(A/N)- Set pre-series, not necessarily following off my other fics about their pre-Tower rooming together days but slots neatly into that headcanon continuity anyway.
Enjoy my lovelies, I really liked doing this year.
RobStar Week 2020, Day 7 - Constellations
"Pass me that crossdriver, would you?" Cybrog called from underneath the panel he was assembling.
Beast Boy eagerly popped up, glad to finally be useful in the process, bouncing over to the toolkit.
"Which one's that one again?" he asked.
"Uh… red handle, top looks like an X," Cyborg explained.
Beast Boy found it and brought it over.
From behind them, Robin wandered in, a scrunched, pensive look on his face. He seemed distracted, nearly tripping over the loose pieces of computer console and the countertops that would eventually become the Tower's kitchen area.
Maneuvering to a relatively clear spot he stopped.
"You guys seen Starfire anywhere?" he asked.
"She was with Raven last I saw her," Cyborg replied, tightening a screw on the underside of the panel.
"Right. Well I was just with Raven and she hadn't seen her," Robin said.
Beast Boy stretched out the kinks in his arms. "I bet she's just gone up to get some fresh air." He tugged at his collar, airing out some body heat. "It's super stuffy in here, when are the air conditioners gonna be online?"
"Not for a while," came Cyborg's voice, slightly muffled.
Beast Boy groaned but Robin just quietly turned around, frowning towards the door.
"I'm going to go look for her," he determined, striding out of the room.
-TT-
He searched all over the half-finished Tower before finally discovering her on the rooftop. She startled a little at the sound of the door opening, glancing up from her position where she sat curled up near the edge.
"Hey," he breathed, relief pinging through him. "We were getting worried." He came towards her, noticing how the rising silver moon threw a soft white light on her skin.
"Apologies," she said, dipping her head formally. "It was uncomfortable inside, and I did not wish to be in the way."
He stopped next to her, easing himself down, legs curling up in front of him. "What are you doing out here anyway?" he asked.
She glanced aside, embarrassed. "It is silly."
"What is?" he pressed.
She turned her head up towards the sky above. Twilight was fast descending, tiny pinpricks of stars cluttering the purple sky, growing brighter as the night grew deeper.
"I was… looking at the stars." She gave a rueful smile, sad and bashful at the same time. "I had hoped, rather irrationally, that I might be able to spot Vega," she told him.
"Vega?" Robin repeated, glancing up himself. "Is that your planet's sun?"
She nodded, and then shook her head. "But I do not recognize any of these patterns," she complained. "None of these stars are familiar to me."
Robin scooted in a bit. "Well, that's something I can actually help you with," he said. He squinted up at the sky. The last glimmers of sunlight made it trickier to pick out the constellations, but at length he spotted the dipper shape that was was the body and tail of Ursa Major and from there he traced along the lines and patterns until… "There!" he said, pointing it out. "That's Vega. It's the brightest star in a constellation we call Lyra."
Starfire gasped, a sound of surprise and delight, her head jerking up. "Truly?" She strained her eyes, shielding her brow with a hand. "Where is it?" she asked.
He first guided her eyes to Polaris. "See that one bright star? That's what we call the North Star. The Earth's north axis kind of points towards it as the planet spins, so it stays basically in the same place all year." He leaned in closer, his shoulder brushing hers, tracing the line of stars that made up Draco. "Then you just follow the body of Draco and look a little bit past…"
He knew from the bright way her eyes lit up that she had spotted it. Her hands drifted up to cover her mouth as her eyes shone tremulously.
Something in his heart stuttered looking at her like that. He glanced down, lowering his hand, looking away with a slight flush.
She turned a happy smile on him. "Thank you," she said. "It is nice to know that I can see home from here. At least, in a way."
He coughed slightly, clearing his throat. "Hey uh… no… no problem," he stammered slightly.
She was looking up at the sky again, more stars appearing before her eyes as the sun disappeared and blue black overtook the heavens. "Are there stories behind the star clusters here as well?" she asked.
Perking up, Robin straightened. "Yeah, uh…" He studied the patterns, recalling to mind his Greek Mythology. "Quite a few. Which ones do you want to know?"
She put a pensive finger to her chin, considering. "Hmm." She pointed towards Vega. "Perhaps start with this… Lyra, did you call it?"
He nodded, a small grin spreading his mouth. "It represents the lyre of Orpheus, a Greek hero. It's a stringed instrument, kind of like a small harp," he explained.
She nodded, listening with rapt attention.
"And… the one you mentioned before… Draco?"
He settled in, turning up towards the night sky.
One by one, he pointed out the constellations he knew, told their stories, paused to give context and answer questions she posed about things. The stars gleamed brighter and brighter, bathing the rooftop with a soft glow, and the ocean breeze was crisp and fresh and sweet, wafting around them in gentle eddies.
It was… pleasant, to be out stargazing with her, he thought, giving a shy glance to the side at her as she made her own shapes with the stars and told him what she thought they looked like, talked about some of the constellations they had on Tamaran.
He listened, fascinated, mesmerized by her voice and the way the starlight sparkled in her eyes. Something in the back of his head nudged him about the lateness of the hour and the mountain of work that still needed to be done to get the Tower ready… but for now all he wanted to do was sit there and talk to her.
So he did, and they stayed up late into the night, lit by the soft glow of a thousand stars.