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 3, Part One: Back on Track
The morning sun broke through the open window, catching the many hovering particles of dust in its rays, illuminating them like fireflies which danced and floated playfully about the increasing radiance. A gentle breeze floated through, picking up the plain white curtains, causing them to sway and wave like calm currents on the surface of the ocean. The bright and warm light of dawn had never carried with it more promise for Robin than he believed this morning did; as the sun woke him from his dreams, he brought a hand over his face to cover his squinting eyes. Removing the blanket and stepping down from his bed, Robin stretched and took in the fresh air.
Robin looked around his room, which was the most unfamiliar to him out of all the others in the entire tower, except for Raven's of course. A single bed with simply colored sheets was situated by the window, which was draped with plain off-white curtains. A big empty carpeted floor made up most of the space in the room; the walls were decorated by several unused desks, bookcases, and cabinets. Robin always thought his room could use a little more personality, unfortunately he had been a diehard workaholic for so long that he hardly remembered what his personality was; but he didn't mind it so much, his room was a nice break from the cluttered and suffocating Crime Lab, where he had normally spent most of his time. This morning was different though, after waking up in the infirmary at night, feeling oddly refreshed, he decided to finally use his room as more than just a storage area for his uniforms. He wondered if it was Starfire who made him feel better; actually, he knew it was her. And it was about time he returned the favor.
Suddenly the alarm clock on the side of his bed snapped him back to reality as it beeped continuously; shutting it off, he realized he had actually woken up before it sounded, which was very unusual. Though he had just been poisoned and spent the entirety of the previous day passed out in the infirmary, he felt surprisingly good as he stretched once more, ignoring the bandage on his shoulder. With Mr. Iron out of the way, he felt like he could get back on track with what really mattered. He wanted to use this day simply to spend time with Starfire, trying to find out something... some way to make these last seven days special in her eyes; he could only hope that she wouldn't mind a little extra attention, he knew he wouldn't mind giving her that attention.
Robin opened the sliding door to his closet; the interior was made up of his uniforms suspended by hangers, his boots lining the floor, spare masks piled on a top shelf, and many other articles of clothing hidden away in drawers. Seeing this, he was reminded of the time when he left to seek training from the true master, and while he was away, Beast Boy had convinced everyone to dress up in his uniforms; he remembered how Starfire looked, the suit had been a little too small for her... At the thought, Robin wished he was taller, after all, they were nearly the same age, he might even be a little older; and yet, in his mind, she towered over him. Turning his attention to the far end, he saw a bit of black and white which abruptly broke the color scheme. Robin looked at the tuxedo he had worn to Kitten's prom, smiling and laughing inwardly as he grabbed a bath towel and pulled a uniform off the rack.
- - - - - -
Starfire, having become quite fond of the strange way that humans sleep over the past couple of days, rested with her head on the pillows; she found it to be nearly as comfortable as the way she normally slept, and the softness of the pillows seemed much better suited for the face as opposed to the feet. At the sound of her Mumbo-shaped alarm clock, Starfire reached out and switched it off. Sitting up and yawning, she let her blanket fall off as she stretched; when the light which peeked through the closed purple curtains caught her eye, Starfire tiredly flew up from her bed and made her way to the window, still quite exhausted from all of yesterday's 'excitement'. Throwing the curtains open, she closed her eyes and let the sunlight hit her face, immediately waking her up. She opened her eyes to see the ocean sparkling and shimmering brilliantly in the early morning sunlight; the scene was so beautiful that she could not contain her smile.
After coming so close to losing Robin, Starfire decided that she would spend as much time with him today as she possibly could, whether he liked it or not; however, she was almost certain that he would not... She often wondered if he ever became annoyed by her constant companionship, he never seemed to be, but there were many things he didn't show on the surface. But she couldn't afford to think about such things at this moment; she wanted to make the best of this day, which looked to be the beginning of a magnificent one. Shaking away any doubts from her mind, she let an optimistic smile adorn her expression as she turned away from the window.
Starfire opened the door to her closet. Within were many pairs of her usual uniform; her purple top, miniskirt, boots and gloves. However, she also stored many Tamaranian relics in it, like the Gorka pipe, and various trinkets for use in obscure holidays and celebrations such as Blorthog. Out of all the Titans, she probably had the most varied wardrobe; she had kept the dress she wore to the prom, as well as the wedding gown she was forced to wear, which she held on to for... uncertain reasons. Without bothering to pick out a new uniform, Starfire grabbed a bath towel and headed for her door.
- - - - - -
Cyborg sat alone on the couch in the living room, unable to use the night for much recharging, he had been up since very early in the morning, as evidenced by the dark circle under his human eye. His mind was plagued by the words of Iron, 'Persistent. You always were.' Cyborg cringed at the thought, 'The world's a different place than it used to be Vic. You should reconsider the path you've taken!" more words surfaced in his mind, which he shook his head at. Cyborg picked up the remote, deciding to take his mind off of these things by watching some TV. As he switched the power on, the screen and audio faded in to show the morning news. The anchorwoman sat at her table holding papers in her hands; a graphic floated in the top right of the screen, reading, 'Breaking News!'
"--as we bring you more on last night's apprehension. With the help of the Teen Titans, a man who we now know as Mr. Iron was taken into police custody last night." she said.
'Mr. Iron... It can't be just a coincidence.' Cyborg thought, hearing for the first time the prefix attached to Iron's name.
"Apparently, this man was the mastermind behind an underground criminal organization known as The Tempest. This organization was in connection with the recent strain of bank robberies perpetrated by Cloak and Dagger, or Lucas and Maxwell Redstrom, child operatives of this group and former students at West Jump City High. Police are working on identifying this Mr. Iron, however he has not revealed anything more than his alias and his position in The Tempest; and finding a DNA sample has proven to be quite difficult, with Mr. Iron's unusual anatomy. We'll have more on this story as it unfolds, tonight at eleven. On a lighter note, preparations for the annual--" the broadcast was cut off as Cyborg hit the power button. In sheer frustration, he threw the remote at the couch, growling under his breath.
'Mastermind? But Star said he was under orders...' he thought, resting his face in his hands. 'I've gotta figure this out... make sense of it somehow.' Cyborg turned his attention to the main doors.
- - - - - -
Beast Boy snored noisily as he remained in the same position as he had been since he collapsed on his bed from exhaustion at night. On the bottom bunk, the upper half of his torso hung over the side of the bed, while his legs and the weight of his blanket were the only things that kept him from falling off. With every breath he took, his body shifted further over the edge; finally, with his next inhalation, he fell flat on his head in a pile of clothes, waking immediately.
"...Ouch." he said in a groggy daze, fingers twitching. Rolling over to sit up properly, he massaged an aching pain from his neck.
After fully waking, Beast Boy realized his stomach was growling; standing up and traipsing through the trash heap he called a room, Beast Boy opened the door. Entering the hallway, he made his way to the common room, which he was surprised to find completely vacant.
- - - - - -
Raven, who had already awakened and performed her morning rituals before the others, remained in her dim lit room, meditating. Her mind was somewhat focused on last night's battle; she wondered what technology allowed Iron to break through her control, or was it sheer strength that let him do so? The thought was frightening. 'Raven, run! We'll hold him off!' Raven broke out of her trance when she wondered what in the world had possessed her to think of that; regaining her concentration, she smiled knowing that she had friends who were willing to do such a selfless... albeit stupid thing for her.
- - - - - -
However enthusiastic about the day both were, Robin and Starfire could hardly keep their eyes open as they walked through the hallway, trying to find the bathroom, unaware of the other's presence. As they came upon a familiar door, they reached their hands out to grab the handle. Startled when their hands met, both jumped back, hearts pounding violently in their chests; if anything, a good scare was the perfect wake up call for the two.
"Oh! Robin, it is you." Starfire said, calming herself. She noticed that Robin was holding a towel and a change of clothes in his arms, "If you were going to use the bathing room, I can wait." she offered kindly.
"Huh--Oh, no it's alright, you can go first. I'm in no hurry." he responded quickly, noticing the towel in her hands.
"Why thank you! I shall not take long!" Starfire said with a smile, rushing into the bathroom and closing the door behind her.
One hour later. Robin stood in the hallway outside the bathroom door, now considering having a serious talk with Cyborg about installing more bathrooms in the tower; it was pretty ironic that the tower had so many extra rooms, but only one bathroom. Of course, he wasn't at all upset with Starfire; as she had explained before, bathing is a very important custom for her people, it was not unusual for a Tamaranian to spend several hours just washing; they had surprisingly excellent hygiene for a race of warriors. Robin turned his attention back to the door when he heard the handle move.
"I hope I did not make you wait too long." Starfire said with an apologetic smile, stepping out of the bathroom.
"Don't worry about it, it's--it's--it's" When he saw her, his eyes started to wander absentmindedly and his breath was caught painfully in his throat. Starfire was standing outside the door, with nothing but a towel wrapped around her body, held in place by one of her hands. Though the towel did well to cover her, it was still... a towel. Her hair was shiny and weighted down by water, causing her bangs to fall in front of her eyes; she pushed them aside with one hand as she waited for a response from Robin. "It's--It's alright." he said turning his face away and blocking his view with a hand, as if to forcibly keep himself from looking back; his face was now bright red, and he was thankful that he happened to be covering it with his hand, as he waited to hear Starfire's footsteps retreat down the hallway back to her room.
"Robin, why are you looking away from me?" Starfire asked, sounding reasonably confused. Robin's shoulders tensed up; if ever there was a question he couldn't answer, that was it. 'Why are you looking away? If she wants you to look, then look!' his thoughts betrayed him, 'Shut up!' he told himself. Thinking about it further, he hoped he wasn't offending her by looking away... He had to come up with something; something she would understand.
"Uh... It's an earth-guy thing." he responded finally, with a slight crack in his voice, still keeping his face covered.
"Oh I see. Worry not, I shall depart." She said promptly, turning around and making her way down the hall; on her planet it was not common to be overly modest around such close friends, but she respected Robin's culture and figured she should try to conform to it in some ways. When he decided she was far enough away that he could look again, he noticed that she was tiptoeing down the hall, staying close to the walls as she quietly opened the door to her room and sauntered in. She looked like she was trying to avoid being seen; he wondered why she didn't care if he saw her... Finally exhaling, he walked into the bathroom; turning on the faucet, he splashed his face with cold water.
- - - - - -
Fully dressed once more, Starfire walked back down the hall, realizing she had left her uniform in the bathroom. As she came to the door, she heard the sound of running water; knowing that Robin was still inside, she decided to come back later. About to walk away, something caught her eye when she noticed that the door was slightly opened; Robin's mask was lying on the counter. Suddenly, she became stricken with curiosity, as she always had this pressing, almost painful desire to know what his eyes looked like; however, she decided against jumping in on him while he was in the shower, an action which would be frowned upon on both planets.
Forgetting about her desires for now, she turned away from the door and floated down the hallway to the common room. As she walked, Starfire started thinking about how she could get to spend some time with Robin, alone; he was usually so busy. But she knew she had to find a way, yesterday's events had made her realize just how much her feelings toward him had grown over the years. Stepping from the hallway into the main room, she noticed that something was slightly off about the atmosphere; the usual intoxicating smell of breakfast was absent, and there was no laughing, joking, or even yelling to fill the silence. With confused eyes, Starfire scanned the living room, it was utterly empty except for a small patch of green slumped down on the couch.
"Friend Beast Boy? Where are the others?" Starfire inquired.
Beast Boy turned around, looking sleepy, "Cyborg's gone, and Raven's--"
"Right here." Raven spoke from the corner, where she had been completely out of notice until now.
"Whoa! When did you..." Beast Boy trailed off, looking flabbergasted, "Anyway, Cyborg's gone."
"Gone? Where to?" Robin questioned, entering from the hall behind Starfire, drying and messing his hair up with a small towel.
"Don't know. I tried contacting him, but he shut off his communicator. And that's not even the biggest problem... I mean... WHO'S GONNA COOK BREAKFAST NOW?" Beast Boy asked, standing up and wildly flailing his arms about.
"How about you?" Raven asked, in a 'no duh' sort of tone.
"Well, I've never said this but... Cyborg's a much better cook than me. I mean, yeah, a lot of what he cooks is meat, but the edible stuff is good too." Beast Boy admitted.
"You need not worry friend, perhaps I could cook the breakfast this morning." Starfire suggested with a wide smile. Beast Boy and Raven shared the same undecided expression, neither had ever been quite sure about Starfire's cooking; admittedly, neither had ever actually tried it, but it usually crawled away before they even got the chance. Robin, who normally would have joined the others in their state of uncertainty, instead gave Starfire a reassuring smile and nodded; after all, he had actually found the Glorg to be delicious, and was willing to try anything else she could cook. "Splendid! I shall prepare Nuphgäs cakes with Gorka berries!" Starfire exclaimed happily, already searching through the cupboards in the kitchen.
"Uh... Star? None of that's alive is it?" Beast Boy asked warily.
"No, it is mainly fruit and spongy yellow fungus." Starfire replied, setting down her ingredients on the counter.
"Great, nothing like the smell of... fungus in the morning." Raven commented sarcastically.
"Oh, I agree! Nothing quite compares to the scent of freshly baked Nuphgäs cakes! When served with Gorka berries, it is a traditional meal prepared for..." Starfire glanced over at Robin, blushing slightly as she quickly turned away. "For breakfast!" she finished vaguely, now realizing she had absentmindedly chosen a fairly strange meal to cook. She was unwilling to say that this particular combination of foods was usually prepared by Tamaranians for their... significant others, when they wanted to express certain affections; it was for these reasons, that she decided to put different ingredients in Beast Boy and Raven's share.
Even with all their doubts, Beast Boy and Raven had to admit that the fungus did smell pretty good as it was being baked in the oven; it had a sweet scented aroma to it that was something akin to spicy cinnamon and cookies. They watched with rumbling stomachs as Starfire removed the cakes from the oven and proceeded to pour crushed purple berries on top. Starfire hummed a strange tune to herself as she gleefully carried four plates over to the kitchen table, setting one down in front of each Titan, making sure to give Beast Boy and Raven the proper versions. To everyone's surprise, they looked like oddly shaped pieces of cake with blueberry sauce on top. Sitting down in the seat adjacent to Robin, Starfire picked up a fork and looked around at the others with a smile. Still a little apprehensive, Beast Boy and Raven turned to each other, then to Robin, giving him a look that lucidly said, 'You first.'
Without hesitation, Robin picked up his fork, scooped up a fairly large amount and took a bite. Starfire watched hopefully while Beast Boy and Raven wondered if he was going to spit it out. Robin swallowed, "Hmm. It's like cheesecake, with raspberry topping." he said, with a satisfied smile. Starfire giggled and clapped her hands together. Beast Boy and Raven looked at each other in disbelief; turning their attention back to their plates, Beast Boy shoveled a good amount into his mouth while Raven took a bite. Suddenly, their expressions changed dramatically.
"So, how is it?" Robin asked, raising an eyebrow at their odd facial expressions.
Beast Boy looked to be in pain as he forcibly gulped down his mouthful, "Feet." he said hoarsely, grasping at his neck.
"What?" Robin questioned.
"Feet. It tastes like feet!" Beast Boy repeated, frantically grabbing a glass of water and guzzling down the entire cup.
"What are you talking about?" Robin took another forkful and ate it, causing Beast Boy to cringe, "It tastes exactly like cheesecake." he confirmed.
"No, it tastes exactly like feet!" Beast Boy sat up, trying to talk some sense in to Robin. Starfire quickly became worried; if Beast Boy could tell the difference, then it wouldn't be long before they found out that they were given different meals.
"How do you even know what a foot tastes like?" Robin asked, eating more of his cake.
"Well, he does spend half the time with one in his mouth." Raven cracked a trademark monotone joke, having quickly gotten over her initial reaction to the food. Beast Boy sat back down in his chair, shot down by Raven's comment, much to Starfire's relief.
"Please, if you are a vegetarian, then why do you often have a foot in your mouth?" Starfire asked, unfamiliar with the context of Raven's remark. Suddenly, Robin burst out laughing, and Raven turned away to hide her chuckling, while Beast Boy crossed his arms and grunted in protest. Starfire looked confused, but she was sure it was some form of human witticism she had yet to understand that made them laugh; she smiled as she watched Robin holding his sides as he attempted to stop laughing, it was not very often that he would let such a raw emotion escape.
Wiping tears from his eyes, Robin turned to Starfire, "Sorry Star, we weren't laughing at you, it's just that--" he started.
"It is a joke yes?" she said, beaming. This relieved Robin quite a lot; he hated himself when he laughed at something she said because it happened to be so unbelievably cute or funny and she didn't realize it, always afraid that he had hurt her by doing so.
"Yeah, exactly." he responded, his chuckles, but not his smile, finally subsiding. Turning back to his plate, he took another bite of cake.
"Ugh, I can't watch this anymore!" Beast Boy stood up and walked to the couch, completely losing his appetite.
- - - - - -
The Titans' plates remained on the kitchen table; Robin and Starfire's had been completely finished off, while in perfect contrast, Beast Boy and Raven's were left with forks sticking out from the mostly uneaten cakes. Robin seemed content with what he had eaten, and Beast Boy wondered what in the world was wrong with him, as the four sat on and around the couch together.
Starfire, not wanting to waste a moment of the day, quickly turned to Robin, "Now that we have finished breakfast, perhaps we may venture outdoors to enjoy this glorious morning?" she asked. Even though she wanted to direct her question only to Robin, she had to include the others, so as not to sound too obvious.
"Great idea... Matter of fact, why don't we go wherever you want... to make up for yesterday. Also, it'll be my way of making good on that promise, y'know, staying out of danger..." Robin suggested, nervously scratching the back of his head as he often did; he hoped that what he said didn't sound too strange to Beast Boy and Raven, who were now eyeing him curiously.
Starfire's eyes gleamed in response, "Oh, but there are so many places. Perhaps the park--or maybe the beach---or possibly the mall of shopping?" Starfire replied, excitedly indecisive.
"Heh, how about we figure it out as we go along?" Robin chuckled, glad to know that perhaps this day would go smoothly after all.
"Uh, I hate to burst your bubble and all, but didn't you schedule training for today?" Beast Boy asked. Robin hung his head forward, his hopes immediately shattered; he did schedule training for today... about a week ago, before he even knew Starfire was going to leave. Before Robin was forced to concede, Starfire spoke up.
"...But we cannot very well train without Cyborg here, correct?" Starfire asked hurriedly; however, she knew what the answer would be, Robin would never skip training to have fun.
"Yeah, Star's right! If Cyborg decides to take the day off, then so do we!" Robin replied, deciding it was as good a reason as any; Robin felt his muscles tense as Beast Boy and Raven eyed him with even more curiosity. Starfire was surprised, to say the least, she never expected Robin to go along with her suggestion; it made her wonder what wonderful manner of affliction had come over him.
"I... suppose." Raven said, keeping a close eye on Robin's strange mannerisms.
"Wonderful! Come friends, we must not waste a moment of the day off!" Starfire suddenly appeared behind Beast Boy and Raven, and began leading them to the doors along with Robin. When she was close enough, Starfire let go of the others and took Robin by the arm, pulling him through the doorway. Raven began following after them, stopping when her cloak became caught on something. Turning around, she saw that Beast Boy had grabbed her cloak with one hand and was holding her in place.
"You two go ahead, we'll catch up!" he yelled through the doorway. Raven glared at him; Beast Boy then whispered something in her ear, to which she backed away and blinked a couple times in response. Suddenly her expression changed to a half smiling, almost mischievous look.
"...I'm in." she said in agreement.
Author's Note: I updated extra early, because I felt like it:) I hope you had as much fun reading this chapter as I did writing it; it feels good to take a break from the action, and this is going to be an extended break. Now that I've gotten the introduction of The Tempest out of the way, expect the fic to get a lot fluffier from this point on, as Robin starts to make a fool out of himself for Starfire and vice versa, to some extent. ;) At 20,000+ words, this fic is officially longer than anything I've ever written before in the history of... ever.
starfire's flame - ...Yes. In fact, that's a very important part of the story, but it won't happen for a while. For future reference, I'll answer pretty much any question anyone asks about the fic. :)
nickygirl - "cute.. update soon?" Is that a rhetorical question?
CatGirl R and S Fan - Of course I will! You can count on it!
Special thanks to all those who have been R&R-ing: MistyMagicWaterflower aka xImmortalxRomanticx (Phew! Nice Pen Name!), Mysterious Star of the Night, Neko Saphira, tigerchic121, emma, nickygirl, xoxoxMelxoxox, Exhile87, Sasscreech, darkangelchic, Slythergrl2004, CatGirl R and S Fan, iluvrobbie, strodgfrgf, PrInCeSs 2006, Tara, AvePlateada, RobStar119, Starfire-is-not-a-wimp, Princess Angelfire of NZ, starfire's flame, sugarland31, -'.EHWIES.'-, realfanficts, pesche, YRProcks66, tkdchick, Munchlax387, Super Chocolate Bear, StarfireXxXRobin, the winds, clueless90. I value all of your wonderful input! Those in bold are the people I recognize (My Favorites :P). If I forgot anyone, go ahead and wail on me in your next review. :)
Next Chapter Preview: Cyborg returns, downtrodden and close lipped about where he had been; however, his spirits are raised when he joins in on what Beast Boy and Raven are plotting for Robin and Starfire. Left alone in the park together, Starfire decides to take Robin on a little flight through the city. Next up is Day 3, Part Two: Special to Me, Special to You.
