I don't own Lazy Town
He didn't know what he was growing up.
Sure, he had some idea that he was different. His mother was ...well inhumanly beautiful compared to the other women in town, but she didn't care enough to raise him. His father was never home and when he was...well it was better to wish him gone again.
It had started as small things. Wanting to not be found when his father was home and suddenly being gone from his eyes. Trying to get away from the bullies at school and suddenly finding himself in an empty classroom when he had been outside.
As he got older he discovered he was good with machines; with little effort he could build almost anything he wanted. He could never figure out why his hands would be red after working with the metal but he figured it was due to something on them, not the iron pieces.
He knew his father hated him working on plays but he loved it. There was something thrilling about dressing as someone else, pretending to be someone he wasn't. He learned how to sew from a few girls working the costume department, in exchange for keeping their machines working. He was always the best actor, some saying it was like he became a different person, that they couldn't tell who he really was on the stage.
It never occurred to him that some of his talent was something else.
When Number Nine came into town he was almost done with high school. There was something unsettling about the man that came in and wanted everyone to be healthy and active. The hero seemed shocked when he met the lanky teen but smiled said he was there to help whenever he needed it. He scoffed at the man and turned away and didn't look back.
It wasn't til after college did he discover there was a name for what he was.
Fae.
Or half Fae at least. He knew it had to come from his mother, he wasn't for sure but it was a feeling. Odd things she had said while growing up and how she had disappeared and never returned, leaving him in an empty home when he was 16.
He returned to Lazy Town and found out that Number Nine was still there and that something had happened. The air was thick with magic. He could taste. Whatever the 'hero' had done, it wasn't the best for the town. He wanted nothing to do with it and so retreated underground, selling off his family home and buying a new plot of land on the edge of town. He created an underground lair using everything he knew and the place would be safe from whatever Nine was doing.
Robbie wasn't expecting to have to go against him. He just wanted peace and quiet and he couldn't do that if the kids were always playing. At first it was just to get the quiet but then he saw what the hero was doing.
It seemed like little things but he realized what it was. Everyone in town seemed to be under a spell, everyone except him. At certain times they seemed to be like zombies, following a command that was given out. He tried to interfere but it ended in disastrous results. He was finally able to make the hero leave, but not before cementing in the town's mind he was a villain.
He perfected his magic, or at least the best he could. It was easy to become invisible before their eyes and hide in plain sight. Going from one place to another was harder but for short distances he was fine. His glamour skills he was proud of. Sure, he didn't need to wear a costume but it made the magic last longer if there was a base in place. It made going into town to buy things easier. Everyone would say something and sneer if Robbie Rotten was in town. Nobody did if Robera or Bob or any other character he made went into town and bought a few groceries or machine parts.
Everything changed when Sportacus came into town. The moment he flipped into the square Robbie knew what he was and how it clashed with his own magic. But unlike Nine he didn't feel strong magic in the air around the flipping hero. No, he was trying to make the town a better place by just doing the right thing. The crystal was magic, with it's beeping and glowing colors how could it not be but everything else about the man screamed 'I'm hiding what I am".
He hated that the hero could see through most of his glamours, could destroy his hard work with ease but at the same time it was...nice to have some to go against, to test his skills and make him be better at it. Robbie would never admit he liked having the elf around but as the days passed he got used to not being the only magic person in town, even if he was the only one actively using his powers.
Maybe someday he'd tell the other what he was. Maybe they could be friends. Or maybe that was just a foolish dream by a person who didn't truly want to be alone.
Author's Note: I have read so many fics on ao3 with Robbie doing magic that the idea just wouldn't leave my head. I had to play around with it. I hope you enjoyed!