I'm Fine (book 2)

Headaches

Cyborg sat at his desk with an angry headache. His ear was ringing from earlier in the day and the constant twang was starting to get to him. Bee walked in right as he put his throbbing forehead in his hands.
"You should get some rest..." Bee said as she put her hand on his back.

"What did you say?" Cyborg whispered angrily.

She tugged at his arm to pull him out of of the chair and directed him to the bed. He groaned as he sat back into the bed. Bee cut the lights and layer down next to him. Vincent was being entertained by Mas y Menos so this was a rare calm moment for the two.  Cyborg rolled over to Bee with the weight of their lives crushing his relaxation. He wrapped his arms around Bee and gave her a gentle squeeze as she nestled into his chest. They both savored the moment knowing today could've been much worse.

Raven went to her room to meditate after finding some silence in Nightwing's emotions. Starfire kept checking in with her to see how Nightwing was doing  but she didn't feel okay with revealing what she saw. In her mind, Nightwing would speak when he's ready. Beastboy sat sleeping as a green beagle puppy in the sun spot on the floor coming through the curtains.

Nightwing fell asleep on the couch of the old living room. His eyes slowly opened to his cheek sticking to the red leather as he lifted his head. His sky blue bed pillow laying on the ground from jostling in his sleep. A headache racked his temples as he sat up but the pain was nothing compared to his back. His back locked up which caused him to groan as he hunched forward. He dry swallowed two pills and hoisted himself up with his arms against the wall.

"Dick, are you okay?" The mother stepped into the dark room and clicked the lights on to see Nightwing struggling to straighten out his back as he leaned on the wall. He nodded but she wasn't buying it. She came over and grabbed his arm and helped him to the kitchen with no protest. "You know, Bruce used to down pills back in the day..." Nightwing felt his face burn with embarrassment at the fact that she saw. "I get it, it's part of the lifestyle..." she sat him down at the white wooden kitchen table where he could lean back against the wall off his stool. She turned to a cabinet and reached up into the top shelf to pull out a little black box. "Back in the day, I used to have a shattered vertebrae. Alfred came up with this numbing cream which always helped me a lot." She passed the box to Nightwing which had a lid taped to the top.

"Who were you and what do you mean used to?" Nightwing asked with confusion.

"Just an old friend." She said quietly as she motioned for him to turn. He pulled up his tshirt so his back was showing. She eyes the long surgical scars on his back. "What happened to you my dear?"

"I ran over a bomb on my motorcycle." Nightwing said quietly. For the first time in his life, he felt he could open up to someone who wasn't on the team. He felt her hand gently spread the cream along his spine and scars. His skin started to burn immediately but in a way he had never felt before. The pain faded quickly to his surprise. " This is amazing!" He spoke to her back as she washed her hands in the sink. She turned with a smile.

"You should keep it! That box will last you a long time! You're pain will go away before you finish the box." She paused for a moment before sobering her smile. "Please do me a favor and quit the pills! You'll lose your mind like Bruce if you're not careful!" She scolded quietly. He looked down at the floor and nodded his head, knowing exactly how right she was.

Starfire was pacing the hallway in between her room and Raven's room. She was on edge but also felt so helpless. She knew Raven wasn't telling her everything but she was so stressed. She felt the tension rise in her throat as tears started to form in her eyes. Aqualad stepped into the hallway as Starfire was wiping a tear from her face. His heart sank and he stopped her from pacing.

"Hey Starfire... are you okay?" Aqualad whispered. She couldn't answer truthfully so she just shook her head as she slid down the wall to sit on the floor. She put her head in her hands as tears because to pour into her fingers. Aqualad quietly sat next to her and stroked her hair as she cried.

Starfire eventually wore herself out and Aqualad helped her up. He walked her to her room but didn't go inside out of respect. Starfire stumbled into her dark room by herself and slid her legs under the covers. She couldn't sleep so she laid there numbly, staring out the dark window.

Nightwing woke the next morning missing Starfire more than he was mentally prepared for. He got dressed for the funeral quickly and thought about calling Starfire with the extra time. He sat down on the couch with the communicator in his hands and took a deep breath. He had more mental clarity than he had had for a few weeks due to his declining use of pain pills but the lack of medicinal numbness made him realize how much guilt he'd been hiding. He hit the button and waited for her to pick up.

Starfire woke to her communicator going off. She rubbed her puffy eyes and picked up the communicator off her nightstand.

"Star! Are you okay?" Nightwing's voice asked with concern seeing her in bed with puffy eyes.

"Whaa—NIGHTWING!!" Starfire realized who was on the communicator with excitement. "Oh joy!!" She exclaimed perking up. "I have much excitement to see you!!"

Nightwing chuckled with a smile. "Good!" He blushed a little realizing how much this call probably meant for her. "I've really missed you!" He whispered sheepishly as he scratched the back of his neck.

Starfire was still not used to seeing Nightwing without a mask but she thoroughly enjoyed seeing his cheeks get pink when he got embarrassed. "I have done the missing as well!" She replied quietly with her grin fading.

"What's wrong?" Nightwing's tone softened with her changed expression. She was quiet as she looked away from the communicator. Seconds ticked by but Starfire couldn't muster up the words. "I'm so sorry Star. I've left you hanging a lot lately and you deserved so much better."

"Thank you." Starfire said quietly as her expression lightened a little. "Are you well?" She asked quietly.

"I'm doing much better...I'm starting to figure out some things...I've got the funeral in a bit but I wanted to call you to tell you that I'm gunna be okay and that I'm sorry, for everything." Nightwing was nervous but did not waver in his delivery. Starfire smiled tiredly and then looked down.

"I cannot wait to see you..." Starfire whispered to the floor as she fidgeted with her ring on her left hang.

"Me too!" Nightwing said with a smile.