Thresholding by CidGregor

Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans.

This fic is dedicated to Post, for all that he has contributed to its existence. (...and Time is a Waste.)
Chapter 15

"We're getting married?.!"

The Squir'l raced into the air, leaving the desolate Area 51 behind, its crew eager to return to the Tamaranian fleet. Aboard the craft, the six Titans were gathered in a spare room, while Galfore and Tromand'r had returned to the bridge to report the news of the royal engagement to the fleet.

Robin, on the one hand, had been sitting stock still and staring for a while now, hardly moving or speaking since leaving the base. He was quite literally in a state of shock, his mouth hanging slightly open and his eyes blank. Starfire, on the other hand, who was of course sitting right next to him, had been positively giddy from the moment Robin's name passed her lips and made the engagement official, and was having to try very hard to not dash right out of the ship and start doing cartwheels and loop-de-loops in midair to let out even a fraction of her limitless excitement.

"Gee, who'd have ever seen it coming?" Cyborg snickered in response to Robin's question.

"Heh, yeah, Robbie," Beast Boy added with a sarcastic eye roll. "Totally out of the blue."

Starfire, who had attached herself to Robin's arm like a vice, paid them absolutely no attention. "Oh, gloriousness! Robin, is this not the most WONDERFUL day of your very life?.!

Robin stared straight ahead. "…We're getting MARRIED?.!"

"I'm getting a feeling of déjà vu, here…" Raven murmured.

Terra giggled. "Look, his face is red! How cute!"

Starfire squeezed herself even closer to Robin, if that was possible. "We shall have the most glorious wedding ceremony, and everyone will be there to celebrate the joyous occasion with us! And after it is over, together we shall lead our peoples against the Gordanians to glorious victory!"

"She sure does love to say 'glorious,' doesn't she?" Cyborg joked.

"Oh, Robin, are you not simply ecstatic?.!"

Robin turned to Starfire, eyes as big as baseballs. "WE'RE GETTING MARRIED?.!"

"Keep saying it, it just might come true," Raven said with a smirk.

Starfire giggled. "YES, Robin, YES! It is very much true!" her eyes widened. "Oh, X'Hal, there is so much to do! We much arrange the grand hall of the Echo'r for the ceremony, and prepare the Grand Ha'atoan to give the Glarnip blessing, and…"

Terra gave Beast Boy a playful smirk and clutched his hand. "Y'know…they're getting married…"

Beast Boy paled. "Wha?.! You…you're not…I mean…let's not jump the gun here, I mean…I mean we just….and you…"

Terra cracked up and hugged him, shaking with laughter. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding! Man, you're gullible."

"Eh…heh-heh-heh…" Beat Boy chuckled nervously. "R-right…a joke…ha-ha…"

"…and palpitate the vardraw, and rouse the mighty and vicious Zhanghut, and…"

Robin paid no attention to his girlfriend's chattering. His mind was entirely elsewhere, racing at incredible speeds; but no matter how fast it did so, his brain just couldn't quite wrap itself around the situation he was suddenly in. He and Starfire…getting married? That was insane. Absolutely insane. And they were all just going along with this like nothing was wrong with it? Were they serious? Did they seriously not see the problem here?

"…and design the Dakataan, and prepare the daughters of X'Hal, and…"

"Starfire?"

Starfire snapped out of her ramble and gave her new fiancé the most incredibly joyous face he'd ever seen on her. "Yes, Robin?"

Robin gulped. This…was not going to be easy. "Um…can I maybe have a word with you?"

"Of course! Concerning what?"

Robin glanced aside nervously at the other Titans in the room. "Um…I meant…privately."

"O-Oh…y-yes, of course," she amended, blushing. She turned to glance at the others. "I am terribly sorry, friends, but may Robin and I have a moment?"

"Heh…sure thing, girl," Cyborg nodded. He stood and gestured the others out of the room.

"I've been meaning to take a look around this place anyway," Raven murmured.

"Don't get any ideas now, Rob!" Beast Boy called out with a laugh, and Robin too felt his face flush.

A moment later the others had all gone, and Robin and Starfire were alone. The alien girl, still full of excitement, pulled Robin close into a tender hug the moment the door closed, nuzzling her cheek against his.

"Oh, Robin, this shall be a most wonderful day…I simply cannot wait for the ceremonies to commence…"

Robin tugged at his collar. "Um…Starfire?"

"…and I shall wear the most radiant wedding dress in all of Tamaran, and speak the vows of everlasting love…"

Robin coughed and sweated. "Starfire?"

"…and then when it is all over we shall be pledged to one another in the bonds of matrimony for the rest of our days!"

Robin's eyes flared like saucers. "Starfire!"

Starfire shook herself from her fantasy. "Oh…forgive me, Robin! What did you--"

"I'mnotsurethisissuchagoodidea!" he blurted in a rush.

Starfire froze mid-sentence. She pulled away from him and met his wild-eyed stare. The ecstatic expression on her face slowly dwindled, her sparkling eyes blinked and dimmed, and the radiant smile morphed into a frown. "Wh……what?"

Robin took a deep breath, but it did little to steady his nerves. "I'm…not sure this is such a good idea," he repeated, slower this time.

Starfire forced a shaky smile. "R-Robin…s-surely you jest…you are m-making a…a joke, y-yes? Robin?"

"Look, Starfire, this is happening way too fast! We only just got together a few hours ago, now all of a sudden you want to get married?.! It…it's crazy!"

"You…you do not wish to marry me?" Starfire whispered. She looked utterly crushed. "You do not find me attractive anymore?"

Robin trembled. "No, I…I mean YES, yes I…I mean……nnngh……Starfire, it's not that…it's just…"

Her eyes flared suddenly. "There is someone else?.!"

"N-NO! NO, of course not!"

"Then what is it, Robin? You are not making any sense!"

"I…Starfire, it's absolutely insane! It's crazy! We can't just get married all of a sudden!"

Starfire's eyes flared again and she leapt to her feet. "And why not?.!" she demanded.

Robin jerked. This wasn't the reaction he'd been expecting at all.

Starfire took advantage of his sudden silence. "Why not, Robin? Why are you so reluctant to marry me? Why do you wish to take this chance away from me?.!"

Robin raised an eyebrow above his mask. "H-huh? What chance?"

Starfire stared at him in disbelief, hardly able to comprehend what was happening. Her dream was suddenly crumbling around her mere moments after she'd built it up, and Robin was the one destroying it. But no…he wouldn't do that, not consciously. Did he not understand what this meant to her? Did he truly not realize just how important this day would be?

"Let me tell you, Robin, how things are on my planet," Starfire began, her voice somewhere between angry and sad. "We are a monarchy…not very different from the monarchies in your planet's history. And in these monarchies, members of the royal family…are not as high and mighty as the people are made to believe. The royals are often used as…little more than bartering tools."

"Bartering…?" Robin echoed.

"Yes. The children of the Grand Ruler…would often be married off to dignitaries of other planets…to establish trade routes, perhaps, or to establish peace with new allies or former enemies. To the royal family, Robin...marriage is solely a political tool. A device through with deals are made and broken, alliances forged and destroyed. Rarely, Robin, if EVER, are royals married for love."

Robin listened in silence.

"When members of the royal family are arranged to be married…it is often a long time before they grow to like their betrothed, and even longer before they come to love each other. In fact, more often than not, the betrothed spend the rest of their lives together loathing one another. Sometimes…as you yourself witnessed, Robin…we do not even have the opportunity to meet our betrothed until the day we are to marry them."

Robin did indeed remember Starfire's previous betrothal…the one engineered by Blackfire to banish her sister to the depths of space, ensnared in the slimy tentacles of Glrdlskletchhh, or whatever that horrible thing's name had been, in exchange for some super-powered jewel. None of his superhero exploits, before or since, had weighed so heavily on his heart as when he believed he was losing her forever.

"It is an incredibly rare and precious gift among the royal family, to have the opportunity to marry for love," Starfire went on. "The odds against it are of astronomical proportions. When you freed me from the Gordanians' enslavement, Robin…I began to believe that chance might be upon me. As we spent more and more time together, I merely fell more and more deeply in love with you, and as there was nothing obligating me to marry back on Tamaran…I believed I had achieved that miraculous gift. You can imagine then, how horrible it was for me to learn that I was supposed to return to Tamaran to marry another."

"It was…hard for me, too, Starfire…" Robin admitted.

"When Blackfire failed, Robin, I swore to myself that I would never again allow anyone or anything to come between my dream and I again. I loved you so much, Robin, I was willing to give anything to be with you. I was willing to reject any future arranged marriage that was made up for me."

Starfire paused. She sat back down next to Robin and met him eye to eye. "And now, here we are, Robin. The opportunity I have always dreamed of is here. This is the day I have been waiting and hoping for since the moment I met you. I have the chance to not only forge peace between both of my peoples by my betrothal…but the chance to do so by marrying someone I love with all my heart, more than anyone else."

She raised a hand to stroke Robin's cheek, and she felt him shaking. "Please, Robin…please do not take that away from me…"

"Starfire…things are different here," Robin said. "People don't just go off and get married on a moment's notice…at least not when they're in their right mind, anyway…it's not that I don't want to marry you, Starfire, it's just that…it's happening so fast…"

"Robin…I understand that the circumstances of our engagement are strange to you…the customs are of my world, not yours…and the last thing I wish to do is to make you uncomfortable…but I love you, Robin…and you love me…don't you?"

"Yes…" Robin whispered. "Of course I do…"

"Then nothing else matters," Starfire assured him.

Robin sighed, lost in thought.

Starfire smiled coyly. "Would you rather I wed someone else to establish this peace?"

Robin twitched. "N-No!" he blurted out. "I…I mean…"

Starfire giggled. "See? You marrying me is a far more appealing prospect than allowing someone else that position, is it not?"

Robin had to admit; she had him there.

The alien girl rose, all seriousness again. "I shall leave you be for a moment to think on what I have said. Please Robin…you know what is right."

She turned to leave, but she felt a tug on her hand before she moved so much as two steps, and she smiled. "Yes, Robin?"

"I've thought about it."

She turned back to him. "And?"

"…And…I've decided…that if we're going to do this…we're going to do it right."

Starfire raised an eyebrow, curious.

Robin reached into a pocket of his utility belt way in the back, almost inaccessible, and took out a small square box. He held it in his hands and slowly opened it, revealing to the pair a shimmering silver ring, adorned with a diamond…small, but stunning.

Starfire stared at it. "What is it, Robin?"

"It belonged to my mother," Robin said. "My father…he worked so hard for such little money, and yet…he was still able to save up enough to buy this for her."

"It is a most beautiful ring…" Starfire marveled.

"It's more than that, Star…it's an engagement ring. On Earth…when you present a ring like this to someone you love…it means you're asking that person to…well…marry you."

Starfire nodded. "Yes…I have seen this in many of your movies and television shows."

Robin stared at the ring. "When my parents died…I inherited everything they owned…including my mother's ring. I've held on to it ever since…to pass on to whoever I chose to marry someday. But once I joined Batman…I began to fear growing close to people anymore. He believes too much closeness is a weakness…that if you allow people inside…they can too easily be used against you. And he began to instill that belief in me, little by little…but I still held on to this ring. Because I never…ever fully believed he was right. His coldness and detachment never prevented him from risking his life for an innocent…never stopped him from being willing to give himself up when the Joker or Two-Face or whoever had a gun to someone's head…never stopped him from letting Batgirl or myself help him. His cold distance only made people unhappy, including himself. I didn't want to be like that. So I kept the ring. I kept it for…whoever would one day win my heart."

Robin stared into her eyes. "And now here I am…and here you are…and here we have the chance to be together forever, and save both our peoples to boot. But like I said…if we're doing this…marriage…thing, we're doing it right…so…"

He slowly fell to one knee and held the ring out in front of Starfire in the pose that even the alien girl could recognize in a millisecond. Her hands flew to her face to cup around her mouth, which had fallen open in shock.

"At the risk of sounding…incredibly cheesy…" Robin murmured, "Starfire…will you marry me?"

Starfire knew her role. She squeaked her approval and wrapped up Robin in her arms again. "Most certainly, Robin, I shall!" She nudged her forehead against his, her own brand of kiss, and allowed the Boy Wonder to slip the silver ring over the fourth finger of her left hand.

"Now, we must hurry, Robin!" Starfire said, pulling away. "We must prepare ourselves for the trials!"

Robin raised an eyebrow. "Uhh…trials?"

Starfire nodded vigorously. "Oh yes! The Trials of Betrothal are a most crucial part of the engagement process!"

Robin smiled nervously. "O-okay…heh…how hard could it be…?"

Starfire smiled, spinning about. "That is the spirit!" She flew excitedly around the room, giggling. "I am sure you will pass the trials with the flying colors, and we shall join together in a glorious marriage ceremony, and culminate our bond in the ritual of--"

Starfire abruptly cut herself off and froze dead in mid-air, drawing a curious glance gaze from Robin.

"Uhh…Star? You okay?"

"Y-yes!" she blurted. "Never better! Nothing is wrong whatsoever!"

Robin stared. "Um…okay…you sure?"

"Quite sure!" she said, speaking rapidly. "Um, if you'll excuse me for a moment, Robin, I must…erm…visit the lavatory for a moment! I shall rejoin you shortly!"

And before Robin could utter a word of wonder, Starfire had zipped out of the room as fast as she could fly, down the hall, and into the nearest lavatory she could find. She slammed the door behind her and leaned back against the door, letting out a nervous, shuddering breath, blood rushing to her face and the rest of her unfinished sentence burning in her brain.

…the ritual of s'lor…

Author's Note: I'm well aware that as a result of yesterday's series finale of this beloved show, the canon of my fic series is rather shot. However, you can rest assured that I will not give up this fic, nor the rest of the series that is to follow it. In fact, considering how seriously bothered I was by the way which the finale handled Terra's revival, I am more motivated than ever to continue this story. To my regular reviewers, thank you for sticking with me through all this, and I hope you won't be deterred from this story now that the latest episode has forced me AU.

-Cid