire's chambers and expended the Nintendo 3DS on an angry Cyborg, Robin was beginning to feel a migraine forming between his temples. He sincerely hoped that he wouldn't have to fight Starfire – although the suspicious worm thing in his backpack did very closely resemble her pet Silkie. Robin opened the door with bated breath, and he cautiously stepped into the room.
The first thing that he noticed was that the room was dim, dim enough to see Starfire's prone form lying on a bed and dim enough to not notice anything else but her.
"Star…?" He hesitantly approached the bed. She didn't move a muscle, didn't even twitch.
When he was finally close enough to see her face, his breath caught. She was beautiful. Instantly Robin's mind traveled back to the stupid story he had read, and he instantly knew what he had to do. He leaned in and kissed her.
And the rest, like they say, was history.
Love
Robin avoids Starfire like the can't help it, but ever since the "Bathroom Fiasco,"(1) as he so lovingly dubs it, whenever the Boy Wonder even catches a glimpse of the long locks of fiery hair, those wide, green eyes, and sinfully long legs – his mind starts wandering, and all the heat in his body rushes to – ahem – certain extremities that he would rather not name. It certainly doesn't help that Starfire's costume is provocative enough as it is.
The Boy Wonder lets his mind wander to Starfire's crestfallen expression when he had turned down her offer to take a walk in the park and he suddenly feels a stab of guilt. He knows that he cannot avoid her forever – they are best friends, after all. Best friends with benefits…
Sure, he likes that Starfire is hella strong and can kick anybody's ass in less than ten seconds flat. Sure, he likes the way Starfire struggles with common American idioms, and he loves the way her eyes light up when he corrects her. Sure, he loves the way she says his name and when she smiles the smile reserved for only him…That doesn't mean that he actually like likes her, does it?
"Argh!" Robin groans out loud, clutching at his hair.
Cyborg gives him a sidelong glance, but says nothing and refocuses his attention on the slice of pizza in his hands.
"Um, dude? If you're not gonna eat that…" Beast Boy stares pointedly at Robin's untouched dinner.
Robin exhales noisily and pushes his plate towards the changeling. "Take it," he mutters.
"Sweet!"
"Robin?"
Said-teen freezes at the familiar voice. His heart is beating so fast he's afraid a stroke is eminent.
"Are you the 'okay'?" Starfire asks anxiously, suddenly hovering too close to Robin.
"I-I'm fine," Robin replies hastily, mentally bludgeoning himself for stammering like a buffoon.
Starfire peers at him and leans forward, causing him to lean back and flush. "Are you sure?" she inquires worriedly. "You look red in the face. Perhaps it is the fever?"
Beast Boy snickers. "I think he's coming down with something, alright."
Robin barely manages to glare at Beast Boy when a cool hand is placed on his forehead. His eyes widen beneath his mask and his eyes are unconsciously drawn downwards –
Don't look at her boobs, don't look at her boobs, don'tlookatherboobsdon'tlookatherboobs, don't look at her – FUCK I LOOKED – hot damn…
"BLARGH!" Robin leaps out of his chair and crashes rather unceremoniously to the floor.
"Robin!"
"Don't worry about him, Star," Cyborg says dismissively. "He's lovesick."
"Don't listen to him-!"
Starfire tilts her head to the side. "Lovesick? Please, how do you cure the lovesickness?"
Robin groans. "Look, Star, I'm not really 'lovesick,' so–"
"Lovesickness is a rare yet rather benign disease that eighty percent of hormonal teenage boys contract at some point in their lives," Cyborg says sagely.
Starfire takes notes attentively.
"You see, young Tamaranian," Cyborg continues in all seriousness. "After boys hit puberty, they start to have certain urges."
"What sort of urges, Cyborg?" Beast Boy asks with a wide grin.
"Yes, Cyborg," Robin manages through gritted teeth. "What sort of urges?"
"The urge to copulate," Cyborg answers.
A blanket of silence falls on the room. Robin almost faints – did Cyborg really just say –
"Yes. You heard me!" Cyborg thunders, standing up to his full height of six feet and ten inches. "MY DEAR ROBIN WANTS SOME LOVE-MAKIN' AND HE WANTS IT BAD!"
"CYBORG!" Robin explodes, ignoring Beast Boy's unrestrained cackling. He glares hard enough to burn holes through Cyborg's deadly serious face. He risks a glance at Starfire's fascinated expression and blushes to the roots of his hair. Goddammit, I just want to kiss her right now.
"So the cure is simple, is it not? We must help Robin find this 'love.'"
"Uh, Star?" Beast Boy says weakly. "You don't know what love is?"
"On my planet, love is an extremely rare and mythical thing. Many have sought it, but few discover it. They say that whoever discovers love will be the luckiest person in the universe." Starfire's eyes have developed an interesting sparkle to them. "And I will help Robin search for this love even if I have to give up my life in the process!"
"Star!" Robin leaps to his feet and catches her by the wrist. "You don't have to go through all that trouble for me, okay? I…I think I already have love."
Starfire adopts a confused expression. "Whatever do you mean? Did Cyborg not just say that were the 'lovesick' and you need to find 'love'?"
Robin smiles. "I told you already – I already found love. It took me five years to find it and I'll be damned if I ever let it go."
A wide grin breaks out on Starfire's features. "Oh, glorious! I am so happy for you, Robin!" She reaches out and grabs him for a bone-crushing hug. Beast Boy and Cyborg 'aw' collectively.
Starfire steps back. "So, what exactly is this love that you have found?"
Robin steps forward. "This." He leans in and kisses her on the lips.
"M'boy's finally grown up!" Cyborg sniffs.
"S-s-so beautiful!" Beast Boy blows his nose into a tissue.
Raven emerges from the shadows and inwardly gawks at the scene. "I don't even want to know," she mutters to herself and retreats back to her room.
End
(1) The "Bathroom Fiasco" is not the same incident as the "Magic" drabble. Each of these stories have nothing to do with each other.
Final Thoughts: The last little drabble didn't really go the way I had originally planned, but I'm still satisfied with how it turned out. I loved Cyborg in this, bahahaha.