New format for titles because the Christmas series makes it absolute hell to try and find a fic and i already have like over 600 so we're trialling this :)

Starfire knew she shouldn't have stayed up all night but who made earth TV so binge-worthy? That was the real problem. She only intended to watch one episode before bed to wind down but then it ended on a cliffhanger so she had to watch the next one but that was a cliffhanger too. Long story short, she only just finished the series (which yes did end on a cliffhanger) and she was about to go to sleep when there was a knock on her door. It was then she belatedly realised that they had a mission. She could feign being sick but she was looking forward to the fight after a week of a dry spell in crime. She also knew that Beast Boy was already out with the flu and Robin wouldn't be happy with losing another team member. 

With a sigh, she got up and answered the door to see Robin standing in the hallway. He went to greet her but stopped himself and narrowed his eyes.

"Are you okay?"

"Of course, why wouldn't I be?" she asked nervously, trying to play it cool by leaning on the doorframe. 

"You look tired. Are you coming down with something?" He took his glove off and pressed it against her forehead. She always ran warmer than usual so she didn't see much point in the action yet she still leaned into the touch. His hands were cold despite being gloved most of the time. 

"I'm okay," she told him. He hummed and took his hand away, putting his glove back on with a sceptical look. "You worry too much." He did but he wouldn't be wrong to worry now. She was exhausted and nowhere near in fighting condition even if she was stubborn enough to think she was. 

"Are you sure you're okay? There's no shame in pulling out," he replied. Starfire considered telling him briefly. It would be nice to sleep in and tackle tomorrow with a clearer mind. "I'm happy to go alone." Nope, no, she was going.

"Why would you go alone? You said you needed a team with you for this."

"Flus go round quickly. Evidenced by both Cyborg and Raven coming down with it this morning. Didn't even know Cyborg could catch colds," he explained. "I can do the mission alone, it's just going to take a little longer. I did it all the time in Gotham so it's really not a problem if you want to sleep this off before it gets worse." 

"I'm fine," she insisted. If he went alone, something bad would happen and she still wasn't entirely over his short apprenticeship with Slade. She couldn't risk that happening again and she knew somewhere in Robin he thought the same thing. He'd been more accepting to team tag-a-longs and limited his lone missions to bare necessities. Even if he was being nice enough to give her an out, she wouldn't take it because she spent the night watching a stupid TV show. 

"Alright, it's a date then. Well, not a date, I wouldn't consider a mission a date I'm not that bad of a boyfriend. Unless the mission was to have a good date which I'd do and- yknow I'm just gonna meet you on the roof," he rambled nervously. She laughed softly and pressed a kiss against her forehead before letting him go. She may be tired but she was never too tired to overlook the blush that rose on his cheeks. 

When she got to the roof, Starfire was surprised to see a lack of a vehicle for their travel. They usually took the ship when they had to fly for a mission so Robin didn't have to break every traffic law to keep up with his friends in the sky. He turned to her with a soft smile and noticed her confusion.

"Ship is in the shop. Cyborg was supposed to have it fixed but he got sick and I didn't have time to fix it myself. Not that he'd let me, that thing is his baby," he explained. "You don't mind carrying me, do you? I can take the bike if not." 

She wouldn't mind usually. She'd be over the moon at him trusting her to carry him such a long way. He was hesitant about being carried but she could never decide if it was some obscure fear of heights that was only triggered by them carrying him or if it was a matter of pride. She often wondered if he ever thought about getting some method of flight so he could join them in the sky or if he had already tried and it didn't end well.

Today though, this was the last thing she wanted. Starfire knew she should say something now, let him know she wasn't on her top game and she didn't want to take any risks but if she did then he would insist on going alone. She wouldn't get a wink of sleep knowing he was out there on his own on a mission he'd designed for the entire team to be there for. 

"You weigh nothing," she teased lightly. He rolled his eyes fondly. "It is no trouble to carry you."

"What's easier for flight?"

"Arms up," she said. He did so with a slightly confused look and she took flight, grabbing his forearms which prompted him to do the same. The position wasn't the best for flying but she knew holding him this way would apply a constant weight she could concentrate on which should contrast the more relaxing elements of flying. Plus, if she carried him any closer, it would be too tempting to drift off. "Is this comfortable?"

"Yep," he said slightly shortly. It wasn't and she felt bad for making him have to hold on like this but she would feel even worse if she fell asleep on him midflight. 

Robin didn't know why out of all positions, Starfire would choose this one. The ship really was in the shop and he didn't feel comfortable flying in it but when he offered this option, he was admittedly hoping for something more romantic. He wasn't the best at romance. He could blame Bruce's very flat and blunt way of giving dating advice that would always end in saying that vigilantes couldn't have romantic lives. Too much to lose and not enough to gain. He'd helpfully point out all the couples that did exist in the hero world to which Bruce would insist they didn't know what happened behind closed doors and every relationship was doomed. Pessimistic as always. 

Robin knew Starfire liked physical affection. Hugs, kisses, hand-holding, the works. He struggled to keep up with it and preferred to show his love with gifts. He made sure she was safe with practical gifts he spent hours workshopping and problem testing. Whilst she would appreciate the sentiment, he knew she was always looking for something else. He could never get his mouth to work when he wanted to say how much he cared for her and his body tensed whenever he thought of letting someone be close from years of training to fight anyone who invaded his personal space. 

He was trying to be different so he suggested this but it didn't work out as he intended. He wondered if he'd overstepped or done something wrong earlier. Should he have asked before checking her forehead? She didn't seem upset with him before then. Maybe she lied about him weighing nothing and wasn't looking forward to carrying him there. He should've taken the bike. How could he think this was at all a romantic gesture? Sure he was putting all his trust in her but that wasn't romantic, this was just glorified transport. Idiot. Perhaps he could save it with some conversation. She'd been pretty quiet since they started and he was hoping it was because she felt awkward and not because she was annoyed with him.

"Hey, so, I was wondering if you wanted to go to Gotham? Not for hero work obviously and we'd have to be in disguises not because I wanna hide you or anything it's just safer. I've kinda got a reputation there," he began, kicking himself after every sentence. Robin had been thinking for a while that she should meet his parents since he'd already met her guardian. He wasn't going to break his no contact with Bruce but he could have her meet his parents in a sense. A close as she could get to them and she was always trying to get him to open up so this would be the perfect opportunity. 

She didn't answer which prompted him to ramble more.

"I wanted you to meet my parents but they're sorta dead. Well not sorta, definitely dead. I saw them die actually. Worse birthday ever am I right?" His brain screamed to shut up but he just continued in a flustered mess. "Anyway, I wanted you to visit them but they're buried in Gotham Graveyard. It'll be a pretty one-sided conversation since they're dead but I would've wanted you to meet them when they were alive." 

Again, Starfire didn't reply and he felt her grip loosen. He held on tighter and let out a nervous laugh. 

"C'mon, it's not that bad of an idea. I've already met Galfore and your sister so we've gotta be even, right? Maybe you could bring Galfore, make it all official. Not your sister though. I don't really want her to destroy the headstones. Plus doesn't she have a bunch of kids now? She'd be too busy. Not that Galfore isn't busy, I mean he's running things back home but maybe he could get the day off?" 

Her grip loosened further. He was really blowing this.

"I get that you probably want to meet Batman but we're not really on speaking terms. He's not someone I want you to meet, to be honest. Not because I'm embarrassed by you or anything because I'm not, I mean you're a princess and I'm just a guy you totally outrank me. If anything, you should be embarrassed by me!" 

The silence continued and he felt himself slip so now they were holding hands. He held on tightly, glancing down and seeing that he was far too high to survive a drop from here. Was she pranking him? Giving him the silent treatment to make him sweat because she found it funny? He looked up at her and saw a passive look on her face, her eyes half-lidded but not entirely closed. She was mad, she had to be mad.

"You don't have to meet them," he said, trying to hide how defeated he felt. He must've overstepped. Yeah, Robin, it's super romantic to take your girlfriend to your parents' grave. Idiot. "I understand if you don't want to. No pressure."

Her fingers started to loosen and he came to the horrible conclusion that he was about to drop him. She had to be joking. 

"Star, it'd be pretty nice if you could pull me back up," he commented. His grip had to be crushing by now. Still, she didn't do anything. "Star? Starfire?"

Any second now he would slip and fall and he didn't know if he'd be able to get a good hook onto one of the surrounding buildings. There was no water beneath them and even if they were, if he fell from this height it would be as good as hitting concrete. 

"Starfire?" he called a little louder. His slipped further. "Starfire!"

Finally, she made some sort of noise. Not an apology, not the beginning of a rant about how stupid he was but a snore? She was asleep. How the hell was she asleep? Worse yet he knew she was a heavy sleeper. 

"Starfire wake up!"

He was losing grip.

"Starfire!"

He slipped.

Robin was sent plummeting to the earth. His first thought was this was how his parents died. Flashes of their broken bodies hitting the floor had him already hyperventilating. He was panicking. He was better than that. He was supposed to be better than that. 

"Koriand'r!" he screamed, using the last of his breath. 

Finally, Starfire's eyes snapped open and she looked down seeing her partner free-falling to his death. She paled instantly and pushed herself to fly as fast as possible. He was going fast but she would go faster. She was determined to even as her muscles strained under the pressure and her breathing came out uneven.

Robin's arm was outstretched towards her, the whites of his mask open wide and although he wasn't screaming she knew he was desperate to but his body simply couldn't muster it up. She knew this would play over and over in his mind. His cape fluttered around him and his spiked hair came loose from the wind whipping around him. She didn't dare look at the ground below him and even if she wanted to, she couldn't as her eyes were wholly focused on him.

Distantly, she remembered Robin talking about disclosure. If you weren't on your game, he wanted to know. He didn't have to know why but he needed to know that you weren't your best. She could've told him she didn't sleep well. She could've told him she didn't sleep at all. She could've said she didn't have the energy for flying. There were so many chances where she could've said something and she didn't. Now he was falling. 

Their hands finally connected and she quickly tugged him into her arms no doubt damaging his shoulder from how hard she pulled. She held him close expecting his arms to link around her but he grabbed onto her biceps tightly and put some space between them.

"Put me down. Now," Robin demanded as sternly as his shaking voice would allow. All of him was shaking for that matter as his body adjusted from an unexpected free fall to stable flying. She nodded jerkily and let her eyes wander for somewhere to land. An apartment building was close by, no more than a couple feet below them. She dreaded to think what would've happened if she wasn't flying so high and hadn't flown as fast as she did. 

Starfire set him down carefully and as soon as his feet were on solid ground, he sunk to the floor and took long deep breaths. She took a step back to give him some room to gather himself despite desperately wanting to explain what happened. It wouldn't do any good to interrupt him. He squeezed his eyes closed and held onto himself in some attempt of a hug with a bruising grip. 

"You dropped me," he stated. "You fell asleep and you dropped me."

"I-"

"Did you or did you not fall asleep?" he asked, almost desperate to have some other explanation. Some villain to blame for this other than her. 

"I did."

"Why?"

"I didn't sleep last night. At all and I was going to tell you, I really was but then you said everyone else was ill and you were going alone and I can't lose you again because you were gone for so long when Slade took you," she answered, rushing through her words. He nodded shortly. "I'm so sorry."

"I know," he said. "I know." He sucked in a deep breath and slowly got to his feet. "Go back and get some sleep."

"What? But-"

"I need you to go home and sleep. The others don't need to know this happened, you can say that I changed my mind or that you started to get sick so I benched you. Whatever you decide, I'll go along with."

"Are you still going on the mission?" He shook his head. "How are you getting home?"

"I'll figure it out." Starfire didn't move. "Starfire, go."

"Why?"

"You need to sleep. Clearly."

"But you're upset. I should stay here with you." He stared at her in silence. "I scared you."

"You didn't scare me. Falling scared me. I don't want to die like them," he whispered.

"I'll always catch you even if I'm the one to drop you," she told him.

"Did you hear anything I said? Before you dropped me?" She shook her head. "I asked if you wanted to meet my parents since I met Galfore. At first, I thought you were mad. Then I look up and you're asleep." He laughed under his breath and she couldn't help but join him because of how stupid it was. Falling asleep whilst flying. Then he laughed louder and shook his head. "How do you even fall asleep flying?"

"It's like sleepwalking I guess?" she replied through giggles.

"That's so dumb," he chuckled. "Why were you that tired?"

"Binge watched a show I found." 

"Oh my God," he muttered. "Was it even a good show?"

"Not really." He ran a hand through his hair and fought the urge to break into another round of laughter. "I really am sorry."

"I know."

"Should we go home?"

"Yeah. Think I have a bike stashed somewhere near here. No flying just yet." Starfire nodded awkwardly. "Do you want to see my parents? Or I guess their graves? Wow that sounds so morbid."

"I'd love to meet your parents."