Teen Titans Fan Fiction ❯ Falling ❯ Star and Fire Light ( Chapter 2 )

Robin dangled from Starfire’s hands as they flew toward the hills. He wasn’t terribly fond of flying this way; he felt very exposed. But Starfire’s grip was strong, and he had no fear of falling.

The forested hills were perhaps a mile from where they had left downtown. Robin could see Raven around a hundred yards ahead of them, and far in the distance, the green flapping of Beast Boy’s pterosaur wings.

Robin tried to focus on the mission, to form some sort of plan to disable the creature and what to do with it once they did. But ideas were fleeting; his thoughts kept going back to the passionate kiss he had shared with Starfire such a short time ago. Part of him wanted to forget it happened, but he knew Starfire wouldn’t let him do that. And perhaps that was for the best; perhaps his hormone-induced rashness was just the push he needed to own up to his feelings.

The crack of Cyborg’s sonic cannon snapped Robin from his reverie, and Starfire accelerated to join the rest of the team. Robin tried to hold himself steady, but the increased speed caused him to whip around a bit like a flag on an antenna. He was very grateful to find his feet on the ground just a few moments later.

Resting against a tree to try and get his balance back, he asked Cyborg, “What happened?”

“It just disappeared! One second it was running through the trees, and the next, it was just gone!”

“What do you mean, ‘just gone?’” Raven queried.

“It was freaky, man,” Beast Boy chimed in. “It was like it walked into a tree. Like there was door we couldn’t see or somethin’.”

“So it just…vanished?” Robin was finally back to himself again.

“That’s what we’re sayin’.” Cyborg crossed his arms.

“What tree was it?” Raven floated just outside the perimeter of the rest of the team, inspecting the trees.

Cyborg and Beast Boy looked at each other. “Uhhhhh…”

Raven rolled her eyes and pressed her hand to the tree that Robin had been leaning against. She pulled it back suddenly, looking intently at the Boy Wonder before turning and pressing her hand to another tree. “There is some kind of weird magic going on around here…”

Robin had missed Raven’s glare. “What do you mean, Raven?”

Raven paused. “I’m not sure. It’s a little like what I feel from Beast Boy when he morphs, but more…primal. Like it’s acting totally out of instinct.”

“Dude, you feel me when I morph?”

Raven sighed. “Your morphing creates a lot of metaphysical energy. It’s hard for me not to feel it.”

“What do you think we should do?” Robin asked, stopping Beast Boy in mid “Dude!”

Raven shook her head. “It’s probably still here in one form or another. If I meditate, I may be able to find it.”

“Okay,” Robin started, all business again. “There’s a clearing near here. Let’s set up a base there. Raven can meditate, and Cyborg and I will watch her back and see if we can’t set up something of a camp. Beast Boy, Starfire, take to the air and see what you can find. Everybody stay in touch via communicator.” Nods were exchanged, Beast Boy morphed into an eagle, and the team went their separate ways.

--

Starfire’s eyes were on the forest below her, but her mind was miles away. Or perhaps more precisely, it was down there among the trees with Robin. He had kissed her! And not the tentative touch of lips that she had anticipated their first kiss to be. No, this was the kiss of a…a revoleth. Starfire did not know the Earth word for it. It meant someone with whom you enjoyed a passionate physical relationship with, as well as a very special friendship.

Friendship wasn’t the right word either. She wasn’t sure if there was even a Tamaranian word for it. She just knew that her feelings toward Robin were very different than the feelings she had toward her other friends.

Not that she had a lot of experience in the matter. She had been courted somewhat on Tamaran before she left, but it had never progressed past the hand-holding stage. On Tamaran, there was a very established order in which things happened, and she had been schooled in them very early. When the person you were being courted by took the next step, and you accepted it (or vice versa), there was another word for what your relationship was. Here on Earth, “girlfriend” and “boyfriend” had been the only terms she had heard, and they seemed all-encompassing. How un-descriptive. Perhaps there was no Earth word for revoleth. But on Tamaran, it was the last step before marriage, and often, it was not reached until afterwards. For Robin to skip so many steps…. Did he wish to marry her? Or perhaps to…to xioykrw with her? She did not know the Earth word for that either.

Starfire stopped mid-flight. She had desired to begin the courting process with Robin nearly from the moment she had met him, and he had finally consented to the beginning steps not long ago. But he had been so tentative; she was always the one that did the pushing forward, and he often held back. While she desired for things to move a bit faster, she knew she was not ready for the steps he seemed to want to take now. What to do…?

“Starfire, Beast Boy,” Robin’s voice crackled over the communicator. “We may have made some progress down here. Head back, and we’ll discuss our next move.”

Discuss. Robin had said that they would have to talk about what happened. She wholeheartedly agreed. Quelling her fears for the moment, she headed back toward the clearing.

--

“The creature is here,” Raven said as the others listened. Robin and Cyborg had created something of campsite in the clearing, with a firepit in the center with a couple of logs pulled near it as seating. Two shelters had been built out of branches on the other side of the firepit.

Raven continued. “It’s almost as if the creature has dissipated throughout the forest. I do not sense it in any one place, but all around us.”

“So there’s no way to track it,” Robin observed.

“Not in its present form, no.”

Cyborg exhaled noisily. “We should probably stay here to head it off if it decides to head back towards town.”

Robin nodded. “That’s the plan. There’s still some daylight left; we should probably use what’s left of it to look for some firewood and set up camp. As for food, I have a few power bars in my utility belt, but it won’t be enough for all of us.” He paused, regarding his teammates. “Beast Boy, why don’t you head back to the tower and bring back enough for tonight and tomorrow morning?”

“And bring back some blankets. It’s going to be cold tonight,” Cyborg put in.

“Good thinking. And Beast Boy,” Robin stopped him just as he was leaving the clearing. “Bring something other than tofu.”

“You guys don’t know what you’re missing,” Beast Boy commented as he turned back into an eagle and took off toward the tower.

The next hour and a half were spent gathering firewood near the clearing. Raven was insistent that they only gather dead wood; something told her that cutting any trees would anger the creature, so the task had become much more complicated than Cyborg’s original plan of just felling a tree with one of his many cutting tools.

Starfire and Robin cast a few uncertain looks at each other, but spoke to each other only when necessary. Raven watched them out of the corner of her eye; those two were acting even weirder than normal.

Beast Boy arrived just as the sun was setting with a blanket for each of them, a 12-pack of water bottles, the makings for bean sprout sandwiches and waffle mix.

“Did you bother to bring the waffle iron?” Cyborg questioned.

“Uh….”

“You dope! How are we supposed to make waffles without a waffle iron?”

“We could make glorphka cakes,” Starfire suggested. “They are commonly cooked on stones on my world.”

Cyborg eyed her for a minute. “Well, I could try making pancakes that way. We’ll see come morning.” He continued to inspect the food. “Bean sprouts! You couldn’t have brought any bologna?”

“It’ll do,” Robin interrupted Cyborg’s rant. “The sun is setting. We should eat quickly and try to get as much sleep as possible. We’ll have to take watches.” He pondered his watch a moment. “I figure about an hour and a half apiece should get us to sunrise. Any volunteers for first?”

“I will go first, Robin,” Starfire replied after a moment.

He glanced at her over his shoulder. “Great. I’ll go next. Then…Cyborg?”

“Anytime, man.”

“Beast Boy?”

“Oh….okay.”

“Raven? I know you usually get up early…”

“That’ll be fine.”

The order established, Starfire took to the sky to keep an eye on the camp. The others huddled inside the shelters, trying to sleep.

Starfire returned at the allotted time to find Robin dozing in front of the fire. She put a hand on his shoulder. He jumped. “Robin, it is only me, Starfire. It is time for your watch.”

Robin shook his head. “Okay. Try and get some sleep, Star.” He reached out to squeeze her hand before heading for the edge of the clearing and pulling out a small satellite receiver.

Starfire pondered his form in the dim light. Now was not the time for this discussion, he would no doubt say. She frowned. It had been a long and tiring day. Perhaps he was right; she should try to sleep.

--

Robin returned from his watch, woke Cyborg, and returned to his spot by the fire to try and get some more rest. As he was rearranging his blanket, he noticed Starfire curled up behind the log, dozing fitfully, but without a blanket. He knitted his brow. Why would she be there? And with no blanket?

He sat on the log and contemplated her form. She did not seem to be sleeping very peacefully. No doubt that was his fault. Why in heaven’s name did he kiss her? And like that? Robin mentally kicked himself.

He was somewhat relieved to see that the marks that he had left on her shoulders had disappeared. In noticing that, he also saw that there was gooseflesh on her bare skin. Without bothering to think about it, he went to get his blanket to cover her.

As he laid it over her, she awoke with a start. “Shhh…Star. It’s only me. Why are you sleeping behind the log like this?”

“I require almost total darkness to sleep. The light from the fire was too bright inside of the shelter.”

“Why don’t you have a blanket?”

“Beast Boy is…” she mulled over the word for a moment. “’hogging’ them.”

Robin glanced over his shoulder to where Beast Boy, morphed into a bear, slept with three blankets covering him. Robin frowned. “You’ll freeze out here, Star. Take my blanket.”

“But will you not then freeze?”

“I’ll be fine by the fire.”

“I do not believe you will. It is indeed very cold out here. Perhaps we could share?”

“Starfire, I…”

“And perhaps we could talk about your kissing me?”

Robin slid down behind the log, defeated. “You’re right, we should clear this up.”

Starfire lifted the blanket up, looking at him expectantly. “Please,” she said. “I do not wish for you to be cold.”

Every voice in his head screamed at Robin to just stay out there and shiver, but a cold breeze ruffled the trees and caused his teeth to chatter. He’d get sick if he stayed out here. Sucking in a breath, he crawled in next to her, staying as far away from her as possible and being very careful not to touch her.

He looked into her emerald green eyes for a long moment, unsure what to say. Before he could find something, she started.

“Robin, I am confused. You have been so reluctant to show affection for me, and yet today, you kissed me as a revoleth would. Does this mean that you wish to xioykrw with me?”

Robin stuttered. She was so direct. “Xio…xioykrw?”

“It means…the only translation I can think of is ‘to perform the act of mating,’ but it really means so much more than that.”

Robin’s eyes went wide behind his mask. “M…mating?” His voice cracked, something it had not done in years. “No, no, Star, I, no. I’m not ready for that. It’s not you, I just…I’m not ready.”

“Then why did you kiss me that way?”

Robin heaved a sigh. “I don’t know. My adrenaline was rushing, and you were holding me in your arms, and….and…it just seemed the thing to do.”

“Then you do not wish to…what would the Earth word be?”

Robin cleared his throat. He knew this was going to be hard, but he didn’t think it was going to be this hard. “Um, well, there’s lots of terms for it. But you probably mean something like ‘making love.’”

Starfire seemed to digest that for a moment. “Yes, that is a good translation. You do not wish to make love with me?”

Without realizing it, Robin reached out to touch her, running his fingertips over her cheek. “No. Like I said, I’m not ready.”

Starfire released a breath. “I am not ready either.”

Whew. That was a relief. But.. “Would we even be able to…I mean…is your anatomy the same…how do they do it on Tamaran?”

Starfire blinked. “How do they do it on Earth?”

Robin gulped. “Well, since we both said we weren’t ready, let’s put that question off for another day.” He smiled hopefully at her.

She smiled back, dropping her eyelids shyly. “On my world, courting is very measured. One would never kiss another the way you kissed me unless he wanted to ‘make love’ with her.”

“But Star, you kissed me back.”

Starfire bit her lip. “I did. At that moment, it seemed like the right thing to do. Perhaps my adrenaline rushed as well.” She looked at him with the familiar question in her eyes.

Robin smiled. “Perhaps.”

They fell into silence for a long moment, neither sure what to say next. The wind whistled through the trees again, causing them both to shiver. Instinctively, they huddled closer together, Robin slipping an arm around her waist.

His face was less than an inch from hers. God, he wanted to kiss her again. He heaved a sigh. He had opened the door this afternoon, but maybe he should usher her through before he went in himself. “So, Star, on your world, what would be our next step, if I hadn’t kissed you this afternoon?”

Starfire smiled brightly. “It would be this.” She gathered him up in her arms, pressed her cheek to his, and fluttered her eyelashes against his skin.

“Hey, that tickles!”

“It is the sirkah, the eyelash kiss. It is a sign of great affection between family, close friends, and potential bicuia.”

“Bicuia?”

“It is an earlier step in the courting process.”

“So…what would make us bicuia?”

She pressed her lips together uncertainly, and then tentatively touched them to his, letting her eyes flutter shut for the briefest of moments before drawing back to search his face for acceptance.

Robin felt his respiration increase a bit. Before he could think about it, he spoke his desire. “Do that again; I wasn’t ready.”

The corners of Starfire’s mouth quirked up and she kissed him again, a bit more firmly this time. Robin happily returned the affection, pulling her closer into his embrace.

Starfire broke the kiss at just the right moment, before Robin’s hormones got the better of him. “Does this mean that I am ‘the girlfriend?’”

Robin smiled, somewhat relieved. “Yes, Star. You’re my girlfriend.”

“Oh glorious day!” Starfire squeezed him in a crushing hug, and started to float off the ground.

Extricating himself from her grip, Robin pulled her back down. “Cut that out.”

“I cannot help it; you fill me with so much joy, and flight is powered by joy.”

“Yeah, well,” Robin heaved a sigh. “This might not make you so joyful. You are my girlfriend Star, and I do really care about you, but I think it would be best if we kept this under our hats for the time being, even from the other Titans.”

“But Robin, I do not wear a hat.”

Robin smiled patiently. “I mean, we shouldn’t tell anyone.”

“But Robin, on my world bicuias share their joy with everyone.”

“I know. But, this isn’t Tamaran. Our enemies have tried to use the friendships the team has for each other against us before, and if they knew that you and I had something more, they’d try all that much harder. The fewer people who know, the better.” He squeezed her arm slightly. “Star, if anything ever happened to you…”

“Your heart would be broken?” She finished for him.

“Exactly.”

Starfire chewed on her lip again. “I do not wish for your heart to be broken. And my heart would break should anything ever happen to you. I shall ‘keep this under my hat’ as best I can.”

“Thanks Star.” He pulled her in for a hug and suppressed a giggle as he felt her flutter her eyelashes against him again.

They held each like that for several minutes, just enjoying the newfound peace in their relationship. Robin was pondering kissing her ear when she whispered into his, “Perhaps we should get some sleep?”

He pulled away from her a bit. “You’re right. Good night, Star.”

Starfire pressed her lips to his for the briefest of moments before smiling at him and rolling to face the log. “Good night, Robin.”