Title: Lovestruck – Mumbo
Rating: T
Word Count: 7,864
Summary: Mumbo had always been more of a nuisance than real adversary, but he's got a new trick up his sleeve that proves to be heartbreaking. RobStar oneshot
Okay, this was in no way meant to be so long, but once I started writing I realized in order to not make it cheesy and overplayed, it needed to be fleshed out to its fullest potential...so 7,000+ words fell out and here we are. Enjoy, I guess?
TTTTTTTTTTTT
"In amorem incideris"
At the wave of Mumbo's wand a flash of pink light struck a surprised Robin.
"Where did Mumbo learn a love spell?" Raven mused to the green shapeshifter at her side.
"Dunno, do you think it actually did anything?" Beast Boy responded watching Robin, 100 ft ahead of them, barrel through and grab Mumbo by the shirt collar before promptly handcuffing the blue-gray man.
Raven shrugged in response. Love spells were hard to master and even more tricky to execute since part of the response depended on the willingness of the target and Robin would likely be a very unwilling victim. Though at the moment it was largely immeasurable since Starfire and Cyborg were responding to a different alert across town and Robin had no external change in behavior.
Robin's communicator chimed and Cyborg's booming voice came through the speaker and from the wind noises in the background it was clear he was in the T car.
"You want us to join the party over there?"
"Mumbo's in custody. Head home and we'll meet you there. I'm guessing things went well with Killer Moth?"
Cyborg gave an affirmative response before disconnecting the call.
"Robin, do you feel alright?" Raven asked curiously as they caught up to the dark haired leader.
"I'm fine. It's not like Mumbo even got any real hits in." Robin replied with confusion.
"Just that last spell…" Beast Boy added intending for the comment to be made inaudible to their leader, but soft muttering wasn't BB's strong suit.
"It didn't seem to do anything. I don't know what his aim was, but he fell short of the target." Robin contemplated carefully.
TTTTTTTTTTTTT
"I kinda feel like we should have given the others a heads up." Beast Boy quietly nudged Raven in the elevator starting a muted conversation out of Robin's audible range.
"You want to open that issue if in actuality it did nothing?" Raven deadpanned.
"I mean no, but I've seen love spells on cartoons. He's not going to be affected around us; you're like a sister to him and I'm pretty sure he's not into good-looking dudes." Beast Boy teased.
"Yes...and children's television is the best source for information on one of the hardest to master classes of spells." Raven snorted, "It's more likely Mumbo just messed it up. He's not exactly a top spellcaster."
"I'm just saying we should have at least warned Starfire."
"So she can be disappointed when he shuts himself in the evidence room to finish up the paperwork for the rest of the day...You're not the one who has to hear about it." Raven grumbled.
"...if he starts acting all lovey-dovey and we didn't give her a heads up –" Beast Boy started before being cut off by the elevator door opening.
"Friends!" Starfire exclaimed floating towards them.
"Yo give me the play by play on how ya'll kicked Mumbo's ass" Cyborg called from the kitchen.
"It's going to hurt her worse…" Beast Boy's finished his thought flatly as the team witnessed the second unprompted, unexpected kiss between Robin and Starfire, though this one at his initiation.
"Um...What has happened?" Starfire asked in confusion as the kiss ended. Robin remained at her side with an arm wrapped comfortably around her waist.
"I feel like it's pretty normal to miss my girlfriend." Robin sheepishly replied.
"But I am not –" Starfire began to protest before being cutoff by Raven.
"Excuse us for one moment." Raven cut in grabbing Starfire from Robin's arm.
"What's going on with Star? Did everything go alright with Killer Moth?" Robin asked Cyborg in confusion.
"What's going on with Star? Dude you come in and just kiss her out of the blue and claim she's your girlfriend now...What's going on with you?!" Cyborg exasperated.
"Come on, She and I have been dating since we were stranded on that hostile planet. You verbally acknowledged she was my girlfriend then. Your memory is slipping Cyborg...Might be time for an upgrade on some of your software." Robin shrugged nonchalantly grabbing an apple off the counter.
"Mumbo hit him with some kind of love spell." Beast Boy whispered to Cyborg who was looking about ready to pummel Robin over the upgrade comment.
"Well a heads up would have been nice." Cyborg grumbled. "Spiky haired, little idiot insists I update my software when he's the one who's lost his damn mind."
TTTTTTTTTT
"Raven, what has happened to Robin?" Starfire concernedly queried.
"Apparently Mumbo is a better spellcaster than I thought." Raven sighed, "he struck Robin with some kind of love spell...and now apparently Robin thinks you're romantically involved."
"How do we fix things? He cannot simply remain stuck like this…" Starfire ranted worriedly slipping into exasperated Tamaranian as she fretted.
"Until I have a chance to figure out what the spell is and how to reverse it, I need you to go along with it. We don't know how closely his grasp on reality is tied to this, and we can't begin to break down the fact that you're not really dating without risking loosening his mental clarity on other things as well." Raven apologetically exhaled.
"I understand."
Starfire cast her eyes down. A relationship with Robin was an endeavor she'd long pursued, however knowing it wasn't real and having to play along anyway made her slightly nauseous.
Raven's communicator chimed and Cyborg's annoyed voice sounded through the speaker.
"Rae, we've got a minor problem. Robin has himself convinced that he and Starfire have been dating for over two years...Make of that what you will."
"Raven, how does this affect the problem?" Starfire nervously probed noticing the already pale girl's face lighten in shade.
"Well...shit." Raven deadpanned in mild annoyance.
"Raven, I do not understand."
"There are stages to a Tamaranian relationship, right? Behaviors and affections that build up over time?"
"Yes, I believe that is a common occurrence, though they are largely unknown to me given my role was not afforded such freedoms of casual courtship."
"Mumbo apparently just dropped you two years into a nonexistent relationship. I'm sure Robin is respectful of boundaries, but he's having a hard time with reality and you just got stuck on fast forward." Raven sarcastically droned.
"I have a confession to make, you and the others may be unaware, but I have long maintained the feelings for Robin...Though I am saddened that it is not real to him, I do not think I will find it difficult to accept and reciprocate the physical affection he may share with me."
Raven raised an eyebrow in response.
"Starfire, honestly I think every person in Jump City is aware of your feelings for Robin, except for maybe Robin himself. That being said, please understand you have the absolute right to tell Robin no if any behavior he's exhibiting as affection is beyond your comfort zone."
"And if he doesn't respond well to that, I will gladly pulverize him," Cyborg's protective threat rang out over the forgotten communicator call.
"Thank you friends, though I am not especially concerned. Tamaranians are often more indulgent in their tendencies towards the physical." Starfire flushed red as she spoke.
"There's one more thing I'd like to caution you on...When we find a way to reverse or break this, he may retain all the memories or he may not remember anything. I want to prepare you for either outcome. It's probably best if he doesn't remember, though that's not a promise I can make given I don't know the exact nature of the spell." Raven lowered her head in quiet apology. Though she was in no way to blame for her friend and teammate's predicament, it would take time to figure out how to reverse the damage and some damage would remain irreversible.
Starfire nodded somberly before exiting Raven's room.
TTTTTTTTTTTTT
"Friend Cyborg, have you seen Robin?" Starfire quietly asked when she entered the common room.
"He went to log the evidence and write up the report. Are you really sure you want to seek him out?" Cyborg asked incredulously.
"It is best we find out as much information as we can about the current situation while the sun is still readily overhead. Raven may work on the reversal, but I am capable of gathering the intel." Starfire plastered a fake smile on her face. She didn't really want to seek Robin out, but part of her longed for this even if it was just playing pretend for a short while.
"If you need backup, you just have to call." Cyborg insisted.
"Thank you friend, but Robin and I have spent exorbitant amounts of time together before this happened. I feel I can read him well normally. He merely caught me off guard at the door." Starfire shrugged in an attempt at nonchalance while quickly exiting the room.
Beast Boy and Cyborg shared a confused shrug and resumed playing their videogames.
TTTTTTTTTT
"Star!" Robin's face brightened at her entrance into the evidence room. "I just need to finish some documentation, but I can come find you when I'm done."
Starfire released the breath she'd been holding. At least this was characteristic of Robin's normal behavior; his first duty would always be to the job. Though a tiny piece of Starfire's mind had to admit she enjoyed his willingness to maker her of importance as well.
"Do you mind if I stay? I promise not to disturb you. I could just use some quiet company." Starfire offered a small plea.
"Of course. The other's have you feeling like you're suddenly under a microscope as well, I'm guessing." Robin shrugged turning back to his files.
Starfire merely nodded and took a silent seat on top of a filing cabinet in the corner, closing her eyes as she settled in. Too many thoughts whirred through her mind. He would be hurt if he remembered this and felt like he pressured her. He might be scared off entirely from ever pursuing a relationship with her if things went horribly. Or...the tiny nagging voice in her mind edged in...or, he may actually find he likes it.
A while later a gentle gloved hand nudged her arm and she found herself roused from her tumultuous stream of thoughts.
"Sorry to interrupt, but I'm done with the reports for tonight." Robin said with a lopsided grin.
Starfire blinked her emerald eyes at him. She had gone too far down the anxiety ridden rabbit hole of what ifs and was still completely unprepared for the reality before her.
"Want to get out of the tower for a bit? I could use some air." Robin asked earnestly.
She merely nodded and let him lead her to the garage by the hand.
"You're being awfully quiet, Star, is everything alright?" Robin's concerned tone reminded her that she had to keep up the act for his sanity's sake.
"It is nothing. I am merely a bit homesick at the moment." Starfire tried to brush off his concern.
He regarded her carefully. She worked extra hard to make her face look convincing, though she knew he could easily read her. They stepped into the elevator together and his masked eyes narrowed.
"It's the others, isn't it? They're making you feel weird about things too? I swear you'd think they had no idea about us. But I know we've told them. I mean we had to have told them…" Robin clutched his head in discomfort. A fog overtook his brain as he struggled to find the memories his mind was desperate for.
Starfire placed a hand on his shoulder and felt him visibly relax at her touch.
His masked eyes met her wide emerald orbs and then when she felt eye contact would betray her, she moved quickly to embrace him, hiding her pained face over his shoulder.
"At least this feels normal," relief rang through in Robin's voice, "I can't put my finger on it, but something just isn't right."
"Well, I can assure you, my feelings for you have not changed." Starfire deflected.
He kissed her cheek in response before offering her the spare helmet to the R-cycle.
"I'm lucky to have you." Robin calmly stated as they road out into the early evening.
Starfire felt immensely grateful at the darkened visor tint on her helmet that hid her watery eyes. She wanted to hear things like this so badly; it hurt to think that it was just a terrible magician's trick.
TTTTTTTTTTT
Robin had no plan other than getting some space from the team, but the matched rumbling of their stomachs reminded him they'd forgone dinner for this bit of escape. He parked the R-cycle at the edge of parking lot of a tiny diner on the outskirts of town and grabbed her hand after a moment's hesitation.
Starfire had noticed as time had gone on in their friendship Robin had always been more hands on with her than the others, but she thought that was merely something he was doing as a comfort to her, given her people's need for contact in closeness. Though she realized the hesitant moment before he actually grabbed her hand was not a newly exhibited behavior; she had just never seen the outcome he was hesitating on. How much contact had Robin craved from her and denied himself out of fear of messing things up? Perhaps her feelings had not been purely one-sided prior to Mumbo's interference, as she'd often speculated.
They ordered burgers and milk shakes and chatted easily in the booth which served as their personal bit of privacy tucked away from the bustling world. Somehow things just felt right in the world, until a call from Raven brought the contented alien back to reality.
"Where are you?" Raven asked curiously noticing the subway tile on the wall behind Starfire's face.
"I am with Robin...on what I think might be a date?" Starfire mumbled in response from the diner bathroom.
"Star, you're going to end up hurting yourself if you put too much emotional investment into this." Raven cautioned.
"Just tell me you are close to figuring out how to reverse the spell." Starfire evasively replied.
"I can't find it in any of the magic texts I have, I think we're going to have to have a discussion with Mumbo about where he got this spell. When will you be back?" Raven asked.
"Truthfully, I do not know. Dinner is over, but Robin seems rather relieved to be away from the tower for now."
"Well shut it down and bring him home. You want him to get back to normal, don't you?" Raven cautioned.
Starfire's darting eyes and hesitant voice finally forced out a reluctant response.
"Yes. I will convince us to return to the tower."
"Remember, this isn't real. He's under a spell. While he may have real feelings for you, you don't want to feel like he was manipulated into a relationship with you, right?" Raven reminded her before disconnecting the call.
Starfire sadly returned to the table and let Robin know it was time to return to the tower.
"Robin." Starfire cautiously spoke as they exited the diner.
"Yeah Star?"
"I am...sorry." Her voice came out as a whisper and she thought he may not have even heard her, but a confused tilt of his head as he turned his full attention to her, proved the contrary.
"For what?"
"I am being selfish. And I fear that in a few days you may be angry with me for it...So I am just sorry now. Sorry I cannot do more to fix things." Starfire mumbled, tears threatening to break the damn in her eyes.
Robin's hands on her face forced her to make eye contact with him driving her emotions further into the broken expanse she'd been damning up.
"Starfire, what are you talking about?" Robin perplexedly asked.
"I am just enjoying this time with you and I worry that you will have the regrets once the Mumbo's spell is reversed…" Starfire mumbled crumpling to a seated position on the grass in front of the R-cycle.
"Mumbo's spell didn't do anything." Robin reassured.
"Do you remember how we started, or anything about us in a more than friends capacity?" Starfire asked. She didn't want to break her own heart, but it was better for her to start the healing process now. And Raven was right, she was being reckless with not only her heart, but his. To hurt him now would save hurt later she reasoned.
"I...can't remember the details…but I know I've had feelings for you since the moment I met you. We didn't date...because we couldn't date, but then something happened and we could...so we did? Only it's all fuzzy. Like I know all these things, I just can't get a clear picture of it." Robin groaned holding onto his head and willing the answers to appear. Eventually he gave up and took a seat next to Starfire on the grass.
"It is not real. I wish it to be, but I cannot lie to you." Starfire gave him a sad smile.
"No." He softly responded, "This is confusing, sure, but it's real. I know how I feel."
In an effort to convince himself Robin pulled Starfire into a desperate kiss. She found her back pressed into the soft earth as he lingered over her. And despite the control she fought to maintain, it was a lost effort. If it was only a harm to her, she was sure she would have continued meeting his plea for hungry kisses, but the thought of his delayed pain brought her to reality once more. The disappointment in Robin's face was clear as she pulled back and stood to place the spare helmet over her head, once more using the tinted visor to shied her emotional response.
"We need to go home." Starfire flatly spoke.
In a bit of a dazed confusion, Robin followed her lead and started the R-cycle.
TTTTTTTTTT
Raven was waiting in the ops room when they returned. She could feel the anxiety and awkwardness radiating off the teens like a bad summer camp romance. Raven moved to intercept Starfire and led the defeated girl back to her room.
"You're staying in here tonight." Raven admonished the alien. "I think you're a little too close to the situation and whatever happened out there was not good. His mind is fragmenting."
"I am sorry...This is more difficult than I anticipated, and I do not wish to lie to him."
"Like it or not, you're going to have to lie to him. Those seeds of doubt you're trying to plant in his mind have the potential to destroy him."
Starfire hung her head in a small display of shame.
"I would really rather be alone right now," Starfire mumbled.
"I'm sorry Starfire, but when it comes to Robin, you can't be trusted to be alone right now." Raven's voice softened. She understood, this wasn't something Starfire had asked for either, but the easiest way to contain the situation was keeping the red head out of Robin's reach.
TTTTTTTTTTTT
"So your date didn't go so well, huh?" Cyborg prodded when Robin took a seat on the couch where Cyborg and Beast Boy were still heavily invested in a racing vidoegame.
"I think she wants to break up with me." Robin sighed sinking into the cushion.
"That bad of a date, huh?" Beast Boy joked receiving a glare from Robin in response.
"She just seems distant. Maybe none of this is real...I'm missing so many pieces and I can't remember things that I feel like I would...but then it's all just fine when I'm around her. And my feelings haven't changed." Robin mused aloud trying to sort through his own confusion.
"I dunno man, maybe your feelings haven't changed because you liked her before all this. Occam's razor, right?" Cyborg offered.
"The simplest answer is likely to be the truth...I know that, but if she and I aren't dating then I kind of feel like a jerk about the physical stuff I can remember." Robin pondered.
"What do you mean?" Beast Boy tentatively asked.
Both the changeling and cybernetic teen's attentions were fully on Robin now.
"From what I can remember, I touch her a lot...hand holding, an arm around her when we watch movies together, I guess sometimes she sleeps in my bed, and we spend a lot of time together – more than would be considered platonic." Robin contemplated.
"Uh, dude you're not going to just skip past that...She sleeps in your bed?!" Cyborg exasperated.
"From what I can remember nothing happens...she just sleeps there sometimes, and I can't remember why. It feels a bit presumptuous of me to let her do that if we're not dating." Robin explained with a shrug.
"Ya think?" Cyborg grumbled narrowing his eyes at the shorter man in front of him.
"You could ask her about it. She's like to have a better answer as to why than I do at the moment." Robin muttered hanging his head in miserable confusion.
TTTTTTTTT
The next morning as the first rays of light were breaking over the horizon Raven nudged Starfire to wake her from her curled up position in Raven's reading chair. Raven had offered Starfire the bed and would have gladly floated in a dream-like meditation for sleep, but like a stray cat the Tamaranian had chosen the chair, however much of an oddity it was.
"We're going to talk to Mumbo" Raven whispered noting the sudden jolt in the alien's alertness.
"Yes. Now is the time for some answers." Starfire determinedly declared.
TTTTTTTTTTTT
Starfire and Raven politely thanked the guards that led them to Mumbo's holding cell as they approached the containment device. Though his wand had been stripped from him, there was always the possibility that Mumbo had another trick up his sleeve no matter how poor a magician he often proved to be.
"If it isn't the lady Titans." Mumbo grinned. "So who'd he fall for?"
"That," Starfire dangerously stalked up to the energy field containing the trapped villain and rose to her full height with barred teeth, "would be me."
"Not feeling the love?" Mumbo taunted gleefully behind the protection of his entrapment.
"Where did you find the spell?" Raven asked cautiously floating to join Starfire at the energy field.
"Tsk Tsk, oh my little rabbit; I think you'd remember that a true magician never reveals his secrets." Mumbo admonished playfully.
"What you have done must be undone." Starfire glared grabbing the energy field with her starbolt lit hands and cracking her neck menacingly,
"You can't get through this. It's made to stop magic." Mumbo's whining resolve weakened as the Tamaranian girl pried apart the field in front of his face, earning a frightened scream from Mumbo.
"Then it is lucky for me that I am just energy. Where did you find the spell and how do we stop it?" Starfire enunciated severely forcing her head into the opening in the barrier with her eyes ready to strike.
"It was a siren...I dredged her up fishing with a buddy and she offered me the spell in exchange for her release. She would have made a fine assistant, but when she told me what the spell did I thought it might actually be my chance to dismantle the Teen Titans." Mumbo whimpered shrinking against the back wall of his cell. "She told me it would destroy him no matter what...the closer he'd get to whichever of you he fell for, the more it would destroy him, and if you tried to stay away he'd succumb to madness. But I don't have any idea how to reverse it and it was one time use…"
Starfire shot a quick beam of light from her eyes and struck the sorry magician in the dead center of his face before allowing the energy field to resume it's normal composition.
"What was that for?" Mumbo griped holding his injured face carefully.
"For being a zarbnarf" Starfire spat turning on her heel and exiting the ward with a silent Raven floating at her side.
TTTTTTTTTTTTT
"Dudes, how do we even know siren's exist? I thought they were made up like unicorns and the Mayans?" Beast Boy exasperated smacking his hands onto the kitchen table.
Raven and Cyborg stared at him curiously.
"First of all, you exist and you really shouldn't grass stain; secondly, the Mayan's werea real civilization." Cyborg sighed.
"Where do you get your history from?" Raven regarded Beast Boy carefully.
"Cartoons, mostly." Beast Boy shrugged.
"Well at least that tracks…" Raven deadpanned.
"Anywaaay." Cyborg interjected, "I think we're going to need some help finding a siren that can give us more information."
"I got this. I'm great with ocean stuff." Beast Boy cracked his knuckles exuberantly.
"I'm calling Aqualad." Raven added watching Beast Boy's demeanor nosedive.
"I can handle this. Besides he's busy with the Titans East." Beast Boy whined.
"He knows the ocean better than you do and we need all the help we can get. Each day Robin is stuck like this is a day closer to destruction...no matter how Starfire proceeds." Raven muttered eyeing the pair curled up on the couch entranced by Starfire's 'World of Fungus' program. If the empath ignored the gravity of the situation, the calm that surrounded the pair seemed almost like a welcome relief from the normal radiating awkwardness. Unfortunately everything comes at a cost.
TTTTTTTTTTT
Despite Starfire's insistence that they could remain at the Jump City tower while the other's pursued the mission, the romantically entwined duo had been dragged along to essentially be babysat by the remaining member's of the Titan's East much to Starfire's dismay.
Cyborg had called ahead while they were en-route to explain the situation to Bumble Bee and brief Aqualad on the mission at hand.
"Cyborg, are you sure you don't want us to join you on the expedition?" Robin asked in annoyance. He had figured out that the team was purposefully leaving him out of things and as the one usually in charge, he disliked the lack of answers.
"We need you on the surface in case something happens up here. Sorry man, it's just ocean stuff. Nothing too exciting." Cyborg shrugged as they stepped out of the T ship and into the elevator of the Titan's East tower.
"Can you at least tell me what you're looking for?" Robin griped sourly.
"Just a mermaid. Aqualad has some beef with her so we're going to smooth things out." Cyborg lied with a smirk.
"Isn't that Aqualad's business then? Why does he need backup?" Robin pressed.
"I promise to spill the tea later dude, right now fish boy needs our help, so that's what we're doing. You and Star enjoy some time with the other Titan's. It's not like you make many social calls to the extended team anyway. It'll be good for you." Cyborg brushed Robin off breezily.
Starfire grabbed Robin's hand in an attempt to calm him down as the radiating annoyance was palpable for the entirety of the elevator's occupants.
As the elevator opened Robin noted the two extra guests on the couch of the Titan's East Tower.
"Friends!" Starfire gleefully called out in greeting dropping Robin's hand as she made her way towards Wildebeest and Hot Spot. "I did not expect to see you!"
Hot Spot lightly returned the bone crushing hug Starfire had wrapped them both in and wrinkled his nose at his now closer proximity to Wildebeest.
"Occasionally we get together for a rematch of the tournament of champions." Hot Spot shrugged.
"Hey!" Beast Boy whined, "Why weren't we invited?"
"You were. Robin declined the invite saying you had better things to do." Aqualad answered.
"We were tracking Slade at the time...I guess I could have found out if it was a regular event or just a one time thing though…" Robin explained.
"Told ya he was just afraid to get crushed." Speedy taunted.
"Like you did this time?" Bumble Bee challenged.
"You weren't even part of the original tournament. Your win shouldn't count." Speedy muttered.
"You're just a sore loser." Bumble Bee laughed.
"As much as I'd love to stick around and kick ya'lls butts, we do have a mission to attend to." Cyborg declared.
Starfire placed a firm hand on Robin's arm as the other's headed out to the T ship. He notably sighed as the ship descended into the ocean and pulled Starfire to cuddle with him on the couch.
"When did all this happen?" Speedy asked curiously, having been left off the phone call.
"Seriously? Does anybody know that Starfire and I are dating?" Robin exasperated addressing the remainder of the Titan's and earning confused head shakes from Speedy and Mas and Menos.
"Lovespell." Bumble Bee quietly muttered to Hot Spot and Wildebeest who were standing in the kitchen area with her.
"So they weren't dating before that?" Hot Spot responded with equal confusion.
"Basically." Bumble Bee laughed.
Robin grumbled something inaudible before flopping back down to the couch to sulk and Starfire retreated to the kitchen to spend time with Bumble Bee.
TTTTTTTTTT
It was interesting to see which fish Aqualad chose to talk to as they navigated the coastal reef back in the water's near Jump. Short telepathic questions were asked to a nearby group of dolphins but it became evident they had recently migrated to the reef as they had little information to offer.
"Oh cool! A great white shark!" Beast Boy exclaimed.
"Dude, you could be any of those animals. I don't see why you're so excited by them." Cyborg pointed out.
"Because when I'm a great white shark, I'm still green." Beast Boy shrugged as if that answered the question.
Aqualad motioned to Cyborg to let him into Starfire's pod for the moment.
"The shark is hungry. He would only offer me information if I let him take a bite out of me. And as much as I appreciate Star and Rob, they're not worth losing limbs over." Aqualad sarcastically muttered as he settled into the pod, "Guess we better find a new area to search."
"But dude, you didn't ask any of the fish on the reef." Beast Boy piped up.
"The fish don't pay attention to things unless something is happening on a massive scale. I highly doubt some sea hag is even a blip on their radar. Although..." Aqualad's eyes caught a glimpse of a contractile arm peeking out from beneath a ledge rock. "I may have found someone who does."
At Aqualad's call, a gracefully floating figure emerged from beneath the ledge and settled into the sand below spreading it's eight arms wide.
"Thank goodness for the bimacs." Aqualad laughed after a brief telepathic conversation with the eight armed cephalopod. "She know where the siren comes from. Apparently the reef bimacs have had quite an issue with her for a while."
"What issues could an octopus have with a siren?" Raven asked curiously.
"According to our friend here, the siren has been using the reef to drown boating men under guise of bad weather and they don't like how it affects the water quality and brings in more predatory animals." Aqualad explained. "The cepaholpod's are pretty smart and very sensitive to changes in environment, but often they're reluctant to talk to me. The siren must have really pissed them off."
They followed the directions the octopus gave before ending up at a small cavern.
"I need you three to stay out here, and put some hearing impairments in. Siren's are dangerous, but they can't affect an Atlantian. Whatever you do, don't take the hearing protection out. I will communicate telepathically with Beast Boy if I need anything." Aqualad directed.
TTTTTTTTTT
Aqualad returned some time later with a knocked out Siren and two stones. He telepathically let Beast Boy know he would be placing the Siren in the trunk for holding and that they should maintain their ear protection until they were back at the tower.
Once the siren was placed in a soundproof containment tank at the Titan's East Tower, Aqualad directed the others to remove their earplugs.
"So what's with the bucket of rocks?" Beast Boy asked curiously as Aqualad moved the water filled bucket containing the two stones from earlier to a safe holding spot.
"She said it would break the spell, but I don't trust it. Siren's are tricky." Aqualad griped.
"Star's on her way down." Raven warned. "We don't have much time to figure this out. Robin's beginning to get really clingy with her."
As if on cue, a stressed looking Starfire landed at Raven's side.
"What is the resolution?" Starfire inquired.
"These stones are supposed to be submerged until immediately before use. The siren told me the stone that presents as cold must be placed over the heart on the front of the chest and the burning stone must be placed on the back directly in line with the cold stone. Somehow this is supposed to restore balance to the heart and lift the curse, but I have way of knowing if the siren was honest and if any configuration of the stones will actually fix things." Aqualad sighed.
"It is all we have." Starfire replied meekly. "Raven, do you have an idea of which stone placement would be best?"
Raven closed her eyes and tried to think.
"I...I don't know. I could spend a day looking into it, but we're running out of time." Raven answered melancholically.
"One more thing – if the stones are how we chose to proceed, Starfire, you will have to be the one to apply them." Aqualad quietly added.
"Tomorrow morning I will try whichever configuration Raven decides. We have no other options at the moment." Starfire diplomatically spoke retreating to the common room to distract Robin so the other's could continue their planning.
TTTTTTTTTTT
He made her feel weak sometimes. Despite the prying eyes of their friends, he asked out loud if she was ready to call it a night at the first sign of moonrise. And when Bumble Bee had tried to set them up in separate guest rooms, he'd waved it off as unnecessary. Starfire gave Bee a blank faced shrug as she let Robin lead her into the room. There would be talk tomorrow, but she would also have to hurt him tomorrow so she couldn't bring herself to create hurt through denial tonight.
Laying in that bed, with their foreheads pressed together as they quietly talked about anything and everything, it felt as it had dozens of times before. Tough nights or battles led them to seek out eachother's company for a bit of reprieve and after all the holding back she'd done throughout this endeavor she let herself fully fall into this fleeting bit of normalcy. They talked late into the night until Robin fell asleep and finally Starfire let herself slip into a dreamless bit of calm before the storm.
TTTTTTTTTT
Starfire awoke before Robin at the first rays of light and untangled herself from their mess of limbs as she snuck out of the room to find Raven. She knew Robin wouldn't wake to this as he tended to be a heavier sleeper after a late night and this also was part of their normal routine with Starfire sneaking out of his room at sunup to avoid prying eyes and questions.
She found Raven seated in the kitchen with a cup of tea placed delicately between her hands.
"You shouldn't have spent the night with him." Raven admonished carefully.
"Nothing happened. This is not a new behavior, just slightly altered circumstances." Starfire deflected nonchalantly.
"So Cyborg told the group. For all the relationship things you've talked to me about I'm surprised this wasn't worth mentioning." Raven challenged quietly.
"Talking about it invites speculation. We just talk and occasionally partake in the cuddling. Beast Boy and Cyborg would never cease the teasing of Robin if they knew. And if the teasing starts, this bit of comfort ends." Starfire sighed.
"Robin's not going to like the fact that he'll remember everything. People are talking," Raven acknowledged cautiously.
"I understand. Nothing can be done about it now, but tell me you have found a way to bring Robin back from this state of mind."
"We're reversing the order. The burning stone must go on front, and the cold stone to his back. Starfire, you must deliberately and intentionally place both stones at the same time and they must come in contact with bare flesh. It may hurt your hands, and it will undoubtedly hurt him, but you have to hold the stones there until he passes out." Raven directed. A night's worth of research had proven fruitful now that she had more information as to the origin of the spell.
"I understand. I will not fail him." Starfire declared in determination.
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She heard the whispers and noted the curious gazes of her teammates as she went to retrieve the bucket of water and stones from its holding place. The siren had been moved to Steel City's specialized prison overnight for the murders of the missing sailors and fishermen so at least the docking bay remained an empty space from prying eyes.
As she approached the room they shared she paused outside the door. She needed to think. How could she explain this to him, without actually explaining it? How could she meet the conditions without destroying him in the process? At least she knew she was capable of causing him harm if it meant saving him later. She had done so before, and she knew there would always come a time where she would have to again.
The door slid open to reveal a sleepy but surprised Robin.
"I figured you were getting breakfast." Robin shrugged retreating back into the room upon noticing Starfire's serious face.
"Robin. I need you to trust me and I cannot explain it, but I promise it will all make sense after this is done." Starfire's voice wavered nervously as she fought the pain in her soul.
"What's going on?" Robin asked curiously taking a seat on the bed.
"I am sorry I have to do this, and I am sorry that I am going to hurt you, but I promise it is what needs to happen right now. Please remove your shirt."
"Uh, why? Can you at least give me a little information as to what's going on?" Robin asked in confusion but compliantly lifted his uniform shirt over his head.
"Just sit still and please do not pull away. This will hurt, but I promise it is necessary." Starfire apologetically directed as she removed the stones from the water, feeling the temperature differentiation begin between the two slabs of blue granite and orienting them inches away from Robin's chest and back. She bit her lip as she applied pressure, enough to hold him still, trapping him between the burning and freezing bits of stone. She wanted to close her eyes and ignore the pain-wretched expression that overtook his face, but didn't dare break her concentration.
"I am sorry." She repeated endlessly in the several minutes it took for him to finally pass out from the pain. Tears streamed down her face in an unaltered cascade as she watched his anguish before he fitfully went limp against her arms. She threw the stones as quickly as she could back into the bucket of water and flew Robin to the med bay where Raven was readily waiting.
"It is done." She somberly declared before entrusting Raven with Robin's care.
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Normally she would stay by his side, but Starfire was aware of how weary Raven had been with this predicament and decided to give the empath space to work without crowding. Part of the female Titan's friendship was predicated on the fact that while Starfire occasionally tried to force Raven out of her comfort zone, she also had a healthy respect for boundaries and understood that the constant disruptions in Raven's meditation routine lately had proved to shorten her temper.
Instead Starfire found herself addressing the remaining Titans in the ops room to squelch rumors about the previous night's happenings.
"I am not oblivious to the back talking that has been happening in reference to last night. Since you are all incredibly curious about things which are not your business to mind, I am going to put your minds at ease so you will cease the teasing of Robin before you start. This has not been an easy several days for me, or Robin who has not been in his right state of mind, and nothing happened last night other than a long talk. This is something we have done before when both of us need companionship after an especially difficult fight. It is not physical and I would prefer you not to assume as much. Any questions you have may be asked now, and I will not be reopening this discussion again once Robin has awoken." Starfire diplomatically stated.
"So are you and bird boy, like, actually dating now?" Speedy asked curiously.
"You surely know I cannot answer that. Robin and I were not dating prior to this and as such it is predictable that things will resume normalcy, but I can say with certainty." Starfire rolled her eyes irritably as she answered.
"Five bucks says they're not going back to just friends." Aqualad nudged Beast Boy quietly.
"I'd take that bet." Beast Boy grinned, "Robin isn't one for change."
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Exhausted and still feeling like a display piece in a museum more than an actual living being, Starfire returned to the med bay to find Raven had departed leaving Robin hooked up to various monitors. Being careful not to disturb him, Starfire gently floated above the bed and lowered her body to one side of him to curl up and catch a fitful bit more sleep while she anxiously waited to see if their fix had proven successful. She felt guilty that he was so hurt and her hands had felt no ill effect. She felt guilty that he had no control and she'd seemed careless about his feelings. There were so many things swirling in her mind, but at least his heart was steady and he felt calm to her touch. When he finally woke up they would be able fight demons and insecurities together as they always had, regardless of their relationship status.
"So you ready for this at your tower?" Bumble Bee asked Raven curiously from their spot outside the med bay room as they peered in through the window.
"It was always a matter of when, never if." Raven shrugged in response.
"It changes things."
"Things change all the time. To fight against change is pointless. Besides, there are benefits to this if they stop being awkward, hormonal teenagers stinking up the tower with their desperate romance." Raven grinned.
"I can imagine." Bee laughed, "Do you think it worked?"
"All we can do is wait and see at this point." Raven shrugged. "I'll just be glad to not have to play relationship doctor anymore."
"She's rather protective of him, and here I thought he was the scary one...turns out she's downright feral when he's in danger."
"That behavior is far from new" Raven smirked and then her voice turned a bit far away, "But that level of protection only comes from great loss."
"We should probably give them some space. I'll direct the other's to stay out of the med bay for a bit. If something changes, she'll call." Bee added placing a friendly hand on Raven's shoulder.
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The sun was high in the sky when Robin finally roused from his medically induced sleep. It took a moment for his brain to register everything that had happened over the past few days and when he cringed at some of the memories he noticed the weight on his chest. Finally opening his eyes he saw the mess of tangled red hair and let out a sigh of relief that she was still there. He couldn't have scared her off so badly if she was still protecting him...he hoped.
The sigh was what woke her, head tipping back to a position unnatural for any human, but necessary for one who engages in forward flight and needs visibility. Her large green eyes were crinkled at the corners in nervous anticipation, but she dared not to speak.
On reflex, he found himself placing a gentle kiss on her forehead. The gasp she emitted immediately made him think he did something terribly wrong.
"The spell did not break?" Starfire's aghast tone snapped him to reality.
"It did, it did." He nervously defended, "I guess I just had some lingering after effects." His voice came out sheepish and strained.
"I am sorry." Starfire emoted quietly laying her head back on his chest to avoid eye contact.
"You have nothing to be sorry about. I'm the sorry one. I feel like I messed up our friendship." Robin pleaded quietly.
"I can assure you, you did not. You are still my best friend." Starfire spoke working to keep the sadness from tinging her tone.
He sighed feeling the flutter of nerves that overtook him. He'd stood on this decision making precipice before and always clung to the safety of where he stood, but that anticipatory moment struck and struck again and it was getting harder to fight the urge to plunge into the unknown below. It was feeling more unavoidable, terrifyingly painful, but sometimes you have to leap knowing it could hurt you anyway.
"I definitely messed up our friendship." He spoke.
She looked at him in devolving sadness, the resolve to maintain a neutral reaction weakening.
"I don't know how I can go back to just being friends now that I know how nice it felt to be more with you." A small grin turned up at the corner of his mouth. A bit of a mean trick at first, but her reaction was beyond worth it.
Her head whipped around to stare at him in shock.
"You are not ending our friendship?" Her voice sounded foreign even to her, hopeful and anxious rolled into six words.
"No...maybe just adding to it? The past couple of days I obviously wasn't entirely myself, but things weren't as complicated as I thought they'd be, and I pretty much told the team anyway…" Robin mumbled.
Starfire could only enthusiastically kiss him in response as she was, for once, at a loss for words.
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Okay, new rule – I'm done making rules for this story, because every time I seem to make one, I immediately break it in the next chapter. Sorry to Mumbo, but he's just not that interesting of a villain. And yikes to the fact that this was insanely long. I thought about splitting it into chapters, but decided against it. I'd say, I promise no more 7,000 word oneshots, but ya'll know I'm bad with my word.
Also I sincerely apologize if there are typos; normally I'm a fairly efficient self-editor, but I wrote the last several sections and did all my editing the day of my second covid vaccine dose so I have a bit of brain fog, but I don't want to delay in posting this any longer as the more time I have with it unposted, the more I keep tampering with it and I really need to move my focus back to Covert Courting.
Review if you'd like.
-FWFT