Teen Titans Fan Fiction ❯ Falling ❯ Like In the Movies ( Chapter 3 )
A new morning dawns, and the other Titans are starting to notice things...
Non Anime: Teen Titans Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Supernatural / Romance / Hentai | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 09.21.2009 | Pages: 2 | Words: 3.3K | Visits: 374 | Status: Completed
The sun was just cresting the hill as Raven returned from her watch. It had been a frustrating patrol. While she was not able to meditate as she was keeping her eyes and ears open, she had tried to concentrate on the strange magic the creature had created. She’d had almost no luck; every time she tried to reach out, her senses were bombarded by them. Robin and Starfire. She’d sensed their roiling emotions for each other before, but she’d always been able to ignore it. It had been stronger recently, but tonight it blared like a foghorn. It was almost impossible to sense anything else.
She floated silently into the brightening clearing, looking for some clue to what had changed. She did not expect anything as blatant as she found.
Starfire and Robin were huddled together under a blanket behind one of the logs. They both faced the same direction. And even though she could only see their heads and shoulders, Raven was certain Robin’s arm was around Starfire’s waist.
Raven started as she heard Cyborg yawn noisily. “Shhhh,” she hissed at him, floating over. “Robin and Starfire are still asleep.”
“So’s BB, but that ain’t stoppin’ me.” Cyborg jerked a thumb in the green bear’s direction.
“That’s different. Come here, you need to see this. And be quiet.” Raven floated back toward the log and indicated their slumbering teammates.
The pair had snuggled even closer together. Robin’s chin rested on Starfire’s shoulder and her face was turned toward his.
Cyborg’s real eye went wide. “Holy…”
Raven slapped a hand over his mouth and dragged him several yards away. “You don’t think they…” Cyborg managed to whisper.
Raven shook her head. “No. I defiantly would have felt that.”
Cyborg wrinkled his nose. “You can feel it when people have sex?”
Raven glared at him from beneath her cowl. “Don’t ask. You don’t want to know.”
“Dudes, what are we talkin’ about?” Beast Boy, returned to his human form, wandered over.
“Shhhhh!” They both hissed at him.
Beast Boy frowned and repeated his question at a whisper. In answer, Cyborg jerked his chin in the log’s direction. “Star and Robin are asleep behind that log. No, don’t go look.” He grabbed Beast Boy’s arm as he took a step in that direction.
“What’s the big deal?” Beast Boy wanted to know. “It was cold last night. They probably just huddled together for warmth.”
Raven and Cyborg looked at each other. “Maybe,” Raven said, exhaling noisily through her nostrils. “But I doubt it.”
Before they were able to discuss it further, their attention was again drawn in the direction of the log as Starfire’s cheery “Friends! A glorious good morning to you!” broke the quiet they were trying to keep.
They turned to find her floating above the log, smiling at them expectantly. Robin had emerged as well, sitting up behind the log, his hair thoroughly mussed and a sheepish look on his face.
Beast Boy snickered. Cyborg whacked across the back of his head. “Ow! Hey! What’d I do?”
Robin stepped over the log and strode the few steps over to join his friends, Starfire trailing closely behind. “Anything to report from last night?”
“Zippo,” Beast Boy replied.
Robin looked at Cyborg and Raven, receiving slight head shakes from them. “Okay. Well, let’s get something to eat and see…”
“What were you doing sleeping behind the log like that?” Cyborg cut him off. Raven snorted; she had wanted to be discreet about this.
Robin’s expression did not change, but they all noticed his ears turn red. “It was cold last night. We huddled together for warmth.”
“I told ya!” Beast Boy put in.
Cyborg ignored him. “Behind the log?”
“I require darkness for sleep. The light from the fire was too bright inside of the shelters,” Starfire put in.
“Right.” Cyborg obviously didn’t believe her.
“It’s the truth!” Robin’s voice had a hard edge to it.
Raven could just smell the testosterone flowing through the veins of the two boys as they stared each other down. She searched for a way to break the tension. Thankfully, Starfire provided her with one.
“Friends! Should we not break the fast and work on finding a way to locate this creature we have been tracking?”
“She’s right.” Raven inserted herself between Robin and Cyborg. “You two can argue about this later.”
“There’s nothing to argue about,” Robin said, stepping back and crossing his arms. “But the girls are right; we need to find this thing before it decides to head back towards town.”
Cyborg’s shoulders visibly relaxed as he turned toward Raven. “Have you been able to feel anything from it?”
She shook her head. “No. Maybe I can try again now that things…” She stopped herself. She was going to say “are somewhat back to normal” but knew that would just start another round of arguing. “Now that it’s light,” she finished.
Robin gave a short nod. “Okay. You try to meditate, and we’ll see about making breakfast. C’mon guys.” He walked over to inspect what food was left. “Oh, and Beast Boy? Next time we camp out, morph yourself into something that only needs one blanket.”
“Sorry Dude. I was cold.”
Raven crossed her legs and assumed her meditation pose. Before she began, however, she watched the rest of team through slitted eyes. She saw Robin and Starfire cast a few glances at each other, but mostly things seemed all business. “Hopefully that will be enough,” she thought as she closed her eyes. “Azarath Metrion Zynthos…”
As the senses she shared with everyone else faded away, the emotions of those around her brightened in her mind. The ADHD fluctuations of Beast Boy and the calming go-get-‘em attitude of Cyborg were quickly noted and pushed aside. Starfire’s general cheeriness seemed brighter than usual, but preoccupied with a task, the blast she had been sending had dimmed to the point that it could be ignored. Robin’s normally very measured presence seemed rather excited, but it had calmed down considerably from last night. Still, it was a strange mixture of happiness and confusion. Raven deliberated over him for a few moments. Yes, something had happened. He seemed…as if he’d finally gotten something he’d been waiting for. Raven decided that she would have to watch this.
Moving on to the task at hand, Raven did her best to concentrate not on her friends, but on the forest surrounding her. The ever-alert almost-fear of squirrels, mice, and rabbits came into view and were passed over. A few birds also made themselves visible. She stretched further, and was even able to identify a beehive not far from the clearing. But the creature, the angry mass she had felt yesterday, was nowhere to be found. Even the dissipation she had felt had disappeared. It had been replaced by the business of the forest and the shifting emotions of her teammates
-----
After Raven’s report that she could no longer feel the creature, the Titans cleaned up the camp and headed back toward the tower, but not before Robin set several sensors around the perimeter of the forest.
“I think I’ll go scrape the forest out of my gears,” Cyborg commented as they entered the tower shortly before mid-day.
“A shower sounds like a good idea,” Raven added, floating toward the bathroom that was in the bedroom wing.
“Food!” Beast Boy dove toward the kitchen. Cyborg’s would-be glorphka/pancakes had been a runny mess, and none of them had had a very good breakfast.
“Should we also supplement our morning nourishment, bicuia Robin?”
Raven stopped at the end of the hall before turning the corner. Bicuia? This was a Tamaranian word she hadn’t heard before. Of course, she didn’t keep the greatest track, but still, something in Starfire’s tone was different. Raven glanced over her shoulder to see Robin scratching the back of his neck, something she’d seen him do before when he was nervous.
“Lunch does sound like a good idea,” he was saying. “But Star, let’s skip the bicuia part, okay?”
Starfire’s smile faded a little. “Very well.”
Robin took Starfire’s hand. “C’mon. I’ll make you a banana and sardine sandwich.”
“Delicious!”
Raven watched them head toward the kitchen, entwined hands clearly visible. She rounded the corner, contemplating what this meant for the two of them, and for the team.
-----
The rest of the day passed in relative normalcy: if anyone had noticed Robin and Starfire holding hands, no one mentioned it. After lunch, Cyborg and Robin played one-on-one, Starfire tended her garden, and Beast Boy did acrobatics and made grunting noises at the video game machine as he attempted to improve his score.
Raven sat at the back of the common room, pretending to read a book. Beast Boy’s antics were distracting enough, but she couldn’t help thinking about Robin and Starfire. If they had finally confessed their feelings to one another, Raven actually felt something like happiness about it. The two had been dancing around each other almost as long as Starfire had been here. And Robin was not the happiest guy on the planet, that was for sure. If Starfire could bring a little joy to his life, great. Part of her was a little jealous, too. There was a little teeny bit of her that actually fawned over Robin, but mostly, she was jealous that they were able to have those kinds of feelings for each other. She would never be able to allow herself to feel anything that intense.
But she also worried that it would change the way the team functioned as a unit. If Robin’s attentions were more focused on Starfire then the rest of them, would things fall apart?
Only time would tell.
-----
That evening, the team decided to watch a movie. Cyborg popped three huge bowls of popcorn. He kept one for himself and put the other two on the table. Beast Boy quickly scooped up one of them and sat himself on the floor, shoving handfuls of it into his mouth. The other three Titans eyed the remaining bowl.
“You two take it,” Raven said. “I don’t really want any.”
“Are you sure?” Robin asked. “I could get some more bowls.”
“It’s fine.” Raven settled into the corner of the couch.
Robin shrugged. “Suit yourself.” He picked up the remaining bowl and sat down.
“May I share the popped corn with you, Robin?” Starfire floated next to the couch.
“Sure.” Robin smiled up at her and patted the seat next to him. “There’s no way I’ll eat all of this anyway.”
Starfire beamed one of her electric smiles and perched on the couch next to him.
Raven watched them, trying to look like she wasn’t. This kind of scenario went on almost every movie night; Raven wasn’t sure whether Robin was being more solicitous than usual or not.
The movie that evening was Return to Me, a sweet romantic comedy about a man who loses his wife, only to find out later that his wife’s heart has been transplanted into the woman he starts to date later on. Cyborg and Beast Boy made obnoxious comments throughout the entire thing, Raven sat impassively, as she always did, Starfire cried at several points, and Robin sat there with a stupid grin through most of it, at least when he wasn’t handing Starfire tissues or patting her knee.
Cyborg punched the light switch as the credits started to roll. “Who picked this movie?”
“Yeah, that was the chickest chick flick I’ve ever seen!” Beast Boy declared.
“I did,” Raven replied.
The four other Titans stared at her.
“I was in the mood for something…light.” In truth, she’d had an ulterior motive: she’d wanted to see how Robin and Starfire would react to such a blatantly romantic movie. The results were far from conclusive, and honestly, she’d been paying too much attention to the movie to really pay attention to Robin and Starfire. She’d never admit it to any of them, but she’d actually liked it. “What did you think, Robin?”
Robin shrugged. “It was okay. I’ve seen better.”
“I found it most enjoyable, Friend Raven,” Starfire cooed. “Thank you.”
Raven favored Starfire with a small smile, then decided to roll the dice again. “I think I’ll turn in. Training bright and early tomorrow, right Robin?”
“Right. Turning in sounds like a good idea for everyone.” Robin started to gather up the remains of the popcorn and rebuffed Cyborg when he offered to help.
“Whatever turns your crank, man. ‘Niters everyone.”
Beast Boy popped a few errant pieces of popcorn into his mouth and bounded after Cyborg. “I love popcorn, but now I gotta floss.”
“Well, just remember to throw the used floss away this time. That stuff is nasty,” Cyborg’s reply sounded from beyond the doorway.
Raven had already floated past the doorway on the other side of the room, but had gone no further. She heard Starfire yawn and stretch. “It has indeed been a long day. I believe I shall do the turning in myself.”
Raven didn’t see Starfire squeeze Robin’s hand and kiss his cheek as she said, “Good night, Robin.” Nor did she see Robin’s shy smile as he looked into Starfire’s eyes and return the salutation. She did feel the warmth of affection pass between them, but frowned. Was it really all that different from what she’d felt before? She continued to ponder it as she entered her room.
-----
Robin picked up the popcorn bowls and put them in the dishwasher. He cleaned up the worst of the wayward popcorn, figuring Cyborg would get the rest of it when he did his weekly cleaning ritual. “A clean tower is a happy tower!” he’d always say. It was a little too funny, but at least he kept the place from turning into a pigsty.
Robin switched off the lights and took two steps toward his room before he stopped. Maybe he should….nah, it was just that silly movie. But then, wasn’t that what a boyfriend was supposed to do?
Clenching a fist, Robin realized he didn’t care about convention. Even so, he wanted to do this. He turned on his heel and headed toward Starfire’s room.
Upon arriving at her door, he looked up and down the hall and behind him, as well as listening to the relative silence for several seconds before rapping quietly on the door.
The door opened, and Starfire stood there in her skimpy little pink nightgown. Robin swallowed hard. “Robin, is something the matter?”
Forcing himself to look into her eyes, he replied, “No, I just wanted to wish you good night.”
“But have you not already done so?”
Robin felt his feet start to turn cold. Why was this so hard? “Well, here on Earth….it’s like in the movie….” The words caught in his throat.
Starfire looked back at him expectantly, blinking those beautiful eyes of hers a few times.
A man of action and not of words, Robin finally gave up and put a hand behind her head to guide her into the kiss he came here to give her.
Starfire’s initial surprise quickly turned to delight as she threw her arms around his neck and happily kissed him back, her feet leaving the floor.
Robin stepped back and licked his lips as he felt her pulling him unknowingly into her room. Did she use cherry flavored toothpaste? They smiled happily at each other. “Good night, Starfire.”
Robin’s arms matched the tingling on his lips as Starfire trailed her fingers down them as he took another step back. “Good night, Robin,” she replied as the door slid between them.
Robin drew a deep breath, let his eyes drift shut and enjoyed the fading tingling on his lips and arms.
“Dude!” Robin’s trance disappeared faster than Beast Boy’s popcorn. He spun to find the green changeling standing in the bathroom door, his mouth foamy and his toothbrush dangling between his fingers.
“What?” Robin demanded.
“Starfire kissed you!”
“So? Starfire kisses everybody. Hasn’t she ever kissed you?”
“Not like that, dude. You were kissing her as much as she was kissing you.”
Robin set his jaw, fighting down the mix of embarrassment and defense that welled in his throat. “Good night, Beast Boy,” he managed between clenched teeth as he headed back toward his room.
Wow, that took longer than I thought. Not too much fluff this time, but more to come, I promise! BTW, Return to Me is a real movie starring David Duchovny and Minnie Driver. It’s a total chick flick, but a sweet and funny one. A good date movie. Watch it with your bicuia! This chapter was a lot of setup for that last bit at the end with Robin and Beast Boy. But it gave me a chance to bring Raven into the mix; she'll be very important later on.
Soon: Chapter 4: Hints in the Dark