Robin stuffed his head in his pillow, trying to sleep, but his stomach and wounds were bothering him. What would he do if the Titans went into battle and lost because he wasn't there? Even when all he could see was his pillow, he could tell Starfire was confused about the thermometer.

"Robin, what do I do with this 'meter of thermo'?" she asked.

"Just hand it to me." His voice was muffled slightly by the pillows, but she could still hear him. She handed it over as he had instructed. Once the thermometer was in his grip, he pushed himself up, rolled onto his back, and faced the other way with it in his mouth. She giggled when she saw his face, red lines extending here and there across his face from the pillow. She stopped when she remembered that the pillow lines weren't the only things on his face besides his mask. His mask…

"Robin?" she asked as he pulled the thermometer out.

"Hm?"

"What's your temperature?" she asked, trying to think of something else. She didn't want to be rude.

"One hundred and one," he sighed. "Star, that wasn't what you were going to ask me. I can tell. What was it?"

Starfire sighed. "I don't want to ask you, as I might be 'the rude'."

"It's okay," Robin grinned gently. "You can ask me anything."

He is so handsome when he smiles, and he's always so kind. I guess it wouldn't hurt. "Why do you wear… a mask?"

Robin's smile faded. "I… I don't want to be reminded of it, but if you want to know, it's fine by me."

"No, Robin. If you do not wish to talk about it, then we won't," Starfire said.

"No, I'll tell you anyway. You see, my parents were once part of a circus act called the Flying Graysons. They would perform every day of the summer. For my eighth birthday, they did a trapeze act without a net, thinking they were safe. The thing was, they weren't.

"A two-bit extortionist named Tony Zucco was demanding the circus's money, but the ringleader wouldn't give in. Zucco was getting tired of the conversation, so he did what he had threatened to: cut the rope.

"My parents fell too fast for the ringleader to get the net out, and upon impact, they died. Batman was in the crowd, and, understanding me well, took me in. He trained me in crime-fighting for ten years, then I came to the Titans."

Starfire didn't know what to say. She was glad that Robin told her, but sorry about his past.

"And now…" he said, putting his fingers to his mask, "I want you to see who I really am." He pulled, revealing the most beautiful blue eyes Starfire had ever seen before in her life, but they were flooded with tears. "My name is Richard Grayson." There was a moment of silence, before Robin's tears burst into action. Sobbing, his head fell onto Starfire's lap. "I… I just… just wish… wish that there was some… some way I could be a hero… without having to say good-bye…" he sniffled.

Starfire ran her fingers through his hair. "I understand, Richard… I understand…"