You guys should know that I listen to music while I write. This born mostly of writer's block.

Disclaimer: Teen Titans belong to DC Comics and Warner Brothers.

Starfire lifted her hands over head as she swayed her lower body in rhythm to the pounding beat of a bass drum. People bumped against her- elbows, chests, hands, knees, feet- but she hardly noticed.

This was one of her favorite places. It was called Starlight Discotheque. She liked the ambiance here. Smoke curled around her body, cutting away as she moved her arm through it only to reform again around her, cocooning her in a warm and dreamlike blanket around at all times. The smoke smelled like chemicals from the fog machine up by the DJ, but there was definitely a twinge of a cigar smell. The smoke alarms were capped, so people smoked in here a lot. Brightly colored lights swirled around on the walls and the floor, making kaleidoscope patterns and reforming, some pulsing with the beat.

The song ended and Starfire took a step back, lowering her arms and panting slightly. She was in excellent shape whatever way you looked at it, but she needed a small break. The already damp and hot air was making her get kind of sweaty, and she was thirsty. She walked through the haze to the bar, where a young-ish boy jumped out of a spinning bar stool and offered it to her. She took it, offering him a grateful smile. He hovered by her shoulder, offering to buy her a drink. Actually, she couldn't hear him over the music, but she knew what he was saying, anyway. It was always like this. She declined the offer.

One man bought her a drink once, and when she sipped it through the thin red straw, her initial instinct had been to gag. It was sickeningly fruity and sweet, and underneath that, there was a terrible taste that reminded Starfire of nail polish remover. She finished it to be polite, and she felt strangely woozy for a while afterward.

She felt a little bit bad as the young man who gave up his seat realized that she wasn't very interested in socializing with him, but she didn't linger on it. He slouched away, disappearing into the haze and crowd. As she watched him disappear, something caught her attention out of the corner of her eye. It was a slight movement, like part of the wall shuffled to the side. She couldn't see anyone standing there, just the dark grey color of the wall. She ran a hand through her hair nervously and swiveled her stool back to the bar.

She ordered herself a soda and the bartender fetched it for her almost straight away. She passed him a tip- an Earth custom that she liked, but confused her endlessly. She usually tipped with the first bill she fished out of her pocket with varying success. The bartender gave her a wide smile and she wondered by how much she over tipped, but was glad she made him happy. She gulped down the soda and hopped out of the chair when the next song came on.

This one was fast with a lot of guitar. She melted into the crowd on the dance floor, dancing to it by herself. As she danced, Starfire thought of the first time she decided to go to a club. They had a mission in one, but it was old and abandoned. The H.I.V.E. students had used it the night before for a party, and things got… explosive. The Titans were called the next day when a few stray devices must have reacted to something and exploded spontaneously. Cyborg guessed that the villains in training left it on a timer so that it would blow up later, but there wasn't any proof. Anyway, the building interested Starfire, and Beast Boy explained to her about clubs and parties. She'd been once with Blackfire, but she didn't really enjoy it then. She was focused on other things.

The first time she went, she wanted Raven to go with her. Of course, the only female on the team left the alien on her own. Starfire went to the club in her uniform and attracted a lot of attention- too much attention. A fight started between her and what turned out to be one of the H.I.V.E. students, and the rest of the Titans were called in. Robin made her promise to at least dress like a civilian when she went out after that.

Right now, she wore a tight black skirt, a black tank top, an orange off the shoulder top with a shimmery peace sign on it and flat, black boots. It wasn't very dressy and it actually covered a lot more of her torso than her uniform. It was comfortable to dance in, though, and she blended in well with it on. There wasn't a lot she could do about the coloring of her eyes, her skin tone, or the shape of her eyebrows, but it was dark in clubs and people only recognized her if she let them dance with her, and sometimes not even then.

The song changed and Starfire turned toward the DJ to get a feel for it. A boy was looking at her from a table that was near the dance floor. She smiled at him and he took that as an invitation. Almost reluctantly, he scraped his chair back and stood up, hesitating before walking over to her.

She smiled softly, interested in what he would do. When he didn't say anything, she danced, mostly swaying gently, until he joined her. "I'm a little nervous," he told her over the music.

"Do not be!" Starfire told him. "Just have fun!"

That was why she was there, anyway. She loved her friends, but lately she'd been looking forward to going out more and more. Raven was like a sister in so many was that Blackfire never was, and Cyborg and Beast Boy entertained her endlessly. And Robin… At the thought of him, her pulse quickened and she felt a nervous fluttering in her stomach. But all her friends were all busy in ways that she never was. Raven was so introverted, which Starfire understood and respected, but the girls had different personalities. Starfire couldn't always rely on Raven to hang out with her whenever she wanted, and sometimes the girls needed breaks from each other. Beast Boy seemed to do little else than play video games in his free time, which Starfire could not get behind. Cyborg was busy updating the T-car. And Robin…

She pulled herself away from her own thoughts. The boy was looking at her expectantly. She blinked, realizing that he probably said something and was waiting for her response, and then threw her head back and laughed, hoping that her reaction would appropriate. Or he could think that she was having such a good time that she couldn't keep it in. She touched his arm lightly to distract him and shouted, "What's your name?"

He blinked at her, but shouted back, "Andrew!" And then his next words were swallowed up by music.

"Kory," Starfire said, assuming his next words were something along the lines of 'what's yours'.

"That's a beautiful name," he said. He hesitated, and then, "It fits you, then."

"What do you mean?" she asked, smiling. She felt her smile falter. She knew she was flirting, and she also knew she shouldn't feel bad about doing it. It wasn't like she was involved with anyone. Especially not Robin. Not that this bothered her...

"A beautiful name for a beautiful girl," Andrew told her, a smile lighting up his face. He had a dimple on one cheek, and Starfire found it very cute. She couldn't decide if his hair color was brown or blonde, and she couldn't tell whether his eyes were green or brown. The lights weren't that great, but Starfire had a feeling that it would be the same in bright daylight. He was definitely cute.

She laughed good-naturedly and stepped closer to him.

The song changed again, this one slower, with a heavy beat and a bass that sounded somehow more synthetic than the last song. The music wub-wub-wub-ed and she moved her hips slowly. She didn't like the sound that much, but the beat was good for dancing.

Andrew put his hand on her waist, a bold move that she decided she liked, and copied her movements. She giggled. It looked funny on him. He frowned and she could almost see a blush coloring his cheeks. He stopped, but before he could step back she grabbed his hand and said, "No, try this…"

She reached out for his wrist and froze, her fingers brushing through the smoky air, her gaze locked over his shoulder. That movement again. She had her communicator tucked safely into her boot, so she wasn't really that worried. She didn't feel threatened at all. She just felt watched.

"Kory?"

She snapped her attention back to him and she smiled, taking his wrist and directing him in movements like he was a child, forgetting about the feeling of being watched and the dark shape against a dark background.

She danced with Andrew for the next hour. She didn't like to stay out too late, and it was already past midnight. With the Titan's schedule, she needed to sleep enough. She couldn't risk being tired in the day. Dancing with Andrew was nice, but it wasn't going to keep her out any later. They walked out to the exit, where there was a huge walk in closet where people could hang their coats up on huge racks. Starfire didn't bring a coat since she didn't get cold very easily, but Andrew pulled her in after him.

She laughed, but it was more forced than she'd had to be with him all night. "I really need to get going now," she reminded him.

He stepped close to her. "I know. I just wanted to say goodbye…"

She tapped her foot impatiently. "We have had plenty of opportunities to say our parting-"

She was interrupted by his mouth over hers. This wasn't the first time since she'd started coming to clubs in Jump City that a boy kissed her, but this was the worst she felt about it. She didn't want to kiss Andrew. But she'd been flirting with him all night. It wasn't his fault that she was thinking of someone else.

She let him kiss her for a few moments. Admittedly, it wasn't unpleasant. His fingers skated through her hair over her neck across her bare shoulders. He put a hand on her hip and pulled her even closer. She didn't notice before how muscular his arms were. She ran her hands over his biceps, and with her eyes shut and the music making it hard to concentrate and his lips on hers, soft and not too aggressive, she had to keep herself from making any sounds. The name on the tip of her tongue was not "Andrew". She was about to tear herself away from him when he murmured, "Samantha," soft and low against her lips.

She tilted her head away. "Excuse me?"

Andrew stepped back from her, and now she could definitely see his blush. "Uh… Oh God." And he said a rude word, which made Starfire step back from him.

"Look, Kory, you're, like, really pretty. You're smoking hot, okay? It's just that, this afternoon my girlfriend- my ex-girlfriend… Oh, God," he groaned again, almost like he was in pain.

She almost wanted to smile. At least she could feel less guilty now. "I understand."

He furrowed his brow. "You what?"

"I understand. It is all right. People make mistakes." She didn't know what else to say, but he suddenly looked hopeful.

"I know. Maybe I should go talk to her." He paused and looked at Starfire.

"Yes!" she encouraged awkwardly. "That often leads to solutions."

"Yeah, you're right. I have to find Samantha and tell her that I just got so upset… that I just couldn't stop thinking about her and I-"

"Yes," Starfire interrupted hastily, "I am sure that all will be well. If you will excuse me, I am going to…" she let her voice trail off as she backed toward the door.

"Right, yeah. You go. I'm going to grab my coat and call Samantha…"

Starfire quickly exited the small room. The door let out on a crowded street, and she was going to duck into an alley so that she could fly away without drawing too much attention to herself.

This time, as well as seeing a blur of a dark shape against an even darker background, she could hear something: a rustling of material, a boot on the concrete sidewalk. She froze, squinting into the darkness. "Hello?" she called, regretting it because her voice sounded shaky and weak. She wasn't scared. She could take on almost anything that might try to attack her.

She wished she hadn't thought that. Her mind filled with doubts and what-ifs. What if the Gordanians had come back to Earth to collect her? She couldn't take them on her own. What about Blackfire? She could fend her off, but she didn't know if she would make it back to the tower for back up. She took off without bothering to be discreet. Her secret identity wasn't very important to her, anyway.

She landed on the roof of the tower after a couple of minutes. She was going to go straight to her room, but she decided to go to the kitchen to grab a handful of chips or pretzels or whatever kind of junk food she could get. She was sort of hungry.

She padded through the tower, her black boots quieter on the carpet than her usual uniform boots. She hoped the security system wasn't up yet. Cyborg or Robin usually put it on at around midnight, unless one of them was still up. Starfire would have to disable it before walking into the kitchen to grab some food and then put it back up as she left. It was too much trouble for a handful of pretzels.

The door slid open and the lights were still on, on the lowest possible setting. That meant someone else had to be up still. She was glad for that. Being the only one awake in the tower sort of freaked Starfire out.

She rummaged through the cabinets quietly, hovering for a better view. They were almost bare, or filled with vegan foods. Starfire didn't mind Beast Boy's dietary habits- actually, she thought tofu was pretty good, with a pleasing texture- but she craved real junk food.

"You're back already?"

She was so startled that she let out a squeak and she crashed in a heap to the ground. She twisted on the ground and stared at a pair of black boots. "Robin!" she yelped, breathless from her bad scare. "You frightened me!"

He didn't answer her. Something was off. She stood up and studied his face, stony and unreadable. "What is the matter?"

His expression didn't change. "Nothing."

"What do you mean, I am back already?" She furrowed her brow at him.

"Forget it. I was just about to close up for the night," he said, dropping his gaze to the floor.

She squinted at him. "Were you waiting for me to get back? You know that you do not have to do that."

He shrugged. "I wasn't. I was just up."

"Were you researching?" She kept her tone soft but serious. "You work much too hard, Robin. Things have been quiet lately."

He shrugged again. "That's when you should be most careful."

Starfire narrowed her eyes at him. Something was wrong. He was being vague and quiet and she could sense his bad mood rolling off him in waves. She hated it when he was in a bad mood and wouldn't tell her why. She loved being around him, and the fact that he was still so guarded hurt.

"Robin. You can tell me what is bothering you." She leaned on the counter and crossed her arms, indicating that she wasn't going anywhere until he did just that.

He balled his hands into fists. It was a quick gesture, touching his fingertips to the heel of his hand and squeezing before letting go. She knew he only did that when he was annoyed.

She let her mouth drop open indignantly. "Have I done something to bother you?"

He didn't answer her, but he looked down at her feet again.

"I have! Robin, it is most unfair of you not to tell me what I have done to offend you. I do not wish to bother you, but I cannot offer a remedy unless you talk to me."

He exhaled loudly and then his words came out clipped and rigid, like he was holding his breath to keep them in. "I don't know, Star. I thought that I knew you. Guess not, though."

"What is that supposed to mean?" she demanded, getting angry.

He glanced away from her before looking at her again and saying, "I was there tonight." A flush of color was creeping its way up his neck.

"What?" She was shocked. She knew he wasn't lying, and suddenly the feeling of being watched and the dark blur made sense.

"I don't know," he said defensively. "Like you said, it's been quiet. And I didn't have a lot to do. I thought I would surprise you."

"So why did you lurk like a hepklar after its prey instead of finding me and letting me know you were there?"

Robin shifted uncomfortably. "I wasn't lurking. I was…" and he muttered something unintelligible.

"You were what?" Starfire demanded impatiently.

"Watching you," he said softly. He looked guilty.

Starfire tilted her head and narrowed her eyes, looking like a feral cat. She was angry at him. She knew that he was angry about Andrew- not that there was anything to be angry about- and that made her feel kind of dizzy. She was angry because he shouldn't have watched her from a distance like they weren't even friends. They could have had a great time together. Just because she hung out with someone else didn't mean Robin got to act possessive and jealous. But the fact that he was possessive and jealous gave her a kind of guilty thrill, and her fingers tingled with a feeling that something between nervousness and excitement.

She steeled her voice. Just because she was happy he was noticing her- really noticing her in ways that she had been hoping he would for a long time now- didn't mean she wasn't mad at him. "Watching me?" she asked in a voice that didn't betray how happy she was.

He lowered his head. "You looked so… You were so…" He lifted his head and gave her a pleading look that almost crushed her resolve to stay angry at him. But then his look hardened. "But I didn't know that it was so easy for you to just… meet other guys."

"I can meet whomever I wish." She knew that he was using the word meet to mean 'hook up with', but she was going to ignore that. "And I can have whatever types of interactions that I want with them." She paused, meeting his stony look with one of her own. "It is not as though there is anything going on between you and me to stop that, Robin." Plus, she added in her head, we didn't really hook up, it was more like a misunderstanding. But it made her angry that he just assumed that she kissed a different guy every time she went out, so she kept that to herself for now.

She felt that she had achieved a kind of terrible victory when a look of dread crossed over his face. He never wanted to talk about their "us". She knew that Robin liked her, and he had to know that she liked him. But he made it clear that they had to put the team before themselves, which she had done. But after the attacks from the Brotherhood of Evil, she thought things would change. Didn't he realize that they had to enjoy each other as much as they could? Who knew what could happen to them at any time? If something separated the two of them from each other forever at this moment, Starfire would feel so much regret. She loved him- something she only admitted to herself in private- and she'd never even kissed him. Well, once, but that was different.

"Starfire," he said, sounding really tired. His mouth worked and strangled gurgling noises bubbled up from his throat before he could make intelligible words come out. "You know that there are… (gurgle, gurgle) …feelings between us."

She wanted to roll her eyes. Why was it so hard for him to admit that he liked her? She already knew it, anyway. Wasn't that supposed to be the hardest part? And she'd made it clear that she returned his feelings. He was making this so much messier than it had to be.

"Yes," she said instead, "but you have been unclear of your intentions. And it is unfair of you to ask me to wait for you to make up your mind." She would, though. She would wait forever, no matter how horribly empty it made her feel. She didn't tell him that now. He shouldn't ask her to do that. "And, Robin, it was just kissing."

His head, which was lowered in embarrassment or tiredness or whatever else, snapped up suddenly. He stepped forward, staggering, like someone was pulling too jerkily on puppet strings. "Just kissing?" he hissed. His jaw muscle fluttered a few times before bulging in his jaw.

Starfire pressed herself against the counter, suddenly afraid of his unexpected intensity. She didn't know if he was accusing her of lying or something else, but she wished he would stop. He looked up at her and she said, "It was not done out of real feeling… I mean, Robin, I was not thinking of that boy."

He grabbed onto the counter on her left, using it to steady himself. He took a deep breath and looked at her, a question on his face that she knew that he would never ask her. Who were you thinking of?

She turned her eyes to him, trying to convey her answer, which should have been obvious, to him without speaking. She tried to make her expression soft and warm and a little sad.

Robin was resting a hand on the counter, still breathing like he was trying to catch his breath, but looking more stable now. She looked across at him. He was getting tall. His eyes were almost level with hers, and hair included, he was taller. She often wondered when he would make the switch to Nightwing. She was actually kind of dreading it. Nightwing, when she met him, seemed to be level headed and good (not to mention attractive), but the name Robin was so familiar to her that she couldn't imagine having to change it.

And then he was in front of her. She didn't remember him moving closer to her. Or maybe she moved closer to him.

She felt a pang of guilt. She didn't mean to upset Robin. Things just got carried away. "Robin," she said softy, reaching her hand out and putting it on his arm, trying to make him understand in any way she could, "It really was not… It was just an action, devoid of meaning or-"

She let out a muffled squeak as he pulled her to him roughly with a jerk of his arms and slanted his lips over hers. He held her wrists in his hands, like she might try to get away from him. She was too shocked to respond to even consider getting away. He kissed her hard, making her dizzy and somewhat limp. He put a hand around her waist, still holding her wrist in his other hand. He pulled away from her, breathing hard.

He looked shocked. He looked like he'd just done something wrong and he'd been caught. His hand on her hip dropped to the side, but he held on to her wrist like it was a buoy. "Star," he murmured, his voice coming out kind of gruff, "I didn't mean- I mean-"

She took her wrist from his hand and threw both of them around his neck. She leaned forward caught his mouth with hers. He slipped both hands to her waist. Suddenly, Starfire wished she was wearing her uniform. He pressed against her, kind of hurting her where the countertop dug into her lower back, but she didn't care. His hands slid up from her hips to cup her face. He kissed her slowly, and Starfire couldn't focus on anything except the touch of Robin's fingers, the pressure of his mouth on hers, and the loud and quick beating of her own heart.

He tangled his fingers in her hair, and if she didn't have her arms around his neck she was sure she would melt into a puddle on the ground at his feet. He slid one hand to the small of her back and detached their lips. Embarrassingly, she made a sad whimpering, and he kissed her lips once before dipping his head down. She thought he was going to say something to her, whisper in her ear maybe, but he shocked her by pressing a trail light, quick kisses down her neck. She gasped.

On Tamaran, kissing is used for a transfer of knowledge, like when she kissed Robin on her first day on Earth. Tamaraneans, however, also used kissing as an intimate and romantic gesture between two people. On Earth, kissing had different meanings, too. It was used between family members and friends as a sweet, non-romantic gesture. Starfire understood that. But she'd never heard of kissing any other parts besides mouths before she came to Earth. She'd seen it done a few times. At parks or in clubs. She never thought it would feel this good.

She tilted her head, giving him more room. Her breath hitched as his lips brushed against her skin, and she was happy that she wasn't wearing her uniform, with the high metal collar. Her heart thrummed dangerously fast against her ribs. He stopped in his ministrations and sucked hard on the sensitive part above her collarbone. She gasped and pushed him away from her.

"Robin!" she panted.

He pulled away from her and smiled, looking almost sleepy. It was the same kind of smile she had after she drank that drink that made her feel woozy. "I'm sorry," he said, his voice still gruff. He didn't look sorry. He looked kind of amused.

She looked at his feet. She loved him. She wanted to tell him. She wished that he would just know. She was even more confused now. Were they 'a thing' now? "Robin?" she asked.

He cleared his throat. "Yes?"

"Earth protocol states that such amorous affairs as these are reserved for the boys who friends and the girls who are friends." She bit her lip and watched him warily.

He rubbed at his eyes under his mask. "Starfire. The way that I feel about you… it's not how friends feel about their friends."

She squinted at him. "You do not-?"

"I like you," he bit out as though the words were stuck in his mouth like peanut butter. He looked at her, a softness on his face that didn't match the tone he was using. "A lot."

A surge of excitement whooshed from her toes to her head. "Then I do not see the-"

"I can't… do that."

And then it dropped from the crown of her head through her stomach to her toes, like lead. "You cannot like me a lot?"

He shook his head. "Starfire, I lead the Titans. I can't have a g- I can't have any distractions."

She sighed, suddenly tired. "You keep doing this to me," she muttered.

"I keep what?" he asked, a hint of panic in his voice.

"With your actions, you make me think that you like me as much as I like you. And then, with your words, you remind me that you don't. Like a…" she mimed yo-yoing with her finger.

Robin sighed. "A yo-yo."

"Yes." She stopped. She didn't have anything left to say, except the words that had been on the tip of her tongue, brushing at her teeth for freedom. She clamped her mouth shut. Now was not the time.

"Star, I do like you. A lot. I think you're…" He gurgled a little and Starfire dully imagined what he must be trying to force through his teeth. Pretty. Smart. Funny. Nice. "…cool." He grimaced as the word left his mouth.

It was so pathetic, she almost smiled. She pushed herself away from the counter, away from Robin, and stood in front of the door. "That is the problem," she said quietly, without turning to look at him. "You like me a lot. And I…" she swallowed past a lump in her throat. "…I love you, Robin." There. She said it. She studied her boots. She couldn't stand to see his reaction. He didn't say anything, so she let herself out of the common room, throwing a good night over her shoulder.

Tears welled in her eyes. She looked up at the ceiling and tried to blink them away, but they cascaded down her cheeks. She wiped them away and walked on autopilot through the Tower. She stopped crying before she reached her room. She was too unsurprised to cry much.

The color seemed too bright, too happy, and Silkie wasn't even there for her to cuddle. He must have gone to sleep in Beast Boy's room. She grabbed the edge of her blankets and tugged, completely unmaking the bed. She sat with her feet hanging off the bed, the duvet wrapped around her so that it covered her lower body to her knees and snaked up behind her and sat over her head like a hood, then continued down and sheltered her side from the cool air. She was trying to work up the motivation to wash her face and change into pajamas and get into bed. She was considering just falling asleep sitting up with her boots on when a tiny knock came from the other side of the door.

She looked dully at it. The knock came in and, very quietly, she said, "Come in," mostly hoping that he wouldn't hear her.

Robin opened the door a crack and peeked in. Starfire found herself wishing that she changed into pajamas and laid down in her bed like a normal person. Maybe, if he saw her lying in bed already, he would have left.

He stepped in and closed the door behind him softly. He walked over to her and put his hands on the mattress so that he was looking right in her eyes. He was uncomfortably close. "I love you, Starfire," he said clearly before leaning forward and kissing her softly.

A feeling that was easiest to describe as a bubble of electricity bursting inside her stomach overwhelmed everything else. She untangled her hands from inside her duvet cocoon, pulling him onto the mattress, never letting any space come between their lips.

After about a minute, they broke for air. Robin cupped her face and stroked his thumb over her cheek.

She didn't ask whether he changed his mind, or if they were now 'a thing'. It didn't matter. He loved her. He loved her. She kept repeating him saying it in her mind. His voice. The careful articulation. His face when he said it.

He pulled at the duvet, an amused smile on his face. "What are you doing?"

She smiled at him. She unwrapped herself and threw the duvet over her mattress and smoothed it out. She pulled it back so that she could crawl under it. Robin moved toward the door but Starfire shuffled forward quickly on her knees and grabbed his hand. "Please," she said, her voice soft and quiet, but pleading in articulation, "stay with me."

He looked surprised. He glanced at the door and his jaw muscle fluttered. She made herself remain kneeling on the bed, when really she wanted to stand up and press her lips against his jaw. He turned to her, then he sat on the edge of her bed and kicked his shoes off. "Okay."

She smiled at him. She took her boots off, remembering to take her communicator and put it on the bedside table, and snuggled into his chest. She liked that he was there. The bed seemed so much warmer, so much softer.

He kissed the top of her head, and as she was drifting asleep, she could hear him saying "I love you" in a sleepy voice.

It's not that I disapprove of songfics, I just don't like them much. I think it limits your readership, because usually, people unfamiliar with the song in the fic won't read it or get the same enjoyment out of a fic that has a song in it. Plus, there are a million ways to interpret a song. And I'm pretty against putting pop-culture in fics, especially in ones like Teen Titans where making stuff up is so easy and usually already done for you. Besides, while making a BBRae fic to What Makes You Beautiful might not be inaccurate, it immediately feels out of character for Raven, if not for both. So I had music on my brain and I did this instead of an outright songfic. What do you guys think about songfics? Do you think what I've done is a better alternative or too vague?