Disclaimer: I don't own the Titans. They belong to DC and Warner Bros.

Broken record moment: Aussie, spelling, slang, word usage is all different.

Author's Note:

So, as you can guess, this is based on the American concept of the various stages of intimacy. We don't use the concept of 'Bases' in Australia (as far as I know), since we're not terribly big baseball fans. (C'mon, some of us still use the word 'pashing' for making out.)

Before you go and tell me that my bases are wrong, I have checked a lot of sites regarding this, and they're all different. You can't even make up your own minds. And yes, I asked Katergator and Star of Airdrie, and you know what? Both of them had different opinions on it.

As pulled from Wiki:

First base - mouth to mouth kissing, especially open mouth ("French") kissing involving the tongue.
Second base - aggressive stimulation between the neck and waist, usually shirtless or under the shirt.
Third base - manual or oral stimulation of the genitalia.
Home run (Fourth base) - the act of penetrative intercourse.

That's the model I used. Don't like it, tough.

So, yeah. They'll be four chapters to this; I think you can guess the names. I'm still contemplating on the final chapter and how descriptive I want to be. Also, I do play on Starfire being an alien a lot more than I usually do. I've wanted to do this for a while, thought it would be better now than later.

Big fat warning: Candid conversation of a sexual nature. Mild language. ADULT CONTENT. Rated M accordingly. Very little actual plot involved in this one.

If you are underage, you should not be reading this! I will not be your sexual education hotline. I don't mind imparting some knowledge but this is not like my other stories where there's plot and other things going on and you can skip over the naughty bits if you want.

Seriously, if I see anyone fifteen and under faving this, I will pull the story. I'll go post it on Literotica or something and amp up the M rating. I do try to keep things clean, but c'mon.

First.

There's no misunderstanding that Robin and Starfire's first kiss was in Tokyo. It was raining, he blundered, she basically told him to shut up and the whole world seemed to spin as their lips finally met.

Hitting first base was a different matter.

See, the problem, not that Robin could blame her for this, was that Starfire really didn't understand a kiss. Not really. Lip contact and the fact that it meant more to a human, yeah, she grasped that concept quite quickly, especially since she was the one who essentially opened Robin's eyes to the fact that they could be kissing. Unfortunately for Robin, that was about the extent of her knowledge.

They weren't running short on affection. She liked holding his hand. She liked to snuggle in his arms as they watched movies. He loved to spar with her. They loved to cuddle. But she had no clue about the different sorts of kisses.

Mind you, he did understand she wouldn't know there were different sorts. Romance movies were in short supply in the Tower, three guys and Raven that absolutely refused to watch them. They mostly watched horror or action, the types of movies that if they had kissing, there were no real close ups of people's mouths, or prolonged lip contact. Even if they had sex, it was sort of in a darkened room, where their mouths were hidden and only silhouettes shown. And it wasn't as though Starfire could spy on other couples to see the different sorts.

She thought they were all the quick pressing of her lips to his, a hello, a goodbye, a small show of human affection.

Small, being the operative word. Kissing Starfire was always very short. Too short for Robin's liking. Sometimes he got a longer kiss from her, but it was still basically innocent. At least she didn't say 'muah' or pucker her lips up like a child would. It was always sort of at the end of a movie. Or as they passed each other in the hallway. And while that had been alright for a while, since he really wasn't into public displays of affection and the little pecks were fine around the other Titans, it was now becoming problematic. He wanted more.

However, the very first time he managed to detain her for a lengthier kiss, her lips yielding to increased pressure and parting, as he licked her lips with his tongue, she recoiled like he'd hit her.

Her eyes wide, he couldn't tell what emotion was running through her, horror, fear or disgust, because it certainly wasn't curiosity. She placed the tips of her fingers to her lips and looked at him. "Robin?"

He went red. "Um…"

"You… ahh… I do not understand."

"Err…"

"Is it normal for humans to try to eat their partners?"

His eyes widened behind his mask. "Eat?"

She was regarding him with a sense of scepticism. "You… tasted me… yes?"

"Um… well… kind of…"

"The sensory organ of the tongue, it is what humans use to taste… or is it like the feline? You were… licking me to clean me?" She turned embarrassed, holding her hand in front of her mouth. "Do I have something on my teeth?"

How did the ground get so boggy so quick? Robin rubbed the back of his neck, desperately wishing he could just melt into the ground to avoid explaining. How can she know about kissing but not about making out? "No. That's not it. Your teeth are fine. I just… um… um… you know…" He floundered before he hit on some inspiration. "You know how in movies? When you see people kissing on the screen?"

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Yes," she answered, wary, dropping her hands away from her mouth.

Embarrassed, he pressed on. "And you know how when we go to the park, sometimes we see couples lying down beside each other and they're kissing?"

"Yes."

"And… the way they kiss, it always seems… more… than what we do, doesn't it?"

She pondered that. "They do seem to be rather vigorous although they do not like to be watched and are most angry about it. Why do they conduct lip contact in public if they do not wish to be witnessed?"

Interesting question. "I… don't really know." He waved his hand. "But that's not the point. The point is what they're doing with their mouths."

She scrunched up her nose, looking like a cute rabbit, an expression she always got when she was trying to figure things out. "I am not certain I understand."

"Well… their mouths are moving, aren't they?"

She frowned as she thought about it. "I… never noticed… yes… their mouths do seem to move. And they appear to kiss for a lot longer than we do."

"And they use their tongues," Robin explained.

She went wary. "So… you wish to try this prolonged lip contact with the use of tongue with me?"

It sounded so clinical when she said it. "It's called 'making out'," he said. "You've heard that expression before?"

She nodded.

"It's just like kissing," he said. "Only… it's a lot of kisses in a row, not like what we've been doing. It can lead to open mouth, tongue kisses."

She tapped her fingers together. "I see."

"I'd like to try that with you… if that's okay?"

She was uncertain. "Tongue kisses?"

He nodded.

She looked lost. "I am… unsure."

He hid his disappointment, something he was very good at. "That's okay," he said. "We don't have to."

She blinked. "It is not that… I do not wish to try," she said.

"It's okay," he said hastily. "Don't worry about it. It was a silly idea anyway—"

"I do not wish to disappoint your expectations."

"No, Star, I wouldn't be disappointed. I don't expect us to be very good at it at first," he said, sounding as awkward as he felt. "I just thought… it could be nice. Y'know?"

She didn't appear to know at all, still looking confused and uncertain.

He smiled at her. "Hey, look, don't worry about it," he said, his body going into 'I did something stupid, must run away' mode. "I've got a bit of work to do, I'll see you later."

He strode off down the hallway, leaving a very confused Starfire behind. He didn't go to his office, instead he went to his bedroom and banged his head against the wall, calling himself stupid.

Of course, about thirty seconds into his head banging, there was a knock at the door. "Robin?"

He couldn't exactly hide or brush her off, she would have followed him. Starfire was being polite; their bedrooms weren't exactly common territory since they rarely spent time in them when they were together. And she sounded concerned, especially because she knocked again.

He sighed and turned around, back braced against the wall and looking straight up. "You can come in."

The door swished open and Starfire stepped in far enough so that the door closed behind her. "Greetings."

"Hey," he murmured, then dropped his head from the wall. "Sorry about that…"

"You are frustrated."

He sighed and pushed away from the wall and walked over to the window. "Yeah. It's not anything you did," he quickly said. "It's just… we're so different. It makes things difficult." He cringed as a thought occurred to him and he twisted back to Starfire. "It's not that I don't like us being in relationship. I like that you're different."

She smiled sadly, her fingers threaded together as she regarded him. "I, too, share your frustrations."

"You do?"

She nodded. "I understand I do not do things as a normal Earth girl would do and I realise that grieves you, especially when you need to explain Earthen traditions to me. Like the making out. It is something that is a natural progression of an Earthen relationship, yes?"

He nodded. "Yeah, it is."

"Similarly, there are many things I know you cannot do with me because you are not a Tamaranian boy."

That surprised him, she'd never voiced anything like that before. "I can't? What do you want to do that's Tamaranian?"

She dropped her eyes. "You cannot share your energies with me. Nor can you fly."

"Fly?"

"There are certain… intimacies… that can only be conducted in the air," she explained. "I understand you will never be able to do that."

"You could carry—"

"Shared flight," she continued, looking down at the ground. "A couple would fly as close as they could together without touching. Face to face, stare into one another's eyes. We fly fast, matching each other's movements, learn to anticipate the wind. Once a couple becomes adept at anticipating movements, they often clasp hands and share their energies. It is a dance of trust and intimacy, but it only truly succeeds if both partners fly."

That sounded pretty intimate now he thought about it. "Oh. Share energies? Like your starbolts?"

She shook her head. "Not exactly. My sister and I are the only ones who can fashion starbolts, if you recall."

"Okay, well... what does the sharing of energies entail?"

She hesitated and then lifted a hand to clasp her opposite elbow. "Perhaps it would be better if I showed you?"

He nodded. "I'd like that."

Starfire swallowed and walked over to him. She stopped close, her body alighted with his but she didn't touch him.

His breath hitched at how close she was. "What do I do?"

She carefully took both his hands in her own and pressed her forehead to his. "Hold still, I will… attempt not to harm you."

He swallowed, eyes almost crossed as he tried to look at her. "Attempt?"

"I do not know what conducting this with a human will do," she murmured. "I have never done it before but I have seen my sister… If it damages you, you must tell me at once."

"Of course. Do I close my eyes?"

"No," she replied. "However, this would work better if I could view yours."

He nodded and released one of her hands, peeling off the mask and placed it in his belt. He didn't go without his mask often, and only within the Tower, but all the Titans had seen his eyes before. As an afterthought, he removed his gloves, tossing them onto his bed, so he could hold her hands properly. "How's that?" he asked as he pressed their foreheads together again.

Starfire beamed. "Good."

"Okay, what next?"

Starfire closed her eyes, then when she reopened them they were shining green. Robin could feel the heat of her eyes against his face. Everything about her seemed hot, burning. The heat travelled up his arms from her hands, filled up his chest. It was almost too hot for him to handle, but he resisted drawing away from her. It was like a wave, it swelled up his arm, followed by coolness, then heat again. Her eyes pulsed too, dimming and brightening. Robin couldn't see anything else other than green. It was so bright.

It wasn't uncomfortable, but it wasn't exactly pleasant for him either. He wondered what it was like for her, or should have been, because this was essentially a joint venture and he couldn't contribute.

There were black spots in front of his eyes, similar to what he got when he looked into a light bulb or the sun too long and he blinked several times in rapid succession. His eyes started watering madly and he had to draw back a bit. Starfire sighed and took a step backward and turned away from him, her eyes fading. She hugged her arms to herself and looked out the window.

"I'm sorry," he murmured, half blind and blinking to try to bring his sight back.

She sighed again. "It is not you," she replied, glum. "I knew I could never have the same level of intimacy with you as I could with a Tamaranian, just as you cannot have the same level of intimacy with me as you could with a human girl."

"Human intimacy means kissing and touching and lying on a bed together talking and cuddling. I can have that with you."

She regarded him quietly.

"You like kissing, don't you?" he asked, suddenly anxious.

She nodded. "It is nice."

"And touching? Cuddling?"

Her answering smile was soft and gentle. "That is very enjoyable to do with you."

"That's all making out is, really. Cuddling and holding each other and touching and kissing. The kissing doesn't have to be with tongue, but it is prolonged."

"Oh." She lifted her hands and grasped a length of hair in both hands. "Then it sounds like the making out is very similar to our sharing of energies… our sharing does evolve into more touch and cuddles."

"Just with less lip contact." He swallowed. "Um… just to go out on a limb here…" he cleared his throat and still squeaked out the word. "Sex." He coughed, coughed again. "Um… sex… you start off with the sharing of energies and go onto touching and stuff like that, then—ahh…"

Her eyes dropped downward for a fraction of a second before they were back on his. "Penetration of the female genitalia by the male. I believe our species are compatible. The human method is the same, yes?"

He nodded. "Just with more kissing."

"So… asking me to do the making out, it is actually an offer of sex?" she queried, strangely stiff.

"No!" Robin blurted, holding up his hands. "God, no. I'm not ready for that. We're too young."

She relaxed.

He ran his hand through his hair. "It's... I mean... sure. It can be a prelude to that, but most couples spent a lot of time learning about each other through touching and stuff before there's any actual… penetration."

"I see," she said, not sounding like she saw at all.

"I wanted to be closer to you. Kiss you more. Just spend time with you alone. Cuddle while we're not watching a movie."

"Oh."

He sighed. "It's not really fair to ask you to do the things I want to do when I can't do the things you like."

She looked woeful. "We could… try? If you like?"

He didn't want to push her. "No. It's okay."

"You tried the sharing of energies, even though it was not pleasant for you. I would be remiss if I did not at least attempt a making out."

"Um…"

She turned to face him again, a determined look on her face. "What do I do?"

"Um… okay…" he stepped toward her and took her hands. "Well, we start off the same," he said, resting his forehead against hers. "Only, close your eyes."

She complied, closing her eyes and puckering her lips slightly in preparation.

"Relax your lips," he murmured, watching her through half mast eyes.

Her forehead crinkled but she complied.

He released one of her hands so he could cup her cheek, lifting his head from her forehead at the same time. Tilting so their noses didn't bump, he pressed his lips to hers. He held them there for a long moment, and then parted his lips a little. Moved his mouth, little pecks, brushing his lips against hers, kiss different parts of her lips, the bottom one, then the top one, then both again.

It was like kissing a wall, a really soft wall, but unmoving all the same, she didn't know what to do. He didn't pull away. Instead he murmured against her lips, "Slowly move your lips with mine."

She tried, that was something he always appreciated about Starfire, her willingness to give it a go, but it did feel like she was trying to eat something juicy rather than kiss. But that was okay, at least she was trying. And her mouth was parted too. Since she was moving slowly, he did manage to be a little more forceful, directing the way she moved her lips and gradually they slipped from her trying to eat his face and into a proper kiss. He moved his hand from her face to her shoulder and tilted his head a little more as he ran his tongue just once along her lips. A few more kisses and he drew back and opened his eyes to look at her.

She was a little flushed and when she blinked open her eyes, she raised her free hand to her lips. "They are tingling," she murmured and smiled at him, but he couldn't tell if it was nervous smile or a hopeful one.

"That's good, right?"

Her tongue darted out to lick her lips. "Yes?"

"You're not sure?"

"I… do not know… I did not… I feel very strange."

"Strange, how?" he asked.

She pressed her hand to her belly. "Like there is something alive inside me, fluttering away."

He grinned, thrilled. "That's called 'getting butterflies'. It's an expression which basically means you're nervous or excited and it's a good thing when you're kissing."

She looked a little dazzled and he hoped that was a good sign. "Oh."

"Was it okay?"

"You enjoyed it, yes?"

"Very much, but this is not just about me. If you didn't we'll… find something we can do together to be close."

"I… perhaps we may try again?"

His own belly gave that nervous little tickle. "Are you sure?" he asked, hopeful but not wanting to press.

She licked her lips again and nodded and he was more than happy to close the distance between them.

He was a lot more confident this time and Starfire was more relaxed. He released her hand and placed it on her hip, the other hand still on her shoulder and she copied his hand position. They were more used to moving their lips together, teasing and playing. He took her bottom lip in his teeth and gently nibbled, before he let his tongue swipe against her lips again.

She drew back when he did that, her brow creased. "I do not… um…"

"You don't like that?"

She shook her head. "My apologies."

"That's okay," he murmured.

"The rest was most enjoyable," she said.

Robin grinned. "That's good."

"I… assume this is something to be done in private?"

He nodded. "Yeah. I'm not going to kiss you like that in front of the others."

"Very well."

"But, I can kiss you like that again?"

"I do not believe I would be opposed to it," she told him with a shy smile.

"Good," he grinned, relieved. "So… what else do Tamaranians do to show affection for a partner?"

Starfire flushed a bright orange. "Well…"

"What?" he asked, suddenly intrigued.

"We… show a lot of affection through our eyes," she said, not quite looking at him anymore. "Which is… most difficult with you, but perhaps you have… um… noticed?"

He frowned. "Noticed what?"

"I have… seen the Earthen cats do this and as my people are descended from a life form very similar to the feline… we…" she sighed, frustrated and just blurted out the next word. "Blink."

"Blink?" he asked. "What, like—" he blinked.

"Not… so fast. If you hold my gaze then blink slowly… it is a sign of affection."

"Oh." With a small frown, he tried it, holding her gaze, then slowly closed his eyes and opened them again.

Starfire was practically beaming as she did the same, her whole face changing, becoming bashful and happy all at once.

Robin grinned, pleased with her response. "Okay, I'll have to do that one more. How much like an Earth cat are you?"

The question seemed to fluster her. "I do not understand. What do you mean?"

"Well, cats here have this spot—" He didn't really think anything would happen, which is why he did it, lifting his hand and placed the tips of his fingers behind her ear and gave her a little rub.

Starfire folded against him, her legs going out from under her. Robin grabbed at her, supporting her weight. "Woah," he murmured, especially when he felt a strange rumble in Starfire's chest. "Are you purring?"

Her eyelids were all fluttery, her eyes glazed before she seemed to snap to her senses and backed away, thoroughly embarrassed. "Oh. My apologies," she blurted, holding her arms against her chest and hunching her shoulders as she tried to make herself smaller.

"What was that?" he asked, astounded. "Did I do something wrong?"

"Oh, um… no… not… " she stammered. "I… was not ready for you touch me there."

"It's a special spot?"

She nodded, still blushing and flustered. "Yes. Most intimate."

He cringed. "I'm sorry, Star, I didn't mean to overstep my bounds."

She touched herself behind her ear, rubbing it once before she looked over at him. "You did not know. It is okay."

He watched her warily.

She scratched her neck. "Tamaranians have… four stages of physical intimacy," she murmured, still not looking at him. "The first is the energy sharing. That was the second. The third is," she flushed again. "Manual stimulation of the genitals."

"And the fourth is sex."

She nodded.

"We have something similar," he said. "Bases, we call them. First is making out, second is basically touching of the… breasts area, third seems to be the same as yours, and so is forth."

"Grebnax?" Starfire asked, glancing down at her own. "Truly?"

"It's not a sexual place for you?"

"Not… well… no… it is not one of our erogenous zones."

"Oh."

She blinked and frowned, then shook her head. "Truly, that makes sense now."

"What does?"

"Why boys are so interested in them. I did not understand. Now I do… and why humans are so fastidious regarding their coverings. I thought it was most odd…"

"Oh." Great. There was second base, straight out the window. Robin's shoulders slumped slightly.

She gave him a shrewd look. "So… you would wish to touch me there?"

His mouth went dry. "One day… yeah… if it was okay with you."

She looked uncertain.

Not wanting to press, Robin asked, "Um… third… it's just manual? There's no um… oral stimulation?"

She blinked, her eyes incredibly wide. "Do humans use their mouths for all forms of intimacy?"

And there went any chance of a head job sometime in the distant future. "Yeah… kinda…"

"Oh…" She curled into herself again. "Perhaps we are not as compatible as I thought."

"Hey, no," he murmured, crossing to her so he could wrap his arms around her. "Look, we'll find a way to compromise. We'll just take things slow, okay? Work things out as they come up. Look what we've figured out so far."

She nodded and leant into him, her arms around his waist.

"Any other spots I should avoid?" he asked.

"No… do you have any?"

"Not like that," he replied. "Just warning you… humans like to express affection with our lips… don't be surprised if I kiss you in other places other than the mouth."

She raised her head. "Other places?"

"Yeah. Like this," he pressed his lips to her cheek. "Or this…" he moved down to her jaw line, planting little kisses against her skin. "Or here," he murmured into her neck as he kissed her there.

"Oh," she cooed.

"Like that?" he asked and nuzzled.

"Yes."

Feeling cheeky, he dropped down on one knee and kissed her belly. He figured that'd be okay, since she let him touch her there.

Starfire giggled. "Robin!"

"Ticklish?" he asked, smirking and placed both hands on her waist.

Her eyes widened and curled up in a ball in the air. "No—"

Cyborg thumped on the door, making both of them jump with surprise. "Man, we're ordering pizza and B's picking a movie. You in?"

Robin smiled and raised an eyebrow at Starfire, who nodded. "We'll be out in a minute."

"Star in there?" Cyborg asked, sounding surprised.

"Yup." Robin rose and held out his hand for Starfire to take then headed for the door.

"I shall go fetch Raven," Starfire announced as the door opened. She leant in and kissed Robin on the cheek, then zipped off down the corridor.

"Sorry, man," Cyborg mumbled, apologetic. "Didn't know."

"It's cool, we were just talking."

"Is that what the kids are callin' it these days?" Cyborg teased, obviously trying to be light.

"I don't kiss and tell," Robin replied.

"So there was kissin'?"

"Of course," Robin replied. "She's my girlfriend after all."

Cyborg laughed and thumped his hand down on Robin's shoulder. "Man, it's nice seein' you this relaxed. She's good for you."

Robin smiled. "Yeah. She is."