Alternate ending to chapter thirteen, Haunted.
Robin sighed. He flipped over in his bed so he was lying on his opposite side.
He had to be the only seventeen year old who was trying to sleep with the lights on.
His eyes narrowed. Something was wrong. Someone was into the hall. Someone was lurking outside his room. His hand slid under his pillow and he grabbed the birdarang he'd shoved there, just in case. His pulse kicked into overdrive.
No, Robin. Don't get all worked up. It's not real. He threw the covers away from himself and he slid the door open manually so it wouldn't make any noise.
Starfire almost got a birdarang between her tiny, ovular eyebrows.
"Star?" he choked. "What are you doing?"
She looked upset. "I did not mean to disturb you. I simply wished to be sure that you were the okay before leaving."
"Um. Yeah. I'm fine." And totally not trying to sleep with the lights on.
"Why are you still wearing this article of clothing?" she asked, and she raised her hand to touch his face.
He caught her hand by the wrist before she touched him. "Kinda hurts to take it off." His eye was so tender that he didn't want to irritate it by messing with the glue. The skin wasn't broken, so it was probably better to just leave it for tonight.
"Can you not get Raven to heal you?"
He smiled at her. In a reassuring way. After everything that happened, he could still smile at Starfire. "My body's too stressed right now. She'll do it tomorrow."
Starfire didn't answer him, but her eyebrows furrowed.
"Oh, yeah," he said quickly. "How's your arm?"
She glanced down at where he'd dug his fingers into it and covered the spot with her hand. "That is inconsequential, Robin."
"Inconse-?" He gave her a sharp look and- gently- he grabbed her wrist and pulled her in his room. The door slid shut behind her. "It's not inconsequential. You should have planted two eyebeams in my face for that, Starfire."
"There was obviously something wrong," she rebuffed moodily.
"That's the second time I've done this. You shouldn't just let me- don't ever let anybody hurt you," he scolded.
She narrowed her eyes at him. "The marks on my arm will be gone by the time the sun rises. In. Con. Sequential." She leaned forward a little at the last five syllables, challenging. Then her expression softened and she swallowed. "Oh, Robin your injuries... are you in much pain?"
"I'm fine. Cyborg gave me painkillers. I just... can't sleep."
"Oh! I know many remedies to this particular problem!" She bounced up and down, happy to help him. "My favorite lullaby has three hundred-"
"Starfire," Robin interrupted. "I don't need a lullaby."
"There are many herbal remedies for the inability to sleep, yes? And many in the form of pills?" she continued.
"I'm not taking pills."
She tilted her head at him. "Is your inability to sleep rooted in fear?"
Robin scratched the back of his head. "Um, I don't know if it's-"
"On Tamaran, such concerns are met with paired sleeping," she told him. Her face was eager, like she really wanted to try it.
"P-paired sleeping?"
She lowered her gaze. "On Earth it is different, yes? On Earth the sharing of a bed is reserved mainly for those who engage in the act of-"
"Star," Robin interrupted gently. "Yeah, it's a little different."
"I apologize, then," she said meekly. "It was not my intention to be so forward. I merely hoped to bring remedy to-"
"It's okay."
Her gaze shot up to his and she smiled widely. "Then you wish to try?"
"Oh. Um, I didn't-"
"That is the relief because although I have seen many storms of thunder, I am somewhat unsettled by recent events, myself."
He stared at her, wide-eyed. He couldn't do this. "Okay." What? No!
She breezed in before he could rescind his invitation. Robin closed the door behind her quickly in case any of the others were thinking of wandering the halls at this hour.
Rain pattered against Robin's window steadily, the heavy clouds blocking the crescent moon. It was mostly dark outside, the lights in his room seeming even brighter.
"Are you sure you are comfortable with this?" Starfire asked in a small voice.
She was giving him a way out. Too late now, though. He'd feel bad if he chased her out now. Plus, it wasn't like the idea of someone else in his room wasn't a little comforting. "No, it's fine. Really."
"I am glad." She sat on the edge of his bed and fell quiet for a moment before saying, "Do you remember the first time I experienced a thunderstorm?"
"Yeah. You're okay with them now, right?"
"Indeed. I find them beautiful. Rain makes the most soothing noises, and the thunder sounds like the cries of a raykner beast. Lightning makes beautiful designs in the sky. This planet is full of terrible beauty."
Robin sat down on his side of the bed. He nodded, letting her words roll through his head. "Oh, um, I was thinking, for the sake of, you know, modesty… You could go under the sheets and I'll just sleep on top."
"Oh, no, that is the okay. You may go under and I shall stay on top. I do not wish to be confined."
Robin rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. "Are you sure?"
"Certainly!" she answered brightly. "I do not really require blankets, anyway. My star energy keeps me warm." In her cupped hands, she lit a starbolt as an example.
"Oh. Okay, then," Robin muttered as he pulled the covers back. So much for chivalry.
"Robin…?" Starfire asked after she stretched out next to him.
He winced. He really preferred to forget that she was there, get some sleep, then usher her out as early as possible in the morning.
"Yeah?"
"I am… terribly sorry that I stunned you," she whispered, sounding close to tears.
"Huh?" Robin asked, completely confused.
"Wh-when we were in Slade's old lair, y-you were about to attack the Titans and I…" she mumbled, not quite crying but with a definite shake to her voice.
Robin turned to her and took her hand. "Hey, hey, come on. It's okay."
"It w-was dishonorable. You had your b-back turned to me and I took advantage of your positioning and I shot you!"
"Yeah, but if you didn't I would have attacked my friends," he soothed as he patted her hand. "So I guess I should really be thanking you for that."
"Really?" the upset alien questioned, searching his face for any signs of dishonesty.
"Yeah. I don't want to hurt anybody, especially not my team, and you stopped me from doing that. So thanks."
A hesitant smile curved her lips. "Oh. Then… You are welcome." Her smile vanished and she added, "But please do not make me do that again."
He smiled. "I won't. Promise."
They settled into silence after that.
Starfire fell asleep quickly, which was some kind of a relief. He rolled over, studying her. Her hands were folded on her flat, tan stomach, fingers interlaced. Something about it was unironically regal.
Flaming hair sprawled out over the pillow, except for a few stray locks that clung to the sides of her face. Her eyes were closed gently, the large, round shape visible even as they were shut. She was so still. So delicate-looking, in stark contrast to the girl with glowing eyes and fists, trailing green energy behind her and tearing through the sky faster than sound.
Robin hastily lay flat on the bed. Maybe this was a bad idea.
He stayed awake for a long time. It was a peaceful wakefulness, enjoying the little sound of Starfire's breathing, hyper aware of all the shifts she made in her sleep.
And then he slept. No nightmares of Slade as he feared, and he was aware of the light on even as his lids were closed. Just warmth and rest and peace.
He yawned as he woke. His pillow smelled like shampoo.
Woah. He pushed himself up by his palms, arching his back to inspect his pillow. That wasn't his shampoo. And that wasn't his pillowcase. Bright red and silky and comforting. But not his pillow.
Somehow, in their sleep, both teens had shifted toward each other. Starfire's breath tickled Robin's cheek, and her fingers twitched in sleep, dangerously close to his chest.
Robin scrambled away from her so quickly he toppled over the edge of the bed.
Starfire started, sitting up quickly with starbolts in her palms. She looked about, thrown off by the change of location. "Robin?" she called as she remembered her sleeping arrangements from the night before.
"Ah, yeah sorry." Robin sat up and slung one arm over his mattress, sheepishly making eye contact with the groggy alien princess. "I was just… dreaming. And I rolled off the bed."
"Oh. I had best be going soon, anyway," she said as she stretched her arms above her head. She cracked one emerald eye open, studying him. "Are you feeling better?"
"Yeah, actually. Much. Thanks." He gave her a small smile.
"It was pleasure, Robin." Starfire walked over to his window and pushed it open. "Any time," she added with a proud beam that most likely indicated that she'd recently learned the phrase.
"Okay. I might take you up on that."
Both teenagers froze; Starfire with a tilt of her head, confused, Robin with his mouth agape, shocked at what he'd just said.
"Any time," Starfire repeated before rocketing into the morning sky.
When she was gone, Robin sighed and fell back onto his bed.
This isn't extra fluffy compared to last chapter or anything. It's just that I was going to use this and decided to do something different instead.
Next up: Starfire and Raven bond.