Early morning and the sun's timid rays are funneled through the scattered holes of the thick morning clouds. On the roof of Titan's Tower, Apollo sat in silence and looked out over the city alone, before being joined by a friend. "Good morning," Robin said warmly as he took a seat beside his friend and took in the muted sunrise. At first Apollo didn't respond, her attention glued to her arm, her left sleeve pushed up past her elbow, before she finally looked up and acknowledged her friend.
"Hm… Oh, hey," she yawned sleepily. "Good morning," she said softly as looked toward him and smiled briefly before turning her attention to the sea below. Following her gaze down to the ocean below, Robin looked from the lively ocean waves to the drained expression on his friend's face.
"Everything okay?" he asked, focusing on the dark bags under her eyes and her exhausted, sluggish aura. "Rough night?"
"Yeah," Apollo sighed while wiping her tired eyes; closing her eyes, she brushed her bangs aside and tentatively rubber her left eye, then repositioned her hair back over it before turning to face her friend. "Had a hard time sleeping last night. …Crazy dream…" She whispered, the gruesome images of last night's flashback replaying in her mind. Looking out on the horizon, she didn't notice the faint glow growing behind her bangs until the sudden onset of a headache led her to reach toward her face again, the light from her shielded eye reflecting on her palm. Nervous, Apollo immediately turned away from Robin again and slammed both of her eyes shut before placing a hand to her head.
"Are you okay?" Robin asked in concern, reaching out to his friend as she continued to cringe in pain, her eyes slammed shut and a hand to her left temple. When she didn't reply, he proceeded to ask again, watching her fist clench in response to his question; instead, he chose to change the subject. "What was your dream about?" he asked with curious, but still concerned, anticipation of a reply. "Must have been intense if it could keep you up all night," he continued lightly, only for his response to be met with a defeated sigh as Apollo looked from the sky, down to her arm, before rising from her seat and returning to the tower, whispering under her breath as she walked.
"…You have no idea…"
Downstairs in the kitchen, the morning bustled with chatter harmonizing with crackling bacon on the stove and full mouths chewing. Leaving the clearing skies overhead, Robin reentered the tower and proceeded to the kitchen for breakfast. Making his way to the refrigerator, he greeted his friends and poured himself a glass of milk while putting in his breakfast order for Cyborg as he happily flipped pancakes on the stovetop. Taking a seat at the table, he looked around and bid his friends a good morning, acknowledging each of their smiling faces: Beast Boy, Starfire, Cyborg, Raven- "Where's Apollo?" he asked, when he realized that the teams sixth member was not present for breakfast.
"In her room," Cyborg replied casually. "She just left here with some orange juice," he continued, turning around with a platter stacked high with pancakes for himself and his friends. "I asked if she was having breakfast, said she wasn't hungry."
"Ya ask me, she didn't look too good," Beast Boy added, taking a bite of his tofu bacon, as he recounted her exhausted, sluggish appearance.
"She probably just went back to sleep," Raven added as she levitated several pancakes towards hers and Starfire's plates. "If she's not feeling well, it's best we let her get some sleep." Unanimously the team agreed and, despite his lingering concerns, Robin picked up a fork and proceeded with breakfast. As everyone happily enjoyed their pancakes, Starfire took a sip of her orange juice and reached for a second serving of pancakes and eggs, only to find that she was out of mustard. Realizing that she couldn't enjoy her meal without the golden brown delight to garnish her pancakes, she excused herself from the table to get another bottle from her room. Making her way down the hall, she passed Apollo's open door and glanced inside to see her friend lying on her bed, silently sleeping. After retrieving a large jar of mustard from her room, Starfire made her way back to the kitchen. Approaching Apollo's room, Starfire took another peek into the room to check on her unwell friend; but upon peeking into her room, she saw Apollo, still asleep in her bed, but not in the same peaceful state she'd been in several minutes prior. Her once soft, serene expression had been overcome by distress and struggle as she harshly rolled over in her bed, tossing and turning while violently kicking the blankets from her body. Still watching her friend's struggle, Starfire entered Apollo's room and knelt before her bed, firmly nudging her shoulder and softly calling her name as she tried to wake her from her exhaustive nightmare. Brushing her shoulder again, Starfire stumbled backwards, startled as Apollo sprung up from her bed, her eyes bursting open to focus on a clearly shaken Starfire. Sitting up in her bed, Apollo looked around her and absorbed her surroundings, seemingly confused by the sight of her bedroom, as if she didn't know where she was. Looking back at Starfire, a jar of mustard clenched in her nervous hands, Apollo- recognizing her friend- finally began to calm down. Her muscles relaxed, she released her blankets from her vice-grip and exhaled slowly.
"Starfire," she sighed, trying to regain her composure as she scooted forward and rose from the edge of her bed. Noticing the Tamaranean's gaze remained fixed on her face, Apollo looked at her friend in confusion a moment longer before frantically fixing her tousled hair and confirming that her bangs were still covering her left eye. Once she was sure her eye was fully shielded, Apollo turned back to her friend and prepared to question Starfire on what she feared she'd seen, but before she could speak, Starfire put her worries at ease with a concerned comment of her own.
"You are crying," Starfire said sympathetically, just as the tickle of a single tear graced Apollo's chin. Hesitantly, Apollo wiped the tear from her jaw and looked down at the salty drop, now smeared over her fingers, then up to Starfire, her eyes wide and trembling with heartfelt concern as she prepared to ask her friend what was wrong.
"-I'm fine," Apollo said sharply, preventing Starfire from speaking. "Guess I was flopping around so much in my sleep that I must have twisted my arm or something," she said artificially, looking down at her arm- the sleeve still pushed up to her mid forearm- as she remembered the nightmarish flashbacks of the syringe being forced inside of it. "I'm okay," she assured as she pretended to stretch and flex the pain out of her arm, before wiping another tear from her eyes. Wanting to believe her, Starfire slowly began to relax. Her expression still one of concern, she put on a soft smile and tried to change the subject.
"The others said you were sick," she said, her voice unable to hide its awkward nerves. "Are you feeling better?"
"Yeah," Apollo lied with a reluctant yawn. Hesitantly, she continued, "I guess I just needed some rest," she said before taking a final sip of her orange juice. "You can assure the others that I'm not contagious," she said with a hollow laugh as she pulled her sleeve back down and, remarking on how she was finally hungry, followed Starfire out of her bedroom and back to the kitchen. Finally at ease, Starfire described the delicious pancakes Cyborg had made and insisted that Apollo have some. "Sure," Apollo said with a smile, candidly wiping her eyes clear of any lingering tears. "But I think I'll pass on the mustard," she said looking at the large jar in her friend's hands. "We do still have syrup, right?"