At around midnight I left the confinement of my room and stepped into the elevator. It took me down to the lobby, where I stepped out onto the floor.

The metal automatic doors slid upon when I approached. Before I walked any further, however, something a bit out of the ordinary caught my eye.

It was Starfire, standing by herself, and facing the window. Her being there was out of the ordinary because, for one thing, Starfire is much less than a nighttime person. The only times I have seen her come down from her room when it was dark out was whenever a criminal chose to strike at night. And, from what I remembered, she was terrified of the dark in the first place.

"Starfire?"

She squeaked and pivoted, relaxing when she saw it was only me.

"Oh, Raven, it's just you…"

I walked across the room to her. "You're up kind of late."

"Erm, yes," Starfire replied. "I thought it would be enjoyable if I were to witness the sunrise this morning…"

Indeed, the pink glows of the sun were ebbing in through the window as we spoke. "Yeah, I've done that before."

"It took quite a bit of courage to come down here at night," she admitted. I noticed her face flushing a bit in her humility. "You might be aware that I do not like the darkness."

Starfire turned her gaze back to the oncoming sun. I watched as she determinedly focused on the bright patterns in the sky. "…Why don't you like the dark, Starfire?"

The Tamaranean sighed softly. "I used to dislike it simply because of the things that I made up in my mind." She backed away from the window and sat on the couch. "But now…after I've fought aside you and the other Titans…it's because of the people who take advantage of this time of day…the time when they can't be seen. And they take advantage of this time in which they can't be seen to do horrible things."

I couldn't think of anything to say to that, so I simply nodded in agreement.

"What are you doing up so late, friend Raven?"

I stared down at her, and she stared back at me with tired, blinking green eyes. "I suppose I wanted to see the sunrise as well." I took a seat next to her, and she turned to me.

"Do you recall that I wanted to consult you about something between Robin and I this afternoon?" Starfire asked uneasily. "May we talk about it? Or, we may not, if you don't wish to…if it is too much to ask…"

"Look, Starfire, I apologize profusely for what I said during the game," I interrupted. "I didn't intend for it to come out as an insult."

She gave a small smile, looking relieved. "Glorious. And I accept your apology."

We sat in still silence for nearly a full minute. As predicted, Starfire broke it. "May we discuss Robin?"

It was my turn to sigh. "I'm sorry Starfire…I know how you feel about him, but people don't tend to come to me for advice."

"It matters not. I simply need someone to listen."

"…All right, I suppose I can be of some help tonight."

She hesitated. "You and I both know that I admire Robin greatly. He is clever, athletic, kindhearted, a…aesthetically pleasing…"

She blushed. I fought back a thin-lipped smile from overcoming my face.

"I care for him deeply, and I am rather sure that he feels the same way. Yet…he has had quite a bit on his mind lately. I have found him fixated on maps of the city…he is yet again trying to locate Slade."

"Robin is a very determined boy…"

Starfire waved a hand as if to dismiss my point. "Yes, but I worry about him. He has what you would call…a one-track mind, correct? And Slade is all he has been thinking about, and I fail to get him to relax. I fear that our Slade problem is taking over his life."

She paused and looked down at her knees, clasping her hands together. I watched behind a shadowy veil, actually beginning to feel a bit sorry for her. I regretted not being able to comfort her.

Finally I managed to say something. "Robin had a very close encounter with Slade not long ago," I began, remembering our last battle in which the two had formed an alliance. "It's all the more motivation for Robin to go after him again. We all know Robin as having a tendency to lock on to one subject and concentrate on it more than anything else."

"Yes, but still…"

"You're just a bit upset that the subject isn't you."

Her cheeks went even pinker.

"Well, that's it, isn't it?"

An embarrassed grin played on Starfire's lips. "…I suppose that you are right."

Our eyes met again. "I wouldn't worry about it," I assured her. "Like you said, he does care deeply about you. He took you in…he gave you speech. I've never seen him as protective over anyone else as he is protective of you." I was quiet in thought for a second. "Come to think of it, Cyborg is just about as protective of Beast Boy…"

"Raven!" She batted at my knee playfully, and for once in a long time, the two of us shared a smile.

I turned to face the window again. The sun was higher and more orange. We must have been sitting there for about half an hour. Looking back at Starfire again, I could see that her eyelids were getting heavier by the minute.

"Star, are you tired?" Hmm. Now I was calling her Star.

She yawned, grinning sleepily. "Indeed I am, friend Raven."

"Maybe you should go to bed."

"Maybe I should." She got up from the couch. "Happy snorvax, Ray—" Suddenly she stumbled, and groggily grabbed hold of the arm of the couch for support.

She didn't look like she was in any condition to walk down any long hallways any time soon. I hesitated, before reluctantly offering: "Do you need any help getting to your room?"

Starfire giggled. "That would be most helpful…"

I got up and helped her stand upright, keeping her steady with a hand on the small of her back. I led her through the metal doors and into the elevator, where it became apparent that she was literally half asleep. Her eyes were closed, orange eyelids shivering lightly as she struggled to keep them open and failed to do so. As the elevator moved up through the shaft the Tamaranean's head lolled on her neck, eventually coming to rest on my shoulder. I tried to shrug it off, wishing that the elevator could move faster so that I wouldn't have to withstand much more of this kind of annoyance.

At last the elevator came to our floor with a ding and I escorted Starfire out into the hallway. I walked briskly while she struggled to keep up, skipping and tripping a bit along the way. "Raven, I trust that you will not walk me into any between-room barriers as a joke?" she giggled, swaying a bit.

I gritted my teeth. "No, Starfire, I won't let you run into any walls." Finally we came to her room and I slid the door open. She gratefully entered and pulled back the blankets on her circular bed. "Mm…g'night, Raven," she muttered with a lazy smile, slipping between the sheets.

"Good night, Starfire." I slid the door shut and hastily walked down the hall to retire to my room. Only a few hours until breakfast…