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? 😉
A/N; last chapter, and this is very family centered… because two people don't exist isolated from the world, EVERYONE wants to get involved, apparently…
Chapter 10: Your mind on a new romance
The last day on board started with a breakfast with too many choices as usual. They then decided to check out the sports courts and thirty minutes later came to the unanimous decision that tennis wasn't their sport. Shuffleboard wasn't either. Slade refused table tennis.
In the end Robin looked around, looked at the man, shrugged and suggested;
"Sex?"
"Best idea you've had all morning," Slade grinned.
They had only just reached their own hallway, however, when they ran into a very drunk Carl.
"There… there you are…" the man growled, swaying,
"Get out of our w-" Robin started, snarling, but was then pulled roughly away by Slade.
"Watch out!" the mercenary growled and then moved quicker than Robin had ever seen him. The next moment something landed on the floor and the man followed soon after, knocked out. Robin stared at the item.
"A gun," he said lamely. "I … I didn't see it."
Slade grabbed the man's arm and hoisted him up like he was supporting him.
"Take it. We're dropping this one at the Swede's."
The agents weren't home, but Slade managed to open the door anyway, dumped the man on the bed, tied him up, gagged him, and left a note. Then he disposed of the ammunition for the gun and left that behind too.
Robin peeked at the note. 'If I see him one more time onboard, he's dead.' it said. The teen quietly put the "do not disturb" sign on the door as they left.
The teen pulled out his phone when he came back and curled up in the sofa, speaking to Bruce in a low voice for almost half an hour before hanging up with a sigh.
Slade had spent the time out on the balcony to give the boy some privacy and the teen joined him there.
"How are you?" the man asked. "Something I can do?" Slade was leaning back in a deckchair, and although there was another one next to it, Robin decided to sit down on the man, stretching out on top of him.
"No… I just… Carl's supposed to be one of the good guys. Sometimes I just need to talk to Bruce about stuff like that."
"You could talk to me?" the mercenary pointed out.
"You'd call me an idiot. You already think the worst of people, so him doing something like that wouldn't have surprised you."
"Well… it didn't. Not much," Slade agreed. "And you are young. Still a bit naïve. I envy you that."
"Well, it might have gotten me killed today, I didn't even consider that he might be armed, even though he was the one who shot you, so I knew he had a gun."
"Next time you will."
"Yes. And part of me resents that."
"I know."
"I'm not too heavy?" the teen asked as the man shifted to put his arms around him.
"Not at all."
"Part of me resents that too," Robin admitted, chuckling dryly.
Slade joined in on the chuckle.
They stayed like that for a while. The sun was on the other side of the ship, but the shade was comfortably warm, and had it been later in the day, Robin was sure he wouldn't be able to resist a nap. Soon, however, other thoughts started to make themselves known.
"If you keep squirming like that you're going to be in trouble," Slade told him.
"Maybe I want to be in trouble?" Robin grinned up at him.
"That's what I wanted to hear," the man smirked back.
"There, I think you're properly punished now," Slade let him know almost an hour later. Robin only smiled lazily up at the man, not really keen on doing much of anything, including moving.
"That… was amazing," he breathed. "I just hope no one heard us."
"We all heard you," came an unknown voice from behind the balcony wall on the left, and the teen groaned. They were still outside as Slade had refused to leave in the beginning and then Robin had rather forgot why that was important.
"Yes, good audio show," another voice said, possibly from above. "Excellent quality entertainment," the voice laughed.
"Yes, well, jumping overboard seems like a great finale…" Robin muttered and slunk inside.
Slade joined him almost immediately.
"How pissed off are you?"
"A bit. You're obviously more of an exhibitionist than I am. I'm taking a shower."
He wasn't alone in the bathroom for long, though, as the man followed him in there too. "I didn't plan for people to overhear, or even to stay out there that long," Slade defended himself. "I got… distracted."
"Yeah, yeah… but don't make a habit out of it, alright?" the teen sighed.
"I shall try. No promises," the man chuckled. "Move to the side, I need to wash off too. So… where do you want to go for lunch?"
Robin laughed at the change of subject. "You can decide. But I want to visit the photo exhibition first. I've only passed through that looking for targets before. I'd like a closer look."
"Alright, but it's dangerous to expose me to too much culture," the man let him know.
"You owe me."
"Well… How bad can it be…?" Slade sighed.
Two hours later the man looked like he was about to cry. "There are only fifty pictures here, how can it take longer than fifty seconds to see them?" he asked dryly.
"You experience art," Robin told him patiently. He had grown tired of the exhibition himself fifteen minutes ago, and now he was just torturing the man.
"All I'm experiencing is an urge to take a contract on the artist," Slade muttered, and reached for his phone. "I'm going to see if there are any."
"Okay, okay, we're leaving!" the teen said, snatching the phone out of the man's hand and potting it back in Slade's pocket. "Take me to lunch."
"You know, if you change the preposition in that sentence to 'at', it becomes more interesting?"
"The balcony was interesting enough," Robin snorted. "Food. Now."
Slade chose a sushi place, and they spent the meal jokingly arguing over who had the best taste when it came to the different dishes.
"I still think there's such a thing as too much wasabi," Robin said as they left.
"Impossible," Slade chuckled. "If your mouth doesn't burn, you're doing it wrong."
"Heh, there's a blow job joke in there somewhere," Robin snickered. "So… what now?"
"We might want to start packing. There won't be any time tomorrow, after all."
"Oh. Yeah." Robin looked around, suddenly feeling a bit sad about leaving. "Um… will you come back to Jump with me? I've got my plane ticket, but-"
"Already taken care of. I have the seat next to you."
"Why am I not surprised?" Robin grinned.
"Wintergreen is very handy sometimes," Slade admitted. "He should start a travel business."
"Oh, shit!" Robin stopped dead in his track. Slade followed his line on vision, immediately on edge, until the man realized that the teen was simply staring into space.
"What is it?" he asked, snapping Robin out of his thoughts.
"What? Oh… No, I just realized… I have to call the Titans."
"Alright, I can start packing and-"
"Actually…" Robin looked very uncomfortable and his ears colored a little. "Could… could you…"
"You don't want me in the room," Slade stated flatly.
"Actually… no. Don't get me wrong, but if I'm going to break this to them as gently as I can, you can't stand over my shoulder, grinning."
"I wouldn't do that."
"Yes, you would! And/or say something inappropriate. You wouldn't be able to help yourself. And you need to behave around them, at least in the beginning. They don't know you and they sure as hell don't trust you… And if this is gonna work, they need to be on our side, alright? If I feel like I'm torn between you…"
Slade raised his hands. "I got your point. I'm changing and hitting the gym for an hour; will that be enough?"
"Yes. Thank you."
"Well, wait until I introduce you to my kids. They are older than you. That will be fun. And my ex-wife… I honestly don't know if she will want to kill you or become best friends with you… with Addie that is kinda a day-to-day thing… both options might be equally bad."
Robin blanked out for a moment.
"YOU HAVE KIDS?!"
"Yes," Slade admitted while firmly steering the teen into their cabin.
"AND AN EX-WIFE?!"
"She's the mother of my children. Well. Two of them. My first born son died, my second born son got his throat ripped open and become mute. He speaks through a kind of software now. Addie blamed me and shot my eye out. I also have a daughter, Rose, with another woman."
"Wait… mute… speak through a program… YOU'RE JERICHO'S DAD!?"
"You know him?"
"We've… run into each other." Robin looked kinda of pale and sat down on the bed heavily.
"Please tell me you've not managed to make an enemy of him somehow?" Slade sighed. Then he met Robin's eyes and froze a little. "Oh, no… don't tell me you are MORE than friends?"
"No! No… I just… We had some help from him in L.A when a target- I mean, a villain, fled there."
"There's something you're not telling me."
Robin mumbled something.
"Speak up," Slade told him.
"I…. I kinda had a huge crush on him since then and-"
"…and?" Slade asked carefully.
"And when Batman said he knew about me being gay, well… bi… then I… thought about… maybe… contacting him. For like a second before you broke into the conversation and distracted me."
"Joey isn't gay, though," Slade said. Again, he met Robin's eyes and raised his eyebrows. "He is?"
"Bi. For real."
"I… didn't know. He has never told me."
"Big military macho man of a father, who also kills people for money… maybe thought you'd take it badly?" the teen suggested carefully, not having a clue about the relationship the father and son had.
"You might be right," the man grunted.
Slade sat down as well, looking thoughtful.
"Wait..." Robin suddenly said slowly and looked up at the man. "What was that about your ex-wife maybe wanting to kill me?"
"And here we are… safe and sound…" Robin finished his, edited, recount of the past week.
"Wow," Beast Boy said.
"That was most frightening!" Starfire exclaimed.
"Glad you're okay, man," Cyborg grinned and gave him two thumbs up on the screen.
Raven remained quiet for a moment. "What are you not telling us?" she then asked. "What else happened?"
"Um… I… yeah… a few more things," Robin admitted. "And the main thing of those is… well… Slade-"
"Did he hurt you?" the empath interrupted, eyes glowing white. The whole team looked tenser, ready to kick some mercenary ass.
"No! no, no, no, quite the opposite… you see… you know about the mission and that we had to… pretend to be a couple, and… well, we worked closely together, we really got to know each other, and… we're… kinda…"
"Are you the pregnant?!" Starfire exclaimed, making Robin's whole face blush so badly that the rest of the team had no trouble interpreting his expression.
"Dude…" Beast Boy eventually said.
"Man…" Cyborg followed.
Starfire needed to be caught up on a few things but then looked thoughtful before asking "Are you experiencing happiness, Robin?"
The teen's smile told his team as much as his blush did.
They spoke some more, which mainly consisted of Robin confirming that yes, he was happy and no, Slade wasn't out to kill any of them. They decided to invite the man into the T-Tower when they both returned home the next afternoon, just to say a first hello.
"I will ask, but I can't guarantee anything. He might have something urgent he has to do," Robin cautioned them.
"Would he like the waffles?" Starfire asked.
"Yeah, everyone likes waffles, right?" Beast Boy piped up.
"We… won't go overboard," Raven promised after a pleading look from her leader.
"Thanks. See you tomorrow," Robin chuckled and ended the call.
Not long after, a sweaty Slade entered the cabin.
"Did it go well?" he asked.
"As well as could be expected. We… well… you're invited to the tower when we get to Jump. If you are able to."
"Robin, you made it clear to me first impressions are very important with your friends. Not only will I come with you, you can also decide what I wear."
"You… won't be in uniform?"
"I think that's a very bad idea," the man chuckled. "I'm not as threatening like this, am I?" he continued and gestured to his current gym get up.
Robin took in the 6' 5" man consisting of 225 pounds of pure muscle and grinned. "Not at all. Might as well have been a teddy bear."
"Exactly," the man smirked. "A smelly one, though. I think I'd better shower before packing."
Robin started with his bags and was rummaging for a sock that had snuck far under the bed when the man came out of the bathroom.
"The most wonderful sight in the world," he heard the man sigh and wondered what he meant for a moment until his received a pat on his ass.
"Pervert!" he laughed at the man and crawled backwards, ending up kneeling on the floor in front to Slade. The mercenary then dropped his towel to the floor.
"No." Robin said firmly, although he had to swallow hard and fight not to raise his hands to the tempting prize. "Pack first. Play later."
"Slave driver."
"More like Slade driver," Robin grinned.
"As long as you drive stick," the man smirked and then went to put some underwear on.
"I'd like to think that I'm not terrible at it," Robin said in a mock haughty tone.
"Practice makes perfect."
"Hey!"
When they had finished packing Robin had just left out a nice suit for dinner and what he was going to wear when leaving the ship tomorrow. He then called Alfred to talk for a while and the man told him a box of cookies should be waiting for them back home. The old man hadn't said a word against Slade or Robin's… disposition… this whole time, and the teen carefully, almost fearfully, asked him about it.
"Dear boy, I have known for years. I'm also sure Mr. Wilson knows what's in store for him if he treats you badly."
"Well," Robin laughed. "I don't want him to stay with me out of fear…"
Across the room the mercenary snorted at this.
"I am sure we'll be able to tell normal breaking up and him acting unbefitting apart," the butler told him. "…Hopefully," he added, glancing to the side and, Robin assumed, Bruce. "Besides, Master Bruce is already looking through cases he might want help with in the future."
"I knew it, we're nothing but a business opportunity," Robin chuckled.
"Business is good," Slade pointed out. "You need to learn that there are bills to pay in the real world."
"Hey!" Robin objected for the second time that day.
"Well, he is not wrong, Master Robin," Alfred told him gently. "The Titans have a privileged position as official protectors of a city that supports them. Do you even get a water bill?"
"Um… I… no, but…"
"Spoiled brats," Slade chuckled and got a glare from Robin in return.
"Alright," the teen sighed. "Work means money, got it. Thank you for explaining this mystery to me," he added dryly.
"Now, now, Master Robin, mind your tone," Alfred said with a smile.
"I'd be happy to spank him for you," Slade offered.
"None of that, Mr. Wilson," he was scolded in return. "Private matters should be kept private. I don't want to see things in the newspaper about you two."
Robin poked his tongue out at the mercenary and then grinned at Alfred. "We'll be good," he promised.
"Reasonably," Slade amended and the teen shrugged and nodded.
"Anyway, Al, great to talk to you, I gotta go," Robin said and bid farewell to the old man. "Do you want to take a walk?" he asked Slade. "There's not much else to do with everything packed away…?"
"Sure," the man shrugged and soon they were up on promenade deck, enjoying the fresh air. Robin, almost shyly, took the man's hand. Slade smirked down at him but didn't let go. The teen hadn't been quite sure that the man would be up for these kinds of romantic gestures now when he didn't have to, but it seemed that he didn't mind.
"I still can't believe you have kids… who are adults…" Robin muttered. "You need to call them."
"One thing at a time. I will call Joey, though. He's a good kid. I don't want him to feel like he needs to hide something like that from me."
Robin squeezed his hand. "That's good. And you're right, the thing about us can be kept quiet until… well... we know if it works out."
"As long as you don't feel like I'm hiding you," Slade said. At that point his phone rang. Slade looked at the number and swore. "Too late. That's Addie."
"She has your number?"
"Only my official one. Wintergreen must have patched her through. Trust me, it's easier that way." Slade answered the phone. "Give me five minutes, Addie, and call again," he said, and then turned towards the closest elevator.
"Um… should I… give you some space?" Robin asked as he hurried along with the man. He had to, as Slade hadn't let go of his hand.
"Her calling means she knows. She works with intelligence herself, she must have picked up on something. It's better if you're there. If she thinks I'm lying she can be… difficult."
"Almost sounds like you're afraid of her," Robin joked, laughing. The laugh died, however, when the mercenary gave him a look.
"People who are not at least a little bit vary of Adeline Kane are either stupid or dead."
Robin swallowed. "You… sure know how to pick them…" he muttered.
"Don't beat yourself up, you're not that bad," Slade chuckled.
"Addie." Slade greeted the woman on screen. Robin was in the room but outside the shot for now.
"Slade, what the hell are you up to?!" the woman asked.
"Working," the man shrugged. "Why, did you have any investments I ruined?"
"Yes. Albert Davis is a very useful contact of mine, and-"
"Excuse me, who?" Slade asked.
"Don't play dumb. You have threatened him and assaulted him, and-"
"Ah. Carl."
"Yes, that's one of his alter egos. Anyway, I need you to lay off him."
"No."
"No?!"
"He hurt someone I care about. You lost that contact, Addie, sorry. If it wasn't personal, I'd do you the favor, but it is. He's not bouncing back from this."
"Someone you care about…?" Robin thought the woman sounded like she didn't believe her ears. "Don't tell me you and your cover…?"
"Yes."
"But-" The teen heard the sound of papers being flipped through. "It says here your partner is a man…?"
"Would you like to meet him?" Slade said dryly.
Robin swallowed nervously.
"He's there? Yes, let's see the train wreck…" the woman groaned.
Slade motioned for the young hero to move into the picture. "Um… hi?" Robin said and gave an awkward wave.
The woman on screen must have been a beauty when younger and was still striking, even with grey streaks in her auburn colored hair. She looked like someone you did not want to mess with, though, and the teen quietly wondered where this would lead. She stared at him and then closed her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose.
"For God's sake, Slade, he's Joey's age. You'd fuck anything with a hole so I'm not as surprised as I should have been about his gender, but he's practically a kid! How did this happen, who set this up, who is he?"
"I'm... um… Robin," the teen mumbled, blushing.
"Robin…" the woman said, almost to herself. Then her eyes narrowed and her focus shifted back to Slade. "Batman's brat? You're with a man, your son's age and a hero to boot?! Have you finally lost it? Did someone else shoot you in the head?" Then she suddenly burst out laughing. "Oh, this is… this is too much… the irony…"
Robin felt a bit better after hearing the laugh, as it sounded genuinely amused, not sarcastic or evil at all. "As far as I know he was only shot in the chest and stomach. By your guy, by the way."
"He's getting a bonus," the woman smirked. "Slade, I want to talk to the kid alone. Scram."
"But-" The man started.
"Scram. Now," the woman repeated and Robin could see the man's shoulders sag a bit. The teen chuckled as the man handed him the phone.
"I'll go get some refreshments, I'll be back in ten minutes," they were told. "If she gets too much, just hang up," he told Robin.
"Don't worry," Robin smiled more confidently than he felt.
"Okay, kid, let's have a heart to heart here," the woman said after the door had closed.
"Yes, Miss Kayne," Robin nodded and sat down, propping the phone up so he could be a bit more comfortable.
"Call me Addie, you're apparently practically family," the woman sighed. "So… first thing's first. What did Albert, that is Carl, do?"
"He drugged me, tried to rape me and later… he pulled a gun on us. Slade stopped him. Both times."
Addie asked a few follow-up questions and then Robin saw the woman's lips thin. She shook her head, muttering something that sounded like a string of curse words under her breath. "Alright. Alright, tell Slade he's off my payroll. I don't condone actions like that. There are things you have to do sometimes, horrible things, in battle or for information, to break people… but trying something like that without orders and for his own pleasure… no."
Robin smiled a little. "Thank you," he said softly.
"You're costing me, kid. I might want a favor for this from you two down the line."
"I… think you'd better talk to Slade about that," the teen said hesitantly.
"Trust me, I will. Now, about Slade; are you insane? You clearly know who he is, why would you willingly get involved with someone like him? It is willingly, isn't it? I could contact Batman-"
"He knows and yes, I'm very much onboard here," Robin laughed. "But thank you. With both you and Batman looking out for me, Slade wouldn't dare to even think about treating me poorly."
"Wait and see," the woman muttered.
Robin swallowed, suddenly a bit afraid, but he had to ask. "Slade has never… I mean… he told me some things, I understand your hatred, but he has never… hurt you? Has he? I mean… you know… physically?"
The woman's eyes softened a little and a smile grazed her lips. "Never tell him I told you this, because I'll deny it, but Slade is a good man. If not for certain circumstances involving our children, if not for his lies-"
"He lied? A lot? About what?"
"I wanted to settle down, but he's not the type. He thought I'd oppose to him being a mercenary, so he told me he was off on hunting trips… one thing led to the other and then Joey almost died. I can't forgive him, or myself, for that. And then Grant…"
"Was Grant your other son? Slade hasn't told me about him, so if you don't want to…"
"Grant idolized Slade. Wanted to be like him. Joseph, he has powers, as you know. He was conceived after Slade went through the experiments that gave him his own abilities. Grant was just a normal human, but he wanted to be more. He was drawn in with such promises by the HIVE. Whatever they did to him… killed him."
"But… I mean I see the connection to Slade, but it's really not his fault, is it?" Robin said, feeling he needed to defend his lover.
"He could have been there. Taken his son under his wing."
"Yes, but… I'm sure, if he could go back in time-" Robin began.
Addie made an impatient gesture, "Yes, yes, we all would change things," she snorted. "But we can't. So we have to live with the consequences."
"I'm very sorry for your loss," Robin told her honestly. "Losing a child and seeing the other injured must have been awful."
"It was," the woman nodded solemnly. "And now… he goes and gets involved with a hero."
"Yeah, I know," the teen smiled. "But if you don't mind not shooting him for a bit, I'd appreciate it, because I'd like to have him around for a while at least."
The woman burst out laughing again and raised a glass of water in a toast. "As you wish. Now, tell me everything that happened on this trip, how did you manage to get the asshole to fall for you? Hypnotism? Drugs?"
Robin laughed and started telling her bits and pieces of how they had had to act on the ship, making the woman roar with laughter at times. In the middle of it all Slade came back but got waved away again. When he returned fifteen minutes later, the call was winding down.
"Robin, it's been a pleasure. I honestly wish you good luck. Come join me when it's over and we'll make him pay."
"Scary thought," Slade muttered.
"If we break up, I hope it will be a mutual understanding and hopefully not based on lies, cheating or death," Robin said dryly, eyes on the man.
"With Slade involved you'd be lucky not to get all three," Addie snorted. "I'll be in touch."
"Alright, bye!" Robin said, smiling brightly.
"What did she mean she'll be in touch?" Slade asked him darkly.
"I… might have half promised her some help at some point…" the teen said.
"You didn't?!" The man exclaimed.
"Well, I told her it had to go though you! And she works with the government, doesn't she? So she's practically a good guy!"
Slade burst out laughing, a dry sarcastic laugh. "A good guy… ah, yes, that's sweet." He bent over and kissed Robin's head. "You'll get me killed."
Robin bit his bottom lip. "I… didn't mean to… I mean, I didn't promise anything, so just say no!"
"She knows about you and about us."
"She'll… blackmail us?!" the teen exclaimed.
"Not openly. And she wouldn't sell the intel, it's more valuable to her as it is, but she won't hesitate to use us, trust me."
"Sorry."
The man sighed and shook his head with a sad smile on his lips. "Don't be. It's not like your old man won't call if he needs us too, Alfred more or less confirmed it."
"We basically got on the cheap labor list of everyone for hooking up?" Robin joked.
"It's the prize we have to pay. But cheap? I don't know about that," Slade smirked and then pulled the teen to his feet. "Now, she didn't manage to convince you to break up with me?"
"No, I'm stupidly stubborn," The teen grinned and stood on his tip toes, winding his arms around the man's neck, asking for a kiss.
"Lucky me," the man purred and kissed him. "Now, get out of here."
"Wait, what?" Robin blinked, slightly hurt.
"If my ex knows she's going to tell our son. I'd like to speak to him first, but I also prefer to do it in private. In the bag over there I've collected some food, go find a table with a nice view out on deck and I'll join you there in a few minutes."
"It will take you just a few minutes to breach this subject with him?"
"Maybe five," Slade smirked.
Robin snorted, but picked up the bag. "Alright, I might start without you, though," he said.
It took fifteen minutes for the man to appear. Robin watched his facial expression closely, and it was a got strange, maybe slightly strained, but he couldn't quite read it.
"Did… did it go well?" he asked carefully, handing the man a flute of champagne. Where the man had managed to get both champagne, glasses and an assortment of fruit, Robin didn't question. Maybe it was even offered as a picnic package for the guests.
"As well as could be expected. I think he was happy I called," the man answered, taking a sip of the drink.
"These things can take some time," Robin said wisely, and got an amused look from the man.
"Yes, I guess so. So... what do we have here?" the mercenary asked and examined the fruit plate.
"Passion fruit, dragon fruit, physalis, carambola and lychee," Robin said.
"You know your fruits," Slade chuckled, opening the dry paper-like husk of a physalis to reach the fruit inside.
"I was raised among fruit platters and finger fruit, and Alfred loved pop quizzes," Robin grinned, choosing a lychee for himself. "Good that it's just a small selection, though. I don't want to ruin my appetite for dinner."
"No, that would be positively naughty, wouldn't it? What would Alfred say?" Slade teased him.
"Oh, shut up," the teen grinned back.
The dinner that night was a three-course farewell meal and it was exquisite. Robin didn't want the time to pass, so of course it passed even faster than usual. Suddenly it was morning and they stood, Robin shivering, in the cool morning air, on land yet again. Wintergreen turned up, as before, and took them to brunch. The man was now much more willing to share embarrassing stories involving Slade and the mercenary actually had to beg him to stop at one point.
The flight was uneventful but the teen grew exceedingly quieter.
"Nervous?" Slade asked as they were waiting for their luggage.
"A bit," Robin admitted.
"Why? You didn't seem that worried about what Bruce would think?"
"Well, I don't live and work with him. If my friends don't like you…"
"I know, I know. I guess I should be nervous myself."
"Are you?" Robin asked, but only got a smirk and a raised eyebrow in reply.
Slade had arranged a rental car and soon they were parking in the Titan's garage.
"No greeting party?" Slade asked as exited the car.
"They will be upstairs. Come on," the teen said and headed to the elevator, taking a deep breath as he did.
"Robin! You are at home!" Starfire cried out and flew to meet them as soon as the elevator doors opened. The young man received a very thorough hug and then the alien stepped back a little and craned her head back to look up at Slade. She gave him a small, almost shy, smile. "And you are at home as well, Slade. Welcome."
"Thank you, princess," the man answered, politely, giving her a nod.
Everyone came up to greet them, Robin warmly and Slade a bit more cautiously. So far so good, though, and the teen relaxed a bit as he started to tell his friends about the trip. Star took it upon herself to show Slade around the joint living space of the tower.
"And you are sure about this?" Raven asked Robin worriedly after a while.
"Yes. Sure enough to give it a try. If it doesn't work out it doesn't," Robin answered patiently.
"Excuse me? Is Slade here?" Starfire asked them a moment later.
"He's not with you?" Robin asked back.
"I had to excuse myself to visit the room for little girls, and when I came back he was gone," the alien said, looking a bit lost.
"If he's in the server room-" Cyborg growled.
"Were we not good? Has he left you?" Starfire asked, her eyes big and wet.
"He just took off!" Beast Boy exclaimed. "And you wanna be with this dude?"
At that point the elevator opened and there was Slade, carrying Robin's bags.
"I'll put these in your room," the man said as he passed by.
Robin grinned at his friends. "Yeah, I wanna be with this dude," he let them know.
The End
A/N: there it was. Silly idea turned into a rather fluffy story that took much more time than I had hoped, but yeah… now it's back to studying and working again.
Oh, and if you haven't got it: the chapter titles are from the title song "Love Boat" from the TV-show (classic and remake) with the same name. Yes, I used to watch them growing up. Yes, I still know the song. Yes, I've hummed it repeatedly while writing this. And yes, it's so cheesy you should be careful if you're lactose intolerant.
Please let me know if you enjoyed this story, thanks to the anon who said this wasn't tagged as Slade/Robin, I'll look into that. I think you can still sub to authors, though, so I suggest you sub to me, because Slade/Robin is all I write, really… 😉 Although rather rarely now. But I'll still keep writing when time and plot bunnies admits.