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. (Sisters? Ew!)
Chapter 21

'Your Trials are almost complete, young one…'

Robin could not see the source of the voice. The darkness surrounded him, blinded him. His head spun in every direction, but the voice seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere.

'You have but one task left…'

His head whirled again, but still his eyes could not find the voice, could not pierce the darkness so complete that he could not see his own hand a foot in front of him. Was this even real? Was he dreaming?

'The Trial of the Will…for the heart of the beloved, prove you possess the love to honor her…'

The voice faded into obscurity, and somehow, so did the darkness…and the Boy Wonder slowly drifted and faded with them…

Warm…there was so much warmth…so soothing it felt, so utterly blissful and quiet and…perfect…

Robin slowly, almost unwillingly woke up little by little, trying to enjoy every last moment he could of this sleep. He couldn't remember the last time he'd slept so well…in fact he couldn't remember ever sleeping quite this well. He was so comfortable, so relaxed, that the very idea of leaving this slumber saddened him.

His eyes still closed, he yawned silently and stretched out on the bed, or whatever it was he was sleeping on. He really didn't care; it could've been Starfire's adorably strange circular bed or the hindquarters of some monstrous alien beast for all the difference it made to him right then, it was so comfortable. Even the clothes he was wearing felt like the finest silk against his skin.

His first clue that something was amiss was when he ran a bare hand over his chest and found it bare as well. The garment he felt around his body wasn't a shirt; or if it was, it wasn't buttoned up.

His second clue was when he felt around for the edges of the shirt – or whatever it was – and tried to close it. His hands grazed over his bare chest and stomach, to the top of his Tamaranian pants, and out to his sides where the edges of the garment lay, and as he grabbed them, as he felt the material, he realized it felt an awful lot like a robe.

His third clue was a high-pitched but quiet giggle…followed by another….and another…

Still half-asleep, however, and so unusually, blissfully content, none of these things struck him as incredibly interesting. He just wanted to curl up in this soft robe on this soft bed and sleep some more…

But then the giggling grew louder; not by much, but it drew Robin's attention just enough to get him to venture opening his eyes to see who was laughing and what was so funny. Despite that decision though, he was slow to respond to it. His eyes crept open at a snail's pace, and though his eyes did not need to adjust, as the light in the room was fairly dim, his vision was blurred and fuzzy. He could swear he was looking at a pair of purple and tan mountains right in front of his face. Funny…they were rather rounded as far as mountains went…since when were mountains rounded…?

A whiff of some unusual, exotic perfume. Another giggle, a little louder. The mountains seemed to get closer, to within a foot of his face, and rippled in tandem with the giggle. But mountains didn't ripple…

His eyes wandered upward from the purple and tan mountains, and settled on an amber blob shaped like someone's face. This face was clearly feminine, highlighted by another blob of red that he guessed was hair.

"Mmm…Starfire…? Is that you…?" Robin murmured in a voice barely above a whisper.

"Hehehe!" the blob shook its head. "Nu thratte'niel, Robin! Hehehe!"

The words themselves didn't connect in his brain, though he recognized the phonetics of the words well enough to understand that the blob was speaking Tamaranian. But it wasn't Starfire…

Slowly his brain functions were returning, and his vision was clearing. He glanced back at the mountains. Then back to the sharper face of a Tamaranian female above them. Then down to her mountains again…

And then his hormones caused a reaction that woke up the rest of him like a crack of lightning, and his eyes exploded in mingling horror and fascination as he realized what exactly he was looking at.

The person in front of him was a Tamaranian girl he did not recognize. Her hair was almost identical to Starfire's, though several inches shorter. Her eyes were also green like his teammate's, but this girl's eyes were a far darker shade. She appeared to be about the same age as Starfire as well, perhaps even a bit older. Her body was wrapped in a series of billowy, see-through scarves and sleeves of a light lavender, the only parts not see-through being those around her waist…and the ones around her breasts that Robin finally realized were the 'mountains' less that a foot from his face.

Oh man oh man oh man oh man, Robin's mind blathered, momentarily losing the fight for control to his libido. I'm waking up in strange clothes in a strange bed with a strange girl's sizeable breasts in my face oh man oh man what do I do?

His loins had a few choice responses to that.

Hurriedly he beat the urges back – with more difficulty than he wanted to admit – and focused his attention on the face hovering somewhere above the shapely orbs. "What's going on? Where are we? Who are you?"

The girl giggled again. "Vana'tu du thriel, Robin…" she said, and leaned closer.

Robin leaned back in tandem, not wanting his face buried in this strange girl's chest. "Wh-what are you saying? I-I c-can't…understand y-you…"

The girl tilted her head to one side and smiled. She leaned forward some more and Robin scrambled backward on the bed – and now he was acutely certain it was, in fact, a bed – but he didn't get far until she was laying on top of him and pinning him down at eye level.

"Nata'an, Robin…" the girl whispered. "Gembalar sel temas du teles…humans…"

Robin had no chance to protest even a word before she pressed her lips to his with a force rivaling that which Starfire had kissed him with on their first meeting so long ago.

"Mmmmph!" Robin tried to speak, but the girl's lips were sealed tightly over his own, and his darker side was enjoying it far too much to let the rest of him offer much resistance.

The girl ended the kiss with a loud smack, and giggled again. "Greetings, Robin! Welcome to the humble abode of the Daughters of X'Hal!"

She speaks English now…? Robin's struggling brain wondered aloud. Oh, right…the kiss. Tamaranian language transfer. "Ah…hi there…" he managed. "Who are you?"

"I have just told you!" she said with a continued giggle. "I am one of the Daughters of X'Hal! My name is Lili'an, and I and my sisters are most humbly at your service!"

Robin sat up and raised an eyebrow. "Sisters? But I don't see any--"

At that moment he chose to turn to one side, and as soon as he did he was tackled by another female form, dressed almost identically to Lilia'n, but this girl's hair and eyes more resembled Blackfire's than anyone else.

"Sel temas!" she announced, in a considerably more demanding tone than her 'sister,' and positively slammed her lips down upon his.

"MMMPPH!.!.!" Robin grunted in protest, again to no avail.

The girl released him more quickly than her sister had and leaned back, allowing Robin to get a clear look at her. This girl was even less dressed, the transparent wrappings as black as her hair and the garments underneath so skimpy they might as well have been underwear. And for all Robin knew maybe they were.

His pants grew uncomfortably tight at that thought.

"This is one of my sisters," Lili'an smiled sweetly. "Her name is Lili'ith."

Robin looked at the other girl, Lili'ith, with trepidation. Her eyes were alert. Excited. Wild.

He turned shakily back to Lili'an. "You're siblings?"

Lili'an shook her head. "Not in the literal sense of your terms. We are…'close' like sisters. The three of us joined the Daughters of X'Hal together!"

Robin gulped. "Th-three?"

And then from above him, a young and chipper face with an enormous grin dropped upside-down into his line of sight, ruby hair billowing down to the bed.

"Temas!" she blurted out, blue eyes sparkling, grabbed the sides of his face and yanked him forward into the first upside-down kiss of his life.

"And that is our youngest 'sister,' Lili'et," Lili'an said with a gesture to the beauty hovering inverted over Robin's head. This girl was wearing even less than either of the other two, though none of her outfit was see-through; instead it just hung very loosely off her body so that if she were to lean over, she'd give the Boy Wonder a great view down her shirt.

More tightness of the pants followed that observation.

Robin shrunk away from them all as soon as Lili'et released him, his cheeks glowing red from both the assault of the trio of beautiful women and from the thoughts bolting through his head in association with them. "Okay, that's enough of this…make-out session!" he insisted, trying to sound authoritative. "I want to know what going on, and I want to know now!"

The three girls smiled at each other, and then at him. They spread out, one in front of him and one to each of his sides, and slid in close to him.

"Do not concern yourself with such things, Robin," Lili'et cooed, draping herself over his left side and hugging both her arms around his.

"This has all been prearranged," Lili'ith said from his right, mirroring her sister's position.

"It is the intermission, you see," Lili'an said, crawling on all fours over his legs and up his chest. "It is a time during which you may relax yourself from the burdens of your Trials past, in preparation for the third and final Trial."

"And you have had such burdens to face so far," Lili'et cooed again, nuzzling his neck.

"Would it not be nice to release your stresses and…enjoy yourself?" Lili'ith whispered in his ear.

"I can assure you, we three are most adept at ensuring that our charges thoroughly enjoy our company…" Lili'an said, her fingers dancing across his chest.

By now most every inch of Robin's body was itching to throw itself at the girls that were in turn throwing themselves at him, and judging from their eyes as they spotted the buldge in his pants, they knew it too. But to Robin's credit his brain was still just barely in control. He slid his arms free from Lili'et and Lili'ith's grasp, and scrambled backward from all three of them until his back connected with wall less than three feet away. New tactic, his brain said.

"Emperor Galfore…h-he never mentioned anything about this!" Robin insisted, trying to stall them, keep them talking.

"Oh, he most certainly would not!" Lili'an admonished.

"It is not an 'official' portion of the Trials of Betrothal," Lili'ith insisted.

"It is generally not spoken of publicly, as some would think such practices were…uncouth," Lili'et finished. She slid up next to him again and looked Robin right in the eye with the most gut-wrenching hurt-puppy-dog eyes he'd ever seen. "You do not find us uncouth, do you, Robin? You like us, do you not?"

Robin sweated. "Well, I…that is…"

"Ohhhh, he is shy," Lili'ith giggled, and closed in on him again.

Robin shook his head frantically. "N-no, really, it's not that, I…"

"If you are worried about repercussions from your beloved, you need not be," Lili'an said as she too closed back in on him. "The Princess is aware of the process of the Trials and is most accepting of it."

Robin's brain took a few moments to process this. Starfire knows this is going on…and she's okay with it? That doesn't sound like her…she went into jealous fits when Kitten blackmailed me for a simple date! And now these girls want to have their way with me, and she's fine with it?

……Then again, Star's always been big on staying true to her people's traditions, and if this is part of it, she'd probably be more likely to go along with it…

Unfortunately for him, this train of thought distracted him long enough to allow the threesome to attach themselves to him all over again. It wasn't until Lili'an was kissing his chest and the other two were nibbling at his earlobes that he snapped out of it. But now the blood flow to his loins was greater than to his brain, and his resistance was meager at best. Their touch was turning his body into jelly, it was so soft and seductive.

I suppose it's okay, then… his dysfunctioning brain decided. If Starfire's okay with it and all…

But then Starfire's face appeared in his mind's eye. Whatever rational thought was left in his head wondered how she'd react if she found him like this, and immediately he saw her face contort in horror. Her eyes watered, her smile vanished, the sparkle in her eyes died…and she ran from him in tears…

No…Starfire…I didn't…NO!

He woke up from his trance just as Lili'an's hand clutched the edge of his pants. Eyes wide, he shoved the other two away to his sides, batted her hand away, and leapt off the bed. He bolted halfway across the room before he turned back, breathing heavily, and finally giving himself a decent look at his surroundings. The overlarge, four-poster bed took up one corner of the room, draped with fine ruby and lavender sheets and curtains. Scattered around the rest of the room across the cream-colored carpet were assorted pieces of furniture, most of which were large pillows, and round lumpy blobs that appeared to be beanbag chairs, or something like them. And opposite the bed, to Robin's immense relief, was the door. The sooner he was through it, the better. That was WAY too close for comfort… he berated himself. I can't believe I even started to seriously consider it…God, Starfire, I'm so sorry…

"Look," he said aloud to the trio. "You're all very…very attractive, and I'm sure pretty much any other guy out there would just love to enjoy your, ah…company…but I'm sorry, I just don't feel right about it. If it's all the same to you I'd rather just go and get to the Third Trial."

"Oh, do not go!" Lili'an pleaded. "You need not feel discomfort with us!"

Robin closed his eyes and took a long breath before he opened them again. "I'm sorry, but things are…different where I'm from. Good, honest men don't betray the women they love by sleeping around with a bunch of…other women."

Whether they understood what he meant by 'sleeping around' or not, he didn't know or care. He turned away from them and headed for the door, but the moment he did the other two dropped in front of the door, hands clasped together in front of them, eyes wide and sad.

"Please stay!" they sang in unison.

It was startling to Robin how easily they were getting to him. The look of pure, childlike innocence in their eyes was almost as strong as what he'd seen on Starfire's face so many times. That they could speak so innocently of…of that…at the very least, it gave him pause.

The girls used the moment to their advantage. Once again Lili'ith and Lili'et attached themselves to his arms, cuddling him tightly like a child would cuddle a teddy bear. They coaxed him backward until he sat down roughly on one of the beanbag-like blobs, and the two of them squeezed in on either side of him. And once again Lili'an draped herself over his front, arms resting on his chest, her face mere inches from his.

"I'm serious," Robin grunted. "I'm not…I won't--"

But Lili'an laid a delicate hand over his lips, silencing him gently. "No more talking now," she whispered. "Let us relax you, Robin…we promise you will enjoy it…"

And then their hands…My God, their hands…they were like magic as they caressed his skin. He didn't know which hands belonged to which girl, but it didn't matter. They were all equally incredible to the touch, and his brain was rapidly losing control to his groin all over again. One hand was on his cheeks, fingers dancing across his lips. Two more were stroking his front, up and down pectoral muscles and a well-toned stomach. The fourth and fifth snaked down under the seat and, to his conflicting pleasure and horror, each clutched a butt-cheek and squeezed playfully. And the last…the last reached for an ever-so-sensitive area just below the waist…

He couldn't help it…he was enjoying it. He was only human, after all. His resistance was failing. He was starting to give in. And would it really be so bad if he did? What would be lost? It was part of the process, they'd told him so themselves…Starfire would understand, it was tradition…

For God's sake, NO! came his brain's last-ditch effort. Richard Grayson, if you have ANY common sense, if you have even an OUNCE of decency left in you, if you have ANY desire to be with Starfire EVER again, STOP THINKING WITH YOUR DICK AND WAKE UP!.!.!

And wake up he did. In a flash he got his feet underneath him and kicked off, yanking himself free of the girls on his sides. Lili'an, however, was still attached to his front.

"Ohhh, you are getting into the mood, yes?" she giggled. She thought he was playing along.

Too bad for her.

Robin grabbed her around her waist, and she enjoyed it for perhaps a second before she realized he was throwing her off him. But by then he was already halfway to the door.

"I'm getting out of this madhouse," Robin thought out loud. He pressed the door release button.

The door, however, remained shut.

"What? NO!" Robin shouted, and jabbed the button again. Still nothing.

I'm locked in… he realized. He turned on the girls, glaring through his eyemask. "Let. Me. Out."

"Why do you reject us so?" Lili'et pleaded, completely ignoring the question.

"Are you so afraid to relax and enjoy yourself?" Lili'ith whispered.

"Or are we simply not good enough for you?" Lili'an finished, looking rather bitter.

Robin frowned. "Y'know what? No, you're NOT good enough. NO ONE is what I would call 'good enough' to make me betray Starfire's trust and love. I care about her, and I'd never be able to forgive myself if I lost her because I gave in to this…this offer of yours, this…base, carnal lust. Now let me out of this room!"

Lili'an, however, simply didn't seem to want to give up. One last time she planted herself right in front of him, eyes on his.

"Robin, we have already told you, there is nothing to fear of losing your beloved. The Princess accepts this part of the proceedings. Can you not do the same?" she said. She laid her hands on his cheeks, touched his lips with her thumbs…

But that was as far as she got. Robin grabbed her wrists and pulled them away from his face less-than-gently, his patience gone. "No, I can't. Even if she is fine with this insanity, I'm not. I'd still be betraying my own values, and I'm not going to do that. And I'm also not going to ask you again. The Gordanians are coming, two whole races are depending on this engagement, and I still have another Trial to finish before it can go through! Let me out of here, NOW!"

The girls looked at each other, strange looks on their faces.

"I do believe he has succeeded," Lili'an said.

"Ohhh, varblernelk," Lili'ith almost whined. "I detest losing!"

"But at least we know the Princess has chosen a most admirable suitor!" Lili'et said.

"I was quite anticipating the opportunity to test the stamina of these humans…" Lili'ith grumbled.

"Oh, we will have other opportunities!" Lili'et said back with a giggle.

Robin stared at them, confused. "Uhh…"

Lili'an turned to him. "Robin of Earth…congratulations. You have surpassed the Trial of the Will."

She bowed to him, as did the other two behind her, leaving Robin stunned.

"What…I…you mean, all that…that was the Third Trial?.!"

Lili'an nodded. "We apologize for deceiving you, but had you known the truth in advance, your will to honor your beloved would not have truly been tested. And we are pleased to say that you have passed this test most admirably."

Each of them smiled at him and in turn planted a quick kiss on his cheek, then Lili'an entered the unlock code into the door, and it slid open.

"Goodbye, Robin!"

"Many congratulations to you!"

"If it does not go well with Starfire, you are welcome to return anyt--owies! That is my foot!"

The door slammed closed behind him, blocking out the sounds from within.

Robin stared at nothing, his expression nothing short of stunned.

……This is officially the strangest day of my life……

…They were pretty cute though…

He shook his head vigorously. He'd had enough thoughts like that to last him a lifetime.

He hurried down the hall, toward the bridge and as far away from the Daughters of X'Hal as he could get.