Title: A Darker Shade of Love
Author: Jordan Herbert
Rating: M throughout the entire fic.
Genre: Angst/Slash/Drama
Pairing: Sladin in the beginning with RobinRed X in future chapters
Chapter Summary: Robin's single once more and he can easily forget about Slade and all the bad memories that goes with him, right? Wrong.
A New Beginning
Robin stared up at his ceiling and sighed as he rolled onto his side and smacked his alarm just as it started to ring, not even half a 'beep' making it into the air. He rolled slowly onto his back again and continued to blankly look at the ceiling, his mind running a mile a minute over everything and anything that had absolutely nothing to do with Slade. As he finished another mental mathematical—that should show anyone how desperate he was to keep his mind off of Slade since no one liked doing math in the morning—problem, he forced himself to sit up and look around his room before his masked eyes landed on his digital clock.
It was exactly one minute after six now; none of the other Titans would be up for another two hours at least and he knew that even if he did lie down again, sleep still wouldn't come to him. He hadn't slept at all the entire night. Granted he did only climb into bed at four, terrified at the absurd thought of Slade. It had taken him a full twenty minutes—at the very least—to finally stop shaking and lie still in his bed, mentally chanting that the sheets felt different than Slade's sheets had felt and that he was completely safe sleeping on his back in his room.
He knew no one was getting into his room; the Tower's defense system was too good for that. Also, he was a light sleeper and would probably hear someone in the hallway, especially if they wanted into his room because he had locked it and he would hear a lock picker. Besides, if someone did get into his room, they wouldn't be able to make it to the side of his bed without him being prepared for a fight; his belt was under his pillow, stocked with birdarangs. It was completely ridiculous for him to be so absurd and scared.
Forcing himself to sit up, Robin looked around him room and rubbed at his masked eyes, knowing perfectly well that under the dark edges of his mask would be identical dark lines under his eyes. Still, keeping himself busy and acting on a normal routine would be a good way to keep his mind occupied and off of Slade.
"Slade," Robin glared and stood from his bed. "Slade who?" He called out to the rising sun as he ignored the pain and cramping from his backside. "The only Slade I know is the villain that needs to be stopped and he's nothing to worry about." He tried to convince himself as he continued to speak aloud and headed to his closet. "Slade's not a threat because I'll be able to stop him," he pulled off his white t-shirt and replaced it with his uniformed bright shirt. "With the help of my friends, I can do anything." He added as he pulled his green tights over his boxers and clicked a spare belt over his hips, opting to keep the one under his pillow for good. "It's a new day, Robin," He pulled his cape on over his shoulders and wondered when he had even started to call himself Robin. "It's a new start." He assured himself as he ran his hand through his hair, using the gel to make it spike up. "It's a new beginning to something much better than the day before and everything else that is in the past." He finished his monologue as he pulled on his gloves and strode out of his room.
It was obvious that his morning prep talk didn't actually have an effect of reassuring himself as he took out all of his anger and hurt on the defenseless punching bag. He then continued to work out his frustration and confusion with the weights. And to finish up by working out the last of his fear, he ran on the treadmill.
The last idea wasn't his best as he suddenly felt the cold night air around himself as he ran through the empty streets of Jump, away from the pain, away from Slade. Robin ran faster on the treadmill, trying to outrun his thoughts of reliving the experience. He continued to run, imaging that he was running to catch a football, running to be able to grab the woman and help her to the other side of the street before the bus came, running before Slade caught him in his strong hands and pushed him down into the mattress.
Robin hit the emergency stop on the treadmill and lurched forward, damning Newton's law of motion. He held onto the sides of the treadmill, panting deeply as he closed his eyes and fully focused on catching his breath. It wasn't supposed to be like that, it was never like that with Batman. Batman was always able to repress whatever was bothering him by working out or working on some case and he never relapsed back to what was bothering him. Robin opted to try working on some filing and case work as he left the gym in shambles.
Checking his communicator, Robin saw that it was a little past eight ten so he headed to the kitchen to grab a bite to eat and something to drink before he hit the files. It was always good to check in on his friends and make sure that no one exploded the kitchen anymore.
Walking into the main room, Robin was greeted with the same sight he usually found in the kitchen. Raven was meditating off to the side of the room, an empty cup of tea below her which showed that she had already had her breakfast. Starfire was stirring something that was a dark red with purple chunks on the stove and Robin grimaced at the sight. Then Beast Boy and Cyborg were already up and on the game console, milk, cereal boxes—their only mutual agreement for breakfast food—and a few bowls and spoons on the table in front of them.
"Morning, team," Robin greeted warmly already starting to feel better simply being in his friends presence. Raven opened her eyes to glance at him then went right back to chanting 'Azarath Metrion Zinthos' as she focused on meditating.
"Glorious morning to you, Robin!" Starfire called out cheerfully as she floated up to him on the stairs. "I am almost finished with my zorka berry, um; I believe you call it 'porridge,' would you care to partake in some?" She offered as she grinned.
"No thanks, Starfire; I think I'm just going to grab an apple and a glass of water." Robin smiled and Starfire nodded as she flew back down to the stove and continued to stir as she picked up the salt shaker on the table, stared at it for a moment, and then dumped it into the pot.
"Hey, man," Cyborg called out as he never took his eyes off of the screen. "Want to play winner, and I do mean me, next round?" He asked as his car advanced on the screen. "Oh yeah, there's no way you can catch me now, BB."
"Want a bet?" Beast Boy grinned and dramatically stood up and pressed the red button on his controller. On the screen, his car suddenly shot fire out of its back and flew past Cyborg's.
"No way! When did you get turbo charged?" Cyborg yelled as he dropped his controller. "You've been looking up cheats again, haven't you?" He accused as he dove at Beast Boy, missing him as the boy turned into a hummingbird, dropping his controller onto Cyborg's head. "Beast Boy!" He yelled angrily as he started to chase after the hummingbird as he zipped around the room.
"I think I'll pass on the game offer, guys." Robin smiled as he watched with amusement as his friends chased each other around the room. He grabbed an apple off of the counter and opened a cabinet for a glass. He used the sink to fill the glass to the top and gulped down the glass then refilled it, only then realizing how thirsty he was. Grinning to himself, he knew that his thirst was a sign of his work out so he refilled and guzzled the glass two more times before he was quenched.
"I'm going to be working on a few files for a while." Robin announced to no one in particular and only receiving a nod from Starfire as a response as he walked out of the room. The door closed behind him but he could still hear Cyborg yelling at Beast Boy.
Walking down to his work room, Robin took a bite out of his shiny red apple and hummed lightly to himself as he tossed the apple into the air, caught it in his hand, and tossed it again. He continued his tossing and catching pattern as he slowly traveled to the back rooms of the Tower and into his claimed room.
The door slid open, the lights automatically turning on, and his apple hit the floor with a thud and began to roll into the room.
Robin stared straight into Slade's eye and his legs began to shake. His knees buckled and he fell to the floor on them, slumping against the door as he continued to stare into the empty eye that never looked away from him. The shaking rose from his legs to overtake his entire body and he closed his eyes as he continued to shake.
Waking up is often a quick experience for Robin and he always knows that when it takes him a few minutes to fully wake up and he has to force himself to open his eyes, then something is terribly wrong. Robin knew that it was one of those terribly wrong moments when his eyes finally succumbed to his wishes and opened. Staring around the room he blinked once and slowly let out a moan as he used his hands to push himself onto his knees.
He rubbed the half of his face that had been pressed against the floor for a good while and assumed that he had passed out from something. As he looked around the room, he finally recognized that he was in his work room. He slowly stood up, his foot hitting the apple that he had only taken one bite out of and causing it to roll again and hit the wall.
Glancing from the apple up to the wall, Robin shivered and reached a hand out to use as balance against the wall as he stared at the Slade mask surrounded by the uncountable amount of articles around it. Taking a deep breath, Robin tried to push his emotions away and figured out what happened, using his logic over his intuition.
The fact that he had the most emotional stress filled night added with no sleep and two hours of intense workout easily explained why he had passed out, especially since he hadn't gotten any food. It was understandable that he would overreact to seeing Slade's mask and think it was the man himself. It was reasonable that he would get so frightened from seeing his attacker when he was in such a weakened state, start to shake, and pass out.
It was also comprehensible that he would never tell anyone that he had just passed out in fear from seeing Slade's mask. No one would ever know.
Walking into the room, Robin picked up the apple and threw it away. Glancing at his communicator to check the time, he deemed that it would be wise to get some food in him and he suddenly wanted a turkey sandwich. He wasn't running away from his fears or from Slade, he assured himself as he closed his work room door and headed back up to the kitchen.
When he walked in, no one was in the main room so he headed straight for the refrigerator and pulled out some turkey, lettuce, and mayonnaise. When he bent over to pull open the bed drawer, he distinctly heard Cyborg before he actually saw him. "Yo, Robin, what did the punching bag ever do to you?" Robin turned around, the wheat bread in hand and stared at Cyborg as he wondered what he meant. "Really, man, did it insult your mother or something because there's no way I can fix it, we just have to buy a new one now. Didn't I tell you that the punching bag was for hitting, not kicking with your steel toed boots?"
"I did just hit it, Cyborg." Robin replied as he set the bread down and started to put his sandwich together. "I guess I just didn't realize how big the tear was when I left it like that. Can't you just use some duct tape on it? Oh, and would you like a sandwich?" He asked, remembering the manors that Alfred had drilled into him as a child.
"No thanks, man, I ate lunch already. And no, we can't just duct tape it since that tear caused the entire punching bag to split into two. You really went at it, Robin." Cyborg frowned and watched as Robin started to put the food back into their proper places. "Anything you'd like to talk about?"
Robin smiled and closed the refrigerator door. "I'm fine, Cyborg, I just had a bad night last night and it didn't go away when I hit the sack like it usually does."
Cyborg continued to frown but one corner of his mouth twitched up to a grin. "How hard did you hit your bed, Robin? I really would hate to have to be in an order for a new one of those as well." Robin laughed and Cyborg joined in as Robin picked up his sandwich and bit into it when his laughter died down.
"I'm serious though, Cyborg, I just had a rough night." Which was an understatement but Robin was the leader of the team, his teammates were his responsibility, not the other way around; they shouldn't have to be worried about him. "But I'm all better now." He finished his sandwich and got out a new glass and filled it with some milk. "Besides, now that punching bag will think twice about ever insulting my mother again." He smiled as he strode from the room, leaving Cyborg grinning.
As he entered his work room again, he was prepared and better this time. Robin ignored the mask and the newspaper clippings on his wall, which was a lot easier than one would think. But when he went to his desk to begin to work, he frowned.
Everything on his desk was Slade related, from his Sladebots mask, to one of Robin's broken birdarangs, to the file of information Robin had collected on Slade, to the disk that had explained in detail the purpose of creating Red X and how he had done it, step by each betraying yet brilliant step.
It took some time but it was deemed necessary to clear the table and work on someone else. With the Slade items carefully placed in a box,—including the mask that he was only more than eager to take off of the wall—Robin rummaged through his file cabinet until he found the folder on Mad Mod. Recalling the scene his team and he had endured so shortly ago.
Since Slade had been occupied, the Titans hadn't had too much to deal with. Mad Mod, an attempted bank robbery, Overload, Cyborg's car being stolen, Gizmo, and another attempt to rob the same bank; not too busy for a few weeks when Robin was used to dealing with the Joker, Harley, Catwoman, Poison Ivy, Two Face, and the Penguin all within the same week.
Still, Jump City was filled with crime and was the perfect opportunity for Robin to be his own hero, even if he did happen to stumble into making a team. He was still out of Batman's shadow, which had been his main goal, and he was still making Jump City the perfect city. Now that he was the leader of the team, it simply met that he didn't have to go undercover as a normal teenage boy during the day like he had originally planned which meant he didn't have to set up a fake life that he would have to constantly bail out on when trouble started up.
It was a lot simpler and more enjoyable for him to make meta-human and alien friends. Robin grinned as he brought his chair over to his desk and sat, going from Mad Mod's folder to Gizmo's. He knew that his friends were the greatest thing that ever happened to him.
Robin bolted awake in a gasp of terror. He hadn't even realized that he had fallen asleep but he was so glad that it was all just a dream, a horrible dream. He tried to catch his breath as fear inducing sweat continued to run down his face. Hearing his door open behind him, Robin spun around to see Cyborg.
"It's him," Cyborg frowned. "It's Slade."
It wasn't hard for Robin to act like he hated Slade's guts, but when he had first stepped into the main room to see his friends huddled below a giant Slade on the screen he had immediately feared for the worst. He felt Slade's eye boring into him and he knew that the man was probably calling just to yell at him for not showing up again like he had ordered. Really though, anyone who was sane—which Slade obviously wasn't, Robin thought bitterly—wouldn't have actually expected Robin to go to Slade after what had happened.
Robin had really thought that Slade had told the Titans everything for a moment before Slade started to speak. "Good morning, Teen Titans. I do hope I didn't wake you."
"What are you an insomniac? Who calls at five in the morning--" Beast Boy faltered when Raven elbowed him but Slade had ignored him, opting to keep his eye on Robin like the rest of his team wasn't there.
He could practically feel Slade's eye running over him, undressing him, and he started to feel vulnerable under that intense stare. Robin bit out, in order to hide how uncomfortable he felt, "What do you want?"
"Well, that's precisely what you've been trying to find out, isn't it? And in spite of all your efforts, you're still in the dark about my intentions." Slade was mocking Robin in more than one way even though the other ways were hidden to his teammates. "Disappointing, Robin; I expected a little more from you."
Robin suddenly snapped with his anger. "Like I care what you--"
"But since you've been unable to discover my plan, I suppose I'll just have to reveal it myself." Slade interrupted Robin's tantrum as he showed two of his Sladebots standing next to a large object covered in a tarp. "I'm sure you're all familiar with the concept of a chronoton detonator." The tarp was pulled away to reveal the large, egg-like piece of machinery with a couple of red lights set into its surface. The upper portion suddenly opened toward the ceiling, giving a view of the circuitry inside and more sets of the red lights.
"No!" Cyborg cried out as Starfire gasped.
"Uh-oh," Raven's eyes widened as she stared at the screen.
"No way!" Beast Boy cried out dramatically as he turned to Starfire, seeking an explanation. "Um, what's a crouton detonator?"
"It eradicates all chronotons within a localized area, utterly destroying the temporal component of the space-time continuum." Starfire explained as she clenched her hands together, as though she was praying to someone on her planet for help.
Beast Boy hummed in confusion until Raven helpfully dubbed down the explanation for him. "It stops time. Permanently," Beast boy cried out and fell over in a dramatic fainting gesture.
"If he triggers that thing downtown, it'll freeze-frame the entire city." Cyborg claimed unhelpfully as Robin continued to stare directly into Slade's cold eye.
He couldn't believe the man was so cold. Robin broke up with him, with a good reason to, and the man had raped him. Wasn't that enough? Why did Slade have to go to these lengths? Was he planning this the entire time while he was still dating Robin? "Tell me where!" Robin demanded as he glared at the man, disgust and anger clear on his face.
"You're a clever boy, Robin." Slade purred and Robin fought the urge to throw up. "I'm sure you and your little friends can figure it out." And Robin realized that was why Slade was really doing this. He was still upset that Robin had chosen his friends over him. "However, since I control the detonation," Slade waved the controller on the screen. "Time is not on your side." He glared and then the screen filled with static. Robin slammed a fist onto the control panel and then turned around to order his team.
"Fan out! Find it! Shut it down!" Robin commanded as he started to storm out of the room. He'd head to the first place he first met Slade; the docks. That way he could get to the man before his friends did and stop Slade and his plans. He knew that Slade was probably going to try and hurt his friends; the farther they were from the man, he better.
Things didn't go as he planned as he had to argue with his friends to even be allowed to go. Then Raven had figured out that Slade had been at the docks like Robin had suspected. When the small army of Sladebots attacked, Robin knew that all of his suspicions were correct; Slade was going to try to hurt his friends.
Robin took care of all of the Sladebots himself, to prevent his friends from being harmed. Then things only seemed to get worse once they used Starfire's allergies to find Slade's secret passageway down to the sewers.
When Cinderblock had grabbed Robin and isolated him from his friends, Robin felt like things were looking up since he was back on track on hunting Slade down himself. He had suspected that Slade had used a different lair that he was always talking about but wasn't too surprised to see that Slade was in the same lair.
Since Slade hadn't brought up anything about what had happened the night before or anything about their time together when they were a couple, Robin was able to focus more on the fight, which didn't seem to help too much. Slade had obviously been holding back on him when they were sparring. Either that, or Slade was still angry about the breakup and using Robin like Robin had used the punching bag.
He had thought it was over when he had gotten a hold of the controller but then Slade had revealed the trap of getting the probes into his friend. Robin then thought that Slade was going to use the probes as a threat to get the Titans to leave the team, but he had been so wrong. Slade still wanted him, solely him, and he was going to use his friends to keep Robin with him.
"So, do we have a deal?" Slade asked as he watched Robin. Robin wanted to do nothing more than kick Slade right where it would hurt the most. The nerve that that man had to get exactly what he wanted by doing such a thing as blackmailing Robin, with his friends' lives, for Pete's sake.
"You know the answer to that." Robin spat out bitterly. "I'm not a monster." He glared at Slade accusingly.
"Neither am I, Robin." Slade paced toward Robin but the boy held his ground despite his urge to run. "I'm simply a man who knows what he wants and how to get it. It doesn't matter what way I use as long as it is to my advantage. Besides, no harm has been done," Slade bypassed Robin and the boy continued to stare straight ahead, not bothering to turn around. "Yet," Slade returned behind Robin and his arm shot out to Robin's side, presenting him with a white box tied neatly with a black ribbon.
"I'd like you to change into this, Robin. Call it your new better and more appropriate uniform." Robin begrudgingly took the box and untied the ribbon, faintly noticing how heavy the box was. "It'll show everyone exactly who you belong to."
"I don't belong to anyone." Robin hissed as he removed the top and stared at the pieces of armor and dark spandex underneath.
"Since you're my apprentice now, Robin, I expect you to look the part. Now, change and shed those disturbingly bright things." Slade backed away and Robin took a deep breath as he turned around.
"Where exactly should I change?" Robin asked. He wasn't about to strip right in front of Slade.
"You can hang your clothes on that pipe over there when you're done." Slade commented as he gestured over to a bunch of pipes, deliberately avoiding the question.
Robin took another deep breath to try and calm himself. "I'm not going to change right in front of you." Suddenly a spotlight overhead turned on and encircled Robin in a beam of light.
"And why not? It's not like you've got something I've never seen before." Robin felt his hands shake as he clenched the box tighter. "Besides, you can keep your boxers on." Slade added. "Now change, Robin. I would hate to have to kill your friends already because you couldn't comply with your first order."
Right then Starfire's voice sounds from Robin's communicator in his belt. "Robin?" She called out with worry. "Robin? Robin, please respond!" Robin reached into his belt and pulled out his communicator. "Robin, please. You must answer!" She sounded desperate. "Robin!"
"Hand it over, Robin." Slade ordered as he stepped out of the shadows and into the spotlight, his hand outstretched. Robin regretfully handed him his communicator. "Hand over your belt as well." Robin unclicked his belt and gave it to Slade. "Now, the rest of your uniform, starting with your mask," Robin froze for a minute as his hand reached up to his mask. Slade turned his back and simply stood still. Robin took the opportunity to quickly swap masks and then handed Slade his old one when the man ordered him to do so.
"Please respond!" Starfire begged as Robin took off his shirt and slipped out of his boots. He mechanically slipped out of his outfit and into Slade's tailored uniform as he ignored Slade as the man paced outside the ring of light, his eyes taking Robin's sight in as he started to click the metal pieces into place. "Robin, where are you?" She called out in the darkness as Robin fitted the last piece into place.
Slade stepped into the light, behind him this time. "I know it seems bad now, but trust me, you'll learn to like it." Slade's voice leaves no room for argument but Robin didn't feel like arguing anyway. Slade had already made him change in the open but would the man make him do anything else like that or anything worse than that? Robin had agreed to be the man's apprentice to save his friends' lives, but he hadn't agreed to be Slade's boyfriend again. Even though he knew that if that was what it would take to keep his friends alive, he would.
The lights shut off suddenly and Robin simply stared off into the darkness, finding it fitting for his current situation. "Ready to begin your new and better life, Robin?" Slade asked and Robin suddenly felt the man behind him.
"I'll never be ready to live like this, but I'll put up with this lifestyle for now. Besides, I won't be here long." Robin growled as he tensed up when he heard Slade's footsteps fall into a pattern. No doubt the man was pacing him since he was alerting Robin of his movement.
"My dear boy, you've been isolating yourself from your friends simply because you wanted to be alone with your thoughts; your thoughts of me." Slade smirked behind his mask as Robin bitterly listened. He could see how upset Robin was at this deal, thanks to how easily his eye adjusted to the darkness. "You've been preparing yourself for this transition ever since I decided that you would become my apprentice, back when we first properly met." Slade stopped circling the boy and drew closer to him from behind once more. "My apprentice," he paused for a moment, "and also so much more to me," he bent down to whisper into his ear "Lover."
"I am not your lover, Slade." Robin hissed as he tensed his shoulders even more to stop from turning around and just hitting blindly. He didn't like Slade being so close to him. He hated it, in fact.
Slade placed both of his hands on Robin's shoulders and suddenly a few lights flickered on, showing the hallway that led to the room where Slade and Robin use to watch movies and past that, Slade's bedroom. "Really, Robin, we're so much more than boyfriends now, wouldn't you agree?" He purred. "We're past that and besides, simple boyfriends don't live with each other."
"You're forcing me to live with you." Robin glared at the floor as he tried to not tremble under the large hands on him. The same hands that had been on him before, holding him down cruelly, and pinning him to the bed; he tried not to think about the feeling or anything else but his hatred of Slade. If he focused on his hatred, then it would block out his fear. "Besides, we're not even boyfriends anymore; I broke up with you."
"I told you before that we're broken up when I say so." Slade squeezed Robin's shoulders and the boy bit back a cry of fear. The neck plate did nothing to protect his shoulders from Slade's wrath. "And I'm not forcing you to do anything, Robin." Slade disagreed as he eased up on his hold. "You're free to leave, if you want to, just like I'm free to kill your friends, if I want to." He reminded Robin of the fresh deal.
"Just show me to my room." Robin clenched his fists at his sides. If he focused on his anger for the man instead of his fear then he might be able to survive until he figured out how to get out of the situation. He was just lucky that he had more anger for Slade than fear currently.
Slade chuckled as he leaned down next to Robin's ear. "Eager to get to the bedroom, are we?" Robin ignored him as he turned his head away from Slade and glared into the darkness. "Alright then," Slade released Robin. "Follow me to our bedroom."
"'Our bedroom'?" Robin repeated in shock and slight horror. "You can't tell me that you don't have a single extra bedroom in this place?"
"I do," Slade stopped and looked over his shoulder as he folded his hands behind his back. The trigger was in plain view for Robin to see as Slade made the threat subtle enough to simply be a warning. "But I thought you would like sharing a room with me since you already know where my bedroom is. Please inform me if I was wrong."
Robin clenched his teeth together as he shook his head. "I don't mind," he seethed. So, that was how it was going to be. Every time Robin would try to argue against the man, Slade would threaten him. Some deal this had turned out to be. Not only did he have to be the man's apprentice, he had to be the man's boyfriend, more than boyfriend, by Slade's definition. He no longer held any interest in that position, nor the consequences—or benefits as Slade would likely see it—of that position, of either position really. But Robin didn't have a choice, not a real one, at least.
He begrudgingly followed Slade and when the man stopped by his bedroom he began to shake in anticipated fear. He couldn't be in that room again, not so soon, he couldn't go through that so soon.
"Here's the bedroom." Slade spoke, dryly, as he opened the door than closed it again. "It hasn't changed since you last saw it, even though you missed seeing it last night." Robin could see Slade's glare even though the man had his back to him. The fact that Slade was angry with him made Robin relax a bit since he thought that Slade might not be the type of guy that had sex with someone when he was angry with them. Robin actually hoped that Slade was angry enough to make him sleep on the couch or something like that.
"Now, before we begin our training for today, let's get you something to eat." Slade spun around suddenly, surprising Robin enough to force him to take a few steps back. "I know that you haven't taken a break from stopping to find me since you began this morning. I can't have you passing out from lack of food or leave your body without the proper nutrients and protein. Follow me,"
Robin swallowed his sudden paranoia that Slade had somehow known he had passed out the day before as he followed Slade further down the hall. Slade was probably just stating that, he couldn't possibly have known that Robin actually had passed out.
Slade stopped suddenly at a door and Robin almost ran into him but he managed to stop himself from touching the man. "After you, Robin," Slade offered as he opened the door and moved to the side. Robin glared. He didn't want to leave his back open to Slade. It was never wise to turn your back on your opponent and he wasn't sure if Slade would attack him or not; it might have been some sort of sick training lesson.
Hesitantly, Robin stepped through the door and his eyes widened as he looked around the room. It looked like a normal kitchen. There was a refrigerator, a stove, a microwave, an oven, a small island where food could be prepared, and a small table with only two chairs across from each other. The only strange thing was that the floor was cement without any covering, like most rooms in Slade's lair, and there was a Sladebot making something by the stove.
"Take a seat, Robin, you're food should be finished shortly." Slade motioned to the table and Robin sat as directed. He watched as Slade strode to one of the cabinets above the stove and pulled out a glass. "You don't happen to have any food allergies, do you? And you're not lactose intolerant, right?" Slade asked as he opened the refrigerator and pulled out a container of milk.
"No," Robin replied as he watched Slade pour him a tall glass of milk. Slade replaced the liquid and then sauntered over to the table, glass in hand. He slid the glass across the table and it stopped directly in front of Robin, not a single drop spilling.
"Drink up," Slade commented as he took his own seat across from Robin and simply stared at him. Robin lifted the glass and swirled the white liquid in the glass. "I can assure you, Robin, that it's not poisoned and neither is the food. You're not very useful to me dead."
"Thanks for the reassurance." Robin glared at the milk but determinedly guzzled down half the glass, secretly hoping that it would be poisoned and simply end the experience before it really began.
The Sladebot finished its job at the stove and appeared by Robin's side with a plate filled with a variety of steamed vegetables and a piece of chicken with some spices. Robin's eyes widened when the Sladebot set the plate down in front of him and he looked up at Slade, expecting some sort of trick.
"Did you think I was going to starve you?" Slade asked as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Believe me, Robin, that's the last thing your body needs more of." Robin narrowed his eyes but began to cut and eat the chicken. It was in need of a bit of ketchup but not bad. Slade's robots could at least cook better than Starfire, which wasn't really hard, but still.
"Don't you eat?" Robin asked as he noticed that Slade had simply been watching him eat the entire meal.
"I eat at odd times." Slade remarked. "Now, hurry up and finish your meal. I want to get in a few hours of training today."
"You did well for your first day, Robin, but I hope you realized that today was child's play; I simply wanted to see what you can and cannot do. We'll start your real training tomorrow." Slade mentioned as he led Robin out of the main room.
Robin swiped the bit of perspiration that had started to form on his forehead off with the back of his glove and followed after Slade. The workout wasn't too rough, it was actually easier than his fight with Slade that he had earlier that day, but he was still tired since he had been running around all day from such an early hour. He was looking forward to a shower and getting some rest.
Slade opened the bedroom door and moved to the side to allow Robin entry. The boy nodded his thanks since he had deemed earlier that day to speak to Slade only when absolutely necessary and still he only gave short one syllable answers. He entered the room, a chill suddenly running down his back, as he stared at the bed where he had been assaulted. He turned around and felt his blood turn to ice as he watched Slade slide into the room and close the door behind him.
"Here we are again, Robin." Slade gestured around the room. "Just you, me, none of your friends, and a bed; perfect, wouldn't you agree?" He asked as he took a step toward Robin and watched with slight amusement slight annoyance as Robin took an equal sized step away from him. "I know we didn't exactly end on great terms, Robin, and I will admit that my attitude was partially to blame, but why don't we just let bygones be bygones. I said some things I didn't really mean and so did you. You are forgiven and so am I." Slade stated matter of factly as he began to remove his armor.
"I don't think so, Slade." Robin hissed out as he crossed his arms over his chest, assuring himself that he was not hugging himself. "Actions tend to speak louder than words." He didn't even try to hide his hurt and anger as he spoke.
"Exactly, Robin, so," Slade took a few steps closer and Robin panicked as he tried to back away but hit the bed. Slade grabbed Robin by the hips and held him close as Robin tried to push at his chest. "Let me tell you what I can't fully articulate." He rubbed his erection against Robin's stomach to emphasize what he meant.
"No, Slade, let me go." Robin continued to push as he struggled to get away. Slade let him go and Robin fell back, onto the bed, with the force of his own push. His eyes widened as he realized he had just lost the advantage of standing and he backed up on the bed as Slade began to crawl forward onto it. "Stay back, Slade." Robin warned as he hit the headboard.
"You haven't forgiven me, have you, Robin?" Slade asked as his eye narrowed and he stopped crawling forward as he sat up and folded his hands over his chest, looking even more intimidating than usual. "That makes me quite angry, Robin, since I didn't hold your words against you like you are against me."
"I don't care about what you said before, Slade, that hardly matters to me." Robin stated as he gripped the sheets tightly in his hands. "What matters is that you--"
"If it doesn't matter than you forgive me." Slade declared. "So get undressed and stop trying to argue with me."
"Slade, will you listen to me for a few minutes?" Robin shouted as he was suddenly powered by his anger. "I don't care if you say you own me or anything like that because it's not true and it will never happen. I care that you deliberately felt like trying to prove that by--"
"I beg to differ, Robin, since I obviously do own you." Slade interrupted again. Robin glared as he opened his mouth, ready to shout again, but Slade reached into his belt and pulled out the trigger. "Answer me this, Robin, whose colors are you wearing?" Robin closed his mouth and simply glared at Slade. "Whose colors, Robin?" Slade pressed on, not taking Robin's silence as an answer.
"Yours," Robin spat.
"And whose bed are you in?" He continued.
"Yours," If Robin had Superman's powers than Slade would be nothing more than a crispy pile of ash.
"And who do you belong to?" Slade finally asked.
"Not you." Robin crossed his arms over his chest and glared, challenging Slade to try and make him say otherwise. He was surprised when Slade chuckled and placed the trigger back into his belt.
"I'll never get tired of that thickhead of yours, Robin." Slade shook his head, showing that he was rather amused. "Now, why don't you be a good boy and strip for me, but this time, don't stop at your boxers." Slade purred.
"There is no way I'm going to--" Robin began but closed his mouth as Slade suddenly reached forward and wrapped an arm around his waist as his other arm took off his neck plate.
"If you don't want to do a strip show for me, then I'll simply strip you myself, like you're my little gift." Slade continued to purr, obviously not put off by Robin's lack of enthusiasm or willingness.
"Stop, Slade, stop," Robin pushed at the hand as it started to edge up the back of his shirt. "Alright, I'll strip by myself." Robin moved off of the bed and turned to glare at Slade. The man settled against the headboard, his shirt magically gone, and stroked his abs in a seductive manner.
"Go on, Robin," He encouraged as his eye stared intently at Robin.
Gulping and suddenly nervous as well as scared, Robin continued from where Slade left off and bent over to undo the protective metal plates on his legs, his boots, and his black socks. So far it wasn't so bad. He stopped to look at Slade and bit his lip as he eyed the large bulge in the man's clingy pants.
He took a deep breath and pulled his shirt out from under his belt but hesitated before he did anything else. "Slade, can we…not tonight?" He asked as he concentrated on not having his hands shake.
"And why is that, Robin?" Slade asked as he continued to stroke up and down his chiseled abs.
"I have a headache?" Robin asked unconvincingly.
"Try again." Slade replied lazily as his hands ran down to his belt and he unclicked it, showing that he had no plans in stopping.
"Um," Robin knew he was just fishing around for an excuse as much as Slade did. "I want a night to get accustomed to my new surroundings?"
"You've been in my lair before, Robin." Slade's hand dipped under the waistband of his pants.
Robin gulped as he watched Slade's hand start to move up and down under his pants. "Yeah but I've never spent the night here before."
"Well, whose fault is that?" Slade accused as he moaned quietly and continued to stroke himself. "Now stop trying to put this off and get undressed already." Slade ordered as he narrowed his eye.
"Slade, please don't make me. I don't want to--" Robin stopped himself when Slade flashed the trigger. Not exactly a threat, but a simple reminder of what can happen if Robin angers Slade.
Robin shivered, lifting his shirt over his head and tossing it to the floor. He continued on to his new belt and carefully undid it as he let it slip from his hands and land on the floor with a clang. That was how it was, he realized once again, still unfamiliar with the idea. Even any hints of disobeying or arguing with Slade would lead to a threat against his friends. And a threat could easily become real with someone with such a short temper and attitude like Slade. His hands shook as he pushed his pants down to his ankles and let them slip the rest of the way down so he could step out of them.
"I know I was rather quick the last time, Robin, and I apologize for not getting you off as well, but I've been reading up on techniques on the internet to help." Slade talked as his eye greedily watched Robin strip and his hand continued to pump steadily. He felt it was even better watching Robin strip from the black clothes. The contrast as his pale skin appeared under the dark colors delighted him. "I even got lubricant this time to help make my entry smoother and easier for you."
"Thanks," Robin couldn't help but frown as he fingered the waistband of his boxers. He suddenly realized that they were the last things he had that reminded him of Batman, since there were little black bats on the otherwise white fabric. He didn't want to take them off.
Slade stood up and Robin froze as he watched Slade's every moment. Slade opened up the single drawer that his bedside table contained and reached inside to reveal the tube of new lube. He ripped the plastic from it and then tossed it on the bed then turned to face Robin. He easily pushed his pants and underwear down at the same time then straightened again, showing off his erection as it curved up to lie flat against his stomach.
"Come here, Robin." Slade motioned with his finger for Robin to come closer and Robin started to take deep breaths as he slowly moved toward Slade. He stopped a few steps in front of Slade and stared at the man's chest, not wanting to look at his face but afraid that if he looked down…
"Relax, Robin," Slade's hand cupped his face and he involuntarily shivered at the contrast that warm touch was sending through his body. "Are you cold?" Robin didn't respond since, yeah, the room was cold, but that wasn't exactly why he was shivering. "Don't worry, Robin, I'll get you warmed up." Slade's other hand moved to Robin's boxers and tugged them down until they slid freely on their own to puddle around Robin's feet.
Robin felt his face heat up as he knew that Slade was no doubt looking at his…He idly wondered if he was going to have to explain to Slade why he wasn't as excited as Slade was. Maybe, if he was lucky,—which, admittedly, he wasn't—he could die of embarrassment.
Slade didn't comment though. Instead, he simply placed his hand on Robin's hip and started to stroke his hipbone with his thumb. The hand on Robin's face moved from his cheek to his chin and Robin looked up at Slade since he couldn't really fight against the man's grip. "Don't worry, Robin, it'll be better this time. The first time is usually quick for couples since there's so much eagerness and excitement involved. You'll see that the more we do this, the better we'll get. Practice does make perfect, after all." Slade encouraged as he started to pull Robin toward the bed.
"Lay down on your back, make yourself comfortable." Slade suggested and Robin hesitantly did so. He felt as stiff as a board as he stared at the ceiling, his hands tightly at his sides, and his legs pressed together in hopes of keeping Slade out.
"Relax, Robin, or else the lubricant won't even be much of a help." Slade chided as he crawled on the bed, overtop of Robin. His strong thighs were once again straddling Robin's hips and the boy started to count to ten as he exhaled and then inhaled, trying to force his body to relax as he prepared himself for the oncoming rape.
Slade unscrewed the cap on the lubricant and squeezed out a large amount of the unscented stuff. He rubbed it between his fingers and thumb then started to coat his member with it as he recapped the tube and placed it on top of the side table. He brushed his hand over Robin's limp boyhood and Robin instantly hardened a little with a gasp of surprise as he mentally cursed his excitable teenaged body.
Wiggling a hand between Robin's thighs, Slade spread Robin's legs apart and moved in-between him and rubbed the excess lube off of his fingers and around Robin's puckered hole as he lifted one of Robin's legs to his shoulder. He rubbed the soft skin behind Robin's knee and trailed down to his soft, fleshy butt. With a quick squeeze he moaned his appreciation then lined up his erection and pushed forward.
Robin yelled loudly and tried to move away from the intrusion, away from Slade. Slade easily grabbed Robin's hips and held him in place as he pushed steadily forward until he was flush against Robin's ass, cock seated fully inside of him. Robin's head arched on the pillow, his features twisted in pain as the tendons stood out on his neck while he bit his lip until he drew blood, to keep himself from screaming some more. His slightly erect member had wilted entirely due to the pain.
"So tight, so hot," Slade moaned in Robin's ear, as if describing the joy he was experiencing was supposed to help Robin. "Tell me when you're ready for me to move, Robin, and I'll start." Robin was at least grateful that Slade was giving him some time to get used to the painful filling sensation this time.
He took the time to calm his breathing, relaxing his clenching muscles and trying to accept Slade's huge cock. It wasn't working too well and Slade was apparently on the edge of killing someone if Robin didn't give him the okay soon, judging by the way he was gripping the pillow on both sides of Robin's head. "O—okay," Robin panted.
"Ah, god," Slade gasped as he immediately pulled out and then slammed back in, making Robin tug at the sheets to contain his painful cries. Robin was glad that Slade still believed that masks were so important, his mask hid the tears in his eyes as Slade continued to rock his body with every single thrust. "So good, Robin, you feel so good."
It was strange to hear Slade talk during sex since the last time he hadn't said a single thing before, during, or after. He was probably only doing it because of something he had read off of the internet. Robin grunted as Slade pushed exceptionally hard into him and closed his eyes, opting to just try and tune it out like he had done the first time.
Robin tried counting the thrusts but he kept loosing track as Slade changed the pace a few times. He then tried to focus on something else but there wasn't really anything else to focus on besides Slade's grunts and the sound of skin slapping against skin. Robin detachedly noticed that it didn't hurt as much this time as it had the first. It still hurt—oh god did it burn—but there was a slightly pleasant sense of friction as Slade's pace picked up speed again. Unfortunately, with Slade, when his pace increased so did his pressure.
Robin turned his head to the side and opened his eyes as he gasped and panted. He separated himself from the action and decided to wonder if it was just Slade and him rocking back and forth or if Slade was rocking the entire bed. But when Slade exploded inside him, his hot seed bursting deeper into his body, Robin couldn't detach himself from the pain and he screamed as he pulled at the sheets some more.
Slade fell to his elbows and panted heavily through his mask, his breath cascading over Robin. He grunted as he extracted himself from Robin and then rolled over onto his back next to Robin. Robin looked back up at the ceiling and tried to hold back his tears, keeping them in his eyes, as he ignored Slade. But then Slade's hand suddenly fell on his stomach and he tensed as he looked at Slade from the corner of his eye.
Slade's hand continued to trail over his stomach and Slade sat up unexpectedly and glared at Robin's bare stomach. "You didn't get off," he stated as he removed his hand from Robin as though it was burned.
Robin didn't respond. What was he supposed to say to that? Sorry that I didn't any pleasure out of you raping me?
"Damn it," Slade cursed as he rolled off the bed and hurriedly collected his clothes and pulled them all on. He slammed the door behind him as he left, once again leaving Robin, naked and alone on the bed.
Robin finally stopped holding back his tears and crawled off the bed, wincing once again at the unfamiliar ache, and headed to the connected bathroom door in the corner of the room. He used some toilet paper to clean the lube, semen, and tiny amount of blood from himself. He reentered the room and pulled on his boxers, finding a bit of comfort in them. Looking around the room, Robin wiped some tears off of his face and then crawled onto the farther side of the bed, under the lonely white sheet on the bed.
It took Robin a few hours before sleep finally hit him and his tears didn't stop even then.
A.N. Thus ends day one of Robin's apprenticeship! Poor boy, I feel really bad for him because I truely belive that Robin was Slade's apprentice for at least a week. I'm not going to do a day a chapter, I'll probably do the first full day, parts of the other days, the day when Robin steals for Slade for the first time--aka 'Apprentice Part II--and then the final fight or somethings like that. Tell me what you guys think so far. Oh, and before I forget, this was a really long chapter and I wouldn't suspect another one at the length anytime soon. It was a fluke, really.