Starfire approached her boyfriend's door timidly. She very much wished that they did not have to do this- she did not want to confront Richard and Barbara about their anger towards her. After all, as soon as they found Beastboy they would leave Gotham City and return home. Why then could they not simply avoid the pair until they were able to leave?
She knew that no words could alter her feelings or Tim's, but still this confrontation would be unpleasant in the extreme. Still, she supposed it had to be done if Tim were to be comfortable with their relationship. With that in mind, she knocked on the door to Tim's chamber.
Her boyfriend opened the door, a grim look on his face. "Hi, Starfire. Did you sleep well?"
"No" Starfire responded honestly. "In truth, my slorvax was most unpleasant. I am most worried about our confrontation with your adopted siblings. I fear they will be most hostile, and perhaps initiate the yelling."
Tim rubbed his head and looked away. "About that… I think it might be better if I faced them alone. I have a feeling this is going to get ugly and it's only going to be worse if you're there for them to focus on. If it's just me, I think they'll have an easier time keeping themselves together. Is- Is that okay with you?"
Starfire smiled, relieved. "It is most gloriously okay, Tim!"
Tim looked up, unable to believe his ears. "You're not hurt?"
"Why should I be hurt?" Starfire asked still smiling happily. "After all, I know that you love me. I know, therefore, that you will tell me all that shall occur and that you will not allow them to pressure you into not loving me. All that has changed is that I will not have to confront them myself- something I knew would be most unpleasant."
Tim smiled back "So in a way, I'm doing you a favor, huh?"
Starfire leaned down slightly to press her forehead against Tim's. "Yes, a grand favor and I promise I shall repay you. I believe I heard Cyborg mention that his chamber was just above the library and that he could hear much of what occurred below. Would it be all right if I were to listen to your conversation from there? I am sure Cyborg would not mind and would grant me privacy were I to request it."
"That's a good idea" Tim replied leaning up to give his girlfriend a quick peck on the cheek. "I'll help you get set up"
Down in the Batcave, Batgirl emerged from her tunnel to find Batman seated in front of his main computer. Without looking up Batman spoke. "Batgirl, what do you know about Slade?"
Batgirl paused to collect her thoughts before answering. "Robin says he's the most dangerous villain in Jump City. Crime lord, terrorist and mastermind. Often used others as pawns against the Titans. Never caught. Obsessed with the Titans. Tried to turn Robin to his side, then used Terra to attack the team. Finally disappeared after Trigon's attack."
"All signs of a first class mind and an experienced criminal." Batman agreed "So why is there no record of him anywhere other than Jump City?"
Behind her mask, the younger vigilante frowned. "Nothing on him in the database?"
"Nothing on him anywhere" Batman corrected. "I've checked and crosschecked every municipal, state, national and international police database I could find. I have no reference to any significant criminals using the name 'Slade' nor to any known super-criminal whose costume matches the one described by Robin. "
Batgirl approached the computer before replying "Maybe just changed name and costume?"
"Unlikely. Most villains- and heroes, for that matter- invest a great deal of themselves into their costumed identities. It's rare for them to change them to any significant degree and they never do so lightly" Batman said. "However, it's even less likely that this 'Slade' is a newcomer- I've gone over Robin's reports of his crimes and everything about them indicates an extremely experienced operator, with powerful connections and a great deal of skill. Someone like that doesn't just pop up out of nowhere"
Batgirl shrugged. "Not important right now. Need to find Beastboy. And Slade isn't in Gotham anyway."
Batman grunted and pushed away from the console. "Until we get more information, there's nothing we can do about that. Slade brought his business into my city, which means I won't stop until he's brought down. For now, I'll set the computer to search for any further information regarding Slade while we continue on our search for your friend. In the mean time, let's get started on today's exercises. When your pupil Raven comes down, I'd like you to run her through a few kata- show me what she can do."
Batgiril nodded. She knew that Batman was eager to analyze Raven's progress as a means of judging Batgirl's own abilities as an instructor. Truth to tell, she wasn't very worried- Raven's progress had been quite astonishing, likely due to her traumatic experience at the hands of Doctor Light and to her well-honed abilities to focus her mind. Already she had mastered a number of throws, holds and striking kata which she would be able to show Batman. If they were very lucky, the Dark Knight might be impressed enough to offer to share his own knowledge, Batman's training was likely to be far more effective than her own, and might keep Raven from worrying too much about what her boyfriend was likely suffering. That decided, Batgirl headed for the training area of the Batcave.
Tim arrived in the library a little after four, having taken some time helping Starfire. Together, the pair had found a small hole in the floor of Cyborg's room. Tim had then given the alien girl a glass and explained how it could be used to aid listening. He always loved explaining things to Starfire- her face seemed to light up with happiness at every new thing she learned.
He found Dick and Barbara seated in two of the study's chairs, both facing the door. Two empty chairs rested in front of them, clearly meant for himself and Starfire. Barbara's wheelchair rested in one corner of the room, abandoned for this meeting. Dick gave Tim a small smile.
"You're a little late and a little alone" he remarked. "I'm guessing you decided your girlfriend shouldn't hear what we had to say?"
"That's not it" Tim replied in a tight voice. "I just didn't want you two losing control in an already volatile situation. Despite what you might think, Starfire is neither weak nor a 'stupid girl'"
Barbara winced at that. "We don't think she's either, Tim. In fact, judging from your reports, she seems like a very intelligent and strong willed girl. For what it's worth, I'm deeply sorry for what I said this morning. Blame it on too little sleep and too much failure in recent days. I was hoping to apologize to her today- I'll make it a point to do so afterwards."
Tim relaxed slightly. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all- if Babs wanted to apologize, whatever she had against Starfire couldn't be too serious."Do so. So, if you think so highly of her, why have you been treating her so coldly."
"Too be honest, Tim, we're a little concerned about your relationship with her" Dick said, motioning for his 'brother' to take a seat. Once Tim did so, the older man went on. "We have some… fairly substantial worries about it in fact. Normally we would have just spoken to you, Tim, but we know you. You don't do well with unsolicited advice or with people questioning your decisions. We had to wait for you to come and talk to us, but when you didn't… well, I guess we allowed our worries to color our treatment of her."
Tim frowned. "What objections could you possibly have to my relationship with Starfire? She's kind, sweet, caring, honest and beautiful. "
"Well, there are a lot of them, Robin" Barbara said "But mostly they center around two main issues: She's an alien and she's a princess."
"What?" Tim cried, rising from his seat "You mean this is all some sort of stupid racist or class-based thing? How dare-"
"Tim, do you ever want to have children?" Dick cut in.
"What?" Tim was a bit put off by the seeming change of topic, but like any vigilante he was quick to find his wits. "Yeah, I hope to someday."
"Well you've picked the wrong girl" Dick replied. "Your DNA and Starfire's are totally incompatible- in fact, I'd be astonished if her genes even resembled those of a human. All life on Earth has some common links, since we all share the same original ancestor, but Starfire lacks even that. Since reproduction requires a combination of genetic material, that kind of rules out kids"
Tim shrugged, not visibly agitated. "Not a huge deal. If life with you and Bruce has taught me anything, it's that family is who you lo0ve not who shares your blood. We can always adopt. "
"Okay" Barbara said "How about this: How long do Tamaranians live?"
"I-" Tim frowned, and wrinkled his brow. " I… don't know. I mean, Star's seventeen now, and she's aged normally so far, but that doesn't necessarily mean much. For all I know, she could outlive me by centuries"
"Or she might die in a few years." Dick countered "I've spoken to Kyle Rayner and John Stewart. Neither of them know very much about her people- the Green Lantern Corps has some kind of rule against interfering in that part of the galaxy. But they both said that very few species match the human lifespan; most are either much longer lived or much shorter lived."
"Past that, there's the issue of sexual compatibility." Barbara added. "Starfire's biology is only superficially like ours. For all we know, 'sex' for her means laying eggs or something even stranger. That might be kind of important in a long-term relationship."
Tim nodded slowly. "Those are all reasonable points, but I don't think they're your main concerns. I mean, nothing about them explains the way you treated Starfire, plus they really aren't deal-breakers as far as a relationship goes. So what else have you got?"
Dick shared a look with his fiancée and when he next spoke, his voice was gentle. "Tim, how long do you think Starfire is going to stay on Earth?"
"Huh? I don't know, as long as she wants to I guess." Tim replied, puzzled by such a simple question.
"Really? Tim, she's a PRINCESS. She's what- next in line for the throne? Maybe second in line? Even if her parents or sister don't suddenly die, do you really think they're going to allow the crown princess to bum around on an alien planet for the rest of her life?"
"Not only that, but from what you've told us about her, Starfire is very devoted to her people." Babs added "Do you think she'll willingly abandon them forever? Especially if her sister is as evil as you said she was? Wouldn't she eventually HAVE to go back, to make sure Blackfire doesn't just seize control as absolute tyrant?"
"I- uh…Ah…" Tim stammered. He hadn't thought about that before. "I- I'm sure we'll be able to figure something out."
"Really?" babs asked skeptically. "What about cultural differences? For example, are Tamaranians monogamous? Is Starfire going to be satisfied with one mate or will she want several? Will you be equals in the relationship or are you just going to be her consort?"
"Then there's the issue of whether her position will allow a long term relationship with you" Dick continued relentlessly. "I'll be the first to admit that my knowledge of alien royalty customs and traditions isn't everything it might be, but I know this- any royal family that possesses real power rarely allows its members to marry just anyone. They usually make sure that marriages bring them the maximum amount of political and economic ties. That means those they marry have to be royalty, or at least aristocrats. And unless you've inherited a title we don't know about, Tim…"
"Even if you did" Babs interrupted "I don't think it would matter. Tim, didn't you tell us that Starfire almost married some alien prince? Do you really think that he's the only potential match her family will find? If they did that once, it seems likely they'll do so again, and nothing you- or anyone on this planet- can do will make you a viable choice for that kind of arranged marriage."
Tim didn't respond. The truth was, he'd never given these issues any thought. A true child of American democracy, he considered Starfire's title a pleasant quirk. He'd never stopped to consider what her royal blood might actually mean for her, for them. He found he couldn't simply reject his 'siblings' points- they made a lot of sense.
Seeing the distress on her young friends face, Babs leaned forward and took his hand in her own. "Do you see why we're saying these things to you Tim? It's not that we want to hurt you, or keep you from moving on now that Steph's gone. It's because there are some real problems in your relationship with Starfire."
"Worse, they're problems Starfire already knows about. " Dick said grimly "I don't mean the problems relating to her species- it's natural to think of all species as being the same as your own, and she probably didn't give it any more thought than you did. But as a princess, the difference between herself and a commoner would have been drilled into her from a very young age, as well as knowledge of her duty to her people. So unless Starfire is much stupider than any of us believe, she must have already thought of the social problems we mentioned. The fact that she never mentioned them to you has two possible explanations. The first is that Starfire has decided to abandon her people and her planet, and to keep that information from you so you don't feel guilty over it. The second… well…"
Here Dick paused, unwilling to voice his other theory. Barbara shot him a look, and leaned forward, still holding Tim's hand. "The other explanation Tim" she said in a quiet gentle voice "is that she doesn't think of your relationship as a long term thing. She looks at it the way some girls view a guy they meet on vacation- someone to have fun with until they go home. The reason she never mentioned these problems I because she doesn't plan to be around long enough for them to be issues."
Tim looked at Babs and tried to make his voice angry. "Starfire says she loves me. Are you calling her a liar?"
"No, we're saying that an alien might have a different understanding of what 'love' means." Dick replied. "it's a tricky enough concept for humans to grasp, and with Starfire's linguistic and cultural differences, it's possible she's using the term In a sense that we wouldn't consider appropriate. For example, how do you know she doesn't mean 'I love you for NOW'?"
Tim sat silently for a moment, letting all these new thoughts sink in. Suddenly he rose from his seat and headed for the door, his gaze vacant. "I have to talk to Starfire" he said, his voice devoid of emotion.
When he'd left, Barbara turned to her fiancée with a worried look on her face. "Dick, Im not sure we did the right thing." She said,. "I mean, Tim's not taking this at all well. If he'd gotten angry or sad or done SOMETHING,. I'd know he was okay. But to give no reaction at all…"
"I know what you mean Babs" Dick replied, never taking his eyes from the door. "When Timmy goes cold like that it means he's feeling something so powerful he's afraid to let it show. But we had to do it- one way or another, the princess thing IS going to be an issue and he'd have taken it a lot worse if it happened without warning. At least this way he can either end the relationship on his own terms or preparing for whatever will happen."
Babs gave a sigh and sat back in her chair. "I hope he'll be okay, Dick. "
Dick nodded. "Me too, Babs. Me too."
A/N
All these issues are ones I came up with when I was writing Joker's Wild and really gave a thought to what dating an alien princess would actually mean. Like I said, this isn't Barbara or Dick (or me) bashing anyone, but raising real concerns.
Sorry about the wait on this chapter. Here's a new deal: I promise to update this story when and as I can, and to make each chapter a bit longer to compensate.
I thought about including a few writing tips in this chapter, just general stuff I find helps me when I write Titans. People seemed to enjoy my Joker Writing Tips ™, so I figured why not? But it kinda struck me as presumptuous to just include 'em- sort of a "Here partake of my infinite wisdom and genius, ye insignificant mortals" thing. So is anyone interested in seeing something like that, or should I just keep my mouth shut?
