These Black Eyes

by P0ST

The ongoing adventures and experiences of the Teen Titans, as witnessed through the eyes of a silent newcomer.

97. Sand in the Tower

97. Sand in the Tower

"I propose a toast! To the one girl who made this weekend so fantastic and educated me on just how much a gender bender truly sucks…," Beast Boy winked and lifted his cup of root beer up high. "Starfire!!"

"Boo ya!! To Starfire!"

"To Starfire!"

"To Starfire."

I smiled and lifted my glass.

A pause.

Five of us glanced over.

Sandy simpered. "Um….t-to Starfire!"

"Hooray!!"

"Heh."

Our glasses clinked over the table atop the balcony of the Bayside pizza parlor. The six Titans and their special guest Sandy gathered together for a slice to eat the day after the Puppet King fiasco. And all of us couldn't help but feel……at ease.

Six of us sat down, rejoining a blushing and smiling Starfire.

"But I insist!" the Tamaranian exclaimed. "I have done nothing to deserve such exaltation! The Puppet King had me under his control throughout the entire incident, and I was unable to assist in the safe retrieval of the hostages and—"

"Starfire…," Robin placed a gentle glove on her shoulder and smiled. "What matters the most to us is that you're alive and safe. Dying on us or being swept away by some obnoxious, wooden stalker would have been the opposite of your goodness. If that makes any sense…"

"It….it m-might," she bit her lip bashfully and lifted her root beer. "I consider myself….toasted?"

The Titans chuckled.

Sandy was rather quiet.

"Well there, little Missy," Cyborg leaned and winked a human eye. "You look rather glum."

"Not glum," Sandy smiled. "Just tired."

"Well, I pity you!" Beast Boy beamed. "I'm rearin' to go anywhere and do anything today! Nothing like a brush with a destiny as an old, balding journalist to give you a new outlook on life!"

"What's there to save you on the 'bald' part?" Raven droned.

Beast Boy fumed.

The dark girl looked over at Sandy. "I have to admit…you do look exhausted."

"Yes….well…," Sandy simpered. "Don't get me wrong. I'm very….h-honored that you all invited me here and stuff. I mean….this is pure, Titan tradition. Isn't it? Pizza and root beer?"

"Not to mention waffles!" Beast Boy interjected.

"Hehehehe," Starfire giggled. "We are equally honored by your presence," she said across the table to Sandy. "Your assistance in the villainous puppet's defeat has been most timely."

"Don't I know it," Sandy blinked heavy eyelids beneath her glasses. "I'm used to last minute, nocturnal volunteering jobs…but usually they involve data entry or senior service…not swordfights and explosions."

"I didn't want to bring you too far into it," Robin pointed with a repressed smirk. "You insisted on coming into the Tower, remember?"

"Ah….yes….so it comes back to bite me," Sandy yawned and tried her polite best to keep her leaning figure awake over her half-eaten pizza. "I've hung out with you guys before and I think each and every one of you is great. So when I hear about any of you being in danger…..well……"

"It's like being part of a family…," Cyborg said. His face seemed strangely emphatic as he uttered: "Isn't it?"

"Heheh….," Sandy sleepily nodded. "Exactly. Family."

Silence.

I slurped from my root beer.

A beat.

Raven glanced at Cyborg.

Cyborg glanced at Robin.

The Titan leader slowly nodded. He stood up from the table.

"Sandy…you have proven yourself on three major occasions to be an asset to us above and beyond that of the common, citizen volunteer. At Westhaven, your secrecy and interior support was just what Beast Boy and Noir needed to stop Killer Moth. During Mumbo Jumbo's last excursion through town, your support and sanity helped Raven collect her emotions and her teammates together. And just last night—when all was stolen straight from under our nose by the Puppet King—I don't know where we'd all be now without your intelligence, charisma, and bravery. I've told you before, Sandy, that if only you had superpowers…I would gladly accept you as part of the team. And well….together the sixth of us Titans agree that you do have a superpower. You have the uncanny ability to help us when we need it most, by going where no human being would normally go. And oftentimes we find out that you do your best to protect us as we do to protect you."

Robin produced a brand new, sparkly Titan communicator and held it for the volunteer girl to see.

He smiled proudly.

"We would love to extend to you an invitation. An invitation to become a Titan initiate. True, it does not hold the same high ranking as that of the sixth members of our team. But it means that we will willingly from now on offer you the resources, security, and training necessary whenever you would choose to bless us with your assistance in the future. And then—if your guardians approve—we have all agreed to help you out in even becoming a Titan—"

"ZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz." Sandy was out cold in her seat the whole time.

I bit my lip.

"Snkkkktttt," Beast Boy covered his face and did his best to suppress a snorting chuckle.

"Awwww," Cyborg smirked. "Poor thing." He glanced at Robin. "And you. You worked on that speech a lot, didn't you?"

Robin sweatdropped, his glove still holding the communicator out. "I sort of….ya know….half-assed it, really."

Starfire giggled.

"You always half-ass it, dude," Beast Boy chuckled. "This is rich! When are we gonna tell her? I mean, really tell her?"

"Later," Raven muttered, her arms folded. "Let her sleep already."

"Out here?"

"We gotta get her to the Tower, man," Cyborg said.

Starfire smiled, stood up, and shuffled over to the girl's chair. "I shall volunteer to transfer the volunteer home."

"Yeah, you do that," Raven droned.

"Fly safely," Robin said.

Starfire gave him a humored look. "I do believe I have my flying greatly lacking of turbulence after so many Terran years of practice, Robin."

"Heh…flying first class with Starfire," Beast Boy grinned. "I'm jealous."

Cyborg whacked his head.

"Ow!"

"I shall take my time," Starfire said. She cradled the sleeping Sandy and drifted off towards the Bay and the Tower.

I waved them 'good-bye'.

"Well…Sandy took it well," Raven uttered.

"She didn't take it at all!" Beast Boy frowned, rubbing his head. "And for crying out loud, isn't that just fate?? We need more people hanging around the Tower. It's big, empty, and lonely inside that thing! Especially with Raven around."

"What part of 'broken nose' do you not understand?"

"I was taught by mail!!"

Robin cleared his throat. "Come on, guys. It's not like we all are making her a Titan or anything! She's just too helpful for us to pass up! She doesn't even have to be at the Tower to help us as long as she can access a computer station in tune with our systems' programs…"

Silence.

All of us shifted in our seats or looked to the side.

Robin's eyemask went crooked. "What am I missing here?"

"She kinda deserves more than that, dude," Beast Boy said. "Don't you think?"

"Seriously," the Boy Wonder looked concerned. "We can handle the City by ourselves. Just the six of us."

"Oh, we know….we know…," Beast Boy nodded. "It's just that sometime….."

"Yeah?" Robin leaned his head to the side.

A beat.

"Think of it like this, Robin…," Cyborg pointed. "I dunno what kind of a social life you had before you became the Boy Wonder…."

Robin stared at him blankly.

"…………," Cyborg blinked. "Or before you were born, whatever."

Robin smirked.

"But I for one remember a day and age when I went to high school. Hung out with my pals. Did the whole weekend thing. Ya know. That good old normal stuff."

"'Normal' is such a relative term…"

"Oh, we know, Robin. We know. But….you see……with Sandy…….."

A pause.

I looked at everyone. I suddenly sat up straight and hand-signed.

Robin and Beast Boy looked at me….then at Cyborg.

Cyborg smiled. "Noir's right. Sandy's like…..our one true friend from outside the Tower. Our fair link to reality…if you were."

"Reality…heh," Raven mumbled. "We could all use more of that."

"Tell me about it," Beast Boy added.

"I was especially talking abut yo—"

"I KNOW!!!"

"Heheheh," Cyborg chuckled. "Think of it, Robin. What we all want with a person like Sandy…what we all really want is a friend. Someone outside of the Tower who isn't quite as…..wyrd as the rest of us."

Beast Boy giggled.

Cyborg frowned at him then went on. "Someone who is like the face of very people we save. And who tolerates us as we are no matter what body parts are missing, or lasers we shoot out of our eyes, or freaky robes as a fashion statement…"

Raven glared.

Cyborg gulped and simpered: "Don't you understand that?"

"I suppose I do," Robin nodded.

"And to do something that could possibly make Sandy a Titan someday….well….that kinda sorta undoes all of that."

"I know what you mean," the Boy Wonder said. "But at the same time, I'm gonna extend the invitation all the same."

"Of course. As you should."

Robin gestured. "Sandy's far more valuable than she initially appears on the outside. Normally I'd consider her a citizen outside of superhero affairs…but…do I need to explain?"

"It's okay, Robin," Raven droned. "We all know that the only way for you to trust someone is to put a mask and an alias on him or her."

I chuckled.

Robin sighed. "Ah…and so it comes back to this."

"Hehehe!" Beast Boy giggled. "The old secret identity debate! Hey! You suppose Raven's on our side now?!"

"It's a miracle!!" Cyborg slapped the girl on the shoulder. Whap!! "Look what vacation must have done to ya!"

Raven blinked and exhaled after Cyborg's backslap. "Excuse me while I internally reset my spinal column with telekinesis. Then I am going to shove this chair down your tube."

"I think she means it, dude."

I gestured towards Robin.

"Yeah! Before the subject changes," Cyborg nodded at me and smiled at the Boy Wonder. "Who's gonna bet that Robin's some member of royalty or something?!"

Robin raised an eyebrow above his mask. "Royalty??"

"Yeah!" Cyborg leaned forward. "Who else can have so many rich tools up his sleeve and yet be so smooth with the ladies."

"What….?" Raven lifted her eyebrow this time.

"Don't be daft, Raven!" Beast Boy winked. "You're a girl! Tell us why the entire population of this City age thirteen to twenty carry pictures of the Boy Wonder in their school notebooks and paste his posters in their lockers!"

Robin blushed. "Th-They do?"

"Um….DUH!! What…you weren't looking around at the girls that one time we had to stop Plasmus from wrecking that High School football game?"

I glanced at Robin.

"I was kind of sorta distracted by the BIG OOZING MONSTER we had to pummel!" Robin grunted. He folded his arms and smirked suspiciously. "Besides, I remember you being knocked around extra hard that night. Where were YOU looking when Plasmus gave you that sloppy right hook?"

I glanced at Beast Boy.

"Sheesh, Robin! For someone so stiff, you're one wet noodle! You gotta live a little! If I had that many worshipped posters of me hung up in girls' lockers, I'd be the happiest man on the face of the earth."

"'Boy'."

"Shut up, Raven."

ZAP!

"Ow!"

Raven smirked slightly.

I hand-signed.

Cyborg looked at me. "Say what?"

I smirked and emphatically hand-signed what I 'said' again.

"Pfft….sure, Noir," Cyborg chuckled. "You've got a poster of yourself out already. Riiiight."

I folded my arms and frowned.

I suppose the world is twice as incredulous about things after one experiences stepping in and out of Supergirl's bedroom…

"Hehehe," Beast Boy rubbed his shoulder. "I'd pay to see them make a poster of Noir by now!"

"They do have a poster of Noir nowadays," Raven said.

Robin glanced over. "They do? How'd you find that out, Raven?"

"Oh, I….I……….," the dark girl coughed and her cheeks were rosy. "J-Just heard about it somewhere…."

I glanced at her curiously.

"Well…," Cyborg stood up. "Never thought I'd say this in my android days, but I'm full. I'm gonna go for a walk. Anyone want to join me--"

"I will," Raven quickly shuffled out of her seat and headed towards the exit. "Let's go."

"Hey!! Goose-step a little slower, lady!" Cyborg chuckled and trotted after her.

I watched them both silently.

"Well……"

I looked over at Robin.

He twiddled his gloved funs. "Who's got the check?"

"You do, dude," Beast Boy pointed at him. "You're a prince under that mask…remember? Hehehehehe!"

Thwap!

"Ow!!"

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

"So…you shaken up in the least about all this?"

"I don't do 'shaken up'," Raven droned.

Cyborg smirked as the two walked down the city sidewalk.

"Not at all? I tell you…wooden puppets and possessions don't go well with me. I've been through it twice!"

"And you were not alone…," Raven glanced at him. "And in case you have forgotten, I have experienced transition into another body on two major occasions now. That succinctly outweighs your detriment."

"Since when was this a contest of inconvenience?" Cyborg chuckled. "You act as if the whole world is trying to…..out-depressed itself or something."

"It's always important to think before you engage into conversation with me."

"Why? Because you're complex?"

"No, because I say so."

Cyborg smirked. "Always the see-saw, Rae."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I could have sworn that—just days ago on vacation—you were practically willing to smile. Heck, you even let me in your room!"

"What of it?"

"Nothing of it! Just what happened to the happy-go-lucky Raven I was beginning to see?"

"Forgive me…but in the last twelve hours I have found myself inhabiting a handful of strange bodies including that of a fat, greasy, comics whoring psychopath who has spent more hours of his life playing Everquest or watching Dr. Who than growing sex organs."

"Boo ya!" Cyborg beamed. "Now that's the Raven I know! The Raven that I like!"

"Congratulations…," Raven muttered. "Where's the T-Car?"

"Just two blocks down."

"Take me home."

"Oh, really now? Is this something I owe you?"

"No, it's something gentlemanly to do."

"Charming. Quite charming." Cyborg smirked. Then as they approached the T-Car in the alleyway… "Oooh….well this is nice."

Raven's blue eyes squinted. She groaned. "How wonderful."

Gathered around the safely locked T-Car was a crowd of youngsters. Teens and preteens of both genders and multiple ethnicities. The citizens glanced over and gasped. "Whoah!! Forget the cool car! It's them!"

"Wow!"

"The Teen Titans!"

"Raven! She's awesome!!"

"Hey!"

"Cyborg! Dude!"

Naturally they flocked over.

Raven grumbled. "This is why I fly…."

Cyborg looked at her. "Then why come along at all?! Surely the T-Car can't fly!"

Raven's gaze fell to the sidewalk.

"Coool!!" a little girl exclaimed with bright eyes. "You guys are my heroes!"

"Please don't say you're going away somewhere!!"

"Tell us about the Puppet King!"

"Yeah! How'd you beat him up?!"

Cyborg scratched the human side of his head. "Ohhhh….we switched around our talents some…"

Raven rolled her eyes.

"Wow!"

"Teamwork! Just like it says in your guys' magazine!"

Cyborg glanced at Raven. "There it is again. Just when am I actually gonna sit down and read one of them things?"

Raven spoke to him under her breath. "We have to go….."

"Cyborg…Raven…what are you doing here today?!"

"Is there a crime scene nearby?!"

Cyborg shrugged. "Well…w-we were just heading on back home."

"Home?"

The android Titan dramatically struck a pose. "TO THE TOWER!"

The kids cheered.

"Where were you going, then?"

"Just….h-hanging around?"

"Well, yeah!" Cyborg said. Raven hid behind him.

"Whoah…heroes get to 'hang out'??"

"Heroes can't hang out!"

"We can too!" Cyborg smirked. "After we've just kicked ass!"

"Coooooool!!"

"And wh-where're the other Titans?!"

"Around…," Raven droned.

One girl leaned her head to the side curiously and sweetly uttered: "Hey…..are you two going out?"

The two Titans twitched. Blue, brown, and red eyes wide.

Another girl gasped. "Cyborg and Robin…the Titans….are dating?"

"No!!!"

The Titans looked at each other.

They pointed.

"You thought we were---?!"

They performed a double-take.

"How could we---?!"

A blink.

A beat.

They both faced the kids incredulously again.

"We are not going out!"

The girls giggled. The boys shrugged. The T-Car beeped and flashed.

"Raven, let's move," Cyborg pointed the remote in his arm at the car and dragged Raven behind her, sweatdropping. "Before these kids get the wrong idea."

"Yes, Cyborg," Raven rolled her eyes while being a human trailer. "Taking me by the hand is really helping."

"Won't you stay and talk to us??" a kid pouted.

Cyborg opened and closed the door for Raven before twirling about….pausing…then heading to the driver's seat. "Oh, we'll talk. Later. When we appear at the First Annual TITANS SUMMER CAMP GETAWAY NEXT YEAR!!!!"

The kids started cheering maniacally. And in such a spontaneous hysteria, they neglected to get in the way of Cyborg and Raven as they revved the engine and took off smoothly down the road.

"What's this…," Raven narrowed her blue eyes while riding in the passenger's seat, "…Summer Camp Getaway thingy?"

"Heck if I know," Cyborg said. "And heck if they know too! At least it got them to leave us alone."

"Yeah……good thing, that."

"Yeah…"

"Yeah……….."

Silence.

The T-Car hummed along.

Buildingsides and lampposts passed by the windows.

"Kinda silly….ya know….," Cyborg chuckled nervously. "Them….thinking…."

"What?"

"You and me…"

"Oh….utterly pathetic."

"Sick, even."

"Impossible."

"Frightening."

"……."

"……."

"…….Frightening?"

"Um, yeah."

"Er…y-yeah! Right! Frightening…"

"Yeah……."

"……….."

"……….."

"………..."

"God! Let's turn the freakin' radio on already!"

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

In the Main Room of the Tower…

A petite form rested under a blanket on the couch with pillows.

After a short period of time, the hump in the blanket stirred.

"Nnnnghh…"

Sandy turned over and slowly raised her head. Blinking. Tired.

A shadow passed over her from a distant source.

Sandy stumbled, stretched her arm to the table besides the couch, and picked up her glasses. After putting them on, the fuzzy world became unfuzzy, and she saw Starfire mingling quietly about the kitchen unit of the Main Room. The Tamaranian girl was humming quietly, pleasantly while gently preparing a traditional Tamaranian beverage for the Titans when they came home.

Sandy blinked some more.

Starfire looked over. She smiled pleasantly and waved from over the counter. "Greetings! Did you have a pleasant slorvax?"

Sandy chuckled. "I now know why we went through so much trouble to save you from the Puppet King last night, Starfire."

"And why is that, Miss Sandy?"

"You're just about the most adorable organism in this galaxy."

Starfire giggled. "Such is what all of my Earthling friends say about me. I have yet to grasp an understanding of their words."

"Why's that, Starfire?" Sandy sat up.

Starfire stirred a plastic pitcher of juice. "I have not been perfectly 'good'. I show anger from time to time. And…j-just two days ago, I found my favorite boots marinating in Beast Boy's bathtub—which I must inform you is very much full of bits and pieces of leftover pizza fragments."

"Er…..," Sandy had a disgusted face.

"Still," Starfire looked guilty. "I did rather obscenely call him a Yugalornian Kablagark."

"And just what is that, exactly?"

"The Vegan equivalent of a…..'booger brain'??"

Sandy mock gasped. "Oh Starfire! It's Hellfire and damnation for you for sure!"

Starfire winced. "Ohhh….is it really?"

Sandy giggled. "I was just joking…."

"If it h-helps…," Starfire gulped. "I did give Beast Boy twenty hugs and a dish of homemade glork to amend my unfair insult."

"Awwww…well there you go, Starfire. You're sweet to the core."

"Perhaps so. Though Beast Boy vomited the glork two hours later. I believe it has now joined the bathtub with my stained boots and his pizz—"

"I get the picture," Sandy raised a hand and urped.

"Excuse me while I finish my task at hand," Starfire politely said with a smile and continued stirring.

Sandy raised an eyebrow. "Um…..how exactly did I…………….get here?"

"I carried you."

"…………."

"…………."

"………….across the City?"

"Yes, Miss Sandy."

"And I was asleep the whole time?"

"You were quite busy with your slumber, yes."

"Well…..that was awfully………thoughtful of you," Sandy blushed.

"Is there something the matter?"

"No….just….," Sandy ran a hand through her cowlicked hair. "This is all so crazy."

"How so?"

"Waking up here….in the Tower and all…..," Sandy remarked quietly. A beat. "I almost feel like……I-I'm at home."

Starfire leaned her head to the side and paused in stirring. "Like this place is familiar to you?"

"Isn't it?" Sandy blushed. "I-I don't mean to be bold, ma'am……but……..how did I get here?"

"From what I understand, Robin and Noir summoned you to be transported here by a helicopter in order to assist in—"

"No no no…," Sandy chuckled and waved her hands. "What I mean is…….In all my life……I-I never thought I'd get to be so……so close to superheroes like yourselves. I-I'm just an average girl. Well, that's a little flattering of myself. Heh. I'm a nerd. I spend more time in a library than I do in my bedroom. How did someone like me end up here? With such….a-amazing people treating me as a close friend. Letting me kick bad guy butt with them. Even inviting me out to pizza! Something sacred that only the six of you share!"

Starfire's green eyes trailed. A beat. She set her pitcher and stirrer down and walked over.

"Oh! M-Ma'am….I-I'm sorry," Sandy bit her lip. "Please, go back to your….um…alien juice or whatever---"

"Shhhh," Starfire smiled and sat gracefully down next to Sandy on the couch. "It can wait for the time being. You have just relayed something that triggered a common thought from inside myself."

"I-I did?" Sandy said.

Starfire nodded. The green-eyed Titan swallowed and gently said: "I am not of this world, Miss Sandy. I am a Tamaranian citizen. 'Average' by my own standards…and ironically—like yourself—I too have spent the better part of my young life visiting the Literary Archives to X'Hal."

Sandy giggled.

Starfire held up a finger, smiling. She continued: "As an educational expedition, I came to this planet to root out facts about Terra Firma. The exciting thing about this planet, Miss Sandy, is that the people of Earth are just barely starting to make first contact with aliens. Superman was one of the first famous icons of the galaxy beyond this solar system. But soon there came new representatives. Martian Manhunter. Supergirl. And though it was most likely one of my dreams to be an example of my people on this planet, I desired no more than to find out about the idiosyncrasies of Terra Firma. I wanted to blend in with the people and understand an entirely different culture. And especially this culture, for it is so extremely rich with detail and—yes—contradictions. Quite a fancy world indeed."

Sandy smiled and nodded.

Starfire went on: "Never did I imagine myself being inducted by those whom earthlings call 'superheroes'. When I met Robin and Cyborg and Raven and Beast Boy, I was merely intrigued by their service to society and pursuit of justice. It had always amazed me how physically weak and fragile human beings are. To see the likes of a powerful few sacrifice their very own freedom and sanity to protect those who might not even understand or accept them…..well…I was thoroughly amazed, honored, touched all at once! I felt an incessant pull to join in their efforts and assist them. All I was thinking about was the same motive they all had! Understandably, I was quite flabbergasted when they asked for my permanent participation within the Teen Titans. I suppose that….th-that I indulged at first mainly to be around them. I kept putting off my date of return for the next earth month…and then the next…and then the next. Until finally, my field trip became a permanent stay and here I am at present!"

Sandy hugged her knees to her chest on the couch and smiled. "And the rest is history…"

"I do suppose…," Starfire looked off with blinking green ovals. "But what it all amounts to is…," she looked back at the spectacled girl. "…never have I once felt caught up with the reality of my presence here. And I am what you all call a 'Teen Titan'!" Starfire tossed her arms and sighed. She smiled. "I do wish someone would explain it to me. But I am just too busy…"

"Busy with what?"

Starfire leaned her head to the side. "Why…loving my friends, of course."

Sandy nodded. A beat. "Especially Robin, right?"

Starfire's smile left. She blinked. "Uhm…."

Sandy chuckled and pulled a hand over her eyes. "Ohhhhhh…..people!"

"How do you mean….'R-Robin'…."

"Don't tell me you've got it too!"

"'Too'??"

"Denial!" Sandy laughed helplessly. "Everyone sees it!! Even you must see it?"

"Er….what is this….'it'…that you insist that I should be seeing?" Starfire cleared her throat.

"You were….very glad to be with Robin last night, Starfire. Admit it."

"……."

"You know……."

"……."

"When the curse lifted…."

"……."

"Um….the 'succinctly connecting orifices'."

"Oh!" Starfire said. She blushed furiously. "I….uhm…..er…." she ran a shaky hand through her red bangs and turned an abominable red. "…..I am….thankful as always for Robin's to my rescue….and…."

Suddenly, a giggling Sandy was hugging Starfire.

"Eeep! What is the occasion?"

"I can't help it," Sandy laughed. "You're too freakin' cute not to be hugged."

Starfire blushed even more, as if that was possible. She returned the favor bashfully with two arms around Sandy's shoulders. "I am…..proud to be huggable to you."

Sandy leaned back and shook her head. "Someday, Star….you should give in."

"Oh, okay." Starfire blinked. "What do you mean by that?"

"You'll know someday. If this world is fair….you'll know someday."

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

"So what was it like, Robin?"

The Boy Wonder sauntered stiffly down the sidewalk. His eyemask hung towards the concrete.

"Hellllllllo?! Earth to Robin!!"

"Hmmm?" Robin looked up. "Oh…sorry. What are you talking about?"

I chuckled and dug my hands into my pockets.

Beast Boy grinned as he walked between us. "What was it like?"

"What was what like?"

"Kissing Starfire!"

Robin's eyemask bulged. He immediately frowned. "Just drop it, man."

"Come on!! Nothing that'll ever happen to you is gonna change the fact that you kissed her!"

"It was to relieve the curse," Robin said. "Plain and simple."

"I imagine kissing girls is a way to relieve a lot of things," Beast Boy smirked. "So go ahead and spill!"

I made a face.

So did Beast Boy. "Okay….now that was just plain gross on reevaluation, dude. Someone get this gutter off from around my head. I'm stuck."

"Is there no end to this torment….," Robin moaned.

"So what if you and Starfire got a little romantic?!"

"For the last time!!" the Boy Wonder cackled. "It was to stop the freakin' curse!! There was nothing romantic about it!!"

"Well…pretend for once that it was romantic!"

"No."

"Come on! How'd it feel?"

"I can't afford to get too close to anyone…," Robin grumbled.

"Why not?!"

Robin pointed at his eyemask.

"Oh right….forgot," Beast Boy rolled his eyes. "Prince charming doesn't have a horse to fall off of."

"You all can fall in love with as many people as you like," Robin said. "As Titan leader and a world-renown vigilante………any attempts on my part to get close to someone would only be a complication and an endangerment."

"Yeah….well….sounds like a hands on job." A beat. Beast Boy laughed his head off. "Ha ha ha!! Get it?! Hands on job!! Ha ha ha!" He nudged me. "That hilarious or what?! Hands on job!! Hahaha….heheh……ahem. Someone shoot me, please."

I smirked.

"If only I didn't abhor guns….," Robin moaned.

I hand-signed something.

"Cyborg's not here, dude."

I slapped Beast Boy's shoulder and made him look at me. I repeated the hand-sign….which was a simple charade of a 'telephone' by my ear.

"Need to make a phone call??"

I nodded.

Robin raised an eyebrow. "Er….what for?"

I charaded 'driving' and pointed at a spot along the sidewalk. A spot where the T-Car used to be. A spot where the T-Car wasn't presently…

"Duuude….," Beast Boy moaned. "They totally ditched us!"

"I wonder where Cyborg and Raven would have to go in such a hurry…," Robin rubbed his chin in thought.

"I can think of one possibility," Beast Boy said.

"And what's that?"

With ruffling feathers, the changeling morphed into an emerald pigeon and fluttered off into the sky towards the Bay. "I'll be sure to tell you it later tonight."

"Oh come on…BEAST BOY!!!" Robin cackled.

The bird flew the coop.

The Titan Leader groaned. He looked at me. "A long time ago….I asked Batman if he ever wanted the superpower of flight. You know what he said?"

I shook my head and shrugged. I looked at him curiously.

Robin's lips smirked tiredly from under his mask. "He looked at me straight through his cowl and said: 'Who needs to fly when you can fall upwards?'"

I smirked.

"Come on…," he motioned with his neck and led us down the street. "Let's go home."

I chuckled breathily and casually followed him down the alleyways.

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

"Friends!" Starfire beamed as Cyborg and Raven walked out of the elevator and into the Main Room. "You are back! It is good to see you!"

"Yeah….well…my titanium was getting too much of a tan outside," Cyborg gestured. He crossed the length of the Main Room and saluted Sandy. "Well…look at the sleepyhead! How's it hanging, girl?"

Sandy smiled bashfully. "Hanging quite well, sir. Sorry about earlier."

"What are you sorry about?" Raven asked.

"Sleeping on the job."

"Job?"

"Pizza job."

"Hehehe!" Starfire giggled. "She is most modest, yes?"

"Positively a nun," Raven droned. "Any word from the boys?"

"Did you leave them behind?" Starfire asked with a lean of her head.

"Er….," Cyborg bit his lip. "We couldn't help it. We were mobbed."

Starfire gasped, her hands cupping together. "Mobbed?!?!"

"That's a hyperbole on Cyborg's part, really," Raven droned. "He and I…..we……these kids……" She looked at Cyborg.

Cyborg looked back.

Raven sweatdropped and nodded at Starfire. "We were mobbed."

"Oh, how dreadful!!"

Sandy snickered. "I-I hope Robin won't be too mad."

"He'll deal with it," Raven droned. "He's good at doing things like that."

Starfire blushed for some reason.

"Watcha makin', Star?" Cyborg walked over to the kitchen.

"Eeek! Do not sip of it yet! It has not yet been harmonized for human stomach linings!"

"Well, what is the stuff?"

"Home-made Tamaranian Star Juice! It is quite the delicacy!"

"An edible delicacy, right? Cuz—I gotta be honest—I was never down for that pudding of sadness jazz."

"Oh, I assure you! This is most delightful!"

The two's voices dwindled as Raven sighed and turned to face Sandy.

Sandy looked back.

A beat.

"Still sane?" Raven remarked.

Sandy smiled. "As long as you are. I'd base myself on that."

"How flattering."

"I would hope so!"

Raven shook her head. A beat. Her blue eyes looked at Sandy through the corner of her sockets. "I don't believe I ever…..ya know……thanked you."

"For what, Raven?"

"Helping me out when my emotions were scattered among my teammates," Raven said. "Nobody asked you to pitch in and help me pull things together and—well—you saw a lot of things about my character that I'm….pretty vulnerable about. Something that even my teammates themselves can barely chance to grasp. And when I finally pulled things together---thanks to your help---I acted like a total, self-absorbed bitch and didn't show you my gratitude or anything. And the rest lead up to accusing Noir falsely…blah blah blah…The long and short of it is that I'm sorry. And I'm really glad….for what you did."

Silence.

Raven bit her lip and slowly started to turn away to head to her room. "So….um….I-I guess I should be leaving you to rest asleep again or something---" The dark girl's blue eyes suddenly bulged. Raven's mouth went stiff. She droned: "Sandy…..why are you hugging me?"

The spectacled girl winked. "Because I know you won't ask for it, silly."

"Oh……………………………………………..g-good point."

"And you're welcome, by the way," Sandy whispered.

Raven cleared her throat and eagerly changed the subject…..awkwardly relieved. "I wonder when the boys will be here already."

SWOOOSH!! THWAP!!!

A green pigeon slammed into the Main Room window besides them.

"Dang it!!" Beast Boy murmured through a crooked beak as his feathery body slithered down the splattered window. "Why do I keep doing that?!"

THWUMP!!!

The pigeon fell out from view.

Sandy bit her lip and shrugged with a smile. "At least he'd make a great carrier pigeon."

"Now there's a lucky wife in the future," Raven managed a smirk. "Tampon runs from heaven."

"EW!!! I heard that!!"

Raven and Sandy giggled.

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

It was about sunset at the time Robin and I were halfway across the land bridge leading to the Tower.

The Boy Wonder stopped for a second and balanced himself on a bluff over the rippling Bay waves.

I paused and swiveled around….looking at him curiously.

"Can I tell you something outright, Noir?" the Titan Leader asked. "And promise not to say a word about it?"

I ran a hand over my scarred throat, smirked, and shrugged. I nodded.

He sat down on the bluff in a crouch. Sighing, he picked up a pebble and tossed it into the golden, sunsetlit waters. "I was scared as hell last night."

I leaned my head to the side, listening curiously.

"Sandy kinda knows about it. I'm sure Raven sensed it. But I'm telling you outright," Robin said. "Starfire….she almost bought it. In more ways than one. And it freaked me out."

I slowly nodded.

Robin tossed another pebble out to sea. The wind kicked at his black, spikey hair.

"I'm so glad that you were there with me, Noir. You and Sandy. Hell, even Control Freak." He tossed another pebble. "I would have gone insane by myself. With all of my worries. My freakin' obssessions."

A beat.

He glanced over at me. "It kinda…..hurts when everyone teases me about my best friendship with Starfire. Because none of them know. None of them know just how…..how precious she is like I have."

I folded my arms and nodded. I didn't exactly believe that Robin's statement was one hundred percent true. But that didn't matter. What mattered is that he believed it whole-heartedly.

"Starfire is……is……," Robin sighed and looked out to the Sea. "……..she is such a beautiful soul. And beautiful souls…..when they die……they die so painfully…."

There was a sagging to his eyemask. And to his lips.

I raised an eyebrow.

But as soon as the Boy Wonder so much as started to appear emotional, he snapped out of it and hopped back down onto the land ridge.

"Never mind. Everything's good now." He brushed himself off and smiled at me. "Starfire's safe. She's secure. The other Titans can tease all they want to. As long as she's…………….safe."

He walked off towards the Tower ahead of me. After a short while he paused and raised a finger with the back of his head to me. "Oh….and that kiss is STILL not a romantic thing that I did!"

I chuckled breathily and followed after his distant figure.

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

The door to Starfire's room opened and in walked the Tamaranian girl.

"Now where did I put it…," the redheaded alien hummed to herself. She floated about the interior of her room, tapping her chin with her finger. "Surely I am not slovenly enough to have misplaced the juice recipe—Ah!" She beamed happily and swiped up a booklet from a bedside table. "Glorious! I shall make haste to finish…..the……………….juice………."

Her voice trailed off.

The girl was eyeing the shimmering, wedding gown that the Puppet King had hypnotized her into wearing the previous evening. It lay prettily over the back of a plush chair besides a dressing mirror.

"Mmmmmmmmmmm," Starfire hummed. Rubbing her chin. She bit her lip. She glanced at the door….at the dress….at the door…and at the dress again.

Slowly…….pensively…….she smiled a girlie smile.

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

A couple of minutes later…a blushing starfire hovered to her feet in front of the mirror. She was fully attired in the wedding gown and was observing herself. Her cheeks were red as she cleared her throat, curtsied and clasped her nervous hands together in front of her skirt.

"Wh-Why hello there…..Robin," she breathed. The volume increased as she smiled and bashfully spoke into the mirror, "Thank you for s-saving me from the Puppet King." A beat. Her eyes trailed the floor. "But…surely the ceremony must not end now."

Silence.

She giggled and presented her hand out in a dainty fashion towards the mirror. "As the stiff old Terran male with gray hair and the white collar directs me, I hereby agree to the havingness and the holdingness till the inevitable death doing us partingness." A beat. She blushed and turned her body to the side cutely. "Is this surely not the moment when you are so privileged as to engage the bride in the application of cranial orifices?" She laughed girlishly, sighed loose the silliness of it all, and spun about—"EEP!!!"

I stood in the doorway, staring.

She had her white-gloved hands over her mouth.

I cleared my throat, waved, and pointed 'upstairs' at the main room.

Starfire blushed a beet and uttered: "Y-You have returned? Everyone is assembled for….erm….assemblage?"

I nodded slowly with a soft smile. My black eyes helplessly darted at the dolled up scene from under my shades.

"I will…..join you shortly," Starfire stammered. "Please m-make sure that Beast Boy does not attempt to consume the Tamaranian beverage yet in that it will surely break down the structural integrity of his esophagus without the final application of the recipe I have yet to make…."

I winced, but nodded with a grin. I spun around and headed down the hallway.

"N-Noir! Pause momentarily!" she scampered out into the hallway with her dress and held her hands together as if praying. "Will you be so kind as to….n-not travail upon relating what you have just seen with anyone? Especially anyone brave, wearing an eyemask, and in authority of the Titans?"

I pretended to think about it….then nodded pleasantly.

"Oh….th-thank you most gratefully," the alien blushed. She looked down at herself, realized she was standing out in the hallway with the wedding gown—"Eeep!"—and rushed back into her room. The door swished shut behind her.

I walked into the elevator…trying to shake stuff out of my head and finding myself wanting to either die or giggle.

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

"So….um……is this gonna be worth it?" Beast Boy morosely asked.

"Let it go…," Raven groaned. "Starfire wouldn't let us drink this if it was still harmful."

"Indeed, friends," Starfire smiled. She stood over the table at the end of the Main Room where the other six of us sat. She began pouring the pitcher full of juice into our cups. "There are no adverse effects to fear. Imagine this as a celestial rendition of Lem On the Ade."

Cyborg chuckled.

"Hmmm?"

"Nothing, Star. Pour away."

"Whoah…," Sandy uttered. "It's…..green!"

"Just like the spirit of our people!" Starfire smiled with her eyes clasped shut.

"As long as it's the spirit," Beast Boy eyed his glass suspiciously. "Cuz if you told us that we were drinking the 'essence' of your people…I'd be royally freaked."

"Always happy to be blessed by your culture, Star," Robin held up his glass.

Starfire blushed before pouring him his share. "Likewise….Robin."

He raised an eyebrow.

I cleared my throat and stood up, raising my glass.

"Dude…we already had a toast today, remember?" Beast Boy said.

"Yeah…," Sandy chuckled innocently. "Flattering memory, that."

I sighed. I placed the glass down, smiled, and hand-signed.

"He says…," Sandy interpretted, "….that this toast is to…..friendship from outside??"

Every Titan seemed to understand that. Especially Cyborg and Beast Boy. A few people glanced at Robin.

The Boy Wonder took a breath. "I'd surely drink to that!" he raised his glass.

"Amen," Raven clinked her glass to his.

Then Starfire with a giggle. "To friends!"

"Yeah!" Beast Boy.

"Well allright!" Cyborg.

Then Sandy and I.

We all sipped at the same time.

We all swallowed at the same time.

We all waited at the same time.

Silence.

Starfire eagerly eyed each and every one of us.

And it was Beast Boy—of all people—who was the first to brighten up and utter: "Um….this stuff…….is……"

"Yes???" Starfire trembled.

"Freakin' awesome!"

"…….th-that is good, right?"

"Right, indeed, Star!" Cyborg chuckled. "It's like Kool-Aid with….I dunno….a touch of chocolate milk."

"I sense herbal tea," Raven smirked slightly.

"Wyrd…," Sandy smiled. "I'm thinking of cherry coke."

"That is the magic of the beverage," Starfire smiled. "The natural chemicals inside of it respond microscopically to the signatures of endorphins in the brain and produce the desired taste of the consumer's favorite drink."

"Wow."

"Awesome!"

Robin said: "Should I be worried then if my glass tastes like blood?"

"………."

"………."

"………."

"Pfft!! I'm just kidding!"

"Ohhhhhhhh."

"Hahahahaha!!"

"Good one, dawg!"

"'Tastes like blood'….dude, that was a trip!"

I simpered and took another sip.

Apple Juice.

I thought of Ana's face…….

"I guess I should…….um…….," Sandy's eyes looked aside.

"Think you should what, girl?" Cyborg asked.

"Call home, ya know?" Sandy simpered and politely explained: "I know my parents were relieved to hear from me hours ago the last time I called and all…but…I-I really do need to get back. There're some volunteer stuff I've got to get ready for and……." Her voice trailed.

Cyborg seemed distracted.

Beast Boy depressed.

Raven as stoical as ever.

Starfire sad.

Robin defeated.

And I wounded.

A beat………………

Sandy bit her lip, but happily smirked. "Oh what the heck. I can stay another night, can't I?"

"Dude…sweet!"

"Boo-ya!!"

"Glorious!"

"Sounds okay to me…."

"You're more than welcome, Sandy."

I smiled and looked at Robin. The sparkling new Titan communicator rested in his utility belt. And I wondered if Sandy remembered from her slumber his speech at all. But most likely she didn''.

Regardless...the communicator was never showed to her. We spent the night staying up late with a DVD, playing cards, telling hero stories, and generally laughing and sipping Starfire's home-made juice until we were all too tired to stand up, much less think.

And that's when not only did I know but I was happy with the fact.

All we wanted was a friend.