Chapter Ten: New Words

Robin wasn't sure what he liked better: wrestling with Starfire as they kissed and hugged and nuzzled, or simply being near her, holding her hand, and talking to her. They both certainly had their draws. Making out with her was something akin to a carnival ride: it was fast and exciting and didn't give you time to think and the possibility of the loss of control seemed always within reach. The fact that there was a part of him that wanted to lose control frightened him a little bit.

But just being with her was just as satisfying, though in a very different way. Being around her made him calmer, more centered, as if some dull, annoying background noise had been turned off.

Robin was reveling in that calm quiet now. They lay on the roof of the Tower, the side of his hip touching the side of her hip, the side of her shoulder touching the side of his shoulder, and her fingers interlaced with his as he held her hand to his chest.

"Viewing the stars from Earth is very different than viewing them from Tamaran," Starfire commented, breaking their comfortable silence.

"How's that?" Robin asked.

"Here on Earth they are very clear; it seems as though you could just reach up and pluck them from the sky, even though I know they are millions of lopryrtd away. On Tamaran, they seem very diffuse; the upper layers of our atmosphere are very hazy. It was not until we were able to launch orbital telescopes that we were able to measure the distances to them."

"How long have your people had spaceflight?" Robin rolled onto his side to watch her as she answered.

"Several generations. There is no one alive today that remembers a time when we did not."

"Hmmm," Robin hummed his acknowledgement. He had become rather fascinated with that spot behind her ear he knew made her squeal. He snuggled closer to her and nuzzled the spot with his nose before dropping a soft kiss against it.

Starfire giggled. "That tickles." She paused. "How long have your people had spaceflight?"

"Um...something like fifty years." He opened his lips and pressed his tongue to the spot.

Starfire shivered and then turned her face towards his. "Do you wish to do the making out?"

Robin hissed out a breath. "I hadn't thought that far ahead." He lifted his head to look into her eyes. "Ya know, I really hate that term. What do they call it on Tameran?"

"The enthusiastic sharing of physical affection while still clothed?"

Robin furrowed his brow. "Uh...tell me it's shorter than that."

Starfire laughed. "That is the best definition I can think of in your language. We call it mrvlomh."

"That's what that means? The enthusiastic sharing ..."

Starfire smiled coyly. "Loosely translated. Do you wish to engage in mrvlomh?"

Robin smiled back. "I could be persuaded." He descended to kiss her, and his lips had just touched hers when the alarm sounded. He rested his forehead against hers and let out a defeated sigh. "I guess I can't complain too much; it's been pretty quiet lately." He rolled to his feet and offered a hand to Starfire. "Let's go see what's happening."

--

They arrived in mid-town to find Johnny Rancid roaring around the round-about on his motorcycle, a large, gun-like thing propped up in his right hand. The statue on the fountain that stood in the center of the round-about looked like it had exploded from the inside, and water spewed everywhere. He stopped short as three of Robin's grenades went off in front of him.

"In need of a shower, Johnny?" Robin mocked.

Johnny sneered. "No, but you will be once you get a taste of my eruption ray." He pointed it at the Titans and fired. The team scattered and a mailbox exploded, envelopes flying everywhere.

"What do you need something like that for, Johnny?" Robin challenged as he unsuccessfully tried to capture the weapon with a bird-a-rang.

"For fun, why else?" He aimed the gun at an ATM, which suddenly began spitting money. The frightened bystanders suddenly got over their fear, and began scrambling for the bills. Johnny laughed. "See, I told you! Fun!"

"Dangerous fun," Raven commented as she gathered the bills up with her magic. An audible cry of disappointment came from the crowd.

While Robin and Raven had Johnny distracted, Beast Boy turned into a rhino and charged, hoping to get Johnny away from the gun and his bike. He took too long, however, and Johnny turned and fired at him. He quickly turned into a falcon and managed to get out of the line of fire, but that left a local market at the weapon's mercy. The display window blew out, sending shards of glass and debris everywhere. Beast Boy yelped in pain, but got away with only a few pelts. "That's gonna leave a mark," he commented to himself, turning back into human form.

Robin and Raven turned their attention to the wounded bystanders as Cyborg aimed his sonic cannon at Johnny's cycle. He was successful where Beast Boy had failed; the engine blew out and the vehicle skidded several yards as Johnny rolled in the opposite direction and to his feet.

"Oh, you're gonna to pay for that one," Johnny sneered, aiming his weapon at Cyborg.

"Bring it on," Cyborg challenged.

"You will not harm my friend!" Starfire interrupted, firing a starbolt into Johnny's weapon. It whined. Johnny looked at it, but then grinned evilly and re-aimed at Cyborg.

The whine increased in volume and pitch. Cyborg fired his cannon at it, hoping to destroy it before it blew of its own volition. But Starfire flew past Cyborg, straight at Johnny, throwing several starbolts as she did. Robin looked up from the triage he was performing, yelling, "Starfire, don't!" But he was too late.

At the same second that Starfire reached Johnny, the weapon went critical. Both she and Johnny were engulfed in fire and smoke. For a long few seconds, the other four Titans and the bystanders stood stunned. But before the dust had time to settle, Starfire reappeared, carrying an unconscious Johnny Rancid with one hand and the remains of his weapon with the other.

She landed outside the round-about and handed Johnny over to the police that were just arriving on the scene. One of the officers was thanking Robin for their help, and Robin agreed to go down to the station to give a statement. He cast a disparaging look at Starfire as he followed the officer to his car.

"What's his problem?" Beast Boy asked.

Raven shook her head, returning from where she had been healing some bystanders. "Who knows? We've done all we can here. I don't know about you three, but I'm going home to bed. It's late."

--

Robin arrived nearly an hour after the rest of the team made it back. They were watching Cyborg as he examined the remnants of the weapon Starfire had managed to wrench from Johnny's grasp. Robin did not seem interested in Cyborg's analysis at the moment, however. He didn't even greet his fellow Titans. He stalked into the room, grabbed Starfire's wrist, and pulled her out with him. "Come on, Starfire," he said. "I need to talk to you."

Beast Boy's "Woo, Baby!" died unspoken as Raven commented: "I think they're about to have their first fight."

--

Robin practically threw Starfire into the gym/training room. "Don't you ever do anything like that again!" he yelled at her.

Starfire was totally bewildered. "Vanquish our adversaries?"

"You flew straight into his attack!"

"We have all done similar things in the past, have we not?"

Robin growled and gripped at his hair in frustration. "That's not the point! You could have been seriously hurt!"

Starfire shook her head, utterly confused as to why Robin was so upset with her. "But, do we not risk harm to ourselves whenever we face evil doers?"

"We do. But there are ways to reduce those risks, and flying head-on into the barrage is not one of them!" Robin took several deep breaths in an attempt to calm himself. He managed to lower his voice. "I'm serious, Star. We need to do some extra training regarding tactics and acceptable risks."

"If you believe it necessary, Robin. But I am undamaged, and we are victorious. I do not understand why you are so angry..."

Robin cut her off, yelling again. "Because I love you, dammit!"

The din that had echoed around the walls of the large room died as the words hung in the air. A brittle silence covered them as Starfire stared at Robin, and Robin couldn't bring himself to look at Starfire.

After what felt like an eternity, Starfire took a step toward him and spoke into the roaring quiet. "Robin..."

"I've been in love with you almost as long as I've known you," Robin said, barely above a whisper. "These past couple months have been incredible; I keep expecting to wake up and not have had the last two years happen." He raised his face to hers finally, but his jaw tightened. "And then you go and do something stupid like this, and I realize how very real it all is and how I could lose you in a heartbeat." His features relaxed, and he swallowed hard. "I can't lose you, Starfire. I wouldn't be able to go on."

"Oh, Robin..." Starfire closed the distance between them, engulfing him in a hug. He wrapped his arms around her back, pulling her as tightly to himself as he dared, ensuring himself that she was real and that she was here with him.

She pushed him away gently, taking his face in her hands. "There is nothing to fear. You will not loose me. I am here, and I am fine, and I love you as well."

"Oh, Starfire," Robin collapsed into her embrace, resting his head on her shoulder. One of her hands found the back of his head; her other arm slid around his shoulders.

They stood like that for several minutes, just clinging to each other. Finally, without pulling back to look at her, Robin spoke.

"I never thought...ever since my parents died, I'd accepted the fact that I'd never really be loved again. I was afraid of being hurt again, of losing whoever loved me, that I pulled back from anyone who tried. Even Bruce...Batman...told me that I should get used to that. Loving was too dangerous." He paused, swallowing a sob. "And then you came along, and...and I couldn't help myself. You are so...wonderful in every way. You're pretty and strong and kind and helpful and...I can't believe I denied it for so long..." He trailed off, unsure what words could further express what he felt.

Starfire pulled back and took his face in her hands again. "I know it is hard for you to love; I have seen you struggle with it. But that has often confused me, because you have so much love in you...you are one of the most caring and empathetic people I know." She paused, stroking his hair. "I have loved you nearly as long as I have known you as well; you are always so kind to me, so patient in my learning about my new home. You show a side of yourself to me that you do not show to the others. I feel very privileged to be so honored."

She smiled and touched her lips to his in the briefest of kisses before pulling him to in one of her bone-crushing hugs. "Oh Robin! Do you know what this means? We are now aiyknrwa, the most desired, yet least-often achieved stage!"

Robin wrenched himself out of her embrace as gently as he could, if only to allow his lungs to fill. "Does that mean we're not drysfus anymore?"

"Well, technically, we are both. Aiyknrwa is something of a parallel stage; it cannot exist on its own. This is when a great emotional connection is realized. It is what all of our poets and bards write about. Tamerainian lore states that each person is meant to be aiyknrwa with only one other person; that they are destined to be together. I do not know whether that is true or not, but I have never known anyone to have more than one."

Robin took her hands. "So what does this mean?"

Starfire bit her lip. "In function, I am uncertain. What I know of it really comes more from our literature and ballads than what is structured in our society." She cast her eyes downward and gripped his hands. "They often speak of lying in the arms of their aiyknrw as they slept, listening to the other breathe." She looked up, uncertainty in her eyes. "Robin, I wish for you to sleep with me tonight."

Robin stepped back, but still held her hands. "Starfire, I love you, but...we said we weren't ready...and I'm still not..."

Starfire closed the distance between them, pressing a finger to his lips. "No, do not be nervous. I wish simply to sleep by your side. I am always most at ease when you are near. It does not matter the situation; whether we are in battle or simply at the mall of shopping. If you are at my side, I know nothing can go wrong. I cannot think of a more restful slumber than one in which you share my bed. That evening when we decided to become bicuias and shared a blanket..." She paused, shaking her head. "The ground was lumpy and the air was cold, but I cannot remember a time when I slept more peacefully."

Robin drew several breaths, the uncertainty welling in his throat. All of his training and everything in his logical brain said this was a bad idea, but still, something in her words and the way she said them...it felt so...right. He gulped and took another deep breath. "Well...I...it does sound nice."

Starfire smiled, and Robin braced himself, expecting another power hug. But instead, she simply caressed his cheek. "It will be a good thing, you will see." She began to lead him from the room.

"Seriously though, Star," he interjected while following. "You do need to brush up on your tactical skills."

"If you believe so."

--

It had been several hours since they had returned, and Cyborg was still running tests on the remains of the weapon. While the computer processed the information, he decided to check the official Titans email.

Aside from the usual messages from the Mayor about the budget and crime statistics, there was a message from STAR Labs, dated less than an hour before he opened it.

We are still running tests on the creature you brought us and have drawn very few conclusions. However, I did want to inform you that the creature's status has declined rapidly over just the past hour. We are afraid that it may die before we are able to finish our research. Any suggestions you have would be of great help.

I have heard your pleas, and so here it is! Actually, I've had most of this written since at least the beginning of the week, but I didn't have the action scene in it. And it needed to be there. (And I promised my boyfriend something would blow up in this chapter. Was it okay, Sweetie?) I'm not good at action, and I really don't like writing it, but sometimes, especially with super heros, ya just gotta bite the bullet. I can't make any promises about when the next chapter will be up, but I can promise that I will keep working on this! So, hopefully, it will be up soon. Keep leaving those reviews!