There she was, sitting in the Titans Tower living room watching the home shopping Network, laughing at all the strange earthly devices. He loved her laugh. He loved her sense of curiosity, her sense of caring and joy…he loved how she found every moment fascinating…he wondered if she found him as interesting as he found her.
"Um…Starfire?" What was he doing? He could never tell her how he felt, even if his insides felt as if they might burst, even if he must keep his feelings bottled up inside for all eternity, if Slade found out, she would be put in even more danger…it would be all my fault…
"Oh! Robin!" Starfire looked up in surprise, after all, it was one o' clock in the morning. "What you doing up at this time of the night?" she looked at him with bright green eyes, the eyes he fell into just looking at them, as if they could make all the pain go away.
"Oh…um, mind if I join you?" he sat down next to her, enjoying her company and smiling at her giggling, but also feeling great sadness. This isn't like me…what the hell is going on? Nowadays his stomach was in such tight knots, he doubted a boy scout could've done better.
As he was staring at her flaming red hair and bright green eyes, she looked at him and caught his eye, "Robin? Are you not well? You look ill, or perhaps you are being saddened by something?"
Robin smiled as he said, "No, Starfire, everything's fine."
She wondered why he had been acting so strangely lately, and always so…strained…She found many things fascinating, as everyone knew, and Robin in particular was always happy to see her amazed by such simple things as a can opener. But she found him thrilling to look at, interesting in all ways…so mysterious in some ways, yet always able to open up to.
She felt a pounding in her heart, and she was elated by a sense of…what was that? She didn't know…so many feelings mixed into one…confusion, happiness, and friendship…
"Robin," she started to ask, but he looked at her with such earnest that she was taken aback. Instead she just smiled and said, "I'll see you in the morning, I think Beastboy is making the tofu waffles for breakfast…goodnight."
Perhaps she would ask Robin about these strange feelings tomorrow…
The next morning, Beastboy served his famous (or infamous) tofu waffles with soy milk, and after many 'no thank yous' they were finally free of the kitchen no-meat protester.
The Team spent the rest of it's time on the roof of Titans Tower relaxing and trying to ignore how hungry they are.
Star saw Robin standing near the edge of the building gazing over the skyline, and slowly walked over to him.
As Starfire approached Robin, she saw once again that look of despair and misery, of feelings that he desperately wanted to be rid of, but she needed to know what she was feeling too.
"Robin…" she trailed off, and he looked up in surprise, pushing back his negative thoughts and putting on a happy face. She was about to continue when suddenly they saw something speeding towards them in the distance. But before anyone could even react, Blackfire appeared directly above Starfire.
"Hey sis', you miss me?"
Starfire looked at her sister with nothing but contempt in her green eyes; "I banished you from Tamaran, you were arrested, and you still find a way back to torture me! Why have you come back?"
Her sister gave her a look of pure pity and explained.
"You're old buddy Slade busted me out, he's a pretty cool guy, I think you'd like him if you'd just get to know him…you never know, you guys could all just become good friends. Yeah, you would all have to apologize, he's told me what bullies you have all been." She smirked and continued, "Of course, when I heard my assignment, I thought he would be after your leader, Robin of course," She winked at him and blew him a kiss, as Starfire's eyes began to glow dangerously, "But I was more than surprised to find out, baby sister, that he's after you…that's why I'm here…"
And without further warning she swooped down and carried Starfire away like the Wicked Witch of the West's evil flying monkeys.
"Starfire!"