Summary: Robin gets Starfire a little puppy for her birthday. A very fluffy, literally, one shot. (Bad pun I know)
Pet for you
The shrill beeping of his alarm dragged Robin out of bed. He was almost always the second or first one up, but that did not mean he enjoyed doing it.
"Ugh," he groaned, checking his calendar, as he shuffled his feet getting ready. Tomorrow was Starfire's birthday, and he still didn't have a clue to what he would give her. He needed the perfect present, something that could very subtly hint his true feelings for her. At first he considered a necklace or some other item of jewelry, but that reminded him of Batman. Sure, he loved Batman dearly as a father, but Wayne was well known for being a womanizer. As corny as it sounded, Robin didn't want to "womanize" Starfire. He also knew Batman had warned it was never a good idea to fall in love with a team mate, but it was too late for that. Robin was madly in love with the resident alien. Slapping himself on the forehead, he headed for the common room.
"Good Silkie," giggled Starfire, petting her beloved pet. She continued talking, oblivious that Robin was watching her by the doorway. 'I wish I was Silkie,' thought Robin, before he scolded himself for being a pervert and being jealous of a worm. Starfire lay sprawled on the couch, playing with Silkie. 'She's so cute,' he continued musing. 'That's it! I have it,' concluded Robin. He now knew the perfect gift he could get Starfire. Now all he would have to do was stop at the local pet store.
A couple of hours later, Robin returned cradling a small, fluffy puppy in his arms. He knew Starfire would melt at the sight of the puppy. 'Look at how she melts over Silkie,' he thought laughing. While he wouldn't say that Silkie wasn't a good pet, a worm wasn't exactly going to win the most popular pet of the year award. He dressed up the little golden retriever puppy with a pretty emerald ribbon and made sure it's fur was perfect. The puppy was now stored in a little box with holes in it, which Robin would hand to Starfire at dinner. He would be giving her the present a night early, but decided it was for the best. Then tomorrow he could bring Starfire and the puppy somewhere, when they went to the mall to celebrate. Robin looked up and to his surprise Starfire was flying at him.
"Hello Robin, I went looking for you today, but was not able to locate you," exclaimed Starfire, upon reaching him. She was about to throw her arms happily around him, but restrained herself. She noticed he was carrying a box in his arms, and could hear faint yaps and barks coming from the box.
"Robin, may I ask what is in that box?" she asked, pointing towards it. Robin hid a grin before handing her it.
"Open it. It's your birthday present," he answered. Starfire took the box and slowly slid the lid off. To her delight, the puppy poked his head out.
"EEE," she squealed excitedly. "Thank you, Robin. I love it!" Robin blushed, enjoying the fact that Starfire loved his gift. Once again, Starfire had to keep a tight leash on herself from tackling Robin and giving him a giant hug. The reason she was restraining herself was just a day ago, she had nearly crushed Robin's ribs, and was trying to avoid repeating it.
"Your welcome, do you know what you are going to name it yet?" he asked.
"I must name him Robin," she exclaimed. Robin was finding it harder to hide his red cheeks, when Starfire told him this. Starfire continued stroking it's yellow fur, petting it's adorable head, as the puppy wiggled and squirmed. Although when Silkie came up to Starfire and started to rub against her leg, she quickly diverted her attention to Silkie, setting the cute puppy on the ground.
'She would make a perfect mother. She doesn't play favorites. Our children will…' Robin quickly cut off that train of thought. 'It's too late, I should get to bed, so I have enough energy for tomorrow,' he decided, leaving Starfire with her two little friends. Tomorrow would bring many surprises…
Starfire woke up naturally to the sun shining in her room. Silkie wiggled to her from underneath her covers, while her Robin puppy trotted by her side. She picked both of them up, hugging them to her chest. The Robin doggie was so cute, just like her Robin, she decided. Instead of calling the puppy Robin, Starfire called him Baby Robin, which in turn got shortened into just Baby. Picking through her closet, she chose to wear a mini purple skirt with a matching sleeveless top. It wasn't very different from what she usually wore, but she wanted to wear something new today. Stuffing her other clothes back in her closet, Starfire went looking for her friends in the kitchen.
"Happy birthday," greeted Robin, preparing pancakes for all of them except for Beastboy. He was cooking tofu pancakes for him instead. On Starfire's pancakes, he spooned on a hearty portion of gorka berries and smothered them with both mustard and mint frosting before passing the plate to her.
"Thank you, Robin," she replied, sitting down.
"How does it feel to be eighteen?" asked Cyborg, as he crammed five pancakes into his mouth at once. Cyborg was not and would never be abstemious.
"It is most glorious," replied Starfire, taking a bite out of her pancakes.
"I can't wait! We're going to the mall today! We're going to the mall!" shouted Beastboy. Raven used her powers to shove his tofu pancakes in his mouth silencing him, but causing him to start choking as well. Cyborg burst out in laughter, while Beastboy glared angrily at him.
"Come on, friends. Let us not fight, but make peace," said Starfire.
"Starfire's right, let's talk about how we're getting to the mall today instead," Robin butted in. "I'll take Starfire on my R-Cycle, while Cyborg, Raven, and Beastboy can go in Cyborg's car. Take Silkie and Baby as well."
"Sounds cool to me," accepted Cyborg, polishing the remainder of his pancakes down in one bite, and grasping his keys from the counter. The other Titans followed suit out the door. Robin led Starfire over to his R-Cycle, while the others piled into the car. He loved any excuse to take Starfire on his bike.
"Remember to hold on tight, Star," reminded Robin. Even though he knew she would, he didn't want to risk Starfire falling off. Besides, it couldn't hurt if she held on a little tighter than needed. They watched the streets and trees zooming by, admiring the sights. People stopped to look at them, pointing at the two Titans. This was the price of fame. A couple of fan boys sighed disappointedly, when they saw Starfire snuggling against the boy wonder. They quickly stopped when Robin shot them a very dangerous glare.
"Well, we're here," remarked Robin, helping Starfire off the bike. Both were disappointed because they had to pull apart. Looking across the entrance, they could see the others getting out of the T car.
"I have to stop at the electronics shop," announced Cyborg.
"I need to go get myself some more herbal tea," added Raven.
"I don't have anything to do," grinned Beastboy proudly.
"Alright, so we'll meet in two hours to go eat a birthday lunch at our usual pizza place," ordered Robin. "Starfire and I are going to take Silkie and Baby around."
"Oh, can I come to? Pleeeeeaaase," begged Beastboy.
"Of course you may Beastboy," replied Starfire, even though she had hoped she would be left alone with Robin. She couldn't just leave Beastboy here with nowhere to go.
"Where do you want to go first?" asked Robin, holding Silkie's leash.
"I think we shall go to the store of pets first. Baby is in need of a collar and leash," she replied. Baby was sitting, staring at them with his adorable chocolate brown eyes. Beastboy wondered if he would be able to communicate with Baby if he transformed into a dog. Deciding to try out his hypothesis, he turned into a green dog.
"Woof," he barked. Baby let out a terrified whimper and quickly ducked underneath Starfire.
"Stop it. He's scared of you," said Robin.
"Nonsense, animals love me," insisted Beastboy, but quickly changed back into a human. The people who passed them on their way to the pet shop, usually stopped and cooed at the puppy. Starfire petted Silkie a couple of extra times to make sure he wouldn't be jealous. 'She really would make the perfect mother. Arrrgh, I'm doing it again,' Robin screamed silently. To his relief, they were at the door of the pet shop, and he opened the door letting Starfire in.
"Beastboy, stay out here and watch Baby and Silkie. Don't even think about changing into the green dog again," Robin warned. Beastboy gave him a little salute to show that he understood. He gave him an innocent smile as well, while Robin shook his head.
The pet store was fairly large. There was everything including bowls, collars, leashes, feed, special drinks, and a salon for pets. Starfire and Robin found the leash aisle, and gasped. More than a hundred selections of leashes lay before their very eyes.
'This could take a while,' concluded Robin, helping Starfire go through them.
Waiting outside, Beastboy was tapping his feet impatiently. They'd been in there for over half an hour, and showed no signs of coming out anytime soon. Baby sat patiently on the floor, wagging his fluffy tail. Occasionally he would let out little barks that sounded more like whimpers.
'Why doesn't Baby like me when I'm in dog form? Animals love me! I can't be losing my touch! I'm a changeling,' Beastboy complained, silently. 'Maybe Baby wasn't really scared of me. Maybe he was just nervous. Maybe I should try changing again. No, I can't Robin told me not to. Well, Robin isn't here is he,' Beastboy was having his very own angel-devil sceneraio. He could literally picture one angelic Beasboy on his right shoulder and one with horns on his other. 'I guess I could just, you know, check if Baby was really scared of me. You know, make sure I'm not losing my touch with animals. Besides Robin will never find out…' With his final decision, Beastboy morphed into a green puppy. Instantly, Baby let out a frightened yelp, and as fast as his tiny legs could go, he took off down the streets.
"Wait, where are you going? Wait up," shouted Beastboy, running after the frightened puppy.
Meanwhile, Robin and Starfire were enjoying their time alone together, browsing through the items in the store. They picked a red collar and a green leash, and were just looking around for random toys and treats. Starfire also wanted to pick something out for Silkie. They almost walked straight into a sales person.
"It's the boy wonder and his pretty girlfriend, Starfire," announced the sales person. It was the exact same person whom Robin had brought the dog from.
"Um, she's not really my…" Robin replied, not that having Starfire as his girlfriend would be a bad thing though. He was cut off by the sales person.
"Hows the fluffy little fella, ay?" he continued. All of a sudden Beastboy came barging in.
"Robin! Starfire! He's gone!" he yelled, halting to a stop. All three of them whipped their heads around.
"Gone? Beastboy you didn't," Robin exclaimed.
"Well, um, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to," Beastboy tried to explain. Robin just glared at him, while Starfire's face was showered with concern.
"Beastboy go east. Starfire and I will go west," he ordered. "And if we don't find Baby, I'm docking your tofu supply for a week."
"Noooooooooo," cried Beastboy.
"Arguing will not solve our dilemma. Let us go find Baby," suggested Starfire, determined to find her pet. Beastboy left the store first, holding Silkie as well, on a desperate search for a small dog. Starfire and Robin went looking for all the places where Baby had previously gone to on walks.
"Perhaps, he is in the park," suggested Starfire. Starfire picked Robin up and flew him to the park. A blur of trees could be seen as they moved. Seeing that Baby was nowhere to be found, they opted to look on the next street, and then the next. Finally the two breathless teenagers collapsed onto a bench nearby a quiet street.
"I fear Baby is gone," whimpered Starfire softly, tears gathering in her eyes. Robin immediately put a comforting hand around her, his brow furrowing with concern.
"Starfire, don't worry. We'll find him," he assured, gently stroking her hair not realizing what he was doing. Starfire looked up, but continued to cry silently. He hated to see her so upset and distraught. Robin did the only thing he could think of. Firmly, he pressed his lip onto hers. Starfire jumped slightly, but relaxed happily into the kiss.
"You guys, I found Baby. He was at the….Whoa!" Beastboy said, carrying Baby and Silkie in his arms. Starfire and Robin broke apart, both leaping ten feet into the air.
"Baby!" Starfire cried, grabbing the fluffy puppy and hugging it. Robin stood a centimeter behind her, glad to see that she was smiling again.
"I guess, I'll go back to the mall now," said Beastboy, leaving Starfire and Robin alone. Sure he always knew the two of them would get together, but seeing his two teammates making out was just a tiny bit weird. He was definitely going to tease them along with Cyborg tomorrow though. There was no way he was missing an opportunity.
"Star, do you want to head back also?" Robin asked. Starfire responded by taking Robin's hand in hers. She cuddled Baby in the other, while resting her head onto Robin's chest. Robin decided that for Christmas he was definitely getting Starfire a kitten.