Starfire was acting strange, or as strange as an alien with a mild addiction to mustard and cat videos could be. I had taken her off of house arrest so she had spent a lot of time outside the tower. Though she assured me it was purely social reasons. It would not surprise me with all of her own political training via being royalty that she could stage a coup for Titan leadership, but I trusted her loyalty to me. Though after our last fight at the Matchbox she seemed a little more distant at first. She was still there whenever I needed her and she was her bubbly self around others. It was just whenever we were alone an extra edge would enter the room. Like there was something she wanted to say, but never did. It made a lot of our conversations falter and stagger more than normal. Part of this was also due to the fact her English was noticeably better. It often caught me off guard when I would catch a word that would not of come out of her mouth before. I guess more lip contact meant more vocabulary and syntax uptake. Most of the time this edge could be fixed by sparring. I was starting to have her fight me at Ember's level, but I knew she still held even more back. I had taken her up on the idea of the Escrima sticks. I had even had a taser like charge feature in the works. She had been less excited to be the test subject for that, but incredibly encouraging about the idea.
I had dedicated a board in my room to tracking point totals and other details to the fights. Starfire added her post it notes when she had a memory or observation to add though she had not watched all of the rounds last week going through so many of her own outside the ring. I had been trying to think of the proper cover crime for Fallen, but none had truly felt right. I could always rob something from Wayne Enterprises, but that would be a phone call I rather not have. Though this week I did make sure to attend to Titan business if I was not going to be coming up with more details to my Fallen persona. It also was nice to be able to check in on Starfire when she was gone. She had checked out to be telling the truth every time I had tested, but her agency to create Ember still had me checking her actions more than I had before. Though from talking to all of the core Titan teams I could sense that there was a desire to have a Titan camping trip of sorts while it was summer. I had a feeling that may have been Starfire's influence, but it was a good plan for team building and a mini vacation. I left it open for discussion and told them to send potential locations and dates that would be preferable. I had already axed weekends and Fridays due to higher numbers of civilians. I doubted it would be an issue, but always safe to not get mobbed by hero fans. Plus it left Fridays open with no further questions.
I had also spent some more time with my team. Raven and I had managed a few rounds of chess and conversation. She was done with the overwhelming hot days and sunburns, and was wanting for fall to come. I had trained with Beast Boy more than normal. He had not been stoked about the earlier wake up call, but it was good for him to practice with a variety of animal forms. I also joined in playing video games with him and Cyborg in the evenings. It was the perfect cover so they wouldn't suspect what I got into on Fridays. Though I realized that they assumed I had a different activity with how many jokes Cyborg threw around implying what me and Starfire were up to. I occasionally corrected him, but it was a losing battle. I didn't know where we stood right now either.
It had been too much for me to listen and know all that had happened in the club last Friday. I was going to ditch my loner strategy since unfortunately it wasn't working that great at getting the more important details such as confession to crimes or battle strategy. Plus it wasn't really helping my persona to be so unknown and closed off. Fallen wasn't notorious enough to pull it off. It's not like anyone approached me, but I hadn't approached anyone either. Though everyone took Ember's story at face value enough. Red X seemed sold enough… maybe he didn't understand some accessories were sold separately though. Fallen and Ember were connected now through her being the only one that had known me prior. It had been a good link to my time in Gotham to say I wasn't from around Jump. She would be a good politician if the time and need arose.
I doubted Red X was ready to be all buddy buddy after our last altercation so I assumed that meant I would probably need to better align myself with Ember in a light that wasn't just yanking her out of the club. I could go from there and give better signals to say it was okay to not let people push her. We could have each other's backs instead of her picking up what I couldn't. Equality. It would also mean I could keep an eye on her acting with Red X.
She was off with Aqualad exploring Atlantis. I was just grateful she was seeing other people besides Argent, Aqualad wouldn't train her to roast or swear at me. He was a safer Titan in my opinion since unlike Speedy he hadn't hounded her with pick up lines or other unnecessary complications right now. He just satisfied her curiosity about the ocean and had someone that hadn't heard all his fish jokes a hundred times.
I was tempted to go through her notebook again while she was away, but I wanted to trust that the recording and her already provided notes were enough. She had taken the list of movie recommendations and The Drawing and likely added them to the journal as well. It was interesting what she had glued or included in her journals from random labels to receipts when I had first snooped. Though the untranslated bits did get my interest, but those would remain a mystery unless she decided to change that. I knew Cyborg had learned some Tamaranian, but I didn't think he would be 100% down to invade Starfire's privacy either.
Though in the mean time I enjoyed my time alone in the bar room where I had decided to go a little different way. I had gone through the extra trouble of installing a silk hammock from the ceiling to try and do the aerial movements. It had been some time since I had done any routines or tricks, but it was helpful in getting used to flexibility and changing positions while being suspended from the air. I had stayed low remembering all the foot wraps and ways to control the movements before climbing a good ten feet into the air and letting myself fall only for my wrapping to catch me a foot from the ground. At least my technique was still strong. Once confident I wouldn't fall without my safeties catching me, I started to try out some of the more complicated positions and incorporate movement. If done properly the hammock could imitate flight pretty well. It was one of the many reasons this was one of the most fun techniques in trapeze and aerial arts. Plus the techniques were quite useful in relaxing certain muscles using gravity and allowing for deeper stretches. I could almost sleep upside down in some of the positions. I climbed all the way up to raise the height of the entire hammock so the bottom was a few inches above my height so I would not injure my head doing a few of the more inverted poses. I was locked in stag pose when Starfire entered the gym. Her hair was braided at the base of her skull instead of at the crown of her head which gave her a less severe look. Though from the sundress she was wearing I knew that she had just gotten home from her day in the ocean.
"Hello, Cyborg said you were in here and I assumed you may wish to spar." She said and placed her backpack down by the door.
"Nah, I just wanted to hang out." I said and she giggled as I swung back and forth. The awkwardness hadn't settled in the room so I wanted to keep it light.
"That does seem fun." She said as she started to free her hair. It came out wavier than normal.
"Want to come up?" I asked and readjusted my legs so that I could have the grounding to lift her up.
"I would love to." She said and started to fly up.
"No, let me get you. I'll show you how to do this properly." I said since I did want to see if I could mimic the partner moves. She sunk down until her feet were planted on the ground and held up her wrist for me to catch. I gained some momentum before making contact and wrapping my hands around her wrists and bending my knees to lift her off the ground. Though she was lighter than I expected. "No floating, that's cheating." I said and I felt her relax and increase in needed resistance to counterbalance her. I shimmied my legs slightly higher up the silks and used her body to increase our arc distance. I shifted her into one hand and increased our speed by tucking in my legs. This allowed her to raise up to nearly parallel with me. No flight abilities required. She was smiling and her hair was trailing behind her. Her legs fell into the proper positioning with toes pointed and a foot pressed into her knee. Eventually my muscles demanded a break so I tucked my head to my chin and shifted myself head up. I pulled Starfire up to the hammock. She gripped the material as I adjusted my holds to let the silk be a simple swing. I sat down before pulling her down onto me before unfurling the fabric so it was a true cocoon around us. The blue material blocked out most of the light, but her eyes lit up quickly to accommodate.
"That was quite fun!" She emoted and adjusted the fabric so that her legs were not falling out. "I have never seen you do that before."
"I agree. I haven't done that in a while and it can be more fun to do it with a partner." I said and shifted the fabric out farther so it could act as a sleeping hammock. It was a bit of a tighter fit with two people, but she followed my shoves and angling. "It was one of the first tricks my mother taught me to do."
"It is beautiful. Even more so knowing it means something. It is important to remember the skills of our parents." She said and stretched herself out beside me both submerged in the darkness. I knew she could see me, but all I could focus on was her eyes and the shadow of her cheekbones. This was something a little more intimate than I had shared with the general Titans. They knew I was born and initially raised in a circus, but details about my parents and the routines were a little more sacred. Though Starfire had shared some of those details about herself with me so it seemed more fair.
"Like the Melon dance?" I asked and she wiggled her hips imitating some of the moves while making the hammock move like a worm. All while laughing. Yeah I would be able to know that sound anywhere.
"Exactly, thank you for sharing this, Robin." She said and suddenly she closed her eyes and the little cocoon I had made went dark. "This is actually quite comfortable."
"I have fallen asleep in one of these many times." I said and reclined next to her pulling her up against me so that she wouldn't accidentally fall out. It was quite easy and not a great way to wake up.
"They have versions of these for camping correct?" She asked and I saw the glow return to the space between us. I shook my head at her unknowing admission to being behind the camping scheme.
"Yes, but this version is cooler." I said and shifted our weight so we could rock gently in the air.
"I shall trust you, it appears as you are very much so an expert." She said and she laid her head on my chest over my heart.
"You took to it quite well." I said and let my hands mess with her slightly textured hair. She smelled like the ocean air which made complete sense.
"Flight comes easy to those meant to be in the air. You have always been a wonderful passenger when I fly." She said though it was a little muffled.
"I'm assuming Cyborg isn't." I said knowing that a big reason behind his T car investment and build was based upon his desire to move quickly and independently.
"I don't think he minds the speed, but he is not a natural in the air. It's harder for him to move freely. He freezes and his heart panics. From your heartbeat you could sleep up here. Though heart beats can easily change." She kept an ear at my chest, but her eyes were directed at me. Her tone indicated that she was up to something.
"What do you mean?" Yeah heart beats were variable depending upon action and stress, but I wanted to know what she was implying.
"We have games on Tamaran that help us control our heartbeats so we can make ourselves calm down or resist panic in battle. I was curious if humans did something similar." She said and then a hand moved to feel my pulse.
"We focus more on deep breaths for that purpose." I said since that was part of every martial art I learned to ensure you had proper breathing. The brain needs air to think though it can act without it.
"Do you think you could have control over yours?" She asked and then she lifted her head completely off my chest looking at me directly.
"I don't know." I said and knew that my heart beat had picked up at that question. It was a challenge she was throwing my way. I was a little wary since I was under the impression Tamaranians played rough, but I trusted her to know my limits.
"Maybe we should test it. On Tamaran we have a different word we say, but stop will end the game." She said and then I felt her float upwards.
"What is the game?" I asked not sure what she was doing. I liked knowing the rules of a game before I played.
"I will try to raise your pulse while you try and lower it. Just say stop and the game will be over." She said and her hand that had been on my throat moved down to my heart. Though the rest of her except the bottom of her skirt had left contact. Then her eyes the only source of light in this whole situation closed extinguishing all I had to read her features. I tried to focus on making my heart settle and taking some deep breaths, but not knowing what she was doing and not being able to see made me on guard. It felt a bit like a standoff.
"Robin I have done nothing, and your pulse has increased." She said her lips much closer to my ear than it had been before.
"What are you going to do?" I asked since the anticipation could be more effective than anything she was going to try. Though the answering giggle was instant proof I was wrong.
"Nothing bad, though remember to say stop." She said and then I felt her other hand climb into my hair. She ran her hand from scalp to longer than normal tip. I hadn't gotten a hair cut even though styling was trickier at this length. She always made sure to compliment it which made me hesitant to make the appointment. That was actually soothing so I felt my pulse decrease as I focused on getting I to calm. Though then her fingers moved down to the side of my face. She had reopened her eyes so light had entered back into our fabric cave. She just watched as her finger started to hover over features of my face. They didn't actually make contact, but were close enough to trigger sensations. I tried on focusing on controlling my heart beat, but then she made contact tracing the outer edges of my mask. That made me very nervous since all it would take was a quick tug for her to remove it. She made two figure eights over the skin surrounding my eyes before I felt a cool breathe blow next to my ear. Her eyes were closed again stealing the light which made such a small gesture have a big impact. I twitched and tried to remain calm, but that was when she resettled her self above me. Once again she hovered just above me not touching but so close. I felt my breath bounce back from her face and knew she was above me in the darkness. The hand that had been at my heart suddenly moved up to cup the back of my head while her thumb stayed locked on my pulse.
"May I?" She asked her lips barely above mine. Though between my attempts to zone out to calm my heart and my nerves going crazy I could not find the right commands to say anything. Her hand by my face toyed with the end of my mask. I tried to think to ask her what she was asking for, but moments past without words. Was she asking for a kiss or to remove my mask? I didn't know what to say for either one. Though my pulse went wild.
"Stop." She said as I continued to not know how to form words Then suddenly she completely detangled herself from me and moved the curtains of the hammock to let in light. She jumped out. It was painful at first to see so much light though my eyes adjusted quickly as I looked outward to see where she had landed quite a ways beneath me.
"Starfire what happened?" I asked since I was hella confused. Had I done something wrong? I went to fix my hair as I stared down at her.
"You forgot to say stop but your heart beat was too fast. So I said it for you." That was not completely untrue though I had been unsure if I had wanted the game to stop. I wasn't so confident that removing my mask or kissing Starfire was the right thing to do right now either.
"Thank you, I think that means I lost." I said and tried to not read too deep into her wince. I started to move so I could extract myself from the hammock.
"Big time. Though to be expected for your first time. Though the normal way to play is with a knife, but I doubt you would have approved." She said and flew up ready to catch me, but it was unnecessary. I landed with a healthy bend in my knees.
"You're right. Not being able to see or know what you were doing was enough." I said and scratched the back of my neck trying to scratch away the itch of unease that had settled.
"Though you know I would not hurt you?" She asked and tilted her head and I almost wished she hadn't stopped. Maybe a kiss would make all this tension go way if she hadn't stopped.
"I know, but Starfire…" I didn't know what to say. She could hurt me with no effort. I could also hurt her if I let us cross that line. I needed to keep us below the point of no return.
"It is okay. We do not have to do a game like that again." She said when I didn't have anything to say further. " I quite liked the hammock can we do that again sometime?"
"Of course. I might set up another since there is more you can do with two with two people." I said and thought about how a green one would look in the room.
"Glorious, can they be moved when we spar? I would hate for any damage to occur to them."
"Yeah I'll tie them up before. Would you be down to do that after 10? I was thinking we might want to talk about the rules I laid out. I think I made them a little too strict and that if we don't adjust you'll get….well like last week." I said not really having the right word. I had not braced for the sweeping Starfire hug so we both ended up on the floor when she went for me.
"Thank you." She said simply and I felt her pulse and it was far from slow. She righted us quickly and I was envious of how easy it was for her to just say what she felt.
"Of course, you know I would never make a rule that would intentionally hurt you right?" I asked and then I was a little concerned about her lack of immediate answer. She kept hugging me and therefore preventing me from reading her face.
"Your intentions are always in the right place." She said in the end. Though it was far from enthusiastically said. "May we go out for dinner?" She asked as I was let go.
"Sure go invite the team. I think I might need a shower." I said and then she nodded and flew out. I slammed my head against the door a few times before leaving myself for that shower. Maybe it would just be simpler to get this out of our systems or it would ruin everything. With all the risks I was taking with the fight club, I was hesitant to add another.