(A/N)- It's that time of year again, time for RobStar content!
Enjoy!
Disclaimer: Nope, don't own Teen Titans. Darn.
RobStar Week 2022, Day 1 - Flight
Robin slowly took a deep breath in through his nose, focusing. His limbs stood in readiness, spine poised.
"All right," he said, calling back to Cyborg at the controls for the training course. "Start the timer."
Cyborg nodded, setting the clock back, hovering a hand over the activation button. "Starbird sequence number 25 in three... two..."
Robin glanced to the side at his training partner. Starfire nodded, eyes serious and determined, hovering at the ready.
The buzzer sounded and both teens sprang forward, loosed like arrows from the string.
The first set of targets popped up. Robin wound up a fist and punched through the thin balsa wood. Conserving momentum he swung about, his foot catching another target. Starfire meanwhile, did not slow down, preferring to puncture her targets with very precise eyebeam blasts, one, two, three, four.
Robin finished his set about a second or two after Starfire, glancing up to check the clock—thirty seconds had elapsed so far.
But of course, this particular training sequence wasn't a competition. It was a collaboration.
The next obstacles appeared. Starfire seamlessly swerved in the air, weaving around Robin in order to take them out, buying him the time and space he needed to pull a freeze disc from his belt and stop the turret laser up ahead from firing. The ice flash-froze and covered the muzzle, and the first shot thunked dully against a barrier of ice.
It was an open sprint to the next part of the course. Starfire slowed her pace to match his and stayed at his shoulder, flying just above eye-level.
They broke apart without needing to signal, both of them dodging the underground pillar that punched up through the dirt and earth in front of them.
More pillars rose up. Starfire gained altitude, flying up out of range, circled the next section carefully taking out targets as she waited for him.
Robin hopped atop one of the thrusting pillars, flipping to another, then another. He gained the top of one and paused for only a moment—assessing his footing and the height and distance.
He pushed off with one foot from the edge of the pillar and let gravity catch him.
A soaring, weightless feeling entered his stomach, and a thrill of adrenaline blossomed through him. He briefly remembered back to the circus, the creak and groan of the trapeze, flying through the air with complete trust and faith, waiting for outstretched hands...
He reached up.
Starfire caught his wrists deftly.
He barely even felt a jolt as she stopped him from falling, merely changing his course from vertical to horizontal. The adrenaline rush continued tingling through him, breathless excitement, a feeling of being unbound and limitless.
Starfire climbed and dove, swerving them around airborne probes now, the sizzle of their stun shots sounding past his ears with the rushing wind and the movement of the air and breath between them.
Flying was like freedom.
He almost envied how easily it came to Starfire.
He dropped one hand from hers in order to take out a bird-a-rang and throw it in a wide arc through several probes. Starfire tightened her hands on his other wrist, bracing.
The end of the sequence was coming, a large burly robotic dummy, broad-shouldered, one beady blue eye tracking them. Projectiles spewed from its palms as it raised hands at them; Starfire tucked up, dropping rapidly to avoid them before leveling out and climbing again.
Robin reached behind him, readying something from his belt.
At the apex of her arc, Starfire released his hand.
Once again, a split-second frozen in midair, a breath between rising and falling, the plummeting sensation in his stomach as gravity took hold.
His angle was perfect. Robin flipped open his bo staff and gave a yell as he thrust it forward in front of him.
The end of the staff hit the target—the shutoff switch in the middle of the dummy's chest—and Robin's feet landed on the surface of the metal boss a second later and pushed off.
He flipped down to the ground, much closer now, landing first one foot and then another. Starfire appeared at his side moments later, starbolts out and ready and eyes glowing just in case Cyborg had decided to vary the dummy's attack sequence.
But with another buzz, the loudspeakers signaled the end of the run.
Both teens relaxed out of their fighting stances, Robin glancing up to check their time.
"A minute-fifteen!" he whooped, pride swelling in his heart.
Starfire clutched hands over her chest in excitement. "That is our best time yet!" she cried happily. Only now did she descend from the air, reaching forward for him, arms out.
He returned the hug, flinging arms around her back in exhilaration. His adrenaline was still running high, Starfire's skin was warm and soft, her hair tickled his cheek as she pulled back, breathless grin lighting up her face.
Robin's smile lingered. Their hands stayed on each other's shoulders a moment longer than necessary. There was... a beat of anticipation, that lasted for one breath.
Two.
"Are you guys waiting for permission to kiss or something?!" Beast Boy's voice broke out across the course. "Come on!"
Both teens flushed lightly and turned aside their heads, dropping their hands quickly off each other. Robin coughed awkwardly into his fist, the thudding in his heart now quite unrelated to their excellent run.
"Good, uh... good work, Star," he said, his voice squeaking in embarrassment. "You did amazing."
"Thank you," she accepted softly, brushing her hair behind her ear, turned away from him. "You did well too."
"We should, uh..." Robin trailed off, making helpless gestures towards the control station.
"Yes," Starfire agreed quickly, taking to the air and flying effortlessly back to starting position.
Robin wondered what joyful thought she'd tapped into, though he had a feeling he knew.
(A/N)- Six more days my readers, let's have a good time!