Author's Note: Alright, so if ya'll follow me on Tumblr, you'll probably know I've been moaning this weekend about not being able to post this chapter thanks to whatever little posting fault was having. But, now that it's been taken care of, here we are with an update.

This chapter and possibly the next one will be shorter than the other ones have been lately. There's no reason for this; they just are.

Next update should hopefully be Wednesday but I'll keep you updated on Tumblr if that doesn't look likely.

Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans.


Starfire lay on her side, tears sporadically leaking from beneath her eyelashes. She tried blinking them away, only for a whole fresh batch of tears to fall instead.

A shuddering sigh fell from her lips and she squeezed her eyes shut, her hands clasped together and forced to her chest.

Her heart was hammering in her chest.

It had been about an hour since Robin stormed out of her room and he hadn't come back. Of course, she couldn't blame him but her heart ached over him.

Sniffling, she brought her hand up to her face, rubbing the wet patches on her cheeks away.

It was absurd; how quickly her mood had plummeted since that afternoon.

She had truly wanted to tell him the truth under better circumstances. Everything happened so fast and she could barely even remember what was said between them before Robin stormed out of her room.

It hadn't been intentional. Starfire hadn't meant to clam up like she did. But, him discovering and growing concerned over her scars had startled her and any chance of an explanation went straight out the window.

Starfire felt ashamed with herself. She hadn't intended to keep her own secrets from him but she had been so scared of his reaction. There were certain aspects of her life that she didn't know if he would accept or understand. Life on Tamaran was so very different to her life now.

She was different now.

There were decisions she had had to make in her past and she was unsure of how he would respond to some of those. Her heart told her he would not approve and that is what fueled her fear even more.

A light knock on her door surprised her. She hiccuped and turned her head slightly to look at the door.

"Starfire?" There was a pause, "It's Raven..."

She whimpered, "I-I am not the good company at present, Raven."

The empath sighed from the other side of the door, "I know... I can feel your emotions... I just thought... if you need someone to talk to right now..."

Starfire waited. No matter how upset she was feeling; she knew Raven's company above anyone else's would be a refreshing welcome.

Pushing herself into a sitting position, Starfire sighed, "Please... enter, friend..."

The metallic door opened with a quiet hiss, allowing Raven into her dwelling.

Raven's eyes were trained on Starfire and her heart wobbled. She was unused to seeing the Tamaranian so depleted and sad. Waves of anguish and regret rolled off of her best friend and Raven could do nothing really, besides let her emotions wash over her.

She paused, noting how Starfire was bundled up in her covers, knees drawn to her chest and her arms wrapped around them. Her room was cloaked in darkness, a red flag of her downtrodden mood, in Raven's opinion.

The empath frowned and clicked her tongue, flicking the light switch on.

Starfire winced and shied away from the light now illuminating her room.

"Staying in the darkness is much more me, don't you think?" Raven pointed out dryly as she wandered towards her friend.

Giving into a tiny smile, Starfire shifted, and motioned for Raven to sit on the bed in front of her. Starfire knew Raven could feel everything she felt so when the ghost of the smile faded, she didn't have to worry. She couldn't hide emotions from Raven. She was all seeing with that one.

Starfire sighed as Raven sat cross-legged before her. She really wished things had not gone that way between her and Robin. She had wanted to explain things in her own time so that he understood and was properly informed.

Now, because he had seen the scars on her wrists, he had stormed off completely unaware of the truth behind them, thinking all kinds of things about why they marked her skin in the first place.

She couldn't make excuses though. No matter how much she wished it wasn't true, she had been lying to him to some extent. It wasn't intentional and was without malice but she hadn't been truthful and open with him like he had with her. Robin had even gone to great lengths to ensure he told her everything about who he really was.

He deserved the same from her.

Starfire sighed again.

"Second sigh... doesn't bode well." Raven murmured, watching her carefully.

The Princess rested her chin on top of her knees and blinked slowly at her, "You are reading my emotions, no?"

Raven quirked a small smile, "Just checking on how you're feeling..." Her eyes fell to Starfire's body, "And... making sure you're... physically okay."

Starfire suddenly frowned, "Argument or not, Robin would never hurt me, Raven-"

The empath shook her head, "Not Robin... we heard some of what was said."

Her green eyes closed, "Oh."

"Scars?"

Starfire reopened her eyes to find Raven staring at her with a great deal of concern. The Tamaranian tapped the inside of her now covered up wrists, indicating where said scars were.

Raven's eyebrows furrowed, "Sorry... it's just, on Earth... when people feel depressed because of bad things that have happened to them... they sometimes self harm and-"

Starfire bristled, realizing one of the thoughts that must have also entered Robin's mind upon seeing the gruesome remainders of wounds.

"Raven, the scars I have are not self inflicted. None of them. I would never mutilate myself. Ever." Starfire replied, defiant on the matter.

Raven held up a hand in defence, "I just wanted to hear it for myself. You hear scars and... a lot of things go through your head."

Starfire sighed, "That is... not what they are from. I can assure you of that."

She nodded slowly, "But... that is what you and Robin were arguing about?"

Shrugging, Starfire made a face at Raven who raised an eyebrow back at her, "I'm just... trying to help."

Starfire nodded, "I know..."

There was a pause and Raven was careful not to push. She knew Starfire well; better than most actually but, she also knew that if she pushed too much, Starfire might kick her out with that warrior wrath they all knew she possessed.

Raven, Beast Boy and Cyborg had been worried when they arrived home to hear raised voices coming from Starfire's room. They'd hurried closer, intending to see what was happening and when they realised it was a fight between the two, they'd found themselves frozen in place.

"The... scarring on my skin has a link with my past... my time before Earth." Starfire admitted, quietly as she stared at her purple bedspread.

"Okay..." Raven responded, hoping to prompt her into sharing a little more, simply so she wasn't bottling all of her feelings up inside.

Starfire sighed, "Robin was... extremely unhappy with me for not telling him of these scars... I believe they did the catching him off guard. He was not expecting to see them... you and I are both aware of how much Robin dislikes things he is unprepared for."

Raven nodded, "He's no fan of surprises, that's for sure."

The Princess shook her head with despair, "Oh Raven..."

She dropped her face to her hands, sniffling anew and breathing deeply in an attempt to quell her guilt and sadness.

Raven sighed, feeling sympathetic for her alien friend. She shuffled closer and opened her arms out a little, a deadpan expression on her face,

"Come on... but don't get too used to hugs from me."

Starfire wept as she crawled up to Raven and threw her arms around her, burying her face against Raven's shoulder. The empath's hands came to rest against Starfire's back as she clung to her best friend.

Raven let her hands glow a light blue colour as she discreetly healed Starfire's emotional pain; not too much so that she would notice but enough to calm her a little.

She patted her back once she was finished, trying to soothe her as best she could.

"So... he was mad just because you had some scars that he didn't know about?"

Shaking her head, Starfire sucked in a breath, preparing herself to explain. She hoped it would help to ease her heart; to talk to Raven.

"I-I believe he became angry because I have been keeping secrets from him... I did not aim to do that at all... I-I was simply scared..."

"Scared of what?"

"His reaction... I... Raven, there are certain things about me none of you know... truthfully, I hoped to never address them even though it seemed inevitable that I would one day have to explain."

Raven touched her arm, "Starfire, I'm not going to make you tell me. Your past is your own. You have to explain things when you feel ready. If you want to tell us at some point, then by all means. You know we'll be here for you."

Starfire gave her a watery smile, "Thank you, Raven."

"I can understand why Robin is upset... you two share a real closeness. He trusts you the most with things."

Her smiled faded, "Robin was the first person I ever trusted when I came to Earth... his opinion of me... it is important. I wished to explain the issues of my past calmly with him... not... not like this at all."

"I understand... and Robin will too, y'know. Eventually."

Starfire hopelessly glanced up at her, "Will he?"

Raven furrowed her eyebrows, "Of course he will... despite things, that idiot loves you, Star. He's just annoyed at the moment that you kept something from him. He's probably a little hurt as well."

She nodded, "He spoke very much of his opening up and sharing of his own past. I am aware that was not easy for him to do, especially as he has the troubles expressing emotions and letting people in.

Frowning, Raven shrugged her shoulders, "That's likely his biggest issue with this whole thing... he felt vulnerable telling you about something he's kept buried for a long time... so, he probably feels... betrayed in a sense. He's not used to letting himself be that open with someone and I guess... finding that you hid things from him... it hurt him."

Starfire felt new tears dripping down her cheeks as she meekly looked at Raven, "I-I did not mean to..." Her voice was quiet and sounded very fragile.

Raven smiled sadly back at her, "I know..." She sighed, "Star... you're the closest anyone's ever gotten to him... he will come to realise that he went off too quickly. Like always."

Shoulders slumping, Starfire twiddled her fingers and sniffled, "His reaction was justified."

"Mm... maybe... but, I speak from experience when I say... sometimes we don't want to bring up the past." Raven glanced down at her pale hands, "We want to leave it exactly where it is. Sometimes, we think it's better off hidden."

Starfire remained silent, but there wasn't really anything she could say.

Raven shook her head, "I tried so hard to keep the prophecy of my birth from all of you. And it was for a similar reason... I had grown to love you all like family. I didn't want any of you to know what I was deep down, in fear you would all turn from me."

"Raven..." Starfire whispered. Raven had never been so verbally open with her about how she felt during the time they learned of the mark of skath and of Raven's bleak destiny.

"I know... none of you would. I know that now... but, it took all of you finding out the truth for me to realize that... just a thought."

Starfire nodded, understanding what Raven meant. She suddenly reached forward and grabbed Raven's hand,

"Thank you, Raven."

The empath squeezed her hand and stood up from Starfire's bed, "It's okay... just come and see me if you need to meditate or something, alright?"

Starfire nodded again, giving Raven a weak smile and watching her as she walked back over towards the door and left, leaving Starfire to her own thoughts again.

She woke with start, her eyes opening with deliberate slowness as she stared straight ahead. Laying on her side, she gazed into a particularly dark corner of her room.

Starfire felt extremely groggy. It was still light when Raven had visited her but now the world was utterly drenched in darkness. She assumed it was late and was only vaguely aware that she fallen asleep.

She felt uncomfortable to say the least.

Her hair was sprawled all down her back and over her shoulder and was still a tad damp from earlier when she had been crying. Her cheeks were scratchy and dry now and she felt a tired sting beneath her eyes.

Yawning, she lifted her head to look at her clock.

2am blinked back at her.

Starfire sighed, shutting her eyes tightly again. She still felt a little dazed, so much that she almost didn't hear the quiet click of her window or the shuffle behind her.

She frowned, turning over and squinted into the darkness, hopeful of who the sound came from.

"Robin?" She whispered,

It may have been pitch black, but she noticed the flash of colour. She would have recognized it anywhere.

Starfire made to spring from the bed, poised for a fight but he was evidently quicker.

Something zipped through the air and Starfire felt a sharp, sudden pinch in her neck. Her eyes widened as she tried to swipe for him, her efforts going to waste.

She coughed repeatedly and patted around her throat, pulling out a thin dart like object.

Nausea and disorientation was quickly consuming her and she was powerless to stop it. Her starbolts weren't lighting her hands and the strength was evaporating from her body.

She felt weak and woozy and Starfire realized with growing panic that she had been tranquilised or drugged as fatigue started to become her.

Starfire tried to speak but all that came out was a quiet, muffled warble.

There was a smirk in his voice as he merely stood there and watched her succumb to his attack.

She slid down, her legs going out from under her. Starfire slumped to the floor, stretching her hand across the carpet, towards the door, "Robin..."

"I'm afraid not."

Starfire felt her breathing quicken before her vision blurred and her world slipped beneath a veil of blackness.


Author's Note: So, a little talk with Raven, just to ease Starfire's feelings. If anyone understands about hiding something for the right reasons, it's Raven. I also wanted to get my fave gals to have a scene together as they haven't for a while.

Nice little, comforting chapter... what? The ending bit?

Oh yeah...