A/N: Hey everyone! So... please tell me if this chapter is too mature. I wanted to write the growth of the characters transitioning to adults. Every other series and comic book series has its mature moments EXCEPT for the Teen Titans obviously. But now that they are growing up I want to implement some real world difficulties that come with maturity. So I'm kinda hesitant to post this chapter. Please please let me know if it's too much so I can edit or just start over with this chapter. As always, leave a fav, follow or review if you like what you read! Hope you enjoy!

The room remained silent like the moment you wake from a dream. It feels like you are still dreaming but you hold your breath observing your surroundings trying to confirm you are, in fact, awake. This was written all over Starfire's face. She was struggling to believe what she was seeing... Fearing that any moment, she would wake and the person that stood before her would vanish like a ghost.

"Is it really you?" Starfire asked as she stood up off her bed. She took a few steps towards Dick and reached her left hand up to his face. When her hand landed on his cheek she knew this was real. His skin was smooth and soft as if he had shaved just before he arrived.

Dick leaned into her hand trying to tell her he really was here and he missed her touch. He closed his eyes and focused his attention on the sensitivity of his cheek being touched by a woman's hand. He missed her touch more than anything. He longed for it like a puppy starved for attention hoping the hand caressing him would never leave. He drank in every second he could of her fingers against his skin before they pulled away forcing his eyes open.

Starfire's hand was raised sharply behind her before it came rushing forward with outstretched fingers and an open palm. It came swinging around her, swiftly landing on the soft cheek she was just caressing in an attempt to shatter the moment and bring reality down on Dick like a lightning bolt. The sound of her hand landing on his face echoed through her room. It was loud enough to make even Raven jump. She was not expecting that. Not from Starfire.

Richard flinched hard after recieving the strike from the beautiful red-headed tamaranian and he dropped the flowers in his hand from pure shock. They landed on the floor next to his feet. He winced in pain as he redirect his eyes to meet her's but when he was expecting to see joyful eyes filled with excitement to see him, he was met with eyes filled with sorrow and pain as tears streamed down the face that held them.

Richard didn't even notice the bright red sting of pain in his cheek anymore. He didn't even try to ease the burning sensation in the right side of his face. He just stared back at Starfire quiet and unsure of what to say or do.

"You... You dare not worry me as such again!" Starfire raised her voice. Every time she was emotional her english would sound a little more unusual than normal... But her emotions were boiling over at this point, "YOU SHALL TELL ME OF WHERE YOU HAVE BEEN!!! AND WHY YOU DID NOT COMMUNICATE WITH ME!!!" She yelled aggressively over her tears trying to calm one emotion by making another more intense. She was well past asking questions. Now she demanded answers.

Dick knew there was nothing he could say that would make this situation any better. So he said the one thing that he knew wouldn't change anything for the better or worse... Or so he thought...

"I'm sorry Star," he said softly, "I have no excuse. I should have called you every chance I got."

"BUT YOU DID NOT!" Starfire screamed back, "how long must I wait to know you are unharmed?! How long am I to wonder if you shall ever return?!" Her voice began to crack as her aggression released and her sadness began to take over, "you know not of how much I missed you..." She folded her arms in front of her chest looking away in an attempt to hide her vulnerable state. It was as if she trying to comfort herself but before long she closed her eyes and began sobbing.

Dick stepped closer to her and wrapped his arms around her. Her head fell into his chest as she gripped his tightly fitting shirt with clenched fists. She gripped so tightly she feared if she loosened her clenched fists, even slightly, he would disappear again. She was so happy he was home but the pain she had to endure for this moment made it much harder to enjoy his presence.

"I missed you more than anything Star," Richard said as he held her closer, "I'm so sorry I put you through all this."

Starfire loosened her grip and wrapped her arms around Dick's neck and pulled him into her body. She buried her eyes into the shoulder of his neck and continued to sob tears from a combination of overwhelming emotions. Regardless of her emotions she was glad to have him back.

Raven observed from where she sat on Starfires bed. This did not go the way she imagined. She knew Starfire was hurt but this kind of reaction she has never seen from her before. After all the stress Starfire has been dealing with, Raven could only understand her reaction was a bit much but absolutely necessary.

Starfire had to deal with the pain of Dick's sudden absence while leading the Titans. She had to do everything she could to keep it together whenever the team had a mission to go on. Even when they were just hanging out... she struggled to keep it together. But she did. She maintained her strength. Her charisma. She lead the Titans on successful missions despite her pain. Someone who can do that is a truly gifted leader. She was definitely the best choice for the job.

Raven got up off the bed and began walking towards the door. She stopped in the doorway and turned back to them before leaving, "I think you guys some time to talk alone..." She said uncomfortably. Dick and Starfire turned to look at Raven before she left, "it's good to have you back, Dick." Raven lifted a small smile on her face. She turned and the door slid shut behind her.

"I wish to apologize," Starfire said full of remorse, "I should not have let my anger harm you." Starfire felt a little guilty that she did that to Richard in front of Raven. But his sudden presence made her completely forget that she was even in the room. Only when Rsven spoke before leaving did it dawn on her that she and Dick were not the only ones in the room.

"Don't," Richard said back quickly, "I deserved it."

His usual spark of confidence had slightly faded for some reason. Starfire picked up on this instantly. She began to think something must have happened while he was tracking down Slade She wanted to about it but figured another time would be better.

"But I want to make it up to you," Dick continued. He reached down and picked up the flowers off the floor and held them out to the beautiful woman they were intended for, "I know these aren't enough to show you how sorry I am... So I was thinking I could treat you to something special. Just the two of us."

Starfire's eyes lit up as she took the gorgeous bouquet of flowers from him. They had an amazing array of colors that blended well with each other. Rose's of white, pink, and red all arranged with a kind of sporadic precision that really made them stand out as if performing a dance of color. The made her blush from sheer beauty as his words sank in...

"You wish to take me on, the date?" Starfire said with glee. She had been on a few dates with him before he left, but they were short lived and some of them were even cut short as trouble would interrupt them and force them on a mission.

"No interruptions. No communicators. Just the two of us." He really wanted to make sure their time together was special and nothing could ruin it.

"Richard," Starfire began, "as wonderous as that sounds... we can not leave our friends to defend the city alone."

Dick chuckled, "I knew I made the right choice leaving you in charge," he said with a smile, "alright, if they need us they can call but let's try to have a night to ourselves. It's the least I can do to make it up to you."

Starfire smiled back as she hid her blush behind the flowers she held, "very well. If you insist I shall not argue." She has wanted a night alone with him for a very long time now. The fact he was willing to make it special for her was getting her more and more excited that it could be a reality. A dream finally come true.

Dick leaned into Starfire pushing the flowers away from her face revealing her blush. He lifted a hand to her chin and raised her lips to his and pressed them tightly against hers.

Starfire swooned and her knees felt weak. It was a sensation that she had not experienced in so long that it nearly took her by surprise. They remained attached to each other for a long moment savoring the every second of each others soft lips.

Richard finally pulled away after getting his fill of his addiction to the beautiful woman he loved and looked into her eyes, "want to go join the others? I'd feel bad if i didn't spend at least a little time with them too..."

Starfire wrapped a hand around his neck and pulled him in close where their lips were almost touching once more, "not yet..." she whispered softly. She had not yet quenched her thirst for him just yet and kissed him passionately once more for a moment longer than the last until she also had her fill of the man she was addicted to.

Raven had began making her way back to the living area. When she finally arrived the boys were sitting on the couch playing yet another game... Only now... They were silent. Where as before they had been going back and forth in a heated virtual battle for the winner, now they seemed like they were barely trying to beat each other and just using the game to distract themselves. The room was quiet except for the sound of the game before their attention was redirected from the screen towards the sound of sliding doors behind them. They both stared at Raven waiting for her to say something. She grew uncomfortable as they stared at her.

"What?" She said in her annoyed monotone voice.

"So... what did you say to him?" Cyborg respond quickly.

"Yeah..." Beastboy add also curious as too what she had to talk to him about, "you looked like you were about to banish him to another dimension..."

Raven realized they didn't understand why she was so adamant about having a one on one talk with him about Dick's disregard for their feelings on the matter. She grew irritated that boys could get over things like this almost instantly like nothing happened. She felt like she would never understand how their minds worked.

She sighed and figured they wouldn't understand her either, so she played it off with a basic response, "I just... needed to clear a few things up."

Cyborg and Beastboy looked at each other and shrugged. They knew this meant to leave it alone and not to press her for a more clear answer.

"So was Starfire excited to see him?" Cyborg asked a follow up question. He figured that's where Dick was now that he hadn't returned with Raven.

"Star?" Beastboy chuckled, "she probably threw herself at him at first sight!" He giggled again.

"All that time away from each other I wouldn't be surprised if there was a 'DO NOT DISTURB' sign on her door." Cyborg pitched in, laughing with Beastboy as he hinted at what the two young adults might be doing in the privacy of their room.

Raven grew more irritated at the boys. They truly were just that... Boys. She blushed at the thought for a moment and looked away to hide her embarrassment. She didn't know the full extent of her best friend's relationship but she wouldn't be surprised if they had gone further than she and Beastboy had. They weren't young teens anymore. They were young adults with urges and desires. She hadn't yet even considered anything more with her own boyfriend even though they had been together for a while now. She was just too nervous to even think about anything like that due to her inexperience with her own emotions. Not to mention she didn't know what could happen if her powers unlocked some kind of hidden emotion she hadn't discovered yet. She began to fill herself with a sense of awkward tension and she felt the need to get it back to normal.

"I highly doubt that," she said with distaste. After seeing Starfire's reaction herself, she truly did doubt that they could be doing anything like that but still the thought lingered in her mind making her uncomfortable.

"Ah c'mon... We're just kidding Rae," Beastboy said with a smile, "we don't actually think that-" Beastboy's smile disappeared as he was interrupted.

"Well they aren't!" Raven said sharply. She was over this conversation and wanted it to end.

"Uh... Ok?" Cyborg said with an eyebrow raised. They weren't expecting that kind of reaction from her. They started to worry something happened...

Raven's awkward tension vanished but she could feel the room fill with concern. Even though Raven felt better with the room feeling like this, she still didn't want the tension in the room at all.

"Can we just drop it please?" Raven asked calming herself down. She had a hint of desperation behind her monotone.

The boys looked at each other and decided to let it go and turned back to their game. The room went back to silence except for the sound of the game. Raven sighed and made her way to the dinner table, happy that was over with. She picked up her book but found it hard to concentrate on what she was reading.

Why do they have to be so immature? She thought to herself.

But the thought that annoyed her more was the thought that maybe she was the only one not maturing like the others. Was she supposed to find humor in it like the boys? Was she supposed to be considering the possibility of intimacy on another level? She truly did not know the answers to these questions and it worried her.

The doors to the living area slid open once more as Richard and Starfire entered the room. The game paused and the room went silent. Everyone turned their gaze to the couple and room filled with a sense of excitement.

"Friends!" Starfire began, "I wish to invite you all to feast in celebration of Richard's return!" Her smile was wider than ever and her excitement for his return seemed to finally be what everyone was expecting.

"Alright!" Cyborg said with excitment, "You had me at feast!"

"I'll get started on the tofu!" Beastboy said sharing Cyborg's excitment.

A huge sigh of relief left Raven when she saw them. Not just because they brought a sense of excitement and happiness to the room... but just the fact they had only been alone for a short time brought her comfort in the more likely possibility that they hadn't done anything.

"It's good to be back," Richard said happily, "I missed you guys."