Chapter 4: Carress

Sportacus watched the kids playing from above. He closed his spyglass and smiled. It was always a nice thing to see the kids all together and being active. He glanced out over the town. The mayor was, for once, doing paperwork with help from Bessie. The kids were all playing, even Pixel. He spotted a small black shape cavorting in the grass of the park, and he knew it was the kitten. Then he looked at the billboard.

A strange clenching in his stomach worried him slightly, but he brushed it off. He thought a lot about what had happened the night before. He knew what kissing was about, mostly. He knew you did it with people you liked. On the cheek if you were just being affectionate, the forehead if protective, and the lips if you liked that person the most, more than anyone else. He knew the basic rules.

But Robbie had been acting strangely as of late. Agreeing to eat sports candy, playing with the kids… and then all the odd things he said, and the general strange behavior around Sportacus. He couldn't figure it out. One moment Robbie seemed to be begging for his attention, then the next shunned it. Was it a bizarre sort of plot? Like a feint while playing sports, where you imply one thing and do another?

Robbie Rotten was flirting, that much was certain. But Sportacus couldn't figure out why, and why all of a sudden. Truthfully, he only had a vague idea of what "flirting" consisted of. He knew adults did it. And he knew what it consisted of, that is, the actions that went along with it. But what was the purpose of flirting? What meaning did it have? At that moment, a small flash of realization came to him.

Flirting was a type of game.

Flirting was a game, and Robbie was playing. The sports elf's mind was racing in circles, and his heart beat faster with excitement. Robbie Rotten was playing a game! With him! It was a sign of good will perhaps, or maybe Robbie was finally tired of being lonely and sought to ease his way into games by sticking to an "adult" game, and seeking shelter with Sportacus, who he knew wasn't going to reject him for playing.

It made perfect sense.

Sportacus jumped up when he saw Robbie struggle out of his house and start sneaking into town as usual. The sports elf grinned broadly and dashed back into the interior of his ship.

Robbie snuck past the group of babbling noisy children on his way to the ice cream stand. He needed something other than cake today. All that worrying and thinking about what he had done the night before was leaving him with an even bigger sweet tooth. He desperately needed a distraction.

He sat down on a bench a minute later, licking the ice cream cone and looking at nothing in particular. He did like being outside, just not with all these noisy children running around. He took a small bite of the ice cream.

"Robbie!"

He yelped and jumped, dropping the ice cream cone. He turned to face the cheerful smiling blue elf.

"You made me drop my ice cream!" he snapped. He flinched, but it was too late. The words had spilled out before he could think better of it.

"I'll buy you a new one, okay?" Sportacus offered. Robbie looked at him suspiciously, but took the bait.

"One chocolate please!" the elf told the person in charge of the stand. Interestingly, said person took note that it was Sportacus ordering ice cream, and made sure to take the scoops from a tub labeled "sugar free".

He handed the ice cream over to Sportacus while Robbie was distracted and trying to scoot away from the spilled and melting ice cream on the ground.

"One sugar free chocolate," he said. The sports elf's eyes widened slightly in surprise, but an instant later he smiled, thanked the server, and handed Robbie the ice cream.

"Here you go," he said. Robbie took it with a mumbled 'thanks', and licked it. Sportacus had to resist the urge to giggle. Robbie hadn't even noticed the lack of sugar.

"Can I sit here with you?" he asked after a moment. Robbie looked up at him with suspicious eyes. He wanted to ask 'I thought you were incapable of sitting?', but he remembered he was supposed to be nice in order to win him over.

"Sure," he replied. Sportacus smiled and took a seat next to Robbie. A rather close seat, actually. Robbie had to focus on not squirming further away, and as a consequence his back went straight and he tensed up. Sportacus noticed and the smile slipped a little.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Y-yes," Robbie replied quickly. "Just fine."

"You're sure? You look tense."

The thought of using that line to his advantage and replying with "maybe you could help me feel better?" flashed across his mind, but he couldn't hold onto it.

"I'm fine," he said. Sportacus went silent for a moment.

"Maybe," he said finally. "I could help make you feel better?"

Robbie froze, tongue half out of his mouth to take another lick at the ice cream. It slowly slid back into his mouth.

"W-wha?…"

Sportacus abruptly flipped over the back of the bench and moved behind Robbie, placing hands on his shoulders. He felt the way Robbie tensed and clicked his tongue disapprovingly.

"How can you feel good if you're all tensed up like that?" he asked, and pressed his thumbs in a circle against Robbie's shoulder blades. The first thing he knew about this game was that it involved touching the other person. And if Robbie wanted to play, Sportacus wouldn't deny him. He continued the rubbing, feeling Robbie's muscles slowly relax.

Robbie was torn between panic, bliss, and a joyful triumphant feeling. If Sportacus was flirting, that meant he was interested, and that meant he was halfway there. Halfway to victory! And the rubbing did feel really good… but that was also terrifying.

Robbie absently continued licking the melting ice cream and allowed it. Just this once. He could push the uncertainty and uneasiness into the back of his mind for now. He let himself relax.

Sportacus smiled, happy with himself. He had never played this game before, so he was a little unsure of it, but it seemed like it was going well. What to do next?… He wracked his brain, trying to think of something. Ah. There was one.

He leaned closer, his head coming down to Robbie's level. He spoke softly into the man's ear.

"Feel better yet?"

Robbie's eyes nearly crossed. What was… Did the elf sound seductive just then? A spike of apprehension went through him. It was all fine when he was the one doing the seducing. Because he was in control then.

This was unacceptable.

He swallowed what was left of his pride, and slipped into a different persona. His eyelids lowered slightly, a mild smirk played across his lips, and he tilted his head back to look at Sportacus.

"Yes," he purred. "How am I going to repay you this time?" Sportacus fought a rising blush at the memory of Robbie's last "gift". He didn't know why the thought of it was doing weird things to his body. He struggled to think of a response, while Robbie was grinning smugly.

"You don't need to repay me," he answered finally. "Being able to make you feel good is enough." He felt a rush of excitement. He was playing with Robbie! He never would have thought. Even if this game was really odd, and new to him, it was still a game, and he was still managing to entice Robbie Rotten into playing. Maybe later they could play something else, like baseball? No, that required more people… was there any kind of sport that required just two people? Tennis maybe… He stopped thinking and his eyes got wider, a blush forming on his face.

Robbie didn't know what exactly had possessed him to lean back further and tilt his head just so, or to capture the elf's earlobe lightly between his teeth. Whatever had possessed him, it was pretty content at the moment, with the warmth radiating off of the sports elf soaking into his skin. Very content. He licked the captured flesh once, and sucked on it lightly before letting go. He sighed and straightened up again, taking another lick of the melting ice cream cone before it dripped everywhere and became messy. The difference in flavor and temperature made him shiver slightly.

Sportacus was busy trying to get his brain to work again. He swallowed hard and fidgeted, taking his hands off of Robbie's shoulders and climbing back over the bench. He sat rather still, looking at his hands. When he did finally look up, he saw Robbie gnawing on the ice cream-soaked waffle cone left over, a smudge of chocolate left in the corner of his mouth. Without thinking about it, he reached out and wiped it off, then licked the sticky treat off of his finger. He did like ice cream from time to time, and this was sugar free. Strawberry and vanilla tended to be his favorites, but chocolate was nice too… He looked back at Robbie and Robbie stared at him. The sports elf removed his finger from his mouth and thought quickly.

"Want to play a game?" he offered. Robbie blinked.

"What game?"

"Whatever game you want!"

Robbie continued staring, finally nodding once slightly after a minute.

"Any game I want?"

Sportacus nodded enthusiastically, wanting to forget the strange feeling from only moments before.

"Even if it's not a sport?"

Nod.

"Follow me."

Robbie stood up and started walking, and Sportacus followed. They were both trying to ignore the tension building.

Sportacus looked around in awe. Robbie lived here? In this big empty warehouse? He was too busy gazing around in awe to notice the terrified look on Robbie's face, before he carefully schooled it back to the mildly seductive look and mentally prepared himself. He turned to look at Sportacus, who was examining the ceiling, enthralled.

"Hey," he said. Sportacus blinked and looked at Robbie. Robbie felt guilt well up in his chest, but he viciously crammed it down. Any other time he could afford to be a softy. This… wasn't the right time.

And didn't he deserve a reward for all this hard work?

"About this game…"

"Yes?" Sportacus said, that damnable smile easily appearing on his face.

"Do you know what sex is?" There. It was out there. Sportacus tilted his head.

"No," he replied. "What is it?" Robbie swallowed and tried to calm the frantic beating of his heart.

"A game," he answered smoothly. He felt another painful twinge at the way the sports elf's face lit up. Not the time. Not right now. Deal with it later. Right now, this is the next step in the plot. And that's all it is. It was nowhere near as embarrassing as dressing in drag, at any rate.

"What kind of game?" Sportacus asked enthusiastically.

"It's… well…"

"Yeah?"

"Hold still and close your eyes. That's the first part."

Sportacus blushed a little and his eyes widened.

"Are… you going to kiss me again?"

Robbie nearly flinched, but kept it under control.

"Do you want me to?"

There was a pause, and Sportacus nodded slightly. Robbie slid back into his self-created role of seducer. Sportacus took a breath and closed his eyes, though he couldn't stop his fingers from twitching anxiously at his sides. Robbie moved forward, and tilted the elf's face upwards with one finger under his chin. He leaned down and pressed their lips together gently. A few moments passed, and Sportacus finally responded, hesitantly. Robbie deepened it gradually, leading him. The sports elf was awkward and unsure, but Robbie had to admit- he was a very quick study.

Robbie reached and slid his fingers underneath the edge of the hat, then slipped it off. The dislodged goggles fell to the floor with a clatter. By now, it was instinctual to press against each other and silently beg for more contact, more attention. Robbie broke the kiss slowly and contented himself with stroking the back of the sports elf's neck lightly. He drank in the sight of Sportacus with his eyes half opened, looking like a content cat in a sunny windowsill, being stroked leisurely. It was such a perfectly lazy image that Robbie found it almost addicting.

"Oh…" Sportacus finally murmured, feeling dazed and sensitive. "That feels good… I like this game…"

"I thought you might," Robbie added. He started walking backwards slowly, careful to not trip over anything, leading the still-dazed Sportacus along, and into the bedroom doorway.

AN:

I could end it here. But that would be completely out of my style, wouldn't it? Nowhere near enough angst. Don't worry. It's in the next chapter.

A little delayed in posting, but not too bad I think. Had to deal with the holidays and crap, right? Of course. I got loaded for Christmas. People can check my LJ for details. And also for me babbling about the new episodes of LT that I watched. Bwaha.

I like this chapter. A lot. Sportacus is so innocently naive, even while trying to seduce Robbie back he's still an innocent about it. And Robbie is dealing with everything the only way he knows how- retreating into a different personality. He does the same thing when playing with the kids. Poor guy doesn't know how to interact, doesn't know how to trust other people not to hurt him. He was a fear of not being in control, of being abandoned, and of being rejected. So, he's making damned sure he doesn't put himself in a position for it.

Of course, you can't make it work without opening yourself to wounds, but we've already established that Robbie goes about things in exactly the wrong way.

Poor Sportacus is just getting swept up in it without even suspecting a thing... well, you'll find out in the next chapter at any rate.

Happy Yuletide, you crazy people! X3