A weighty moment

Starfire was subdued for the remainder of the shopping trip, but Robin barely noticed, remaining enthralled by the sights. Everything interested him and he spent a lot of time dragging Starfire from one shop to another asking about the cultures and the food.

When they were done shopping, Starfire led him to a space dock, where a large, balding Tamaranian man and a crate waited for her.

Robin discovered that the ordering she'd done on the console had allowed the Tamaranian to collect the items she wanted and prepare them for her, all she needed to do was place her fresh purchases inside the crate, pay her credits and cart it back to Earth.

Newton's first law came into play again as they exited the station. Once they'd pushed the crate up to speed, Starfire let it go and matched its pace. And Robin, as excited about space travel as he had on the way here, flew circles around her. He made a game of darting in behind her and tickling the small of her back before nipping away again, hoping to goad her into another game of chasey. She gave in periodically, chasing him a little before returning to guard her crate.

So he tackled her. Grabbed her out of the black and sent them spinning among the stars. Her space shriek turned into laughter and he laughed with her, even though he couldn't produce a sound like she could.

He wasn't quite sure when he realised his tackle and spin meant he was cuddling Starfire; he just stumbled on the awareness mid revolution. Aware of every body part and where they touched his and exactly where his hands were on her. How each rumble of laughter brought them closer. Embarrassment surged through him, hand in hand with the realisation she wasn't pushing him away.

He thought maybe he'd like to kiss her (again?). He thought maybe he could slide his palms up to cup her shoulder blades and hold her close. He thought maybe their hips could bump. Maybe he could press their cheeks together and breathe in her ear… no that wouldn't work in space. Press his forehead to hers and stare into her eyes.

Everything he thought was stalled by Starfire's bop on the nose and gentle disengagement.

Robin wanted to sigh in disappointment. Instead he flew to her side and helped her manoeuvre the crate toward Earth.

Once back on Earth, Starfire bid him farewell with a smile as she carted her food to store it and Robin was left to wonder what he should do now. He had all this pent up energy and nowhere to spend it.

Wandering toward the common room, he met Cyborg in the hall.

"Hey, man," Cyborg said, grinning. "Nice time shopping?"

"It was awesome," Robin said, bouncing so much his feet lifted off and stayed aloft. "So many different things to see, and, oh, they have fungus on a stick! It was incredible. There was this space station and you could fly and I saw Jupiter and Star and I raced through the rings of Saturn and I saw Orion's nebula and—"

Cyborg laughed. "Woah, slow down. Anyone would think you're turning into Starfire. Take a breath."

Robin snorted. "As if."

"Listen, wanna run some tests on that boundless confidence? I'm on my way to do some weights, could be cool."

Robin grinned and flexed. "I'm in."

TTTTT

Starfire peeked through the door of the gym, seeing both Cyborg and Beast Boy carolling and chanting Robin's name as he juggled dumbbells.

Juggled them. Starfire stared. Six of them and Robin juggled them as though they were nothing. And she supposed they were nothing to him any more.

On any other day, she'd be in there, laughing and cheering him on with the rest of their friends, but today her heart wasn't in it.

Sighing, she turned away and went in search of Raven.

Raven, as expected, was in her room. She answered before Starfire knocked. "I felt you coming," she said.

Starfire smiled meekly. "My apologies."

"You're concerned," Raven said, stepping away from her door to allow Starfire access.

"I am."

"Do you want some tea?" Raven asked, waving her hand at the already boiling electric kettle she kept in her room for the midnight green teas she enjoyed.

Starfire nodded. "Please."

Raven was silent as she prepared their tea, allowing Starfire to collect her thoughts. Carting the two teacups over, Raven sat on the bed, offering one to Starfire.

Starfire took it with a thankful smile and sat beside Raven.

Lifting the cup to her lips to take a sip, Raven said, "In your own time."

Starfire sighed and stared at her boots, the cup in her lap. "Robin's powers. They are stable, yes?"

"As far as I can discern, yes."

"And his mental state?"

"He seems… unusually happy," Raven said, her eyes glazing for a moment. "But I don't sense instability."

Starfire closed her eyes and put her tea cup on the floor beside her to drink later.

"What are you seeing, Star?"

"Differences in his personality. I thought, perhaps, it could be the novelty of him acquiring powers, but now I am not as certain. Robin would never go on a mission without having a contingency plan. Robin would never go a situation where danger was present and not determine what could be done to minimise that danger."

"I see."

"We were on Kazator Prime and he bounds around like an addle-brained pup. He flew to Gotham and back at night, completely depleting his supply of energy because he wanted the 'joy ride'. Robin found planning a safe route through a space station known for interracial violence boring. I fear my physiology is having an adverse effect on his mentality."

"I agree he's been more jubilant as of late, but is that such a bad thing that he's loosened up?"

Starfire twisted her fingers together in her lap. "Robin has always been the sensible one. He never acts on impulse. He thinks through every action, every reaction, and every consequence. He did not even notice the group of Vernathains below us when he tried to start a fight with one. Robin notices everything and now it seems that access to my powers and being influenced by emotion is changing him."

"And you prefer him the other way."

"Yes! No." She held her head in her hands. "I do not know. It is wonderful that he is able to fly and experience all the wonders I can. I am so joyous that I can share that with him, but not at the cost of himself." Dropping her hands away, she flopped back on the bed. "My people, when we experience an emotion, we feel it with everything we have. Rage, love, happiness, we show these emotions, we do not hide, we choose to experience them in their entirety. That is how we access our powers. How we deal with these emotions is trained from birth. Robin… has been trained to hide these emotions. I fear now he's showing them, he will not be able to handle what they might bring."

"I see. Can I ask you something?"

Starfire nodded. "We have no secrets from each other."

"Are you more attracted to him now he's Tamaranian?"

Starfire squeezed her eyes shut. "I think he may be more attracted to me. Before… he was not ready to admit and I waited patiently. Now… oh, Raven, it is hard denying. He is so exuberant it is easy to get caught up in his emotions… but I miss his caution. I miss his quiet."

Raven took another sip of her tea. "You're going to have to tell him you have concerns about his state of mind."

Starfire opened her eyes to stare at the floor. "What if it is not true? What if I am the seeing things? Overreacting?"

"That's a possibility too. But this is Robin, he trusts your judgement. If you have misgivings, he'd want to know."

"I tried to broach the subject," Starfire admitted. "Raven… he was having the concerns for what I spoke about and then was distracted by the possibility of going into the station. He seemed to forget I had the concerns."

Raven stared at her. "Okay, now I'm worried. What do you want to do?"

Starfire hung her head. "I do not wish to be the cause of unhappiness."

Raven sipped her tea, considering the dark swirl in her cup. "I haven't discovered how to reverse the gem yet. I'll double my efforts."

"Must that be the only solution?" Starfire asked, stricken. "To reverse what has been done? He seems so much happier, I do not wish to take that from him."

"He won't be happier if it's detrimental."

"But, Raven—"

Raven reached across and patted Starfire's hand. "For now, why don't we just keep a closer eye on him. It could be just the sudden influx of Tamaranians hormones and emotions. He might deal with all this himself given the chance."

Starfire nodded. "That seems prudent."

"I'll ask Beast Boy if he's noticed anything."

Starfire sat up and reached for her cup of tea. "I thank you."

"We're in this together," Raven said. "I warned Robin in the beginning there might be complications."

Starfire nodded again.

"How are you coping?" Raven asked. "Having another Tamaranian around?"

"It is… odd," Starfire murmured. "My own emotions seem to sway rapidly as of late."

"What was that kiss before? In the common room?"

Starfire frowned. "That was language transfer. Not a kiss… why? Did Robin say something?"

"It left Robin breathless." Raven giggled. "You left him on his knees. I swear you could've asked him to do anything and he would have been happy to do it."

Starfire pondered. "If he thought… if he thought that was a kiss, perhaps that is the reason for his emotional shift."

"Could be. So… it wasn't?"

"I did not intend for it to be viewed as such. It is the most efficient way to transfer so many languages at once, but it can be done other ways." She flushed. "I guess I was not thinking of consequences."

"You did seem rather absent minded this morning."

"I do not like going to Kazator Prime," Starfire admitted. "I think it unsettled me when he requested to come."

"I get that. There are other wonders you can show him though. Like space flight. The poor boy was so excited about that, how'd he go?"

Starfire brightened. "Oh, the journey was quite enjoyable. We did the playing of the 'chasey' through the rings of Saturn. It was most fun! I had not thought to use the rings like that."

Raven laughed. "Brilliant date idea."

"Date? Do you think he thought it was?"

Raven rolled her eyes. "Stop second guessing yourself. He's head over heels for you, Star, he just doesn't realise it."

"What if it takes my powers to realise it?" Starfire asked, disheartened. "Is there still truth in his feelings then?"

The smiled melted from Raven's face. "Good point." She placed the teacup on her lap and touched Starfire's arm. "I think—"

She was interrupted by the blaring of the Titan alarm.

With a small growl, Raven placed her teacup to the side and lifted off the bed. "I swear that alarm has the worst timing."

"It does indeed," Starfire said and readied herself for battle.