Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans. I make no money off torturing poor, innocent birds with evil, sexy villains, especially ones with black and orange masks.

Pairing: Slade/Robin

Warning: Rated M! Dark/Humour/Romance

A/N: Alright, first off, yes its two weeks late! If you want an explanation, there is none, besides the usual. But, I have GOOOD NEWS for all of you, at the end of the chapter. So READ THE AN at the bottom!

Chapter 8: Memories

BTW: The first part is a memory.


"R-Robin?" the small hand quivered as it touched the deathly cold form on the cold ground. "Robin! ROBIN! Please NO!"

"You're little boyfriend has caused quite a stir lately." came a malicious growl. Three men were standing in the dank alleyway that the two teens were currently occupying. One, who'd been shot, was laying, wasting away on the ground with multiple bullet wounds scathing his body, a pool of blood at their feet. The hand, attached to another boy, with flowing red locks of hair, freckled features, daunting, memorizing hazel eyes turned in fear.

"Red…you…you need to get out….out of here." the form on the ground groaned. "They will kill you…" came the whispered plea. Robin struggled to get up, only slightly succeeding, leaning against the brick wall.

There was blood everywhere, all of it belonging to Robin.

"No! I can't just leave you, I-"

"Enough talk. We finish this now. You have been a thorn in our side for far too long, now is the time that you die!" the man snarled, cocking his gun and aiming. Robin winced at the sound, knowing that these were his last few moments. He only hoped that Red would make it out alright. The bleeding teen, with the support of the wall, pulled himself upward. He glared daggers from behind his cracked sunglasses, which he shook from his face and onto the ground to reveal his sapphire orbs. The man snickered callously.

"Go! GO RED!" Robin panicked.

"No! NO! You bastard! I won't, I can't-" tears were falling down his features.

Suddenly it wasn't their choice, the man took aim and shot the gun. Robin, quickly shooting his grappling gun, attaching it to Red's waist, watching as the teen flew through the air, a horrified look on his features, just as the bullet hit him in the shoulder, he cried out as he hit the concrete.

"ROBIN!"

"After him!"

Please, please be safe…

Robin used what little strength that he had left, to throw one of his exploding disks, ,managing only to hit one of the men, the other two quickly taking cover. The hit man was cut to pieces. The dying teen took a look around, knowing that, even though he was a fighter, there was absolutely nothing that he could do now. It was in fates hands.


He awoke sometime later, in what looked like a run-down warehouse, chained to a pipe. There was pain everywhere, and he had no idea how he was still alive. He could feel the multiple of wounds inflicted on him, so why was he still here? It wasn't until he took in the sight before him, that his already shallow breath disappeared in a gasp. Red was…he was…

"Really quite the boy-Lolita, isn't he?" came a voice from behind him.

"R…red…" Robin gasped, a tear glistening down his cheek. They were defiling him…his screams…it was just too much…

"Stop….stop!" The assassin screamed with everything he had. He struggled against his bonds, panic and fear exploding on to his face. His lover was being raped…and there was nothing that he could do!

The leader of the group laughed evilly, while his men finished with their assault.

"This is the price you pay, little brat, for everything that you have done…"

They gripped Red's face, turning him towards Robin, their eyes locking, fear and betrayal glistening off tears from hazel orbs. The blue-eyed boy struggled against his bonds even more-so now, trying with everything he had left, not to pass out. They were going to…going to…

The gun was cocked and aimed. Panicked green eyes were then clenched shut. Robin screamed, screamed for them to let him go and take it out on him, but the men only laughed, having no heart for his pleas.

When the gun was shot, widening orbs were the only thing he saw, and Robin knew, that accusing, pained, and betrayed expression that Red had given him, moments before he hit the floor, was something that Robin would never, ever forget.


He had failed him. Failed the only person he had ever loved. It had only been moments before Jack and his crew had come storming into the building, killing off the rest of the members. If they had only been seconds…Red…he would of still….


"Richard! Richard! Wake up!"

"Move aside! Let me see him!"

"But-"

"Move!"

Speedy glared, but moved aside nonetheless. This man had come barrelling in after Robin had been shot, killing anyone in his path, only then to realize that Robin had been shot in the side. The wound wasn't fatal, but he knew, without a shadow of a doubt, had the teen not taken the bullet, he would have been dead.

"What happened?" Slade snarled out, ripping the teen's shirt from his body. He had to be quick about this, he couldn't stay here for too long, he knew the authorities would be here in a matter of moments, and this was not a place that he wanted to be when that happened.

"There was a gun fight, they were going to…rape him, but, he killed them all…and then…" Speedy gasped as Robin groaned from his position in Slade's arms. The man was currently using his tools to carefully patch up the young man. The bullet had gone straight through his side, so there was no need to dig it out, causing the teen even more distress.

"Yes? Then!" growled the one-eyed man. He was feeling an uncharacteristic boiling rage at the moment, and he didn't understand why.

"He took the bullet for me…he pushed me out of the way when we were attacked."

Slade gave the teen a calculated look, before pulling him forward, their noses inches apart.

"If you breath a word of what you saw, to anyone, I will personally come, find you, and kill you with my bare hands. Understood?" he threatened coldly.

"I…I…yes…."

"Good. Now get out of here before the authorities come."

Speedy scrambled to get away, running out the door, as fast as he could.

Slade turned around with the teen in his arms, noticing that the place looked like a scene from the Saw movies. He quickly made his way outside, and on to the nearest building, moments before he heard the police sirens. He silently thanked his lucky stars that there weren't any cameras, he didn't want anything linked to them at the crime scene. And even thought Robin's DNA was at the scene, they wouldn't be able to link it, as there was no known record of on any data-base. Such was the luxury of being an assassin, after all.

Robin only groaned in his arms as he jumped from another building and towards his car, setting the unconscious teen in the back seat. He would question the boy's methods later, as doing so now was rather impossible.


It wasn't until the next afternoon that Robin woke, lying in his comfortable bed, bandaged and confused. The last thing that he remembered was fighting at the club, then a blinding rage that followed as those bastards had tried to gang up on him. He racked his brain trying to figure out how he'd gotten back to his apartment, but when he couldn't seem to jog his memory, he chalked it down to Slade.

"You are awake I see." said man said from his doorway, holding a tray with a few pieces of bread and something that smelled like vegetable soup. He carried the tray into the room and placed it on the desk for the moment, venturing over towards the bed, studying Robin.

"What happened…?" the teen said, wincing when he turned the wrong way. His side hurt like hell.

"A gun fight. You were shot."

"Ah, yes, and am I to assume that you came in and saved the day?" Robin narrowed his eyes.

"Well, in a matter of speaking. I didn't have much to save, mind you, as most of the idiots were long dead anyways. Except for your friend of course, he survived." Slade mused with distaste, watching the boy's face for recognition.

"Speedy…" the younger whispered, turning away.

Slade said nothing and moved towards the desk, taking care not to spill anything, before handing the tray to Robin, who thanked him. There was silence for a while as the teen ate his meal, both mulling over their own thoughts of the situation.

"That boy is an idiot. He broke down like a child in the middle of a crises." Slade glared finally. He was seated at the foot of the boy's bed, staring him down.

"Is that your subtle way of asking me why I saved him?" Robin grinned slightly when Slade snorted.

I'm so on to you Slade.

"Not jealous, are you bastard?" The teen smirked.

The man grunted, but there was a twinkle in his eye that made Robin believe that he was curious.

"Hardly."

"Uhuh, I'm sure."

There was silence again and Robin finished the rest of his late lunch.

"He reminded me of someone." the teen said, having no idea why he was telling Slade this. It just felt…right.

"Your deceased lover, I presume?"

"Yes." Robin mumbled.

"He was a stranger." Slade let him know.

"Yes, I know that. But, sometimes, people do weird things. I'm no exception and neither are you. I saved that boy because I knew he was innocent, just looking to hook up and have some fun. He didn't deserve to die, because of what I am…" Robin sighed to himself, lost in his memories.

Slade studied the boy in front of him, knowing that he wasn't exactly talking about Speedy, but rather an event that he had experienced in a similar fashion.

"What was his name?"

"What?" Robin said looking up quickly.

"This lover, what was his name?" Slade scowled, hating to repeat himself. He knew that Robin needed to vent, less their be an attack of sorts on his psyche.

"Alex…but I called him Red, cause he had red hair, no idea how the name caught on, but it did." Robin grinned to himself, recalling how much Alex had hated the name in the beginning, but it had fit him so well. "I met him at a Christmas party, if you can believe that. I was actually there to spy on a target, when I met him. His father was an elite businessman, you've probably heard of the company, Zype?"

"Yes, a thriving export business."

"Yeah, well, that was why he was there, getting to know the business and whatnot. Red never really wanted to be a part of all that fancy stuff, he liked the little things in life, he probably would have been happy working at a barber shop. He had a thing for hair, actually, we'd been talking about different colleges he could attend. But we both knew that his father would never let that happen."

"He didn't know about your work?" Slade asked, sounding like he was actually curious in the story.

"No. I had another apartment about three hours from here in a small town. I kept him away from this one. I didn't want him to find out and possibly be a target himself. I never thought anyone would find out…" he trailed off.

"But someone did." Slade stated, not asking. He could tell just by the look on the teen's face.

"I was careless. It was the first year or so that I had begun working as an assassin. Taking on jobs from the government. Someone followed me to my other home after I had done a hit. They had found out who I was, who Red was, and tried to kidnap him."

"They weren't successful?"

"In a way." Robin muttered, remembering back to that time in the alleyway, two years ago. "We ran, and Red was so confused, I had minutes…to tell him who I was, he looked so shocked and afraid. But, he stayed with me, until the bitter end. They tracked us to an alley in the a deserted part of Jump, the dead of night. Ganged up on us, I was only armed with a few weapons. They shot me three times, before almost shooting Red. I ended up saving him with my grappling gun, and he was flown away from the area. I was hit with another bullet then, so close to my heart. I was sure that I was going to die. But, I didn't, I still don't know why, but I never died…" he took a deep breath, looking into Slade's single steel orb.

The man was almost taken aback by how much emotion was shown in those sapphire eyes. There were no tears or sobs. Only the look of heartache and hate.

"When I awoke…" he began again, shifting slightly in the bed. "He was…being defiled…mutilated, before my very eyes. I was chained up, could do nothing to stop them."

"Then?" Slade said, even though he was pretty sure he knew.

"They shot him, right in the head. I screamed so bad for him…" he took a deep, gasping breath, but still there were no tears. He wasn't a crying type of guy, after all. But, you could still see how traumatic it had been. Slade honestly didn't know what to say. He wasn't the cuddles and comfort type of person, but for some reason, he wanted Robin to know that he was hear to at least listen.

"How did you escape?" the man asked after some time.

"Ironically…not even seconds after he was shot, my team, which I was working for at that time, had breeched the area, taking all of the men down…" he shuddered to himself, running a shaky hand through his hair, his saddened eyes gazing into Slade's own. "Seconds….Slade…seconds…"

Slade said nothing, couldn't say anything. There was nothing to say. The man did the only thing he could, however, in this situation. He went forward, and grasping the teen's neck, pulled him forward for a hard kiss. Robin felt the man's understanding in that kiss, he knew that Slade wasn't the caring type of man, but, just knowing that he understood, and accepted what Robin had done and gone through, was enough.


It was hours later, Robin was sitting on the couch in his living room, glancing through the information they had retrieved from their targets. Slade had gone through the man's personal belongings in his car, but found nothing of use. They both chalked it down to the company not trusting the man enough with documented proof, even though he was a big part of their plan.

"Though the stitches are in securely, any type of strenuous activity will reopen them." Slade said thoughtfully, moving around the living room. The place had, apparently, been refurnished and cleaned while he'd been sleeping, but he had no idea how, and didn't really want to ask Slade.

"Don't worry, I'll be healed very soon." Robin said with a knowing smirk. "I can't let you have all the glory for this little mission, now can I?" he grinned. Their earlier conversation put behind them. It was time to get back to work.

"You may be a lot of things, annoying and stupid, the most obvious, but magical is not one of them."

"I'm not, but I know people." the teen continued to grin.

Slade only sighed. Not in the mood to play guessing games.

It wasn't until there was a knock on the teen's apartment door, that Slade let his mind wander back to the teen's smug grin.

"Perfect. Right on time."

The man only narrowed his eye.


"Sunshine!" sung a very happy voice. A highlighted blond-haired man bounced into the room. He was dressed rather conservative, considering what he liked to do, or whom he did, rather. Although the t-shirt and skinny jeans were rather tight..

"Hello, Ty." Robin grinned, allowing the man inside. "How is Jack doing?"

"Its not the same without you Sunshine, and you know it." Tyler giggled, twirling around. That was until he laid eyes on Slade, who was stood towering over him. "Oh my…"

"Indeed."

"Damn, you never told me you had a boyfriend! Is that why you shucked me all those times? I'm hurt Sunshine." Ty pouted.

Robin burst into laughter.

"He is not my boyfriend!" The teen snickered, watching as Ty began checking him out. "That is my partner, Slade."

"Oh…the bastard." Tyler smiled like he was high, and skipped over to the man, looking at him with wide-eyes. Apparently Tyler had heard about Slade when Robin had phoned him. "Hello bastard."

Robin could see the man's face muscles twitch into a frown. Slade couldn't seem to figure out what type of reaction he should have, whether he should be mad for being insulted, or amused at how stupid Tyler sounded. That was Ty's personality, however. You couldn't really decide if you liked or despised him. It was a little bit of both. Robin had come to find it hilarious though.

Slade seemed to have decided the man wasn't worth his attention and turned to the kitchen, to make a pot of coffee. Robin knew that he didn't have much time to waste, considering they had lost half a day to begin with.


Slade observed the duo as they spoke, noticing that Robin was extremely relaxed with this man, and treated him as if they had been long time friends. It was such a change in character, that Slade almost didn't recognize the boy. It was normal for people of their nature to place faces on for different people, but this new personality that Robin was displaying was very playful and calm.


"Soooo," Tyler smiled, turning to the teen. "Somebody decided they wanted to fling themselves in front of bad men with guns? Really Sunshine, you should know better."

"I know. But, you know me, I couldn't help myself." Robin grinned. He didn't need to remove his shirt, since he hadn't been able to put one on earlier and he'd be damned if he asked Slade to help him. So, Tyler had free access to his wound.

"Yes yes, you would throw yourself in front of a moving truck, if you thought it would help." the blond snickered, removing the bandages, with a wince from the teen.

"Hey! That was only one time. Sheesh, I won't live that down, will I?" Robin pouted. Tyler only giggled to himself and placed his hands over the wound.

"This'll hurt a bit." Ty said, beginning to get to work. The blonde's hand began glowing a soft blue color, before that same glow surrounded the injury. Curious, Slade looked on, as Robin hissed slightly. He would admit that he was slightly shocked when he saw the hole completely heal and the stitches fell away, as if the teen hadn't been shot in the side at all.

"There we go!"

Robin grinned to himself and jumped from the couch, doing a handstand on the new coffee-table, before flipping forward, as good as new. He couldn't help the smirk that fell on his features. Sometimes it paid to get to know certain people. They were useful.

"Man, does that feel better." The teen chuckled as Ty bowed.

"At your service, Sunshine! But, as much as I absolutely love seeing you, I have to get back, I've got a job to do, after all."

Robin cocked his eyebrow. "That job wouldn't have anything to do with fucking the new hot stud, would it?"

"Shhh!" Tyler snickered, moving towards the door, passing Slade on the way. "Bye bastard!"

"I'll see you soon. I'm sure Jack had some small missions for me." Robin said, barely suppressing the snicker at Slade's unimpressed look.

"You bet he does! You're the best!"

He was out the door and gone before they could even blink.


"What?" Robin asked once he'd locked the door. Slade was giving him a weird look.

"That man is infuriating…even more so than you, I think."

The teen chuckled.

"He has that effect on people."

"He was undressing you with his eyes." Slade informed him. Robin could almost hear the snort at the notion.

"Yeah, so?" The teen said, pouring himself a cup of coffee, moving past Slade. Then tension was back, and carefree Robin was gone. "He does that with everyone he finds attractive."

The man shook his head. Robin smirked and patted the man on the ass.

"Don't worry Slade, he's not my type."

The teen almost burst into laughter at the outraged look on the man's face.


A/N: Lots of emotional things going on in this chapter. But, it is a step in the right direction, for our two lovable men, that is! -grins-

BIG NEWS! So, yes, as you all know, I was working backshift at my job. I barely had anytime to write and such, as I was so exhausted. Well, three weeks ago, my manager told me that I would be working a double shift, for the next week. Meaning, I would be working 3PM to 7AM. THAT is 16 fucking hours! I told her, that I would do it for a few days, as they needed someone to cover the shift. Anyways, she took advantage of that, and had me working it for almost two weeks. So, when I told her that I wasn't able to work those shifts anymore, she told me that I had no choice. So, what did I do? HAH! I QUIT! Yes. I quit my job. And don't worry. I'm a good little money saver, so I am well off at my apartment, without the need to instantly find a new job. But, I will be looking. Anyways, that means, updates will be regular again. No more backshift. I refuse to work backshift anymore. So, that was the big news. I'm excited! That means that I can write a lot more often now! -grin-

Cookies for corrections!

/Jayto