Starfire tossed and turned for what seemed like hours, glancing at
the clock so often that she finally unplugged it out of frustration.
Around two in the morning, Star gave up on sleep completely and went in
search of coffee. When she got to the kitchen she found that she was not
the only one who couldn't sleep. A haggard Beast Boy was already seated at
the kitchen counter, a cup of steaming coffee in front of him, as well as
the sugar bowl, now nearly empty.
"You could not sleep, either?" she asked, stepping up behind him. Beast Boy jumped up, whirling around, and relaxing when he saw that it was only Star.
"Something like that, yeah," he mumbled, taking a sip of coffee and grimacing at its flavor. Star took the mug from him, poured its contents down the drain, and fixed him a fresh cup, using liberal amounts of flavored creamer, rather than sugar, and fixing herself a cup as well. She rejoined Beast Boy at the counter and slid his mug to him.
"There's nothing in this coffee but cream and sugar, right?" he asked, eyeing the mug suspiciously. Star nodded, and he drained half of the mug in one gulp.
"Why are you not able to sleep, friend?" Star asked kindly.
"I'm not supposed to talk about it," he responded quickly, "Robin would kill me if I told you that I saw him without his mask on," realizing his mistake, the green elf-like boy slapped both of his hands over his mouth, his eyes wide.
"I already know what you saw, for I too have seen the same thing," Star assured him, "I will not betray your confidence in me, should you choose to tell me anything else about it."
"He yelled at me and told me to tell no one what I saw."
"Did he tell you how he got the scars?" Beast Boy asked with interest.
"Yes."
"Well?"
"Well what?
"How did he get them?"
"I am sorry, Beast boy, he told me that in confidence, just as you are telling me this now. If that is a story that you desire to know, you must ask him that for yourself." Star told him firmly
"Okay, I understand. I don't want him to get mad at you or anything." They were both silent for quite some time afterward. Beast Boy refilled both of their mugs, and they continued to sip the hot brew in silence, each lost in their own thoughts, until the early morning light began to filter through the floor to ceiling windows that flanked the entire north wall of the room. Star floated limply to the long couch, curled up, and fell right to sleep, despite all of the caffeine and sugar that she had consumed. Beast Boy was not as lucky. He was extremely wound up, which is not a good combination while completely exhausted, and as a result he became extremely slap happy. He couldn't stop giggling as he continued to drink coffee, and was found rolling on the floor in a fit of helpless laughter by a very confused Cyborg several hours later.
Robin entered the main room around nine o'clock to find Beast Boy sitting against the wall, giggling weakly, and a perplexed Cyborg sitting nearby, watching the slap happy boy with a look of amusement and utter confusion on his face.
He strode across the room to the sofa and found Star curled up catlike, still in her nightclothes, fast asleep. Very gently, he picked her up. Instinctively, she snuggled against his chest, sighing softly with contentment. He carried her down the hall and back to her room. He laid her on the bed and tucked the blankets around her, and as she pulled them up under her chin, he was sure that he heard her whisper 'thank you' as he kissed her gently on the forehead and quietly left the room.
Star awoke and stretched, feeling much refreshed. She sat up quickly and looked around her. How did she come to be in her bedroom? The last thing she remembered was lying down on the sofa in the main room. She stood and slowly dressed, brushing her long red hair meticulously before leaving her room and going in search of her friends.
She found them in the training room, which was located on one of the lower levels of the tower. Raven was levitating circular disks into the air for Cyborg to target with his laser cannon, Beast Boy was practicing his morphing routine in the corner (though somewhat slower and sloppier than usual), and Robin was limbering and stretching before beginning a round of sparing with Raven. She walked across the room to join Robin.
"Sleep well?" he grunted, carefully balanced on one foot as he stretched the hamstring in his left thigh. Star blushed, then answered.
"Yes, very well," she said softly, "Did you take me to my room?" she asked timidly. He had never been in her room before, as she had always been rather shy about such things.
"Yeah," Robin answered, putting both feet back on the floor, "I thought you'd rather be able to sleep as long as you needed in your room rather than be woken up before you had gotten enough sleep." She smiled at him suddenly and, leaning forward, kissed him lovingly on the lips, lingering just long enough for him to respond for a moment before pulling away.
"What was that for?" he asked softly. She shrugged.
"Because I love you." She said simply, "Do I need a better reason?"
"No, I was just wondering." He said, pulling her in close, kissing her again. This time, he hesitated only for a moment before deepening the kiss, opening his mouth slightly to let his tongue slip into her mouth. She made a small noise of surprise before responding, tentatively touching her tongue to his, not sure as to how he would react. Her tongue, to say the least, was rather rough, a bit like a cat's tongue, and rather purplish in color. Robin responded to her enthusiastically, his tongue darting around hers in a fervent dance of pleasure. He backed her up against the wall, gripping her thighs and pulling them upward so that her legs were wrapped around his waist, her back braced against the wall.
"Good god, would you people get a room, for crying out loud?!?" Beast Boy yelled in disgust. Robin and Star pulled away from each other, their lips slightly swollen with kissing. Both of them flushed with passion and embarrassment, Robin lowered Star to the ground and cleared his throat to break the uncomfortable silence. He wished that they would stop staring at Star and him. It wasn't as though they'd never seen anyone make out before.
"Sorry about that," Robin apologized, taking Star's hand, "didn't mean to get carried away like that." Star's face was still very red with embarrassment, and she said nothing, fearing that if she did she would break down completely, either laughing, crying, or both.
"Excuse me," she somehow managed to squeak out, hurrying from the room, not even bothering to fly. Robin glanced around at the others before hurrying after her.
After some searching, he managed to locate Star on the rocks that surrounded the base of the Titan tower. She was seated on the largest of the rocks that jutted out high over the water. She had her knees pulled up to her chest, her arms wrapped around them. She was staring out over the water, tears streaming down her cheeks.
"Star, sweetie, what's the matter?" Robin sat down beside her and wrapped his arms around her. She buried her face in his muscular shoulder and took a deep breath.
"I'm just being silly," she told him, "I was embarrassed by what our friends saw us doing, and I just became emotional." He obviously didn't believe her. "Really, I am fine now, I just don't know what came over me. I am still sleepy, or perhaps I am coming down with something." He pulled off his glove and touched his hand to her face.
"You don't feel like you have a fever. Do you ache or hurt anywhere?" he asked, concern in his voice.
"My head aches from not sleeping much, and my muscled are sore as though I have been running or sparring for hours without preparing first." She told him.
"Sounds like you may be getting a cold," he brushed a strand of hair off of her face, "why don't you go back to your room, get in your pajamas, and take a nap. I'll bring you some soup later, and we'll see how you feel then, okay?"
She nodded in agreement, then moved to stand up. Robin got to his feet, put his hand down to help her up. She took his hand and stood. Immediately, she was overcome by this overwhelming sensation that she was freefalling through space, and the whole world tipped sideways and slid into a deep black oblivion.
Star suddenly collapsed into Robin's arms with a deadweight that surprised him, given how thin she was.
"Star? Star, baby, come back, honey," he cradled her in his arms, hoping that she would come too immediately, but she did not. He ran as carefully and quickly as he could back to the tower. He dashed to the elevator, hitting the button that would take him to the floor that the infirmary was located on. Still carefully holding Star as tightly as he could without hurting her, reaching for his comm unit.
"Raven, come in Raven!" he fairly shouted at the device, "Report to the infirmary immediately!" He keyed the unit off just as the doors to the elevator opened to the infirmary. Everything was gleaming white and chrome, every surface spotless and sterile. He laid Star gently on a nearby gurney. Raven burst through the door.
"What's going on?" she blurted out.
"I'm not sure, Star just collapsed on me while we were outside. When she didn't come to right away, I brought here and called you. Can you help her?"
"Sure," with that, the cloaked titan rested her hands on Star's midriff, chanting softly. Soon, a cool blue glow radiated from Raven's hands and slowly surrounded Star's body. Raven lifted her hands a moment later, sitting down in a nearby chair, exhausted. Within second, Star opened her eyes and looked around her.
"Robin? What happened? Where am I?" she tried to sit up, but Robin gently pushed her back down.
"You fainted, Star. You didn't wake up immediately, so I brought you to the infirmary and called Raven." He looked to Raven for an explanation.
"I simply simulated her subconscious into a wakeful state, similar to what you experience just before waking from a deep sleep." Raven explained.
"Star, do you remember what happened just before you collapsed?" Robin asked her. The alien girl nodded.
"Something pricked my back, and then everything went dark." She felt around her back, just above the waistline of her skirt. When she pulled her hand away, she held a small dart in her hand. She looked at it quizzically for a moment before handing the strange object to Robin. He crossed the room and placed the dart under a high-powered magnifying glass. It didn't take him long to find what he was looking for, as the insignia was all too familiar to him. He turned to Star and uttered a singe word.
"Slade."
Okay, that's it for chapter five. Hope you like! Sorry about the cliffy, yet again, but it'll keep you hooked won't it? Hehehe, I am evil.
Sorry that I took so long to update. I went on a family vacation and did not have a computer available to me for an entire week. It was awful.
Keep the reviews coming, I love hearing from my readers.
P.S.- I do not, regrettably, own the Teen Titans. sigh life can be so unfair.
"You could not sleep, either?" she asked, stepping up behind him. Beast Boy jumped up, whirling around, and relaxing when he saw that it was only Star.
"Something like that, yeah," he mumbled, taking a sip of coffee and grimacing at its flavor. Star took the mug from him, poured its contents down the drain, and fixed him a fresh cup, using liberal amounts of flavored creamer, rather than sugar, and fixing herself a cup as well. She rejoined Beast Boy at the counter and slid his mug to him.
"There's nothing in this coffee but cream and sugar, right?" he asked, eyeing the mug suspiciously. Star nodded, and he drained half of the mug in one gulp.
"Why are you not able to sleep, friend?" Star asked kindly.
"I'm not supposed to talk about it," he responded quickly, "Robin would kill me if I told you that I saw him without his mask on," realizing his mistake, the green elf-like boy slapped both of his hands over his mouth, his eyes wide.
"I already know what you saw, for I too have seen the same thing," Star assured him, "I will not betray your confidence in me, should you choose to tell me anything else about it."
"He yelled at me and told me to tell no one what I saw."
"Did he tell you how he got the scars?" Beast Boy asked with interest.
"Yes."
"Well?"
"Well what?
"How did he get them?"
"I am sorry, Beast boy, he told me that in confidence, just as you are telling me this now. If that is a story that you desire to know, you must ask him that for yourself." Star told him firmly
"Okay, I understand. I don't want him to get mad at you or anything." They were both silent for quite some time afterward. Beast Boy refilled both of their mugs, and they continued to sip the hot brew in silence, each lost in their own thoughts, until the early morning light began to filter through the floor to ceiling windows that flanked the entire north wall of the room. Star floated limply to the long couch, curled up, and fell right to sleep, despite all of the caffeine and sugar that she had consumed. Beast Boy was not as lucky. He was extremely wound up, which is not a good combination while completely exhausted, and as a result he became extremely slap happy. He couldn't stop giggling as he continued to drink coffee, and was found rolling on the floor in a fit of helpless laughter by a very confused Cyborg several hours later.
Robin entered the main room around nine o'clock to find Beast Boy sitting against the wall, giggling weakly, and a perplexed Cyborg sitting nearby, watching the slap happy boy with a look of amusement and utter confusion on his face.
He strode across the room to the sofa and found Star curled up catlike, still in her nightclothes, fast asleep. Very gently, he picked her up. Instinctively, she snuggled against his chest, sighing softly with contentment. He carried her down the hall and back to her room. He laid her on the bed and tucked the blankets around her, and as she pulled them up under her chin, he was sure that he heard her whisper 'thank you' as he kissed her gently on the forehead and quietly left the room.
Star awoke and stretched, feeling much refreshed. She sat up quickly and looked around her. How did she come to be in her bedroom? The last thing she remembered was lying down on the sofa in the main room. She stood and slowly dressed, brushing her long red hair meticulously before leaving her room and going in search of her friends.
She found them in the training room, which was located on one of the lower levels of the tower. Raven was levitating circular disks into the air for Cyborg to target with his laser cannon, Beast Boy was practicing his morphing routine in the corner (though somewhat slower and sloppier than usual), and Robin was limbering and stretching before beginning a round of sparing with Raven. She walked across the room to join Robin.
"Sleep well?" he grunted, carefully balanced on one foot as he stretched the hamstring in his left thigh. Star blushed, then answered.
"Yes, very well," she said softly, "Did you take me to my room?" she asked timidly. He had never been in her room before, as she had always been rather shy about such things.
"Yeah," Robin answered, putting both feet back on the floor, "I thought you'd rather be able to sleep as long as you needed in your room rather than be woken up before you had gotten enough sleep." She smiled at him suddenly and, leaning forward, kissed him lovingly on the lips, lingering just long enough for him to respond for a moment before pulling away.
"What was that for?" he asked softly. She shrugged.
"Because I love you." She said simply, "Do I need a better reason?"
"No, I was just wondering." He said, pulling her in close, kissing her again. This time, he hesitated only for a moment before deepening the kiss, opening his mouth slightly to let his tongue slip into her mouth. She made a small noise of surprise before responding, tentatively touching her tongue to his, not sure as to how he would react. Her tongue, to say the least, was rather rough, a bit like a cat's tongue, and rather purplish in color. Robin responded to her enthusiastically, his tongue darting around hers in a fervent dance of pleasure. He backed her up against the wall, gripping her thighs and pulling them upward so that her legs were wrapped around his waist, her back braced against the wall.
"Good god, would you people get a room, for crying out loud?!?" Beast Boy yelled in disgust. Robin and Star pulled away from each other, their lips slightly swollen with kissing. Both of them flushed with passion and embarrassment, Robin lowered Star to the ground and cleared his throat to break the uncomfortable silence. He wished that they would stop staring at Star and him. It wasn't as though they'd never seen anyone make out before.
"Sorry about that," Robin apologized, taking Star's hand, "didn't mean to get carried away like that." Star's face was still very red with embarrassment, and she said nothing, fearing that if she did she would break down completely, either laughing, crying, or both.
"Excuse me," she somehow managed to squeak out, hurrying from the room, not even bothering to fly. Robin glanced around at the others before hurrying after her.
After some searching, he managed to locate Star on the rocks that surrounded the base of the Titan tower. She was seated on the largest of the rocks that jutted out high over the water. She had her knees pulled up to her chest, her arms wrapped around them. She was staring out over the water, tears streaming down her cheeks.
"Star, sweetie, what's the matter?" Robin sat down beside her and wrapped his arms around her. She buried her face in his muscular shoulder and took a deep breath.
"I'm just being silly," she told him, "I was embarrassed by what our friends saw us doing, and I just became emotional." He obviously didn't believe her. "Really, I am fine now, I just don't know what came over me. I am still sleepy, or perhaps I am coming down with something." He pulled off his glove and touched his hand to her face.
"You don't feel like you have a fever. Do you ache or hurt anywhere?" he asked, concern in his voice.
"My head aches from not sleeping much, and my muscled are sore as though I have been running or sparring for hours without preparing first." She told him.
"Sounds like you may be getting a cold," he brushed a strand of hair off of her face, "why don't you go back to your room, get in your pajamas, and take a nap. I'll bring you some soup later, and we'll see how you feel then, okay?"
She nodded in agreement, then moved to stand up. Robin got to his feet, put his hand down to help her up. She took his hand and stood. Immediately, she was overcome by this overwhelming sensation that she was freefalling through space, and the whole world tipped sideways and slid into a deep black oblivion.
Star suddenly collapsed into Robin's arms with a deadweight that surprised him, given how thin she was.
"Star? Star, baby, come back, honey," he cradled her in his arms, hoping that she would come too immediately, but she did not. He ran as carefully and quickly as he could back to the tower. He dashed to the elevator, hitting the button that would take him to the floor that the infirmary was located on. Still carefully holding Star as tightly as he could without hurting her, reaching for his comm unit.
"Raven, come in Raven!" he fairly shouted at the device, "Report to the infirmary immediately!" He keyed the unit off just as the doors to the elevator opened to the infirmary. Everything was gleaming white and chrome, every surface spotless and sterile. He laid Star gently on a nearby gurney. Raven burst through the door.
"What's going on?" she blurted out.
"I'm not sure, Star just collapsed on me while we were outside. When she didn't come to right away, I brought here and called you. Can you help her?"
"Sure," with that, the cloaked titan rested her hands on Star's midriff, chanting softly. Soon, a cool blue glow radiated from Raven's hands and slowly surrounded Star's body. Raven lifted her hands a moment later, sitting down in a nearby chair, exhausted. Within second, Star opened her eyes and looked around her.
"Robin? What happened? Where am I?" she tried to sit up, but Robin gently pushed her back down.
"You fainted, Star. You didn't wake up immediately, so I brought you to the infirmary and called Raven." He looked to Raven for an explanation.
"I simply simulated her subconscious into a wakeful state, similar to what you experience just before waking from a deep sleep." Raven explained.
"Star, do you remember what happened just before you collapsed?" Robin asked her. The alien girl nodded.
"Something pricked my back, and then everything went dark." She felt around her back, just above the waistline of her skirt. When she pulled her hand away, she held a small dart in her hand. She looked at it quizzically for a moment before handing the strange object to Robin. He crossed the room and placed the dart under a high-powered magnifying glass. It didn't take him long to find what he was looking for, as the insignia was all too familiar to him. He turned to Star and uttered a singe word.
"Slade."
Okay, that's it for chapter five. Hope you like! Sorry about the cliffy, yet again, but it'll keep you hooked won't it? Hehehe, I am evil.
Sorry that I took so long to update. I went on a family vacation and did not have a computer available to me for an entire week. It was awful.
Keep the reviews coming, I love hearing from my readers.
P.S.- I do not, regrettably, own the Teen Titans. sigh life can be so unfair.