Chapter 14

Starfire sighed and wiped a tear away as she sat on top of Titans' Tower and watched the sunset, as she had done every evening for the past month since they had rescued Robin and left him with Batman. She always ended up crying when she sat there because it was at this time that she missed Robin the most but she kept coming up there each morning to watch the sunrise and evening to watch the sunset because it was also the time that she felt closest to him. It was on that rooftop that Robin had finally told her his real name and removed his mask for her to see the real him as the sun had risen in front of them, painting everything around them in shades of soft pinks and oranges as a new day began and it was on that rooftop that Robin had told her that he loved her as the sun had set, this time painting their surroundings in deep shades of red and orange as they shared a passionate kiss. She sighed again and kept watching the sunrise, he fondest memories of Robin were on this rooftop. So she kept coming because even though it hurt it also numbed the pain, as conflicting as that may sound.

Of course it wasn't like she hadn't heard from Robin at all in the past month; he had called a few days after he'd been rescued and told her about the brief stint of memory loss he had suffered and he had explained why he needed to stay with Batman a while longer: he needed to heal, and not just physically but mentally and emotionally too. It also wasn't like that had been the last time she'd heard from him; he called her every few days to see how things were doing, how she was doing, to assure her that he was still okay and that he missed her too. It wasn't like she didn't appreciate the effort he made to keep in contact with her because she really and truly did, but it just wasn't the same as actually having him here. She hadn't seen him since the night they rescued him, hadn't felt his warm embrace since before that and only hearing his voice and seeing him on a screen only made her miss him more, only hurt more because it just wasn't the same as when he was there for her to actually touch him and feel that he really was there. A sob escaped from behind her lips and she swiped at the tears running down her face again.

She just wanted Robin to come back and not just for her but for her team too. They just weren't the same without him. Although it wasn't like they hadn't gone without him for this amount of time before; he'd been gone even longer when he had gone on that training mission in the mountain a few years ago but that had been different because back then they hadn't had to live with the fact that their leader was going through a difficult time and there was nothing they could do about it. Cyborg was doing his best to keep them going but it was difficult when none of them were acting themselves: Raven was even darker and moodier than usual and hardly ever came out of her room, Starfire knew she definitely wasn't her cheery self and she'd been cooking florpah, the food for sad times, to no end (it was supposed to make a person feel better but no matter how much of it she cooked it didn't seem to help her, maybe she was cooking it wrong) even Beast Boy did not make as many jokes or pull any kinds of pranks anymore. Cyborg also spent most of his time in his lab. It just wasn't home without Robin. He was the glue that kept them together and they were falling apart without him. They needed him to come back.

Then, as if by some miracle answer to her silent pleadings, she heard an all too familiar voice behind her call her name softly.

She spun around and was up on her feet so quickly that she didn't even register the movement and then she saw him. Standing on the rooftop, the colours on his uniform standing out in the colours cast by the setting sun, looking at her with that soft smile on his face that she loved because he only ever gave it to her and in the next instant she was diving into his arms, nearly knocking him off balance, and sobbing into his chest. His arms immediately closed around her shaking shoulders and he held her tight against his chest as she kept crying.

"Shh, shh," he said as he lifted a hand to stroke her hair and rub her back soothingly, "Everything's okay, Star. Please don't cry; you know I can't take it when you do."

His voice was low with emotion and she knew that if she didn't stop crying soon he would most likely start crying too. She didn't want him to be sad because of her so she focused on her breathing and forced herself to stop crying. It took a great deal of effort but finally she managed to stop sobbing and start hiccupping instead and her tears went from streaming down her face and making his shirt wet to trickling slowly out one or two drops at a time. All the while Robin kept trying to soothe her by whispering comforting words into her ear, planting soft kisses on her head and continuing to rub her back in soothing circles. When she finally looked up at his face she could see that he was struggling to keep his emotions in control.

"I am sorry," she got out between hiccups, "I just missed you so much."

His arms around her tightened for a moment before he pushed her back a little and cupped her face in his hands and wiped her remaining tears away with his thumbs, "I missed you too, Star," he said, his voice still low with emotion and she watched as a tear slipped down his face from under his mask, "I missed you so much." Then he leaned forward and kissed her and at that moment the world could have ended and she wouldn't have cared a bit.

When they finally came up for air he pressed a soft kiss onto her forehead before pulling her into his chest again and holding her tightly while resting his head on top of hers. They stayed like that for a while before he let out a soft sigh.

"We should probably go find the others before they come find us. Batman is downstairs." He said and for the first time she noticed that he sounded tired.

She pulled back so that she could look at him properly and for the first time noticed the slight slump in his posture and she could see that he was a little pale still.

"Robin, you do not look well yet." She said as she reached up to cup a hand over his cheek, "Are you sure you shouldn't stay home a while longer"

Robin smiled her smile, "I'm alright, Star. The nightmares haven't gone away yet;" he shuddered as he admitted to that and the smile slipped away, "But I can handle them." He cupped his hand over one of her cheeks, mirroring her, "And even if I can't, you're here to help me, right."

She nodded, "Always."

He smiled her smile once again before leaning in for one last kiss before going in to greet the others because, as it turned out, she had been the first person he had come to find upon his return to the tower.

His reunion with the rest of the Titans had been a happy one and Starfire could almost feel it as almost immediately things seemed to snap back into place. Raven seemed happier, Beast Boy told so many jokes that she lost count, Cyborg seemed happier too and she knew for a fact that she was feeling much happier than she had half an hour ago.

Batman was there too although he didn't stay for too long, he merely made sure that Robin was settled in again. Before he left he pulled Starfire aside and once again asked her to keep an eye out for Robin and his nightmares and she couldn't help but smile at how history was repeating itself. Everyone seemed to believe that the Dark Knight was uncaring and distant but she knew better.

Robin didn't have any nightmares that night and she was grateful, she knew he needed the sleep, but she also knew that they wouldn't leave him alone for long. That was okay though, because she would be there for him when he needed her to tell him that everything was okay.

She wouldn't even be lying because now that he was back everything really would be okay again, as okay as only his presence could make it.

AN: stay tuned for the epilogue next week!