HEY EVERYONE! And a huge welcome to my very first story on this site! A few things to know before I begin: everything follows the Teen Titans universe except for the events of Trouble in Tokyo. This story begins about 3 weeks after the movie and takes place in a universe where the kiss between Robin and Starfire never happened. Their conversation ended with Starfire flying away in tears after Robin's big speech about being a hero. So things are understandably… awkward.

Other than that, we're all set. Reviews are GREATLY appreciated. Again, I've been an avid reader of fanfiction for years and this is my first attempt at creating my own. Writing has always been something that has brought me an immense amount of joy, but I've never really allowed myself to explore it until now. Apprehensive, but excited to share my work with you all. Forever inspired by all of you lovely readers and writers. Thanks for stopping by.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans.

CHAPTER 1

The sound of his name pierced through his skull as his head jerked wildly in search of that bright crimson hair. His breath caught in his throat as he saw her: beaten, bloody, and bruised. And she was teetering on the edge of the railing, a hand wrapped around her throat. Her eyes were filled with tears as she choked back a sob. Time seemed to stop, slow down, freeze, whatever you want to call it, it didn't matter to him. Seeing her there, he was instantly transported far away, back to that moment.

He could almost smell the burnt popcorn, the dust, the stench of sweat as bodies moved with expert precision as they twisted through the air. The moment where his eyes were blinded momentarily by a shining spotlight; yet, through it all, he could see them clearly: tumbling and flailing, reaching for each other. He saw them inch closer and closer towards the concrete, almost in slow-motion, the net nowhere in sight. Where was the damn net? He remembered faintly hearing the smack of two bodies as they hit the ground, but it was distorted; as if he was underwater or far, far away.

Robin knew: he was there all over again. Except this time, he was watching her fall.

6 weeks previously

Sunlight filtered in through the window as the redhead rolled in her bed. The first thing she saw when she opened her eyes were the stars littering her ceiling. Starfire smiled. Beast Boy had gifted her a generous collection of stick-on glow-in-the-dark stars for her seventeenth birthday to decorate her room with. After crushing her teammate with a hug and an exuberant "Thank you, friend!", she had spent days meticulously recreating the various constellations visible from Tamaran, entirely from memory. It made her feel closer to her homeland. Though she considered Earth to be her new home, there were days where she ached for the familiarity of her native planet. She would spend hours gazing at the small plastic stars so that when she closed her eyes, she could still see their faint outline and glow dancing against her eyelids and the stinging pain of homesickness would ebb away for just a moment.

As she roused from sleep, her mind wandered to the whereabouts of her teammates. As it was a Saturday morning, Cyborg would continue slumbering until around noon, along with Beast Boy. Starfire frowned as she regarded her clock: 9:34 AM. Surely, Raven would have already awoken and be partaking in her meditation rituals, as was custom for her during the morning. Starfire sighed; she did thoroughly enjoy Raven's company during the early hours but was hesitant to disturb her once she had begun her routine. Robin would surely already be found in the gym, relentlessly beating away at a punching bag or designing a new obstacle course for the team to endure during training.

Robin. Starfire's heart began to ache as she thought of the Boy Wonder. She gave a small groan and curled in on herself beneath the blankets. Although she still held him in the highest regard as her closest friend, the pair's relationship had become strained ever since that fateful evening in Tokyo three weeks prior. The first week they returned he had not bothered to address her, ignoring her offers of assistance during battle; yet, he would always be the first by her side when she needed help during a fight. The second week, he would offer her small smiles or nods when she entered a room and he began to train with her once more. But she found that the seat next to her during movie nights remained empty.

A hero is what I am. That is all they could ever be. Teammates? Yes. Heroes? Of course. Best Friends? Obviously. But anything more remained out of the realm of possibility for the young hero and the alien princess. Despite all of this, her heart still skipped a beat every time he entered the room or at every accidental brush of his body against hers while training. And despite the tension between the pair, she knew that he would always have her back, especially during battle. He would always be there to catch her when she fell. And she hated it.

With a dejected sigh, Starfire ripped the blankets away and began preparing for the morning. She idly wondered if Raven would join her for breakfast. She snorted to herself. Highly unlikely. The half-demon was such an independent creature. In a small way, she was thankful for the privacy of the morning. She did not wish to face the day, or a specific dark-haired boy, just yet.

After brushing her teeth, combing her hair, and tugging on a uniform, the redhead exited her room and began to float down the hall to the living room, still blinking away the remnants of sleep from her eyes. The doors softly slid open and she gave a large yawn as she began to drink in the morning light reflected off the Bay.

"Look who's up." Her head whipped around to see the exact person she was not quite ready to face. There he was, leaning against the kitchen counter and sipping a cup of coffee, a smirk playing among his features. His hair was drooping slightly in front of his mask and Starfire found it incredibly distracting. She mentally cursed as the thought of running her fingers through his ebony locks and brushing aside his bangs rose into her mind unbidden. He wore a pair of shorts and no shirt, a towel draped around his shoulders and she felt heat rising into her cheeks at the sight of his bare chest. It seemed as though he had recently completed his morning training routine. Starfire internally sighed. She should have spent a few extra minutes getting ready so as to avoid him.

Arranging her face into a casual look, she descended the last few steps into the living room and made her way into the kitchen. "Good morning, friend Robin. I trust your training has gone well?" she asked as she opened the fridge and reached for the gallon of milk, attempting to seem as indifferent as possible. But she could not help her eyes lingering on his chest and she chided herself for noticing how well-defined said chest had become over the years.

Robin seemed to remember his state of half-dress and attempted to subtly cover his chest with his towel, his cheeks taking on a pink tinge to match hers. He gave her a half-hearted chuckle and ran a hand through his hair, a nervous habit he had developed ever since she had known him. "Yeah, I'm still working out the kinks for the new training program. Should be ready by next weekend so you can all try it out then."

She nodded in agreement and began to reach for the box of cereal on the other side of the counter. Trying to be courteous, he leaned over to pass her the box and their hands brushed slightly against one another. Starfire's heart nearly skipped a beat at the contact and she fought the blush that rose to her cheeks once more. It seemed that she was always reduced to a blushing, stammering mess around him. But to be fair, this was the first time the pair had had any kind of physical contact outside of a battle in weeks. She looked up to voice her thanks and stopped as she saw Robin staring somewhat intensely at her. "Yes?" she offered.

It was as if he had been in a trance. He shook his head and gave a nervous laugh, fiddling with the ends of his towel around his neck. "N-nothing," he stammered. "Just…" he trailed off and simply shrugged his shoulders, suddenly becoming very interested with the inside of his coffee mug. Not wishing to push the issue, she took a seat at the countertop and began to fix her breakfast. She hoped he had not noticed how her hands were nearly shaking as she tried to calm her racing heart. An awkward silence settled between the two.

"Well," he said, clapping his hands together and she almost jumped at the sudden noise. "I'll catch you later. I've gotta get started on the mountain of paperwork for the mayor's office. Any more 'unnecessary physical collateral damage' and we'll be slapped with a huge fine. I mean, really, I'd like to see his police force take down Plasmus without any 'unnecessary damage.'"

Starfire could not help but laugh. "Although, I do believe the extensive damage to the parlor of pizza during our most recent battle was the fault of Beast Boy."

He groaned and dropped his head into his hands. "Why does he have to shift into a T-Rex every time?"

She giggled and Robin found himself laughing along with her, the tension seemingly relieved for the moment. Her heart swelled at hearing his laugh. Oh how much she had missed his company.

"Alright, gotta run," he said. Starfire offered him a wave and he picked up his mug, beginning to exit the room when he abruptly stopped and turned around. "It's just… it's good to see you, Star."

His masked eyes were staring at her with an unreadable expression and the alien princess fought the urge to shiver under his gaze. She suddenly realized that this was also the first time the pair had been alone together since the team had returned from Tokyo and it seemed that both teens were painfully aware of this fact. Hoping to hide how truly awkward and unsure she felt, she gave an uneasy giggle. "Why silly Robin, you see me everyday."

"I know, but…" he started, taking a few steps towards her and stopping. He cleared his throat. "You know… things haven't been the same since… well…" His mouth twisted into a grimace and he gave a small sound of frustration. He ran his hand through his hair once again. "Star… what I'm trying to say is-"

He was cut off by a flashing red light and the sound of the alarm ringing throughout the tower. Both teens looked at each other. "Trouble!" he shouted as he bounded out of the living room. Starfire merely sat there. What was he about to say? She only came out of her trance when Robin poked his head back into the common room, now wearing a shirt with the rest of his uniform. She mourned the sight of his bare chest. He offered her his usual cheeky grin. "You coming?"

Her face slowly spread into a grin. She nodded, zipping out of the room and following closely behind him.