Starfire’s Kisses

Daily, Raven’s body has come to expect the modest dosage of caffeine that accompanies Raven’s tea. The drink has quietly become necessary for her; at least a cup every day. However, more necessary to her than the caffeine are Starfire’s kisses.

Having changed into her nightclothes, Raven is expecting the knock that comes at the door. Raven herself made it clear that Starfire is always welcome in her room, and so Starfire enters without asking.

Starfire looks as she always does, until the door closes behind her; once it does, that smile appears on Starfire’s face. Raven rises, and her lips curl just a little—full of the same jitters she had that first time, all those months ago.

If Raven has learned nothing else from Starfire’s visits, she has learned that the softest bit of Starfire is, by far, her lips. Quickly, Raven finds herself pushed into a corner of her room, pinned by Starfire. While their faces press together smoothly, Starfire’s strong musculature makes Raven all the more aware of her own scrawniness.

Starfire’s kisses spread warmth in Raven, and she tries to match their intensity. She feels Starfire’s knee slipping between her thin legs, touching the wall behind her; as she wraps her arms around Starfire’s neck, she knows she cannot match the alien’s passion.

Eventually, Starfire softens along her and pulls back. Starfire admires her handiwork; the red embarrassment on Raven’s cheeks. Starfire follows Raven, who drifts to her bed, spent; as Raven lies down, the bolder sits beside her, tracing light circles beneath Raven’s sleep-shirt, along her skin.

Raven is too tired to swat her away. Instead, she asks, softly so the others will not hear, “Why come to me? Why come at all?”

Starfire smiles at her fondly and retracts her hand. “Shh,” she murmurs in her smooth voice. “Robin will come soon. I should go.”

Raven reaches up to touch Starfire’s face with delicate fingers. Starfire smiles as she stands up; she bends and kisses Raven’s cheek before slipping out the door.

Raven is still. Minutes later, Robin knocks: “Are you dressed, Raven?”

She makes an effort to sit up. “Come in.”

He opens the door and his masked face peers in. She feels wary beneath its gaze, vaguely cognizant of his role in her confused relationship with Starfire. “Good night,” he says.

“Good night,” she tells him, to make him go away. As she gets into bed, she realizes that Starfire never gives her an answer.