Thursday, 10 December ~* Us*~

They all had breakfast together the next morning. Slade felt much stronger, and Robin smiled at him over his cup of green tea with honey and mint. Odd combination, he thought, but maybe they were running out of ideas. That didn't bode well for the second half of the calendar, though. He might end up with jerky-flavored tea one of these days.

"Mallory is coming for dinner tomorrow night," Bruce announced.

"Oh. Want us out of the way?" Robin asked, indicating himself and Slade.

"Not if you can behave," the billionaire said, giving Slade a particularly stern look.

"You don't want me to flirt with her, noted," the man smirked back. "Any word yet from the hideouts you were looking into?"

"I've found a few that are rented out."

"Any in the south part of the city?"

"Yes?"

"Good. I had it narrowed down to there. How many?"

"Three."

"He moved around a bit, didn't he?"

"A surprising amount, considering," Bruce agreed. "I'm planning to take a look myself tonight."

"Give me the addresses, I'll do it today," Slade said.

Bruce snorted. "You're in no condition to do so. If I find anything, I'll take care of it."

"You have no idea how!"

"Then tell me! Wilson, Alfred could know you out right now, no offence, Al."

"Non taken, Sir," the butler said.

"I have to-" Slade started.

"You know what? I'll arm wrestle you for the addresses," Bruce said.

"You're on."

"Don't be such a sore loser," Robin chuckled half an hour later. "I need to get to my computer, classes are about to start and we have a test today."

"You could at least try to cheer me up," Slade sulked. He had been sent back to bed to rest after breakfast.

Robin bent down and kissed the man quickly on the lips.

"Better?" he asked.

"A bit. What will I get if I break up Bruce and Miss Carson?"

"Slade, no! If you do anything-"

"I'll do nothing that he'll even think of blaming me for, but I'm pretty sure I can make her look bad."

"As long you don't look bad in the process… and… I don't know, Slade… she might not be a bad person."

"She might not be, but if I can show that they are a bad match…?"

"Ok… maybe… if you're really careful about… it might be worth another kiss or two," the teen grinned.

So… that test of yours… is it important?" the man asked innocently.

"I'll see you later, Slade," Robin chuckled and left the room.

It felt better now, his relationship to Slade. The memories didn't flood back every time he looked at him now. He was starting to think that they might be ok, as long as Slade was willing to be patient just a little bit longer. If he was still interested, that was. He was showing every sign that he was, but Robin was still a bit unsure if it was just a right-here-right-now kinda thing or not. He had left the hero world behind him, after all, meaning they didn't have as much in common anymore. Why would Slade want to be with a student? In Gotham?

To be Continued…