Sunday, 20 December ~* Exists *~
"You've outdone yourself, Alfred," Robin said, looking out over the lunch table. Alfred had made roasted chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy, like a version of a thanksgiving dinner.
"Well, I see it as a dress rehearsal for Christmas dinner," Alfred beamed, his cheeks slightly red. "Besides, with Miss Kyle joining us, I wanted it to be special."
"Oh, Alfred, you sweet, sweet man! If I wasn't dating Bruce…" the woman grinned.
"Pish-posh," mumbled the embarrassed old man and busied himself with starting sending the different bowls of vegetables around.
Slade and Robin had given each other a look when Selina had used the 'dating' term. The teen was pleased. He liked the woman and he could be completely himself around her, which was a huge plus.
"So, kid, how is practice going?" the woman asked.
"My time is much better now. Nowhere near yours, but acceptable, according to the tyrants," he said, indicating Bruce and Slade.
"You're getting very good," Slade told him, earning himself a treat or two in bed later, Robin decided.
"We should practice more tonight, before dinner. If you have time?" Bruce added to the teen. "Has schoolwork been going ok?"
"No more seminars until after New Year's, but a few assignments are due. Nothing I can't handle, though, and nothing is actually due until the beginning of January."
"Good. I passed by the building last night. As Batman I can pass over any roof without it being suspicious, after all. I made sure to check on the vent, and getting the hood off shouldn't be a problem."
Robin nodded. He had secretly hoped that Bruce would discover something that made the whole thing impossible, but no such luck. Ah, well. He was better at working through his fear now. At least that's what he always thought until he was actually in there.
He glanced out the window.
"It's snowing!" he exclaimed, happily.
The other, older, adults around the table made less enthusiastic noises.
"Oh, come on! It's beautiful!" Robin scolded them. "It's mostly been grey slush all winter so far, maybe now it will stay!"
"I shall remember asking you for help clearing the stairs later, then Master Richard," Alfred said lightly. "To make sure you don't miss the full experience of it, of course."
"No problem," Robin said, a bit less enthused now, but he was still secretly excited about the snow. The other people were just too practical and boring, he decided.
Slade and he sparred after lunch. Well. An hour after lunch. Both felt a bit too full to be doing anything before then. Bruce and Selina were in the cave as well, discussing strategy. She was going to keep an eye on things from the outside, after all, and needed to know what to look for and what scenarios to possibly suggest. They were busy, though, so when Slade caught him Robin didn't fight to get free, instead he quickly kissed the man's neck. And so the game started. A 'tag' was now not a strike, it was a kiss or a fondle, quick enough so they wouldn't be found out, but the kisses were getting longer and bolder as the game progressed. It finally ended when Selina noticed them and giggled, alerting Bruce to the fact that there was something wrong. Slade and Robin pretended that nothing was awry, however, and continued sparring normally until Bruce turned his back again. A while after that, the game was back on.
"AH-HA!" Bruce exclaimed after a moment, spinning around, catching them red handed… or red lipped. "I knew you were up to something!"
"We're just working with motivation and incentive," Slade smirked.
"Very motivated over here," Robin grinned back. He was flushed from both working out and getting found out, but he wasn't really worried. Bruce wouldn't have a fit, and he didn't.
"That's a good idea, you wanna try that, Bruce?" Selina asked innocently.
"Can be used while wrestling too," Slade contributed.
"Everyone, get back to work!" Bruce barked, looking bothered.
"We're ready to hit the showers, I think," Slade said, walking off the mat. "Good fight, Robin, you're as good as you ever were. Maybe better."
"Well, doing it with you helps," the teen smiled, not realizing what he had said until he heard a choked sound and a delighted laugh from the other two. "Sparring!" he added.
"Sure, sure," Slade chuckled. "Come on, let's get naked and wet together and call it a shower."
At that moment there was a sound from the intercom. It was an old system, but still the most effective way for Alfred to reach them all throughout the house at once.
"I hope you are able to join me in the sitting room in one hour, for the tree," the man asked, though it was more of an order.
"The tree?" Slade asked Robin.
"The Christmas tree!" The teen felt excited. "He refuses to put it up early, apparently, when he was a child, they usually didn't do it until Christmas Eve. He heard about someone doing it in November the other day, and trust me, there was a rant," Robin chuckled. "Let's hurry up and shower, unless he had the delivery people do it, he might need help putting the tree up."
Slade seemed to realize that it wouldn't be a very exciting shower after all, but accepted defeat.
They all helped decorate the tree, although Slade tended to hang back and sip the mulled wine Alfred had provided. Robin respected that it was probably not his thing, and that the whole family vibe might make him feel uncomfortable. A Christmas record was playing on the old gramophone, there was a fire, glittering silver tinsel, beautiful baubles in different shapes and colors, Robin couldn't help it, he felt pretty moved. And, even though he wasn't sure how Slade would react, he sidled up to the man when Bruce put the star on top and put an arm around him. Slade did the same and pulled him close, making the teen practically melt into his side with a big smile on his face. This was a perfect way to forget about the fact that you'd be pushing your way through a narrow vent in two days' time.
"I have prepared some tea and treats," Alfred announced when he deemed the work done.
"Oh, I forgot about my tea today!" Robin suddenly realized.
"I wonder why…?" Slade asked innocently, knowing full well that he had been the distraction.
A little while later they were all sitting in front of the fire, Robin with a cup of black truffle- and chocolate flavor tea that when perfectly with the cookies and homemade treats Alfred had supplied.
"Bruce," Slade suddenly spoke up. "I need to ask you something personal."
"Alright… what?" the man asked guardedly.
"How come, and please take this the right way, how come, living like this, you're not just really, really fat?"
To be Continued…