Midnight Flight

The orange-skinned alien sat atop Titan Tower hugging her knees to her chest and letting the breeze catch her hair. She adored the sunset on Earth. She would choose never to miss it, if possible. Unless the titans were out saving the city or having a movie night, she would spend hours on that rooftop each evening at dusk, admiring the beautiful colors painted in the sky which reflected off of the ocean. Her own planet did not have such magic. This night, though, like very few others, she spent her time of sunset in sadness. Her eyes glossed over and a soft sigh was heard occasionally.
They will surely abandon me now. Raven will tell them all. She thought to herself. Although her best friend, her sister, even, had given Starfire her word not to tell them, she still felt uneasy at the thought. She let out another sigh; a long, silent one. When she heard the door to downstairs being opened, she did not look to see who it was; there was a certain one who joined her occasionally on the rooftop. They would sometimes cheer each other up, make each other laugh, or simply sit in silence together, enjoying each other’s company.

“Greetings, Robin.” She droned. He said nothing, but instead sat down beside her, closer then he ever had before, and hung his legs over the side of the tower.

“Wanna tell me what’s going on, or am I going to have to beat it out of you?” Starfire let a smile find its way onto her face as she eyed him from the side. “Seriously, though, what’s wrong?” He asked with that concerned expression she saw often.

“Robin, if you knew something about me, something very horrible, would you still... like me? If not just as a friend?” Robin furrowed his brows and tilted his head at her.

“Starfire, what’s this about?”

“Please, answer my question.”

“Of course, Star. Trust me, there’s nothing you could say to make me not like you.” He told her with a shy smile.

“No...” She told him with a sad smile. “It is not enough. I cannot tell you.”

“What do you mean, not enough? What do you want me to do, Star?”

“I wish for you to leave this be!” She snapped.

“But look at how much this is affecting you. You just yelled at me! I can’t let you keep something like that quiet.”

“There is no need for you to let me. I already spoke of it to Raven.” She said coolly.

“What? You told Raven?”

“Yes.”

“But you won’t tell me?”

“No.”

“Well why the hell not? I thought you trusted me!” Starfire rolled her eyes. Robin and his temper.

“Robin, I have no guarantee that you will still wish to remain with me after I reveal this to you. I fear that you will flee from me... I am most certain you will. You mean everything to me. I cannot lose you now.” She said, hugging her knees tighter. Robin stayed silent for a moment, looking straight at the sunset.

“Didn’t you hear anything I said yesterday? While you were paralyzed? You did hear all that, didn’t you?” Starfire blushed at his words, remembering every bit of his one-way conversation. “I meant every word. So why are you doubting me? Why now?” There was a long pause.

“Do not ever think that I doubt you, Robin. I never have. I am...” She sighed. “You must understand that what I am struggling to tell you is worse than you think. The words you have spoken to me were... glorious... but Robin, they are simply words. After I tell you, you may not feel the same way. I cannot tell you. Minds can be changed. Words are not enough.” She looked at him to see a sudden smirk appear; one she did not recognize.

“Well gosh, Star, if you wanted me to kiss you, why didn’t you just say so?” Starfire looked at him puzzled.

“I do not understand. I did not mean‒” Robins mouth, hard against hers, stopped her mid-sentence. His hands wove deep into her thick hair as she responded enthusiastically, turning to face him and leaning her body into his.
It was there first actual kiss. One that lasted more than a couple seconds. There was movement and feeling and passion. The kiss ended gently, her hands on his chest and his hands still in her hair. She pulled away from him with her eyes closed and her mouth corners turned upward. Robin, however, gripped his hands tighter in her hair and pulled her lips back to his once more, but only for a few moments. When they pulled away from each other the second time, Robin moved his hands to either side of her neck, caressing her cheeks and jaw bone as he waited for her bright green eyes to flutter open and stare at him in wonder.

“Is that enough?” He asked almost angrily as he leaned his forehead against hers.

“I truly hope so.” She whispered breathlessly. Robin let her go and pulled away looking smug.

“Now, what is it?” He asked softly. Starfire hesitated, still catching her breath.

“It is a long and quite exhausting story.” She sighed. “Do you really wish to know?” Robin chuckled.

“After all that? Of course I do. Shoot.” Starfire looked at him in confusion before scanning the air around her.

“I do not see any enemies. What shall I shoot?” She asked. Robin chuckled lightly.

“I just meant, go. Tell your story. You’ve got my full attention.” He told her encouragingly.

“I am confused. How does ‘shoot’ imply the telling of stories?”

“Focus, Star.”

“Very well.” She sighed. “I shall start with the beginning.” She started as she sat a distance from Robin. “You have noticed that Blackfire’s hair and eyes are different from mine and my people, yes?” Robin nodded his head slightly. “It is because she was born differently. She has suffered from what you would call the defect of birth.”

“Yeah, a birth defect. Her personality was obviously part of it, too.” He added in attempt to make her smile, which worked mildly.

“Yes. My father was most disturbed when he learned that the heir to his throne would have to be someone so different. When I was born nearly 3 years later, my father was overjoyed that there would be a ‘normal’ daughter to rule Tamaran some day. However, Blackfire succeeded in all of the ways of battle training. But even though my sister had skills and strategy in battle, I grew to be my father’s favorite child. She sighed. “But only because of my ordinary appearance.” Starfire drew in a breath to say more, but Robin’s firm voice interrupted her.

“You’re anything but ordinary, Star.” She looked at him with a forced smile. “You’re beautiful.” He said seriously. She looked at him and grinned sadly. “Sorry. Go on.”

“The future ruler would be my father’s decision. The choice was between me and Blackfire, and he chose me. Blackfire declared her disdain for me when she heard this. She has not spoken a kind thing to me since. Our parents were so busy though, that they did not have the time to care for either of us. This is why we were raised mostly by Galfore. When became age nine, Blackfire and I were sent to the Warlords of Okaara for the start of our real training. She succeeded me, as expected. But it did not matter. Our rivalry soon turned to the worst. Blackfire and I stayed in one of the large quarters together, only the two of us. One night, she tried to… she tried to kill me.” Robin tensed, his face scrunched up into his serious expression. “I was only barely able to make it outside alive. When I screamed for assistance, the Okaara contained her and banished her from training.
“Quite soon after, the Citadel declared war on Tamaran. It was not until Blackfire arrived did we know it was her who prompted their attack. She allied herself with them; claiming superiority over them due to her strength. I fled to my mother and father and found that my father, convinced by my sister, had come to an agreement with them. He told me that they required a peace offering if Tamaran was not to be destroyed.”

“You.” Robin finished quietly for her. Starfire nodded before her eyes filled slightly with tears.

“Gordanians came into the room, surrounding us... surrounding me... My mother shouted for me and tried to get to me... My father was so consumed in his lust for control that he did not hesitate...”

“He killed your mother?” Robin asked in astonishment. Starfire momentarily burst into tears. Robin moved to put is arm around her, but she held up a hand to stop him.

“I am well.” She said with a sniffle as she wiped her eyes. “They transported me to the Citadel, where I became one of many slaves.”

“A slave?” He asked, overwhelmed by curiosity. She nodded. “What kind of slave were you, exactly?” Robin asked hesitantly. “I mean, what did you have to do?” Starfire sighed as she let her memories leak through her lips.

“When I first arrived, I was to fix broken parts and do the cleaning and tidying up of the station. On the thirteenth year of my birth, I became... entertainment.” Robin raised a brow, curious and concerned. “Because of my feminine form, my role was to dance for the masters, and let them do to me as they wished.” Robin cringed.

“You mean‒”

“They were not allowed to... um...” She pondered for the correct word. “Mate with us, thank X’hal. But they could do whatever else they liked. And they did. Many of them preferred using claws to make marks on my body, and the hitting of the face and...” She took a deep breath as her eyes filled again with water. She refused to look at Robin, not wishing to see his expression at what she was telling him. She did see his fists clench tightly together in the corner of her eye. “No matter. The next three years were... it was the worst period of my life, and I do not wish to relive what occurred during that time. This is what I have been seeing in the nightmares. It is painful, even in my dreams.” She sighed. “Such tortures they had prepared for someone like me. A female. A Tamaranean female. On my sixteenth year of birth, like most of the other female slaves, the Commander of the Citadel brought me into his chambers and...” She stopped, closed her mouth, and gazed forlornly into the sunset. Robin wasted no time in grabbing her upper arm tightly.

“Starfire, did he rape you?” Robin asked immediately, anger quite evident on his face.

“Please loosen your hold. It is painful. And what does that mean?”

“Sorry.” He said, letting her go. “Um... rape is a term for, forcing some one to... uh... mate with them. Against their will.”

“Oh.” She replied sadly. “This rape is indeed what he attempted. I... I could not let him. I... ‘snapped.’ Robin, you must understand that this Gordanian wanted what I was not prepared to give to anyone. It was all I had left, all that was mine. It was meant for one man, and I could not let it be that... monster. You must understand why I did what I did.” She begged, her voice cracking severely.

“What did you do, Star? Did you kill him?”

“I... Please do not reject me for this... I felt I was required to‒ I could not let him. It was close, so close, I reached for the saber in his belt, and... It happened so fast, I did not have time to think. I ended his life.” She finally let the tears fall down her face. Robin said nothing as he watched her cry.

“Please, Robin, I know how valuable lives are to you, to all of us. I made a mistake, a terrible mistake, and I know it is not one you would ever make. Please forgive me.” She finished quietly. Robin stared at her, speechless. He did not know what to say. “You need not say anything.” She said sadly as she rose to her feet. “I shall depart. I had the feelings that this would occur. I shall just retrieve my‒”

“Starfire,” His hand attached to hers and he pulled her to her knees. “That’s why you think we’ll reject you? That’s why you didn’t want us to know?”

“Of course! I took a life, Robin.”

“If I’d been there, I’d have beaten you to it.” He told her seriously.

“You‒ I am sorry?”

“Star, if I saw anyone try to mess with you like that... I... well, I’d do more then just stop them. You may have killed someone, but... under those circumstances, it’s completely understandable. It was defense.”

“You are... not ill?” She asked, putting the back of her hand to his forehead. He grabbed it softly and pulled it away from his face.

“No. You don’t have anything to be sorry about. I believe you did what you had to do.” Starfire breathed a sigh of relief and let her usual smile out of its cage.

“I thank you for understanding, Robin.” She whispered before leaning in to quickly kiss his cheek. “It means a great deal. Raven was also gracious in her understanding.”

“Can I ask you a question?”

“You may.”

“What happened to your father? Why wasn’t he still grand ruler when we were on Tamaran?” Starfire scrunched up her face in distaste.

“Blackfire overthrew him and banished him.”

“But why? He did everything she wanted.”

“I do not know. I do not understand my sister at all.” She said with a sigh.

“Then why were you so nice to her when she came to visit? You acted like she was your best friend.”

“She had contacted me shortly before she arrived. She apologized for everything, knowing that I would forgive her. She arrived unexpectedly, and I thought it was because she had missed me and truly was sorry. But we all know now that was not the case. I should have expected it. I had horrible dreams.” She finished quietly. Robin and Starfire sat in silence for a moment.

“So... What happened next? Did you escape?” Robin asked hesitantly. Starfire grinned sadly at him.

“It is another story which I shall save for another time. There is only so much pain I wish to remember in one day. For now, I am only happy to have my friends remain at my side.”

“Always, Star.” He said with a smirk before running a hand across her jawbone. They both turned to watch what colors were left in the clouds above the horizon fade, and watched the stars appear one by one.