To See Again
Starfire heads down to Robin's room in the middle of a sunny afternoon. Robin has been locked away in his room for the past two days, tracking down Slade and any possible angles there could be of his next target. Starfire had tried her best to support his efforts, but she felt cast aside. Starfire reached Robin's door and knocked loudly on it.
"Robin, it is Starfire. I have brought you some wonderful blue furry food from the kitchen. Would you like to join me in…?"
"No," cut off Robin through the metal door. "I have work to do."
"Robin, why do you hide? Why do you not come out and enjoy the sun? Enjoy our friendship? Why do you continuously lock yourself away from the world? Is Slade really that important?"
But Robin wasn't listening. After responding to Starfire's question, he had just returned to his studying. He occasionally heard a voice in the background, but basically ignored it. Slade had to be found. Someone had to find him. And that person was himself.
Later that day, in the evening, it started to rain outside. Starfire decided to go outside to enjoy the rain that was slowly cascading down the grey sky, and then bouncing off the hard metal roof of their home. Starfire went outside to feel the rain, but an idea slowly crept into her mind. She carefully pressed Robin's alarm on her communicator and waited for the fearless Titan to appear. Her wait was longer than expected. Robin eventually ran to the roof to see what was wrong.
"Starfire!" Robin called as he flung open the roof door.
He was amazed to see Starfire in the rain, just standing there, looking at the sky. Just standing there. She was beautiful. The rain turned her hair slightly darker, and her clothing was soaked, but it was her face that was most interesting. The rain was carefully dripping off her hair, onto her face. It almost looked like she was crying. Wait, she was crying!
"Starfire, are you okay? Starfire!" Robin tried to talk to the Tamaranian Princess, but she wasn't responding. Suddenly, without, looking from the sky, she spoke.
"It's beautiful."
"What is?" responded Robin trying hard not to be impatient with her. What was so beautiful? A dull grey sky. Dark blue water. A city. What was so pretty?
"Everything," answered Starfire as she slowly looked down at the water. "The way the water doesn't end, it just flows into the sky. The way the clouds cry on us, with little teardrops of sadness that seems to create little vibrations in the water. The way the sky looks one colour, yet truly has many shades of water and white clouds. It is amazing."
"I don't see the beauty," stated Robin, confused, wondering how a dreary day could be so beautiful. It was just rain, just a sky and just water. Nothing more.
"No Robin, you don't see!" yelled Starfire as she quickly spun towards Robin. Robin stepped back, unsure of what was happening. " No you don't see. You don't see anything Robin. All you see is Slade and the goal of beating him. You don't see anyone anymore. You don't see your friends. You don't see when we try to help. You don't see that we are being friends, but you aren't. You don't even see me Robin!"
Robin was startled with this new Starfire with looks of sadness and anger competing with her usual unbridled joy.
"You don't see me, standing right here. I'm right here Robin. I've been here all this time. But you still don't see me. You see right through me. You don't see Robin because you're always hiding behind a mask. This is all because of Slade and your mask!" Starfire yelled as she leaned forward and ripped of Robin's mask. She immediately threw it on the ground and turned her head upright. The heavy rain poured on her face, as it flung out of the clouds and penetrated on her fragile skin.
His mask. Was on the ground. His eyes were there. He was there. He hadn't done this in forever. The last time her showed his face was. Should he? He did. Robin carefully tilted his bare face up to the sky and let the rain, fall on his face and trickle of into the pools on his hands. He let the coldness of the rain mix with another warmer liquid that was flowing down his cheeks. He put his hand to his eyes and carefully touched the tears that were falling. When was the last time he had let the rain, fall down? When was the last time he had cried? Crying meant a weakness. Crying meant loneliness. Crying meant acceptance. Acceptance. He accepted his eyes, but had he let others accept him? Why was he crying? He looked down at Starfire and all of a sudden he understood. Here was a girl, new to Earth and feelings, and everything on Earth, yet she had broken the seal that kept him from accepting himself. With simple words she had crept under his mask of lies and thrown it away. He was free. Free.
"Robin?" Starfire asked as she walked gingerly towards him. Robin looked up and was startled to see that Starfire had her eyes closed, and she was about to fall off the tower! Robin rushed forward but it was to late and Starfire fell of the tower.
"Starfire!" Robin screamed as he jumped after her and through a bird-a-rang at the edge of the roof. He eventually caught up with the red beauty and soon they were on the roof. Robin held Starfire close and looked at her. She had her eyes closed.
"Why are your eyes closed?" Robin asked as he searched for in answer within her soft face.
"I only took off your mask so you could see again. No one else needed to see you. This was your chance to, how you say, feel the rain?" Starfire responded without opening her eyes, therefore sealing her emotions from showing.
"Starfire, one person still needs to see me. Someone still needs to know that I can see, and that I am here." Robin said without really thinking about it. He was here with Starfire, being free. Free at last.
"And who is that person?" asked Starfire, with a hint of a grin on her lips.
"You." And with that, Starfire opened her eyes and were greeted by the warmth of wet orbs staring deeply into her jade green ones. Eyes that held so many emotions, so many memories, so many dreams were being looked at for the first time. And it felt wonderful.
On the spur of the moment, Robin bent down and kissed Starfire on the lips. He kissed for hopes, for dreams, for memories, for Starfire, but most of all to thank for the rain.
"Robin?' Starfire asked when they broke away.
"Yes Starfire," he answered grinning wildly. He was. For once, he knew who he was.
"Tell me, what do you see? What do you see?" Starfire asked as she looked around her. She stood up properly and gazed around her at the vast grey sky and the ocean blue water. "What do you see?"
"I see water droplets that dance. I see clouds that are crying with tiny beads that make necklaces for the water. I see water that is deep, pooling with emotions. I see a sky full of life behind a curtain of sadness. But before I saw any of that, I saw you. Thank-you!" Robin said as he slowly simply, kissed Starfire on her lips.
"The water is dancing, Robin. The water is dancing." Screamed Starfire as she skipped in the puddles.
"I think it's happy that I can see." Robin responded as he walked over to her.
"I'm happy too!" Starfire answered. And they hugged, behind the sun that was slowly creeping up in between Robin's curtain of sadness.
And the sun saw the water dancing within the boy who could see and the girl of rain who taught him.