A Month Too Long

Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans. Is this even necessary? I mean… it's called fanfiction… hence the assumption we're all fans. It's not called ownerfiction for a reason.

Robin heaved another unnecessarily loud and drawn out sigh. Raven looked irritably up from her movie. "Will you stop it!" she snapped.

The Boy Wonder scowled and crossed his arms, looking away stubbornly and offering an even louder sigh in response. Raven rubbed her temples, fighting to keep from strangling her masked teammate. "Whatever your problem is, mope about it somewhere else, ok? You're interrupting my movie," the dark girl hissed irritably. One might have regarded her as being a tad harsh to the boy, but it was understandable. Robin had been acting like a lost puppy for the last four hours, sighing and regarding her with thoroughly dejected stares.

Robin huffed, disgruntled, and left the couch. He trudged off down the hall, presumably to brood.

Meanwhile, the resident alien princess was busily making a last minute check of all her things before she left. She was about to journey back to Tamaran for a brief stay in order to celebrate the festival that had been arranged to honor her defeating Blackfire. To say the least, Starfire's sister had not been a favorite Grand Ruler of Tamaran. It would be a rather lengthy celebration, lasting an entire month… purely because Tamaranians love their festivities quite a bit…

She smiled, thrilled with the prospect of returning to her home world. Star was quite aware that she would be incredibly home sick within the first couple days, but at the moment this thought did nothing to deter her excitement. Tamaran would always hold a lovely part of her heart.

"What are you so happy about?" Robin grumbled petulantly, stalking into her room. Starfire looked over at her friend, an amused little grin playing across her features. She walked over and touched his arm lightly.

"Friend Robin, I promise you I will be back very, very soon. Surely the team will not be so horribly crippled with my absence. You make it seem as if I am going off forever," she soothed. Robin lifted a brow.

"A month just about constitutes forever… ah!" he yelped as she pinched his arm.

"Goodness, Robin, this is not the first time we have been apart," she snorted. Robin frowned.

"But this will be the longest we've been apart. This isn't fair… you can't just leave me… and the team…" he muttered. Starfire glared, but there was humor in her emerald eyes. Sweeping back her auburn tresses she rocked onto one hip.

"Indeed, so terribly unfair," she murmured sarcastically. "Robin, you have left us on more than one occasion. Must I remind you of the time you went on your strange 'quest' or the time you were Slade's apprentice?" she retorted. Robin eyed her, incredulous at the accusations.

"First of all, I didn't willingly go with Slade. Secondly, I may have left the team but I never left you," he countered. Starfire blinked, curious.

"There is a difference? Leaving the team was leaving me as well…"

"No. I never left you. I never will leave you. I might have been gone physically, but I was always with you. I never stopped thinking about you and getting back here," he cut in. Starfire's expression softened. Robin's shoulders slumped. He didn't want Starfire to go back to Tamaran. Even if it was just a short while… what if she forgot about him? What if she decided she wanted to stay and reclaim her position as Grand Ruler? Was it his fault he was a little possessive? Ok… so it kind of was his fault he was a little possessive, but it was possessive in a… good… way… (?)

Starfire stood in front of her friend and lightly brushed some of the stubborn ebony locks back off of his forehead. "Robin, you are my dearest friend… what ever makes you think I will not have you on my mind? Just as you claim to have never left me, I shall never leave you," she assured him, wrapping him in a light hug. Robin nodded reluctantly and heaved one of her bags onto his shoulder. She took the other and left the room. They were quiet as they headed up onto the roof where he'd bid her farewell.

It was just a month, but Robin was dreading her absence more with every step. Starfire looked back over her shoulder and tilted her head, seeing the crest-fallen look that still adorned her leader's face. "Oh, come now Robin… try and be a bit more cheery. It seems to me you think you are sending me off to die. Please, I will be home the instant the festivities are over," she said sweetly. Robin looked up and met her eyes.

"But Starfire… I-I… I'm going to have one less member on the team?" he offered lamely. Star narrowed her eyes.

"Robin, just come out and say it. I do not like all of your sulking. Just tell me what it is that you find so upsetting by a short separation. I will be back before you realize I am gone. I sincerely hope the others will not be doing the moping as much as you," she trilled impeccably. Robin growled.

"I highly doubt that. Like I said, a month is pretty close to forever," he replied doggedly. Starfire rolled her eyes.

"You are very difficult, Boy of Wonder," she sighed. Robin nodded.

"I try my best, but really. I'm going to miss you a lot," he confessed. Starfire grinned.

"I'm glad to have finally heard you say it. I shall miss you as well," she replied sincerely. Robin gave her a wary look.

"What do you mean, you're glad to have finally heard me say it?" he prodded. Star giggled.

"The grishnip seems to catch your tongue every time you attempt to say anything heartfelt," she replied.

"Heartfelt?"

"As in… you saying you would miss me. Not many others struggle with saying such things. I understand it is common for friends on earth to tell each other they will be missed in their absence. I hope it becomes easier for you to say in the future," she laughed. Robin looked a bit put off.

"Is that to say you'll be taking trips more often?" he asked unhappily. Starfire shook her head.

"No. It is simply to say I hope you become more comfortable with expressing yourself," she shook her head. Robin seemed almost paranoid. "Goodbye, Robin. I shall see you soon," she said. Robin now became aware they had ended up on the roof. She eased her bag away from him and lightly took to the air. She'd already said goodbye to the others earlier.

"Starfire!" he yelped abruptly, causing her to flop back down to earth in surprise by the slight outburst.

"Yes…?" she inquired.

"Don't uh… don't… just, you know… don't fall for any Tamaranian guys while you're up there, ok? Like… don't forget me or anything…" he coughed, scarlet rushing up to his cheeks. Starfire smiled at the comment. He looked adorable, so awkward like that…

"I promise I shall not do the falling for any of the young men up there. And of course I shall not forget you, it would be impossible in just one month. In fact, it is probably impossible over all. I could never ever forget you, Robin," she reassured him, feigned exasperation in her voice. Robin's blush deepened. Starfire lifted a tiny brow and set her bags down, walking back to him. "But you… you have a team to lead and crime to fight. Perhaps you will be so busy that you will be the one forgetting about me while I am gone…" she tapped her chin with one finger as if contemplating a way to fix this potential situation. Robin opened his mouth to give a strong protest, but Starfire stopped him with a light kiss to his lip.

He swallowed down whatever words had wanted to come out and willingly succumbed to the euphoria of her gentle kiss. He was about to pull her closer to him when she broke away. Robin's lips still burned with the heat of the contact. "Perhaps that will help you remember me a little better while I am gone," she seemed satisfied with her solution. Robin nodded numbly. She smiled affectionately at her blundering Boy Wonder and trotted back to her bags, scooping them up and launching gracefully into the air.

She hovered and turned back a little ways off and waved. He offered a limp attempt at a wave in return and she simply laughed her sweet, innocent laugh and flew away… not to return for an entire month. Robin stood on the rooftop for a long time after she'd left his field of vision. Finally he shook his head and turned to go inside.

"I'm not complaining or anything, but that just made waiting for you to come home a whole lot harder," he muttered. He looked up at the soft sound of the door squeaking open and was met with Raven's amused gaze.

"In Robin speak, the translation for that would be: I love you too, Starfire, and now I'm going to have to wait an entire month for you to come home so I can make out with you," Raven said matter-of-factly. Robin opened and closed his mouth a few times, wanting to protest but knowing very well what Raven said was true. Finally he shrugged.

"Raven, you really shouldn't eaves drop," he smirked and brushed past her to reenter the tower, every ounce of his unruffled persona recollected. So what if a month was like forever. For Starfire… he'd wait forever and a day… or however long it took for her to come back home to him.

Author's Note: I figured I'd give you all a little godbye fic before I go on hiatus... so here it is! I hope you liked it. It IS a one-shot, so no updates on this one. Star's a little sassy in this one, I suppose. I was hoping to capture Robin's awkwardness at its cutest, so I hope you don't mind. Would love reviews!

Love, Princess Starfire of Tamaran