On to more struggles and miscommunications between our couple.

Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans or any of its characters. I simply use them to further the enjoyment of all.

ooOOoo

Robin couldn't sleep despite the fact that he had stayed up half the night with Star. He was worried about everything that had happened in the twenty-four hours since Aqualad had arrived. It seemed like their house guest had been there longer than that but it had only been a day and not only did Aqualad now know who Robin was under the mask but he had made it more then obvious that he wanted Starfire. What if Starfire consented? It could happen, after all she had emotions just like everyone else, and emotions were unpredictable. Feelings changed as people grew and Robin and Starfire had both grown significantly since they had last seen Aqualad. Robin had always thought that they had grown towards each other but maybe he was wrong. Starfire had said she was in love with him, but what if Aqualad stole her heart? What if she left him for Aqualad? Could he handle that?

Robin thought a minute then shook his head, not even wanting to contemplate it. No, he couldn't handle that. He had never felt anything like this before, these emotions that only Starfire seemed to stir in him. It was an amazing feeling he didn't want to give up but he couldn't make her love him and hate Aqualad. It was her decision of who to be with and he wasn't going to force her either way. Giving her the option to choose was what made him better than Aqualad. He only hoped she wouldn't choose Aqualad.

He tossed and turned and then, toward daylight, he got up and walked into the bathroom. He turned the shower on cold letting the cold water hit him. If he couldn't sleep he might as well do something useful. Like cool down his hormones.

ooOOoo

Starfire lay on the couch staring at the ceiling, her fingers playing idly with her hair. She also had not been able to sleep and resorted to just staring into space in the common room, thinking about everything that was happening around her. She wasn't stupid; she knew what was going on between Robin and Aqualad. Aqualad was showing interest in her and Robin was showing his jealousy. She knew he worried about losing her but she didn't understand why. She loved Robin, why would she leave him for someone she didn't care for? The whole thing perplexed her and made her think that no matter how long she lived on this planet she would never understand some things.

"Starfire, I didn't expect you to be up," Aqualad said, his voice drifting over the top of the couch. Starfire sat up startled.

"Oh, hello, Aqualad," she greeted him, lying back down. "I could not sleep so I thought I would come out here and entertain myself. I did not think that anyone else would be up."

"Insomnia seems to be happening a lot around here," he muttered knowing that he had the same problem and, unless someone else used Robin's shower, had heard him in it around six this morning. "May I sit down?" he asked, gesturing to where her feet were.

"Hmm? Oh yes, of course." She sat up and scooted over, suddenly aware of the fact that she was still only wearing Robin's oversized t-shirt.

"Starfire, I would like to apologize," he began, knowing that he had to get her to trust him before he'd be able to get anywhere with her. Attacking her and Robin had been the wrong way to go and now was the time to fix that mistake.

"For what, Aqualad?" she asked, sensing the conversation that was approaching and not sure if she had the energy to deal with it.

"For saying that you and Robin wouldn't last. It was out of line," he admitted. Of course, he didn't really think that at all, but he had to make sure that Starfire did.

"It is alright, Aqualad. It has been forgotten," she said, placing her hands on the edge of the couch and leaning forward slightly. Her legs, long and shapely, were stretched out in front of her and Aqualad had a hard time not staring at them. He leaned closer to her.

"I just don't want there to be bad feelings between us," he whispered, purposely invading her personal space. He knew that she would be too polite to move away. She shifted uncomfortably but stayed where she was.

"No, there are no bad feelings," she said, her voice a little nervous.

"Good." His voice was low and husky. "Because I was hoping-" A loud obnoxious buzz interrupted him. Starfire jumped up and pulled a picture up on the screen in front of them, revealing maps that were unfamiliar to Aqualad.

"There is trouble in the park," she announced, knowing that half the group was probably already within hearing distance. Robin rushed in, still throwing on pieces of his costume.

"Who is it?"

"I do not know. It is not someone I recognize," she answered, her fingers working furiously at the keyboard, trying to deduce any information that she could.

"You don't think…" He didn't need to finish the sentence. The fear in his face said it all.

"I have already confirmed that Slade is still in Jail," Starfire said, placing her hand on his. No one wanted to have to face Slade again. Crime had significantly reduced since they had caught him last month but now every time a new villain showed up, they feared Slade had escaped and his new lackey was on the loose. "The enemy appears to be robotic."

"It's Gizmo." Three heads turned to see Cyborg standing behind them. No one had noticed him come up though they weren't surprised that he was there. Everyone gathered here as soon as possible when the general alarm sounded.

"How can you tell?" Robin questioned and Cyborg's only response was a shrug.

"When you're a robot partly yourself, you can tell whose work is whose."

"Then I think that we had better go catch Gizmo's new friend before he does anything else to the city," Raven said, the last to join the group.

"You are right, Raven. Let us go friends!" Starfire turned, all but out the door.

"Uhh, Starfire?" Robin said and Starfire turned.

"Yes, Robin?"

"Maybe you'd better change first," he suggested. She looked down at the shirt she was wearing and had the good graces to blush. "And you can wake up Beast Boy on the way too."

She nodded, then quickly flew off to change.

ooOOoo

"Gizmo, you should realize by now that you and your stupid robots are no threat to us," Robin told him as the team burst onto the scene. Gizmo looked up from his controls at Robin.

"Oh, but you have never seen this one before. I have slaved over it until it was absolutely perfect. You won't defeat it," Gizmo assured them. Robin looked up at the pile of metal. Sure the thing was huge, but so was everything else that Gizmo had thrown at them. Robin just shook his head and smiled.

"Alright, Gizmo, we'll play your game." Robin whipped out his stick and pressed the button that extended it. "But I can tell you now who the winner is going to be." Suddenly the metal rod started shaking. It was going towards the robot. Robin tried with all his might to hang onto it but it was shaking so violently it was ripped from his hands. He watched as his weapon plastered itself onto the side of the machine. He looked over and saw that Cyborg was trying with all his might not to be dragged toward the home-made creature. Gizmo was just barely containing his laughs.

"Did I mention the magnet Robin? It's especially strong and will attract any kind of metal." Gizmo looked over at a struggling Cyborg. "Including your little friend there who thinks he's a better robot than me."

Robin cursed. He hadn't noticed because they were in the middle of a park. There was no metal around. He looked up when he heard a loud bang from above him. Cyborg was now cemented right next to his metal stick, futilely trying to free himself, to do anything that might help them instead of hinder them. Currently they were down two people since all Robin had were metal things, and Cyborg was efficiently strapped to the side of the thing. He cursed under his breath, knowing that this wasn't going to go well.

"You let my friends go!"

Robin smiled at Star and gave a silent cheer. Gizmo was going to be in trouble now. No magnet was going to stop her Starbolts. Starfire's eyes glowed a familiar green, as did her hands. She conjured up one huge Starbolt then shot it off, propelling it with the force from her eyes. The world around them exploded and they were only saved by the black wall of energy provided by Raven. As the smoke cleared, everything in the surrounding area had been destroyed. Everything that is, except for the robot. It stood, an aura of blue around it.

"My robot has a built in energy field," Gizmo explained easily. "It will deflect any and every Starbolt you throw at it." A second later a wall of black surrounded it. The next second it was gone, seemingly sucked into the machine. "Oh, did I forget to mention that your energy, Raven, is not only absorbed, but makes my robot stronger."

Raven let out a string of profanities, not all of them in English or even from this planet. If the situation hadn't been so dire, Robin would have laughed. As it was, the most powerful members of their team had been rendered useless.

"Smooth, Raven," Beast Boy jibed, running up. "Now watch the master." The small changeling transformed into a T- Rex, charging the tin spider. To all of their surprise, the tin spider changed into the same thing, only bigger and stronger than the original. Beast Boy was thrown backwards.

"This robot was specially made to combat each of your strengths and powers," Gizmo told them, smug look plastered on his face as his robot took on its spider form once again. "It renders them all useless, which makes you useless and unable to stop me."

"No! I will not let you destroy my world!" Starfire flew at it, throwing one Starbolt after another, shooting the same energy from her eyes. Each was deflected, destroying trees and various other objects in the nearby area. A spider leg rose up and slammed into Starfire, heaving her across the field.

"Starfire!" Robin's heart jumped into his throat as he raced futilely after her, desperately trying to reach her before she landed on the ground. She plummeted to the Earth… and right into Aqualad's arms. She opened her eyes slowly and gazed straight into his, a little disoriented. Why wasn't she in the arms of Robin? Why hadn't he come after her to save her? The answered soon came to her. Robin hadn't caught her. Aqualad, however, had been there. She suddenly saw him in a new light and she smiled softly at him.

"Thank you, Aqualad," she said, appreciative that he had saved her from being seriously injured. She was going to have a large bruise in the morning where the machine's leg hit her but nothing compared to what would have happened had Aqualad not caught her. He smiled right back. He had seen that look and he knew he had won.

"Anytime, Cutie," he answered, pushing the envelope a little to see what she would object to. Her eyes widened slightly at the nickname, but she didn't say anything. He set her down softly, reveling in his victory. Robin had been watching the whole thing in his desperation to reach her. He also knew what the look meant. Starfire tended to feel a deeper connection with the people who saved her and right now that was Aqualad. He wanted to believe that he had just imagined it, but when she didn't say anything about the nickname he knew the truth. He had lost her. He fought to hold back the tears that threatened to spill and tried not to notice the claw of ice that was surrounding his heart. He was a leader and he couldn't let his emotions control him. He had always known that this could happen and he knew that he couldn't let it interfere with the problem at hand. Batman had taught him long ago how to control his emotions and he implemented those techniques now.

"Sorry to interrupt, but we have a city to save," Robin informed them, a little more coolly then he intended, than he thought really possible. Usually when he talked to Starfire he had a hard time stopping himself from telling her how much he loved her every second of every day. Starfire slipped from his hands and walked towards Robin but then stopped, not sure if he would want her to. He had sounded so angry a moment ago that she was hesitant. Robin took it as a signal of his further demise.

"Let me take care of it. Gizmo wasn't expecting me," Aqualad said, looking around him, a plan already forming. He may want to woo Starfire but he was always a crime fighter, first and foremost. Gizmo had to be taken care of. Aqualad walked over to the monstrous spider-robot and smirked. "Hey you stupid machine! Take this!" Suddenly water from a nearby man-made lake dumped itself on the very electronic machine. Sparks flew every where and once again the group found themselves protected by a black shield. Only Cyborg, still attached to its underside was in danger. The water, however, short-circuited everything, including the electromagnet. Cyborg dropped to the ground and ran with all his might and Raven extended her umbrella of protection to include him. Seconds later the machine blew, pieces flying harmlessly around. Gizmo sat on the ground, sputtering, already being taken into custody by Beast Boy.

"Good work, Aqualad. We're all glad you were here," Robin commended him, knowing that Aqualad had probably saved everyone.

"I'm glad I was here too," but instead of looking at Robin, his eyes drifted toward Starfire. "Very glad I was here."

ooOOoo

Robin was in his room sulking. Granted he wasn't calling it sulking, but that was essentially what he was doing. He lay on his bed, arms spread to either side of him, his anger stewing after the events of today. He saw what had transpired between Starfire and Aqualad; he wasn't blind, but he couldn't give Star up to that creep. He could just kick Aqualad out, but now even Starfire wouldn't be able to back him up on that one. Aqualad, despite how slimy his was in his dealings with woman, was still a good superhero. Saving Starfire had been a bonus but it was easy to tell that hadn't been the reason that he came. Gizmo was the enemy and Aqualad had come to defeat him. Robin sighed, thinking that maybe he should just give up. After all it was her choice, despite how much Robin might disagree with it. However, Robin knew that he wouldn't ever be able to handle that, handle not being with her every day. Everything was perfect until Aqualad decided to show up! Why couldn't he just back to his stupid sea world? Robin knew he sounded idiotic but he couldn't control this intense jealousy he felt and didn't understand why. He had always prided himself on the fact that he neither showed, nor felt, any emotion. Starfire was the first one who made him feel… anything, in a long time. Maybe that was why he couldn't control them now.

He rolled over on his stomach and resisted the urge to scream in his pillow. He couldn't loose Star. She meant too much to him but he didn't know how to win her back. Starfire was the first girl he had dated, had ever wanted to date or pursue, and he didn't have much experience in how to go about all of this. He hated not knowing what he was doing. Aqualad on the other hand seemed to know exactly what he was doing. Robin was sure that he had probably done it often. Aqualad had not only swept her off her feet, but had saved the day in the process, the only one that could've. The robot was specifically designed to combat the Titans powers. How do you combat water when you're a machine? You couldn't, he knew and had been shown today. Aqualad had something invaluable which made him all the more desirable to Starfire. She loved the hero types. He should know, so often being her hero. Did her inclination toward a hero mean he was going to lose her? Robin clenched his fists and shook with anger and jealousy. He was going to lose her and there wasn't a damn thing he could do about it. As much as he tried, he couldn't live up to Aqualad. Sure, he was good and agile. Batman had been training him for years but there was one thing that Aqualad had that he never would. No matter what, he would never have super powers. And that was what was going to make the difference.

ooOOoo

Starfire was completely confused. Ever since they got back from the fight with Gizmo, Robin had been avoiding her. When they got home, he immediately went into his room, closing the door without saying a word to her. When she tried to talk to him he just said he was busy and wouldn't let her in. Later she saw him in the work out room and she hoped that it would help him burn off some of what was bothering him but no such luck. She tried training with him for awhile, but she might as well of been invisible. Now he was standing not ten feet away from her in the kitchen and he wouldn't even glance her way. She resisted the urge to throw a Starbolt at him in her frustration. What had she done wrong? Did it have something to do with when Aqualad caught her? If he was mad about that then maybe she didn't want to talk to him. What was she supposed to do? He had caught her and if he hadn't it would have hurt a lot more when she landed. Not to mention that being angry and blatantly ignoring her were two totally different things. She might be able to understand anger but to ignore her like that was beyond her. She was still his girlfriend and didn't think that it was ever okay to ignore her.

Then it hit her that it might not be anger, or at least not anger towards her. He had always said he'd catch her, especially after the time she was hurt. Maybe he was angry at himself for not being there. But then why was he taking it out on her? She wouldn't have been angry at him if he hadn't been there. A little surprised, yes, but not angry. She knew that he had been far away from her but she also knew that he had run after her. It was a stupid thing to be mad at yourself about. Then again, Robin had a bad habit of blowing things such as this out of proportion. He seemed angry even in the park during the battle. No, that wasn't right. He was mad after Aqualad had called her by Robin's nickname. Oh God, she had forgotten about the nickname. She didn't know why she didn't object to it. She knew she should have, and if she was ever called Cutie by Aqualad again she would, but she just had been in such shock. It didn't even really register that Aqualad had called her Cutie. Maybe that's why Robin was so angry.

Starfire shook her head in frustration. There were so many possibilities that she didn't know what he was so upset about. Honestly, she was a little afraid to find out.

ooOOoo

Aqualad watched from his usual place in the shadows. His people predominantly used telepathy for communication which caused them to pay a lot of attention to body language. A small smile of victory crossed his face when he observed the unconscious signals that Starfire and Robin were projecting to him, not to mention to each other. They might as well of been screaming what they were thinking.

It was easy to tell the turmoil that Robin was going through. He thought he had lost Starfire. For a man who thought he was in love that could be rough, Aqualad knew. He had seen others go through the same thing. Robin wasn't comfortable with his feelings and made an effort to hide the few that he experienced. Despite that, jealousy, hurt, and anger were written all over his face. He was jealous of the man he was losing his love to. He was hurt and angry at Starfire at the same time. Hurt she didn't want him, angry for the same reason. No, Robin he could read like a book.

Starfire once again baffled him, however. Aqualad had expected her to come right to him after today. The spark had hit and that was usually all that it took to lure a woman to him. However Starfire still stuck to Robin, even after he had shunned her numerous times. He couldn't' understand why a girl would be so devoted to a man, especially after Robin's expertly executed cold shoulder. As he continued to watch and observe her, he thought he had it figured out and again he had miscalculated. She had much deeper feelings for Robin then he realized and she was confused as to why Robin was acting like he was. The apparently had been through more then they let on and weren't about to let a little misunderstanding separate them or at least Starfire wasn't going to let that separate them. Robin was a whole different story.

Aqualad was furious that he screwed up again. He never screwed up, ever. It just didn't happen but it had this time. Twice. Once he could have handled but twice was unacceptable. This late in the game he couldn't afford to do that, couldn't afford to make the mistakes that he was making. He couldn't stay more then another week and if he was going to convince Star to jump into bed with him, he had to work fast. It was a good thing they were crumbling fast. He gave them another day, maybe two, before they completely fell apart and Starfire was his.

ooOOoo

When I originally wrote this I didn't have intentions of making Aqualad such a jerk but he just kind of turned out that way. Now that I'm rewriting it, he's turning into an even bigger jerk than he was originally. That's okay though. His personality makes him a good antagonist.