Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans or Red X. To be quite honest... I don't believe I own anything but the plot in this fic...lol. Oh well.
A soft, barely audible whisper floated on the breeze as a cherry blossom drifted to the ground. High above the deserted park in which the cherry tree resided, a ghostly moon shimmered silver in the ebony sky. A silken haze shadowed the ripe moon, blotting out the fiery umber stars that slept near it. Others of their kind flashed brightly in the unending vastness of the heavens, displaying the light that those stars obscured by the moon could not.
And observing those heavenly bodies on a rooftop not far from said park, a slim girl in her teens sighed quietly. The delicate breeze that had felled the blushing cherry blossom riffled through the girl's long tresses, caressing each auburn strand with utmost care. She gave another pointed sigh. Emerald eyes gazed stoically out at the skies, searching for one brilliant blot that might have been her home. Or might not have been. It was hard to tell where it was anymore. No… that was incorrect. Her home was right where she was standing. Titan's Tower was her home.
Tamaran was but a fading memory. But how clear the fading memory was. The mournful creek of door hinges alerted her of another's presence. Head tilted ever so slightly, she turned to observe whoever it was that sought the solitude of the rooftop. She found herself mildly surprised to find her stare met by the single humanoid eye of Cyborg.
"Star," he acknowledged her with a brief nod and she presented him with a pretty little grin back. She did not expect him to be able to see through her mask and was pleased to find her suspicions correct.
"Friend Cyborg," she returned the gesture. He moved heavily over to her side, his metal feet shattering her peaceful silence with each thunking step. Her jade eyes followed his hulking frame as it came to rest, seated beside her. She lowered herself lightly down to a seated position as well. "How are you?" she asked simply, no great effort being put into conversing.
"Fine, I guess. Just came up to see who was up here… the door was unlocked," he responded. Starfire nodded and the two friends fell into a comfortable silence. "You need some time alone?" the android asked. He studied her face. Starfire paused. She bit her lower lip and nodded slowly.
"Yes… that would be most appreciated," she murmured. Starfire smiled appreciatively at her friend as he stood to leave.
"Sure thing. You should try and come in soon… get some sleep," he offered. She nodded absently as he disappeared back through the door whence he came. Starfire exhaled sharply. Still trapping her lower lip in her teeth, she pushed herself lightly off the side of the roof. She hovered blankly for a moment before descending down towards the deep indigo waters below. Starfire paused a few feet above the bay, listening intently to the soft lapping of waves against the rocky shore. Her gaze shifted from the celestial wonders overhead to her reflection in the rippling waters. Her face was illuminated by the pale moon, causing her tanned skin to take on a soft umber tinge.
She allowed a slow smile to creep across her features but it quickly vanished. Her eyes held no joyous light. Starfire blinked and soared unhurriedly back up to the comfort of her rooftop. Alighting primly on the surface she ambled towards the door leading her back into the tower's interior. She cast a final glance in the direction of Tamaran… or what she assumed to be Tamaran. Shaking her head she retreated to her room, locking the door behind her.
Starfire collapsed ungracefully onto her bed, rolling onto her back with a slight groan. Her eyes stared unseeing at the ceiling. What was this feeling? She felt so confused. Something was missing. What it was; that she could not say. She supposed she would always feel this way. As if she would never be complete. As if without him by her side, she would never belong completely with the titans. She needed more than just his friendly approval. Star sighed and closed her eyes. She supposed that was love.
Her breathing slowed as sleep finally began to win out and she drifted out of consciousness serenely. The night stole quickly past and within moments, it seemed, her alarm clock woke her boisterously. She tumbled from her bed with a start, groggily slapping off the clock. Star shook the fog of sleep from her head. Stumbling over to her dresser she snatched up a brush and ran it easily through her silky hair. She inhaled deeply and the golden scent of pancakes rushed her senses.
Star's face cracked into a real smile. Robin had made it into the kitchen early enough to quell the usual morning bicker, it seemed. Or perhaps it was Raven. Raven was fond of the food as well. She took in another deep breath. No, it was Robin this morning. For it was not the soothing scent of herbal tea accompanying the pancakes but the robust aroma of black coffee. She quirked a tiny brow. His fascination with the bitter drink eluded her. Moving to her bathroom she proceeded to quickly brush her teeth. Starfire darted easily into the hall, stealing her communicator off of her night stand as she exited. She jogged down the hall, clipping her communicator to her belt as she went.
The somber mood that had captivated her the previous night was lost in the friendly warmth of day. Starfire popped into the kitchen brightly. "Glorious morning, friend!" she peeped, directing a bubbly smile in the way of their resident Boy Wonder.
"Hey Kori," he grunted, glaring impeccably at the pancakes. Starfire giggled and shook her head. She watched with interest as he poured another blob of batter into the pan, fanatically steering the oozing concoction into an obsessively perfect circle. Even Starfire offered a roll of eyes this morning, his perfectionism almost disturbing. It was silent for a moment, save the soft hiss of the pan on its burner. "Kori, could you get the fruit out of the fridge?" he requested, still staring intently at his creations. Starfire nodded.
She pulled out the container of strawberries and the one of blueberries and set them lightly on the table, absently musing his insistence on referring to her by her Tamaranian name when they were alone. Then again, she really didn't have room to say anything… "Richard, the pancakes will not do the burning if you disregard them for a few moments," she quipped. He shook his head.
"Gotta keep an eye on 'em," he responded stubbornly, earning a snort from Raven, who had just entered the room. The dark girl exchanged a slightly amused glance with her Tamaranian friend. Robin chose to ignore her and proceeded to pour three more blobs of batter into the pan. Raven rolled her alluring violet eyes.
"Lovely, Robin… something new to dominate in the house hold; breakfast foods." She stated dryly. Again, Robin ignored the jest and continued to tend to the batter. Raven attempted to whack him lightly on the back of his head with her book but he expertly deflected the blow with his spatula. Starfire snickered as Raven smacked her own forehead and stalked over to the kitchen table.
Starfire joined her friend. "Glorious morning, friend!" Starfire smiled. Raven looked up slowly from her reading material.
"Glorious…" she responded monotonously. Star smiled sheepishly and scampered off to get the silverware and set the table. Cyborg and Beast Boy came blundering into the kitchen, already squabbling over who would be making breakfast. They stopped short at the sight of Robin. Beast Boy's shoulders slumped and Cyborg let out a disgruntled sigh. Starfire gave the two down-trodden boys sympathetic smiles. Beast Boy's mischievous eyes flew from titan to titan and finally landed on Raven. The Goth raised an icy stare to meet him. The boy was undeterred and scampered over to sit deliberately beside her. Raven stared at him warily and returned back to her reading. Cyborg and Starfire watched on. After a few moments, Beast Boy produced a rubber band and covertly aimed it at Raven. Starfire's eyes grew wide. The changeling snickered. A soft snap and the band launched at the pale girl. It bounced harmlessly off of her cloak.
Raven turned slowly, glaring at him. The rubber band was lifted with her ebony powers and a sadistic little smirk crossed Raven's face. Beast Boy shrunk back. Oops. The rubber band hurtled in an unnecessarily large sphere of Raven's energy at the green teen and sent him flying across the room, plowing into Robin. Robin nearly lost his balance but saved himself at the last minute, masked eyes still glued to the pan. Beast Boy shrieked and bounced to his feet.
"Dude! Brutality by rubber band! That's just low Raven…" he whined, rubbing the back of his head. Raven shrugged.
"You started it," she said blankly. Cyborg burst into laughter. Raven rolled her eyes. Starfire did her best to remain composed and flittered over to Robin.
"Are they ready for consumption?" she inquired. Robin narrowed his eyes, staring critically at the golden brown circles. He nodded slowly.
"Yeah… they're ready," he carried the pan loftily over to the table and proceeded to distribute them to the team. "We have an hour to eat and then we have to go train," he announced. BB groaned and Cyborg muttered something about physiologically damaged, spiky haired micro-managers. Robin shot him a glare.
"Indeed! We must do the training to remain prepared to fight evil-doers!" Starfire agreed enthusiastically. "We must always do our very best as titans!" she added. Robin gave her a grateful grin. Starfire beamed. The titans were her friends… Earth was her home. Her ecstatic persona faltered slightly. She recovered herself quickly but she noticed Robin had caught the brief change. She groaned inwardly. Breakfast proceeded without too much trouble, save Beast Boy attempting to sneak a soy pancake into Cyborg's stack.
As each titan left to do… whatever… for the little while left before training, Star habitually cleared the table and began to wash the dishes. She stiffened under the hand that came to rest on her shoulder. "Kori… can I see you for a minute?" Robin asked quietly. Starfire cringed. She really didn't feel like talking about it. She already knew what was coming. Robin would ask what was wrong, she'd end up making something up… like she felt she didn't belong, which was partially true, and he would assure her she belonged with the team. It had been helpful the first few times she'd heard his little lecture and she still appreciated his concern, but lately… things just seemed different. Something was missing. He was missing. She didn't want him to just be a friend. And as long as he was just a friend, she guessed she'd never feel like she fully belonged.
"I need to do the dishes," Starfire gave a weak excuse. She was being a silly girl.
"Beast Boy! Come do the dishes!" Robin pulled rank, summoning the scowling boy over. Beast Boy began to wash the dishes, sulking and giving the game station longing looks. Robin pulled Starfire out of the room and a little ways down the halls. "Koriand'r, what's wrong? What was up with earlier?" he asked. Starfire sighed and offered a half-hearted smile.
"N-nothing! Whatever would you think to be wrong?" she replied. Robin opened his mouth to speak but the blaring alarm cut him off. He stopped and gave a frustrated growl.
"Titans! Trouble!" he hollered, leaving to gather the team with a final glance. Starfire just stared after him, relief dancing across her features. Maybe he'd forget… Unlikely. She sighed and flew out to meet the others. As she entered the rec. room, she sent a brief glance at Robin, who met her gaze evenly. He didn't know what it was that had been bothering Starfire recently, but he would make it a point to find out. "It's Red X," Robin said, eyes narrowed.
TBC
Author's Note: Hi! This is Princess Starfire of Tamaran! Thank you for reading the first instalment of my story...I hope you will be staying with me for the remainder of this fic. I'm usually fairly good about updating, so we'll see. Please don't freak if I change the summary, the story itself will not change, but I'm still tweaking the genres and stuff. I would appreciate your reviews very, very much! For all of you who have read my other fics, it's nice to have you with me for another journey. lol. I've also updated my profile so you can take a peek at some up-coming fics or ones I'm considering. If any of those grab your attention feel free to put a note at the end of your review specifying which of the fics I should start next. I usually have two going at once or a bunch of one-shots and a chapter story going on. So... yeah. Enough rambling. I hopethis was to your liking!
Love, Princess Starfire of Tamaran.