Teen Titans one shots

Impermanent

Time is change.

She knows this. Existence is the child of impermanence. What you do with your time determines who you are.

Time, for her, is a thing that takes. Takes her family and home away, takes her to a cold and distant Gordanian ship where she is something nameless monsters spend their time on.

Time, for her, is a thing that gives. Gives her Earth and friends and him, gives her a life born anew. A life where she gives good people more time by correcting those who don't use theirs wisely.

Time, for her, is every little moment. She doesn't believe in labels like past, present, and future. They are different ways of telling the same story. Simultaneous, nothing and everything at once.

She never imagined she wouldn't have enough of it.

"Star? Starfire, are you in there?"

She stared blankly out of what used to be her bedroom. The curtains she accidentally blasted apart once were gone. She didn't answer.

"Everyone else just finished packing. I just wanted to let you know."

Most change for her was sudden, unexpected. Leaving her untethered in a blink of an eye. But this change crept up in whispers until it was all-encompassing. Beastboy's videogames grew a layer of dust. Nightwing's visits to Gotham or Bludhaven became longer and longer. Cyborg mentored Titans East, Raven was off in Azarath...

And she stayed the same.

"I am coming, Richard. I have a few the taking care ofs to do."

Even her English remained unchanged, still in wrong conjugations and broken spurts. Was that why this was so hard? Because she never became different?

If she wanted to be different, how? She'd made the greatest mistake one can: identifying oneself with the ego. She knew herself by what she was, not who she was. A princess. A slave. A Titan.

Now, she was nothing.

What could she be? Resuming her right to the throne was not an option. It meant year-long negotiations. Forced marriages. Unresolved wars. The fate of a planet that wasn't home anymore in her hands. Galfore had made a name for himself as Grand Ruler, anyway.

She remembered the reason she left her throne last time. He knocked at her door. She followed him.

She couldn't do so again.

"That's the last of it, y'all," Cyborg said when she finally poked her head out of the door. "The security system codes are going to Tim and the rest of 'em when they move in. Until then, Titans Tower is on lockdown."

Richard, Raven, and Beastboy stood in a circle around Cy in the living room, waiting for her. The parties and goodbyes were done last night; talking, laughing, reminiscing until dawn's first breath. All that was left was to leave.

Cyborg, of course, was the first to depart. He'd quit the team twice before due to ideological differences, or just plain stubbornness. There were times she could tell he was itching to be in Nightwing's place, that he wanted Victor Stone to be synonymous with leader.

He had his own team now. He put his gadgets down and embraced everyone, no longer a colleague. Just a friend.

Even though he was long past putting on a tough-guy act, he still tried to hide his tears. "I oughta get going. See y'all—"

"Dude. Come here." Beastboy yanked him back into the group hug, doing their bro handshake one last time. Starfire held her family tight, not in the bone-crushing way she used to, but in the way that made her think she'd break if she let go.