A/N: Hey guys! glad to see some of you found your way to season 7! If you're new please read my season 6 so your not lost in sauce lol So as promised this is a Starfire season but there are a few other things I'd like to write about as well which will be pointed out in this chapter. If I get too off track please let me know so I can get back to the main reason I'm writing this. As always leave a fav/follow/review and let me know how I can improve! Hope you enjoy!

The busy streets were slowlying dying down. Customers were no longer coming in waves and instead were coming and going just one at a time. As the customers numbers grew even thinner, one young man was still browsing a shop looking for something vibrant and beautiful that he could surprise someone special with. However, he didn't have much experience with these things... So he asked the shop's owner for advice.

Long shadows cast by a bright orange ray of sunlight, made the shop even more beautiful than the items on its shelves. The sun was beginning to set and the colorful shop was nearing its closing time.

"That'll be $22.67," the shop owner, in his mid sixties, tells the young man with messy jet black hair. His hair was just long enough to cover his emerald green eyes though it was maintained just enough to see his eyes through the mess. They were strong and trustworthy but behind those emerald eyes, it was easy to tell they had seen a number of horrific tragedies.

The young adult, nearly in his twenties, drew his wallet from the back pocket of his tightly fit blue-jeans and handed the clerk two bills totaling $25. A skin tight t-shirt covered his toned athletic build and it was easy to tell that years of hard work had gotten him to where he is today.

"I think she will be very pleased with these," the clerk said with a wide smile. He took the $25, put it in the register and was about to hand the change to the young man before he was stopped...

"Keep the change. You recommended them after-all," Richard replied holding up a hand as if halting the old man in his tracks.

"You're too kind young man! Someone's very lucky to have you!" The old man said back to him.

"Thanks," Dick said softly, "but I've been gone for so long I hope she's not mad at me."

The old man's smile soon turned to a worried girn, "how long has it been?"

Richard thought about that for a minute. Once he became Nightwing he spent a month in jump city trying to get a lead on Slade. He moved out of the Tower and started renting a small but nice apartment in the city. But once he had a lead on his most notorious nemesis, he took off after him with barely any notice.

"5 months," he finally replied, "I haven't done much to keep in touch either." His voice trailed off like he was almost disappointed in himself.

"Well... I think these flowers will help a bit," the man said softly gesturing to the floral arrangement Richard had just purchased, "it's none of my business... but were you deployed in the service?" He asked innocently not knowing who he was talking to.

Dick turned and started walking towards the exit, "yeah... Something like that..."

The floral shop door swung open ringing a small bell as he exit. As he approached his bike, he picked up his helmet with a tinted visor and the leather jacket off the seat and replaced them with the flowers he bought for Starfire. After putting the helmet on and tightening the chin strap, he put his jacket on but left it half unzipped, picked up the flowers and gently tucked them into the protection of the unzipped leather before zipping the other half and mounting his bike. With the turn of a key, the bike let a high pitch roar escape as it fired up.

Not too far away, a quiet neighborhood was also experiencing the long shadows cast by the bright orange sunlight as the sun continued to descend into the horizon. Raven and Terra were at Terra's house and they had spent a few hours just talking before they realized how late it had gotten. At that point, Terra's parents had invited Raven to stay for dinner. Raven quickly declined but the insistent pleas of Terra's parents convinced her to stay while also embarrassing Terra. They all sat at the dinner table with dishes of a homemade stir-fry placed in front of each of them. As they all began diving into the fresh meal, Carver tried to do his job as a father and embarrass his daughter...

"So what we're you young ladies talking about for so long in Terra's room?" Carver asked curiously as he took another bite of his meal. He wore sweats and a long sleeve shirt indicating he had a long day at work and just wanted to wear something comfortable.

"Carver!" Lindsey aggressively whispered at him, "you know better than to ask two young teenage girls about their private conversations." She snipped.

"I was just trying to make conversation," Carver tossed back at her defensively with a mouth full of food.

Terra buried her forehead in the palm of her left hand as her face turned bright red, "dad..." She said as if she couldn't believe she had to say it out loud, "don't ask questions you don't wanna hear the answers to." With that she took a surprisingly aggressive bite from the fork in her right hand, stuffing her mouth with a mixture of chicken, rice, and veggies.

Raven raised her left hand to her mouth as if trying to force her laughter to remain within her... but she was failing miserably as the giggles escaped her lips one after another.

Carver thought about that for a moment... A slight blush filled his cheeks as his mind filled with ideas as to what these young teens most likely talk about behind closed doors and this quickly changed his mind, "fair enough... So how's training going, sweety?" This was a question he did want to know the answer to.

Ever since her parents learned Terra's true identity they had been concerned with Terra's ability to cope with her powers. As her adopted parents... they had absolutely no idea how to help other than letting her train with the Titans.

"Its going fine." Terra sounded like she was too embarrassed to talk to anyone at the moment.

Raven saw this and tried to lighten the mood by speaking up for her, "it's actually going really well. Terra seems to have complete control over her power and even whipped Beastboy in a sparring match earlier. She beat him and set a record for the fastest match in Titans history," Raven knew the Titans had only been together for a few years but the way she said it sounded much more impressive and she hoped Carver and Lindsey wouldn't notice her exaggeration.

Terra looked at Raven with a small smile as Raven talked her up to her parents. Raven smiled back at her trying to reassure her that she was being honest and sincere. Terra was so happy that Raven acknowledged her and praised her accomplishments. It meant a lot seeing as how they both had so much in common.

"Well that's great!" Lindsey said with pride, "are you still keeping up with school?" She understood Terra's situation but she wouldn't let her hard work go to waste if she couldn't finish school.

"Yes, mom," Terra said still aggravated, "once were done eating I have to get some homework done, actually." After she finished that sentence she began eating faster as if trying to use that an excuse to dismiss herself from the table.

Raven couldn't help but pick up on a strange energy from Terra. Her emotions were unclear to her. Like something was bothering her even though she had so much to be grateful for. Raven looked from to Terra down at her food and took another bite and went deep into thought.

Once they had finished eating Terra walked Raven to the door where she gave her a hug and said goodbye.

"Terra," Raven said before she could shut the door, "is... everything alright? You seem... well... strange when you're around your parents."

Terra looked away from Raven with the door still cracked as she thought about that for a moment. Terra gripped the door tighter as her emotions caused her facial expression to tense up...

"They're not my real parents you know..." Terra said softly. Her voice was hurt but she was holding something back. Like she didn't know how to feel about the situation. She relaxed and looked back to Raven, "sorry... That was pretty mean, huh?" She chuckled nervously, "I mean they took me in and gave me a home when I didn't even know who I was. I'm grateful for them."

"So... what's bothering you then?" Raven replied trying to get her to continue.

Terra could see Raven already knew. The empath's ability to feel the emotional state of someone else was on another level. Hiding something from her was nearly impossible. The thing is... Terra didn't exactly know why she felt this way. It was something that had been bothering her for a while now but she always seemed to avoid it. Now that she had been asked that question she felt it was unavoidable but she just didn't want to deal with it.

Terra sighed and only managed to whisper, "it's complicated... I'm sorry, but I have homework I need to get done." With that she ended the conversation as she shut door.

"But-" Raven was interrupted by the click of the door closing in front of her. This was more strange than she imagined. But after everything Terra had been through she could only imagine how difficult it must be for her. Even so... Raven thought she and Terra had a closer connection than that. After all they just spent a few hours in her room talking about Beastboy and some boys Terra had a crush on at school. What could be so complicated that Raven wouldn't be able to understand?

Raven sighed and decided to let it go. She turned from the door and faced the night that had fallen on the quiet neighborhood. After taking a few steps into the driveway from the front porch, her eyes began to glow white as the floor beneath her darkened all around her. She began to slowly fall into the dark energy below her and before long she vanished completely.

Outside of Titans Tower, Richard stood with his leather jacket still zipped up and the flowers he bought still safely tucked away in his jacket. He looked up at the massive door bearing the letter "T" and took a deep breath. He walked up to the door and placed his hand on the scanner. The machine whirred for a bit longer than he remembered. He grew nervous as the door didn't open immediately. But he let out a sigh of relief when the scanner lit up with the color green and the doors rushed open. As he entered his old home he could hear two familiar voices coming from the living area...

"Come on, Cy!" Beastboy yelled from the left side of the couch, "that's cheating!" He was gripping his Game Station controller tightly as the game continued on.

"How is it cheating if it's in the game?!" Cyborg countered from the right side of the couch. He also gripped his controller tightly.

The two friends had been playing ever since Raven left with Terra and had been fighting back and forth ever since over small details in each match the played.

Richard grew a small smile and his eyes softened as he heard their voices and saw them on the couch from across the living area. He could see them playing the newest edition of their favorite game. It was a feeling of nostalgia and happiness. Something he hadn't felt in a long time.

I see they haven't changed much. He thought to himself with a smirk. He took a few steps into the living area and looked towards the kitchen where he could see a pile of dishes from a meal the Titans had earlier.

He could see a distant memory of all them eating together after successful missions and laughing and joking with each other. A time when he wore a different uniform with a mask he never removed. A grin crossed his face once again as his eyes drank in the memory playing in front of him before it fade away and he returned his gaze to his best friends still bickering at each other with their eyes glued to the massive screen on the wall...

"I'm home." He whispered to himself.