Author's Note: I love Starfire in this chapter too! ACK! Only 4 more chapters to go, you guys!
Songs: "Say It To Me Now" - Glen Hansard (relevant for the end, once Robin enters her room)
Chapter 10
The next few days after the Mumbo incident passed fairly uneventfully, with Starfire speaking to Robin as little as possible. Mumbled assents to his orders, the occasional refusal as he still attempted to speak to her. Although, she had noticed he was getting a little more creative with his methods every day. Even though it had been made very clear that Robin was to ride on Raven's black, energy discs from now on, that did not stop Robin from trying. She noticed him strategically positioning himself near her within the group when they would be preparing to leave, but Raven always intervened, and she would smile gratefully as Robin glared.
She also strongly suspected Robin was not putting forth the same effort in battle, purposefully allowing himself to be hit. He would rocket backward, and she would clench her fists as she fought with herself not to swoop down to him. She had discussed this with Raven, however, and so far Raven had never failed to catch him. Still, it was incredibly disconcerting that Robin was going to such extremes. She worried greatly for what would happen if he became any more reckless.
"You're sinking," a voice broke through her thoughts, and she rattled her head to dislodge the fog of worry.
"Pardon?" she answered Raven.
"You're sinking," the girl repeated, and Starfire noticed that Raven was now a foot or two higher than herself.
"Oh," she muttered embarrassedly, rising back up to hover level with her friend.
"Something on your mind?" Raven asked, releasing her meditating stance to fold her arms in her lap.
Starfire sighed heavily, letting her head droop. "Nothing more than the usual," she said weakly to her legs folded beneath her.
Raven did not answer, but placed a comforting hand on her shoulder briefly before lowering to the ground.
"You wanna get some lunch?" she asked, looking up at where Starfire still hovered.
She smile down at her friend and dropped to the roof in front of her. "That would be most enjoyable," she answered, and Raven smiled before leading the way to the stairs.
They entered the living room to find it empty, which was rather odd considering the time. It was nearly 1; surely everyone would be awake by now. It was not entirely inconvenient though, as she and Raven were permitted to settle down on the sofa after preparing themselves sandwiches. It had become one of the traditions for the girls lately: eating the sandwiches of peanut butter and fruit gelatin as they did the girl talk.
"So," Raven mumbled through a mouthful of the crisped potatoes that they often enjoyed with their sandwiches, "you figured out what you're going to do about Robin yet?"
Starfire bit her lip nervously. She had not yet told Raven about her plans with Galfore. Truthfully, she did not wish to. It would somehow make it far more real than she was prepared to handle.
"No," she answered weakly, stiffly swallowing her guilt.
"Well, I say just freeze him out 'til he cracks," she supplied, pointing her sandwich at her forcefully before taking another bite.
"Freeze him… I do not understand," she mused, her eyebrows furrowing as she chewed through her own bread.
"Well, freezing him out is basically what you've been doing," Raven explained, setting her sandwich back down on the plate in her lap. "Not talking to him, not letting him get to you, that sort of stuff. And, if you keep doing that, he'll probably crack, which would mean giving up and finally give you the real answers you want."
Starfire swallowed, her forehead wrinkling thoughtfully. "But, Raven?" she inquired, looking across at her friend. "What if he does not do the cracking?"
"Yea, Raven," a male voice behind them said, and her heart stopped. "What if he doesn't?"
She twisted her head around rapidly, her eyes wide and horrified as her mouth gaped.
Robin hovered over them, his arms folded as he glared down at Raven, who looked impressively unconcerned.
"Then he's an idiot," she snapped back, returning his glare.
Robin's mouth fell open, his forehead wrinkling angrily as his hands fell to fists at his sides.
"Come on, Star," Raven commanded, and Starfire rose from the couch as if it had caught fire. "It's getting kind of crowded in here."
Starfire carried her plate in front of her as she followed Raven, casting a quick glance at Robin before she could stop herself.
He looked angry, but also somewhat pained, and the tension in his body fell away as he met her eyes.
She quickly twisted her gaze away, however, and exited the room into the hallway.
"I will be there shortly," she called to Raven, who was heading to her own room. "I wish to bring Silkie for our girl talk," she explained, smiling broadly.
Raven rolled her eyes, but nodded and continued down the hallway.
She slipped into her room, looking around for her bumgorf. He found her first, however, and she jumped slightly as she felt him rubbing against the side of her foot. She grinned down at him before scooping him up with her free arm and heading down the hall to Raven's room.
She knocked on the door weakly with the edge of her plate, and it opened immediately. Walking across the carpet to the bed, she set Silkie down on the navy blankets before sitting next to Raven.
"Silkie! Silkie, no!" Raven snapped, snatching her plate off the bed and away from the pet, who had been creeping toward the crisped potatoes with a longing look in his eyes.
Starfire giggled, scooping Silkie up into her arms, where he cooed happily as she tickled his stomach.
"Oh, but Raven, he loves the crisped potatoes!" she whined down at the smiling creature. "Right, Silkie? You love the crisped potatoes, yes you do!" she cooed, snatching up a small piece from her plate and feeding it to her pet.
He munched cheerily for a moment before making a small, squealing sound and wriggling in her arms.
She giggled, setting him down on the floor, where he proceeded to crawl away and investigate Raven's room.
"Ya know he's just going to beg all the time if you feed him stuff like that," Raven admonished, pointing down to where Silkie was sniffing her bookshelf.
"He already does," Starfire shrugged, smiling adoringly at the small creature, "but I simply cannot refuse that face!"
Raven chuckled, shaking her head as she crunched through another crisped potato.
"So, anyway," Raven started, turning serious, "like I was saying, I think you should just keep doing what you're doing with Robin."
"But, I am not doing anything," she reminded tentatively.
"Exactly," Raven chirped, giving her a small nod and a smile.
Starfire smiled back with understanding and finished the last of her sandwich. Just as she opened her mouth to change the subject, the blaring alarm did it for her.
"Trouble!" her and Raven exclaimed in unison, rising off the bed and shooting into the hallway, following closely behind Beast Boy as they raced to the living room.
"Atlas. Video store downtown," Robin answered the unspoken questions as everyone rushed in, the screen in front of him blinking with various red dots that denoted where alarms and calls to the police were originating.
"Well alright!" Cyborg exclaimed, his sonic canon whirring to life.
"Let's try and keep the damages minimal," Robin cautioned, twisting in his chair and rising to standing. "I got another letter from the mayor yesterday."
"Detailing his better idea for taking care of the psychos?" Beast Boy snapped sarcastically.
"Seriously," Raven agreed, frowning and crossing her arms.
Beast Boy turned to eye her warily. "You're…agreeing with me?" he clarified, skeptical and surprised.
"Don't get used to it," Raven grumbled, but Beast Boy grinned at her regardless.
"He's just upset about all the cars. And buildings. And roads. And fire hydrants," Robin listed, getting progressively more monotonous. "Look, let's just try and be careful, alright?"
"Fine," Cyborg muttered angrily, retracting his sonic canon, "but I'm taking the T-Car."
"You know we've gotten noise complaints about-"
"I know," Cyborg interrupted with a smirk, disappearing through the stairwell door.
Robin looked as though he was about to reprimand him, but instead shook his head with a sigh.
"Oh, screw it," he blurted suddenly, bounding across the room and disappearing down the stairs after Cyborg.
"Raven, what are they-" Starfire started, looking curiously across at the girl.
"They're going to make as much noise as possible," she explained, hitting the button on the wall to retract the window.
"But, Robin just said-"
"It's a prideful spite thing," Raven dismissed with a wave of her hand. "Boy stuff. Far too juvenile for us to understand."
"Hey!" Beast Boy bleated, glaring at the dark-haired girl. "We're not-" He cut off as Raven gave him a withering look.
"Yea, okay, fine," he conceded, shrugging and moving to stand next to her as she formed a black disc beneath his feet.
Starfire smiled at her two friends, happy and nosily suspicious that they seemed to be getting along better lately. It was nice that somebody was, at least.
"Ready?" Raven asked, turning to look back from her position at the window.
She nodded and Raven flew herself and Beast Boy out of the window. Starfire shot out after them, flying up alongside Raven as Beast Boy sat at the girl's feet.
"Ya know, this would be a whole lot more comfortable with a back support," Beast Boy suggested, and his back was indeed hunched awkwardly. "Of course, I could always just…" he trailed off, leaning back toward Raven's legs.
"I've kicked you off one of these before; I'll do it again," Raven snarled, and Beast Boy jolted back upright, chuckling at the reaction he had obviously intended to incite.
Starfire herself could not help but giggle, and she would swear she saw Raven smile faintly down at the back of Beast Boy's head.
Raven's eyes dropped to the space at her feet, and some of the black energy from the disc stretched up to Beast Boy's back.
He twisted around in alarm as it reached him, but quickly calmed and leaned against it.
"Much obliged," he said with a smile, inclining his head and gesturing as if he were tugging on the brim of a hat.
Raven rolled her eyes, but Starfire grinned at the small smile she saw curl the corners of her friend's mouth.
As they reached the coast and began weaving through the streets, she heard the distant roar of the T-Car and R-Cycle somewhere ahead of them. They directed their flight toward the sound and, as they rounded a particularly tall building, their destination became clear. There was debris flying out the broken, front window of an electronics store down below, and loud shouting could be heard as they drew closer to the pavement.
"You cannot be sold out!" assumedly Atlas shouted, and Starfire could see his large, red form inside the store as she landed. "I need that game! FIND ME THAT GAME!"
"Hey!" Cyborg bellowed as he jumped out of the T-Car, Robin pulling up on his motorcycle behind him. "Next time,"-he leveled his sonic canon at the villain-"preorder."
Atlas let out a loud cry and charged out of the store toward the gathered Titans, who immediately scattered.
Starfire shot up in the air, Raven hovering in the air some distance to her left, while Cyborg and Beast Boy engaged the criminal. Robin, who had pulled away to avoid Atlas' attack, was rushing back into the fray after leaving the R-Cycle safely off to the side as Starfire and Raven flew forward.
She shot starbolts at Atlas, sending him staggering backward as Robin threw an exploding disc at him. Even though they were not speaking, they were so accustomed to coordinating attacks that they still completed them even without any form of signal or interaction.
Atlas toppled backward, nearly crushing a car before Raven lifted it out of the way with her powers, obviously in accordance with the cautions Robin had given them. As Raven gently set the car down on the road some distance away, Robin acknowledged this with a brief wave in her direction before running forward to assist Beast Boy and Cyborg, who had converged on Atlas after he fell.
Atlas jumped up, however, and fired some sort of beam at Beast Boy, sending the green rhino flying backward into Raven. The girl fell out of the air, the black energy band she had been in the process of conjuring disappearing as she tumbled to the ground with a now-human Beast Boy on top of her.
"Are you injured?" Starfire asked, dropping to the ground beside them.
"Don't think so," Beast Boy answered, scanning his body.
"Get OFF!" Raven growled, and Beast Boy yelped as she threw him to the side with her powers.
"Okay, now I am," Beast Boy groaned as he rose off the road, but Raven only rolled her eyes.
Starfire nodded at them briefly, content that they were alright, before shooting back into the air to assist Robin and Cyborg. Cyborg was blasting Atlas repeatedly, and Atlas appeared to be retreating up the street as Robin chased them after being thrown some distance away.
Abruptly, Atlas' boots ignited and he was propelled into the air, weaving around a building and disappearing.
"Where'd he go?" Cyborg whined, twisting his head around to scan the sky.
"You check up there," Robin ordered, pointing up the way Atlas had been running. "I'll double back to the store."
Starfire was about level with the electronics store, hovering in the air, uncertain of what she should do. Cyborg disappeared into an alleyway as Robin began walking back toward her, scanning the alleys as he passed.
She started with surprise, her eyes narrowing as she thought she saw something move out of an alleyway behind Robin, but it disappeared behind a vacated, city bus before she could confirm it. Suddenly, the bus rocketed forward, flying down the street and directly at-
"ROBIN!" she screamed, straining to utilize every bit of speed she possessed.
The bus encroached on him rapidly, and her heart pounded furiously as she considered she may not make it in time. Robin was halfway turned around when her hands closed around his shoulders and, as the bus loomed in front of her, she did the only thing she knew she had time for.
Throwing Robin to the side, she crossed her arms in front of her face in a desperate attempt to protect herself as the bus collided with her. The metal bent around her form and she was ripped off her feet, glass shattering as she was dragged along with the speeding bus. Out of the corner of her squinted eye, she saw a fleeting image of the electronics store passing in a blur, and she knew what was coming next.
Steeling herself as much as possible, she prepared for the impact as best she could before the bus collided with the large, brick building she knew she was quickly approaching. She gritted her teeth, and felt the painful, crushing collision for only a second before losing consciousness in the tumult.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Robin
He bounced off the road, feeling the tar tearing at his exposed elbows as he rolled. When he finally came to a stop, he pushed himself up onto his hands, lifting his head to find whatever it was that had hit him. His vision was still slightly blurry from the impact, but he could tell there was nothing there. Nothing but two, heavy lines of tread marks leading to where a city bus had apparently bounced off the brick apartment building at the end of the road; a pile of rubble settling between the accordioned front-end and the crumbling wall.
He shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts, and that's when he remembered. Her scream echoed around his skull, as if she were calling to him all over again.
"STARFIRE!" he shrieked, shakily rising to his feet. He sprinted toward the scene, dimly aware of the sounds of a fight breaking out behind him as the other Titans assumedly confronted Atlas. As he grew nearer to the mound of broken rock, he saw a small portion of a purple boot jutting out at the bottom, and his breath stalled in his chest.
"Starfire!" he screamed again, falling to his knees and throwing rocks aside frantically. "No, no, no," he muttered, his vision growing watery as he couldn't stop himself from imagining just what he was going to uncover.
Rolling away a large chunk of debris, he revealed her torso, and he inhaled sharply at the gashes trickling blood.
With renewed fervor, he tore through the remaining rubble, a strangled cry escaping him with every strained effort.
"No…" he breathed as he removed the last of the restraining pieces, revealing her face, neck, and shoulder.
Her eyes were closed, her face splotched with dirt. There were several, small cuts all across her body-her arms sustaining most of the damage-and blood rolled down her temple from a substantial gash on her forehead.
"Starfire?" he called, sliding a hand under her head to pull it out of the rubble. "Starfire!?" he beckoned again, raising his other hand to cup the side of her face, his thumb stroking up and down her cheek.
She did not respond to him at all, her head lolling limply in his hands.
With shaking fingers, he lowered his hand from her cheek to settle it against her neck, holding his breath as he searched for a pulse. He nearly started crying with relief as he felt the blood vibrate weakly against his fingers.
"Star!" a voice behind him cried, desperate and frantic.
He turned to see Raven, who halted her approach as her eyes widened down at his fingers against Starfire's neck. She looked up at him, her eyes beginning to sparkle as her mouth opened with trembling lips.
"She's alive," he answered before she could ask.
Raven closed her eyes and sighed with relief, a hand rising to clutch at her chest. She took a moment to compose herself before looking back up at Robin, her eyes determined. "Go," she commanded. "We can handle Atlas. Get her home."
Robin did not need to be told twice, and nodded at Raven before she flew off.
Sliding one arm underneath her neck and another under her knees, he hoisted her frail, limp body out of the debris, bits of stone falling off her to sprinkle against the mound like a thousand, bloody hailstones. He could feel the warm wetness against the exposed portion of his arm, and he swallowed a sob as he began carrying her toward the R-Cycle. He held her tightly to him as he lifted one leg over the motorcycle, gently lowering her into his lap. Keeping his arm under her knees, he reached his left hand up just enough to grab onto the handlebar. He pulled her head into his chest, cradling it against his right shoulder as he reached out to rev up the motorcycle.
The R-Cycle shot off, and he bent forward to shelter as much of her body as he could. He probably looked at her more than the road, watching as her head rattled against his shoulder with the bumps and turns. Even just in the time it took to get to the faux dumpster that concealed the entrance to the tunnel under the bay, the cut on her forehead had begun to heal. He hoped that accelerated Tamaranean healing was working just as well everywhere else, considering he could now feel her blood running down his arm.
They pulled into the garage with a sideways squeal, and he lifted her off the motorcycle as quick as he dared. He raced up the stairs, trying not to jostle her too much, and kicked open the doors to the infirmary. Laying her down gently on one of the white-covered beds, he slid his arms away and leaned in to finally examine her properly.
The cuts he had previously noticed did appear to be healing, and he was grateful for that. The relief lasted only a moment though before he remembered the blood he had felt on her back, and he gently pulled her forward by the shoulders to inspect it.
"Oh, god…" he breathed, his eyes widening as he stomach plummeted. The cuts were shallow and healing, few were still bleeding freely, but there were so many of them. The blood was smeared all over, blended with dirt and small particles of rock in muddy, russet swirls. He closed his eyes as he lay her back down, unable to bear looking at it any longer.
"I'm sorry," he whispered, stroking a stray hair off her face. "I'm so sorry."
It was his fault. It was all his fault. If he had been paying attention, if he had just turned around…
He sighed sorrowfully, hanging his head as he pulled his hand from her face. Turning away, he headed over to the cabinets against the wall and pulled a cloth from the cupboard. He went to the sink, running some warm water over the surface before squeezing it lightly to remove excess water. He then returned to Starfire's bedside, hoping he could at least get most of the dirt out of the wounds before they healed. He wasn't sure how infection worked with Tamaraneans and their accelerated healing, but it certainly couldn't hurt.
He ran the cloth across her forehead, the dirt and blood coming off in watery streaks. He dabbed the wound above her eyebrow gently, hoping he wasn't hurting her, but it appeared to be nearly fully closed. Twisting the cloth in his hand to a clean section, he began brushing down her cheeks. He stopped abruptly as he saw her eyelids twitch slightly, a weak groan escaping her barely-parting lips.
"Star?" he questioned, pulling the cloth away and leaning in over her head. "Star?!"
Her eyelids fluttered open and she looked around blearily, slowly focusing in on his face.
"Robin?" she whispered faintly.
"Yea?" he answered, leaning in closer so he could hear her better.
"Are you… Are you injured?" she concluded, her eyes scanning his face with concern.
He tilted his head in confusion before chuckling in spite of the situation.
"I'm fine," he assured, smiling down at her. "It's you we have to worry about." He reached back down toward her with the cloth, but she jolted away from him. He wrinkled his eyebrows at her, confused, his hand stalling in midair.
"I am capable of taking care of it," she said flatly, sliding her legs off the opposite side of the bed.
"What are you doing!?" he blurted, rushing over to block her way. "Lie back down."
"I am fine," she sighed exasperatedly as she stood.
"No, you're not," he countered, gripping her shoulder with his hand.
She wriggled out from under his grasp and walked around him.
"Where are you going?" he demanded as he followed her, confused and angered by her stubbornness.
"To the shower," she replied curtly, gesturing at the door behind her. "I do not believe your assistance will be required in there," she quipped sarcastically.
He was overwhelmed with an odd sensation, as if hot flashes and chills were alternating rapidly across his body, and his stomach rolled violently. His heart pounded in his ears and his mouth went dry as he struggled to clear his head enough to speak.
"Oh, right, yea," he stammered, taking a few, small steps backward. "I'll just, uh…wait out here," he muttered, feeling for the edge of the bed behind him.
He sat down, relieving his weakened knees as she disappeared behind the door of the infirmary shower. Breathing heavily, he closed his eyes, trying to move his mind to things that would return blood flow to his brain. Just then, he heard the shower turn on, and his eyes flicked up to the door.
"Dammit!" he groaned, hanging his head in his hands.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
She winced as the hot water raced down her back, the water at her feet swirling with a muddy, red tint. She ran her fingers through her hair, bits of rock dislodging and clicking against the plastic floor. Reaching for the generic shampoo that was kept in the infirmary shower, she pushed down the pump and lathered the liquid in her hands before running it through her hair. Once it was thoroughly rinsed out, she turned to ensure that all of the remnants were washed from her back so as not to irritate her wounds. It appeared as if the cuts had closed, however, because it did not sting the way it had when she first entered the shower. Content that she had thoroughly removed all the dirt and blood from her person, she turned off the shower and stepped out, grabbing the towel she had hung up on the hook.
She patted herself dry gingerly, being especially careful with her back, before grabbing one of the robes that were kept in the bathroom closet. She ruffled her hair with the towel to dry it enough not to be dripping and slipped into the robe. Tying it tightly around her waist, she gathered up her dirtied uniform in one hand and opened the door with the other.
Robin leapt off the bed as she stepped out, and she saw a lump traverse down the front of his throat.
"Feel better?" he asked, his voice slightly higher than usual.
She nodded wordlessly, granting him a small smile before walking toward the door.
"Wait!" he called, catching up with her as she reached the doorway. "Let me help you," he implored softly, placing a hand on the small of her back.
She pulled away from him, shaking her head. She could not allow this to happen. Things were not okay, she and Robin were not okay, and she knew if she let him in even a little, all of her resolve would crumble.
"Your assistance is not required," she insisted, continuing down the hallway toward the door to the stairwell.
"Alright, alright," he blurted, jumping in front of her to block her way, "but will you at least take the elevator?"
She tilted her head, narrowing her eyes at his pleading face.
"Fine," she granted, and she saw him small softly before she turned around and headed back toward the elevator, his footsteps following her.
She hit the button for the elevator and crossed her arms, the silence heavy as they waited.
"Here," Robin said, taking her uniform out of her arms. "You'll get your robe dirty," he explained, rolling the purple bundle tightly around the armbands she had wrapped inside before tucking it under his arm.
She gave him a small smile and nodded, not wanting to speak too much lest she find herself conversing with him as if everything were normal.
They waited in silence for a few more moments before the elevator mercifully chimed to announce its arrival.
She stepped inside and tucked herself into the back corner, leaving hitting the appropriate button to Robin as he slid in after her.
He leaned against the back of the elevator a few feet from her, folding his hands behind the small of his back.
They rode in silence, her pointedly avoiding meeting the eyes she could feel boring into her as she watched the light slowly beep up the numbers over the door. What seemed like an eternity later, the doors opened on the main floor, and she bolted out ahead of him and began walking down the hallway toward her room. She heard his hurried footsteps catching up to her and rolled her eyes at the door as she opened it.
She entered the room and immediately sat down on her bed, hoping to dissuade Robin from bothering her if she made it apparent she needed to rest. A second later, however, the door opened, and she sighed with regret at having everyone's handprint programmed into her door lock.
"Robin, I would very much like to-"
"In a minute," he interrupted, and she gaped up at him, aghast.
"I beg your-"
"Why?" he interrupted, folding his arms across his chest, a stern expression on his face.
She blinked up at him, exhausted from her accelerated healing. "Why…?" she prompted weakly.
"Why did you do it?" he added.
She hung her head, grinding circles into her right temple with her fingers. "Robin, I do not-"
"Why did you push me out of the way?" he clarified gruffly, stepping forward slightly.
She lifted her eyes to meet his mask, her forehead wrinkling as she wondered if she had heard him correctly. "What do you mean?"
"Why did you push me out of the way of that bus?!" he snapped suddenly, stepping forward with his arms thrusting angrily down to his sides. "You could have-" He hesitated, the anger in his face faltering. "You could have been hurt," he finished, softly this time.
"But, Robin," she began, confused as to why he did not see, "you could not have… You would have surely-"
"I would have been fine," he insisted, dismissing the outcome she could not voice with a wave of his hand. "I had it under control."
"Robin!" she bleated, shocked and offended. "You did not even-"
"I would have figured it out!" he snarled back at her. "I always do."
She could not argue with that, but she still thought he was being entirely absurd, so she opted to remain silent and let her gaze drop to the floor.
"Just…don't do it again," he muttered, and she saw his feet turn back toward the door.
She bolted to standing, something breaking loose inside of her.
"So I am supposed to stand by and allow you to die!?" she shouted at his back, and he froze.
"That's not your decision to make," he answered coldly to the door.
"It most certainly is!" she argued, taking a challenging step forward. "If I am capable of saving you, you cannot expect me to-"
"I'M NOT ASKING YOU!" he bellowed, twisting around abruptly, and she shrank back from the sound. "I am the leader of this team! If I give you an order, you follow it! DO NOT SAVE ME AGAIN!"
He breathed heavily with anger, and she could feel her eyes watering, but she would not allow him that satisfaction.
"Robin," she said softly, stepping closer, "I will."
The anger slid from his face, being replaced with confused surprise as he tilted his head.
"I do not care if you order me or not," she continued, her voice shaking with emotion, "I will always save you. Always," she reaffirmed sternly, gazing pleadingly into his masked eyes.
His eyebrows rose, and his mouth opened slightly to allow a faint puff of surprised air to escape. His expression quickly hardened again, however, and he took a step away from her, nearly backing into the door.
"What do you care?" he said darkly. "You won't even talk to me anymore. Why would it matter to you if I-"
"Do not say that, Robin!" she cried, thrusting a shaking finger into his face. "Do not dare say that! You know I- You know-" she faltered, uncertain of how much to say.
"What?" he challenged, his arms rising up at his sides. "What am I supposed to know? All you do is ignore me! How am I supposed to believe that you ca-"
"YOU KNOW I CARE!" she screamed, the tears finally slipping from her eyes as the volume tore her throat. "I care so much, it hurts! The thought of anything happening to you, of you- I cannot bear it, Robin. I cannot even breathe," she whispered, her voice strangled by the streams that rolled down her cheeks.
His expression was unfathomable. His mouth was slack and slightly agape, and his forehead was no longer wrinkled with anger, but it was impossible to know what he was truly feeling behind that mask. He stared at her like this for a moment before his mouth closed, and he dropped his head to the side.
"You should rest," he said softly as he began to turn back toward the door.
"No!" she blurted, grabbing his arm to hold him in place. Now that she had started, she had to finish this; she had to know. "Robin, I need- We need to-"
"Star," he began, twisting out of her grasp, "I can't do this right now. I really need to-"
"No!" she shouted, and he jolted in alarm. "You do not need to do the working out or the research or the fixing of the R-Cycle! You never need to! You simply do not wish to discuss this, and I will not permit you to evade it any longer!"
"Starfire-" he said cautiously, retreating from her.
"Robin," she hissed pleadingly, taking one of his hands in both of her own, "I need to know. I need you to tell me the truth, just this once, and then I will never ask you again."
His head dropped as he looked down at his hand in hers.
"Please," she breathed, her voice shaking with tears.
He looked up at her, a pitying expression on his face, before nodding hesitantly.
She took a deep breath, trying to compose herself as much as possible.
"You know how I…feel about you," she started, allowing his hand to pull away from hers as he twisted uncomfortably in her grasp, "and I need to know… I need to know how you feel about me."
He sighed heavily, running a hand through his hair as he looked to the side. "Starfire, don't," he whispered faintly.
"Robin, please," she pleaded desperately. "I need to know."
"I-I can't," he breathed, shaking his head. "I can't..."
"Robin," she said as sternly as she could manage, and his face flicked up to hers, "can you ever feel about me the way I feel about you?"
She could not see his eyes, but his face looked anxious and sorrowful. He dropped his head, lifting a hand to knead into his forehead as he sighed.
"No," he whispered, looking down at the floor between them, and her heart plummeted.
She had been expecting it, of course, but she had somehow not been entirely prepared.
"Oh…" she managed to murmur, turning around as she stepped away, unable to look at him.
She walked over to the bed, calm resignation rising up through the pain, and lifted Silkie from where he had been sleeping on the pink blanket.
"Starfire, I-" Robin started frantically, but she interrupted as she turned back to face him.
"Can you take Silkie tonight?" she asked flatly, holding a still-snoring Silkie out toward him.
Occasionally, Silkie would become cold in the evenings, and Starfire could tell that he wished to do the snuggling beneath the blankets. She did not use them, however, so she would sometimes bring him to Robin's room to sleep. Robin pretended to be greatly inconvenienced by this, but she could tell he enjoyed having Silkie around.
"Um…sure," he said, obviously surprised as he took Silkie in his arms.
"Thank you," she replied simply, turning her back to him once again as she walked toward her desk.
"Uh, well…goodnight," he muttered confusedly, and she heard the door slide open and closed as he exited.
"Goodbye," she corrected softly, blinking tears from her eyes as she reached for her computer.