Hi! Wow I can't believe the response to this story! 20% of those who read it reviewed it the first day! That's so great! What a super early Christmas present!

Additional Characters appearing / mentioned in this chapter:

The Flash – formerly Kid Flash - Wally West (human with superspeed, superhuman reflexes and can defy a few laws of physics) – no longer a Teen Titans, now a Justice League Member

Black Canary – Dinah Lance (human with a sonic scream that can incapacitate people and shatter objects; accomplished martial artist) – Justice League Member

Green Arrow – Oliver Queen (human with incredible archery skills and hitech arrows) – Justice League Member

Speedy – Roy Harper – former sidekick of Green Arrow (human with incredible archery skills and hitech arrows)

The Herald - Malcolm Duncan - (human who has 'Gabriel's Horn' that can open portals to other places and other dimensions)

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The break up is not going to be a single, catastrophic event, but as is with most break-ups of serious relationships in life, its a series of events that is often followed by the killing or death blow.

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Jukebox

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Chapter 2

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Bruce finally healed enough to return to the line of duty and soon Dick Grayson became Nightwing again and headed back to Jump City and the Titans Tower via the Bat Plane. He wasn't surprised that there was a celebration upon his return, but what did surprise him was that it was not only the four other team members were there to greet him, but also the Titans East and many of the Honorary Titans as well.

He entered the tower, scanning the room. His mind-set singular, he said a curt, "Hello, Titans", before heading directly to his office, set to go through all the paperwork from when he was in Gotham. This left everyone, including a previously very happy Starfire, standing there in a decorated Ops, complete with a "Welcome Home, Nightwing" banner, without the guest of honor.

Dick had done his duty to his family and he now sat in his office and began to review the Titans paperwork. Although it wasn't perfect, Starfire, Raven and Cyborg had done a great job in his stead. It wasn't Beast Boy's forte and he certainly didn't mind not being involved, it gave him more Game Station time. The most consistant work was from Starfire, who had been actually paying attention during the rare times that Dick stopped to show her the right, that is the 'Nightwing', way of doing things. He was surprised at first, but why would he be? She was certainly intelligent, although sometimes naïve of the ways of the Earth. She had trained with the Warlords of Okaara. She was also a princess of a fairly civilized planet, of a warrior race, and she was raised to lead. The cataloging and reporting of crimes and missions was hardly beyond her abilities or skill set.

He felt warm inside when he realized this. But in a classic misunderstanding known to happen in the natural history of a couple, he didn't get a chance to mention it before she appeared at his office door two and a half hours later.

"Nightwing, may I enter your office?" Starfire said with a cool tone.

Nightwing bristled. When really upset, Starfire called him Nightwing instead of Dick or Richard.

"Come in Starfire," he replied, not bothering to greet her or even turn toward her.

"The Titans East and the Honorary Titans will be heading back to the cities they protect shortly. Do you not wish to spend some of the time with our friends before they leave?"

"Uh, sure Star, just give me a sec," Dick replied, with some warmth to his tone that did not go unnoticed by Kory, as he shot her the slightest of sidewards glances.

But she had just about had enough. She wanted to let it go, allowing herself to hear the nickname 'Star' and let it make her feel all those wonderful joyful feelings that their relationship gave her. She was even beginning to do so, but as she continued to stand there for a full five minutes (she kept an eye on the clock just to be sure) she was reaching her breaking point.

"Nightwing!" Starfire said sharply as that final 300th second ticked away.

"What?" he replied, more forcefully than he meant to, clearly startled.

"I would like to do the forgiving of you for ignoring me, your girlfriend, since your return home. I understand your dedication to your work. But our friends have made an effort to welcome you back to the tower, back to the role of leader of the Teen Titans, and you sit here in your office ignoring the gesture like a klorbag."

Klorbag. Not that she would know it, but it was perhaps not her best choice of words, no matter how accurate it described him at that moment. It was another reminder that Starfire was different, that she was an alien. It didn't matter that being so different was one of the many reasons why they were such a special couple. Yup, all that was forgotten. Nightwing got defensive.

"I don't care about a party, Starfire! I've been getting my butt kicked all over Gotham for months and now that I'm back, I've got to make sure everything is in order here with the Titans," he exploded, finally facing her.

"If there was difficulty for you in Gotham, why did you not call me or the Titans or the Justice League for assistance?" she countered.

Because Bruce would never do that.... he thought as his eyes narrowed. No matter how beautiful she was when she was angry, and those glowing green eyes made it obvious she was angry, he began to fall into the trap of having to win the argument, no matter what the cost...

He was still gathering his ammunition from his arsenal of clever and sharp quips when Starfire took the opportunity to continue, "Was the Batgirl not enough assistance to you? I did notice in reports that she was present during a number of your missions," Starfire said, uncaring that her words dripped with jealousy.

Nightwing could have sworn that Starfire's hair was blowing in some non-existent wind in his small office. She was livid and he knew it. He felt more than a twinge of regret that Starfire knew that he had gone on so many missions with Batgirl. So many more missions than the 'real' Batman would have. He had spent too much time with Babs. But for the moment Dick said nothing and soon returned his thinking to various tactics for winning the argument...

Starfire waited for a few moments hoping that Nightwing would say something. As much as she hated when they argued, at least it meant he felt something. She didn't care what it would be: it could be a snarky comment, even an insult, or hopefully a compliment. But she wasn't sure what he was feeling right then, if anything.

"It appears that the grishnik has got your tongue."

In Nightwing's state of mind, another Tamaranean word was just another reminder of how different they were and he stayed defensive. Time to win the argument.

"I said I don't have time for it Starfire."

"Is the paperwork not up to your standards? I believe we followed your examples quite faithfully."

The paperwork was fine, and Dick knew it, but again, he still had an argument to win...

"I won't know that until I review all of it."

"And this is how you wish to spend tonight, how you wish to spend the first few hours that you have been in this tower, in your home, for a number of months?"

"The work can't wait," his voice tightening further.

"The work waited for the months while you were the Batman for what you insist to be the necessity of your the approval. Nothing dire happened. And I can assure you that the work was complete in its entirety as per your specifications."

"It is my responsibility." Dick replied, as it occurred to him Kory had not pulled the 'girlfriend' card out yet.

"A responsibility that you transferred to other members of your team while you were in Gotham," she countered. She was good in a debate as long as her emotions didn't get the most of her.

Dick really wanted her to use said girlfriend card. Then he could be satisfied that although he was a stern leader, maybe he could, just this once, be a bit softer with his girlfriend...

"Yes, but it must be reviewed and it can't wait," his tone firm, although the volume of his voice was lower.

"But it waited for all those weeks that you were busy with the Batgirl," Starfire matched him in tone and volume.

Ouch. No need to continue to moderate the volume. "You're just jealous!"

"Should I be?" Starfire asked again matching the volume of his voice, concerned that maybe she really should be jealous. This was not how her boyfriend behaved. As obsessed as he got, as single-minded, as goal oriented: she realised he was now different, or at least acting different.

He drew a breath. "Do you think I would do that to you?"

"I do not think I know what you would do. I do not I believe I know you as well as I thought, Nightwing!"

With that Starfire left, not wanting to have him see her in tears, and Nightwing was flabbergasted. He wasn't done! The argument, er, discussion wasn't over yet!

He growled under his breath and set out after her when he was intercepted outside his office by Wally West, the former Kid Flash who was now the Flash and part of the Justice League.

"Dick, hey coming up to the party?" Wally asked, standing as still as he ever did. "Kory came down awhile ago and I wasn't sure what was keeping you but some of the Titans are getting ready to leave, figured you wanted to say 'hi', uh, I mean 'bye'. Me, I'll be around for awhile seeing I'm the fastest boy – I mean man – alive!"

Nightwing's shoulders slumped a bit, having been essentially called out by one of his oldest friends who was also the first of their generation of heroes to move up to the Justice League. He looked at Wally's expectant expression. He really should be nice to his visitors. "I'm coming, I'm coming," his expression softened, "Jeez, you think a guy could get a little work done around here." It sounded like he was joking, but he really wasn't.

"So, uh, just when its the two of us, uh, what's going on with you and Starfire?"

"Nothing," Dick replied, his tone returning to the tightness it had earlier.

"Nothing as in 'nothing's wrong' or nothing as in 'there is nothing between us'? 'Cause well, I kinda heard through the grapevine that you and Babs were-"

"Babs and I were what?" Time to be flabbergasted again.

"Well, rekindling the old flame," he looked around making sure they were alone. Wally knew of Dick's stint as the Batman as one of the original seven of the Justice League. All the Titans with the exception of Starfire were told he was on a training mission off-planet. Wally continued, "You were back in Gotham, being the Bats, and well Babs told Dinah, ya know, Black Canary-"

"What?!? Wait, I've got to hear this, let's go back to the office," Dick said and ushered Wally back to his office, not wanting anyone to overhear. "What did you hear?" he demanded.

"Man, chill, talk about killing the messenger..."

"Sorry."

"All I heard was that there was some flirting going on."

Dick's eyes widened behind his mask, "Nothing happened." He paused, "Has Starfire heard that? Has she said anything about it?"

"Not to me, no. But Roy heard about it of course cause Black Canary told the Green Arrow, so Speedy's was hitting on Starfire-"

"What!?!"

"Dude, I told you, don't kill the messenger!"

"I'm going to kill her-"

"Who?" Dick didn't answer, so Wally prompted, clearly shocked, "Kill who, Babs or Kory?" Wally paused to consider his friend, who looked almost as angry as he ever had seen him, "Before you answer that, you should know Kory threw Roy into a wall when he tried to kiss her earlier-"

"Speedy did what?" Dick demanded as he loomed over the redheaded speedster.

"Dude, seriously. Don't. Kill. The. Messenger."

"Sorry," Dick replied, just the smallest bit sheepishly.

"Speedy came to the party early, said something to Starfire and cornered her, kissed her against her loud verbal protests, and ended up embedded into the dry wall. She screamed at him in what I assume is Tamaranean, then translated for him and I had no idea she even knew those words. He mumbled something about a separated shoulder and had Herald open a portal to the Titans Tower in Steel City."

Dick smirked a bit. Good for Kory. But he had to have a word or two with Babs.

TtTtTtTtTt

"Sorry guys," Nightwing said as he found himself looking at the floor, feeling many sets of eyes on him, rubbing his neck a bit in embarrassment as he entered Ops. Dick managed to relax ever so slightly while he interacted with his guests, but to most in the room, he seemed fine.

But the four other denizens of the tower knew he was off. Cyborg could monitor his biological signs (in addition to knowing him very well), Raven could read his emotions and peak into his mind due to their link, Beast Boy used his animal instincts to smell the subtle difference of his sweat, and Starfire just knew.

But during the party, or what was left of it, Dick and Kory did gravitate each other. There was such a magnetic attraction between them. There always had been. Heck, everyone knew they were attracted to each other way, way before they admitted it to themselves. Each felt as awkward as they had ever felt, but save Raven, Cyborg and Beast Boy, no one seemed to notice. They certainly seemed couple-ish enough and even if it was just for appearances sake, which Starfire feared, it didn't seem to raise any suspicions among the Titan ranks.

Dick saw a dullness to Starfire's eyes that he hadn't seen before during their interaction at the party. He knew they had things to talk about, but he didn't realize that things were already set into motion, and that their relationship was headed south.

Wally remained to help clean up after the other Titans had returned to their respective cities, but soon he was off to the Watchtower. He was the only other person who knew something was up with Dick, having known him so long and having had the conversation he had with Dick in Dick's office before returning to the party. The Flash would be sure to get all the gossip from his associations at the JLA. Just as he was a harmless flirt, he was a harmless gossip. Plus, as was often his role in missions, his emphasis would be on reconnaissance, as a one-man advance team as it were. Just so he could give Dick a heads up about what was being said, if anything was, and also cause, you know, Wally might get a kick out of what he heard.

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"Kory, I-" Dick started, finding himself at her door, torn over how to wish her goodnight.

"No talking," she said, and he wasn't sure if she was about to kiss him or send him on his way. "You have travelled far today and it has been a difficult time for you-"

He cut her off with a kiss. Because she paused, surprised by the gesture, she never got a chance to return it before Dick pulled back from her, that lopsided grin she used to see so often when he was young adorning his face.

"Good night, Kory." he said softly.

It wasn't at all as rough as it might sound when Kory grabbed the front of his uniform and pulled him in for another kiss, this one much more intense. "Good night, Richard," she purred, her eyes finally shining. They shared a look, and then her door closed in front of him.

TtTtTtTtTt

A/N: remember what I said before the chapter, it isn't 'a single, catastrophic event, but as is with most break-ups of serious relationships, its a series of events'. Man, I'm quoting myself...

Anyway, more trouble ahead as the Team regroups and restarts training and missions. A bit of insight, because there maybe questions: Starfire has her room, Nightwing has his, nothing is wrong when they said goodnight. They may be older and in love but that doesn't mean they're intimate.

If you've read me before, I am new to fiction and tend to belabor and argue points as I've had to in my non-fiction writing related to my profession. Let me know if I need to scale back, if it turns out to be too much about the multiple factors that lead up to an event. I'm getting great and positive feedback, but I'd like any suggestions people can have. At least I'm not speaking hospital-eze in this one!

Thanks so much for reading and please, keep the reviews coming!

LJ