Disclaimer: Teen Titans are not mine.

Broken record moment:

Aussie, spelling, slang, word usage is all different.

Stolen.

Soft sweet kisses, hidden kisses, stolen moments cocooned by darkness.

She left him breathless, his head would spin in anticipation of the moments they managed to snatch together. In the training room, in her room, on the roof, down a darkened corridor. Secret places. Fast, fleeting kisses, lust filled ones. He would press her against the wall, his hands encasing her wrists, one of his knees between her legs and their lips would devour the others. Passion clouded their minds, fogged their feelings, kept them wrapped up in each other. Together they were complete, joined as one.

Today the darkened Evidence room held the indication of their latest rendezvous. A cape on the floor, a belt, a pair of gloves, a mask. Clothing cast away in a moment of fervour. He longed for these moments, counted the minutes until they could next sneak away.

"Robin…" she moaned throatily.

"I love you," he whispered between kisses, knowing she could never bring herself to return the words, even if she felt them. But that was okay, he could say them for both of them.

"We have to tell them," she returned breathlessly as he sampled the delectable skin of her neck.

"I hate hiding this as much as you," he breathed into her ear, still pressing her against the wall with his body. "But you know how she is. She thinks she's in love with me. She'll explode."

"I can't continue lying to them. If you do not tell her, and soon, I will," she replied, her fingers buried in his hair, tugging lightly and making his skull tingle.

He growled and pulled away from her, stalking across the other side of the room. "Way to ruin a moment."

"I'm very good a ruining moments," she replied. "They deserve to know. They are our friends."

He wrinkled his nose and paced. "She won't understand."

"Give her a chance. And some credit. "

He gave her a curt nod. "Alright, Raven… tonight… I'll tell her tonight." He walked across the room, back over to her to caress her cheek, hoping to entice more kisses from her.

She looked at him, gave him that slight curvature of her lips that spoke the depth of her true feelings for him and raised her hood. "Good," she said as she picked up her belt and vanished into her raven form, leaving him alone.

Robin sighed and retrieved his gloves, mask and cape. He just hoped Starfire would understand.

TTTTT

Pink hues danced against a cloudy sky. The wind swept over the surface of the ocean, tossing up sprinkles of water and casting them skyward.

A lone girl sat on the edge of the Tower, her red hair flowing in the wind. Her knees were drawn up to her chest as she hugged her legs and stared out at the sunset.

Robin hesitated at the stairwell, watching her. He ran his fingers through his hair and looked at his hands. He really didn't want to do this, had hoped that she wouldn't have been up here and then he wouldn't need to face this, but Raven had given him 'the look' and he found his feet traveling the stairs on their own.

"Hello, Robin," Starfire said, her voice almost purring out his name and he winced.

He walked over to the edge of the roof and sat down beside her. "Hey, Star. We need to talk."

She simply looked at him. "Is that not what we are currently engaged in?"

His lips twitched. "I mean a serious talk."

Her brow furrowed. "Has my conduct been unsatisfactory?" she asked quickly, anxiously. "I know I failed to apprehend Control Freak quickly this morning, and I will endeavor to-"

"No," he replied hastily. "It's nothing to do with Titan stuff."

She relaxed. "Then what troubles you?"

"It's about… us…"

Her eyes got that confused glaze they always got when she had trouble understanding Earth culture. "Us?"

"Yeah," he said, looking out at the horizon.

"I am not certain I understand what you mean, Robin," Starfire said. "What is it about us that concerns you?"

Robin took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"Robin?" Starfire asked, sounding concerned and scooted closer to him.

He moved away. "Star," he said, half turning on the edge so he could see her face and have his leg between her and him. "You know you're my best friend, right?" He emphasized the word 'friend'.

She frowned. "Yes, and you are mine."

"I don't want anything to get in the way of that."

The frown deepened. "Robin, you are confusing me."

He took another long breath and tried a different track. "You're my friend and I really care for you… I think you're a wonderful, happy person, but there isn't anything else between us other than friendship."

She went very still and he saw her knuckles turn white against her knees. "This is about Raven is it not?" she asked, her tone strangely neutral.

He pressed his lips together. "Yeah. We're together."

"Together." Her voice was flat.

"As in girlfriend and boyfriend."

"I see."

He frowned, trying to gauge her reaction. "You do?"

"This is the reason why you have been doing the avoiding of me recently?" she asked mildly, her eyes settling back on the sunset.

"Part of it," he admitted. "I wasn't sure how you would react and a lot of stuff was said between us when we were stranded and you couldn't fly and I-"

"You did the lying to me?" she asked, her voice rising angrily, her eyes flashing.

"No!" he exclaimed. "I didn't lie! I meant what I said, Star, really I did. But what I feel for Raven, it goes a lot deeper than that. And I didn't want you to take what I said out of context."

"I see." That flatness in her voice was back.

"I know you think you're in love with me-"

She laughed bitterly. "Oh, Robin, you do not understand me at all."

His eyes narrowed. "I don't?"

"I do love you. You were the first to show the niceness, something uncommon amongst my own people. You helped me settle on Earth, patiently explained the nuances of your society. It is unlike any culture that I have encountered before, these words of the slang you cherish, where one word can have a multitude of meanings."

He rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. "Yeah, well, you did that for us when we traveled to Tamaran. It's understandable."

Starfire nodded. "You have been most patient with me, even though I know you are sometimes… annoyed with my lack of understanding your culture. And I know how you and the other Titans feel about my…" she paused, deep in thought. " 'glumps'? Is that the word friend Beast Boy used? Exuberant displays of affection?"

"Glomps," Robin corrected, rubbing his chest and remembering the last glomp he'd endured.

She sighed and looked at the horizon. "These 'glomps' were denied me on Tamaran," she said remorsefully. "Because of who I am, only Galfore, my family and certain tutors were permitted to touch me. Perhaps that is why I express them so freely on Earth."

"Oh," he replied inadequately. "I always thought…" he trailed off.

"Thought what?" she prompted.

Robin sighed. "That you'd lived a sheltered life on Tamaran. I thought it was only offworlders that were not permitted to touch you, I never realised it was everyone."

Starfire snorted, startling him; Robin had never heard her snort before. "A sheltered life?" she said incredulously. "Do you not recall what I said to you during our first meeting? I was headed to the Citadel to be a servant. A slave. For the rest of my life. And none of you ever asked why! You just assumed I lived this sheltered life because of my royal status, did you not?"

"Well… yeah…" he frowned, wondering why that had never occurred to him before. "Why were you going to be a slave?"

"To stop a war," she said bitterly. "My father gave me to them as a prize, to do with as they wished. I have heard many stories of what happened to the servants of the Citadel, I do not believe I would have survived long. My sacrifice prevented the slaughter of my people."

"Oh, god, Starfire… I never knew…"

She glared at him. "You never asked." She sighed and looked away. "I would be lying if I said I did not find you attractive and have often entertained the idea that… that… you… and I…" she let out a small sniffle and Robin looked at his lap, suddenly feeling very bad.

"I know," he said softly.

They drifted into silence, Robin unsure of what to say and Starfire making tiny sniffles, her face turned away from him.

"Does she make you happy?" Starfire asked suddenly.

"Yes," Robin replied, desperately wanting to expand on that, but not wanting to hurt Starfire anymore than she'd already been hurt.

"Do you make her happy?"

Robin blushed and ducked his head. "I like to think so."

Starfire's face softened. "She smiles at you," she said simply.

Robin nodded, the blush deepening. "Yeah, she does."

Starfire sighed sadly and rested her chin on her knees. "That is good."

Robin placed a hand on her shoulder. "I don't want this to change anything between us."

She tilted her head at him, her eyes filled with tears. "It already has, Robin."

He removed his hand, let it fall onto his lap. "I'm sorry."

She straightened, releasing her knees and dangling her feet over the edge of the Tower. "Why would you be sorry?"

"I didn't want you to get hurt."

She let out a sad giggle. "Oh, Robin, matters of the heart are rarely simple. You have done the falling in love with Raven. There is nothing wrong with that. You are both my friends and I wish for you to be happy."

He stared at her in disbelief. "You do?"

She nodded, looking back out at the horizon. "I thank you for being concerned with my feelings. It was… considerate of you to tell me before I did the discovering of the two of you. I believe that would have hurt more."

"You really want us to be happy?"

"Of course." Another sad burst of laughter. "You believed I would react like I did toward Kitten?"

"Yeah, sorta," he admitted.

"She tried to do the forcing of a relationship with you," she said firmly. "No one should ever be forced like that. Yes, I was perhaps envious and resentful that she used deception and still acquired the 'date' from you, but Raven is my friend. She would never harm you. And my friendship with the two of you is more important than a little jealousy."

He had to ask, she was still his friend and he was very concerned about how calmly she seemed to be taking this. "What about you?"

"My feelings for you are my own burden, Robin. I will… confront them in my own time."

"Starfire-"

She gave a loud sniffle, ducking her head so her hair fell around her face. "Please, Robin, this is hard enough. I would like to be alone."

Robin's throat clogged at the heartbreak in her voice. "I'm sorry," he said inadequately and stood.

He'd made it halfway back to the stairs before she called out to him. "Robin?"

"Yeah," he asked, turning back to face her, even though her back was still to him.

"If you hurt Raven, I will do the breaking of your bones."

He cringed. "Thanks, Star."

The door to the stairwell closed behind him and Robin leaned against the door, desperately wishing the muffled sobs from the other side didn't hurt as much as it did.

"She'll be okay," Raven said quietly, startling Robin.

He looked down at her, seeing her standing at the bottom of the stairs, wrapped up in her cloak and hood raised, her eyes shining with power. "She will?"

Raven nodded, her eyes dimming as her hood fell back. "She is very hurt, but she really does want us to be happy. If we don't… rub it in her face… and still show her we're still the same people we always were… and she still means as much to us as she always did… I think she'll be okay."

He nodded sadly.

"They both will."

"It went well with Beast Boy then?" Robin asked curiously.

Raven sighed, dropping her eyes. "He knew."

Robin's eyes widened. "He did?"

Raven nodded and grimaced. "Apparently his sense of smell is very keen."

Robin cringed. "Crap."

Raven's lips twitched up into a smile. "Just Cyborg left," she said holding out her hand. "Come on, Robin, we can do this one together."

Robin grinned, walking down the few steps to the bottom to take her hand, cradling it in his. "Yeah, together."

TTTTT

"Hey Star," a sad voice said.

Starfire looked up at Beast Boy, her lips quivering, her eyes red. "Oh!" she said, hiccuping and scrubbing at her eyes. "Oh Beast Boy…"

He smiled sadly, sitting down beside her, dangling his legs over the edge. "Robin spoke to you didn't he? About him and Raven."

She nodded. "Yes…"

He hunched his shoulders, peered down at the ground. "I'm sorry, Star," he said quietly. "I know how you feel about him."

Starfire accepted that. "And… you and Raven."

Beast Boy gave a bitter laugh. "I always seem to go for the ones that could never love me back, don't I?"

She remained silent, not quite knowing what to say.

"At least they're not sneaking around anymore. I hate to think what would have happened if you found them…"

Her hands covered her mouth in horror. "Oh... Beast Boy... you knew?"

He shrugged. "They forget how animalistic I can be... it wasn't hard when they started smelling like each other after disappearing for a while."

"Oh, I am sorry-"

"Don't be," he said softly. "I've gotten over one broken heart, I can do another... I'm more worried about you-"

Another hiccup and a gulp before the words escaped her in a rush. "Am I too different from humans? I have always thought that... my appearance at least fit into human beauty standards, and though I have many of the troubles with the slang and the fitting in... Am I the embarrassment to Robin? Should I attempt to become more human and eating more acceptable foods and not actively displaying my own culture and-"

"No, no, no, Star, don't think like that. You're beautiful," he said honestly, interrupting her tirade, "just the way you are. And if Robin can't see that, he's an idiot."

Starfire went weepy again, her eyes leaking tears as she gave him a trembling smile.

"Aww, c'mere," Beast Boy whispered, looping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her face into his chest. One hand stroked her back, the other in her hair as she listened to his heartbeat, wrapped her hands around his waist and cried.

His kissed her forehead comfortingly. "One day," he said, his voice catching, his cheek resting on her head as he hugged her close. "One day they'll see. One day they'll understand how much they broke us with this. One day they'll wake up to themselves. Until then, it will just be you and me, babe."

Author's rant:

I am so sick of the stories where Robin and Raven are together and Starfire is portrayed as this whiny, clingy brat, hell bent on breaking Robin and Raven up so she can be with him. Not only that, Raven's out of character, having emotions left, right and center without explanations as to why, Robin's out of character and blatantly uncaring of Starfire's feelings…If you really want your ship to sail, write the characters correctly! All of them!

Starfire is not a whiny, bratty, overly preppy bitch who will make Robin and Raven's life miserable if they decided to make a go of it. She cares deeply for her friends and wants them to be happy. Nor is she this stupid alien girl. Honestly, she understands the mechanics of faster than light speed. She has a trouble with slang, something I can completely equate to. Being from Australia, half the American slang sayings make me go 'huh?'. It doesn't make her stupid. And don't get me started on the alien thing. Seriously, Raven's half demon… by the same reasoning, how is that better?

Robin and Raven are not going to hurt their friends if they choose to have a relationship. They won't flaunt it, nor be kissing openly. They are both private, considerate people. And Robin is not stupid enough to not know Starfire's feeling for him and deliberately go out to hurt her. They are best friends, that they have admitted several times in the cartoon.

Starfire's past is just as shady and dark as Raven's. Only she can admit her emotions and does so with great vigor. And a lot of Rob/Rae shippers seem to forget she's Raven's friend! OMG… Raven has a friend. Which means people are comfortable with Raven the way she is. She knows she doesn't have to express bucket loads of emotions to have people understand her. She has this wonderful dry sense of humour, a droll expression and even tone of voice. This doesn't make her Goth at all. Do half you guys even know what Goth actually is? You label her as one, just as you label Starfire as prep, when in essence, neither of them equate to their labels.

I am a die-hard Rob/Star fan. Read my other fics if you don't believe me. I am also a firm believer that the affection Robin and Raven have for one another is sibling in nature. And it was incredibly upsetting for me to write this piece. Robin and Raven lack that… chemistry… in my writing that Starfire and Robin have. Hell, Starfire and Beast Boy had more chemistry then than Robin and Raven did. And that's another thing I hate, when people throw those two together, just to have them out of the way. But you know something, I can see Star/BB more than I can see Rob/Rae. Edit April 2009: Okay, people tend to PM/Message about this paragraph, in particular to the chemistry bit. What I said was in MY writing, not in the show. In the show, I can see it too. Hell, I'm not blind. They have chemistry, I loved the Rob/Rae hug just as much as the next person. However, in my opinion, Rob/Star has more.

Go ahead. Flame away. Rant at me. I don't care. But think about this:

Bashing characters because you don't like them, or don't understand them is cowardly. It also displays a degree of ineptitude I hope all you younger writers will grow out of. This goes for Terra too.

Yeah I tricked you into coming to this story. Deal with it. I have been tricked on a number of occasions to go to Rob/Rae, Starfire bashing fics.

If I leave you with one thought, and one thought only, it's don't underestimate Starfire. Ever.

This message doesn't go out to all the Rob/Rae fans. I am certain there are some of you that write them, and write them well and in character and portray Starfire correctly. I'm not going wading through all the Starfire bashing fics to get to yours. The other members of your ship have let you down.

My apologies to all my Rob/Star and BB/Rae fans for making you read this. This has been sitting in my hardrive for ages, and I never wanted to post it, but someone pissed me off…

Kryalla

EDIT: It seems to me that there are those misunderstanding the reasons why I posted this. It's not about the SHIPS! It's about Starfire's treatment in certain Rob/Rae fics at present. Take out the names. It could be any character! Robin's treatment in certain Rae/BB fics. Terra bashing in general. Babs!

I don't want this to turn into a shipping war. I'm Rob/Star. Others aren't. I'm not trying to convert anyone. All I want is for people to recognise the butchery characters go through so that particular stories get that essence of DRAMA in their stories they can't achieve on their own.

EDIT 2, April 2009: I have long since left FFnet behind. I rarely come here any more. The posting of Stolen was in reaction to a series of stories that surfaced calling Starfire a bitch, or a whore in the authors notes and claiming she should just die. In the same stories, Raven was blatantly out of character, in fact, only one person has noticed the paraody of Raven I did in Stolen. This is not an acceptable portrayal of Raven, not in my book. That first make out session, that is what these stories portrayed Raven as, even worse than that. Crying, hugging, screaming at Robin because he didn't love her, screaming at Starfire for stealing her man, that's what was the norm in these stories. The second time we saw Raven in Stolen, the quieter, more caring person, that was closer to the real Raven.

And I'm not just talking about one story. There were dozens of the same kind of stories all at once.

I am all for people changing characters. We experiment. We find our own style. We add background and flavour and our own spin on things. If you want to make Starfire into a bitch so she can be the villain in your story, at least have the decency to explain WHY you're doing that. Show how it happened. Don't just say "because I said so" or "its my story, my rules". Don't forget, you're playing in someone else's universe! She's a strong character in her own right, and all of the characters in Teen Titans deserve our respect. It doesn't matter if you don't like them. They are not our characters. We borrow them.

This story was written as an experiment. For myself, to step outside the box and see if I could write outside my comfort zone. I actually have a prechapter to this that showed how Robin and Raven fell for each other. I have notes on Cyborg's reaction, because, honestly, I think he will be the one to exploded, because Starfire and Beast Boy can't.

I have wanted to delete Stolen. I have thought about it. I didn't want the story itself tainted by the author's note here at the bottom. It's a half decent story in itself. But I won't. Not yet.