Beach Baby

Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans… but I DO own this nifty can of Pringles…

Today was perfect. Absolutely perfect. The Titans were taking a well-deserved day off at the beach, and Robin couldn't have been enjoying himself more. The sun was shining beautifully golden and warming the pristine white sand under his bare feet, the ocean was a deep azure blue that sparkled with foam and drifted a jovial roar to the ears as its speeding waves plummeted into shore with playful sprays of briny water. Her hair was flowing about her shoulders in coiling auburn tresses, and the sea-water had plastered her bangs to her forehead in such a way that her emerald eyes just peeked out from under the ruby curtain. Her cheeks were flushed with delight at her first outing to Jump City Beach and her upturned face soaked in the summer heat. She had just emerged from a swim between the sandbars and was standing ankle deep; laughing as Beast boy came floundering up the beach in seal form. He'd never seen so much of her amber-toned skin before today, having traded her one-piece pool swimsuit for a flattering little two-piece colored in pale violet. Her long legs were bare; the beads of water that ran down her body were catching the sunlight like little prisms and glittering with a diamond-like sheen.

To say the least, Robin wasn't enjoying the ocean scenery as much as he was appreciating the figure of his best friend in a bikini.

Pervert. Raven's voice flooded his head. The Boy Wonder jumper in surprise and turned to glare at the empath. She opened one eye and met his stare before closing it and returning to her meditation. She hadn't come by free will. In fact, she was only here so as to get out of baby-sitting Starfire's grotesque little pet, Silkie. She had remained nearly in full uniform, albeit replacing her leotard with a black one-piece. She'd left her belt at home as well. "Shut up, Raven," Robin snapped. Raven opened an eye again.

"Whatever," she replied sagely. He gave and irritated groan and decided now would be a good time to go for a swim, where he could leave all cranky half-demons high on the dunes. Robin tugged off his shirt and let it fall carelessly on his towel. He jogged down the beach towards Star and Beast Boy. BB had swum out a bit and had shifted into dolphin form so he could do flips high into the air. Starfire laughed and applauded as the changeling made a particularly large splash as he hit the water.

Robin grinned fondly and came up behind her, grabbing her about the waist and pulling her to him abruptly. Starfire squeaked in surprise, the yelp turning to another elated giggle as she recognized her captor. "Robin!" she grinned. "Have you come to do the swimming with friend Beast Boy and I?" she asked brightly. Robin nodded.

"Yep, hey… where's Cyborg?" Robin asked, suddenly realizing his metal friend was nowhere to be seen. Starfire snorted.

"He has gone to see if he can rent a buggy of the dunes. I suspect he shall not return for some times," she replied. Robin shook his head.

"You're probably right about that one," he agreed. She shrugged.

"No matter, he is enjoying himself, I am sure. Now come, let us go swim," she directed, bottle green eyes sparkling with delight. He nodded and she took his wrist, tugging him further into the water. Robin followed obediently until they were about chest high and Starfire let go of him and dove into the next wave. She shot up out of the water a moment later, emerging in a spray of sea-foam. She hovered in front of him, high enough that her feet just barely caressed the ocean. Robin decided this must have been what the first sighting of Aphrodite had looked like in the ancient Greek myths.

You're pathetic… Raven's voice chimed in his mind. Robin grimaced. Raven, can't you just STAY OUT OF MY HEAD! Robin mentally snapped back. On the beach, Raven opened her eyes and glared at the boy in the water. Can't you stop being so mushy? She retorted. Robin growled. Raven, out. Now. He ordered. He felt Raven's presence leave his head. Starfire was staring quizzically at him now, having lowered herself back into the water.

"Friend Robin?" she asked, tilting her head in puzzlement. Robin flushed, and mentally cursed Raven. Up where Raven was seated, meditating, a smirk lit her face. Messing with him was such entertainment…

"Uh, it was just Raven. Being stupid," he assured her. Starfire nodded in understanding.

"It must be strange having a mental bond with her…" Star commented. Robin nodded.

"You have no idea," he muttered. He still couldn't believe Raven had said he was being mushy… I mean, mushy! Starfire sighed, amused. She found Robin rather cute when he was vexed. Starfire's placid features suddenly contorted into distressed surprise. She gave a profoundly frightened "eel" and blasted up into the air. "Star!" Robin yelped.

"Something grabbed my ankle…" Starfire's fright turned to irritation as Beast Boy's head popped up from under the water, crowing with laughter. His enthused howls died down as he saw the not-so-amused glare on Robin's face. Starfire had flopped back down and was pouting, her arms crossed over her chest in distaste. "Beast Boy…" Robin warned. The green teen gave a high-pitched squeal and began to swim rapidly away, Robin in swift pursuit. Starfire watched them for a moment.

"He's rather protective of you, isn't he…?" Raven mused. Starfire looked up, startled to see her dark friend hovering a good few feet over the water, levitated on a black disc of energy. She blushed.

"I-I suppose," she stuttered. Raven lifted a brow at Starfire's surprised awkwardness.

"You act like you never considered the fact Robin treats you specially," Raven said, her voice laced with slight amusement. Starfire seemed honestly blind to her leader's more-than-friendly affections. The red-head dropped her gaze, cheeks colored with embarrassment.

"Well… he does not treat me… particularly special. He is my best friend but…" she stumbled over the words. Raven looked up to see Robin making his way back over to them, moving easily through the water with a suspicious look on his face as he eyed Raven. Raven shrugged.

"Sure. If that's really what you think," Raven interjected. With that, the violet-haired sorceress took the shape of a black raven and flew back to the beach before Robin returned. As he came up, Starfire let her hair fall like a wall in front of her face, hiding her crimson-stained cheeks. Robin didn't help her embarrassment much when he pulled her into a friendly hug. Have you seen him hug anyone else on the team? Raven's voice came as a faint whisper in the back of her head, her ability to speak in Star's mind was not as strong because she did not have a full mental bond… only what was left after the two girls had switched bodies for a time.

"What did Raven say?" Robin asked carefully, tilting her face up to meet eyes with him… or the best they could considering his mask. Starfire's already prominent blush deepened.

"N-nothing," Star squeaked. Robin lifted a brow. Starfire sighed, going limp in his arms. "She implied that you treat me specially…" the girl muttered. Robin laughed and Starfire looked up, surprised. Did he find that funny for some reason?

"Of course I treat you specially. You're my best friend," he said with a lop-sided grin. Starfire joined in his laughter, but weakly. She coughed.

"Um… no. She implied a bit further than treating me as a special friend…" Starfire bit her lip and looked down at the water bashfully. She felt truly humiliated for even suggesting such an idea. Robin was quiet for a second, part of which time was spent mentally swearing Raven till kingdom come. Still, he refused to loose his collected composure.

"Well, what do you think about that?" he asked. Starfire bit down on her lip a bit harder.

"I… am not sure…" she mumbled. Robin found himself smiling at her reluctance to give an opinion. He nodded slowly.

"Ok…" he said. Then, without warning, he ducked under the water and grabbed her ankle, tugging her beneath the waves with him. As she submerged, he quickly sought out her lips and placed a light kiss to them. They resurfaced. Starfire was staring at him with goose-egg sized eyes. "I guess I kind of have to agree with Raven on that one," he admitted. Starfire continued to just stare, blinking a few times as if to help her fathom this idea better. Robin cocked his head to the side. "Does it bother you?" he asked. Starfire shook her head numbly.

"Not at all," she replied finally. Robin grinned and tugged her into his arms, kissing her again but this time allowing his lips to linger over hers. You're welcome. To thank me, you can get a room and not subject me to this disgusting display of affect—Robin blocked out the rest of Raven's voice.

Beast Boy came slinking up the beach to sit beside Raven, clutching his knees to his chest and rocking back and forth. Raven looked at him with mild curiosity.

"What happened to you?" she asked blankly. Beast Boy looked over at Raven with big eyes.

"Robin subjected me to psychological torture," BB whimpered. Raven blinked.

"How so?"

"He told me if I ever tried to scare Star again he would make you create a mental bond with me so you could talk in my head…" the changeling sobbed, pointing pitifully at his noggin. Raven sighed and banged her head against the pole supporting their beach umbrella. Robin, you're such a dork. She thought. But she was quite sure the Boy Wonder never heard her, and if he had he was much to occupied to care.

Author's Note: MWAHAHA! I have finally finished Beach Baby! It took me a while to get going with this one. I think that's cause I'm too obsessed with working out all the details for my next fic "When The Angels Fell Silent." This one's a little humerous... I guess... Oh, JulesFire, if you're reading this, I just wanted to say thanks for the review on Simplicity of Affection. I thought you left cause I didn't see any new one-shots from you and all... I'm glad to see you're still around! Oh, and for all of you who thought I was being profound on Simplicity of Attraction... thanks for the compliment! Oh, and lemme have a Woot Woot for Stranded! Can you say Rob/Star goodness! Reviews appreciated! BTW, I said oh al lot in this A/N...

Love, Princess Starfire of Tamaran