Chapter 1—The Ride
Robin couldn't sleep. He glanced at the clock on the wall; it was two in the morning. As he lay awake, he thought about Starfire. The fight at the junior prom, the ambush at the carnival, and even the time he'd climbed aboard the balcony on Tamaran; he been there with her each time. He sighed heavily, wishing he could tell her how he really felt. Finally, he stood up and headed to Ops. Nothing like an hour or so on the Gamestation and a midnight snack to put me to sleep, he thought.
Meanwhile, Starfire lay restlessly in her own room. Silkie, the moth larva that Beast Boy had given her some weeks ago, was fast asleep. She stared at the bug ponderingly. I wish sleep would come that easily to me, she mused silently. I wonder if the "warm milk" that Raven referred to would help. She opened the door to her room, and flew off towards Ops to try this Earth remedy.
When she got there, she found Robin, nibbling on a slice of cold pepperoni pizza that somehow escaped Cyborg's quite literally cast-iron stomach. "Hello, Robin," said Starfire, causing the Boy Wonder to jump about a foot off the couch, startled.
"Starfire!" he exclaimed. "What are you doing up at this hour?"
"I…cannot sleep. What are you doing awake?"
"Same reason you are." Starfire curled up on the couch, her flowing auburn locks spread out over Robin's shoulders. Robin sighed, setting down his controller and shutting off the game console. The two lay together for several minutes, Robin running his fingers through the Tamaranian's hair, before either of them spoke again.
"Robin?"
"Yeah?"
"Perhaps we could spend some time alone, away from the others?"
Robin thought, Is she asking for a date? He shrugged. "Sure, why not? Meet you down in the garage, I gotta get my helmet."
A minute or so later, the two met up in the Tower garage. Robin had entered holding his helmet under his arm, and was putting it on when he said, "Ready?" Starfire nodded. "Then get on, and let's go." She obliged, and the pair rode off into the dimly lit night.
