A/N: This is probably the darkest fic I have ever written. But it's currently my favorite. Beware, it's in Starfire's point of view and she's pessimistic and depressed for a change. Don't ask me why, but I felt like making her not be happy for a bit. Created out of sheer boredom, Star/Robin one-shot. Named after an episode of Lost. This completely ignores the season four story arc but it was made to. I'd say it's a season five fic. (Shakes head.) Oh well.
Disclaimer: Don't own Teen Titans.
It started out like any other night. The five of us had been hanging out in the tower and watching one of Beast Boy's dreadfully scary horror movies when we got the call. Slade had returned again and was stealing some precious artifact from the museum. I had seen the wild look in Robin's eyes, and I should have known something bad was on the verge of happening. Yet my naivety blinded me. Someone should have known. Then they could have stopped it, but no one did.
The villain was waiting for us when we arrived. It was like he wanted to fight us. I would probably have never understood his motives for wanting that map. We could never find out now. All we knew was that it was important to ancient history. There were his robots too, which had distracted me from Robin. It had not been only me, the other titans as well.
All had seemed fine as I battled using my star bolts to destroy the robots. I had no idea what was going on beside me. I did not see the blood running from various wounds on our leader, or the places on Slade where Robin had penetrated the mad man's defense to injure him. All I had known was that everything would be fine in the end.
Everything went downhill quickly. Robin was hurt, badly. Beast Boy, Raven, Cyborg and I had taken out all of Slade's robots and were now watching our leader. I will admit I was crying, in terror of what could happen. The entire team knew of my feelings for Robin and knew I was the only one who could keep him from loosing his sanity.
As for Slade, his mask was cracked again. The last time Robin had done that, it nearly killed the Boy Wonder. I should have known what was going to happen. Maybe then I could have stopped it.
Robin was lying on the ground, Slade's bo-staff holding him down at his neck. There was a giant gash on his forehead, bleeding into his hair and his mask. There was so much blood. I was truthfully beginning to doubt his survival. Unable to watch, I turned around, facing the other Titans. Beast Boy was clutching onto Raven, not so terrified but more gentle and comforting. Cyborg wasn't reacting at all, his face just sort of plain and sad looking.
"Star, turn around," Cyborg said softly. Never before had I seen any of my teammates this shocked. I obeyed his request, surprised how much the scene had changed. Robin had managed to escape and now Slade was on the ground, Robin's bo-staff against his neck so hard it was wonder he hadn't broken it yet. Then again, Slade wasn't moving…
The Boy Wonder recoiled slowly, pulling back his staff. The villain was still not moving. I am not too sure whether Robin backed into me or I ran to him, but my arms were around him and I believe he was crying into my shoulder. I am not too sure if I was crying too. There was just too much going on.
The police arrived not too long after, carrying Slade's body away in the stretcher. The captain came to speak to Robin while I just drifted back and forth between my friends and Robin. There was not much for any of us to do except sit back and let the events unfold.
I heard yelling all of a sudden while I was talking with the police officers about what was going to happen. All the titans left turned to look to see Robin screaming at a police officer. The handcuffs in the man's hands made me discover who had been yelling and why. They were going to arrest Robin.
I did not understand at the time. We were heroes. Heroes did not get arrested. Now I understand that he had taken another's life, and even though Slade had been a villain, it had not been right. Slade was still human no matter how evil he was.
I may never remember how I had gotten across the room, but I was at Robin's side, whispering to him. Why was it that only I could change his mind? As the police put the handcuffs around his wrists, I saw something new in his face. He was sad and… scared, like a small, lost child. There was nothing for me to do but just watch him get taken away.
I did not sleep at all that night. All I could do was lay in my bed and wonder how horrible it was for him. I knew I loved him, even if he did not know, and that I would tell him at one point. My thoughts were sounding so selfish, thinking that maybe I had waited too long to tell and would never get my chance depending on his sentence. Murder did not go unpunished.
By morning, I was in a very bad-off state.. Then again, I was not the only one. My friends were silent, all dealing in a different way, whether it be sipping herbal tea, playing with the tofu on their plate, or trying to defeat a video game. Of all the titans, I was the last to go to the main room. They all watched me, a look of pity in their eyes. It did not matter. Nothing could change last night, no matter how badly we wanted to.
"Any word?" I questioned, walking to the cooling food contraption to find something to eat. Earth was still strange to me though I had been here for so long. He had been the one to teach me everything about this glorious planet.
"Yeah. They're holding Robin in a jail cell until his trial next month. The police called us earlier. He's allowed a visitor... He wanted you," Cyborg explained. A half-smile crossed my lips. I could see him! "You can leave whenever. The police are friendly with him. A bit disgusted by his behavior but they treat him better than other villains."
"Robin is not a villain," I murmured coldly, walking out. "I shall be leaving now, or after I get dressed. Goodbye." Stomping, I marched out of the room and back to my own, dressing into normal clothes. Going into the city in uniform was not a very wise idea, so I found myself dressed in jeans and a dark violet sweat shirt. It had been awfully cold in Jump City recently.
The police station was quiet, but then again, it was still early morning. All the others knew me well from my position on the team. As one of the officers led me to Robin's cell, I recognized most of the people behind the bars. The Control Freak looked particularly miserable, but that could only be expected. Prison changed people, but not those enemies of ours that were continuously coming back.
"We're here, miss," the guard spoke timidly. I could not see directly into the cell, even as the guard opened the gate to let me in. This was note policy normally, but since Robin was a hero and they knew the titans well, they allowed me to visit him directly.
"How long do I have?" I questioned, starting to enter the chamber. The guard frowned for a moment, thinking this over. I was then I began to question my own motives for coming here. Indeed, he was my very best friend, but what could I say to him? Usually we talked about our missions, or my wondrous trips to the mall of shopping. That all seemed so pointless now.
"Ten to twenty, tops. We'll unlock the cell for you," the guard smiled, trotting back down the hall. I closed the barred door behind me as I entered Robin's cell, astounded by what I saw. He sat on the most uncomfortable looking bed I had ever seen, his back against the concrete wall and his head down. The room was darker than I anticipated and I almost used my star bolts to try and see. Instead, I waited a moment for my eyes to adjust.
"Hey Star," Robin's voice said coolly. I wanted to hug him so bad, but restrained. How would he react? This was not the time nor place to bring up my own sorry emotions.
"Hello, friend Robin. This cell is most inhospitable, yes?" I looked at him sadly, wishing he would feel better. Robin stood up, coming to stand in front of me.
"They ran an autopsy. He suffocated before I snapped his neck. They know I'm guilty. Not much I can do but wait until they release me," Robin sighed. He looked so lonely right then and I felt the tears in my eyes start to fall. I was here, whether or not he cared to notice. I would help him. I would.
"You are not guilty. It was but defense!" I cried. "He would have killed you." My hand drifted up to his forehead, my fingers sliding towards the giant gash which was now sewn together. Slowly, my hand fell to his cheek, resting there. "Your wounds… it was a miracle you are not dead too."
"Star, things will be fine. If they find me guilty, I'll be in jail for a while. Oh well. You know Cyborg could take over as leader. You would be fine! Really!" Robin smiled. How could he remain so calm with this? Did he not understand the situation he was in? Would he realize that him in jail would wreck the team? We were already a mess with him gone a day. Imagine how horrible it would be if he was in jail. Even with Slade gone, any villain could take us down. The Teen Titans would fall without our leader.
"Robin," my hand fell back to my side, but the Boy Wonder's hand went to my face, brushing away the falling tears. Why was I so stupid, crying in front of someone who needed me to be strong enough for them?
"It's okay Star. Everything will be fine," he repeated, now hugging me. I did not believe it at first. He was hugging me. "Truthfully, I had wanted to kill him. But I kept hearing your voice in my head, you kept telling me this wasn't right. Killing him had been an accident. My wounds will heal, but my conscience won't. He wasn't the only one I hurt." His eyes then locked with mine. It was strange, for the mask was gone and there was an actual pair of eyes staring back at me. A pair of brilliant, beautiful, blue eyes.
"They don't allow the mask in prison," Robin whispered. "I'm surprised you just noticed now." He stood away from me a moment, looking over me. I placed my hand on my hips, wondering what had been going on in my head that had made me not notice his eyes. They were hypnotizing my brain and they were the only thing I could think of.
"Sorry," I could only whisper. My eyes drifted to my feet, then to the gate of the cell as I heard someone coming towards us. Robin was staring at me again, just looking as if something more was going on in his head. The next thing I knew, his lips were on mine, and his arms were around my waist. It was a sudden kiss, but one that should have happened long before that. I could only return it and hope the guard did not open the cell yet.
"When all this is straightened out, I'm yours. Until then… just don't go off and start dating Speedy, okay? I couldn't bare to loose you and go on living in prison," Robin whispered, ending the kiss.
"I promise you I will not," I whispered back as the guard opened the cell, releasing me from Robin's torture of the mind. It was the last time I saw him until his trial, and they found him innocent, having to kill Slade in self-defense. And when he did come home, we were together, just like he promised. That's one thing I love about him, he always keeps his promises. Just like that promise that everything would be fine. But it was not fine, it was glorious.
A/N 2: Okay, so Star's really out of character. But do tell, what did you think? Review please, just no flames!