There was skin: pale, but rough and weathered from hours spent in the sun. Little nicks and scars marring his face though not ancient, experienced and tight.
There were lips: thin and whitened, muddy pink. They covered perfectly straight, impeccably white teeth.
There was hair: scruffy and pure white. A short, shaved beard sprouted out from under his lip, making him seem wise and adventurous.
There were eyes: One gray that had clearly seen a lot in its lifetime, the other covered by a black eye patch. That one had seen a bit less recently.
There was a nose: long and slender, but slightly crooked as it had probably been broken a few times.
Robin didn't say anything. He trembled, tears halting for a moment in his eyes; they waited and watched, curious to see what might happen next. Casually and calmly, as to not frighten his shaking little Bambi, Slade removed his gloves. He raised a hand up to Robin's face and gently cradled his delicate jaw. The bird flinched and he shushed him, wiping away some tears with his thumb.
"Calm down, Robin. You're alright. The movie just startled you. That's all." He was almost cooing to the boy who quivered like a Chihuahua. His eyes darted frantically around his face, skittering from feature to feature as if he had never before seen a human face.
"D-D….Sla…." He stuttered, his mind imploding. Memories and emotions splattered against the interior walls of his skull. It was a mess. He hesitantly brought a hand up as if he might get bit and ran his small fingertips over the skin. It was real. It was warm.
"Daddy's still here, Robin." Slade told him. "He's always under that mask. Don't be afraid of the orange and black." Robin stared at him with wide eyes and this time, Slade didn't bother with patience. He seized the boy and swiftly tugged him to his chest. The young hero squirmed uncertainly for a few minutes before burrowing himself into the man, but even that was not enough. The Kevlar suit kept any warmth from reaching him and Robin much preferred to cuddle a human, not a suit. Whining unhappily, Slade glanced down at him. "But of course." He stated. Releasing Robin, he moved his mask onto the bedside table and stripped to his boxers. Then he tugged on some pajama pants and slipped into bed, tugging Robin under the covers with him and cradling him in his arms once more.
"You're becoming quite the delicate handful, baby bird." Slade murmured into his ear.
"Get up!"
"Hmm?" Seemore murmured. He squeezed his eyes shut even more as he was wacked in the head with a pillow a few times. "What's the matter?"
"Slade is going to flip his shit if he finds you all still here! You guys need to leave!" Red said frantically. The others groggily opened their eyes to find the thief rushing around the room, shoving paper cups into the trash can and wiping up spills.
"Calm down, snot brain. What's the big rush?" Gizmo shrugged. "We've been over here tons of times."
"Yes, but it's Saturday!" Red snapped back.
"Pfft, so?" Jinx yawned, placing her hands on her hips.
"So? So?" Red asked angrily. "Sesame Street comes on in ten minutes and if this mess isn't cleaned up by the time Robin is done getting dressed, there will be hell to pay."
Before the others could respond, he fled the room and returned in seconds with a broom, racing to sweep the crumb-covered floor. He stopped and looked at the others expectantly. "Well?"
Rolling their eyes, the others yanked themselves up from the couch and sluggishly moved around, dropping empty soda cans into the trash and snacking on leftover junk food. The place was still a disaster area when Robin came bounding cheerfully out of the hallway in his teeny blue shorts that were partially covered by a white and black t-shirt.
"Sesame Street! Sesame Street!" He sang excitedly as he swung his bear around. He scurried over to the TV and took a seat on the closed potty. His pacifier, attached to his shirt by a pin and a ribbon, was pushed into his mouth. "Turn it on! Elmo!" His legs bounced excitedly.
"Uh, yeah, about that…" Red said nervously. "Sesame street might be a little late this morning. We kinda screwed up the satellite last night and we didn't get around to fixing it yet."
Robin's face stayed sweetly content, but his mouth twitched ever so slightly around his pacifier. "Elmo." He repeated.
"I'm sorry, but there's no Elmo today." Red shrugged.
An agitated, borderline dangerous look plastered over Robin's cheerful expression and he let the pacifier fall from his mouth. "Elmo." He repeated firmly.
"We don't have Elmo." Red frowned, his eyes widening as Robin began to take in a deep breath. "Robin please don't-
"DADDY!" Robin screamed
Red cringed and the others stared at him in confusion.
"What's the big deal?" Mammoth shrugged.
"Yeah, it's just a stupid show." Jinx shrugged.
The thief tensed as the sound of Slade's footsteps echoed in the hallway. The man appeared in full armor and he turned to look at Robin, who was getting more and more flustered. "Robin? What's wrong?"
"Red says no Sesame Street!" Robin cried in distress. "I want Elmo."
Slade lifted his gaze to Red, who was shifting nervously. "Turn on the show."
"Yeah…um, you see, the satellite isn't actually connected." Red mumbled.
"Then connect it." Slade said with a hint of irritation in his voice.
"It's gonna take about twenty minutes for the server to load." Gizmo said, inspecting the cables.
Slade sighed. "I'm sorry Robin, no Elmo this morning."
Robin's eyes filled with tears, appalled that Slade couldn't solve things for once. He got up and stomped his foot. "Yes, Elmo!"
"You'll have to wait until tomorrow." Slade told him.
Squeezing his eyes shut, the raven shook his head violently and balled his hands into fists. "I wan'Elmo!"
"I said no Elmo, Robin." Slade said sternly.
"Yes Elmo!" Robin yelled back. Tears quickly slipped down his beet red face.
"What's going on?" Jinx asked, surprised by Robin's sudden breakdown.
"I told you there would be hell to pay." Red huffed. "If I were you, I'd back away and get all of your possessions off of the floor."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Seemore asked.
"Robin. Do not talk back to me." Slade scolded. "No Elmo means no Elmo. End of discussion."
Robin glared up at him lividly, his red face looking ready to burst. "No!" He screamed angrily. "No Elmo means no potty!"
"Robin, don't you even think about it." Slade warned him in a dangerously calm voice.
Robin scowled back at him, his eyes dangerous slits as a large puddle of urine swiftly pooled and expanded at his feet. "No Elmo, no potty." He repeated daringly.
Slade's single eye twitched angrily but he didn't say a word. Scooping Robin up by his armpits, he promptly carried him over to the nearest corner and dropped him. "Face the wall." He snapped sharply. "If you move, you can expect a long, painful spanking before breakfast." With that, he walked over to the younger criminals, who were staring at the puddle in surprise. "Red, seeing as this whole thing is your fault, you can clean that up." He stated before going into the kitchen to start breakfast. It had only been ten minutes when Robin started to squirm. The whining came next, and finally, Robin flopped onto his back and looked over at Slade.
"What is it, Robin?" Slade asked without looking up from what he was doing.
"I'm itchy." Robin whined.
"That's what happens when you make pee pees in your pants and not in the potty." The mercenary replied with a shrug.
"Daddy!" The boy whimpered, fidgeting on the floor. "It's hurty!"
"Whose fault is that?"
Robin's eyes filled with fresh tears and he began to bawl once more. "Dadddyyyyyyyyy!"
Slade sighed again. "Are you going to use the potty like a big boy?" Silence. "Robin?"
"Yes." Came the mumbled reply.
Slade walked over and took his hand, leading him out of the room and towards the nursery. He cleaned the boy up, but just to be safe, put him in a pull-up. He dressed him in a diaper shirt and some plaid shorts, sending him back to the living room while he followed close behind. While Robin pouted on the couch, Slade turned back to the pancake batter and grabbed a ladle to pour it onto the skillet. He paused and glanced over at the pantry. Setting the spoon down, he sorted through the bottles and spices until he found what he was looking for and returned to the stove.
Once breakfast was ready, Slade called him over. Robin slipped into his seat and stared down at his plate. He let out a gasp and kicked his legs excitedly. "Elmo!"
Slade nodded and hummed in agreement, flipping more pancakes on the stove. He heard Red come over and whistle. "Pretty cool. How'd you get the batter to be red?"
Slade shrugged in reply. "Put the whipped cream back in the fridge and the chocolate chips in the pantry before Robin eats them all."
"Yeah, okay." Red said, tossing the chips onto the top shelf. "You bend over backwards for this kid."
Slade didn't reply, just hummed.
