Anon prompted: For meme: Moonlight, Starfire, Superman (get it sunlight powered people but moonlight? I'm clever darn it! ;) )
A/N: Anon, you must know my love for these two and these similarities very well or, by my estimates, you are simply a person of exquisite tastes in superheroes ; ) Either way I had a blast, thank you so much for this!
Disclaimer: Justice League, Titans, and associated characters are the creative property of DC Comics.
Children of the Sun
She had been taken down each and every hall, had turned every corner, with nearly a dozen League sanctioned members. There was plenty of information to take in, responsibilities to be taken on, and names to be remembered. She did her best with all of it, handling the changes with humble excitement.
As the night slowed, as she eventually was given a long enough leash, Starfire finally walked the halls of the Watchtower on her own.
Her stride slowed as she took in her surroundings. Then, at last, she came to a stop at the large bay window and looked out onto her adopted world and beyond it.
The sun peaked on the other side of the planet, but she focused on the more distant stars. Somewhere, among them, was her birth home and the many other planets she had touched her feet to.
It was funny for her, seeing space so vast and large before her, and remembering that she had just taken up an oath to concentrate her efforts on just one small speck of it.
Instinctively, Starfire reached for the window and pressed her fingertips to space. Then her palm.
The coolness of space rushed into her hand.
"Quite a view, isn't it?"
Blinking, Starfire turned her head toward the voice and smiled upon seeing none other than Superman. She withdrew her hand.
"It truly is," she responded brightly.
"I suppose you're used to it in some ways, more than most of us," he continued, stepping up next to her and crossing his arms. He took a deep breath and looked almost proudly toward the planet.
Starfire smiled back and followed his gaze. "It has been a little while since I was in space, actually," she admitted. "I've been working with the Titans. Really, it had been a while since I even left New York."
Superman nodded compliantly. "Earth makes it easy sometimes," he chuckled. "To get rooted, I mean. To suck you into one place."
Quietly, Starfire thought about it.
There was some truth to Superman's words. She had felt a certain loyalty to her adopted home in parts, but it was also difficult at the best of times. There were things she missed, there were things that were irreplaceable in her heart when she thought of home. Endless skies and the heat of Tamaran and the limitless colors of all living things.
But Earth still had, somehow, imperfectly, become where she thought of when she closed her eyes and thought of where she needed to be.
"Earth's people," she shared finally. When Superman looked at her, she showed off her brilliant smile and continued, "I believe when I think of Earth I think of the people. They make it easy for me to call it home."
There was a gentleness to Superman that was difficult to explain to those who had not met him themselves. It came through in how his smile, however small, grew into his eyes and caused them to shine brilliantly. He nodded, his black curls bouncing ever so slightly with the motion.
So often, when Starfire thought of what human kindness might look like, a Superman smile came to mind. But she knew he was as alien in origin as she was.
"If you've got a moment, I'd like to add something to your tour," he said to her, waving her on as he turned toward the other end of the hall.
Laughing slightly, Starfire followed. "Just when I thought I had been shown everything."
"I don't think you've been shown this yet," Superman said, feet lifting off the ground as he began to fly.
Following suit, Starfire flew with Superman through the halls of the Watchtower, rounding the curves and giving appreciative waves to other members of the Justice League as they passed.
Finally, they reached the opposite side of the satellite. And when Starfire looked forward and backward, she had to admit that it looked almost identical to the side of the hall they had just left.
"Here," Superman directed her attention to the large bay window.
Curious, Starfire turned and faced the window again. It was space, but of course from the opposite end of the Watchtower. Instead of a sun peering around the earth, she was faced with countless stars peeking out around the curves of the moon.
It was a beautiful sight, to be sure, but Starfire still thought it was odd to go out of their way for that alone.
"I know Tamaranean anatomy and Kryptonian are rather different," Superman at last admitted. He was smiling as he put his hand forward, touching the glass. "But I saw you touching the glass earlier and that reminded me of how long it took me to realize this, too. Since we both use sunlight."
Starfire tilted her head then looked to the moon. She reached for the glass as well.
At first, it seemed just like the other glass, cold space rushing through her fingertips. But then it wasn't.
More subtle than the coldness of space, a tingle of power grew from her palm. It made her take in a breath. It was so faint, had Superman not pointed it out, she might not have recognized it at all.
It felt like sunbathing.
"The sun is on the other side," she said, looking to Superman. "What's this?"
A gentle crinkle grew at the corners of Superman's eyes. "We see the moon from earth because it reflects sunlight. Not enough to really have any energy for powers like ours, but enough to see. Up here, in the Watchtower, we're close enough to the moon that we can get that reflection of solar energy. Just enough. Like I said, it took me a shameful amount of time to realize it myself. And it's so minor I've never bothered sharing with others. I don't think they'd appreciate it. But you're different." He shifted to look at her full-on, radiating even more warmth than the surface of the moon. "You're like me."
Even after joining the Justice League herself, Starfire felt the honor of that comparison take her breath away.
"Thank you, Superman," she said, unsure of what other response could even begin to share her appreciation.
She knew that being a member of the Justice League would fill her already amazing life with moments of pride, of amazement, of joy. But she doubted that many would reach the heights of that moment.
Starfire shook hands with Superman as an equal, as a friend, and she felt even more at home than before.