Starfire's room was dark and empty.

As usual, she had not locked her door.

She never locked her door, no matter how many times he suggested she do so.

Tamaraneans had some unusual ideas about privacy. It was just one of the thousand cultural differences Robin and the rest of the Titans had had to adjust to once they "adopted" the extra-terrestrial princess. Many, like Starfire's enthusiastic appreciation of mustard, were odd or simply amusing. Some, such as her naivety when dealing with villains, were troublesome and even dangerous. But only one trait was uniquely exasperating and embarrassing to Robin:

Starfire's obvious affection towards him.

He wasn't certain when the attraction started, although, in hindsight, she had kissed him ten minutes after they first met.

He smiled in the darkness.

Yeah, that should have been your first clue, Dick.

Somewhere along the way, he realized he was attracted to her as well.

And why not?

She was brave. She was strong. She was kind.

And she was beautiful.

Not that he hadn't fought it. Bruce's conditioning was pretty thorough.

Keep it professional, Robin.

Don't let personal feelings get in the way of what has to be done, Robin.

The mission comes first, Robin. Everything else is secondary.

But in the end, when they found themselves stranded on that alien planet, everything came to a head. He came as close to admitting how he felt as he could, and she had seemed to accept that. Things began to progress from there.

Too bad Batman showed up to ruin everything.

Robin sighed, but his melancholy quickly evaporated as he saw Silky hanging upside down in his homemade cage, chewing happily on some unrecognizable leftover from the fridge. His eyes lingered on Starfire's room, taking in her décor and furnishings. Even now, with everything bearing down on him, there was something about her that could make him smile.

He left the room purposefully.

There was only one place she could be.

- - - - -

"Please excuse the interruption, sir."

Slade looked up at the old man, setting the sword and rag he was using to polish it on the workbench in front of him.

"What is it, Wintergreen?"

"Our contacts have confirmed sighting the Batwing."

"ETA?"

"It should be here in a little over an hour, sir."

"Are our resources in place?"

"Yes, sir."

"Excellent. Make certain you alert me as soon as we know exactly where he's going."

"Of course, sir."

The butler bowed and left the room.

Slade hefted the broad sword easily in one hand, twirled it, and sheathed it in one smooth motion. He strapped the scabbard onto his back, and began to clean the rest of his weapons. In the past, he hadn't bothered arming himself when dealing with the Titans. Frankly, he hadn't needed them.

But tonight, he was hunting bigger prey.

- - - - -

He found her, as expected, sitting on the roof of the Tower. Legs dangling over the edge, Starfire was looking out to sea.

Sunset was but a memory by now. Both the moon and stars had laid claim to the sky, sharing it with only a few wispy clouds here and there. In the distance, the bridge was silhouetted by the pale moonlight and everything appeared to be quiet and peaceful. Even the scent of the ocean seemed muted somehow.

At this moment, here in this place, time stood still.

Staring at her like this, he felt a calm he had almost forgotten.

It was almost a shame he had to break the silence.

"Hello, Starfire."

She flinched slightly and turned to look at him, eyes wide and filled with tears. She immediately wiped them away and attempted to smile, failing miserably.

"Hello, Robin."

He was shocked at the visceral response her sadness had on him. He felt sick to his stomach at the thought he had caused her pain. It was all he could do to prevent himself from embracing her and doing anything he could to take that hurt away.

"I'm . . ." he stopped for a moment, old tendencies beginning to reassert themselves. The words did not want to come, trapped within emotional barriers he had erected years ago. But somehow he managed to continue, "I'm sorry, Starfire. For everything."

"Robin, I—"

He walked up to her and gently placed a few fingers to her lips, "Sshh. I need to get through this, and then you can talk. Okay?"

She opened her mouth again to speak, but then closed it and nodded.

He noticed to her surprise that she was no longer taller than he was. He could look at her without having to tilt his head. When had that happened, he wondered. And why hadn't he noticed it until now?

Starfire looked at him expectantly, orange skin taking on a lovely hue in the moonlight. He allowed himself to get lost in her eyes for a few moments. There was nothing but kindness there, mingled with honesty and decency.

All of which surrounded by what he had to admit was love.

And it scared him.

He knew by his recent actions, he wasn't worthy of her devotion.

"I know the past week hasn't been easy for you," he began, excoriating himself for his words even as he uttered them. They were awkward and pathetic. But it was the best he could do, and so he continued, "Please understand that I never wanted to hurt you. It's just that---I'm not good at this."

He looked away in frustration.

"You have to understand something, Star. Batman trained me for years. I have a black belt in six different martial arts. I can drive or pilot just about any vehicle. I know forensics, criminal psychology, computer programming, and a dozen other fields. I have all the skills of a paramedic and a thorough background in tactics and strategy. And, while I'm no Cyborg, my mechanical and engineering talents get the job done."

He finally met her gaze again.

"Batman taught me all of these things, but he failed me in one respect. He never taught me how to handle relationships. Especially the kind of special relationship we have. Like I said, I'm just not good at this, and I'm a guy who's used to being good at just about everything."

"Robin, no one expects you to—"

"Let me finish, Star."

Unhappy at his interruption, she nevertheless nodded once again.

"You can't imagine how frustrating this whole thing is for me. I can lead the Titans against a demon that has taken over the world, but I can't handle a relationship with a girl I'm attracted to and truly respect."

He closed with her, holding her gently by the arms.

She blushed, the color in her cheeks barely perceptible in the near darkness.

"But I don't care about that anymore, Starfire. I want us to be together," he paused, only inches from her face, "And we will be, just as soon as I take care of one last thing. After tonight, whatever Batman did or didn't teach me won't matter anymore."

He smiled at her.

"I just wanted to tell you before I left."

He kissed her before she could reply.

And he had to admit, it was about damn time.

- - - - -

He arrived at the arena with ten minutes to spare.

He hid his motorcycle carefully and fired his grapple.

A few minutes later, he was on the roof and making his way to the roof access Batman had told him would be open.

It was the off season, and the basketball arena wasn't being used tonight for a concert or other special event. A subsidiary of Wayne Enterprises had the security contract for the building, and a few unauthorized changes in the work schedule had left the edifice completely deserted until the next morning.

This particular competition would have no witnesses.

He was a little surprised, therefore, when he saw Batgirl standing guard.

She acknowledged him with a curt nod.

"He's waiting for you inside."

Robin stopped at the doorway.

"I didn't realize you were going to be here, Barbara."

"I'm just monitoring the perimeter. This isn't something I want to see, anyway."

"Look, about what you saw—"

She held up a hand dismissively.

"That's between you and him, Robin."

He flinched at her use of his codename. Even with the cowl, he could tell she was still upset, and more than a little angry.

"Whether you believe me or not, I would never betray you or Bruce. I was just taking a page out of his book, by using every resource available to get the job done."

She stared at him, "If you say so."

He was about to reply, but she cut him off.

"You better hurry. You know he hates to wait."

- - - - -

Robin stood in the middle of the arena, thousands of empty seats fading away into the darkness above him. The emergency exit signs lent an eerie radiance to the vast chamber. His eyes adjusted to the dim illumination. To any casual observer, the Titan seemed calm and poised, but inside his heart was pounding. Everything had come down to this moment.

When Batman's wraithlike form materialized out of the shadows, he finally made the connection.

His nightmare.

He finally realized why it had shaken him so badly all those days ago.

It wasn't the death of his parents that had to disturbed him.

It was him.

Batman.

And now his nightmare was made manifest in the real world, towering above him in an immense empty structure of cold concrete, unyielding steel, and dark glass.

For a few terrible seconds, he was ten years old again, an orphan with nowhere to turn to. But then, he swallowed hard and straightened to his full height.

"Hello, Bruce."

Batman nodded.

Robin attacked.