Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own the Teen Titans, but I'm working on it. World Domination will be MINE! I don't own Barney the Purple Dinosaur either (which is good because that creature is freaky beyond all freakyness)
Thanks for all the reviews; there's so many! I'm definitely starting to see the rift growing, so this should be interesting… There's so many different, and valuable points coming across, I just hope everything stays nice… HINT, HINT. No nasties, or else. Sorry I didn't reply to you all, I wanted to, but it's late and I'm tired… I noticed that lots of you wanted to see the catfight, so I hope you like it, and don't think too badly of me…
On with the story!
Cookie Dough-Chapter 3: Breathe, Darling'… We love you, Berney! I know Mary-Sue; lets all sing the love song! I love you, you love me, we're a happy family. With a great big and a kiss from me to you-'
"JOAN!" Hannah wailed, as her older brother got up and switched the giant, plasma screen t.v. off, therefore cutting off Berney the Polka-Dotted dinosaur's grand finale. "I w-want BERN-NEY!"
"Hannah, shut-up!" He growled, picking up a cushion from the Grayson's sofa and pegging it at the younger girl. She blinked for a moment, green eyes welling up with tears, then starting screaming. "MUMMMMMYYYY!"
Terra stormed into the fashionably styled living room and hissed at the pair, "Be quiet, the both of you! Treeflower is sleeping!" Hannah started sniveling at the reprimand before Terra threw her a threatening look. "Don't you pull that stunt on me, Missy" Frowning in thought, the woman added, "In fact, you better come with me. Joan, go… go annoy your father"
Then, pulling Hannah in tow, Terra left for the outside recreation area.
Truth be it, she was worried about Raven. Even though she and the socress had a… rocky past, and were far from ever being close friends, Terra was nervous about how she and Starfire were going to react when they met. Star was meant to be arriving with Cy and his family, and so far Raven had locked herself in the Grayson's room, meditating (though more out of habit than necessity).
She knew that Raven had been reluctant to take her feelings with Robin seriously at the beginning, but now that Star was back in the picture, Terra was concerned that Raven might just give him up entirely. Maybe the former gothic didn't see it through her paranoia, but the love that had been there on their wedding day was still there in their-ridiculously perfect-home.
On the other hand… Robin had loved Starfire… a lot.
But things could change, couldn't they? He must have gotten over the beautiful, happy alien who had stolen his heart, hadn't he?
Terra bit her lip as she and her daughter (who was bawling her eyes about being taken away from the .t.v.) stepped out onto the patio. Out in the courtyard, she could see BB talking with Robin, a can of tofu juice in one hand, and a plate of his disgusting (though she wouldn't say it to his face) tofu salad in the other. Joan was moping by his father's feet, bored senseless.
Making a quick evaluation of the dinner table's contents, Terra realized with a twist of dark humor that if something happened and Raven lost control of her powers, there was a great chance that everything (plates, cutlery, pork-ribs and tofu salad) would go flying. Call her fickle, but she did not want her dinner all over her face.
A loud HONK came from the front, signaling the arrival of Cyborg's clan and Terra clicked her tongue, muttering darkly, "This is going fun"
TTT
Stepping inside the Grayson home, Starfire's eyes wondered around her. It wasn't a huge mansion like she had been led to believe (thanks to Abe's ramblings), but rather, a comfortably medium sized house.
"Neat setup Wonder Man has, don't he?" Cyborg's voice asked by her elbow. Starfire turned, trying to smile but failing. "On my planet," She started, "such a luxurious residence would signal the importance of the occupant"
Cyborg grinned and offered her his arm. "Come on, let's go meet the others"
Taking the offered escort, Starfire let her friend lead her outside, where the others were.
Reaching the courtyard, her breath caught in her throat, and she stopped, causing Cyborg to pause and give her arm an understanding squeeze.
Beast Boy, Terra and Cyborg's wife, Lola, were standing to one side, chatting happily. Standing by the refreshment table, alone, was Robin.
He had grown since the last time she had seen him. He was taller, his face was more defined in shape, and the familiar spiked-hair Starfire had once loved was gone, replaced by an easy, gel-free sweep away from his face.
But the most noticeable change, the one that made her heart thump wildly, was the absence of his mask.
Suddenly his head moved, and he stopped entirely, his amazing blue eyes widening slightly. "Starfire?"
The three over to the other side stopped their talking, Terra staring with disbelieving eyes, and Lola biting her bottom lip, obviously worried about the unwavering look Robin was giving his former flame.
Deciding to break the silence, Beast Boy called cheerfully, "Great to see you, Star!"
Terra just stared for a moment, then suddenly hurled herself at the alien woman, hugging her enthusiastically and momentarily forgetting her fears. "I can't believe it, you're here!"
Starfire grinned, and hugged her back. "Yes Terra, I am here!" Pulling away she surveyed the blonde woman, amazed at how little she had changed. Apart from a stylish bob that framed her face, Terra was very much the same she had been twenty years ago. "You have not changed since I Iast saw you, dear friend"
Wrinkling her nose Terra replied, "I hope not; do you know how much I spend on anti-wrinkle cream?"
The others laughed but Starfire just shook her head, bemused. "I do not understand, why would you have cream to remove your wrinkling? Would not the more customary way be to use the ironing tool?"
"Uh… Star, you only use the iron on clothes" Cyborg explained gently while Beast Boy howled his head off. "I don't think you'd wanna let a piece of hot metal near ya face"
She blushed, and looked away…
Only to face Robin.
"Star…" He said quietly, as though talking to himself.
"Robin" She greeted carefully, looking out the corners of her eye to Cyborg, who was smiling sadly.
They fell into silence, no-one brave enough to break the tension. Standing for a few more moments, it was broken by Abe, coming up to his father.
"Daaaaaddd" He whined, grasping Cyborg's arm.
Training his normal eye on his son, Cyborg grinned. "Yeah?"
The boy pouted for a bit, then claimed with a dramatic sigh, "Dad, Joan is ruining my game"
The humanoid sighed, rolling his eye but before he could say anything Abe added, "He keeps trying to drown Hannah in the bird bath"
Terra shrieked, and bolted for the front yard, Beast Boy already in front as a bull dog.
Cyborg went to follow them, pausing only to witness Starfire and Robin glazing at each other with something he hadn't seen since the alien beauty had left. Mouth dry, he turned and ran after the others.
TTT
Raven opened her eyes slowly, trying to calm the rage, frustration and pain that was thrashing around inside her.
She despised emotions, especially ones that made her feel as weak and worthless as the lot coursing through her now, were.
But it was the fear, the burning, knee-weakening fear that she hated the most.
There hadn't been much that the unshakable Titan had been afraid of. Fear only fear itself, and whatever. And it had been a good philosophy. A strong philosophy.
A wrong philosophy.
Fear itself wore a smile, and came in the form of her one-time friend… Starfire.
How could anyone not be afraid of her? Starfire was perfect. Ok, so maybe she had her dense moments, but it all added up to her appeal. She was beautiful, she was strong and she was sweet. And she was the one Robin had loved first.
Raven wasn't stupid. If there had been any sign at all that he had still been in love with Star, she wouldn't have married him. Out of respect and trust she had deliberately shied away from reading Robin's mind. Raven wanted it to be real.
But lately, strange thoughts had been flying through her mind. Robin had lost Starfire through a "tragedy", not a choice. If the other woman had survived, or hadn't left, and the Goth had never had to comfort him, would they still be together? Or would have his and Starfire's love lasted forever?
Would Treeflower have ever existed?
That was what shook her the most. If Starfire had stayed, and had ended up being Mrs. Richard Grayson, would Raven's baby have ever been hers? Or would Treeflower be calling Starfire mother?
Moving compulsively, Raven went and stood by the bed, were Treeflower was resting.
As far as the Goth was concerned, she didn't have a real family. Sure, the Titans had later made up for the lack of it, adding the annoying brothers she found in Cyborg and Beast Boy, and the (almost) younger sister in Starfire that she never had, but there was no-one who was hers by blood.
When she and Robin had married, it had been the happiest day of her life. Suddenly, she was getting what she had always needed. Someone who would love her, not fear her. Someone who would be there. Then when Treeflower had been born… it was as though someone above finally decided to give her a break, and let Raven have the fairytale that deep down she knew she wanted.
Things went fine… for a while, then her daughter, the tiny creation of her and Robin, was diagnosed and everything turned over.
Treeflower gave a few snuffles, and quietly opened her large blue eyes, seeing her mother and smiling. Going over to her, Raven smiled back, gently scooping up her baby up with a few of the blankets around her.
"Hungry?" She asked. Treeflower nodded her head and clung closer to Raven, waiting for mummy to take her to daddy.
"Alright, lets go see what your father ordered"
TTT
"So…" Robin trailed off as he looked at Starfire, wondering how he could have forgotten how when the way the light hit her hair, it light up like a river of fire.
It had been ten minutes since the pair had reunited, and neither of them could get past "hello". It was kind of pathetic, or so Beast Boy thought, seeing as both those two had a history and couldn't even get over it. So what if everyone had excepted Starfire to be Mrs. Grayson, instead of Raven? So what if Star and Robin had thought that nothing would get in their way? Apparently a space ship crash had, and Robin couldn't have gone on loving a memory. He moved on, and though at first it had seemed strange, Beast Boy thought that Dark Girl and Bird Boy pretty much… matched. They weren't a in your face kind of couple, who made out every chance that they got.
It was kind of a… quieter love. Everything about the way they treated each other was special- powerful. Raven still wasn't used to showing her emotions and was very shy about public affection, so on the odd occasion she let her guard down, it was always a surprise.
Like at Cyborg's party the other month. The two had retreated into a dark corner that Beast Boy just happened to be hiding in as a kitten, and what he had seen, still made him blush just thinking about it. And that took a lot considering the things Terra could do when she put her mind to it… but that wasn't the point.
The point was, Beast Boy had seen the one-off kind of way that Raven and Robin with each other, and he refused to believe the return of one friend could destroy that.
There was the sound of the large, glass doors opening, and Beast Boy turned around with a smile on his face. "Hey Raven!"
Starfire's head snapped round, and her eyes went strangely dark. Robin, quickly coming out of his reverie, smiled at his wife and daughter, momentarily forgetting about the earlier fight. "Raven, I saved a few slices of the Cheese Supreme for Treeflower. How long has she been up?"
Not even looking at Starfire, she replied, "Not long"
Robin nodded, and turned to Starfire, feeling a pang. How was he going to introduce Raven as his wife? "Star… Do you remember Raven?"
Green eyes cold, she answered in an even icier voice, "Barely"
There was a flash of defiance in Raven's violet ones, but she said nothing.
Beast Boy gulped, suddenly noticing the tension between the alien and the gothic. Oh, this was SO not good. Where was Terra when you needed her? Since their kids had been born, the feisty blonde had become great at stopping fights. And at the rate these two were going, it looked like they were either going to need interference, or an umpire.
Either not noticing the hostility in the air, or ignoring it, Robin commented, "Here, let me hold Flower while you and Star get re-united"
Bad idea Bird Boy, Beast Boy thought nervously, seeing the thunder on both the women's faces. BAD IDEA!
Raven handed the fluffy bundle that was her daughter over, and faced Starfire, hands gritted tight. "Starfire" She greeted in a tight tone.
"Raven" Was all Starfire said, her hands glowing ever so slightly.
They stood like that for a few more minutes, then Raven asked in what would have been a snide tone on anyone else, "How was your trip?"
Beast Boy winced, recognizing the bite beneath the Goth's remark.
"It was extremely unpleasant" Starfire's voice was unnaturally spiteful "But then, someone such as yourself would not understand the dangers that I have had to face while you were here seducing my boy"
Paling, Robin's grip around his daughter tightened. This was not… going well.
Apparently Beast Boy shared the same views because he squeaked and transformed into a cheetah, sprinting to the house in a desperate bid to find Terra and Cyborg.
"He is not your boy anymore, Starfire" Trying to be calm, Raven's powers started to rattle the table, making Treeflower squeal "And I did not seduce him. You were not here, therefore you do not know the full story-"
"I do not need to know the full story! I left to help save the remainder of my beloved home planet, and you, one of my dearest friends, married the boy that I loved!" Star's hands were radiating with her starbolts, and her eyes were glowing. "How can you ever justify your horrid actions?"
There was the sound of smashing dishes as Raven tightly answered, "I do not want to discuss this topic in this manner, Starfire. But the fact is you left us without waiting for our help. You left Robin willingly, even though anyone could have seen that he would have traveled to the end of the universe for you. We didn't hear from you for months, then suddenly we receive a message that your ship had crashed and that there were no survivors. We thought you were dead. So don't you dare come back and accuse me of seducing 'your boy'"
Starfire seemed to hesitate, but then she hardened, seeing holes in Raven's story. "Why did you not try to contact Tamaran? Any one of my people would have told you that I was still living. How am I to know that you did not just use this convenient message to move in on the one person whom could understand me?"
"Because, Star," Terra's voice interrupted. Both women turned to look at the blonde, who was frowning. "We all there when the message was sent. The woman had the official Tamaran seal. She said that your ship had crashed just before landing and that you and your crew had been killed. Generally, when your being told your friend is dead, you don't question the speaker"
She paused and looked down at the ground, remembering the morning that they had gotten the message.
FLASHBACK
Twenty years earlier…
Terra yawned, the pounding headache from yesterday's battle raging a war with her sanity. Blindly, she felt around for the coffee container. She needed coffee. And now.
The shuffling behind her told her that some other poor soul had entered the kitchen. Probably needs the coffee just as much as I do
"Killer mission yesterday, huh?" She asked, her hand finally making contact with the coffee. "I can't believe that bird-brained idiot made us take on those losers without back up. Just because he's missing Starfire doesn't mean he has to kill the rest of us. When I see him I'm going to let him have it"
"I don't think a bunch of would-be terrorist have anything to do with me missing Star, Terra"
Terra gulped, then turned around to the table, where Robin was sitting with a ugly look on his face. "Sorry. Want some coffee?"
He gave her an appraising look. "Coffee is bad for you. I don't think you should be drinking that stuff when we have to defend Jump City"
Just about to retort, Terra was stopped by the incoming call alert sounding, and Raven phasing into the room, deadly white.
"Raven? Raven, what's the-"
In a low, scratchy voice the Goth said, "Robin, I think you should come and hear this"
Instantly his chair went back, and Robin's face worried. "What, is it Star? Does she need our help?"
Raven shuddered, then whispered, "Not anymore. She's dead, Robin. Starfire is dead"
FLASHBACK
"Starfire, if we can just calm our emotions-"
"I need not to. Raven, you were my dearest friend. I do not understand why you would do this to me, intentional or not. Maybe you are right, maybe I am partly to blame since I left Robin here with you. Maybe one day I will be able to talk to you without seeing the Glumpul Hok that you are. Maybe-"
"Starfire" Raven growled, her eyes flashing white and her powers making everything on the table fly. "Whether you like it or not, Robin married me. I know you think I've betrayed you, but I didn't force him to. He chose to. And no matter how much you try to ignore that fact, it's always going to be there"
Just then they were broken off by Beast Boy squealing, having been hit by a plate of his own tofu salad.
Furious, Starfire turned back to Raven and hissed, "It does not matter! Robin was mine! You had no right to marry him when our love was so strong!
"Starfire. For the last time, you were dead." The Goth spat back, moving closer to Star as her powers got more and more out of control. "I don't know how to get this into your thick head, but-"
Before she could finish, the alien beauty summoned up her righteous anger, and whacked Raven in the face.
Raven stumbled back from the impact, a blank expression on her face. Suddenly her eyes flashed, and she was hitting Starfire in the shoulder, making the alien cry out, though more in anger than in pain. Suddenly the her eyes were glowing their alarming green colour, and Starbolts started to shoot off, hitting things like the pot plants and making Treeflower cry. Robin pressed the little girl closer to him, trying to devise a way to get her into the house without being knocked down by his own dinner.
This would have been funny if it was anyone else's meal.
"Raven! Starfire!" Terra cried out, trying to duck the various items that were flying about. "Would you two quit this!"
"Glormak Hok! Trespessit Vinbar!" Starfire cried, now aiming her errand Starbolts at Raven's head. "You have taken what should have been mine!"
Blocking each bolt with her powers, Raven scowled, "Neither Robin, or Treeflower, will ever be yours-especially if I have something to say about it!"
Starfire scowled equally as hard, getting ready to put all her power behind her next shot. She was beyond understanding. This horrible person had taken her boy, and then the family that should have been hers. There was no going back.
Opposite, Raven was also gearing up. She had had enough of this, and if that meant disabling Starfire for a few hours, she'd take it. About to fire, Raven was only stopped by the sound of her daughter's labored breathing.
"Raven!" Robin cried out, trying to calm Treeflower. "Raven, she can't breathe!"
Instantly, everything glowing with her dark power dropped, and Raven rushed to his side, taking Treeflower into her arms.
"It's ok," She soothed, stroking the little girl's soft hair. "It's ok, you can breathe. Breathe"
While Raven used her powers to help her daughter, Starfire quickly snapped back to reality. Watching with anxiety, the normally happy woman prayed that Robin's small child would be all right. Beast Boy and Terra waited with baited breath, while Cyborg and his wife, who had joined them while Starfire and Raven were shouting at each other, held hands, hoping.
"Come on Flower, breathe. Breathe, nothing is wrong"
Soon, the child's breathing became steady as she was lulled into sleep, and both Raven and Robin relaxed, Raven cuddling Treeflower to her, just in case she had a relapse.
"Will she be ok?" Robin asked in a hushed voice, pale. Looking up at him with hard eyes, Raven soon softened and said, "She'll be fine"
He nodded, and gave her a small smile, briefly touching her waist before letting go to clean up. Raven watched as he gave Treeflower a kiss then with the help of Terra and Beast Boy, set about to right the table. Feeling guilty at the mess she had caused, Raven turned to leave when she crossed eyes with Starfire.
Whatever had happened between them before was temporarily gone, as Starfire lifted a shaking hand to touch Raven's. "I hope that your daughter will recover" She whispered, her eyes never leaving Treeflower's delicate face. "On my planet, such a small one would be pampered and loved until she was well. I hope that you will allow me to offer assistance in any way that I can"
Raven tensed, unsure of what to say. This was the hard part; Hating Starfire. "Thank-you" She replied in a cool tone. Then, hesitating, she added, "I appreciate your offer"
Starfire nodded solemnly, and moved away.
Coming up to her side while his wife went back into the house to check on the kids, Cyborg asked, "Did you two manage to sort things out while you were smashing the dishware?"
Shaking her head, Raven muttered dryly, "It's going to be awhile"
Cyborg made a clucking sound, then, trying to be positive said, "Well, at least you two know were you stand with each other" Seeing the evil look his friend gave him, he gave a lopsided smile. "Well, it's better than nothing. Try not to be too hard on her, Rae. Star's been out of touch with us for twenty years. To her everything is out of whack. Give the girl time"
But how much time will it take for her to see that Robin's mine? Raven thought as she murmured some understanding reply. How long would it take to get over the love of your life?
T
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Next chapter: The girls go shopping for naughties, the boys take out the kids, and Robin and Starfire have a bit of catch up time…. Heehee. Oh, let's not forget about Uncle Slade….