What's Forever For Chapter 3, a teen titans fanfic

Sorry, I still don't own anything relating to the Teen Titans. Nor do I own the rights to the song, What's Forever For.

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Now I've seen love hungry people,

Trying their best to survive.

When right there in their hands is a dying romance

And they're not even trying to keep it alive.

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"Yes, I KNOW I said that kind of thing didn't go on at the tower."

"Believe me, we were just as stunned as you are."

The tall man remained silent for a few moments. He took a deep breath. "I spent the next few years trying to figure it out myself. I think I've come up with the most reasonable answer."

"Look, this isn't easy. These were two of my best friends. One WAS my best friend. These were people I lived with, fought with, and would have died for. And I know they would have died for me. They attempted to prove it numerous times."

"I need to give you a little background on Starfire. You now know about Gar and Raven, but Starfire was completely different."

"Yeah, a princess. But not like an earth princess. She had real duties and responsibilities that were beyond anything you can imagine."

"Like, she was a political hostage. At a young age, she was given over to the Gordanians."

"SO? That meant she was a SLAVE!"

"Yeah, like in the 'old days'. The abuse, the torture, her life was a nightmare. She'd wake up in the middle of the night screaming at times, remembering the beatings. And worse."

"Yeah, sexual. Believe me, rape is not just a human vileness."

"She was a member of the house of Tamaran. That's how she stood it. And always, she looked for a means of escape."

"She did escape. Just as the Gordanians were transporting her to another star system, they flew past earth and she was able to escape. Never did tell us how she did it. And then met Robin and the rest of us. It surprised the hell out of her that we were kind to her. As far as she was aware, the universe was an ugly, evil place."

The white coated man stayed silent, considering. "I think it's because she was fundamentally one of the kindest, most decent people I've ever had the privilege to meet. Just like Gar."

"You don't think so? Well, I've got news for you. Garfield Logan was the best man I've ever met in my entire life. He only wanted to help everyone. He wouldn't hurt anyone if it could be avoided. He wouldn't eat any flesh because it was killing something. He was always the last to attack, hoping it could be avoided. No, he was a fundamentally decent, humane, kind, loving human being."

"Now there we get to the crux of the issue. Here we have two good, decent people, trapped in unhealthy, in one case, toxic, relationships. Who would they turn to? Gar wouldn't come to me, I was his buddy, not his confidant. He wouldn't go to Robin, who was his leader, his superior, he'd go to a friend. One with a ready ear who had been through situations as torturous as any he'd gone through."

"Cheating? That depends on your viewpoint. If you look at it, Robin had abandoned her. Raven threw him through the wall! In essence, both had been dumped by their partners. I don't really believe they intended to 'cheat' on their partner. I suspect that Gar had gone to Starfire to cry on her shoulder having been rejected by Raven still again."

He paused, considering. "I don't know if it had happened before. I'm not sure it really matters to be truthful. All I know is that two very hurt and lonely people came together seeking comfort. I don't believe that there was 'love' there. I believe they were looking for comfort after being rejected by their true loves." He let out a deep breath. "What a godawful mess it was. We were so young. We had no idea of what we were doing." The bald man fell into a deep silence.

"What happened? Well, the three of us stood there for several moments, jaws on the ground, so to speak. I know for sure I was stunned beyond believe. To see the two of them there, in bed naked, was something I had NEVER thought of. I don't really know what Robin was thinking, but I can make a guess or two. A moment later I knew what Raven was thinking."

"It was at that moment, every window, every electronic device in Titan's Tower exploded."

"It had nothing to do with an attack. It was Raven's emotional control completely collapsing and her emotional energy overloading ANYTHING that couldn't handle the energy surge."

"Can't really say. Was it jealousy? Was it betrayal? Was it guilt? There's no way to tell. All I DO know is that nothing could have stayed asleep in that ruckus."

"Yes, they woke up."

"Both shot up ready to fight. Small wonder, professional heroes being woken by a massive explosion, they're expecting an attack. What they didn't expect was to see was the three of us just staring at them."

"Well, we continued to stare at each other for a minute or so. Then Beast Boy whispered 'Raven' in a scared, pleading tone. He sounded completely lost. That seemed to break the spell. Raven disappeared in one of her black energy portals. Beast Boy jumped out of bed and began running for her room shouting that he was sorry and would she please forgive him. He didn't even stop to get dressed."

"Yeah, he was asking HER to forgive him. Not for the months of abuse, not for the putdowns or hits or throws, but for seeking comfort somewhere else. Almost a classic case of a lack of self-esteem."

"Now the other two, that was different. They continued to stare at each other. Of the two, Starfire was the most at ease. She simply looked at Robin, challenging him. She was royalty. He had abandoned her. He looked at her, hurt, betrayed. Yet, it was Robin who made the first move." He paused. "You know, of all of us, it was always Robin who was the smartest, the first to put everything together. It was the same here. He simply said, 'I'm sorry'. But not in an accusatory tone. He was really sorry. He realized that his ignoring Starfire led to this. That it was his abandoning her that caused her to look elsewhere. Unlike Raven, he was really apologizing for everything he had done. And regretted."

"Well, he turned and walked away. Back to his room."

"Me? I admit I was still stunned. In the course of less than five minutes, I had seen my entire life turned upside down. Seen everything I had been a part of come crashing down. I really couldn't handle it. I continued to stare at Starfire. She finally turned to me and said, "I'm sorry."

"Yeah, everyone was sorry that day. Robin, Starfire, Beast Boy, I presume Raven, and me. We were all sorry for how the entire team had collapsed in such a short time."

"I assume Raven was sorry, but I can't be sure. I never saw her again."

"No, when I finally gathered my wits outside Starfire's room, I looked down and saw Beast Boy's clothes. He had run out of the room without a stitch on him. All I could think was that he needed his uniform. I picked it up and carried it to where I knew he'd be, Raven's room."

"Yeah, he was there. He was lying on the bed, crying his heart out, begging for Raven to forgive him and come back."

"Her room wasn't empty, not quite. But all of her personal things, her books, her mirror, her clothes were all gone."

"I put Gar's uniform on the bed next to him and left. What else could I do?"

"I went back to my room. I sat there in a stupor for a while, don't ask me how long. The tower was a wreck, Raven was gone and Beast Boy was a basket case. I didn't know what to do. Well, after thinking about it, I realized that the team was finished. I began to pack."

"Oh, I wasn't the only one. Before I was halfway through, Robin appeared. He had already packed to leave. He stood in my doorway for a moment, silent, then he apologized to me for what had happened, saying that it was his fault."

"Nope, like I said, he was the most responsible man I've ever met. He knew what happened and all of the factors that led to it. And he took responsibility. Then he told me he was leaving, that he couldn't stay, not after what he had done to Starfire. He was heading to Bludhaven. Then he left."

"Actually, I have heard from him since. He's changed his name to Nightwing and still fights crime. Occasionally he'll give me a call, usually when he needs something. He's not one to reminisce about the past."

"Starfire said her goodbyes a few hours later. She had flown to StarLabs to contact the Justice League. They contacted Tamaran, who sent a transport for her. Without either Robin or the Titans, she had no reason to stay on earth. She did a great deal of crying that last hour."

He paused. "No, she didn't apologize. I think she knew that the situation had exploded beyond simple blame or fault. I waited with her for the last couple of hours for the ship to arrive. We didn't say much. There was nothing to say."

"For a couple of years I occasionally got word from her, birthday greetings, that kind of thing. But as with most friends from your youth, you drift away. She became empress, had duties, fought wars, had kids. We stopped having things in common. Haven't heard from her in almost twenty years now."

"Gar was different. After Starfire left I went back to Raven's room to see how he was doing. He was still there, hadn't moved. He'd fallen asleep. Hadn't even gotten dressed again. Looking at him, I realized there was nothing I could do at the moment. Night was falling and I had to make my own arrangements. I picked up my stuff and went to my father's place."

"Well, I went back the next day. He was still moping around in Raven's room. He'd finally gotten dressed, but hadn't eaten. I brought him a pizza, hoping that would snap him out of it. It didn't."

"No, no one would have found him. Didn't matter if anyone looked in the ruins of the tower, Beast Boy was a master of concealment, remember, he could change into any animal, including microscopic forms. If he didn't want you to find him, you couldn't."

"Yeah, I came back periodically over the next few weeks, usually to bring him food. He was never very big, but he almost withered away from depression, no matter how much food I brought him. Didn't even bring him meat, just vegetables and tofu. Anything to get him to eat."

"Well, after a couple of months, he just wasn't there anymore. I searched what was left of the tower, but found no trace of him. He probably finally wandered away."

"Don't really know. I tried to keep a lookout for him over the months and years. Robin said he had heard of a green wolf in northern Canada. Another time, I got a report of a green lion in Africa. But both rumors were unconfirmed, so I can't be sure. Haven't heard anything more in years and years. Is he alive?" He took a deep breath, "I hope so. He deserved happiness after the pain he went through, but I can't be sure."

"Yeah, that pretty much describes it. I went on with my life, got a couple of degrees, started working at a real job and gave up the superhero business. Got married, have two incredibly wonderful, irritating and obnoxious kids." He gave a chuckle. "Just like all kids."

"No, I don't think a Titan's reunion is in the works. You are welcome to try to find them. I wish you luck."

"No, I won't go. There's no point in resurrecting the painful past."

"Yes, if it's really the last question."

"Do I miss it?" He paused and considered. "Do you miss periods of your life? Do you miss your youth? When the entire world lay before you, with all its possibilities?" He sighed. "At times. As we all do. You see, when you're young, you think everything will last forever. As you get older, you realize, nothing lasts forever." With that, Victor Stone turned back to his microscope and resumed his work.

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So what's the glory in living?

Doesn't anybody ever stay together anymore?

And if love never lasts forever, tell me,

What's forever for?

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Admittedly, a bit shorter than most of my stories, but my time is far more limited now and this struck me as an interesting little concept. Hope you've enjoyed it even though it's sad and full of heartache. But then again, so is love. But then again, love is still the greatest of all things known to man and I wouldn't give it up for anything.

My thanks, as always to my reviewers. No one really had any questions, just wishes for a quick update. Nonetheless, I will always acknowledge anyone kind enough to write to me. My thanks to: ForceIsStrongWithThisOne; HotDog285; Bluesummer2012; CrazyNerd; CasaNova73099; Bordem kills; and Rotating Owl. My thanks to everyone for writing.

Until next time my friends.