Disclaimer - I don't own WHR.

A/N - This began as a drabble and morphed into 1,517 words...wow. Thanks so much to the amazing Teenelizabeth for the title, letting me use her formatting with the song lyrics, helping with the summary and for always being so anxious to read my new stories!


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So you think you can hold the world up by a string…and I will hold every part of you that I could hold

Brace Yourself by Howie Day

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Robin stumbled through the door and collapsed to her knees in front of the bed, fervently murmuring prayers. She heard the sound of Amon slide the safety chain home, not that it would be much use if the Hunters returned tonight, but it was a small comfort. There was a pain just between her shoulder blades and she could feel something warm and wet trickling down her back, but she ignored it, pushing it away to focus on the task at hand. When her prayers were finished she stood, unable to suppress a grimace, and turned to find Amon standing close to her.

"Take off your dress," he ordered, pulling the bag off his shoulder and rummaging through it.

"What?" she gasped, a blush coloring her cheeks.

"You're hurt."

"My back? It's fine..."

"You are bleeding. Now take off your dress so I can see how bad it is."

"Amon..." she pleaded.

"Now, Robin," he ordered, placing a first aid kit on the bed and moving into the bathroom.

She sighed and slipped the dress off, feeling self-conscious standing there in just her slip. He returned with a bowl of water and a small towel.

"I need to see your back, Robin," he snapped.

She turned away from him and tugged the slip over her head, clutching it to her front. Amon came up behind her and she jumped when she felt his fingers on her bare back. He dabbed the area gently with a towel, but she still hissed in pain.

"It's only a shallow cut. It doesn't look like from a bullet," he mused.

"It was a knife."

"Their arsenal is changing. That isn't good."

She held still as he continued to prod at the cut and applied pressure to it. She could practically feel his eyes on her and wished, for the first time, that she wore pants on a regular basis. His fingers brushed across her lower back and she gasped, stiffening at the unexpected touch.

What is he doing? He's always so careful to keep his distance...

"What's this mark?" he asked, fingertips still tracing a small area of her skin.

It took her a moment to realize what he was asking about. "It's nothing, just a birth mark."

He moved his hand then and she relaxed, at least until he dabbed a liquid that stung like fire on the wound. She heard tape ripping, felt something soft, and knew he was applying a bandage. Robin waited for him to release her so she could get dressed again, however, he began rubbing shoulders now, and her eyes widened.

"Amon?" she murmured. Why is he acting like this?

His fingertips trailed down her back, avoiding the bandage, and around her sides until he pulled her against him, hands sliding along her stomach. As his fingertips traced along her skin her hold on the slip lessened and it fell to the ground. His hands cupped her breasts and she moaned softly, breath catching in her throat as he began to gently knead them. The man spun her around abruptly and pressed his lips to hers, kissing her hungrily.

Robin stared at him, wide eyed, and, when he pulled back, she found herself to be breathing hard.

Could he…could he possibly…?

"I'm sorry," he said immediately, pulling away.

No...there's no way he could feel the same way. But, what if...

"No, please..." she whispered, stepping closer, suddenly not caring that she was only mostly naked.

Amon obliged her by kissing her again, hands sliding down to grab her hips and press her tightly against him. She gasped as he lifted her up and laid her gently on the bed, leaning over her. Robin kissed him back as passionately as she could, tangling her fingers in his dark hair. She let him pull away and he kissed down her neck to her breasts, moving down to her stomach when her bra got in the way. He pressed his cheek to her stomach for a moment before placing a soft kiss on her hip.

She was having trouble forming coherent thoughts with him so close, doing things with her that she'd never dared imagine, never dared hope he would want to do… She raised her hips, allowing him to remove her panties, before she even thought about what she was doing. Hands slid painfully slow up her legs, lingering on her thighs, fingertips teasingly close and she whimpered, shifting in hopes that he would touch her where she wanted.

He smiled darkly at her and his hands moved out, up her hips and stomach until he knelt on one side of her and raised her up to kiss her. He unhooked her bra and as it fell away she realized she was lying naked with a man, with Amon no less…the very thing she had always been warned against.

But it feels so good...so right...

He sensed the sudden tension in her and murmured, "Do you want to stop?"

Yes...no...

"I-I don't know."

He kissed her softly once more and pulled back – she could see him closing down, the mask that he normally wore coming back up and she knew that this would be the only chance she got with him like this. That if he closed down now he would never again be so intimate with her and she couldn't bear the thought of it. Robin lunged at him, wrapping her arms around his waist and leaning her face against his chest. She smiled as his arms snaked around her and he clutched her close.

She pulled back and he let her; she stared into his eyes a moment before hesitantly pressing her lips to his.

"No, I don't want to stop," she whispered against his mouth. Her hands worked his shirt up his chest and he leaned away from her, pulling it over his head and tossing it to the floor. Robin ran her hands over his bare chest, conscious of his eyes on her body. She looked up at him shyly and, as he stood and stepped away from the bed, she lay down and curled into a ball, hiding her nakedness.

He's regretting this…regretting it going so far. I was right before – he could never have feelings for me.

The sound of something else falling to the floor caused her to look up and a blush rose, hot and furious to her cheeks, as she saw that Amon had removed the rest of his clothing. She had never even seen him without a shirt on before, much less completely nude. He lay in front of her and pulled her close, holding her as she slowly relaxed. Her breath fell out in a sigh as his hands trailed down her body until he could trace patterns on her thigh. She gazed into her eyes and realized he liked this – teasing her. She slid her legs apart, gasping as his fingertips moved further inward, finally reaching where she wanted them to. He kissed her urgently, then, and she cried out as one of his fingers slid inside her. Robin whimpered, moving her hips slightly, as he slid his finger slowly in and out.

After a moment he rolled the woman on her back and spread her legs apart, kneeling between them and bending down until his fair fell around her face and the tips of their noses were touching.

"Are you all right?"

She nodded.

"Is this what you want?"

More than you could know...

She nodded again and he pulled her legs to wrap around him; she gasped when she felt him press against her opening. He kissed her softly and slowly entered into her; even though he was gentle she still whimpered in pain and her eyes flew open, entire body going rigid.

No one said it would hurt.

He stroked her face gently until she relaxed. "I'm sorry."

"It's all right," she murmured, out of breath. She began moving her hips slowly and he gasped, burying his face in her neck; after a moment he began moving with her, smiling as she moaned in pleasure.

When they were finished he pulled away and curled up beside her, kissing her lazily while her eyes fluttered open and shut. He reached over to the other bed and, with one smooth motion, pulled the quilt off of it and draped it over them.

Robin wrapped her arms around him, one hand tangling in his hair, and entwined her legs with his. She gazed deep into his eyes, green meeting gray, and wondered at this new development.

Do you love me, or am I just something to fill a need?

Her lips parted to voice the thoughts, but his eyes drooped closed and he looked more peaceful than he had the entire time she had known him. She swallowed the question and pulled him closer, determined to let him know her heart, even if she was never privy to his.