A/N: Hello, and a big thanks to everyone who reviewed last chapter! This story will probably end up playing out to be RobStar, considering I have a dreadful urge for it and, well, it's quite frankly what the mass amount of people on this site want. With all that said and done, let's begin our chapter.
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Starfire sat at the breakfast table the following day, enjoying a hearty meal of tofu bacon and real eggs. It was a mix of Cyborg and Beast Boy's cooking, the rest of the team didn't seem to enjoy it, but it was perfect for her standards. It was just the right mix of strange earthly tastes.
"So, Starfire…this guy you met last night…Joseph. What's he look like?" Cyborg asked, twirling his fork around in the air as he spoke.
Of course she had blabbed on and on about how they had connected so well the previous night. She couldn't wait to receive his phone call and run out the door to meet him again. But for now, talking about him would have to suffice. She vaguely noticed the fact that Robin stayed quiet the entire time, reading over the paper with a glazed expression.
"He has very messy blonde…almost white hair. It goes over his left eye, adding to his already mysterious aura…." She continued on with a dolled up description of him, like a little girl speaking of a prince.
Robin's mouth twisted into a discontent frown at the mention of a missing left eye. That of course conjured thoughts of Slade. They hadn't seen any sign of him since Raven's prophecy, and Robin was curious as hell to find out where he had gone. Starfire looked over at Rob, noticing his restless expression.
"Robin…Does something trouble you?" She asked sweetly.
He looked at her, giving a benign smile. "No…I'm alright. Just a bit sleepy, that's all."
They went on to continue talking, but were disrupted by the siren flashing through the tower. Robin was the first to rush over to the computer, typing frantically to find the crime.
"Seems it's some sort of robbery down at the docks." He muttered. "Shouldn't be anything too big. Alright team, let's head out."
It was the usual order of things, the siren would ring, and Cyborg and Robin would run out the door with Beast Boy, Raven and Starfire traveling behind. They reached the docks in no time to find the hive, hassling the crew of a massive ship. Gizmo stood out in particular, yelling at and chasing after the captain of the ship.
Robin looked at the rest of the team. He could see Cyborg ready to pounce on Gizmo and let him progress forward. He gave a slight nod to Raven and she went after Jinx, and Beast Boy went after Cyclops, leaving Robin and Starfire to take care of Mammoth.
He wasted no time in yelling at the massive giant; he merely delivered a strong right hook to his stomach. Today it was fight now and ask questions later. Mammoth dropped the crate he was carrying; it's contents spilling out over the ground. It was a group of small vials, they landed on the ground with a 'clank', some of them breaking. Mammoth seemed to be barely affected by the punch as he began to progress on the boy wonder, leaving him no time to ponder the chemicals.
Starfire blocked a deadly blow to Robin's head, via a starbolt. Her teeth were bared as she pushed against Mammoth's fist, trying to get it away from her comrade. Robin took this opportunity to pull out his bo staff and take out Mammoth's legs by bashing it into his knees. Mammoth collapsed with a grunt, but was soon to get up and advance on the pair once again.
"The bigger they are, the harder they fall!" Rob yelled and charged forward.
Star and Rob locked eyes for a second, deciding silently on an attack. Robin stopped in place, while Star charged up a large bolt in her hands. Mammoth continued charging forward, not seeing the obvious. Robin spun in a full circle, his staff colliding with Mammoth's side. Starfire finished taking him down by sending out her starbolt. He was blown back into the nearest warehouse, unconscious. The giant had stood no chance against the duo.
The two friends smiled at each other and glanced at the rest of the team. Cyborg was holding Gizmo by the back of his shirt as he cursed loudly, Jinx was joined by Mammoth in the ruble of the warehouse and Cyclops was smashed under Beast Boy in the form of a gorilla.
"Nice work team." Robin congratulated, but then his mind went back to the vials. What where they for?
He walked up to gizmo, glaring at the boy. "Alright, what exactly where you robbing this ship for?"
Gizmo grumbled. "Like I'm gonna tell a rotten pitsniffer like you."
Raven stepped forward, her eyes glowing red. Her cape was blowing ominously, giving a view to some eternal darkness. "I implore you to reconsider…."
"Oh crud…" Gizmo's eyes widened. "Okay, Okay…We we're robbing this ship for a supply of Zinothium, that creepy Slade guy wanted it."
Robin's teeth clenched reflexively. "Slade…" He had been expecting this sooner or later, god knows that man couldn't stay in hiding forever. "The police should be here soon."
The team waited only a few minutes for the police to arrive, they took the hive away to jail, though the team knew that they would be out on the streets again before they could count to three. They went back to the tower, ready to relax for a little bit before they were called out for another crime.
Robin, however, had no intention of relaxing. His mind was busy with questions, fears and anger. He watched as Raven, Beast Boy and Cyborg took seats on the couch, ready to dismiss the fact they had even heard Slade's name, even if just for an hour or so.
Starfire stood by Robin though; she was inspecting him. She could see that look in his eyes and she didn't care for it. She went to say something, to offer him a cup of coffee, but her communicator began to ring.
Surprised, she opened it up and put it to her ear, someone was calling her by phone. "Hello?"
He looked over at her, raising a suspicious eyebrow. But all his curiosity melted away when her face lit up and she uttered a name.
"Friend Joseph! How glorious it is to hear from you again! How have you been?" She began to walk away to her bedroom, smiling wildly.
Raven rolled her eyes. "Poor guy, she's going to talk his ear off now."
Beast Boy laughed. "Yeah, then poor you, 'cause you'll have to hear every detail they discussed."
Cyborg and Robin joined in Beast Boy's chuckling and Raven merely rolled her eyes once again, picking up a hefty spell book. Beast Boy began to flip mindlessly through the television channels as Robin forced himself to take a seat on the couch. He wasn't about to let himself get caught up with Slade like usual. He would take a bit of time to research, of course, but it could wait just a second or two…right?
"Hey Rob…Starfire's new friend sounds like quite the charmer, huh?" Cyborg asked, raising his eyebrow.
Rob looked over at Cy. "Huh? Uh…I guess so…"
Cyborg took a cautious pause before continuing. "She's gone gaga over the guy…are you…I don't know…jealous at all?"
His masked eyes widened. "Wha…What are you talking about!"
Raven looked up from her book to look at Robin, a bored expression on her face. "I could feel the mixed emotions pouring off you this morning at the breakfast table. Don't deny it."
Rob furrowed his eyebrows, trying to gain a serious expression. "I…I'm not jealous. Starfire is just meeting someone new, that's all. I have no idea what you guys are suggesting…"
Beast Boy peered at him. "Dude, it's written all over your face. You wish she would blab on and on like that about you. And believe me, I feel the same way..."
A moment of silence went through the room as everyone stared at Beast Boy. He gave a quick cough.
"I uh…I mean like, with all girls…I want all girls to talk about me that way… Heh." He gave a toothy grin.
"You better mean it that way…" Robin mumbled almost inaudibly and left the room without another word.
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Robin was huddled over his work desk as usual, piles of paper scattered around with odd ends of information. He wasn't focusing on any of it though. Sure, his mind wanted to focus on catching Slade, but a larger part was somewhere else, debating his team's accusations of his jealously. Was he really envious of this Joseph?
"No…Of course not…" He reassured himself out loud for the millionth time.
If that was true though, why did he get this sinking feeling in his heart when he thought about her with someone else. His mind briefly flashed back to when Starfire nearly got married to that green blob Blackfire had set up. He had felt that same feeling then as he did now… that time he had just pinpointed it as his skepticism of the situation, but here, there was nothing to be suspicious about. He had rung up a search on the name 'Joseph Wilson' but found nothing.
Rob leaned back in his chair, gazing up at the ceiling with a groan. It was then he heard a knock on the door and Starfire's sweet voice recited his name.
"Come in." He told her, standing up and stretching slightly.
Starfire entered the room, her hair pulled back into two long ponytails. She had on a black t-shirt, probably from Raven's closet with her normal purple skirt and a pair of black sandals. Robin swallowed slightly at the sight of her shapely legs; those boots really hid an eyeful.
"Robin, I thought you might like to know that I shall be absent from the tower for a few hours. Joseph and I are going to enjoy dinner and a film." She gave a bright smile, the light pink lip-gloss that illuminated her lips shone brightly.
A very slight sigh escaped his lips and he put on a fake smile. "Well, have fun and carry your communicator with you. If you get into any trouble, please don't hesitate to call."
She gave a nod. "I will see you later this evening."
He watched her leave the room, catching one last quick view of those model like legs. It wasn't normal for him to focus on a woman like this; he usually tried to keep himself very professional. It was much more than he could say for Beast Boy and Cyborg though; they would have hour-long talks about Raven, Starfire and Terra's 'best qualities' as Robin merely blocked it all out.
It was here he realized, painfully, that she was perfect. She was literally out of this world in beauty, charm and grace. Her odd speech patterns, that gorgeous smile and caring heart had seduced him in a snap. He realized that he was jealous of Joseph; jealous of the fact Starfire would so openly admit how much she liked him but would forever call Robin 'friend'.
He had the notion to stop her from seeing Joseph again, to run down the hall and tell her they needed to talk. But he stopped himself, perhaps this feeling he had identified as jealousy was just hormones talking….
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Starfire tried to keep herself from flying through town; she was just that happy. But Robin and the others had warned her numerous times that she should keep her flight for crime fighting since it wasn't exactly normal for humans to fly. She stopped abruptly and looked up at the restaurant. She frowned slightly, watching as woman in classic 'little black dresses' walked in with a man around their arm. She looked down at her own attire; a black shirt and a purple mini skirt.
"Starfire." She heard a familiar voice muse.
She looked up to see Joseph; he too was dressed down slightly from when she had first met him. He had on a pistachio green dress shirt that was slightly unbuttoned at the top, leaving a faint view to pale skin below. Star's eyes couldn't tear away from him; he was mesmerizing.
"I believe we have underdressed for this establishment of eatery." Star said with a faint smile.
He looked at the restaurant and shook his head. "No, we're not eating here. I just wanted to meet up here because it was close. Now, are you ready to go?"
Her face lit up again and she happily began to walk beside him. He watched her walk; there was such a spring in her step, such a sparkle in her eye. Everything was working out perfectly. She would soon begin to indulge secrets about her little friends without even really realizing it, and he would be able to finally take down the Titans once and for all.
Plus, there was the fringe benefit of watching Robin become painfully bitter that he hadn't taken his chance with Starfire in the first place.
They had chosen to eat at Red Lobster, Joseph had made a comment about it being the best place for drinks where you didn't have to make a reservation six weeks in advance. Starfire enjoyed the strange tastes of fish and shrimp, so she readily agreed.
"…I am quite worried about a friend of mine." Starfire said, spinning her straw in her glass of water.
Joseph gazed up at her, curious. "How so?" They had been on the topic of friendship for a little while now, he himself had described his close friendship with his butler, Wintergreen.
"Well, every once and a while, we are involved with this villain named Slade. Whenever he appears, however, my friend Robin becomes dangerously obsessed and often does thing she should not….and today, while we were fighting crime…one of the villains mentioned that Slade was behind the robbery."
Joseph quickly grabbed his drink to hide his successful smirk. He took a large swing of his beer, this was going to be easier than he had originally thought.
"So, you're worried about him becoming obsessed again?" Joseph asked, putting down his beer.
Starfire nodded. "Oh, if only our team could understand this Slade. It would make things much easier for us, especially Robin. I am sure that whoever Slade his, he is just a nice man who has fallen down the wrong path in life…"
"Well, maybe someday you'll understand him. If he wants you to…"
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Robin sat in the main room, tapping his fingers impatiently on the keyboard. He wanted Starfire to come home already, he was starting to worry about her being out so late. Especially when Slade was out there somewhere, plotting, stealing.
The clock struck 9 when the main room doors finally slid open to reveal Starfire. She instantly saw Robin sitting on the couch and smiled.
"Hello Robin! I trust your evening has been enjoyable?" She asked, walking over to him.
He sighed and stood up. "Yeah…And yours?"
"Glorious! You and must go sometime to try this lobster I feasted upon!" She made an odd gesture with her hands to show the lobster claws.
Robin really hated to ruin her upbeat demenor, but it was now or never. "Starfire…could you and I…talk for a second?"
She tilted her head slightly, picking up his nervousness. "Does something trouble you?" She asked, taking a seat on the couch.
Rob's mouth twitched into a nervous frown. He stared at her, trying desperately to make words come out of his mouth, but nothing happened. She stared right back at him, blinking curiously. Finally, he forced his mouth open.
"Star…I…"
He was cut off though, by the siren sounding off and the television blanking out for a second. Then, a transmission appeared on the screen, causing Robin to scowl.
"Slade…."
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A/N: There you have it, my second chapter! It took me a little while to write it as I was finishing up my previous story. Thanks to all who reviewed, especially you Rose, I actually did this story just for you. (Just put up with the RobStar…mmk? XD)
Love,
Emmery