(A/N)- I had some time like right before bed so I figured I'd start posting 2016 fills, lol.
I think this was probably my favorite one to write that year. I just like doing them being all tender and sweet to each other. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I'm squeezing this out like twenty minutes before midnight, you'll have to excuse my rush.
RobStar Week 2016, Day 1 - Parents
They stole up to the roof, breathless with laughter.
The blue sky belied the crisp bite of the afternoon wind, drifting up to them from the sea. They sat with their legs dangling over the side, leaned into each other's shoulders comfortably.
Robin told her about Gotham. A casual comment about how bright and modern Jump City was in comparison and an innocent question from a curious Starfire had him talking freely about the architecture—the old historical buildings and the towering WayneTech skyscrapers—the commerce—the shipyards and stock markets, the innumerable banks forever constantly in peril—and they layout—from the richness of the arts district, and the colorful bustle of the Marina, to the rot and decay and filth of the slums, where he and his mentor spent many a long exciting night.
The further out you got from downtown, he explained, the more trees and hills there were. There was a particular wide grassy field on the southside that had a beautiful overlooking view of the city. A picturesque place, perfect for outdoor concerts and local city fairs. It was where Haley's Circus had set up for their two-month stay in Gotham.
Robin described the wonder of seeing the twinkling city for the first time from that field, and Starfire listened, enraptured, captivated by the picture his words painted in her mind. A warmth stirred in her heart as she gazed at him. Had she ever seen him so relaxed before? So at ease?
She was glad he could be so unguarded with her.
"You know," Robin said abruptly, leaning back on his hands. "I think they would have really liked you."
Starfire tilted her head. "Who?" she asked.
He shrugged lightly. "Mom and Dad."
Starfire's insides straightened to attention. A question burned on her tongue, but she was hesitant to ask it. Robin didn't talk about them a lot—his parents. She studied him a moment. If he didn't want to discuss it further, she'd certainly know from his body language. (He would always tense and look wound up, like he could shut himself away at any moment.)
But he looked calm. Comfortable. Not at all tense. Perhaps it would be okay to ask him. After all, ever since the race against Ding Dong Daddy, when he'd revealed the contents of the briefcase—and his identity—to them in a show of trust, he'd been... freer about mentioning them to the others. To her.
Her curiosity won out.
"What were they like?" she asked him.
Robin gave a sad smile. "Dad... liked to whisper in Mom's ear." His voice softened fondly at the memory. "Little things like, 'I love you' or Romani endearments. 'Monisha' was his favorite. I think it means 'wife'."
"That is very sweet," Starfire commented, filing the word away in her mind.
"Yeah..." Robin agreed, looking off towards the horizon.
He told her about his dad's cooking, how it was always a treat for the both of them when he tied on the apron and filled their little trailer with enticing smells. He told her about late nights snuggled up to the man's side as he read bedtime stories. He told her of the strength in his arms as he tossed Robin up and caught him again during so many trapeze acts.
He told her about his mother's gentle voice as she sang him to sleep. How she seemed to know everything and answered every question his curious little mind put out, about science, about animals, anything and everything he ever wanted to know. He told her what an amazing seamstress she'd been.
"She made all of our costumes," he said. He pinched a corner of his tunic and continued, "She even made the first version of this design. She always said that I was her little—"
Robin's voice cut off suddenly, a tightness in his throat and moisture stinging his eyes. His eyes turned down. He tried to collect himself for several moments.
Starfire slid her hand across the space between them, until she could gently clasp his fingers in her own. He glanced up at her, helplessly mute, and she offered a warm smile.
Rather than making him continue, she changed the subject.
"My mother was not very good at sewing," she told him. "But she would occasionally string beads together. She made Blackfire and I matching bracelets for our official introduction to the court." She could still remember the cool sensation of the oblong, oddly-shaped rocks around her wrist. Her mother liked to work with only the most "interesting" beads. "I wore mine until the string broke. Blackfire claims she lost hers but—" Here Starfire chuckled. "—I believe she fed it to the Gorga plant the first chance she got. She never liked mother's jewelry."
Robin laughed a little too. "Yeah. Her taste always seemed a lot more expensive. And illegal."
Starfire giggled before regaling him further. Beaded jewelry was something her mother had taken from her hometown, in a remote, rural area of Tamaran mostly known and used for mining and quarrying. It was also where a minority group of dark-haired Tamaranians tended to live.
"I am told," she said, twining her fingers with Robin's, "that even though their marriage was arranged as part of a trade pact with the Rusht'iig Clan, that my father caused quite a scandal in the palace when he brought my mother home as his bride."
"Guess if they were still around, they'd have few objections to our relationship, huh?" Robin joked.
"Indeed," Starfire agreed with a smile. "My father would say I was the 'chip off the old block', as you say." Her gaze turned wistful. "Truthfully, I did not know him that well," came her somber confession. "Between his duties in the court and my tutoring, there was very little time for us to see each other. And when the war started he and mother were always busy, in strategy meetings, coordinating relief efforts, helping any way they could..."
She trailed off, long-buried memories of the constant bombings and tense palace atmosphere coming back to her. She pushed them down, shaking her head a little to clear her mind.
"I am... sad that you did not get to meet them," she told Robin, drawing even closer to him and leaning her head on his shoulder. "I believe they would have liked you too."
He let go of her hand in order to wrap his arm around her shoulders. He rubbed her skin softly, letting her hair tickle his neck. There was an ache in his heart. Not just from his old wounds and trauma, but also from a new, sharp, fresh sting of regret at all the things they'd never get to share with their biological families. Bringing her home to dinner, waiting nervously in the wings outside the throne room to be summoned in, surprising them with the news of their first grandchild. He wished Starfire's parents, at least, were still around to see them.
Much as his loss hurt, he felt awful for hers. They had died believing one daughter lost, one a traitor, and their son never to return home again, maybe not even to survive. Starfire hadn't even known they were dead until she'd finally made video contact with Tamaran, months and months after she'd first arrived on Earth. To reach home at last, only to be told that her parents were gone... Ouch. He didn't know whether or not the fact that she had siblings made it any better or worse, considering one was a criminal and the other was still missing.
Still, he wouldn't trade having her here, now, by his side, for anything. Her soothing scent and the warmth of her presence made him feel a little better, just a bit.
"I still miss them," he admitted.
"It is okay to miss them," she assured him lightly. "I would be worried if you did not." She straightened, raising her head and touching his cheek softly. "I am just glad you had a k'norfka to rely upon too. I think you would be very... lonely... if he had not stepped in and claimed you."
Robin shuddered to himself, pushing away dark thoughts about his life without Bruce and Alfred. Alone and orphaned in Gotham... not a nice thought.
Now the sting of regret was for how he'd left things between them. Robin felt a bitter taste creep onto his tongue as echoes of their last shouting match caught up to him.
"It wasn't easy. We made a lot of mistakes. He messed up, I messed up, we said things we shouldn't have..." Robin sighed. He was just confessing to a whole slew of feelings today, wasn't he? Starfire's influence on him was stronger than either of them had anticipated... in a good way. It felt almost freeing to say things he usually kept bottled up. Robin rubbed a hand through his hair. "But... Bruce tried his best, and... I'm grateful for it." He shook his head. "I don't know who I'd be without him. I hope he knows that."
"I think he does."
He turned his head to her. "Yeah?"
Her smile was playful, green eyes glinting with a mischievous mirth. "He is the Batman. How could he not know?"
Robin laughed, a wonderful, joyful sound that Starfire could not get enough of. "You'd be surprised, Star," was all he told her before taking her by the shoulders and pulling her in for a kiss that made her tingle from her hair to her toes.