Thanks to EX3451 for letting me know that I said the previous chapter was a shorter chapter instead of longer, which is what I actually meant to say. Ah, that was somewhat embarrassing...
Robin and Starfire walked through the park together, the leader grasping the handle of an umbrella to block the light drizzle of rain that fell from gray clouds above. In his other hand was Starfire's, and the alien princess peered about the wet landscape with bright eyes. They were on a make-up date, both choosing to pretend yesterday's had not happened. The pizza was fine, but what occurred during the disaster in their restaurant was not enjoyable for either of the Titans.
"Our date didn't go too well yesterday, huh?" Robin chuckled, tilting his umbrella forward to let the gathering water roll off. Starfire smiled.
"I believe it was less than desirable," she agreed, nodding her head. Starfire faced the path, her shoulder brushing against Robin's. "Although I am grateful that friends Raven and Beast Boy appeared to have the good time." Presently the two said Titans were still resting in their beds, Beast Boy sleeping in until noon like usual and Raven mumbling something about feeling like she "cannot rise or shine, and if Starfire doesn't leave now, she will soon find out what it is like on the dark side".
Starfire sighed, recalling the memory of poking her head into the empath's shady room that morning. "I do hope that Raven is alright. She was much less cooperative than the normal today."
Robin had to laugh at the word cooperative. "Well Star, I'm sure she's just tired. She might have a cold too, especially since she was out in such wet weather last night." When bringing to mind the image of Raven and Beast Boy standing soaked on the sidewalk together, it didn't seem unlikely that the empath could have gotten sick.
Starfire clasped her hands together. "Oh, will she be alright?"
Shrugging, Robin replied, "I think she'll be fine. A normal cold usually lasts only a few days, and considering Raven's healing streak, it could be just several hours before she's better. It'll be more like a chill than anything, I'd say."
"So she will be able to attend the sleepover tomorrow?" Starfire asked hopefully. She and Robin followed a long turn in the sidewalk, avoiding a big puddle.
"I'm sure she will." Robin dipped his head, peering at his girlfriend. "You're really excited for it, aren't you?"
Starfire smiled. A drop of rain managed to avoid the shield their umbrella provided and slid down to land on the girl's nose. She blinked with surprise, and then laughed. "Very much so, Robin. I anticipate the gathering of our friends with great joy."
Adjusting the dark parasol so it would repel rain better, Robin shifted his gaze back to the path. "It almost doesn't feel like it's been two weeks. This sleepover really snuck up on me."
Starfire separated from Robin to glide over another puddle, landing lightly on the other side. "And me as well," she murmured.
Robin didn't notice her change from excitement to a reserved state. He pressed his free palm to his forehead. "And we still haven't cleaned up the pillows," he smirked, rejoining hands with her. Starfire had to join in with his chuckles. It was pretty funny. Despite fighting villains and criminals every other day, they were still teenagers with the lazy urge to avoid chores. But really, who could blame them? The quantity of pillows that Raven and Starfire had brought into the tower was enough to deter even the best maids, let alone a group of young adults.
Still smiling, Starfire offered the idea, "Perhaps we should do the calling up of Kid Flash to do the chore quickly? He is the 'fastest kid alive' is he not?"
Robin's laugh fell into a cough. "Uh, well, that's what he likes to say. But he's not really that fast… I could beat him in combat."
Starfire studied her boyfriend with glinting eyes. "Robin?"
"Yeah Star?"
The alien princess smiled, "You are much the amusing when you are jealous, Robin."
Robin's mask widened. "What? I am not jealous, Star!" He was about to continue in his protest, giving several reasons why he would have no to be jealous of someone who ate a full buffet for an appetizer, but Starfire silenced him with a kiss to the cheek.
His girlfriend gave him soft smile. "I love you, Robin."
Robin sighed, admitting defeat, and squeezed her fingers. "I love you too, Star."
A strange crackling was heard from above, and Robin and Starfire paused at the sound in confusion. The Titans leader's sharp eyes managed to catch the flash of blue light that shot by above them, and, realizing the danger, he tackled Starfire to the ground. Moments later, daggers of ice crashed onto the pavement below, several ripping through the abandoned umbrella. An insane laugh caught the couple's attention, and the Titans looked to the side to find Professor Chang standing above them, an Ice Ray identical to his previous one grasped firmly in his gloved hands.
"Am I interrupting something?" he asked in his recognizable accent, grinning like a maniac. His fingers flew to his mouth in mock horror. "Oh, I do apologize. But wait!" Professor Chang clicked his fingers as if struck by an idea. "Let us freeze this beautiful picture in time! Anyone have a camera? Anyone? Anyone?" The villain glanced around, looking at the fleeing bystanders. "No one? Well then," he grinned, his machine humming with power, "allow me."
Robin and Starfire split apart in opposite directions as the beam shot into the sidewalk, crackling over the ground with ice. Professor Chang continued to fire off his weapon at the pair, the rain assisting him every time a blast caught a descending drop, froze it, and thus turned it into a falling ice dagger. The teenage heroes ducked and dodged, and, the two being the faster Titans of the team, they were just agile enough to avoid the attacks and wait for a chance to recuperate with their own. Robin flipped backwards, managing to keep his balance but soaking his shoe in a puddle at the same time. "How did you get out, Chang?!" he demanded.
"Boy Wonder, I always have a back-up plan! This one included another, prebuilt Ice Ray," he added with a sneer. The villain was so busy gloating at his supposed genius that he completely missed the nod Robin gave Starfire. The alien princess glided into the sky out of Chang's field of vision. "It took just a few days to escape my jail cell, and I am back to have revenge on you puny brats. It is unfortunate for you that I caught you separate from your teammates, is it not?"
Robin withdrew a bird-a-rang from his belt, holding it between his fingers in drenched gloves. "Unfortunate for you. Now!"
Starfire fired of a volley of starbolts off, the green light shining on Chang's face as he realized his mistake. The man stumbled forward, eluding the attack but falling on the sodden grass. Robin flicked his wrist, his projectile driving into the side of the Ice Ray. Professor Chang was quick to detach the machinery from himself, and he managed to scramble away as the blinking light on the bird-a-rang flickered. The Ice Ray exploded in a small detonation, disassembled in a matter of seconds. The Professor gasped, scrambling on hands and knees to get away from the Titans, but he'd barely moved a few feet when Robin reached down and grasped him by the back of the collar. The villain squealed in a range that was far too girlish to have escaped his mouth, and, embarrassed, he twisted to escape. Trying to readjust his grip, Robin reached down with his other hand and grabbed the nearest hold which happened to be the strap connected to Professor Chang's goggles. With a snap, the tight spectacles fell from his face.
Pale blue eyes that hadn't seen enough of the sun widened in alarm, and thin hands reached up to touch his bare face. A shriek similar to that of before came out of him, and Robin released Professor Chang as the villain hunched over into a ball, covering his eyes with his fingers. "No, no, no! I am revealed! Exposed! Naked! For the entire world to see! No, no, no!" the man sobbed.
Robin was looking at the man with a raised eyebrow, unimpressed by a grown adult bawling in public, but Starfire felt just as horrified as Professor Chang. She snapped her mouth shut when Robin turned to her, however, and both faced the street as a squad of policemen appeared to take the sobbing villain back to jail.
"Well, that was surprisingly easy." Starfire's boyfriend took her hand, scanning over the girl for injuries. "Are you hurt at all?" he asked.
The alien princess shook her head in silence.
Robin looked at her worriedly, squinting through the rain. "Are you sure? Star, are you okay?"
Starfire avoided his gaze, brushing her wet hair behind one ear and picking up the discarded umbrella, now ruined. "May we go home now please?"
The drive to the tower was without conversation, an unresponsive Starfire staring into the rain outside and Robin glancing at her uneasily every so often. Before long, the couple arrived at the tower, and Robin was about to escort his girlfriend inside when he realized she was already gone. Forcing the worry that churned in his stomach to settle, the leader entered their home by himself. For the first time that Robin could remember, he was the one to go to Starfire's room instead of the reverse. The boy couldn't help it; something was very wrong.
He knocked softly on her door. "Starfire?" All he heard was the rustle of clothes, but no one came to answer the door. Robin rubbed the back of his neck. "Starfire, please, tell me what's wrong. What happened?"
The door slid open, revealing Starfire standing in front of him in a dry uniform. She wasn't hovering, a sign she felt less than her usual level of gloriousness. The alien princess bit her lip. "Yes Robin?"
He shifted toward her cautiously, trying to avoid stepping over any invisible boundaries. "What's going on, Star?"
Starfire played with her fingers, focused on her short nails. "I do not… Robin, I…"
"Star?" Robin urged, moving closer until he could touch her arm. "What's wrong?" The physical contact seemed to bring Starfire back to reality, and a smile appeared on her mouth, however fake it might have been.
"Nothing is wrong! Everything is fine and will always be fine! It is-…," she trailed off, and Robin squeezed her arm in encouragement, knowing she was close to revealing what bothered her. "But I…" Her eyes widened all of a sudden. "I… I have forgotten to feed the Silkie!"
"Uhhhh yeah?" Robin blinked. "What?" Before he could register what she'd said, the alien princess disappeared, having dashed into the ops room without her leader.
Robin walked into the main room at a controlled pace, the doors behind him sliding shut with a soft hiss. Other than her pet larvae, Starfire knelt alone in the kitchen, separated from the pillows all over the ground nearby. Rubbing behind Silkie's ear, the girl murmured quiet words to her bumgorf, either oblivious to Robin's arrival or pretending not to notice.
The Titans leader approached her, placing his hand on her shoulder. She had her back to him. "Starfire…"
To his surprise, Starfire whirled around to face him. "I am sorry!" she cried, her face scrunching up to fight tears. "I am a careless, foolish, Clorbag Varblernelk!" Robin's mask widened in astonishment as his girlfriend's cheeks glistened with tears. "Robin, I have done a horrible thing!"
"Whoa, Star, calm down," Robin pleaded, placing both hands on her arms. "What did you do?"
Starfire hiccupped, another stream of tears slipping out. "Oh, Robin, I cannot ask you to forgive me, and I do not expect you to after what I have done." She pressed her eyelids shut, hearing the silence that awaited her answer, and swallowed. "I have made 'the deal' to take your mask off and learn of your identity of secret."
The girl sobbed again, knowing her actions were inexcusable. When Professor Chang had been unmasked before and reacted in such a panicky way, Starfire finally realized how much of an impact the exposure of such an enormous secret could have on a person. And she had been trying to do it without Robin's permission! How could she have wanted to know who he was under the mask? How could she have wished to go to such lengths just so she could learn the color of his eyes?
Starfire was so busy crying that she was shocked when two hands took up her own. Blinking through the tears, all she could make out was Robin's blurry form, but she knew that the finger that brushed the hot liquid from her cheeks was his. "Star, I already know."
Her breath caught in her throat. "You… know, Robin?"
His gentle chuckle eased her fears. "Yes, Starfire. I know. It took me a while, but eventually the pieces fit together." Starfire flickered her eyelashes, her vision clearing, and she suddenly noticed the strip of white cloth in Robin's hand. Inhaling sharply, she stared at the mask grasped in between his forefinger and thumb, and then the girl threw her hands over her eyes, squeezing them shut before she could catch a glimpse of his naked face. "Starfire, it's okay," Robin promised, touching her arm, but Starfire whipped her head back and forth.
"No, Robin, it is not! After what I have done, I deserve never to be trusted with your identity!"
Robin tried again. "Star, I don't mi-." When Starfire refused to move again, just shaking her head no, he sighed as if in defeat. "Okay, fine. If you insist. I'm putting it on, okay? You can move your hands." Relieved, the alien princess dropped her arms, opening her eyes only to find that a white mist had invaded the edges of her vision. Her fingers brushed up over her face, freezing when she recognized the texture of Robin's mask. Without being able to help it, Starfire focused on the boy in front of her, and Robin smiled, small ageless creases forming at the edge of his clear eyes.
"Robin…" Starfire couldn't breathe for fear of breaking the silence. Cautiously, she reached her hand out to his cheek, touching her fingertips to the skin unguarded by the mask. His eyes were a captivating combination of sparkling green and deep blue, similar to the sea, filled with mystery and curious tales yet to be told, and Robin had every intention of revealing those stories to her when the time came.
"Actually," Robin corrected, touching her hand and giving it a comforting squeeze, "it's Richard. Well, Richard or Dick Grayson." Starfire tilted her head in confusion at the second name. "It's a shortened version of Richard," Robin explained.
"That does not make any sense," Starfire said, biting her lip in uncertainty, making her boyfriend laugh.
"Yeah, it really doesn't."
Starfire smiled, blushing. "Robin… Are you certain?"
Again he chuckled. "It's a little late to take it back if I wanted. But I don't want to," he continued, his voice filled with determination. "You deserve to know and have deserved to for a long time. I should have told you before this. And besides; I can't blame you. If you had those beautiful eyes hidden behind a mask all the time, I'd want to see them too." As if to remind her of the mask he'd placed over her eyes before, Robin brushed his thumb across her cheek, barely scraping the edge of the cloth with his glove. Starfire peeled it off, pressing it into his hand, and once more Robin positioned the mask in its normal location over his eyes, hiding the sea from view.
Starfire couldn't help asking. "Are you going to tell our friends?"
"Soon enough," Robin decided, smoothing the mask's corners. He gave her a smile again. "But I wanted you to know first."
"I am glad," Starfire admitted, coloring a little. Even after she had done what she thought was inexcusable, he was not angry. Not in the least. Starfire had never felt so fortunate in her life. Robin extended a hand, and his girlfriend took it, briefly closing her eyes. Behind them, she could still see his blue-green orbs smiling back at her.
"How ya feelin' today, Raven?" Cyborg asked over his shoulder to the empath. She had just entered the main room, grumpy and groggy from deep sleep, and it didn't help that a cold had managed to claim her only the day before. Thankfully Raven's recuperating abilities were unmatched, and a long night of deep sleep was enough for her to recover. Yet her sullen mood had little to do with the swift sickness, although it did add to it somewhat. No, what frustrated the empath was that she'd run out of time.
"Raven?" Cyborg waved his spatula at his teammate. She noticed the movement at last and lifted an expectant eyebrow. "Want some eggs? I can whisk something up for ya," he offered, grinning. The empath nodded, not really paying attention after the word whisk, which was when she'd realized that she actually knew what one was because of someone she was trying so hard not to think about. Cyborg went on talking, unaware of Raven's slightly different silence. "So, ya all healed up for the sleepover tonight? You gotta have a lotta energy to talk for hours straight, am I right?"
Raven paled an unhealthy shade of white at the mention of the sleepover, but her hood's shadows gave enough time to recover without notice. She picked up her tea on the counter, and then made her way toward the table so she could sit. "I suppose."
Cyborg continued in carrying on the conversation by himself. "So you have any idea what Rob and Star were up to yesterday? They've been all cuddly and stuff ever since they got back from their date. Even now they're up on the roof talkin' 'bout who-knows-what. I was in the garage most of yesterday, and I know you were probably asleep and so was BB, so I've got no idea what was goin' on! Any insight, Raven?"
His response was a grunt.
The robotic teenager flipped the forming omelet over and looked at Raven. "Yo, earth to Raven!" he called, his volume jerking the girl out of her internal focus.
She snapped at him. "What, Cyborg?!" Cyborg took a surprised step back despite her being across the room, and the empath paused, taking a deep breath to relax at the scent of her tea. "I just need… to have some quiet. I'm still tired from being sick."
"Oh, I gotcha." Cyborg nodded, falling into silence so the only thing the two Titans could hear was the sizzling of the cooked egg against the pan. The peace lasted but a moment, however, and then Cyborg said, "You gotta save up your energy for what's planned during your gossip session at the sleepover tonight, yeah?"
Raven's reaction to this was a growl of exasperation. The girl wished her robotic friend would stop bringing up the sleepover. She knew what was coming. Since she had failed to complete her challenge, the girls would no doubt make her tell Beast Boy about her feelings, and there would be no chance of reclaiming her friendship with the green teenager after that. It was better to start getting used to being just friends now. That's all they ever had been, so why try to change it?
As if summoned by her very thoughts, Beast Boy strolled into the ops room wearing his usual carefree smile. The boy's eyes scanned the kitchen, and, seeing nothing but meat lining the counters, made a face. It looked like he was having cereal for breakfast that morning, and lots of it. Spilling a box of selected breakfast flakes into a bowl, Beast Boy snatched up the milk and plopped down in the seat alongside Raven. Cyborg had finished cooking breakfast for Raven and himself, and he set down the steaming plate of eggs in between them to share. Raven was quick to take what she planned on eating so she wouldn't scramble for more later. With Cyborg, there was no such thing as second helpings; either the food was on your plate or it was in his stomach.
Beast Boy grimaced at the meat on the table. "Dudes, why you gotta go and eat something like that in front of me? That's so gross! At least tell me they're tofu eggs!"
"Hey," Cyborg interrupted, quick to defend his cooking, "there's nothin' wrong with having a meat-tastic breakfast once in a while, right Raven?" The empath shrugged, sipping her tea quietly.
"Once in a while? Multiple times a day!" Beast Boy declared, throwing his hands in the air. He lowered them to point his spoon at his best robotic friend. "That's like murder, dude. You with me, Rae?" Again, Raven took no part in the argument and simply lifted her shoulders.
The two exchanged annoyed glances and squinted at the girl. "Raven, you gonna take a side or what?" Cyborg prompted, both he and Beast Boy staring her down.
Of course, Raven gave no indication that she was uncomfortable or even affected by their watching her, and she adopted her famous impassive tone to answer with. "No."
"And why not?!"
The dark sorceress rolled her eyes, focusing on her tea so not to meet their gazes, specifically an insistent green one. "If I take a side, the result will be no different, for your arguments never reach any conclusion. Besides that, I have no real opinion on the matter." Her calm response did little to take the attention off of her, for Beast Boy and Cyborg's reactions were to gawk incredulously at the empath's lack of interest in their everyday quarrel.
"B-B-B-But Raven!" Cyborg complained, sulking. "I made you breakfast!"
"And it tastes good."
"But doesn't that mean you support me?!"
"Hey!" Beast Boy jumped in, seeing Raven probably about to be taken from his side. The boys appeared to have completely forgotten about her preceding statement that she couldn't care any less about the argument and had no intention of agreeing with either of them. "That doesn't mean anything, Cy! I helped her make her first edible meal!"
Raven snorted. "Thanks."
"You're welcome."
"It's called sarcasm."
Beast Boy pouted for a moment before his grin reappeared. "Oh, come on, Rae. You know you love me," he teased, wiggling his eyebrows at her. Raven felt her cheeks flush, and she abruptly stood, picking up her dishes to wash in the kitchen. Cyborg was surprised at her sudden departure, as was Beast Boy, but after a moment he smirked and faced his robotic friend. "She probably couldn't stand to eat your eggs anymore."
As the pair sailed off into another light-hearted dispute about meat verses vegetarianism, Raven soaked her hands in soapy water from the sink and exhaled. This day was going to be harder than she'd originally thought, and, if she was assuming right, it was only going to get worse.
"But anyway," Cyborg's deep voice could be heard still at the table. Raven rinsed her hands off and turned to dry them, watching her teammates out of the corner of her eye. "We gotta make sure after tonight's sleepover's done that we do pick up the pillows this time."
Beast Boy stared at him, his eyes doubling in size. "Wait, what sleepover?" Raven caught herself almost smiling at the pure befuddlement that radiated off of the green teenager and was quick to smooth out her face.
Cyborg laughed. "Man, don't you pay attention? There's gonna be another sleepover tonight for the girls. They've had it planned since like the last time they were over here."
"What?!" Beast Boy squeaked, turning to accuse the closest girl, which of course happened to be Raven. "Why was I not told about this?!"
"Why does it matter?" Raven stated. "It's not like it involves you."
Beast Boy stammered for a response. "B-But what if we have another pillow fight war?"
The girl sighed. "Then I suppose it will."
She had moved back toward the sink to put the dishes into the cabinets when Beast Boy opened his mouth again. "But what do you mean, it doesn't involve me?" He flexed his arms, smirking. "I can't believe that you wouldn't be talking about a hot dream boat like this fella right here at one of those late night chats I've heard about."
Raven swallowed, forcing down her emotion to keep her voice impassive. "We only talk about the boys we like. What makes you think that you're one?" she snapped. A spike of astonishment from Cyborg and Beast Boy, along with hurt from the shape-shifter, barbed into Raven's chest, and it took everything she had not to speak again afterwards. Fighting the urge to apologize, the empath scaled the stairs and disappeared into the hallway without another word.
"Whoa man, what'd you do to get her so testy?" Cyborg asked, his voice somewhat hushed after witnessing the display between his teammates.
Beast Boy glanced at the door again, stirring his soggy cereal. "I… don't know, Cy."
Robin's eyes: I originally thought they were blue, but then a few people told me they were green. I looked into it, and it turns out that in a different cartoon they were green, where in comics they were blue. So I thought of a compromise.
Thank you to everyone who took the time to vote on my poll; I have a result now, and all that's left is for you guys to choose the next story, which is my way of saying that I've put up another poll. I would really appreciate if you looked into it. Thanks!