Title: A Darker Shade of Love
Author: Jordan Herbert

Rating: M throughout the entire fic
Genre: Angst/Slash/Drama
Pairing: SladeRobin (Sladin) in the beginning with RobinRed X in future chapters
Chapter Summary: Robin, tired from being yelled at all day and having his plan that he'd worked so hard on for so long blown up in his face, really just wants to go to sleep and pray that tomorrow will be better. What he gets is a phone call from Slade and the start of something very new and unexpected.

A.N. I bet a lot of you are going to be yelling at me for starting a new story when I have so many other stories that I should be finishing first. Well, I'd hate to blame the plot bunnies, but I have two other new stories waiting to be edited and posted as well. Anyways, this fic will start off Sladin but will turn and end as a RedRobin simply because--even though I love Sladin so much--I feel like RedRobin doesn't have as much love as this awesome pairing deserves. Besides, since Red X and Robin are closer to age--I'm guessing--I think that they're more capable of having a fluffy story.

Now then, this story takes place after season one's episode 'Masks'. Also, throughout the story I'll explain how a Sladin scene could have easily been placed in every episode of Teen Titans that had Slade in it. Trust me, after this story is done, you guys will learn how crazy I really am. Enjoy and please review to tell me what you think!


Chapter One

Only the Beginning

As the papers strewn around him all started to blur together, Robin ran his hand through his spiked hair and decided to call it a night. Sighing, Robin laid on his bed and placed his hands over his face. It had been a long day—heck, week—and yet he still had nothing on the most dangerous villain known in Jump City; Slade. Though, the man obviously could see through him easily like he was predictable.

Why did the man seem so appealing to him? Robin had no idea, but he wanted to find out, he wanted to find out everything about Slade and he wanted to bring the man to justice. Only he barely had anything on the man. All he really knew was that Slade wanted to destroy Jump City, he apparently had enough power in the villainous world to hire members of H.I.V.E to do his dirty work, and he knew more about Robin than the Boy Wonder had thought, also better than his friends knew him. After all, Slade had known all along that he was Red X. His friends hadn't even caught on until Starfire had started to snoop around in his workroom.

Robin looked out of his window at the quarter moon and couldn't help but think of his mentor, Batman. Would Batman have already figured out who Slade was? Would he have been able to already take down the masked foe? Would he be disappointed in what Robin had done just like all of his friends were? Probably.

Groaning, Robin turned on his stomach and buried his face into his pillow. All he wanted now was to go to sleep. He had gone the past couple of nights without sleep for numerous reasons; one being the guilt of becoming Red X and another being that he forced himself to stay awake while he yelled at himself. He had enough of people yelling at him for one day though. His plans were foiled and now he was stuck going back to the beginning; spending endless hours of just researching and waiting for Slade to make the next move so he could, again, attempt to stop him.

Just as he was beginning to drift to sleep, his communicator started going off. Angrily pulling it out of his pocket, Robin didn't even look at the tiny screen as he lifted his head from his pillow and groaned at the device.

"What do you want?" He shouted angrily. There wasn't an immediate response and that bothered him even more. As he finally looked at who had contacted him, ready to give a piece of his mind for calling at such an absurd hour and not having a dire problem, his jaw drop slightly and his eyes widen. It was Slade.

"Pardon me, Robin; I seemed to have caught you in a bad mood." Robin couldn't even tell if Slade was mocking him or not. He couldn't even figure out the man's voice patterns, how could he expect to figure everything else out about the man? "I can call back later. Get some rest so you won't be as irritable."

"Why are you calling me, Slade?" Robin sat up and glared at the tiny screen; indicating that he wanted to talk to Slade now and not later. He knew he wouldn't have been able to fall back to sleep anyways, knowing that Slade could hack into their communicators.

"It's not to criticize you or brag about how I foiled your little plan, if that's what you think, Robin. In fact, it's quite the contrary. I must say that I'm rather impressed by your meritorious idea, though I doubt your friends saw the brilliance behind it like I did." Slade's eye glimmered for a moment before Robin growled. He heard the innuendo towards his friend louder than the compliment.

"I don't care about what you thought of my plan. If you don't have any new threat that you want to tell me about or you don't want to give yourself up, then I suggest you call someone else because I don't want to talk to you." Robin declared annoyingly.

"I'm disappointed that you feel that way, petulant Robin, because I have called simply to talk to you." He paused. "And to offer you a chance to get to know me better. After all, if you don't know me, how can you possibly hope to stop me?"

Robin's eyes widened for a moment before he controlled himself again and narrowed his eyes once more at the screen. "Why would you do anything that would help me bring you down?" Robin asked as he stared at Slade, unconvinced.

"You have good reason to be skeptical of my offer and I would have been dissatisfied if you hadn't been. But you see, the more you get to learn about me, the more I get to learn about you." Slade explained.

"It seems like you already know enough about me." Robin replied bitterly. He had no intentions in sharing his personal life with any madman. Especially since Slade knew too much about him, in Robin's opinion.

"True, I do know plenty about you but there's always room to learn more. Besides," Slade's eye left Robin for a moment to glance to the side. Robin's interest perked up as Slade nodded to whatever—or whomever—he was looking at.

Returning his gaze back to Robin, Slade picked up on the topic at hand. "Even though I know that you're better than your team, I still don't know why you bother to stay with them and let them hold you back from reaching your potential."

"It's something called friendship." Robin's eyes narrowed. "I'm not surprised you don't know what it is."

"Well, I'd love to learn more about your friendship and I'm sure it goes without saying that you'd love to learn more about me in general. So, how about we meet and chat, face to face?" Slade inquired.

"No thanks, I'm not interested in falling for anymore traps tonight. Call me again tomorrow and the other Titans and I will meet up with you though. We'll all gladly talk with you then; I think my team has a lot to say to you but I hope you don't mind if their actions speak a bit louder than their words." Robin couldn't believe the gull of that man. How stupid did Slade think he was?

Slade made a little humming noise that sounded like he was disappointed in Robin's decision. "I'm not interested in meeting with your little friends, Robin; they're not as interesting as you are." Robin didn't respond—how could he—and after a short hiatus of silence Slade continued. "As much fun as it is to talk to you like this, I find a better delight talking in person to you."

"How would you know that? We've yet to meet. Or did you forget that I've only met with your robot doppelganger?" Robin briefly glanced to the mask lying on the floor around the newspaper clippings and notes. He had brought all of the Slade evidence from his workroom to his bedroom so he could work without being interrupted by more complaints from the other Titans. They never went into his room. But they always barged into his workroom and often stared at the wall of newspaper clippings.

"We've met before, Robin, though it was a brief moment and we weren't really properly introduced. But if you'd like to meet me, in the flesh, then I suggest you come to the docks in an hour." Slade suggested in a slightly jaded tone.

Robin looked at the digital clock on his bed-side table. "It's one in the morning." He stated. "Do you really think I'd go to the docks to meet you while all of my friends are asleep? I'm not falling for this trap, Slade, and I've wasted enough time on you for one day already."

Robin moved his hands to close his communicator but stopped as Slade spoke up again. "Good night, Richard."

Freezing on the spot, Robin's eyes widened and he stared unbelievingly at Slade. "What did you say?"

"I wished you a good night." Slade purred as he knew that he had Robin exactly where he wanted him. The little bird has spotted the shiny window, now it was only a matter of time before he would fly into it and break his wings.

"What did you call me?" Robin's voice dropped low as he spat out the question through clenched teeth.

"If you want to find out, then I'll see you at Pier 41." Slade ended the transmission and Robin sat in the dark as he thought. It had to be a trap, he knew it, but if Slade had really just called him by his first name then he had to meet the man. If the Titans were awake, he knew they would try to dissuade him from going by pointing out that the man had already fooled him once. But Robin feared that he had really screwed up and the cost was his and Bruce's secret. Fool him once, shame on Slade, fool him twice, shame on him.

At ten minutes until two, he dashed out of the Tower on his R-cycle and made it to the docks just as it turned one. He was just thankful that the docks were so close to the Tower or else he wouldn't have had made it on time. He always tried to be punctual, especially when he was meeting with a super villain that could possibly know his identity and pose a bigger threat than thought.

Standing in front of Pier 41, Robin shivered a bit from the cold air rushing in from the water. He was tired and cold and being forced to meet with a madman; his day just kept getting worse and worse. Keeping his attention on full alert and listening for any sounds, he kept his hand hovering over his belt, to pull out his bo-staff at any time needed. He felt like it would be needed soon.

"You really should dress warmer." A voice from behind him in the shadows announced Slade's presence.

Robin spun around and tried to settle his startled heart as he brought out his bo-staff and held it at the ready. Slade ignored the boy's ready-to-fight position. "I suppose you do dress better than you use to though." Robin growled. Slade must have been referring to his green shorts that he wore along time ago. Alright, four years ago when he was still twelve, but not even the Titans knew that. And they never would if Robin had a say in it.

"Alright, so you know even more about me then you've let on. What do you want?" Robin hissed as he kept his guard up. He knew better than to give a foe any opportunity to strike.

"Simply to get to know you better, Robin; I have the feeling we could become quite the couple." Slade purred as he folded his hands behind him. Robin stared at the man and really took him in. He was exactly like his robot copy and Robin wouldn't have been surprised if it was just another replica.

Slade shrugged his shoulders lazily. "It's going to be a while before I finish saying everything I want to for tonight. You might decide to sit on one of the many empty crates around here later." Slade vaguely waved his hand to indicate the multiple crates around the room. Some of the boxes were bigger than Robin while others were probably the size of his head.

"Who said that I was going to stay long? As soon as I find out what I want to know, then I'm out of here." Just as Robin spoke, Slade pressed a button on his wrist and the door to the warehouse slammed shut, causing everything to go black. Robin wasn't too worried, his built in night vision lenses would start working in a minute.

Dim lights, but bright enough to cast a few shadows, flickered to life above the rafters of the building. Robin found himself a foot away from Slade and boggled at how silent the man was. How Slade had managed to move so fast also astounded Robin as he took a few staggering steps away from the intimidating man.

"Who said that I would let you leave before I was finished talking to you?" Slade asked as he loomed over the boy and took a step forward, and then some, for every one Robin took back. Even when Robin was backed into the door, Slade continued to advance until he was a mere inch from the boy.

"Stay away from me." It didn't sound quite as intimidating as Robin would have liked, but how could he intimidate the man? Slade looked to be over six feet tall easily. But he reminded himself that the bigger they were the harder they fell. Besides, he often used his opponent's size against them in battles.

He finally collected himself as his fight instincts kicked in for his flight ones. He swung his bo-staff, aiming for Slade's face, but found it near impossible to even move his weapon as Slade was holding onto it as well and when had that happened? The man seriously seemed to move on the Flash's level when he wanted to.

"I only want to talk, Robin. I have no intentions of hurting you, child." Slade kept one hand firmly on Robin's bo-staff, still restraining Robin from using it, and reached out to rest his other gloved hand on Robin's face. The boy wasn't aware of the special coating on Slade's gloves that night. And that was exactly what Slade had planned.

Robin could only freeze once more that night and simply stare into Slade's lonely eye. He felt the heat from Slade's hand through the glove and he shuddered as Slade's fingers ran back through his hair. "I've been watching you for such a long time, Robin, but you only started to notice me once I endangered your city." Slade accented 'your' to almost make it seem like Slade was mocking him. "I suppose that's the only way to keep your attention as well."

The man's voice sounded spiteful yet gentle and luring at the same time. Robin couldn't help but be lulled into a small sense of security. Especially since Slade was still running his hand through his hair and Robin couldn't help but suddenly notice how tired he was. He cursed himself mentally for staying up all the nights before as he blinked himself awake and stared intently at Slade.

Slade's eye began to narrow and Robin knew that it wasn't out of any form of spite or glare. But Robin was getting an impulse to lean into the madman's touch and he didn't understand why. His throat felt dry, his heart was beating so hard that Robin wouldn't be surprised if it pounded out of his chest. His knees were beginning to shake and felt like buckling and his arms could no longer support the light yet sturdy weight of his bo-staff which always seemed like just an extension of himself. He released his weapon into Slade's hold and the criminal discarded the weapon to the side where it bounced and echoed around the silent room until it simply rolled into the adjacent wall and stopped altogether.

Robin felt his eyes start to feel very heavy and he opened his mouth to take a shaky inhale. When he felt Slade's thumb trace over his lips, he closed his eyes and pressed the flats of his hands to the wall behind him in an attempt to steady himself out. The room felt like it was spinning and all the while Robin's heart beat only quickened. He was becoming lightheaded very quickly and if he didn't do something fast he might end up losing all of his concentration instead of just ninety-five percent of it like he already had.

"Do you have the same interest in me that I've come to have in you, pretty Robin?" Slade asked as his gloved thumb continued to outline Robin's very pink lips. The boy wouldn't remember the conversation in the morning, so was the after-effect of the sleeping-truth coating.

"I think so," Robin answered honestly. He wasn't exactly sure what Slade's interests were, but as Slade placed his other hand on Robin's hip, Robin got a pretty good idea and nodded his head a definite 'yes'. "For the last three nights," Robin opened his eyes again and stared up at the mysterious man before him. That stare was so captivating and, in a strange way, addicting. "I haven't been able to sleep. You're on my mind too much." Robin's voice fell down to a whisper. "I want to know who you are."

"You will know me, Robin, all in good time." Slade ran his fingers once more through Robin's ebony spikes. "But I want you to sleep; skipping that many nights of sleep isn't healthy for a boy your age." Robin's eyes closed again and he felt himself fall forward a bit as his knees finally did seem to collapse under him. He forced open his eyes as strong arms caught him and lifted him up. "Shh, go to sleep, it's alright. I've got you now, my Robin."

Robin knew that he shouldn't be in this situation, that he shouldn't feel so warm and protected and comfortable in this man's arms. Slade was supposed to be Robin's enemy; he was a bad man. A very bad man that interested Robin in a way he didn't want to admit to and gosh, Slade was so warm even under that metal and spandex. But Robin didn't care for the moment about anything too much. He simply closed his eyes as he cuddled his head against Slade's chest and fell asleep for the first time in too long.

---------

When he awoke, it was with a start and he was out of breath. Robin looked frantically around himself and sighed in relief to find himself in his bed. He sat still for a moment and massaged his temples as he tried to recall everything about last night. He remembered going to the docks and meeting Slade. Then things became a blur except for this incredible heat that he had felt and this cared for feeling while he was…asleep in Slade's arms! What happened to him last night?

Robin glanced at the clock and noticed that it was around seven, he had time to brood and try to figure out what had happened to him the night before. So he did so, until he remember everything, or vaguely did at least. By then it was a quarter past eight.

Now he had to try and remember anything that had happened after he fell asleep in Slade's arms. But he couldn't think of a thing; he had really fallen into a very deep sleep. He didn't even remember how he had gotten into the Tower again. As he came to that thought he froze before quickly checking his belt to see that his communicator, the Tower's 'house key', was still in his possession and locked from last night after Slade had called.

Then that means that Slade knew how to get into the Tower without using one of the communicators! Robin would have to have Cyborg increase the house's alarm system and defense system. As well as check the communicators' hacking security. The cybernetic teen was going to have a lot of work on his hands.

His team! Robin jumped up from the bed and grabbed his cape, hanging off of the side of his desk, as he ran out the door. Slade might still be in the Tower or he might have hurt the others while he was in the Tower. He had to warn them and make sure they remain safe. If Slade had hurt any of them, then it would be his entire fault.

"Titans!" Robin shouted as he ran to the main room. All four Titans looked at their panting leader in the doorway. Beast Boy had a pancake halfway into his mouth, Cyborg was about to sit down to a stack of waffles, Starfire was holding something pink and moving in her hand, and Raven was blowing on a cup of tea; everything was normal. Robin sighed and ran his hand through his hair. They were all safe.

"Sorry, false alarm." He smiled and noticed how Cyborg and Beast Boy turned their heads away from him and Raven was seemingly ignoring him more than usual. What was wrong with them? After a moment, Robin remembered that he had betrayed their trust when he had become Red X. Of course they were still sour about that. He didn't blame them either.

He sighed as he walked over to the fridge and began to shift around for something to drink. He wasn't really hungry that morning and besides, sitting down and eating with the team would, sadly, be awkward and uncomfortable for everyone. Finding the apple juice, he sat it on the counter and retrieved a glass from the cupboard.

"Robin?" Starfire floated beside him, still holding the squirming pink thing. "Are you alright, friend? It is not like you to have the false alarms."

"Yeah, Starfire, it was just," he paused for a second to think for a proper excuse. The second went unnoticed as he thought of a lie. "A nightmare I had, that's all."

"Maybe it was your conscious getting to you." Cyborg replied bitterly from the table as he shoved a waffle dripping with syrup into his mouth. Robin sighed again and absentmindedly wondered how long they were going to hold a grudge against him for that mistake.

"Look guys, I apologize for what I did, alright? It was wrong of me to go behind your backs. But if I had told you, then you would have held back and Slade would have seen through me." He cringed, Slade had seen through him anyway.

"Slade did see through you." Raven's a mind reader, but she didn't even have to read his mind to know what he was thinking. "Just promise us that you won't go behind our backs again."

Robin inhaled sharply and after pouring himself a glass, replaced the apple juice into the fridge. "I promise." He smiled as his friends smiled back. He was already lying to them; betraying their trust again, so soon. How many more times would they forgive him? "And to make it up to you guys, I'll take dish duty for the rest of the week. Okay?"

"Sounds sweet to me; I burnt my first batch of pancakes so have fun scrubbing those pans." Beast Boy grinned as he thumbed towards the sink already filled with dishes from just after one meal.

"Wonderful," Robin muttered to himself as he set to work on the most hated chore of the Tower.
-------

Lying awake for yet another night, Robin kept glancing at his digital clock from his computer screen. He couldn't focus on his files. He kept expecting Slade to call again. His communicator was sitting beside his keyboard and he found himself staring at that more than his actual work.

He couldn't believe it, but he was actually hoping for Slade to call him again. He couldn't exactly call Slade after all so he had to just wait and see what the madman was planning. And if he did call, then Robin had a lot to say to the man, starting with demanding what type of chemicals Slade had used on him.

After spending the entire afternoon thinking about what had happened the night before, he had deduced that Slade must have had some sort of sleeping agent on his glove. He also figured that beneath the metal and tight, dark spandex, Slade was extremely warm and didn't wear armor like Batman did. Though that last bit of information he wouldn't voice to the man at all.

But most importantly, he still had all the questions from before running through his head. Except now, he had even more than before and they were in bold print under the file in his head labeled 'Have to Find the Answer No Matter the Cost'. He sighed and placed his elbows on the wooden desk as he rested his aching head in his hands. He had a headache the size of the Batmobile.

"Tylenol," Robin mumbled to himself as he stood from his chair and walked to his private bathroom to grab some of the headache reducing pills. He looked around his bathroom after he swallowed two of the pills and decided that a hot shower would probably help his headache as well.

He began undressing, everything, even his mask came off. But that was the only time his mask came off. Other than in his shower in his private bathroom that the other Titans didn't even know about, the mask was always on.

The hot water poured down his body and he sighed happily. He felt a little sore because he had slept in his uniform the night before, not like it was the first time to happen or anything, but it still made him sore to do so. Then again, he's rather glad Slade didn't change him into his regular pajamas before placing him in the bed. That would have been awkward, asleep or not.

But that thought, of the powerful and unknown Slade undressing and redressing him before laying him safely to bed. Of perhaps the man lingering in the process to run his hands over Robin's smooth skin, his black clad hand standing out against the pale body of the boy.

Robin bit his lip at the thought to keep a moan in as he slid his hand down his chest to rest on his half hardened anatomy. He teased his nipple with his other hand, thinking that it was Slade's hand instead and so twisting a bit harder than he normally did when he masturbated.

He remembered the warmth coming off of the other man, the feel of being in his powerful arms, the way Slade touched his face. Robin wrapped his hand around his erection and began to pump as the water continued to spray over him, and steam filled the bathroom. Bringing his hand from his nipple to cup the side of his face, he rubbed his face against it as he imagined it as Slade's.

Thrusting into his hand, Robin started to pant and closed his eyes. He finally knew what the man looked like, well in costume at least. But that was more than he had known a little over a month ago. When he had first jerked off to the thought of Slade, he could only really picture the slight outline of the man, and of course, his piercing eye.

Oh, that eye. It felt like it was always watching him, looking through him, taking him apart and putting him back together, only better. Robin pumped harder and brought his hand to his gasping mouth. He clamped down on it as he screamed and came all over his own stomach. He continued to shake and leaned with the hand not in his mouth against the tiled wall of the shower as the water cleaned all evidence of his sick habit.

He was no longer disgusted with himself for jerking off while thinking of his enemy. It had happened too many times for him to truly be disgusted with himself for it. He was just ashamed of himself. But he was a teenaged boy, he had reasoned with himself; he couldn't exactly help who his hormones made him attracted to.

When he finally caught his breath again, Robin washed himself off and shampooed his hair as well. He shut the water off and reached out into the steamy room for the towel on his rack. He dried his face off and ruffled his hair with the towel to dry it off a bit. Running the red towel over his body, he dried himself off and wrapped it around his waist as he rubbed some steam off of the mirror and stared at himself.

He blinked at his reflection and smiled. His eyes were still the same blue that had matched his parents' and always received compliments when he was introduced to anyone while being Dick Grayson. Often he found himself staring at his mirror counterpart, just to remind him of who is he, who he still is, and forever will be, even if he won't always be Robin.

Covering his blue eyes once again with his mask, Robin stepped out of the bathroom, a bit of steam escaping the room behind him. He headed towards his closet when his communicator started to ring. His thoughts immediately turned to Slade and he ran toward his desk to answer the device before the villain hung up or he missed the man's call.

He flipped the device open and, sure enough, there was Slade's form. "Robin," Slade greeted the boy. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

Robin's brow furred and he looked down at himself, remembering that he was naked except for his towel, which he quickly tightened his hold on. His face flushed but he still glared and tried to not think about the fact that he was talking to Slade while only wearing a towel. "I just finished my shower." He mumbled in his defense.

"Would you like me to call you back while you get dressed then?" Slade asked. Robin's blush deepened as he noticed that Slade wasn't looking at his face but everywhere else.

Still, he nodded and mumbled a 'thanks' as Slade cut the connection. Robin closed the communicator and quickly changed into a fresh uniform. He sat on his bed, the communicator in hand, and waited for Slade to call him. Feeling ridiculous, he got the image that he was the desperate girlfriend waiting for her boyfriend to call back so they could start their evening chat about nothing important. That thought made him blush.

He wasn't a girlfriend, first of all, and he wasn't dating Slade, no matter what the man had asked him the night before. Even though the man had drugged him and the first question had been if Robin felt similar to him instead of asking for some deep secret or anything like that. But that was probably a trick. Robin knew Slade had only asked him that for some other reason. It had nothing to do with Robin's secret lust towards his enemy and Slade possibly lusting back. Nothing.

The communicator started ringing again and Robin picked it up before his blush from that ridiculous thought had even faded. "Feeling better now that you're clothed?" Slade asked and Robin's blush only deepened.

Robin cleared his throat and looked at Slade, ignoring the last comment. "What happened last night?"

"Straight to business, no pleasantries first, Robin? Don't you even care how my day went?" Slade mocked halfheartedly. Once again, Robin was reminded of his girlfriend and boyfriend analogy.

"All I care about is finding out why you forced me out last night only to drug me and return me to my room with only one question answered. You only asked me one question while I was in the perfect conditioned to be interrogated. You had me more than half asleep and dosed with a truth serum." Robin narrowed his eyes. "And how did you get into the Tower without using my communicator as the key?"

"I could answer those questions and set your mind to ease, but I'd rather not. I never do well with interrogations over the phone. Why don't we meet up somewhere instead?" Slade inquired.

"I'm not falling for that again." Robin sneered. "You might have been able to trick me the first time but I'm not meeting up with you anywhere again in the middle of the night."

"I see no reason why you won't. I didn't harm you last night, did I?" Robin didn't respond to the question but Slade did for him. "No, I didn't. I returned you to your room and saw to it that you actually got a slightly good night's sleep instead of trying to get you in a conversation while you were half asleep already and probably would have slipped and said something you would have regretted telling me. I believe you rather owe me for my kindness."

"I don't owe you anything, Slade. You're a criminal." Robin licked his lips before he continued. "You might have done something a bit nice, in a distasteful way, might I add, but that doesn't make up that you almost set the town on fire or that you tried to steal high-tech computer chips."

"But I didn't steal the chips or set the town on fire." Slade remarked.

"Because we stopped you." Robin growled.

"No, because those weren't my real intentions." Slade smiled behind his mask as he watched Robin straightened and become more interested. "If I really wanted this city burned down or those chips for myself, then I would have succeeded because I always succeed in what I do; I never lose. But I simply wanted something else, which I achieved while pulling the few stunts that I had."

"What did you really want then?" Robin couldn't help it, he was truly fascinated now. The man's purpose wasn't even what he had thought it had been.

"Your attention." Slade replied calmly as Robin's heart skipped a beat.

"What?" He asked stupidly as he felt his blush returning again.

"Like I said before, Robin, without me trying to endanger your city, you would have never noticed me, never started to become intrigued with me, and I would have never found out about how you feel for me." Robin's heart just stopped beating altogether as he tried to think of a response that wouldn't start making things awkward.

"I don't know what you mean." Robin tried to lie, but by the way Slade's eye narrowed, he knew he hadn't been successful, even if he hadn't stuttered for even a moment and probably could have fooled the Titans.

"What makes you think I'm going to let you try to lie to me tonight when I already have the truth from last night?" Slade asked with a little purr in his voice. "Robin, I've done nothing that you can really call damage to your precious city because I have no desire to do so. All I desire is to get to know you better. We obviously feel the same way for each other; it would only make sense that we see how much mutual feelings there are between us."

Robin bit his bottom lip for a moment and looked at all the newspaper clippings on his floor that he had yet to put back in his workroom. It was true that Slade really hadn't done anything exactly evil, not yet. And maybe Robin could make it so the man never did. Maybe if Robin could get to know the man better, he'd be able to convince Slade to give up a life of crime before he did do something truly evil. It was obvious that Slade had been holding back and now Robin knew why; the man only wanted to get Robin's attention, not hurt anyone even though he obviously could.

If he did what Slade wanted, he'd be stopping the man from hurting anyone. And if he ever got caught, he could always claim that he was doing it to protect his city because, in a way, he was doing just that and more. "Alright, I'll meet you somewhere tonight and we can start to get to know each other, but only on one condition," Robin looked back up at the screen and he swore Slade's eye was glittering with delight.

"Name it," Slade inquired, not really promising Robin anything until he knew what the boy was asking him.

"While we're 'getting to know each other', you won't do anything illegal in Jump, you won't even try to." Robin stated.

"I promise that while we're dating," Slade emphasized the word a bit and Robin blushed as he hadn't really thought about it that way. "I won't send a single Sladebot into your city to steal something, I won't raise any elemental beast to destroy Jump, and I won't do anything else that could possibly be considered a crime in Jump City. I won't even jaywalk."

Robin couldn't help it, he smiled. Slade actually had a sense of humor. It made him even eager to start getting to know the man. "So, where would you like to meet?"

"We'll meet in the southern part of the park tomorrow night at nine." Slade decided and Robin's brow furred as he glanced to his clock.

"It's only eleven right now, why wait until tomorrow when we can still talk tonight?" Robin asked.

"All of your team members are already asleep, Robin, you should try to get a good night's rest like them. It's not healthy for you to keep forcing yourself to stay awake each night, even if it does have to do with me. Besides, you're a much better fighter after you've gotten over eight hours of sleep." Slade rebuked.

"How do you know all of this?" Robin questioned. He looked around his room for a sign that maybe the man was watching him or something. He'd have to have Cyborg check to make sure that there weren't any cameras in the Tower.

"Maybe I'll tell you tomorrow." Slade smirked behind his mask. "Sweet dreams, Robin." He reached out and turned the video transmitter off before Robin even had a chance to say anything else.