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“You know,” Cyborg says, taking another step further away from Robin, “even by Kitten’s standards, this is pretty creepy.”
Robin’s curled up around Starfire’s leg, rubbing his cheek against her boots and fawning over her like a puppy while she pats his head— also, like a puppy. She tries to gently shake him off, but he holds on tight and keeps purring against her.
“Weeeeird,” Beast Boy says. “If Kitten sent those mutant moths to deliver a love bite to Robin, then um, why the heck is he clinging to Starfire instead?”
Starfire then chimes in. “Perhaps it is because I was the one who made physical contact first. I rescued Robin from the moths before Kitten could take him.” Robin nods eagerly at her. Her cheeks turn red.
“Looks like her plan backfired then,” Cyborg says. “But we still need an antidote. He can barely stand without falling into your arms at this state.”
“What if we just put him in a different room?” Beast Boy suggests.
“Tried that. He was reciting Romeo and Juliet by himself while bawling his eyes out,” Raven says, squinting at the sight of Robin now kissing Starfire’s knees, her giggling in response.
“He also goes on rage fits,” she adds. “Not. Good.”
“Then I’ll guess we’ll have to take him along,” Cyborg says, and everyone, except for Robin, sighs in response.
-
Flying has always been a joy to Starfire, whether it be on a mission, or just free-soaring through the skies of this planet called Earth, there were no boundaries to the bliss she felt when racing through the skies.
But now she was carrying Robin with her, on her back. It’s not that he was too heavy or anything—nothing’s too heavy for her— it was that he was snuggling up to her and kissing the back of her neck because, well. Not because he was mad crazy in love with her, but because he was infected. Because he was sick.
So when they all finally landed on the rooftop, it took everything in her to try to hide the redness on her cheeks. Robin slowly peels off of her back as she tries to distance herself a little bit from him. Raven might have noticed, but Raven notices everything.
“So, what’s the plan?” Beast Boy says, after shrinking back from his eagle form.
“Robin is usually the one who makes the plans,” Starfire says, as Robin smiles at her, unmoving. She sighs.
“Well Robin’s not here,” Cyborg replies. “Not in his mind, anyway. I suggest we go in, find Killer Moth and ask him what the hell his daughter is up to.”
“We need a sample of the moth venom for the antidote,” Raven reminds him, and he nods.
“Right. BB and Raven, you take care of that. I’ll go for Killer Moth, and Star—” he turns to Starfire, who’s trying to take Robin’s hands off from around her neck. “Take care of him.”
The rest of the group disperse and Starfire huffs. She usually didn’t mind taking care of Robin, but not this Robin. Overzealous, dramatic, practically useless. She tries to get him to move, but he clings on to her back.
“You look beautiful under this light,” Robin says, and Starfire nearly jumps, because that’s the first time she’s heard him speak directly to her.
“It is not you who thinks that,” she says. “It is the venom altering your thoughts and emotions.”
“I thought it only altered my thoughts,” he says, and for a moment she thinks that it’s her Robin speaking to her. “But my emotions for you run as deep as the trenches below the seas, the valleys of Atlantis and—”
She wants to smack herself for nearly falling for that.
Eventually, Starfire just pulls him over her shoulders, and flies into the building.
-
It’s quiet at first, with almost no sign of any of the other titans, or moths, to be clear. But Starfire continues to walk down the hallway with Robin’s arm draped over her shoulder and her arm wrapped around his waist to steady him in case he decides to drop to his knees and curl up at her feet again. She lights the hallway with a starbolt in her left hand, and suddenly, she hears a buzzing noise coming closer and closer.
“Beast Boy!” she exclaims, as he runs towards her with a maybe-dead moth in his hands.
“Theeeey’re coming!” he yells, and tosses the moth at Raven, who’s riding on her floating platform. “Catch!”
Raven catches the moth in her arms and shudders, and Beast Boy transforms into a leopard as they both head for the door. Starfire turns around and sees an entire swarm of moths coming her way, so she picks up Robin and tosses her onto Raven’s platform.
She notices Raven losing her balance a little, and Raven glowers at her. She hears Robin crying in the distance. Starfire shoots several energy bolts towards the moths but there are too many of them, so she flies back fast.
“Where is Cyborg?” she asks as soon as she catches up with Raven.
“Still with Killer Moth,” Raven replies, and turns around. Robin’s eyes light up as soon as he sees Starfire, and Raven kicks him off of her platform. Starfire catches him in her arms, and looks at him, almost surprised. If heart eyes were actually a thing, Robin definitely had them on right now.
“Are you still able to fight, Robin?” Starfire asks him as she holds him by the hands, dangling in flight.
“I’d do anything for you, Starfire,” he replies, and Starfire has to look away before she starts to blush again.
They finally get to Killer Moth’s corner of the lair, and Raven seals the door shut by pulling in some of the heavier objects over it. They had lost the sample moth back there, but Starfire had a feeling they would be encountering more anyway. Beast Boy shifts back into his human form and looks around the room, finger on his chin.
“So, if this is the super secret guy’s super secret lair, how come there’s nothing here?”
“Why don’t you find out for yourself,” Raven says, as he deflates.
“Fine,” Beast Boy says. “But once we find Cyborg, I'm outta here.”
He shifts into a hound and starts following a trail to the back of the room. Raven turns to Starfire, eyeing her curiously as she pulls out all of the gadgets from Robin’s belt.
“What are you doing,” Raven says.
“I am trying to ensure that Robin is able to defend himself if necessary. I do not mind helping him through troubled times, but I am afraid that he is becoming more and more of a burden at this state.” Starfire pulls out an ammunition disc and accidentally drops it, and it ignites into a puff of smoke.
Raven shields her face with her cape until the smoke clears. She comes closer to them and places a hand on her shoulder.
“We’ll get him back,” Raven says, smiling just a little. “Don’t give up.”
Starfire lights up at that, her eyes twinkling like the stars in the Vegan system. As she turns around to Robin again, a loud crack is heard from a corner of the room. There is a loud roar that sounds awfully like a gorilla, and sounds of several more metal plates smashing. Beast Boy is tossed into view, landing just on top of Robin just as he shifts back.
“Did you find him?” Starfire asks, not even bothering to help the two of them get up.
“Well, sort of,” Beast Boy says, trying to get away from Robin, who’s holding him by the collar and chanting ‘Starfire’ multiple times.
“What do you mean, sort of?” Raven growls, and suddenly a swarm of moths come buzzing towards them, with Killer Moth leading the charge, and Cyborg trying to push through.
“I mean: I found him, and a bunch of other guys,” Beast Boy replies, as the rest of them try to shoot at the moths. “Run!”
“Azarath metrion zinthos!” Raven chants, breaking the door open once again. She takes off with Beast Boy, but just as Starfire is about to follow, he sees Robin charging head on to Killer Moth.
“Robin!” she cries, flying towards him.
A swarm of mutant moths surround her, as she tries to make her way past by shooting at them with her starbolts. She suddenly sees streaks of blue too. Cyborg.
“What the hell is he doing? Is he okay? Is he back to normal?” Cyborg asks, trying to fend off the moths buzzing around him. “Oh no, don’t touch me!”
Half of the moths have started chasing Raven and Beast Boy down the hall, and since they’re trapped into a confined space, Starfire decides to use her laser vision to crack the roof open. Killer Moth flies out of the building on his giant moth, with Robin there, trying to fight him.
“I must save him,” she says, and Cyborg clears a path for her by shooting all of the moths covering the exit hole.
“Be careful, Star!” he exclaims, as she flies up to Killer Moth.
“What have you done to my friend,” she asks, eyes glowing and fists ready to punch. Robin had him caught in a headlock, but as soon as he sees her he lets go and beams.
“Starfire, look! Look what I’ve done for—” he gets cut off as Killer Moth swats him away. He topples over, but thankfully, doesn’t fall off.
“You attacked my fortress, killed my moths, destroyed my building. The question is: what have you done?”
She grabs him into a chokehold and flies up into the sky with him. There was no patience left in this Tamaranian girl.
“Your daughter, where is she?” Starfire growls, slowly, and makes sure he pays attention to every word.
“Right here, darling! I’ve come to pick up what belongs to me.” Starfire turns around, and there’s Kitten, riding another mutant moth with another mutant moth army behind her— except, these ones have red eyes, and red saliva dripping from their mouths.
Something clicks in her brain. The venom! Beast Boy and Raven had lost the first moth in the raid, but it didn’t matter anyway, because these were the ones they needed to make the antidote. Killer Moth never had them.
“Now, let go of my daddy,” she yells, and several moths attempt to spit on her with the venom. She drops Killer Moth, and flies back down to Robin, still perched on the big one.
“You’re my hero, Star,” Robin sighs lovingly, then buries his face on the crane of her neck. A jolt of surprise runs through her, but somehow, she’s feels slightly comforted.
“Aw, look at you, being all sweet and cuddly,” Kitten coos, popping up behind them once again.
“Well it’s not going to last for long, isn’t that right, Robbie-poo? After a certain amount of time, like, for example, 24 hours, all the fuzzy-wuzzy lovesick feels fade, and it’ll be replaced by a permanent state of rage. I wanted to test out my plan before I told daddy, and it’s working! Think about it, to have an entire city by incapacitated by looove for 24 hours, and then, have them self-destruct out of anger and rage, isn’t that the best idea ever!” She raises her hands up in the air, and a green pterodactyl snatches her off her moth.
Kitten starts yelling, and Starfire can see Raven flying in to the scene just on cue. So it was never about Robin. He was just a test subject. She looks down, and Cyborg’s waving his hands in the air at her.
“Star! Over here! There’s a lab downstairs that I can use!” Cyborg shouts at her, and she looks at Robin, who’s looking at her like a stray puppy. She grabs him, looks him dead in the eye and says:
“I do hope you trust me.”
She kisses him, quick enough that she doesn’t have any time to indulge in it, but apparently not quick enough that it results in several heads turning from her team members. Robin’s lips are soft against hers, and he doesn’t resist, doesn’t push for more. When she lets go, Robin looks at her with a completely unreadable face. The glowing look is gone, and is instead replaced by a look of awe.
“Starfire, I—”
Beast Boy comes hurling through the air, and Starfire drops Robin down like a basket from the top of a building. He falls steadily, still facing up, and the look on his face is nothing short of heartbreak. Cyborg then catches him, and she sees him melodramatically crying while yelling up at the sky. Cyborg looks like he wants to throw him back up.
Starfire looks around to find the smallest mutant moth to capture, and she finds one just buzzing like its still learning how to fly. She goes up to it and grabs it tight, but she doesn’t expect it to bite her arm so fast. She yells, terrified of what’s about to overcome her. Senseless, mindless, desperate love? How will she fight then? And when it turns into rage? Who can stop a Tamaranian causing destruction?
She flies down to Cyborg as fast as she can with the moth still in her arms.
“I am afraid I have been bitten,” she says. “I will no longer be of use to this team anymore. You must call Raven or Beast Boy to help you with the antidote.” She looks down, but Cyborg pushes her chin up.
“Star, if you were bitten, you would’ve been affected by now. You must be immune to it.” He smiles at her, comfortingly, and she perks up as she looks at the little moth in her hands, then at Robin, who’s face is slowly twisting into a look of anger. He’s breathing more slowly, heavily, and his brows are furrowed tight into a permanent frown. It’s starting.
“Do not let him go,” she says, and flies into the lab. Cyborg keeps him in his arms as he jumps back into the building, and he’s kicking and screaming, punching at his armour.
“Okay, okay. Let’s not get too emotional here,” Cyborg says, and Robin punches his jaw. “Okay, then. If that’s how you’re gonna play. Star, you take him. I think I'll take the moth instead.”
Cyborg tosses him back to Starfire, and takes the moth in return. He runs to the lab and leaves the two of them there. Starfire looks at Robin, who is, well, furious. (At what? One might ask. At everything.) He’s trying to punch her, kick her, doing somersaults in the air while Starfire keeps evading every single one of his attacks.
“I do not wish to hurt you,” she says, ducking as his leg goes flying over her head. He throws several explosives at her, and she shoots her starbolts at them. Poof. Evaporated, every single one of them.
“Robin, you must listen to me. Cyborg is going to help you.” Starfire gets hit on the arm by his staff, and she breaks it in half right in front of him. "Please, Robin, just listen to me."
“Don’t… need… your… help.” He jumps into the air and tries to do a flying kick, but she grabs his leg instead and just holds him upside down. He curls back up and tries to strangle her, but she grabs his hands and warms them a little with her starbolts until it gets too hot and he pushes himself off.
He growls, takes out his birdarang and hurls it right towards her. This time, she doesn't move and it grazes her shoulder, slicing through like a clean cut. Blood starts oozing out, and it stings, god it stings, but she sees Robin charging towards her, and a swarm of moths are coming down from the opening in the roof, and she has had it. Starfire shrieks, directing her laser beams to the roof of the building and taking everything down until the entire building crumbles.
-
Starfire wakes up somewhere too soft to be the ruins of a crumbled warehouse. She feels a bandage on her shoulder, but peels it off only to find that her skin has already healed. There's light on her face, and the smell of something... familliar. Freshly baked apple pie?
"Well, it looks like the princess is up," she heard Beast Boy say, and he's hovering over her with glee. "Dude, that was wicked awesome!"
Starfire sits up, rubbing the back of her head while looking back at him. She was back in the tower, right in the middle of the living room. "What type of wickedness have I committed?"
Beast Boy opens his mouth to say something, but opts to hand her a plate of apple pie instead. It spells out "Star-Victory" on top with whipped cream.
"You beat all the mutant moths," Cyborg says with a smile on his face. "Everything went down, Kitten, Killer Moth, you got 'em all."
She snaps back into it. "Robin! Where is he? Is he—"
"I'm right here." He walks into the room and pauses upon seeing her. He doesn't come too close, as if waiting for her to approach him instead.
Starfire floats towards him, examining his entire body. She lifts his cape, looks at his belt, touches his neck (okay, maybe that one wasn't necessary but, she watches him blush and it makes her feel good) and it's not until she traces a finger on his mask does he respond.
"Uh, Star..." Robin clears his throat, fumbling with his hands and cracking his knuckles. Latex gloves make really loud noises, he notes. "It's me."
"Yes, but are you still... sick? With the loving feelings?" she asks, and he gives her his best attempt at a smile— which looks, more pained than anything but, at least he's trying.
"No, Cyborg got the antitode to work on time. We found you in the rubble and we brought you back home afterwards."
"As she can clearly see, genius," Raven adds from behind him, and Robin makes a face. He tried.
Starfire was still looking at him, still looking as if she was looking for answers in his face. He wasn't sure what the question was, but it seemed like she didn't trust him yet.
"Starfire," he says, and her focus immediately jumps back towards him. Shit. "I, uh, wanted to say thank you. For what you did. Everything you did, actually, to help me. And I know I said some things and acted like—"
"You were not yourself," she says, sparing him the rest of the apology and her the sting of actually hearing the words out loud. I didn't mean it. I never loved you. It was all venom. Etc etc.
He takes her hand she looks up at his touch. "No, Starfire, you don't understand. I remember the things I said, and uh, I... I guess I wouldn't say that they were untrue."
Starfire takes a moment to think about the words he'd just said. English was a fairly complicated language, and the way Robin was speaking made it even more... complicated.
So it comes as a relief to her when Beast Boy taps her on the shoulder and says. "It means that he likes you."
She turns back to Robin, who looks like he had just gotten slapped in the face. "Is that true?"
With nowhere to escape, he splutters out, "Yes. Yes, I do."
Starfire smiles, pressing her lips together and trying not to break into a grin. Robin's cheeks are slowly flushing red, a blush creeping in to replace the paleness he wore just a moment ago.
"I, uh, I really want to kiss you right now," Robin stammers. "Because the last time I was, uh, you know, and you, well, dropped me. Which was for perfectly good reason, but—"
Starfire would've indulged herself more in seeing Robin as a nervous wreck, but she decides to put him out of his misery and kisses him instead. She cups his face in her hands and gently savors the taste of his lips, finally, finally being able to enjoy the moment. His lips are softer than they look, which is, not a bad thing at all.
Robin's hands are wrapped around her waist and it's only then that he realizes that there are few things in the world that he truly, really, loves. Her warmth keeps him locked in like a glove and he reminds himself that this type of love can, and does, exist within himself. He just needed a little extra bite to make it work.