The way home was quiet… solemn. Starfire had not moved since the departure: her head against the glass, eyes glistening to the northern distance, and silent tears streaming down her cheeks. She looked beyond the constellations—the ones Raven had introduced to her during her first few weeks on earth-for a sign of hope… Nothing…She pleaded for the nightmare to cease—or at least for the tears to stop. She flickered her eyes every now and then praying for the cataclysm to melt into iridescence… Nothing changed: Her two worlds were at war… Her two loves at war… Robin of little strength to build up his own walls, instead, he watched her for long periods of time in silence. Her emotions pulsed through him, breaking his heart to see so sad—the team so devastated. They faced forward, however, determined to keep moving.

The T-Ship cruised into the thermosphere, locked on contact with the very distant tower, and on Cyborg's command, shifted into the landing mode. Within minutes, the ship touched the launch pad and the Titans were permitted to abort from their compartments….It was very quiet…

While the others rose from their compartments, Starfire sat in hers, hunched over, staring aimlessly into empty space. She wanted to hide. Her people hurt the protectors of her Earth—the people she loved so much. Conflicted, she sat in despair… in silence. Throbbing chains of heartbeats seemed to recycle every hour instead of every second. It seemed like years were passing cold and steady—but they were not. The rest seemed to be gone… her alone…

Just then, there was a tap at her window and her eyes meet Robin, his squat locked upon vertical edge of the parked ship, gazing at her intently, his eyes not of pity, but of understanding. Their eyes glossed against another's for moments bonded by silent sorrow. The glass, his bare handprint pressed against it, was the only thing that separated the two—thin and transparent it was, but the separation the glass gave felt like an ocean to the boy. Shame shrouded the green irises that used to dance within her eyes—weak they may be, but gone? Never…

"Starfire. Starfire look at me! Starfire, we're your friends Tamaranean or not."

She hiccupped and choked down a sob, refusing to leave the comfort of his gaze. Without turning away, Starfire touched the release lever and the window rose up with a breath. Robin watched it rise, then to silently crawl into her compartment, kneeling next to her control chair, his hand protectively against the back of her seat. She did not meet him, instead, her glossed gaze, this time, flooded against the wall in front of her, her lips quivering.

He fastened his lips to prevent tear flow and in the midst of silence, he cupped her back and lower thigh chastely, took her in his arms, and rose gently, her limps dangling and her forehead falling weakly against his chest. He, Starfire in his warm embrace, gently climbed out of the compartment and down the ladder. When they reached the bottom, she stirred softly and he set her feet upon the ground.

"Thank you… Robin." Her voice murmured sorrow-filled, still captivated by walls she had built to keep out. She did not turn to meet his face—too afraid of what expression it held. Oh how it could make her collapse… She choked down a tear, bit her lip, and sauntered to the exit. He understood: his adoptive relatives were missing in action and his best friend was fighting an internal and external battle. He followed behind her, the negativity drowned out by the comfort of the beloveds.

They entered through the doorway to the Ops Room to find the three others in between the grand screen and the black-satin couches, pajama-dressed and junk food in hand. Her eyes watered at the silly sight.

"Just because we're at war doesn't mean it's not team bonding day," Beast Boy chimed, putting her usual pajamas in her hands.

"Oh friends!" The walls broke and tumbling down violently! With a sudden pulse, she embraced them all at once, holding them tight. "I do not wish to be alone!" As a unit, the five (including Raven who secretly was swept away by the moment), entwined in the vines of each other's arms, sunk to the carpet

—they would all spend the rest of the night there-

By the first hour, they were all scattered upon the carpet floor, lying in all different orientations. Dressed in their unprofessional, silly pajamas, they all simply stared at the ceiling in silence. It was not awkward, not wrong, not eerie… but comforting. They could have gotten up from the carpet and sequestered to their rooms, but no motivation moved them to do so. Their worlds… at war… Their world interrupted… transcending beyond the daily life of crime fighting… However, the presence of their friends pacified each other's thoughts.

By the second hour, spouts of chattering sprouted here and there.

"Really, it smelt that bad?" Beast Boy raised his upper half to address Robin.

"Let's just say, when you're Batman… you do not want to wash your own laundry."

Cyborg spoke about his old memories of his mother's cooking: "It was like eatin' heaven from a paper plate…" He paused with a change of a muttering tone, "except when she decided to experiment Tuesday nights."

Beast Boy shared the time he was out-danced by a monkey back in Africa. "Now, call me crazy, but them howler monkeys will dominate the planet one day."

And Raven—well, she preferred to listen. But of course, she threw a few sarcastic remarks here and there.

Starfire remained in silence as well; however, it was once again not type that forced her into mental-hiding, but the type that encouraged her to 'appreciate the moment' as her friend, Cyborg, once said. She was scared, yes—but, she felt this feeling arose from the ashes of her heart. Bravery, brought on by her friends, pulsed itself into something heroic inside. By the fifth hour, she found herself in the conversation, bouncing between her dear friends.

Eventually, the evening swung into a starry night. The moon peaked just above Jump's tallest skyscrapers, her light bathing the common room where three of the five lied sprawled into a slumber of snores. Robin and Starfire remained awake, their orientations positioned in opposite directions and their torsos intercepting, meeting each other's on the same point upon the carpet. Their arms flexed in pillow-like positions, they chatted in hushed tones.

"A whole unit of watermelon?" Starfire gasped.

"That's right! Ate it in under five minutes." Robin boasted.

"Earthen customs are so strange!"

"Ha-ha! Only when your mom enters you in a charity watermelon eating contest."

Starfire smiled. "Your mother sounds lovely, Robin." She paused to look over at the boy, "what was her name?"

"Uh, Mary!"

"Mary Grayson…" She pondered, "What a lovely name!"

"Thank you, Starfire." He paused for a moment, captivated in a state of wonder, his eyes fixed upon the texture of the ceiling. He trailed off, "…what was your mom like, Star?"

"She was most like your mother, Robin. Like you once told me, she would often sing to Blackfire and me a lullaby after 'the-tucking-us-in' also." Starfire smiled, "Like yours, her heart was filled with such bravery: she always put others before herself." She paused for a brief moment, then continued, "When she was three years our junior, a civil war left Tamaran… in… in ruins. As the war ravaged to an end, she was to wed the Grand Ruler of the Northern half due to a long standing Tamaranean tradition of the 'peace-making.' Heavy hearted, she agreed to marry such stranger, Myand'r, my father, for the welfare of her people."

Robin smiled chastely to the ceiling, then glanced over to meet Starfire. "…she reminds me of you..."

Starfire beamed with such brightness, it overflowed into her tone. "I find that most complimenting, Robin…" She smiled exuberantly, "Thank you."

A moment of silence swept the two in remembrance of the past—their time with their families-when they used to dance as children… not fight as adults. With a heavy sigh, she continued, "My Father, siblings, and I were most devastated when she died…" She paused for a moment and caught her breath. "She died trying to hide me after Blackfire…arrange for my…" She hesitated… "Departure…"

Despite the happenings that occurred between the two, Starfire's love for her sister never died and could never die. To her, they were family. Blackfire had sold her sister into slavery to end the war with the Gordanians. Another time, she was going to let Starfire take her place in jail—but nothing could channel Starfire's grace. The sight of her sister, kicking and screaming in the slimy clutch of the Centauri policemen had devastated and killed her. That was the last time she had seen her sister…

Robin looked up to check her condition to find her eyes scanning the ceiling sorrow-filled.

"...I wonder if she knows..." Starfire murmured, "I wonder if Wildfire knows..."

With the conversation climbing to the peak of its climax, Robin tossed onto his stomach, his eyes directly descending onto her: their gaze—his eyes bare at this moment-entwined together. She bit her lip and pressed her dot-like eyebrows upward, choking down another sob.

He spoke in a sincere, hushed tone. "A-Are you afraid?"

"I am terrified, Robin..." She paused, propped up, and turned to him, her legs crossed. He stared at her intently, his eyes following her hand as she pushed red strains of hair from her eyes. She hesitated for a moment. "Robin?" She paused for another, "What is…light?"

Robin mirrored her and sat 'crisscross-apple-sauce' as Beast Boy liked to call it. "Well…" He questioned in a boyish manner. "What do you mean?"

"Is anything truly light, Robin? Is anything truly…righteous?" She paused, flicking her eyes to the floor. Her green pupils following its trace, her palm rose from her lap and ignited a white starbolt.

The core lit the room, casting their shadows, locked close together, upon the walls around them. It breathed and exhaled in mass, floating peacefully in the air, under Starfire's fingertips. Enticed by the radiation, he hesitantly unraveled his hand to uphold hers that wielded the starlight. He remembered earlier that day, then flickered back to her with concern, "Star, how long have your starbolts been this way?"

She giggled shamefully, "Since I attacked you with the door this morning, Robin." With the shake of her head, she dwindled back into a tone of sorrow. "This…I feel as if this is a mark of treachery bestowed by Earth and Tamaran. However, there is something inside it that is… that is…"

"Strong" He gazed at the breathing light.

"Light…" She looked away innocently and pocketed the starlight. "In battle…we fight as heroes, yes? We fight against those who wish to inflict harm. In this case, we protect… we are 'the light…'"

Robin nodded hesitantly.
"The Tamaraneans, although it may be difficult to perceive, wish to stop those who inflict harm as well… So-"

"…who is the dark…" Robin finished her thought.

"…who is the light…" Starfire looked from Robin to the lights out the massive window in inspiration, its arms spanning over Jump City.

Robin maneuvered and placed himself next to her, the two now leaning against the brittle leg of the couch where a snoring Cyborg slumbered. Her head fell upon his shoulder and he held her there lovingly.

"I do not know what to do, Robin…" He gazed down to her: the light of the exuberant city flickering in the glass of her eyes. Her shoulders were slumped over and leaned upon him, her arms grasped her legs and pulling them close, and her hair hung in front of her face… which the boy always found so… so beautiful.

She rose from his shoulder and met his gaze ever so gently."Robin, they are my two homes—" She looked back to him, "I wish not to choose, but which is right? which is-"

"Maybe you don't have to choose…"

Starfire turned to him, her head titled.

"Look at this landscape, Star." He widened his arms that were loosely cuffed by a green T-shirt. "It's made up of bright lights, deep darks, and those in between." He turned back to her, "Everyone is bound to make mistakes, right?" She nodded intently. "So maybe there is no good and evil, Star. Maybe there is no light and dark… just shades of gray. Maybe… Just maybe…no side is right…"

They let a moment pass and listened to the choir of the city: sirens that spawned from flashing red lights, the clapping of helicopter wings, and the waves that crashed upon the harbor's rocks.

Her voice spoke into silence, filling the room with a certain warmth, "Robin, I thank you… for everything you have done… a-and still do…"

As he looked at her, he found himself scared... terrified. For five years, he had vowed to protect her although she could easily protect herself. He knew this, but whenever she would fall from the sky, it was vital for him to catch her… He remembered her wounds after the battle of their first meeting. The nasty gashes inflicted did not and will never match the innocence that twinkled within her eyes. To his shame he had hurt that loving spirit when they first met… To his disgrace, he had hurt her again when Slade apparition haunted him...His paranoia turned him into a monster who clutched her arm violently. The only thing that kept him up and haunted him in the night was not Slade—he had disappeared (for good) a year ago—but what Slade turned him into. 'Starfire can protect herself,' he always told himself, but hated to practice the idea.

Side by side, the pair sat. He upheld a brief smile of gratitude, but as it broke, he turned away with sorrow.

"Rob-?"

"Starfire…Y-You need to promise me something." His eyes broke from the horizon line and fell onto her.

"With this war…I… I don't know what'll happen, Star…" His words hesitant and sad, he paused, letting an emotion choke him, "P-promise me that… that…you'll be safe… and... and brave... and-"

Glossy eyed, Starfire gently pressed her forehead against his and proceeded into an embrace. He fastened his arms around her and bit his lip, trying to flush out the possibility of tear-flow.

Her face buried into his shoulder, she whispered, "Robin, I do not know what is to happen… but… I-I…" She sighed heavily and released him, her eyes drawing from the flow to meet his. Oh how the blue glowed in resemblance to the sky that kissed the exosphere where she had fallen from many years ago. "Robin," a tear fell, "you've taught me to be strong-I promise to you if you shall promise to me the same."

He smiled weakly, but whole-heartedly, receiving the girl's hug once more. He could not bring himself to let her go. In the silence of the night, the two remained in thier embrace, fighting off the sorrow and letting it fade with the midnight blue of the horizon. Eventually, they found themselves in another aimless chatter.

Little did they know, an empath, her back turned away from the two, had awoken to hear their whispering, wearing a sacred grin, a tear rolling down her pale cheek—a secret that she would never tell.

The trials, tragedies, and scars, Raven had seen for herself when she switched with Starfire's body for a day and peaked into Robin's mind during his episode of paranoia. They two were very much broken, yet, in the midst of chaos, their flaws wove them together into a match…as if they had what the other had lost: His innocence she provided, his strength inspired her own. To Raven, between the emotions, there was love—it was pure, not abusive. It would be a secret she would never tell: they gave her hope, especially in the midst of the war.

However, with an upheld, rare smile, she drifted off in to sleep, their hushed chattering fading away in to the background.

Author's note: Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed it! Please comment (if you would like to of course) if there is anything that you liked or disliked! Anyway, I have given away a lot of foreshadowing, so hold onto minor hints for me please! Anyway, thank you again for reading!