Pairings: our favorite bird and our favorite thief

Genre: a light and fun one

Warnings: None. This story contains no calories… if you review… -dark laughter-

Sweet Tricks

It was Halloween and Robin felt rather much like Santa Clause, which was a bit strange, considering the season. He had just landed, softly on his feet, after jumping down from the closest fire-escape. He was about to cross Jump's main city park on his way to the hospital on the other side. It was rather dark under the trees, and not a good place to use a grapple-hook, so the bird was temporarily flightless.

In his arms was a bag of candy, to be handed out at the children's ward. It was a rather small bag, but it was the very last of half a truckload the Titans had taken there, and all around the city, during the day. The charity candy-drive had been very successful, and it was all about kids giving some of their candy to the charity, to those who might need it more than them. The Titan's had both organized and worked the drive, making the children want to offer something just to meet their heroes, which that was always good for the old ego.

The team had been packing up, ready to go home and start their own Halloween celebrations, when two little kids had come running with a bag of their own. They had just heard of the drive and were very upset that it was over, so Robin offered to take it to the hospital himself. Not only was he doing a good deed, he really needed to stretch his legs and have some alone-time after a whole day standing around and smiling. Not that it had killed him. Robin was pretty sure Batman would have dropped dead by now, for example, but man he needed a break!

Unfortunately he wasn't about to have one.

The bag was suddenly snatched from his hand by someone behind him.

Robin spun around and then sighed.

"Give me the bag back."

Red X blinked behind his mask. He had expected a little birdy-tantrum and to be chased across the rooftops, not this.

"Errr… no? I stole it?" he tried, not very sure about his role in this, all of a sudden.

"Yes, yes, you are Red X, the thief, I get it, now give it back." Robin snorted, glaring at the figure in the gloom.

"Thief's… don't do that?" Red tried again, hoping to get an affirmative response this time, because he felt like he was in deep water here.

"Do you know how many Red X'es I've dealt with today? And Slades? I had a Slade barely reaching my knee, who kept kicking my foot for half an hour while his mum was taking pictures! I'm at the end of my rope with dressed up idiots, so just give the candy back or I'm going to pretend that you really are Red X and kick your ass!"

"Awww… had a tough day, kid?" Red X snickered. "Come… may I offer you some chocolate?"

"The candy is for the kids!" Robin snarled. "I can almost believe you are the real Red X… you are annoying and thick enough, that's for sure!"

"Hey, that hurt my feelings!" Red pouted. "Fine! You can have your candy back then… for a treat."

"Excuse me?" Robin gaped.

"Well… you give me a treat, I'll give you candy…" Red grinned under his mask.

"That's not how it works, check the rulebook!" Robin snapped.

"There is one? Really? Well, I wouldn't care about rules, would I? Being a thief and all…"

"Yeah, and you are really in character…" Robin muttered and crossed his arms. "Look. I'm tired, I just want to get the candy to the hospital so I can go home to our party, so sure… I'll play along… what do you want?"

"How about a kiss?"

Robin took a step back.

"Watch it, or I'll arrest you for… for… sexually harassing a hero!"

"There's a law against that too? Poor you, must be boring in the long run…" Red snickered. "Come on… is it the guy thing? Is the leader of the Titan's prejudiced? Ahh… maybe you're a homophobe!"

"I'm not!" Robin barked. "I'm just not gay!"

"Sooo… one kiss won't turn you…unless it's really good, that is, which it will be, but that's not how it happens… or is that what you think in your homophobic little mind?"

"Of course not! You are being ridiculous!"

"Oh… well… maybe you can't kiss, then? Never been kissed, Robin? Scared?"

The S word. Well… one of them, as the other was 'Slade'. It was rather like waving a red flag in front of a bull, when it came to Robin. Lucky Red.

"I'm not scared, and I'm not a homophobe!" Robin all but yelled. "I'll kiss you, just to shut you up!"

"Great!" Red X grinned and pulled up the lower part of his mask. "Don't worry, bird-boy, I'll take it easy on y- mmmppfff!" Suddenly X found himself pushed up against a tree, receiving the kiss of his life. Robin wasn't doing the quick peck, either. He had a point to prove, so there was open mouths and tongue.

As it ended, way too soon for Red's liking, both teens were flushed and out of breath.

"Now… candy." Robin panted.

"Sure, babe…" Red X said. "Here it is."

"That's one bar!" Robin objected.

"Yeah? I didn't say you would get it all, did I? One kiss, one candy, that's fair! If you want more, you gotta give more…"

"Blackmailer."

"I prefer 'opportunist'." Red smirked, and now Robin could see it too, not just hear it in the other teen's voice. "But I'm gonna be fair… invite me to the party, and I'll give you half the candy."

"In-invite you-?" Robin was still a bit woozy from the kiss, although he didn't know why.

"Sure! Come on, there is gonna be a lot of people there, what's one more? Especially such a wonderful kisser."

Robin tried to find a reason, any reason, this guy might accept, but it was useless, so he nodded.

"Okay… you're invited…" he muttered. "For three quarters of the candy!"

"Awww… okay… still a lot of kisses left…" Red chuckled. "Soo…" he pulled Robin closer. "Where were we?"

Robin had meant to count the kisses and the candy, he really had to, but, somehow, that didn't seem so very important after a while. Red had turned the tables on him so now Robin was the one pressed up against a lucky tree, but not even that fact could bother the teen at the moment.

It had been almost fifteen minutes before Robin's communicator beeped, and Robin, reluctantly, returned to the real world, dragging Red X, kicking and screaming, along with him.

"R-robin here." he gasped.

"Rob! What's wrong, where are you?" Cy asked, his face alight with worry. Well. Half of it.

"Nothing! Nothing at all!" Robin declared hastily, and truthfully. He was very well indeed. "I'm on my way, I just decided to… take a run."

"Err… okay…" said Cyborg, who long since had stopped questioning his leader's quirky training-schedule, unless it involved him. "Se ya in a bit then?"

"Yeah, Robin out." The hero said and snapped the communicator shut.

"I'll see you in a bit too…" Red X promised. "Meet me at ten on the roof of the Tower."

Robin was just about to ask how the heck the teen had thought he would get up there, when Red pressed a button on his belt and disappeared.

Robin was left trying to cope with several things. The fact that he had been making out with the real Red X, and for candy nonetheless, and that he had invited a criminal to their party… and last, but not even close to least… the fact that his tights were considerable… tighter…

Red X, half way home by now, considered the very same things, but from a rather happier point of view. He also decided that buying the candy and bribing the kids to take it to the Titan's looking all sad, was so worth the money… trick and treat indeed…

The End.