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 5, Part Two: Scars
"...Robin?" standing behind Robin, Starfire's voice was heavy with shock and worry.
At the sound of her words, Robin's muscles tensed, which consequently made the dull aching in his side intensify; fighting away a pain induced groan, he quickly pulled his shirt back down, hoping against hope that she hadn't fully comprehended the extent of his injury. Robin set the cloth on the counter, seeing the amount of blood that had become soaked into it; turning around to face Starfire, Robin attempted to hide the cloth from her view. He realized from the expression on her face that there was no point in trying to keep it from her; she already knew.
"Robin what happened to you?" she asked, stepping forward and squinting at the torn area on his shirt, much of which was saturated by a dark red liquid; he had been covering this spot with his arm when he entered the tower.
"Um, I--" before he could come up with something, Starfire grabbed his shirt and pulled it upward; at this point, he didn't know whether he should be worried that she had found out, or embarrassed that she was now holding his shirt nearly all the way up to his chin. Looking over him closely, Starfire saw a thin gash on Robin's right side, made visible by the reddened flesh and blood that surrounded it. Covering her mouth as she gasped, Starfire let go and examined Robin with concerned eyes. Remembering that there had been blood on his back, she realized that what she had just seen was an entry wound; Robin had been stabbed...
"Are you... W-Why did you not tell... us?" she asked, horrified and visibly shaking at the thought of such a terrible injury. Starfire forced herself a certain distance away from Robin, fearful that if she touched him she would cause him further pain.
Robin felt his heart thumping loudly; he had to lie... if he told her the truth, then he might wake up in the morning to find her... well, he didn't even want to think about it. Just then, he remembered the bladelike fingers of the robot he had been fighting; the perfect cover. "It was the robot... it got me with its claws." Robin found himself stumbling over his own words, which felt like daggers in his throat... if lies could cause physical harm, he would be in an even greater deal of pain at this moment; but, if a lie could save her life, he would let it tear at his throat until he could no longer speak. "I didn't tell you because..." Robin paused for a moment, trying with all his being to find a feasible reason, "I didn't want to worry you or the others..." he let another dagger pierce his swollen throat.
Starfire shook her head, unable to take her eyes away from that spot on Robin's shirt, "...We are your friends, we would not--" cutting herself off in the middle of a flustered sentence, she turned around and began heading to the door in a hurry. "I am going to get Raven, she can--" she stopped as Robin's hand weakly took hold of her shoulder.
"Please... don't." he said, breathing heavily as he had strained himself attempting to catch up with her; he knew if the others were brought into it, they would ask too many questions, and Raven wouldn't think twice about jumping into his mind to figure out what he was hiding... "Please--"
Starfire turned around to face him, "But if you do not heal this wound, you could..." Starfire trailed off for a moment. "Do you wish to... do you wish to..." her bottom lip began to quiver as she struggled with her words, thinking about why Robin wanted to keep such a thing from everyone if it meant risking his life.
"It's not fatal Star, I just need to sew it up." he said, feeling like a monster when he saw the look in her almost teary eyes, a look he had caused; he didn't mean to make her cry...
Starfire sighed, feeling slightly relieved, "But if you would simply allow Raven to--" Robin took Starfire's hands in his, looking deep into her eyes.
"Do you trust me?" he asked.
Starfire caught her breath as she returned his gaze; silenced for a moment, she simply stood with him. "Yes... more than anyone." she replied truthfully, unable to fight him any longer. She felt as though she could see his eyes through the mask; they were pleading with her, asking her sincerely for simple trust... she could not deny them.
"Then please, trust me now." he said, tired of lying, tired of hurting her like this.
Starfire nodded once in response; she knew he must have a reason for wanting to hide his wounds, but he asked for her trust, and she would give it to him without question. Suddenly, Starfire's expression strengthened, "You say you need only close the wound?" she asked.
"Yeah--" he cut himself off as he watched Starfire approach the door, tapping buttons on the panel as she reached it; with a heavy click, the door's security locks kicked in... now no one could get into the infirmary from the outside. Before he could ask what she was doing, Starfire took his hand and led him across the room to the examination table; she gestured for him to sit down on it, to which he immediately complied.
"Now, remove your outer garments." she ordered, pointing at him. Robin's face went red; confused at her request, he looked to her for clarification. "Um... your shirt." she corrected herself.
"Oh." Robin relaxed his facial expression; he would have been amused by his misunderstanding, had the situation not been so serious. Wondering if Starfire wanted to try and sew up the wound, Robin removed his shirt, attempting not to touch the painful area around his side. Setting his shirt down on the table, Robin turned to Starfire, who appeared to be staring at something. "...What is it?" he asked, believing she was staring at the wound on his back; he hadn't seen it, and it made him wonder how bad it actually looked, because she seemed to be staring rather attentively.
"Nothing." she replied quickly, turning her face away as it became hot and red.
"Star, I can sew it up myself, you don't have to--" he started.
Starfire turned back to him, despite the obvious blush in her cheeks, "Nonsense, you cannot possibly seal the exit wound on your own." she explained, "Unless humans carry more joints than I am aware of." Starfire raised an eyebrow.
"Heh, you're right..." he conceded, managing to chuckle slightly. "The stuff you need to sew it up is over th--" Robin pointed to a cabinet adjacent to the table.
"I do not need those things." lifting a hand in front of herself, Starfire focused energy into one finger. From this, Robin deduced that she was going to burn the wounds closed; burning would be much more effective than suturing, though he couldn't decide which would be more painful. Walking around to the other side of the table, Starfire placed her hand near Robin's wound, "...Brace yourself, this can be quite painful." she said.
Robin had experienced plenty of pain in his lifetime and decided he could take it, "I think I can--AAH!" he groaned as he felt an intense burning sensation on his back.
"There. Now the front." she said, floating around the table. Robin straightened up as she placed her hand near his side, "You are ready?" she asked.
"Ready as I'll ever be." he said, one eye twitching as he braced himself. Starfire found it hard to concentrate as she stared at his bare stomach, hoping that the emotions she was feeling now wouldn't intensify her energy. With a searing noise and a stifled grunt from Robin, Starfire closed the wound, stepping back to look at him once more. Standing up, Robin let out a sigh of relief, "Thanks." he said while he looked at the closed gash on his side; as soon as he looked up to her, he found himself locked in an embrace.
"Robin... even if you do not feel comfortable telling the others about such things... please know that I do not think any less of you for becoming injured." she said, using her most caring tone of voice.
'She thinks it was my pride that kept me from saying anything...' he thought. Though he felt a great deal of fatigue from the fight, as well as slight stinging from his wounds, Robin wrapped his arms around her in return; he realized that she hugged him a lot, but Starfire was a very affectionate person, it didn't mean anything... did it? "I'm sorry Starfire..." he said, though he felt like he had much more to apologize for, "Actually... you're the only one here I feel like I can talk to about things like this..." he knew what he said definitely wasn't a lie, and it felt good. Robin wondered what he was doing, letting his words run out of his mouth without restraint; he knew if he wasn't careful, he might let slip those three words he'd been thinking about for the last couple of days, but he found her embrace was like truth serum. Standing alone with her, he lost his focus, almost forgetting about the events that had just passed; the man who had threatened him faded away in a dreamy cloud of blissful ignorance as Robin strained to figure out what he would say next. "I..." he trailed off.
"Yes...?" Starfire asked, feeling her face heat up as she realized she was hugging a shirtless Robin; still, she didn't want to let go, there was something about this moment that felt... perfect.
This was it, Robin had reached a point of no return; selfish as it sounded, he was about to throw caution to the wind and let his feelings be known, "Star... you know me better than anyone and--" both Robin and Starfire jumped as something began thumping loudly against the door.
"You okay in there Robin? Why's the door locked?" Cyborg's voice called from the other side; Robin and Starfire froze, remaining in their embrace, unsure of what they should do. Hearing no answer, Cyborg sensed trouble, "Something's wrong. We're coming in!" he said; Cyborg could be heard overriding the security systems from the outside. Quick, yet reluctant, Robin and Starfire let go of each other. Grabbing his shirt from the table as he heard the doors beginning to slide open, Robin covered his stomach with it.
Sliding open the door manually, Cyborg leapt into the room with Beast Boy and Raven following, expecting to see Robin passed out on the floor from the exhaustion he seemed to be displaying downstairs; instead, what he saw caused his and the others' jaws to drop to the floor. Robin, sans shirt, was standing next to Starfire in the middle of the room, both were blushing immensely.
"Whoa..." Cyborg said, trying to piece together what was going on here. Raven simply stood behind the others, one eyebrow raised, almost amused by what she was seeing; too amused to sense anything strange.
"Dude." Beast Boy added, just as confused as Cyborg; suddenly his expression shifted to an enormous grin, "Hope we didn't interrupt anything." he said.
"What are you talking about?" asked Robin and Starfire in unison, trying to divert attention from their guilty expressions.
"I had a couple of bruises..." said Robin, turning to the side at such an angle that the others couldn't see his injuries, "But it's all taken care of now." putting his shirt on, he turned back to the others, "Starfire was just helping."
"That's convenient." said Cyborg with a smirk, "Well, if you don't need our help, I guess we'll be on our way." knowing now that they had interrupted something, he figured they should leave and let things go whatever way they were going; Cyborg grabbed Beast Boy by the collar and led the way out of the room; without saying a word, Raven followed them on their exit.
Once the others had left the room, Robin wondered if they had actually saved him by interrupting; he figured he could have ruined something good by letting his mouth run away like that. He looked to Starfire, who seemed fairly confused by the whole scene; he was glad she hadn't read too deeply into Beast Boy's little comment, otherwise she would probably have a few questions to confront him with at this moment. A slight stinging in his side, which had died down considerably since before, brought Robin's thoughts to the aid Starfire had offered. She always seemed so willing to help him; ready to hold him up when he couldn't walk, to soothe away his pain when he was hurt, or to offer a kind and comforting word when he had become discouraged... he knew that even if she didn't feel the same way as he did, she certainly appeared to care about his well-being, and this gave him hope. Strength, kindness, compassion; she was beautiful in so many ways... Quickly, Robin turned away when he realized he was staring, scolding himself for being so obvious.
As she listened to the retreating footsteps of her friends, Starfire thought about the last thing Robin said before they were interrupted; he was right, being as close friends as they were, she knew him better than anyone else... and yet, much about him was still a mystery to her; she knew so little about Robin, the boy behind the mask. However, she understood his reasons and did not blame him for keeping certain things concealed; everyone has their secrets, and Starfire had her share of them... things she attempted to hide from the others through all the years she had known them, events she tried in vain to forget... locked away, deep in those terrible memories. Starfire knew if she ever wanted to know more about Robin, she would have to first tell him about herself.
Thinking intently, Starfire tried to figure out the right moment to speak with him, 'Now is not a good time... I must choose a time and place where we cannot be interrupted...' she thought, still not wanting the others to know about these things; she was only willing to trust Robin with the details of her past. "Well, I suppose you do not need my help anymore." said Starfire, giggling nervously as she made her way to the door, floating quickly out into the hallway.
Standing alone in the infirmary, Robin was disappointed about Starfire's sudden exit, but glad that she seemed to have forgotten about his wounds; the less she knew about it, the safer she would be. Robin shook his head, now he had two things to worry about... keeping her here, and keeping her safe. He knew he could take care of one of those things sooner than later. Grey didn't know who he was messing with, and Robin wasn't about to let him win; having received the same threats from Slade so long ago, he knew the only way to stop Grey would be to beat him at his own game...
- - - - - -
Stepping into the common room after changing into a less tattered pair of his usual clothes, Robin attempted to stand up straight and act normal; the pain in his wounds had lessened and he found it much easier to keep a steady expression as he walked out of the hallway. He knew he had to keep this from the others as well; after all, Starfire wasn't the only one who was in danger, Grey had threatened everyone. Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Raven were all gathered around the couch as usual, except Raven was sitting atypically closer to the others; Starfire was nowhere to be seen, 'Must be in her room.' he thought. The amount of dim sunlight streaming in through the large windows suddenly caught his eye; the sun was more than halfway through the sky, causing Robin to realize it was already well into the afternoon. He realized he must have spent a long time making his way back to the tower in his wounded state... he was just glad that the others hadn't decided to go out looking for him during that time. Noticing from his growling stomach that he hadn't eaten much since his early breakfast, Robin made his way to the kitchen despite the thoughts of that morning's events which caused him to lose his appetite.
Keeping a close eye on Robin, Beast Boy turned to Raven, "So what was it you were planning?" he asked under his breath.
"A movie." she responded plainly.
"Hold on, a movie?" Cyborg asked, "We already tried that and it didn't go so well. You wanna run into Control Freak again? He's probably out of jail by now... how does a guy like him manage that anyway?" he finished, wondering how a simpleton like Control Freak always managed to get out of prison so easily.
"We won't run into him if we don't go anywhere." said Raven, holding up a DVD case.
Beast Boy eyed the case with curiosity, "Lemme see that." he said, taking the case from Raven as she handed it to him; Beast Boy looked at the front and back while Cyborg joined him, "...Coldest Winter?" they read off the title in disbelief, "A chick flick? Raven, what are you doing with this movie?" asked Cyborg and Beast Boy in unison, shifting their eyes from the box to Raven continuously.
"It's not... it's a disaster movie about an avalanche." Raven explained quickly.
"Sure, there's an avalanche in it, but it's definitely a chick flick. Have you read the description on the back?" Beast Boy asked, pointing to the back of the case, where he had gone over the mushy details.
Raven stood still for a moment, looking slightly flustered; suddenly, she grabbed the box back from them, "The point is, I know Starfire is going to like this movie. And anything Starfire likes..." she trailed off, implying the rest.
"...Robin likes." Cyborg and Beast Boy spoke, once again in unison, smiling knowingly.
"Or at least he'll try to like it." she joked in her deadpan voice.
"If anything, a little time with Starfire will cheer the guy up." Cyborg commented, "Speaking of that, why do you think he was acting so weird before?" he asked.
"He was probably a little mad that the 'Fearsome Five' got away." Beast Boy answered, quoting the name sarcastically, "Or... he's mad that we left him down there to fight that robot all by himself." he said, coming to a tooth clenching realization.
"Oh yeah... I forgot about that." Cyborg came to the same revelation, "Y'know, it's probably best if we don't bring that up in front of him..."
"Heh, I'm sure a chick flick and Starfire will be enough to keep Robin busy anyway." Beast Boy chuckled until Raven gave him a glare.
"It's not a chick flick!"
Rummaging through the drawers and cabinets, Robin found that there was barely any food, or anything that appeared to be edible in the kitchen. Strewn across the interior of the refrigerator were several unidentifiable items; the remnants of meals past, most of which needed to be thrown out. Closing the refrigerator door, Robin put a hand over his stomach, feeling the hunger which was caused by the amount of energy he had exerted during that morning's series of battles. Turning his attention to the couch, Robin saw that the others were laughing and joking around, even Raven seemed to be included in whatever was going on; it looked like everything was normal... mostly. Stepping out of the kitchen and making his way to the back of the couch, Robin knew that he had to act like everything was normal; as long as they didn't suspect anything, his would be the only life in danger, and he would keep things that way no matter what.
"There's nothing in the kitchen, you guys wanna go for some pizza?" Robin asked, surprised at how well he had been able to hide it; he hoped it was well enough to keep Raven off his scent.
Cyborg stood up and turned around to face Robin, "Order out, 'cause we're stayin' in! It's movie night!" he bellowed enthusiastically; snatching the DVD case from Raven, Cyborg held it out for Robin to see.
Robin examined the box; a large snow-capped mountain was pictured on the front, under which there was a forest and a small town. In simple white lettering, the title of the movie was displayed at the top, "Coldest Winter?" Robin asked, having never heard of the movie before; had he been aware of the genre, he would have understood why this was his first time hearing about the film.
"It's a... disaster flick." said Cyborg, attempting to lure Robin in with the promise of disaster based storytelling.
"Heh, sure, why not?" Robin agreed, having already decided that he would figure out what to do about the situation after the others go to sleep; for now, he would just play along.
"Alright!" Cyborg exclaimed, walking around the couch and heading to the much neglected phone, "I'll order the pizza; you were gonna go tell Star about the movie right?" he assumed.
Robin wasn't very amused at how Cyborg's assumption was right on the money, "Um... yah." he said, feeling like the others could all read his mind when it came to Starfire.
- - - - - -
With the curtains drawn, the atmosphere in Starfire's room was much darker than normal, especially in the waning light of the afternoon which peeked ever so slightly through the bottoms of the drapery. Sitting silent and still on the edge of her bed, Starfire contemplated her decision to tell Robin about herself; though she had no doubt that he would listen, she wondered if she even had the strength to speak of those things. Thinking of the previous night, when she spoke to Robin about her nightmare, she remembered how much better she felt after doing so. These memories that seemed to flood her mind the more she thought about them were so much like nightmares on their own; she wondered if perhaps he could help her find peace with them as well. Starfire thought about that feeling of solace she always experienced when she was with him, that feeling which made her want to stay there by his side and never leave...
A gentle knock on her door brought Starfire back from her trance, "Star, are you awake?" spoke Robin's voice in a slight whisper from the other side.
Standing up, Starfire approached the door, "Yes, Robin." she answered; Starfire had since stopped preceding Robin's name with 'friend' as she often did in the past, which was a subtle way she had recently devised to let him know how she felt. Quickly, she unlocked the door before he could notice it was locked and slid it open; at the sight of Robin's face, Starfire smiled, unable to dwell on her memories any longer.
As he saw her smiling face, Robin lost track of his burdening thoughts, letting a sincere smile adorn his expression, "The others want to watch a movie tonight, you wanna--"
"Oh yes! That sounds wonderful!" Starfire exclaimed; taking Robin's arm, she began to lead him down the hall. Robin was surprised at how happy she seemed now; guessing that she had forgiven him already, he continued to smile as they walked back through the hallway together. Robin took the time to briefly explain the movie's plot from what he got off the cover. Sitting on the couch with Raven who was looking away, Cyborg and Beast Boy had huge grins plastered across their faces as they saw Robin and Starfire exit the hallway into the common room, arms locked together; Robin ignored their looks, opting instead to simply enjoy his nearness to her. As they walked to the others, arms no longer connected, Cyborg and Beast Boy moved over, freeing up the right-hand end of the couch for them. Sitting down at the very end of the couch, Robin rested his weight on the arm; Starfire sat adjacent to him, both then looked to the others inquisitively.
"Robin has explained the details of this movie to me, and it seems very interesting, shall we begin watching?" Starfire asked.
"Nah, I figure we should wait for the pizza. No use watching the movie on an empty stomach." said Cyborg; having not eaten since breakfast, he didn't want to sit through a mushy movie with hunger pains adding to the torment.
"Maybe it'd be better if our stomachs were empty." Beast Boy said, mimicking someone puking from disgust; at that, Cyborg and Beast Boy burst out laughing, reveling in an inside joke. Raven, sitting on the other end of the couch, rolled her eyes in disapproval. Robin and Starfire just looked on in confusion, equating this seemingly strange behavior to normal Cyborg and Beast Boy weirdness.
After continuously laughing for several minutes, Cyborg and Beast Boy finally began to calm down off their high, which was probably due to lack of oxygen; the fading laughter was immediately stopped as the proximity alert went off. All the Titans stood up and watched as the television screen lit up. Displayed on an overhead camera view was a man carrying several boxes in one arm; he looked at a piece of paper in his free hand, appearing as though he was checking to see if the address was correct, though it was not clear how he could possibly get it wrong... a giant 'T' shaped tower in the bay couldn't really be mistaken for any other location.
"Oh, it's just the pizza guy." said Cyborg, sitting back down on the couch, "Wait, we're on an island. How did he get here...?" he asked, messing up his eyebrow in confusion as the others joined him back on the couch.
"Psh, must be desperate for a tip." explained Beast Boy simply.
"I'll get it." Robin volunteered. Making his way across the living room to the main doors, Robin held down a button on the control panel, "Come on up." he spoke into the speaker. Waiting for a few seconds, he heard the ping of the elevator reaching the top floor; opening the doors, Robin nearly fell over as he saw the person standing there, 'The guy from the theatre...' he thought, recognizing him immediately.
"Oh... crap." muttered Alex under his breath, wondering now why he thought he needed the extra money from this new job. "Heh, I... thought this was where you guy's lived." his voice cracked as he felt himself becoming shorter again. Robin didn't say anything, merely taking the pizza boxes from him and handing over a fistful of cash in return.
"It's all there." Robin stated plainly. Starfire, who had recognized this person as well, waved at him from across the room to be nice; Robin saw this and turned back to Alex who seemed a little flustered. "Here's a tip," Robin said; Alex then lost his embarrassed expression, surprised to find Robin lenient enough to offer a tip, "BACK OFF!" Robin yelled, slamming his free hand against the control panel; the doors immediately shut tight, leaving Alex dumbfounded on the other side.
- - - - - -
Alex knelt down and began picking up the money he had dropped, "Kat's gonna whack me again if I tell her about this..." he said to himself, turning around to amble his way out of the tower. "Where did I park that boat?"
- - - - - -
Carrying the pizza boxes in one hand, Robin turned around and froze when he saw all of the others staring at him from the couch, each wore the same expression of surprise; Starfire had her head tilted to the side, curiously examining the situation. "Uh..." he started, trying to come up with a reasonable excuse.
"What, did they forget the pepperoni?" Cyborg asked, almost seriously. Robin sighed in relief; at least they didn't pick up on what it was really concerning. Chuckling nervously, Robin walked back to the couch; setting the three boxes on the coffee table, he reclaimed his seat next to Starfire.
"Alright." Beast Boy said, leaning over to inspect the pizzas. Opening one box, he saw pepperoni, "No." he said; opening another box, he saw sausage and pepperoni, "No." he repeated. Turning around, he looked to Cyborg, "You did get vegetarian right?" he asked.
"Uh... Of course. There's vegetables in the kitchen; chop those up, put 'em on the cheese and voila, vegetarian!" Cyborg explained.
Beast Boy narrowed his eyes, "Whatever." he said, opening up the third box to find plain cheese toppings, glad that Cyborg was at least considerate enough to get one without meat. Picking up a slice, he sat back down on the couch and began chomping voraciously at it.
Raven turned to Beast Boy, eyeing him with curiosity, "You do realize that cheese is--" she started.
"Shh! Ignorance is bliss." Cyborg silenced her. Raven shrugged her shoulders; levitating a napkin from the kitchen to herself, she picked up a slice of cheese as well.
"May we now watch the movie? I am most eager to know what it is about." Starfire asked. Beast Boy and Cyborg both had pizza in their hands and mouths, unable to answer Starfire or touch the DVD case. Suddenly, the box became encased in dark energy, the DVD was removed, and began floating over to the disc tray near the television which had miraculously opened, setting itself down while the DVD-player closed the tray; during this entire time, Raven had her eyes closed, nonchalantly taking another bite of pizza.
"Whoa... Now you gotta admit, that's pretty cool." Beast Boy marveled. Raven almost felt like laughing in response to Beast Boy's comment, but kept her cool nonetheless, instead smiling secretly.
- - - - - -
The DVD skipped the menu screen, which was probably Raven's doing as well. With the lights in the common room shut off and barely any sunlight remaining outside, it became completely dark for a moment when the screen faded to black; the room immediately lit up with the static luminosity of the television as the scene opened to show the snowy peak of a large rocky mountain bathed in bright mid-morning sunlight. The camera began panning over the peaks, showing scattered clusters of pine trees while the opening credits rolled through; from far off, a ski resort could be seen where people were snowboarding and skiing down the slopes. Quickly, the camera pulled all the way out to get a full view of the mountains, displaying the small town surrounded by forest; the title of the movie appeared in the clear blue sky above the mountain. During this entire scene, a simple wintry theme was playing in the background, giving the movie a Christmassy tone. As the title faded away, the music stopped, replaced by whistling winds on the mountain side; the new scene displayed a snow covered a sign, the exposed part of which read, "Avalanche Warning"; the camera shifted focus, blurring out the sign to reveal three people trudging through the thick snow in the background.
"You sure this is the right way?" asked a man in a large green wind-breaker to the person at the front of the group, a woman in a similar blue coat, the hood pulled all the way up; his voice, which he raised high above the wind, caused her to cringe.
Turning around, she cupped a hand over his mouth, "For God's sake Frankie, that sign back there wasn't just for decoration you know." she scolded him under her breath, "Why'd you even come along? The guy doesn't need more than one person to show him the way." she shook her head, "The cabin's right up here." she pointed up the slope to a cabin that was located next to a grouping of trees, supposedly it would be safe during an avalanche, protected by a barrier of trees.
The third person, a young man in a black coat, started chuckling at the two people as he walked ahead of the group, "Thanks." he said, as he continued the rest of the way up to the cabin on his own.
- - - - - -
Robin looked to the others; Cyborg and Beast Boy seemed as though they were just waiting to see the avalanche, whenever that would be; Starfire seemed fully engrossed in the film, probably by the snowy winter setting which she did not often see. Robin figured he should try to watch it as well, even though so far it didn't seem like the kind of movie he would normally watch.
- - - - - -
As the story progressed, the man who went to the cabin, Anthony, was revealed to be an author in the middle of writing a novel; however, in the big city he came from, he had found that all the noise and distractions of the metropolis only contributed to his writer's block. Hoping a change of scenery would help him, he rented a cabin up in the snowy mountains, where he thought the peace and quiet would give him the time he needed to finish his book. Unfortunately, he found that the peace and quiet was ironically more distracting... Deciding to take a break from writing for a while, Anthony ventured down to the small town at the base of the mountain. While in a coffee shop/bookstore, he met a girl who he found himself immediately attracted to; they got to talking, which eventually progressed to subtle arguing due to their conflicting interests concerning nearly every topic they came upon. Remarkably, the two didn't stop talking, though to passers by, they seemed to be highly antagonized by each other's presence. As it became late in the evening, the girl who he had come to know as Rachel, decided it was getting late, telling him that she should be leaving; to Anthony's surprise, she said that she had a great time, inviting him to join her again on the next day.
Still contemplating exactly what happened back there, Anthony traveled back up the mountain as the sun set, "Didn't I piss her off?" he asked himself, "After the way I argued with her, I'm surprised she didn't throw that coffee in my face." he continued. Upon returning to his cabin that night, Anthony found that his writer's block had completely disappeared; after getting all the frustrations off of his thoughts back at the coffee place, his mind was clear, and he now had the amount of focus he needed. Anthony finished a good portion of his book before he found himself blocked once again.
As the weeks went by, the two continued to return to the coffee place and... continued to argue, learning more about each other in the process; Anthony returned home every night, finishing more of his book each time.
- - - - - -
Robin saw that Cyborg and Beast Boy seemed to be getting restless now that the pizza had disappeared, fidgeting in their seats. He didn't want to admit it, but he was actually interested in where this was going; Anthony's scary fixation on his book reminded Robin of his own workaholic tendencies... Though Anthony was even more reminiscent of Beast Boy, who always seemed to shoot his mouth off without thinking. Looking to his side, Robin saw that Starfire had not lost interest either.
- - - - - -
One night, Anthony returned home to find that he could not write a single word... and he knew exactly why; there was something on his mind, something he wouldn't dare say to Rachel's face... and since he had gotten rid of his writer's block before by venting what was on his mind, how could he possibly say... he was in love with her. Knowing how intensely their views clashed, he knew that she definitely wouldn't agree with him on this new point he had come across; it frustrated him to no end. The scene that followed was a rather humorous one that consisted of Anthony attempting to rip the stack of pages he had written so far in half, though it proved to be far too thick and he ended up tiring himself out.
Meeting up with Rachel the following morning as promised, Anthony found it much too hard to even talk to her with everything he was thinking about. Aggravated with himself more than anything, he ended up saying something stupid and insensitive; as harsh as their previous "conversations" seemed, what he said at that moment caused Rachel to become truly angry with him. Both stormed off in opposite directions, in another scene that would have been funny, had it not been set up so that the viewer feels sorry for both characters.
Anthony stood on the balcony of the cabin, overlooking the town from high on the mountain, thinking that he should go back and apologize; before he could leave, the ground began shaking and there were curious rumblings from farther up the mountain. Stepping to the edge of the balcony, Anthony peered around a side of the cabin to see what was happening. The camera pulled out to reveal an enormous wave of snow tumbling toward his cabin.
- - - - - -
"Finally!" Cyborg said, throwing his arms up in the air.
- - - - - -
After standing dumbfounded for several moments, Anthony bolted for the door on the balcony, getting inside and shutting it in time to feel the avalanche hit the cabin, breaking the windows on the other side. Looking through the sliding-glass door in front of him, he watched as the snow rolled down the rest of the mountain continuously, seemingly split in half by the slight outcropping his cabin was located on.
The scene immediately cut back to the town. Groups of people began stepping out of their houses and shops, standing in the streets to stare up at the mountain; they watched as an enormous curtain of snow barreled its way down the mountainside.
Sulking at a table inside the coffee place, Rachel hadn't even noticed the commotion. Suddenly one of her friends rushed through the door, "Rachel, there was an avalanche!" she said.
"What?" Rachel stood up, knocking over her chair.
"Well, it's over now but the whole mountainside--"
"I've gotta go." said Rachel, rushing to the doors.
"Wait, where are you going?" asked her friend, too late to stop her at the door.
"Anthony's up there, I need to--"
"But I thought you hated the guy."
"Yeah, me too..."
- - - - - -
Cyborg looked over to Robin and Starfire, suddenly getting a devious idea, "I'd love to watch the rest of this..." he said with an unintentional sarcastic tone, yawning artificially, "But man, I'm beat." he stretched out his arms, standing up and walking away toward the hall.
Raven looked to Cyborg and nodded in agreement, "Come to think of it, this isn't really my kind of movie." she said simply, sitting up. As Raven walked away, she noticed she wasn't being followed as expected; turning around, she saw Beast Boy sitting on the edge of his seat, eyes glued to the television screen. Hoping Robin and Starfire wouldn't notice, Raven surrounded Beast Boy with dark energy, attempting to pull him away.
"NOOOO!" Beast Boy yelled, grabbing the arm of the couch as he was lifted into the air, "I've gotta..." he let his speech trail off as he saw Robin and Starfire staring at him from their end of the sofa, "Get... my... beauty sleep." he said, awkwardly. After this, Beast Boy was dropped on the ground where he quickly stood up and chuckled nervously as he backed away in Raven's direction. "What was that about?" he could be heard asking from the hallway.
Robin and Starfire watched as Raven's shadow appeared to slap Beast Boy on the back of the head as both retreated off to their rooms; without saying a word, they simply turned their attention back to the screen.
- - - - - -
After the avalanche, Rachel had apparently made her way up the mountainside despite her friend's warnings. Standing outside of Anthony's cabin, she quickly cleared as much snow away from the door as she could; knocking against it, she began calling out his name. Anthony opened the door and without saying anything, the two met with a hug... breaking apart very quickly. The warm reception didn't last very long as the ground began to shake once more; both looked up the mountain to see another torrent of snow approaching. Immediately, they rushed into the house, pressing their weight against the door to keep it closed. Suddenly, the cabin became very dark; both looked across the room to see that the avalanche had completely blanketed the entire cabin. Visible through the light of the fireplace was the thick snow which had packed itself over the balcony.
Though they were now trapped in the cabin, the two couldn't help but return to the subject of their argument before, demanding apologies from each other. As their tirade escalated, Anthony broke the moment by shouting, "I love you dammit!"
The two immediately stopped yelling, and the scene that followed was a mushy one that involved Rachel admitting her feelings for him as well; looking at the situation from this new perspective, both proceeded to admit their stupidity.
- - - - - -
It was a scene Cyborg and the others were lucky to have bailed on; a scene that, considering the subject matter, made Robin feel very uncomfortable... sitting next to the girl he loved, but couldn't tell. 'You could tell her, you're just too afraid.' he explained harshly to himself, '...Shut up and watch the movie.' before he complied to his own demands, Robin looked to Starfire at his side once more; she was sitting with her elbows on her knees, resting her chin in her palms, 'Cute.' he thought wistfully.
- - - - - -
The movie was coming to an end; Anthony and Rachel needed to get out of the cabin or they were sure they would run out of air. Managing to dig through the snow leading out on to the balcony, Rachel exited first, but saying that he had forgotten something, Anthony returned to the cabin; crawling back through the tunnel after a few moments, he emerged carrying a large paper-clipped stack of pages in his hand.
"Is that your book?" she asked, slightly confused as Anthony took her hand and led her to the railing of the balcony.
"Yeah, and I think I came up with the perfect ending." he said. Removing the paper clip, Anthony dropped the pages over the balcony, which then twisted and fluttered in the wind that carried them down the mountainside like snowflakes, all the while keeping his eyes on Rachel, "And he lived happily ever after." he said as they both leaned their faces in closer. The movie ended with a kiss, or so it would seem; before the credits rolled, the camera showed Anthony and Rachel walking back down the mountain together.
"So how long were you working on that book?" she asked.
"Um, about a year and a half." he replied as though it was nothing.
"A year and a half! And you just threw it over the mountain like that? You idiot!"
- - - - - -
Robin was glad that the movie had ended on a comedic note, now he could fill what would have been his awkward silence with a chuckle; he was relieved to see that Starfire was giggling right along with him.
"That was good, but I still can't believe Cyborg suggested it." Robin joked, standing up to turn off the DVD player and television. With the TV off and the sun fully set, the room went nearly pitch dark; he took this moment to turn on a lamp which was located next to the screen. Robin turned his attention to Starfire, who was still sitting on the couch; her mind seemed elsewhere, thinking deeply about something. For selfish reasons among others, he didn't want to leave her alone. Recovering his seat next to her, Robin looked to Starfire inquisitively, wanting desperately to ask what was on her mind.
"Robin..." she spoke before he could, "Watching this movie has brought something to my attention." Starfire looked him in the eyes.
Robin felt his heart stop; what had it brought to her attention? Considering the movie's plot, it could only be one thing... "Uh, really...? What's that?" he asked shakily, his breathing becoming irregular; the movie could have brought his own feelings to her attention...
"That it is important to say certain things... before we can no longer say them..." she said, seemingly avoiding his gaze now. Starfire saw it as incredibly ironic how she found it so simple to speak her mind on a daily basis; but now, as she struggled with her words, unnerved and disquieted, it seemed an impossible feat. Robin detected a hint of anxiety in her voice, something he recognized all too well in his own voice when he tried to speak his emotions. 'Before we can no longer say them...?' he thought about what she said, 'Could she be talking about... before she leaves? What could she want to say?' he wondered.
At this moment, he lost all concern he had for his secret being revealed, focusing entirely on Starfire as he now knew what she was speaking of had little or nothing to do with him, "What do you mean?" he asked softly, attempting to meet her eyes once again.
Starfire stopped trying to avoid his looks, thankful that he could be so understanding, "Before... you said that I know you better than anyone..." she said. Robin swallowed; maybe it did have something to do with him. "That may be true... but, there are many things I have kept secret from you... and in comparison, you do not know me at all." she finished, breathing shakily as she looked down at her hands which she clasped together on her knees.
"But Star..."
Starfire took a deep breath, "I wish to tell you about myself." she said, letting exactly what she wanted to say be known, forgetting about her fears and throwing caution to the wind. "So that I will not be burdened by secrets any longer..." she said, though there was one secret she knew she could not tell him at this moment, and it did not concern the past, but rather the present and future of their friendship; revealing that secret could jeopardize what they had, and she could not find it in herself to do so for the sake of what seemed like a selfish, and possibly one-sided emotion.
Robin simply nodded in response to her words, letting her know that he would listen. He didn't care what secrets she had; he was sure that absolutely nothing could change the way he felt about her.
"Thank you..." Starfire took another deep breath, attempting to calm herself; seeing this, Robin gave her a reassuring look; this was enough to help her speak, "My people have been in conflict with many other races... but there was one, when I was very young, which posed the greatest threat to our civilization; The Citadel..." she seemed to cringe at the very mention of the name, "They ruled the other worlds in the star system, Tamaran was permitted freedom until one day... they attacked. The casualties had become far too numerous... so my father met with them, and a deal was made." Starfire paused for a moment to gauge Robin's reaction; she new that what she would say next would cause him to think differently about her, but she wanted him to know who she was. "...I was exchanged as a form of peace treaty." she explained.
Robin stood up quickly, "What?" he asked, unable to believe her own parents would do such a horrible thing, "How could they do that to you?" he felt angry for some reason.
"Countless lives were spared because of this... It was best for Tamaran." she explained sadly.
Robin sat back down; he had heard Starfire say that before, and he found it utterly cruel that what was best for Tamaran, seemed most often harmful to her, "I'm sorry... it wasn't my place to judge them..." he calmed himself, gesturing for her to continue.
"My sister was different than other Tamaranians, and she was deemed unfit to rule, placed last in line for the throne... it was for these reasons that she led The Citadel to capture me." she said; somehow, Robin was not surprised that Blackfire would do that. "For six years, I was enslaved by them." she saw Robin's fist clench.
"Six years? Star..." he tried to quell his anger once again, but he couldn't fathom how anyone could be so cruel to her of all people; if it was at all possible, he found he hated Blackfire even more now.
"Eventually, The Citadel turned against her, selling us both into slavery under the Gordanians. It was during the time we were held captive that I came to believe she had changed." she continued with her story, pausing once again to see Robin's reaction, which seemed to be rather pronounced; she was glad that he cared about her so... it relieved her fears, and gave her the strength to carry on, "Together, we escaped, but we were soon captured by the Psions, a technologically advanced culture who..." she trailed off, thinking now about one of her most fearful memories.
"What is it? Please, you can tell me." he assured her, comfort and consolation in his tone. He didn't want to make her say anything, but with as much as she had told him already, he felt like he needed to know.
Starfire smiled for the first time during their conversation, "Thank you." she said, returning to a serious expression, "My sister and I were subjected to... experiments." Robin was caught off guard by that; he wondered what horrible things they had done to her... "The Psions attempted to test how much solar energy a living body could endure before it is destroyed." she explained.
"It didn't work, did it?" he asked, remembering what Starfire had told him about her powers.
Starfire shook her head, "It did not. In fact, it made us stronger. We began to develop strange abilities." she held up her hand and formed a ball of energy in it to help explain.
"Your starbolts."
"Yes. My sister and I are the only Tamaranians with this ability." she replied, letting go of the energy, dimming the light in the living room once more, "It was these new powers that helped us escape... but I was separated from my sister. I did not know where she had gone." she said. Knowing so much more about Blackfire now, Robin figured she had abandoned Starfire to escape on her own. "Truthfully, the day we met, Robin..." Starfire blushed slightly, thinking back to their first encounter; little did she know, Robin was doing the same thing, "The day we met, was not long after I had escaped... I was running from them." she finished telling her story.
"Starfire..." Robin looked to the ground, "You're the most cheerful person I've ever known... always smiling, laughing... even after all that you've been through... how do you do it?" he asked; comparing his past to hers, all his self-loathing, brooding tendencies seemed like mere melodrama.
Starfire giggled, "I smile, and I am happy, because I was fortunate enough to have met you..." she pondered her words for a moment before she began to panic, wondering how she could fix that statement before he discovers her secret, "You are the first real friends I have ever known." she said, sighing inwardly. Glad to have avoided her own mistake, Starfire looked him in the eyes, deciding to give him a subtle hint instead, "Now, you know me better than anyone." she blushed slightly, wondering how he would take that.
Robin almost thought he heard something in her voice when she mentioned her reasons for being happy, a tone he recognized from his own, but equated it to wishful thinking. "Star, now that you've told me these things, I think it would only be right for me to tell you about myself." he said, deciding to pay her back the only way he knew how, "No more secrets between... friends." Robin felt like slapping himself, 'Friends? You idiot...' he thought.
'He does trust me.' she thought happily; Robin had never told anyone else about these things.
"But, how about tomorrow?" he asked, looking at the clock by the television, "It's late and I wouldn't want you to lose any sleep because of me." Robin took her hand as he stood up from the couch; 'What are you doing?' he asked himself, 'Being a gentleman... if she asks why, just tell her it's a human thing.' he ignored his cynicism for once
As she stood up, Starfire stared at their interlocked hands for a moment, before reluctantly letting go, "Of course." she replied, simply the prospect that Robin would think of sharing his past with her was enough. Lifting herself off the ground, Starfire began floating backward to the hallway, keeping her attention on Robin, "Goodnight." she said with an elated smile. As Robin disappeared from her view, Starfire felt like she could float away into sleep; the joy she felt from that morning had returned as though the battle had never taken place.
Standing alone in the living room, Robin felt as though he could almost forget about what had happened earlier in the morning; he was happy again, and it made things seem a lot simpler. Now, more than ever, he knew he couldn't say goodbye to her. The importance of his actions weighed heavily as he thought about them, but Starfire's smile gave him courage and strength; he felt like he could do anything. With a determined attitude, Robin looked to the main doors.
- - - - - -
Midnight patrol, something Robin hadn't done since he left Gotham City; in retrospect, it seemed rather archaic compared with the system the Titans had in place, but back then, he found that he got all his thinking done during these patrols... and now, he had a lot of thinking to do. Kneeling atop a tall building, the shifting lights from the streets below illuminated his form; Robin stared over the edge as the heavy night winds whipped his cape about behind him. The nearly full moon, high above in the wispy cloud-spotted sky, provided the perfect amount of silver light for scanning the area below, even in the darkened alleyways. Robin closed his eyes and breathed in deeply, listening to the rush of traffic and wind, which together formed a quaint harmony of natural and artificial sounds; conjoined, they sounded like a coursing river, cutting its way through the city streets.
Feeling as though he had stayed in one place long enough, Robin opened his eyes; standing up, he stepped backward a good distance, running forward to leap across the gap. In the air, he felt as though he was flying, looking down upon the brightly lit streets below; landing on the opposite rooftop, Robin continued running and leaping over the gaps ahead, unsure of where he was going. Images of Starfire coursed through his mind, more so than usual; his only thought was keeping her safe... That man Grey was far too powerful; never had Robin fought someone with such strength except... He had put all his strength into that battle, fought with more ferocity than ever before, and yet Grey managed to defeat him as though he was nothing... he could have even killed him.
'But he didn't...' Robin thought as he came to stop, kneeling down once again to peer over the edge of the building, 'Why?' he wondered. Robin shook his head, 'What's the point in understanding his reason? He threatened everyone's lives, and gave you every reason to believe him.' he clenched his fists, 'There's only one way to stop this guy... I have to get stronger... beat him at his own game.' Robin thought back to the battle; Grey was using a mixture of several traditional sword fighting styles. 'Swords.' he thought; Robin had been trained in various martial arts forms... but as for sword fighting... he never had any instruction. 'If I learned a new fighting style...' he let his thought trail off, knowing that if he could learn enough about sword techniques, then he could learn to read Grey's moves before he made them; he wouldn't need to be stronger... No doubt Bruce knew something about swords, but Robin realized he couldn't go all the way back to Gotham for that; there was no time, and he couldn't bring himself to leave Starfire behind... not now. He had to find something in the city... anything.
Robin stood up and leapt across another gap, running on the edges of the buildings which faced the streets; he now scanned the individual buildings, looking for certain ones in particular. In a city of heroes and villains, self defense classes and martial arts training were not in short supply; several dojos were scattered across the city blocks. As many as there were, none of the buildings seemed to offer training in sword techniques. About to give up, one building caught his eye; it had an oriental look to it, so blatant one might mistake it for a Chinese restaurant; however, it was not the look of the building that got his attention. On the plain glass windows were printed the images of several swords, but it was the one sword that stood out to him; the katana.
Dropping down to the sidewalk below, Robin stepped up to the glass to examine a poster on the outside. It gave the hours for classes and read, "Receive training from world renowned swordsman Tyrus Dun. Classes range from beginner to advanced skill levels, in various forms of sword fighting." Robin stepped back and examined the building once more; it was strangely convenient, but he had actually heard that name before; Tyrus... he was a well known martial artist. Whether it was coincidence or pure luck, Robin was going to take it... he really had no other clear choice in the matter. Seeing that the lights were on inside the building, Robin wondered if the place was actually open at this late hour.
Stepping in through the glass door, Robin looked around the seemingly empty room. The walls were decorated by various antique swords behind glass displays, as well as several ornate oriental paintings, most of which were calligraphy. The floor of the room was simple polished red wood with a large mat spread across the center. Robin noticed a figure enter from a back room; an old man, carrying a cup of tea in his hands; he seemed oblivious to Robin's presence. The man wore plain clothing; a gray jacket over a white shirt and black pants; he looked nothing like the owner of such a place.
"Are you... Tyrus?" Robin asked, hoping that it was not; though he didn't seem very old, looking to be somewhere in his fifties, with his short white hair and slightly wrinkled facial expression, he still didn't look like a famous sword master.
"Eh?" the man turned around to face Robin, suddenly getting a surprised expression, turning his head to look at the door thereafter, "I thought I locked that..." he said in a gruff and aged voice, scratching his chin with one hand.
"...Are you?" Robin repeated.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm Tyrus. Can't you see the place is closed?" Tyrus pointed to a sign on the window. Robin looked at the window to see a sign attached to the glass by suction cup and string; the side which read "Closed" was facing inward. Seeing this, Tyrus massaged his temples, "For the..." he sighed; walking over to the window, he reversed the sign and turned back to Robin, "...Fine, so you want to learn sword techniques from me do you?" he asked, sounding slightly annoyed.
"How did you know?" Robin asked.
"Come on, when a kid like you walks into a place like this... he's not looking for directions." Tyrus explained almost jokingly.
Robin looked at his uniform, wondering how he thought the guy wouldn't know why he was here, "Yes. I need training with the katana." he said.
"The katana is merely a sword. What sword style do you want to learn?" asked Tyrus.
"All of 'em."
Tyrus pulled his head backward in surprise, "Hmph, that's ambitious." he remarked, "Robin right? I guess I could fit you in tomorrow morning--"
"How about right now?" Robin asked, eager to learn whatever he could as fast as he could; Grey hadn't told him exactly when he would return, so he needed to be ready for anything.
Tyrus grunted, "Look, kid--" he started.
Robin stepped forward, "Please, it's important that I learn as much as I can now." he said, implying the seriousness of the situation with his tone of voice; Starfire's life was at risk and he wouldn't let anything stop him from protecting her.
Sighing, Tyrus massaged his temples once again, "This is what I get for being an insomniac..." he chuckled self-loathingly, "Alright, we start now then."
Author's Note: I can't use the fic to respond to your reviews anymore, but Fanfiction dot net added a reply feature so now you'll be receiving e-mails as responses instead... My apologies to all those who don't have pen names, but I can't give you responses at all, unless you put up your e-mail addresses.
Phew! That was my longest chapter yet; so factoring in the length of the chapter and the amount of school stuff they made me do, I hope you can understand the delay this time around. I have my own computer now, so I should be able to compensate for all the school work by utilizing uninterrupted access to my very own word processor :).
I just want to let you know that I will never abandon this fic. I mean, why would I? I have the ending all planned out and everything. So no matter how long between updates you wait (which will never be more than a week and a half tops), it just means that things like school have gotten in the way. However, I'm still gonna apologize for the delay.
Next Chapter Preview: Feeling like he now has the situation under control, Robin returns to his attempts at convincing Starfire to stay. Mutually unaware of each other's reasoning, Robin and Starfire sneak off in the morning together before the others can interrupt their plans. Day 6, Part 1: Because I Met You.
