Snowy Memories
The snow is falling heavily now. All of Jump City is covered in a layer of white snow. The streets are empty; the streetlamps that line the sidewalks all turned off. A shadow falls upon the entire city. Every citizen is inside; under a blanket, watching TV or on the computer, hoping their signal holds.
But it doesn't. House by house, room by room, each warm comforting light disappears. The images on TV are replaced with gray and black zigzag lines, and the computer freezes up. The signals go out just as the Boy Wonder falls with a thud to the cold, unforgiving ground.
(Robin's POV) I wheeze as I lose my breath yet again. The ground is as cold and hard as ever. My body aches with pain and struggles with the cold. I know, even though they are tucked together firmly in my gloves, that my fingers are blue. I sit up and do my best to growl at my mentor. The devil, in a mask.
My metal staff, the only protection from the beast, lies in pieces next to me, worthless. My legs quiver as he comes near, out of fear and of the chilly wind penetrating the skin. In one gloved hand he holds the supply belt he provided to me. My fingers itch for my old weapons. My original weapons. The ones he took away from me. Just like-
"Is that the best you've got, Robin?" Slade says, his voice thundering around in his headquarters. My temporary home. I crave for the warmness of my own home, even though all the lights are out. I except two of my friends have gone down to the basement and are struggling with trying to get the power back on.
I do my best to answer the devil. "I think training is over, Slade. And I'm sure you have plenty of errands for me to do,"
"Are you really that excited for them, Robin?" Slade asks, putting one gloved hand up to the chin of his mask. "You usually whine like a child when I assign you to an errand."
Despite the cold, my cheeks blush. I don't know why they do, but it sends warmth through me and I am grateful.
"Oh, well. Training is over. You are dismissed." Slade announces. I shudder, and rub my arms for warmth. Slade makes his way to his big chair, almost a throne, his heavy feet not making a single sound on the polished floor.
I get up and brush myself off. Pain shoots through my arm. I keep my face straight. Throughout all my training, signs of emotion, pain, love, happiness—represent vulnerability. I turn around and walk to the exit of the "arena." I am halfway there when Slade calls my name.
I turn around. "What?" I spit at him.
"No need for rudeness, apprentice. I have a simple question, as not to waste any of your beloved precious time. What is today's date?"
I am taken aback by this. "Why would you want to know that?"
I suspect the eyebrows under his mask slightly raise. "Can't a person know what day it is?"
"You don't seem like you'd care," I say, turning around. "I think it's sometime around Christmastime. I've seen the children outside in the snow, playing on your errands." I begin to walk away again, until Slade calls my name again. I turn around out of annoyance and see that he has stood up, hands behind his back. "If it is around Christmastime, then I believe some," the masked face turns up and looks around, "Decorations are in order." I am not able to keep a straight face after he says this.
Quietly, Wintergreen comes in with boxes and boxes of ornaments and decorations. He doesn't say a single word, only drops off the boxes to return with new ones. About twelve dusty boxes are piled on top of each other, until he doesn't return for another load. Slade himself goes back to follow Wintergreen to wherever he got the boxes, and returns with a rather large rectangular coffin looking box.
"Help." Slade orders, back to me. I walk over to the box and help him rip off the tape closing the box's flap, revealing a...
"Christmas tree." I say, surprised. "Wow." I stifle a laugh. Keeping Christmas trees? So unlike Slade... so unlike the mercenary I've come to know.
"Shut up and put it up."
Five minutes later, I straighten the tree and help put up ornaments. Slade is right next to me, and I am embarrassed to admit I sort of clung close, not close enough to touch, but still close, for his warmth. Slade never says anything about it, only puts up ornaments with a bored look in his eyes.
"Break any and I'll break your neck," he threatens. I am stretching out my ribs to put an ornament on one of the top layers of tree when he says this, so I bend down and put the ornament on a bottom layer. Suddenly, there's a clink from behind me. Great, a broken ornament I'll have to clean up, I think. I turn around.
What meets my eyes is not a broken ornament, but an unmasked Slade. My heart drops into my stomach and I can feel my face warming up. His left eye is covered by an pitch black eyepatch. His right eye stares into my own, focusing only on my face. All this time, I didn't think Slade had any hair; but he does. It lays against his forehead, thrown all over his face shaggily. What surprises me most is the cruel smile on the pink lips.
I only am able to take a single breath, until Slade takes a step closer to me and forces his lips against my own. I gasp, opening my lips slightly. His lips are warm, and soft. Slade moves one hand onto my hip. It hovers there, his thumb slightly rubbing against my abdomen. The other hand goes to the back of my head, his fingers running through my spiked hair.
Slade bites my bottom lip. I open my mouth in a gasp, and he takes the opportunity to thrust his tongue into my mouth. I jump in shock and knock against the Christmas tree, making ornaments fall to the ground, shattering into a thousand deadly pieces.
"You're gonna pay for that," Slade murmurs into my lips, and switches positions. Grabbing my shoulder, he spins me around and throws me against the wall. My face smashes into the wall painfully and I groan. "Oh, you're so sensitive, Robin," Slade purrs into my ear, slightly biting it. Now his hand moves down to my legs, pulling at the black fabric clinging to them.
"Slade...don't..." I moan, but I feel somewhat...good about the feeling. Slade is warm, his voice is soft, and his touch is like silk. "Oh, I forgot, you're still pure, aren't you? Did that alien not corner you already? Well, don't worry. You'll like this," Slade says, and the cold air suddenly meets with my warm until now legs. I wince, and Slade slowly moves his hand upward...
"AUGGH!" I scream. My hand tingles and feels as though it is being bitten by a thousand ants. I realize I fell asleep on it. Shaking it slightly, I raise my head groggily and look down at what I fell asleep on. Slade's masked face looks back up at me, as menacing as ever. I jump slightly in the rolling chair that served as part of my bed and roll away from the table that served as my pillow.
I shake my head to clear my thoughts. My leg is warm, as if Slade's hand had been there moments ago. "Uggghhh..." I groan. My face is covered in sweat, which I wipe away with one hand. I sit, thinking, for a while, until a familiar enthusiastic knocking comes from my door. Putting on a relaxed expression, I stood up on wobbly legs and answer the door like the leader I am supposed to be.
"Friend Robin, it is the eve of Christmas!" Starfire shouts in my face. "Really? Already? I mean, uh, yeah." I answer, still groggy. She grabs my arm and drags me down the hall, talking about "the toe of mistle" and stockings. "I had no idea Earth custom is to hang socks in front of the fire for extra gifts!" Her grip on my arm is a deadly one, so I don't try to resist. When we reach the meeting room, it's barely noticable.
Starfire lets go of me and giggles excitingly. "Is it good?" she asks. I am taken back. Streamers crisscross all over the room, hanging from the ceiling, some entwined in each other, some just dangling in front of your face. Stockings hang around the big computer, iced with our names. Raven is levitating our big Christmas tree, and Cyborg brings box after box of ornaments and more decorations into the room from storage.
"Hey, Robin!" Cyborg calls over to me. "Wanna help?" I walk over to him, and open box after box. Ornaments, ornaments, ornaments. Decorations after decorations. Images of Slade boom through my brain while doing this. It's just too familiar.
"You belong to me now," Slade purrs in my ear, and moves in me again. A new wave of pain shoots through me.
"Robin?"
"The...ornaments...you're breaking..." I say weakly.
Slade laughs. "Who cares about the ornaments? Cleaning up is Wintergreen's job, and they were stolen anyway."
I drop to my knees. Someone screams my name. "ROBIN!"
I feel it go through me. Slade sighs, and drops me to the ground, where I collide with the shards of glass. My body goes numb as I curl up on the floor, broken and bleeding.
"CAN YOU HEAR ME, MAN?"
It stops. I open my eyes, and find that I am laying on the floor. "Ugghh..." I say. A pair of warm hands touch my shoulders and help me up to a sitting position. I turn my head and see Raven, eyes full of concern. "Are you okay, man?" Cyborg says, helping me up. I dust myself. "Uh, yeah. Fine. Sorry. Just had a headache." I look at Raven, and I can see in her eyes that she doesn't believe a word of what I just said.
Suddenly, Beast Boy and Terra burst in in a flurry. Both have humongous smiles on their faces, and they're holding hands. "It's snowing!" they both yell enthusiastically. Cyborg groans. "We know, B. There's a big window." Beast Boy runs down to Cyborg, and Terra goes to help with the tree. Raven looks at me, and her eyes seem to ask a question. Slade? Her eyes ask. I nod without a second thought, and she turns away to let Terra join in with fixing up the tree.
That was really weird, it was as though I could understand what she meant, I think. But we're just friends, right? I mean, Starfire obviously likes me, and she's really... Angry shouts awaken me from my thoughts as Beast Boy and Cyborg begin to fight over who gets to put up which box of ornaments. I make up some excuse of wanting to check the crime rate in another room and dash out.
I run back into the crime room and hold my head. Slade's booming voice runs through my head, and my head aches as if someone had brought down a metal bar on it. My arms still sting, a year later, from Slade's attacks on me. A year since I left him. A year since I was his apprentice.
The door hisses open, and I hold my head tighter. I expect it to be Starfire, wondering where I am. To my surprise, a monotone yet concerned voice meets my ears. "Robin?" I turn around and put on my most convincing "I'm fine" face. But when I meet with Raven's eyes, I can see that she knows something is wrong. "Want to talk?" Raven asks me, walking over to me. She says it a bit forcefully, as if I have no choice.
"Uh...not really, to tell the truth," I stutter. For some reason, my face warms up and I can't control what comes out of my mouth. Raven raises an eyebrow. With one pale hand, she touches my right gloved hand. Even through the glove, I can feel warmth from her fingers. "Slade?" she asks, voice full of hatred. I clear my throat. "Well—uh...yes." Idiot! I think in my head, and look away from the staring purple eyes.
"Robin?" Raven's voice is no longer a monotone, but silky, as Slade's was. I turn to meet her eyes. She doesn't hesitate for a second to take a step toward me. Put her arm around my neck and tilt my head down gently. And press her lips against mine.
My mind seems to blow up on itself.
She radiates warmth, and her lips are as soft as her voice. Way more romantic than my most likely chapped lips. I breathe through my nose and find Raven smells like herbs, which is enough to clear my mind. I realize I didn't put any deodorant on after my nightmare, and I probably smelled like sweat to her. But she makes no note of this, only keeps her lips pressed close to mine.
I don't try to move at all, and I don't think I could.
Raven brings her body closer to me and takes her arm off my neck and puts both of her hands on my chest. Almost automatically, something in my head tells me to put my arms around her, and I do. I put one arm around her waist, and the other hangs around her back. It's the best feeling I've ever felt. She's practically laying on my chest now.
Suddenly, it's over as soon as it had started. The warmth of her lips leave my lips, and my body tingles with warmth. She doesn't break away from my grip.
"Mistletoe," she murmurs, and I look above me to see mistletoe above our heads, hanging from the ceiling, growing rapidly. A black aura surrounds it. "How's it do that?" I ask in a daze. "A little help," Raven says, smiling. "Are you afraid of Slade anymore?" she asks, tone going from happiness to seriousness. She puts both arms around my neck gently and connects her fingers. I move both of my hands to her waist, to the belt that waits there.
"I was never afraid of him. I was afraid of what he could do." I admitted. Raven separates her hands and moves them down, running a path with the tips of her fingers, and rests her head on my chest. "I don't think he'll come back for you again," she tells me, and I put a hand on her head and run my fingers through her hair. "This is so unlike us," I say, smirking. "It's Christmas, Robin. Heroes get their moments," she answers, sighing.
I smile, and break away from our embrace. "The others are probably wondering where we are," I say, and take her hand in my own. "Starfire probably is," Raven says, with a hint of a laugh. "And Beast Boy and Terra are probably eating those cookies I was baking." I run out of the room, half dragging Raven behind me, until she runs at my pace, still holding my hand tightly. "They can't hog all of them," I say, and for the first time in a while, I laugh. And Raven laughs with me.