I'm Fine

Boundaries

In Robin's haze, he tried to open his eyes for the first time, but the lights hurt his eyes, snapping them shut. His chest felt heavy and the forced breathing of his oxygen tube hurt his ribs and collarbone. Suddenly,  he was very aware of the extreme pain he was in, aching but not what it was before. This time around, he could think clearly through the pain and nothing burned anymore. He tried to open his puffy eyes again, stinging in the light. Robin looked at Starfire's slumped head, asleep on the bed next to his hand. She was sitting in the chair next to the bed, leaned over onto the bed. He tried to move his left arm with a scratchy grunt but failed. He was tremendously weak but something felt different. He looked down his arm with concern. His arm felt like it weighed hundreds of pounds. 

"Come on, move!" He thought to himself but he couldn't muster a twitch. There was a lock of Starfire's hair about an inch in front of his index finger. "Please Move!" He pleaded but nothing happened. He opened his dry mouth to speak but his throat burned. He didn't have the energy to produce sound from his vocal cords. "I'm awake but I can't let anyone know. I'm so close but I'm trapped in here..." He continued to focus his energy on moving his finger towards Starfire's hair.

Raven woke up in a significantly better mood than earlier in the day. The air felt lighter as she looked around. Beast Boy was sound asleep in her arms and felt calm for the first time in a long time. Just then, Cyborg knocked on the door, waking Beast Boy up.

"I think I have an antidote!" Cyborg blurted as he came through the door. He held a plastic bag with a syringe in his robotic hand as Beast Boy sat up. Suddenly realizing that he just stumbled in on Raven and Beast Boy sleeping together, in the same bed, he suddenly clammed up. "Oh, sorry! I-uh, didn't mean to interrupt!" stammered Cyborg. 

"It's fine." Raven muttered with a groggy voice. 

"Are you ready?" Cyborg asked Beast Boy and he nodded. 

It seemed like an eternity since Robin had first woken up but Starfire was still asleep. He was still trying to move his left arm and was starting to panic with the lack of progress. He had discovered that he couldn't move any part of his body. His mind was racing and his heart monitor was starting to race. "Okay, relax Dick, you're not paralyzed. You can't be paralyzed. You can do this!" Robin mentally coached himself. "Please don't be paralyzed!" He mentally pleaded as he watched his hand then suddenly, he saw a twitch. A flood of relief, washed over his mind. He zeroed on his hand got his index finger and thumb to twitch. He kept twitching until he managed to pinch the lock of Starfire's hair. He struggled to tug but managed to move his wrist just enough to wake Starfire. Starfire looked up and met his puffy eyes with her own. Her eyes were puffy for different reasons and Robin knew it was all because of him. His heart sank as he saw the exhaustion she was wearing on her face.

"Robin! You are awake!" Starfire exclaimed. Robin opened his mouth to say something but all he could do was mouth the word 'Hello Star' with the sound of his breath escaping his lips. It took so much energy to focus his vision on her face but he could feel his eyes crinkling from the smile on his face. He tried to speak but all that came out was a breathy grunt. She picked up his left hand and squeezed it tight. "Do you feel the better?" Starfire asked, to with he squeezed her hand with a grin. Robin's eyelids were getting incredibly heavy. His chest felt like a large weight was holding him down. He lied there and just observed her face quietly as she watched Robin struggle to stay awake. He had so many words he wanted to say to Starfire but his inability to speak prevented him from bearing his soul. While frustrating, he was also perfectly content Star gazing. 

Cyborg sat on the edge of Raven's bed as he gave Beast Boy the antidote in his right shoulder. Beast Boy winced as the burning liquid seared his muscle. 

"Wow!" Beast Boy gasped in surprise. Cyborg held a cotton ball against his skin and taped it down. The burning continued to spread through his arm and into his back. His skin was on fire as he slumped forward and grabbed his head. His ears were ringing and the world was spinning around him. 

"Beast Boy?" Raven asked as she place her hand on his sweaty back. He was panting hard and starting to shake. He nodded through his hands as his breathing slowed. He took his head out of his hands, his green skin paler than normal. 

"That sucked!" He said with an incredulous smile before pausing to look around, "...but it's quiet!" He shouted with wide eyes. "Oh my gosh! It's quiet!!" He said through laughter. He turned to Raven with a wild smile, grabbed her face with both of his hands, and laughed. "Rae, it's quiet!" He shouted to her grinning face. Without thinking, he swooped in and planted a kiss on Raven's cold lips and pulled away to see the terrified shock on her face.

"Dude!" Cyborg shouted at the events that played out in front of him.