(A/N)- Played around with the premise for this one a few times, eventually settled on the classic Violently Protective Girlfriend Starfire.
If the trope ain't broke don't fix it lol.
Disclaimer: I am exhausted and hungry today and I don't even own Teen Titans to make myself feel better.
RobStar Week 2022, Day 5 - Bodyguard
Robin glanced towards her as they crept towards the unassuming threshold.
The villain dive bar's exterior belied none of the seedy happenings surely going on inside. A single lamplight hung out over the metal door, beaming down weak white light onto the concrete step.
Starfire studied the place with a careful sweep of her eyes. As Robin stepped back to whisper with the others, going over final checks of his and her earpieces, running through their contingency plans again, she felt a nervous shiver rise up her back.
One hand went to grip her other wrist, fiddle with the numerous thin bangle bracelets she was sporting as part of her disguise. She and Robin were both in frayed grunge casuals, her in jean shorts and a close-fitting white babydoll top, him in loose-fitting everything, fake tattoos covering his arms and the bare swath behind his neck—"Bruce would murder me if I got real ones," he'd explained to her—eyes hidden behind dark shades. Her hair was pulled up in two high pigtails, dyed vivid pink and the ends spiked out in all directions. Raven had let her borrow some of her limited makeup to add black-tipped lips and smokey eyeshadow.
Starfire had caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror before they had left the Tower and started.
She didn't recognize herself.
She supposed that was the point.
Starfire tried to tell herself that this mission wasn't any different than the time they had played students at Dixon Cedar High School, tried not to think about the fact that this particular secret bar was apparently the favorite hideout of nearly all of the Titans' frequent villains, tried not to let the churning feeling in her stomach overwhelm her.
Cyborg had wanted to be the one accompanying Robin for this one—"I'm the only one who can pass as old enough to legally drink," he'd pointed out rather convincingly—but after only a moment of thought and consideration, it had been her that Robin turned to.
She would have probably insisted upon coming even if he hadn't picked her.
Finally, the moment she'd been dreading came. Robin stepped away from Raven and Beast Boy. She let Cyborg make a last check over her holographic ring, making sure the subtle projection to disguise her alien eyes and features was active.
And then they stepped out into the alleyway and approached the door.
Starfire stayed close to Robin's shoulder, shadowing him silently. He knocked on the door, whispering the coded password when the peephole window slid open. Thick locks chunked open and then the door was swinging inward, a loud blare of synth music with pounding bass hitting their ears.
Robin stepped through and Starfire followed, the dimly-lit neon-colored haze taking both of them.
Starfire's sense of danger stayed wound tight. The flashing multicolored strobes lit limbs, bodies, the edges of tables and chairs, pulsing in time to the music. The stench of sweat and smoke and free-flowing alcohol hit her nose. She cast her eyes warily through the crowd. Their informant had assured them that Slade and other big-names didn't ever come to these parties—found it beneath them—but she half expected to see a flash of his orange and black mask lurking in every shadow anyway.
She did see an alarming number of villains.
There, in a booth against the wall, Johnny Rancid, his arms draped around a couple giggling women sipping brightly-colored drinks.
On the dance floor, Fang and Kitten, entwined in an odd and rather disturbing-looking embrace.
Further in, she even spied her sister, sitting up on a bar counter with her head tilted back, apparently busy drinking her cloaked companion under the table, if the rows of empty shot glasses lined up on the counter were any indication. Blackfire polished off her drink with a flourish, to a scattering of cheers and applause from onlookers.
Starfire frowned, and shied away from that side of the bar, stepping closer to Robin.
They scanned the room methodically, slipping in and out of gaps in the crowd, recording devices active and listening.
Robin brushed by the secret conversations without looking like he was eavesdropping and Starfire stood as a silent guard by his shoulder. Her eyes flicked anxiously towards the digital clock on the wall.
One hour. That was how long they would stay. Long enough to hopefully get insight into the inner workings and hierarchy of their rogues gallery, gleam some of their future plans. Maybe head off a doomsday plot or two. She wasn't certain what to expect, exactly. All she knew was that being in this place, close-quarters with some of their most dangerous villains, many of whom had it personally out for her boyfriend...
With a sharp glare and a step forward, she warded off the interested expression of a girl in the corner, blocking the girl's eyeline to Robin, sending a warning with her eyes.
The girl pouted briefly and then turned back to her circle of friends, gabbing away nonchalantly.
Satisfied, Starfire returned her attention to Robin, who was surreptitiously planting an audio bug underneath one of the tables.
They made another careful circuit of the room. Starfire projected her prickliest "Don't touch me" vibes, shoulders back and neck straight to make herself even taller, a wary glare furrowing her brows. Robin was never more than a foot or two away from her, and she kept careful watch over him, making note of anyone who seemed overly curious about him.
Her skin crawled with unease. The smoke was starting to itch in her lungs.
She glanced towards the clock once again; it had been thirty-three minutes.
In the seconds that her eyes weren't on him, she heard him give a startled cut-off yelp.
Starfire whipped her head around just in time to catch the fizzle of Red X teleporting himself and Robin away.
"Plix!" she cursed with a hiss, lurching forward a step into the empty space. Her eyes darted around frantically, looking this way and that. No one seemed to have taken notice.
"Starfire, what's wrong?" buzzed Raven's voice in her earpiece.
Starfire stepped quickly through the crowd, bringing a hand up to shield that ear. "I fear Red X has made us," she explained, pushing past several bodies, straining her eyes and resisting the urge to float up above everyone's heads. "He took Robin somewhere, I cannot see where."
"He won't have gone far, his teleportation only has a limited range," Cyborg said. A whirr on the line told her he was pinging Robin's locator beacon. "I got him! Back hallway, just past the bathrooms."
Starfire hurried in that direction at once.
-TT-
"Not exactly the place I'd expect to see you, kid," Red X quipped.
Robin muffled an indignant yell through the thief's hand, clamped tight over his mouth, and with a sharp motion rammed his elbow into Red X's stomach.
The arms around him loosened as Red X doubled inwards with a groan, and Robin used that distraction to pull free, whipping around and pulling a bird-a-rang out from one of the generous pockets in his cargo pants.
He went into a rigid stance, free hand out, other hand drawn back, wary and on guard, back to the gray wall of the dingy back hallway.
"Easy!" Red X coughed, putting up his hands. "Do you want to alert the whole club you're here?"
"Only if you give me a reason," Robin growled in warning. "How did you know?"
Red X straightened, brushing himself off. "Try skipping the hair gel next time, kid," he advised. "I'd recognize those spikes anywhere."
Robin didn't relax, tightening his grip on the bird-a-rang. "What do you want?" he demanded.
"In on whatever cool espionage you're doing, for starters," the thief replied.
Robin narrowed his eyes. "You want to help us?" he asked, a bit incredulous. "Why?"
"Let's just say times are tough and xenothium is a little hard to come by these days," the thief dismissed, waving a hand. "But if you can hook me up with just a little vial—"
"Out of the question," Robin interrupted immediately.
"Aww c'mon! I have so many juicy secrets to dish!" Rex X complained.
Robin studied the older boy, trying to gauge his sincerity. His eyes stayed narrow and firm. "How do I know you won't just rat us out to every villain out in that bar?" he asked.
The other boy sighed in annoyance and, in a motion so fast Robin barely caught it, flash-teleported closer to get within Robin's guard. Even as Robin was startling back, his eyes widening in surprise, Red X had pushed into his space, forced him up against the wall, his back to the metal. Crimson blades extended from Red X's gauntlets, the edges pressed dangerously close to Robin's throat, as the thief pinned him in place.
"If I wanted to expose you I'd have already done it," he said, and Robin tried not to gulp as the xenothium blade scraped his skin. "You came underprepared and underequipped, kid. You should know better."
Robin tried to formulate a brave response but didn't have to—a set of tanned fingers latched onto Red X's wrist and began squeezing and crushing.
"Aaah!" the thief cried in complaint, crumpling at once. "Aaaaaaand that would be the protective super-strong alien girlfriend!" he wheezed, forcibly stepping back and retracting the blades, trying to pry her off his injured wrist. "Gah!"
Starfire released him, letting him stumble back. Robin felt waves of relief upon seeing her, straightening back up with confidence.
The Tamaranian princess was searing a violent glare at Red X, taking up position next to Robin's side.
"You will keep your distance from him," she warned.
"Noted," he keened thinly, still nursing his wrist.
After a moment or two Red X recovered his composure.
"I'd really prefer not to make a scene," he told them. "Half a vial and I can tell you exactly who the most dangerous person in that bar is. Full vial and I'll help you take them down myself."
Conflict flickered through Robin's heart. His eyes pinched and he bit his lip. He shouldn't even consider the deal—Red X was a constant reminder of Robin's failures, a glaring testament to his worst mistakes—but his baser, "Batman" instincts were strongly considering the offer.
Starfire's pointed growl of, "We do not require your help." reoriented him though.
Robin made his face soften apologetically. "I can't in good conscience give you any xenothium," he told Red X. "But if you really want to help, any information you can give us would be appreciated."
The thief crossed his arms stiffly, clearly frowning behind the mask.
Starfire drew slightly closer to him, her fists tightening.
Seeing the move, Red X sighed, his shoulders going slack.
"I am way too fond of you, kiddos," he said.
Robin sent Starfire a grin as the thief uncrossed his arms and started to dish some very interesting information. A silent thank you was sent skyward for the presence of the alien princess, tough and unyielding and someone he'd always feel safe around.
It was nice to have a girl like her backing him up, he thought.