Chapter 3: Blue Skies And Green Eyes

It was a glorious morning when she awoke. April in Jump City was a sight to behold. Every last trace of the cold night had vanished with the sun shining a bright early morning light over the dew-soaked grasses and trees. In fact it was so beautiful a morning that Starfire skipped breakfast just to head to the park and bask in the spring air before rejoining the team for morning practice.

After flying to the park, the beautiful alien princess inhaled a deep breath, holding for a bit before exhaling sharply into the morning air. "Oh how glorious it is this morning! Thank you sun for your warmth!" she could barely contain herself. In fact it was at this moment she noticed the other early morning joggers and park-goers and blushed a bit, embarrassed as this seemed not to be customary among Terrans.

Still, the morning was too nice to be troubled by the odd glance of stranger here and there. The sky was incredibly blue that morning and the light warmed her soft skin. She decided to walk along the nature trail that adjoined to the park, a scenic trail installed by developers to raise environmental consciousness and break up the nearby suburbs.

Starfire walked along taking in the ambience, the singing birds, the buzzing insects, and especially the bunny she spotted before it darted into a nearby bush. "That bunny was even more cute than glorgspalls of Tamaran." She thought with a smile crossing her face at the thought. It was nice to get a break from the rigors of being both a teenager and a superhero and just enjoy the simple beauty of the city.

In fact, she became so fascinated with the scenery she didn't notice as Robin jogged up the path behind her during his morning exercise.

"Hey" Robin said, slowing to a walk beside her, his usual outfit replaced by more casual sweats and a black tee, but his trademark mask still in place. Starfire was taken a bit by surprise; startled a bit, she swiftly recovered with a smile. "Oh greetings Robin!" she said with delight "What has brought you to the Jump City park on this glorious morning? Am I late for morning practice with the others?" she inquired.

A smirk crossed his face; she was always so pleasant to talk to; something about her voice and her sunny disposition. He chuckled, "No, Beast Boy and Cyborg nearly wrecked the tower fighting over the last waffle so I thought I'd take it easy on them and cancel morning practice…after they pick up the place."

Starfire laughed, knowing her friends all too well, she could imagine how it went over. "Still, it's such a beautiful day I thought I'd go for a jog."

"I see. I too came to enjoy the wonderful weather and look upon the magnificent animals. Do you wish to join me?" she asked, hoping he'd accept. "Sure" he said but before he could say another word he found himself in one of her famous bone-crushing hugs, gasping for air. "Glorious!" she said, releasing him. She blushed and held him up while he recovered.

They walked further along the trail talking about their friends. Robin explained more of Earth's customs to her and she told him more about the festivals of Marchphlax, which the Tamaranians on her home planet would be celebrating about this time. Robin always was amazed that she could keep track of what time of year it was on two planets so far apart.

They stopped near the lazy stream that ran by the train, skipping rocks, Robin chuckled as Starfire skipped not a stone but a modest-sized boulder down the creek bed, landing with an enormous splash and pelting them with water. They sat down on a nearby log, Starfire sitting inside the gray zone next to him. "I'm really glad I ran into you, Star" Robin smiled. She beamed back at him, "Robin, there is no one I'd rather spend such a marvelous morning with!"

"Me too" he replied. Robin couldn't believe it; of all people, she'd spend such an amazing morning with him. Still he wouldn't get ahead of himself; there was no way he could ever hope for someone so flawless as her. "Star," he said softly, looking into her beautiful emerald eyes.

"Yes Robin?"

"Well ummm, thanks for inviting me to the movie the other night. It was…uh…erm…good" he forced.

Starfire giggled a little covering her mouth. He could be so cute, she could tell he didn't really care for the movie but for some reason he chose to accept her invitation. "If only he knew how much I care for him." she thought, "No, he will only ever see me as his friend and teammate. I must treasure that for what could he see in me?"

Before they could go any farther, Robin's communicator went off. "Robin, we've got trouble at the Wayne Enterprises R & D lab." Raven said from the other end. "Roger, I'm on my way to the tower. Take the team and head over and I'll catch up."

"Starfire's not here," Raven noted.

"I know. She's with me. We'll meet you there shortly." He said, his cool commanding presence back in place.

"Be quick" Raven said before closing the comm line.

Robin paused for a moment, closing his eyes and focusing. He took a deep breath then looked at Starfire. "Ready to get to work?" He asked. She smiled a bit "Of course! Yes, yes, let us hurry to join the others." She said with a sly grin, looking at his hand. Puzzled, Robin looked down as she took his hand. "What is-…" was all he had time to say before she jetted into the sky towards the tower, Robin in tow.

Author's Note: Chapter 3. Wow, I've passed my own record and actually committed to a third chapter for a story, hopefully that means I'm in it for the long haul. Nah, I'm just kidding: I HAVE TO FINISH THIS STORY! It's taking a bit longer than I'd hoped (I'd wanted to have this chapter posted last FRIDAY). So I'm lazy. Or busy. Or both. But regardless we're moving forward but man, at this rate, this story's gonna be ultra long. We're only getting to the initial action and I only have an idea for that and the finale. No idea for the middle. I'd hoped to maybe include that in this chapter but oh well. More for next time and more for me to work with so I can update sooner. I'm apologize about this chapter. It had its moments but really all I did was work on character development for Rob and Star for later in the story. I'm trying to get them to a point where they acknowledge their love for one another but I'm still only getting a feel for writing each of them. It felt like I was shifting perspective a lot, I dunno if that's good or bad. Lord knows what I'll do when I'm writing for characters I'm less passionate about. Anyway, hope that'll tide you over till next chapter. All comments are appreciated but it'd nice to get constructive criticism too! Take care all

Yours always,

-'Robin' Grayson

RobinXStarfire forever! ;-p