Chapter 37

Beast Boy morphed, turning into a hummingbird to dodge the barrage of exploring discs that had been tossed at him. He buzzed to the ground, becoming a small squirrel and bounded toward his foe once more.

There was a sudden splat as a small package was thrown at him, coating the squirrel in sticky pink goo. The green squirrel shifted into a large dog and began to slobber all over the goo.

"Eww, BB," Cyborg called loudly from the sidelines. "That can't taste nice."

With a sharp wrench, Beast Boy pulled himself free from the goo, shifted into a rhino and charged his foe once more.

Batman stepped aside.

Beast Boy sat back on his haunches to slow himself but didn't manage to stop before he slammed into a wall. He snorted and shuffled around before facing Batman again.

Batman raised an eyebrow. "Stop," he said, holding up his hand to call a halt in the battle.

Beast Boy shifted back to his normal self, his eyes shining with stars. "How'd I do?"

"You're light, nimble on your feet, you react quickly." He glanced at the pink residue on the floor. "And that has obviously been used on you before."

Beast Boy's grin became wider.

"But you don't think," Batman continued sternly. "You live in the moment, when you should be thinking several steps ahead. You should have had a backup plan for when I side stepped. And running into a wall is not a backup plan."

Beast Boy scuffed his toes on the ground. "Yeah okay."

The door to the training area in the Batcave opened and a woman stepped through. She wore a black batsuit with yellow bat splashed across her chest and a yellow and black cloak. Her belt, gloves and boots were also yellow. Her red hair cascaded from beneath a black cowl.

Starfire stiffened, eyeing the girl from where she sat on the floor between Nightwing and Raven.

Batman turned to face her. "You're late."

She snorted. "Sorry, traffics a bitch."

He narrowed his eyes at her. "Titans, this is Batgirl, Batgirl, the Titans. Take a seat. Nightwing, you're up next."

Nightwing spared a glance at Starfire before he leapt to his feet. Batgirl took the liberty of sitting in Nightwing's recently vacated spot.

"Hey, I'm Beast Boy," Beast Boy said from the other side of Raven. "That's Raven, Cyborg and Starfire."

"Hey," she replied with a smile, waving at each of the Titans. "Pleased to meet you all."

Starfire gave the girl a small smile and turned her attention to Batman and Nightwing.

They faced off.

"Not going to try your sticks?" Batman asked quietly.

Nightwing shrugged. "I think they've had a good work out already."

"Fine," Batman droned, launching several exploding discs toward Nightwing. Nightwing threw himself to the side, casting his birdarang for Batman. Batman dodged.

Nightwing dashed toward him, leading with a flying kick. Batman grabbed his foot, pulling him off balance, but Nightwing bent his leg, pulling himself closer into Batman and punched at his head. Batman easily blocked it, releasing Nightwing's leg, throwing him backward. Nightwing executed a quick backward somersault.

Batgirl sucked in a breath beside Starfire. "He's gotten good."

Nightwing attacked again, this time with launching a series of kicks and blows toward his mentor. Batman parried them and countered a few strikes of his own, all of which were easily dodged by Nightwing.

Starfire took a shuddering breath. He really was magnificent to watch.

"Wow, really good. And he fills out that new uniform nicely. Suits him."

Starfire narrowed her eyes, casting a long glance sideways, while Raven peered around Starfire curiously. Starfire made a small shaking motion with her head, causing Raven to raise an eyebrow.

Nightwing faked a roundhouse kick to the head, before squatting and swept at Batman's feet. Batman barely had time to leap out of the way, Nightwing's ankle connecting briefly with his mentors.

"Good," Batman acknowledged, returning to a battle stance.

Batgirl sighed as the two men leapt toward each other once more. Starfire ground her teeth together. Raven scooted away from her slightly, her eyes wide.

"Tell me," Batgirl said conversationally. "Does he have a girl? Or is he still too interested in his work? Or doesn't he share his personal life with you? It's not one of you two, is it?"

Starfire lifted her chin as she felt Raven's eyes fall on her. "He has a girl," she replied. "And he loves her very much." She dropped her voice to a whisper. "And it would be better if she would stop hurting him."

Batgirl made a small sound. "Huh. So he wasn't lying then. I wonder if she knows about me."

"Knows what about you?" Raven asked slightly fearfully, her eyes fixed on Starfire with concern.

Batgirl shrugged. "That he and I dated. On and off for ages."

Starfire flinched and tried to ignore her. "She knows." She forced herself to concentrate on the battle before them.

The sparring continued for quite some time and Starfire was astonished at the similarities between their movements. Nightwing was good and certainly more acrobatic than his mentor was, leaping away and twisting and turning every time he could, but Batman seemed to flow from one motion to the next.

Batman ducked a kick and dropped into a sweep leaving Nightwing no time to leap away. He hit the ground hard, a gasp of breath escaping his chest. Batman loomed over him and Nightwing kicked upward with his feet, forcing Batman to retreat before he rocked onto his shoulders and leapt to his feet once more.

Batman tossed a batarang and Nightwing pivoted sharply, leaping away and tossing his own birdarang at the same time. They smashed into each other before falling to the floor, a twisted mess off metal. "Good," Batman said again and Nightwing flashed a proud grin.

Nightwing leapt high, arching gracefully in the air before aiming his feet at the place Batman had been only moments before. Batman grabbed his leg as he came down and using the momentum of the leap, Batman spun and tossed Nightwing. He flew away from his mentor, somersaulting quickly in the air and planted his feet on the wall before leaping at his mentor once more.

Nightwing threw a punch and Batman stooped underneath it, grabbing Nightwing's arm. He forcing the arm forward, ducking past Nightwing and slammed an elbow into Nightwing's kidney.

Nightwing's breath escaped him in a puff and he fell forward onto the mat as Batman released his arm. "Fuck!" he croaked before groaning into the mat, his hand coming around behind him to touch the scar from Torkor's dagger. Batman's blow had landed directly on it, but Starfire was unsure whether it was deliberate or accidental.

Starfire sucked in a startled breath as Batman grabbed Nightwing's hand and forced it up his back further before pushing his knee into Nightwing's spine between the shoulder blades. Nightwing grunted in pain and Raven clamped her hand down on Starfire's knee to prevent her from moving.

Batman fumbled for Nightwing's shirt, pulling it up to expose the red gouging scar in his back. The only emotion he gave was a small tightening around his eyes, his lips pressed together tighter than normal."What happened?" he asked as he released Nightwing.

Nightwing groaned again and lurched to his feet, his back arched in pain. "Dagger in the back. Mangled a kidney." He continued to mutter under his breath as he paced restlessly, trying to rid himself of the pain. "Guess I was protecting it more that I should've been, huh?"

"It was a noticeable weakness," Batman told him, and then conceded, "To me at least. When?"

Nightwing glanced over at his friends. "What, four weeks ago? Maybe less?"

Raven nodded.

Batman frowned. "At the xhandal? I thought they were only allowed to use sorals."

Nightwing nodded, straightening his back, now recovered from the blow. "He cheated."

"You should have expected some of them would," Batman reproached sternly. "How did you heal so fast?"

Nightwing flicked his eyes to Raven. "I had help."

Batman narrowed his eyes. "Sit down, Dick."

Nightwing shook his head. "I'm fine."

"I've seen all I need to. You're getting very good. That tournament helped to solidify your skills. We can work on cleaning up some of your sloppier attacks."

Nightwing grunted and headed over to his Team.

"Starfire, you're up next."

Starfire stiffened.

Nightwing spun around. "No! She's not ready."

Batman was unyielding."Sit down, Dick."

"I'm not going to let you-"

"She has to get back in the saddle sooner or later," Batman told him blandly. "You don't want her freezing in a fight. Starfire, come on."

Nightwing was insistent. "I'll make sure-"

Starfire caught Batgirl staring at her curiously. She gritted her teeth and got to her feet. "Very well."

Nightwing twisted to face her, his expression intense. "Star, you don't have to do this."

She touched his shoulder, directing him to sit down. "I will be fine."

Nightwing narrowed his eyes at her before reluctantly sitting down in her spot.

Batman nodded. "Give me everything you've got. No holding back."

She gave him a sad smile as she dropped into a fighting position. "I must always hold back."

Batman copied her position and waited for her first attack, but Starfire couldn't bring herself to make the first move. Stalemate.

She shifted her feet slightly.

Batman cast several exploding discs at her; she flipped herself sideways out of the way of the discs. He dashed in, executing a series of high and low punches and kicks; she managed to dodge each one, but only barely.

She marveled at the way he fought, so similar to Nightwing. He was faster and he didn't pull his punches, but the underlying style was similar. Consequently, she knew half the moves before he could make them, moving to block before he'd even started the punch, the other half of the moves that got through her defenses not hurting as much as they might have.

Batman was getting frustrated with her, she could see it in his face, every time she blocked, every time she parried, every time she danced away and forced him to chase after her. But she still couldn't bring herself to attack him.

He caught her in the stomach, forcing her backward into the wall, before she saw a fist heading for her face. She caught it between her hands and he kneed her in the side. She heard Nightwing cry out as she doubled over in pain. Batman thrust a forearm forward, catching her across the neck and forcing her back into the wall, his other hand on her stomach to hold her still. "You're going to have to defeat me," he hissed at her, "if you want to marry him."

Her eyes filled with unbidden tears. "You would do that?"

He simply looked at her, his face blank. "Think of it as my personal xhandal. Lose and I'll make him come back here. You'll never see him again."

She began to shake. She didn't like the feeling of being pinned, fear surging upward from the pit of her stomachs. "I cannot. Please. It is too painful."

He growled and grabbed her wrist, yanked her away from the wall and twisted it deftly up behind her back. His other hand encased her around the neck; his stomach pressed against her back as he lifted her up so that only the tips of her toes touched the ground. She grabbed into his wrist to try and pull herself loose, but he was too strong.

"Look at him, Starfire, is he worth it?" he hissed in her ear, forcing her face toward her friends.

Her eyes landed on Nightwing's stricken face. "Get the fuck off her!" he roared leaping to his feet. Cyborg stood behind him, his sonic cannon hissing as he readied it to fire, Beast Boy morphed into a tiger, his tail lashing angrily and Raven's eyes filled with power as she lifted off the floor.

Batman flicked the hand that was around her neck and there were four simultaneous splats as Starfire's friends were coated in the sticky pink substance. Starfire watched as Nightwing heaved himself against the pink restraints, trying to reach her.

He was the only light she had left in this world, the only thing truly keeping her here. There were times that she wished she'd allowed the release to burn her up, just so the pain of what she had done would go away. But she couldn't. She struggled to save herself for him, just so he wouldn't have to suffer the pain of her passing. But it hadn't been enough. He was still suffering because she couldn't be the woman he wanted her to be.

The warrior was buried so deep within the pain that Starfire hoped she'd never feel her again. Never have to take another life. Never have to feel the blood dripping over her hands and the heartbeat of a Master still beneath her fingers. Never have to hear the strange gurgle as one drowned in its own blood. Never try and take Nightwing away from her again.

She'd tried to give them the woman, the gleefully happy woman that they loved so much. She'd tried to pretend that she was healing because they had all tried so hard to reach her, she felt she needed to give them something in return, a little hope, a little smile, a shadow of her old self. Just for a while, while she buried the warrior so deep she would never harm again.

But it wasn't enough. Nightwing loved the warrior just as much as he loved the woman. They came together hand in hand. And now, if she didn't put the two pieces back together, she was going to lose him. Either he would walk away or she would find the strength to do it for him.

Starfire closed her eyes unable to bear his gaze. Tears leaked out from beneath her lids and rolled down her cheeks.

This was it. This was the moment. She would make the choice. She would find the strength to walk away. Batman had given her the perfect opportunity. All she had to do was give in. Say that she couldn't be a Titan anymore. Destroy her e'ara, leave forever and never look back.

"Is he worth the risk? Is he worth fighting for?" Batman's hand forcing her arm further up her back and she cried out in pain.

And now that the moment was here, she didn't want that anymore. She wanted Nightwing; she'd always wanted him. Nightwing was worth the risk, the heartache and the pain and so much more. He deserved all of her, all the time, not this shadow that she'd sullied herself with.

She opened the floodgates, allowed herself feel the pain and the fury she'd tried to bury. Allowed herself to feel the warrior heart that beat beneath her breast. Allowed the green energy that flowed within to flood her being. She never wanted to feel it again, wanted it to stay hidden, buried deep down in her soul where it could no longer hurt people, but by hiding it she'd hurt the one she loved the most.

And now it was time to put the pieces of her shattered soul back together.

The warrior roared into life.

"Yes," she hissed as she opened her eyes again, green fire flowing from them. She tensed her muscles and gathered her warrior strength, tearing her arm from Batman's grip before tightening her grip on the hand that held her by the neck and tossed him.

He flew across the room, twisted deftly in the air and landed just before the opposite wall.

Nightwing's struggling ceased and he stared at her. There was a small screech as Raven was enveloped in her powers.

Starfire raised her hands before her; fingers stretched toward her like claws and summoned her star bolts. The green energy tore through the muscles in her arms, roping its way through to her fingers. She screamed in pain and frustration before the telltale green glow leapt from her fingers. She panted slightly, that one action had been harder than she had ever dreamed it could be. But they were back, and so was she.

She slowly extended her hands toward Batman. She planted her feet and unleashed her star bolts. He moved, dashing sideways as the star bolts she had just fired landed where he had been a moment before. She tried to anticipate his movements, swinging her arms and firing star bolts before his moving form.

She lost sight of him through the haze of smoke caused by series of smoke bombs that Batman had thrown to hide his presence. She growled and hit the ground, rolling onto her back just as Batman leapt from the smoke, punching his fists at where she had been a moment before. She kicked out at his knee, forcing him away before she placed her hands up near her head, arched her back and pulled her body through a handstand and flipped away.

Batman vanished into the smoke once more.

Starfire twisted her head, looking for him and saw movement out of the corner of her eye. Spinning around she saw Batgirl lay her hand on Nightwing's arm. She snarled, a yowl erupting from her throat sounding very much like a tiger and fired several star bolts at the girl. He was hers! Her chosen! She had fought so hard to reach him again and she was never going to let him go.

Batgirl was struck in the chest and forced backward and a small, knowing smile crossed Nightwing's features. Raven crouched down beside Nightwing and enveloped him in her raven form, releasing him from the pink substance.

Something struck her behind the head, forcing her forward and Starfire saw a batarang swooping away. She fired a star bolt after it and it clunked to the ground, a smoking and twisted mess. She heard a whooshing sound, turning to see several disc spinning toward her. She backed away, casting several more star bolts at the projectiles.

Tears slid down her cheeks and she brushed them away with her wrist, keeping one hand out before her with a star bolt ready to fire. She backed away from the smoke, waiting for Batman to reappear.

"Why are you crying?" a disjointed voice asked as several more discs erupted from the smoke. She rapidly fired at the projectiles, before launching several star bolts into the smoke in the direction the discs had come from.

"Because you are like all the others and I did not believe you could be."

"The others?" the voice asked, a batarang singing through the air.

Starfire shot twice, one for the batarang, one for the shadow in the smoke. There was a quiet oof as her hit connected, before the shadow vanished once more.

"The others who have tried to take him from me. Slade, Torkor, the Citadel." She jerked her head at Batgirl. "Her." She wiped several more tears from her cheeks, before firing into the smoke once more.

"And what are you going to do about it?"

Starfire raised her head. "Stop you."

She darted for the smoke, leaping into the gloom. She summoned her most happy memory, Robin standing before her with her engagement ring in his hands, his blue eyes shining hopefully. She curled up into a ball in the air before surrounding herself in green energy. She thrust her arms and legs away from her body forcing the energy from her, casting away the smoke.

Something hit the wall with a thud and Starfire turned toward it, floating in the air.

The corners of Batman's lips twitched into a smile as he sat on the ground.

Starfire frowned and summoned another star bolt.

"Good," he said with a wave of his hand as he got to his feet. "Well done."

Starfire let the star bolt slip from her fingers, her face creasing in confusion.

"Sometimes that first step is the hardest," Batman said stoically as he approached her.

She blinked in surprise at Batman. "You deemed it necessary to provoke me?"

Nightwing was suddenly standing in front of her protectively, snarling at his mentor. "What the fuck was that all about? Why'd you have to do that to her?"

Batman frowned at him and he stopped before them. "Someone needed to do it. Would you have been able to force her attack? Keep at her until she responded? Or would you have continued to coddle her? She can't continue to heal if you keep her wrapped up and hidden away. That's not the way to heal."

Nightwing growled. "You had no fucking right. You manipulative bastard."

Batman stood impassively. "I did what I had to do."

Nightwing punched him in the jaw. Batman's head snapped back sharply and he hit the floor.

"Richard!" Starfire cried in disbelief at the same time there was a startled gasp from all those in the room.

"Pack your bags, we're leaving," Nightwing snapped, glaring down at his father furiously.

"No, Richard-"

Nightwing clenched his fists and turned his head. "Starfire, you don't know him like I do. He manipulates, pulls strings. He doesn't care who he hurts. And I won't have him hurting you."

"Richard-"

He spun to face her and waggled a finger at her. "That's an order, Starfire. It's not up for discussion. We're leaving. Right now." He turned and strode toward the door.

"Nightwing-" Raven said carefully.

"I'm fucking serious, guys," he snapped over his shoulder, pausing on his journey toward the door. "You're either with me or against me. Your choice."

There was a shuffling sound as Cyborg, Beast Boy and Raven drifted hesitantly toward the door. Seeing he was being followed, Nightwing started to walk again.

Starfire flicked her eyes down to Batman as he rubbed his chin on the floor and chewed her lip thoughtfully. She lifted a hand and conjured a star bolt, gazing at it, allowing it to pulse lightly in her hand before she released it. "If you leave now," she said softly, bobbing up and down in the air still. "I will not be going with you."

Nightwing froze mid step, his whole body tense and for a moment Starfire believed he really would leave. She dipped in the air, struggling to hold her float. The other Titans turned to her flabbergasted.

"What?" he yelled, pivoting sharply, his face red with anger, while Batman watched impassively. "How can you side with him? After everything we've been through, you're going to pull that shit now? He forced you into fighting and he had no fucking right!"

Starfire kept her voice passive, soothing. "K'norfka Batman was right. He has done what you would have been unwilling do, what I was unable to do. It is what I needed. You would never force me to do anything."

He shook his head and stalked toward her. "You're coming with me, even if I have to carry you over my shoulder kicking and screaming."

She took a deep breath, he needed to know and he had a right to know. Richard, I split my soul.

Blood drained from his face and he froze in place. "You what?"

Starfire kept her eyes on his face. I split it. I took the part of me that was her and buried it so deep that I could no longer feel the pain.

His forehead creased in confusion. Her?

The warrior soul, the feral Starfire.

His jaw dropped. "Oh god, Star, why would you do that?"

"Do what?" Batgirl asked, only to be shushed by the other Titans. Starfire could see them watching her carefully.

Because of you. You were going to allow her to kill you. She placed a hand to her throat. I could not handle that.

"No," he gasped before he went impossibly pale and dropped to his knees, his hands clutching at his hanging head. Star, I didn't mean… I didn't… I just wanted… He slumped, sitting down hard on the ground, unable to find the words.

Raven let out a startled gasp and took several rapid steps forward. "Starfire, he was only-"

Starfire turned her eyes to Raven and placed a finger to her lips before looking back at Nightwing. "Raven, please. I know you were there, I know what you saw. Please do not interrupt."

Raven nodded meekly, wrapping herself in her cloak.

Starfire quickly floated across the room and knelt before Nightwing, pulling his hands away from his head and placing them on his lap, where she held them both in hers. "Please look at me. I need for you to understand." She waited until he raised his eyes to her and deliberately spoke aloud so that her friends could understand part of the reason why she'd hidden herself away. "I was so tired. I had fought for so long and so hard to protect Raven and Beast Boy, to control the rage enough so that I could direct it away from them and onto those that attacked me first."

She glanced at her friends. "They were all that mattered, they were all I hung on for. No one should ever have to experience the Citadel like I did. Neither of them would have survived. I knew you would come for them. When I heard my sister's voice and Raven's shriek of her powers, I believed it was over, that they had escaped. I could rest and allow the warrior to do so much damage that the Citadel could never threaten Tamaran again." She looked back at him. "So I let go. I stopped fighting. I let the body do what it must. I was dying, what did it matter if I lived the last few moments in peace, hidden away where I could not see the horror of what my body was doing. I gave up, Richard, but I should have known that you never would."

She reached up and touched his face. I heard you calling for me. I could never deny you and I grabbed hold of your voice with all the remaining strength that I possessed. I clawed my way back through the haze of pain and drugs, forcing the body back under my control. Tears filled her eyes and trickled down her cheeks as she moved her hand down to brush her fingers against his neck. But she had you by the throat. If I had been a second later, if you had made any movement, you would have been gone.

His hand clenched around hers spasmodically and his Adam's apple bobbed beneath her fingers.

I could not allow the warrior to resurface. She was too dangerous. She tried to hurt you and I could not allow that to happen again. So I buried her and tried to give you the woman. She shook her head and dropped her eyes. But it was not enough. You love the warrior just as much as you love the woman. You need me to be both, because without the warrior part of me I am nothing, just a shadow. The woman alone is not enough to keep you. You were slipping away from me… And I was letting you go.

Star-

She continued aloud so the other Titans could hear. "I was caught in a trap of my own creation and I could no longer feel the warrior. But he was able to reach that part of me and demand that she respond. He made me put the pieces of my soul back together for you." She reached up and brushed his cheek again. "You should not yell at him and you should not hit him. Richard, I was lost and you were unable to find me. Please do not be angry at him for being the one that could."

Starfire released Nightwing's hand and floated off the ground before turning to the stoic form of Batman who was now standing not far away. She threw her arms around him and placed her head on his chest. "I thank you, k'norfka Batman, for helping me find my way back."

He stood stiff beneath her hands. "Um... you're welcome." He pulled away and coughed. "You have some good defensive skills there, sloppy at times but we can work on that. A really nasty aim with good anticipation and those bolts pack a punch. I'm glad you found the strength to fight."

"Dad, I'm sorry," Nightwing said, his voice cracking slightly as he spoke and she turned her head to see him beside her. "I shouldn't have yelled at you. I shouldn't have hit you. I'm really sorry. You were right. I wouldn't have been able to do what you did. Thanks."

Batman placed a hand on Nightwing's shoulder. "That's the first time I've ever heard you apologise to me." He was silent for a moment as he regarded Nightwing. "I probably should have told you all what I was planning on doing, trusted that you would be able to handle it. You were just trying to protect her and I should have known you would have reacted like that." He sighed and pulled off his cowl, rubbing his jaw. "You've got a nasty right hook there, Dick." He glanced around the room at the small smoking holes in the walls, floor and ceiling. "I guess we're done for the day. Time to get the room refurbished."

Starfire felt Raven's hand on her shoulder. "Welcome back, Star," said Raven softly. "I knew you could find your way back. I missed you."

Starfire nodded, throwing her arms around her friend and hugging her tight. "I am sorry I made you all wait so long."

"Girl," Cyborg said as she released Raven. He pulled her into a hug of his own. "I'm glad you're back."

She nodded again, leaning into his embrace. Beast Boy came next, the tiny green kitten that bounced into her arms and butted his head against hers, purring wildly.

"Does someone want to explain to me what the hell is going on?" Batgirl asked.

Alfred appeared at the door. "Pardon my intrusion," he said quietly. "But luncheon is served."

"Thank you, Alfred," Bruce said as he headed toward the door. "We'll get cleaned up and be there shortly. Please arrange for this room to be repaired."

"Again, Master Bruce?" Alfred's voice came from beyond the room as he and Bruce walked away. "I had thought I taught you to be more careful."

"Seriously, what's going on?"

"Babs," Nightwing said warningly. Starfire turned her head and looked at him apprehensively.

"Don't you 'Babs' me," Batgirl snapped. "You can't just come in here and hit Bruce. Not over something stupid like this. She's a member of your team. She has to be able to fight and if she refuses then she shouldn't be on the team. She'd be a weak link."

Raven's lip curled into a snarl, Cyborg folded his arms across his chest and Beast Boy hissed at Batgirl.

Nightwing sighed. "Guys, can you leave Star, Babs and me alone for a while? Head up to lunch, we'll join you shortly."

"I'm not sure that's a good idea," Cyborg said, his eyes narrow.

"Please," Starfire said softly, as she lay her hand on Cyborg's arm. "She does not understand. It is unfair of you to think badly of her."

Raven huffed. "Whatever. Come on Gar."

Beast Boy butted his head against Starfire's once more before he leapt from her arms and followed Raven and Cyborg from the room.

"Babs," Nightwing said. "Starfire is my fiancée." Batgirl gasped in shock and looked guilty, but Nightwing wasn't finished. "And for the record, Star already knows all my deepest darkest secrets, even a few more that you have no idea about. She knows who I am when I put the mask on, she knows who I am when I take it off." He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Look, you and I were friends right at the beginning, when it was only the two of us and Batman. Even when we stopped dating, I always thought we were still friends. But I don't know if we can be that anymore."

Batgirl stepped forward earnestly. "Dick, I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me. I was just so excited when I found out you were coming back, I thought-"

"I'm not back for good, Babs. My place is with the Titans now, with Starfire. That's where I belong. I… You just don't fit in my life comfortably anymore. I'm sorry."

"Dick, please." Batgirl approached him, her hand out.

"Don't touch me," he snarled sharply, taking a step back. "I mean it. I'm really very angry with you right now so don't push me. Go away."

"But-"

"Now, Babs."

Batgirl gave a very small sigh. "I'm sorry," she said and retreated out the door of the training room.

Starfire took a deep breath and looked at Nightwing who was studying her warily. "You said you wanted your Star back," she said quietly, dropping her eyes. "I tried to give her to you, truly I did. I thought I was succeeding until I saw you in the bathroom last night."

He sucked in a breath. "You saw that?"

She nodded feebly, her hands clasped before her. "I never meant to hurt you."

He shuffled uncomfortably. "Star, that was a weak moment. You weren't supposed to see. I was trying so hard to be strong for the both of us."

"I am sorry I hid myself away when you were trying so hard to reach me. I should never have done what I did but at the time I could not see any other way. I was hurting so badly and I believed that if I hid her away, the pain would go to. But it did not and then I could not find the strength to return to you. I am sorry that I said I would not go with you. I needed you to understand that what Batman did was the right thing."

Nightwing pulled his mask off and blinked back tears. "Come here," he said opening his arms and she flew into them, pressing her face into his neck as he squeezed her tightly. I missed you. Oh god, Star, I never thought I'd see you fly again. I love you, so much it hurts. I thought I was losing you again, with this shadow of yourself that you erected.

She raised her head to look at him. I am sorry. I truly am.

He cupped her face with his hands, giving her a wobbly smile. Don't be. I would have waited forever, but I didn't know how I could reach you. I guess we both needed a good kick to get us going. I know this isn't over yet and there so much left that we have to deal with. He gave her a tender kiss and she wrapped her arms around his neck, leaning into his embrace. But you're really back and you can fly. Now there is hope.

Author's Note: The words Nightwing used about Batman being manipulative and pulling strings, he actually said that in the comic/cartoon expect it was over Batgirl. That's when he quit being Robin. I found it fitting to use it here too.