(A/N)- In preparation for RobStar Week 2019 I figured I might as well have my fills for previous years posted here, and the fic will be updated with this year's new ones in July. Because one can never have too much RobStar. :)
They're mostly fluff but you'll get the occasional angst as well. Also some chapters are NSFW... ish? There's only one that skirts on explicit, most of them are just fairly suggestive. I will let you know beforehand which ones those are, if smut be not to your tastes.
With all that said, please enjoy, and do return in July for RobStar Week 2019!
Disclaimer: Hello yes, I do funny disclaimer sluglines, 'tis a habit from when I first started writing and I've kind of just never stopped.
RobStar Week 2015, Day 1 - Circus
A pale gray trunk stretched out, curiously probing. Starfire shied a little, retreating back into the nook of Robin's arm.
He chuckled. "It's all right, Starfire. He won't hurt you," he assured her. He urged her forward again, gently, taking hold of her wrist to guide her hand towards the elephant's wrinkled head.
Eyes widening with wonder, Starfire let him place her palm on the gentle giant's nose. The texture of its skin was wrinkled and leathery and dry, like the hard-shelled Rizzop fruits from her homeworld, not slimy like she had feared, and she felt herself relaxing a little. Softly, she began stroking her hand down the creature's trunk.
The snake-like appendage curled happily around her arm at that, the elephant giving a short little sparkly trumpet noise.
Robin grinned. "I think he likes you."
Starfire giggled with delight, playfully wrestling with the elephant for her arm back. She glanced over towards the keeper. "What is his name again?" she asked.
"Zakia. Zak for short," replied the keeper, petting the elephant's side proudly. "Been with this here fine road show nigh on seven years now."
"Will he be in the performance tonight?"
"Nah," shrugged the keeper, shaking his head. "It's his night off tonight. That's why he's out here socializin' with all the fine ladies," he said with a wink.
"Speaking of," Robin said, after a quick glance at his communicator. "It'll be starting soon." He took Starfire's hand with a smile. "C'mon Star, let's make sure we get good seats."
He led her away, and she waited until they were out of hearing range of the keeper before leaning towards him with a concerned look.
"Are you sure you will be okay?" she asked in a whisper.
In truth the familiar circus stimuli all around them was near overpowering. The soft bellow of elephants, the impatient tramping of horses' hooves, the honk of clown props being tested. The smell of hay, and dirt, and animal sweat, mingled with the sweet scent of buttered popcorn and cotton candy. The bright, low-hanging light strings and streamers and the huge yellow and red tents towering up above their heads. Robin half expected to see someone he knew walking past. Memories pushed at his consciousness. It felt like it would be so easy to let his mind just... drift.
But he shook himself from the haze with a reassuring nod to Starfire. "I'll be fine," he promised. "I wouldn't have brought you here if I didn't think I could handle it."
The Tamaranian princess seemed satisfied with his answer, looping her arm around his. "Very well then. Oh!" she cried, spotting a booth of table souvenirs. Dozens of glow sticks and keychains and light-up whirligigs spinning merrily littered the little fold-up cardtable. Tugging at Robin's elbow, she turned excited eyes to him. "May we partake?" she enthused.
He nodded, his heart warming with affection at her excitement and childlike sincerity. "Of course," he laughed, letting her drag him over to the table.
-TT-
Starfire covered her mouth to stifle her laughter, jangling the half-dozen glow bracelets that now adorned her wrists. (Robin had not been able to resist buying her one of each color, privately delighting in the way her eyes lit up each time a stick was broken and the rush of neon color filled the little plastic tubes.) There was a palpable pause of pregnant tension, as the audience silently leaned forward, waiting to see what was coming next.
"UWAAAAACK!"
With an explosion of white bubbly foam and a comical scream from the fat, blue-haired clown in the stylized plumber's suit, the oversized pipe prop burst open, covering the area with its spray.
Starfire giggled so hard her sides shook, watching the geyser of foam spew up and bubble all over the stage.
Applause and cheers and laughter burst out, as the clown picked himself up from his self-made pratfall, standing up proudly before sweeping his hat off and taking a bow.
Robin clapped politely, shaking the bag of jumbo popcorn in his lap a bit. He paused to put it down on the seat beside him so it wouldn't spill, glancing at Starfire all the while. The look on her face was wonderful, awe and amusement mingling into an expression of pure joy. He almost sighed himself seeing her so happy. She was just that infectious.
"And now!" came the booming voice of the ringmaster, as techs and stage hands rushed to quickly usher the props off the stage and sweep away the bubbles. "Please turn your attention up towards the top of the tent for a special performance by our very own acrobat troop!"
All eyes swept up to the high platform where a group of brightly-dressed performers were waving cheerfully, the spotlights casting long shadows behind them.
"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, put your hands together for the Barkley Brothers' Wicked Whirling Dervishes!"
She felt Robin tense before she saw him, out of the corner of her eye. Starfire turned her head towards him, worried. His shoulders were tight, his eyes fixed on the platforms, on the strings and wires the acrobats were now strapping themselves in with. His breath had hitched. She saw his eyes dart down to see the safety net the techs were stretching over the floor and that, she noted with relief, seemed to calm him.
She reached out a hand and placed it over his anyways, squeezing gently.
He didn't react at first, lost somewhere in his own mind, or just about.
"Robin?" she called.
He came out of it and managed a smile for her as he met her eyes. "Just checking," he said.
She nodded in understanding, her worry abating as Robin relaxed back into his seat.
She watched him periodically throughout the act, as the acrobats twisted and spun and backflipped in the air between trapezes, but Robin showed no further signs of distress. So she too let herself be drawn in by the performance, immersed in the daring stunts and graceful movements.
Robin surprised her towards the end, when he leaned in and whispered in her ear. "They're going for a switch-off," he told her. "See how they're building up momentum? They're going to trade trapezes." He had the same interested tone he used when he explained things about Earth culture to her.
Starfire glanced between both acrobats, sizing up the distance between them with her eyes. "Oh," she breathed. "That seems... difficult. Won't they collide?" she asked.
He grinned. "Watch," he said.
The two performers swung around their respective trapezes one final time. When they let go, it looked like the most natural thing in the world. One passed over the other's head with a rolling flip that made her gasp.
And then in an instant they were on the trapezes again, their stunt finished and perfectly executed.
The tent broke out in cheers and excited shouts, and Starfire gasped in amazement, clapping her hands furiously. Beaming widely, the acrobats had soon dropped to the safety of the net below and took their bows once they slid off of it.
Robin eased an arm around Starfire, pulling her against his side. She nestled into him quite comfortably, as the next act came to take the stage.
He could still hear the echos in his mind, audio file memories playing in his head and mingling with the noise of the circus, becoming a blur in his ears. He had to concentrate to keep himself from seeing images too, from imagining that he was down there on the stage with the acrobats, preparing to go up on the high wires with them, only with different faces superimposed over their heads.
He closed his eyes, calling upon his training to clear his mind and banish the figments. A melancholy settled into him as fond memories played out in his head. This place... well, maybe not this place specifically, but the general atmosphere... it brought everything back. Not always in ways he enjoyed. Pain had been found here. He hadn't ever understood why Bruce would deliberately return to the alley where his parents were shot year after year, revisiting the pain, reliving the moment. Not at first.
Starfire's hair tickled his skin as she turned her face up to him, seemingly sensing the distance of his mind.
He just pulled her closer, rubbing her arm, taking in the comforting scent of her floral shampoo, which reminded him of warm nights in the trailer, soft fingers in his hair, rocking to sleep after his bath in their favorite chair.
Pain had been found here, yes. But also love. And love, he thought, pressing a kiss to Starfire's forehead, was well worth it.
(A/N)- Reviews are appreciated!