Note: This is not the entire chapter; the last third is not included here so be sure to read the version over at the main story or you'll miss plot points! More Author's Notes at the end...

Despite the fact that I’m rather ticked at DC Comics right now, I, alas, still cannot claim ownership of Teen Titans.

Chapter 7: Promises

Robin arrived back at the Tower in the early evening on Tuesday. He found Ops much as he’d left it: Beast Boy and Cyborg were insulting each other as they played Gamestation and Raven floated in the corner reading a book.

“Hey guys,” he greeted, dropping his duffle on the floor.

“Oh, no way!” Beast Boy cried, obviously reacting to Cyborg’s character stomping his own.

“There’s a reason I call you Grass Stain,” Cyborg taunted.

The Gamestation was suddenly encased in a black aura and the game paused. “Hey!” the boys cried together. They turned around, the scowls on their faces quickly turning to shock. “Dude, what’d you do to your hair?” Beast Boy asked.

Robin looked much as he had when he’d left: worn jeans, hooded sweatshirt, sunglasses, and streaked hair, this time in cherry red. “It’s a disguise,” he frowned, annoyed that Beast Boy’s attention span was so short that he wouldn’t have remembered that.

“How was your trip?” Raven asked, putting her feet on the floor at the same time she released the Gamestation from her powers. The boys scrambled to pause and save what they’d been doing.

“Eventful,” he replied. “Listen, I need to talk to you guys about…”

“ROBIN!”

Oh crap. Starfire…

It wasn’t that Robin was unhappy to see her; on the contrary, she was a sight for sore eyes (not that he saw much of her as she literally flew into his arms and sealed her lips to his). No, it was just that he had been so wrapped up in planning out this upcoming mission, figuring out what to tell his team and how to present them to Batman that his romantic relationship with Starfire had been pushed to the back of his mind. Batman could NOT know about them. But getting Starfire to go along with that was probably going to be the hardest part of all of this…

All of that flashed through his head in just a few seconds. It quickly faded away as his senses were overcome by Starfire: the heat of her body, the soft but insistent press of her lips, the poke of her nails as she dug them into his back, the scent that was partly her shampoo and partly just her.

“You have a promise to me to keep, yes?” she whispered in Tameranian when their lips finally parted.

Robin pressed his forehead to hers. She wasn’t going to make this any easier. “Yes,” he murmured in English. “Yes, I do.” At least their private reunion would give him a chance to explain all of this to her.

She began to drift away from him, pulling him by his hand. “I need to talk to Starfire,” he explained over his shoulder as she led him away. "But I’m gonna need to talk to all of you in a bit…”

“I don’t know, man,” Cyborg shook his head, a grin pulling at his lips. “I don’t like you like that!”

“Huh?” Beast Boy grunted, looking up at his mechanical friend. “Oh!” he got it after a second. “Yeah, Robin,” he called. “I really don’t want to ‘talk’ to you the same way you ‘talk’ to Starfire!”

Robin waved a dismissive hand as Starfire pulled him into the hallway. He had to run to keep up with her as she dragged him towards their room. She let go of him as they went through the door and he stumbled a bit from the inertia. As he regained his footing, he noticed Starfire had pushed her fingers underneath the hem of her halter top, in-between her breasts. He looked at her with questioning eyes as she pulled something out. “I have ‘kept it close to my heart,’ is that the expression?” she said as she opened her hand. His dpi’syrgem lay in her palm.

Robin smiled, loving the fact that she had taken the phrase so literally. He took her hand in both of his, kissing her fingers the way he had when he’d left. “Thank you for taking such good care of it.” He loosened his hold and took the gem from her, lifting his shirt to press it into his navel.

Starfire’s face lit up, and she yanked his shirt over his head. “Ow! Star!” he protested as his neck bent at an angle it wasn’t meant to go. She ignored him as she tossed the garment away and pulled her skirt down around her hips, exposing her own dpi’syr gem. She threw her arms around his neck, causing the gems to touch and Robin’s emotions to ignite.

Robin sucked in a breath as a wave of love and relief washed over him. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly. “God, I missed you,” he whispered into her hair.

“I have missed you more than I can express,” her voice vibrated near his ear.

He pulled back just enough to kiss her, softly at first, but it quickly become more intense as she returned the affection and both of their hands began to roam. He felt her thread her fingers through his hair, something he loved. Between that, the intensity of his emotions caused by contact of the dpi’syr gems and just Starfire’s utter nearness, Robin began to lose himself. Everything that had happened in the past few days and the tasks they were facing in the next few faded away as the only thing that existed in the universe was Starfire.

They separated after several minutes, their chests heaving. Starfire lifted from the floor, floating in her happiness, causing the gems to disconnect. Robin shook his head, the sudden quieting of his emotions making him feel as though someone had just shut off a loud radio.

“I find this even less aesthetically pleasing than when you left,” she remarked, smiling down at him as she continued to run her fingers through his hair.

“It’ll wash out, just like the blond stuff did.”

“Then let us do that. I wish to see ‘my’ Robin again!” She extricated herself from his embrace and started to pull him towards the door again, somehow yanking off her boots one-handed.

“What…now?” Robin blustered, knowing very well what was going to happen if they wound up in the bathroom together.

“Certainly! You must be in need of a washing after your travels. I know I always am.”

“But…Star…I need to talk to you about…”

“It will wait until you are clean.” She pulled him into the bathroom and shut the door. “Remove the remainder of your clothing, please!” she ordered cheerily as she took off her neckplate.

Robin put his foot up on the toilet to unlace his boot, unable to suppress a smirk. “You’re intent on doing this now, huh?”

“I am intent on doing the washing of your hair, yes,” she returned, stepping out of her skirt. “Although I would not be opposed to other things happening in the process.” She flashed him a wicked grin.

Robin shook his head as he kicked off his boots. He supposed telling Starfire about their mission could wait an hour or so; it’s not like he was looking forward to the conversation, anyway. And he had missed her terribly.

Starfire, naked as the day she was born, stepped over to the tub and turned on the water before glancing over her shoulder. “You are still wearing too much clothing.”

“I’m workin’ on it,” he grinned, unzipping his jeans and letting them fall around his ankles. He pushed his briefs down and looked up to see Starfire step into the tub and duck her head under the shower. He felt his sex twitch as he watched the water sluice through her hair and over her lean body. He swallowed in an effort to control himself. They were here to wash the dye out of his hair, right? Riiiiight…

He stepped in front of her and pulled the curtain before sliding his hands around her back, reveling in the feel of the water flowing over her skin. He loved making love in the shower, for a couple of reasons. The first was the water itself; it added a sensual element that seemed to heighten every caress. The second was the confined area of the tub; Starfire couldn’t always control her flying when they were intimate, and while Robin was getting very good at holding on to her, he liked the fact that she didn’t really have anywhere to go when they were in here.

Starfire stepped into his embrace and pressed her body to his for a moment before pushing him away and spinning him around. She pulled him back to have him stand more fully under the spray.

“Moisten your hair, please,” she told him.

“Yes, Ma’am,” he chuckled, dipping his head under the water. After a few seconds of soaking, he looked over his shoulder to find Starfire floating a foot or so off the bottom of the tub, her head very near the ceiling, the shampoo bottle in her hand. She drifted up behind him and squirted some of the shampoo directly onto his head.

“Ahhh! That’s cold!”

“I am certain it will warm,” she told him, dropping the bottle into his hands and winding her fingers into his hair. Robin’s eyes rolled back into his head as Starfire began to work the shampoo through his locks. She caressed and massaged his scalp, occasionally pulling gently on his hair as she scrubbed it between her hands. It sent tingles throughout his entire body and the tension he’d been feeling since he’d left here two days ago finally started to fade.

He reached out and somehow managed to put the shampoo on the shelf before leaning back against Starfire, her bosom conveniently at the right height for him to nuzzle his cheek against. He heard her giggle before she wrapped her legs around his chest, her ankles locking in front of his navel. “You must stop squirming,” she admonished him through her mirth.

“Can’t help it,” he mumbled back, trailing his fingers over her shins. “You’re too good at this.”

Starfire giggled again, tipping his head back against her chest and dropping a kiss on his forehead before ordering: “Take a step forward. It is time to do the rinsing.”

Robin groaned his disappointment, but did as he was told. Starfire ran her fingers through his hair several more times, directing the flow of the water. Robin watched as the pinkish-reddish suds streamed down his chest and over Starfire’s legs.

“Hmmm, I believe we shall have to do the repeating,” Starfire said after a moment. “There is still much red in your hair.” Robin frowned as Starfire’s legs slipped around his sides and her warmth was suddenly gone. He turned to see what she was doing and found her picking up the shampoo bottle. She looked back up at him, and the expression on her face suddenly changed; she seemed transfixed by the sight of him as she dropped the shampoo back on the shelf.

“Star?” Robin asked.

“Upi’ppl sd yjpihj upihjbr nrrm om nsyy’r,” she murmured in Tamaranian. Robin didn’t catch all of it; only something about “you appear” and “battle.” Before he had a chance to question her, her expression turned feral and she actually growled at him as she shoved him up against the wall of the tub and seared her lips to his, pressing herself against him.

Robin was startled for a moment, but quickly wound his arms around her back and returned the kiss. It became heated very fast, with each of them grasping at the other. Robin did his best to keep up with Starfire, but her hands and lips seemed to be everywhere at once: nibbling on his earlobe, slicking over his shoulders and abdomen, scratching his thighs before reaching between them and coiling around his already-erect manhood.

She pulled away at that, toying with the organ as she met his gaze again, a wild look in her eyes and a predatory smile on her lips. He was about to question her when she started doing something with her fingernails that caused him to groan. Her lips curled a bit and she released him, only to grab him by his upper arms and pull him out away from the wall. She rose from the floor and coiled herself around him; her arms around his neck and her legs around his hips. She bit rather firmly into his shoulder, which Robin found oddly thrilling in spite of the pain. He slid his hands over her slick back and cupped her behind as she began to kiss and nibble her way up his neck, whispering to him in Tameranian.

“Upi str’u nysbr smf bs’rtpid esttort,” she breathed against his ear before fondling the lobe with her tongue. Robin’s brain was pretty hazy, what with what she was doing to him and his attempts to keep up; the only part of that he caught was: “You are my…” Assuming it was good, he laved his tongue up her neck.

“You have ohmoyrf my heart smf gotrf u’pomrd,” she panted as she dragged her lips over his cheek. “Making love to you will be pdy jpmptsn’r.” She fastened her mouth over his, pushing her tongue between his lips as she ground herself against him, their bodies slipping past each other with the lubrication of the water.

Robin raised his hands and wrapped his arms around her back, pulling her to him as tightly as he could. She returned the embrace around his shoulders, all the while nibbling and sucking at his lips and tongue. She started to roll her hips against his, causing a bit of feather-like friction as his sex slipped against the outside of her opening.

As much as Robin liked that, he knew they were going to get in trouble if they stayed like this. “Star,” he mumbled around her lips, releasing his hold on her and trying to push her away. “Star!” Pushing against her shoulders wasn’t working; she had too strong of a grip on him. “Star!” He raised his hands to her cheeks and leaned his head back.

Her eyes, dark with desire, finally focused on him. “Robin?”

“Contraception,” he told her simply.

“Oh!” She reached behind him and grabbed some body wash, squirting a bit on her thighs and quickly working it into a lather to wash away the sticky secretion that had formed there, holding her to her revoleth. She released him and tossed the shower curtain aside, floating over to the vanity to dig in the back of a drawer. She quickly came up with a foil packet, which she ripped open and dropped carelessly on the floor. She rejoined him in the tub, the rolled rubber sheath between two fingers. Robin reached up to take it from her when he saw her eyes spark and she popped the condom into her mouth.

“Starfire?”

She knelt in front of him and took his penis in one hand, caressing it a bit before lowering her mouth over it, unrolling the condom as she descended. She released him slowly, swirling her tongue as she did so. Robin groaned, reaching behind him to find something to hang on to, finding only slick tile.

Shaking his head, Robin panted out a couple of breaths as Starfire rose up to meet his gaze. “Have you been reading the Kama Sutra again?” he managed after a moment.

“Yes, but I read about that in Cosmopolitan,” she replied, sliding her arms around his neck again.

Robin gave a shaky laugh. “Remind me to get you a subscription to that,” he said as she descended into another kiss.

It took only a few moments to regain their passion. Starfire coiled her legs around him and began to roll her hips against his again. Robin grabbed her behind in both hands and maneuvered himself between her folds, slowly sliding inside of her. Starfire threw her head back and moaned, giving Robin access to her chest. He leaned over and dragged his lips over her skin, quickly latching onto a nipple. Starfire squealed at the contact, and began to rock against him at a fairly quick pace. Robin pulled her back, kissing her hungrily as he did his best to match her rhythm.

The kiss broke a few moments later and Starfire pulled him tightly to her, thrusting against him with some force and muttering in Tameranian again. “You are the most boto’r male I am acquainted with. You are making me omdsmr with idy. Please, assist me in svjorbomh pthosd. Please…” She rolled and twisted her hips and Robin was thankful that he didn’t actually have to support her; she was driving him insane doing that.

In the midst of their energetic lovemaking, their dpi’syr gems began to slip past each other, sending shivers of emotion through Robin. Starfire was obviously feeling the same thing as her pants and moans became much louder and more shrill whenever the stones touched. It drove their passion much higher much faster and Starfire soon began to convulse around him, digging her fingers into his shoulder and back. Robin’s own sex began to tighten, and, having almost no leverage in the position he was in and nearly overcome by his emotions and physical sensations, he merely held on to Starfire, howling as his climax overtook him as hers began to end.

His legs seemingly made of jelly all of a sudden, Robin fell back against the tile of the shower, Starfire’s sticky legs peeling away from his sides as he slid down into a sitting position. She twisted over to sit next to him, one leg still thrown over his thighs, both of them panting. “Oh my…wow…” he stuttered.

Starfire giggled. “I find it so amusing that you have trouble forming coherent thoughts after you have experienced orgasm.” She reached up to kiss him playfully.

Robin pulled a breath as they separated. “I find it amazing that you can.”

Starfire shrugged.

“Speaking of coherent thoughts,” Robin asked after a bit of recovery, “what was all that Tameranian? I didn’t catch a lot of it.”

“Oh,” Starfire blushed. “It was mostly ‘sweet nothings,’ is that the term?”

“Sweet nothings, huh?” Robin reached up to push some strands of hair from her face. “Some of it sounded kind of dirty.”

Starfire’s eyes turned confused. “Why would I speak of dirty things when we are in the shower?”

Robin laughed. “No…sexy. Sexy things.”

Starfire still looked a bit confused, but she blushed. “Well, yes. Much of it was sexy.”

“What was that bit at the beginning about me and battle?”

Starfire’s blush deepened. “When I saw the red dye streaked over your skin, you looked as though you had just returned from battle. It…excited me.”

“Because I looked…bloody?” Robin wasn’t sure what to make of that.

Starfire nodded. “You looked as though you had been victorious.”

“It was the victorious part that turned you on?”

“Well…yes.”

“Good,” he hugged her to his chest. “As long as you don’t have a fetish for blood or something.”

“Oh no!” He felt her cringe. “Blood is associated with injury. Injury and sex do not go together.”

“Oh?” He looked down at her. “What do you call this?” He pointed to the spot on his shoulder where she’d bitten him.

“Bites of love are not injuries; they are visible reminders of passion between revolethen.”

“If you say so.” He kissed her forehead. “Hey, didn’t you say I needed another shampoo?”

“Oh yes! There is still much red in your hair.” Starfire rose from the floor and offered a hand to Robin, who gratefully took it. They assumed their positions again with Starfire floating behind Robin, massaging shampoo into his scalp.

“So, you don’t like the dye job, huh?” he asked, leaning against her a bit.

“No. I love the dark color of your hair. I wish you would not wear it so short.”

“Oh?”

“Yes, Tameranians of both sexes do not generally cut their hair. And I must admit, I find long hair on males attractive.”

“Really?” He nuzzled her bosom a bit. “Maybe I’ll grow mine out.”

“I believe I would like that.” She pushed him under the spray, rinsing again. She turned him around and landed. “Not so much red this time.”

“Good, because this water is starting to get cold.” Robin shut the tap off .

“Oh!” Starfire gasped. “That won’t do. Come,” she handed him a towel and wrapped one around herself. “We shall go back to our room and I shall warm you.”

Robin couldn’t help a naughty grin as he wrapped the towel around his waist and followed her across the hall.

I wasn't going to write this; I was going to cut it off where it's cut off in the main story: Starfire throws Robin in the bathroom and tells him to take off his clothes. But...then I started to get some cute ideas for it, like Star holding on to him with her legs while she shampooed his hair, and I just decided to run with it. That, and every time I post a chapter, at least one reviewer says I need to write more cut scenes (yes, I'm talking to you, Lupine eyes!).

I don't know when the next cut scene will be; I do have one more planned but it's a ways down the line. But who knows...maybe if I get lots of reviews, I'll get some more cute ideas! ;-)