Today we're going to see the first of three fics that I made by combining a prompt from this year's round with one from last year. Basically, in 2023 I had ideas for each of the Robstar Week prompts and managed to at least start on all of them, but ended up being too busy/distracted to finish. I still wanted to complete at least some of them, though, so this year I found ways to integrate my favorites into the new prompts. The prompt from last year that originally inspired this story was "Synchronization" from day 6.

There's honestly not too much to say about this one. I knew when I got the original prompt that I needed to do something other than Robin and Starfire being synchronized in battle because I'd done that the year before (the title of the fic was even "Synchrony"), and after running through a few alternate ideas I eventually landed on them working together during a training session. Then the prompt literally called "Training" came out and, hey, serendipity.

Tandem

"Aaand – start!"

Starfire was off like a rocket, buoyed by a joy so honed as to be instinctual. Training drones rose up around her, affixing her with their laser sights. Their shots would sting only for a moment on impact, but she had no intention of letting them get even that far.

One-two-three she flung her arms about. Not a second later, the first three drones fell into smoking husks from the impact of her starbolts.

Some ways away, another group of drones rang with the sound of impact and fell without her interference. Robin had gotten started on another part of the course, and as she rounded a bend she could see him jabbing his staff into the center of his final assailant.

Well, final for this stretch of the course at least.

Robin looked her way then, and his eyes widened just a fraction. "Star, behind you!"

Starfire didn't waste a moment, dropping several feet in the air just in time for a volley of laser bursts to sail over her head. She wasn't surprised – she'd thought three training drones had not been very many. With a small frown, she twisted her body so she was facing back-down and took aim at the offending drones.

The first three fell to her starbolts, and one of Robin's exploding disks took out the last. She flipped back over and shot him a grateful smile for that.

Their paths were converging fast, and just past the joining she spotted a pair of turrets rising out of the ground on either side of the course. These were sturdier but slower than the drones, and Starfire needed no more than a brief shared glance with Robin to confirm he shared her thoughts on their next strategy. She curved around him, flying alongside him as he ran. Together they ducked and wove and deflected, parrying turret shots with starbolts and staff and covering for one another so they needed not to so much as slow down.

Then all at once, Robin let out a startled yell as the floor dropped out beneath him. Starfire dove down after him, grasping his outstretched hand in an instant and then letting them fall a half second longer to escape the turrets' view while they were vulnerable. Robin grinned fiercely at her as she arced the dive into forward flight. In the split second before she twisted them both around, she grinned back.

Then they were climbing again, moving forward and up yet angled just enough to see the turrets that were now behind and above them. Robin had already grabbed a freezing disk with his free hand, and before the turrets could react he hit the one on the left with quick precision. Starfire used her eye beams to blast the sand and rock just in front of the one on the right, throwing enough debris up to block its computerized view until they got out of range.

Then they were out of the pit and on a straight path to the finish line. Starfire released her partner back into a sprint and resumed flying alongside him, but already she could see their final obstacle. It was the hardest to miss: a massive guillotine door, one that had already begun to drop and threatened to bar their way if it did not pin them painfully beneath its great bulk.

Well. It would pin Robin, perhaps.

With a glint of determination in her eye, Starfire poured on extra speed and pulled ahead. She landed and rolled under the falling door, then rose into a crouch just in time to catch it with her Tamaranean high-strength. This obstacle had been designed to give even Cyborg's strength a run for its money, but with her partner here to fuel her confidence she hardly felt the strain.

Robin ran up behind her and dove, sliding through the low gap below the door before rolling back to his feet. Once he was clear, she hefted the door off of her shoulders and let it drop behind her. She broke into a run herself as she did — returning to the air would be trivial to her now, but she couldn't rely on that all the time. And in any case, at the moment she wanted to run with him.

A buzzer sounded as she crossed the finish line, only a half second behind Robin. From his spot up at the obstacle course's control panel, Cyborg let out a low whistle.

"Forty-one seconds, not bad at all for this course," he commented, while Beast Boy cheered and Raven gave a short nod of approval. "Keep this up and you two are gonna beat your own record."

Robin was breathing heavily, hands on his knees after the exertion. Starfire knew the feeling — her flight didn't leave her quite as winded as running for more than the last stretch would have, but holding up that guillotine door was starting to catch up to her even with her high-strength. After a moment, though, he straightened up and shot her another smile.

"What can I say?" He asked. "We make a good team."

Starfire returned his smile, and couldn't hold back a little giggle as she took his proffered hand to join the others and let the next tandem group take their turn. She agreed with that sentiment completely.