Disclaimer TEEN TITANS and all other related characters and material are the property of DC comics and Cartoon Network, I claim no ownership.

Chapter 15: Scars

By: Ansa

"This is just a story of a broken soul,

As days go by, my heart grows cold,

I can't seem to let this all pass me by…"

- Papa Roach

Three thirty came rather quickly, too quickly for Beast Boy seeing as how much food he had yet to prepare. Most of the dinner was almost ready, but there was still a few more things that had to be taken care of. Had he not taken the time to talk things over with Starfire then he might be on schedule, but then hadn't he, he would have never been able to forgive himself. He spent almost two hours next to her on the couch, Raven sitting on the opposite side. There he told Starfire of Terra's visit, and exactly how it made him feel. He told her how much it hurt, and how confused it made him. He told her how his heart ached, and how it caused him to do something he still regretted. Even Raven opened up…slightly…about her experience with Rorek.

Starfire sat and listened, the comfort only coming from the gentle tones of her friends' voices. Their words had little impact and did little to ease her pain, but then they both knew it wouldn't. Having broken hearts themselves, they knew that nothing but time would heal the scars, but still, they were going to try their best to make Star feel at least a little less nervous. Finally, sometime around one o'clock, she managed to stop the butterflies in her stomach and the icy chill down her spine. She wasn't completely confident yet…but then she didn't think she would be able to be so. Having done the best they could, Beast Boy frantically started to cook while Raven went about to her PolySci reading, hoping to finish it before company came so should they chose to stay the weekend she wouldn't have to worry. Meanwhile, the curiosity of what happened during the meeting with Mr. Wayne never faltered. Unfortunately, she didn't have time to grill her fiancé right now. At the moment, Locke's, Marx's, and Hobbes's views on government needed her full attention lest she fail the inevitable quiz next Monday

Beast Boy continued to cook, looking at the clock almost every other minute. He was anxious. Anxious being the best suitable word, for he had a mix of excitement, and concern. He was so very excited to have all of his friends back together in one room again, but he was concerned about what might happen between Starfire and Dick. He was quite sure there would be nothing to worry about. Dick would never do anything to make Star's pain any worse than it already was. But what did he plan on saying to her, after what happened?

He jumped slightly to that horridly annoying buzzer and cursed as he nearly cut himself. There was a terrible silence as all three of them immediately looked towards the door. Beast Boy could hear not only hear his heartbeat, but Starfire and Raven's as well. Each of them waited for the other to get up and answer it, but even that annoying buzz wouldn't sway them easily. Neither of them wanted to be the one to greet Dick into the awkward moment that was sure to come…but they had to do something soon, that damn buzzer was starting to send chills down their spines. Finally having enough Raven stood up and raced to the speaker box, eagerly slamming in the button that would silence the bane of their ears.

"Yes?"

"Hey it's Dick, I'm not late am I?"

"No," Raven felt the tension in the room starting to grow. She didn't even have to turn around to notice Starfire go stiff as a board at the sound of his voice. She took a deep breath, she would have hoped that Cyborg would be the first to arrive, so then there would be at least some kind of bumper between the two. Unfortunately, they were just going to have to see what happened. "No, you're right on time." The sound of the buzzer downstairs might as well have been the trumpets of the apocalypse. There was no stopping this now; all they could do was hope things went well.

Heavy footsteps up the stairs echoed with the even heavier heartbeats in the room. Time seemed to slow to a dead stop as the footsteps came closer and closer too the door, stopping suddenly with a hard knock on the wood. Raven took one last breath and gripped the doorknob. She couldn't turn it at first, not quite sure why. She usually had her emotions in check, but when it came to her friends…they tended to take control without warning. At last she regained hold and twisted the knob to the left and pulled out, the door creaking open slowly.

"Hey all!" The figure that came into view was not Dick, but rather Cyborg with a large grin on his face. His appearance hadn't changed much, the only noticeable difference was that a recent upgrade in his system replaced his light blue glow with that of a dark gray, almost black. They were all rather surprised to see him there, surprised…and a bit relieved. They still had some time, and now, they had their comfort bumper.

"Cyborg?"

"Hehe, you didn't really think I was Dick did you?" They all nodded. "Wow, tell your super to get a new speaker system then cause yours obviously isn't cutting it." Raven smiled slightly and held the door open for him, shutting it carefully behind him. "Wow, nice place. What do you pay a month?"

"A lot…well, to us it's a lot." Beast Boy scratched the back of his head nervously. He knew Cyborg was only being polite. The apartment was cramped, drafty, and in a fairly questionable neighborhood…but it's all they could afford. Cyborg nodded, looking around until his eyes caught Raven.

"Hey Rae, it's been a while." Cyborg smiled and reached out a hand. He would much prefer a hug, but he knew Raven didn't really go for that sort of thing. To his surprise, she took his hand and willingly pulled him into that sort of thing…if only for a moment.

"Sure has."

"Well? Let's see the rock." Cyborg smiled over at Beast Boy who nervously smiled back. The ring he gave Raven, wasn't exactly impressive. A decent size, medium cut, medium color, after all, he didn't make a lot of money. He was rather embarrassed by the ring in fact; he wanted to give her something so much better. What made him even more embarrassed was the fact that he struggled to even put a down payment on this one. It made him feel…inadequate.

Raven on the other hand adored the ring, well, as much as her emotions would let her. It didn't matter to her what the ring looked like, no matter how clichéd it might sound. To her, just the fact that he, that anyone had given her such a thing was just so unbelievable. No one was supposed to love her…but he did. That made this ring, even if it was made of plastic, so precious to her.

"Wow, nice going there B…or would you prefer Garfield?"

"E-either is fine." Beast Boy cringed, he hated his real name, but he had to use it. Cyborg and Raven were the only people who knew just how much he hated it, only Raven didn't torment him with it. Cyborg grinned at his grimace and headed further inside where his eyes caught Starfire, sitting on the couch.

"…Starfire?"

"Cyborg, how are you?" Starfire's heart lifted, leaving behind all of her worries when she stood with open arms. The two smiled so brightly and hugged, who would have thought that so much pain was hiding underneath the surface?

"Much better now, how about you? I haven't heard from you since the split, I was getting a bit worried."

"I have been…fine." She smiled, trying to cover up the obvious lie, one of the very few she had ever told. She soon felt very guilty about this, distress starting to show in her eyes.

"Not so good, huh?"

"Is it so obvious?"

"Only a little, but don't worry." Again he hugged her gently to him, something he had missed so very much. There was something about her, something that gave her a special place in his heart. Raven was his friend, Beast Boy was his best friend, but Starfire…was Starfire. She was so warm…so gentle. She felt…like a sister to him. A sister he would do anything for. "Big Bro is here…" His voice trailed off, his face turning beet red as his thoughts broke into his speech. Did he really just say "Big Bro?"

Beast Boy started to laugh but was quickly shut up by a slight bop to the head from his fiancé, her face also quite red. Starfire, aside from Beast Boy, was probably the only one without a red face. In its place was a warm smile and misty eyes. This was exactly what she had needed all along. Although his words took her by surprise, they also touched her deeply. Starfire had a sister…although she didn't care to call her that; she was forced to by blood relation, but…a brother…her brother not by blood, but rather by the things that a sibling should be. He was kind, caring, protective, and always was there to help her and her friends when they needed it. He may not be her real brother, but that didn't matter much to her.

"Hehe, sorry bout that…" Cyborg laughed nervously, his face in full flush. Starfire only smiled and hugged him tight.

"It's ok, my brother." Beast Boy couldn't deny how sweet this moment was…but he also couldn't help but try and give Cyborg a hard time about it. Unfortunately his attempts were once again foiled by a sharp bop to the head.

"Well…now that I have completely embarrassed myself," Cyborg moved back, clearing his throat while he did his best to get rid of the red on his cheeks. He turned to Beast Boy who was nursing to large lumps on the top of his head, and grinned. One of those grins that was all too familiar. "I say it's time that you, me, and the Gamestation got re-aquainted." Cyborg looked around the living room, confused as he found no trace of said video game console. "Hey…where is it?" There was no trace, not even a gap in dust where it may have been, if there were dust to be found.

"We had to sell it." Raven had to reply, her fiancé silent with a rather pathetic look on his face.

"Sell it?"

"Yeah, we got behind in our rent a couple of months ago."

"Bet that didn't go too well."

"He cried on the way to the store."

"DID NOT!" Beast Boy shot up straight, sweat drops hanging over his head.

"You cried?"

"NO!"

"Oh please, you actually said 'goodbye' to it…" She looked to the other two who clearly were quite entertained by this. "I'm not kidding…"

Beast Boy didn't bother to try and defend himself any further; instead he simply sulked with his arms crossed in front of him. It was true that he had wept like a little girl when the time came to sell it, but of course he wouldn't admit to it.

"Well…I guess it's a good thing I brought mine then." Cyborg's grin only got bigger as he whipped out a shiny Gamestation, seemingly out of nowhere. Beast Boy immediately perked and started to drool slightly, watching eagerly as Cyborg raced to set it up to their TV set in the corner. Raven could only roll her eyes and keep watch on the boiling pots on the stove, making sure that nothing burned or over boiled while the two plopped themselves down in front of the television, the controllers fused to their hands.

"I see some things never change." Another familiar voice came suddenly from the bedroom door. Starfire went cold and rigid, her eyes bulging wide. She knew this voice, all too well. It seemed just when she had relaxed even in the slightest, he had arrived. Dick smiled still in costume, leaning against the doorframe while he watched Cyborg and Beast Boy taunting each other and unaware of his presence. He turned to Raven, standing up straight and pulling off his bandit mask. "You really should lock your bedroom window in this neighborhood."

"I'll try to remember that…although I doubt most common thugs have grappling hooks." Raven didn't seem phased by his sudden appearance. It seemed that Dick had developed a taste for the theatric, just like his old mentor. Things of this sort didn't impress her much; instead she saw it as a scare tactic, intimidation. With others it might work, but not on her.

"I suppose they wouldn't." Dick laughed and waited for some sort of embrace…or…handshake, after all it was Raven. Before she came in for a quick hug, she looked over his shoulder at Starfire. She could only imagine what was going on in her head at the moment. She had never had the opportunity, thankfully, to meet face to face the person who once broke her heart. She couldn't possibly imagine what it must feel like, nor did she wish to try.

Starfire stayed put on the couch, never moving, breathing as quietly as she could. She knew she had to face him, she thought she had things under control. But thinking about him, and having him in the same room as you, were two different things. Dick knew she was there, all too well. Truth being that he had been there for quite some time before making his presence known. For almost five minutes he stood in the doorway, just staring. She was just as he had remembered her, and that only made things harder on him. What she didn't know was that he was going through the same kind of doubts and fears about tonight. That he wanted her back in his arms, to hold her again, to feel her warmth in his heart…only he didn't know, after all these years, was it possible? Could she forgive him?

Dick let go of the embrace and turned his head to look at the red-haired girl, the girl he once…he still cared for. He couldn't bring himself to think of love, doing so would only make what he did years ago even more horrid and unbearable. He took a deep breath and slowly walked to the couch, his heart pounding with every step. It seemed so far away, miles between she and him. He could see the distressed look on her face, and felt a twinge in his heart. He was the cause of that look; he was the cause of all her pain. He slowed his stride, he wasn't sure he could do this anymore. The last thing he wanted was to ruin this perfect night for her. Then again, he couldn't completely ignore her either.

"H-Hello Starfire…" He saw her jump slightly when he spoke to her, and put a gentle hand on her shoulder. He could feel her trembling beneath it, whether out of fear or sorrow he could not tell. Either way, he felt horrible. Starfire clenched her eyes shut and gulped one last rush of air, forcing back all those memories as best as she could before turning her head to acknowledge him.

"Hello…Dick." His hand felt so good on her shoulder it hurt. She had almost forgotten his touch. To be deprived of it for so very long, she now yearned for it. She wanted him to hold her, to take her into his arms and never let go. That, of course, wasn't likely to happen.

"How've you been?" Starfire didn't answer, and Dick only scolded himself for asking such a question. It was all too obvious how she had been. He was such an idiot sometimes. "Sorry…um…listen, can we-…"

"HEY DICK! LONG TIME MAN!" Cyborg cut in, immediately dropping his controller. Not that it mattered; Beast Boy was staring blankly at the screen in utter defeat anyways. Dick shook the extended hand and cursed slightly under his breath. Oh well, there was plenty of time tonight to get to talk with her, besides, tonight was a reunion with all of his friends, not just her. There would be time later. If not, he would make time. He owed her that much at least.

Wow, another chapter that was hard to get through. I dunno what's going on. I just hope the quality isn't slipping. Anyways, it may be a while between posts for awhile, just until I get my bearings again. Don't worry tho, it won't be long. It never is. Later Days!

ANSA