Title: The master and the servant
Author: Jammeke
Disclaimer: Don't own – don't sue.
Rating: K+
Summary: They're not equals. Not exactly. Robin/Much friendship.
Author's Note: This piece is set before the barn scene in 2X12, but after their conversation about marriage (among other things) in 2X10. In this story, Much refers to Robin as his master, because I think he still looks at him like that. That, and the word ex-master got on my nerves.
The master and the servant
They're not equals. Not exactly.
.
To Robin, his servant is a fact, a given. He is an inevitability. Much is . . .
Much is.
His existence does not equal Robin's. Much's existence equals sanity and faith. Without Much, Robin is not sure he would have either.
It's not that his servant is his other half, or that the man completes him. Much is not a part of who Robin is. He is what Robin is not. Much is much; Much is a lot; Much is more.
More than Robin can ever be.
.
To Much, his master is the world. God knows there can only be one world, and that must mean Robin is everything. Everything under the sun.
He doesn't fool himself into believing master his master is a part of his life, for his master's life is far greater than Much's. Much is a part of the puzzle that is his master; he lives a part of his master's life.
He lives in a world called Robin.
Much just hopes that perhaps, one day, if he tries really hard, he might see more than stars from being with Robin; he might become stars from being with him as well.
Become stars and shine down upon his master long after he is gone.
Where Robin goes, Much follows.
Where Much follows, Robin goes.
They are both plagued by nightmares of the past.
Robin is plagued by daymares as well.
Much would tell him to stop worrying – if he weren't too busy worrying about the man himself.
.
To Robin, Much is like the air he breathes.
He's surrounded by the man, so engulfed by his presence that he doesn't even notice it anymore.
The noble is ashamed to admit he mostly thinks about the man when he's gone; when Robin feels like he's suffocating.
.
To Much, Robin is past, present and future.
He's been there for him – he is there for him, and he will be there for him.
At least, that's what Much hopes.
Being together hurts Much sometimes.
But that's nothing compared to the numbness that comes with being apart.
Much has been following Robin since he first laid eyes on him.
Into battle, into the forest, and into insanity.
It hurts to realize he's more familiar with Robin's back than his face.
.
Robin once called him a simple man.
It was meant as an insult; it was perceived as an insult. And neither men spoke of it again.
But they think about it.
.
Robin would give anything to be a simple man himself.
He knows that this is not a possibility.
To him, life is much to complicated to feel any less complicated about living it.
Most people love Robin for what he stands for.
Much loves him for who he is.
In Robin's eyes, Much is like an open book.
Every thought, every feeling can be read on the man's face.
The former Lord of Locksley has read the Koran, the Bible, the works of Plato and Aristotle – but none of those writings have given him as much to think about as Much.
.
If Robin were a book, Much would rip out all the black pages.
But Robin isn't made of paper. And his actions can not always be put into words.
Much can't read anyway. So he supposes it's just as well.
.
Knowing and understanding are two different things.
Much does not always understand Robin.
But he understands that knowing Robin is enough.
Most people have one shadow.
Robin has two.
Born a noble, Robin knows his life is valued more lightly than his servant's.
But in the forest, royalty does not exist. Underneath the trees, rank does not get a fire going. Out in the open, noble blood does not protect you.
Much does.
.
Much cooks for his master. He makes his bed. He fixes his clothes. He lends him his blanket. He mounts his horse.
He sings for him.
Robin always yells at him for that.
.
They are master and servant.
But sometimes, they are less than that. And yet, in those moments, they are so much more.
There are times when titles don't exist – when status is swept away by raw emotion.
In those moments, they are not master and servant.
They just are.
Much carries a shield.
He feels like one, too.
If there is a God, and if He is as good and kind as he's made out to be, Much believes He will not let Robin die.
But if Much were God, he'd want Robin at his side as quickly as possible.
And so he wonders if he is created in God's image. . . or if God's image is created by him.
He hopes it's the latter.
And prays for forgiveness.
.
Robin never looks over his shoulder.
He knows the sights he's left behind. He just wants to forget.
When Much is behind him, guarding him, following him. . . Robin can not bear to face him.
But when they're side by side - the past falls away.
Shoulder to shoulder, they can handle the world.
.
Sometimes, poison spills from Robin's mouth.
It is a mixture of anger and hate. Of rage and disappointment. Of helplessness and of the hate of being helpless.
The liquid hurts them both.
Much doesn't have the antidote. Neither does Robin. But somehow, the poison hasn't killed them.
Yet.
Love.
An outsider might connect them to this word and wonder.
But Robin and Much are not in love.
They are in friendship.
.
An insider might define them by this word and smile.
For Robin and Much are not in love.
They are love.
.
They're not equals. Not exactly.
One and one makes two.
Robin and Much make more.
~Fin~