Author's Note:

Shameless plug - Eve Royal wrote a story ages and ages ago that I completely forgot about (shame on me) regarding why Nightwing grew his hair long in 'How long is Forever'. Her reason is so much more in depth and brilliant that Robin's joke of remembrance and brushing last chapter so I must insist you all go and read it ^_^. It's called Tribute and it's on my faves.


Proposal

Her head was buzzing, her blood rushing in her ears as Starfire stared at Robin in shock. She couldn't think, was too surprised to even hear him suggest it after what he had told her earlier about it.

She blinked. And again. Swallowed but he was still just smiling at her. It had to be a dream, yes? Just a dream. Any moment now, she'd wake up.

She went through so many emotions. Elation. Horror. Fear. Happiness. Round and round they spiralled and it was difficult to get a handle on them, where she actually stood with his offer. Could she dare accept?

He lifted her left hand, cupping it with both hands. "We both agree we'd rather skip the whole big wedding thing and go to the part where we're already married, right?"

She nodded, her eyes wide and her heart pounding. X'hal, this was truly happening.

"And you know I love you, you know I want to marry you. It was just a matter of time."

She nodded again.

"So, why not do it now? We don't have to tell anyone, or we can tell anyone you want, I don't care, as long as you're my wife."

"But you said did not wish to do anything impulsive."

"And maybe this time I do."

"Robin-"

"I really like the ring there, Star. It's... it fits. It suits you, it suits us. Marry me," he said, earnestly. "Right now." Releasing her hand he pointed. "Look, there's a chapel over there, we could-"

Right now? Right this second? She couldn't do that- he would regret this, condemn her once he came to his senses. "No," she blurted, panicked.

His head swivelled back her hers. "What? No?"

Starfire cringed. "Maybe? I mean. Yes... No... I..." She lifted her hand to place over the top of his. "Robin, you will regret this. I cannot be certain if this is what you truly want."

"I'm not drunk," he said, sullen.

"I did not say that. I just... I would dearly love to rush off right now and marry you right this moment but I feel I must be the voice of reason in this case. I do not think it would be wise to-"

"Tomorrow," he insisted with puppy like enthusiasm. "Marry me tomorrow then. We can sleep on it and I can show you I'm serious."

Starfire didn't know what to say. "I..."

He pried his hand out from between hers. Stepping a little closer so he could cup her cheek and pull her face so it rested against his, he murmured, "Please, just think about it."

He was so close, she didn't know how she could resist. "Robin-"

A light kiss. "Sleep on it, you can do that for me, can't you?"

She nodded, a little dazzled from his closeness as well as his emphatic insistence that he wanted to do this.

He smiled. "Let's go back to our room."

Starfire didn't know what to expect when they got back to their room. She'd followed him wordlessly, allowed him to tug her hand to coax her to walk faster. But when they got there...

Robin didn't seem interested in making love like she had thought he would. In fact, he even went as far to suggest that they didn't and wait until tomorrow.

Starfire was taken aback as she stood by the bathroom door. "But... I thought..."

"Just think, we could be making love tomorrow as husband and wife. Wouldn't that be great?" He flopped on the bed with a sigh, smiling.

Starfire studied him, lounging on the bed, staring up at the roof with a silly grin on his face. "You are... most taken by this."

"You suggested it," he said, kicking off his shoes, leaving him in his socks.

"Yes, but..." She tilted her head. "I truly did not even for a moment... think that you would be agreeable."

"Why are you standing there?" he asked and patted the bed beside him. "Come lie down."

Starfire took off her shoes, but remained standing. "I had expected that you would have second thoughts regarding sex, I did not expect it would surface so dramatically-"

Robin sat up. "Hey, no. No. I'm not rethinking making love at all. If you don't want to marry me in Vegas, that's fine. We still have tomorrow."

"Then, why could we not-"

"What's one more day?"

Starfire stared at him, then shifted her weight uneasily.

"Look, I know you have reservations about this," Robin said. "Yeah, so maybe you were joking before, but I really like the idea. You have to admit, that ring looks pretty sweet right there."

Starfire looked down at her hand. "Yes," she said slowly. "It does."

"Don't you want to keep it there?"

She groped for a protest, it was so hard to keep a level head and not get swept up in his enthusiasm. "What are we to tell our friends?"

"Well... we can either tell them we eloped, or nothing at all, and just- I don't know- have a renewal of vows in a couple of years?"

She stared, a little numb. "A renewal?"

"Why not?"

"But... eloping? Richard, that is not you. Who are we to marry as?"

"Robin and Starfire," Robin said, matter of fact. "We could spent tomorrow preparing. Getting you a nice dress, you could buy one or we could hire it. A bouquet. Wedding rings."

"But-"

He seemed to get right into the swing of planning. "We'd have to register with the BMAA, of course, but you just need id here, even for aliens, and you have that. We could get married by Elvis if you want, or check out some of the other things." He gestured the in-house information guide. "They have a whole heap of ideas in that. We could find something we both like."

"But-"

"Why are you taking this so badly?" he asked, concerned and a little hurt.

"Because last time we did something impulsive," she said, bitter. "One of us was drugged. Forgive me if I am skeptical but I believe I have a right to be."

"I'm not drugged. I'm not drunk. I'm thinking clearly. I am," he insisted.

"How can you be certain-"

"That's why we'll wait 'til tomorrow. My offer will still stand in the morning, but you'll know I mean it." Robin stood and crossed to her, rubbing his hands up and down her upper arms. "Just think about it, please?"

"Robin, I may be impulsive, but you are usually not spontaneous like this."

He frowned. "I thought you wanted me to be spontaneous."

"I have always been able to trust that you will think everything through first. And in this case-"

"I thought it through. I want to marry you. I've wanted that for some time."

"It is a 'for life' consequence."

"I'm not afraid. I won't regret it. You know me, Star, when I make up my mind about something, I go for it."

"Is this why we came to Vegas?" she asked, narrowing her eyes at him. "Have you been thinking about this for a while?

He looked nervous for the first time. "No... it's really a spur of the moment thing. It is."

Even though she really didn't believe him, she offered up another protest. "What about our friends? Did not Cyborg say he would murder you if you came back married?"

"Well... we could ask Cyborg, Beast Boy and Raven to come. Sarah too. If you want. To witness."

She stared at him. "You... really want this."

"Yes. I do." He kissed her briefly, just a peck. "I'm gonna go do my teeth and get changed for bed. We'll talk about this in the morning."

Starfire nodded. Leaving his jacket draped on the chair, he slipped past her and into the bathroom, Starfire following him with her eyes as he did so. He left the bathroom door partly open and after a moment she heard water running.

Starfire looked down at her bag, briefly considering just putting on her special surprise and seducing him but Starfire suspected that was the furthest thing from his mind right now, not with him enamoured with the prospect of them getting married tomorrow.

She wanted to marry him. She did. They had discussed marriage and were both comfortable with the idea it occurred. He was quite open about the 'some day'. Why should she be so concerned that day could possibly be tomorrow? She really didn't know what her problem was with what he suggested, apart from the fact she believed he would certainly regret the haste.

But then, she wondered if it was not the same as the sex thing, something he had been debating in his own mind for a while and had only just now decided to voice.

Why was she always the last to know what he thought?

With a sigh, she leant against the wall. "I really wish he would talk to me before making up his mind about something," she murmured.

"Huh?" Robin called, his voice muffled and sounding a lot like he had his toothbrush in his mouth. "Did you say something?"

"No."

"Oh... gonna get changed?"

"Into what?" she asked. "All I have is your surprise... and you have said you do not wish to have sex tonight."

There was silence, before she heard him gargle and spit. "Are you angry with me?"

"No," she said, her tone of voice clearly indicating she was lying.

"Nothing's ruined, Star. Just postponed."

She humphed at him.

"You can wear my shirt," he called, running the tap.

"Or sleep naked."

The tap squeaked as he shut it off. "Um..."

She stalked into the bathroom and picked up her toothbrush from the toiletries bag, while Robin tracked her movements with his eyes, his mask already removed. She stood beside him and brushed her teeth, keeping her expression mild and disinterested.

He shuffled uneasily and she allowed her eyes to roam across his bare chest. "Star-"

"Tomorrow," she said, dismissive, removing her toothbrush from her mouth to speak. "I will marry you if that is what you want, as long as you are certain. Tonight I will sleep naked beside you and you can imagine what you would have had."

"And will have tomorrow."

She gave him a pointed look. "But not tonight," she said and stuck her toothbrush in her mouth again.

"We can still fool around."

Starfire gave him a bland look in the mirror. Bending down, she spat in the sink, rinsed her mouth out and left her toothbrush on the bench. Thoroughly enjoying the way Robin followed her out of the bathroom, she stripped off her dress and hung it on one of the hangers, then pulled the blankets of the bed down. She hopped in and pulled the blankets back up until they were around her chin.

"Star? Do you want to-"

"Goodnight, Robin," she said resolutely and turned her back to him.

With a sigh, Robin snapped off the light and slipped into bed beside her. Snuggling up to her back, he slid his hand over her stomach, then tugged her so she was curved against him. "I know you're mad at me, but-"

"It will satisfy your 'no sex before marriage' requirement," she grumbled. Why was she not surprised?

"Tell me what's wrong," he persisted.

"You were not supposed to agree. You were supposed to laugh and call me a silly girl."

"Are you protesting for my sake?"

She nodded.

"Because you think I'll regret it?"

She nodded again.

"What if I don't? What if this is absolutely perfect for us?"

"What if it is not? What if it is the stupidest thing we have ever done and it ruins everything."

"It won't be," he promised. "I won't let us ruin what we have."

"Robin-"

"I know I'm being impulsive. I know that. But I'm so tired of being the good boy all the time. Alway thinking things through. Always having a plan. Being cautious. I just want something special, something for us. We'll look back on tomorrow in the future and say 'we did the right thing'. We'll be glad we didn't think it through, turned a wedding into something huge and hard to manage and something neither of us really wanted. This way, even if we have a renewal, we always have something that was just for us."

She sighed. "I am surprised, that is all."

"I know." He propped himself up on his elbow, lifting his hand from her stomach up to her chin to angle it back toward him.

"And that was a most pathetic proposal," she said, pouting.

Robin laughed, his chest bumping against her back. "So that's the real problem."

"Perhaps," she said evasively.

"I'm not one to be overly gushy and romantic."

"A proposal is the one time where you are entitled to be."

"Did you want me to get down on one knee?" he asked, teasing her. "Offer up this huge line of how much I love you and make my life complete and how we'd be so great as a married couple?"

"It would have been nice," she grumbled, pouting again.

Still chuckling he said, "Koriand'r, I love you, would you-"

She whipped around. "X'hal, do not do it now," she complained. "It is already too late."

"It is not," he said as he bumped his face against hers, then rubbed their noses together.

"It is."

"Marry me," he whispered, then kissed her lightly, and Starfire shivered from the husky tone of his voice.

"Richard," she murmured, her palms against his bare chest.

Another kiss, longer, more lingering but still not long enough. "Marry me and make me the happiest man alive."

"Yes," she whispered back, agreeing partly because he'd seduced her into wanting kisses and she needed a proper one, but mostly because she did wish to marry him.

Robin chuckled and kissed her and she allowed herself immerse in his embrace and carried away by his enthusiasm and passion.

TTTTT

Morning arrived faster than Starfire would have liked. Or was prepared for. She rose with the morning sun, wrapped herself in the bathrobe supplied by the hotel and sat on the sofa by the window, opening the curtain just a crack so she could see out it.

A large part of her was afraid that when he opened his eyes, he'd rescind all he'd offered the night before. Another part of her was insanely curious as to what would happen if he didn't.

She wanted to go and have a look at the in-house information guide, she'd seen the types of weddings on offer when she'd been glancing through to look at the pool hours. She wanted to get excited about it, but she couldn't, not until she knew the truth.

She looked at her dual flower ring. Took it off and put it on the correct hand, then back on her left ring finger so many times before she finally left it on the coffee table and headed for the shower. She took her time in getting ready, hoping he'd be awake when she was done. Or he'd join her in the shower perhaps. Once she was ready, she dressed in jeans and a tee and headed back out into the main bedroom.

Robin was sitting up and watching TV with the sound on low. "Hey," he said, smiling at her.

She lingered in the bathroom doorway, watching him. "Greetings."

"Sleep well?"

"Yes. I did." She watched him closely, unsure, as she waited for him to broach the marriage topic.

"Hungry?" he asked. "Main Street Station, it's a hotel just up the street, has a really amazing all-you-can-eat buffet breakfast. We could go."

She nodded, a little disappointed that he didn't seem to remember. She had been so sure... "I would like that."

Robin nodded and threw back the covers. "'Kay, I'll go have a shower."

"Oh. Very well." She watched him fetch some clothes and head into the bathroom. Disappointed and a little sad, she sat down on the end of the bed. From the looks, it was good that they hadn't married on impulse last night. He would certainly have regretted it this morning.

"Are you wearing your swim suit under that?" he asked through the bathroom door.

"No."

"Oh." The shower turned on. "I thought we could come back and try that slide after breakfast."

"That would be nice." She sighed and leant forward, resting her elbows on her knees so she could place her hands over her face.

A hand to her knee. "Want to get married today?"

Starfire's head shot up in surprise while Robin grinned cheekily at her as he knelt before her. "Did you think I'd forget?"

"I..." She really didn't know what to say.

"I meant it."

"You did?"

"Of course."

"Oh."

"So?" he asked.

"So?"

"It's entirely up to you, Star, if you want to get married today or not, or if you want to invite the others, how you want it all to work." He patted her knee then kissed her forehead as he stood. "I'll go shower, you think."

He headed back to the bathroom and Starfire darted straight for the leather bound in-house information guide. She curled up on the sofa and balanced the guide on her knees as she flicked through the pamphlets and advertising.

So many choices. Elvis chapels galore. Drive through weddings. Theme weddings. Helicopter ones. They could even, if they wished, walk into the local courthouse and do it. She didn't know where she should start.

Although, perhaps figuring out if she wanted to get married today would be a good place.

"See anything you like?" Robin asked as he flopped down on the seat beside her, having finished his shower in record time.

She glanced at him, her eyes dropping down immediately to the button shirt which he hadn't bothered to button yet. "Ahh..."

"Elvis, huh?" he asked, nodding at the current pamphlet she was reading. He lifted his arm so he could put it behind her, and ultimately sit closer so he could read what she was reading.

"Oh." So hard to drag her eyes away. "It was an option."

"Those are pretty popular."

"I can tell, there seem to be many."

"So, are we going to get married today, or just go home engaged?"

"Umm..."

"Would you like me to get down on one knee?" he teased.

She smiled at him. "No."

He chuckled, then went silent. Lifting the arm behind her, he brushed hair back over her shoulder, his fingers lingering in the strands as he spoke. "Even if you don't want to get married today, the proposal still stands. I want us to get married. Soon."

She turned her head and studied him. He watched her through veiled eyes, he really did seem to want her to figure this own on her own, decide what she wanted. She raised her hand and touched his face, gently stroking his cheek with her thumb. Placing his hand over hers, he turned his head to kiss her palm then locked his bright blue eyes back on hers.

She loved him. More than she ever had before. It had only been growing and they had been through so much together. Finding a balance between their lives, the Titans. Walking that line between his leadership and their relationship. Growing up and maturing as a couple and it could only get better from here.

She wanted what he wanted. She always had.

She smiled. "Let us do this," she said, finally allowing herself to believe he was serious and they could. "Let us get married today."

He grinned slowly. "Really?"

She nodded.

"Awesome," he said and gave her a hard and fast kiss, full of restrained passion. "So!" he shifted closer to her, looking at the pamphlets. "Did you want to invite the others?"

"Umm... they would possibly never forgive us if we do not."

"Yeah. But if we do invite them, they'll try and talk us out of it."

Starfire nodded. Frankly, the fact that Robin was willing to do something as spontaneous and rash as getting married was something she did not want him talked out of. Except by her. "I do like the sound of a renewal in a few years."

"So, let's just have this for us. Then a renewal can be for everyone else. Less stress."

"X'hal, I should have just allowed you to do this last night," she muttered.

He chuckled, still playing with a strand of her hair. "Yup. But then you wouldn't have known I really meant it. Look, we don't even have to do anything big. We can get dress up nice, wander down to the courthouse and get married in an hour."

"An hour?"

Robin nodded.

"That is all?"

"Vegas was built to elope in." He frowned, extracted his arm so he could lean forward and picked her ring off the coffee table. "What's this doing here?"

"Oh!" she exclaimed, reaching for it but Robin moved it away from her. "I... ahh..."

"Cold feet?" he asked, frowning at her.

She didn't understand. "The temperature of my feet is perfectly adequate-"

"Second thoughts, I mean."

"No. No, I just... I took it off before you woke. I was not certain you would still wish to-"

Robin took her hand and placed the ring back on her finger. It slid halfway down before he paused. "Wait. Do you want this as an engagement ring?" he asked. "Or would you prefer a different ring?"

Starfire blinked. "Um..." she hummed, indecisive.

He gave her a lopsided smile. "I bet they even have flower engagement wedding ring sets."

"They would?"

"There's a jewellery shop downstairs. We could have a look after breakfast. Pick something you like. We like," he amended. "Because I want a ring too."

Starfire nodded.

Robin smiled. "Okay." He slid the ring on all the way and then stood, doing up his shirt. "Keep it there in the meantime. Let's go have some breakfast. We have a lot to talk about."