This one's a bit different from the previous two because it's actually something of a follow-up to one of my previous works. Specifically, it follows "Starlit Flight" from this year's RobstarWeek (that's 2019 for those of you reading this in the future). You don't have to read it to understand this one, but for those who have, when I was writing it I was kind of struck with the thought of "What would the other Titans think if they saw this going on out the window?" and found the resulting mental image hilarious. Then I remembered that death spirals are a thing (don't worry if you don't know what those are, it's explained in the story), and so of course I had to write about that because I am a giant animal nerd. Timeline-wise, this takes place not too long after Trouble in Tokyo, and maybe a week or two after "Starlit Flight."

On the "animal nerd" note, this story also serves to indulge a headcanon I have wherein Beast Boy actually knows a lot about animals, having studied them both to better use his animal forms and out of personal interest. His knowledge is somewhat touched on in the previous oneshot, but it doesn't come up often because he's usually too busy messing around or coming up with wild ideas for things to really bring it up.

"Then... We have nothing to fear." – Starfire, Trouble in Tokyo

Spiraling

It was an ordinary enough night in Titan's Tower. Cyborg and Beast Boy had settled in for a long – and noisy – Smash Bots gaming marathon. Raven had settled in with a steaming mug of tea and an old grimoire she was studying, and years of practice allowed her to drown the boys out as she worked. Silkie had curled up against her at some point, and as Raven flipped pages and took notes, she would occasionally reach down to give him an absent stroke on the head.

For a while, that odd disjointed rhythm – the flashing lights on the screen, the mechanical grunts of virtual robots beating the snot out of each other and shouts of their players exchanging smack talk, the sedate scent of herbs and lavender – filled the common room.

Then Robin and Starfire fell past the window.

Cyborg cut himself off mid-sentence with a panicked yell. He practically threw his controller to the ground and ran up to the big bayside window, Beast Boy following close behind. Their commotion snapped an otherwise-occupied Raven to attention.

"What is it?" she asked, making her way to the boys with long strides.

Beast Boy peeled his eyes away from the window for just a second to glance at her. "Raven!" he shrieked. "Quick, you gotta phase through the window and… Oh, wait, never mind."

He watched as Starfire shot back up past them, her hands tightly grasping those of the team leader.

Cyborg scratched his head. "Shoulda known Star had it under control. What were those two doing anyway?"

The three of them watched as their teammates… continued flying. Starfire pulled Robin along in arcs and twists, going so high that it was hard for the others to see them through the angle of the window.

One more arc and they were suddenly in another freefall, but this time the others realized it was intentional. Starfire drifted back a foot or so, grasped her partner's hands, and gently pulled them into a slow spiral. They rushed past the window again, and the faint sound of laughter just managed to drift through.

Beast Boy's face lit up, and he cackled. "I can't believe it! They're doing a death spiral!"

That grabbed his friends' attention, and they turned to him. "A… death spiral?" Cyborg asked skeptically.

Beast Boy was grinning like an idiot now, and he backed away from the window to address the other two. "Trust me, it is every bit as adorable as it is badass. See, when eagles are courting, they kind of…" he clasped his hands together to demonstrate, "lock talons and go into this spinning freefall. I think it's for like testing their compatibility or something? But anyway, that is totally what Robin and Star are doing right now! I mean, just look at them and tell me that isn't a couple thing!"

Cyborg frowned thoughtfully and glanced back out the window, just in time to see his teammates fly back up. "…Huh. I guess Robin really is a birdbrain."

Raven shook her head. "Interspecies relationships are weird."

Beast Boy let out a longing sigh and rested his hands against the window, watching the couple as they continued their nighttime dance. "Man, I wish I had a cool flying girlfriend."

Silence. He looked back at Cyborg and Raven to find them staring at him.

"…B, you can fly."

Beast Boy rolled his eyes. "Well, yeah, by turning into a bird or something. Which isn't exactly romantic unless I somehow find another shapeshifter to date." He considered that line of thought for a moment.

"…Although that would make it even more of a death spiral."

Raven just shook her head again, though she glanced back at the window with the tiniest hint of a smile on her lips. "I'm going back to studying," she said, turning back toward the couch.

Cyborg lingered a little bit longer, looking out as well. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "A courting ritual, huh?" he said to himself before letting out an I'm so teasing Robin for this chuckle and returning to the couch himself.

Outside, the couple of the hour were drifting past again. Starfire happened to catch Beast Boy looking her way, and he could swear he heard a soft "Eep!" as she froze in place for a moment before disappearing with her partner.

A little smile quirked at the side of his mouth. Well, he still thought it was cute.

On Tamaran, they called it bak'nor. A partnered flight, in which said partners wove around each other and followed one another through arcs and dips and dives as they saw fit. It was reserved for lovers, who buoyed themselves and each other with the warmth of their bond and transformed the joy of flight into an intimately shared experience.

For many, bak'nor was how they announced to their neighbors an intent to marry.

It was a little different for the two of them, of course. Humans, at least in this part of the world, held a more drawn-out courting process than on Tamaran. Partnered flight suited this "dating" stage well, as it turned out. The dance itself also had to be modified, since only one of them could actually fly.

That was all right. Exposing each other to new experiences, and tweaking them as needed, had always been a rather exciting quirk of their relationship.

In any case, Starfire and Robin were laughing as they descended the Tower's stairwell.

"I did not even realize we were flying that low," the former admitted, swallowing her mirth. "I cannot imagine what they must have thought we were doing!"

Robin shot her a grin and a playful jab in the side. "Considering how you reacted? I'm not sure I'd want to know."

A light blush made its way to Starfire's face. "I panicked! It caught me by surprise, that is all."

She cast him a pleading look with that, as if begging him to forgive her for the abrupt end of the flight, but it dissolved as they both descended into giggles again. There was no room for regrets in bak'nor.

By the time they reached the common room, they had managed to regain their composure. Raven seemed to be studying a book of some sort, but she spared them a glance in silent greeting. Cyborg and Beast Boy, just finishing a round of Smash Bots, turned as they approached.

Beast Boy grinned and pillowed his head on his hands. "Sooo, how was your flight?"

Starfire kept her smile even. "Very pleasant, thank you."

Cyborg smirked and waggled his eyebrows. "And should we start planning the weddin' now, or…?"

There was a beat as Beast Boy snorted out a peal of laughter. Now, not so long ago (and likely even now, under different circumstances), that comment would have earned a solid round of furious blushing, stammering, and unnecessary denial from Robin.

So the two boys were a little confused when all he had to offer was a light blush. He took his girlfriend's hand and muttered "Told you," to her before leading her off to the kitchen to continue their conversation.

Robin and Starfire were even more confused when Beast Boy turned back to Cyborg and said, "See? Totally a death spiral."