Titile: Behind Zorro's Mask...or...Her Stranger's Familiar Smile (couldn't decide)
Summery: It's Christmas time which means it's time for the annual City Hall Masquerade Ball. The Titans happily attend, but one of them is feeling nervous. Starfire's never been to something like this before and she feels a bit out of place. Will a mysterious masked boy be able to help her to feel better? Well, she always was a sucker for the mask...
Pairings: Oh, what else do I write? Honestly.
Reasons for being rewritten: I wanted to redo some stuff. I wanted to kind of change tactics a little durring the...um, good part.hehe.There were just some things I didn't like and thought I should do over. But I didn't change the original plan in case you're wondering.

Disclaimer: Don't own the Teen Titans and the inspiration was from a show called " Providence" which had a scene something like this. I do own Mark though. Sure he's not in there...much...but he's still mine.

And here it is...again

Behind Zorro's Mask

A One Shot

It was Christmas Eve. And as you can imagine, the whole town was experiencing a human hurricane. Everyone was going crazy: buying this, wrapping that, and decorating everything in between. Of course all the craziness hadn't gone unnoticed our resident heroes. In fact they, along with the whole town, had been invited to a big masquerade ball at city hall. It was from 7:00 pm until 11:00 pm that night. Everyone could dress-up as anything they wanted. Even the Titans, except Robin, had opted for costumes (different from the ones they called "uniforms"). We now go to the Tower at 6:40 pm.

"AHH! What am I gonna wear!" A hyper/ecstatic Beast Boy nearly screamed. They were leaving for the party in ten minutes and Beast Boy had yet to get dressed or even decide on a costume for that matter. The remaining Titans, who had been dressed twenty minutes ago, were all sitting on the couch calmly waiting for their procrastinating and panicking friend to get ready.

Cyborg had remade his holographic rings so he could once again take on the identity of "Stone". But instead of his workout clothes "Stone" was wearing a tux. Raven was dressed as no one in particular, finding such an idea childish. She wore an off the shoulder black dress. It had a slit that went up each side of her legs and ended at her thigh, revealing her black heels. The sleeves of the dress come all the down to form gloves that completely covered her slider fingers.

Robin had kindly introduced Starfire to the Lord of The Rings: Trilogy movies only days before and she had fallen in love with them right away, so her choice of costume made perfect sense…She was dressed as Arwen. She wore a pale green dress that came down to her ankles and clung in all the right places. At first glance it appeared to be sleeveless but once you got closer you could see that it had long sheer sleeves that flared at the bottom. It had a square neck that came slightly low. The dress had a long slit up one side showing off her perfectly toned legs. She wore pale green flat sandals. She had most of her hair in her usual style except the parts just behind her ears were pulled back into a loose braid. To complete the look she had a silver circlet and had even found some silicone elf ears.

And finally, Robin had decided not to dress up. One of the two teen boys who had been chosen to take care of the drinks had gotten sick, so Robin had volunteered to take over. But instead of his uniform he wore a red turtleneck, dark jeans, and sneakers. The only reason you could still tell it was him was the fact that his mask was still in its usual place.

Beast Boy had now finished running around the living room and was in his own room. He had six minutes and counting. While the changeling had been running around like a dog chasing his tail, Robin had been explaining the purpose of Christmas to Starfire and, to his surprise; she had caught on remarkably fast. He had already explained the real meaning of Christmas, something most people missed, and was now on to the traditions such as "mistletoe" when the door reopened.

What appeared at the door silenced the room perfectly. What had appeared was like nothing they had ever seen before and were in no hurry to see again. What had appeared had been Beast Boy. He wore a pair of light blue jeans, cowboy boots that looked way to small not to mention painful, a button up white shirt, tan vest, and extremely large tan cowboy hat. The hat was so big that they'd originally thought that it had learned to walk on its own.

"I'm ready. And I've got three minutes to spare" Beast Boy announced proudly.

"Who are you? Sheriff Wily Burp?" Cyborg asked between fits of laughter. The shock seemed to have faded from the room, revealing a giggling alien and two slightly annoyed birds.

"No! I'm Pecos Bill. Duh!" The green shape shifter shot back.

"Like that's a lot better!" Cyborg retorted. This argument of name-calling would have continued if Robin hadn't reminded them of the party. And the "you two are such immature idiots" from Raven didn't hurt either.

By some miracle, the combined efforts of Robin and the girls actually got Beast Boy and Cyborg into the T-car without killing each other. And even more amazing was the fact that they were still on time. When they got there they saw that people were already beginning to arrive. After Cyborg quickly parked the T-car, the five crime fighters headed inside.

City Hall was a massive building and not just in size. The architecture was superb, everything from the angelic statues on the sides to the reproduction of a Raphael painting on the ceiling. For that night it had been, of course, decorated for Christmas. Everything was in red, green, and gold and as expected, a touch of mistletoe dotted the large room. The decorations were a bit overdone but still very tasteful. Since there was going to be a lot of dancing the only things in the room were a DJ stand in a corner, chairs lining the walls wanting to be sat in, and the drink bar-despite the name, no alcoholic drinks were present- at one end. As the room quickly began to fill, most of the people were either dancing or catching up with old friends.

The five-some just stood still for a few moments taking everything in. With the people in such a variety of clothing it looked like the world had become a mix of Tarzan's jungle, the Millennium Falcan, Middle Earth, the 1600s, Welken, every fairy tale ever written, and Greek mythology. It almost made a person want to laugh. The unique teens probably would have stood there, seemingly mesmerized, if Robin's voice hadn't broken through the trance.

"Gotta go." Robin said before rushing off towards the drink bar. For, you see, Robin had spotted the drink bar's growing crowd and it's only frantic worker. He was in defiant need of some help.

Once the remaining Titans seemed to have recollected themselves, each ran off to do his/her own thing. Raven was sitting in one of the many chairs quietly reading The Hangman's Curse by Frank Peretti. Cyborg or Stone was already busting a move, and probably a few other things, on the dance floor; and Beast Boy was flirting, or at least trying to flirt, with a brunette "Princess Buttercup" in the corner.

This left the alien princess to wonder aimlessly around by herself. She was a bit frightened. She had never been to a big party like this before. Well, unless you count that club Blackfire had taken everyone to but, that was defiantly not on her list of favorite experiences. In fact, nothing about her sister's visit was a very pleasant experience but that's getting off topic. But with all new experiences and new things, come new questions. And she knew exactly who she needed for that. Besides, perhaps she would feel better with some known company. Maneuvering through the crowd as gracefully as a prima ballerina on a stage, the Tamaranean princess began her quest to find her best friend.

As already mentioned, there were very few things in the large room so finding the drink bar was a very easy task. Once she drew closer, she not only saw the masked hero but also the boy he was assisting. He was roughly sixteen years of age with warm chocolate brown eyes and a nice smile. He was about 5'7", same as Robin, with jet black hair cut just above his ears. He was dressed in a green sweater and jeans.

"Greetings, Robin." Starfire chimed sweetly as she sat down on one of the many stools surrounding the bar. At the sound of her voice Robin turned around to face her, sending her a smile even though it paled compared to hers.

"Hey, Star. Having fun?" He asked as he leaned on the counter.

"Yes, but…I am feeling very…um…out of place." She replied unsurely.

"Why?" Robin asked curiously.

"I am just solitary; I feel strange alone. That is why I came seeking you. And I need your help. There are so many strange things here. I do not recognize some of them." She answered matter-of-factly. Robin nodded his understanding even thought the young girl wasn't really sure if he did or not. She opened her mouth to say something else but before it ever had any hope of making it into the world Robin's male companion spoke up.

"Hey, Hun." He said good-naturedly, a southern accent very evident in his voice. "You're Starfire aren't ya? Or should I call you Arwen?" The comment caused Starfire, or Arwen if you wish, to giggle and Robin to raise an eyebrow even though he made no remark.

"I am only dressed as the elf princess Arwen, you silly boy. But to answer your question, yes, I am Starfire." She replied in her friendly manner. "And what is the name by which you are called?" If the boy was annoyed or surprised by her phrasing he didn't show it. He just smiled and held out his hand in a handshake and replied, "Name's Mark. Mark Wells. Nice to meet ya."

"And you as well." Star answered as she shook his hand.

"I heard you telling Rob that you're feeling kinda lonely. But I bet if you just go exploring you'll find something or, more importantly, someone." Mark said kindly, sounding a bit like an older brother would.

"Exploring?" Star asked as she cocked her head to one side.

"Yeah, exploring, you know, just walking around." He replied while drying off a recently washed glass.

"Do you honestly believe so?" Starfire asked while looking in between the teen boy and her best friend.

"Know so." Mark replied with a bright smile.

"Thank you. I think I shall do just that! Farewell, Robin. Good bye, Mark." Starfire resolved as she jumped up and disappeared into the crowd. As soon as she was out of sight Robin turned to give the young boy a curious yet very confused look. The Mark just replied with a mischievous smile and walked to the over side of the bar to help an older woman.

After Starfire had been "exploring" for about ten minutes she finally found something to hold her attention. On one end of building was a window that stood from floor to ceiling. The window had a perfect view of City Hall's gardens. They were full of just about every Earthly flower Starfire had ever seen-all colors of roses, carnations, daisies, tulips, and irises-not to mention a few she hadn't-tiger lilies, sweet peas, laurel, Indian paintbrushes, and babies breath. For what seemed hours to her she stood there starring at the beautiful world outside the buildings four walls and listening to the soft music.

She was pulled from her peaceful thoughts when she felt someone tap her on the shoulder. She turned around to find a boy dressed up like Zorro standing behind her. His exact age was impossible to tell but he was obviously around hers. He wore black pants, one of those tie up black shirts, black boots, and a hat (which was, of course, also black) like one a musketeer would have worn. And to tie everything up, he had a sword on his waist and he also wore a black mask that covered the top half of his face. Of course, she couldn't see his eye color and hat covered up most of his hair, even though she thought she could see the smallest bit of black hair but it could've just been part of the hat itself.

"Hello." Starfire said in her usual manner. But Zorro didn't reply. He just smiled. It was a cautious smile. It was a lope-sided smile. It was a familiar smile. Where had she seen it before? And…was it her imagination or did he seem nervous?

"Please…who are-" Starfire began but he cut her off. He cut her without saying anything. He cut her off by his mouth pushing up against hers. He cut her off with a kiss. Starfire eeped in surprise, even though it got lost in Zorro's mouth, and her eyes opened to full capacity and then some. She tried to pull away but Zorro had pushed her back up against the window and, judging by the strong grip he had on her, he wasn't about to let go.

The princess's mind was spinning so fast that not even Mario Andrade could have keep up. But one of the racing thoughts kept coming back. That smile. Her stranger's familiar smile. It was warm. It was encouraging. It was playful. If she could just see it again maybe she perhaps she would remember…But it was obvious that Zorro didn't want to give her that chance because, just as suddenly as before, he pulled away.

"Are you still lonely?" He asked gently. His voice was deep, too deep. Like he was trying to hide its normal tone.

"No." Came the almost inaudible reply.

"Good." And without another word he turned and ran off into the crowd. By the time she realized this, it was too late. He was gone. What was she suppose to do now? What had just happened? Well, the first thing she needed to do was try to figure out who was under the mask. She needed help. Slowly but surely, she began to walk back to the drink bar.

Robin was just finishing rising down the counter when Starfire walked up. She had a very curious look on her face. It was like it couldn't decide which emotion it wanted to portray, there were so many flying around in her head.

"Starfire, you ok?" He asked. Starfire made no reply as she silently sat down on the same stool she had sat on just moments before.

"Star?" Robin asked a bit louder as he walked over and stood in front of her.

"Huh? Oh, apologies, Robin. What was is that you were saying?" She asked as she turned to give him her full attention.

"I was just wandering if you're ok. You seem kind of dazed." The boy wonder replied.

"Oh…I was just thinking."

"Anything I can help you with?"

"Well, curiously…have you seen anyone dressed as the character 'Zorro'?" Star asked nonchalantly.

"Let me see." Robin said as he tilted his head up like someone does when they're trying to remember something. "I've seen…two Aragorns, three Legolas, a musketeer who has had way too much caffeine…" Because of the loud music Starfire couldn't hear him very well so she leaned closer.

"Nope, don't think I've seen any 'Zorro's why?" Robin concluded. When he had finished Robin had turned back to face her, not realizing that she had leaned forward. This move put their faces only centimeters apart. For the longest time, neither one of them moved. They just stayed in that position studying every inch of the other's face. Robin was starting to feel uncomfortable until he noticed Starfire was smiling.

"Why were you asking about Zorro?" Robin asked very calmly.

"No reason." Came the confident reply. Starfire leaned back to a comfortable distance and smiled. Glad that she seemed to be feeling better, Robin smiled back. It was his common trademark smile.

"I believe I shall now venture for a walk in the garden." After this Starfire's face seemed to morph into something completely new. It looked like a combination of surprise, realization, adornment and even…playfulness. An odd concoction to be sure, especially coming from the innocent girl.

"Good bye, Robin." To him this sounded awfully close to her purr. And seemingly on an impulse, she reached across the counter to sweetly brush a few locks of hair from his eyes, causing a deep red color to rise into his face. Her smile merely widened at his reaction, as she gracefully stood up and began to walk away.

As soon as Starfire's slim figure had disappeared Robin stood up straight and reached under the bottom of the counter where a drawer lay almost hidden. Robin smirked as he carefully pulled it out, revealing its contents. He looked inside the drawer as if it contained something as precious to him as a jewel. And to him that was what it was.

He'd tell her one day. He'd reveal his secret but somehow….he guessed she already knew. That wasn't surprising. Sometimes he could have sworn that Starfire could read his mind. She always had that effect on him.

"Yo, Rob, shake a leg! We've got costumers!" Mark's voice interrupted his thoughts.

"I'm comin'!" Robin shouted back as he closed the drawer. But not before taking one last look at the one thing that lay inside the hidden compartment.

--

--

--

--

It was a Zorro mask.

The End

And there it was. I like it much better now.

A couple things:
The the Millennium Falcan is Han Solo's ship in Star Wars 3-6 in case anyone forgot. I think I spelled it right...
Welken is a alternate dimintion that exists in the book, The Welkening. It's kinda like New Zealand around the 1700s, you know,without technoligy.

Please review?

Cookies n' Hugs!
Mayday