Final chapter. When reading the old Author notes I noticed that I said I might add in an epilogue and I think that I'm going to do that this time around (so I guess technically, there's one last chapter). Who would have thought that all these years later I would add to it? Enjoy.
Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans or any of its characters. I simply use them to further the enjoyment of all.
ooOOoo
"Beast Boy, for the last time, we're not abandoning them on an island," Raven told him, exasperated. They were both in Raven's room and that was the third time in an hour he had suggested it. She didn't know where Cyborg was but she had pulled Beast Boy in here for an emergency meeting. Things were getting worse. Raven was on a meditation mat as she spoke to Beast Boy who was lying on her bed, gazing at the ceiling.
"Then what's your idea, because that's the best I've got," he said, sitting up so that he could see her.
"We could lock them in the basement. Not let them out until they talk to each other," she said lamely. Even she knew it sounded ridiculous but she couldn't just not suggest anything. Beast Boy didn't hesitate to point out the flaws.
"Oh yeah, and I'm sure Starfire won't think to blast through that door at any point in time. Nor will Robin find a way to blow it to smithereens. And you thought my idea was bad."
"It wasn't a bad idea, it just wasn't well thought out. There's a difference," she mumbled. She knew it had been dumb but he didn't have to be quite so sarcastic about it.
"Not much of one," he answered, leaning back on the bed again.
"Okay, so the basement idea was bad but maybe not entirely. What if we put them in a situation where they couldn't avoid each other? Somehow get them to work together?" she suggested. Beast Boy and she had to get the couple to talk but they wouldn't unless they were together somewhere that they could escape from.
"We could lock them in the training room," Beast Boy suggested excitedly, sitting up once again.
"What good would that do?"
"Since we have all the equipment in there the doors are made to resist us and our powers. We lock it from the outside and they can't get out," he explained. Cyborg had explained the reinforcements on the training room about a hundred times and Beast Boy was now grateful that he had. "Run a program and boom. They have to work together to keep from getting blown up." He threw his arms out, demonstrating the boom. Raven just stared at him.
"Okay, so maybe it wasn't such a good idea," he mumbled, looking at the ground.
"No, it's the exact opposite. It's brilliant. How did you ever think of that?" Raven could feel herself actually smiling, hoping that they had finally figured something out. Beast Boy shrugged.
"It was your idea. I just gave you solutions to the kinks in your plan," he said looking up and returning her smile. He couldn't remember a time when she had actually smiled so much and he couldn't help but be a little surprised at how amazing she looked when she did.
"Guess we're a better pair than we thought."
"Yeah, I guess so." Beast Boy sat up, keeping her gaze. Raven dropped hers first, looking at her hands. She didn't know what she was hiding from or why she was suddenly feeling so nervous. It was just Beast Boy. Somehow the knowledge didn't help.
"Well, we better do this fast," she said as Beast Boy nodded in agreement. "There's no telling when between now and tomorrow morning Aqualad is going to make his move."
"You still think that he's going to go after Starfire? After all the warnings that we've given him?" Beast Boy asked her honestly. He had thought they scared him pretty well and that he would finally back off. Beast Boy knew that he wouldn't want Raven as an enemy and he got the feeling that Aqualad was just as scared of her.
"I think that Aqualad is the kind of guy that doesn't stop until he gets what he wants, no matter who threatens him," she sighed. Beast Boy moved from his place on her bed and sat down next to Raven on the mat.
"How can he get away with that? I mean eventually he's going to meet someone bigger then him."
She shrugged, not having a real answer for him. "They may be bigger than him but only superheroes, really, have the means to stop him. You're forgetting he's stronger then he looks and has an entire ocean of critters at his beck and call. Who's going to want to stand up against something as big as an octopus or aggressive as an alligator? I think that's the only thing that's kept him alive."
"So he gets every girl and no crime fighter will take him on? Unless this is the first time he's tried to seduce a fellow crime fighter," he mused.
"Possibly, or it could just be he's never gone up against us before. Most groups aren't like us. They avoid each other's personal lives. Even the Justice League tries to keep things plutonic, though they do know each other's identities," she explained.
"Go figure we're the only ones who decide to go up against the jerk. Its guys like him that gives my half of the species a bad name. Most of us are pretty decent."
"Yeah, Star and I, we're pretty lucky to find decent ones that live right here." The minute the words were out of her mouth, Raven could have smacked herself. "Ummm… what I meant was umm…"
"Raven?"
"Mmm?" she answered, looking at him embarrassed. Beast Boy leaned over and kissed her softly. It was brief and innocent but made her heart speed up nonetheless. Somewhere behind Raven a book exploded or maybe a statue. Beast Boy chuckled softly at her loss of control.
"I like you too," he whispered.
"Who ever said I liked you?" she retorted but there was no malice in her voice.
"The stereo behind you that just blew up," he answered and Raven flinched. That was going to be expensive to replace. "Don't worry I'll buy you a new one," he assured her. Raven looked at him a little surprised. How did he end up knowing her so well without her even realizing?
"Stop, I can't think straight when you do that. If we're going to get Starfire and Robin back together I need my head on straight," she said, leaning away from him.
"Fine, but the minute all of this is over, you and I talk," he told her firmly.
She sighed in acquiescence. "Okay."
ooOOoo
"You left Robin the note right?" she asked him nervously. They had planned everything but that didn't mean it was actually going to work. They hoped it would but Beast Boy and she weren't exactly the strategists of the group and they couldn't exactly ask Robin to plan his own intervention. He might get suspicious. Beast Boy nodded from his hiding place behind the door.
"You talked to Star, right?" he asked, just as nervous. Raven nodded, hidden in a doorway across the hall.
"Five minutes after five I told her. You told Robin five o'clock right?" she whispered from her hiding place. Beast Boy nodded again.
"And knowing how punctual Robin always is we can expect to see him right about… now." Both looked up to see Robin coming down the hall, just as angry and mopey as he had been for the past couple of days.
"Hide!" Beast Boy called from his spot. The both ducked behind doorways to avoid being seen by Robin. Now they just had to wait five minutes until Starfire walked into that room. It was already set up that, once the door was locked, a program would be activated to hit everything in the room. The couple wouldn't be seriously hurt by it, but they didn't know that. They were going to think that the room was seeing them as enemies, it was the only way the doors would lock from the outside. However, all the lasers, which were what were used on intruders, were set to the lowest settings. They would cause some bruises if they hit but nothing that would hurt the two inside.
A few minutes later Starfire came strolling down the hallway, also not her usual cheerful self. Raven hoped more than anything that this would work. Starfire deserved to be happy. When Starfire stepped over the threshold, her feet passed through a newly activated trigger beam and the doors slammed behind her, alarms going off throughout the tower.
"INDTRUDER ALERT! INTRUDER ALERT!" it screamed before Raven turned it off.
"And now, we wait," she said.
ooOOoo
"Starfire, behind you!" Robin screamed. Starfire blasted the approaching robot then whipped around and blew one up right behind Robin. He looked behind him at the wreckage and then turned to her. "Thanks, I owe you one."
"It was no problem," she answered. She blasted a laser in the ceiling with her eyes before ripping another out of the wall and throwing it to the ground with the growing pile of destroyed machinery. "Why do they attack us? Are we not the good guys?" she yelled over the noise.
"I don't know. Duck," he commanded. She did so without a second thought and Robin threw an explosive onto the floor, simultaneously destroying three robots. "Maybe someone broke in and changed it. It seems like Gizmo's work," he suggested. Starfire blasted another camera laser.
"But we put him in jail just this afternoon. I know villains get out of jail quickly, but even he cannot get out that fast." She blew up the last of the lasers, while Robin dismantled the last of the robots. "So then what caused it to malfunction?"
"Maybe there's a bug in the system. When we get out of here we should look at- ahhh!" The floor opened up under Robin. He just barely hung onto the side.
"Robin!" She flew down and grabbed his hand just as it slipped. Using all her strength she pulled him back up. They sat on the rafters in the ceiling, watching as everything slid into the floor to be disposed of.
"I forgot about the floor sensors," he said. "Wherever you step the floor will automatically open up and deposit you in a jail cell below."
"It is a good thing I can fly or we might have been in trouble," she commented.
"Yeah, no kidding but we still have to figure a way out of here. Can you fly down and unlock it. Just be careful not to touch the floor," he cautioned. Starfire swooped down from her perch and flew over the door. She inspected it carefully, trying to find a weakness in it.
"Robin, it has locked from the outside. We cannot open it. Perhaps I could blast it with a Starbolt," she suggested. Robin shook his head in the negative.
"The door is made to keep intruders in. That's its purpose, and no amount of Starbolts is going open it."
"So what is your idea?" she said, putting her hands on her hips, floating in midair.
"I don't know yet. I'm thinking," he told her gruffly. She flew back up to the rafters and sat beside Robin. Of all the people to get stuck in this room with, she thought. He was so mad at her and she wasn't even sure what she had done. She just knew it had something to do with Aqualad. He seemed to think that she preferred Aqualad over him and no matter how many times she denied it, he just wouldn't listen. She wished that he would just talk to her. Maybe, since they were going to be trapped here awhile, they should talk.
"Robin?"
"Mmm?"
"Why is it that we are fighting?"
"Doesn't sound like we're fighting."
"You know what I speak of Robin. Please do not avoid my question," she asked softly. Robin sighed.
"We're fighting because the knowledge that you want Aqualad instead of me hurts. There are few things in this world that I really care about Starfire. Now I feel as if the most important has slipped through my fingers," he explained, being honest with her. What did it matter what happened at this point? His misery couldn't get any worse.
"I have not… slipped through your fingers. I do not love Aqualad," she insisted for what seemed about the hundredth time in two days.
"Starfire, you may not think that you do but the signs are all there."
"What signs? You will believe misinterpreted body language but not the heart of the person you love?"
"It's not unspoken, Starfire; you said it right to my face if you remember. I quote 'At least Aqualad will catch me.' Isn't that what you said?" he challenged.
"But it is not what I meant," she yelled, irate. "It was said in anger and the heat of the moment."
"And those are the times when the truth comes out. That's the only time a person always says what they mean."
"It was not what I meant! How can you sit here and tell me what I am feeling? If you love me as you claim, I would think you would be excited to hear that I have no real feeling for Aqualad. It is like you want me to be with him. Is that it? Me being with Aqualad gives you an excuse for all the things that you have done to me?"
"I did to you?"
"Yes, you did to me! I did not ignore you, Robin, nor did I avoid you. I tried to speak with you and you brushed me off then acted like you did not want to see me when you found out that I was coming for pizza. Ever since Aqualad has shown up you have been acting strangely. What have you been trying to safeguard yourself from?"
"Safeguard… the safety codes!" he suddenly yelled out, a look of realization on his face. Starfire looked at him completely baffled at his answer.
"Excuse me?"
"The door, it has an override safe code in case something like this happened. I completely forgot about it."
"I do not know of any safety code."
"That's because I'm the only one who knows about it." He crawled over the rafters to a panel on the back wall. Attaching the grappling from his belt to the ceiling, he lowered himself down. He punched in a series of eight numbers and the door swung open. The floor closed up and Robin walked out, just barely missing the Starbolt that Starefire hurled after him.
ooOOoo
"A safety code? How bogus is that?" Beast Boy turned off the screen attached to a hidden camera in the training room. "All the work and all they ended up doing was fighting more."
"What if they're really not supposed to be together?" Raven said, just as disappointed as him. Beast Boy spun around confused.
"Excuse me?"
"Think about it Beast Boy," she told him, "We've been doing all of this under the assumption that they're supposed to be together. What if they're not? Just because we want it to be doesn't mean that it will be. We might have to face the fact that they don't belong together."
"They have to get back together. What will happen to the Teen Titans if they don't?"
"We'll do the same thing that we always have. Fight crime," she said, not understanding why he would ask something that had such an obvious answer. Beast Boy shook his head.
"You think that Robin is going to be with team when he sees her everyday, fights by her side, but has to watch her fall in love with another guy? It'll be easier for him to go back to his old ways. Work with Batman and stay away from Starfire or just go solo."
"Just because we have one less member, it doesn't mean that the Titans are done for," she said, not wanting to hear that she might lose the only things in life that she cared for.
"Do you really think we'll be able to do this without Robin? I can't let this team break apart, Raven. My friends, family, life, and love are all in this tower. Everything that's important to me is right here and I'll be damned if I'm going to let that slip through my fingers." He stood up and stalked out of the room.
ooOOoo
Robin couldn't believe what he had done. He really screwed up. He didn't even know why they had argued. Wait, he took that back. He knew exactly why, he just didn't want to admit it. He was insanely jealous. Aqualad had won her over and there wasn't a damn thing he could do about it. He loved Starfire more then anything and he had lost her to Aqualad. It was all Aqualad's fault.
He punched the wall then sat on his bed. He put his head in his hands and sighed in frustration. It wasn't all Aqualad's fault. Robin pushed her away. He had been so afraid that she would choose Aqualad he didn't even give her a choice. He lost her and it was his own fault. He fell back onto his bed, covered his face with a pillow and screamed. Suddenly he realized that he wasn't the only one screaming. He sat straight up. He heard the scream again… and ran straight for Starfire's room.
ooOOoo
Starfire slammed her door shut in anger, almost breaking it off its hinges. Why did he have to be such a jerk? What could she have ever of seen in him? If Robin never had any faith in their relationship then she didn't want a relationship, or at least not one with Robin. Aqualad would have faith in a relationship. He had already shown interest so why not try and be happy with him?
A knock on the door startled her out of her thoughts. Thinking it was Robin she opened the door in a huff.
"WHAT?" The anger in her voice immediately died. "Aqualad, I did not mean to snap at you."
"That's okay. Can I come in?" he asked.
"Of course, Aqualad." She stood aside allowing him to enter then closed the door. She walked over to her bed and sat down and looked up at him expectantly. Aqualad paced a bit then sat down next to Starfire, looking straight into her eyes.
"I'm not going to lie to you Starfire. I like you a lot. I know we would be good together." He paused a minute. "But I also know that you and Robin had a thing." He stressed slightly on the word had. He knew about their little fight in the training room. He was planning to come here anyways but the argument he had heard through the door was just the thing to boost his cause. He could not have had better luck. Starfire's deep breath interrupted the silence that had ensued.
This was it. She could be with a guy who liked her and respected her, a guy she could be happy with. A guy who could help her forget about Robin.
But when she looked into the eyes of Aqualad she realized she could never forget about Robin. When she looked into Robin's eyes she saw love. She saw the same love in his eyes that she had always felt in her own heart when around him. All she saw in Aqualad's was lust. She didn't love him. She never would.
"I am sorry, Aqualad. I would like to be with you, but my heart will not allow it, at least, not yet. Robin holds my heart and I fear he always will. Maybe one day I will be able to forget about him, but not yet. It is too soon," she explained, wishing that she didn't have to hurt Aqualad as well but knowing that it was better to tell him now than later.
"You're still hung up on Robin? After all that I've done to separate you two?" he growled.
"Wha- what do you mean, separate us?"
"Ever since I came to visit I've wanted you Starfire. You walked around flaunting your body yet you claim to love Robin."
"I do love Robin!"
"There's no such thing as love! It doesn't exist. It's just a deception that people convince themselves of!" he raged and Starfire stared at him.
"Your heart… it is… so… cold."
"Because of women like you. Then again, all women are exactly the same. Pretend you love them and then the minute a guy who looks better or has more money comes along, you leave them high and dry, no matter how much you hurt them in the process."
"I feel much pity for you, Aqualad. You have no love and it seems that you can feel none. How can you live with no love? I do not understand how a person could survive."
"I don't want you're pity, but I'm tired of your games," he told her. "You've rebuffed me one time too many. I've put too much effort into you not to get my reward." He shoved Starfire back on the bed and kissed her roughly and trapping her hands. She struggled against him, hating the feel of his cold lips on her own and trying not to gag as his tongue invaded her mouth.
"Get OFF!" Starfire screamed the words as loud as she could when she had the opportunity. She tried to fight him using her supernatural strength but Aqualad's matched, and possibly exceeded, her own. Her hands were pinned above her head, stopping her from using her Starbolts. Aqualad thought he had it all worked out, but he forgot one thing. Starfire screamed, eyes glowing but before she could blast him, her door was busted open.
"Get your hands off her, Aqualad."
ooOOoo
Robin ran for her room faster then he had ever run before in his life. When he had heard her scream his heart had all but stopped. He arrived at her door only to find it locked. He could hear a struggle going on inside. Stepping back from the door, he kicked it in with all his might. The lock broke and the door swung in. The sight he saw enraged him.
"Get you're hands off of her, Aqualad."
Aqualad looked over at Robin and stood up but didn't release his grip on Starfire. "This is none of your business Robin. She doesn't belong to you anymore."
"She doesn't belong to anyone. She chooses who she wants to be with."
"And she chooses to be with me," he said maliciously.
"Then why is she struggling to get away?" he asked. Sure enough, Starfire was struggling against his grip. Her face was now turned away from his and her hands pinned at her sides, making her totally helpless. "Let her go now and we'll let you walk out of here unharmed."
"You don't understand, Robin. There's never been a woman alive who refused me. Why start now?" Aqualad taunted, shrugging. Robin gritted his teeth.
"You'll regret it, Aqualad. This is you're last chance." Silence followed.
"Time is up!" Starfire screamed then slammed her foot down on Aqualad's. She kneed him in the groin and ran before he had a chance to recover his grip.
"Come back here!" Aqualad screamed, frustrated by her escape and his agony. She hid behind Robin, who was holding out his cape to shield her. "Back away from her, Robin, or things are going to get ugly."
"Well I can still see your face so I guess things are already ugly."
Aqualad's eyes narrowed. "You'll pay for that remark."
"Stay back, Starfire," Robin said, anticipating a fight from Aqualad. She just nodded dumbly not sure what to do. Aqualad was their ally wasn't he? Then why did he attack her? And why were he and Robin about to fight?
"No use protecting her; she'll be mine in the end. If you give her up now you won't get hurt."
"Give up now and maybe I'll only hurt you a little," Robin warned. No longer did he offer to let him walk out unharmed. He took a step toward Aqualad. "Maybe."
Aqualad's face was fixed with rage. He lunged toward Robin and Robin side-stepped him but was not expecting Aqualad to turn and kick him in the head. Robin was flying across the room but was back on his feet quickly. Aqualad lunged again but Robin didn't fall for it this time. He ducked and heaved Aqualad over his shoulder, causing him to land with a crash on Starfire's desk. Robin didn't even give him time to get up before punching him repeatedly in the face. Aqualad finally managed to block a blow and punch Robin with all of his superhuman strength. Robin had never felt so much pain in his life as he fell backwards but he forced himself up. Recklessly, Aqualad jumped toward Robin who avoided the attack and saw Aqualad face plant into the floor. Robin was on him in an instant. Pulling Aqualad's wrists behind his back, Robin pressed his knee into his back. He bent low, mouth next to Aqualad's ear.
"You're going to listen very carefully. You're going to leave this tower and you're never going to come back. If you need to contact us, you have the number. You'll never look at Starfire again and only associate with her if we happen to be fighting the same enemy. Contact us only if there is a threat. And if I find out that you tried to take another woman against her will, you're going to have a lot more problems than whatever bad guy is looking to take over Atlantis. Is that clear?"
"Crystal," came Aqualad's muffle reply.
"Good. Now I believe that Beast Boy is waiting at the door with your luggage." He dug his knee a little deeper before letting Aqualad up. Aqualad brushed himself off and strode toward the door. He took his luggage from Beast Boy. All were waiting expectantly for him to leave. Cyborg cracked his knuckles as a reminder.
"I'll be leaving now, but I won't forget this Robin. There's still a single girl in your group." His eyes fell upon Raven and immediately Beast Boy's arms wrapped around her waist.
"No," Beast Boy told him, "there isn't."
Aqualad scowled slightly then left, the door shutting permanently behind him. An immediate weight was lifted from the group.
"Well, glad that's over," said Cyborg turning around to the rest of the group. Raven's arm had found its way around Beast Boy's waist. Robin and Starfire seemed oblivious to the fact that anyone else was in the room. "I'm going to go see how much damage Star and Robin did to the training room." No one really seemed to notice him leave.
"You could've kicked his ass anyways," Beast Boy commented before turning to Raven. "I think that you owe me a discussion," he said and Raven looked up to see him smiling a rare smile.
"Sure we could talk. Or…" she let her voice trail off, not sure if she could say it out loud. Beast Boy raised an eyebrow.
"Or?" he pressed. She took a deep breath and then did something completely out of character. Standing on her toes slightly, she pressed her lips to his.
"Or we could go out, to the movies, or dinner or something," she suggested.
"What like a date?" he asked, surprised.
"Something like that," she said smirking. Beast Boy opened the door for her.
"After you, my lady," he said, bowing dramatically. She started to head out the door.
"Where should we go?" she asked him.
"I don't care, as long as I get to kiss you again." The door slam cut off the sound of her laughter. Robin returned his attention to Starfire.
"Starfire I… I don't know what to say to you. I acted so horribly to you. I was just so scared that I would lose you to him, that I didn't give you a choice. I should have known better. I should have trusted you," he said, cursing himself.
"You are right, you should have," she agreed and then sighed. "But I also should have understood. I knew that he tried to make advances and I did not say anything about the nick name and I should have. I knew it was special between us and I should not have said the things I did. I was angry and just as scared about losing you. Perhaps it was a little of both our faults."
"More like it was mostly mine," he said. Starfire smiled softly and wrapped her arms around his neck.
"I can agree to that," she said. Robin laughed, his arms snaking around her waist.
"So is it possible that you'll take this idiot back?"
"I would have no one else," she answered him honestly, glad that this was all behind them. He kissed her, softly at first, but all the pain and longing caused him to kiss her hard. He had missed her so much, and he had almost lost her out of his own sheer stupidity. Now that he had her he wasn't going to lose her.
"Starfire?"
She nuzzled closer to him. "Yes Robin?"
He reached into his pocket, pulling out a small, square, black box. "I've been carrying this around for about a month. I was going to wait until our anniversary, but I don't want to wait anymore." He got down on his knee and looking up at her he slowly opened the box revealing a simple diamond ring. "Will you marry me?"
Starfire's eyes went wide. They slowly filled with tears of happiness. "I already told you I would have no other."
Robin smiled widely and stood up. He slipped the ring onto her finger. "I love you, Starfire."
"And I love you, Robin. Now shut up and kiss me."
ooOOoo
All done! I hope everyone enjoyed. Also, their ages in this is somewhere between 18 and 20. They're a lot older in this than they were in the series because it's supposed to take place about three years after its prequel which does follow the time line of the beginning of the series.
I'm pretty sure that I'm going to add an epilogue so stay tuned!