10 Leisurely Days
by Blue Ten
Summary:
Robin finds out that Starfire will be leaving for Tamaran in 10 days. Keeping his discovery a secret, he has a little over a week to give her a reason to stay. But when things keep getting in the way, will he even get the chance? RobinxStarfire
Disclaimer:
I do not own Teen Titans.
Day 2, Part Two: Bedside Manner
The room was dark and gloomy, unfortunately well fit for the atmosphere that recent events had produced. With the windows closed and covered, the light from the afternoon could not penetrate the room. All the lights in the infirmary had been switched off as well, save for the single dim light above the examination table where Robin lay, all this was done to keep him from waking. The only sounds were the electrical humming of machines, and the beeping of Robin's heart monitor. Starfire sat in a chair beside the steel bed, as she had been for several hours, holding Robin's hand tightly in her own; looking away for a moment she watched many small lights on computer consoles blinking far off in the shadows. Turning her attention to the machine that Robin was attached to, she listened to the beeping sound it made every few moments, now realizing it was his heartbeat that it monitored. Glad to hear the steady series of beeps, she let out a sigh, knowing that at least in some form he was okay. However, she felt guilt, placing the blame on herself for leading Robin into danger, even if it was an accident.
She placed her free hand on Robin's forehead; his temperature was abnormally high, making her worry even more. Cyborg had told her that the sedative and antitoxin he had given Robin would help; unfortunately, these were two words she had yet to learn.
"I never want to see anything happen to you..." she said, tearing up as she realized he couldn't answer.
- - - - - -
Though the day had become moderately warm after the storm passed, the night brought with it a calm but chilly breeze. Awakened by the cold, Starfire opened her eyes, seeing once more the dazzling sea of diamonds that sparkled brightly in the sky. Sitting up, she shivered and rubbed her hands together for warmth; as she realized just how cold it was becoming, she became concerned about Robin. As she brought her gaze to where he was lying, just a few feet from her, he looked like he was unaffected by the increasingly cold air. She figured that he had not noticed the chill yet because he was wearing more clothes, but it would only be a matter of time before it would cause him to wake up. He seemed to be sleeping peacefully, something he would not often do... Starfire didn't want to wake him; however, she didn't want the cold to wake him either. Contemplating her options, she stood up and quickly made her way to the door on the roof.
"I will return, please do not move." she whispered. Opening the door, she flew swiftly down the stairs.
Soon, she floated back up the stairs to the rooftop, carrying a large purple blanket in her arms. Starfire was glad to see that Robin had remained asleep, however, she noticed that he had begun to shiver slightly. Quickly, she sat down beside him and draped the blanket over Robin and herself, relieved to see his shivering immediately subside. Laying down and resting her head on her arms, she found that the ground had become cold where she left it; she decided to move as close to Robin as she thought was appropriate, to warm up.
Looking at Robin's mask as he slept, Starfire thought about what she had told him when she came to the roof. She had lied; she didn't feel any better about the storm, that is, until she talked to him about it. She found that Robin could always make her feel better about anything; it was simply his presence that made her feel solace when the world became a strange and confusing place, protection when danger was imminent, and warmed when the cold presented itself. He did all these things for her without asking anything in return. She saw him as the most selfless person she had ever known; she saw him as much more than a mere friend.
She wanted to find a way to thank him somehow; an interesting thought came to her mind, but she wondered if she would be doing it for him, or for herself. Leaning her face in closer to his, she closed her eyes, and kissed him lightly on the cheek. "Thank you." she said, smiling as she pulled herself away. When she realized she had begun to hover, with the blanket being the only thing that kept her from blissfully floating away into the sky, she quickly cleared her mind of specific thoughts and let herself descend to the ground. Unable to remove all the dreamy imaginings, she smiled as she drifted off to sleep.
- - - - - -
"But it is my fault." she said, regretfully. Letting go of Robin's hand, she wiped away the tears which had begun welling up in her eyes, "You would not be in this condition if it was not for me--" she stopped, when a hand weakly took hold of her wrist. She turned her attention to Robin; he trembled as he held on to her hand, and struggled to keep his eyes open while he attempted to smile.
"Please, don't ever say that." he said, opening his eyes fully and trying to sit up, exerting great effort.
"Robin!" Starfire tackled him with a hug, knocking over the chair she was sitting on. "Thank X'hal you are--" Starfire gasped, "Cyborg said you should not move, there is poison in your blood..."
"Poison... Don't worry, I feel fine now." he said, not quite sure what to believe; but he was awake, which was reason enough to assume that the poison's affects had worn off. Starfire let go of Robin, examining him to make sure he was telling the truth. He seemed to be having some trouble keeping his eyes open, but other than that, he looked well. Still unconvinced, she placed a hand on his forehead; his temperature was still high.
"Robin, are you certain?" she asked, giving him a look he couldn't lie to.
"Yes. Positive." he said, sure of himself.
Starfire's eyes glistened as she locked him in another bone crunching hug, "Do not ever do that again..." she cried. Suddenly, Robin's heart monitor started to beep wildly, "Robin?" she asked, her voice muffled by his shoulder, which she had buried her face in.
"Oh... Uh, that's nothing, don't worry about it." he said, pulling at his collar. His vicinity to her had caused his heart to jump; he took it as another sign that he was healthy. Robin tried to slow his pulse by inhaling and exhaling deeply; of course, consequently, he was taking in the heavenly scent of her hair at the same time. Without thinking, he pulled the sensors from his chest, hoping to stop the machine before his heartbeat increased any more. Without a heartbeat to read, the monitor made it seem like Robin had flat lined, letting out a piercing and unending beep.
"Robin!" Starfire pulled away quickly, looking confused as she saw that he was alive.
Shaking his head at his own stupidity, Robin reached over and shut the machine down. "So... Where are the others?" he asked, attempting to change the subject.
"Do you not remember?" she asked, wiping away the last of her tears; seeing this, Robin felt a pang of guilt, realizing he had caused her to cry. "They have left to follow after the Iron man." she finished.
The memory of waking up and dropping his communicator on the floor suddenly reentered his mind. "What--No, we've gotta help them!" he said; jumping down from the table, he tried to walk but started to fall to the floor.
Catching Robin, Starfire wrapped her arms around his waist and lifted him up so he could stand, "You have not fully recovered..." she said.
"Please, they'll need us..." Robin said, turning around to look at her.
"Fine, I shall go. You will remain and rest." Starfire said firmly, crossing her arms in front of herself, trying to keep a steady expression at the thought of leaving Robin behind.
"No." he shook his head, "He's after you just as much as me now Star; if you go, I go." Robin said, placing a hand over the bandaged wound on his shoulder; he wouldn't let the same thing, or worse, happen to her.
Starfire sighed sadly; the last thing she wanted to see was a repeat of the battle in the park, but there was no stopping him when he was like this. "...Since you cannot walk, I will carry you."
- - - - - -
In the waning light of the late afternoon, the T-Car maneuvered swiftly through the traffic jammed city streets, dodging cars left and right, and taking shortcuts through vacant alleyways. Cyborg drove as fast as he could, following the location marked by the tracer; soon they would catch up to Iron, but the way Starfire had described him, made for a slight apprehension in the three Titans' attitudes. Beast Boy and Raven remained in the backseats, neither willing to take Robin's usual place in the front, in a vain attempt to avoid being prophetic. The only thing on their minds now, was locating this man, and finding out whatever they could about Robin's affliction, by whatever means necessary. But they couldn't shake the feeling that perhaps there was nothing they could do; the man had attempted to kill Robin, and if he meant to kill him, why would there be a way to stop it? If Iron didn't know a way to purge the poison, they could only hope that what Cyborg had done for Robin would be enough. Aside from that, Iron was obviously dangerous, and as the Teen Titans, it was their duty to stop him.
Raven looked across the car at Beast Boy; he wore an unusually staid and focused expression. He had been quiet for far too long; it made her uneasy to think that the state of affairs was so serious that even Beast Boy had nothing to say about it. Turning her attention to Cyborg, she saw that he seemed more angry than anything; already seeking vengeance for someone who may not even die. She wondered how Starfire was taking it; after all, it seemed to have cut her the deepest, all the way to her spirit.
Suddenly, Beast Boy's expression changed, "I swear, if Robin makes it through this, I'll never tease him about that whole Starfire thing again..." he said, partially joking. Hearing Beast Boy's voice, Raven and Cyborg actually felt a certain amount of weight lift from the particularly heavy atmosphere; for once, he had successfully lightened the mood.
- - - - - -
"Hurry, it's right up here." Beast Boy said, pushing Cyborg and Raven up the stairs to the roof. Groggy and tired, both had a 'this better be good' expression on their faces. Beast Boy opened the door; a cool burst of air from the early morning woke each of them up immediately. Cyborg and Raven stepped outside after Beast Boy, scanning the roof for this 'big emergency' he had told them about.
"So, where's the big--" Cyborg and Raven cut themselves off in unison, as their jaws dropped to the floor. There, near the edge of the tower, were Robin and Starfire, huddled closely under a blanket.
"See, told ya it was an emergency." Beast Boy said, grinning widely at their reactions. "So, I was thinking the perfect prank would be to--"
"Hey, I'm all for messin' with Robin about the low level stuff. But THIS is where I draw the line, this is serious." Cyborg said, pointing at what was in front of him with a dumbfounded expression on his face, unable to shake certain thoughts from his mind.
"Calm down, they were obviously watching the stars together and fell asleep; there's really nothing more to it than that... sickos." Raven said, rolling her eyes.
"Then where'd the blanket come from, hm? And sickos? Didn't I see your jaw on the ground a couple seconds ago?" Beast Boy asked, smirking and raising an eyebrow at Raven. Raven said nothing in response, pulling her hood on. "I could say, 'did you two have a nice nap up there?' or something like that. I can't wait to see the look on his face!" Beast Boy laughed at his own joke.
"What, you mean the urge to kill?" Cyborg said. "Something tells me Robin wouldn't be such a good sport about it. Take our advice..."
"Don't say it." Raven finished for Cyborg.
"...Fine, you guy's are no fun."
- - - - - -
Thinking about how Beast Boy had made a fool of himself earlier in the morning, Cyborg and Raven suppressed their laughter. "Yeah, that'll be the day." Cyborg said sarcastically. Glancing at the communicator, Cyborg saw that the tracked location was no longer off the map; before he got any closer to it, Cyborg brought the car to a screeching halt, just outside of an alley.
Beast Boy pulled his face out from the back of the seat in front of him, "Hey Cyborg! What's the--"
"He's in there." Cyborg pointed out the window, to the dark alley ahead of the car.
The Titans stepped out of the car, cautiously approaching the alley. They had mixed feelings about how dark the alley was. The shadows could help conceal their movements, giving them the element of surprise; on the other hand, Iron could be waiting in there for them, ready to attack on a moment's notice. Feeling like the face of a sign saying 'attack me', Cyborg guardedly led the others into the shadows, paying close attention to the blinking dot on Robin's communicator. Like a maze, the alley was the union of four buildings, with multiple turns and corners. Cyborg halted and motioned for the others to stop as they came to a corner, around which was a fairly large open space in the center of the buildings; Cyborg tapped on the communicator and then pointed around the corner, showing the others where Iron was without speaking. Beast Boy and Raven nodded in response; Cyborg began counting down with his fingers. Three. Two. One.
Cyborg jumped out from around the corner with the others, aiming his sonic cannon, charged and ready. "Alright! We got you... cornered?" he stopped and retracted his weapon, when he saw that the area was completely empty. Stepping into the center, Cyborg looked at the communicator once more; he was standing on the blinking dot, "I don't get it, we should be right on top of him..." he said, shaking the communicator like it was broken.
Beast Boy scanned the area carefully. Except for some dumpsters and piles of cardboard boxes, the region was vacant; there definitely wasn't a ten foot tall, cybernetically enhanced super villain anywhere. By chance, Beast Boy looked above to the rooftops, gasping when something caught his eye, "Cyborg! Above you!" he yelled.
"What--" Cyborg turned his attention to the sky, to see a large figure plummeting toward him, holding its arms out. Without enough time to move, Cyborg reached up and caught the grasp of the giant, who he immediately recognized as Iron. The ground beneath the two cracked and uplifted as Iron crashed and their hands became locked in a death grip; metal versus mettle. "Iron... is it?" Cyborg asked, struggling to hold back against Iron's tremendous strength.
"How long did you think I was gonna let you follow me?" Iron growled, pushing Cyborg harder against the broken ground.
"Hang on, I got him!" Beast Boy called; morphing into a rhinoceros, he charged at Iron.
Releasing his grip with one hand, Iron reached to his side and took hold of Beast Boy's horn before he could attack. With one quick flick of the wrist, Beast Boy was hurled across the area and into the brick wall of one of the four buildings; collapsing into a pile of boxes, he reverted to human form. "So weak, so small, so stupid." Iron mocked, with his attention turned to Beast Boy.
"Stupid is as stupid does." Cyborg commented. Shifting his focus to the voice, Iron found himself staring down the barrel of Cyborg's sonic cannon. Cyborg blasted Iron right in the face at point blank range; when the smoke of the explosion cleared, his mask remained undamaged and he seemed unshaken.
Iron laughed, slamming his free hand into Cyborg's once again. "I must admit, you're quite strong." he said, tightening his grip, "But I'm stronger." Iron lifted his hand away once more, readying it to crush Cyborg into the ground.
"Azarath. Metrion. Zinthos!" Raven spoke her incantation; Iron's fist stopped inches from Cyborg's face as it became enveloped in dark energy.
"The empath. Want me to prove your weakness as well?" With a growl, Iron broke through Raven's energy as though he had shattered glass; as his fist slammed into Cyborg, the ground erupted with a plume of dust and debris.
"Cyborg!" Beast Boy yelled, standing up from the pile of boxes. Morphing into a gorilla, Beast Boy ran up to Iron; grabbing him by the arms, he actually managed to push him away toward a wall. Using all his strength to hold Iron at bay, Beast Boy looked back at the plume of dust as it cleared; Cyborg stood up from the hole in the ground, struggling to regain his balance. Iron pushed Beast Boy's hands away, kicking him across the battlefield, over Cyborg's head and to the ground where he landed, face first next to Raven, in human form.
Cyborg looked at the others; turning back and glaring at Iron, he gritted his teeth and rushed at him, growling furiously. Once more, Cyborg and Iron met in a test of strength; however, Cyborg managed to slam him against the wall, breaking the bricks away. "Who's strong now?" Cyborg asked angrily.
"Persistent. You always were." Iron responded strangely, pushing back.
"What?" Cyborg was perplexed by Iron's bizarre answer, staring at his plain and solid black mask.
Massaging the pain from his face, Beast Boy strained to get up; he looked to Raven, who appeared considerably shaken by Iron's ability. "Raven, run! We'll hold him off!" he said, hoping that at least one person could survive this encounter.
"Hah! Fools, you're not going anywhere!" Iron shouted, lifting Cyborg off the ground and throwing him into Beast Boy and Raven.
Groaning, the three labored to move, "He's too strong..." Cyborg said grudgingly.
"He's too... big." Beast Boy added.
"And the bigger they are..." Robin's voice turned the Titans' attention to the sky above them; it might as well have been the singing of angels, however strange that thought sounded. A small silver ball landed in front of Iron; a light flashed and exploded from its position, washing out the visible area in a blinding white radiance. The sound of Starfire's starbolts could be heard, blasting and striking something in the haze.
"The harder they descend!" Starfire finished, and the ground shook.
As the light faded away, the Titans could see Robin and Starfire standing in front of them. The receding luminosity revealed something even more shocking in the distance; Iron had fallen to the ground, both his legs and one of his arms had been destroyed without a trace.
Iron's body quaked as he attempted to pull himself along the ground with one arm; unfortunately for him, he was far too heavy and cumbersome for it to make much of a difference. Nevertheless, he continued to drag his wrecked body along the ground toward the Titans, the bare metal from his broken limbs scraped horribly against the ground. "You, you're alive? I was aiming for your heart..." he trailed off angrily, tilting his masked head upward from the ground to face Robin. Starfire eyed him crossly, her hands still imbued with green energy.
"Cyborg, he... could still pose a... threat. Can you... shut down his motor functions?" Robin asked, breathing heavily as he rested his weight on the wall. Hearing the exertion in Robin's voice, Starfire wanted to turn around and go to him, but decided to keep an eye on Iron who she believed posed a much greater threat to Robin's life. The other Titans stared at Robin for a moment like they had seen a ghost, before Cyborg nodded in response.
"Gladly." he replied, dying for a little payback. Cyborg cracked his metal knuckles as he walked over to Iron, who attempted to grasp at him, but to no avail. Examining Iron's armor, he saw that it had the same unique construction signatures as the cybernetic arms Cloak and Dagger were equipped with. Cyborg, being the expert mechanic he was, glanced a well hidden panel on Iron's back; tearing it open, he found the wires that he deduced were in conjunction with Iron's limbs. Instead of simply severing the wires, he grabbed them as a group and tore them out. Iron's arm, which had been moving about, dropped to the ground with a metallic thud.
"I... failed." Iron said, as he lost control of his movements. Quickly, he turned his head to Starfire, "You, you're the strongest. At least there's some hope now, since that one has so little time left--"
"You will mind your words, or I will remove your ability to speak them!" Starfire yelled scornfully, crouching down and focusing a starbolt at Iron's face. The others were surprised to see Starfire so angry, as this was the one emotion she rarely ever let show. Iron fell silent and turned his face away, obviously struck down by Starfire's threat.
- - - - - -
Even without his legs, Iron was too big and heavy to be taken away in a car, so a police helicopter was flown in to airlift him away. Iron had not spoken since Starfire had threatened to make him permanently mute; the Titans were quite glad of this, as the sound of his voice had become tremendously infuriating. After exchanging gratitudes with the Titans, the JCPD attached the still silent Mr. Iron to the airlift and began pulling him away.
Cyborg watched intently as Iron was ascending, 'Persistent. You always were.' the memory of what Iron had said suddenly hit him. "Who are you!" Cyborg yelled above the sound of the helicopter's blades.
"The world's a different place than it used to be Vic. You should reconsider the path you've taken!" Iron shouted back, now suspended several feet above the rooftops.
"You... know him?" Beast Boy and Raven asked in unison, also watching the helicopter fly away.
"I'm not sure. But he knows me..." Cyborg said, looking at his hands which had been nearly crushed by Iron's grip.
With Mr. Iron finally out of view, Starfire sighed, at long last discharging her energy. "Robin you--" Starfire turned around to see Robin collapsed on the ground, motionless. "Robin!" Starfire ran to his side, attempting to pick him up; his skin was cold, and she could not tell if he was breathing.
"What happened!" The others asked fearfully as they turned around; their attention had been too focused on Iron to have noticed Robin before.
"Robin, he is... okay?" Starfire asked, pulling Robin's arm over her shoulder to hold him up.
Without delay, Cyborg rushed over to them, placing a hand on Robin's neck, "We've gotta get him back to the tower!" Cyborg exclaimed; hearing this caused Starfire and the others to have simultaneous heart attacks. "He needs rest and... food. He passed out from exhaustion." Cyborg finished. The others glared at Cyborg for not finishing his sentence earlier. Feeling the penetrating looks of the Titans, Cyborg reached a hand out to Starfire, "Here, I'll take him back to the car." he offered.
"No, I shall have no difficulty carrying him." she said, picking Robin up fully. The others could hardly contain their laughter as they saw this; it was strange to see Robin cradled in Starfire's arms, the roles were usually reversed. Nonetheless, the Titans decided to suppress their amusement as they made their way back to the T-Car, all were simply glad to know that Robin was alive and well.
- - - - - -
By means of Cyborg's suggestion and Starfire's arms, Robin was returned to the infirmary, just in case. Several scans showed that his body had successfully fought off the poison with the help of the antitoxin; there were harmless traces of it left.
As the sounds of the room slowly faded back into his hearing, Robin opened his eyes, letting the blurry shapes and lights shift into focus. Lifting his head off the pillow, he searched his surroundings with his eyes, trying to figure out where he was; the last thing he remembered was watching the police take Iron away. The room was dark and quiet, except for the ambient sounds of various machines and medical equipment; he realized he was back in the infirmary. He saw that the windows were wide open, letting fresh air in; it was obviously very late at night, as there was no light coming from the outside. Attempting to move his arms, he found that someone was holding on to one of his hands; turning his attention to his right, he saw that Starfire was sleeping peacefully, resting her head on the side of the bed. Seeing her there, his worries disappeared and he smiled.
"I'm sorry for making you worry so much..." he sighed.
Starfire yawned and lifted her head up, her hair had been pushed up on one side and she stood still for a moment, blinking; seeing Robin awake, she immediately fixed her hair back in to place, "Robin, you have awakened!" she said happily, eyes gleaming with joy. Starfire reached over to the table beside the bed, "Here, you must eat." she said, holding a plate in front of Robin. Robin saw the contents of the plate as a pile of green gelatin with pink ginger root floating in it; Starfire's homemade Glorg. "Please, it will help you regain your strength."
Slightly apprehensive, Robin took the plate, looking questioningly at the quivering mass on it. Robin looked to Starfire who smiled hopefully; he didn't want to disappoint her, and he realized he was fairly hungry, only now noticing his stomach growling voraciously and his hands shaking from said hunger. With Starfire's smile in mind, he picked up a large chunk and ate it, 'Hmm. It really does taste like sushi and ice cream.' he thought, surprised at the pleasing taste of such an odd mixture of flavors. Astonished by his own hunger, he gulped down the rest of it. "Thanks Star." he said, reassuring her with a smile.
"Ah, wonderful!" she exclaimed.
"So, I guess we can't watch the stars tonight... sorry." he said regretfully, looking at the window. He felt as though the entire day had been wasted while he slept; an opportunity lost.
"Robin... I do not want to lose you. Please, promise me... promise me you will not put yourself in danger like that again." Starfire said, unsure of what his answer would be; he was, after all, the leader of the team, it would be extraordinarily hard for him to keep such a promise.
Robin sat still for a moment, his face feeling warmer by the second, 'Did she really just say that?' he asked himself. Thinking it was a stupid request, Starfire decided to retract it; however, Robin responded before she could.
"Star... I promise, never again."
Author's Note: I hope those flashback sequences answered most of your questions about part 1. I noticed some people guessed that Raven had given Robin and Starfire the blanket. Just to let you know, that's not entirely inaccurate; I had actually planned on doing that, but I just thought this was cuter. The hint in the last chapter was that Starfire put the blanket back on her bed, where it belonged.
Night'sMysteriousStar - Yeah, all the days will probably be two-parters. Unless I felt like writing a 10,000 word chapter all at once; or if I condensed one day into 5000 words, but then I'd feel like I was cheating you out of a lot.
Starfire-is-not-a-wimp - Tofu vs. Meat; I really did over do that part, and I am ashamed...LOL. XD
tigerchic121- Heh, that's exactly it! If there was a prize, you'd have won it. :)
darkengelchic- "but i think ur straying from the plot..." Or am I? Okay, maybe a little; I'm trying to put obstacles in the way for Robin to overcome. It's meant to make you think, "Can Robin still convince Starfire to stay, with all this stuff going on?"
Next Chapter Preview: After Mr. Iron is put in jail, and a strange announcement on the news, Cyborg sneaks off to confront him in person. Robin wastes no time in making up for a lost day as he tries to figure out something Starfire would consider 'special'. Finally, a day that goes without incident? Day 3, Part 1: Back on Track.
