Robin closed his door, and kicked off his boots. Information gathering in Detroit for the Justice League, ran into trouble with the Fairy Skulls. His back, shoulders, and feet were screaming, his head throbbed, and he just wanted to lapse into a coma for a month. He hid his face in his pillow and groaned.

There was a quiet swoosh as his door slid open. "Hey kid. You asleep?" Robin shifted over in his bed, making room for his friend. "How you feelin'?"

"Like crap."

Red X's hand ran down the curve of his spine, and Robin bit back a moan. Red had the best hands. "Fuck you're tense."

"I haven't slept right in days." Robin whined, arching into the touch. "I lost the coin flip, so Cyborg and Raven got the bed and couch."

"Did they make you sleep on the floor? Poor baby." Red X teased. "You can't sleep like this, you'll fuck up your spine. Get your shirt off."

Robin sat up and stripped off his cape and top. Red had seen him in less in the past months. Save each other's lives a few times, get stuck in an alternate dimension together, and team up to kill a race of alien vegetable zombies, you tend to bond with a guy. Red X started at his shoulders, rubbing firmly into the sore muscles. "Try to relax." He murmured.

Robin let his eyes drift closed. Mmm that was so damn good… His mind started to wander. Red was gorgeous. He was funny and smart and strong…with plump, dark lips…and shiny black curls…absolutely criminal muscle tone…the prettiest eyes…With those hands rubbing into his back, it was easy to imagine them running over his face, his sides, his thighs. Those lips working over his neck, perfect white teeth nipping at his collarbones. "Like that kid? That's it, squirm for me, keep making those pretty noises." Robin jerked away from Red X's hands for half a second, heart pounding.

"Kid?"

"N-nothing."

"What? Did I hurt you?" Red X said, concerned. He stroked Robin's back as softly as possible.

"No, not at all. Please don't stop."

"Wouldn't dream of it." Red X's amazing hands returned to their task, and Robin scolded himself.

Stop thinking about him like that. He's your friend, your team-mate, your partner. He doesn't—he'd never—imagining him in that way just makes it harder. Take what you can get and be satisfied. Idiot.

"Robin, tell me what's wrong."

"Nothing's wrong."

"Don't lie to me. You're tensing up again, and you're breathing really fast."

"…" The words all got stuck in his throat. He was at a loss for what to say. Red X waited for an explanation, fingers splayed over his shoulder blades. He pushed himself up onto his hands and sat up, spine whining in protest. He turned, letting his legs dangle over the side of the bed. He folded his hands in his lap and stared at his feet.

"You know you can tell me anything."

"Not this."

Red X stroked his shoulder a couple of times, before curling his fingers under Robin's chin, urging him to turn and meet his eyes. "Kid…we spent seven months living in a damn lean-to in an alien swamp filled with flesh-eating monsters. Unless you, I don't know, beat my abulita to death with brick—"

"I'm not worried you'll be mad." Robin mumbled. "I'm worried you'll be disgusted."

"What?" Red X laughed lightly, and rubbed his thumb under Robin's lip.

"I love you."

Red blinked. "Uh. Come again?"

"I love you. I'm in love with you, at least, I'm pretty sure I am. I think about you all the time, I miss you whenever we're separated, I almost died the last time we went swimming, God, I had to sit on my hands to keep from grabbing you—"

Red X held up a hand. "Whoa, whoa, slow down. Are you serious?"

"Why would I ever joke about this?!" Robin choked out.

"Just making sure." He shuffled closer on the bed, resting their foreheads together. Robin swallowed hard, his cheeks burning. "You're so cute when your face goes pink like that." He smirked. "Want to kiss me, Robin?"

"Huh?" He squeaked.

"I said, want to kiss me?" Robin could feel his breath on his lips, the heat of his skin. It was intoxicating.

"Don't mess with me!"

"I'm not. You're not the only one who wants something he was scared to ask for, kid."

Robin closed his eyes and blindly reached for Red X, trembling and terrified. "I—"

"Shh." It was light and chaste, just a tender press of lips. Red X held him, and Robin cuddled close, desperate for the contact. He shifted, deepening the kiss, and earned a hum of approval from Red. It was a few minutes before they pulled apart. "Hmm. Been dreaming about that for a long time." Red X said, voice a little dreamy. "You're not half bad at that." He added in a soft tease.

Robin said nothing, just lay his head on Red X's shoulder. They were quiet for a bit. "Two days."

"Hmm?"

"Two days. We were there seven months. But it was only two days Earth-Time. Remember?"

Red X rolled his eyes. "Stupid parallel universes and their dumb unaligned time streams." He kissed Robin on the nose. "Your back feel better?"

"Perfect."

"Any other body parts that need a rub-down?" He waggled his eyebrows.

"Not tonight." He thought for a second. "But, would you stay with me?"

"Sure thing gorgeous." Red X reluctantly disentangled from Robin's arms and stood to get the lights. Robin wiggled out of the rest of his clothes, down to his shorts, and crawled under his comforter. He smiled when the mattress dipped and an arm curled around his waist. The thin fabric of Red X's t-shirt rubbed against his back, and he sighed contentedly. "Get some sleep kid. Sweet dreams."