YES! I'm so glad I get to publish this on the right day as was down yesterday!
A/N: Happy B-day Pride Heart (February 11)!
This is a Red/Robin story! Yay! Been a while, huh?
Warnings: this has some dark themes, but not bad enough to really demand a warning, I don't think…
My Hero
"I knew this dude was dodgy," Beast Boy growled as he looked around. The mansion's great hall had the walls littered with animal heads and skins from endangered species, and that was just the home-owner's poor personal sense of taste and judgment shining through.
"Come on everybody; see what else you can find. He might be able to show proof that these animals were shot ages ago, when it was still legal," Robin said.
"Yeah, I really wanna help the cops put this one away," Cyborg muttered, seeing how upset his young green friend was.
"Nor do I like this man," Starfire said and looked as loathing as she could.
"Agreed," Raven nodded.
The one they were talking about was a balding man in his fifties who had moved into Jump about a year ago, coming from nowhere and living large. He had seemed pleasant enough at first, a snobbish playboy, but not any threat, but then the crime in the city started to slowly change. Someone was pulling the threads, and Robin had a suspicion that Mr. Gecco was the one. The police had the same idea and had quietly been gathering evidence, together with the IRS who was wondering where all the money came from and where it went. All in all they had just gotten enough for an arrest, but unless more proof could be found the guy would be out on bail within hours.
They were all looking, using their different set of skills. Beast Boy was able to sniff up a small bag of cocaine, but it wasn't proof of dealing and wouldn't add too much to his current sentence.
Robin was studying a bookshelf that seemed slightly out of place in the hallway, and then smirked. A little while later he pulled the correct book and it swung aside on well oiled hinges.
"How about this, guys?" he smiled. "I bet we'll find what we're looking for down here."
"I won't take that one, bro, the odds are in your favor," Cyborg grinned.
The cellar really was an evidence-gatherers wet dream, and Robin soon had the police force down there to drool away at the crates of weapons, stolen art and packages of white powder. Beast Boy was taking one last sniff around when he stopped at a heavy door.
"G-guys?" he said, the tone of his voice getting the other Titan's attention immediately. "I… it smells like blood."
Robin would never forget what he saw when the door was pulled off its hinges by Raven. The body chained to the opposite wall was thin, on the verge of starvation, and covered in cuts and welts from head to toe. The teenage boy was naked from the waist up, and the rest of his clothes were in tatters. When Robin rushed in to get him down he stepped on something on the floor. The white object cracked and the teen hero froze when he looked down on the damaged skull mask.
"Red X?"
Robin ordered Starfire to snap the chains and then the hero found himself holding the thief up effortlessly, while checking for a pulse. There was one, weak but fairly steady, and at that moment the boy's eyes fluttered open, pale green orbs looking up at him with a bemused expression. Then a faint smile took over.
"My hero…" the teen whispered before his head lolled to the side as he fell unconscious yet again.
"Star, Raven, take him to the Tower, quickly!" Robin told them, giving the thief over to the alien.
"Dude, he looks like he needs a hospital," Beast Boy mumbled.
"No, Robin's right. It might be too late for the hospital. He needs healing," Raven said and engulfed Starfire and Red X in a dark bubble before floating them out of the building through the ceiling.
"I think the police can handle it from here, let's go," Robin growled as he looked in disgust at the filthy, small room. Not even someone as annoying as Red X deserved this. "Beast-boy, can I hitch a ride with you? Cyborg, step on it in the T-car, alright? We need your medical skills too. And take the mask and anything else you can find of his uniform with you."
"Pft, I bet you I can make it back first," the half-metal teen snorted.
"You're on, dude!" Beast Boy yelled, and suddenly Robin found himself in the middle of one of their competitions.
He was let down on the roof feeling slightly dizzy, but was running down the stairs before Beast Boy had even turned back from his pterodactyl-shape.
"How is he?" was the first thing the black-haired teen asked as he slid to a halt in the sick-bay.
"Stable. I did what I could for now and I'm giving him extra fluids and nutrition through drips," Raven answered.
"He is exceptionally dirty," Starfire said.
"Yeah, Star, but I think we have to stand the smell until he gets stronger," Robin smiled slightly. "Is he still unconscious?"
"He's been sedated. I don't want him to move too much and aggravate the wounds, and the pain would be too much for him right now. I'll work more on him after I rest," Raven said, and Robin could hear how tired she was.
"I hope you haven't drained yourself completely?" he asked worriedly.
"I'll be fine," was the response, coupled with a small, quick smile.
Cyborg and Beast Boy barged in through the door at that moment, arguing about who had won.
"I made it to the kitchen first, that's what counts!" Cyborg snorted.
"No way! We were racing to the Tower and we're been here for ages, tell him Robin!" the changeling objected.
"Just got here," Robin shrugged.
"Ha!"
"We never said the kitchen!"
"We always race to the kitchen!"
"Hey, guys, shut up, we have an injured person here who needs his rest!" Robin barked.
"Oh, yeah…" Beast Boy seemed to remember the reason for the rush now. "So… shouldn't we call the cops now? I mean, he's a wanted criminal, right?"
"Umm… yeah… it's just…" Robin muttered and looked to Cyborg and Raven for support.
"What?" Beast Boy asked, feeling like he had been left out of something again. Starfire also looked puzzled.
"Well, it's like this, man…" Cyborg began. "Red X here is a thief, we all know it, but he's like… really good, so he hasn't been caught, even on tape-"
"But he's wanted! I mean, we've chased him a bunch of times, and-"
"Yeah…" his leader squirmed, "But the thing is… well… the only proof the cops have… are of the thefts I committed…"
"Yeah, but you've reported him to the police since then, right?"
"Umm… no."
"NO?"
"Well, if Rob did and then Red X got caught, he might have a water-proof alibi for the time when Robin was using the suit, we don't even know if he was living in Jump back then… and that would have the cops asking questions, and maybe they would listen to Red X if he told them where he got the suit in the first place…" Cyborg went on, and the green-skinned teen's jaw dropped a little with every word.
"So… just because Robin is a crappy thief-"
"Hey! I'm not crappy, I wanted to be seen, remember? Trying to catch Slade's attention?" Robin interrupted in a huff. He then blushed a little as he got four very level looks. "I'm just saying…" he muttered.
"We don't want Red X in the hands of the police," Raven concluded. "At least not yet."
"So, what do we do? Slap his fingers?" Beast Boy muttered. He wasn't that fond of the thief as he flirted with Raven… and Star… and Robin… and the animal lover was a bit jealous of the confidence that must take. Once Raven didn't even pummel him when he did, which must have meant she liked it, right? No, Beast Boy didn't like the thief at all.
"His fingers seem to have received a lot of the slaps," Starfire said sadly, looking down at the broken digits.
"Yes, I couldn't heal it all… not in one go," Raven said.
"I'll try to set them, that should make it easier," Cyborg offered.
"Good," Robin nodded. "The rest of you with me, we are going to find out who this guy is."
"He is not the Red X?" Starfire asked.
"Yes, I meant his real name," Robin said evenly, trying not to roll his eyes. "Raven, you're off research duty, go rest."
One hour later Robin was back in the sick bay, having taken over the watch from Cyborg. He had a computer running an imaging recognition program which checked both the web and the high-school's databases going back a few years. It would take time, but they would find out his name eventu-
"His name is Alex Smith," Cyborg said from the door. "The computer just pulled through."
"Great. So what's his story? Any parents we should call?" Robin asked.
"Nope. Orphan. Nineteen. Ran away from foster care at twelve, been brought back and ran away again over and over since then. Disappeared off the grid completely since he was seventeen."
"Any criminal record?"
"Petty theft a few years back, nothing much at all, actually."
"Hmmm…" that surprised Robin. Red X was good, in fact he was brilliant, and you didn't get like that without a lot of practice… and practicing usually meant slip-ups…
"Are we sure this is him, man? I mean, maybe the guy just dressed him up?" Cyborg suggested.
"Yeah, but I I have studied the mask… it is either the real thing or a damn good copy…" Robin said. "Has Gecco talked yet?"
"Not about why he had a kid beaten half to death in his cellar, no," Cyborg growled.
"Well, I guess we have to wait… how's Raven?"
"She's getting her groove on. Said she'd be back in half an hour or so to mojo him again."
"Well, he needs it. Help me keep an eye on her, though… she shouldn't overdo it…"
"Tell that to her… the look in her eye when she saw him…" Cyborg shrugged.
"Um… do you… think she… likes him?" Robin asked carefully, feeling a bit strange at the thought.
"Nah, but abused kids and teens is her weak spot, you know… gets to her more than abandoned kittens. Why? You interested in her?"
"Huh? No! No…"
"Him, then?" Cyborg grinned.
"Shut up."
"Hey, not judging here!" the big guy said, raising his hands and grinning wider. "Nope, just gonna sit back and see how this plays out… have'ta be interesting."
Robin just glared and pointed at the door.
After several more healing sessions Red X, or Alex, was strong enough to be taken off the sedatives, but it still took him about half a day more to wake up. Robin was there when he did.
"Hmrh…" was the first thing out of the suspected thief's mouth, but the next thing he said was much more revealing. "Hi, kid…"
Robin smirked.
"Hey…" the injured youth mumbled. "What's with the scary look?"
"I knew it was you."
"Me? Who am I? Who are you?"
"Nice try."
"Crap." Red X mumbled. "Listen, I'm too pretty for jail, so I'm just gonna go, oka- oowww.."
"Don't move, you're hurt!" Robin scoffed.
"Thanks, I can feel that."
"What happened?"
A haunted look passed over the young man's face as the memories started to come back to him.
"I… I was curious… broke i- I mean… err... it was open?"
"Yeah, sure. Go on."
"Got caught. So stupid. He… he decided to… punish me."
"What did he do?"
"What didn't he do?" Red X mumbled. "He had a knife he liked… and cigarettes…"
Robin looked down on the round burn-marks on the teen's skin and shivered.
"Then… he… got a whip… bought… bought it for me… nice… nice guy…" The thief had his eyes closed and were shivering. Robin was afraid that he was going into shock and grabbed his hand gently.
"Alex… Alex, listen to me. You're safe now. He's in jail. He's not going to hurt you anymore, alright? We're going to take care of you… do you hear me, Alex?"
"You… you know my name?"
"Yes," Robin felt slightly ashamed, honoring the secret identity code was something that was usually respected, but, in this case they had needed to know.
"He… he didn't… He… asked… but… I never… never told… never told him."
"Good. That's good, Alex," Robin continued to pat the hand softly. Raven had healed the fingers but there might still be some lingering soreness. Still, touching was important, he wanted to try to keep the other teen grounded, keeping him focused on reality, on the fact that he was safe.
"Sound's…. sound funny when you call me that…" the teen said weakly, his lips quirking up a little in a smile. Robin smiled back reassuringly.
"Would you rather I'd call you something else?"
"Yeah…"
"What?"
"Sexy."
The Titan's took turns keeping an eye on their patient, who mostly slept. The day after he woke up, however, Robin realized that if he would be able to persuade Beast Boy to take another shift something had to be done about the teen's smell.
"Come on, sexy, we need to give you a shower." he said, nudging the young man awake.
"Hmmm? That really caught on, didn't it?" Red grinned.
"Yes, but I'm saying it holding my nose. I know it's not your fault, but we really need to get you clean, okay? Even though Raven healed all the bigger wounds, it's still not good for you."
"Don't feel good either…" Red muttered. "But Starfire had to fly me to the bathroom before so… don't know if I'm strong enough."
"That's why I'm going to help," Robin explained patiently.
"Shower together? Isn't it a bit too soon for that, kid?" the thief chuckled.
"Yeah, yeah…" Robin muttered and blushed a bit. "Hold on to me, okay?"
Red X was about half a head taller than him, which annoyed Robin a little. He was rather thin, though.
"How long were you there?" the hero asked gently.
"Don't… don't know…"
As long as they weren't talking about what had happened, Red seemed fine, but now he was trembling slightly.
"Do you remember what date it was when you… ummm… went for that visit?" Robin tried.
"I think it was around… the twenty-fourth…"
"That's almost three weeks… no wonder you're skinny. Did he feed you at all?"
"Yeah… just to keep me alive… not lately, though," the thief mumbled as they entered the bathroom. "I think… I think I was meant to…" he didn't finish the sentence, but Robin knew what he meant and agreed. There was no way Gecco would let him live after seeing what he had seen.
"It's okay… safe remember? We feed you, don't we?" Robin said, trying to lighten the mood.
"I had to tell Starfire I could only eat food from Earth for religious reasons," the thief muttered, making Robin chuckle. "And what's up with the green squirt and his obsession with pizza? That can't be healthy."
"Yeah, he's gonna get really fat for a vegetarian if he doesn't watch it…" the hero snickered. "Alright, we made it in here. Let's get the water started, alright?"
"'m still dressed," Red X objected tiredly, making Robin wonder if this was already too much for him. The Titan looked at the scraps of black tights, ending with bare feet, and shrugged. They were going to be thrown away anyway, and, to be fair, Robin thought he had to get them wet to be able to remove them from the caked dirt and blood.
"Pretend it's a wet trouser contest," he said and soaked the older teen.
Robin eventually got soaked as well, fully dressed as he was, but it took a while to get Red X clean. And, since he had been chained up for weeks with no bathroom breaks… it wasn't pretty. Robin clenched his jaw, however, and tried to keep a light conversation going, trying not to make the other teen feel worse than he already must be.
"Hello? Robin? Where are you?" came Raven's voice from outside.
"In the bathroom, Rae," Robin called back.
"Don't come in, there are boy-parts on display!" Red X added.
"Yeah, don't want to see that," they could hear the young woman mutter.
"If you have time, could you change the sheets on the bed?" Robin asked her.
"Of course."
"Actually, kid, that bed is really uncomfortable…" Red whispered. Robin had spent his fair amount in it as well and felt sympathetic.
"Rae, could you see if we have a guest bedroom ready instead? I think Red is strong enough,"
"All right," they heard Raven answer.
"Damn," Red muttered.
"What? You wanted the couch?" Robin blinked.
"Sometimes, kid, you're a bit slow," the thief smirked.
They made it to the guest bedroom, which was in a few halls away from the Titan's private rooms, just in time before Red collapsed, absolutely exhausted.
Robin got him into the bed and removed the wet towel around his hips, but gave up on the idea of trying to dress him. He tucked him in carefully instead so he wouldn't be cold.
"The door across from the bed is the bathroom if you need it," he told the half-sleeping teen.
"Mmm…" Red just mumbled. But, as Robin turned around, a hand grabbed his wrist.
"Don't… don't go."
"I'm soaked, Red," Robin shrugged apologetically.
"Then get dry. Don't go."
The hero could hear that this wasn't the thief being obnoxious; there was a hint of fear and helplessness in his voice, so he nodded.
"Alright, I'll stay for a bit. I'll just go into the bathroom to dry off, okay?"
Red nodded and sank back against the pillows.
Robin found a fresh stack of towels, courtesy of Raven, but the only thing not completely wet was his underwear. He stripped and dried himself, but he couldn't put his wet clothes back on. He shrugged. He had after all, just made Red bare it all, so why should Robin feel embarrassed? He put a towel over his shoulders for warmth and then went out in the other bedroom again,
Red seemed to be sleeping, so Robin went over to the light switch.
"Don't turn it off!"
The fear in the thief's voice was clear this time.
"Okay, I won't. Don't worry," the hero said and came up to the bed. In the sick bay there were always emergency lights on, so he hadn't thought about the fact that Red X had been locked inside a dark room for so long. Neither, it seemed, had Red.
"It… so… black… I … I couldn't see, and…" he was shaking and his teeth were clattering.
"It's alright… We'll leave the light on… it's okay…" Robin mumbled and stroked the teen's hair. Red was sobbing by now and pulled the hero closer until Robin was on the bed with him. The teen submitted to his role as teddy bear, it seemed to be what the other young man needed right now.
Red X actually had red hair under all that dirt and blood, Robin had discovered. A copper-shade, a bit darker than the ginger-kind. It went very well with those green eyes, and the hero couldn't help but think that his patient was…. well… very cute. Actually, with a bit more flesh on his bones, 'sexy' might be a fitting term after all…
He kept mumbling soothing words and holding the other teen until they both fell asleep.
The next morning was a bit awkward, waking up with another, naked, body pressed against his. To be truthful, though, it was only awkward for Robin, judging by Red X's good morning smile.
"I slept great, kid. No nightmares. Thank you."
Robin just nodded. The thanks was honestly meant, he heard, but the grin… did he have to grin like that? It was… indecent. They just happened to fall asleep, after all! It was perfectly innocent! The grin, however, wasn't.
But that was the beginning of a new nightly ritual. Red all but refused to sleep unless Robin was there, so the Titan tried to be… but with them both wearing pajamas, of course. The nights when the alarm called the heroes away they usually found Red curled up on the couch in the living-room when they came back, with all the lights on.
The thief was still weak and, although he was gaining weight, every germ around him seemed to think his body was a great place to party in, so he was constantly getting fevers and colds. He did get around more though, and didn't stay cooped up in his room so much, which caused the heroes some problems at first.
No one was sure how to treat him, for one. As a guest? Or a suspect? And if he was a guest was he the kind that could be asked to help with the chores or not? Even Robin, who hadn't exactly told his friends where he spent his nights, even though he suspected that it was a badly kept secret, couldn't really give them any answers. Red X, on the other hand, seemed to make himself perfectly at home.
Things got a little better as Beast Boy, surprisingly, bonded a little with the red-head after discovering that he also enjoyed video-games and didn't leave to polish a stupid car in the middle of the fun.
Robin grinned as he one day walked in on Red X in the gym.
He had noticed that the teen had filled out again and seemed to 'grow' strangely enough. Robin thought it was the way he had been hunched over most of the time before that made him look taller and his shoulders seem wider lately. Now he had a lot more of his old strut back in his walk and his voice as well. Still, there were moments when the hero could see sparks of panic in those green eyes… the sound of a slamming door or heavy footsteps could do it. Or frying bacon. Red X had run to throw up the first time he had come out into the kitchen for breakfast and Cy had been cooking that. But those reactions were starting to come under control, and Robin was actually impressed with his progress.
"Hi… you're feeling better, then?"
"Yeah, the last cold seems to be over," Red shrugged. "That cough was terrible."
"Tell me about it, it was my ear that got coughed in…" the hero snorted. "So… you're alright now, then?"
The thief glanced up at him from where he was setting the resistance on the machine he was using and blinked.
"Um. Yeah. Oh, I guess you want me out of here, huh?"
"No!" Robin objected but then shrugged. "I mean, yeah, you would want to go home sooner or later, right? But we're not throwing you out or anything!"
"I keep wondering why you're not moving me into a cozy little cell?" Red asked straightforwardly.
"Well… after what you've been through…" Robin mumbled and scratched his neck, not wanting to tell the thief the truth. "Ummm… you don't think you should take some time off from the crimes? About seventy to eighty years or so?"
"Yeah, well, since I might have to be a day-time burglar now…" Red muttered unhappily.
"It's still bad?" the Titan asked. The thief's fear of the dark was something he had trouble shaking and was very embarrassed about. They still slept with the lights on every night.
"Yeah… say, Robin… you wouldn't want to help me with it?"
"Sure I would. Anything! Do you have any ideas about what might work?"
"In fact I do… I'll come by your room tonight, okay?"
"Okay…" Robin nodded, but frowned a bit as he left. Red had had that grin on his face again…
That night Robin came into his room after a tiring mission, to find the other teen already in bed. After showering and changing into his pajamas in the bathroom he went over to the light-switch. He felt a bit nervous about being in his own room for once, or rather about Red X being in his room… and more particularly in his bed.
"So… do I turn the light off?"
"Yeah, and then get into the bed quickly, okay?"
"Sure, but… what should I do if you panic?" the hero asked.
"Well, as I see it, I need to be distracted, right? So I don't start thinking about… that place."
"Of course… so… I'll try to talk to you or something," Robin nodded. "Ready?"
"Ready."
The Titan flipped the switch and hurried across the room in case Red began to panic at once, and it seemed like he was, because the older teen dragged him into the bed quickly, getting him under the covers and pulling him close.
"It's alright, I'm-" Robin began a little awkwardly. "Wait… are you naked?"
"Yes. Distract me by telling me how you noticed," Red begged in a low, urgent voice.
"Well, my hand brushed- Red, what's going on here? What are you doing?"
"More distraction, please… I can hug you, right?" the thief asked.
"Yes, of course but-mmm?"
"Sorry, forgot to ask about kissing…"
"Red you better get really scared soon, or you're in trouble!" Robin barked, but then felt the young man's lips on his again.
The resourceful hero with a talent for making split-second decisions and who repeatedly led his team into battles against overwhelming odds found that he had absolutely no idea what to do. Truth was, getting kissed felt rather nice. Very nice in fact, and he wanted to kiss the other teen back, but… should he? He had a feeling that he must be breaking some laws here, but he didn't know which ones.
His lips made his decision for him and parted slightly. The first brush of the tip of Red's tongue against his lips set shocks down the teen's spine, where it seemed to set something on fire.
Slowly, so slowly that Robin hadn't quite noticed it, Red had moved on top of him, and the redhead's hands were up under his pajama shirt now, exploring. Robin yelped as one of his nipples got lightly pinched.
"Just wanted to make sure you were still there… got worried," Red breathed in his ear.
"You're right on top of me!" the hero hissed back.
"Still… it's dark…" the thief grinned, and it wasn't that dark, as Robin could see it.
"This… this will help?" Robin gasped as the thief let his lips go for a moment.
"Thief's honor."
"I have no idea what that means…" the hero muttered.
"It means yes. And you promised you'd do anything to help me," Red reminded him.
"Yeah, I did, didn't I?" Robin sighed and then chuckled. "Alright."
"Really?"
"Really."
"Wow, I thought you would have kicked me out by now."
"Well, if you don't stop talking…" the Titan threatened.
Red demonstrated that his lips could be used for other things by kissing him again.
When fingers grazed the edge of his mask, however, Robin tensed a little.
"Come on. You've seen me, it's only fair," the redhead pleaded.
"Fair has nothing to do with it," Robin began to explain.
"Well, it is rather dark in here, so it's not likely that I should discover that you are the crown prince of Great Britain or the ward of Bruce Wayne."
"You know?"
"Yes, your highness,"
"How?"
"Amazing hacking skills. You've seen my criminal record, right?"
"I knew there was something fishy about that!" Robin exclaimed and almost sat up in bed, ready to begin sorting things out.
"None of that now, that will only distract you, not me," Red growled playfully and pushed him down again.
"Oh, right… sorry," the hero said dryly.
Robin let the other teen carefully peel off his mask and felt rather insecure and naked once it was done. Red kissed him again, however, and then his lips trailed down across the hero's jaw and neck. His hands were pulling at Robin's pajama top and the teen let him pull it off, but hesitated when Red wanted to continue with the pants.
"Hey, I'm naked, it's only fair," Red scolded him.
"For a criminal you are very obsessed with fairness," Robin pointed out.
"Oh, I just thought it would work on you," Red grinned.
"Yeah… I'm all about that stuff," Robin nodded and lifted his hips a little to help.
Red X snickered and soon they were both naked under the covers.
Robin was excited and also nervous as they touched and kissed. Red took some of it away by tickling him a little, but Robin's knee almost hit the other teen in a rather bad place by accident as a result, which had them both laughing like hyenas on a sugar-rush. Slowly the game became more serious again, the kisses more lingering, the hands firmer and more daring. Exploring another person's body was somewhat surreal, discovering sensitive spots and having your own found in turn. Robin hadn't known how far they would go when it all started, but now he didn't want to stop.
"Can't believe you stole my suit and now my virginity too…" he muttered a bit sullenly in the red head's ear.
"And you can't have any of them back, just saying…" Red grinned.
"Well, there's not much left of the suit…" Robin shrugged.
"Yeah… speaking about that… you're good at sewing, right?" the thief said innocently.
"Yes, I can make you a sexy pink thing… with lots of bells on it…" Robin smirked.
"You're evil."
"Yes. Yes I am. Now, can we… you know…?"
"Yes, we can 'you know' but I'm going to sulk more later," Red decided. "Now… how would you wanna be fucked?"
"Who says I'm not going to top you?" Robin snorted.
"Age before beauty," Red said firmly.
"Awww… is that the rule?"
"Yes."
"Well… being a hero, I can't go around breaking those…" Robin said dejectedly, giving a deep sigh, but then looked up at his soon-to-be lover with a grin. "There's lotion in the nightstand."
"Naughty boy, why is that there, I wonder?" Red snickered.
"Oh, for completely innocent reasons!" Robin claimed as the redhead reached for the drawer.
"Such as?"
"Such as it hurts to shove your dildo up your ass without it."
Red X froze for a moment and then burst out laughing.
"God, Robin… you really are my hero, you know…"
"Yes, no one else would have you," the black-haired teen nodded solemnly.
He moaned as a finger slipped inside him a little later, the feeling simply incredible, and he was on the verge of coming already. He fought it, though, wanting it to last. Red X was surprisingly gentle and prepared him almost an excruciatingly long time until Robin simply grabbed the thief's ears and pulled his face close.
"Fuck me. NOW!"
"But it's your first time, are you sure you're read-"
"NOW! Or I swear I'll cut it off and shove it in there myself!" Robin growled.
"Sheesh, don't frighten it…" Red laughed quietly and got in position. "And don't blame me if this hurts."
But it didn't hurt. Robin had expected it to, at least a little, but it was just amazing. After the first minute they started experimenting with positions, which helped Robin to last, but in the end he just held on to his partner and urged him to stay like they were, because by then he just really, really needed to come.
They cuddled a bit, but, both being teens, they were soon at it again, and didn't give up for the night until almost two hours later when they were both exhausted.
"There… distracted enough?" Robin panted, slumped in a boneless heap across Red's chest.
"Yeah…" Red mumbled.
Robin listened to Red's heart as it slowly returned to a normal beat, but then, as the minutes went by, it started to beat a little faster again.
"Hey, Robin?" Red whispered.
"Yeah?"
"Can you go turn the light on again?"
"Are you kidding? I can't move!" the hero mumbled.
He noticed Red's pulse spike again and raised his head.
"You really need me to? Is it bad?"
"I… think I can deal… You're here, after all."
"I am… and Red? It's okay… what you went through… no one's expecting you to bounce back."
"Good, because I'm not feeling really bouncy… well… not some days."
Robin wound his arms hard around the thief's body as a reply.
"Red?"
"Yeah?"
"I never asked you this, but… did he… did Gecco…?"
"No. No thank god, that never seemed to cross his mind… he just liked to beat me up… or cut me… or burn me… or-"
"Shhhh… not now… we'll talk more about this any time, but don't work yourself up right now, Alex, okay? Just try to deal with the dark," Robin urged him quietly as he could feel the older teen being on his way to panic. "Any way you can."
"Oh… right… sorry… Well… Here we go, then," Red said and flipped them over.
The End
A/N: this got lighter than I actually planned or it to be… Red is a difficult guy to work with in a more serious setting, because he just wants to have fun. And sex. Preferably both at once. And the bad guy is just an OC I named after the lizard-kind (spelled "gecko") because I have a few on my wall just across from my bed (not real ones, unfortunately, but I do love them… geckos are the cutest lizards! Damn, why did I name that creep after them? I'm sorry!