Broken Memories

"One-hundred and one, one-hundred and two, one hundred and three..."

I continued to count with each lift, something I have been used to doing for years. With each session I pushed my limits, only growing stronger. The thought of Bruce always crossed my mind; we always had late night work outs. I could never seem to break the habit. His words still come to mind every time I hear the bar rattle beneath my grasp.

"C'mon Robin, is that as fast as you can go?" The smirk he had given me burned into my memory.

I gritted my teeth at the memory. I hoped I'd never become like Bruce, yet I left Gotham in search for a town of my own to save, to protect. I planned on working alone, going one on one with crime, just like the masked menace.

No, I'm nothing like Bruce. Maybe I would have been like him, had I never met Starfire, my team, my friends. Perhaps my fate was changed that night. The Titans taught me that a team isn't bad; friends aren't as damaging as Bruce led me to believe. I trust each and every one of my teammates with my life. No, I am better than Bruce. Bruce works alone, no one to aid him, spare him when death is lurking in the shadows. I have an advantage.

"No, Robin. Friends are only a weakness, a weakness held against you when you find it the least likely."

I could imagine, no, I could hear him saying it. Perhaps in a previous conversation, or perhaps I spend too much time thinking of Bruce. Although, whether it be a memory or my imagination, it's true. Many times I have been forced to give up and hold myself due to my friends being in danger. Yet, I believe that is what makes my team stronger. The bonds I share with my teammates and they share with one another causes our enemies more trouble than they manage to cause us.

"One-hundred and fifty, one-hundred and fifty-two, one-"

A loud crash coming from down the hall caused me to stop, my adrenaline starting to pump. Leaving my t-shirt beside the bench, I ran out of the training room. I gripped at the rim of my pants, realizing the lack of my utility belt.

A weaker clanging from behind me brought me to Starfire's room. Without a knock, I barged in.

Starfire's room looked normal. Her bed neatly made and her dresser perfectly stable; normal. I glanced toward the middle of the room. Starfire was on her knees, papers and boxes scattered about her. Starfire appeared to be looking down in her lap, her auburn locks hiding whatever she held clenched in her hands, hidden. I could hear, what appears to be sobs escaping her lip, her body slightly trembling.

I inched towards her, still clueless to what had happened, "Starfire?" I whispered.

With a slight jump, Starfire stopped sobbing. She kept her face hidden, but after a few quick seconds she looked at me. Her slightly red eyes widened when they grazed over me. Suddenly aware of my bare chest, my cheeks heated up.

"Are you okay, Star?" I asked; trying to ignore my embarrassment and focus on Star.

"Oh, yes, I am fine, Robin," she muttered.

My eyes wandered towards what she was grasping in her hands. She noticed, for her hands slightly adjusted around the object.

"Sorry for barging in Star, I heard a crash and I just assumed-"

"No apologies necessary, I did not mean to worry you."

I felt my eyes widen as she apologized to me instead. Starfire is always so caring and usually tends to take the blame for things she has no control over. As much as it bugged me to watch her put herself in blame, I also admired her for it.

With a sniffle, Starfire placed a picture frame down on the floor next to her. It appeared to be broken, cracks coming in between the people in the picture.

I brought my gaze to her. If Starfire didn't want me to see, I wasn't about to get into her business. I know what it's like to have someone pry, and I never want to be that person.

"I must seem so foolish, shedding tears over something so small," she spoke into the silence.

"Star?" I asked, willing her to go on.

She grabbed the picture and gracefully lifted herself into the air. With ease, she floated towards me, outstretching the hand that held the frame. She turned her head in shame.

I grabbed it from her. It was a picture of her and her Knorfka. Knorfka is the Tamaranian word for someone who cared for her, I thought of him as her father figure. The two of them were hugging one another, a picture Beastboy had taken of them before we left her home planet. The picture had been taken after Star crowned her Knorfka as the new king of Tamaran. The day I feared I was going to lose her forever.

"Starfire, you aren't foolish. You miss your home, maybe you can-"

"It is not the home that I miss, just my Knorfka," she said, her words barely touching my ears.

If only she knew, we shared the same feeling. Thoughts of my parents started to come to mind, but I quickly pushed them far, far in the back of my mind.

"It's not foolish to miss someone you care about, Star."

Her bright green eyes found mine, and she gave me a smile. I returned it back.

"Here, I think I can help," I said while handing her the picture back.

I left towards my room, not only to grab a t-shirt, but to look for something to solve Starfire's problems.

I gave a smirk as I came across an old frame. I quickly took the picture of my parents and me out of the frame and placed it back in the depths of my drawer. I didn't want my memories to ruin anything now.

I walked back into Starfire's room. She was still staring down at the picture when I waved the replacement frame at her. A smile crossed her face; I could even see it in her eyes, as I slid her picture out of the broken glass. I popped the back of the frame open and slid her photo in. I placed the back on and locked the clasps.

"Oh, Robin!" She cooed, her eyes raking over the frame. "Much thanks! It is glorious! But..." She started, her bright green eyes taking on a darker green, "Have I deprived you of a frame?"

"No, I had an extra. Oh yeah, one more thing," I said, giving her what I hoped to be a reassuring smile, before walking back towards my room to grab a hammer and nail.

I nailed a nail into her wall and hung her picture on it.

"Oh! Robin!" She squealed while admiring the photo and its new home on the wall. We both admired it for what seemed like minutes.

With a sudden chill, Starfire was hugging me. I felt a smile growing upon my face.

"I don't know how to do the thanking enough, Robin," she mumbled against my chest.

"It's nothing," I promised, taking a breath of her hair, her usual fruity scent calming me a bit.

She pulled away from me, her eyes meeting mine, "But it is something, Robin. It means the most to me. You are kind."

She pushed herself back into my arms.

All thoughts of my past and present seemed to dissipate whenever I am with Starfire. She calms me in a way that I can't understand.