Chapter 13: Steam

Cordelia stood under the hot, perpetual stream of water, doing what anyone would normally do in the shower, and contemplated her life's events. Chief among her thoughts was her desire to ask Robin to celebrate a special milestone in their relationship. This wasn't the big "engagement" milestone, but a few steps under it. Cordelia had asked Robin to come over later that day, and she was going to ask him if they were ready to move in together. Mentally preparing herself for the soon-to-come conservation, she absentmindedly ran her hands through her crimson hair, getting the last of the shampoo out of it. Turning off the water, she stepped out onto the cold bathroom tile. Drying off her hair, she stepped out of the bathroom heading towards her room in her small apartment, but stopped mid-stride as she caught movement out of the corner of her eye.

She turned her head to see only Robin, standing awkwardly just a few feet away and staring wide eyed and slack-jawed at his significant other. Weird, Cordelia thought, he isn't supposed to arrive for another half-hour. There was a quiet moment of blank stares between the two, both caught in motion, before Cordelia came to the realization that she was not covered, and immediately screamed and ran into her room, slamming the door behind her, shouting, "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?!"

Robin ran over to the bedroom door with haste, hoping to fix the situation as quickly as he could. "Cordelia, I'm sorry, I-I swear I didn't see anything!"
Cordelia blushed and instinctively moved the towel to hide her chest even though Robin couldn't see her from the door she pressed her back up against. "Well, thanks a lot, Robin!" she replied, a bit harsher than she'd intended. "That makes me feel so much better!"

Robin smacked his head in an open palm and brought it down to pinch the bridge of his nose. "No, that's not what I meant, I... there was… steam… a lot of it, you know? I couldn't see anything." There was another long pause, and Robin began to feel worried from the silence. "If it'll make you feel better I could… umm… oh! I could get naked and you could see me, then we would be even… right?"

After hearing only rustlng from the other side of the door Robin stepped backward as the door creaked opened, and Cordelia walked out in her lounge wear and crossed her arms before Robin, wearing something of an unamused expression. "And how would that be better? I don't want to see you naked, really."

Robin rubbed the back of his head, his face turning reddish from embarrassment, and looked down at his feet. "Right… didn't think that one through, I guess."

She gave Robin a stern look before continuing her berating. "You still didn't tell me why you're here so early. And how did you even get in anyway?"

Robin glanced up, but, not daring to let his eyes rest on her at the moment, kept darting his view around, hoping to avoid eye contact. "Your earlier text sounded pretty urgent, so I thought there was an issue you really wanted to cover as soon as possible, and I rushed over. That, and I remembered where you hide your spare key, so I just used that to get in. Sorry."

"Well, just so we're clear, I'm going to stay mad at you for this for a couple weeks, got it?" she huffed, turning her back to the befuddled man.

Robin sighed and stepped towards her, simply placing his chin on her shoulder and looking over to her with a faux pout on his face.

Cordelia looked over, but turned her head back away from the whimpering man upon seeing the pout on his face. "No, not this time. Your puppy-dog eyes will not get you out of this, mister."
"You sure? 'Cause my eyes are reeeeeally saying I'm sorry." He blinked his eyes quickly, like a child trying to get a toy they really want from their parents.

Cordelia tried to resist, and did an excellent job of doing so as long as she could, but she succumbed soon enough, and once again began awarding a victory for Robin. "Alright, fine. Sit down in the kitchen, and we can talk. I was thinking that, just maybe, it was time we moved in together. But we'll have seperate rooms! No peeping!"

A/N: How's it going everyone, the lord of the dread lands is back with a couple more chapters for the show. Been a bit hectic and will continue to be hectic at my area of employment as quite a few, of our already small numbered, employees have quit without notice. Sorry about that, but I will update as much as I can. Shoutout to warrior for their positive reviews on past chapters. You are awesome friendo