"How
are you doing?" Robin asked as he approached Star, who was
sitting on the edge of the roof, her fiery hair backlit by the
setting sun and blowing gently with the breeze. He
accidentally-on-purpose allowed the bare part of his arm to brush
agaist the ends of her fluttering hair, and tried to hide the blush
that appeared when he felt its softness. He sat down beside her and
regarded her carefully.
"I am...sad for my sister," she
said cautiously, avoiding the real cause of the uneasiness she was
still feeling.
"And...for yourself?" he pushed, gently.
She almost cried. He was so sweet, so caring; he only wanted to make
her feel better. She smiled wryly to herself. It must be odd for him,
to see me like this, she thought, as she rarely ever let her cheerful
glow disappate. Robin wanted her to be smiling again, like her old
self...Robin...he was part of the problem, she thought sadly.
"I
am only glad that the truth was discovered before I was replaced,"
she admitted truthfully. Robin was taken aback. Replaced? Starfire?
Was she insane? The thought had never even entered his mind.
"What
are you talking about?" Robin's shock was evident in his voice
as his eyebrow shot up. Star looked at him, surprised. Had he not
noticed how well Blackfire had fit in?
"Well, everyone was
having such fun with her..." especially you, she thought
miserably, "...and Cyborg said--"
"Star,"
Robin cut her off incredulously. "your sister
was...interesting," he began, putting it delicately for Star's
sake. He had actually found Blackfire to be manipulative, selfish,
and a bit sluttish in the way she continued to throw herself at him.
"But, she could never take your place. No one could ever take
your place," he finished, and it wasn't until he saw the bright,
beautiful smile he had been waiting for that he realized what he had
said. He looked away quickly, pretending to watch the sunset while
actually watching her face out of the corner of his eye. He didn't
see her hand move, and jumped when he felt her fingers wrap around
his forarm. He looked at her hand, and then at her. He was convinced
that he could feel her warm, soft fingers, even through the sleeve of
his glove.
Star, seeing that she had gotten his attention and
missing the blush that covered his face, confessed the other thing
that had been bothering her. "Robin...when the Centauris took me
away, why did you jump off the tower roof? You are usually much
smarter than that. Are you becoming ill?" she wondered allowed,
obviously concerned. Her other hand reached up to feel his forhead
and his blush deepened. Robin didn't know what to tell her. Why had
he done that? He hadn't even given it a second thought. He could have
died; he hadn't cared. He would risk anything, for her.
"Well...we're
a team...you would do the same for me, Star," he said. Cop-out,
he scolded himself.
"That is different, Robin. I possess the
ability of flight, and you do not..."
Robin tried not to
laugh. "No, I didn't mean the exact same thing, Star..."
"But
that is what you said! The 'same.' Meaning two things of exact
alikeness! Did the meaning change? Why did you not tell me?"
Robin's
eyes were watering from holding in his laugh. He wasn't ridiculing
her; she was just so adorable, with her short little brows forrowed
with confusion, and her beautiful green eyes narrowing and flashing
with indignation. He felt a desire build up inside of him, even
stronger than his pent-up laughter.
"---like the time Beast
Boy said I was 'cool,' and everyone laughed at me when I told him I
was very warm, thank you. And when you talked about the 'horse of a
different color' and I searched the tower for a pink equine creature.
Why do people of this planet not simply say what they--" she
never got to finish, for Robin was kissing her, laughing against her
mouth and tangling his hands in her hair. Her eyes widened and she
was about to pull away, but then she realized that the feel of
Robin's lips on hers, along with his hand which was slowly sliding to
her lower back, were...pleasant. She closed her eyes and grasped the
back of his neck, and as the kiss deepened she decided that
'pleasant' was a vast understatement. Sighing, she leaned back onto
the roof, pulling Robin down on top of her. It was a long time before
they broke. They fell back, lying side by side, both out of breath
and grinning madly. Robin, his arm still around her, pulled her to
his side, and she rested her head on his chest. Robin sighed and
happily kissed her hair. They stayed like that, watching the sky and
not speaking, until last hues of the sunset had been washed out by
the night and the first star appeared in the sky. Neither one felt it
necessary to make a wish.
