Merry Christmas everybody!
Damn, have I've been busy lately! I hope you will like the result…

It's 10 stories and 2 pieces of art (to be posted on my Deviant Art account) all in all… There was no way to grant every wish, unfortunately, and some of you have to share, since your wishes were similar, but I hope everyone will find something to like, even those I didn't have the time to write for! I have saved every suggestion, so maybe something shows up here in the future…

Oh… about that… I KNOW for a fact that some of you will gag at some stories, but if you do, remember that I have tried to write the story the wisher wanted (and hopefully, it wasn't you –grin-), and anyway, I had a lot of fun writing them all!

They are different, ranging from very dark to very fluffy and some things in between… the length vary as well, but that depends completely on the storyline… some drabbles need more background and stuff to work, some are many pages but mostly conversation, and so on… I have given each story the pages I feel it needs!

Only some are Christmas-related, I didn't want to Christmas OD, after all… ;o) Some are lemony, some are not… some are actually even connected, although loosely…

I have tried to mix up the stories, so you get one dark and one fluffy and so on, but I'll start you off with a dark one… didn't want to post this too close to Christmas… -grin-

So scroll down to read the first one… I will try to post one story per day to the 24'th (which is the day we celebrate Christmas in Sweden), but if things come up there might be none one day and two the next or something…

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For The Darkest Half. I think you might be the only one to appreciate this one! I've wanted to write it for months, since it's a first for me, but I needed a gift-fic for you as a cover! Shhhh… don't tell the others! And since you mailed me yesterday wondering where the heck the drabbles were (grin) I thought it was only fair to start with yours! Merry Christmas, girl!

Warnings/Background: Freestanding. Dark! Not a lemon and (therefore) not non-con (in any way). Would suggest having a fluffy story ready for afterwards. Short and… sweet?


Secrets

"Slade, stop!" The thief had watched the fight with growing apprehension, and, at last, he couldn't keep quiet anymore.

Slade took a step back from the scene, metal boots scraping against bare concrete, more to take the time to enjoy the situation than anything else.

They were in an abandoned warehouse. Only a few of the lights on the high ceiling worked, creating patches of harsh light and complete darkness on the floor. In one of these spots of light, just on the edge, a hero was down on his hands and knees. The once so brightly colored costume now looked mostly murky brown from blood.

Red X was standing quite a bit to the side, not wanting to get in the way. He didn't like the wet sounds coming from Robin's chest when he breathed. The broken nose, still bleeding, the arm, probably broken as well, and the long gash down one leg… those would heal in a few weeks. But that noise… it meant trouble.

"Slade, what the hell?" the thief asked, careful not to get closer to the mercenary. "You're killing him!"

The tall man chuckled darkly.

"That, my young friend, was rather the point."

"What?" Red X's stomach turned, and he felt himself starting to tremble. "But… but you said you just wanted to talk to him!" He looked over at Robin, hoping against hope that the teen would find some extra energy somewhere, and some sense for that matter, and just get out. He hadn't. In fact it didn't seem like he had heard Slade's words, but his face was hidden by tresses of sweat- and blood-soaked hair.

"Of course I said I wanted to talk to him! How would I have gotten you to trick him here otherwise? I know you are a weakling, X… such a disappointment from the original. Or that was what I thought…"

"But- but you can't!" Red X objected, trying to frantically figure out how to make this nightmare go away. He couldn't fight Slade, that's for sure. Could he call the attention of the Titans? Time was running out, and quickly. Even more so, as Slade drew a long, slender sword from the sheath on his back.

"I can. And I will."

"But… why?" the teen tried desperately to keep the man talking, buying time.

"Because…" Slade walked up to the fallen teen and kicked him hard in the ribs, making him turn over on his back. The crushing noise made Red want to vomit, but the only noise coming from Robin was the rush of air leaving his lungs. "This one was going to be my apprentice… my… masterpiece."

"Yes, but… you can convince him again!" X tried.

"Oh, yes. But I don't want him anymore. You see, I've been studying him. Following his every move. I've known about his true identity for quite some time, and I've been looking into every aspect of that life as well…"

Red X's ears perked, disregarding the circumstances. The possibility to find out anything about the mysterious Robin was tantalizing.

"And… yesterday…" Slade continued. "Yesterday I saw him by the mall… and it turns out, our little hero… has a secret…"
Red continued to listen. It was so weird, thinking that he could have run into the Titan yesterday without having any idea who he was.

"Turns out…" Slade drawled on, his voice dripping poison by now, "…that he's nothing more that a disgusting… little… fag!"

"What?!" Red X's eyes were large behind his mask. That he hadn't expected.

"Yes." Slade snarled, circling the boy on the floor, whose labored breathing only came in gurgling gasps by now. "I saw him… behind the mall… letting some punk pin him against the wall and kiss him. I've been in a war, and that was still the most disgusting thing I have ever seen… and to think I thought him worthy of my training! A fairy!"

Red X had turned completely white by now.

"No!" As Slade closed in, raising the sword like a dagger in both hands, Red X threw himself forward, yanking his mask of. He landed almost on top of the teen wonder.

"Dick! Dick!"

Robin slowly opened his eyes.

"Eric? Wh… what are you doin' here…?" the words were slurred, barely audible.

The thief was crying now, covering Robin's body with his own, careful not to put any pressure on it.

"Dick… god…I'm sorry… I didn't know! Please forgive me… Dick?"

"'s okay..." Robin mumbled and started to close his eyes.

Red X had forgotten all about the man beside him until he heard the hateful voice again.

"Looks like it will be two with one stone…"

Red felt a strange pushing sensation, and Robin flinched below him. Looking down towards his chest there was something coming out of it and entering Robin's… something… steel… blade… His thoughts started to turn fussy, as well as his vision. There was something he had to do, though… something important…

"Dick? Dick… I love you…"

The softest of smiles graced Robin's lips.

"Love… you too…"

Red's arms couldn't take his weight any longer, and he felt his body started weighing down on to the smaller one beneath him. He wanted to say he was sorry, but the words were so hard to form. Instead, as his face got closer, he captured his loved ones lips with his.

They hadn't been allowed to know each other long enough to reveal their secrets. Tragic and regretful, but a fact. Dying on a cold concrete floor, with a hateful killer leering down on them… it didn't matter. Not to them, not now, sharing their last moment together, their last kiss, their last breath. Because what connected them now was not the steel, but something more eternal, something stronger, something, some might say, deadlier. Love.

The End.