A/N: Longest chapter yet, you guys! It's actually 4444 words without the author notes! -grin- So there's only one chapter left, maybe two if I decide to add an epilogue. I might just end it in the next chapter and maybe do a few one-shots to go with this universe. Short, I know, but it was never meant to be long or have an extensive plot.
Ashes of Paradise
Chapter 4: Questions and Confrontation
Robin nibbled halfheartedly on a piece of tangy mango, head bowed and silky hair slipping down to obscure his eyes. He could feel Slade's own imploring grey eye boring into him, attempting to catch his gaze, but he kept his baby-blues fixed on the bowel of sweet fruits before him.
He already knew what Slade wanted. He knew that he thought Robin was avoiding him, when in truth, he wasn't. At least, not completely. He had hidden out in his acacia tree the night before until it was well into the early morning before retreating to his servants' arms and sleeping in a bit. So technically, he hadn't truly been avoiding the man...
"You're oddly quiet this morning, Robin," Bruce rumbled, looking over at his son. "Is something wrong?"
"Oh, no," Robin smiled, though it didn't quite reach his eyes. "Just a bit tired is all."
Robin's heart pounded wildly in his chest, matching the beat of his feet, which seemed to fly over the stone of the floor. He wondered if it would leap straight from its prison in his ribcage. The pads of his feet were burning and the tips of his toes were scraped from tripping as he ran down the hallways.
He turned down the servants' hall and burst through the seventh door down. This startled the two occupants within from their sleep, and they turned to look at him with wide eyes, their forms barely visible through the night's darkness. Once their initial shock wore off and they noticed the distress on their master's pretty face, they jumped up from their beds.
"Robin, the moon has risen," a raspy voice called from the darkness. "Why are you out of your chambers without us?"
"Oh gods, Raven," the young teen cried, and a pale hand reached from the darkness to grab his own, tugging him to its owner's bed. He complied and collapsed onto it, the moonlight dripping into his wide eyes and illuminating both his face and the faces of his two personal servants.
"Shall I light a candle?"
"No need, Kori." Raven placed her hand on Robin's cheek and turned her face towards her. "Robin, what happened?"
"He kissed me, Raven. General Wilson kissed me."
Bruce stared a him for a few more seconds before nodding and turning back to his food. The little prince didn't miss the mixture of worry and suspicion that flashed through the man's navy orbs, and a shiver bolted up his spine. He flicked his blue eyes up, catching Slade's intense gaze this time, and Robin suddenly felt massively restricted, as if he was trapped in a tight space that he couldn't escape.
"What?" Raven's thin brows furrowed over her dark eyes, their usual violet almost black in the night.
"I shared lunch with Slade, the American general who has come to establish a alliance between Gotham and America..." When Kori moved to sit on his other side, he accepted her offered shoulder to rest his head on. "We talked for awhile, about our country and his... he has never seen a tiger, you know... and it was nice. Really nice, actually. I have not been able to speak so freely with anybody but you two and Red... and Father at one point..." he trailed off, his throat tightening.
Both girls nodded in understanding and reached out to wrap him in their arms. He happily accepted the embrace, leaning into their warm bodies as the three long-time friends curled up together.
"After lunch, I suggested we go for a walk, and we did. It was such a beautiful day, a bit cooler than usual... the gods were kind..."
"And he kissed you?"
"Yes," Robin squeaked, bewildered, tapping his fingers against his exposed collarbone. "It was... it was amazing! It almost felt like him..."
"Robin, You haven't experienced the touch of a man since Red," Raven explained calmly, stroking his hand with long fingers. "It may be loneliness that made you feel that way."
"Maybe so..." Robin sighed, twisting his digits together and biting his lip in a nervous habit he had yet to break himself of. "It just felt real... even for a moment."
"What do you plan to do?" Kori questioned softly, running her unearthly-tanned fingers through his gentle black curls. "Surely you must at least speak with him?"
"I do not know if I can, Kori," Robin whispered. "I do not want another man to get hurt because of me."
Slade's brows furrowed in a silent question at the boy's worried expression, but Robin dropped his wide eyes and bit his lip. He twirled a strand of midnight hair around his index finger for a moment before cautiously looking back up. He nodded to Slade, and the man frowned. The teen wasn't quite sure what he was trying to tell the white-haired American, but he knew that Kori was right. Something had to be said.
A few servants hurried over and collected their plates, and Robin smiled slightly at them before darting his eyes from Slade to the hallway. He turned to Bruce and whispered something in his ear. The man nodded at him and fixed an intimidating gaze on Slade.
"Would you care to take a walk with me, General?" Robin asked quietly as Bruce and Wintergreen strode away, chatting in the desert nation's native tongue.
"Of course," Slade replied, sticking to the boy's side and matching his steps.
A warm breeze drifted through the halls, caressing and embracing anybody who happened to be walking down the white limestone. The leaves of the surrounding flora fluttered and rustled carelessly in the gentle wind, some picking up and carrying along, twisting and twirling like little dancers.
Robin's barefooted steps were silent among the backdrop sounds, while the fall of Slade's light leather boots added a dry padding to the atmosphere. They walked together in what would have seemed like companionable silence to any passerby, but between the two, it was thick and foreboding. If it wasn't for the open-air layout, Slade was pretty sure it would be hard to breath through the tension.
Slade glanced over at his companion, scanning his face for any signs of... well, anything really. Unfortunately for him, Robin seemed to be immune to such approaches, and he kept his features schooled into an expression of complete cool. He did, however, notice how one of the teen's hands were twitching, and he looked to down to see the slim digits fiddling with Garfield's ear. Slade was momentarily startled that the huge feline managed to just materialize, and he could have sworn that the beast glared at him from the corner of his slitted green eyes.
"Have you ever been married, General?" Robin asked softly, breaking the silence.
The man frowned at the little voice, eyebrows knitting in confusion. Why would Robin ask him such a question, Slade wondered. He couldn't quite grasp any concept that would inspire the seemingly innocent query, but he could hear the underlying tone of pain and misery. He vaguely flirted with the idea that the prince sounded so displeased because he was once wed.
"Yes. Her name was Addie," Slade replied slowly, lowering his eye in the hope to catch Robin's roaming gaze. "She died giving birth to my second son."
Robin seemed surprised at the word 'son', judging by the way his wide azure eyes flickered up to his own deep orb before once again fixating on the limestone path.
"So you bear the pain of a lost love?"
"I suppose so, yes..."
"Then you understand why I must tell you to stay away from me."
"Excuse me?" Slade's brows furrowed in confusion and worry, lips curling into a deep frown.
"Keep your distance, General Slade Wilson," Robin said seriously, blue eyes dark in a very unbecoming way, making him look far older than any eighteen-year-old should. "I do not want you to get hurt."
"But-"
"It is in your best interest to carry on with your negotiations, then leave our country. Just... please. I beg of you. I do not wish for you to get dragged into this."
"I must ask why..."
"The only way you will find out is if you get involved, and I will not allow that to happen."
Robin turned and walked away, elegant white robes and massive green tiger trailing in his wake, leaving Slade confused and a bit anxious for whatever was happening. He didn't follow the raven-haired teen, so he was unable to see the bitter tears that dripped down his pale cheeks.
"... and then he just walked away," Slade finished, rubbing at his weary eye. He ran his hand down his face before carding it through his thick white hair, some of the untamed strands leaning back over his forehead. "I don't know what's happening, Will."
Wintergreen plucked absently at the hem of his thin cotton tunic, eyebrows creased in contemplation. He knew exactly what his old friend was talking about, what was bothering Robin, why Robin wanted Slade gone... but did Slade need to know, he wondered.
"First he's just the sweet, polite prince, then he turns around to tell me that it's in my best interest to stay the hell away from him? People don't just run around themselves like that. Something's wrong in this palace, and I plan to find out what it is."
"What?" Wintergreen's head snapped up. Apparently Slade did need to know, seeing how he looked ready to leap straight into battle to defend Gotham's prince, even when Robin wasn't the one that needed defending.
"I'm going to figure out what has Robin so jumpy," Slade repeated. "Something big is happening in this place. I don't know how many people are in on it or what it is, but it obviously has something to do with us. What if they're planning to take us hostage to further their own domination?"
"Oh, please, Slade," William sighed, rolling his head back. "Gotham may not be peaceful within its own boundaries, but it has no plans of expansion or 'domination', as you so eloquently put it. That is just your paranoia."
"Than what is it?"
"It's..." Wintergreen hesitated, picking his words carefully. "It's not us, per se. Or at least it wasn't..."
"What do you mean?" Slade frowned, his single eye burning a hole in Will's face.
"This whole thing... Robin acting so jumpy around you? It's because you kissed him."
"Well, I figured that much..." he snorted.
"Yes, but it's not for the reason you think. Robin's not pushing you away for his sake. He's pushing you away for your sake."
"He's told me this already!"
"Would you let me finish?" Wintergreen snapped. Slade's jaw snapped close with an audible click, surprised at his old friend's outburst. William was usually the epitome of calm, always level-headed and patient.
"I'm sorry," Slade said, sounding genuinely sincere. "Please, continue."
"It's alright," Wintergreen sighed, swiping his hand over his face. "This whole situation is just a little fucked up, and Robin knows it too."
The man paused, sighing, before looking Slade straight in the eye with the most serious expression he could muster, which was quite fierce.
"Bruce Wayne is by far one of the richest men in the world," Wintergreen began. "He runs a steady empire and has kept it working efficiently with proper economics and crime-control for many years. Being so prosperous, Bruce doesn't have to worry about Robin being deprived of anything, but a little extra money never hurts, right?"
Slade nodded in agreement, not quite understanding where Will was heading with this.
"Which is why it's common for kings and queens to marry their children off to other royal children," Wintergreen said. "That, and to keep royal blood from veering off into peasantry."
"Seems a bit shallow..." Slade muttered.
"Yes, well, these are the highest members of society. It's expected of them to be shallow."
"Where is this going, now?"
"Right. Anyway, as I was saying, it's not uncommon for royalty to mix their children in order to continue the rich bloodline. It is, however, a bit more uncommon for kings to sell their children to other higher-ups in order to further their wealth and allow the other family to mix blood."
"Selling children?" Slade gaped. "Just for money and 'mixing blood'?"
"Yes," Wintergreen nodded. "As I've told you many, many times..." he glared a bit, his voice taking on a scolding edge, "customs here are very different from our own."
"So what does this have to do with Robin?"
"Besides the fact that Bruce wants to sell him?"
The was a few moments of stretched silence before the statement finally settled past the one-eyed man's thick skull, and his mouth opened and closed like a beached goldfish.
"Bruce is selling him?" Slade growled, clenching his hands so tightly against the armrest that his knuckles turned snow-white.
"Well, I'm not sure if he is anymore, after what happened with Red..." Wintergreen murmured absently.
"Red?" Slade relaxed his fingers, bewildered. "Who's Red? Is he why Robin was asking me about being married?"
"Red's the reason for all of this," Wintergreen said. "Back when Bruce was planning to send Robin off, to who I don't know... Robin was secretly seeing a man without anybody but his two personal servants knowing. Red was also a servant here, so he saw Robin every day, furthering their relationship under Bruce's own nose. They excelled far enough for Red to plan their escape from the clutches of this palace and save enough money to buy Robin an ample wedding ring. Bruce, meanwhile, was coordinating a trade for his son. He was to be given nearly half of a massive empire, but only because Robin was a virgin. Unfortunately, Bruce ended up catching Red and Robin together. Robin had lost his innocence to a servant, and he was no longer worth selling."
"No longer worth selling?" Slade echoed.
"Meaning it would be more profitable just to keep Robin where he was," Wintergreen replied.
"Now what happened to Red?"
"I was getting to that," the man chuckled lowly. "Red was hauled off and supposedly exiled, but no one's truly sure what happened to him. He could be dead as far as this palace in concerned."
"So what does all this have to do with me...?" Slade questioned slowly, sounding as if he wasn't truly sure he wanted to know the answer.
"Because if Bruce were to find out that you have also laid hands on his son, you'd end up just like poor Red."
Slade sat back heavily in his chair, feeling rather exhausted for a man who had been doing nothing but listening to a friend explain a situation. No matter how complicated that situation happened to be.
"So Robin..." the white-haired American said softly, eye fixed on the stone floor. "He's trying to protect me?"
"Yes."
"But I don't need protecting."
"Oh, you will if Robin's father ever finds out you molested his baby," Will snorted. "Bruce Wayne isn't called the Batman for shits and giggles."
"What?" Slade looked at him oddly. "The Batman?"
"You never listen to me!" Wintergreen threw his hands up. "Yes, the Batman. And do you know why he's called that?" Slade stared at him. "Because of his blood-lust, Slade. Because of his blood-lust. Anybody who messes with him will die... but his son? He will destroy you."
"The Batman..." Slade snorted with repressed chuckles. "How ridiculous..."
"Slade!"
"What? I heard you!"
"Apparently not!" the older man shouted, exasperated. "You should be finding a way to flee the country without raising suspicion, not sitting here and... and making fun of the king that's going to kill you and then mock you by paying for your funeral!"
"He's not going to kill me, William," Slade replied calmly.
"And what makes you so sure?" Wintergreen crossed his arms defiantly over his broad chest.
"Because Bruce is never going to find out."
"Oh, really now?" the blond's lips quirked into a condescending smile. "And how do you plan on keeping it from him, hm?"
"Well, Robin and Red apparently managed to keep their relationship secret long enough for them to plan their runaway marriage, so why can't I?"
"You're planning on marrying him?"
"I've only formed this plan within the last two minutes, so I haven't exactly gotten that far."
"What am I going to do with you?" Will rolled his green eyes to the heavens, shaking his head.
"You might want to focus on what we're going to do with Robin instead..." Slade smirked.
Robin shivered.
He had been on edge ever since he fled from Slade a few hours prior. He was feeling beyond paranoid, his skin crawling as if he was being watched constantly. He didn't know if he would turn a corner and find his father standing there, dragging a bruised and bloodied Slade by the collar. The thought of another man losing his life because of him made Robin ill, and he paused in his destination-free walk to breathe evenly for a few moments.
The breeze picked up again, grasping gently at his midnight-colored hair and twirling the short locks around. He was amused by this for a bit until he lost interest and instead turned his attention to Garfield, who gazed up at him from his spot by Robin's feet.
"Hello, sweet boy," Robin cooed, petting the giant creature's silky fur. "I believe we should head back to bed for a nap. I did not sleep too well last night."
Garfield blinked lazily and rose to pad after him, keeping close to his side. He nipped at his prince's fingers, making him giggle and bat at his cold nose. Robin patted his flexing shoulders as they walked along, turning down the corridor that led to his room. He paused and allowed Garfield to enter first before doing the same.
Closing the double-doors quietly behind him, Robin sighed and curled up on his bed, the thin sheets cool beneath the skin not covered by his robes. Garfield climbed up and laid next to him, butting his muzzle under the teen's chin. He purred loudly as nimble fingers massaged the base of his round ear, his throat vibrating with a deep thrum.
"Robin?" There was a soft knock at the doors. "Can I talk to you?"
The raven bolted upright on his bed, and Garfield growled, curling his heavy body around his hips. Robin calmed him with a tender hand before sliding from the silky sheets and slowly padding to the door. He reached out for the handle, hesitating a moment before wrenching the door open an inch, glaring through the crack.
"What in the gods' names are you doing?" he hissed, baring his white teeth as he glanced worriedly down the hall.
"I've come to talk about us," Slade said, muscling his way past Robin and into the bedroom. The young man sighed and clamped his eyes shut before opening them again and glowering at the general.
"Us?" Robin arched a dark brow. "There is no us, General Wilson."
"Robin, please..." Slade lowered himself into one of the plush chairs in the seating-area. "Wintergreen told me everything that happened with Red and your father."
"William?" Robin questioned, baby-blues widening. "Damn that man... what foolish idea has he instilled in your mind?"
"Don't blame Will. He tried to explain why I should stay away."
"And you did not listen?"
"I'm not exactly known for my attentiveness..."
Robin laughed that airy, musical laugh that made Slade grin stupidly. He shook his raven head, rubbing an elegant hand over his forehead before lifting his gaze to meet Slade's own single grey eye. He looked the man up and down before sighing and taking the seat opposite, deciding to humor his guest like any good host would.
"Your plan, crazy man?" Robin tilted his head, disheveled black hair flopping into his eyes.
"My plan..." Slade stood and lowered himself to one knee before the prince, taking Robin's hand in his. "Well, it's not really much of a plan as of now. Honestly, I only got as far as asking your permission to kiss you again."
Robin stared at him with wide, surprised eyes. Emotions bubbled up in his chest, clogging his throat and stifling his voice. He wondered why Slade was so insistent upon seeing him, and he wanted so badly to comply with his wishes. He had instantly adored the man the moment he first laid eyes on him, and he knew that this was how Red must have felt whenever they were together.
"Robin?"
Gotham's prince blinked rapidly and nodded ever so slightly. Slade cupped his cheeks in his rough, battle-hardened hands before slowly leaning into his personal space. He hesitated when their lips were a mere hair's length apart before steeling his resolve and pressing forward. Robin sighed and wrapped his arms loosely around Slade's chest as their lips meshed together, his fingers clutching at the back of his tunic. Their lips parted and tongues hesitantly met, tasting pressing against one another.
When they pulled apart for air, lips hovering just above the other's, Robin blinked and released the American from his hold, instead moving his hands to Slade's hard chest.
"W-wow..." he whispered. "I... I believe your plan may have worked, General."
Slade chuckled and brushed a thumb over the boy's smooth cheek before pressing another quick kiss to his lips.
"That'll show William to doubt my intellect," he grinned.
"It is understandable that he does such a thing."
Slade frowned. Hadn't things been going well?
"Excuse me?"
"You said that William told you about Red..." he said expectantly, and Slade nodded in agreement. "So why are you doing this then? Only a fool would pursue such a fruitless endeavor... Surely-"
"Robin," Slade interrupted, gripping the teen's hands tightly, "do you believe in love at first sight?"
The little bird bit his tongue in his haste to close his loose jaw. His eyes were round and he pulled back enough to take in the man's whole expression. He cataloged the mixture of affection, worry and hope, the same hope that had long ago been pushed into the back of his mind.
"Y-yes... yes, I do," Robin whispered softly, hesitantly.
"I didn't... until I met you, that is..." Slade planted a gentle kiss on each of his soft fingertips. "Your father... he is a good man... but he's been blinded by greed. Selling you? The thought alone makes me shudder."
Robin flinched at the mention of his father, and he withdrew his slim hands from the man's grasp.
"William told you about that?" he asked, voice barely audible against the background noise of the palace.
"He told me everything."
Silence reigned for a few minutes before Robin quickly rose from his seat, nearly bowling Slade over in the process.
"You have to understand, Slade..." Robin pleaded, clasping his hands together. "My father... everything he does is for me. If he believes that sending me off to be wed is in my best interest, than I will happily follow his orders."
"But he's not 'sending you off', he's selling you..." he growled in distaste.
"It is not like that..." Robin said meekly.
"Robin... little bird..." When Robin flinched at the pet-name, Slade reassured him with a soft look. "You're such a kind, beautiful boy... and I love that about you... but you're so smart too. I know that you know what he's doing is wrong."
"Of course I know!" the azure-eyed teen snapped, tangling his fingers in his short hair. "But this is my home, Slade... my father..." His voice dropped to a whisper. "Our country is not like yours. Selling your child can be taken two ways: you are doing it purely for money to satiate your greed, or you are doing it to lock in your child's financially-level future. My father is doing it for both, Slade, and that is enough for me... I know he is because he loves me. It may look like greed to you, but it looks like love to me."
Slade heaved a sigh and brushed a hand over the back of Robin's neck when he turned to gaze out one of the many windows carved into the wall. He gripped the pale column, whether in calming or malice manner, he didn't know, and the royal Gothamite shuddered. Slade wouldn't hurt him. He could feel it.
"You may believe that, Robin," Slade began, "but you're young. You still insist on pointing out the good in people and you tend to turn a blind eye to the bad. I'm not so lucky. I pay more attention to the bad, which keeps me alive in the outside world."
"This is not the outside world, Slade," Robin said quietly. "It does not get more inside than this."
"And I'm not denying that," the man chuckled. "I'm just trying to tell you that your love for Bruce is keeping your from seeing what he's really trying to do. He was serious enough about all this to exile your lover. He's not fooling around."
Robin looked away, refusing to meet his gaze, and Slade sighed again. He stood behind the little prince and set his hands gently on his slender hips. His fingers settled over the outline of his stomach, and he could feel the muscles there tense and roll under the surface of the alabaster skin hidden beneath his robes.
"You are right..." Robin whispered, wrapping his arms around himself. "I... I know you are right, but I... I just cannot imagine my own father doing such a thing to me for his own gain."
"I know..." Slade murmured, leaning down to plant a warm kiss behind his ear.
"I have been wary since Red..."
"I know..."
"But I thought it would just blow over..."
"I know..."
Robin turned in his arms, pressing his hands to Slade's chest and looking into his single slate-grey eye with such emotion that the white-haired man was taken aback and froze in place, lost in those ocean-deep orbs.
"What do I do?"
"You run," Slade whispered. "You run away. With me."
A/N: Notice that Cyborg is nowhere in here. Poor guy. Some of you may be wondering why I used Bruce, Starfire and Beast Boy's real names, but Robin, Raven and Red X are called just that... well, I did it because I'm lazy. Obviously Beast Boy doesn't make sense because he's just a tiger, not a changeling, and I figured if Robin could be a bird, why not Raven too?
Well, one (or two) more (terrible) chapter(s) to go! Catch ya later!
