Chapter 4: Months of Planning and Years of Hate.
Although Beast Boy had arrived back at the Tower around the afternoon, Robin had too quickly dropped the rest of his training for the day to sleep and cuddle with the green boy.
It made Beast Boy absolutely sick. With every kiss, he bit back the disgust brewing within his body.
Not even a lifetime of romance novels could prepare anyone for Robin's trite attempts at declaring his love. Robin acted all too their age and it deeply bothered Beast Boy. Robin was either completely normal and Beast Boy was the weird one or years of living with the Batman had made the boy wonder desperate for affection.
Robin was awkward; his kisses were more so jabs in battle than tender expressions of love. Beast Boy almost wished the rumors of Batman being involved with his protegé had been true; it would have made the boy wonder at least a decent kisser. Somehow he didn't think saying 'kiss me like Batman kisses you' would have gone over too well...
Beast Boy blinked at Robin, watching the older teen move behind him.
"I've never felt this way before, BB." Robin whispered into his ear, nibbling it before forcing another kiss onto him. It was an assault and all Beast Boy could do was fake his way through. Robin would become suspicious otherwise.
If Beast Boy would have pushed the brooding detective away, questions would be raised. His once free schedule, which allowed him to meet with his new team, would be watched. Robin would seek the root of any angry outburst. He's rather have a Robin who wanted to waste all of his time than a Robin made self-aware of how he was acting.
So he faked it. He smiled and beamed at Robin, petting his hair before planting softer, more sensual kisses of his own. "Me too, Robin."
Robin held him, still forcefully as if Beast Boy was a bird that was suddenly and quite violently caged. He had once found his manipulation of Robin's feelings to be fun. Now, all he wanted was freedom.
He couldn't kill Robin; not yet. But maybe he could nudge Robin out of this situation...and not out of the nearest window. They were still in Beast Boy's bed as the afternoon hours had died away into the night. He needed sleep and not a forced show of comfort for the boy blunder.
"Rob, what will Starfire think?" The question seemed to catch Robin off-guard.
"What do you mean?" His voice registered a little lower, a little too much more possessive for Beast Boy's comfort.
"She loves you."
"I love you." Robin wrapped his arms around his chest, pushing them together yet keeping their faces slightly apart. They were not kissing for what seemed like the first time in hours.
The air felt exquisite.
"She always looks at me weirdly. I don't think she'll handle this...us well." For an extra measure, he added, "I just love you too much to lose you."
"Starfire isn't jealous."
"I feel like I'm always fighting with her for your time. She rarely ever leaves your side..."
"BB, you're the one who sounds jealous," Robin planted a kiss on his forehead. "It's cute though. It suits how cutely green you are."
Oh, Robin would meet a terrible end. Beast Boy promised that to himself.
"Listen to me. She won't take this well."
"She's a member of the team and our friend. She will accept this."
Robin was not backing off. Beast Boy needed an exit before Robin started permanently living in his quarters.
"Okay, Rob. But...can we sleep apart tonight? I'm...self-conscious about myself."
At this point, he didn't have a plan to get rid of Robin. He was going to have to meet Red-X later tonight and was not past word-vomitting whatever worked to get rid of the older teen.
"You shouldn't be...I love you just the way you are."
Robin was so sappy, Beast Boy was tempted to just transform into a fly then retransform into a dinosaur in his mouth. Baby bird was going the explode if he kept up this level of chessiness.
"Can you though? Please?"
Robin snuggled once again, but succumbed. "Alright. I want to be able to cuddle with you. Being close with you helped me get through a tough day."
By that, Robin meant a tough day of training. The boy wonder would be horrified to learn of Beast Boy's tough day: plotting the deaths of the Teen Titans. Threatening Jinx and Gizmo was tough, not doing showy acrobatic flips across the Tower's gym.
"I'll miss you." Beast Boy stood up and led Robin to the door, planting a kiss on the older teen's lips.
His plan to seduce Robin was only going to complicate his criminal life further. Robin must be kept in romantic bliss, because the boy seemed to be teetering into an obsession with stalking Beast Boy. Robin could not follow and watch him.
It would ruin months of planning and years of hate.
This time, Red-X had chosen a park to meet up. The apartment from earlier that morning had already been reported as being burglarized, but there were no suspects.
Red-X didn't get caught unless he wanted a fight. Beast Boy hadn't ever realized just how good Red-X was at stealing. The thief only got caught when he wanted the Teen Titans to show up. He found their absurdity fun; the reward even sweeter when the Titans had lost.
Beast Boy had underestimated him.
In the dark of the park, Beast Boy's heightened senses found Red-X. His smell of the thief was becoming stronger, as if he was branding his husky scent into the green hero's mind. By contrast, Robin smelt sweaty to the point of being spoiled. He couldn't help but feel distaste for the boy blunder.
Unlike Robin, there was no one like Red-X. That statement should have felt just as cheesy as what he said to Robin, but somehow when describing Red-X, it felt all the more mysterious and enigmatic.
Red-X was Batman-like in his mystery and commandment of the night. Robin was a teen, but more so a boy, too scared and paranoid to inspire that kind of beauty.
"So what did you think of my little show this morning?" Beast Boy broke the silence, walking over to the park bench that Red-X sat on. The park was decently covered in larger trees, masking the streetlights around it. They were in a more upscale neighborhood, so there probably wasn't anyone sleeping in the park. The park was new and kept, nothing like the abandoned building they had first met it. Even the bench was as sleek as the thief himself.
Beast Boy felt his most normal in the dark. At night, during the darkest of hours, his green skin couldn't be made out. He could pass for a regular human. Red-X and him must have looked normal right now; two lovers caught in the night's sweet embrace...
He did not just think that. Dealing with Robin was warping his senses. Only a fool would project his false feelings for the boy blunder onto the closest male. Red-X was his new teammate, nothing more.
The silence of the night mocked Beast Boy's thoughts, but luckily Red-X cleared his throat and started speaking.
"I don't know what your motives are. Not completely."
"It doesn't matter." Beast Boy looked out onto the shadows of grass and listened to the sound of nature all alive around him. It was inviting and anxious.
"I don't risk my live for just anyone." Red-X inched closer. Beast Boy fully knew he could act on where this was leading. He could ensnare Red-X. He could also be a better man and push him away.
Thankfully, Beast Boy was a selfish man.
"Then why do it? I didn't have to threaten you. You know I could kill you. I could become a lion and maim you."
Beast Boy turned back, moving closer to the thief and continued. "But you still don't fear me, despite all of that. You welcome me."
"You wouldn't kill me."
Speckled light from the stars illuminated Beast Boy's eyes. Red-X still wore his mask, but he had never seen the thief so vulnerable.
"I have killed, you know."
"I haven't seen it. You could just have known about his death in advance and used it. You are a liar, especially to your friends."
Beast Boy flicked his tongue, biting back his surprise. "You know I did it."
"True, but I didn't see it. I want to see what makes you a self-confessed new breed of criminal. I want to see your work."
The green hero didn't know if they were seconds from kissing or waging an all-out war on each other. The mood was tense, but playfully so. He didn't feel disgusted like he did with Robin. The boy blunder was predictable and simplistic; Red-X was always fresh, beaming with the cool energy of the night around them.
A lesser man or woman would have easily done anything for the thief. Beast Boy must maintain some sense of dominance as the leader. He wanted to say no, but his darkened urges surged in the presence of the thief.
Months of planning and years of hate boiled into minutes of intoxication merely being around Red-X.
He needed to regain composure. "I will prove it. Name a villain and I will finish it."
"I didn't come here empty-handed...and before you speak, no I didn't bring something I stole from that apartment. Well, not exactly..."
Red-X rose, reaching out his hand. Beast Boy grasped it, letting himself be led out of the clearing behind a set of trees next to them. Within this grouping of tress, there was a small enclosed space.
In the light of the stars, he saw a fat bound teen before them.
Control Freak still looked greasy in the night. His eyes searched wildly, his gag humming as he tried to scream.
"It hasn't even been a full-day since I've unveiled my plan and you brought me him."
"You might be a better killer than me, but you missed whose apartment we met in. Control Freak, like any villain, has a family."
Beast Boy walked towards Control Freak, ripping the gag from his mouth.
"Thank you! Save me from this freak!"
"You think I'm going to save you?"
Beast Boy kicked the bound villain, before turning towards Red-X. "I don't know what to say."
"The don't say anything. Enjoy."
"I...I..." Beast Boy ignored Control Freak's flailing and looked up at the thief. He quickly moved his mask to unveil his mouth.
Red-X leaned forward, slowly pressing his lips on Beast Boy's neck, before trickling up and finally dominating his lips. Red-X pushed away, watching a beguiled Beast Boy gasp for air.
Robin could take hours and only arouse his disgust, but Red-X unwound his cool dominance in seconds.
Control Freak had stopped moving, confused by the situation. This should have been his opportunity to escape.
"I don't know what came over me." Beast Boy paused, forcing himself to turn and face Control Freak.
"Red, you're such a good boy taking me on a date and...dinner." Joking helped ease the slip in his judgement.
Red-X didn't say anything, for he didn't need to. Underneath that mask, Beast Boy knew he would be smirking. The thief had won.
Beast Boy laughed out, transforming into a lion.
Control Freak, even if his restraints were let loose, could never have outrun Beast Boy. His screams became muted, blurring in the sounds of a city welcoming its darkest child at night.
Death became Beast Boy. The night clung to its new champion.
AN: To prove my dedication to finishing this story, I've updated within a day of my last chapter. Thank you again for the positive feedback. I also have another chapter that will be uploaded tomorrow.
