:Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans. The two week old chicken in my fridge is starting to scare me. Over ten inches of snow is a good reason to go outside for once. Don't look into the sun- it burns. It's not good to get only three hours of sleep... Math hurts my brain. Spring is just around the corner, or somewhere along the block.

:Author's Notes: I have decided that I must be a Robin hater. After much thought (not really) I came to the conclusion that I just didn't like him. Which could explain the underlying emotions that came out when writing this story. o.0

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Ever Forward: Innocent Hurt

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Time's a fleeting thing. It slows down, then speeds up. Like it can't makeup it's mind. So we have to make the most of it. Seize the moment kind of thing, because you never know when you'll die.

I've been in critical care more times than I care to think about, and every time that I pull out, I realize something about life. It's even more precious than time, because you can't make a change with Time, but you can with your life.

Every time we step outside, we're putting our lives on the line. And we know it. But I think it's worth the risk, don't you?

-Jacob Marls, in a presentation to middle school students

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Birds chirped and sang. Kids yelled and ran. The blue sky drifted unhurried above. All in all, it was turning out to be a fine day… for most people.

Tim had snapped out of his depressed slump after seeing Jacob, but the weight of what his arrogance had done still dragged at him, a dark cloud ever above him. After meeting the other two it had lifted some, but he wasn't sure if he could face Kevin.

A car door slammed and his eyes focused on the scruffy green grass, pulling up as laughter reached his ears.

"Fine then! We'll just have to meet again on Tuesday." Kevin's voice. And before he could think, he had risen and was meeting Kevin's green gaze over the roof of the car. It flashed with anger and then hardened into something remarkably like hate.

"Bo, go on. I'll catch up with you later." The other man, barely visible in the side of Tim's peripheral vision, nodded and slipped back into the car, driving off. "Tim." The restrained voice floated to him as the battle of wills continued.

"Kevin. Do you have time to talk?" Don't get mad. Don't provoke him. Don't do anything stupid… again. His brain yammered at him as Kevin nodded shortly.

"You're right. We do." But Tim didn't want to break the innocence of this gentle scene around them, so he gestured towards the other side of the tree covered park.

"This way." In a moment the brown haired man had caught up to the shorter one, and they walked side by side until the sounds of the city didn't reach them any more. Then Kevin turned, confronting him with clenched fists.

"Kevin, I'm sorry." His companion's lips twisted, as though trying to contain the inner fury.

"You should be." But Tim was reassured by one fact- Kevin didn't try to move any closer.

"I talked to Miranda, Kevin. I… this was my fault. I'm sorrier than you can know." That unleashed the brutal creature in Kevin, and the man slammed Tim into the nearest tree.

"It was our child, you bastard. Our child." Then the rage crumbled and Kevin backed off, hands shaking as he leaned against a tree. And Tim couldn't watch, couldn't bear to see him break down… but this was because of him, and he couldn't look away.

"Why?" The ragged whisper jerked Erics back to reality. "Why are you here?" Hesitantly, unsure, his former leader began to speak.

"I… was wrong. And… the city, these people, they need the System Force." Hatred flashed in the green eyes and Tim hurried to speak. "I thought the last thing that I could do was to get the Force back together before I left. Please." Comprehension lit slowly in Kevin's face, but the cold mask was still there. No, this was a wound that would be slow to heal- if it ever did.

"That's why." And then Tim turned, putting his hands in his pockets to hide the shaking. Once more he had faced the irreparable damage he had done, and once more he felt all too keenly the blame.

But he would do it, damn it. One last time.

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