title: follow the leader
rating: k
disclaimer: i do not own teen titans, terra, geo-force, or markovia. everything about markovia is made up.

note: this idea came when i was babysitting; they were brother and sister, and they were playing follow the leader, and it was so cute. they were talking so animatedly and you could tell the little sister looked up to her brother, and she looked so much like terra, the idea slapped me in the face! so here it is. voila! i honestly don't like how it came out at all, but i finished it, and maybe some of you will like it.
note2: i have no idea what terra and geo-force were like as children, so this may come off as a little ooc! oh wells.

"Follow me!" he cries, jumping from one rock to another, "Follow the leader!"

You try; you really do. But you end up slipping every so often, biting back a whimper as you get up and try all over again. The outskirts of the Markovia palace is wild and uncultivated, with rocks scattered everywhere, dry albeit luscious. It's a play place for you and your older brother, and the two of you often go and play Follow the Leader, or pretend to be secret undercover spies.

It's unfitting for a prince and a princess to act so childishly, but the two of you are children, so your parents turn a blind eye – for now. Brion is almost eleven, the age where the firstborn child must dedicate all of their time to their studies and duties. You, as the second daughter, are relatively free of such heavy responsibilities – you are only to become well-bred, dignified, and ladylike, to entertain young men and eventually find a suitable husband for yourself.

But you don't worry about that – you have a full five months before Brion has to become a real prince! You have all the time in the world to play.

"Wait for me, Brion!" you call out, stuck on a large rock. The next rock is small and far away, and while Brion is physically adept even for a ten year old, you are still scrawny and clumsy. Up ahead, your older brother turns and puts his hands on his hips, pouting stubbornly at you as he impatiently waits. Biting down on your lip, you decide to go for it; you leap.

"Terra!" Brion calls out, running to you with ease. You're sprawled on the rocks, bruised but not broken, and your elbow is bleeding. You look up into your brother's face and your lower lip quivers. At this, he gives you a stern look, and says, "Princesses don't cry, remember?"

You gulp down a wail, and nod. "Princesses don't cry," you repeat.

He grins and holds out his hand for you to take, which you do, waiting for you to finish brushing the dust off your body, ignoring the dry blood.

"We should go home," you say lightly. The sun is about to set, and Daddy and Mommy get angry when they're not on time for dinner.

Brion shakes his head insistingly. "No, I don't want to eat yet, I want to play!"

"Well, I'm going," you stick your tongue out at him, and he pinches it with his fingers. "Ew! Owwww!" you cry, trying furiously to withdraw your tongue back into the safety of your mouth. Brion giggles and shakes your tongue back and forth as you give him a glare you hope resembles Daddy's, but he ignores you.

"You look funny, Terra," he teases. You stamp your feet and say nothing, for fear of sounding distorted and foolish. Finally, he lets go, realizing you aren't willing to put up a fight to entertain him. As you wipe your tongue of all Brion germs, he looks off into the distance, suddenly somber.

"Terra?"

"What?" you snap.

"Do you want to be a princess?" he asks seriously.

"I am a princess, Brion," you say with a roll of your eyes. You're still mad at him for pulling on your tongue; it hurt.

"But do you want to be?" he repeats, meeting your eyes. Your stubborn resolve to hate him for the rest of the day evaporates into confusion, and you shrug, indulging the solemn atmosphere he seems to desire.

"I don't know," you say honestly, lowering your voice until it's almost a whisper, "Sometimes, I just want to be a bird."

"A bird?" Brion wrinkles his nose. "Not a ninja?"

"I want to fly!" you reply joyfully, spreading your arms wide as if they were wings, "and I want to touch clouds!"

"Clouds are boring," Brion says. "I'd rather go to the stars."

"Why?" you ask curiously.

"Because they're holes in the sky, and I bet that if you go through them, you'd find a new universe! With ninjas and assassins and superheroes!"

"And cotton candy!" you add cheerfully.

"And hamburgers!"

"And ponies!"

"And dinosaurs!"

"And... and..."

"AND NO PRINCES," Brion roars.

You burst into tears.

Brion rushes to your side, wrought with worry, and puts an arm around your shoulders. "What's wrong, Terra?" he asks tenderly.

"If you're not going to be there, I don't want to fly to the stars," you confess tearfully, looking sorrowfully into his eyes.

He blushes at the sudden emotional gravity of your words, and looks away, trying to maintain his pride as a man, trying to hide his own sensitivity and fondness for the only baby sister he has. "If you fly to the stars one day, I promise I'll be there," he says gruffly.

"But you said no princes!"

"I won't be a prince," he responds firmly, more to himself than to you.

The two of you are silent for centuries; Brion is lost in thought, and you're waiting for him to return to you, as he always does.

Finally, he beams at you boyishly and starts running. "Race you home!"

You shriek at the unfairness of the race's beginning, and sprint after him. He'll probably win; he always does. But even so, you throw yourself into speed, while looking up at the sky as it darkens, wondering how Daddy will react when he sees the two of you. You two are already late; the first star has come out.

You wonder what universe lays beyond the stars. Maybe they're holes in the sky, as Brion says. But you have a feeling that it's not about the universe that lays above the stars; it's what goes on underneath them.

endnote: have any of you guys noticed the oneshots have been getting longer and longer? maybe that's just me.
endnote2: i don't know if you guys can tell, but i hate editing. i never edit. so forgive me, and if you are interested in becoming my little beta, then please PM me! because i can't edit to save my life.