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 next day doesn't seem to be any better as an apprentice and is he starting to loose his mind?
Author's Note: Wow, the last time I updated this was in January...It's July. Yeah...that won't ever happen again. In fact, I'll be working on this fic like mad from now on. I'm going to tackle it as part of my 'healing process.' So, yeah, I'm planning on having this at least more than halfway done before NaNo comes up this year! Right, enough talking. Fic. Enjoy!
Obscuring the World
When he thought really hard about it, his life had been practically destined to be nothing more than watching others live a normal, happy life but never participating in it for himself. Ever since he was little, after what happened with his parents, he should have known that he was meant to be lonely forever at the very least. It was almost like it was his destiny.
Luckily for him, Slade wasn't raised to believe in destiny. He believed that man ruled their own lives and he wasn't going to let anything stop him from living how he wanted to live. Throughout his life, he made sure that if he wanted something, he'd get it, no matter what it took. Everything was within his reach; he just had to work hard enough for it.
When he wanted to join the army but was held back by his age, he simply lied and pulled a few favors to get in. When he was determined to become an assassin he didn't let anything stop him, not even the fact that he was tied down by his wife and kids because they were willing to settle for a normal life. When he made the decision that Robin, the Boy Wonder, would be his boy, he didn't allow anything to stop him. Not even the boy.
He was puzzling at bit, his boy, but Slade had Robin all figured out now. After years of watching, waiting, and planning, he knew Robin better than anyone, even better than Robin knew himself.
The boy stood in Batman's shadow for years and then tried to go out on his own, only to be dragged down by a group of other teens trying to make names for themselves. But Robin had allowed the team to be made because it gave him the position of leader.
Everything with Robin had to do with power; having it, trying to earn it, wanting it. Robin had a control kink. And, lucky for him, Slade knew how to work with that.
When they had started dating, Slade had done the normal, vanilla routine; movies, talking, trying each other's interests. It had gotten boring fast.
Robin saying it was over showed Slade that Robin had thought it was boring too. That was why he had brought the boy's kink out into the open. Power play; he showed Robin that he had power and that he could take the boy's power away.
He indulged the boy a bit in his fantasies of being the weak, captured prisoner, but he knew that it was the right thing to let the boy think that he was being held against his whim. Robin secretly craved that, and he wasn't too good at hiding it anymore. Slade had broken Robin's little fantasy the night before when he finally got the boy to loose enough control and orgasm. But it was fine that Robin still wanted to play.
Truthfully, Slade had a power play kink as well. Just as long as he was the one with all of the power when they played.
Something kept touching his face and it was really starting to bother him. Robin scowled as he just started to wake up. He moved his hand to try and bat whatever was bugging him away. Instead, his hand was caught and the soft sensation that had been on his face was now focused on the palm of his hand. He blinked his eyes open a few times and stared at his hand in confusion. It took him a few minutes to realize another hand was rubbing circles on his palm.
Jerking awake, Robin pulled his hand back from the other hand as if it was being burned and slowly looked up to see that the hand was attached to a person. In fact, it was none other than Slade that the mysterious hand was connected to—surprise, surprise considering that the other man was the only other person who knew where he was.
"Morning, Robin," Slade greeted as he scooted closer and ran a hand through Robin's bed ruffled hair. Robin cursed the ways of teenagers to not normally be morning types—reminding himself that Starfire was an alien and was an everything type of person as the thought of her usual, cheery morning greetings suddenly entered his mind—and tried to speed up his thoughts so he could understand what was going on.
He remembered the unfair deal he had made with Slade and he remembered the training and other activities but he never remembered Slade slipping into the bed with him. He was sure that the man had left the room once he had returned from the shower and he was a light sleeper, he would have heard the man coming back into the room. Heck, he usually caught Batman sneaking through the house; how could Slade possibly be sneakier than Batman?
Yet the man somehow had to be since that was the only reasonable explanation for Robin to wake up next to Slade while the man was under the covers next to him. Robin gulped and finally decided that his brain was wide awake since he was currently trying to not wonder if Slade was naked under the sheet as he stared at the man's bare chest.
"Morning," Robin finally managed to reply. "Should I get dressed and meet you in the kitchen before we start training today?"
Slade finally retracted his hand from Robin's hair, somehow managing to mess Robin's hair up even more, and stood up as he stretched his back out. Robin was thankful that the man had been sleeping in his spandex pants, though he thought it strange—since when was anything Slade did normal—especially since spandex was not a comfortable fabric to sleep in. It clung too much in all the wrong places to ever be comfortable sleep ware.
"Dress in the suit but there's no need for the armor today. We're going to spend less time training today than yesterday." Slade replied as he went to his closet and already slipped on his shirt. He cracked his knuckles before he slipped his gloves on and then turned around to look at Robin still in the bed.
"Don't just lie there, Robin. It might be an easier day but that doesn't mean you can spend all of it in bed." He paused for a moment and rubbed his masked chin. "Though, we might do that someday if you prove you deserve it." Slade chuckled and then headed to the door and called behind him as he headed into the hallway, leaving the door open, "I'll see you in the kitchen in five minutes." Robin knew that it was an order.
Robin's jaw seemed to unhinge because, try as he might, he just couldn't close his mouth. Slade had just laughed, in the morning, and made a sexual reference, in the morning, which meant he was in an extremely good mood, in the morning. Robin didn't even bother to set his brain on such a hard puzzle in the morning since it was morning.
Slade and happy and in the morning made Robin tremendously confused. The man did not strike him as a morning person nor an any-time-of-day person.
Warily, Robin entered the kitchen a few minutes later, his hair gelled and dressed in his suit minus the armor pieces. "So, why are we having a shorter training period today?" Robin asked carefully as he sat across from Slade and peeled the banana next to his plate of eggs.
"You can't do two extremely hard workouts two days in a row, Robin; your body needs time to heal or else you could easily get injured. When your muscles break down after a hard workout, they need a proper amount to heal so they can grow larger quicker." Slade explained even though Robin was quite aware of the basic lessons of proper training and just generally working out.
"Besides, I did take you as an apprentice not just because of your body but also because of your clever mind, which is also why you're such an appealing lover," Slade purred as he commented nonplused. "I decided I'll challenge your mind today and let your body rest a bit. You'll go through some obstacle courses that I have set up, look at a few blueprints to decide how you would escape if you were ever caught in imaginary situations, and we'll review a few tapes I have from your past fights so I can explain what you should have done in a few key moments."
"That…sounds pretty nice actually." Robin admitted as he looked at Slade skeptically as he finished off his banana.
"I'm glad you think so," Robin couldn't tell if Slade was being sarcastic or not but he wasn't going to question. It sounded like he was going to be having a good day and he was not one to look a gift horse in the mouth.
The training had been easy, even somewhat enjoyable, and Robin's mind had been racing the entire time. He was trying to figure out why Slade's personality had seemed to do a total flip and how the man had gotten into such a good mood. Robin hypothesized that it had to do with their nightly activities. Slade had seemed so smug with himself the night before due to Robin's body reacting to his touch. Was that the key to Slade's personality?
Robin idly wondered if he'd have to enjoy the sex every night in order to get an easier training practice. It didn't sound that bad to him so it would be a sacrifice he would make; after all, he was a teenage boy and he doubted his betraying body would have a problem with testing out his thought. Especially, since he was already hard from all the close encounter techniques they had been working on. Curse his stupid body; he should not be turned on from rubbing against Slade's hard, warm body.
Blushing bright red, Robin quickly released Slade's arm and backed away. Slade chuckled and turned around. "You've gotten that technique down rather quickly, Robin. I think we're done for the day and can move on to my other plans." He leered and Robin knew that his erection was extremely noticeable—damn spandex.
"I did a bit of online shopping last night." Slade commented as he started to lead Robin back through the winding halls. Robin followed five steps behind Slade and felt even more uncomfortable with each step, even as his mind focused on every un-attracting thing he had ever seen. "I've always been a fan of adding toys in the bedroom but my collection was rather female oriented."
Opening the bedroom door, Slade ushered Robin inside and the boy's eyes darted around the room, searching for whatever kind of toy Slade had in mind so he could be prepared. "My delivery won't arrive for another few days, but I have some items that are friendly to all genders."
"Like what?" Robin asked, trying to make the question seem like he was merely curious and not scared for his life. Slade's type of toys seemed like whips and large paddles; there was no way in hell he would let himself get in such a position.
"Nothing much," Slade replied as he pulled a box out of his closet and settled it on the floor. Robin tentatively started to walk over but Slade stood up with a set of handcuffs and a black, velvet strip of fabric in his hands. "Just these," Robin could practically see the wide, toothy grin behind the mask.
He gulped and hoped that he would be able to play the part and keep Slade in his good mood. His body was no longer in for the ride though and he silently began to wish that he would get embarrassingly hard again so he could have an easier time playing along. Slade slowly began to walk toward him and Robin knew that he wasn't about to have any prayer granted as the menacing man loomed over him.
"Relax, Robin, you know that I won't hurt you." Slade soothed as he ran his hand over Robin's flat stomach, his warm hands causing shivers to race up Robin's spine as the muscles in his stomach contrasted and flexed. Robin once again pulled his hands uselessly in the restraints holding them above his head.
Slade's words were a contradiction to their entire relationship; it was based on being hurt; fighting each other, out smarting each other, angering each other. "I'm…I'm really not comfortable with this, Slade." Which was the understatement of the world. "Could we do something else instead where I'm not blindfolded? Or could I at least have the use of my hands back?" He was glad his voice wasn't shaking at least. "Please?" He quickly tagged on the 'magic word' since Alfred had always taught him that manners can only help, never hurt. It was worth a shot since he didn't have anything to loose.
"You'll enjoy this. Think of it as a part of your training for today. Your arms will learn to be able to adjust to being bent at an angle for a period of time in case you're ever stuck in one position and with the blindfold on you'll be able to learn to focus on your other senses as they enhance. Besides," Slade bent over and licked a long stripe up Robin's thigh, causing the boy to shriek a bit in surprise and jump under Slade's hand. "This is the only way that I can finally recuperate for your blow jobs. You wouldn't really want to deny me this experience, do you? We are still both new in this field of exploring one another and honestly, I've heard that little boys taste so sweet." His voice dropped down to a sexually enticing purr. "I want to see if those rumors are true."
Robin's arms began to shake, not in exhaustion, but with his held back…something. Robin was actually hoping that it was fear, for once, and not desire. Because what Slade had just said, it was creepy, not sexy. He didn't like to be talked dirty to, he didn't like to be lectured while in such a helpless position, and he did not like knowing that Slade was mask less; he wasn't sure if he should be afraid or excited about that.
Not to mention that he was conflicted over Slade offering a blow job. If he refused that, what did it say about him? He was a teenaged boy who was being offered a blow job from one of the hottest, most feared villains ever. How many villains ever offered to blow Batman? He really didn't want to think about that actually.
Luckily, Slade's mouth descended on him and his thoughts quickly flew away from that topic and turned to mush with an occasional 'wow, that's good,' managing to be formed.
Robin couldn't hold back his moans as the wet fire enveloped him whole. He could only squirm and moan some more as Slade worked him, his tongue pushing his slit back and causing him to jerk against the handcuffs. The cold metal bit into his skin, a painful contrast to the warm pleasure his groin was experiencing but it was enough to get him thinking straight for a few seconds.
"Slade," he groaned as he tried to bring his knees up. "You need to stop," he panted and twisted, arching his back against the mattress. "I…you, oh god," His eyes began to water as Slade gently scraped his teeth against the underside then wrapped his lips around the head and sucked.
He was going to come, he was on the edge and he knew that it wouldn't take too much more. But then Slade pulled away and Robin moaned at the sudden loss of pleasure. He hated that he was whining for Slade like he actually enjoyed it but who was he kidding? He obviously did want it since the proof was erect and shining with spit.
Robin gasped as a single, lubed finger was suddenly thrust into him. He was still sore from the night before and the night previous to that one. Slade either didn't notice or didn't care, probably the latter one.
Slade's finger crooked inside and Robin groaned as it hit his tender walls. Humming quietly to himself, Slade began moving his finger around until Robin gasped and arched. He had found the boy's sweet spot. Chuckling lightly, Slade lubed himself up and pressed against Robin. "Remember not to tense," he warned before he pushed in to the hilt.
The next few moments all Robin could do was gasp, pant, moan, and arch as Slade moved in and out of him. A steady pace, hot hands suddenly seeming cooler as they traveled over his body, touching ribs, nipples, a hot mouth on his neck, sucking, biting and marking and Robin came with a loud cry of pleasure as his mind broke.
He didn't feel Slade come. He didn't feel Slade's mouth sample his pleasure splattered on his stomach nor Slade's tongue circle his belly button. He didn't feel Slade unlock his hands or untie his blindfold. He didn't see Slade's mask back in place. He didn't even walk to the bathroom and start the shower.
But he finally breathed as warm water pelted his skin and he felt its cleansing power. His mind was slowly mended back into a whole piece and it decided that it had enough. "I'm not going to stand for this anymore," he whispered to himself as he glared at the shower tiles. He watched as the filth ran off of his body and swirled around the drain before finally disappearing from sight.
When a towel was safely wrapped around him, he wiped the steam off of the mirror and looked at his reflection. "I am Robin, the Boy Wonder," he growled at himself, "And it's about time I start fighting back."
He shoved the door open with overly dramatic flair only to find that Slade was no longer in the room. Frowning, Robin decided that he could start fighting back the next morning then. He quickly changed into the pajamas that Slade had for him, boxers and a large t-shirt that he once thought was Slade's but was too small to fit the man.
Robin settled on what he considered his side of the bed, the side that they didn't have sex on, and pulled the covers up to his neck. He closed his eyes and tried to sleep but his mind was racing.
Was he really going to try and fight back against Slade? Could he with Slade holding his friends' lives with a push of a button? Even without the probes, would he be able to fight against Slade? The man had overpowered him before, why wouldn't Slade do it again?
He figured that he did drift to sleep eventually when he opened his eyes and found himself facing Slade. He jerked away until he noticed that Slade's eye was closed. Was the man sleeping? Slade slept?
Robin suddenly held his breath as he realized that he had the perfect moment to attack Slade. His defense was down and even though Batman didn't believe in attacking opponents when their back was turned, Batman also didn't tolerate rape. So Robin figured he would be forgiven.
As soon as Robin shifted closer to Slade, the man's eye flew open. If Robin was out of shape or older, he probably would have died from a heart attack.
"Mmm," Slade moaned as he lifted a hand and brushed it through Robin's hair with unsettling gentleness. "Go back to sleep, my little bird." Slade murmured as his hand went down to Robin's back and slowly began to trace soft circles.
Robin closed his eyes as the soothing touches began to take their affect. He subconsciously moved closer to Slade until he was pressed against the man's warm skin. Slade's breath hitched in his throat but he didn't pull away and Robin quickly fell asleep, for once, feeling happy. And that frightened him.