Confused.
Summary: Starfire thought she loved Robin. But then she met Richard Grayson…
I DO NOT OWN TEEN TITANS…etc…you know the drill…
Robin was the first to leave.
"I need to sort things out," he said and left that very night. It was the day before his 20th birthday.
Starfire went next. She couldn't bear living in a house and city that held so many memories of him. Everyone saw the hurt in her eyes as she announced she would leave as well. It was only a month after Robin left. The rest of the Titans held tighter to each other, for fear one more of them would run off too.
Most people thought Starfire went back to Tamaran. But she didn't. She went to Gotham City, the place where she knew Robin had once lived, hoping she would maybe find him there.
--
Starfire alighted on the rooftop of one of the many tall buildings. It was night, yet the lights shining from the shop windows, from the streetlamps lining the roads, and from the cars' headlights lit up the city. Starfire noticed there were far more cars and far less stars.
"Help!" came a cry from the ground. Starfire immediately flew off towards the source of the sound. Two men were walking along, one with a bag slung over his shoulder. They tried to blend in with the crowd, but the shop owner was making that hard to do. Starfire shot two starbolts at each of them. They toppled over immediately. 'All the training Robin made us do truly did do the paying off,' Starfire thought grimly. She swept the bag from the robbers' midst. She turned around to return whatever was in the bag to the proper owner.
"ZLING"
Something that sounded a lot like Robin's bird-a-rang whizzed behind her. She spun around and found herself face to face with-
"Robin?" she said incredulously.
"Hi, I'm guessing you're that Starfire, right?"
"But Robin is…I…"
"You should be more careful." said Batman. "He pulled out his gun when you had your back turned."
"Thank you for the assistance and advice. But there are two Robins?"
"The first one is the one you know, but Batman needed another sidekick!" the boy said.
"We need to go." Batman said and made to walk away.
"Oh, please, will you advise me also on where to stay?" Starfire called out.
Batman stared at her, though not unkindly.
After a moment he spoke. "Go to that house and ask for Bruce Wayne." Then he disappeared into the night.
"We're gonna let her stay at our house?" said a wide-eyed Tim.
"Yes."
"Uh, you feeling okay?"
Glare.
--
Starfire stood in front of the large door. The whole building was rather intimidating. She bit her lip and pressed the doorbell. An elderly man opened the door.
"Ah, Miss Starfire. Please, come in. Your room is on the 3rd floor, second door to the right. I am the butler. You may call me Alfred."
"Thank you," Starfire said with a small smile. This Alfred made her feel relaxed. "May I inquire how you had known I would be here?"
"Master Bruce informed me of your coming."
--
Starfire flipped the switch on. The light illuminated a simple but clean room. The dark wood of the furniture contrasted pleasingly with the yellow bedcovers and pale lemon papered walls. Noticing another door to her right, she opened it to find a bathroom complete with towels and soap.
She closed the bathroom door, quite happy.
The first thing she did was empty her bag on the bed and put her clothes in the drawers and closet. Most of it was casual – why else would Starfire have gone so many times to the shopping mall? She wanted to find Robin, but she didn't want to be seen as Starfire here. There would be too much attention. And anyway…
Flashback
Robin turned his back on the rest of the team, his backpack slung on his back.
"Robin…" Starfire called after him, but he didn't even look back.
She flew over to him and gently put a hand on his shoulder from behind. He stopped.
"Leave me alone." His voice was so cold…
"Robin, I…"
"Just leave me alone!" He shoved her hand off so hard that she slightly staggered backwards. She stared at him with wide, frightened eyes. Without a second glance, he stepped over the threshold and was gone. After that day, she could never pass through those doors without closing her eyes tight.
Starfire brushed a lone tear from her eye. She laughed bitterly, an act that didn't suit her. Funny, she still loved him with every fiber in her body. She believed that he still loved her too. Or maybe that was just a vain hope she had. But just the day before he had held her tight and shared a kiss with her…as if he loved her…Still, sometimes she wondered if the reason he left was because of her.
Anyway, she wasn't taking any chances. She picked out a white hooded shirt with a single green leaf on the front and a pair of jeans. She looked critically into the mirror. She needed to do something with her hair, but she couldn't bear the thought of cutting it. Starfire fished around the dressing table drawer. Her eyes landed on a green scrunchie. She picked it up. Unfortunately, the logo on the corner of it was an R. She stared down at it for a moment, and then twisted it around her long hair to make a high ponytail. She bit her lip, still far from contented. Her eyes brightened and she picked up the hairbrush. She brushed her bangs flat. They did the double duty of changing her appearance and hiding her unusual eyebrows. Finally satisfied, she smiled and changed into her nightgown. She slipped under the cheery bedcovers and drifted into sleep.
--
She woke to a tapping sound.
"Miss Starfire, breakfast will be ready in ten minutes. I will come back to escort you." said a vaguely familiar voice through the wood of the door.
The mentioned girl sat up and rubbed her eyes. She glanced at the Mumbo clock she'd brought from the tower. It was already seven thirty. Starfire hurriedly put on the outfit she'd picked out the night before.
Exactly ten minutes later, Alfred knocked on the door once more.
"Miss Starfire, are you ready?"
"Yes, Alfred," she said and opened the door.
"Follow me," Alfred said and started down the stairs.
Starfire's eyes turned round as saucers as she followed him through the house. Alfred glanced over his shoulder and smiled.
"It is rather a large house," he said.
"Yes, I have never seen such a large accommodation before. It is quite cavernous."
"It's a pain taking care of it."
He opened a door through the soft sound of conversation was drifting. Starfire balked at the door looking at Alfred nervously. Alfred just gave her a reassuring smile and gestured for her to step inside.
The sound of conversation ceased suddenly as the door opened and revealed Starfire. She froze and barely registered three people sitting at the table. An awkward silence passed for longer than she wanted. The oldest looking of the three stood up and spoke, breaking the moment.
"Good morning Miss Starfire. I am Bruce Wayne. Please, take a seat."
She flashed a grateful smile and sat in the proffered chair, not noticing that the young man sitting in front of her was coughing, having inhaled a quantity of milk.
"Good morning to you all! I thank you for your hospitality, Mr. Wayne."
"It was nothing. I hope you're room was satisfactory?"
"Very much, I thank you again."
Bruce smiled at her answer and spoke again.
"This is Tim Drake," A young boy with dark hair flashed a smile at her then returned to his cereal.
"And this is Dick Grayson." Starfire turned to him, smiling, intending to say hello. The young man with long, black as night hair looked up from his plate of toast. Green eyes locked onto blue eyes, blue eyes that reminded her of the ocean; clear, deep, haunting and expressive.
"Hi." Starfire started at the voice. She knew that voice!
"Hello," she said, still scrutinizing his face with a curious expression on her face.
"They are both my adopted sons." Bruce said. Starfire looked away from Dick's face, and noticed a plate of hot toast in front of her. Thanking Alfred, she started on her breakfast, half-listening to the general conversation going around her.
"Well then, I must be going. Tim, don't be late for school." Starfire looked up at Bruce's voice.
"And Dick, you'll be Miss Starfire's escort for the duration of her stay."
He stood up to leave.
"Um, Mr. Wayne, Dick Grayson, Tim Drake, if you need to mention me to others, refer to me as Kori Anders please."
His face remained unchanged as he replied, "Sure. Now, I'll be going. Tim, go grab your bag if you want a ride."
"No thanks, I'll walk."
Bruce and Alfred left the room.
"Hi, call me Tim. What should I call you?" Tim asked Starfire.
"Kori, please." Tim nodded.
"Hey, I need to go to school now, so see you later!" Tim left the room.
"So, do you want me to call you Kori too?" Dick asked.
"When we are outside of this house, yes. What do I call you?"
"Dick. Though my full name is Richard."
--
"So-o, what do you want to do?"
Dick and Kori were sitting on opposite ends of the sofa. The TV was on, but no one was really watching, and both were bored out of their minds.
"I have none of the ideas," Kori replied. "The only idea I have at the moment is that this program is the pointless and that I wish to stop watching before it 'rots my brains' as Robin always has said."
"I don't want to watch this either!" Dick declared and snapped off the TV. "Now we might do something worthwhile, or am I free for the day?"
Kori looked at Dick. "I do wish I could see the city…" she said shyly.
"Sure," shrugged Dick. "That's fine with me."
And before Kori knew it, she was riding behind Dick, someone who she had met for ONLY A FEW HOURS on his motorcycle. But somehow, she felt as if she had known him for a very, very long time.
--
Breathless and cold, but laughing at the same time, Dick and Kori entered the manor once more.
"Master Dick, Miss Anders, nice to see you again," said Alfred with a very arched eyebrow that was threatening to disappear into his hairline.
"Sorry we're so late, Alfred!" Dick said cheerily waving his hand to the not very amused butler as he and Kori swept up the stairs.
"Yes, I can see that," said an ever-sarcastic Alfred, glancing at the clock. It said ten minutes to ten.
"And Master Bruce wants to see you!"
--
"They've been gone long enough!" said an exasperated Tim. "We need to go on patrol!"
"A little patience never hurt. Anyway, you can go first. I need to talk to Dick, not you."
"Yeah, and miss seeing lover boy's expression while you give him a talking to? Never." Tim fiddled with the edge of his shirt, glaring at the clock. Then he brightened and snapped his fingers.
"Oh, right, you never really told me why you're letting Kori stay here."
A rather malicious grin seeped into Bruce's features.
"Dick needs to learn how to take care of his own problems."
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Hmm…Dick's going a bit fast, isn't he??
So, how'd you like the first chapter? You can tell me by reviewing! Isn't that such a good idea?