"STARFIRE!" Robin screamed as he watched the girl plummet into the murky depths of the ocean below. His mind didn't have time to process what had happened but it felt like his heart had been snapped in half. The girl he loved deeply but was too scared to tell was spiral down into the deep. As he watched her limply splash into the water below his brain finally caught up with what had just transpired.
He remembered that he had been shoved and as he turned to look he saw that a large boulder had collided with Starfire's back. That boulder was meant for him and she had pushed him out of the way and took the blow herself. Why did she do this? He already knew that she was more durable and a lot less fragile than he was but why did she put herself in harm's way just for him?
His feet caught up to his mind as he found himself automatically diving off of the sheer cliff face and into the deep ocean below. Normally he would have come up with an escape plan for a scenario like this but he hadn't even decided there would be an escape. He needed to get her out and that was it. Robin the boy with a thousand plans was reduced to one. Save Starfire.
His body convulsed as he hit the cold waters below and he immediately began his scan for any sign of Starfire under the waves. His lungs were burning as he searched but as he saw her lifeless form slowly sinking towards the bottom, he decided that his lungs weren't a priority here. He dove down further and towards the sinking form until he reached and grabbed hold of her tightly before desperately trying to swim upwards.
He realised his fate moments later as he saw how far away the surface was and judging by the little amount of oxygen in his lungs, he wouldn't even make it half that distance. He half expected his life to be flashing before his eyes like he saw in the movies but he was disappointed to find that the only thing he saw was her unconscious face in front of him and the knowledge that he had failed her.
That boulder was meant for him and if it had met its target she would have been fine. As the water slowly bubbled around him he felt himself slipping into the darkness and succumbed to it.
He awoke to the feel of sand beneath him, he couldn't feel the water coasting him around anymore and he seemed to be perfectly still. His lungs burnt from the oxygen deprivation before and he found he could only take small slow breaths at the moment unless he wanted to feel the agony of taking in more. His ears were ringing but as they slowly adjusted he picked up the sound of muffled sobbing, As his senses started to return he also felt a large weight on his stomach. He slowly opened his eyes and the sight before him was that of Starfire's head buried deep into the folds of his shirt whilst sobbing profusely.
Opening his mouth made his throat feel raw but he needed to know that Starfire was okay "St-ar" he croaked out
"Robin?" she asked softly, muffled by his shirt. She lifted her head and peered at the boy's face before throwing her arms around his neck and burying her head into his shoulder "Robin! Oh thank X'hal you are the O and K" she said with excitement but still through her lasting sobs.
"Are you okay Star?" he asked still barely able to speak
"Yes I am fine Robin" she replied meekly before adding "I thought I had done the losing of you Robin" she said her sobs starting to return "You were not breathing and so I tried to do the CPR you taught me, but nothing seemed to work"
"And I thought I had lost you Star. That's why I jumped after you" he replied weakly
Robin bringing it up again seemed to be too much for Star and her emotional dam that was already failing now came crashing down. She threw her arms around him and pressed her lips to his desperately. She now understood what she had almost lost. "You will not do the leaving of me again Robin!" she commanded through the tears that were spilling down her face.
Robin raised his hand and tried to gently wipe them away from her eyes "As long as you promise to do the same Star" he said with a soft smile before gently pulling her back down so their lips met again.
The End
Author's Notes:
This is the shortest story I have uploaded but I really don't see anything else I would add so I think it's short but sweet.
Next Story: Either another chapter for "Moving Forward" or another one-shot. Depends on my mood when I get down to writing.