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“We’re not going to find them like this,” Robin said, his frustration evident as he shook a gadget in his hand. “No scanner can penetrate their technology.”
“And yet the Morph Parasites are not so difficult to discover,” Starfire said, “Their disguises fool the eye, but they have great trouble adapting to local custom and speech. That is how we found the nest in Jump City.”
Robin frowned. “That doesn’t help us.” He gestured around at the cobbled street, cafes and architecture, completely different from Jump. “We’re in Paris, the others aren’t here, and the only Titan member from France is dealing with another problem.”
Starfire raised a finger to her chin in thought, then smiled. “Then all we need to do is ask the local humans!”
Before Robin could stop her, Starfire had picked out a candidate - a boy roughly Robin’s age and build - and flown over to him. She kissed him fully on the mouth and then asked him a question.
«Excusez-moi, avez-vous vu des gens étranges par ici?»
Robin looked away, a sudden rush of heat to his face ensuring he did not hear the reply, or those of others Starfire questions. He didn’t notice anything else around him until he felt Starfire’s hand on his shoulder.
“One person has seen very strange people occupying a construction site nearby,” She said. Then she smiled and placed a hand on his cheek, gently making him look her in the eye. “I have made you jealous again, have I not?”
Robin shook his head. “You made the right call. It’s the quickest way to deal with the problem.” But he didn’t quite meet her eyes as he said it.
Starfire frowned gently as they proceeded towards the next alien nest.
In Mexico City, they found the aliens in an abandoned building. In Reykjavík, Iceland, they occupied an old bingo hall. In Kilkenny, Ireland they had holed up in an old church. In Akkra, Gana, they had found a spacious section in a hospital. With each city, the search became quicker as they learned to anticipate the alien parasites’ behaviour.
Robin couldn’t help but remember every stranger Starfire kissed. The brown-eyed boy in the soccer shirt. The goth girl and her shocked, giggling friends. The red-haired freckled man with the broad shoulders. The long-legged girl with the bleached hair. He found it easier to track their progress by remembering them than by remembering the actual cities.
With each one, it became harder to speak with Starfire. The worst part was that she didn’t even get angry at him for acting irrationally. She just looked sad, and disappointed.
When they finally uprooted the last nest and got home, he had left the Titan jet and gone directly to his room, not even glancing Starfire’s way. He had claimed he’d wanted to write a report.
The blank screen showed nothing but Starfire’s lips touching strangers to him. His desk chair creaked softly as he tried to begin, but nothing came.
A knock brought him out of his misery. He realized it had been almost two hours. “Robin. I am entering, and we need to talk.”
He knew he couldn’t stop her if he tried, and he didn’t. He didn’t move at all as the door opened behind him and her footsteps approached. He felt her hand on his shoulder, but didn’t acknowledge her.
For a few long moments they stood there, as if searching for words. Then Starfire gently swivelled his chair, turning him around to face her. He swallowed as she reached up and removed his mask, looking him directly in the eye. It was a privilege reserved only for her.
«Je te aime», Starfire said, gently kissing him feather light on the lips. “grá mo chroí,” she breathed, kissing him again, a little deeper. “Déjame demostrar mi amor por ti.”
“You don’t need to-” Robin started, but another kiss shut him up.
“I clearly have something to prove, amore mio,” Starfire said, sitting fully in his lap. “I can not leave you with any doubt, ástin mín.” She kissed him again, more deeply with each sentence. “Ich liebe dich, meine Süße.”
With each new language, Robin recalled who Starfire had kissed: with each kiss, he forgot them. She leaned on him fully, forcing him to hold her close so they wouldn’t fall, entrusting herself entirely to him. The hand he knew could punch through concrete caressed his face ever so gently.
“Have I found enough words to tell you how much I love you, Robin?” Her fingers were tangled in his hair.
He kissed her softly in reply, smiling ruefully. “This was the only language you needed.”
“Good,” Starfire said, smiling slyly. “Then that is the language you will use to say you are sorry for acting immature.”
It took a long time for Robin to be done saying it that night.