Chapter 7

?I find that hard to believe. You fell in love with Star. Stop lying and tell us the truth, you coward,? Cyborg said. He seemed to have taken Robin?s true identity very personally.

?He?s not lying,? Raven said suddenly. ?He really did fall in love with Starfire and he hates himself for it. I can feel it.? She looked into Robin?s eyes and then into Cyborg?s. ?He?s telling the truth. Or at least part of it.?

?Then I want all of it. Make yourselves comfortable, Raven, Star, Aqualad, I have a feeling this could take a while.? He glared at Robin. ?Out with it, assassin.?

Robin took a deep breath. ?How much do you want to know??

?Everything. From the beginning right up to this moment. How you escaped slavery (if you?re the real Tim Drake), your connection to Bruce Wayne, and who sent you after Star. Every last bit. The longer you talk, the longer you live.?

Even in his present condition, Robin was impressed with how much Cyborg already knew of him. ?I was sold into slavery by my father, who had a problem with gambling and too many debts to pay. He sold me to a company that... raised slaves, if you will. Since most of this is irrelevant information, which will just take up your precious time, I?ll summarize. They trained me to do whatever my master wanted and then sold me. I exchanged hands a few times before I ran away from my master.

?That was when I was six. I escaped because of what he wanted me to do and as for how, a thief friend of mine smuggled me out and I stayed with him for a while, thieving, picking-pockets, burglaring, anything I could do to stay alive. That?s how I met Bruce Wayne. He caught me trying to break into his house. He took me in and taught me everything I know. How to read, write, fight, heal wounds, and? Robin took a deep breath ?the ways of an assassin.

?Then, a few years ago, I started working on my own and became the best there was. I managed to keep my identity secret so I could go where I wanted to without being arrested. It wasn?t the best job in the world, but there wasn?t much else I could do. You don?t have a choice when you?re like me. There aren?t many jobs that?ll take an escaped slave other than the black market. Most jobs do a background check too, so lying doesn?t work.

?A month or so ago, I got a call. I met with the man who had called me and he said he?d pay me to take out the queen of a neighboring planet. That queen was Starfire. The man who hired me was named Slade. He?s the king of a nearby planet and I?d bet he wants to take control of this one as soon as the Queen was gone. He?s already got control of other planets, either directly or by controlling whoever is ruling.

?I came here and you had the bodyguard tryouts. It was a perfect opportunity and I couldn?t pass it up. I was expecting to have to pose as a servant and finally get close to the Queen, but that would have taken months. That?s when I met Cyborg. I passed the first test and then I was taken to a mage. A Master Silvereye, I believe. I bypassed his Truth-spell using a magical powder I had taken earlier that day. I used my real name because the powder isn?t as reliable as I?d like and it?s best to lie as little as possible. That?s how I became one of the Queen?s new bodyguards.? Robin stopped talking. This was both harder and easier than he had thought. It was hard to speak about his past when he hadn?t in years and, yet, it felt strangely refreshing.

?Keep going. You?ve still got to tell a lot more,? Cyborg growled.

Robin decided to skip over the past two weeks and start with that evening. ?I had planned to kill St-the Queen a week ago, but I kept putting it off. Then, tonight, when I was going to get it over with, I ? I just couldn?t. I saw that Starfire and I are a lot alike.? Cyborg started to say something but Raven held him back. ?Neither of us really wants the job we have, but we don?t have much of a choice. We do it because we have to. I started to feel connected to her because I understood what she was going through, unlike so many other people.

?But like I said, I don?t get a choice in this. Earlier today, I slipped something into the Queen?s drink. No one saw me and it has no taste.?

Aqualad (he doesn?t have any lines, so let?s give him one) interrupted him. ?If you gave Starfire something, and I assume that this something is poison, in her drink, then why isn?t her taster dead? For that matter why isn?t she??

?Because I only gave her half of the poison. The other half is in that.? he nodded to the spilled tea. ?The taster wouldn?t have been affected by only half of the poison. Also I could have given her a slow acting poison, or one specifically directed toward her. The taste testers wouldn?t have noticed a thing or it would have been to late to do anything. You really have a lot to learn about assassins.? Robin shook his head.

?Then perhaps you could teach us.? All of them looked at Starfire in surprise, Cyborg?s mouth dropped to the floor. She shrugged. ?If Tim still wanted to kill me, he wouldn?t have knocked the tea out of my hands. And he is right; there is much we need to know if we are to successfully prevent assassin?s from getting as close as he did this time.?

?ARE YOU CRAZY!?! HE TRIED TO KILL YOU AND YOU WANT TO LET HIM STAY!?! HOW DO WE KNOW HE WON?T TRY IT AGAIN!?!? Cyborg shouted.

?I agree with Starfire,? came Raven?s monotone. Cyborg stared at her for a moment before shouting again.

?YOU?RE BOTH CRAZY!! HE. IS. AN. A-SSASS-IN.? Cyborg spoke slowly as if addressing a three year old.

?I?m aware of that, Cyborg, and I still think that Star is right. If he still wanted to kill her, she?d be dead by now. And he does have a lot that he can teach us. Besides, I would know if he was lying and he isn?t. All he is feeling right now is resignation, not hatred, or a need for vengeance. He will not hurt her, I?ll make sure he doesn?t.? Raven looked significantly at Robin. He nodded, understanding what she meant. If he misbehaved, he was as good as dead.

Cyborg rolled his eyes and addressed the ceiling. ?Am I the only sane one here?? The ceiling did not deign to reply and Cyborg looked back down at Robin. ?If you harm one hair on Star?s head or try to run away, I will hunt you down and kill you slowly and painfully. Got it??

Robin looked straight into Cyborg?s eyes, both human and robotic. ?Yes.? Then he switched his gaze to Raven. ?Think you could let me up? This isn?t a very uncomfortable position.? Raven released her magic and Robin stood up. He walked over to Starfire, noticing the others tensing as he did. She didn?t, which raised his hope, an emotion he had thought had been burned out of him years ago. ?Why let me live? With just a wave of your hand, you could have sent me to hell, but you didn?t. Yes, I can teach you many things about assassins, and yes, I will not harm you, but you had no way of knowing that and there are others that could prepare you for any future assassination attempts. Do you mean to let me live for now and then kill me later after I have taught you all I know? Or are you going to throw me in the dungeons until I waste away? Or, perhaps, you hope to play with me until I break under the pain? Or??

?Stop it! You speak lies!? Starfire shouted. Cyborg, Aqualad, and even Raven looked homicidal. Robin relaxed slightly. He hadn?t wanted to do that, but he had to know. ?I did not do it because of any of your reasons! I did it...I did it because I-I feel for you...I have feelings for you that I do not understand,? Star?s voice was quieter now. ?But I do know that I do not want you to die and that I could not order your death no matter how mean and evil you were.?

?Thank you. I don?t deserve it but thank you. I am sorry for what I said to you just now but I had to know.?

?Know? What do you know?? Star asked. Robin focus was only on her at the moment.

?If you....lo-had feelings for me too.? Try as he might, it was hard for Robin to say the ?L word.?

?Yes, I?too? You have feelings for me too?! Is...Is it love??

Now that The Word had been said, Robin could verbalize it as well. ?Yes, Star, I love you.? After a moment?s hesitation, Robin stepped forward and enveloped her in a kiss. Star?s eyes widened and then closed in happiness. Robin gently broke away after a minute more. Star opened her eyes slowly, savoring the kiss. They stared at each other for a while before Robin whispered to her, ?I love you, Starfire.?

The two broke away blushing when Raven inserted an artfully placed clearing of the throat. Cyborg was standing there smoldering furiously, glaring at Robin (A/N: No, this is not a Cyborg/Star, Cy views Star as like his little sister and is protective of her).

?You never could do anything the conventional way, could you?? Raven asked dryly. ?Half of your Court will have a heart attack and the other half will think you?re joking about getting married to your previous bodyguard.? Star?s and Robin?s faces turned an even deeper shade of red, if that was possible.

Star sneaked a glance at Robin and he met her eyes and winked, reaching for her hand to give a reassuring squeeze. Things would work out just fine, he was sure.

Except for one thing. Slade. He wouldn?t be happy his assassin hadn?t done his job and he?d be wanting revenge. Deal with one thing at a time, Robin, one thing at a time.

Note to self: Learn to write romance. IMMEDIATELY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Also, sorry if my italics don?t show. I type in italics but sometimes they don?t work because IS EVIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIILLL

Sorry about not updating. I just started school and its really hard this year. and yes, I know that that's not a valid excuse.