Title: Present or a Memory

Author: Tressa

Rating: K+

Summery: After arriving home from Tokyo, Robin begins to dwell on his new relationship with their resident Tamaranian princess. But what about those feelings he still has for a certain other redhead?

Authors note: Had this sitting on my computer for forever. Decided to post it.

SPOILERS: The Teen Titans movie Trouble in Tokyo

Giving her what he deemed a dorky smile, Robin closed the door to his room and collapsed onto his bed. Tokyo had been a bumpy ride, but in the end, everything worked out. They had captured the bad guy. He grinned again. And, well, the friendship between he and Starfire had progressed to another level. It was something that he had thought about often; however, his duty to Jump City and an oath he swore would always be first. And while he still believed that his duty was important and priority in his life, he was more then willing to fit a relationship in.

“Starfire.” The name left his lips almost as a sigh. It wasn’t as though he never was aware of her feelings toward him. And he wasn’t stupid to deny that the feeling was reciprocated. And he was grateful that she pushed for them to be together. He wanted to laugh and jump and dance all at the same time. Instead, he reached over to his side table and opened the top drawer. All love-sick puppy dogs needed to write sappy love notes to their girlfriends. He began to dig around for a pen before his hand hit something solid.

Frowning, he bent over the drawer and pulled out a small wood frame. Inside was a picture of him and Bruce Wayne, with a rather composed Alfred Pennyworth. His younger self was mock glaring up at his tall guardian as Bruce’s hand lay flat on his head.

He grinned. “So that’s where that went.” His smile, however, faded slightly as he remembered the last conversation he had with his foster father. Well, conversation wasn’t exactly the right term. More like an argument. The argument to end all arguments. The argument that sent him to Jump City. He began to shove the frame back in the drawer. It wasn’t that he didn’t care; he did. He just couldn’t afford to have the frame out for everyone to see. Before he could, though, he saw a lone photo resting on the bottom.

“What the . . .” Swinging his legs over the edge of his bed, he set the frame aside and removed the picture. It was him. A younger him, but him none the less. And a girl. No, she was basically a woman now. Beautiful red hair framed an ivory face, highlighted by big green eyes. A set of glasses sat precariously on the tip of her nose and the smile on her face brought back a rush of feelings from before.

He snorted and sat back on his bed. Not that before was a long time ago; more like a year and a bit more. He felt a sudden urge to talk with the woman in the picture. He didn’t know what it was. Removing his mask, he lay it on the side table and let the cool air conditioning flutter across his face as he removed the rest of the spirit gum.

Barbara Gordon he could easily say was his first crush and first love. His favorite times had to be flying across Gotham City with her, catching the bad guys, saving the innocent. But Starfire woke up something inside him he couldn’t deny. And it had been a long time since he had seen Barbara. He winced. He hadn’t even said goodbye when he left for Jump City. He was sure she was steaming.

Replacing both pictures in the drawer, he force himself to lie down. At a time he should have been happy, he felt a bit confused. And guilty. His stomach twisted slightly. He liked Starfire, he told himself. He didn’t even understand why he had to tell himself that.

But did he even resolve anything with Barbara? Was there anything to resolve? The older he got, the more attracted to her he became. And he had hoped that one day she would see him as more then just the brightly dressed kid who she fought along side at night and would occasionally tutor during the day.

He could never forget Barbara, that much was clear. But Barbara wasn’t here. And he wasn’t sure if she would reciprocate his feelings at all. Maybe, possibly, she was nothing but a fleeting dream. The fantasies of a young boy who was coming of age in one of the strangest professions in the universe.

Sighing, he forced himself out of bed so he could change. There was not point in dwelling on that now. This moment, at this time, Starfire made him happy. He wasn’t sure where their relationship would go, but he was willing to wait and find out.

Babs would always be in his memory; there was never a bad moment between them. But maybe, just maybe, he should give up on a fantasy and live for what was in front of him. Crawling into bed, he shut his eyes, the last thing he recalled being the feeling of Starfire’s lips on his.

I found this last part way to sweet for my taste, but I’ll leave it as is. Maybe I should do one with Donna as well . . .