[Chapter 2: Tuxedos and gowns with a side order of… you?]
By: Diana-Jae"Good morning, friends," Starfire announced happily as she entered the kitchen from the corridor that led to hers and Raven's end of the apartment. Normally, she'd be the first of all her friends to wake up in the morning, but because she had been deprived a good two hours or so of sleep from the night before, she awoke last among them. Of course, that would be with the exception of Robin, who had probably gotten the least amount of sleep out of all of them.
"Hey, Star," Cyborg and Beast Boy simultaneously greeted, as they looked up from their bowls of cereal. They paused to look at each other before they chorused again, "Jinx!"
Starfire giggled when the two young men became clearly aggravated that they had just put each other on a personal curse.
Raven put the book that she was reading down on the counter from where she sat and rolled her eyes. "We go through this every weekend. When are you two gonna learn to grow up?" she sighed and took a sip of the orange juice that was sitting beside her book. "Have you thought about where you're going to buy your dress?"
Starfire looked up from across the counter where she was busy putting cereal into her bowl and shook her head. "Not yet. Robin has not gotten his tux yet so he said he would accompany me shopping today."
"Didn't he go with Cyborg and Beast Boy when they got theirs?" Raven looked at her two other friends, completely ignoring the fact that they were frantically trying to tell her to say their names through flailing body motions and pointing.
"No, no," Starfire corrected with a smile. "I think Robin was at practice that day." She giggled at her recollected conversation with Robin from the night before and added, "It was the same day that he met Kitten."
Raven picked up her book and started thumbing through the pages. "Oh."
Starfire understood that she didn't need to continue babbling about what she knew. Raven clearly was not interested so she prodded instead, "Did you get your dress already?"
Raven didn't look up from her book but nodded her response. They had been cordially invited to attend the wedding of Bruce and Diana, which was to be held the following weekend. And being that Bruce was tightly connected to Robin in that he had helped to raise the youth when he was a lad, they were obligated to go, and some a bit more interested than others, this meaning Starfire, who had never been to such a ceremony.
When the Titans had received the ornate invitation, Starfire had immediately asked what type of occasion would require such beauty and intricate writing to ask if they would join. The Titans all concluded that it was a sacred affair followed by festivities and cheerful celebration but that it was a tedious event to prepare for, especially when you were the one in the wedding and a relative to the man and woman for whom the wedding was for.
"Well, I think I will go and see if I can wake Robin up," Starfire announced happily as she took her bowl of milk-less cereal and skipped towards Robin's bedroom, all the while not noticing how Cyborg and Beast Boy tried to catch her attention to say their names and break them free of the childish silent spell they cast on each other.
**
Starfire soundlessly opened the door to Robin's bedroom and poked her head in to see where her victim was. She giggled as she saw his sleeping figure splayed across his bed with his head barely peeking out from a mountain of two giant pillows and the blankets strewn about with half of the comforter covering the floor. Bowl of cereal in her hand, Starfire silently crept into the room and walked around his bed where there stood a small stand with a lamp sitting atop it and placed her bowl down beside the lone item. Tip-toeing back to the one side that Robin unconsciously occupied, she smiled and debated whether she should let him sleep, poke him lightly to slowly wake him up, or to bounce on his bed and shock him with a shriek of his name. She laughed to herself at the prospect of actually going through with her last idea, but decided against it. If she did find the courage to do something that bold, she'd save it for a better day. Right now, her courage was only fairly moderate so she concentrated her powers and made herself lightly levitate from the ground so that she was high enough to reach down and poke Robin in the face. Her brows creased into a slight frown as she tried to decide how she'd move the pillows that covered his face, but before she could even reach down to pull the edge of one off of him, she heard her own yelp escape from her lips as she was pulled down from the air and came crashing onto the bed.
Starfire barely had time to blink and ponder on what had just occurred before she felt one of Robin's pillows land on her face. Trying to shove the pillow from her face, she found that she could not move her arms. Something had her wrists manacled. A frown settling on her delicate forehead, she maneuvered her head from where it lay trapped only to find a pair of familiar hands holding her down, and the maroon-haired teenager could not help the smile that tugged at her lips.
"Nice way to start a morning, don't you think, Star?" Robin's throaty morning voice reached her ears as she sat up with Robin's hands still encircling her slender wrists.
"How long have you been awake?" she pondered aloud.
"Long enough to know what you were going to do."
Starfire giggled. "So are you going to get dressed? It is nearly noon."
"Not really," he answered, as he too sat up, still not letting go of his friend's wrists. "Why? Did you have anything planned?" he added innocently.
"Robin," Starfire whined. "You said you would accompany me…"
"I'm hungry," he interrupted as he spotted Starfire's bowl of cereal. When Starfire saw this, she tried to yank her wrists out and make for her breakfast before Robin could make a steal for it, but he had quickly wrapped his arm well around Starfire's body and against him so that she couldn't move while his hand darted out to his bedside table and grabbed the bowl. With his other hand, he grabbed some of the small flakes and popped some into his mouth. He grinned, knowing that Starfire was probably fuming. "Yum."
"Robin," Starfire began in her best I-am-royalty-and-I-am-going-to-demand-from-you voice, "you will wash up and you will get dressed and you will accompany me to the shopping mall to find a dress as you promised."
Robin seemed unfazed as he started crunching on some more of her breakfast. "Anything else, princess?"
Starfire paused and thought before she brightened up and craned her neck around so that her eyes met his. "Actually, yes. You, Richard John Grayson, will get me another wonderful bowl of cereal for my breakfast."
Robin burst out laughing and slowly released his grip as he hopped off the bed. "Sure thing, Kory Anders." Then he began heading to the bathroom that connected his room to Cyborg's room.
"Hey!" Starfire protested jokingly as she inspected her cereal bowl, which was infested with nothing more but crumbs. "Where are you going? What about my cereal?"
Robin blinked and then slyly, "To take a shower. Why? Would you like to join?" The ebony-haired young man had not had time to even open his mouth to laugh at her when he felt one of his pillows make contact with his head, and the next thing the young Tamaranian knew, she was being wrestled on the bed and mercilessly tickled.
**
Robin and Starfire strolled around the shopping mall, entering stores of interest rather than stores for which they had intended to browse to fulfill the purpose that they had gone for in the first place. They had already entered several stores that sold merchandise for the body and which Starfire had blatantly used Robin as her test model. By the time they reached the end of the mall where they rented out tuxedos, Robin had already undergone seven different versions of lotion and about two different scents of cologne, which thankfully for the boy wonder, were for males.
"I think you smell very nice," Starfire teased with an unrepressed giggle.
Robin pouted, his lower lip jutted out for sheer emphasis. "Now I understand why guys hate being dragged to the mall by their girlfriends."
"But I am not your girlfriend," Starfire said cheekily as she pulled him into the tuxedo shop. "Kitten is, therefore, I will leave that torture you talk about to her. Besides, after that horrible act in your room this morning, you deserved it." She stuck her tongue out at her companion, who chuckled at the memory.
Starfire began looking at the various suits out on display, stopping for a moment at each one and looking at Robin, making a face, and then moving on. She continued this same routine until about halfway around the store, her lips widened happily when her eyes met something they rather liked.
"This looks nice, don't you think?"
Robin rubbed his neck and smiled nervously. "Star, my fashion judgment when it comes to tuxedos is…"
"Excuse me." A man of middle age had walked up to them from the counter and favored the teenagers with a smile. Then looking at Robin, he asked, "Is there anything I could help you with?"
"Uhh…"
"Yes," Starfire cut in. "Would it be okay if my friend tries on this tux? You see, we have been invited to a wedding this weekend, and I am helping him find a suit he can wear for the occasion."
The man was startled at the fast transition between male and female but then he smiled at the young lady and took the tuxedo down from where it hung and showed Robin to the dressing room in the back. Starfire continued to browse around the store for a few minutes, and when her eyes spotted something of interest, she grabbed it and showed it to the sales clerk, who knocked on Robin's door.
"Sir, I think your young lady friend would like you to try this on as well."
Robin opened the wooden door, fully dressed in the black tux that Starfire had chosen, and looked at the material that lay on the man's hand. A brow rose significantly as he picked it up and examined it. He thanked the man and walked back into the room, but not even a few seconds had elapsed when the door swung back open, a faint blush and a sheepish smile tainting his expression.
"Um, how do you put this thing on?"
"No need to be embarrassed," the sales clerk reassured as he stepped in to adjust Robin's tie, "most men don't really know how to put them on. I, myself, didn't learn until maybe two years after high school."
Robin stumbled out of the dressing room as he managed a thank you to the sales clerk. Robin looked around the store and found his friend stooped over other such accessories as canes and top hats. The youth adjusted his tie around his neck and walked over to Starfire, lightly clearing his throat to catch her attention.
"So what do you think?"
Starfire cocked her head, her eyes shining with delight giving Robin the hint that she very well approved. "Robin, if I did not know any better and had not known that it was you, I think I would be falling at your feet in worship."
Robin chuckled. "Falling at my feet in worship, huh? That sounds like a compliment."
"Maybe a bit exaggerated, but it was," Starfire confirmed, beaming for a moment before the smile faltered and she hastened to add rather uneasily, "I forgot to ask you before, but your girlfriend… she does not mind that we do a lot of hanging out? Beast Boy and Cyborg said that some girls have this nasty habit of throttling any other woman who goes anywhere near their man."
If it weren't for the discipline and self-control that Bruce had so easily distilled into him during training, Robin would have burst out in a fit of laughter. "Girls always get jealous when another girl starts talking to their boyfriend, and it's the same way with guys, but I already mentioned you to Kitten, and she seemed perfectly okay with it," he assured.
"Okay, good," Starfire breathed. "Cyborg also mentioned that she would probably want to rip my head off if she got the wrong idea about our friendship, especially because we are so, as Cyborg had put it, close." She nervously began to intertwine her fidgeting fingers with each other. "And I very well happen to like my head where it is."
"Don't worry, Star. Kitten understands, and besides, I kind of like where your head is too."
Starfire felt much better and diverted her attention back to browsing through the other displayed items in the store while she waited for Robin to change back into his normal attire and pay for the suit.
"So how about you? Do you think I can get a second opinion?" Robin asked the sales clerk when he passed him on the way back to the dressing room.
"I don't think it would be wise for you to disagree with her judgment," the clerk replied and added with a smile, "she does have excellent taste."
That was all Robin needed to hear as he thanked the man and walked into the dressing room.
**
Robin and Starfire had already walked into several shops that specialized in dresses, but for each store that they entered, they came out empty-handed, and Starfire looked about ready to give up. The dresses she had seen were all either exceedingly gaudy, distastefully plain, unreasonably expensive, or too big.
"Robin, let us just go home," she pouted. "I do not wish to keep you here any longer, and I am about to go crazy myself if I have to go into another store where I shall only be disappointed yet again."
Her companion frowned at her sudden pessimism. Under everyday instances, it was usually the Tamaranian young woman that brightened the spirits of the Titans when their days had come crashing down. It was always a mystery to him why most people with the gift of optimism, and not to mention enthusiasm, the size of the universe was never able to cheer up they themselves when they were down. Brushing that thought aside, he put a hand encouragingly on Starfire's shoulder.
"Hey, let's try one more place, and if you still can't find what you're looking for, we'll go home, and I'll call Barbara and ask if she knows of a good place to get your dress."
Starfire said nothing as she contemplated what he said.
"And tell you what," he added, "I'll pick out this last store that way if you really don't find anything, and you still feel lousy, you can blame it on me."
"I believe that blaming you for my problem would only make me feel worse, Robin," she piped in with a wry smile.
"Hey, I'm just looking out for your good sentiments, and besides, I'm starting to miss that goofy smile on your face. Come on," he coaxed. "One more store, and then I'll buy you a snow-cone afterwards."
Starfire brightened at the idea and agreed to go to the store of Robin's choice, which he had randomly picked in one of the mall's many visual directories. The duo made their way past the throng of other people busily inhabiting the typically weekend-packed shopping center to the Petite Boutique. In comparison to the shops that they had previously browsed, this one was quite smaller and held a fewer selection, but a choice was a choice, and they readily stepped inside where they were automatically greeted by a sales-woman, who said that she would be right by the shoe rack if they needed anything.
Starfire half-heartedly peered through the dresses that hung on the racks, occasionally taking the fabric into her hands and feeling it to see whether or not she agreed with its texture. She had come quite close to finding one that she found in good taste once or twice, but she easily dismissed it the moment she found it too large for her small body. On the verge of pulling out of the store yet again, she was stopped when she heard Robin call her from where he stood farther back in the store.
"Mm?"
"Here," he pointed at a dress that hung on a rack against the wall, "what about this one?"
Starfire made a face as she examined it and then skeptically, "I don't know, Robin. It looks a little too flashy for a wedding."
"Try it on at least," he proposed, taking the dress off of the rack and handing it to her. He was somewhat determined to make sure that Starfire did not leave the mall without her dress and without her usual buoyant demeanor.
"But how do you know…"
He smiled. "Trust me. It's just a visual I got."
The girl blushed and put the dress back on the rack. Robin was about to ask what she was doing, but just as quickly as she had put it back, she had rummaged through the other dresses of its kind and pulled out another one. "You had the wrong size," she informed him and then scampered off to the dressing room.
"Your girlfriend find everything okay?"
The woman that had greeted them when they had come in walked up to Robin and startled him a little, and whether from her sudden appearance or from her question, he was not quite sure. When her inquiry finally registered and settled completely in his brain, he merely chuckled and corrected her.
"She isn't my girlfriend, miss. Just a friend."
"Just a friend? It's easy to mistake that relationship as more than just," she explained and then winked. "You two do make a cute couple."
Robin did not know how to respond to that, and he could feel the temperature in his cheeks rising. He had never thought about his relationship with Starfire that way, nor did he really think about what other people probably perceived their tight knit friends-only relationship to be. So the young woman's ignorance-guided assumption had been a big eye-opener for him, but what bothered him more than that was if he was so comfortable with his present relationship with the Tamaranian, why was it that he had a hard time accepting the fact that other people saw it as more than that? He shouldn't care because that's all they were, right? There wasn't a secret behind it. He nervously shifted his gaze to the side, discreetly trying to avoid making eye contact with the sales girl. She did not fail to notice this and only giggled.
"I'm sorry to have embarrassed you. Well, if your friend needs anything, you can call me." She pointed at the front desk. "I'll be over there."
Robin nodded and thanked her, simultaneously thanking God in silence that she had left.
Meanwhile, in the dressing room, Starfire gazed at her reflection in one of the three mirrors. For a choice made by someone who did not normally wear dresses, Robin's choice had been right on the money. Whatever his visual had been, she thanked him for having conjured it up because she rather liked the dress. It was of an autumn-beige hue and was light in weight unlike some of the velvet dresses that, though beautiful and comfortable, had a somewhat heavy feel to it. Two pairs of thin straps held the dress up, and the neckline dipped generously enough to show enough cleavage without being classified as tasteless or offensive. It hugged quite perfectly to the shape and contour of her body and curves, slightly accenting them, and the skirt cascaded down to the middle of her calves where the skirt became what looked like tassels that fell to just above her ankles where she knew for sure that the sandal-type strappy heels that she had only worn on one occasion would come in quite nicely. But what she liked most about it was that the dress was formal enough to wear to a wedding but still had a modern, sexy edge to it bordering on casual-dressy without being either too plain or extravagant. Giving herself a final once-over, she quickly jumped out of the dress with the intent of buying it.
When she came out of the dressing room, Robin was quite disappointed that she did not wear the dress for him to see. But judging by the smile that graced her full lips and the way the dress was draped in her arms without any tension, he was able to tell that she had found what she was looking for.
"Don't I get a preview?" he asked teasingly. "I wanna know if I'm going to fall at the feet of Kory Anders in worship too."
Starfire giggled and shook her head as she bounced on over to pay for her dress. "Your visual should have been enough, Robin. I would think it was a good one if it managed a point blank."
Robin favored the girl with an impish grin as he followed her to the counter. "You wouldn't still be game for that snow-cone, would you?"
"Only if you are still paying," she answered, grinning.
**
The two Titans walked back to their apartment complex, Starfire still nibbling lightly on the snow-cone that Robin had bought for her. The first time that she had ever had one, nobody had bothered to tell her not to take in a giant gob at once, and so she did and was inherently rewarded with a headache the size of Cinderblock for the next few minutes. After that semi-traumatic experience, albeit humorous, the young Tamaranian had been afraid of snow-cones until Robin had bought one for her during the summer fair. Still refusing the sweet, refreshing snack, he had stuck a straw in the mound of colored ice and told her to sip lightly. She had done so gingerly, and when she had come out of the sip without so much as a pang in her head, she had started to buy them whenever she had the chance though as of recent, she had lost the straw.
"Robin?" Starfire began tentatively before Robin could open the door to their apartment.
"Yeah?"
"I would like to thank you for accompanying me today. I do not think I would have been able to find my dress had you not come along." Robin was slightly taken aback when the girl threw her arms around him in an embrace. "You really are what you all refer to as a best friend," she whispered before letting go and walking into the apartment.
Robin stood out there, his face slightly flushed, wondering what had just happened. Had it been any other day, he would have hugged her back and walked in immediately after her, but today seemed different. Her words and that brief contact that she had made with him gave him a strange feeling of wonderful sensation and, ironically, it also made him afraid. But it was far from the type of fear when you got the chills or when you knew something terrible was about to occur. No, this type of fear was alien to him; it was warm, and he began to wonder if it had any connection to the feeling that he had felt after the young woman at Petite Boutique had called Starfire his girlfriend.
Shaking his head, he walked into the apartment. That couldn't be it; he was thinking crazy. Starfire was just a friend, and they had held each other closer than just hugs and it never used to bother him, so she couldn't be affecting him. These feelings that he was experiencing were probably due to lack of sleep and stress. It was a minor thing, he finally decided, and he would forget it by the following day. He had to call Kitten anyway. Talking to her would surely help him forget.
**
Author Notes: Hopefully, this chapter has compensated for the previous installment's two pages worth of writing. Still, I apologize for any quirks in the chapter. If it bothers you a whole lot, just remind yourself that the author can't write and that this is set in an AU. ^^; Though I watch the series on a regular basis, I continuously throw in random pieces of things here and there from what I hear, such as Starfire's alias on Earth as Kory Anders and Robin's real name being Richard Grayson. Actually, about that, I was a bit confused as to which Robin he was because I heard that there's also a Tim Drake. o.O If Robin in the CN series is Tim Drake, then I apologize for the mistake. I merely assumed that it was Richard Grayson because Richard, if I'm not mistaken, was Nightwing, and in "How Long is Forever", Robin became Nightwing. It's how my logic worked out. ^^
There's also that Bruce and Diana thing. =\ Uhh… don't think that happened, but I had to get two people together, and they were the first two people that I thought of that would kind of fit the part. The only official couple I know of in this universe is Robin and Starfire, so if you could be lenient about my random choice of bride and groom, that would greatly be appreciated.
shimmersea: Thank you for being my first reviewer. =] I appreciate it. And I thought Kitten kissing Fang was kinda freaky too, so if Fang does show up to whisk her away, he will sans the spider-face.
eventidespirit: I've actually read your fic already, but I never got the chance to review it. I'll make it a point to review some time today. ^^ And yes, I agree that writing in an AU gives you more freedom, and because I'm really terrible at keeping within boundaries of character and the original plot, writing AU has helped a lot. And thank you for the suggestion about Starfire's dialogue. I've gone and revised the first chapter so that the contractions are out. Thank you for reviewing.
ocdsugar: Yep, this takes place in an alternate reality. All my fics take place in alternate realities, so characters are kind of OOC. ^^;
Aeris9919: Hehe… someone who feels the same as me about Kitten? Cool. She wouldn't be terrible if she weren't so err… spoiled, I guess. I can't seem to find the right word. Anyhoo, thanks for the review.
rebekah: I don't think everyone hates her; it's just my opinion. I don't necessarily hate her either… I just don't like her because she acts too over the top and she's kind of irritating in a pushy way. There's a difference between hate and not linking in my book, by the way. ^^; And thank you for reviewing.
Nameless: Kitten is going to be OOC in the first half of the fic. Whether or not I decide to make her bitch side come out later on in the fic all depends on what happens. I was actually debating whether or not to make keep her in character (she's one of the characters that are easy to keep in character). ^^ Would you like her to go postal and bitchy?
Cheerful Oblivious: Thank you for reviewing. ^^ I haven't gotten around to reading your fic yet, but I'll make a point to do so today and review.
Braveheart: Thank you so much for reading, and I'm glad that my fic was an AU that you liked. =] They are best friends, but being a Robin x Starfire fic, that will eventually change into more-than-friends relationship.
Reviews, comments, flames, and other constructive/destructive criticism are welcome. =]
Disclaimer: I stake no claim to any of the characters from Teen Titans. They belong to Warner Brothers and whoever has legal rights to them. The only thing I have dibs on is the fic. With that said, please don't sue. You are cool. =]