A/N: And here the story continues, hope you enjoy! Please leave a review, it's and easy way from me to see if anyone is reading.
Chapter 9: Set a course for adventure
The men were on the floor and their necks were at a very odd and disturbing angle.
"Wh-what…. You…?" the teen stammered.
Victor, who had caught up and the two other men, didn't look surprised at all.
"You handle this from now on," Slade told them and got nods in return. "I have to have a little chat with my partner here."
"You killed-" Robin hissed but had his mouth covered and then he was quickly dragged away to their own suite. "You killed them!?" he yelled when he was finally able and allowed to speak again.
"Keep your voice down, there might be people around," Slade told him.
"I'm calling Bruce!" Robin hissed.
"Sure, here's your phone, I found it in their cabin." The man shrugged and handed it over. Robin looked at him like he wondered if this was some sort of trap before making the call.
The result wasn't exactly what he had hoped for, however. Robin had decided he wanted a face-to-face call and on a bigger screen so he had called the man up from the computer, and Bruce looked grim but accepted the outcome with a short nod.
"You're not going to say anything? They are dead!" the teen scolded his mentor.
"It would have been preferable if the authorities had been able to question them," Bruce said, "but-"
"There would have been a great risk of Russia pulling a few strings and either getting them back or killing them before anyone could gather any information anyway," Slade pointed out, sitting down on the sofa and relaxing like all was right in the world. "Besides, both Germany and Britain had the same orders."
"And you?" Robin muttered, pacing the room.
"I did what my client paid me to do. I have a feeling Bruce suspected."
"They wouldn't hire an assassin to slap someone's wrist," the man shrugged.
"Ok, so everyone knew this was an assassination mission apart from me. Great," the young hero growled.
"I didn't know for sure," Bruce defended himself, "I would have preferred if it had played out differently, but I did tell you from the beginning that the men needed to be stopped with any means necessary."
"And I guess that means that when Slade claimed that his mission wouldn't 'affect our case', he was telling the truth too? In a roundabout way?"
"Is there any other way to handle the truth?" Slade chuckled.
"I guess he was," Bruce shrugged. "And now? Are the others taking care of it?"
"Yes. The bodies will be taken away in a fake ambulance helicopter, acute allergic reactions to something they ate ashore," Slade told them.
"And what about us? Do we go home now?" the teen wanted to know.
"Not unless you feel you absolutely need to," Bruce said. "I understand if it has been a bit much for you, but the agents are also staying, I assume, as to not arouse suspicion?"
"Correct," Slade nodded.
"Two more full days at sea with a bunch of murderers," Robin muttered.
"Aren't you a lucky boy?" Slade purred and the teen couldn't stop the corners of his mouth from twitching.
"At least you will arrive back in Fort Lauderdale at seven AM on the third?" his mentor pointed out.
"So two days with murderers and then I'll have to get up early?" the teen whined.
"I see that you're not under any real distress," Batman said dryly. "Why don't you see this as a real vacation, then? From now on you can do whatever you want. And you have helped saved the lives of plenty of potential victims, Robin. Joking aside, these men really needed to be stopped. The agents will comb through everything and build a solid case. What that will lead to we don't know yet, but you did good."
"No kudos for me?" Slade drawled from the couch,
"You couldn't have done it without Robin, and you know it," the Dark Knight snorted, making the teen grin happily.
"Might be true," Slade admitted and Robin's grin widened. "Nice doing business with you, I expect the rest of my money in my account within an hour."
"It will be there."
"Call me if your ward needs a date again."
"Possibly not." Bruce actually smirked a little and ended the call.
Robin felt a bit awkward now and glanced over at the man, almost shyly. Slade, of course, seemed completely unaffected by everything and was checking something on his phone. At that point Robin's stomach grumbled.
"Hungry?" the man looked up.
"Um… yeah… a bit." Lunch had come and gone as it was now late afternoon and that early breakfast seemed years ago.
"Then let's go get something to eat," the man decided and stood up.
"Um… I… I think we should shower and change first."
"I just showered after I was shot," Slade pointed out.
"Yes, but then you… well… killed people."
"I snapped their necks, they didn't bleed on me." The man obviously didn't see Robin's point but after looking into the teen's eyes, he yielded. "Alright. Would you like to go first?"
The teen nodded and disappeared into the bathroom. The shower felt nice, cleansing in several ways, and the young hero felt better about it all when he was done. He still sent Slade into the shower as well, though. He'd never admit it, but he was rather put off by the thought of the man's hands touching him after killing two men. Slade would just laugh at him if he said anything, but the guy needed to shower it off. About the murders themselves and Slade's part of it, the shock had started to fade a bit. Slade had always been an assassin, and he logically understood that the man hadn't really betrayed him. What remained was a slight feeling of estrangement, but Robin had already made a choice: he'd get over it. It might be morally wrong, somehow, not to hate the man or whatever, but after seeing what these men could do, after hearing what they had planned for him… Robin just couldn't muster the energy to be outraged about it all.
They chose the pizza place again, and when they reached it, people, who had started to come aboard again after a day at shore, were buzzing with gossip about an ambulance helicopter landing on the roof and flying off again with two passengers. The ship would leave at six, in just under an hour, and most people were back on board.
"It feels so strange, what do we even do now?" Robin asked quietly after they had gotten their pizzas and found a table a bit away from the others.
"Fuck?" Slade suggested, making the teen choke.
"I… I… we… I…" he babbled.
"Look," the man said patently. "The only thing that has changed is that work is over. No more studying people, no more cell phone hunting, no more worries. We have some down time, we should enjoy it. Unless-" for once the man actually stopped himself and seemed to hesitate.
"Unless…?" the teen prompted.
"Unless actually seeing the result of my job… completely changed how you view me."
"It… it wasn't… pretty," the young hero admitted. "I mean, I already knew who you are, of course, but it became very… real."
"I understand. Trust me, I'm not going to tell you that you are silly. I've been through wars, and from talk and training to action… it broke many, that first time."
"But not you?"
"Damn close."
Robin smiled fondly at the man and reached over the table to grab his hand. Slade looked a bit amused at this, but let him. "Thank you," the teen said softly. "For being honest. For understanding."
"Well, I basically just hope I still turn you on," Slade shrugged with a teasing grin.
The hero snorted, let the man's hand go and flicked a piece of mushroom at him.
"Might have deserved that," the mercenary admitted.
"A bit," Robin grinned back. "Now, why don't you take me to a movie?"
"I'd be delighted," the man chuckled.
The movie was a romantic comedy which was so stupid and predicable that Robin would have left if he hadn't been busy making out with a certain mercenary.
"Not a very good movie," he commented, in a surprisingly happy tone, as they left.
"What movie? It started?" Slade joked. "Can we go back to the cabin now?"
"We're on vacation! Come on, let's enjoy ourselves!" the teen objected and dragged him along.
"That's what I was aiming for," the man sighed.
Robin led them to Club Fusion on the promenade deck where he got them drinks.
"Alcohol? You sure?" the man asked.
"I'm off the clock," the teen grinned. "Besides, I'll be careful."
"I won't carry you home," Slade muttered.
"Yes, you will," Robin corrected him.
"Yes, I will," Slade sighed. "Let's go somewhere where we can hear ourselves think, at least?"
"No, I want to dance!" the teen said to the man's obvious horror.
"I refuse," Slade yelled, he had to, because somehow, they were already on the dancefloor.
"Alright, then I'll just use you as a pole," the teen yelled back, laughing. The young hero really did his best dancing 'at' Slade. Others danced all around, and as soon as Robin left the man's side he was surrounded by men and women who all seemed to want a piece of him. Slade wouldn't allow any such foolishness for long and simply dragged the boy back towards him. Robin encouraged such possessives by grinding against the man, who rolled his single eye.
"Why are we doing this standing up when we could be doing it lying down?" he shouted in the teen's ear.
Robin snorted and finally gave up on trying to get the man to 'let lose'. Instead they went to the casino, had a few more drinks and gambled away some of their spending money.
When they returned to the cabin very late that night Robin was happy and not too drunk. Just slightly buzzy. They had had another meal, pasta this time, and now they were both ready for bed. Well. Sex.
"I have a question," Slade said as he undressed the young man.
"Mm?" Robin asked, fiddling with the man's shirt buttons.
"When all this began, before I broke into the conversation, I overheard you telling Bruce that you were bi. I've watched you, especially tonight when that woman on the dancefloor practically pushed her boobs in your face… you're not bi, are you?"
"Not even a little," Robin grinned and sank to the floor in front of the man, undoing his fly. "I mean, I used to think that I was, but you cured me of that silly idea," he added, "Now, teach me how to suck you off correctly?"
Slade was very happy to.
The next morning Robin woke up naked with his head on the chest of an equally naked Slade. He was in a very good mood indeed, which only dimmed slightly when he realized that he had been woken up by low voices, one of the from the man he was sleeping on. With his eyes still closed, he slid his hand up the man's chest and jaw, to put a finger over the man's lips.
"Shhh… sleeping…" Robin muttered. He felt his finger being kissed and giggled.
"Did we wake you?" Slade asked.
"Mmm… who's 'we'?" Robin wanted to know and finally forced his eyes open. "Oh. Shit," he added when he realized that Slade was holding his phone up, and on the screen, Bruce was looking pointedly at him.
"Bruce called," Slade let him know. "Videocall," he added unnecessarily.
"And you decided to just answer, then?" the teen asked dryly.
"I didn't want to disturb you," the man defended himself.
The teen then chuckled and, met Bruce's eyes and patted Slade's chest. "I think this guy likes me."
"And here I thought he was trying to give me an aneurysm," Bruce deadpanned.
"Nah, if he wanted to screw with you, he would have just kept hinting, kept you guessing, driving you crazy. And I know for damn sure he doesn't want to make me angry with two days still on board together, so that just leaves one thing. He wants your blessing, in a way."
"It might just mean I need your advice when it comes to giving the Bat hell…" Slade muttered. Robin grinned up at him and the man smirked back.
"Shall I ask Alfred to arrange for an engagement party, then? He'd be delighted," Batman said, making both Robin and Slade tense up.
"No!" the young hero hurriedly said. "I… I don't think that's… necessary."
"Robin's already as honest a man as I can stand him," Slade claimed with a chuckle.
"I guess I have to leave this for you two to figure out," Bruce sighed. "Robin, I'm here if you need me. Slade, I'm here if Robin needs me. And I'm only putting the peeling idea on ice for now."
"Understood," the man nodded and actually sounded serious.
Robin just chuckled and bid his mentor goodbye before he hung up.
"That was a risky move," he told Slade as the man put his phone down.
"I know."
"Why did you do it? Really?" he asked curiously.
"Because I knew the Bat would be an obstacle and I didn't want you to obsess about it, or feel guilty that you were keeping secrets from him."
"Don't tell me you called the Titans too?"
"Oh, I just send them a little video from last night."
"Tell me you're kidding right now or I'll jump overboard," Robin growled, feeling better when the man smirked.
"Breakfast?" Slade suggested.
"No, no, no, we need to talk about this," Robin insisted. "So where do you see this thing going? Are you leaving Jump? Retiring? Are we in a relationship? Will you join us instead? Are we going to live tog- Slade, what are you doing?!" he squawked as the man lifted him clear off the bed.
"Taking you to the shower, so we can go get breakfast."
"Well, fine, but don't think that we're done discussing this," the teen muttered as he was sat down on the bathroom tiles.
"Yes, dear," the mercenary said in a mockingly sweet voice as he shoved the teen under the still cold spray of water.
Robin was pondering whether or not he would dare trying the sausages at the breakfast buffet when he, deciding to skip them, took a step to the left and bumped into someone.
"Oh, sor- sorry," he said, his voice not quite up to the task as he realized that it was Carl. "Um… hi."
"Morning, seems like we're having some extraordinary lovely weather today," the man smiled like he hadn't just been part of an international assassination mission.
"Yes… yes, it will most likely be a pool day," Robin nodded, trying desperately to have his voice sound natural.
"I'll see you there, perhaps," Carl let him know with another smile, and passed by him, to fill up on those sausages.
Robin got some scrambled eggs and bacon as he was really hungry and felt more like brunch and then scurried off to where Slade was already seated.
"I met Carl," the teen whispered.
"Imagine that," Slade chuckled, looking at his phone. When Robin didn't react, the man looked up and then sighed. "You knew they are all still onboard."
"Yes, but it felt… I didn't know what to say,"
"Just keep acting friendly, we don't want to cause any suspicion," Slade shrugged.
"Ok, sure… wanna go relax at the pool later?"
"I could do with a good swim. Too much bacon," Slade nodded and stole a piece off the teen's plate.
"Yes, and that's so strange, as you never get any for yourself," Robin drawled.
When the teen realized that they could actually have a day at the pool, for real, without spying on people or wondering what their next step should be he became almost euphoric and ran off to one of the stores to pick up a few paperback novels. He then parked himself in the shade, sprawled on a surprisingly comfy sun chair and dived into a sordid historical story young nobleman forced to marry a rich powerful man against his will. He was so glad this ship had a huge selection of gay-almost-erotica-novels.
Slade, in the meanwhile was swimming against one of the jet streams in the pool and, by the looks of it, almost winning too.
"Good book?"
Robin looked up and saw Carl standing there in a pair of long trunks in a loud Hawaiian pattern.
"Yeah, it's alright," the teen smiled dutifully. "Have you and Victor decided on a swim too?"
"Victor's at the spa at the moment, getting a back massage. A real one," the 'German', or rather Brit, said.
"I really hope Slade's… umm… skills, didn't do any damage," the teen said apologetically.
"I don't think so, he actually raved about them afterwards, so if he's ever looking for another career…"
Robin burst out laughing. "Yeah, I'll… let him know. So… is everything… taken care of?"
"All is in hand. It might blow up in our face later, but we're all keeping a tight lid on things for now."
"They had good covers," the young hero said thoughtfully. "No accents and if their CIA ID's could fool Slade..."
"The CIA-thing was real."
"What? But…?"
"They were both recruited by the Russians back in high school. They both had Russian relatives and had a fair grasp of the language, and they were groomed into distrusting the U.S and turning their allegiance towards the 'mother country'. At the same time, they were encouraged to study and train and then start on their road to high positions within the intelligence service. They were here to try to stop themselves."
"Oh. Wow. That's a long game."
"The Russians are good at those. We are sure there are many more like them, in place since before the cold war, for generations."
"That's a scary thought." The teen shivered.
"Very," Carl nodded. "We found something interesting in their cabin, though… although… no, forget about it. I'm breaking laws just mentioning it. Let's just say we have some leads."
"But we can help!" Robin offered. "Please, we have connections you can only dream of, and this is about the stability and security of the whole world, after all!"
"Alright… you can take a look, but no more," the man said and stood up.
Robin glanced over at Slade, but the man was still burning off that bacon, so he put his book down and followed the man back to his cabin.
The inside now looked a bit like the Titan's own case room, with folders and papers strewn everywhere, evidence waiting to be tagged and organized.
"Wow, do you have their whole cabin in here?" the teen asked,
"The Swedes have half of it too," the British agent chuckled. "Let's see… yes, here it is. A notebook. We think these codes refer to people, other agents, but we're not sure. Slade, in particular, might be able to help."
"Can I take photos of it?" Robin asked.
"Yes. But please… this is something I might go to jail for, so consider this a huge favor," the man told him grimly.
"Of course. I won't tell anyone apart from Slade," Robin promised and withdrew his phone. That was a lie as he would let Bruce too, but he didn't think that would be that much of a betrayal. He started painstakingly photographing the pages while the man was overseeing it all. Robin got caught up in the work and it was only when he was on the last couple of pages that he noticed that Carl had gotten uncomfortable close, standing behind him.
"So, yeah, um, all done," Robin said as he snapped a photo of the last page that had any writing on it. He tried to straighten up and step away from the desk, but the man behind him wouldn't budge.
"Sooo… now it's all about paying me back, then?" Carl's husky voice said in his ear.
"I... what-" Robin started. His thumb was dancing over his phone, trying to send a message to Slade. He had just written 'Car' when the agent snatched his phone away. He just had time to press send.
"Let's take this and let's get a bit more… relaxed, shall we?" he said and as Robin turned, he felt a pin prick in his arm. His world almost instantly started to spin, and he couldn't fight it as the man led him towards the bed.
"Slade…" he mumbled.
"I'm sure he wouldn't mind trading a little time for you for the information you just got," Carl chuckled. "Don't worry, I won't hurt you. We're just going to have a bit of a nice time."
"But… Victor…?" the teen tried the other angle.
"He's getting a bit… old," the agent said. "You should have seen him when we first met, barely dry behind the ears." The man laid down next to the teen, pressing against him, clearly in no real hurry. "So how old are you then? Really? You can tell me, you know… be honest. You're still a teen, aren't you? Are you even eighteen?"
Robin felt bile rise in his throat. It wasn't only that the forty-something man with the thinning hair and wandering hands revolted him physically, but his focus on his age was the real turn off. Slade had never shown any sign that it was the teen's youth he desired.
Whatever he had gotten was making his arms and legs very heavy, but he was still fully awake, and the man was now getting bolder. Soon his hand was massaging the front of Robin's shorts and the teen desperately tried not to get an automatic reaction from it. His shirt was then removed and the man proceeded to lick and suck on his nipples, while cooing and whispering everything from sweet, affectionate words to very rude descriptions of what he planned to do to him.
"Stop… stop!" Robin tried, his voice as weak as the rest of him. He felt very confused and Slade's face seemed to flicker in and out of his vision, temporarily replacing the agent's, making it hard to understand what was going on and who was doing this to him. His shorts were lowered and a wet heat engulfed his member, forcing life into it.
"You like this… you like this a lot," the man grinned at him and- suddenly he was gone. Robin blinked. The man had been there, hovering over him one moment and then seemed to have vanished. How-
"Robin? Robin, can you hear me?" Slade was standing over him, a furious and worried expression on his face.
"M-m…" the teen confirmed. "I… what happened…? Where… where is…?"
"He went flying. Hit the wall," Slade told him. "Let's get you out of here." The man swiftly dressed him again and just as he finished up Robin heard a groan from across the room.
"He… he wanted it," Carl claimed weakly.
"He did not," Slade growled. "And you have him to thank for still being alive. Only because I think he would be somewhat upset with me." The man glanced down at the teen who was now in his arms, and Robin gave him a weak smile. "But don't think this will be all, agent. You'll regret this for the rest of your life."
With that Slade was ready to leave, but at that moment Victor walked in. The German took one look at the room, paled and then turned eyes full of cold fury on his so-called partner.
"You bastard," he hissed, turned on his heel and left.
"There. You're safe now," Slade told Robin as he put him down on their bed. "Did he hurt you? Did he do anything?"
"Not… enough time…" Robin mumbled. "He… drugged me."
"I can sort of tell you're not your normal, spry, quick witted self," the man drawled. "I'm afraid you just have to wait for it to wear off. As I don't know what he gave you there's no way I can find anything to counter the effects."
"Mm," was the teen's only reply.
"Do you need anything?" the man asked.
"No… just… you?" Robin reached out and Slade got on to the bed with him. Robin wound an arm around the man and was out like a light.
"Ok, time to wake up, you're drooling on me."
Robin smacked his lips and realized the man was probably right. He slowly sat up.
"How do you feel?" Slade asked.
"Still a bit groggy. And like a bit… hung over."
"Let's order some room service and get you something to eat. What do you want?"
"For some reason I want a burger and fries… and a big coke. Like really bad."
The man chuckled and phoned in the order, asking them to rush it if possible. It apparently was possible, because twenty minutes later there was a knock on the door and Slade retrieved a wonderfully smelling trolley. After eating, Robin felt much better and now had enough energy to get angry.
"I'm going to fucking kill the creep!" he snarled. He had filled Slade in on what he had been told by the agent and shared the photos of the notebook with him.
"I am very willing to assist you if you're serious," Slade told him.
The teen sighed. "I hate him, but no… not literally kill. I just… Just…"
"I know. And he won't have an easy life from now on. Trust me."
"You know what? Old me might have asked you to leave him alone, but new me is just gonna tell you to have fun," the teen muttered.
"I like new you."
"And all it took was two hits on the head, three threats of rape -including the one from you-, one drugging and a lot of fucking," Robin drawled.
"If I had only known that before…" Slade sighed wistfully, making the young man burst out laughing.
"What time is it? I wanted a day by the pool," the teen then said.
"It's only lunch, let's get you back out there," the man decided and so, after Robin had a quick rinse off, they went.
The afternoon was all the teen could hope for. He didn't find himself too bothered with the rape attempt now, mainly because the man hadn't gotten very far and maybe also because, in his line of work, he needed to be able to shrug off little annoying things like near death experiences. Sure, this was different to almost being crushed by a giant concrete fist, but it was the same principle. Despite all this, he still kept close to Slade, and just happened to feel like a swim or a drink when the man went into the pool or to the bar. Coincidences.
Maybe there was still some thoughts of revenge in Robin's mind, because once they left the pool area, as the sun was starting to set, his body was itching in a very familiar way.
"I need to hit something," he told the man. "Well," he amended, "I need a good work out."
"Let's check out the gym before dinner, then," Slade suggested, and so they did. The gym and spa were in the same area on deck sixteen, the sun deck, not deck seventeen, which was called the sports deck, funnily enough. At the gym they ran into the Swedes.
"We heard," one of them mumbled. "Victor came over, he's staying with us for the rest of the trip. Are you ok?" blond number one asked.
"Yeah," Robin nodded. "Nothing to worry about, the creep didn't get far."
"We assume you don't want this public in any way?" they were asked by blond number two.
"Absolutely not," Slade answered as Robin shook his head.
"Alright, we'll keep it off the record," blond one nodded and smiled kindly.
"Thanks," Robin smiled back.
Blond two cleared his throat. "We gotta say… you were pretty high on our suspects-list from the beginning, but even though you were an odd couple… there was something…" he looked over to his partner for help.
"-Genuine about you," said blond number one and the other one nodded.
"We had written you off until Robin seemed stressed about where Victor and Carl was."
"Sorry… I lost my cool there," the teen mumbled, glancing at Slade.
"You probably handled it better than I would have," the man shrugged.
"Anyway…" the first Swede said, hoisting his gym bag up on his shoulder. "We're done here. Enjoy your work out."
"Thanks, we will," Robin grinned and waved them off.
One hour later he was sweaty but happy.
"Pretty much like after sex," he pointed out to Slade.
"I'm not sure working out is quite as much fun," the man leered.
"You wouldn't be able to tell from your grunting, it's pretty much the same," the teen snickered and ran out of the man's grasp. It turned into a hunt back to their room and the bathroom, where Slade caught up with him, possibly having held back just enough to make it fun. Robin almost shrieked with laughter as he was stripped and pushed into the shower, with Slade following closely behind. They both only used their hands and mouths, but as he was still on the high of working out Robin thought it was one of the best climaxes he had ever had, information he was very willing to share with Slade, who just chuckled and agreed.
"What do you want for dinner?" the man asked him as they were drying off.
"Well, after working out I feel like something healthy? How about that sea food restaurant? We haven't been there?"
"You only want to feed me oysters and take advantage of me," the mercenary sighed.
"It depends?"
"On what?"
"On if that stuff really works," Robin grinned.
The restaurant was lovely and it was late when they headed home. The air was unusually chilly and not many people were outside, so it surprised the teen when the man told him to change into trunks.
"We're going swimming?" Robin asked.
"You'll see," Slade smirked at him and, grabbing a couple of towels, led him to the pool area. Robin hadn't actually realized before, but at the end of the pool was two hot tubs and they were now slightly steaming in the cool air.
"I thought it might make up a little bit for not being able to spend all day at the pool," the man told him, and soon Robin was making very contented sighs from the heat as he looked up at the night sky.
"This is pretty."
"If you like this, then come with me to my hunting lodge in the winter. I have a wooden outside hot tub, heated by a stove. Sitting there with snow all around and the stars above… well, it needs to be experienced."
"So, what you're saying is that we have at least one date?" Robin asked innocently and laughed at the man's glare. "I'd love to come," he said softly and snuggled closer. They kissed. One of those slow, romantic kisses they had shared in front of the passengers before, but now there was no cause to act, no audience around.
Robin's fingers played over the man's chest and come to rest above a smooth patch of skin, the only visible remains of the man's recent wounds.
"How did this happen, anyway?" he asked.
"I was an idiot," the man shrugged. "I was in the corner, on the other side of the bed. I heard the door and thought it was you, that you had forgotten to ask me something or the like, and turned around too slowly. Carl had already fired the first shot before I saw it was them."
"And Victor? His arm got hurt, right?"
"I managed to throw something at it, I think it was a shard from a vase." The man looked and sounded rather disgusted with himself.
"I'm glad you're human enough to mess up," the teen smiled warmly.
"Well, you already knew that," the mercenary shrugged
"Socially, yes. Professionally, no."
"Ah."
"Well, I guess it's my fault for being distracting," Robin grinned.
"I'm very willing to blame you."
"Thought so. Did the alarm go off, then?"
"No, that's the funny part, they actually had forgotten something, or rather: Carl wanted to change weapons, and he already had his hand on his gun as they entered."
"We were extremely unlucky, then."
Slade nodded.
"Well, stop messing up like that, it's no fun," Robin told him. "According to Victor's assessment you should be a massage therapist. They don't get shot as much."
"Might consider that in my down time," Slade chuckled. "If you try not getting threatened with rape as much."
"I will honestly do my best," the teen laughed. "Although I think we both just victim blamed each other. Tell me more about that hunting lodge, do you actually use it for hunting?"
Slade painted such a great picture of his rustic hideaway that Robin wanted to go there right then and there and told the man as much.
"It would be easier than heading to Jump," the man smirked. "Less questions. More us."
"Please kidnap me?" Robin suggested.
"Tempting," the man admitted.
"We can make that a tradition… we go on with our lives as usual but once a year you kidnap me for a few weeks." Robin hesitated a bit as he thought it through. "Or once a month."
"Kidnapping you for a few weeks once a month sounds pretty permanent."
"You're just lazy," the teen grinned.
"I need time to build my massage business," the man deadpanned.
"All you care about is work, what about us?" Robin complained, pretending to be upset.
Slade chuckled and pulled the teen in for a kiss again. Robin then leaned back against the man and stared solemnly up at the sky again.
"One more day," he sighed. "Just one. I don't like it but I don't know how to solve it. I meant what I said the other day, Slade… I can't fight you. If you continue with crimes in Jump, either you or I have to leave."
"And how do you feel with me travelling for work?" the man asked carefully.
"Honestly, part of me wants to say that it's fine, as long as I don't know about it, but the realist in me… I mean… Superman wouldn't be able to date Lex just because Lex promised not to commit crimes in front of his nose… and-" Robin added firmly, turning towards the man again, "I know it's not fair. It's your livelihood, your image, everything."
"Would you give up yours for me?" the man asked.
"But I'm a hero? What do you mean?" the teen blinked, looking confused.
"You're constantly in mortal danger, and, no matter how good you are, you're still only human. I could lose you any day, because you literally throw yourself into danger."
"Huh…" the teen looked thoughtful and then looked up with glittering eyes. "Does your massage firm need a secretary?"
The man smirked. "Possibly. But you see the problem?"
"Yes… neither of us are happy with what the other one does for a living."
"It's not that I mind you doing what you do best, I just prefer to be at your side while you do it," the man shrugged.
Robin chuckled warmly. "Ok, so let's start our own team… with blackjack and hookers."
"Excuse me?" Slade said, looking perplexed and almost a bit worried.
"Oh, you're not much of a meme-guy are you?"
"A what guy?"
"Forget it, it's like a … internet joke. A reference to a TV show."
"Ah." The man said, most likely pretending to understand. "You don't think we will be allowed to join the JL, then?" he joked.
Robin laughed. "I have a feeling they would have issues with that, yeah."
"And what would we work with in this team of ours?"
"I don't know… pretty much what we did now? But maybe minus the killing?"
"If you're hoping to get paid, sometimes killing is part of the deal."
"…. We can have day jobs?" Robin suggested.
"A massage parlor?" Slade said dryly.
"Ok, well, then you come up with something!" the teen snorted a bit irritated at this point.
Slade raised his hands out of the water in a surrendering gesture and then placed an arm around him.
"I like your idea, I'm just thinking of the profit potential. So… not even if our own government wants the target dead?"
"Our own government?" Robin said a bit hesitantly. "There's… lots of jobs like that?"
"Plenty."
"Oh."
"And foreign countries as well, of course."
"We're not working for any potential enemies. Nothing that can harm the U.S," Robin said decisively. "And no-kill missions are to be preferred. I have the decisive vote otherwise."
"How about things like hostage situations? Or getting out of sticky situations? Are you going to tie my hands?"
The hero hesitated and then shook his head. "No. We both have to fight the way we want, or we'll be risking our lives."
"I was actually asking if there would be bondage-oof! I might have deserved that one," Slade chuckled.
"You did. And yes, I'd love to tie you up," Robin grinned.
"Likewise," the man leered and made the teen blush.
"So… we're doing this?"
"Bondage?"
"No, idiot, working together!"
"You're going to stay with the Titans," Slade said and Robin felt his heart sink a bit. "And we'll take on a mission together when something suitable pops up. I'll put some feelers out. And then we'll see."
"Oh. Oh, okay!" The teen smiled, much happier now. "Yeah, I guess it's stupid to just leave everything before we know if it will work out, right?"
"Precisely… And you need Raven, Cyborg, that annoying girl and the green kid," Slade said.
"Aaaalright, I think I can figure out who you respect of my team. Useful," Robin chuckled. "And yeah, of course I love them, but they would still be my friends, even if I left."
"I'm sure they would, but they also know what blackjack and hookers mean. Well. Maybe not the alien. And don't ask me to explain."
"Trust me, I won't." Robin laughed. "But don't worry, teen references aren't that important to me. But I understand what you're saying and you might be right… I need the goofiness they offer as well as their friendship. Baby steps."
"Exactly."
Robin thought it over for a moment and then smiled. "I'm happy with that. I just don't want this to end. Which is weird… I mean, it's only been a few days, who would have thought we'd end up like this."
"From that first kiss."
"What? Really?"
"I know what I like," Slade chuckled.
"You didn't exactly… show it," Robin pointed out.
"Of course not. I didn't think we were on the same page. Or even the same library. There's no use pursuing someone like that, but I was prepared to wait."
"That's equal part romantic and creepy," Robin laughed.
"Describes me perfectly," Slade deadpanned, which made the teen laugh even more.
A little later Robin was on his back in bed, smiling up at Slade, who was showing him a new way to make love. The slow way. Really long, slow strokes made the teen's whole spine tingle and he made sounds he had never made before. The teen closed his eyes and wound his legs around the man's hips, meeting the thrusts. Any moment now he knew he would have to ask the man to go harder and faster again, before the movements became torture through sensation overdrive. But for now, he was in heaven.
To Be Continued… (which is a bit silly as the story might have just ended here… oh well…)
A/N: one more chapter, I think… like I say above, it's not really necessary, but… yeah…
Has anyone sung the chapter titles yet? 😉