Disclaimer: has anything EVER been mine? NO. so nothing ever WILL be mine. so i will make this my all-purpose disclaimer and have it carry-over to all the future chapters as well. since i'm lazy and really don't want to have to rewrite it over and over and over again.

A/N: if you're confused by this chapter...think for a few seconds and all should become clear. and remember that patience is a virtue. the next chappie should (hopefully) be rather massive, as it has quite a bit to cover, and so it'll take awhile to update. but exams are over!! cheer with me!! and now read, enjoy, and review!!

How Long Is Never?

Chapter 2

"Hello

I've waited here for you

Everlong."

--"Everlong", Foo Fighters

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.

Eyelids slitting open, she examined the sight before her with blurry vision. The ceiling was fuzzy and purple and rather close, and the curtains were dangling upwards, sunlight peeping through the tops…oh, wait. Rubbing the heels of her hands into her eyes, Starfire blinked several times, and the world orientated itself properly again. She was lying as per usual on her circular bed, her head lolling off the edge, and her distorted view was that of her bedroom in Titan's Tower.

Beep. Beep.

Mumbo alarm clock. Pulling herself smoothly into an upright position, Starfire glanced around the lavender-oozing room, locating the noisy device on the dresser across the room. One eyebrow arched as she read the time, certain that it was somehow lying. Tossing her covers haphazardly aside, she flew over to the object and picked it up, as if by examining it more closely she could determine the source of its lies. But she could not argue with cold, hard fact.

"12:46!! PM!! X'Hal, I have done the 'sleeping in'!" Starfire exclaimed to herself, thoroughly bewildered. She had never slept later than ten o'clock in all her seventeen years, and now this. She frowned faintly. She must have been incredibly tired if she had let her alarm ring for over three hours straight. Clicking the alarm off, she set the clock back down, combing her fingers absently through her long auburn hair. The Titans were probably having lunch by now. As that thought rambled through her mind, her stomach growled impatiently, and she quickly put a hand to it.

Sliding on her tall boots, the teenage superheroine floated to her door before she remembered her small pet. "Silkie!" she called, looking around expectantly for the fat maggoty mutant. But it did not show itself, and Starfire only waited a moment more before she walked out, yawning luxuriously as she made her way down the hallway to the elevator. As the machine descended, she hummed along cheerily to the boring music playing quietly in the background. She had always liked elevator music, ever since she had heard it being played in an elevator in one of Jump City's scrapers of the sky. Pleading with Cyborg to install similar music had been the work of one pout and one promise of a month free of Tamaranian cuisine. She giggled quietly to herself just as the elevator doors opened with a small ding, and she burst out.

"Good mor—er, I mean, good afternoon, friends!" she exclaimed, her eyes closed in her thrill of pure joy. "Is it not the most glorious day for all things sunny and bright?"

Following the total lack of response, Starfire cracked one eye open, arms still extended above her head. The common room was deserted, and the Tamaranian girl walked into the kitchen, searching all possible sticky-notable surfaces for such a sign, but there were none to be found. Her expression saddening considerably, she tugged open the fridge and extracted a bottle of her favorite beverage—mustard. Unscrewing the top, she popped a bendy straw in the opening and commenced drinking the yellow goo, her worries instantly disappearing in the onslaught of tangy golden goodness.

She has sucked that container dry and was rummaging in the fridge for more when she heard a familiar deadpanning monotone.

"Tell me…have you ever tried ketchup?"

Starfire jumped up, grey poupon in hand, and squealed at a register that caused her fellow Titan to wince reflexively. "Friend Raven! You are here! But where are the others?"

Raven quirked one violet eyebrow, the barest hint of a smirk on her face. "You mean, where's Robin?"

The other cast her gaze down, pretending not to hear, and asked innocently, "Why is this particular mustard labeled 'poupon'? Does that have some special meaning? Is it extra delicious?"

Raven stared levelly at the Tamaranian for a moment before she rolled her eyes. "I don't pretend to have every scrap of information on mustard memorized, Starfire. Nor do I pretend to understand our taciturn, blockheaded leader, so don't expect any explanations from me."

"Explanations?" Starfire echoed, twisting the cap off the grey poupon and sniffing it gingerly. Wrinkling her nose in cute distaste, she replaced the cap and shunned that type of mustard in the back of the fridge. "About friend Robin? Raven, I know not of what you are referring," she rambled as she hunted for more edibles. "I have no mission updates to be briefed upon, and today is not my training day, and so I do not have any…"

"Forget it," Raven grumbled, expression barely flickering. "Clearly you're oblivious, and since I've heard ignorance is bliss, I'm not about to shatter that happiness for you."

"Your concern is much appreciated," Starfire replied absently as she spread chocolate frosting on the pepperoni slices she had commandeered from Cyborg's bin. She was about to pop one of the strange concoctions into her mouth when Robin waltzed into the room; distracted, the chocolate pepperoni ended up smeared on her cheek, and she gave a squeak of distress, hastily ripping a section of paper towels free and wiping her face.

Raven's eyebrow arched again. "Uh-huh," she commented, retreating to the far corner of the room and beginning her meditation, her mantra echoing in the quiet.

Robin walked over to the kitchen, digging in the fridge for the Gatorade. He poured himself a glass and leaned against the counter, sipping the blue liquid. "Whacha eating there, Star?" he asked in lieu of a normal greeting.

Starfire disposed of the soiled paper towel, appraising the peculiar combination of food. "Er…the frosting of chocolate and pepperoni?"

If Robin were surprised at all, he certainly didn't show it. "Really," he commented idly. "So today wasn't a good day for the mint frosting on the hamburger?"

"I am afraid we have run out of both mint frosting and hamburgers," she replied wistfully, creating a bizarre version of an Oreo with her pepperoni and frosting. "It saddens me greatly. That was quite a delectable combination."

"I bet it was," Robin said with a bit of a grin, and he raked his gloved fingers through his hair. Starfire watched the motion as if mesmerized, questioning for the seventeenth time in the past week when he had grown as tall as she. Or was he taller? She couldn't quite tell…

"Do I have a blue mustache or something?"

Starfire snapped from her daydream, blinking rapidly. "I—what? A blue mustache…?"

"From the Gatorade," he prompted, completely serious. "You were…"

"Oh, no, there's nothing there," she assured him swiftly, and for lack of a better follow-up, she crammed another pepperoni-chocolate-Oreo in her mouth. How obvious can you be? she scolded herself soundly, forcing her reluctant throat to swallow the bizarre concoction that no longer tasted so good. She glanced between the pepperoni and frosting and at last shoved both back in the fridge, though she wasn't entirely certain if frosting belonged in the fridge or not.

"Not hungry?" Robin asked with a wry smile, still suavely sipping his Gatorade.

"It was…how do you put it? Better in theory," Starfire decided, gripping the fridge handle more tightly than was necessary to keep her hand from shaking. Stupid Boy Wonder. How dare he act so calm and nonchalant when here she was, practically shivering out of her skin…

"DUUUDE, I totally beat you!"

"I don't think so, ya little grass stain! I crushed your sorry green—"

"No way! You blasted me with that dumb cannon of yours! That's so against the rules!"

"Stankball has no rules, BB!"

Starfire, thankfully distracted from thoughts of that infuriating—perfect—boy, watched in amusement as Cyborg and Beast Boy attacked each other verbally before going all out with the couch cushions, smacking each other clear across the room before they laughed, picked themselves back up, and charged again. It was making a horrible din and before anyone could have suspected, both the half-robot and changeling were suspended in mid-air, encased in black energy.

"What have I told you about fighting in the common room?" Raven ground out in a threatening monotone, one eye twitching spasmodically.

"Um…not to do it?" Beast Boy hazarded a guess, his arms and legs spread-eagled in the most ridiculous position.

"And what were you doing?"

"Um…that?" Beast Boy guessed again.

Starfire could've sworn she heard Raven mutter, "Brain the color and size of a pea" before the black energy melted away and the other two Titans collapsed to the floor in a tangle of limbs. Beast Boy grumbled something, doubtless about Raven ruining their fun, but Cyborg whacked him upside the head and suggested a Stankball rematch, which had them racing outside once more. The Tamaranian girl smiled, amused by her friends' antics, before she glanced accidentally (or so she told herself) back at Robin. And there, on his upper lip, was blue residue from the liquid. Before she could control her action, Starfire had reached over and carefully brushed the Gatorade away with the pad of her thumb.

Robin's eyebrow arched, and she giggled nervously, drew her hand back slowly, and offered her only explanation.

"Blue mustache."

He opened his mouth slightly, as if he were surprised and about to reply, when the communicator attached to his belt blared into life, beeping out the familiar tone. He frowned then and unclipped the device from his belt, flipping it open and absorbing the information inside, his frown deepening as he read on.

"Guess I'll finish this later," he sighed, wedging the bottle back in the door of the fridge. "We've got a problem downtown. Let's go get Cy and BB and get outta here."

Starfire nodded, lingering for a moment in the kitchen as she watched him walk away. She had waited so long…and she wondered how long she would be forced to wait. Exhaling her own deep sigh, she followed Robin and Raven from the common room, dragging her feet heavily.

Today was not a good day to have to save the world.