Hey there! I'm back! Wow! Twenty reveiws! I feel so special! Thanks loads! I'm sorry I haven't posted for so long, I had a family trip. I've been trying, and my other fanfics will soon be updated too.
But before I start, I just want you to know a few things.
I do NOT support the Raven-Beast Boy couple. I beleive it's possible, but I don't SUPPORT it. I am a Raven-Cyborg shipper. And I was going to have it that way when a disturbing thought came to me: "Cyborg can't have kids." I mean, the dude's got built-in pants made out of steal, man! o.O
Secondly, I want you to know that this chapter is still pretty rough, not my best at all. Even Andy's name seems to bother me. Check back, and maybe I'll have updated it a little.
Lastly, PLEASE reveiw! That's all I ask of you!
Thanks for your time and enjoy.
Ten Years After Today Tomorrow
Robin needs to adjust to being an adult… and everything else. Children, crime fighting, marriage, mood swings… Dun dun dun… o.O
Rated PG
Disclaimer: [coughs and falls asleep] Narrator: Does this look like someone who could own the Teen Titans to you?
Ten Years After Today Tomorrow
Robin woke not long afterwards. His head throbbed and he felt dizzy. Starfire's voice calmed him instantly. "Robin? Are you well again?"
"Oh… Starfire, I had the FREAKIEST dream…" he muttered, sitting up and rubbing his temples. He opened his eyes and let out a shout of surprise. A pair of large hazel eyes were boring into his and the shallow, cool breath of a small child puffed in his face. Robin pulled the covers up to his chin and screamed.
"Robin? Are you well?" Starfire demanded. She came up and pulled the demon child out of Robin's line of sight. She leaned over Robin and grasped his hand tightly.
Robin tried to calm himself. "I'm fine," he whispered. "Just a little confused, that's all… Starfire… can I tell you a secret?"
"Oh course," she said softly, sitting cross-legged beside him and stroking his hand with her thumb.
He shuddered. "Don't do that, please…"
She let go instantly.
"Listen, you won't think I'm crazy?" Robin insisted.
"I would not, Robin. I could never think such horrid things of you."
"Right. Okay…" Robin took a deep breath. "I don't recall these kids… since when did you sleep in my bed? And why are you all grown up? Why am I so grown up!?"
Starfire tilted her head to one side. "You do not recall anything?"
"No."
"I do not understand why." She shook her head. "Why would you not remember everything? So much has happened since we first met, Robin. I do not…"
"I remember fighting Warp," Robin said firmly. "I fell trough a portal. Now I'm here."
Starfire stared. "I still do not understand. The last time we fought Warp was ten years ago." She shook her head.
Robin gulped. "Do you remember that battle at all?"
"It was ten years ago," Starfire repeated pointedly. "I cannot remember at all."
Robin, subconsciously, mentally noted that her speech had improved over the years. "Well, uh…" He looked around, spotting the two small Starfire look-alikes standing in the corner. "Whose kids are those?" he asked suddenly, his stomach giving a nervous lurch.
Starfire looked at him incredulously. "Robin, those are ours."
Robin choked on air.
"Robin! Are you alright?"
Robin doubled over, coughing. When the spell was over, he let out a deep sigh, and toppled right over the edge of the bed. He didn't bother to get back up.
..................................................Robin inched down the hallway, hoping against hope that he wouldn't run into anybody. He slipped into the bathroom and slammed the door, breathing deep and trying to calm himself. He caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror, and he paused to study himself. He looked almost exactly the same as he had before, but he was taller, much more filled out and muscular. His hair was longer – not spiky anymore (he vowed to fix that.) His face was pale and somewhat gaunt, and his mask… it was gone. He hoped to find it later. He cleared his throat, averting his eyes, and for some reason his reflection didn't scare him anymore. But then his thoughts wandered back to what he'd discovered earlier… He sank to the floor, dazed. His stomach felt hollow, as if it were tied in knots…
Since WHEN did he have KIDS? If what Starfire had said was true… he was now… what? Twenty seven? He couldn't think straight, he needed silence.
Alas, that was not an option.
The door creaked open and a small boy tip-toed into the room. He clicked on the light (something Robin had failed to do upon first entering), and stared at Robin long and hard.
Robin kept his eyes lowered, but he snuck careful glances at the child. This was, thankfully, not one of his children. This was the green-skinned boy he'd seen earlier.
"Hello, Uncle Robin," he whispered.
Robin jumped and scrambled back in surprise. He slammed his head against the sink and cried out, clutching the place where he had been hit. Ironically, it was the same place he had hit the desk with earlier.
"U-Uncle Robin!?" he spluttered, still blinded by pain.
The boy bowed his head. "Daddy says you've gone insane," he told Robin quietly. "Momma tells him that what you say is true, and that Daddy shouldn't doubt you so much." He shook his head. "If I could read minds like Momma, I would know for myself."
Robin stared. Choosing his words carefully, he said, very slowly, "And who are your mother and father?"
"Raven and Beast Boy," the boy replied. His voice seemed strangled, as if he weren't used to calling his parents by their real names. "But sometimes Momma calls Daddy Garfield, just to bug him."
"And what's YOUR name?" Robin pressed on.
The boy looked around. "I'm Andy."
"Andy?" That didn't sound like Raven and Beast Boy at all. ANDY!?
Andy nodded. "But… Uncle Robin… I… I came here to ask you something…"
"What?"
"Are you really from the past, like Momma and Aunt Starfire say? And Uncle Cyborg too? Or is Daddy right – you're insane?"
"I most certainly am NOT insane, thank you," Robin muttered.
"So… so you're a YOUNGER Uncle Robin!?" Andy asked excitedly.
"Yup."
"COOL! Oh, AWESOME! Wait until Moonfire and Angel hear about this!" He jumped up and down and turned to go before Robin called him back.
"Wait, wait, wait, wait! Who are Moonfire and Angel?"
"Oh that's right, huh? They're your kids." Andy grinned and skipped off, singing.
Robin blinked.
"STARFIRE!!!" he hollered.
Instantly she was at the door, and was helping him to his feet. "Robin, you need to stop scaring people like this…" she said gently, shaking her head. Robin saw something on her finger glint in the light, but before he could ask about it she had hidden it behind her back and the Evil Alarm (that's what Beast Boy used to call it, anyway…) went off.
Starfire looked expectantly at Robin.
He shook his head. "I don't even know how old I am!" he shouted at her over the wailing siren.
Starfire frowned, nodded and dragged him out into the hall.
.............................................."Finally!" Raven sighed.
"There you are! Come on, we've got bad guy butt to kick!" Beast Boy said excitedly, punching the air.
Cyborg nodded.
"Robin does not feel up to battle," Starfire reported. "He is still confused."
Everyone looked at Robin, who scuffed his toes on the floor, his eyes downcast. Raven looked at him with an odd expression… was it pity? Cyborg was shaking his head sadly, and Beast Boy was looking at Robin with a look that could be considered irritation.
"That's alright, I suppose," Cyborg said thoughtfully. "After all, Angel can't fight yet."
"Yes I can!" whined the little red-headed girl who looked frighteningly like Starfire. "You just won't let me! I can fly! And I can –"
"Enough," the boy – Moonfire, was it? – said firmly. It became obvious that now, with that determined look on his face, that he wasn't really five but seven or so. "Uncle Cyborg said you can't fight, and that means you can't fight. I'm the oldest, and I want you to stay home so you don't get hurt."
"It's no FAIR!" wailed Angel. "Just because he can use starbolts and I can't!"
"One more word and both of you stay home," Starfire snapped.
Moonfire clamped his jaws shut, but Angel decided that if she was going down, he was going down with her. "But MOMMA!"
"I do not want to hear another word of it," she hissed. "Be silent right this instant."
Angel, pouting, sank down and plopped on the floor.
"Robin, I hate to do this to you, but will you stay home and take care of her?" Cyborg pleaded. "She isn't so bad, you know."
Robin blinked. "Uhm…"
"Please, Robin?" Starfire begged, wrapping her arms around his neck and breathing into his ear.
He swallowed hard and pushed her off of him, struggling to keep his breathing normal. "F-Fine. I'll… watch Angel then. Yeah." He nodded, and, even though he was smiling, his brows were furrowed with worry.
"Thanks, dude. Be back real soon," Cyborg said, nodding and smiling. He turned and led the march to the crime scene. Starfire lingered just a moment longer, watching Robin with concern.
"Are you sure you are alright?" she whispered.
"I'm fine," Robin assured, smiling. "Go get 'em."
She smiled. Uncertainly, he brushed his bangs out of his face and placed a small kiss on his lips. Then she was gone.
Robin stared at where she had vanished, numb. His stomach felt tight, uncomfortably so, and the room seemed to swim before his eyes. He shook his head in a desperate attempt to clear it. "What was that?" he mumbled to himself.
"That was Momma," Angel said in a know-it-all tone. "She loves you, you know."
He felt his throat tighten. This had to be some sort of crazy dream… this couldn't be his actual future. He didn't deserve it…
"H-Has she… done that before?" he asked softly.
Angel nodded, hugging herself. "Many times."
Robin trudged over to the couch and plopped down hard. Could this really be his future? Two children… a family? And the Titans… still together? He suddenly realized that he had thought, once long ago, that the Titans would never grow up. They would stay teenagers forever. But… just seeing the others reminded him harshly of the reality…
But still…
"This is just crazy. What on EARTH did Warp's portal DO to me!?" he cried.
He startled Angel, who fell off her chair with a thud. "Say what?" she said loudly, looking puzzled.
"Warp's portal," Robin repeated. "I was seventeen, and the portal opened up. I fell in, and… then I was here. I'm NOT your dad. Not yet. I'm still Robin. Normal, childless, seventeen-year-old Robin."
"But you LOOK like Daddy," Angel pointed out. "Teenage Daddy had short hair, and a mask. And he was scrawny."
"I AM NOT scrawny!" Robin defended, jumping up. He froze, then began laughing at his own silliness.
"What's so funny?" Angel demanded.
"Nothing, nothing…" Robin giggled, and sat back down. He thought about it a moment, then found there was really nothing funny about it at all. How would he get back? Would he forget his time in the future? Was this is REAL future? Would he really get everything he'd ever wanted? Or was this just some wild dream? It was rather painful to think about, and eventually he let it drop for now.
He and Angel talked until the gang got back. Cyborg looked a little busted up, and Beast Boy had a black eye. Moonfire sported a bloody lip, which his mother was fussing over incessantly. Raven, Starfire, and Andy, however, looked perfectly unscathed.
"Hey, welcome back!" Robin said cheerily, putting on a brave smile.
Starfire grinned and flew over to him, landing lightly at his side.
"Who was it?" Angel asked excitedly, crawling over Robin's lap to curl up in Starfire's. "Mumbo Jumbo? The HIVE? NO WAIT! Fang!"
"Fang?" Robin repeated in a whisper, but his voice was drowned out by Starfire's laughter.
"Nothing nearly as serious, Angel. Just some common-class burglars, that's all."
Raven was tending to Moonfire and Beast Boy's wounds in the corner. "They were tough little buggers," she muttered. "Honestly, I had no idea how big those things are nowadays."
"Huge!" Beast Boy agreed. "As big as Cyborg!"
Cyborg smiled.
Moonfire, his lip tended to, strode over to Robin and settled himself in between his parents.
Robin, without thinking, ruffled the hair on Moonfire's head. Moonfire closed his eyes, turning up the corners of his mouth ever so slightly, and cuddled closer to him. "Dad…" he breathed.
Robin couldn't disagree with that. "Yeah," he whispered. He glanced up at Starfire, who was smiling warmly at him. A smile graced his lips as well. "Dad."
................................................That night, as Robin slipped into bed and watched Starfire brush her hair, he felt rather content. He felt that, even though he was still unfamiliar to everything, he didn't want to go back. He liked it here. The tower was much more harmonious and busy. Children laughed and played, and the Titans were all willing to help each other out. Robin felt as if he had been adopted into one great, big, happy family – which he had.
He watched Starfire set her brush down with avid curiosity. That thing on her finger glinted again, and he couldn't bring himself to fight down the question struggling to get out.
"Hey, Star?"
"Yes?" she replied, gliding over to the bed and hovering over the sheets.
"What's that thing on your finger?"
She hit the mattress with a small thud. "Oh, Robin…" she groaned, shaking her head. She held out her hand, and placed it on his. "You do not recognize it?"
Robin looked at it. His eyes widened. Why, it was a ring! And what a beautiful ring it was… one that shone in the light of the lamp. He touched it tenderly, eyes wide and inquiring.
She pulled her hand away, hanging her head. She sighed heavily, and jerked in a sob-like way.
"Starfire! Are you crying?" Robin asked in alarm. He put a hand on her shoulder.
"N-No… I am better now…" she sighed. She looked up at him, tears in her eyes. "I am… just tired. That is all."
"No, something's wrong. Tell me." He sat up and wrapped an arm around her shoulder.
"It is our wedding ring," she said softly, refusing to look at him. "And you do not remember it."
Robin's breath caught in his throat, and any words he might have said died in his mouth. Mortified, but strangely not the least bit shocked, he sank back under the covers and stared at the ceiling.
They didn't speak the rest of the night.
............................................................Author's Notes: Hello. I wish I had made this longer, and a little less melodramatic… ah well. Ha. I was going to make Robin all surprised, but then I thought 'Well, he has TWO kids. Why SHOULD he be shocked?' Tell me what you think, and how I can improve. This WAS NOT my best writing, but under the circumstances it will do for now. Look to see if I edit it later.
Well, that's all! Thanks!