Warning: This chapter has substantially less plot and exponentially more fluff than the previous chapter.
Disclaimer: Teen Titans is owned by Warner Brothers and DC.
Starfire watched the boys from the couch next to Cyborg. The girls decided to stay away from the bedrooms, giving Robin some space. They also agreed not to go to him themselves. If he was making a decision, it wouldn't be fair for either of them to sway his decision.
Their friendship was in a fragile state before, but now they were close again. Raven was much more social, and now she was sitting next to Beast Boy, watching disinterestedly as his robot kicked Cyborg's in the face.
Raven rolled her eyes as Beast Boy let out a whoop, but Starfire thought she saw the slightest curve of a smile touch her face.
At midnight, the teenagers decided to turn it in. Neither Cyborg nor Beast Boy commented on Robin's absence.
"Good night, friends," Starfire called. She stepped into her room, which seemed somehow happier. Silkie was nowhere to be found.
Starfire changed into pajamas, selecting a white camisole and purple sweatpants. She stretched, almost catlike, raising one elbow over her head and going onto her tiptoes. "Silkie!" she called before crawling under the covers. "Time for bed, my little bumgorf!"
She sighed. Maybe he was with Beast Boy. She wanted to check first, though. She threw the covers away and crossed her room to the door. She opened the it and almost jumped.
Robin was standing at her door, a white, wiggly larva squirming in his hands. He was obviously about to knock, and he looked a little jumpy himself. He was dressed in a green T-shirt and grey sweatpants. Starfire didn't quite know what to say.
He cleared his throat. "I thought you might be looking for him."
"I was," she answered, pointedly looking at the larva in his hands and not at him. She scooped Silkie out of Robin's arms, careful not to touch him. He cuddled against Starfire's chest.
Robin didn't move, and neither did she. He looked sad. "Robin?" she asked slowly. "Are you okay?"
He didn't move or give any indication that he'd heard her. After about half an uncomfortable minute of Starfire wondering whether or not she should close the door and go to sleep, he managed, "You're mad at me."
A strong emotion swept through her like a gale, leaving her insides tingling and throat tight. "No," she answered softly. "I am not."
Robin straightened out. She didn't even notice that he was slouching. He looked almost taller than her. "You aren't?" he asked eagerly.
She shook her head, unable to say anything.
He kept looking at her for a while before he asked, slowly and almost unsurely, "Can I come in?"
"Of course!" she squeaked, suddenly nervous.
He entered slowly, and the silence between them was only cut when the door slid shut. He was looking at her an awful lot. It made her nervous. She put Silkie down and he wiggled off under her bed.
"Robin?" she asked timidly.
He stepped close to her, keeping his hands carefully at his sides. She didn't step back, but she didn't let herself get swept up in the excitement that was flowing through her, either. She watched him carefully, her eyes on his mask the entire time. He brought his face close to hers and she shut her eyes to avoid going cross-eyed.
He brushed his lips against hers, but it wasn't a kiss. It was just pressure, light as a feather before he pulled back. It was asking permission. She leaned forward slightly, giving him her answer.
He stepped even closer and he kissed her gently, cupping her jaw in his palm. To Starfire, it was like breathing fresh air after standing behind a bus exhaust for hours. He moved his lips against hers slowly, the hand not on her face sliding to her hip, pulling her closer. She couldn't keep her hands at her sides anymore. She brought them up to stroke through his hair and rested them at his neck, pulling his face closer, kissing him harder. He brushed his tongue across her lower lip before sliding it into her mouth, brushing against hers lightly. She was leaning on him for support. He made an irritated noise against her mouth and backed them up until her knees hit her bed, which she stumbled into and fell onto, sprawled out on her back.
Robin straddled her hips and leaned over her to kiss her again, reaching a hand up to tangle it in her hair as he brought one hand to her hip and kneaded the skin there. She pressed her hands against his chest and raked her fingers down slowly before letting her fingers disappear underneath the hem of his shirt to trace the outline of his abdomen. He hissed against her mouth and drew back slightly to take in a gulp of fresh air. She twisted her fingers in the material of his shirt as he pressed kisses down her neck and across her throat, nipping at her collarbone before sucking on it.
She gasped and pushed him away gently, and reluctantly he let her.
They were both out of breath. He leaned over her, panting, watching her carefully. She grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him down next to her, unwrapping his legs from her around her waist. She rested her fingers on his chest and cuddled into him. He put his arm around her, gathering her closer. He pressed butterfly kisses over her cheeks and across her nose.
When she regained her breath, she twisted until she was on her stomach and propped herself up on her elbows so that she was looking down at him. He ran his fingers through her silky hair and slid his fingers over her shoulders. Her eyes filled with tears.
"What's the matter?" he asked softly, trailing his fingers over her cheek.
"I was not sure that we would ever do this again," she admitted.
He wiped at her eye with his knuckle and it came away salty. He didn't know what to say. He stroked his thumb over her cheek. She nuzzled into his touch. "Please," she murmured, her mouth touching the heel of his hand, "stay with me tonight." She pressed her lips against his hand and kissed it.
"Of course," he answered. She settled back against his chest contentedly. He brushed her hair away from her face.
"I'm sorry," they both said at the same time.
Starfire waited patiently for him to continue, but he was too busy gaping at her. "Star. I really don't understand why you're apologizing at all."
"I should have known that you would never do that to me," she explained, pointedly not looking at him. "I should have known that something was wrong."
Robin made another irritated noise before turning her a little roughly to face him. Her brow was knitted in concern, but he ignored that and kissed her. When he stopped, he let his fingers trace their way from her cheek down her throat and across her collarbone. "God, Star, I love you. I don't deserve you."
She cuddled into his chest again. "Yes, you do," she assured him.
He threaded his fingers through her hair. "Don't apologize again. I should never have done any of that. It's all my fault, Starfire. Raven's powers are new and she can't control them. I should have known something was off."
"May we agree that the fault lies with no one, then?" Starfire asked.
Robin smiled at her. "Whatever you want."
Starfire smiled at him. "I just want you," she murmured against his shirt.
"Wish granted," Robin answered.
Starfire grinned stupidly. As he picked up his hand to touch her face again, she caught it, furrowing her brow in concentration as she examined it. "What happened to your hand?"
Robin pulled it away from her. "Oh. I hurt myself while I was… training. Like a week ago," he mumbled. On his right hand, his first few knuckles were the yellow color of a week-old bruise and there was a light scratch on his first knuckle. "It's not a big deal."
Starfire tugged his hand back to her. She kissed his hand a few times before shuffling up and catching his mouth in another kiss. Robin moved his right hand to Starfire's stomach and slipped his fingers under the hem of her shirt. He let his fingers skate over her ribs and she sighed into his mouth.
She drew back then and she pressed a kiss to his neck. Robin twisted his hand in the material of her thin shirt. She kissed him down to his collar before sliding a hand under his shirt. He tensed a little. He was self-conscious about the myriad scars he'd accumulated since he was eight, but she didn't seem bothered. She traced the thin line of one scar from his abs up to his pectoral muscle. He shivered and grabbed her arm. "Stop that," he groaned.
"What?" she asked innocently. She trailed her finger along the line again. "This?"
Robin took her shoulders and flipped them over so that he was in control. She protested but he quieted her with a quick kiss before moving down her throat to her collarbone again. She picked up her arms and raked her fingers through his hair. He pressed his mouth against the few inches of exposed skin between her collarbone and her shirt before he placed a love bite in the crook of her neck. While he was working that area, he put his hand on the outside of her thigh and dragged his fingers up until he reached the elastic in the waistband of her sweatpants before running them back down again.
After a few minutes of that, she pulled him up for another kiss. "Robin," she murmured, "if I cannot get any sleep tonight I might have to reconsider your sleeping in my bed."
He pulled away from her. "Fine, fine. We'll sleep now."
They shuffled under the covers, their bodies pressed together like spoons, Robin with his hands around Starfire's waist. He kissed the back of her neck.
When she woke up, she woke up happy for the first time in a week. She rolled her head over to look at Robin, who was sleeping soundly. He had rolled away from her in sleep- or maybe she rolled away from him- and he was lying flat on his back now. Starfire tried to slip out of bed without waking him up. She gingerly scooted to the edge of her mattress-
"Where're you going?" he slurred sleepily without moving at all.
Of course she couldn't slip away without him noticing. No apprentice of Batman would ever let someone sneak in or out of a room as long as they were in it.
"I'll be right back," she assured him.
He didn't seem inclined to protest, so she floated to the door. Oh, she'd missed the ability to fly in the last week.
She floated down the hall and stopped at Raven's room. She put her ear against the door. She couldn't hear anything. She floated down to the ops room. As soon as she smelled herbal tea, she landed. She felt guilty. She bit her lip and walked through the doors as they hissed open.
"Raven…" she called gently, not knowing what to say but wanting to say something.
"I already know," she answered without turning around.
Starfire felt like sinking. "I am sorry."
Raven turned to her friend slowly. She was holding a cup of tea between her hands. "I don't want you to be sorry."
"Oh," Starfire answered quickly. She wanted to apologize for being sorry, but she knew that was silly.
Raven sighed. "I know you're sorry anyway. I can feel it on you. It… it was my fault that any of this even happened, Starfire. I couldn't control myself. I felt you two loving each other so much and I- I wanted it. So instead of going out and finding my own, I took it from you."
Starfire felt really distressed. Raven was going through so much. She remembered being Raven. She couldn't really control her emotions- it was difficult and it made her feel like a prisoner in her own (well, Raven's own) body. Raven had a whole lifetime of controlling her emotions.
"Starfire, it's okay, don't get-"
"I love Aqualad," Starfire blurted out.
Raven let her eyes widen. "What?" Anger and disbelief and shock colored her voice.
Starfire rushed on, warming up to her own idea. "I love Speedy. I love Bumble Bee, and I love Beast Boy, and I love Cyborg. I love Red Star, and Jericho, and the Herald, and-"
"Starfire," Raven interrupted, annoyed that her friend worried her so much over nothing.
"No, please, allow me to continue! I love Kole and Gnaark and Hotspot and Wildebeest. They are all people who give me the warm feeling and I admire and respect them and I wish for them to be happy when they are in my presence. However, I love Beast Boy and Cyborg perhaps just a little more than I love Gnaark." She held her fingers a few inches apart. "And my affections for Robin are more intense than my feelings for you and for Beast Boy and for Cyborg." Starfire tilted her head at Raven.
Raven narrowed her eyes at her friend slowly. "That's different, though. It's not love. It's friendship."
Starfire walked toward Raven as she spoke. "Oh, but Raven, it is not so different. It is different in intensity, . And for one… such as yourself, the line between best friend and… and something more might be hard to decipher." She chewed her lip and clasped her hands at her chest.
Raven narrowed her eyes at Starfire. "I'm not an idiot. I know the difference…"
The alien princess winced. "I did not mean that. I simply meant… Well, for the longest of times I was not aware of that line, but not in quite the same way as you. I had the romantic feelings for Robin and I was confused, thinking them to be platonic. I believe that he was confused as well, and that is why… well…" She blushed, looking at Raven hopefully.
Raven nodded slowly. "Okay. I can see that. But I felt such strong feelings coming from Robin… I thought…"
"Robin has been very concerned about you lately. I believe that you and he are best friends. He spoke to me once of a bond that you have? I did not quite understand, but I know that you two are special to each other. And that can be confusing." Starfire tapped her fingers together nervously.
The empath thought about this for a moment. "Were, you mean."
"Excuse me?" Starfire asked, confused.
"Were special to each other. Now… he must hate me. I made him kiss me. That's not something that you can just bounce back from."
"Oh, but Raven, you did not do such things on purpose! It was in your subconscious. Robin understands. He loves you, Raven. Just… in a different way than you thought previously."
Raven was silent and Starfire ran her fingers through her hair nervously. "Raven?" Starfire called after a few moments.
"I need help, Starfire," the empath said, her voice thick with emotion.
The alien stepped forward and hugged Raven gently before stepping back. "I can help you. I am available for teaching, and for answering questions, and for guidance. As you have been for me on the subject of Earth culture."
Raven let out a relieved sigh and Starfire resisted the urge to hug her again. "I want you to know that I'm really, really, really sorry about what happened. I didn't mean for any of it. I'm just… so confused. I guess it's like seeing in color for the first time and thinking that purple and blue are the same."
Starfire nodded. "All is forgiven." She smiled at her friend encouragingly.
"Thanks," Raven answered shakily. She drew up her white hood self-consciously.
Starfire backed up. She grabbed four slices of bread, butter, and a knife from the drawer before heading back to her room. She entered and Robin stretched in her bed. She smiled at the sight of him swaddled in her pink blankets.
"Where'd you go?" he asked, stifling a yawn.
"I retrieved nourishment for the breaking of the fast." She held up the bread and butter.
Robin smiled at her fondly. "Thanks, Star, but usually you toast the bread."
Her face fell. "Oh! I am sorry! I shall go back and prepare a proper-"
She turned and he was suddenly in front of the door. She gaped at him. He was in her bed a second ago.
Robin looked pleased with himself. "It's okay. Really. I'd prefer it if you stayed here."
"But how did you-?" She stammered, looking from her door back to the bed.
Robin crossed his arms over his chest and gave her a toothy grin. "You can do it, too, if you train under the Batman for eight years." His smile faded slowly as he lost himself in his own thoughts.
She tugged him back to sit on her bed and shoved a piece of bread, the knife, and the butter in his hand. He slapped butter on the bread and shoved it in his mouth.
"Robin?" she asked softly as soon as his mouth was full.
He raised an eyebrow at her.
"I would like for you to do me a favor." She paused and he nodded, still with his mouth full. "I want you to tell Raven that you are not angry with her for what happened."
He raised his eyebrow even higher and she twirled a lock of hair in her fingers, hoping she looked innocent. s
"Why?" he asked as soon as he swallowed all the bread he'd shoved in his mouth.
"She seems distressed over what has occurred."
"Well… yeah. And to be perfectly honest, I kind of am too. It was weird," he explained, not looking very happy about the fact that he had to explain it at all. "Aren't you bothered?"
"Of course. But there are more important things at risk than my botheration," she answered patiently.
"Like what?" he questioned doubtfully as he spread butter on another piece of bread.
Starfire shot him a worried look. "Like our friendship!"
Robin sighed. "I'm sure you're being a little dramatic."
She chewed her lip nervously before answering. "I am not. It is important that you make sure she knows that you are willing to resume your friendship."
"Won't she just be able to sense that I'm not mad at her?" he asked impatiently.
Starfire rolled her eyes. "Of course. But it would send a clearer message if you talked to her about it."
The Teen Wonder groaned.
"You do plan on resuming your friendship, do you not?" she demanded, panic rising in her voice.
"Of course," he assured her quickly. "But… I could use a few days to put all this behind me. You know. Just… get some space."
Her eyes grew round with worry. "That is not acceptable!"
"Why not? I think it's perfectly reasonable," he countered. He sounded like he was getting annoyed.
"Because of the rekmas! The drifting!" she answered urgently.
Robin sighed. "Okay, okay, fine. That won't work every time you want me to do something, though." He took a bite out of his bread, signifying the end of the conversation.
"Of course not. I have plenty of other ways to manipulate-" She cut herself off with a cough as he raised an eyebrow at her.
Well, that about wraps it up for Starfire and Robin. I'm starting to worry that my fluff gets a little repetitive. It's probably my fault for writing like ten things at once. This chapter actually took a while to write, because in my head everything is all resolved and I wanted to start on another project. But I am making myself finish this fic first! One more chapter guys! Hopefully, everything with Raven will get tied up neatly. I basically know how I want to finish it, but I think I'm going to have trouble getting from the beginning of the chapter to the end. Or maybe I have the middle and end worked out but I'm not sure about the beginning. Sigh. I hope you guys appreciate all that I do for you. =p
Also, I'm reading this over trying to find a teaser for chapter 10… I have no idea what I'm going to use! This is why I can't put more fluff than plot in a chapter! Obviously, by the time you read this, I will have already chosen a teaser, so… I'm sorry if it was bad? It's hard because I don't want to give away who Robin ends up with! Although I'm such a RobStar shipper, it shouldn't be a surprise anyway.
Here is your last teaser, which I am sure will also be hard to find!
"Raven?"
She flinched. Robin came to talk to her so soon. She didn't turn. Not that she didn't appreciate what Starfire was trying to do, but she was still so embarrassed.
"I wanted to make sure that you were okay."
She sighed and then forced a smile on her face, careful not to make it too wide so that it didn't just look scary. "Of course. I'm fine."
He frowned at her. "I really wish you wouldn't lie to me."
