Thresholding by CidGregor
Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans.
This fic is dedicated to Post, for all he has contributed to it's existence. (A beat...)
Chapter 5
"…coming around?…"
"…hope…be okay…"
"…-bin? Robin? It is Starfire, your friend…"
"Give him a bit of air, Star, damn…NO, not like that!"
The voices swimming around in Robin's head gradually grew clearer as he climbed out of the black pool of unconsciousness. He opened his eyes and blinked behind his mask; he was staring up at the ceiling of the medical wing, a group of familiar faces staring down at him. Cyborg stood on his left. Raven was at the foot of the bed. A Tamaranian male stood just behind her. And on his right, next to his head, was…
"Starfire…"
Starfire let out a breath of relief. "Oh, thank X'Hal, Robin, you caused me such worry! You have been unconscious for an excess of an hour!"
"Uunnhh…what happened? How did I…?"
It all came rushing back in one fell swoop: the Tamaranian man, Tromand'r; their battle on the island's shore; and just before he remembered passing out…
"For one who fights so well, it is strange that this Robin fell unconscious with no apparent provocation," the Tamaranian observed, speaking to no one in particular.
Starfire fought down another blush, but only half-succeeded. "Captain Tromand'r, please, now is not the best of tim-eep!"
Robin had suddenly sat bolt upright, glaring at the Captain. "You…"
"Robin," Starfire said in a warning tone.
The Boy Wonder ignored it completely. He leapt out of bed and on his feet, and was halfway toward Tromand'r before Starfire caught him around the middle and deposited him back onto the bed.
"Robin, please, allow me a moment to explain…"
"Explain what? What needs explaining? You don't need to explain anything! " Robin rambled, half-incoherent.
"Uhm…forgive me, but…what is the problem?" Tromand'r asked. "I am afraid I do not know what is wrong with you friend."
"That makes two of us," Cyborg muttered. "Yo, man, chill!" he added to Robin.
"You…you!" Robin sputtered, pointing an accusatory finger at Tromand'r.
The Captain blinked in confusion. "Are you perhaps still upset at my regrettable hostilities earlier?"
"What? No, it was…" Robin's brain suddenly ground to a halt. "You're speaking English?"
"Erm…Robin?" Starfire murmured.
"Oh, is that what this language is called? How interesting."
"You knew how to speak English all this time and all you did was yell at me in Tamaranian?.!" Robin exploded.
"Robin!"
"X'Hal, no," Tromand'r said, surprised. "I have only just absorbed your language from Princess Koriand'r."
"No one learns a whole language in an hour!" Robin shot back. "You…"
"ROBIN!"
The Boy Wonder jerked, and turned to Starfire, looking at her as though he'd only just noticed she was in the room. "Star?"
"Please, do not be angry with Captain Tromand'r. If you will allow me a moment, I will explain what transpired before you lost consciousness…"
"I think I saw the kiss pretty clearly for myself, thank you, I don't need to hear the details!" Robin blurted out.
Starfire's blush returned full-force. "It was NOT-"
"You kissed her?.!" Cyborg shouted, staring harshly at Tromand'r.
The Captain's eyes narrowed, patience wearing thin. "Well, of course, how else was would I-"
"Man, what is wrong with you?.!" Cyborg cut him off. "You don't just-"
"Please, Cyborg, is was not like-"
"See here, you metallic buffoon-"
"Friends, please do not-"
"If you ever-"
"QUIET!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!"
A flash of obsidian energy accompanied Raven's scream, and each Titan was forced back roughly; Robin back up against the bed, Cyborg and Tromand'r against opposite walls, and Starfire against her seat at Robin's bedside. The echo faded, leaving a dead silence in the room for a handful of seconds as all eyes watched the empath.
"No one's going to solve anything with all that bickering," Raven finally broke the quiet, speaking very slow and clear, so it was impossible to miss even a syllable. "Now, Starfire, you and Tromand'r are going to calmly explain what happened, and Robin and Cyborg are going to keep their big mouths shut until you're done. Is everybody clear?"
Four heads nodded.
"Good."
The black energy faded, releasing the foursome.
"Now…Starfire?"
"Y-yes…erm…Robin, I must first apologize, I didn't-"
"Apologize? Why apologize for our people's nature?" Tromand'r cut in.
"Tromand'r, please!" Starfire begged. "Things are different on this planet!"
"It cannot be so different as to-"
"But it is, Captain!" Starfire stopped him. "On Earth, the application of one's mouth parts to those of another is considered a very strong show of…of p-physical and emotional attraction, a-and…r-romantic interest."
That stopped Tromand'r cold. In fact the entire room went silent for another handful of seconds…except now every eye was on the alien girl, who was now red as a beet.
"Starfire…are you saying that's NOT what a kiss means to Tamaranians?" Raven interjected.
"N-no, Raven. You see, our people…we possess a very unique talent…we can absorb the languages of other sentient species by physical contact. Specifically…we absorb language via the application of the lips to those of another."
Raven nodded her understanding. "And since Tromand'r didn't know our language, the two of you kissed so he could absorb our language from you."
"Yes," Starfire affirmed.
"Wait…" Cyborg began, looking at Starfire. "So, if you have to kiss someone that knows English to learn the language...is that why when you first came here, you and Rob...ah..."
Starfire's face was now burning red, and Cyborg wisely cut off the rest of his question.
The door slid open just then, and two smaller figures poked their heads into the room.
"Everything okay in here?" Terra asked.
"We heard a scream a minute ago," Beast Boy added.
"Everything's fine," Raven said shortly. "Was there something you needed?"
"Oh, yeah…" Terra spoke up. "Our other guest…Zander or something like that…"
"Lysand'r," the Captain swiftly corrected.
"Yeah, him. He's waking up."
"Excellent!" Tromand'r said. "Please, take me to him."
Uhh…okay," Terra said with a shrug. She and Beast Boy led him out of the room to greet the awakening Tamaranian.
"Raven and I will go and leave General Graham a message…I'll bet he's itching to know what's goin' on, and Tromand'r will probably want to speak to him too…"
"I shall stay here and tend to Rob-"
"No."
Starfire turned toward the Boy Wonder and frowned. "No?"
"You go ahead and make sure Lysand'r is okay. I just…want to be alone right now."
"But…Robin, I-"
"Please, Starfire, just go!"
The alien girl looked terribly hurt at Robin's words, but as she fled the room without another word, Robin found that he didn't really care at the moment.
What he couldn't figure out was why.
For some reason the sight of Starfire kissing some Tamaranian Captain just made his blood boil. He knew it shouldn't bother him; if her explanation was to be believed – and he had no reason not to – then it was a perfectly normal occurrence among her people, almost a necessity, even. And even if it wasn't…he knew from experience Starfire could be a very affectionate person…she certainly loved to hug him, and anyone else, for that matter, at any given opportunity. Who was to say all Tamaranians weren't the same?
And further still, even if Star was wrong, or lying – which he severely doubted – so what if there was some romantic attraction between the two of them? So what if she found Tromand'r attractive? Even Robin could admit that Tromand'r probably had no trouble attracting women. And they were both Tamaranians, after all. It was perfectly natural. Nothing strange or unusual about it at all. Besides…it wasn't like she and Robin were…
……were they?
At that thought, memories bubbled to the surface of his mind…memories of their time stranded on some uncharted alien planet…of the confessions he shared with the alien girl, and the moments they enjoyed together. He couldn't deny that his relationship with Starfire had grown a lot closer after that voyage. She seemed to give the majority of her hugs to Robin himself now…and they'd even kissed a couple of times…
But kisses don't mean anything to her people, a nasty voice in the back of his head spoke up. That's what bothers you, isn't it? Those memories you have that you always thought were special, feeling her lips on yours…now you find they don't mean jack shit to her. That a kiss is just a tool for her to learn languages with, nothing more. She USED you.
'S-so what?' he argued with himself. 'It's not like we were…dating or anything…'
But you wanted to, didn't you? You care about her more than you want to admit, and now that you find that the things you held dear about your relationship are worthless to her…it looks hopeless to you. And that kills you inside.
What that really his problem? Was that why he lost his composure so badly at the sight of her kissing someone else? Was he really so infatuated with her that something so simple – something natural to Starfire's people – threw him off so easily?
If that was the case…then no more, Robin thought. He couldn't afford such distraction. He couldn't afford to have thoughts of some girl interfering with his job…his duty. Not now…not ever.
If those memories don't mean anything to her…then they don't mean anything to me, either…it's…best that way…
…right?
"How are you, Lysand'r?"
Tromand'r stood beside his fellow officer, who was awake at last and taking in his new surroundings, apparently quite interested. His build was similar to Tromand'r, except he was slightly shorter and stockier. His face was unscarred, as though he had seen very little actual battle, and his eyes were pools of violet. A mess of black, black hair hung down to his shoulders, thoroughly frazzled and unkempt.
Terra, Beast Boy, and Starfire stood off to the side of the room, watching the two Tamaranians silently as they reacquainted.
"Hesbad…a'mata du dam'i?" he murmured, then looked strangely at Tromand'r. "Et vaso temas du gembalar?"
Tromand'r frowned for a moment, then brightened. "Ah…sel temas du seles humans. Dam'i…"
Tromand'r leaned over and, to Beast Boy and Terra's surprise, kissed the other man.
"Uhh…okay…" Beast Boy said.
"Star, did you know they were…ah…Star?"
Terra looked curiously at Starfire, who didn't seem to react at all.
"Starfire? You with us?"
"Hm?" she started, looking at the blonde girl. "Oh…forgive me, friend, I was…distracted."
"…Uh-huh…" Terra said, but saw the seriousness in the alien's face, and let it drop. "So, um…what's with them?"
Starfire looked where Terra was pointing. "Oh, Tromand'r is merely transferring your language to his officer. Tamaranians absorb languages via physical contact of the lips."
"Huh. Funky," Beast Boy commented. "Must be kinda awkward for, like, boyfriends or girlfriends, huh?"
"No. On Tamaran, a kiss has no romantic connotations."
"…Oh," Beast Boy said. "…That sucks."
"More than you realize, friend…" Starfire murmured, but the changeling didn't hear her.
Tromand'r, meanwhile, straightened back up. "Do you understand me now, Lysand'r?"
"Yes…quite well, thank you." Lysand'r rolled his jaw. "What an interesting language these humans have. It is quite pleasant."
"Manageable, at least. Can you stand?"
"I would not advise that, Captain," Starfire spoke up. "Lysand'r's arms and right leg are quite severely damaged."
"He can fly, can he not?" Tromand'r countered. "He is my second in command, and I would like him to be present for my next matter of business. Princess, if you would, please take us to your communications center. I would like to have some words with the one who decided to fire on us."
"Y-yes…of course."
Starfire led the two officers toward the main room, leaving Beast Boy and Terra behind.
"I wonder what's wrong with Starfire…" Terra thought aloud.
"Yeah, she only gets that mopey when Robin's not around," Beast Boy said.
"Or when he does something stupid."
"Heh…I wonder when those two will get a clue."
"It'll come to them eventually," Terra said confidently, smiling at Beast Boy. "Love always does."
"Heh…I wonder if it'll ever come around for me," he said with a grin.
Terra punched him playfully in the arm. "Oh, shut up."
"…don't care what kinda bullshit you give me, I ain't buyin' it, and I sure as hell ain't apologizin' for defendin' my country!"
"General," Cyborg said, struggling to keep his calm, "I am telling you, this is not a joke. There was no threat to defend against! Captain Tromand'r and his ship had no malicious intent toward you or me or the rest of this country, and if you don't apologize to him personally…"
"I told you there's not gonna be no apology!"
Cyborg bit back the retort he was longing to throw at the foolish man on the screen before him. He didn't trust himself to open his mouth again, for fear of the remark slipping out, so he gestured to Raven.
"General Graham, you're being unreasonable," Raven said. Your ego isn't worth the trouble this could cause. If you would just admit you were wrong and offer an apology, then-"
"I'm not tellin' you snot-nosed little bastard kids again…"
The main room's doors swished open, drawing the attention of all three. Tromand'r and Lysand'r floated into the room, warrior faces set. Robin strode in behind them, his face equally harsh-looking.
"Hmph…" Graham snorted. "These the ones? Wonder if they've gotten past pointing and grunting yet."
He chuckled unpleasantly at his own remark.
Tromand'r's eyes narrowed. "You shoot our craft down with no provocation, cause the death of the majority of our crew, and now you have the gall to mock us?.! What manner of fool are you?"
"Oh, it speaks English after all!" Graham burst out. "Then why in all holy hell didn't you respond when we hailed you?.!"
"They didn't know our language when you shot them down!" Cyborg said.
"You expect me to believe he learned a whole goddamn language in under two hours? That's a load of horseshit!"
"General, you don't-" Robin tried to cut in, but to no avail.
"How DARE you disrespect our ways!" Tromand'r snarled. "You have no idea who you are talking to! I am the advisor to the Grand Ruler of Tamaran!"
"Yeah, sure, and I'm the Grand Ruler of Kick-Your-Ass-aran! I think it's YOU that doesn't have any idea who you're talking to."
"Do not test me, human…" Tromand'r hissed. "I have the power to wipe you off the face of the galaxy with the simplest effort!"
"Captain, what do you think you-" Lysand'r whispered fiercely, but he too went unnoticed.
"Is that a threat?.!" Graham demanded.
"Captain, that's enough!" Robin snapped, a trace of desperation leaking into his voice, but it did not stop the hammer from falling.
"If you will not respect and atone for the lives you have robbed with your own hands, then mark my words, human, you will pay!"
And before anyone could stop him, a crackling blue star-bolt flashed from his hand into the view-screen.
Tromand'r stormed from the room, leaving a shocked Lysand'r, Robin, Raven and Cyborg behind him. The doors slammed shut, and a deadly silence hung over the room.
As though things hadn't been bad before…suddenly, things had just gotten much, much worse.
Author's Note: My sincerest apologies for the huge delay since last chapter. The next update shouldn't take nearly as long.
-Cid