Capter 3: Caramel Sauce
"There's nothing else you can do?" he asked. Pixel shook his head.
"This is about it," he replied, holding up the patched together device. "I doubt even Robbie knew what he was doing. But it'll work, just... in two doses." The scattered pieces of the machine they salvaged from Robbie's house were put together as best as Pixel knew how. The entire concept was mind-boggling, but he had eventually managed to convert the separate pieces into a large firing-ray type of device. But it wasn't meant for big jumps- the limited battery wouldn't allow it, and it couldn't be fitted to take energy any other way. Sportacus sighed.
"I guess we'll have to just deal with it then. Stephanie!"
Stephanie stepped into the room, guiding Robbie in by the hand. Robbie's eyes widened in awe at all the machinery strewn about Pixel's room, and Stephanie had to keep a tight hold on his hand to keep him from touching it all. Sportacus kneeled in front of him and got his attention.
"We're going to play a game Robbie," he started. Robbie squealed happily, jumping up and down.
"Like the tag game?" he chirped happily. Sportacus smiled a little.
"Sort of. Like... tag, with a flashlight."
Robbie gasped with delight.
"But first, we want to make sure it works, okay? So I need you to stand over there and stay very still when we shine the flashlight on you. Can you do that?"
Robbie nodded, eager to please, and scampered over to the cleared spot in the room.
"Ready!" he called happily.
"Ready Pixel?" Sportacus asked. Pixel nodded, and aimed the device for the boy on the other side of the room.
"Remember Robbie, stay still!"
"Kay!"
Pixel pressed the button, and the machine flashed brilliantly before shooting out a beam of light and hitting Robbie square in the chest. The light flared, and temporarily blinded everyone in the room. After a moment, in cleared, and Sportacus hurriedly leaped over to where Robbie was.
He took in the shredded clothes and considered, for a moment, that perhaps he should have been fitted in larger ones beforehand... but it was too late. He looked down at Robbie, bit his lip slightly, and wondered if he had any old clothes that would fit him. Stephanie and Pixel wandered over after Pixel had plugged the machine in to recharge for another two days. Stephanie peered around Sportacus.
'Wow," she breathed. "He's kinda cute." She giggled at the strangled sound Pixel made and reached out for his hand to show she was just teasing. Sportacus abruptly realized that when Robbie woke up, he wasn't likely to be as friendly and trusting as the previous state had been.
He cringed inwardly. Dealing with an angry teenage boy was not going to be fun.
"WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU?!"
Stephanie jumped at the yell from the other room, grabbing Pixel's hand instinctively. Sportacus had ushered them both out of the room when Robbie started waking up, and locked the door behind them.
Meanwhile, Sportacus was dodging blows.
"Calm down!" he tried to reason with Robbie, but he was having none of it, and coming at the sports elf like he was possessed. Sportacus was sorely tempted to just pin the gangly teenager, but it was simple enough to dodge the punches without retaliating, and as he suspected, the thin boy became exhausted rather quickly. Stamina was never Robbie's friend.
"All better now?" he asked, watching Robbie lean against the wall and pant. Robbie sneered at him.
"Bastard," he hissed. Sportacus shook his head.
"Look Robbie," he started.
"How the hell do you know my name?" Robbie interrupted. Sportacus made a face that clearly said he was getting frustrated, but restrained himself.
"Believe it or not, because I know you."
"Stalker," Robbie accused.
"No, actually. I'm more of a... friend you don't remember."
"Stalker," he asserted again. Sportacus rolled his eyes.
"Listen," he said finally. "And I mean listen. There was an accident. And I found you... but now we're trying to fix things, so you're gonna have to trust me, alright?"
Robbie glared at him.
"Why should I?"
"Because you're my responsibility," he replied. Robbie's eyes widened.
"Did someone actually buy me from that sick fuck?"
Sportacus felt his eye twitch.
"I didn't... buy you." Just saying it made him shudder. Robbie eyed him suspiciously, and Sportacus couldn't help but think he had the look of a wild animal that was considering whether or not to bite or run. Typical, for Robbie.
"But trust me. I'm looking after you now. You and a little girl named Stephanie. You'll meet her in a minute."
"Ahh," Robbie said. "So I'm in a sort of foster home thing. Alright. Cool." Sportacus shrugged. Whatever was easiest. Less than five minutes of dealing with him was already giving the elf a very uncharacteristic headache.
"Some rules though," Sportacus interrupted. Robbie huffed, crossing his arms in front of him and leaning back in what he thought was a very "bad boy" tough look. To Sportacus, he looked rather pouty.
"Figures," Robbie muttered. Sportacus ignored it and continued.
"When we get to the... erm, the place where we'll be staying, you have to keep your hands to yourself. No messing with equipment, no destroying stuff, no trying to rewire anything."
Robbie nodded and flapped his hand, signaling for Sportacus to continue.
"And be nice to Stephanie. Just, in general, behave. Okay?"
"Yeah, yeah," he grumbled. "Can I get some clothes?"
"Sure," Sportacus said, and handed over Robbie's adult clothes. They wouldn't really fit, but they'd have to do. Apparently Robbie didn't reach his full height until he was a little older- this Robbie was only about 5'7".
"What the hell is this?"
Sportacus sighed.
"Either wear it or go out half naked. I don't care."
"This is ridiculous," Robbie muttered, pulling the clothes on furiously. "What moron designed this thing? I'm not wearing the stupid little vest thing."
"That's fine," Sportacus said, trying very hard to not laugh. When he was finished dressing, Sportacus mused that he did look a lot like the Robbie he knew. Paler, not as tall, and with a darker look, but vaguely the same. Robbie abruptly ripped the few inches of extra material off of the pant legs, and Sportacus cringed slightly. That wasn't going to go over well once everything was back to normal...
"Alright," he sighed. "Come on then. We better get you set up for the next couple of days."
"Just what the hell are you anyway?" Robbie asked, one eyebrow raised at Sportacus skeptically. They were in the air ship.
"He's an elf," Stephanie replied before Sportacus could stop her. The sports elf groaned and Robbie opened his mouth.
"That's the stupidest thing I've ever-"
"Who's hungry?"
Robbie glared at the sports elf for interrupting him, but Stephanie bounded over to the table and waited for her lunch. Sportacus looked at Robbie questioningly, but Robbie huffed and sneered at him.
"Not hungry," he replied. "And I don't do the 'family meal' thing."
"That's kind of sad," Sportacus commented, but he shrugged. "Have it your way."
Robbie glared venomously at the pink haired girl who was shooting him a look of sympathy, and he sulked over away from them. This was stupid. No one ever gave him anything for free. He didn't doubt he would be paying later for sleeping in this blimp they called a house, but he'd be damned if he was going to add food to the bill. He'd just eat when they weren't watching.
He watched from a distance as Sportacus prepared food with his usual flair, and then both him and Stephanie chowed down happily, Stephanie babbling on about something at school in between bites. Robbie scowled. Stupid. Stupid stupid stupid. Like an old family sitcom they played late at night. Everyone was happy and dumb and without a care in the world.
He knew better. And he tried to tell that to the ache that sprang up somewhere in his chest, but in the end he settled for thinking about other things.
Stephanie watched him curiously. He was rude and obviously a lot angrier than the Robbie she was used to. But, maybe he liked the same things. He was the same person after all, just without so many memories. After all, even when Sportacus had all of his memories erased, he was still Sportacus. She finished her lunch and dashed into her room, pulling out a puzzle box and carrying it back out again. She sat down in front of Robbie and opened the box, spreading the pieces out on the floor in much the same way as she had just the other day with the nicer and cuter younger Robbie.
Sportacus watched over the whole affair cautiously. It's not that he didn't love Robbie, no matter what state he was in... it was more that he didn't know this one, and wasn't inclined to trust him not to do something stupid.
Robbie eyed the puzzle and the girl.
"What are you doing?" he asked. She looked up and smiled slightly.
"Putting together a puzzle. Wanna help?"
"No," he answered shortly.
"It's not like there's a lot to do up here you know. Unless you want to join Sportacus in exercising." she replied calmly, sorting pieces into groups. He considered her for a moment, frowning.
"You're doing it wrong," he said finally, pushing her hands away from the puzzle. "You're supposed to do the edges first. Everyone knows that." He started sorting out all the straight-edged pieces and she pretended to be amazed at how fast it was coming together.
Sportacus watched, hanging upside down and brushing his teeth. On one hand, he was proud at how quickly Stephanie was growing up and maturing. She really was a smart little girl, even if sometimes that same cleverness worried him. But then, the scene also worried him slightly as well. Robbie was stuck, somewhere, on the maturity scale. Not that he was one to talk, he thought, swinging down and tossing the toothbrush back into its hole. He knew very well he acted like a little kid or a puppy, as Robbie delighted in reminding him of this every chance he got.
But even he was more mature than Robbie was, and it was mildly worrying. His progress had apparently been halted at some point, whereas Sportacus merely enjoyed all the positive aspects of childhood, like innocence and trust.
He sighed, scratching his head. There was nothing to be done about it, so there wasn't a point in worrying... still though, he wished he could fix it. He stepped into the bathroom for a quick shower while the two of them were occupied. Summers in Lazy Town were brutal for him, and he had already developed a layer of sweat over his skin just from his regular exercises. It was a very good thing he kept hydrated.
Robbie didn't notice Sportacus had left until he came back into the room wearing only pants and a towel around his neck, pressing a wall sensor that revealed a new set of clothes. Robbie looked up from the puzzle at the sound, and studied him.
Stephanie squeaked in surprise as Robbie bolted up and was abruptly at Sportacus' side, tugging on his ears.
"HEY!" the sports elf protested, trying to pry Robbie's fingers off.
"You are an elf? Well shit!"
"Let go already!"
"Hold still! I just wanna see!"
"Robbie!" Stephanie protested, tugging on his shirt. "Let him go!"
"No way! This is cool!"
"I told you to keep your hands to yourself!" Sportacus finally yelped. Robbie reluctantly let go, and Sportacus rubbed his ear, frowning. Stephanie punched Robbie's arm slightly.
"Just because his ears are cool doesn't give you permission to man-handle them!" Robbie wasn't paying attention to her, but instead leaning in very close and examining them visually.
"I've never seen an elf before," he murmured, entranced suddenly with the way the sports elf's wet blonde hair curled slightly around the tip of an ear. Sportacus looked at him, irritated, when he caught the look of wonder Robbie was regarding him with. He stopped.
Robbie was looking at him with wide eyes from under a curtain of black hair. Sportacus could see, minutely, the strands that swayed when he exhaled. He suddenly wanted very much for Robbie to be back to normal.
"Yeah, well," he said finally, grabbing his clothes and pulling the rest of them on. He was fitting the hat over his head when Robbie abruptly snatched it.
"Hey!" Sportacus protested. "Robbie, give it back!"
"No," he said, grinning impishly and holding it behind his back. "I want to see your ears."
"Are they really that fascinating?"
"Yes," Stephanie replied for him. Robbie grinned wider, gleeful at having a partner. But just as quickly, the grin disappeared as Stephanie snatched the hat from him and handed it back to Sportacus.
"Judas," he hissed at her. She stuck her tongue out and went back over to the puzzle.
Sportacus yawned, blinking his eyes open. It was the middle of the night. What was?... was that his crystal? He sat up, and the crystal stopped. Rubbing his eyes, he wondered what was wrong, looking around for Robbie automatically. He sighed slightly when he spotted him.
He was balled up next to the food, trying to get the table to come out. He punched the wall, then cursed under his breath and whimpered, cradling his hand. Sportacus rolled out of bed silently and padded over to him, equally silent. He crouched down next to him.
"Having trouble?" he whispered. Robbie started to squeal in fright, but slapped a hand over his mouth automatically, silencing it. He was frozen in wide-eyed terror for a moment before he regained his composure and glared venomously at the smirking elf.
"No," he whispered back. His stomach growled, and he clenched his fists. Sportacus regarded him solemnly for a moment before sighing and leaning back, pressing a hand against the appropriate button. The table slid smoothly out and Robbie scrambled to get out of its way. As soon as it stopped, Robbie made to grab one of the sports candy suspended in the dispensers, but it was stuck. He grunted, digging his fingers in and pulling, then attempting to pull the separators apart. Sportacus grabbed his hands before he could damage the equipment.
"Orange," he said quietly, and an orange shot out of it. Sportacus caught it in mid-air and handed it to Robbie, who snatched it and tore the peel off, devouring it much like a wild animal might. Sportacus watched curiously.
"What are you doing up so late?" he asked. Robbie looked up at him through the hair falling in front of his eyes, still sucking the juice out of the orange. He licked his lips and straightened up.
"None of your business. Why do you care?"
"I already told you, you're my responsibility," he replied. Robbie snorted, scraping the remaining pulp from the rind. Sportacus summoned an apple, and Robbie looked at it in his outstretched hand suspiciously before snatching it and taking huge bites.
"What're you getting out of it anyway?" Robbie asked between bites. Sportacus looked at him, confused.
"Getting out of it?"
"Don't play dumb. This isn't a foster home or anything. You're not that kid's dad or uncle or even human. So what're you doing?"
"Ah," Sportacus leaned back slightly, understanding. "I'm the town hero."
"Figures," Robbie muttered. "The hero comes now."
"Would you liked me to have come sooner?" he answered casually, though knowing he was traveling into dangerous territory.
He was reminded that this was dangerous territory that belonged to an equally dangerous animal when Robbie looked up at him sharply, muscles tense.
"You know more than you let on, elf."
"True," Sportacus murmured, yawning. How late was it, anyway? "That's generally what heroes are like, isn't it?"
"No," Robbie answered just as easily, gnawing the last of the edible pieces off of the apple. "Heroes are pretentious pricks who go around pretending to know what's right and pretending to know everything. They act like they're so great." Robbie looked at him directly, as if his gaze could pierce something and pin him to the spot. Sportacus gazed back, unaffected.
"But heroes don't know anything. And they're not great at all. They don't know anything."
Sportacus recognized easily the signs of Robbie whipping himself into a fit. He rested back on his hands and merely looked at Robbie patiently.
"I've seen heroes, you know," Robbie started, eyeing Sportacus in a way that suggested he was looking for a weakness. Sportacus gave him none, and he continued.
"I saw him once. He was annoying. But I was just a stupid little kid. He looked cool back then. I was just a little kid. There were a bunch of us, you know? He smiled and laughed like everything was bright and sunny all the time. He rescued us. I looked right into his eyes, you know. I remember, even way back then, I looked into his eyes and begged that he'd be able to hear me. But he didn't."
Sportacus felt something burn behind his eyes, but he kept it back. He stared straight back into Robbie's gray eyes.
"I'm sorry I couldn't save you." he said simply, calmly. Sincerely.
Robbie snapped.
"YOU'RE SORRY?!" Robbie raged, his eyes wild. He lunged at Sportacus, but the sports elf didn't move. Robbie beat at his shoulders and arms and chest, screaming.
"I HATE YOU! WHY COULDN'T YOU HAVE SAVED ME?! WHAT KIND OF HERO DOESN'T SAVE LITTLE KIDS?! WHY DIDN'T YOU HEAR ME? I HATE YOU! I HATE EVERYONE!"
At some point Robbie's voice had cracked, and hiccups mauled the words as they poured out of his mouth to compliment the threatening flood in his eyes. The blows against the sports elf grew weaker, and shook. Sportacus slowly embraced the trembling teen, holding him close.
"I'm sorry," he whispered.
Robbie sobbed loudly, his face pressed against the elf's collar.
"If I could go back in time," he continued softly, not moving beyond holding Robbie gently against him. "I'd save you. I'd save you from everything Robbie, I promise. I wish I could. I wish I could go back in time and find you and take you somewhere you'd be happy and safe and no one could ever hurt you again. But I can't. I'm so sorry."
Robbie cried against him for some time, feeling raw. Everything hurt.
"W-where?" he hiccupped, his eyes firmly closed and his face still hidden against the sports elf. Sportacus thought for a moment.
"This sounds selfish," he said finally. "But... I was a little kid too back then. I'd like to think we could have been friends. I definitely would have made sure you were safe and happy."
Robbie shivered, his tears slowly drying up. He felt empty.
"Though," Sportacus continued quietly. "You may have been a little cold there. It's pretty far north where I grew up." Robbie tried to sniffle quietly.
"What..." his voice was scratchy from abuse. "What were you like?" Sportacus smiled.
"Mischievous. I dare say we would have made quite the pair."
Robbie laughed weakly, feeling exhausted.
"That... that actually sounds kinda nice..."
Sportacus continued talking, sensing Robbie's impending slumber.
"My mother would have stuffed you full of food constantly and said you were far too skinny. My father would have probably insisted that we both be tied to a chair, because I'm certain we would have gotten into so much trouble... I was pretty adventurous as a kid, and you, little darkling, would have been dragged along on every one of them. You'd be the talk of the village I bet."
Robbie hummed in acknowledgement, his breathing getting deeper.
"Everyone probably would have spoiled you. I'm sure they'd call you a cute little darkling because of your hair. Everyone would want to be your friend. Humans are pretty scarce in the area I grew up, so you would have been special. Everyone would love you and take care of you. You would have been part of us."
He looked down at the sleeping Robbie, smiling sadly. He ran a hand through the long black hair, then gently picked him up and deposited him in the bed, tucking him in carefully and leaning over, kissing his forehead.
"Sweet dreams, my darkling."
He arranged the duvet and blankets on the floor into a bed again, laying down in it and inhaling Robbie's scent. He was soon fast asleep.
AN:
Not my best work. I know. Geh.
When Robbie mentions having met a hero before, it's not necessarily Nine. It could be... but I never really specify it, because it's not that important.
"Darkling" is because of Robbie's hair and attitude. His hair mostly. I find it fun to imagine Robbie in a village full of elves. He'd stand out so much! And he'd probably be doted on. It's a cute idea, but not one I'm likely to develop.
Robbie seems to be partial to fits of hysteria. I just noticed this. Hm. I need to write him more stable one of these days.
Thanks for the reviews guys!
