Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Dawn was breaking as Robin paced around his room, as he had most of the night, staring down his open closet each time he passed it. The new suits were resting on special hangers aside from where his bright Robin uniforms hung, taunting him. Nightwing. Was it time? 

The only sound carrying through the room was the quiet hum of his computer, not that he’d expected an answer to his unspoken question. He sighed, breaking out of the circle he’d been trying to wear into the carpet and heading to find food, and more importantly caffeine. 

In any other circumstances, the silence throughout the Tower would have been suspicious, if not outright concerning. Cyborg was on sabbatical with STAR labs, and Raven and Beast Boy were taking time to check in on little Melvin, Marvin, and Teether. Robin had stayed back to keep up patrols in Jump City and manage any alerts, and he’d fought back a victory yell when Starfire had said she’d stay, too. 

Starfire. His best friend, confidante, easily the most beautiful girl he’d ever seen - Robin shook his head, punching in the code to lock his bedroom door behind him before heading to the common room. Starfire was perched at the island, eating breakfast and looking over a handful of novels stacked next to her plate. She chirped ‘good morning’ to him, smiling, and Robin felt himself grinning back.

“'Morning, Star,” he murmured. There was hot coffee made, bagels ready. She’d clearly been waiting on him. He gathered himself up some breakfast and sat across from her, taking out a tablet and flipping through 911 reports and intervention requests. He could feel Starfire’s gaze on him more than see it, not willing to glance up from reading even if she wouldn’t be able to tell through his mask. 

It wasn’t the same silence between them as usual; that one was easy, just like it always had been between them, like when she would climb on the R-cycle with him just for the sake of it, or when they’d sit out on the roof at night and watch the sun set across the bay. When was the last time they’d done that?

When he finally did dare to move only his eyes toward her, Starfire had just glanced away; her countenance fell as she picked up her book and flipped through to her bookmark. Her shoulders turned in just the smallest bit before she adjusted and sat up straighter, starting to read.

Why did that turn his stomach? What was that?

There was no more time to think about it; an alarm sounded on the tablet in front of him, and quickly spread to the main display screen in the living room.

“What is it, Robin?”

“The city’s requesting intervention at the airfield - someone is interfering with the airshow. There’s civilian risk. Let’s go, Starfire,” Robin said, dashing away from breakfast. “It’ll be fastest if you fly us there over the water.” He turned to see her nod in confirmation before he ran to the nearest roof access, hearing her footsteps following behind him.

Wait, footsteps?

When they reached the edge of the roof he paused, watching her climb up to the edge when she should have been floating. 

“You okay, Star?” 

“Of course,” she said, alighting to hover just off the edge. Robin felt his core relax as she held her hands out to him. Of course. “Grab on.” 

The airfield was just outside of Jump City, but flying across the bay that surrounded the Tower took only a few minutes. Starfire held onto Robin’s wrists as he held hers until they reached the opposite shore. Trapeze hold was his favourite way to fly, or at least less undignified than being carried, and he wished he could enjoy it without the adrenaline of responding to a crisis. When was the last time Starfire had taken him out just to fly?

“Help the police evacuate people away from any of the planes and helicopters,” Robin shouted to her above the wind as Starfire decelerated, passing the perimeter fence to the airport. A plume of black smoke rose from the far end of the field. “I’ll find out whatever is hijacking them.” 

Starfire let go of one hand, then the other, letting him drop down onto the tarmac before jetting away to help corral and guide the terrified patrons away from the chaos. 

Machinery creaked to his right as Robin started running, watching the historic and antique planes and jets lined up, some seeming to taxi of their own accord. A masked man dressed head to toe in black dashed between two of the rows of vehicles, hiding in their shadows. 

“Stop!” Robin gave chase, gaining on the mysterious person just as he hopped into a helicopter. It took barely a second for the helicopter to rise off the ground, the blades not even turning; without hesitating, Robin leapt for it, grabbing onto one of the landing skids as it made its way further into the sky.

“Robin!” Starfire called out over their communicators. Before he could answer, she was next to him, one hand gripping his shoulder so hard he could feel the strain on the seams of his uniform.

“Suspect is inside!” He pointed above them. “Open the door!” 

The helicopter lurched and continued its eerie, jerking ascent despite the engine remaining disabled. Robin only heard Starfire gasp before she wrenched him by the grip on his shoulder; his body moved one direction while the helicopter moved another, like it was trying to shake them off. He managed to brace himself against the belly of the helicopter before his head swung into the side. 

Robin saw stars for a moment, gritting his teeth as he realised Starfire’s hand had shot between his forehead and the steel next to it. She called his name, watching until he nodded to her before trying to pry open the helicopter doors apart again.

Another plane levitated next to them, flying on its side and swiping so close it clipped the blades of the helicopter above them, several snapping as they spun randomly in the wind and connected with the wing of the plane. 

The screams of tearing metal and the smell of acrid smoke inundated Robin’s senses until searing pain flashed above his knee. A piece of liberated steel had flung across them, slicing open his uniform. He glanced down, watching blood pour from the wound just as Starfire glanced up.

“Robin!” she cried, and he gave a short shout as she grabbed the front of his uniform and yanked him up so he was eye level with her, his back pressed against the door of the helicopter.

“We have to-” he pressed a hand to his wound briefly, shaking his head twice as he could feel the ragged edge of the cut through his glove. “We have to get in-” Robin looked down again, unsure if the blurring at the edges of his vision was from the hit, or from the nauseating terror that gripped his gut. 

“Do you trust me?”

They were so high; too high.

When he didn’t immediately answer, Starfire shook him until he nodded, his head bobbing from the force of her hold. “Yes! Yes, but Star-”

“Good.” Starfire’s voice barely carried over the sound of more tearing metal and a nearby explosion but she pulled him closer, so close that he could feel her breath against his cheek despite the winds whipping past them.  “I’m sorry,” she said quietly, ghosting her lips over his skin. “I will catch you.” 

“Starfire, don’t!” was all Robin managed to shout before there was a rush of wind against his entire body, forcing his eyes closed. Falling. Robin could hear his mind screaming at him over the crushing headache starting to take over his senses. Falling falling falling. 

Spreading his arms and legs out to slow his descent, he shuddered when he reopened his eyes; they had gained more altitude than he had even thought, although he couldn’t blame thin air for the way his head had started swimming again. Robin willed himself to look over his shoulder; the helicopter exploded in a blaze of vibrant green energy, the plane next to it soon obliterated the same way.

How much longer could he be falling? Robin faced forward and screwed his eyes shut, unable to force them to watch as the ground approached. He desperately wanted to press the heels of his hands to his eyes, to soothe the throbbing pain radiating through his skull, but the air moving past him kept his limbs splayed.

Hands reached around him, familiar hands, as Starfire aligned herself alongside him, slowing his fall with her flight. “Robin,” she sobbed, “I’m here.” Just as she had promised, she had caught him.  

She lectured him through the flight back to the Tower and as she dragged him through the air to the infirmary, his mind too battered to put together a fight against being bridal carried at a speed that would otherwise have dropped his stomach into his feet.

Robin rested his head against Starfire’s shoulder, feeling the warmth of her bare shoulder against his skin and smiling before a couple of his neurons managed to fire as expected. His mind replayed the helicopter falling behind them, destroyed. “The suspect-”

“There was no one inside the helicopter.” Starfire landed on the roof and continued inside on foot. Robin gritted his teeth, bracing himself for the jostle of being carried, but Starfire reached around his shoulder and held his head tightly against her upper chest, her elbow and other hand easily supporting his weight. 

“I am going to put you down now,” Starfire said quietly, sitting him onto one of the hospital beds they had, thankfully rarely used. He heard Starfire activate a cold pack to the side of him, cracking the substrate and placing it into his hand.

“Fuck, that hurt so bad,” he muttered, putting the ice where his head seemed to hurt the most. “Thank you for saving me.”

She met his eyes for half a second before turning her attention to his leg, placing a towel over the breach in his uniform where blood continued to seep. “I should have made certain you were safe,” she gritted, pressing her hand over top the towel, watching his face carefully. He gave her a half smile of reassurance and she pushed harder, her palm creating even pressure over his wound. “You should never have jumped onto that helicopter. If you were not injured I could shake you for doing something so reckless.” 

“I couldn’t let him get away.” Robin tried not to think about her hand on his thigh and how disastrously close she was to him; he could feel the heat of her hand despite the blood-soaked towel between them. As though to punish him, Robin’s head throbbed and he groaned, resting against the raised head of the bed and clutching the cold pack closer. 

“You cannot endanger your life to catch one person,” Starfire chided. “The civilians were safe. You could have waited for me. You could have waited for help.” She winced when she moved a few of her fingers and Robin tried not to look down at the blood that welled up between them. “This wound is significant, Robin. You must let me take you to the hospital.” 

“No.” He put his hand over hers. “Grab more gauze, Star. I’ll keep pressure on it.” He rolled his eyes at her as she sighed. “Hospital’s not an option. I’ve had worse than this. I’ll be okay.”  

Starfire pursed her lips and shook her head, paling when she saw the coating of red across her palm. “Oh Robin,” she sighed, turning to the cabinets around them and quickly digging through them for supplies. 

“I get it. If anything ever happened to you, I’d never forgive myself,” Robin reassured her, closing his eyes.

Starfire continued pulling items out of the nearby drawers, glancing furtively at him every few seconds as she worked. “I choose to put myself between criminals and people who need to be protected. Why would you blame yourself when I understand that risk?” 

“I would still find a way to be responsible,” he said. Just the thought of such a thing drove an ache into his chest that rivaled the one in his head. “And I would never want to lose you.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m in love with you,” he said, chuckling. “Is it not obvious?”

Starfire froze, the package of gauze half torn open in her hands. Robin groaned again, reaching to hold his head in his hands.  

“Ugh, god. Forget I said that.” He made a sound somewhere between a laugh and a sob, pressing the cold pack to his eyes before taking it off and laying it on his stomach. Robin pulled the domino mask off his face, tossing it across the room onto the floor, before sighing at the relief the cold pack brought as he pressed it to his eyes again. 

“Robin.” Starfire’s voice was low and quiet. “You must let me get help. Something is wrong - this wound is too severe.”

Robin sighed, feeling her hand move his and place yet more gauze onto his thigh, pressing it down with her super-strength. With his eyes covered, Robin couldn’t see the evidence of his injury, could only feel the warmth of her hand clasped around the inside of his leg, and he pretended to try not to enjoy it. “Thanks, Star,” he murmured. 

She continued to work carefully around him, and he shifted as she silently placed probes to his chest, the cardiac monitor beginning to beep quietly to their side. 

His headache slowly started to abate and Robin wondered if was from the blood loss, although he didn’t feel the his head swimming. He said as much, or he thought he did; Starfire’s grip on his leg had tightened, and he had felt her reach to his utility belt and pull his communicator from its place. 

Robin heard Starfire say his name, and he wanted to answer, but within another moment he was sound asleep.

Chapter Text

Starfire swallowed hard, one hand over Robin’s bleeding wound and the other clenched around the communicator she’d pulled from his belt.

“Robin, wake up!” She nudged his sternum with the communicator, the ice pack sliding off his eyes and onto the floor. He was breathing but didn’t react to her touch, even when she reached out and ran the back of her hand along his cheek. “Robin, please. ” 

With the other Titans off-duty her options for help were limited, and she knew Robin was right; the hospital was not an option. While he’d finally made that act of faith and told them about his real identity, it was still the thing he kept most closely guarded, and he’d made it clear the risk it would present to everyone if that information fell into the wrong hands. 

The feeling of panic still rattled in her chest, though, becoming fiercer and more demanding each moment. Robin would not awaken, he was still bleeding, and she had to act. She sighed, then used her nose to open the communicator and flicked through contacts before choosing one. 

It only chimed twice before connecting.

“Robin?” 

“Superman,” Starfire breathed, although she had known he would answer. 

“Starfire? Is everything okay?” 

Starfire took as deep a breath as her anxiety would allow. “No,” she said, “it is not. Robin is injured. He has a laceration on his leg and I tried to protect him but even with my hand in the way, he took a significant hit to his head and he was speaking to me but now he has fallen asleep and I cannot wake him, I do not know what to do, Superman-”

“Starfire, slow down,” Superman said evenly. “Are you monitoring his heart?”

“Yes, and that has remained stable.”

“Okay.” Superman sighed in a way Starfire had learned was not exasperation, but more like thoughtful apprehension. Superman was not human, she knew, although he seemed much better at pretending to be than she was. “Is the teleporter in the Tower open?” 

“I’m not sure.” She bit her lip. “I would have to leave him to find out, and if it is not, I can open it.”

“Alright. Please do that as soon as we’re done with this call. I’m going to send someone to help you, a… caregiver of Robin’s.  I don’t think you’ve met him before. Please let him help.”

A stranger who can help is better than nothing, Starfire figured. Before Superman terminated the call he told her to call him back if anything changed before help arrived. “I will be quick,” she reassured both Superman and Robin before dashing to the next room.

The teleporter system was online but Robin kept it blocked to outside users unless they were expecting someone. The system chimed as Starfire changed the settings before she stepped back from the landing area and waited a moment before deciding she would hear the teleporter activate from the next room, and she ran back to Robin’s side. 

Just after she reached her place next to him, the teleporter did activate, and she heard an unfamiliar voice call out to her.

“Starfire?” 

There was a light lilt to the voice, an accent, one that she decided she enjoyed already. “We’re in here,” she called back, and a moment later a man stepped through the doorway. He was dressed finely, his vest and tie complimenting the dark colour of his mustache and hair, although it was speckled with grey and thin across the top of his head.

“Hello,” he said quietly, pausing a moment in the doorway before approaching. He had a smile on his lips that didn’t reach his eyes, his brow furrowed in worry. “Superman told me about your call. I’m here to help.” As he spoke, he had approached the bed where Robin was still laying, glancing over him. “Do you have gloves?”

Starfire looked down at her bloodied hands, only just noticing the tacky feeling across her palms. “Behind you,” she said, clenching her hands. The man pulled on a pair before approaching again. 

Though she knew that this person was someone Superman trusted, her gut still clenched when he reached out and carefully opened each of Robin’s eyes. She quickly looked away, inspecting the foot of the bed, until she saw the man’s hand moving to the pressure dressing over Robin’s leg. She had expected a caregiver would mean The Caregiver, but this man was certainly not the Batman. Who else was close enough to know Robin’s face? And why did he dress like a waiter?

“Well,” the man said, sucking his teeth. “What's caused this?” Before Starfire could answer, he continued, “shrapnel, I suppose, steel. The cut is clean, at least.” He looked up at her, the skin around his eyes crinkling with wrinkles as she stared back. “I’ll need you to grab me a few things, dear, if you know this room well.” 

She nodded, and he carefully dictated a list to her, waiting as she turned the items over to him. He opened a set of scissors carefully, eyeing the blades.

“Robin has said that these would cut his armour before.”

The man gave a tight-lipped smile again, seemingly surprised. “I’m glad you remembered that,” he said. “I will need to cut these off of him, to make sure the wound stays clean.” Starfire nodded again, feeling a blush creep along her neck. While she still lacked an ‘appropriate’ human response to lack of clothing, she understood enough to know that Robin would probably be embarrassed. The man continued anyway, opening Robin’s utility belt and cutting along the thigh of his pants, laying them open. 

He tutted at the state of the skin before reaching to the small procedure table next to him where Starfire had placed a variety of wound care supplies. 

“Should we not attempt to wake him?” Starfire asked, turning her attention to Robin’s head. Without thinking much about it she reached and pushed his hair back off his forehead. The young hero’s even breathing continued, and he looked restful despite the bruising starting to form on the side of his scalp.

“He may have a concussion, but we’re watching him closely. He will be fine as he is, for now.” The gentleman still had the corners of his mouth quirked in a quiet smile, and while she knew that something she’d done had triggered it, she still felt reassured; this trusted person was calm enough to smile. Robin would be fine.

“I’m sorry to be so rude and not introduce myself,” the man said quietly, examining the wound closely as he applied some local anaesthetic and cleansed the area. “I’m not sure how much Robin has told you about his life outside the Titans.” 

“You are part of that life,” Starfire said, giving voice to her assumption. “I’m not sure any answer I give you would be trusted; I could say that he’s told me everything, but you would have no reason to believe me.” 

The man smiled, genuinely this time. “That’s very true. It's just the level of skepticism Robin would apply... or that he's been taught to.” Sighing, he continued on with preparing sutures. “I suppose it’s reassuring that he’s passed that on to you.” 

“You are skilled at this,” Starfire said, watching as he prepped the skin. 

“I’ve learned to be,” he replied quietly. 

Starfire watched him work. In her species, these wounds were rare and the ones that did occur would be left to heal naturally, aided by their rapid regenerative abilities. Watching the methods humans used to survive such things was fascinating. “Would you teach me?”

The man’s dark blue eyes met hers, but he shook his head. “Someday perhaps. I hold onto a hope that if he knows these services are not so readily available to him anymore, it may force Robin to take greater care.” He gestured to the wound as he finished closing it. “This was impulsive. Avoidable.”

Starfire nodded, frowning. “I hope he will awaken soon. I think his concussion may be significant.”

“Was he acting out-of-sorts in some way?” 

Starfire felt a blush creep across her cheeks, finally letting herself remember what he had said. Her stomach flipped. “He was not himself. He was saying things he did not intend to say.” Forget I said that, she heard his voice repeat in her mind. She would have to try.

The man’s thick brows were flat across his face as he tied the last suture, placing down the needle and opening gauze. “What sort of things was he saying? If he was unkind to you-”

“No,” Starfire immediately dissuaded, holding up her hands, wincing as she rotated one of her shoulders. Forget. “I believe he was simply… more forthcoming than he intended to be.” She saw his gaze on her, his expression disbelieving as he pulled off his gloves and tidied up.

“And what about you?” Starfire froze when she realised what the gentleman was pointing out; she had felt the bruise forming along her back for some time, although no accompanying sensation of blood trickling had eased her mind. “Your shoulder-”

“I will require time to heal,” she explained, “but this, Robin’s safety, was my priority.” 

“Is there anything I can do to help you?” Starfire shook her head. “You require deep sleep to heal quickly, I know. Can I stand watch with Robin to give you time?” Starfire couldn’t help but express her surprise, her eyes widening. “While I can’t say how much Robin has told you about me, he has told me quite a bit about you.” He smiled again, waiting for her to speak.

Starfire shifted her weight from one foot to the other; while she could stand to fall into a healing sleep for a few hours, she couldn’t shake the dread she felt while imagining Robin waking up without her. Forget. “I don’t want to leave him. I know Superman trusts you, so I must as well, but I wish to wait for him.” 

“You did the right thing, calling Superman,” the man said quietly. He started to make his way through the infirmary, grabbing blankets and another pillow and setting up the other medical bed. “Although, Robin may have some alternative feelings about that.”

“Oh, he will be furious,” Starfire sighed, reaching across her body to rub her sore shoulder with her hand. “But he will be furious and be well, and that is what matters most to me.” 

The man was giving her a kind smile. “My name is Alfred,” he finally volunteered. “If your injury does not require any treatment then please, lay down here. I’ll turn down the lights, and you can sleep, and we will wait for Robin to wake.” 

Chapter Text

The throbbing ache in his leg finally became greater than Robin could continue to ignore in his sleep, joined by a matching pulsing in his head that matches his heartbeat. Robin sighed, doing his best not to groan as he opened his eyes.

“Welcome back, Master Robin,” Alfred said dryly, watching the young man as he startled on the medical bay bed, yelping and grabbing his injured leg. “Keep your voice down. Starfire is resting.”

“What are you doing here!?” Robin hissed. His head still hurt, his leg hurt like hell. In the moments before he’d fully awakened, Robin had mentally prepared for a hell of a lecture from Starfire, but a lecture from Alfred was another thing entirely.

“You left that young woman in an incredibly unfair position, Master Robin,” Alfred started, and Robin sucked his teeth and sighed, falling back against his pillow and pressing the palms of his hands into his eyes. “She contacted Superman, and he told me to come.”

“She did? Why would she do that!?”

“Quiet, Master Robin,” Alfred chastised again, giving him a disapproving glare. “She believed your injuries may have been life-threatening.”

“My life wasn’t in danger.”

Alfred leveled him with a look, the look of ‘oh, really?’ while taking a long glance at the sutures he’d carefully placed into Robin’s skin.

Robin sat up again, but the quick change in position made his blood rush to his head, browning out his vision and bringing his headache back full force. “Where is she?” he groaned, rubbing his eyes again, thankful for an excuse to avoid another glare.

“Just behind us, resting. She was also injured-”

“She is?!”

“Be quiet, Master Robin,” Alfred admonished again. He crossed his arms over his chest, huffing while Robin took inventory of his own body and injuries again. His hand traced over the skin of his leg where his armour was still cut away, the wound covered with gauze and a transparent film.

“Ten sutures,” Alfred supplied, and Robin fought not to roll his eyes. “It should be simple enough for you to care for it from here, since you can see it.”

Robin nodded before he sat up properly, testing out moving his leg. The throbbing continued, traveling up his hip and turning his stomach, but he pushed through the pain, needing to lay eyes on his teammate.

With her long hair gathered up into a quick braid and wearing plainclothes, Starfire was sleeping soundly on another bed in the medbay, curled up onto her side.

“She’s okay?” Robin asked, clearing his throat and clenching his teeth after, knowing exactly how he sounded.

“She reassured me that if she rests, she will recover quickly. We had a nice chat about some of her physiological quirks,” Alfred said, stepping forward to stand in the corner of Robin’s vision. “It was quite fascinating.”

It had been years since Robin had lived with Alfred, although they still saw each other often enough. Despite the distance, the young vigilante knew exactly what small, discreet, too-knowing and smug smile Alfred would be giving him behind his back. They stood in silence for a moment longer, before Alfred broke it.

“She’s quite lovely-”

“Oh, don’t even start.” Robin narrowed his eyes, turning from Alfred and pulling the cape off his uniform and throwing it onto the bed. He went to take a step but stumbled for a second, underestimating the pain and stiffness from the laceration on his leg.

“What, acknowledging that she’s a lovely young… female?” Alfred asked, full of faux concern.

“She is my teammate.”

“This is quite a lot of protesting,” Alfred said dryly as he stood and adjusted his vest. “One may even say ‘too much’.”

Out of defenses, Robin settled into a glare, crossing his arms, trying not to chafe under the look Alfred gave him, one of unwavering affection and understanding. Alfred shook his head, unaffected by the show of frustration.

“As a piece of advice, Master Robin,” Alfred said quietly, “if you find your memories of the last day a bit foggy - I think you should review your security cameras.” Robin gave him a questioning look. “Your teammate here was quite shaken by something that you’ve said. I think when she wakes, she’ll be trying to give you an out, but Starfire seems very… straightforward. I’m not sure allowing her to cover for you is the fairest thing you could do.”

“Did she say that?” Robin asked, concerned again. “Was she upset? What did I say?”

“She would not tell me,” Alfred said, “just that you were ‘not yourself’.” He made his way to the door, looking back again at Starfire’s sleeping form and back to Robin. Robin deflated a bit, running a hand through his hair in frustration.

“Don’t tell him,” Robin said, irritated again at how plaintive he sounded, the irritation only worsening when Alfred gave his slight smile again.

“I will only tell him about the leg,” Alfred reassured, “if he asks.”

Robin finally managed to relax, watching Alfred leave the med bay; a moment later, the teleporter activated, and Robin let out a long-held breath. Stepping forward was still a struggle, but he walked up to where Starfire was sleeping and watched her for a moment.

Almost unbidden, he pulled off his bloodied glove, reaching out to brush a few strands of her vibrant hair off Starfire’s face. She stirred almost immediately, smiling before slowly blinking open bright green eyes.

“Robin?” she asked, her voice wavering before she gasped, practically jumping off the table and seizing him in her arms. “You are awake!”

Robin tried to lift his arms, although it may have made it worse when she pulled him against her chest, crushing him into a tight embrace. “I am,” he said, wincing at the aches rattling through his body. Starfire caught herself and the way he stiffened in her arms and released him; Robin tried not to look disappointed when she snatched her hands away from him.

“I’m sorry,” she said, “you are still in pain. That was careless of me.” She glanced away from him toward the floor before looking back around the med bay beyond them. “And Alfred has gone?”

“Yes,” Robin replied. “He would have said goodbye, but you were sleeping. I didn’t mean to wake you.” He reached back out for her arm, but she stepped away, reaching for a nearby storage system and checking a few drawers. Finding what she sought, she looked at it in her hand for a moment before tossing a fresh domino mask to him.

“Thanks,” Robin said, affixing it to his face, wincing as he pressed the adhesive tech against his skin. “Alfred said you were hurt, Star. Are you okay?”

She still didn’t look at him, but she smiled, shaking her head. “I am okay, Robin.” Starfire smiled a bit. “I think that I should return to my room though, to rest some more. You should do the same.” When she turned toward him, her eyes trailed down to the injury on his leg before darting back up to his eyes, and then away from him again. Starfire looped the fingers of each hand against the other, walking past him quickly to the door.

“You will be well if you rest on your own?” she asked, pressing the release button so the sliding door would open.

Robin nodded, stretching his shoulders and swinging his arms, taking more inventory of his aches and pains. He would need more medication before this was over, especially if he actually meant to rest. “I should be okay,” he said, “although you could stay in my room, if you wanted to.”

Starfire’s skintone was so rich it was hard to tell, but Robin saw the way she blanched so slightly before shaking her head. “No,” she said quietly, “if it is safe for you, then I would like to rest in my own room.”

It stung, both the rejection and the way she didn’t wait for him to say anything before leaving the medbay and walking - not floating, walking, he heard her footfalls- back to the elevator to get to her room.

Robin gathered a few more things in the med room, mulling over what Alfred had warned him about. Starfire had slept in his room plenty of times before, a hangover from their early days, before the tower, where they’d shared a tiny safehouse apartment, sleeping on couches, occasionally sleeping next to each other overtop the bedlinens in the double bed. He found the medications he’d needed, for pain and to ward off any infection, and tossed them back with a small cup of water before throwing out the paper cup. Whatever he had said had thrown off their rhythm, more than either of them being injured had any right to. By the time he arrived at his room, Robin was resolute - he would watch the footage back and find out what had gone wrong, just as soon as he woke from getting more rest.

The medications worked their magic to soothe his injuries, and he was back into a deep and dreamless sleep within moments of his head hitting the pillow.

It felt like only minutes later that he was awoken by the sound of his bedroom door opening. Groggy and dry-mouthed, he sighed, shifting in the bed to offload some pressure off his leg, hoping that it was Starfire changing her mind.

He startled at the sharp sound of a glass being placed down a little too hard on his bedside table, looking up to see Raven looming over him as she stood next to the bed.

“What the hell did you do?”

He scoffed. “Hardly anything,” he said.”I got caught by a piece of shrapnel. Starfire helped me. Ten sutures. It’ll be fine in a couple of days.”

Raven rolled her eyes, yanking the covers up from the bottom corner, exposing his leg. “I’m not talking about this,” she said, pointing at the clean square gauze covering his injury. “I meant Starfire. What did you do?”

The tooth-clenching anxiety was back. “I don’t know what you mean,” he lied, sitting up. “We’ve both just been sleeping for a while.”

She narrowed her eyes at him again, tossing the blankets back down and pulling her hood back over the crown of her hair. “You’re wrong,” she murmured, “and you know it. Something is … not the same.”

“Is she up?” Robin asked, sitting partly up in his bed.

Raven nodded. “We’ve been home for a few hours. She got up just after we got in.” As though reading his mind - she might have been - she continued. “Physically, she seems fine. But she’s walking, Robin. What happened?”

Robin sighed. “I’ll figure it out, Raven,” he said.

Her narrowed eyes blinked twice before she turned away, silently heading back to the door and letting herself out.

The gut twisting ache of anxiety permeated Robin’s body as he got up and forced himself through the motions - he took a shower, waterproofing the dressing to his leg and washing the rest of the blood and sweat off his body. He redressed in plainclothes, still re-donning his mask before he headed back out to the common rooms to find something to eat.

The team was there, lounging around in different parts of the living space. Cyborg and Beastboy waved from the couch, not looking away from the racing game they were casually berating each other over. Raven sat by one of the large windows in the far end of the room, curled in a chair, reading.

Starfire was in the kitchen, humming to herself quietly while she concocted something, Silkie warbling back to her on the counter.

“Hey, Star,” Robin said from the door, and Starfire jumped a bit. For half a second she froze before she turned, directing her attention to him.

“Hello again, Robin,” she said, and Robin let himself bask in the warmth of her tone for a moment. He could never quite turn off the part of his mind that head lead him to becoming Robin - the part that had perfected 100 acrobatics routines, that picked apart every detail, that saw the too-perfect way Starfire was beaming at him. It might have been easier to let her continue, to brush her off, but Robin heard what Alfred had said, and he’d never been much of one to do things the easy way, anyway.

“Star, is everything okay?” he asked, leaning back on the counter. He watched her expression waver, brows drawing together before she whirled back around, stirring something in a pot on the stove that looked utterly inedible to humans.

“I am glad you are well enough to walk,” she deflected. “Did Raven help you heal?”

“Not yet.” Robin stepped a little closer, settling back against a part of the counter just to the side of where Starfire stood, carefully keeping her eyes off him. “Alfred told me you were worried about me,” he lead, “I guess from something I said?”

She frowned, just for a second, her hand pausing its stirring motion before restarting. “You don’t remember?” Robin shook his head, and she saw it through her extra-human field of vision. Sighing, she did turn and look at him, just for a moment.

“I think that is for the best, Robin,” she said quietly, but Robin wasn’t paying attention to what she was saying, only how she said it. Her shoulders were rounded in just slightly, her torso turned away from him and toward the store. Starfires brows were still drawn together, and he watched the way she stopped breathing for a second after she finished speaking, as though the words created a weight on her chest.

This was not for the best.

“Whatever I said-”

“Robin,” she said quietly, staring back into the pot then, “please just leave it alone.”

“Okay,” he said, already in motion. He walked to the fridge, rifled around for a moment and grabbed an energy drink and a meal replacement shake. Giving Silkie a quick scratch of its head as he walked by and earning a thankful warble in return, he left the kitchen and went back to his room.

His computer was waiting for him and Robin sat himself down, elevating the foot of his bad leg on a stool under his desk. He was a manipulator, Batman had said, both natural and learned - his childhood being groomed as an entertainer and his training from the Bat coalescing to create a young man who knew how to get people to do exactly what he wanted. Robin could have dragged it out, could have coerced it or tricked the truth out of Starfire, but Alfred had cut that idea off at the root.

As his systems started up, Robin thought back to the look on Starfire’s face in the kitchen. Something was terribly wrong, and Robin had to find it out on his own and fix it. He wracked his brain a bit, trying to remember what was said, but the time between Starfire snatching him out of the air and him waking up in the med bay was completely spotty. The anxiety would only surge back in, happy to fill the gaps with anything and everything terrible he could think of, so he ignored it, drinking his drinks while sorting through footage from the tower.

It only took a few minutes to isolate what he wanted. He watched as Starfire carried him into the medbay, her serious expression belying her worry as she laid him out. He stopped fast forwarding, listening to what she was saying as she opened gauze and worked with him to press it to his leg.

“...Why would you blame yourself when I understand that risk?”

“I would still find a way to be responsible, and I would never want to lose you.”

Robin put his energy drink down, leaning in towards the screen. That couldn’t be what he’d actually said - that was an anxiety-fueled nightmare his mind had concocted. There was no way-

“Why?”

Robin’s stomach flipped as he heard himself say what he already knew he must have. He’d really gone and done it. He’d fucked everything up.

“Because I’m in love with you… is it not obvious?”

Chapter Text

The next day passed and Robin was nowhere to be seen or heard, although Cyborg did bang on his door along the way to make sure the boy answered. The resulting yelling through the door satisfied the others - their leader was alive, and he’d resurface when he would. They had more important matters to figure out.

Starfire was still walking.

Raven had already pulled both boys aside later in the morning, painting a very clear picture of exactly the kinds of mental torture she would inflict if either of them got involved - this was for Robin to sort out. Lucky him, they figured, but it didn’t stop them from worrying.

Their signals stayed quiet for days, and the Titans started to get restless. Robin did finally exit his room to train, but quickly became so frustrated he gave up rather than take his wrath out on the equipment. He knew the other Titans were studiously, carefully avoiding him, which both added to his embarrassment but made him thankful not to have to explain himself. Starfire obviously hadn’t told anyone what he’d said, which gave him time to figure out what to do.

He only had a few options, and none of them felt good. Ever since he’d made the stupid, shortsighted choice to kiss her in Tokyo, things had been different with Starfire, even if he’d ignored it. She was kind, and patient, and so much better a friend than he had ever been, though, and the awkwardness faded after a few weeks. Still, she hadn’t slept in his room, hadn’t sought him out to sit together on the roof and look at the stars, and hadn’t grabbed his hand out of excitement since.

Now, it was even worse.

Gritting his teeth, Robin knew he had to do something. He watched the security footage back obsessively for the first night, picking apart her actions, watching her expression of surprise followed by outright dismay as he confessed to her, and then ended up passing out from exhaustion. She had rescued him again, calling in Alfred, even when she knew that he would hate it. She was better than he deserved, and Robin hated the position he’d put them both in, again.

He had a new resolve. He had to figure this out - no matter what happened. He’d just finished putting his mask back on his face when he heard a light knock at his door, the same triple beat that Starfire always used. Swallowing and squaring his shoulders, he stepped up and hit the button to open it.

“Hi, Star,” he said breathlessly, taking her in. She was as beautiful as ever, although he saw the darkened skin under her eyes and the way she stood, grounded, outside, waiting for him. “What’s up?”

Starfire smiled. “I wanted to speak with you about a transfer,” she said quickly. “I wish to go and train with the East team.” She paused, her smile faltering just slightly - meanwhile, Robin felt like the Earth was falling out under his feet.

“Go?” he said, still bracing himself against the doorframe. “Why- no.” He shook his head, taking a step backward. “You can’t just leave.”

“Robin,” Starfire said calmly, looking past her shoulder into the hallway. “Can we speak in private, please?”

Robin clenched his fists, fighting the urge to rail and rage. She was leaving, and there was nothing he could do about it. He stepped aside, shifting his stance so she could walk past him and into his room. The door swished closed behind her, both of them standing in silence.

They both tried to speak at the same time, each stopping, Starfire whispering a quiet apology before pausing long enough that Robin took the lead.

“So the East asked for you to go?”

Starfire winced. “Yes and no,” she admitted. “I have been speaking with Jinx and Speedy.” Robin bit back the jealousy that flared in his chest. “They suggested that it might be good for... a change of pace.” Her brows knitted together as she thought through the turn of phrase.

“Jump City needs us,” Robin said, lining up his arguments. She couldn’t just leave.

“The alert has been silent for days, Robin.” Starfire insisted, “and you already permitted the rest of the team to be off-duty for weeks.”

“That was different-”

“No,” she said resolutely, shaking her head. “It is not.”

“Starfire.” Robin was exasperated now, trying to claw his way back into control of the conversation, but she cut that off at the knees.

“Robin, please.” Her plea was so quiet and wavering he could hardly stand to hear it. He stopped pacing, turning to meet her eyes. They stood there, taking in each others’ miserable expressions; Starfire was the first to break away, wrapping an arm around herself and turning slightly back toward the door. “I am going to let Jinx know that I’ll be arriving there soon.”

Robin clenched his fists, sighing again as Starfire opened the door and stepped out. It closed automatically behind her, leaving Robin alone. He groaned in anger, lashing out and punching the wall next to the door. Pain radiated up from his knuckles, grounding him. She wanted to go, and he couldn’t stop her.

Starfire announced her plans to the team first thing the next morning.

“That’ll be fun,” Cyborg had said between bites of breakfast, “they’re a great team, I’m sure you could teach ‘em a thing or two.”

Beast Boy had nodded along, leaning back at their dining table. “For sure. Get Aqualad to take you out on the ocean too, he can help you finesse your swimming some more.”

While the boys chatted at Starfire, unperturbed by the idea of their teammate leaving town, Raven sat silently, watching Robin. He didn’t bother hiding his mood, pushing food around his plate with his fork, his expression flat. Abruptly, he stood and grabbed his plate, taking it into the kitchen and leaving it on the counter before storming back out of the common rooms and back to his own bedroom.

“What’s gotten into him?” Beast Boy asked, missing the brief, grieving look that crossed Starfire’s face. “He’s even more pissed off than usual.”

“His bestie’s going to take off,” Cyborg shrugged. “That means if we get calls, one of *you* is gonna have to fly him around,” he glanced between Raven and Beast Boy, “and you know who’s hands he'd rather have on him.”

“Leave him alone, Victor,” Raven said, standing and picking up her empty plate. “He’s working through something.”

And he was trying to work through it. Robin reasoned with himself as hard as he possibly could. Starfire would be gone a few weeks. Maybe it would be enough time for him to get his shit back together, to undo what he’d said. He engaged in his usual self-flagellation, of course - he’d screwed up their friendship again, made her so uncomfortable that she’d rather leave than have to see him.

His pacing was almost non-stop in his room, and he knew if Starfire was there, lingering on his bed reading a magazine like she usually would, she’d joke that he’d start the carpet on fire. The thought of her laugh made him groan out loud, running his hands through his dark hair and sitting on the edge of the bed.

Just as he let out a held breath, his computer chimed. Lurching over to it, he opened a secure message from none other than Alfred.

“I hope that all is well,” it read, “with both you and your teammate. Please let me know that you are recovering well. I hope that you have not been too hard on her - you must appreciate the ones who will make difficult decisions for your preservation, even knowing the consequences. Having had exceeding practice in fulfilling this role elsewhere I assure you it is not taken on half-heartedly, but with a full heart.”

Robin pulled off his mask, wiping at angry and heartbroken tears. He had to stop her from leaving, however he could.

He tried to find opportunities to talk to Starfire without cornering her, but they were few and far between - she planned to leave a few days from then. Jump City’s crime rate seemingly jumped overnight as though it was making up for lost time after a quiet few weeks, the alarm of their summons blaring day and night for two days after a particularly bad prison break.

By the time they could drag themselves back to the tower after the last few such calls, the entire team was exhausted. Robin had been focusing hard on strategizing with the local police, correcting the issue with the prison, and leading the team as they helped avert disaster and chase down escapees before they had a chance to go back underground. Any other time, it would have been a welcome distraction, the thrill of the fight and the chase a part of his very blood.

This time, though, it was an unwelcome burden, something he’d tried so hard to avoid transpiring. Robin had crimefighting and vigilantism flooded into his bloodstream as much as solitude and detachment were, courtesy of his guardian, with plenty of forewarning that it was love of the fight, or love of another - the two couldn’t share space in one person.

Robin slowed his pacing once again, hearing Starfire’s door open and close as she walked - walking, once again - through down the hallway to the elevator. Just thinking of her and knowing she was near strengthened his resolve.

Those two loves did share space in him. What threatened to push either of them out was only fear.

Robin hyped himself up for a few minutes, bouncing on his toes and taking a few breaths before heading back up to the roof. He’d had a little time to refresh but opted to put his uniform back on - the alarms had been so regular there’d been no point in changing out and end up risking a longer response time. Still, he left his mask tucked into its place on his utility belt.

By the time he reached the roof, the sun had long set. The night was cloudless, and being out on the man-made island the Tower was built on, it was almost silent but for a bit of a breeze coming off the ocean. Stars dotted their way across the dark sky, but Robin wasn’t watching for them as he stepped out of the elevator and across the roof.

Starfire was sitting at the edge, her knees drawn up to her chest with her back toward him. He said her name softly and watched her shoulders hunch in surprise before she let go of her legs, wiping at her face.

“Robin,” she breathed, “I was just having some time of loneliness.”

He half-smiled. “Do you mean ‘alone time’?” he asked, stepping closer. She sighed. “You don’t usually like being alone.” Robin sat down next to her, careful to throw his cape out behind him to keep from sitting on it, and just as careful not to look too closely at her.

“I’m sorry,” he said quietly, lifting a hand when she opened her mouth to protest. “Please, Star-”

“There is nothing for you to apologize for,” she said brusquely, shaking her head, “and I wish that you would stop doing so.” Her voice was firm. “Nothing is wrong.”

“I watched the security footage,” Robin said, “from when you got me back to the Tower, after I got hurt.”

He glanced at her from the corner of his eye - she was frozen, her expression slowly growing more and more dismayed.

“You did not mean it, Robin,” she said, her mournfulness catching on the edge of her voice.

“I did-”

“-I wish that you did!” she finally blurted, clenching her fists against her knees. The edges of her hair gleamed, a beautiful indication of her emotions rising to the surface. “But you did not. You never intended to tell me, and you told me to forget, and I am trying, Robin.” She caught her breath with the edge of a sigh, burying her face in her hands. “I am trying, and it is so hard.”

Robin waited a moment. “I am sorry,” he said, “not because I said it. Maybe because… I should have said it sooner. I wish I hadn’t just let it come out like this, Starfire. But it is true.” He clenched his teeth, turning a little to watch her, his one arm slung over his knee. “I was too afraid to tell you. I guess Cyborg has been right that it’d take me getting hit in the head to be honest with you.”

Starfire shook her head, breathing out a quiet scoff. “He should not make fun of you that way,” she said. Robin smiled at her defense.

“Sure he should,” Robin said. “Everyone could see it. Even you, unless I’m wrong.” Starfire continued avoiding looking at him, but she sighed, bright energy-driven wisps still trailing off her hair as it was teased by the breeze. “I was afraid to tell you because it would change things. Everything was so weird after I kissed you. I didn’t want it to be like that again.”

Starfire shifted, crossing her legs to the side so that she could thread her fingers together in her lap instead.

“I hurt you,” he said, “and made it more confusing.” Robin waited a beat, gazing back at the stars before turning his attention back to her. “I want to try again.”

Starfire finally looked at him, confused. Her eyes were rimmed with red, and the end of her nose was the same. Robin shook himself out of his admiration. “I didn’t mean to tell you before,” he said, “the same as I didn’t mean to kiss you, back in Tokyo.” Starfire wilted. “I was too busy trying not to kiss you. I didn’t bother thinking about what might happen if I did.” He took a breath, turning further toward her. “But I have now.”

Starfire sat up straighter, watching him closely. It was now or never - maybe not never, Robin reasoned. Starfire was patient, and too forgiving. The truth was what she deserved.

“I’m in love with you, Starfire.” His hands started to shake, and he pulled off his gloves, wiping his palms against his pants. “I have been for a while.” Starfire stared at him, unmoving for a moment, and his heart felt like it would beat out of his chest. “You don’t have to say-”

He gasped as she reached out and grabbed him by the front of his uniform, her superior strength wrenching him closer and straight into a kiss. They pulled apart quickly, both panting before Robin put his hand against Starfire’s shoulder. Her hair was illuminated now, her energy coursing through it, her eyes bright against the darkness of the sky. He felt her tremble under his touch and he breathed out a laugh while Starfire leaned in, to press her forehead against his.

“Say it again,” she asked quietly, not loosening her grip on him.

“I love you,” he said, his voice croaking. Robin cleared his throat, feeling her breath against his lips as she laughed almost silently. “I love you. I’m sorry I told you the wrong way, before.”

Drawing back to look him in the eye, Starfire smiled softly. “I love you, too,” she said. “It would have been… impossible for me to ignore it, any more.”

“You don’t have to,” Robin said. “We don’t have to.”

He closed the space between them again, brushing his lips against hers, but she had all the strength and no remaining patience. Starfire pulled on his uniform again, drawing him close against her, making him laugh as they shifted to deepen the kiss.

It was a clear night, and finally things were clear between the two young heroes, too.