Beast Boy moment coming up

The characters belong to DC and Time-Warner, and I in no way own them or plan to make money off of them, but the story belongs to me.

Chapter 14

Memories

It was a spring day, if one could say spring happened in Jump City. The weather here was usually pleasant, except for the winter rains, and the leaves that fell from the trees in the autumn, there was not much else that heralded the change of seasons. Since her time on Earth she understood that in many places that the seasons changed every three months or so due to the tilt of the Earth, unlike Tamaran, that hardly ever changed seasons since its axis was only tilted by two degrees.

She was perched on a wall at the San Marcos overlook that gave a wonderful view of Jump City Bay. The sun was going down, making the view even more majestic. Even for a being that could fly, she found the view glorious. She never got over the sight of how Earth's oceans and land masses merged together, there was no such geography on Tamaran, since her home world had no oceans or large bodies of water. Much of the water was underground, in swamps or rivers and streams.

"Enjoying the view?" The voice of Nightwing, startled her from her reverie.

"Yes, the view is quite the beautiful." She answered

"When I discovered it a few months after arriving in Jump City I would come up here to think and clear my head. Especially after the Tower was built and Beast Boy and Cyborg's arguing about eating meat or being a vegetarian would get on my nerves. The view was breath-taking and there was nothing like it in Gotham. I used to wonder if this is how you saw the city when you would fly, or sometimes I'd come up here and just think about you."

Starfire cheeks flushed, then she smiled at him. "You would do the thinking of me?"

Mm-hmm, I did. Sometimes I wondered if you thought of me as more than a friend. I would think about how much I liked you and how much you meant to me. Then I would tell myself I shouldn't think about you in that way. You were a team member, and Batman always said it was bad to have relationships with team members."

"Yes, I remember you telling me that." Starfire said with a hint of sadness.

"Yeah, I know, I realized later, he was just being who he was." He smiled and put his hands in his jacket pockets.

Starfire liked seeing him out of his uniform and in civilian clothes. She liked that he relaxed his, "Only Uniforms Outside of the Tower" rule. There were many times she wanted to go out to the mall of shopping or the park or other places wearing what the other people wore. All the beautiful colors and styles of human clothing fascinated her and she wanted to try them all.

"What else did you think about Richard?" She liked how he allowed them to call each other by their given names too.

"Well, I thought about how much I couldn't stand to lose you after that time you almost got married to that slime ball, but I also found out you were a princess. Even though I was glad you wanted to come back to Earth with us, I also thought I wouldn't have chance with you either. Why would a princess want a guy like me?"

Starfire giggled, "That is the silly Richard. I wanted to come back, so I no longer had to be a princess and I wanted to be with you."

Nightwing chuckled, "Yeah, I know that now Kory, but when it came to girls, I was slow back then. I liked you, I wanted to tell you, but the old Batman training kept stopping me. What woke me up was when Cyborg called you my girlfriend, I freaked out, I didn't know what to do or say, so being the idiot I was, I refuted that and regretted it as soon as I said it."

She looked down at her dangling feet. "That seems like a long time ago now."

"Yes it does, though it's only been a couple of years now. Things have changed since then, haven't they?" He said as he nuzzled up to her, wrapping his arms around her waist.

Starfire nodded, "Yes I believe they have."

Since Tokyo, things had changed very much between them. They had grown closer as boyfriend and girlfriend and he had grown more comfortable with himself and her. He even told her he loved her a few months ago. They also became more open with each other and he allowed her to help him in solving cases. He found that she had a very astute mind that was quick at deductive reasoning.

"You know Kory, I love you very much. You've helped me to grow, mature and move on from being the sidekick of Batman and become a hero of my own. It was you who gave me the idea to become Nightwing and you helped me in that transition. I feel like you're a part of me, more than just a team mate or a girlfriend, but truly a part of me."

He took Starfire by the hand and guided her over to stand by him.

"Kory, I can't think of a life without you. You've become so much a part of my life that I want you to be in it for the rest of my life."

Nightwing dropped to one knee and pulled out a small box. Starfire put her hand up to her lips; she couldn't believe what was happening.

"Koriand'r, Starfire, Kory, we've gone through a lot and grown as friends and more, you are my best friend and the love of my life. I want to be with you now and forever. Will you honor me by being my wife?" He then opened the box which contained a silver-colored ring with a significant diamond surrounded by smaller, purple and green gemstones.

Starfire was speechless, to her marriage meant a treaty, a political union between kingdoms, nations and clans. On Earth though, it could mean that, but mostly marriage was between two people that loved each other very much and wanted to join together to create a family. She knew that was what Richard's proposal meant, but part of her was unsure. It was her intention to stay by his side the rest of her life, but she was surprised he was ready to make that commitment.

She looked at Nightwing and could see that he was not sure of what to do. He looked down and started to put the ring back in his pocket. Starfire quickly reached out and stopped him.

"Yes Richard, I will be your wife and you will be my husband."

Now it was Nightwing's turn to be surprised. "Really, I mean…, I thought..., you know when you didn't answer right away that you were going to turn me down. I thought that maybe..."

"Richard, stop talking. I was surprised that is all. I am pleased and honored that you would ask me so and at such beautiful place."

"Thanks Kory…, uh, do you want to try on the ring?"

"Of course, it is a most beautiful ring – will not my star bolts damage it though?"

"They shouldn't, the ring is made from a new tungsten alloy that is resistant to high heat and damage. The gems should withstand the energy easily I would think."

Starfire put on the ring and admired in on her hand.

"Richard the ring is most beautiful. Thank you!"

She threw her arms around Nightwing's neck and pulled him in to kiss him, a most wonderful and joyous kiss. She spun around with him in her arms, then something felt different. His arms were no longer around her and the heat of the sun was harsher than a minute ago and she was no long spinning. Her feet were firmly on a hard surface and when she opened eyes she was now standing on her balcony at the palace in Tamerus, the capital city of Tamaran.

"Princess, is everything all right. You seem distracted."

Starfire turned to face the familiar voice and it was the handsome face of Prince Karras.

"Oh yes, yes. I was just lost in thought."

"I see. So, do you agree to the proposal?" He asked.

Starfire barely shook her head and returned his answer with a questioning look. "What proposal?"

"The proposal concerning the marriage treaty Koriand'r, do you agree to it?"

Starfire realized she had been lost in reminiscing about the day Richard Grayson, Nightwing, proposed to her. Now she was back on Tamaran entertaining another proposal in less than two Earth years. Only this time it was for a Tamaranean marriage of treaty to a man who even though he was her good friend, his heart belonged to another; one that his parents and title forbade him to marry.

Starfire pressed her lips together in thought and clasped her hands in front of her. "As is my duty to my people, I will agree to this proposal. It will be a marriage of treaty only as you have said."

Prince Karras nodded his head. "Yes a marriage of treaty, of course the particulars will need to be negotiated, since the original arrangement with your father is no longer valid."

"Yes, new arrangements will need to be made." Starfire said quietly.

She looked at Karras her eyes dulled by sadness. "How soon before Tayria is made your legal concubine?"

Karras grimaced, turned away and sighed, "I will follow the tradition of the First Year if you wish Princess Korirand'r."

Starfire placed her hand on his shoulder, "Karras, you do not have to follow the tradition if you do not wish to. I know you love Tayria very much and you gave your heart to her as I did mine to another, though that one betrayed me."

Karras turned towards Koriand'r, his eyes full of sympathy; he put a hand on her cheek and she placed her hand on his.

"Oh Kory, how heartbroken you must be to have your k'orv'a betray you in such a way. Had I known you would return I would not have consorted with Tayria as I did, please forgive me for that?"

"There is nothing to forgive Karras, you did as your heart led you as did I. It is most unfortunate that we do not know the path that X'hal has set before us and she can be a cruel mistress."

Karras removed his hand and nodded, "Yes, you are right."

He took a deep breath, "You know the royal families and the people of Tamaran will expect us to produce an heir."

Koriand'r nodded, "I do, and I hope to give you strong sons and daughters that will rule Tamaran with honor."

Karras smiled sympathetically, "Yes, and I hope to make you as happy as I can and give you the best marriage I can under the circumstances. I know neither of us can change who owns our hearts, but the least we can do is to be friends and hopefully good parents."

Koriandr's smile was more genuine now, "I would like that Karras, even when we were younger you were kind to me and you are kind to me now.

She turned and looked back over her balcony. "With the houses of And'r and Ras united in marriage, maybe finally the ancient House of Tikal will finally be at peace and the threat of civil war will be no more."

Karras put his arm around Korand'r. "Yes Koriand'r may our marriage be the final step that permanently unites the people of Tamaran for ages to come."

There was a loud banging at the door of her royal apartments. She tried to ignore it, but it continued and would not stop. She excused herself from Karras and went to the door and opened it. When she did she gasped. At her door was a beaten and bloodied Nightwing held up by a malicious looking General Ph'yzzon.

"Here is your k'orv'a Princess, maybe now your heart is free to give to one truly worthy of it.

Ph'yzzon let go of Nightwing and he fell limply to the floor, and she saw the curved blade of vikan'a sword sticking out of his back. Ph'yzzon laughed at her as she looked on in horror as a scream erupted from the depths of her soul.

Starfire sat up in bed still screaming then she stopped. She looked around, her eyes moving rapidly, not knowing where she was at first, then put her hands up to her face, mostly to see if she was awake. Her breathing began to slow and she realized she was in her old room in Titans Tower on Earth. She placed a hand on her chest, in an attempt to calm herself, and that's when she heard the banging and the sound of children's laughter outside her room in the hall way.

She got out of the bed and she was covered in sweat and naked. She must have removed her outfit and armor in her sleep. She grabbed a robe she found hanging on a chair and threw it over her nakedness, not wanting to shock the Earthers. She made her way to her door and opened it cautiously to see a ten year old light green-skinned girl and eight year old gray-skinned boy, both had blue-black hair and blue eyes. They both stopped and looked up at her, their eyes wide open and jaws dropped. The boy dropped the ball of dirty socks and was about to flee when Starfire reached out and stopped him.

"You must be Joshua, and you young lady must be Arianna, and I see you have taken up your fathers love for the stink ball." She said, smiling at them both.

The boy did not take his eyes off of her, but the girl spoke up.

"You must be Starfire! Daddy talked a lot about you. Are you really a princess from another planet?" The girl said excitedly.

Starfire winked at her, "Why yes I am, or at least I was."

"You don't look like a princess." The boy said.

"Oh really, and why is that young man?" Starfire said with mock haughtiness.

"Where's your crown and stick thingy, you know the one that princesses carry to bonk bad people on the head with."

Starfire started to giggle, that turned to a hearty laugh when she saw the confused look on the boy's face. She was laughing so hard that she had to sit down. The two children started to laugh with her.

The laughter died down then the girl took a lock of Starfire's hair in her fingers and then looked her over closely. "You're pretty enough to be a princess."

"No she's not, she's funny lookin'" Little Joshua stated as a matter of fact.

"I am the funny looking, why is that young man?"

"Well for one thing…"

"There you two are." A male voice said from down the hallway.

"Starfire! Is that really you!?" The same voice said and Starfire looked up to see who could only be Beast Boy, though he was a boy no more. He was taller, his muscles were well defined and a quite handsome. He was shirtless and wearing a pair of basketball shorts. She stood up to greet her old team mate.

"Garfield, is that you?"

"In the flesh Star, though a bit older and wiser, I see you've met the kids. Have they been bothering you?"

"Well they did wake me up, but it is the ok. I was having a bad dream anyway."

He looked at her concerned, "Is everything ok Star?"

Starfire sighed, "As well as can be at the moment Garfield. I believe you know that I was brought here by Nightwing to protect me from the Justice League."

"Yeah, Raven told me about that. I wish we were seeing you under better circumstances, though I'm glad to see you."

Starfire smiled, "And I you Garfield Logan." Of all the Teen Titans that she felt had betrayed her, she believed Beast Boy to be the one who knew the least. She regretted that she had grown to hate him too, and silently asked X'hal to forgive her of such a trespass.

Starfire stood up and hugged him, "Your children are beautiful. Joshua has Raven's personality and Arianna is more like you. You must be proud of them;" she said as she released him and gestured towards his children.

A big grin crept across his face. "You can say that, but they can be a pain like their old man was in his day." He paused for a moment and took in the sight of Starfire, then he hugged her back catching her a bit off guard.

It's good to have you back in the Tower…, at least for now. The place just isn't the same without you Star."

Starfire gently pushed back from him, "Thank you Garfield, but it is only temporary, or at least until I determine a more permanent solution to my circumstance."

Garfield frowned, "Can we change your mind Star, we'd love to have you back with the Titans."

Starfire shook her head, "I don't know Garfield, there are too many memories here, and some are too painful for me right now. I hear you go by Changeling now?" She said trying to changed the subject.

Garfield nodded, "Yep, that's what I go by now, not really a boy anymore, so Beast Boy just didn't fit and Beast Man didn't sound right to me so I started going by Changeling." He stopped and looked more thoughtful, "Raven told about what happened last night and poor Tim, he's feeling all sort of guilt about it. He wished he never showed you the memorial room."

Starfire placed a hand on Changeling's shoulder. "It is not Tim's fault, he wouldn't have understood and he was very proud of the memorial. I feel bad for the making of a scene. I will apologize to him as soon as possible."

Changeling smiled, "Sure, that'd be good."

He then reached out to his children and called them over to his side, "Alright you two, go wash up and put that nasty, old stink ball away, then wash up again. Mom's got your breakfast ready."

The two children begrudgingly headed off down the hallway leaving Changeling and Starfire alone. There was a moment of awkward silence between the two, until Changeling spoke up.

"I meant what I said about it being nice to have you in the Tower again Star, it never was the same without you."

Starfire audibly sighed, "Please Garfield, I'd rather not…"

Changeling held up his hand to interrupt her, "Star, you don't have to talk about it, but I do. Please hear me out."

Starfire looked at him, a rather surprised look on her face, "Oh, ok. Say what you need to say."

Changeling's face took on a serious look, something Starfire did not recall seeing much of, then he cleared his throat to speak.

"Star, I know that what happened between you and Dick was horrible, and it broke my heart that it happened. I understand why you left, it makes sense why you did, but when we never heard from you again, well… I was devastated. You were like a big sister to me and my best friend, well after Vic of course. You're leaving like that just sucked, not for me but all of us… Personally I don't care if it sucked for Dick Grayson or not, but for the rest of us, it just wasn't fair."

Starfire wasn't sure what to think of Changeling's candor, she attempted to be calm in her answer to him.

"Garfield, from my perspective all of you were trying to protect him and siding with him. I felt betrayed by all of you not just him. By X'hal, even Raven tried to enter my mind and erase what I saw, or at least that is what I believed she was trying to do, so I stopped her by blasting her as you well know. All of you wanted me to ignore what Dick had done to me and I would not allow anyone, including my friends from ignoring such a horrible transgression of my trust and our relationship!"

Starfire was breathing harder, the irritation clear in her voice, but Changeling would didn't back down.

"Really, that's how you saw what we were trying to do? Sure we wanted you to stop and get yourself under control. You were angry and rightfully so, but you didn't even stop to think that the whole thing might not have been as bad as you thought it was, or at least have waited long enough to hear his side of the story. What I saw was not the Starfire I knew and grew to love as a big sister, no what I saw as the angry Tamaranean that tried to destroy Jump City years ago. Now you want to hear something that even Dick doesn't know? Well, guess what he and Barbara never went all the way that night. I know because Barbara told me. She told me that other than making out under the influence of the mickey Bruce Wayne slipped in their drinks that Dick passed out and she did not long after he did. Nothing more happened between them."

Starfire's face was twisted in disbelief, "Really? But I saw them in bed together, his arm around her."

Garfield's face was stone, "Did you see anything else Kory? Did you catch them in the act, were they actually in the throes of passion or just sleeping?"

"What was I to think, they were in bed together, that is all I needed to know." She answered defiantly

Garfield shook his head, "And that was enough for you to run all the way back to Tamaran? Star, c'mon, the Starfire I knew would've confronted Dick, maybe have called off the wedding, but run? No, that's not like you at all."

Starfire wanted to be angry at Changeling, but she knew in heart he was right, she would not have run, that was the way of the coward. She had always considered it was the shock of the betrayal that caused her to react in such an extreme way, but she knew herself better than that. Maybe there was another reason, but why she wasn't sure.

She leaned against the wall, not sure of what to do or say. She felt weak too and knew she was emotionally compromised. Then she looked back a Changeling who seemed to be waiting for her to say something.

"Garfield, I am not the sure… I feel confused…"

Her face grew sad, "I am sorry Garfield, what have I done? Did I throw away fourteen years of my life? I do not know why I ran, but I did, that I cannot change, I just wish I now knew what to do."

Changeling gently smiled at her, "Star, I've always been your friend, and I want to continue to be your friend. If you stay, I can help, maybe later as you come to trust us more, maybe Raven can help or the others. It might be best to leave Nightwing out of this though, at least for now, there's too much baggage between the two of you. I'll tell you this though, is I think Batman had more to do with your running away than the mickey he slipped Dick and Barbara. I'm willing to bet my prized baseball card collection on it.

Starfire looked confused, "But why Garfield, why would he do such a thing?"

"I don't know Star, I know he doesn't like aliens very much and he never liked that you and Dick were together and the idea of an alien in his family was something he didn't want. That's my guess anyway. One thing I'd like to know is if he somehow planted the suggestion in your mind, not sure how he did it, but wouldn't surprise me if he did."

Starfire considered what Changeling said, "I don't know Garfield, Dick did say that Bruce didn't intend for me to run away, or for me to catch Dick and Barbara in bed together. Dick told me that Bruce only wanted for Dick to feel guilty and call off the wedding."

Changeling shrugged, "That could be true, but you're reaction makes me think differently. Listen Raven can use her abilities to scan your mind and soul to see if a spell was cast, but only if you want her to. If one was, it would explain your reaction and maybe purge you of it."

Starfire glanced sideways at Changeling, "Would it not be gone by now Garfield and since when did the Batman use magic?"

"Depends, there could be some residual magic or more if it was powerful enough. With Batman, there's no telling what he's capable of. He knows some very powerful magical beings, both heroes and villains, so it's possible. Listen after being married to Raven for 12 years; I've kinda got an understanding of these things. Still can't wrap my mind all around it, but I know more that I used too."

Starfire pursed her lips in consideration of what Changeling said. "Garfield, I will consider what you have said, it definitely has merit, then let you know what I would like to do. In the meantime, I would like to catch a shower and freshen up a bit before venturing out of my room for the breaking of the fast."

"Sure Star, take your time. Call me if you need me. Please consider my invitation to stay though. The new kids could use some of your expertise too."

"I will Garfield and thank you for being a good friend."

Garfield turned and headed down the hall in direction his children had left. Starfire watched as he walked away, thinking to herself what a good man he had grown into and that Raven was blessed to have him. She then returned to room to get ready for a good shower and to think on the things said by Changeling. He may be on to something that she never considered in the past fourteen years and if he were right, it may change many things for her now and in the future.

Well I thought Beast Boy/Garfield/Changeling would be the best one to get Starfire to see things from a different perspective and there's more to Garfield than meets the eye. Of all the Titans, I think Starfire would feel that she could trust Beast Boy more than anybody else.

In the comics when Dick Grayson proposed to Starfire, she believed he did it to please her or was rushed in doing so. She didn't feel that his heart was truly in it, but she accepted his proposal because she wanted to be his wife very much. I tried to touch on that a little bit here, though a bit more subtle in my approach. The marriage to Karras in the comics was pretty much the same here, a marriage of treaty that ended in disaster. She liked Karras, but did not love him as she did Dick Grayson.

I hoped you liked the chapter.

Until later,

Hammer of Oblivion.