Part four, the dawn:
The day after the third and final annual Lazy town ball dawned bright and clear. To look at the town in the sunlight of a new day you would think that magic of the night before had never happened at all. This morning found the hero sat in his airship looking at the remnants of his love which consisted of the three cravat pins, three cravats and the shimmering silver grey domino mask. Sportacus wondered how he could use these items to find the other man, one thing was for sure all three of the items were really quiet unique. However to the hero the domino mask seemed like the most likely candidate to be the Cinderella slipper of this particular m and Sportacus was very sure that was exactly what this man was to him his mysterious Cinderella.
Carefully the blond lifted the mask up it was truly delicate almost as if it were made of moon beams, he turned it over inspecting the mask it was without string of any kind which meant that it had to fit the face of the person who wore it perfectly to stay on. As he realised this fact the heart of the hero soared now all he had to do was try the mask on all the men of the town and see who fitted it then he would have his man.
"Ladder!" Sportacus cried his heart full of excitement as he set off out of his airship into Lazy town to try and find the one the mask fitted. However by evening his enthusiasm had waned as he was running out of people to try the mask on and so far not a single one had fitted it.
It was getting late for the hero and the athletic man knew he should be heading to bed for his usual eight o eight curfew but the last few nights of staying up for the ball had altered his body clock a little so he was as yet not tired enough to sleep. So instead of heading to sleep Sportacus waved the children off to bed and decided to go for a walk before going to bed. He hopped the walk would clear his head after the disappointing day and helped make him tired enough to sleep. The town was so quiet and that for a moment the hero was convinced that he was alone however as he rounded the corner of the path which led to the play ground the blond found this was not the case. Robbie Rotten was sitting on one of the swings gently swinging back and forth on it, his eyes were locked on the moon which was just appearing in the sky and the expression on his face was one of deep pain.
Drawn by another soul in pain the hero walked across to the villain he sat in the other swing and silently watched the other man. For the longest time Robbie didn't appear to notice him then without looking away from the slowly rising moon the taller man spoke. "What is it?"
"You looked so sad." The hero said softly.
The taller man let out a deep sigh then spoke again. "Yes well even I have my moments of weakness. What has you up so late?"
"I was trying to find the man from the ball. You remember the one I was telling you about. Three nights with him is all it took for me to know I'm truly in love with him and that he is my soul mate. I have to find him again I just have to." The athletic man told his dark haired companion with determination.
This confession caused the villain to stop swinging, he turned to look at the hero, the shorter man looked back at him. Sportacus stared wide eyed at the other man as he realized that the eyes of the villain eyes he had seen a thousand times before were grey and all at once hope took flight in the hero again.
"So how do you plan to find him?" The villain asked the hero softly.
Sportacus gently drew the well travelled domino mask out of his jacket and held it out towards Robbie slightly. "With this, it will only fit him of that I'm sure. Why don't you try it on?"
The question caused the other man to flinch back as though it were a blow. "No thanks, masks are not my thing."
"Oh come on Robbie, if it doesn't fit then I can stop pestering you." As he said this the hero slid off the swing he had been sitting on, Sportacus came to stand before the still seated villain. As he held the mask out towards Robbie's face the taller man surged to his feet quickly, he hastily turned away from Sportacus and fled the play ground.
The hero's natural instinct kicked in, he hastily tucked the mask away and he gave chase to the villain. The blond man soon found that the taller man was much faster than he thought Robbie would be. This fact was another tick in the boxes that marked out the fact the taller man was likely his masked man from the ball. Eventually though the hero caught up to the raven haired man, when he did Sportacus grabbed hold of his arm and pulled the villain to a halt. Robbie writhed in his strong grasp still wanting to get away, the hero found himself having to push the other man to a wall and pin his arms against it to get the slender man to stop struggling against him.
Wide frightened grey eyes met his blue, this position was well known to them both, just as he had done last time Sportacus leant in kissing along the taller mans neck causing him to freeze. Robbie let out a groan, he relaxed in the hero's more dominate hold knowing from experience that it was fruitless to fight the other man's strength. As the raven haired villain relaxed against him the athletic man slowly and reluctantly stopped kissing the taller man's neck. The blond man cautiously let go of his arms and fished out the mask again as Robbie caught sight of it his grey eyes widened again but this time the slender man didn't try to move away. Smiling softly at the taller man the hero placed the mask onto the face of the villain and was unsurprised when it fit him like a glove.
"So you were Richard?"
"Yes I was and before you ask it was my father's name and is my middle name so I didn't make the name up." The villain looked down and away from Sportacus obviously expecting a negative reaction to the discovery that he had been the man in the mask.
Carefully and gently the hero took Robbie's chin in his fingers he lifted his face and turned it back towards him. As their eyes met Sportacus could see the fear that lingered in the depths of the grey eyes of the villain and instantly sought to set the one he loved at ease. "I'm glad it is you who is behind the man in the mask Robbie."
"Why?" The villain asked clearly stunned.
"Because I love you, I have for the longest time. I didn't think I had any kind of hope of you ever feeling the same way for me as I did for you so I hid my feelings for you." These words said the hero placed his palms flat onto the chest of the other man before he leant up and kissed the villain gently but firmly.
Robbie reacted to the kiss immediately he instantly he pulled Sportacus closer to him, wrapped his arms round the shorter man and returned the kiss with such force and passion it had the hero moaning. Slowly and very reluctantly the two men broke the kiss, once again grey eyes met blue and the hero smiled widely up at the villain. "I love you my Cinderella."
"And I love you Sportacus my Prince Charming."
The hero gently removed the mask from the taller man and gazed up at him for a few moments before speaking to the other man. "There are a couple of things I'd really like you to do for me at some point Robbie."
"Oh what are they?"
"I would very much like for you to where the outfit from the balls for me again and I'd love to dance with you again too. I'd like you to kiss me for once and I'd like you to grow back the long hair you had for the balls it really looked good on you."
Robbie let out a huff of laughter. "Well you know how to make requests don't you."
"Will you fulfil them for me?" The blond man asked eagerly.
The villain looked thoughtful for a long moment and just as the hero's moustache started to drop because he thought the answer to all those requests was going to be a no the taller man swept in and kissed him. The blue eyes of the hero shot wide, he froze for a moment then quickly started returning this passionate kiss his eyes sliding shut as he did so. The villain dominated the kiss, invading the hero's mouth with his tongue, putting his long arms round the shorter man and stroking along his back causing shivers of pleasure to snake through Sportacus's body. When the two men finally pulled apart from the kiss they were both breathing hard, their eyes opened and locked once more it was the villain who spoke first. "If you hadn't managed to guess my answer to your requests is yes."
Sportacus beamed up at the taller man. "Thank you Robbie."
"You are welcome Sportacus."
The athletic man's smile grew. "Hey you got my name right it sounds amazing when you do."
"Hmm so that leaves the outfit, a dance and the long hair...Well now let's see, I will be needing you to give me the mask back to complete one of those requests." Reluctantly the blond man handed the domino mask back to its owner. Smiling gently at the hero the taller man gently placed it to his face, the athletic man's eyes widened as there was a sudden up rush of magical sparkles over the villain and when they finally cleared Sportacus found himself face to face with the long haired gentleman from the ball. "Better?" Robbie queried.
"Wonderful." The athletic man breathed awed, his hand went to the long silky raven locks and stoked over them gently. "How did you get the hair back so easily?"
"Ah well you see the hair was still there when I woke this morning it took me a lot of effort and magic to make it look like it was not. So shall we dance?"
"Yes please." The two men moved away from the wall out into an open space and began to waltz together under the shimmering stars. The hero let out a contented sigh this felt like heaven to him, Robbie smiled down at the man he loved happy to have made him so clearly content. The dance was not a long one as the villain was well aware of the time and he soon drew them to a halt. "It's getting late and I know you and late nights."
"Won't you join me in the airship for the night? I'd like to be able to hold you close tonight." The athletic man asked the slender one hopefully.
"I'm not very good with heights." The villain admitted softly.
The hero gave him a smile and held out a hand to him. "I'll take care of you Robbie and you know I'd never let you fall."
"That I believe. Alright then I'll join you." The villain took his hand and trust Sportacus to take him home to his airship safely.
So it was that this night was the first of many they would spend together, sometimes in the airship and other times in the lair. One thing was for sure though that soon after they had found each other the two men were not willing to be parted and never spent a night without the other unless they absolutely had to.
The new romantic relationship of the hero and villain didn't go unnoticed by the other residents of Lazy town, nor did the overwhelmingly positive changes that it brought about in Robbie. At first the people in town were sceptical of the relationship but when a year had passed and they couple were as much as in love as ever their opinions began to change about the relationship to a more positive one. As more time passed it became clearer every day to the residents of Lazy town that the hero and villain loved each other very much. This love of theirs was shown to them by the couple in a variety of small ways, from Robbie fretting and fussing over a small cut Sportacus had gained from saving one of the children, to the hero rescuing his boyfriend from a tree because he had been trying to be helpful for once.
So it was that no one was very surprised when the hero proposed marriage to his partner two years after they had met at the annual Lazy town ball of that year. The villain's acceptance of the proposal was so heartfelt and his love for the blond man so clear that none doubted the sincerity of the relationship or the villains answer. So it was that two and a half years after they first came together at the ball that Robbie and Sportacus were married. Sportacus had actually come out of the hero's uniform for once and worn a navy blue suit with a top hat which had rendered him even more handsome then before. Everyone in town had behaved that day so that he didn't need to rescue any one. The villain had looked truly handsome in another of his gentlemanly outfits this time in a grey to match his eyes. The couple's vows had been simple but heartfelt their kiss loving but gentle and the party afterward had been the event of that year. The couple went on to share a long married life full of love, laughter and contentment together.