A/N: SECOND chapter! This won't be a long story with a lot of chapters either, by the way… maybe… I don't know… 4? 5? I have no idea at this point, but read the bottom A/N, because it might depend on your opinion…

On to the story…
Oh, disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans…


A Glimpse of Hunger

"Up."

The light flicked on and Robin opened his eyes to discover Slade in the doorway to the outer room. He and Red scrabbled to their feet and Slade nodded.

"Obedient boys, that's what I like to see... Robin. Come here." He opened the gate and Robin was let through before Slade closed it again. The boy shot a worried glance back at Red, but relaxed a bit as he wasn't taken out of the room, and only was made to sit down at one of the tables. A greasy paper bag was put down in front of him.

"Eat."

"What about Red?" Robin wanted to know.

"Red wasn't part of the plan and so his meals are not in the budget."

"Then I'll share my provision with him." Robin said determinedly and reached for the bag, about to stand up.

"No. Red X will eat when you finish your first assignment. Tonight."

Robin looked from Slade to X and back again. "Please, Slade…"

"I said no. Do you question me?"

Robin's eyes spewed hatred over Slade, but he manages a "No" without adding what he thought of the man.

"Be a bother and he won't be allowed water, either." Slade turned to the bots that had accompanied him as usual. "Make sure he eats everything and doesn't try to smuggle anything to his boyfriend. If he does, make sure the thief pays for it."

Robin reluctantly opened the bag and found what some fast food chain obviously thought was a nutritious breakfast. If there actually was any nutrition in it, Robin figured it must be purely by accident. He heard Red's stomach grumble and looked up at him.

"Should I try to…?" he mouthed.

"No... Not worth it. I'll survive, don't worry." Red answered.

"I'm so sorry… you shouldn't be here! None of us should…I'm so damn stupid sometimes... If I only returned to the tower when I couldn't get a connection…!"

"What! And cut our date short?! That I would never be able to forgive you for… and don't trash my boyfriend!" Red grinned.

Robin sighed and tried to eat the vile excuse for a meal.

"This isn't really how I pictured our first breakfast together…" Red smirked from behind the bars.

Robin blushed a little.

"Me neither."

"How then?" Red grinned naughtily.

Robin looked up at him and grinned back.

"Maybe I'll tell you… later…"

As he finished, the Slade-bots checked the wrapping papers carefully and even searched him, before one of them took the bag away. Slade entered sometime later and carried a small pile of papers.

"This is you mission. I need you to retrieve a vial of this chemical for me. Learn the route and memorize the codes. You have four hours."

"Can Red have water now?" Robin asked stiffly.

"It's 'may Red have water', Robin."

Robin looked up at him fiercely.

"Why are you being such a –"

Robin couldn't even see Slade move, but suddenly the control to Red's collar was in his hand. Robin thought it was the thief's, anyway. It was blue and Robin hazily remembered that the control Slade pressed, just before his own pain started, had been red.

"Such a what?" The man asked with a silky voice.

"Such a … very unpleasant person…" Robin growled. "Isn't it enough that you won this round?! Are we to be made to grovel for every little scrap? Beg for the things we need just to stay alive? As long as you have Red you know I will obey, does it really matter what we call you? Like we shouldn't be angry?! Why is it important to you that we suffer?" Robin took a couple of heavy breaths. That had been a long speech. A stupid one. He regretted it while he spoke, but couldn't stop himself.

Slade towered over him and Robin tried to calmly look back into that single cold eye behind the hard mask.

"Anything else you wanted to get off your chest?"

Robin shook his head.

"Good. I'll be back in one hour to see how far you have progressed."

As the door closed Robin let the breath he had been holding, out in a hiss.

"I thought I was toast there for a while…" Red muttered. "And I was quite fond of the idea…" At a questioning glance from Robin he continued "I like toast."

Robin only sighed at the joke and then started to look at the papers. The more he looked at the plan, the deeper his brow furrowed. This didn't make any sense! He went to sit down by the bars and Red placed himself on the other side.

"You know that you're not going to do it, right?" Red mumbled.

"What are you talking about?"

"As soon as Slade lets you out, go back to the Titans, Robin."

"Have you lost it? He will kill you!"

"I can live with that." Red smirked

"No you sort of can't… that's the point…" Robin was getting annoyed. "If you think for a second that I would abandon you…"

"But you must! I want you too! You will be free and safe and…"

"Just as dead… I can't live without you, Red…"

"But…"

"I love you. Now shut up and let me work."

Red shook his head.

"All right, I still think you are insane. At least let me help. What have you got there?"

Robin handed over the first pages of information and spread out the map on the floor in front of him, tracing the route with his finger.

"This looks pretty straight forward." Red commented "The door locks here, though, tricky manufacturer, use the hook pick, it usually works best."

Robin looked up at his boyfriend who was all business. Red liked to joke and could seem a little dim sometimes, as he refused to take anything seriously, so it was easy to forget that there was a brain behind the smile. A very sharp brain. He might not have the education Robin had, but he damn well had street smarts and somewhere he had picked up a lot of useful skills. Useful for a thief, mostly.

"What are you staring at, kid?" Red's question cut Robin's musings short.

"You."

"Feel free. Can't blame you." Red grinned and kissed Robin through the bars.

"Don't distract me" Robin smiled. "I have to concentrate. I don't understand this…"

"You don't? What's not to understand?" Red sounded puzzled.

Robin just shook his head and lost himself in the plans.

As Slade walked back into the room after the designated time, Robin was ready with some questions.

"Are you making this a team-effort?" Slade asked first, glaring at them.

"Well, if I help, do I get fed?" Red asked hopefully.

"Possibly. Not today, however. Not until Robin returns. You may have some water now, though." Slade turned on the main valve which Robin and Red had decided not to touch for now. Red moved toward the sink as Robin got up on his feet.

"I don't understand this, Slade." he said, dumping the papers on the table.

"Really? I thought was simple." Slade told him, echoing Red's words.

"It is simple, it's too simple! You don't need me for this; you can easily stroll in and steal the thing yourself!"

"I could. This is a warm-up mission."

Robin growled. "You never said anything about that!"

"So sorry." there wasn't, of course, even a hint of regret in his voice.

"And how many of these "warm-up" missions will there be, before the real one?"

"A few."

Robin closed his eyes and took a calming breath. Was the man trying to get him angry enough to do something stupid?

"All right. A few. Good." he said between clenched teeth. "Actually, what kind of a heist couldn't you do yourself? What exactly do you need me for?"

"You will see in time. Have you learned the codes, yet?"

"Why can't I just bring the paper?"

"Knowing them is quicker. And you need to work on you memorizing skills before the final mission. You have three hours left. I suggest you use them to study instead of making out."

"Ooow…" came a small disappointed sound from Red.

Robin spent the rest of the time learning the codes. Red quizzed him and, with the rewards he got when he was right, Robin learned the combinations quite easily. He got a bathroom break and another paper-bag meal during that time and, as the time was up, Slade entered again. His robots grabbed hold of Robin and Slade opened the door to the cell.

"Red X. Come with me." the man beckoned, and the older teen grudgingly did.

"I usually don't go with strangers unless they feed me..." he muttered.

Robin struggled slightly against the bots, trying to judge how hard he had to strike to get loose if he needed to.

"What are you going to do to him, Slade?" he demanded to know. "If you harm him, I'll-"

Slade's hand was suddenly around Red's throat.

"You should not be worried about me harming him, Robin; you should be worried about his life. It's in your hands now. Do you really want to gamble with it?"

"You know I don't, Slade." Robin shook his head.

"Then stop questioning me." the man pointed to some clothes one of the robots had come in with. "Get changed before I come back for you."

Slade dragged the teen out of the room and Robin could only watch. The Robots released him as the outer door locked and Robin started to dress. It was a uniform similar to the apprentice one, but this was all black and had none of Slade's marks. He probably doesn't want to be connected to me if I get caught or die, Robin thought. There was a soft pair of shoes too, which Robin gladly slipped on. The floor was cold through his socks. Ten minutes or so later, Slade came back alone.

Robin's heart pounded as he followed the mercenary to the room he had woken up in. No windows here either. Red was back in a chair, tied down as before. He winked at Robin as he spotted him, trying to calm him down.

Slade went to a table and gestured for Robin to come closer.

"Give me your arm, boy."

Robin kept his mouth shut and reached out his left arm towards Slade, who took it and clasped something that reminded him of a steel bracelet around it.

"What's with giving my boyfriend cheep jewelry? That's my job!" Red complained. Slade seemed to ignore him.

"This is a communicator and tracker. Like the bars in the gate, only my touch can remove it. These are the rules. You are to complete the mission within the time-limit and come back here. Failing to do so or being late will result in your friend's death. Try to contact anyone in the outside world and the same thing will happen. Is that clear?"

"Yes."

Slade handed him a belt with pockets like Robin's own.

"Everything you will need is in this. Familiarize yourself with its contents before starting the mission. The communicator will show you where to go from here. You have two hours to get back. Slade reached for the bracelet on Robin's arm again, and pushed a button. A timer lit up dimly, counting down.

Robin first made it over to Red, bent down and kissed the boy.

"I love you." he whispered.

"I love you too." Red whispered back. "Hey, you look really hot in that suit. Think you'll get to keep it?"

"Do you ever think about anything else?"

"Yeah," the thief grinned. "Food. Hurry back…"

As the door closed and Robin was safely away, Red shot Slade a disgusted glance.

"There are some people who probably would call you nasty things like 'a complete psychotic asshole'. I'm not calling you that, though. Not at all." he told the man.

Slade only shook his head.

"I'm really a nice guy, Red X." he said, in a sarcastic tone. "Really. I don't like cruelty to dumb animals for example. But I'll make an exception for you."

"If I didn't know better, I'd say you were jealous…" Red had time to shoot back before the pain erupted from his neck. He managed a small smirk. It had been worth it.

The break-in was as straight forward as Robin predicted. Remembering Red's advice about the doors, he made it through in record time. As he snatched the vial of clear liquid from the safe he memorized the label. Coerellium 4.8. It didn't tell him anything. He was adept in chemistry, but he had never heard of this substance. He quickly stowed it into a belt pocket, especially designed to hold the container. Robin looked around quickly in the lab, searching for anything that might help his and Red's situation, and was small enough to smuggle inside. He spotted another little canister marked with a yellow triangle featuring an image of a test-tube dropping liquid onto a hand. The warning sign for acid. Robin looked at the label. HNO3. That, he knew, meant Nitric acid. That would do. He pocketed the thing, hoping desperately that it wouldn't break, and, with a glance at the timer, took off. Before getting too close to Slade's hideout he moved the acid to his sock, hiding the tube in a fold. If it broke, he would loose his foot…

When he entered the room the first thing he looked for was Red. He was still in the chair, perhaps looking a bit worse for wear.

"You couldn't shut up, could you?" Robin asked him, and Red grinned and shook his head.

"Very good time, Robin, I'm pleased." Slade appeared before him.

Robin retrieved the chemical from his belt and held the vial out to Slade who took it.

"What… May I ask what it is? I didn't recognize the name." Robin ventured.

"You may ask, but I'm not going to answer." The man saw the glare and continued. "You will find out soon enough."

Robin realized that he might not want to.

"What about dinner?" Red unashamedly asked, stomach growling.

Slade sighed and grabbed Robin by the arm, taking him back to the cell first.

"You had to choose the most annoying person on earth, didn't you?" he hissed at Robin who only smiled innocently back.

"Who? Red? Annoying? I have no idea what you're talking about."

"I'm sure you don't." Slade snorted. As they entered the outer room of the boy's jail, Slade told Robin to change back into the other set of clothes. Robin felt more uneasy this time, since there was only Slade in the room… oh, and because he had a vial of really dangerous acid in his sock… He managed to change quickly, though, and handed the clothes and belt to Slade.

"What about this?" he asked, waving the arm with the bracelet.

"That can stay on, I think." Slade said evenly. "Inside." he added, holding the gate open. Robin had learned to hate the sound of the gate closing but, this time, it was a relief. The acid was still safely in his sock… hopefully it was their way out.

When Slade returned with Red he was accompanied by a Slade-bot carrying two paper bags.

"Junk-food again?" Robin asked, actually disappointed. "I thought you cared about healthy foods."

"I did when you were my apprentice, boy. This time, it doesn't really matter." Slade's words made Robin scowl. He didn't like not to matter. Not even to Slade.

"Junk food is fine, just shut up, Robbie." Red was thrilled and snatched his bag as it was given to him.

Robin took his too, it would have been stupid not too, and sat down on the bed next to Red to eat. He had barely tasted his hamburger when Red had finished his and started on the fries. Robin sighed and broke half of his burger off, handing it to the thief. He got a grateful look that made him smile and he surrendered most of his fries to Red as well. Sipping the cola he looked up to discover that Slade hadn't left the room. He was standing there, watching them, and it made Robin uneasy. He stood up, hesitantly.

"Did you want anything else?" he asked the man, who actually seemed to startle a little bit, like he had been in deep thought.

"Next mission is tomorrow. Get some sleep." Slade snapped and walked out the door. A few minutes later the lights were turned off.

"Damn!" Red cursed. "And I just dropped a few fries… how am I gonna find them now?"

"By smell, probably." Robin chuckled and found his way back to the cot. He sat down again, next to Red and reached out for him.

"Ahhh… make-out session? I'm game, just tell me if you find any of my fries…" Red laughed and pulled the younger boy down on the bed with him. Robin found Red's face and pretended to nibble at his ear.

"Listen, Red, but pretend to… ah… do what you are doing… just not… damn! Focus a bit, ok?"

"Always…" the thief purred.

"On the mission, I managed to find some acid…"

"What? Sorry, kid, don't do drugs…"

Robin sighed. Or gasped. Probably a little bit of both, as Red's hands traveled over his body.

"Not that kind, the real kind. The 'melt anything'-kind, actually."

"Great! Where is it?"

"In my sock."

"In your…? Damn, Robin! What if I had accidentally crushed it?"

"Well, since Slade only let us keep two pieces of clothing I figured that I have to put it in the safest place. Of the two."

"Safest from me? Definitely." Robin could hear the grin, and as his eyes slowly adapted to the darkness, he could now vaguely see the young man's outline.

"So. When are we breaking out?" Red wanted to know. They were still faking a make out-session, even if 'faking' was a poor choice of words, and they kept their voices as low as they could.

"The thing is, there isn't much of it. Not enough for the bars and the outer door. Probably only for one bar…"

"So we better do it when we both are in the outer room?"

"Preferably. He seems to realize that it's smartest to keep us apart, though…"

"Yeah. He has trust issues." Red snorted.

Robin grinned and kissed him. "I have to hide the vial somewhere. I better keep it on me during the day if any opportunities should arise, but I really don't want to sleep with it on me."

"No, you want to sleep with me on you." Red agreed. "Slide your foot, up, I'll get it."

"Be careful, the cameras must hade night vision." Robin warned, as he lifted his knee, getting his foot higher up on the bed so Red could reach it.

"I started as a pick-pocked, baby." Red chuckled confidently, and sure enough, Robin barely felt the vial being lifted.

"There. I put it on a ledge between the bed and the wall. It's not a great spot, but at least we won't wake up dissolved."

"Works for me. Whoever can snatch it in the morning, will, ok?"

"Yes sir!"

"Good thief."

They chuckled, but then Red turned quiet.

"What is it?" Robin wanted to know.

"Well... nothing… It's just… You know what? I got a feeling Slade likes you."

"What? What do you mean, likes, me?!"

"Hush… Likes you, likes you."

"No. No way!" Robin sounded both aggravated and a bit scared.

"It's not like I have any proof or anything, it's just like… he's acting a bit jealous… and besides, I can't seem to charm him, and that must mean something, right?"

Robin gave a relived laugh.

"Oh, Red… I think you got Slade all wrong… I'm sure he's just a bit irked that I turned down being his apprentice, to just turn around and start dating a thief. It must annoy him to no end. He always was a bit possessive, but not in that way. Don't you think he would have taken… advantage… of that when I was his prisoner before, otherwise?"

"You are probably right. You know him best after all." Red sounded relived too, and kissed Robin's nose.

"I'm not sure that's a merit." Robin grumbled and kissed back.

"Sure it is. With an assassin it's a merit just to live long enough to find out his name…"

As they settled down to sleep, Robin stared out in the darkness towards the cameras and shuddered. He really, really hoped Red had been wrong.

To be continued…

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A/N: All right, may I have your attention? It's quite important, so sit up straight and all that… I need a bit of advice and input here… As you have figured out from the last lines, this story is at a crossroad, and I'm wondering what turn to take… Is Slade interested in that way, or is he only a bit possessive in a platonic manner?

I'm not sure where I want this story to go… If he IS interested, the story will probably become much darker, because I can't see any slade/robin fluff in THIS setting… so I should maybe keep him out and the story will remain rather light and fluffy? I planned too, from the beginning, but AAAARGH! I don't know! I have been writing so much slade/robin it's actually hard to make him indifferent (well, to that part of a relationship). I'll continue to write and I'll want your opinions… 'Yes' and 'No' will do, but arguing a point will be better… It's not like a vote where the side that gets the most votes necessarily will "win", if there is just one argument on one side but I find it compelling enough, I might go that way… then again I will probably ignore everything and end up making Slade leave to follow a Broadway musical-dream he had from childhood and Red and Robin moving into a the Wayne-manor, getting lot's of cats. Now you know the ending. ;o)
Even if it goes dark I think I can promise you an happy ending this time (yes, a real one), cause I have this scene in my head…. Now forget I ever told you about this! Cause I could be lying… How should I know!?

I hope to hear from you! By review or PM doesn't matter, I will value your opinion dearly!