Tazziel luv 13 : Thanks for reviewing, their are parts near the end I think you'll love.
KaliAnn: I hope you enjoy this chapter just as much
The Keeper of the World: I think you'll enjoy the Rob star talk here.
Dianaluara: I'm gald you loved the last of the flashbacks! I hope you love this chapter to.
Guest: more Robstar feels comeing up!
Chapter 37
"As a matter a fact...yes there is," Robin said with growing excitement, clearly trilled with whatever had just popped into his head. And despite herself, Starfire could feel the twitch of a smile on her mouth, at her young friend's energized features. He was so animated...so alive. She had not been in his acquaintance for a single planetary rotation, and yet somehow she knew Robin wasn't the sort of person to calmly approach life.
No...this young earthen was the type to seize it by throat, and wring it of every drop of fun and joy he could, with such abundant courage, that it would be a crime to call it anything less than fearlessness.
That's a courage I'll never have, she thought absently. But Starfire was snapped out of her pessimistic mood when Robin took hold of her hand.
"Here, follow me," he said with a crooked grin. Charmed, all she could do was nod and follow like he asked, feeling perfectly comfortable in letting him lead her to...well wherever they were going.
She trusted him.
And so it was that the teens left the workout room and padded their way silently down the halls, to a storage area where the Team's vehicles were kept.
Noticing that the small red one bore the same symbol as Robin's uniform, she squeezed on the boy's hand to gain his attention. "Is that one yours?" she inquired curiously. Robin beamed.
"Sure is," he told the Shieldmaiden proudly. "Me and Batman deigned and built her from scratch."
Starfire blinked, taken aback. "Her? Her who?"
Robin sniggered a bit. "No one Star, guys on earth like to refer to their machines as female."
"Oh..." That seem a tad conceited, but she said nothing. Who was she to question earthen ways?
They made their way to the other side if the room, and Robin dropped her hand to active the control panel. Punching in code that she obviously couldn't read (but nevertheless memorized, least it come in handy latter) the door lowered into a ramp, and silver moonlight hit their faces.
Starfire's breath caught in her throat.
"X'hal," she breathed out in an awed whisper.
Y+J
Before them lay an ocean view. Well Starfire assumed it to be a ocean; for all the Shieldmaiden knew it could be a lake. She hoped it was an ocean though, because she had never seen one before and had always longed to.
But ocean or otherwise...it was beautiful. Breathtakingly beautiful. The moonshine had turn the sand pearly white, and the waves sparkled as though diamonds were floating on the water. The sound of the water falling against rock and shore was one of the most relaxing noises she had ever heard.
Without thought her body moved, lifting up into the air to land ankle deep in the surf. Crouching down, she stuck out her hand, sucked in a delighted breath as the cool liquid rushed through her fingers.
'I could spent eternity here,' she thought honestly, wanting nothing more than to freeze time itself.
So distracted was she, that she only noticed Robin's approach when his feet suddenly appeared besides her. Looking up, Starfire bit back a laugh at the self-satisfied smile he wore. Briefly, she exactly thought the cocky little imp would pat himself on the back.
But admittedly, it would be well deserved.
"Well what do you think Star?" he asked her with a grin. "This private enough for you?"
With his arm he made a exaggerated sweep of the surrounding area, and remembering now their purpose in coming out here, the Shieldmaiden glared around as well, with different eyes than before. Before she had looked at the beach with the romanticizing mind-set of a young girl. But now she saw it with the analyzing mind of warrior, which was blind to the beauty and saw only the flaws.
"...Yes," she answered slowly, standing up as she spoke. "It's defiantly private enough...but is it safe for us to be out in the open like this?"
Her worried opinion-along with her concern expression- wiped the smile from Robin's face. Suddenly looking much older than his years, he nodded solemnly, while reaching out and giving her arm a reassuring squeeze.
"Of course it safe- I wouldn't have brought us out here if I thought it wasn't," He told her soberly. "The Cave's right there...and you know what? Why don't we head for the rocks behind me? That way our position would be more protected."
The warrior girl let out a breath she hadn't known she'd been holding, relieved that he was taking her concerns seriously. Quickly, she nodded her head. "Yes, lets," she said.
As soon as they had reached the rocks, the tenseness that had formed in Starfire's muscles began to disappear. Their position was indeed more protect here, more secure. The tall boulders provided the perfect fortress to take refuge in, especially for two slender figures such as Robin and herself. Matter of fact, with his darker uniform, Robin seem to almost disappear.
The boy's bright nature had returned in full force by this point. Laughing a little, he motioned her to follow him again, and like before she consented. He lead her over the slightly slippery slopes to one large, flat rock that sat facing an opening to the broader water. Almost like a island. Here, Robin made a show of back-flipping onto the dry space in the center, and grinned over his shoulder at her when he made it.
As though he had any doubt.
Letting out a soft humm Starfire used her power of flight to float over besides him. When her feet touched the rock, Robin grinned again and dropped to a crouch. To the girl's surprise, he plunged his hand into the water, evidently searching for something. When he found whatever it was his face lit up, and he eagerly reeled in his catch...which turned out to be a fist full of small flat stones.
"Can you make rings?" he asked her with an almost childlike eagerness.
Starfire, for her part, blinked as she went to kneel besides to him. "Rings?" she echoed uncertainty. "What's that?"
Robin looked surprised. "You know, like this-"
To demonstrate, he tossed one flat rock into his free hand. Pulling back his arm, he snapped it forward and released the projectile into the water. Both youths watched as it skimmed the surface, making about ten rings before sinking.
Oh.
"I don't know," Starfire said bemused, leaning back on the heels of her boots. "I've never tried."
That was the truth, the only water Starfire had grown up with the dozen streams that ran through her homeland. There were no stones to skip there. Which was a pity, because it looked like fun.
"Well," Robin said cheerily. "There's no time like the present to learn. Give it a go."
He offered her a rock.
Taking it, Starfire spent a moment adjusting her grip, try to hold it the way her friend had just done. When she thought she had it, she drew back her arm, and threw it forward determinedly. To her credit it did skip and made three rings...
But her aim was been off. Instead of going through the opening, it hit the bolder on the right side...and shattered it.
The resulting noise made both teenagers jump. Robin let out a low whistle and Starfire turned pink.
"Look likes I'm no good at that," she stated meekly, embarrassed. But Robin shook his head in disagreement.
"Sure you are," he argued. "You made rings...we just need to work on your aim. Here try again-"
The next ten or so minutes past in a light and easy manner, the easiest that Starfire had been allowed to have in a long, long time. They took turns throwing rocks, and in that time managed to dramatically improve Starfire's accuracy.
'Rya would have loved this.'
The thought came without warning, so swiftly that Starfire wasn't in anyway prepared for the fury of emotions that burst free within her. Terror, grief, fear, anger...and above all else, love. A love so great that it defied the laws of time and space, and for a moment it was so, so easy to pretend that her brother was here safety besides her.
That they had both been imprisoned in that hell-ship, both escaped to earth...both met the boys who lived here, and help them defend the lizards that threated their home. They both would have been found in that apple field, both would have brought to the mountain. They both would have been tormented by bad dreams, and together would have performed the kata from before as a duet.
(If Robin had been impressed by a single person running through it, Starfire could just picture his face at a double act...)
Then it would be the three of them out here on this rock, and Ry would be so impatience and eager that he would be throwing rocks left and right and making a their fortress into a debris field...he would be right here, with his back to her side.
But when Starfire's hand unconsciously reached to touch Ryand'r's shoulder...she, of course, felt nothing.
Y+J
When the peaceful silence was broken by the small whimper, Robin was complied to turn his head to check on his companion, and not a moment to soon. His eyes going wide at wretched expression on her face, he sat up like he had been zapped. "Starfire what's wrong?" he asked, feeling most definitely whelmed by the sudden change in the girl's emotion.
Not to mention worried.
She had been perfectly happy a minute ago...what had she thought of that could cause such...devastation, for lack of a better word?
Upon hearing his voice, Starfire's body jerked slightly,as though she had been yanked out of a dark place where no one should ever be forced to stay, while one hand flew up to swip at her eye.
Quickly, she shook her head. "Nothing Robin...it's nothing."
If this was nothing, than Robin was King of the Gypsies.
"It's not nothing if it can do this to you," he argued, shaking his head. "It's okay, there's nobody here but me, and I won't tell a soul...I promise. That's why we came out here isn't it?"
For a moment there was silence again, as the alien-girl mused about what he had said.
Then she spoke.
"...I was thinking about my brother."
Her voice was very low and quiet...Robin almost couldn't hear her. "Your brother, you have a brother?" the boy asked her, just to be sure.
"Yes."
"Older or younger?"
"...Younger," she murmured, wincing as she said this. "He's only ten years old- he was captured with me in the raid a-and at first we were imprison together...that alone made it bearably. But when I was to be sent to the Citadel, he remained a slave on our homeworld. I don't know what happen to him. I don't have the slightest clue."
By the time she finished this speech, she was crying again; silence controlled tears that dutiful made their way down her face, while the rest of her trembled so violently, Robin honestly thought she was going to fall apart at the seams. His stomach twisting in sympathy, he moved without conscious thought and closed the small space between them. Following his instincts, he began to rub small, quick circles on her upper back in an attempt to give comfort.
While she didn't pull away or reject his touch...she didn't exactly lean into it either. Hunched over, she pressed her fist to her mouth and closed her eyes, trying to regain control over herself.
"Was this what your nightmare was about?" the Boy Wonder asked her softly.
Starfire nodded slowly. "Yes...in part. It was also about the people I knew and loved. It was such a bloody raid Robin...most of them are probably dead. That knowledge is hard enough to bare on it's own. But my brother...I'm his older sibling. It was my duty to watch over him. If anything befalls him it's on my head-"
"No it's not," Robin interrupted firmly. "It may feel that way but it's not. If anything happen to your brother than it's no ones fault expect the person who did it...and who say's anything happen to him anyways? If he's anything like you, he may have escape."
Starfire blinked, and Robin realized from the way hope sprung into her eyes that the warrior girl hadn't considered that possibility.
For both their shakes he hoped his words didn't come back to bite them in the ass.
"You may be right about that...that he escape," Starfire said longingly (God, he really hoped this didn't come back to bite them). "But if my brother did, then it wouldn't be because he like me."
"Why would you say that?"
Here a bitter smile carved it's way onto the Shieldmaiden's lovely face. "Because I'm weak. Rutha. So weak that I couldn't see what was right under our noses, and lead us into a trap-"
"Starfire..." Robin said in total disbelief. "Your the furthest thing from weak there is...you proved that today-"
"I am not talking about physical strength here Robin," the young alien said weary. "Or physical weakness-"
"Good, because neither am I," the boy interrupted stubbornly. "I've never put much stock into physical might...if I had, I wouldn't be in this gig. No, to be a regular human on this Team you need a strong will. So I know one when I see it. You are not weak. A weak person wouldn't have risked her neck to save K.F."
Y+J
Starfire shook her head. The boy simply didn't understand. "I wish I could believe you..."
"Here give me your hand," Robin said suddenly, his face lighting up with a new idea.
Baffled by this seemingly random turn of events, she stared at him. "Why?" she asked, totally confused as to what he was doing. Unconsciously, she curled her hands into fists.
He smiled at her.
"Trust me."
Well she had so far...and her new friend had yet to disappoint her. She held out her left hand-the non tear-stained one. "But what are you going to do?"
The boy grinned. "I'm going to read it."
Starfire immediately went wide eyed. "You know how to do that?"
"Sure do," he told her brightly, taking her hand in his own. "I learned when I was small, back when I still lived with my people-"
But as soon as he said this he immediately clammed up, the whites of his mask widening a little, and Starfire knew then that his joy had made him loose with his tongue. Not wanting him to dwell on that, she asked him what he saw.
Recovering, he was more than happy to take the opening she made for him.
"Well, lets see then...you got long life-line," Here he ran his finger between her thumb and index downwards towards her wrist.(And Starfire found herself relived that it was dark out-that way, he might not see how her cheeks were redden).
"...a nice head-line...and hey, it connects to your heart-line."
"What does that mean?" Starfire asked. "Is that a good thing or bad thing?"
Robin gave her a small smile. "Depends on how you look at it...it means that when you love someone, you love them with all you got. Even beyond reason."
"Oh," Starfire said softly. "...I think I can live with that."
Robin chucked. "Good to know."
He then allowed an exaggerated experssion of puzzlement to cross his handsome features. "Huh, that's funny...I don't see any..."
The girl could feel her pusle speed up. "Don't see any what?"
"Weakling lines," her friend answered, his smile containing a rare sincerity. "I don't see any weakling lines...not a single one."
As he spoke, he carefully folded her fingers into a fist and nuged it into her chest-just over her heart, and Starfire found herself blinking back tears of a very different sort. How funny life was...back on Tamaran, the finest jewels couldn't have made her feel so worthwhile...so how was it that the words of one boy could make her feel like a goddess?
Once she had gotten herself under control, she met Robin's gaze and found it easy to imagine a pair of kind, warm eyes under his mask. Carefully, she allowed her lips to turn-up into her signature hearth fire smile. It was the greatest gift she could give him at that moment.
"...Thank you," she whispered.
Reviews make me happy, so tell me what you thought and i'll update sooner!
Well, how was that? I tried hard to keep their inaction naturely and realistic...did I do a good job?