Author's Note: I don't really have much to say, except that I will not be doing a Robin goes through transformation. I always equated that with menstruation, for which guys don't have an equivalent. I will also not be doing Robin checking out his junk for the first time either =D.
Nebula
Robin likened the qatan to a kind of balloon. Filled up completely, he could almost feel the bulge in his belly. Starfire assured him it would indeed last until they reached the bazaar, she said that Tamaranians used less oxygen than humans. He could survive a full twenty-four hours in space without running into any sort of problem.
When he asked about speaking in space (since she'd done it before and space is airless, how could she have possibly produced an audible sound), she gave him a complex answer involving variations in sound, light and energy and how the Tamaranians used their vocal chords in conjunction with energy instead of air to produce a kind of radio signal which could be transferred to others. It involved several sciences he hadn't heard of before and he gradually decided he just wouldn't speak in space.
Robin felt incredibly awkward around her and unsure how he could ask her about the kiss. She didn't seem the least bit concerned about it at all. So he pushed the thought aside and concentrated on the trip.
Breaking atmosphere had turned into a mind-over-matter struggle, where his brain had told him he had to breathe and his body called him an idiot for trying. It was like using scuba diving equipment for the first time, he just had to push through the mental barrier. Starfire allowed him to take his time, re-entering atmosphere with him so he could gulp in an unneeded breath and try again.
Space, as he discovered, was warm. Combined with his internal energy heat and the radiation from the sun, he was quite cosy. He'd expected crushing cold, perhaps frostbite on his fingers.
Tamaranians were built for deep space. A frictionless environment and he rediscovered speed. Light speed, to be exact. Faster than light. Humans didn't have the words for the speed they were doing. Tamaranians did. And, as he understood, they were barely scratching the surface.
They circled the moon twice, just because Robin wanted to look at its surface. Robin left footprints as he walked upon it and cheekily burnt his Robin insignia into the dark side of the moon. They paused, allowing him to view the Earth from a distance and he stared at in wonder for ages and watched it spin before Starfire coaxed him into accelerating.
Robin rolled, looking behind him. The sun was already so far away and they'd been flying less than a minute and still accelerating. One wrong move and he could plough right through the centre of Jupiter.
As he lost Earth to the background of black, he hoped he could find it again. He could feel the pull of planetary bodies, how he couldn't explain, but he could tell where Jupiter was, where Saturn was, even though he couldn't see them yet. His brain had catalogued Earth and its gravity field, imprinting on his mind. He hoped that meant finding it would come naturally.
He glanced at Starfire, seeing her smiling at him.
To her, this was as natural as… well… not breathing, that was sure. Flying. As natural as flying. Everything she did, everything she was, amazed him.
Starfire smiled and held out her hand to him. He stretched out his arm and she wove their fingers together and pulled.
They whipped past Mars without pause. Starfire curved them and they hurtled on an intercept toward Jupiter. It didn't matter that it was around the other side of the sun at the time. For them, it was a walk in the park.
The eye of Jupiter stared unblinking at him as they shot by. They danced around the copious moons, weaving between their gravity fields with ease. The rings of Saturn twinkled as they skipped over the top and Starfire released his hand, diving into the floating rocks. She spun and twisted, green fire flowing in her wake. Her arms outstretched over her head, a look of peace on her face. He skimmed along the top (top? Did space have a top? Three-D thinking was hard), watching her flow between the floating rocks.
She was dazzling.
He wanted to try too. He didn't particularly care if he collided with any of the rocks and forced them from their orbits, creating questions for scientists for generations to come. He wanted to weave and dip and be a part of the moment.
He dove, crossing her wake as he delved deeper into the rings. Rocks whizzed by at such speeds he often didn't register their presence until moments before impact and would have to dodge. His heart pounded, his blood surged adrenaline, laughter bubbled in his chest. This is what it was like to be alive.
Starfire twisted around him a smile on her face, her fingers brushing along his shoulders, his back, across his chest. Catching her hand, he turned with her, and they revolved around each other in way which had never been possible when he adhered to gravity. No tangle of grappling hooks, nothing to keep him weighed down, only her and him and the combined green trail in their wake.
She looked beautiful. So free and happy. Butterflies churned in his nine stomachs, making him more nervous than ever before. They were so close, it would be easy to lean across and take her lips and make this a memorable flight. Really start something with her. There was nothing holding him back. He was like her and he swore she was flirting more with him now than she had been when he was human.
Starfire broke the moment with a wink and darted out ahead. Robin laughed and chased her through the rocks, following her path. Rocks became insignificant obstacles; it was her he wanted to catch.
Starfire did not make herself an easy target. She ducked, wove and curved around rocks and chunks of ice. She offered him tantalisingly out-of-reach boots to miss every time be made a clumsy grab for them. Her fingers against her lips, her eyes closed in merriment, he knew exactly which 'teehee' giggle she would be using if they were in atmosphere and the action was just as adorable in his mind.
The rocks were moving objects in space, with orbits and tangents all of their own and it wasn't long before Robin misjudged his trajectory and slammed, shoulders first, into one. The rock disintegrated around him, pain stung his shoulders and he tumbled head over heels. Arms flailing, he became like the rocks, rolling and spinning in space. He couldn't tell which direction to head, all he could see was rock and ice and Saturn filling up his gaze.
Batman had trained him in recovering an airplane from an uncontrolled spin, but this wasn't anything like that because it was his own powers he couldn't control. Any attempts he made only sent him careening off in a different direction and smashing into other rocks. Newton's First Law echoed in his head, 'an object in motion remains in motion'. He couldn't slow down, because he couldn't judge which three dimensional way to apply flight; couldn't fix the spin because of the same reasons.
Then Starfire was there, her hands steadying his body to allow him to regain a stable flight. She pulled him, weaving through the rocky rings toward the edge.
When she glanced down at him to see if he was okay, he mouthed 'thanks' and brushed space dust from his hair.
She smiled and released him to fly on his own. Breaking through the ring and back into empty space, she gathered herself and blasted forward. Robin followed. They looped around moons, twisted around comets, blasted through the nothingness of space to frolic among the stars. A star passed in a blur of light and all Robin could really see was mini-skirt, a pair of boots and a teasing smile.
She slowed, allowing him to catch up to her. Before he could reach her, she pointed and Robin's jaw dropped when he followed her gaze.
A nebula. Swirling pink gasses. Orange hues. Twinkling baby suns and unformed solar systems. The Orion Nebula, he'd seen from pictures. A nebula visible from Earth if one knew where to look, up close and personal. It was amazing.
They paused, watching the universe give birth. Robin stretched out his hand and took Starfire's. She drifted closer, the line of her arm pressing against his and curled her other hand over his elbow.
She'd shown him the very fast moments and the very slow. Speeding through frozen rock and watching creation.
He glanced over his shoulder, looking back where they'd come. The gravity pull he'd felt when he left was almost gone, he had a vague direction, but he struggled to see it with his eyes. With a mild panic, he turned around completely, pulling Starfire with him, as he tried to find his position.
Starfire soothed him with a hand on his chest. Lifting the same hand from his chest, her fingertips glowed. Bringing her face close to his so she could check his sight, she dotted stars, leaving a flicker of energy over each one and he realised what she was showing him. A consolation, so he could navigate the stars.
She drew lines, flickering trails of green energy which held its shape even in space and Robin watched as a smiley face formed. Eyes, large mouth, a circle for the head. With a smile, she lifted their joined hands and extended her index finger, nodding at him to do the same. When he did, she moved their hands until his finger was where the nose of the smiley face would be. Copying her actions, he allowed some energy to form on his finger to make the dot.
Starfire smiled and nodded. With her free hand, she wiped clean all of the energy painting, except for Robin's dot, which she allowed to longer before she wiped it too. Then, she gripped him and spun him rapidly in a circle.
The universe whizzed, the stars forming blurred lines around him. The Orion Nebula flashed in and out of his vision, the only thing a constant was Starfire's face. Ceasing the spin, Starfire released him. Spreading her fingers, she gave him a questioning look.
Robin hesitated. She wanted him to find Earth.
Orientating himself, he turned his back to the nebula and scanned the black. Once he found the first star, a bright red one, it was easy enough to redraw the face Starfire had shown him, then point at the nose. A yellow star. The sun. His sun. When he was finished with his drawing, he looked to Starfire for confirmation.
The relief was immense when she smiled and nodded. He would be able to find his way home again.
Starfire twirled, her hands clapping together happily (and soundlessly). Grabbing his arm with both her hands, she tugged him flying again.
Their destination was a space station, hanging on the edge of the nebula. Circular tubes and rings revolved around a central pillar. Various space ships docked on the out rims, some of them like what Sci-Fi had imagined, some nothing Robin could have conceived possible. One appeared to be a lump of goo pulled away from a dock as they headed for the closest airlock.
Starfire led him to a little hatch, punching in a code on the console beside the door to open it. Robin slithered in side, Starfire pulling the hatch closed behind them. Twisting a knob, Starfire set the oxygen levels for the airlock.
Gravity took hold as the hatch filled with air. Robin breathing in, allowing his qatan to fill again and his boots to touch down on the metallic floor of the airlock.
"That was… amazing!" he blurted. He pounced on Starfire, who was still working at the computer, hugging her hard from behind. He lifted her up, squeezing. She squeaked in surprise and he released her just as fast. "The nebula!" he blurted "Seeing the moon."
Starfire twisted to watch him, floating several inches from the floor.
"The moon, Star. Do you know how few humans can say they walked on the moon?" He pointed two thumbs at himself and puffed out his chest. "Well, this guy can! Oh, Jupiter was amazing!" He raked a hand through his hair. "And painting with your energy! And is that how you find your way back? Through star charts and gravity fields? I kinda wondered because I can sorta feel Earth but not quite, do we have an internal star chart or something?"
Starfire giggled. "You are giddy."
"I am!" he said, bouncing. "That was amazing! Incredible! I love being able to fly and go into space. You're incredible and I—" he stalled. "I mean… I love this." He gestured everything around him with a finger. "Thanks for bringing me."
She flushed, her cheek pigments turning yellow. "You are welcome."
Rubbing the back of his neck, he peeked at her. "Ahh. So… shopping?"
"Indeed," she said with a nod and opened the airlock door to the interior of the space station.