Robin and Starfire - The War Beyond Tamaran

Mortality 2

"Ah!" A hand grabbed her wrist, so fast it was a blur.

Starfire stared at Robin as he looked over to her, his lips tightened into a line. Did he know? She thought in horror. Robin pushed himself to sit, breathing hard. His lips twitched in pain, half holding her for support.

"You should be resting," Starfire said in a low, weak voice, helping him up. Robin chuckled his voice rasp and dry in the silent room. "I think you should be too." He said lightheartedly.

"I am worried about you Robin. You may need some assistance and no one will be there to help you. I shall stay here and make sure you are alright."

Robin threw his legs over the edge of the bed, their eyes met. His lips curled into a weak smile, and there it was; the touch she always thought she had imagined.

"Robin..." She began, words choking her throat.

"You should be getting some rest." He said it casually, but she heard hardness in his voice. Starfire felt her heartbeat louder under her skin.

"Robin I-"

"You were trying to take my mask." Robin cut her words, tension thickening in the air between them. There was something about Robin, an air of authority and seriousness that dominated. She felt it now and she stilled.

"Why?" He asked calmly.

Starfire felt her heart shrink, but she also felt a feeling of urging curiosity, of unanswered questions long-buried in her deepest desires. To know the Boy Wonder behind the mask, or even just to know what he looks like. If she would see a picture of him as a boy, she would not know whether it was him or not.

"I wanted to know what..." Starfire hesitated. Robin sat quietly, waiting for her to finish her sentence. "I wanted to know how you would look without the mask..." There was a long pause.

"Starfire, why?" He asked.

"What do you mean, why?" Starfire asked in frustration. "All these years we have fought great dangers together, we had kissed, and well..." Her voice trailing away to silence. "I thought perhaps there is something special between us Robin. Tell me, is it something only I feel?"

Robin's lips parted in surprise. It was, after all, the first time she had ever mentioned their romantic tension openly. His gaze fell, and then he pinched the base of his nose.

"I know." He said as he met her gaze, "Starfire, I feel it too. But, I can't let you know who I am. It's my identity and it's for me alone."

She could not help but feel crippling disappointment. She felt her face hardened in this blunt reality, and yet she persisted, "I know that and I know you have said it before, but Robin, will I ever know who you are beside the Boy Wonder? Am I not worthy of knowing your greatest secret?"

"It has nothing to do with being worthy, Star. But people shouldn't know who I am, otherwise, people I know are going to get hurt."

Starfire shook her head, hurt. She had always known he had a life outside of the Titan Tower, but now hearing him say it, of the existence of people he cared for, people she did not know, sent a nasty pang in her chest.

"I would never put them in danger!"

"Please understand." Robin said with more strength, "If I give an inch of myself, then there's a chance that I'll give more. The best way to protect a secret is by not sharing at all. If my enemies somehow find out who I am, they might go after them. And I can't have that." Robin said.

"But I just want to see what you look like..." Starfire said, hopeful.

"Please, don't ever ask me again," Robin said sternly.