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Sunset, Robin and Starfire
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Neither of us actually set it down in words, spoken or otherwise, but still those daily promises went on like clockwork. Like the sneak kiss in the side chamber every morning, away from Cy's nosy security system and "The Dastardly Pair's" teasing. Like the hug right before breakfast. Like the extra eye we keep on each other every fight. Like the one-on-one sparring session every Friday at six to seven – if we don't have an alarm.
Watching the sunset together is one of them. Maybe it started after watching that sunset in Tokyo, when I made Star cry…but every day, no matter what we've been doing or where we are, we always make sure we're at the roof when the sky begins to light up in a fiery display. At least that short space of time is ours and ours alone.
Today was no different. I rushed up the stairs, gulping for air – a scuffle downtown had detained me for longer than I'd bargained. Star was waiting for me, her hair rippling in the ocean breeze. At the thud of the shutting door, she turned her head to the sound and as I strode towards her, she smiled.
"I thought we would miss it tonight."
I reached over and kissed her gently on the cheek, winning another smile from her.
"Aren't you glad we didn't?"
This time, she was the one to reach over for a kiss, but on the lips.
"Very," she replied as we parted.
We both took a seat, hugging our knees. Star's vibrant red hair, now tinted gold by the sunlight, blew about in the wind, tinkling against my ear like a wind chime. My most favorite sound in the world.
Star suddenly laid her head on my shoulder. I took this as a signal for more proximity, so I snaked my arm around her waist. The sun was almost gone, just a red disk half submerged in water. Above us, the sky was already a dusky blue, though right in front of us the sky was still glowing with a pink-orange hue.
Star shifted her position slightly. "Robin?"
"Yeah?"
"I have a question."
My hand stroked Star's bare waist.
"What is it?"
Her stomach caved under my fingers as she let out a long sigh.
"Why cannot such perfect moments last?"
A long silence followed. Though both our faces were being bathed with gold, my mind was not. I couldn't think up of a bright enough answer. Things change, time passes and happiness doesn't last – I knew that, intrinsically, but I couldn't figure out why. Really, why couldn't perfection last?
In physics, entropy – the measure of chaos – can only increase. In time, humans normally experience linear sequences only – so far. Past, present, future. Cause and effect. And it keeps flowing and flowing in one direction, so "perfect moments" can't last. In religion, or my religion, anyway, we are all sinners. Because we sin, good can't last. If good is a sticker, sin is a layer of dust that makes the sticker lose its sticking power.
None of these answers running around in my head were going to help me, because those answers also lead to a why question. Oh, I could tell her my theories, she understands science to a degree that surprises me all the time. Half the time she knows more than I do. She probably already knows everything I've thought of. Time flies. Chaos reigns. But even so, we try to make perfect moments last. Only problem is, it never works. That's what she wants to know.
I decide on the truth. "I don't know, Star. I can think of entropy, nonlinear time and sin right now, but I don't know why that has to be."
More silence passed before Starfire spoke up.
"Sin leads to wrongful actions and thoughts, yes?"
"Yeah…?" I answered, questioningly. I had no idea what she was aiming at.
She crept closer, so that there was virtually no space between us left; her hip touching mine, her knees knocking against mine, her head still on my shoulder (her hair smelled of sweat and alien spices, a scent that left me heady) and my hand still wrapped around her waist.
"Perhaps that is why. Perhaps we make so many mistakes that at times the best efforts run astray. Perhaps…we try and that trying is the undoing."
The sky was still full of color, though it was gently fading now that the sun had dipped behind the horizon. A gloomy silence rested heavily on both of us.
"On Tamaran," she whispered, "My mother and father did not talk to each other very much. They wished not to fight…they wished to appear perfect to each other…I do not remember much, but I do remember the great cordiality that was closer to the coldness. They fought once. I was watching the sky…they had fought over sending me, but soon they returned to the politeness with each other and I was sent away."
Blinking furiously before meeting my eyes, she murmured, "I am sorry, I believe I have done the ruining of our moment. I should have done the shutting of my mouth instead."
She looked away, and in the dying light, I saw a single tear gleam against her cheek before she made to stand up. I tightened my grasp on her waist, making her glance back at me in surprise.
"Where are you going? Sunset's not over yet."
With my left hand securing Star to the rooftop, I tugged my right hand glove off with my teeth and wiped the traces of that stray tear from her cheek with my now-bare hand.
"If perfect moments don't last," I said as Star stared at me with liquid eyes, "I think we should make as many as possible."
With that, I kissed her, gently. Drew apart for a second to add,
"Even if trying is the undoing, what can we do but try?"
A watery smile, then Starfire tackled me; the warmth of her embrace and of her lips engulfed me and I complied, happily. Her fingers in my hair, my hands at her waist… All was perfection. But…
With a resounding crack! I was knocked over onto the hard concrete.
Star gasped. "Robin! Are you undamaged?" she cried frantically. In a daze that probably didn't have anything to do with the short fall and everything to do with the personage now looming over me, I did the only thing that made sense.
"Mmm hmm." And I started kissing her again.
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Only after the stars could be seen did we dust ourselves off and head down to the Ops room for dinner. Next day there would be another sunset. And the next day, and the next day, and the next…
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A/N Finally, a RobStar one!! It was about time...Everyone probably knows who the Dastaradly Pair is...if you don't, don't hesitate to ask me. xD How did you like it? Too short? Too sappy?