The trial was held two months after each girl had been released from the hospital. It lasted for over a week, and each victim waited with baited breath as the verdict was decided. Their lawyer had mentioned offhandedly that the jury was in the room for less than an hour before they decided the White Rose Killers' fate.
Starfire and Raven, both of them married, sighed in utter relief as the jury found all three of them guilty of all charges, while the other three girls scrubbed at tear-filled eyes.
Charles McRyerson, also known as Marty Rays, was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole.
Lance Ortega was to spend two consecutive terms with no chance of parole.
Raymond Jones lost all title to his job, and was sentenced to thirty years, all of which had to be served. Bail for all three men were over six million separately, but all knew no one would pay to put them back on the streets.
But Rebecca and Kenneth were never found. The search had lasted until the trial, with groups scouted out across every border. Rewards were posted, but it seemed that both White Rose accomplices had disappeared from the face of the earth.
So finally, the five survivors of the White Rose were allowed to live normal lives…at least as normal as it could get for heroes.
Starfire and Robin were married weeks after she was released from the hospital. They shared their day with Beast Boy and Raven, as well as Bumblebee and Cyborg. All three married couples spent their honeymoon (of course, they waited until after the trial) scattered around the world while the rest of the Titans East watched the tower.
Raven and Beast Boy had spent their honeymoon in Ireland. During the stay, however, Raven became violently ill, and both were forced to return home. Beast Boy had rushed her to the nearest doctor, only to find that she was but a mere few weeks pregnant, and that she had nothing to worry about. Morning sickness was common in pregnant women, or so he said.
Robin had waited until the wedding night before teaching Starfire the joys of lovemaking. They spent most of their trip in Paris locked away in their room, and did very little sightseeing. They returned only a few days after Raven and Beast Boy. Robin and Starfire moved into Robin's room, since his was much larger (and on an entirely different floor from the rest).
Cyborg and Bumblebee had decided that they wanted to spend their honeymoon roaming around the country. They were gone far longer than the rest, spending an entire three months away from home. When they returned, they were greeted with the sight of a slightly pregnant Raven, and an upset Starfire, who swore she had gained weight and that even Robin's shirts were becoming too small. No one had noticed it before, but as they glanced down at her stomach, they had a slight idea as to why Starfire was starting to get bigger.
"You're pregnant," Raven said, and had merely raised an eyebrow when Robin seemed to faint.
Six months later, on October 28th, Starfire gave birth to twins. Shiamar—or Shia—was born six minutes before his sister, Samara. He weighed seven pounds, eight ounces, whereas his sister weighed seven pounds, four ounces. As they both grew from infants to toddlers, their parents noticed that they had inherited traits from both of them…and not just physical traits. Shia had his father's raven hair and tall, lean build, but other than that, he was his mother's son to a point. His green eyes mirrored his mothers, reflecting a kind personality and the joys of interacting with others. Samara, however, was the polar opposite from her brother. Though she had her mother's flaming red hair and towering height, she was exactly like her father. Her gold eyes were usually somber and intelligent, and she easily became obsessed with things she did, especially when it came to training or keeping perfect grades in school. She was, however, an introvert, and rarely talked to anyone, unless it was her family or Christian, whom she seemed to take an interest in, even at a young age. When the twins were only five months old, Starfire became pregnant once again. Starfire later found out that she was triplets, this time, and gave birth to three beautiful girls: Dahlia, Adara, and Kiranne.
On Halloween night, at exactly twelve o'clock, Raven brought Grey Arella Logan into the world. Thankfully, she had her mother's pale skin tone, topped by violet hair and stunningly lavender eyes. But she had her father's pointed ears, and, Raven suspected, would also bear his fangs and shape shifting ability. To which, months later, she found to be true, when her daughter morphed into a tiny wolf-like puppy to nip at Shia when he snatched away her toy. By the time she was two, and she finally grew into her looks, her parents found that she was an absolute beauty, though she was amazingly tiny. Everywhere she went, it was remarked how hauntingly beautiful the little girl was, and more than one child designer wished to use her for a guinea pig to model their clothes. Beast Boy decided that Grey was never to be seen in public, to which Raven slapped him over the head. Raven became pregnant again at the same time as Starfire—it had become a long running joke that Raven and Starfire had to be conspiring to get pregnant at the same time— and on December sixteenth, just days before Bumblebee had her daughter and the triplets were born, gave birth to Dante Logan, who looked exactly like his sister. Later, he would force his mother to dye his hair black, for he refused to have purple hair.
Bumblebee gave birth to Sophie Victoria Stone on December twenty forth, minutes before the clock struck twelve. Sophie had not been created naturally, but it was Cyborg's blood that flowed through her veins. That, and his love for mechanics. By the time she was five, Sophie was already helping her father build cars in his new shop, which he co-owned with Wyatt Hallowell.
Mallory and Wyatt married right out of high school, where she immediately went to Jump City University to become a physiatrist, and Wyatt went to school at a mechanical school. Starfire and Robin looked over Christian while they were gone during the day. But Mallory became pregnant again two years later, which was completely unexpected, and had to take a break from college for short period of time. Nathaniel, or Nate, as they would call him, was born on April 4th, the same year that Christian turned five. Wyatt graduated two years before Mallory, and one evening, while their children were playing on top of the fenced in roof, Wyatt mentioned he wanted to own his own shop where he was free to build whatever the hell he pleased. Cyborg agreed readily with him, and a few minutes later, they were discussing floor plans and a name for the store they would run together.
Hannah married Ethan when she was eighteen, and became pregnant weeks after. Nine months later, she gave birth to twin girls, whom she named Roxanne and Ryanne. Both of them had their mother's curly golden hair and their father's pale eyes. It was nearly impossible to tell them apart, save for the freckle beneath their eye: Roxanne's was beneath her right, whereas Ryanne was beneath her left.
Harley, the second she had permission from her mother (Harley's mother had filed for divorce from Waylin, and the minute it was settled, he disappeared from their lives forever.) married Colt, and at the age of eighteen, gave life to Sebastian Gage Davis. He had his father's dark curly hair and strong build, but his mother's aqua eyes and nearly her entire personality. Colt figured out that Bastian had his mother's scary temper at the age of two, and now, instead of dealing with only one brat, he was dealing with two.
Katelynn, Twain's wife, gave birth to two healthy boys only four moths after Twain was released from the hospital. Chase and Cameron were identical as well, but there was no physical difference between them. Thankfully, their personalities drew them apart. Chase was wild and carefree, where Cam was shy and serious, only letting lose when his brother joked around with him. They grew up with the children of the Titans, as well as the friends they had made, and were nearly inseparable.
So the Titans and victims of the White Rose Killers lived peacefully…
But no one ever said every tale has a happy ending…
Eight years later
"Betcha won't do it."
Samara Greyson scowled at her friend, folding her arms over her chest and gazing out at her parents, watching mildly as they tried to wrangle up her three sisters. "You're wrong."
Grey Logan grinned brazenly, flashing bright white teeth, complete with fangs. "Am I? You know good and well you would never do that, even if someone forced you."
Sam huffed out a breath and turned her chin stubbornly to the side.
It was the anniversary of Darcy's death, a friend of her mother's and aunts who had been killed during the White Rose times. They came to the cemetery every year, since she had been an infant, and would spend hours out here, just so they could lay flowers—never roses—on the grave and talk of how life had been since then. Of course, it used to take only a few minutes, but now, with her parents and family having a total of a dozen children, it took longer, for the kids –especially Grey and Shia, who were so alike it was scary despite the fact that they usually hated each other—never stayed in one place without causing some trouble. So they would bring out a picnic, and everyone would eat and celebrate life.
Sam loved it because Christian always came. She never saw him much now that he was taking college classes, despite being only ten. Christian, they had found, was a genius, with an IQ way above 200. He could hear, read, or see something once, and remember it word for word even years later. He had flown through twelve grades, for everything, even advanced classes, was too easy. And despite the fact that he was young, he loved it. He would always remark that the college girls though he was so cute, and prevented older guys from beating him. (That wasn't a problem for him, though, because Robin gave him lessons at his dojo when he trained the Titan children. Robin made thousands each month just for giving kids martial arts lessons, which Christian thought was awesome. That, and it was enjoyable to watch Samara fight against others, though he would never admit that to anyone.)
But now, Christian was the reason she was having this heated debate with Grey. "You wouldn't kiss him even if I threatened to tell him that you love him."
"Grey," Sam hissed, glancing worriedly at Christian, who was busy playing football with all the boys. He might have been close enough to hear. It was bad enough that Shia and Dante knew…
"What? I'm just telling you that you won't do it because you're chicken." To get her point across, Grey morphed into a pale purple chicken and started to squawk loudly. The game stopped to see what the noise was about and all eyes fell upon Sam for an explanation as to why Grey was behaving as such.
Samara gave a hard tug on her long red ponytail before giving an embarrassed laugh. "She's…"
"Proving that Samara is a chicken." Grey finished, now back in human form and smirking dangerously while swinging her legs. The bottom of her feet didn't even scrape the sidewalk. Her height had always been a sore spot for her, despite that consolation that she would probably end up growing more. That, and her best friend, currently scowling in her direction, was already eight inches taller that she was, and was definitely not through growing yet.
Cameron Twain lifted an eyebrow while his brother merely swept the back of his hand across his sweaty forehead, before letting his hand run through his spiked hair.
"You do know that your sister and girlfriend are weird, right?" Chase asked, directing the question at Shia, who immediately blushed furiously.
"First off, yes, I am aware that my sister is strange, and second, Grey is not my girlfriend," he hissed, shoving his sweater up his forearms. "I'm only seven, for crying out loud. I don't think about girls like that…" He added with a slight blush, his shapely mouth pulling down in a frown.
"So am I, stupid, and I have a girlfriend." Chase said, shrugging his shoulders.
"Yeah, Dahlia," Cam teased. As Chase's face heated, the rest of the boys laughed.
"Okay, first off, Dahlia can't stand me, and two, she's too freaky with those stupid glares she gives me." Chase folded his arms over his chest. "Besides, she's too serious for me even if I didn't hate her."
"Whatever. Can we play the game or not?" Christian asked, throwing the ball to Cameron, who hadn't been paying attention. The ball hit his chest hard, making the breath whoosh from his mouth. "Ouch," he breathed, rubbing a palm over the spot the ball hit. "Not cool, Chris."
But his eyes strayed to the two girls sitting on the bench, watching their game. He had to admit, though, that Sam looked quite pretty today, with her long, thick hair pulled back with a white ribbon and her cheeks flushed from the cold. But thinking about Samara like that did weird things to his chest and stomach, and he didn't like that at all, so he pushed her out of his mind, like he always did, and launched himself into the game once again.
Grey smiled wickedly. "Tell you what. If I do it, will you?"
Samara snapped her gold eyes back to her friend. "You want to kiss Christian?"
Grey looked horrified. "What? No! I mean, Chris is cute, but so not my type. He's too bookwormish for me. I prefer…Shia."
Sam made a face of disgust. "That's weird. You do realize that the only difference between my twin and me is our hair color, eyes, and he happens to be a he, right? Look-wise, at least."
Grey shrugged. "So what? You're really pretty, and it helps that Shia looks really, really good. I mean, he's young and all, but one day…whoa…"
"Disgusting. And aren't we too young to be thinking about boys like this?"
Grey grinned and shook her head. " We're never too young to like boys. But if I kiss your brother—in front of mine, who will never let me forget it—will you brave up and kiss Christian?"
"What is your obsession with me kissing Christian? He's ten! I'm only seven. Besides," she added under her breath, "I don't know how."
Throwing her violet braid behind her back and sliding off the bench, Grey said, "Like I know how? This is my first kiss, too, genius. Besides, you'll thank me when we're older."
Sam watched Grey stalk off with a heavy heart. She was going to do it. She was going to kiss her brother, which meant she would have to kiss Christian. Her heart pounded roughly against her ribs and her pink and white hoodie seemed a little to warm, despite the fact that a thin layer of snow covered the ground.
"Don't do it, don't do it, don't do it," she chanted, digging her boots into the ground and wringing her white-gloved hands.
"Don't do what?" Came a three-girl chorus from beside her. She glanced down her three sisters. Although each girl had the exact same facial structure, their physical characteristics were unique. Adara, the oldest of the three, had raven black hair and gold eyes. Dahlia had her hair cut short, but it was the same dark blue-black as Ada. Her eyes, though, were green. Kira, however, had her mother's flaming red hair, but it was wild and curly, completely different from any of her other siblings. And strangely, she ended up with one green eye and one gold. It was the one thing that had people really pulling her apart from her sisters, since she shied away from everyone, sometimes ever her family. But Sam had a close relationship with her, for she so close to resembling her that it was often eerie.
"It's nothing," she said, tugging out of her thoughts and letting out a deep breath, watching the cloud of white it made in front of her.
"Why is Grey walking in the middle of the game?" Dahlia asked innocently, tossing her short black hair out of her green eyes and glancing up at her oldest sister with a raised eyebrow.
"Ruining my life," she croaked out when Grey snatched the ball from her brother's hands and rose up on her tiptoes to kiss him soundly. It was way too long for Sam's taste, though it only last for five or six seconds at most. Grey pulled back with a flushed grin and walked off, her brother staring after her, his green eyes wide and shocked. The graveyard was completely silent. Even the parents, who were sitting down and talking about old times, were quite and wide-eyed. It was Sebastian and Nate who broke the silence, who started to make gagging sounds and pointing their fingers to their mouths'. They were only five, and found anything romantic to be sickening. Roxanne and Ryanne giggled softly, both of them leaning against their father, since Hannah was feeding their sibling, Cody. Melody, Hannah and Ethan's third daughter, who was only two, lifted big blue eyes to see what the ruckus was about before resuming her interesting game of spreading snow against the blanket with tiny gloved hands. Malachi, Raven and Beast Boy's two-year-old son, slid open lavender eyes to glare at the older boys. The noise had woken him up from his slumber and he was not pleased.
Starfire snickered while Robin hid a grin at the horrified look on Beast Boy's face. Raven merely looked amused, where Cyborg and Bumblebee let their laughter loose. Sophie put down the radio that her father let her dismantle and craned her head to see what was so funny. Wyatt was too busy trying to keep Nate from running off and not finishing his meal, while Colt was trying to keep his son from smearing peanut butter all over his jeans. Twain smirked at his wife, who tried to wipe the amusement from her mouth. They had to deal with it when Chase and Connor kissed their first girl, so now, it was someone else's turn.
Dante watched his sister with a frown. He had inherited his mother's attitude, and usually went through life monotonous, never putting much work into anything that seemed unnecessary, like first grade…but this…this was bad. His older sister kissing someone? She was only a year older than he was, and he thought he was too young to even think about…girls. His sister and Samara where really the only girls he tolerated. Well, and Kiranne, but she was so shy that she never really spoke to anyone, so she was on his good list. But everyone else…
"Nice," Chase said, picking up the ball that lay beside Shia's feet. "Heck, I'd be in hog heaven if Grey or Samara did that to me."
Shia snapped out of his daze quickly, and glowered at him, whereas Dante let out a lethal snarl. "Chase…"
Chase blinked at the younger boy before he grinned. "Don't worry. Grey and Sam are like my sisters. I just had to find a way to snap you out of your daze."
The heat in Shia's eyes died down, but his heartbeat refused to slow. Christian patted him on the back. "I feel for you, I really do. Being kissed by a girl in front of all these guys is seriously—"
But he never finished, for Samara had popped up, face nearly the color of her hair, and pressed her lips against his. It was far shorter than Grey and Shia's had been, but his heat stopped, then resumed beating even as his face heated with the most intense blush he had ever experienced.
She pulled back quickly, her green eyes round and wide, as if she couldn't believe what she had done. "Sorry," she breathed. She turned on her heel and nearly ran back to Grey, who was applauding enthusiastically and calling out, "Bravo!", as well as her three sisters. Christian watched, almost in a daze, as she plopped down on the marble bench and gently pressed two fingers to her mouth, which lifted into a pleased grin moments later.
Shia gave an exaggerated sympathetic sigh and patted his shoulder. "I feel for you, too, buddy."
Now, it was Beast Boy's turn to laugh as all the color drained from Robin's face. "That's it," he said, and was well on his way to snatch up his little girl and hide her away from all men when Starfire jerked him back down. Despite the fact that he was now owner of his own dojo and worked out everyday, Starfire was still twenty times stronger than he was…come to think of it, so were his children. It was one reason he hated dogs piles…
"She is growing, Robin," Starfire said softly, shifting around so her back was pressed against his muscled chest. "They all are."
"She's seven."
"I was seven when I got my first kiss," Cyborg said, watching in proud fascination as his daughter put the radio back to together in record time.
"See? It is of normal age." Starfire felt her husband sigh and chuckled.
"Doesn't mean I have to like it."
"I do not like it, either." Starfire said.
"It's getting time for lunch," Harley mentioned, plucking her son from the blanket and placing him in her lap. "The hellions might be hungry."
"Yeah." Twain stood up, dusting off his slacks before calling in a booming voice, "Lunch is ready!"
He managed to get out of the way before Grey came racing up in the form of a cheetah and nearly pounced on the basket.
Cyborg grinned at Beast Boy, who was scowling, and handed Grey two hamburgers—real meat, of course—and watched as she practically inhaled them.
"That's my girl," Cyborg said, patting the spot beside him. Grey sat down eagerly, reaching for another of Cyborg's homemade hamburgers. Cyborg, since Grey had been at the young age of two, had been sneaking her meat when Beast Boy had not been looking. Despite the fact that she was most of the animals she ate, she couldn't tear herself away from her beloved meat. Her father hated it, but she knew he loved her anyway, even if she was a carnivore.
But Beast Boy had gotten back at him, for Sophie was a vegetarian to the max. She moved away from her father to sit next to Beast Boy, and picked up a tofu hot dog from the plate he offered. Beast Boy ruffled her short hair, which made her smile, and tossed the mustard to his daughter, who instantly smothered her hamburger in it.
Raven watched her daughter eat, unconsciously stroking her toddler's soft, violet hair, who was sleeping peacefully in her lap. No matter how many times she had seen it, she still couldn't believe her tiny, petite daughter could eat so much, and still stay the size of a stick. She was always hungry, and was always eating, no matter what. They actually had to keep a small refrigerator in her room so she could eat whenever she pleased. And if anything, she never gained an ounce of weight. Raven had been worried about that, and had taken her to the doctor, but he assured her that because she was a mixture of animal and demon blood, she burned off more fat and calories than normal, so she had to keep her body sustained with food to keep from becoming weak and sick.
"Seriously, is there going to be any food left?" Cameron asked, plopping down beside Adara, the oldest of the twin girls, and snatching a chip from her plate. It seemed that Cameron was only comfortable around Adara, who was his polar opposite. At school, he was shy and docile, until she came around, and a whole new personality emerged. Of course, his brother did the same thing, but he was usually chasing around some girl in an upper grade.
He watched as hands grabbed at food, trying to find the best time to make a move, before a plate was shoved under his nose. "I made it before Grey came. Figured it'd be the best time."
Though she was only a year younger than he was, Adara was pretty smart. It was nothing compared to Dahlia's intelligence, but it was there. She was the wild one of the sisters, and usually never stopped moving or playing around. She wasn't shy at all, and he figured it was what made her so comforting. She was pretty much his confidence, whereas he was her calm.
"Thanks," he said, taking the plate from her small hands. He smiled softly when he noticed she had made his hamburger just as he preferred it. Onions and mayo only. He glanced up, only to find his brother smiling at him. He flushed, couldn't help it, and asked, "What?"
"Nothing, Cam. But seriously, dude, you'll need gum after that."
Cameron frowned and was about to make a remark when Adara fished out a packet of gum from her heavy camouflage coat. "I know the drill, Chase. You're not the only one with bad breath after eating, you know."
He easily caught the stick of gum she tossed. He sent her a smile that was meant to be flirtatious. But he was only seven, and flirting was still new to him. "You're a doll."
Adara frowned, gold eyes narrowing. The wind picked up, and everyone held on tightly to his or her plates while Grey protected the large picnic basket like it was her baby.
The wind whipped through her long black hair and Cameron had to nearly peel it from his face. She glanced at him when he handed her the strands back embarrassedly, and laughed cheerfully. "Sorry."
"Hey, Kira, do you have a rubber band I can use?" She asked. Kira glanced up, her different colored eyes blinking as she thought. "Yeah, hold on."
She pulled both of her long red pigtails over her shoulder and pulled a green tie from the tips. She handed it to Cameron, who was nearest. As she undid both her braids, her sister gathered up her hair and tied it, so loose strands framed her pretty face.
Kira frowned slightly. Though everyone said she looked exactly like her sisters—whom everyone deemed was so beautiful—Kira felt like she was the ugly duckling. Her sisters both had black pin-straight hair that was so soft and healthy, whereas hers was a flaming mass of untamable curls that never obeyed her command. No matter how many times Aunt Hannah or Aunt Harley straightened it, it would be curly again in just thirty minutes. Her eyes were strange as well. Where one was gold, the other was green. People always found that strange, and it didn't help that they said it out loud either. Her confidence was low enough already.
"Kiranne, please, put your hair up. It's getting in the way." She snapped out of her thoughts to see Dante moving a long, wayward spiral of hair from his sleeve with a frown.
"Oh." Humiliated, she reached for her hair when she felt someone gather it up from behind.
"I love playing with your hair," she heard Katelynn say and tilted her head back to smile at her aunt. "I don't have any girls of my own, and Chase and Cameron won't let me play with their hair, so you get to be my guinea pig. Besides, you have the most beautiful hair. I'd kill to have this." To prove her point, she picked up a spiral curl and twisted it softly around her finger.
"It's very pretty, huh, Dante?"
He raised an eyebrow, glancing at Kira from the corner of his eyes. Her face was flaming as she picked at her food. The wind tugged once again at her hair, sending a wayward curl toward him that Aunt Kate had missed. He caught the soft scent of her shampoo before Aunt Kate tugged it back so her hair was all behind her, nearly flowing onto the blue blanket they had laid out. "Now, now…what shall we do…?"
While Katelynn played with her sister's hair, Shia stood up and threw away his empty plate.
"You are done already?" Starfire asked.
"Yeah. I was hungry after playing for so long." He glanced at Grey. Their eyes clashed, but both of the glanced away with a flaming flush. Even Grey, the most outgoing of them all, looked shy.
Shia cleared his throat and bent down to rummage through the cooler for something to drink.
"All right, after this, we'll go down and see Darcy, then head home. Grey still needs to go to her piano lessons and Sam to her art classes. The rest of you can come to the Tower if all parents think it okay. Sound good?" Robin asked, eyes drifting over to Twain.
He shrugged. "Fine with me, but Kate and I have to get to work now. Sorry we couldn't stay, but duty calls."
Starfire smiled at Katelynn, who was twisting her daughter's hair into a very messy—yet cute—bun.
"We'd love to watch Cameron and Chase. How is Connor, by the way?"
"Good. He wanted to spend time with his friends, so I let him slide this one time."
"I get to slide next time," Chase muttered, only to have his twin chunk at chip at his head. He plucked it off his thigh and popped it into his mouth.
"We'll discuss that later," Twain said, standing up to dust off his jacket. "I'm going to go ahead and head out. We've got a string of unsolved cases that need solving. You coming, Kate?"
She nodded. Twain had finally allowed her to join the force once again, so now she work in his division. "Sure. You can take Cam and Chase with you, right?"
Robin nodded. "Yep. We have plenty of room."
They watched the older adults walk off. "I would have never thought that our tower would become a day care of sorts," Cyborg said when the children had scampered off. Sophie had taken the little children off to play, while Sam held the bundled Cody in her arms. She sat close to them, on the bench, cooing softly at Cody.
"Well, I would have never thought that I would have five children by the time I was twenty two," Robin said offhandedly, quickly saying, "Not that I regret it or anything," when Starfire turned on him with glowing eyes.
"Things change as people get older," Raven remarked, one hand linked with Beast Boy's, even as he munched on another tofu hamburger and her other hand caressed the soft skin of her toddler's jaw. "It's still hard to believe that I own my own night club, Beast Boy has his own vegetarian restaurant, Starfire's teaching Tameranian at the high school, Cyborg and Wyatt are in their own business, Hannah's fast becoming a tycoon, Mallory's a physiatrist, Colt decided to join Twain in the police force, Ethan's setting himself up to become mayor, and we're all under thirty. Nice change, considering just years ago we thought we'd never make it to our twentieth birthday."
Mallory watched as her oldest son leaned over Samara to watch the infant before he whispered something to her; both of their faces flushed a bright red as she turned her head to face him. "I'm pleased with how everything turned out. Now, we have nothing to worry about. I mean Rebecca and Jonathan are probably dead or in Mexico or something."
"Marty will never get out again, either," Hannah added, her head against her husband's shoulder as his fingers made lazy circles against her back. "We can really live our lives now without looking over our shoulders."
"Or worrying about our daughter's being the target." Robin frowned at his own statement, and immediately, all parents turned to watch each girl. Christian was now sitting beside Samara, ignoring the comments of his younger friends, and talking quietly to her, probably about what she did. Grey was yelling at Shia for something or other, and jerked the ball out of his hands, only to shove it into his chest. Adara was sitting Indian-style in front of Cameron, who laughed softly at something she said. Dahlia was leaning back against a tree while Chase sat in front, picking at a dead piece of grass that jutted up from the snow. Kiranne was away from them all, gently rolling the snow into small balls and making a miniature snowman. Ryanne and Roxanne joined her, laughing gleefully when she smiled and flicked snow at them.
"I never thought of that," Ethan admitted softly. "I mean, I don't know what I would do if something happened to any of those girls. I see all of them as my family."
"But Rebecca would never go so far as to hurt our girls, would she?" Beast Boy asked, glancing at his wife worriedly. "Sam and Grey would be the first two she went after."
"We're panicking. She's gone, and so is Kenneth. Our daughters are safe. Nothing will happen to them." Robin assured them. "Rebecca is not that sinister. She might have been the one to come up with the killings, but she never really had any hand in the real murders. Just the rapes…" He frowned again. "Never mind. This is supposed to be a happy, calming time. We're here to honor Darcy, and worrying about something that will never happen on her day would be insulting."
"He's right, you know," Cyborg said, secretly glad that he had not crossed paths with the White Rose Killers. "Besides, we're the Teen—I mean, Titans. Just because we've retired from crime fighting does not mean we resume normal lives. Our children have been taught self-defense from Robin, and the Titan children have honed their powers to a point. Besides, from what I've seen, those boys of yours are highly protected over the girls. Nothing would ever happen to them."
"You're right. We have nothing to worry about," Colt said with a grin. "Cyborg's right. Our kids, and the ones yet to come, are completely safe."
"Yeah. And you have to keep in mind that we have Twain on our side. He's not the complete jackass he used to be."
"So why are we all down? Our babies are safe, it's a beautiful day, and we still haven't seen Darcy…by the way, did anyone think to bring flowers?" Harley asked.
The adults blinked before cursing beneath their breath. "I forgot. Ryanne and Roxanne decided they wanted to decorate the couch with toothpaste, so I spent most of the morning scrubbing the couch. I didn't even think of it." Hannah sighed. "At least our house smells minty fresh."
"Grey and Shia were screaming at each other again and Sam played peacemaker, which, as you all know, did not go over well, with Shia insulting his sister, and Sam being so much like me it's scary. So they got into it and it took Cyborg, Starfire, and Beast Boy to pry Samara off her brother. Flowers never crossed my mind." Robin rubbed his sore stomach from where Sam has accidentally kicked him. It seemed that Sam was slightly stronger than her brother…
"The demon thought it would be funny to flood the bathroom, so he stuck a huge wad of toilet paper into the toilet. Thankfully, Harley walked in and saved the day. Did I ever tell you that Sebastian is a spitting image of you?" Harley elbowed his ribs lightly, frowning at his innocent grin.
"Nate wrote all over on of Christian's notebooks, so I'm sure you know how that went. Chris really only gets angry when someone messes with his work, and he had to rewrite an entire essay because of the red crayon markings." Mallory ran a hand through her short hair. "Flowers were the last thing I was concerned about. I was too busy trying to calm Nate down. It was so sweet, though, because when Christian yelled at him and Nate cried, he cooled down and held him, gently telling him that it was bad to mark over his big brother's work and not to do it again. That was a serious Kodiak moment. I think Wyatt recorded it, didn't you?"
Wyatt grinned. "Sure did. Makes a dad proud when his son comforts his younger brother."
Mallory shook her head. "But I don't think Darcy would mind if we went one year without laying flowers on her grave."
"We can always bring some back later," Cyborg said. He hadn't really known Darcy, but from the way his teammates talked about her, see seemed like the sort of person he would have liked. "I can run some by while the kids are playing or something. It's not a big deal."
Bumblebee watched her daughter ruffle Bastian's hair before she said, "So, want to go ahead and see Darcy?"
"Yeah. Sounds good."
Dante watched in mild amusement as his sister stomped on Shia's foot before storming off. From his perch on a tree branch, Dante yawned, leaning back against the trunk and folding his hands behind his head as he watched people meander about the cemetery.
He was still slightly upset about his sister's actions, but he was never one to dwell on things for long. It was too troublesome to deal with anger, or any other emotion at that. He'd rather be sleeping or lounging about that worrying about something as stupid as his big sister kissing someone for the first time. It was life. Things like that happened.
Lazily, he scratched his black head of hair before leaping down to the ground with the grace and poise of a cat.
Kira yelped, her body jerking into the air. Dante closed on lavender eye against the sun.
"You jump too easy."
Kira lowered herself to the ground. "Sorry."
"And you apologize too much. It gets annoying," he said casually, stretching his long, lean body, arms pulled behind his back.
Kira was about to apologize once again when she caught herself and slouched back against her big jacket. Thick strands of curls fell from her bun and caressed her tan skin.
Dante sighed and popped his fingers. "Whatever."
He plopped down, his back against the tree, and leaned his head against it, closing his eyes against the bright rays of the sun. He could hear Kira shuffle about timidly, could hear her heart pounding against her ribs, and smirked. If he concentrated hard enough, he could practically smell the nervousness radiating from her skin.
Smirking, Dante said, "Stop moving and sit down."
He heard the snow crunch beneath her and cracked up his eyes. She was sitting, as he had told her, and had her knees pulled to her chest, her head buried in the thick folds of her jacket so only her unusual eyes and flaming hair were visible.
"Why do you always do as everyone tells you to?" He asked, and wondered why he even cared.
She glanced up at him, blinking slowly. "Is that bad?"
Dante stared at the younger girl silently, wondering if she was joking or not. But her eyes were imploring as they studied his.
He frowned, shoving his clawed hands into his jeans. "I'd say so."
She nibbled at her lower lip and the slight scent of her blood made him glace down. She was peeling skin from her chapped lips, blood beading against the pink of her mouth. It gave her the appearance of a split lip.
"You know that's bad, right?"
She glanced up at him again before hastily letting go of her lip and swiping the blood off with a finger. "Sor—I mean…" At a loss, she shrugged slightly. "Habit," she added quietly.
He felt his mouth pull down in another frown. Why was it that this tall weed of a girl made him feel like she needed protecting? She sure as hell was physically stronger than him, and could easily beat both of her sisters in minutes, despite the fact that they were all trained equally. She was just so…pitiful.
He didn't realize he had said that out loud until those innocent eyes clouded. "Am I?" She asked softly, and for reasons unknown, he felt like the scum that his parents used to put behind bars.
He let out an aggravated sigh. "Here I was planning on getting a nice nap, and instead I'm stuck dealing with you."
Kira was quiet, even more so than she used to. He frowned fiercely, this time, when the thick smell of pain and humiliation evaded his senses; nearly drowning out the soft, clean scent of the snow.
She stood up, dusting the snow from her person, and murmured a quiet apology. He watched her walk off silently before slouching down in the snow and closing his eyes, trying to get rid of the guilt clawing at his stomach. Again, something only Kira could pull off. He had a bad habit of being sarcastic, just like his mother, and when he insulted others, it never affected him. But if he, or even someone else insulted Kira, he tended to get real angry, real fast. He didn't understand it all, but he figured it was because Kira was so easy to hurt. He still couldn't figure that out, though.
Suddenly, a shadow fell upon his closed eyes and cut out the light. "If you could just stay there, that'd be absolutely perfect."
"We need to talk."
Dante sighed wearily. "Sam, please, why can't you just let me nap?"
"You hurt Kira again."
That same damn pang again. "She's too easy to hurt."
He felt Sam settle beside him, her shoulders against his. Of course, he never minded Samara touching him. She had this comfort like his sister did, but she wasn't blood related, and, he had to admit, she was quite pretty, which did have its advantages.
"I know. She has no confidence."
"Well, there's a shocker for you," he muttered sarcastically, eyes popping open when she shoved an elbow roughly into his side. While he muttered and rubbed his sore bruised ribs, Sam said, "Don't be sarcastic. I'm serious. She feels like an ugly duckling compared to his sisters, and that doesn't help her confidence."
He turned lavender eyes to her, eyebrows—which were dyed black, just as his hair—raised high. "And you know this how?"
Sam leaned back against the tree. "Aunt Raven took a look into her mind one day, because momma was worried about her. She really thinks that she's nothing compared to Ada and Dahlia."
He watched her skeptically. "Why are you telling me this?"
"Because you're the only boy in this entire group she feels comfortable around. Even though you're mean, of course. Guess 'cause you're so cute." She laughed softly at his blush before becoming serious once again.
"Look, I know you're young—"
"Only a year younger than you," he huffed, crossing his arms over his chest.
She cut a glace at him for interrupting her. "But…I need a favor from you."
Dante wiggled down so his back was against the ground. Snow seeped into his jacket, but he was too lazy to move. "Depends."
"Brat," she murmured, before leaning down, hands on either side of his head.
Dante watched her, blinking rapidly. "What?"
"I want you to protect her."
Dante swatted at the hair that had fallen over her shoulder and onto his chest. At first, what she was asking didn't register. But when it did, his hands froze. "Protect her? What do you mean? Is someone trying to hurt her? Who? It's that stupid Thomas White, isn't it? I knew there was something wrong with him, especially since he won't leave her alone in art class—"
"Dante," she cut in, her lips curved in amusement. "I meant emotionally. Not physically, though now that you mention it, I'd prefer you do that, too."
Scowling at her amusement, he snapped, "Why me?"
"We've been through this already, Dante. Shia wants this, too. She'd know if Shia or someone else tried to protect her, but I know you'd do it easily. You don't put much work into what you do, and that's what we need. I mean, if someone insults her or makes fun of her eyes—"
"There's nothing wrong with her eyes."
She went on as if he had never spoken. "—then you can comfort her or kick that person's butt and tell them to back off. You have a pretty good reputation, I hear."
Dante turned his head away, muttering, "It was one stupid fight, okay?"
Smiling, Sam continued, "But if someone tries to hurt her in any way, you can protect her."
"She can protect herself, you know."
"But she can't protect her heart, Dante," she said softly, and for a minute, Dante really let himself study her golden eyes, which appeared human, though the iris was larger than most humans. There was genuine concern there, and Dante felt himself giving in. "Damn," he muttered.
"Watch your language, Dante!" His father screamed from the other side of the cemetery, and Dante popped up, nearly rapping his head against Sam's. She pulled back just in time, though, and let her eyes drift to Beast Boy. He had to be at least two or three football fields away.
"Curse again and I'll…take away your nap privileges?" He threatened weakly, turning to Raven for help. She sighed and said, "He can spend a few hours in my head." Beast Boy called out the threat, which Sam couldn't hear, and watched in amusement as all the color drain from his face.
"Won't do it again!" He called back, shuddering. No one wanted to be in his mother's mind…
"'Atta boy, Dante!"
"What was the threat?" She asked.
"Horrible…"
Sam shrugged and leaned back against the tree. She opened her mouth to finish convincing Dante to protect her little sister when she found Christian watching them both. From where she sat, she couldn't tell if he was mad, curious, or just watching them, but she flushed all the same.
"Umm…" He was walking toward them now, chunking the football to Chase and calling a timeout. "Uh…" Her mind seemed to completely shut off as he walked closer to them.
Dante raised an eyebrow. "Protecting your sister ring any bells?"
Sam snapped out of her lovesick thoughts at how cute he looked and glanced down at him. "Sorry. Girl thoughts."
"Really?" He said with fake enthusiasm. "I'm losing faith in protecting your sister if drooling over Christian is more important."
Sam's eyes flared with gold fire. "First off, I don't drool, and second off, nothing is more important than making sure my sister is not hurt by stupid comments because she happens to look different. If you don't want to help, fine, but it'll be on your head when she ends up hollow because of all the jokes." Sam stood up in anger, and had all the intentions of storming off when Dante gave a loud sigh and jerked her down by the hand. He noticed that Christian's eyes narrowed slightly as he stood before them.
"Look, Sam, I worry about Kiranne, too—"
"Liar," Sam seethed, arms crossing over her chest. "You treat her just as bad as the rest, if not worse."
Dante frowned. "I don't…I mean…she takes offense to everything," he added lamely. "Okay, fine, so I might be a jerk now and again, but I don't mean it. I just say what's on my mind."
"Well, every damn time—"
"Samara!" Came Beast Boy's sharp call, and she quickly called back, "Sorry, Uncle B!"
Sam took a deep breath, calming her flaming temper. "Fine…Kira is really fragile, as daddy says, and people hurt her easy. So, please, take care of her. I'm not in her grade. You are. I can't protect her when I'm in an entire different hallway. Dahlia and Ada aren't really aware of how serious this is. I mean they know she's shy and timid, but they don't know that she thinks she's nothing. You can change that."
She was vaguely aware that Christian stood in front of them, pale, fog-gray eyes watching them silently. A couple passed by them, taking Sam's attention away from them. They were young, maybe around her father's age, and were holding hand. The women, a pretty brunette, glanced down at them with a soft smile and walked off. Sam sent back a smile before she returned to business.
Sam tried to resume her speech when Dante said, "How do you know I can? I'm only six."
Sam smiled. "Because I believe you can. You'll at least try, right? I mean, you might not be able to help her confidence any, but you will protect her, right?"
Dante scowled and ran an annoyed hand through his hair. "Whatever."
"Dante," she said, her voice serious, more so than he had ever heard. "Promise me that you won't let anything happen to her? Promise me," she pleaded when he turned his head away from her.
Dante was hesitant in answering. "Okay."
"I think she wants more than just an 'okay', kiddo." Dante lifted his head to glare at Christian when his eyes landed on the thick, white scar slashing across the older boy's eyebrow. It was very noticeable against the dark hair of his eyebrow and all he could think about was Kiranne suffering from a scar such as that because he failed in protecting her.
Damn annoying emotions.
"Fine, okay, I swear on my life that I'll protect Kira against bullies, insults, jokes, and any other thing that could possibly bring harm to her. Okay? Can I take a nap now?"
"Dante," she said slowly, doubting he really meant it.
"I'm serious, Sam. I'll do everything I can to make sure she's not hurt. Promise. Want a blood seal on that?"
"This is serious—"
"I know, I know, okay? I might be a year younger than you, but I have eyes, too. I can see that she needs someone to help her out. I'll do it. Okay?"
Sam watched his eyes, causing him to blush and glance away, scowling at his stupid behavior.
"Thank you, Dante. Really." He felt his entire face flame as she brushed a kiss against his cheek before getting up and dusting the snow from her jeans. "I'm going to go steal Cody away from Aunt Hannah again."
Dante watched her walk off, almost in a daze, before he noticed that Christian was still standing in front of him.
He glanced up with a raised eyebrow. "Shouldn't you be chasing after your girlfriend?"
"Watch it, kid. And she's not my girlfriend."
From behind him, he heard Sam call Kira's name. He watched her stand up from the bench where she had been bundled up and walk slowly towards her oldest sister. Dante noticed, a frown setting on his mouth once again, that even her movements screamed insecurities. She watched the ground instead of watching ahead of her, and pulled the matching jacket her sisters were wearing up to her neck, as if hiding her face.
"Then why are you still here," he asked as he tore his eyes away from the girl he swore to protect.
"You have a crush on Sam, don't you?"
Of all the questions he could have asked, that was the last one Dante expected. Hence the reason his answer came out as, "Huh?"
Christian glanced over at said girl, who was sitting on a bench with her sister beside her, watching as she moved back the thick blanket covering the infant so Kira could peek at him. Kira gently ran a long finger against the baby's cheek, giggling softly when Cody's tiny hand closed over the digit.
"So what if I do?"
Christian glanced back down at him. He opened his mouth to say something, but decided against it and instead said, "I don't care."
Dante shook his head. "Yeah, you do."
"I don't think about Sam that way."
"Liar."
Christian scowled at the younger boy. "I don't like her like that, brat."
Dante shrugged. "Then I feel sorry for Sam. She seems to think about you like that. Maybe she should be the one I protect from getting hurt."
Christian frowned. "She doesn't like me like that," he told Dante, but it seemed like he was telling himself that more than he was telling Dante.
"That kiss proved that, Christian."
Dante left it at that, standing up and dusting off his clothes lazily, before walking toward Sam and Kira with a slothful strut.
Christian watched him, his mind churning with the information. Sam didn't like him like him. They were just friends…
Right?
Beast Boy smirked widely as they stood before Darcy's grave, linked hands resting behind his head.
Raven glanced at him, as did the rest, and asked, "What's that look for?" She adjusted the sleeping Malachi on her hip when he slid down. Raven knew he was beginning to show the effects of a cold, but he had begged her to let him come with them.
Beast Boy grinned wider. "Romance is in the air." Gently, he ruffled his son's violet hair, winking when Malachi cracked open lavender eyes and smiled weakly. He turned his head once again and buried it in the crook of his mother's neck before drifting back off.
Wyatt's eyes narrowed. "You've been listening in on the kids' conversations again with those animal ears of yours, haven't you?"
"Well, duh. You didn't know that? Why else would I have screamed at Dante and Sammy not to curse? I can't hear them from here without trying, now can I?"
"That's so wrong," was the only comeback Wyatt could manage, but now, Beast Boy had him curious.
"What romance?" He asked after a long pause. "Not that I'm interested or anything."
"You're right. It wouldn't be interesting when your son is the one in love."
Wyatt pounced, then, hurling questions at Beast Boy without taking a breath. Was that what they were doing behind that tree? Is it official? He's too damn young to be in love, right? What was he supposed to do? Should he talk to him? Was it time for 'The Birds and Bees' conversation?
"Wyatt, sweetheart, calm down. Christian is just going through a crush." Mallory patted her hyperventilating husband on the back. "Deep breaths…there you go."
Beast Boy coughed to hide his amusement. "Actually, Dante has a crush on Sam, but is sworn to protect Kira who probably has a crush on Dante, and Sam has a crush on Christian, who won't believe it. And, if I'm not mistaken, my baby has a crush on Robin's little brat—I mean Starfire's little angel." He grinned innocently at Starfire's lethal glare, which melted into a smile at his childish behavior.
"Wait, why is he protecting Kira?" Robin asked, dark eyebrows rising above his dark sunglasses.
Beast Boy tapped a finger against his chin. "I think Sam said that she wanted Dante to protect her against jeers and comments about her eyes, and just protect her overall because of her low confidence."
Starfire glanced down at her right hand, which was joined with Robin's left. "I do not know how that came to be. I have tried to help her, but she keeps thinking that she is below the rest of her siblings. Samara and Shiamar have tried to help as well, but nothing seems to work."
"Maybe Dante is the answer," Raven suggested, the wind tugging gently at her hair. "I know he's not the most talkative person, but maybe he can help boost her self-esteem a bit. Sort of like what Beast Boy did to mine."
"I sure as hell hope so. We don't seem to have any affect on her," Robin added dryly, turning his chin to the side to watch the younger children play. "Maybe someone her age—and not a family member—will."
"We all hope so," Bumblebee said softly. "We're all family here."
Harley smiled softly. "Yeah, we are, aren't we?"
"Yep. Except I don't think the children think of each other as family. At least not crush-wise."
The adults nodded. Wyatt glanced down at his watch. "Maybe we should get going. We've been here for over two hours already, and the younger ones are getting antsy." As if proving a point, Melody gave her mother's jeans a swift tug, her mouth set in a frown. "Inna go home, momma."
Hannah smiled softly at her daughter, scooping the toddler into her arms and pushing back a golden curl from her forehead. "I'll go ahead and load her up."
"Yeah. God knows it takes two hours to get Sebastian into the car," Colt joked with a smothered smile, kissing his wife's frowning mouth when she grunted in annoyance.
Mallory shook her head before bringing two fingers to her mouth and letting out a loud, piercing whistle. All of the children stopped what they were doing to stare at her. Grey, Dante, and Malachi cringed, as well as Beast Boy, and covered their sensitive ears. Raven had to smother a laugh at the matching, annoyed faces of her two sons.
Mallory gave a sheepish smile and gave a small, "Sorry." She cleared her throat, before calling out, much more softly, "Let's load up, folks! You know the drill! Ladies and pretty little shape-shifters in the white SUV! Gentleman and demon's—I mean Sebastian—" here she broke of and laughed at Colt's proud expression and Harley's dour one"—you all load up in the red SUV. Children below the ages of four, you come with me."
The children murmured between themselves before parting and moving to their destined car. Samara gave Cody back to Hannah reluctantly, both her and Kira frowning when Hannah took him back in her arms. Hannah laughed at their expressions, promising both of them that they would have plenty of time to hold him once they returned to the tower. She grinned and winked at Kira. "If you're good, I'll let you hold him as well. Okay?"
Hannah didn't miss the grateful look the Starfire sent her when Kira's face flushed in a pleased blush, and she nodded enthusiastically.
She rushed off to catch up with her sister, who immediately took her hand in hers. Dahlia and Ada, never one to be left out, rushed up to take their free hands, Adara clutching tightly to Kiranne's hand while Dahlia took the other. Ada started to talk about something quickly, her face bright with a smile. Their parents stopped what they were doing to watch their daughters. Starfire felt water pool in her eyes as Ada leaned forward and said something to Kira that had her smiling and giggling softly.
Dante and Shia trudged behind them. Their conversation paused, though, when Kira laughed, outright, her sisters grinning.
Grey jogged up to them, easily jumping on Shia's back. He caught her without breaking a stride, giving her a quick glance. "One of these days, kiddo, you'll end up knocking me over and there we'll be."
"I know." She laughed quickly, resting her chin against his shoulder to watch the four sisters' backs. She glanced coyly at her brother. "Kira has a pretty laugh."
All she received as an answer was a grunt, which had a devious smirk tugging at her mouth. "It's so rare, but I think that it's more pretty than her sisters. Neh, Shia?"
He glanced at her, green eyes narrowed, silently asking her what are you up to, you little brat? "Guess."
"I've seen her when she laughs, too. Very, very pretty. I think that's why Thomas picks on her so much. He might have a little crush, you know."
"Grey, I'm in first grade. Six year olds do not have crushes." Dante linked his hands behind his head in his signature pose.
"I did."
"You're not normal."
"Shove it, brat."
The four girls ahead of them stopped at the van. Sam opened the sliding door.
And leaped back when white rose petals tumbled out around her feet. She blinked. "Hey, mom, I think you might have forgotten the…flowers…"
Starfire heard her daughters call, and turned back. "Flowers? What…oh my God."
None of the children knew what was going on. One second, Starfire's daughters were standing beside the van. The next, all of the adult men snatched them up and pulled them away from the car as if there were a bomb about to detonate.
"What—" Christian started, confused as Sam and her sisters we placed beside him, far away from the road. He glanced up at his father, whose gray eyes were dilated with panic. "Dad, what's going on? Why is everyone panicking? Is there something wrong with the—" But his father reached toward Sam and lifted a stray, white petal from her hair.
Despite the fact that he had only been two when everything had occurred, Christian remembered, though very little, the happenings that had gone on. He also remembered his mother receiving a white rose, just weeks before she went missing, and ended up almost dying.
He stared at Sam as everything started to fit into place. She was frowning, gently picking petals from her clothes. He knew that her parents had told her about what had happened, but they had diluted it, only scraping the top. Sam was too young to know of everything that had happened. He, of course, knew everything. You didn't get through high school at a young age and not have your mind polluted by talks of the adults. Most of his teachers knew him as the little boy whose mother was a worldwide hero for surviving. Not being used to having a ten year old as a student in a high school, they asked him things that he should have never known about until he was at least thirteen. And, high school boys were usually vulgar around him, because he was so young.
But because of him being around older, more mature conversation, his parents had sat down and told him nearly everything. They had told him about the attempted rapes and such, but they never went into much detail either. But white roses were hated and feared in his household, for it meant horror and death.
And now, their care, more specifically, the girls' car, was filled completely with white rose petals. Of course, it could be a prank. There were people sick enough to play a joke on the survivors of the White Rose, but…
His father laid a hand on his shoulders, as well as Shia's. "Watch the girls, okay? Do not let them out of your sight. We're going to find the bast—I mean, person— who did this. Okay? Please, promise me."
Shia nodded numbly, watching as his father marched past him, his face set in a fierce scowl. It was something he had never seen in his father. Usually, his dad was all smiles and jokes, even if he was sometimes a bit like his twin, and stayed silent. But now, his dad actually looked…scared.
Beast Boy was morphed into a wolfhound, sniffing the petals and the ground. Raven stood beside him, her pale skin even more pallid than before.
Cameron and Chase walked up to them, eyebrows drawn together. At first, Shia couldn't tell which was which until one of them spoke up. He knew it was Cameron, for he immediately moved towards Adara. "What's going on?"
Shia opened his mouth, but Christian cut him off. "They'll tell you."
Dante frowned. "You know?"
Christian shrugged. "Sorta. But it's not my place to tell you." He glanced at Sam, who was watching her parents in confusion. Feeling his gaze, she looked toward him. When their eyes met, she flushed, eyes downcast and hands wringing.
Christian glanced at her brother, who was busy talking to the other boys. He thought quickly over the probabilities of one of them noticing it if he pulled Sam off to the side, and knew it was slim to none. They were too busy trying to figure out what was making their parents so alarmed.
Because of this, they never noticed Roxanne and Ryanne wonder off toward the graves, or Kira chasing after them to try and get them to come back.
Christian moved around the gathered bodies sitting around the large tree, and quickly grabbed Sam's arm, jerking her behind the tree so they were completely out of eyesight from the others.
"Chris, what's going on? Why—"
"Why did you kiss me earlier?"
The rest of her questioned ended in a squeak. She moved away, nervously twisting her fingers. Her blush was putting her hair to shame. "Um…well, you see…uh…Grey…no…um…"
Christian frowned down at her before sighing. "Never mind."
Her fingers stopped moving and her eyes flooded with relief. "Good, 'cause I don't—"
His kissed her.
It wasn't anything like the high school teens talked about, with the tongue and teeth—the idea of sticking his tongue in someone's mouth seemed disgusting and wet—but a mere press of his lips against hers.
It lasted far longer than that brief kiss she had planted on him earlier, but now, it just seemed…right.
He pulled back slowly, eyes never leaving hers. The blush was still there, but now, her eyes were bright. "Oh…" she breathed, and he couldn't help but kiss her softly again.
"Kira!"
Sam jerked away, eyes wide. She blinked rapidly, as if removing herself from a trance, and moved around the tree.
"What's wrong?"
Her brother was turning on circles, eyes wide. "I can't find her. One minute, she was here, the next—"
"Sammy, some woman won't leave Kira alone."
The twins whirled around the see Roxanne and Ryanne standing there, looking guiltily at the ground.
"Woman? What woman? Where is she?" Shia demanded.
Roxie flinched at the bite in his voice. "I…we…we…we were just playing, and this lady came up, and we tolded her we can't talk to strangers, and she moved closer, then Kira came and told us to come back, and we did, but she didn't come with us. She stayed there…and…I don't like the way that lady looked at her. She was holdin' something…I don't know what it was, but Kira looked kinda…scared. She was supposed to follow us, 'cause she said she would, but she didn't, so I came here, and—"
"You were told not to leave," Chase snapped as Cameron ran to tell one of the parents.
Their eyes watered. "We just wanted to play…"
"Dammit!" Shia cursed, but this time, there was no Beast Boy to snap at him.
They flinched when Starfire screamed out her daughter's name before taking to the skies. "Kiranne!"
Bumblebee and Hannah stood beside them while the other parents spread out. Immediately, the twins launched themselves at their mother, and wept. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," they repeated.
Shia clenched his fist tightly. He was mad, so mad, but he didn't know whom to blame. Kira had always been freakishly kind to others, even if she was timid. But, now…if he had just watched her, instead of wondering what was up with his parents…if he had…
"Damn," he sighed, scrubbing at his eyes. He wasn't going to cry, he wasn't going to cry. He was seven, for crying out loud. Seven year olds did not cry…
"Shia…" He glanced down at his twin sister. She rested her head against his shoulder, hands linking with his. "She'll be fine. Kira will be perfectly—"
But a cry pierced the clear air, their mother's cry. No none thought about it before they all took off at a dead run. Sophie and Hannah lingered back to watch the younger children, who had no idea what was going on.
All Shia was saw the tiny body laying against the pure snow, the bright red spilling across it before Wyatt grabbed him, blocking his path and lifting his feet of the ground.
"What's wrong? Is she hurt? Let me see my sister!" But all of his screams were muffled by the horrible sobs of his sisters and mother, by the shocked cry of Grey, and the sounds of his father's broken voice, telling his baby sister to hold on.
Wyatt held the struggling boy in his arms tightly while Cyborg, Beast Boy, Colt, and Ethan held back the other children.
"Shia, please, calm down."
"No! Let me see my sister! You can't keep me from her! You can't! You can't…" The end was nothing but a broken sob.
"Shia, Shia, listen to me. Please. She's okay. She's hurt, but she's okay. Raven's healing her. Please, calm down. Your sisters need you. Look at them."
He did, green eyes red from crying. Dahlia and Adara were worse then he was, kneeling on the ground sobbing. Poor Chase and Cameron looked like they wanted to comfort them, but didn't know how to go about it. Christian, who peered over her head to see what was going on, was not surprisingly, comforting Sam. Dante stood beside Grey, glancing down at their joined hands, as if wondering how he ended up holding it in the first place. But his eyes traveled to Shia's hurt sister, and those very unmanly—seriously, purple? —eyes were troubled.
"Are we good now?" Wyatt asked.
Shia glanced up at his uncle—though not by blood, of course—and nodded. "What happened?"
"I think your dad should explain it."
Shia nodded slowly, quickly scrubbing at his eyes. He started to look for him when Robin lifted him up easily and held him to his chest as if he were afraid he would lose him to the slightest wind.
It wasn't long before Sam, Ada, and Dahlia gathered around his father's legs. Since Sam was so tall, all she did was rest her forehead against her father's back, while his two shorter sister held on to his waist.
"Daddy, what's wrong with Kira?" Dahlia asked, her hands tightening against his lean frame.
"Someone hurt her, baby."
"Bad?" This time, the question came from Ada.
Shia felt his father hesitate before he said, "Yeah. She was hurt bad."
"What did they do?" Shia asked, shoving away the pride and resting his raven head against his father's shoulder. He turned his head, though, to see the extent of Kira's injury. His body stiffened immediately.
They had cut her throat.
Blood covered the ground in a sickening blanket, staining her shirt and skin. Raven had healed it, as his father had said, but the blood covered neck, and he knew, oh God, he knew, that if Ryanne and Roxanne had not come back when they did and told, if Cameron hadn't run like the devil was at his heels to tell, that his baby sister would be dead.
And it would have been his fault.
Robin felt his son's body become ridged, and cursed. He would have turned, spun around to remove the sight from Shia's vision, but he would have knocked his girls to the ground. They hadn't seen their sister yet. Their crying had been because they knew something was horribly wrong.
"She's okay, Shiamar," Robin assured him. But he knew words would not calm his son. The image of his baby girl, his little Kiranne, sprawled across the ground; blooding pouring slowly from the wound across her slim neck would forever be imprinted in his mind. It had taken all of his power not to hit the ground and sob when he saw her. Had it not been for Beast Boy, who had talked him through it, he would have. Then, he would have never been able to comfort his children.
"I want to go home," Shia said, his voice shaky. But his head snapped up, nearly head butting his father in the process.
"Kira!" He shouted, shoving against his father's shoulders and leaping down. Poor Robin was then heaved roughly from behind as his daughter shoved herself from him. Had it not been for his two daughters grabbing his jacket, he would have toppled forward.
But the second he was steady, Dahlia and Adara raced to their sister. Robin turned to see Raven gently helping the now awoken Kira sit up. Starfire, to his amazement, was calm, though tears flowed freely down her cheeks.
"Someone get me a wet cloth," Raven called, and it was Dante who ran to the cooler. No one had ever seen him move so fast before, and Raven actually paused to watch her son dart back and forth with the speed of a cheetah.
Raven took the torn piece of …Dante's shirt? She glanced at her son's torn hoodie and raised an eyebrow. He never glanced at her. Instead, he was staring at the blood-covered snow. She opened her mouth to say something, but Beast Boy laid a hand on his son's shoulder. It calmed Dante immediately, and his eyes returned to Kira.
Raven quickly soaked the cloth to wipe the blood away, but before she could, all of her siblings literally threw themselves at her, uncaring that blood soaked through their clothing.
"Don't you ever scare me like that again, Kira," Shia murmured against her skin, despite the fact that she smelled of blood and fresh snow.
"I'm sorry," she tried to say, but she ended up coughing, sending everyone into a panic.
"Whoa, there, kid. You're throats just been slit. I managed to heal it, but don't make it worse than it is. You won't be able to talk for a while. And, hate to say it, but you will have a scar. That's the only thing I can't prevent."
Kira opened her mouth to respond when her mother grabbed her and all of her sibling into a bear hug, lifting them in the air so their feet dangled a good four feet above the ground.
"Oh my little darling, you scared me witless! I will never, ever, ever let anyone hurt you! I should have been there, I should have—"
"She …warned…she wanted…" But Kira coughed again, spitting blood out of her mouth. When her sister's cried out, she waved her hand weakly, and peeled back her bottom lip. The inside was swollen and bleeding.
"Oh..." The sighed in unison, but Kira was wiggling out of her mother's grasp, accidentally rapping Ada in the ribs.
Under different circumstances, she would have dropped easily to her feet, but now she stumbled, her knees buckling and her legs collapsing beneath her. Beast Boy, thankfully, swept her up. Exhausted, she dropped her head against his shoulder.
Raven moved silently over to them, gently tipping her head back to clean off the blood. Kira's eyes were half-lidded when her parents gazed at her. Slowly, she turned to gaze at both Raven and Starfire.
"Her grave." And she closed her eyes, her body going limp. Raven held up a hand when Robin moved forward in panic, her eyes narrowed as she stared off at nothing in particular.
"Her grave," she repeated softly, mind racing.
But Starfire knew immediately. Numbly, she moved forward to a grave not ten feet away. She stood before it.
There, lying upon the cold marble of Darcy's engraved grave marker was the knife that had been used to slit her daughter's throat, holding down a white sheet of paper that was wet with blood.
And a white rose leaning against the stone, right beneath Darcy's name, her daughter's hair tangled within the thorns.
Paybacks a bitch, Red.
Happily ever after only exists in fairytales…