The sky was full of stars, and yet it still felt so empty.

Starfire sat at the edge of the tower, gazing forever upwards at them, wishing to fly away to those distant orbs of burning plasma, circling them on and on until she forgot about the mistakes she had made. She clutched her knees to her chest and sighed out, still thinking these thoughts.

A cool wind was blowing from the West and carrying East.

The breeze felt good against her skin, still burning hot. Fiery red hair flowed on the wind, and her green eyes vacant to the world. She had eyes only for the stars tonight. Or so she thought.

"Raven," she whispered, longing in her voice. She closed her eyes and let the memory flow over her, the words they spoke, and the look on her face when the gem was crushed within her fist. Her hand was still cut open and sore, though the blood had finally clotted.

"Rough night?" a voice said behind her.

Steps against the metal and concrete. A voice too deep. "Hello, Nightwing," Starfire said glumly.

He walked up behind her, still in his black and blue uniform, but his mask was pushed up into his hair. Unusual for him, but things were very unusual nowadays.

Soon they would all be parted.

Starfire hated that though more than anything else on Earth. No; more than anything else within the universe. Of all the things that had crushed her, stripped her emotions raw, that was what would get her in the end.

Nightwing sat down beside her, legs hanging off the side of the tall tower, and he cast his blue eyes up to the night sky with her. There was no moon, so it was only the stars that shone. Far, high up in the empty sky where the stark city lights could't reach them and dim them

It was truly a beautiful sight.

Nightwing was going to miss this. Pulling his eyes away from the distant stars, he looked back at his teammate. He couldn't even imagine the sorrow and pain that she must have been feeling. He had known what happened between the two lovers…well, he didn't know everything. But he knew enough.

Love could hurt; that he knew.

"Can you name any constellations?" Nightwing asked her, almost shyly.

Starfire opened her eyes once more. She studied the stars, trying to pick out the celestial patterns. Raven had spent many times talking to her about star charts, and how to calculate the sky. All the names of every single star she seemed to know.

It had been beautiful, the way she talked about something she was so passionate about. Starfire regretted not really having listened to her. She would always focus in on her face, and old Tamaranian love poem on repeat in her head.

"Is that Gemini?" Starfire asked, pointing upwards.

"Uhm…" Nightwing thought. "I don't think it is."

"Oh." She cast her head down, slumping her shoulders.

"But, uhm, I think that might be Gemini?" He suggested, pointing a little to the right at the neighboring group of stars. It was lame, even to his ears, but he really didn't know what else to do. Beating around the bush seemed to be his specialty, and unlike Starfire and Raven, the connection to his emotions was never important.

He had never really learned how to feel whatever it was he was feeling.

"Let's cut to the chase," he said at last.

"What?" Starfire asked, the phrase offsetting her. All her years on Earth, she still couldn't understand the damned idioms. And there were so many of them.

"Let us talk about what's on our minds," Nightwing tried again, offering a wry smile that didn't really reach up to his eyes. Starfire only looked blankly back at him; she would never fake her joy. Not for anyone.

"I know you and Raven had a fight."

Starfire spun her head away. Now she focused in on the ocean, deep and dark and infinitely vast. Small waves crested, the city lights catching on the lips, and the whole sea churned in its calm, soothing way. She could even catch the ghosts of starlight upon the water.

"I know you probably don't want to talk about it…but talking can help. Or so I hear." Leave it to him to suggest talking about feelings.

Ironic, he thought.

"Yes. I do believe that is what you are supposed to do. Talking about my feelings has always worked out in the past; it is what I was taught to do when things were getting chaotic within." Starfire's voice edged onto a monotone. Nightwing wanted to reach out his hand and set it gently on her shoulder, to offer her some kind of comfort.

"You wish to hear about them?" Even in monotone, Nightwing could tell that she was surprised.

Once again he gave a faint smile. "Of course. Whatever will make you feel better. I can't have my teammates upset like this. It isn't good."

"We won't be teammates for much longer," she said, choking up.

Nightwing's entire body slouched at the reminder. "Yeah, I know that. But there's still plenty of time before we disband. You know what Batman said: the Titans get to stay together for as long as possible until the point where Slade is caught. And he hasn't been caught so far."

They both paused, listening to the quiet.

"I never thought that I would want Slade to escape. I used to want to hunt him down and lock him up, now I want him to walk the streets." He shook his head and sighed.

"I feel similar," Starfire replied. She licked her lips, ready to launch into their inevitable conversation. She watched his face closely, waiting to see if he would listen. He gave all the signs of someone listening, she judged by his body language. Once having placed confidence in him, she began:

"Raven gave me a half of her heart, and I broke it."

A simple enough statement.

"I'm not sure I understand," he replied.

She took another deep breath. Releasing her knees, she dangled her feet off the side of the building. It would have been dangerously too close for a human, but she could fly endlessly on. She hoped. The way her feelings were now, she might not be able to. That thought chilled her to the very core.

Still, she did not draw back.

"I gave Raven my heart, and I wanted hers in return. She said that she gave it to me, but it was only a piece. And in my anger I broke it." She pressed her hands to her breast for emphasis. The pendant no longer hung near her heart, and she wanted so badly to feel it there once more.

"I have done wrong."

"Everyone makes mistakes, Starfire." Her head snapped around, and tears were welling in her eyes. Nightwing cringed, feeling he had said the wrong thing. "Not that it was a mistake. I mean—uh—every relationship has rough patches."

Another awkward pause.

"What, um? What made you and Raven get together in the first place?"

Her features softened, and a small smile tugged at her lips. She looked back out at the emptiness or the horizon, the memories playing in her head serenely. "I do so like that story."

She began:

"It was after I had seen my sister for the last time. Blackfire had always done so much harm in my family. She sold me, and my brother, and my parents into slavery. Tried, with me that is so. But still I tried to love her. And then her vileness kept coming back to torment me, and each time I felt my love for her dwindling. It is a terrible feeling, to realize that you don't really love someone, especially if they are family. Blackfire and I grew up together, and then…"

She sobbed and wiped at her tears.

"I had to let her go. She had to leave, from my life. Permanently. So I denounced her. Blackfire is no longer my sister. And Raven, she was there for me. After what had happened with Blackfire, I went into a dark place in my life, and Raven was in that dark place, too. Waiting for me, and we embraced, and we stayed together ever since."

She smiled so wide that her teeth showed. Still the tears flooded out from her, flowing down her cheeks like streams.

"We found each other in that place, and we stayed together. Dark or light and happy and sad, I walked with her through it all. She stole my heart."

Nightwing nodded.

"What a beautiful story," he whispered. Even so, he still wasn't sure what to make of it all. So poetic, but he just couldn't understand it the way she could. Love in the darkness, a heart to be given and taken. He had never liked that kind of stuff, even in the mushiest of romances.

But Starfire had made it sound so beautiful.

"Do you regret it?"

"Regret what exactly? You must be more specific," she replied to him.

"I mean, loving her. Dating her and giving her your heart and all that."

Starfire shook her head, no.

"Of course not. Raven can have my heart bleeding and broken within her hands and I would still want her to keep it. I love her, and and I trust her. I will never leave her. Even when the Titans disband, and we all have to find a new place for ourselves on Earth, and will accompany her, wherever she may go."

She paused, and moved closer into Nightwing.

"She still doesn't know where to go, after all this is over."

"Another reason to never catch Slade." He gave a dry chuckle that scratched at his throat. "I'm not even trying to catch him, you know? I think he might be losing interest, since we're not as much of a challenge. Not as much fun to play with." He sounded hopeful.

Another one of his dry chuckles scratched at the air.

They turned their eyes back up to the sky, watching each of the stars without saying a word, but simply enjoying the empty quiet between the two of them. It was nice, for it to be so quiet. It was rarely like that, what with their dangerous jobs and all that it demanded of them.

Bruises and broken bones and fresh scars.

Starfire had a new scar, one that stretched along her back. It was still healing, but Raven hadn't taken away the obvious knitting of the skin that made it stand out stark against the rest of the flawless, unharmed skin.

Right! Raven! Nightwing remembered suddenly.

"So um," he said after the longest of pauses. "Tell me more about you and Raven."

"Well, I do so love her."

Nightwing nodded, bidding her to continue.

"Even if she can be difficult, and stubborn, and complicated. And have trouble with the giving of the hearts, I still love her. But I see it now; I understood it the moment that the glass shattered in my hand. The reason she gave me only a piece of her heart was because there was only a piece left within her."

Why not just stab a knife into my chest?

"What do you…she only has a piece left?"

"I have told you. Raven is the most complicated. I cannot understand her, however, I don't need to."

It was so cold, and it was so sweet. The night air and sea breezes, calming to the skin and mind. And the cold stars shining down on them from millions of miles away, reaching them with their faint glow. Not a cloud in sight, though it was particularly dark.

Closing her eyes to the peace, Starfire tilted her head back and breathed deep the fresh air, cleansing her lungs. And in turn her blood.

"If you could say anything to Raven, at this moment right now, what would you say?"

She lay flat on her back, hands resting on her stomach, her hair splayed out around her like spilled crimson. Bubbling from within her came the green glow, as her eyes regained their luminosity, and her skin glowed with brilliance once more.

"I would tell her that she is truly my heart mate. My Raven…"

Her voice drifted off.

Time drifted on.

"It's kinda cold out here," Nightwing said, and lifted himself to his feet. "I'm glad we had this talk. I enjoyed spending time with you." Without another word, he strode back over to the entrance of the tower.

Clinging to the wall, hidden away on the stairs, Raven stood, leaning up against the flat surface. She had been listening to intently, and the look on her face.

"Aren't you glad I told you to wait here?" he asked her with a wink.

Raven nodded as he bounded down the stairs. She stood there for a long time, leaning against the wall, waiting for her mind to make up what her next move would be. Going back down the steps and back into the warmth of the Tower was the most appealing option to her, but still her feet would not move, not obey her. So she stayed there.

Hesitantly, she edged closer to the threshold, and peeked out to look at her lover. She still lay on her back, unseeing, her eyes empty to the empty sky above her, and the concrete below her. She slouched her shoulders. "Oh, Starfire," she mumbled to herself.

A look was all she needed, for she was able to walk back down the stairs by herself. Thoughts filled her mind; time was of the essence. Raven needed time, as much time as she could afford. And Starfire needed her space as well.

Starfire may have proclaimed to be Raven's, in every way possible, but Raven knew that love was not about possession. Nor was it about obsession. And still she loved her anyway.

Raven spun her cloak out, and let the darkness consume her.

The sunrise came all too quickly, with the eastern sky being painted a streaky, hazy orange. Starfire had spent the entire night on the roof, facing up at the sky. No one in the Tower had slept at all that night, each for reasons of their own.

Raven had rolled out of bed early, creeping into the kitchen while the light of predawn filtered in through the thick panes of glass. Absent-mindedly, she set to making herbal tea, not even having to think about what came next, for the motions were so deeply instilled in her. This morning, she brewed black tea, sweetening it with a small teaspoon of honey.

Eyes blurring, mind still in a haze, her feet clumsy, she set to work on making another cup of black tea. Instead of honey, this time, she sweetened it with a teaspoon of mustard.

Summoning her powers around her, the dark energy consumed her and transported her up to the concrete roof of the Tower, where Starfire was awake and watching the sunrise, her head propped up on her hands.

She didn't hear Raven approaching her.

Not until the cup of streaming tea was held out right next to her did Starfire know she was there.

"Raven," she said sleepily. "Is this to be meant for me?"

Raven nodded, and Starfire took the cup from her. "The mustard is very good," she mumbled, still in a daze. Raven sat down beside her on the roof, quiet as a mouse. Her eyelids felt heavy to her, and it burned whenever she blinked.

"Do you still need time to heal?" came Starfire's question, said only after a long pause.

"Yes," Raven said in her usual monotone. "I still need time."

"I am trying to understand you. I really am. I know you are complicated and—"

"And am missing a piece of my heart?" Raven finished for her. As soon as the words left her mouth, she grimaced, biting on her tongue and clenching in agony. Oh great, was all she thought.

"No, no! I only broke it—which I regret—and am deeply sorry for—but I did not lose it. You took it back within your safe keeping after I—um…" She trailed off.

Raven realized she didn't understand just what she meant.

"Oh. I suppose that it is missing. From your being, that is." Starfire spoke slowly, quietly, sipping the mustard and black tea occasionally. It was warm in her hands, thawing out her fingers. After taking another large gulp from the cup, she looked back over to her.

"This is what you usually offer when you wish to mend our relationship." Her green eyes started sparkling. A blossom of hope bloomed within her heart.

"I told you I still need time," Raven whispered. "And so do you. We both need time." She stood up, ready to leave the roof once more.

"I do not need more time! I do not wish to fight with you!" Starfire jumped to her feet, too, striding after her and placing her hand upon her shoulder. Her alien strength kept Raven from leaving, and her words kept her listening, despite herself.

"So many things can come between us, and so much harm can happen. Please do not let our disagreements be one of those things. You keep saying that you need time. Well, how much time?"

Raven thought.

"How much time?" Starfire asked again.

A though entered Raven's mind, one that she was ashamed of. Itching its way forward to the front of her brain, Raven thought that Starfire seemed almost annoying. Needy and clingy. Tears sprung to her eyes as she tried to push those emotions away, only to feel the crackle of black magic in her hair.

When Starfire walked in front of her, she couldn't even look at her.

Why did I have to think that? she asked herself.

Starfire asked her again, "How much time do you need? Please, Raven, answer me." And once again those same words came to her mind again. She slapped a hand to her head, as if that would clear it.

"Two weeks," she blurted out, not actually knowing if that was correct.

Starfire gasped, putting her hands to her mouth. Raising her eyes to meet Starfire's, she saw a look of utter devastation on her face. Raven was thinking of something more to say, something that sounded better than that, but Starfire spoke.

"Two weeks! But that cannot be! Within two weeks, Slade might already be caught, and then we will have disbanded, and all that time apart will have driven us mad, Raven! Two weeks! Raven, I cannot bear the thought of whole two weeks in this kind of emotion!"

She sobbed, "Damn you, Slade."

Raven had not been expecting her to say that.

"So Slade's capture will be the end of us?" Raven's mouth suddenly felt dry.

Raven could only stand there in front of her, tears flowing down her own face. She wanted so badly to embrace Starfire, to take her into her arms and whisper into her ear that she loved her.

"Raven," Starfire said, and closed the gap between them, hugging Raven like she had wished. "I do not wish to fight with you so!"

"You didn't answer the question."

"Hm?" Starfire hummed. She only hugged Raven tighter, pushing her head against her neck and breathing in her scent.

"Slade's capture will be the end of us?"

"No! That is not true!" Starfire was yelling through her tears. "Please do not ever think that."

They stayed like that for a long time, wrapped in each other's arms and not letting go even for a moment. The sun was streaking up into the sky, hazy with the thick gray clouds that randomly spotted the sky.

Neither of them wanted that moment to end. Everything seemed so still and calm, like the only thing within the world was just the two of them. Raven rested her head up against Starfire's chest, listening to the steady beating of her heart, her even, slow breaths. Her skin soft and warm and her scent working its way into her subconscious.

Never could she let this go.

"I forgive you, Starfire."

Red lights were flashing silently in warning, and the monitors were alight with an eerie glow that penetrated the dark. Night had fallen once more, and Nightwing was asleep at the controllers, having finally drained himself of all energy. His head lay upon the numerous keys, and not even the sound of the mechanical door sliding open could wake in.

In they crept, not making a sound.

Eyes scanned the multiple monitors and flashing lights and rows upon rows of documents that were barely illuminated under the nearly burnt-out desk lamp. Swiftly, deftly, the fingers tracked through the files, and the pages, and located the ones they needed. Collecting them, they wadded up the papers and stored them away, then moved onto the files at the computer.

Working fast, quietly, the fingers typed away at the keys until the screen showed the deletion process, undergoing slowly. They waited, their heart pounding in their chest. The small little bar moved across the screen at a snail's pace, until finally it reached the ended. The computer made a small crumpling sound to signify that the files were truly gone.

The eyes flashed back to the sleeping Nightwing, worried that they had woken him.

But he never stirred.

With a quick sweep of the room, they made sure all was right. The glowing room was all set and working properly, and nothing had been disturbed. Even what had been taken was perfect within the room. They checked the maps and the histories and the radars and monitors and security cameras, laser fields and heat sensors and motions sensors and the hacking of the city cameras on the stoplights. More and more, they shuffled through the entire room.

Everything was in place. Perfect.

Like nothing had been taken.

Turning, they quietly snuck out of the room, an overwhelming feeling of success and relief flooding through their body. In their hand, they opened up the file marked SLADE and scanned their eyes over the file. All the information they had ever had about him was there, printed in a size twelve times new roman font.

All the computer files and backup monitor files of his current locations had been erased.

And the paper copies of him? They were all tossed into a fire and burned away. Only the ashes of the papers were left.