A/N Happy Birthday HaltiOvi (January 17)

The wish reminded me so much of "Block Block Pounce" from the Christmas Drabbles 2011, so I actually decided to make this a sequel of sorts… a "one year later". The theme is the same and it can be read separately without too many problems, I think…

So half-freestanding and light…

Block, Block, Punch

"So, is Slade coming to your b-day party or what, bro?" Cyborg asked as they were decorating the Titan's living room for the evening's festivities.

"Yep, he is… you all gonna play nice, aren't you?" Robin asked, nervously. His friends had met the man before, of course, as they had been dating since this night last year, but this was slightly more… official. And there would be others around, too, city officials, some of the honorary Titans and others the teen had gotten to know over the years.

"Sure we are, no pranks or nuffin'…" Beast Boy grinned.

"I warn you…" Robin growled.

"Yeah, don't destroy this for Rob… when he finally managed to charm the guy over to the right side with that tight ass of his," Speedy, who had arrived early with the rest of the Titans East, butted in.

"I did not use my ass!" Robin exclaimed.

"Suuuure you didn't," Bumble Bee grinned.

"He already was on the right side or I wouldn't have dated him…" Robin muttered.

"Yeah, but we all know what made him clean up his act and it wasn't your kick-his-face-in personality," Speedy snickered.

"Guys! Let's pick the class of this conversation up a notch, shall we? Nothing of that tonight, alright?" the birthday boy begged.

"We will be good friends and not speak of the ass," Starfire promise, floating down from the ceiling where she had been fastening streamers.

"Yeah, man, we wouldn't act like that in front of Batman," Beast Boy snorted.

Robin turned very pale.

"In…. in front of who?"

"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME THAT HE WAS COMING?" Robin yelled. It was half an hour later, and he had been on the panic-train heading for heart-attack mountain ever since.

"Like, I thought you invited him, 'cause he just called to confirm," Beast Boy whimpered. "I thought you knew…"

"Invite him? Here? WHEN SLADE IS GOING TO BE HERE!"

"M-maybe you could… could call Batman and… err… uninvited him?"

"The party is in two hours, I THINK he already left!" Robin snarled sarcastically.

"Come on, he missed the big one-eight, of course he wants to be here…" Speedy shrugged. "And speaking about being here, that red-head from last year, you think he'll show?"

"I haven't been able to stop him so far," Robin muttered. Red X was not even on the list of the problems he had right now. "Oh, god… two hours… I have two hours to live…"

"No one's going to kill you, Robin!" Bumble Bee snapped, crossing her arms and using her best 'you are a stupid boy' look, perfected over the years on her team mates.

"Not directly, perhaps, but do you really think there will be anything left of this building afterwards?" Robin groaned.

"Yeah, well, call Slade then! Tell him not to come."

"But him I want to be here… and besides, he has talked about us coming clean to Batman, it's just that…"

"You are the large fowl?" Starfire supplied, nodding.

"I want to live! And I want Slade to live, and… oh, shit, this is bad…"

"Nah, man, we got your back… we're screening off all the different areas, like the dance-floor and the buffet and stuff, right…? We'll just make sure they aren't in the same area at once!"

"Yay! Team Cock Blockers rises again!" Beast Boy yelled.

"Team what?" Robin asked.

"Err… nothing…"

"Besides, it's Bat Blockers now…" Cyborg grinned.

"Should we let Wintergreen in on it again?" Raven, who had so far only listened in, asked.

"Yes, the more equals the more of the merry!" Starfire smiled and clapped her hands.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Robin demanded to know.

"Oh, don't worry about it… leave it to us, we're professionals," Cyborg grinned.

"But we must make sure not to drop the ball towards the end this time…" Raven said gravely.

"You are all crazy, and we're all going to die…" Robin muttered and stomped off to get dressed so he could at least be a hot-looking corpse.

Slade arrived before Batman, like Robin had hoped, and he quickly pulled him into the steadily growing number of people before kissing him.

"Hi…" the teen grinned. He still had butterflies in his stomach every time he saw the man, which was sappy but true.

"Happy Birthday," the man smiled back.

"I hope so…" Robin mumbled. "So… err… well, I gotta do the host-thing a lot, I'm afraid… a lot of donors and stuff here tonight…"

"I understand perfectly. I have Wintergreen to keep me company, although he seems to have been swept up by your friends at the moment…" Slade looked over at the cluster of Titans around the older man.

"Yeah, they are just glad to see him… let's get something to drink?" Robin suggested and pulled the man to the refreshment-area where the lighter snacks stood, whereas the buffet in another area had the actual food. The Titans had decided to create lots of little 'rooms' to make it easier for them to keep the two men from meeting, but it also helped to make the large open space more intimate, as there now were areas for smaller groups to just sit and talk. Robin was quite pleased with it.

He had just introduced Slade to a couple of foreign dignitaries, hoping the man had not been hired to murder their fathers or something in the past, when Raven sidled up to him.

"That diplomat you asked us to keep an eye out for has just arrived," she said quietly.

"Great! Thanks!" Robin said and turned to Slade. "Sorry, I'll be right back, okay? Will you stay here?"

"Run along. Be charming," Slade smirked at him and slapped his ass teasingly as Robin turned.

"… yes, a move like that won't make us dead…" Robin mumbled.

"What was that?"

"Oh, nothing, see you in a bit!" the teen grinned and hurried away.

Whereas Robin was dressed in civilian clothes with only his mask on from his usual outfit, Batman, as he couldn't just show up as Bruce Wayne, came in full uniform. He wasn't alone, however, as there were quite a few heroes, and even a few minor villains, present. Robin had not expected to see Superman, standing next to the Dark Knight, though.

"Robin! Happy Birthday!" the man in blue grinned and clamped a hand onto his shoulder. The teen grinned back, even though he felt like his collar-bone was close to snapping.

"Superman, Batman, I'm so glad to see you," Robin said, and he meant it, it was great to see his mentor and his old childhood hero, he just couldn't help but wish that the circumstances had been a bit…safer.

"I didn't mean to crash the party, but Batman mentioned it and I just wanted to come by and say congrats since we were busy with those lava-monsters last year," Superman shrugged apologetically.

"Oh, please stay, there's room and food, don't worry about it," Robin said, hoping Superman would keep his mentor from stalking the party too much.

"Thank you, I will, then, unless there's an emergency," the man nodded.

"Great, let me show you where the refreshments are," Robin said and lead them there, making sure to take them there through a route where the black and the orange dots on his inner map of the party-area wouldn't cross.

Robin made some more introductions, as having the back-up of the two most famous heroes in the U.S. didn't hurt the Titan's reputation.

"You have to come meet a guy!" Beast Boy said urgently, suddenly appearing at his shoulder. "He's on his way now!"

"Please excuse me, I'll be right back!" Robin squawked, pushing a half-eaten canapé into a bemused Batman's hand, before taking off.

He just managed to intercept Slade before the man entered the makeshift room.

After spending some time with Slade, Robin excused himself again and caught up with Batman, who had just decided to walk in the wrong direction.

"There you are… I wanted to talk to you…" the Dark Knight said ominously. Robin tried not to get nervous, as the man tended to say 'it's time for dinner' ominously as well.

"Err… okay? Oh have you seen the view from over there?" Robin asked and changed their course.

"A little bird told me that you are in a relationship," Batman said, cutting to the chase.

"What, who? Beast Boy?" Robin asked, moving the little green squirt higher on his 'to kill' list, on which he had appeared after the whole 'invitation of Batman'-scenario.

"Does that mean you're not?"

As this was as good a time as ever to at least broach the subject, Robin took a deep breath.

"Yeah… I am… for about a year."

"Is he here?"

Robin tried very hard not to break out in a cold sweat. If Bruce knew it was a 'he' what else did he know?

"I… yeah… he's around here somewhere," he admitted.

"Too shy to meet me, huh?" The Dark Knight smirked.

"Yeah, well… you can be scary, you know," Robin grinned.

"So tell me about him," his mentor ordered.

Robin knew better than to lie, but he sure as hell could polish the truth.

"Well, he's… a bit older…" he started.

"That might be good. Someone mature instead of someone like that…" Bruce said and pointed out two red-heads making out heavily under one of the buffet tables.

"Yeah, he'd never do that…" Robin nodded quickly. Slade would have him on the table, after all…

"So what does he do for a living?" the Dark Knight continued.

"He used to be in the military… now he does freelance work, mostly…"

"Dangerous things?"

"Some of them," Robin admitted.

"Hmm…" Batman said thoughtfully. "Well… even though I would have preferred that you had fallen for someone who did not risk his life on the job… I guess a clerk would have bored you in the long run…"

"Yeah, I'm spoiled when it comes to adrenaline…" Robin admitted with a smile.

"And he treats you well?"

At this Robin couldn't help but smile widely in the goofy way of a man in love.

"Yeah… yeah, he does…"

"Do you think I'd like him?"

That made the smile vanish, however.

"I… err…"

"You're right, I'd hate him… but I'd hate anyone you'd pick, I assume…" Batman shrugged with a guilty grin. "The over-protective father-figure in me, I'm sure. So when can I mee-"

"I have to go!" Robin said and spun around. "Emergency host-business!" he added and ran.

"Attention everybody!" Cyborg's voice through the speakers was heard as the light dimmed. "If you could all move to the main windows, there will be a little surprise for the birthday boy starting soon, courtesy of… a friend…"

Robin was standing curiously looking out over the dark bay, when Slade came up close behind him. In the dark the teen wasn't too worried about anyone recognizing anyone else, and, after all, no one could see that Slade had placed his hands around his waist in the crowd.

Suddenly the night sky lit up as the first of many fireworks exploded, making the crowd 'ooohhh' and 'aahhh'.

"You did this for me?" Robin whispered, arching his neck to look up at the man.

"I thought I'd help with the entertainment…" Slade whispered back. "Not that I don't plan to entertain you by myself later…"

"Looking forward to it…" Robin grinned and felt a pair of lips against his hair. He leaned back against the man and enjoyed what he knew would only be the first set of fireworks for the evening.

After the last glittering star had died on the sky, Robin thanked the man and then excused himself again, his team having gestured for him that it was time to once more, cut Batman off. Robin reminded himself that he had to thank them later, as they all looked rather exhausted.

He only talked to Batman quickly, however, before he had to head Slade off. Why couldn't people just stay put?

"Hi!" Robin said, his voice a little too high-pitched. "Hungry?"

"Just curious about where you were," Slade smiled. "Someone said Superman was here?"

"Yeah, he's… he's around… better keep out of his way though, he's in a foul mood…" Robin fibbed.

"Really? Superman? He usually makes Santa seem grouchy…" Slade said, arching an eyebrow.

"Ummm… yeah… bad… bad snacks… didn't agree with him…" Robin's voice dwindled off because he knew he was a horrible liar, but then he heard how the rhythm of the music changed over at the dance-area. "Dance with me?" he asked. "It's a slow one?"

"And here I had hoped for the Calypso," the man snorted. "Very well, it's your birthday… but I'm warning you; I'm going to feel you up."

"Okay, let's do that!" Robin grinned nervously as he had just spotted something blue and something black making their way out of the other room.

He pulled Slade onto the dance-floor just in time, and made sure they disappeared in the crowd. The last thing he saw was Cyborg giving him a thumbs-up, signaling that they would make sure to distract his mentor for a while.

Robin took a deep breath and relaxed against Slade, who, as promised, had both hands on his ass. The teen grinned and leaned up to kiss him.

"That's better… you have seemed so tense tonight," Slade told him.

"Yeah… it's the whole party thing… next year it's going to be just you and me, alright?"

"I'll take that as a promise…" Slade smirked. "But I understand that this is part of the job, Robin, as I said, I can take care of myself; you don't have to feel like you have to entertain me."

"I don't… it's just… well, there are all these important people here and I'm afraid that I'm going to say something stupid, or that one of my friends are…"

"So you are not worried that they will see you with me and disapprove?" the man asked straightforwardly.

Robin blinked in surprise behind his mask.

"What? No! No I don't care about that, I love you!" the teen hissed.

"Ah… that's good. Because Batman is standing behind us," the man said smoothly.

The whole floor could hear Robin's yelp, but it was mostly ignored. The teen had spun around and was now shielding Slade' body with his own.

"Don't kill him!"

"I didn't plan to. We tried that last month." Batman smirked, although the sneer was not far off.

"Last… month…?"

"Yes… you know that mission I went on? Came back a bit… ruffled?" Slade shrugged apologetically.

"You said a house fell on you!" Robin gasped.

"No, just the work of daddy-bats," the man grudgingly admitted.

"To be fair, he didn't defend himself too much," the Dark Knight shrugged.

"What, you… you let him…?" Robin gaped.

"I had to let him work through the first stage of hearing a man declare his love for his only son… which, apparently, is blind rage."

"I was slightly upset."

"Tell that to my spine."

"I thought I did."

"All right, all right… so… you… you know?" Robin still couldn't believe it.

"Yes. Otherwise I wouldn't have invited him," Slade said.

"You… it was you? And you didn't tell me!"

"What can I say…?" Slade grinned, glancing over at Batman. "We found that we do have a few things in common… for example we both enjoy watching you squirm…"

" I think I hate both of you…" Robin groaned.

"Oh, no you don't…" Slade chuckled and pulled the teen close from behind. "Besides, Batman tried his best, but even he had to admit that I'm firmly on the narrow path since two years back… he even checked my taxes."

"That reminds me, you can't deduct those sleeping-gas bombs as presents!" the Dark Knight told him.

"But I had them gift-wrapped, and it was Big Joe's birthday?" Slade claimed.

"Still, I don't think-"

"I need a drink." Robin muttered.

"You're only nineteen, young man!" Batman said, snapping into parent-mode again.

"Yes, listen to your father," Slade smirked and then turned to Batman, "Did that score me any points?"

"Not enough."

"Didn't think so. Robin! There's a bottle of champagne in your room."

"So you plan to get him drunk?" Batman exclaimed.

"I had planned to do that myself, actually," Robin snorted.

"He'll take advantage of you!"

"Oh, trust me, if there's any more advantage he can take, it hasn't been invented yet," Robin smirked. That, however had an effect he hadn't expected, as Bruce's mouth turned into a thin line.

"You bastard…" the man growled at the mercenary. "You said you weren't… weren't…"

"Robin…" Slade said. "Is there an emergency exit close to here?"

"Why the hell did you let him think we hadn't gone all the way?" Robin asked, nonplussed.

"Because…" Slade grinded out as he backed away slowly, his eye on the Dark Knight, whose hands were hovering over his belt. "I'm not an idiot… and I didn't want to die, did I?"

"I'm not going to kill my son's boyfriend," Batman snorted.

"You're not?" Slade and Robin asked as one.

"Of course not. I'm just going to hurt him. Very, very, much."

The End

A/N: There you have it… either tell the whole truth or none at all, or things will just get messy… ;) And yes, I once again wimped out on the violence. –sigh- you really have to yell at me.