Author's Note: One of the wonderful things about fanfiction is I don't need to give you every intricate detail of character background. You should all know enough to fill in the gaps. I mean, I could give you background, but it'd be a lot of clutter and I think you all want to get to the guts of the story.

As it is, there's a lot of time jumps. I'm only showing you the important parts. 'Cause again, clutter and time and gut wanting.

Also, if you're reviewing anon and wondering why your review's not appearing, it's because I'm moderating them more closely now. I've had some less than polite one's lately, so your reviews might take twenty four hours to appear.

The first choice.

It was the simple things which kept them together. Holding hands. The promise of a kiss in a quiet moment. A smile. An invitation to dinner. Knees pressed together as they sat side by side and watched a movie.

A hand grab during battle which lingered a little too long.

The abstract terror one of them felt if the other was injured.

They were happy, their relationship plodding along, mixed in with the duty of being a Titan.

TTTTT

"Soooo… Nightwing huh?" Robin asked one Sunday. He leant his elbows against the kitchen bench and watched her closely. He'd been loath to interrupt her jovial singing and swishing her hips as she worked, but it'd been on his mind and he needed to voice it.

Starfire froze, lowering her hands back into the dirty dishwater. "Yes?"

"I don't suppose I mentioned when I decided to make the switch?"

"He…" She paused and corrected herself. "You did not divulge that information to me, no."

"Pity."

Turning so she could face him, she wiped her hands on the cute, frilly apron she wore and rested her back against the bench to give him her complete attention. "Why?"

He watched her carefully to judge her reaction since she wasn't giving him much to go on. "I'm going to be eighteen in a month."

She tilted her head at him. "I know."

"Batman wants me to go home for it. Or part of it at least. I thought… while I was there, I could work on the suit."

A stricken look crossed over her face before she could hide it.

He went on to explain. "He's upgraded his suit hundreds of times. He knows what to look for, he's got access to the latest technology. It'd all be a great help."

"But…"

"It's time, don't you think?"

Starfire stared at him.

His lips crinkled up in a lopsided smile. "I thought you could come with me. Help me get the style right."

One arm lifted up to curl her hand against her chest. "To Gotham?"

"Yes."

"Oh." Her hand lifted from her chest to tuck her hair around her ear as her expression uplifted and she became hopeful. "Really?"

He straightened and walked around the bench until he was in front of her. Lifting his hand, he cupped her neck. "It's time for that too, don't you think?"

Starfire beamed.

TTTTT

"Are you sure?"

"I have never been more sure."

"But… is it not too soon? Is this not a pivotal moment in an Earthen relationship? I do not wish to sully it by rushing."

"You're babbling. It's cute."

"Dick—"

"Star, let me love you."

TTTTT

"Starfire's floating more than usual," Cyborg noted.

Nightwing concentrated on the screen, his thumbs madly working the controller. "Mmm-hmm."

"She must be pretty happy," Beast Boy added, his grin as wide as his face.

"I guess so."

"Caught her doing the walk of shame," Cyborg said.

"In your shirt," Beast Boy included.

"And not much else," Cyborg finished.

"And?" Nightwing asked. Gone were the days he was embarrassed by his relationship with her.

"Nothin'," Cyborg and Beast Boy chorused, sharing a grinning glance.

"Just congrats."

TTTTT

"Gotham?"

"Yeah."

She looked bewildered. "But… I am scheduled to start at Jump in two weeks."

He swallowed. He'd dreaded this conversation all week, but it had to be done. "I know."

"But— if you are in Gotham, how are we to— I thought we were going together! You were excited and—" Her voice rose in tempo and pitch with every word.

He stalled her before she could get hysterical. "The Bachelor degree in Gotham has a more advanced curriculum than Jump's does. Plus, the professor is really brilliant—"

"What about us?"

Nightwing rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "You could come to Gotham."

"You could stay in Jump," she countered.

He sighed. "I can't."

"You cannot or you will not?" she asked. "Is it not enough I had to enrol under an Earthen persona because you insisted I would not be allowed to study under my own name? We had decided to do this together. We had plans and now I must do this alone? A new school? A new name and you shall not be by my side?"

"I know. I'm sorry."

Her jaw snapped shut at his interruption. "Are you leaving the Titans as well? Or just me?"

"I'll still be the leader," he said. "But I'm handing over day-to-day operations to Cyborg. We've already discussed it. And I'm not leaving you, I'm just going to a different school."

Hurt splashed across her face. "You discussed it with Cyborg before asking me?"

"Umm…"

"You have already made the choice."

"Yes. It's a chance for me to be normal for a while." He shook his head and corrected, "For us to be normal. Try things out. Live in a dorm. Do stupid things. Make new friends outside the circle of the Titans. College is a chance to make friends with people who are following the same career path as us, lifelong friends. I feel as though if we attend school together we'll use each other as a crutch. We won't integrate. We need to do things like an ordinary person."

"I am not normal, Dick. I can never be normal. Even pretending with a hologram ring, this—" she gestured herself, "—is who I am beneath. That will never change."

"I didn't mean it like that."

She studied him further. "You want to do this."

"Yes. I think I need to."

"Relationships are about compromise. About choice. And you made a choice which affected both of us without even consulting me?"

He swallowed. "Yeah."

Her shoulders slumped and she thumped down on the bed. "What about us?"

He knelt before her, placing his hand on her knee. "I love you," he murmured. "This doesn't have to change anything between us."

"But it will. I am told long distance relationships do not work."

"Star, you can fly at supersonic speeds. I have the N-Wing. It's not like we'll never see each other."

"You truly expect to confine our relationship to weekend visits?"

"And emails and phone calls. Summer holiday." He lifted his hand from her knee to touch her neck. "I'd like to try."

She struggled not to cry. He could see it all over her face and his stomach balled up in a knot from the pain he caused her.

"Star—"

"Go away."

"What?"

She flopped backward onto the bed and away from him. "I wish to be alone now please."

It was two days before she spoke to him again. Two days of soul searching and attempted apologies. Two days of alerts without Starfire in attendance. Two days of cautious glances and gentle words from Cyborg and Beast Boy. Two days of glares and snide remarks from Raven.

When Starfire did finally speak to him, she ripped out his heart with three simple words. "We should separate."

Flabbergasted, all he could do was stare at her.

Head held high, drawing upon her regal heritage, she stood out of reach. "I cannot deny you the 'right of passage' which comes from going to College. You should experience all it entails; it is the point of us attending."

"All it entails?" he asked, sceptical.

She looked uncomfortable. "Making new friends, studying…" she swallowed. "Parties… girls…"

"What?"

"That is what the first year of College is all about, yes?"

"No!"

She continued undaunted, "Experimentation, finding yourself, determining the direction your life will take. Being normal."

"I'm not going to Gotham so I can have sex with other girls!" he snapped, outraged at her suggestion.

"I am not saying you have to," she replied. "I am saying... if the opportunity arose…"

"It wouldn't—"

She sighed.

"I really don't like what you're suggesting," he told her. "I'm not going to cheat on you, if that's what you're worried about."

She stood so still, so stiff as she spoke. "I would rather not have our relationship wither and die under the weight of distance."

"No, you'd rather just slice it up right now than give it a chance," he ranted. "Or perhaps it's you who wants to try something new. Or someone new."

He'd meant the words to hurt and he could see it on her face they did, but she did not allow herself to be swayed. "Since we cannot attend together, then I will not deny you all the possibilities you could experience."

"Star—"

"I will not hold you back. You cannot have a normal life with me. I will not allow this to become a regret for you!"

"Starfire, it's not—"

"Do not make this harder."

Realisation settled in. She wasn't going to change her mind about this anymore than he was going to change his mind about attending Gotham State University. He resorted to pleading. "Let's talk about this. We can try—"

"No."

"It doesn't have to be this way."

The mask she wore cracked when a tear trickled down her cheek.

"Star, no, please." Never in his wildest dreams did he think this would happen. He took the necessary two steps toward her, arms outstretched. His hands grasping her cheeks and he pressed their faces together. "We can work through this."

"Dick, no—"

"Would you do this if I went to Jump?" he argued. "No, you wouldn't, why do it now?"

"Because—"

"Please don't," he murmured and planted a kiss on her trembling lips. "Please."

Her hand wrapped around his wrists and gently tugged his hands away from her face. "I need to go."

He kissed her, arms around her, hand splayed on her back to hold her to him and she responded the same way she always did. The way he hoped she would. She loved him, she did. This broke her as much as it broke him, if he could convince her via his kiss to take her words back…

She pulled away, refused to succumb. His heart splintered with each step she took away from him.

"This isn't what I wanted," he told her as she reached the door.

She hesitated for only a moment. "No one may know the repercussions of a choice. Yours was to go to Gotham… this is mine."