Disclaimer: Characters do not belong to me. Simple as that.

Author's Notes: Thank you everyone for your sweet concern about my surgery. Really, it wasn't major stuff and I'm doing just fine now. As evidenced by this new chapter! Enjoy and take care;)

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Flying Home

by Kristen Elizabeth

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And I never saw blue like that before

Across the sky

Around the world

You've given me all you have and more

And no one else has ever shown me how

To see the world the way I see it now

Oh, I never saw blue like that

-Shawn Colvin

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"Everything's different now."

Curled up against Robin's bare chest, Starfire nodded happily. "Yes. I did not know…Raven did not tell me…how glorious it would be."

He dropped a kiss on the top of her head. "Just what did Raven tell you?"

"She said it was awkward and painful and messy."

"And you still wanted to?"

Starfire snuggled further into the crook of his arm. "I believed it would be worth it. And I was right."

"Star…" He stopped, unable to come up with adequate words. "I didn't hurt you, did I?"

"You did not," she replied. "I have never been happier in my entire life than I am right now."

"I know what you mean," he whispered.

They spent a long moment of pure contentment, skin to skin, simply listening to each other's heartbeats. Robin's fingers traced patterns up and down Star's back, reveling in her softness. She'd given her whole self to him without reservations, and for as long as he lived, he'd never figure out what good thing he'd done to deserve such a gift. He never wanted to move, he never wanted to let her go again. She belonged right there, in his bed, in his arms.

But was he letting his baser instincts get in the way of what he knew was right?

"Robin," Starfire said softly. "Was this enjoyable for you?"

He almost laughed, but stopped himself just in time. "Yes. God, yes. Star…I've never felt anything like this." With the tip of his finger, Robin tipped her chin up so he could see her. "It was enjoyable for me."

"I am glad." She sat up and looked down at him with a determined expression. "Now you will come home so that we might be intimate every night."

Robin's eyes grew wide. "Star, I'm not a machine." She tipped her head to one side, frowning. "Not that I wouldn't give it a shot, I'm just…I mean…" He propped himself up on his elbows. "Do we have to talk about this right now?"

"What else do people talk about when they are in bed?"

"Um…good question." His stomach answered it for him, grumbling with massive intensity. "Food."

"Food?"

"I had a pizza in the oven. Good thing Bru…um…the oven turn itself off. It's probably stone cold now, but I could heat it…" He frowned. "Star? What's wrong?"

Starfire looked down at her hands, her lower lip trembling. "What did you really mean when you said that everything is different?"

"I don't know," he answered, quietly. "Everything, I guess. The team back at the Tower, for one. I mean Beast Boy alone…"

"He has hit his spurt of growth," she told him. "Cyborg said it was about time and I often see Raven looking at him very oddly."

Robin flopped back onto his pillows. "Everyone's changed and moved on…and now us…" He looked away. "Maybe we rushed into this."

"I did not rush," Starfire said a few moments later. "I am sorry if you feel that you did." Wrapped up in Robin's comforter, she slipped out of bed. "I wanted very much to make some love with you."

"I wanted it, too."

She held the makeshift robe closed just over her heart; the dark blue fabric draped her perfectly. Robin shifted under the single sheet she'd left behind, desire creeping up anew. "But you still do not wish to come home. Not even to be with me."

"It's not that simple, Star."

Starfire shook her head. "I believe that it is."

"I wish I could make you understand."

"You cannot." With her free hand, she reached for her skirt. It lay in a crumpled pile along with his shirt and jeans. "And I do not think there is anything more to say."

"Star. Star, wait." He jumped out bed and reached her just as she let go of the comforter. Robin came up behind her and gently placed his hands on her shoulders. "Star, I'm sorry."

"Please do not say beautiful things if you do not mean them."

Robin kissed the fragrant nape of her neck. "Come back to bed."

She hesitated. "If our intimacy is not going to bond us, then why…"

"I don't know what's going to happen tomorrow. Getting stabbed kind of proved to me that I'm not invincible." He turned her around, his hands dropping down to her slender waist. "I don't want to lose what we've found here so soon."

Starfire looked up at him, searching the eyes he'd kept hidden for so many years. "So many shades of blue." She reached up and touched his cheek. "You hide so much, Robin."

"I have to."

"Why?"

"Because. I don't know how else to live."

"Oh Robin." Rising onto her toes she kissed both his cheeks, then let her lips linger on his. "When I first arrived on Earth, I did not know how to live here. You helped me learn the things I needed to know. You were my teacher and my friend. But now, Robin…" She slipped her arms around his neck. "I believe it is my turn to teach you something."

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"Star's been gone a long time." Beast Boy flopped onto the couch next to Raven. "Think she's okay?"

Raven refused to look away from her book, but his sudden presence was not unwelcome. Did he smell especially good, or was her mind playing tricks on her? "I'd imagine they're either fighting or having sex. Either way, I'm sure she can take care of herself."

He frowned, considering this. "Well, if they are having sex, maybe it means he'll come back to the Tower."

"I wouldn't count on it." Raven marked her place and set her book aside.

"Why not?"

"Because." She crossed her legs and folded her arms. "Sex isn't some relationship miracle cure. Whatever's bothering Robin isn't going to be solved by a quick roll in the sack."

"And you'd know for sure?" he asked.

Raven shot him a brief look. "Yeah. I would."

"How?"

She stood up abruptly. "If anyone needs me, I'll be on the roof."

"Raven, wait." Beast Boy stood up and reached for her arm. Just before his fingers made contact with her skin, all she could think about was how tall he was now. She had to peer up to meet his eyes. His hand nearly scorched her cool skin. "You know, if you ever want to talk about…um…stuff, I'm here."

"I don't want to talk about 'stuff.' There is no 'stuff' to talk about," she snapped back. "Please let go of my arm."

He released her immediately. His face, still green but now with the features of a man, rather than a boy, fell. "You'll never let me in, will you?"

"I don't let anyone in." She turned, her dark blue cape billowing around her. "Get used to it."

"Just so you know," Beast Boy called out even as she walked away. "That's never gonna happen." He repeated the vow under his breath. "Never."

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Starfire woke with the sun and before Robin showed any signs of stirring. She worried momentarily that the night's activities might have aggravated his wound, but he'd continued to assure her, even in the heights of passion, that he was all right.

Sitting up next to his sleeping body, she happily hugged her knees her chest. This was it was like to be lovers with another being. She'd had her first taste of pleasure and now she was experiencing the warmth and security of a shared bed. She couldn't keep a silly smile off her face.

Pressing two fingers against her lips, she transferred the kiss to Robin's mouth, and slid out of bed. Donning his oversized shirt, Starfire slipped out of his room. She'd wake him with breakfast in bed, she decided. Pancakes and bacon and eggs and coffee, all topped off with lots of maple syrup!

It seemed like a simple plan, but somehow during the night she'd forgotten just how complex Robin's home was. She was lost within minutes. Retracing her steps didn't help her situation; in fact, it only made things worse as she soon found herself in a part of the mansion that she didn't recognize at all.

"This is not good," she said out loud.

Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a moving shadow at the far end of the ornate hallway. Robin had said they were alone in the house. Was there an intruder? On silent feet, Starfire crept down the hall. Her wrists glowed green in preparation. No one was going to rob her boyfriend's home!

As she approached the bend in the hallway, she saw the shadow again. Whoever it was, they were just around the corner. Taking a breath, Starfire made her move, throwing two starbolts in rapid succession.

The mysterious intruder was nothing more than moving blur as it dodged her attack. Before she knew it, the shadow had taken form behind her and grabbed her around the throat. She managed to get out a loud scream before her air supply was cut off.

"Robin!!"

"What the hell?" Her attacker released her a second later; she choked for breath. "Are you all right?"

Still coughing, Starfire looked up and caught her first good look at the intruder. He was handsome, older, but handsome, with dark hair and even darker features. "Can you talk?" he asked her.

"I…I believe so," she rasped. "Who are…you?"

Robin answered the question, racing into the hallway just then in nothing but a pair of shorts. He clutched a freeze disk in one hand. "Bruce!?"

"Bruce?" Starfire asked.

He dropped the disk and went to her side, checking her slender throat. "You can breathe?" She nodded. "What happened?"

"I…I wanted to make you…breakfast."

Bruce eyed his partner. "I take it you know this girl."

"Of course I know her," Robin scowled at the older man. "And you'd recognize her if you'd bothered to look before you got her in headlock."

"Starfire," Bruce said a second later. "My deepest apologies. I'm not used to being attacked in my own home."

She allowed Robin to fold her up in his arms. "I thought you were a burglar."

"I'm not." Bruce held out his hand. "Bruce Wayne."

"He's…um…he was my guardian," Robin explained. "When I was younger."

Starfire was in too much shock to put the pieces of the puzzle together. "I am very sorry to meet you like this."

Bruce nodded. "As am I." He shot Robin a look. "Can I talk to you for a moment?"

Reluctantly, Robin pried Starfire away from his shoulder. "I'll just be a moment. Follow the hallway down and take a right. At the bottom of the stairs, take a left and you'll be in the kitchen. I'll meet you there." He let her go with a kiss and watched until she was out of sight. Then, the full weight of his fury turned onto his mentor. "You could have killed her!"

"She could have killed me. Those energy bolts weren't exactly friendly fire." Bruce crossed his arms over his broad chest. "We both apologized, so let's mark this up as getting off to the wrong foot, and nothing more, shall we? But before we abandon the subject altogether…" An amused smirk spread onto his stoic face. "Is this what you do when I'm out of town?"

Robin was suddenly all too aware of his state of near undress…not to mention Starfire's. His cheeks colored. "It's a long story."

Bruce very nearly laughed. "I should hope so. For her sake."

"I'm not having this conversation with you."

"Yes, you are. Were you careful?"

Robin buried his face in his hands. "I don't believe this…"

"It's very important that you…"

"Stop!" He shook his head. "She's not human…it's not an issue!"

"Are you certain? In my experience…"

The younger man backed up, away from Bruce. "I so do not need to hear about your amorous adventures with alien women. I'm twenty-one years old; I'm not some dumb kid anymore."

Bruce watched him with a fatherly eye. "No, you're not."

"What are you doing back, anyway? Did Fiji get rained out?"

"Actually, that's something we need to talk about. I'm afraid you'll have to cut your rendezvous short. There's trouble."

Robin frowned. "Starfire's a Titan. She could join us." He gave him a defiant look. "She knows who I am."

"But she doesn't know who I am. And I'd like to keep it that way."

The faint sounds of Starfire singing in the kitchen floated in the air around them. Robin swallowed. "I can't just…thank her for a great night and tell her to go home." Bruce said nothing. "I trust her, Bruce. I…love her."

"It's not too late to make a different choice, Dick," Bruce said. "Is this partnership what you really want? Or would you rather be part of a team again?"

"I don't know what I want," Robin finally admitted. "I really don't."

"You'll figure it out." Bruce checked his watch. "But try to do it as quickly as possible. We're needed elsewhere."

"Yeah." Robin barely nodded at him as Bruce left, heading for his spacious private rooms. "Shit."

By the time he made it to the kitchen, Starfire had already whipped up a big plate of scrambled eggs and doused it with so much syrup that the yellow pieces of egg swam in a sea of sticky maple. She looked up at him with a proud smile. "Come and eat, Robin!"

"Star." He swallowed back a lump in his throat. "Last night was amazing. Thank you." Steeling himself, Robin continued, "Stay and have breakfast…but I've got to…" He stopped, blinking back hot tears. "I've gotta get going."

"Robin?"

But he was already halfway out the door and refused to look back. "I'm sorry. I'm just...really sorry."

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To be continued