DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT own LazyTown. I am making no money off of this story. Everything is (the incredible, edible, amazing, GOD) Magnús Scheving's, and a bunch of other people's. I just like to get their things dirty and play with them a bit. And I'll make sure they're nice and clean before I put them back in their neat little boxes.

A/N: Yay! Freshly beta'ed by Razoth Redfire. So very kind of her. (:huggles Razoth:) I feel much better about this now.

A Slippery Slope

Chapter 1: Gazing at Stars

"Aaaah!"

Robbie sat bolt upright, gasping. He had just had the most horrifying dream. Almost every time he closed his eyes the same vision of terror had taken the opportunity to resurface over and over. And it had woken him up from his nightly slumber for the last time.

Robbie leapt out of his fluffy orange chair. The bowl of popcorn he went to bed with every night spun to the floor, scattering the white fluffs all over.

"I must do something about this nuisance," he muttered to himself, wandering around his laboratory. The lab always seemed to help clear his mind of all the clutter, allowing for more brilliant ideas to surface. "I should not be up and moving, of all things, at this time of night… There must be a way to make this god awful thing stop pestering me…But how?"

He kicked aside a stray brilliant idea (that hadn't turned out so brilliant in the end, as always) refusing to think about how all his actions could almost be considered exercise. He especially did not think about how a certain flipping hero in blue might smile at him because he was moving around, instead of sitting eating junk food or staring at the television. He shook his head.

"Maybe if I just talk about it—" An image flashed before his eyes of himself lying on a pink couch while Dr. Pinkie nodded sagely, writing everything down in her pink notebook with pink pages, using a pink pen. "Uh, talk to myself, of course," he added quickly. "No need to involve anyone else…"

Robbie paced some more.

"Just because I say it out loud doesn't make it any more real, right? It's just a silly dream, after all."

He headed back over to his fluffy orange lazy boy chair and flopped down into it. Heaving a shuddering breath, he began the process of the "talk remedy."

"I've been having this, this nightmare." He gestured vaguely with his hands. "Almost every night! Ever since that blue Sportagunk flipped into LazyTown..."

Robbie shuddered at the thought of what all that flipping must do for the metabolism.

"It's horrible. I can never force myself to wake up from it either. No matter how hard I try!" Robbie sighed, shaking his head. "I'm both the observer and participant. As the observer I can only watch in horror as my doppelganger enjoys himself on a picnic with—" he gagged, "—Sportacus!" Robbie jumped up from the chair and wrapped his arms around his suddenly cold body, pacing to and fro.

"And we're eating healthy things." His hands flapped about, no longer clutching his shoulders. "His horrible sports candy," he spat. "Why would I enjoy that? I wouldn't! It would make me sick. It does make me sick!" He stomped his foot and grumbled.

"Argh! I need some fresh air. This talking thing isn't helping a bit." He paused. "Wait, haven't I heard somewhere that fresh air is good for you?" He struck a thoughtful pose. "Hm, I could always….have some cake?" He glanced at his refrigerator. "I'm all out of cake!" His face fell into his hands. "Candy?" an eyebrow rose. "No, I don't feel like eating... Agh, who cares? I'm going out." Robbie clambered up the pipe that connected him to the rest of the world.

oOoOo

Sportacus looked worriedly at the clock, as he had been every five minutes for the past two hours. Exhaustion tugged at his eyelids, but he just couldn't seem to slip into sleep, and this time he couldn't blame it on Robbie's ball.

"This has never happened before…" Sportacus laced his fingers and placed his hands under his head. "Maybe if I just got up, it would help things… A nice evening stroll might do the trick."

Swinging his legs around, he slid out of bed, and promptly yawned.

"Stop teasing me." He tried to force a smile. "I know you won't be able to fall asleep, so knock off the yawning." He yawned again. "Door," he spoke with much less enthusiasm than normal to the portal. "Ladder." The ladder flipped down from the ship and Sportacus began his descent, taking more time than usual, making sure he didn't misplace his feet because of fatigue.

oOoOo

Robbie actually did love the stars very much, something he had almost forgotten about.

"I haven't been outside to just look at the stars in years," he said. They twinkled at him. Robbie always thought the stars looked like little shards of a shattered glimmery thing stuck in the hide of a large, dark creature. "Maybe I'll just sit down here and watch them a little," he situated himself down in the grass cross-legged at the base of a small apple tree. The tree stood by itself halfway up a hill Robbie hadn't realized he was climbing. "No one will see me at this hour anyway." His eyes glazed over as he slipped into a stupor, still worrying about the visions that disrupted each of his sleeping moments.

oOoOo

Sportacus strolled up his favorite grassy hill. It was the best one around. Being on the outskirts of LazyTown it was the best vantage point besides his blimp for keeping track of the kids. Plus, it had no hidden holes, bumps, or rocks lying in wait in the grass, so it was perfect for rolling down on those cheerful sunny summer days. Only one tree stood on the side of it, halfway up, providing shade on the days that got just a little too warm when the sun was beaming down at its brightest.

He hummed happily, remembering tumbling down the emerald hill with Stephanie and the rest of the kids. "That was a good day. Even Robbie rolled down once," he laughed out loud. "I sure feel good for being up this la--" he stopped. A figure was seated serenely in the shadows underneath his tree. Not that it was his tree, really. Anyone was more than welcome to be there, Sportacus loved to have company, but who else was out this late? Sportacus contemplated leaving the person be, incase his company wasn't welcome, but curiosity got the better of him. He moved quietly towards the tree, not quite creeping. How could anyone sit so still?

"Oh!" Sportacus exclaimed quietly when Robbie's distinct features became clear. Sitting cross-legged with his chin resting in one hand, Sportacus had never seen the man in such a calm state. Something in his chest fluttered strangely as he watched Robbie's chest moving slightly in and out. Robbie's gaze was stuck up in the stars and he hadn't noticed the superhero's arrival. His eyes glittered in the moonlight; a small frown held his dark eyebrows close together.

Sportacus wondered briefly if he should get Robbie's attention and disturb this uneasy peace. He glanced at his crystal. It hadn't lit, but he decided that Robbie needed someone to talk to, even if his crystal hadn't alerted him.

"Robbie?"

Robbie blinked rapidly and squinted through the darkness. He tensed, recognizing the short and sturdy build of Sportacus' silhouette. What is he doing up?

"Sportakoo—er—cus? What do you want?" He glared. "I suppose I'm sitting in your spot, am I?" He crossed his arms. "Well, just try and move me. I deserve to be here too, you know. It's a free country."

Sportacus sighed at his hostile demeanor. "Two can fit in this spot, Robbie," he sat down next to him. He wanted to calm the man down enough so they could talk. If Robbie wanted to, that was. He looked into the glaring hazel eyes, searching for clues to help him sooth the ruffled state of mind Robbie was in. The last thing he wanted to do was force him to talk. He didn't want to push. If all he needed was to quietly sit next to someone, Sportacus could do that. He was just tired enough to be still for once, for a little while at least.

Robbie blinked. Why's he staring at me? Big blue elf… He needs to learn some manners. He forced his eyes to look away from Sportacus' bright blue caring ones. If I leave, Sportacus wins, because he gets his spot back. So I won't leave. But I won't talk, either.

Sportacus smiled before stretching out on his back and gazing up at the stars through the leaves of the small apple tree. Robbie stewed by his side, refusing to look at him. Until, that is, he heard slight snoring coming from Sportacus, who was merely a bluish blur in the corner of his vision.

Robbie finally let his eyes rest on the sleeping ball of energy. Ugh, he sneered. Why does he always have to be so…so…at peace with everything? Doesn't anything ever get under his skin?

Robbie's gaze wandered over Sportacus. A muscle twitched in his arm, and Robbie watched it, fascinated at the movement. The muscle twitched so vigorously, it was a wonder that Sportacus did not wake up from it. Then again, someone with that much energy must get used to a few twitches during the night.

Finally the twitching stopped, and Robbie's eyes continued to wander. There was a patch of skin exposed where the blue and white shirt had ridden up. A strange thought trickled through Robbie's defenses…I've never seen Sportacus' stomach before. His eyes grew large. Not that I want to know what it looks like! I don't…

Memories of his dream bubbled up from the dark place he had pushed them into. The two of them, sitting happily together under a tree on a grassy sunlit hill. Suddenly, Robbie had had enough of this tranquil little gathering. "Sportacus," he poked the man in the ribs. "What do you want?"

Sportacus' eyes blinked open and he looked up at Robbie with an expression of bewilderment. "What?" He scanned their surroundings with bleary eyes. "Was I sleeping?"

"Yes, you were. And you insisted on sitting next to me in the middle of the night. I was just wondering what it is that you wanted."

"Oh," Sportacus smiled. "Nothing, Robbie. I just wanted to help."

"Well, I certainly don't need the company, if that's what you're worried about. I spend plenty of time on my own, so I'm used to it by now." Robbie tugged self-consciously on his vest. "In fact, if given a choice over noise and being alone, I'd take loneliness any—" he cut himself off, realizing what he had just admitted to the goodie goodie hero of the town. "Not that I'm lonely. Don't get it in your head that you need to fix me or anything. I'm fine the way I am."

Sportacus shook his head, smiling. "You don't need fixing Robbie. I like you the way you are." His eyes twinkled.

Robbie wanted to gag. The words that had just spilled so easily from his archrival's mouth were so sickly sweet. But…the gag wouldn't come. Instead, his eyes started to burn and it felt like something was pressing on the back of his throat. No one had ever said that to him before. Ever. Not even as a lie to get something from him. And Sportacus wasn't lying. Sportacus never lied. Sportacus didn't want anything, he had just said it, for no reason at all! How dare that twirling elf make him feel this way? Angry tears welled up in his eyes.

Sportacus gasped as the glistening in Robbie's eyes spilled over and ran down his pale cheeks. It felt horrible watching the liquid grief roll down Robbie's face. Sportacus was supposed to keep everyone in LazyTown happy, just like the famous LazyTown stone had said. His heart hurt. "Robbie…" He reached out to wipe the tears away from Robbie's face. His heart fluttered again at the surprisingly smooth warmth his hand caressed.

Robbie felt himself longing to lean into the touch. Instead, he jerked his head away and jumped up. "Don't touch me!" he practically shrieked at the startled hero. "I don't need anyone to help me, understand?" Angry tears still burned in his eyes. "Especially you." He stalked away, disappearing into the night.