Out of all this week's prompts, "Fever" gave me the hardest time. I wasn't really interested in the obvious route of "Robin/Starfire is sick and the other one has to take care of him/her," but the prompt didn't really inspire any creative reinterpretations for me, either. In the end I went for having them both take care of someone else, and while it still isn't my favorite entry of the week, I think it turned out all right.

Plus, now we all get to learn something about insect health *insert "The More You Know" pic here or something*

Behavioral Fever

It had all started when Cyborg found Silkie curled up on top of the fridge. This by itself was not seen as a big deal – the little mutant had a habit of wandering anywhere and everywhere in Titan's Tower, and with three flying residents it was a trivial matter to get him back down.

But then he made his way onto the fridge again, and then planted himself in a patch of sunlight filtering through the window and refused to budge, and then he insisted on curling up right next to Starfire when she went to bed that night. He was less active, too – lethargic, it seemed – and when they discussed his odd behavior the next day, Robin managed to piece together a pattern in Silkie's chosen resting spots.

Warmth. It was as good a lead as any to go on, so after some more discussion on how they were supposed to figure out the changing needs of a heavily mutated bug, Cyborg and Beast Boy took to the computer and started some research on what could cause an insect to suddenly start favoring heat.

What they found was "behavioral fever" – an instinct many cold-blooded animals had to seek out warmer than normal temperatures when they were sick, as a germ-fighting strategy not unlike how mammals' body temperatures raised in a normal fever.

That was two hours ago. Now Starfire was sitting cross-legged on the roof of Titan's Tower, one hand on Silkie's back as he slept curled up in her lap. Her other hand fluttered nervously as she debated whether it would be too much to form a low-powered starbolt as an impromptu heating lamp.

She didn't turn when the rooftop doorway opened behind her, but she could tell by the cadence of the approaching footsteps that she had been joined by Robin.

"How's he doing?" he asked, sitting down next to her.

Starfire's brows furrowed, and she stroked the larva's back. "I… I do not know," she said, her voice wavering. "He does not wish to eat or play, but neither does he vomit or… or…" She sighed and turned to face him. "Robin, I do not even know what else to look for!"

Robin placed a comforting hand on her back, but she could tell from the pinched fabric in his mask that he was worried too. "Hey, you're doing the best you can. At least he doesn't have any new symptoms, right?"

Starfire sniffled and hugged Silkie a little closer to her, careful not to jostle him and wake him up. "I suppose, but I cannot help but feel that I am a bad caretaker."

Robin frowned. "Starfire, why would you think that? Killer Moth was the one who mutated and used him without thinking about his health, and I think we've figured out a lot about how to take care of him since we got him." He moved closer and reached his arm around her shoulders.

Starfire managed to give him a thankful if watery smile, and she leaned a little into his touch. Her expression crumpled after a moment, though, and she let out another sigh.

"I just wish I could do more for my little bumgorf."

Robin hummed in quiet agreement and rested his chin on her shoulder, looking down at the sleeping larva. They stayed that way for several minutes, neither talking because there wasn't much else to say. Their pet was sick, hopefully with just a simple cold (or whatever the equivalent was for a mutant insect), and there was little more they could do than keep an eye on him and wait.

At length, though, Robin stirred again and announced, "I think it might be time to head inside."

Starfire pursed her lips and glanced over at him. "But it is warmer up here."

Robin frowned a little and scooted himself around until they faced each other.

"Star, you've been out here for almost two hours," he said gently. "It can't be healthy to just sit there and stress."

He glanced over her shoulder. "…Actually, I could have sworn Beast Boy was supposed to be coming with–"

As if on cue, the door slammed open behind Starfire, who jolted in surprise. She turned her head to find Beast Boy standing in the doorway, practically draped in blankets and looking every bit as concerned as she felt.

"Okay, I've found all his favorites plus a couple others and I think this one's heated?" he rattled off, holding up one of the blankets at the last part.

Starfire smiled a little at this, and with a low sigh she stood up. "I suppose you are right," she admitted to Robin, then turned to Beast Boy and added, "and I believe the heated one will work best."

Beast Boy's expression relaxed somewhat and he nodded, shifting his pile around while Starfire held Silkie close and Robin walked up beside them.

More time passed and the knot in Starfire's chest began to ease. There weren't any alerts that day, and the Titans found themselves spending most of their time in the common room, near where Silkie had been tucked in to rest and recover.

Everybody pitched in. Cyborg managed to tweak something in the heating element of the electric blanket Beast Boy had found, to keep it from overheating Silkie. Beast Boy fashioned it and some of the other blankets into a sort of half-fort, half-cocoon, that Silkie could fit into relatively snugly but still crawl out of when he needed. Robin kept him supplied with water, and little bits of food for when his appetite came back. Raven even used some of her healing magic to ease his symptoms a little, although she warned that she couldn't overdo it or his body would stop fighting the illness.

Even so, Starfire couldn't quite seem to pull herself away. She managed to keep herself from hovering over and crowding Silkie, but she spent most of the day on the couch near where his cocoon-fort was set up. She would talk with the others or read or play games for a time, and then after an hour or so she would find herself looking over to make sure he was okay.

Because of this, it didn't really come as a surprise to her when she dozed off for a little while and awoke to find that it had gone dark outside and she was the only one left in the common room. By rote, she scooted herself over to the edge of the couch and peeked over at her charge.

Silkie was fast asleep, his thorax rising and falling in a gentle rhythm. Starfire sighed and leaned onto the arm of the couch, pillowing her head on her arms. She really should be getting to bed herself, but…

The low swish of the hall door broke her out of her thoughts, and she looked up to find that Robin had reentered the room. He smiled when he saw that she was awake.

"I thought you'd still be out here," he nearly whispered, making his way over to her.

Starfire sat up. "I am… unsure if I am ready to leave," she confessed.

Robin nodded, and as he rounded the couch, she saw that he was carrying a couple more blankets. "I had a feeling. I have a little experience with getting stuck on something you're worried about, but I figure this is better than a supervillain case."

He offered one of the blankets to her, and she accepted it with a small smile. "In fairness, you have gotten much better about that since Tokyo," she commented.

Robin chuckled. "Thanks," he said, unfolding the other one and sitting down to pull off his boots.

Starfire perked up in surprise. "You will be sleeping out here as well? I thought that was considered improper in this culture."

Robin shrugged. "The couch is big enough that I can take the other end and give us plenty of space, or I can sleep on the floor if you're uncomfortable. Cyborg won't let me hear the end of it if he finds out, but I don't see any other issues." He looked up at her, and his gaze softened.

"The biggest thing I've learned on this team is that it's better not to take on these things alone. If you need someone to help you check up on Silkie so you're not up all night, I'm there for you."

Starfire just looked back at him for a moment, and she could feel her pent-up tension melt with his presence and his calm assurance. She wrapped the blanket around her shoulders.

"I do not mind us both sleeping on the couch, if you do not," she said gently. "And… Thank you."

Robin mimicked her actions, smiling again as he climbed up onto the couch. "For you, Star? Anything."