My personal favorite one-shot. If you haven't seen the movie It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World, you suck. Though very few people in my general age group have, so most if not all of you will suck today. Sorry about that.
Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans. I do own It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World on DVD though! Madness!
And to kick off the story, I have this to say: SNAPS FOR HORMOMES! snaps
It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World
"Hey guys, have you seen Starfire anywhere?" Robin asked as he walked into the main room. He stopped for a minute to try to make sense of what he was seeing. Raven, Beast Boy and Cyborg were all sitting on the couch watching an old movie. They weren't arguing about anything. Raven wasn't submersed in her latest literary find. It was almost too crazy to believe.
"I think she's on the roof," Raven replied, looking around at him. She noticed his bewildered facial expression and raised an eyebrow. "Something wrong?"
Cyborg and Beast Boy turned away from the movie to look at him. Robin merely stared.
"What are you doing?" he asked suspiciously.
"Watching a movie," Cyborg replied, looking at him curiously.
"But you're all so…" Robin struggled to find the right word. "Peaceful."
"It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World is a classic," Raven answered with a shrug.
"Yeah, and it's hilarious!" Beast Boy added. "Who knew there was humor back then?"
"Beast Boy, the movie's only forty-two years old," Raven said with a sigh.
"Um, I'll leave you to that," Robin replied. "I'm going up to the roof." He walked out of the room after casting one last wary glance at them.
As soon as he was out of ear shot, Beast Boy and Cyborg turned to Raven. "Now are you going to tell us why we had to pretend we were getting along?" Cyborg asked.
"Robin and Starfire seem extremely close, don't they?" Raven replied lightly as though she hadn't heard him.
"Yeah," Beast Boy admitted. "Especially when Blackfire came to visit…"
"And when Killer Moth's daughter forced Robin to take her to prom, and when Star almost got married to that sludge monster," Cyborg added.
"And when we got stuck on that alien planet," Beast Boy continued.
"Exactly," Raven replied matter-of-factly. "So if we were in here arguing, Robin would feel compelled to sort it out. And if he had to stop to sort it out, it would keep him from going up to see Starfire. And if he was kept from going up to see Starfire, they'd be running out of chances to tell each other. And if they run out of chances to tell each other, they'll drive us crazy for the rest of our lives."
Beast Boy and Cyborg stared at Raven for a second before turning back to the screen. "You know, I'm starting to like this movie," Cyborg said.
Robin was standing in front of the door to the roof, staring at it as though he was hoping to open it with sheer force of will. But he was actually trying to screw up enough courage to go out there and talk to Starfire.
Starfire… the Tamaranian princess. He had been rather taken with her since they had first met. But lately, he felt drawn to her. He felt so at ease around her. She was like his personal comfort zone. When everything was going wrong and he needed to find himself, or when everything was fine and he just needed some company, she was right there. She always seemed happy to talk to him. Just talk. But she had been acting strange ever since they had gotten back from their time stranded together on a hostile planet. She blushed when he smiled at her and got extremely nervous when all of his attention was devoted to her.
But of course, he couldn't deny that he had been acting strangely as well. He could feel his heart race whenever he saw her. When she laughed or smiled he could hardly breathe. Whenever she got close to him or touched him, he would blush madly. She noticed of course, but she never said anything about it. Just like how he never said anything about the fact that she shivered when he got too close.
There was something going on he didn't understand, and he needed her help to understand it.
"Starfire?"
Starfire turned around when she heard Robin's voice. Her eyes widened a little. She was frightened by her reaction to him. The moment she saw him her heart began racing and she could feel heat rushing to her cheeks. But she smiled genuinely at him. That was one thing that hadn't changed. She could still smile at him. He had that effect on her.
"Yes, Robin?" she replied, hoping he hadn't heard her voice shake slightly when she said his name.
"I've been looking for you," he said. He sounded off-handed despite the fact that he felt rather numb. "I… uh… need to talk to you about… something."
"Something?" Starfire repeated warily, her breath catching in her throat when he sat down in front of her.
"Yeah," Robin replied. He could feel his pulse pounding in his head. "Did you notice that we've both been acting kind of weird lately?"
Starfire gazed at him worriedly. She felt as though her stomach was twisting into a knot. "Yes, I… I have noticed…"
"Do you know why?" Robin asked her quietly. He stared straight into her eyes and felt his heart thumping against his ribs. He found it extremely alarming that she was having this effect on him. His only comfort was seeing that she seemed to be reacting the same way to him.
Starfire looked down, breaking eye contact and blushing madly for no apparent reason. "I do not know," she said not entirely truthfully. "It is both wonderful and horrible."
Robin's heart gave a great, unbidden leap of hope. "What do you mean?" he asked breathlessly.
"It is… difficult to explain," she admitted. She looked up at him and stared into his masked eyes. He reddened considerably. "When I am around you, I feel as though there is not enough air for me to breathe. I do not know how to act or what to do or what to say-"
"And you're burning up and freezing at the same time," Robin interrupted suddenly. Starfire's eyes widened in amazement. "And everything speeds up. Your heart starts racing and your pulse is pounding in your ears. You lose focus on everything else. You feel like everything is spinning completely out of control. But most of all is this-"
"Constant stomachache," Starfire cut him off breathlessly. "This aching that tears at your senses. This… this…" She looked down for a moment, casting around for the right word. Then she smiled half-heartedly in comprehension and whispered, "This undeniable longing."
"Yes! Exactly!" Robin burst out, relieved that she was feeling the same way.
"But it is not all bad," Starfire continued softly. She smiled at him. "When I am with you, I never know what is going to happen next, and yet I feel so safe."
Robin found himself smiling. "Really?" he asked hopefully.
"Really," Starfire sighed, still smiling.
As they made eye contact, both of them felt the familiar jolt in their chests. Starfire gasped a little and decided that 'undeniable longing' was the perfect way to describe it. Robin winced slightly as his stomach wrenched into a knot. He realized at that moment that there was only one way to put an end to this insanity.
Starfire's eyes widened slowly as Robin leaned toward her. She felt lightheaded suddenly and would have keeled over sideways if she hadn't grasped his shoulder and steadied herself. Before she knew it, his hand was on her waist and they were nearly nose to nose. His other hand was beneath her chin, tilting her lips up toward his. She could feel him shaking. She closed her eyes and felt his lips brush lightly against hers. They were both terrified, but it felt amazing.
And then it happened. Starfire leaned in the last few centimeters, and her lips were against his. She felt a sudden heat spreading from her chest to her fingertips like electricity. There was no way to adequately describe what she was feeling. Any awkwardness dissolved instantly.
Robin could no longer think. He was completely immersed in his senses: the feel of her fingertips on his cheek, the taste of her lips, the sound of her breathing; there was far too much occupying his senses to allow thought into his brain. He pushed down on her lower back, bringing her as close as he could. Her lips moved against his and the tiniest shreds of control he had been clinging to slipped away. The hand she had been resting on his shoulder slid down to his chest and he sighed contentedly. His stomachache disappeared. Finally, something made sense.
"Yes!" Beast Boy shouted, giving Cyborg a high five as they watched the fuzzy image on the screen from the battered old security camera on the roof. They couldn't actually see what was going on, but they could guess.
Raven just smiled and turned the movie back on.