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Better Harder Faster Stronger | Superboy/Robin
title. Better Harder Faster Stronger
fandom. Young Justice
pairing. Superboy/Robin, Superman/Batman
wordcount. 2,089
written for. this prompt @ yj_anon_meme
prompt. For all that I see and acknowledge and even like the Superboy/Aqualad subtext in the show, I have long been a fan of Superboy/Robin in the comics, and of Super/Bat pairings in general. So, I'd like to see someone figure out how to make that pairing work in the cartoon verse, too. Even just preslash or friendship, anything that focuses on the World's Finest mojo.
"Robin. Hack."
Not that he was staring or anything. Not that he was fascinated. Not that he'd always maybe sort of idolized Superman and looked up to him and Batman and their - not that he was thinking too much, and too fast. Nope. Didn't happen.
"Oh... right!"
And then he put it behind him.
+
"Orders? Taking orders, my ass." They were breaking in the couches at their new headquarters - that is to say, Robin was, rolling all over them and testing to find the very best spot to fight KF over (because that sucker was too lazy to get a head start, but sure as sun, he'd come up and try to take the best spot and then there would be shovies). Superboy was just sitting, on one of the couches. He seemed to be truly enjoying the show - and, Robin had to admit, if only to himself - he was basking in it. In the attention.
"Batman looks scary and he talks like he's the only authority in the world, but believe me, that's not what he really thinks."
As it turned out, the most comfortable spot was the one right next to Superboy, in the crack between cushions, where they dipped down and cradled his ass like it was a planetary treasure. Superboy, for his part, didn't even move. He hadn't been brought up, didn't know that there was such a thing as personal space and that Robin was flagrantly violating it.
"When you work with someone, even if you're just their sidekick, it's nothing like being controlled. You do what they say because you respect them - because you believe in their words and trust them. But you think for yourself. If I just followed Batman's orders because he told me to, what use would I ever be? He's got tools to do what he wants without talking back."
Superboy's eyes were so blue. Like Superman's, probably, but Superman's costume had always come first, bright and blaring and visible. With Superboy, it was all face, all lips, all eyes. He was listening to every single word.
(Robin wondered if this was what Batman saw, if this is what he saw in Superman when they were alone and beyond costumes and heroes and saving the world.)
"...So that's what I meant. When I told you to free Aqualad. And that's why we can listen to Batman, because he's not using us like pawns - he's guiding us. Get it?"
Superboy's brow furrowed, and Robin couldn't resist - he leaned in and ruffled his hair, just once, a simple backward-brushing motion.
"And I know Superman believes that too," he said, quietly.
+
This little crush was getting ridiculous. Kid Flash called him out on it, too, because KF was his bro and they talked about everything.
"Got the hots for Superboy, huh?"
"Shut up."
"Man, I don't blame you. Well, I sort of do. Isn't that a little weird?"
"Shut up."
"I mean, he's pretty much Superman, only like, sixteen weeks old, that's just - "
Robin finally rolled over and kicked up at the bottom of KF's bunkbed. "He's not. Superman."
There was a beat, then a fuzzy red head peered over the edge of the bed, one eyebrow raised. "Hate to break it to you, Robbie, but he's a clone. So yeah. He is."
Robin glared at him. "Superman isn't Superman because of what he's made of and what he's capable of. He's Superman because of what he's done and what he will do and what kind of life he's led and all sorts of stuff. And Superboy's ours. He's going to do his own thing, will you let up?"
KF rolled his eyes; he retreated back to the bunk with a loud huff. "Jeez. Be a little more sensitive."
Robin didn't even bother responding.
+
The thing about Superboy, the thing that he and everyone else kept reminding him constantly (Kid Flash. Never trust the guy with a secret.) was that Superboy didn't know the first thing about emotions. Or, you know, all that other stuff, because emotions was a big deal and Robin didn't want that - not yet - but he did want Superboy's attention and respect and smiles and time and maybe he wanted to be the one to show him what it was all about. Robin was a thinker, a planner, and unlike some people, he was patient.
Superboy made it very difficult for him to be patient.
He kept finding that they were alone together. Probably another conspiracy, but this one he blamed M'gann for (Miss Martian - way too cheerleader for her, she was actually really cool) because, of all of them, she was the one with the best sense of decency. (KF, for instance, would rather be watching with his cocky little grin, and Aqualad was kind of like an older brother to Superboy - and way, way too overprotective.) He'd just look up, and - everyone else was gone. Superboy would be reading or trying to figure out how something worked or - or sometimes just watching him. And Robin would get the shivers all over. In a good way. Which wasn't helping.
Then it was Batman's turn to call him out.
+
"Are we having this conversation? Really. Are we really having this coversation." Robin was curled in a ball, face buried in his hands, voice muffled. He couldn't see the screen but it wasn't like he needed to - Batman's face had the expressive variation of a brick.
"Yes, Robin. We are. I wanted to warn you, that - "
He looked up and glared. "That having a crush on a socially inept clone is a really, really bad idea? Thanks. I got that memo."
Batman's face, however, didn't move. He sighed, slowly, and Robin felt his heart sinking - because part of him, some small, stupid part, had been hoping that Batman would be the one person to tell him it was okay.
"No, not that."
Oh.
"I'll leave that to the experts."
Damn.
"....And since there aren't any experts, I really don't think anyone has an authority to talk you down on that front. But that's not why I'm worried."
Wh- did he just-
Robin gave up trying to process his reactions. Batman was Batman and he was never predictable, so really, he should have figured. He should have known.
"I'm here to tell you that loving - " he saw Robin's nose wrinkle, so he sighed and changed tack, " - liking Superman - any form of him, and yes, I know that he's different. It's the similarities I'm worried about.
"He's going to be stronger than you. He's going to be more powerful, more skilled, more proud, he's going to be more. He's going to think he's right all the time and he's going to do exactly what he wants to do, when he wants to do it, and woe to anyone who stands in his way."
Robin opened his mouth to say No he wouldn't! but then he thought about it, and - well, yes. He really would.
".....And he's going to be worth it."
Robin had never, ever heard Batman sound like this. He thought he knew him, thought he understood how Batman and Superman worked. But this was different. He understood nothing.
"No matter what, he's going to be worth it."
+
And still, through all of that, it still took a mission to finally tip the scales.
Robin had just gotten used to not getting hurt. He was the back support, he was the hacker and the gadgeteer and he didn't go in guns blazing. That was for everyone else, and it was Robin's job to freak out about them (internally) and make sure that someone, at least, had a good idea of what was going on everywhere. So he didn't expect to get charged at, forgot that he was, to all intents and purposes, vulnerable. He forgot, sometimes, that there was nothing 'super' about him.
But the monster didn't connect. He'd known it, that he couldn't get out of the way in time,t hat he hadn't noticed it fast enough. But someone else was quicker. Stronger. Faster. More.
Superboy, saving the day. And Robin realized, as he looked down at the map of the area, that he'd gone way, way far out of his way. This, right here, was gratuitous and unexpected ass-saving. And it wasn't just for anyone. It was for him.
+
Superboy ended up in the infirmary that evening, for the first time. He was, in actuality, fine, but Robin might have been worried and Batman might have been encouraging. When Robin stole down there, late at night, the door was unlocked and he didn't even have to disable the cameras.
"Hey," he said, and went right on over to sit at Superboy's side on the edge of the bed. Superboy just looked mildly confused.
"Why am I still here? I'm not injured."
"No, you're not." Robin ducked his head, bit his lip. He wasn't Batman. He wasn't nearly as good as keeping his thoughts off his face. "But, you know. Batman was worried."
"Hm." Superboy's eyebrows twitched. "Batman was worried. Right."
"Hey, who taught you sarcasm?" Robin laughed, shoving lightly at Superboy's rock-solid chest (and man, didn't that derail half a dozen thought trains, anyway).
But Superboy only smiled (and just for him). "You did."
That brought his mirth right up to a screeching halt, and without it, all the other thoughts just came tumbling through - days and nights of watching and waiting and trying to get close to him and thinking about the 'maybe someday's and quietly going insane. He thought about Superboy's eyes and how he'd always loved them (yeah, shut up. loved.) and how much he just wanted, more than anything, to be the one person that Superboy cared about more than anyone.
"I want to teach you something else," he said, the spilling from him in an overflow.
"What is it?" Superboy asked. He was almost amused, and Robin didn't know what to make of that, except that probably the boy wonder who always kept his cool was tripping all over himself and, yeah, that was a little bit funny.
"It's called a kiss," he said, and this was a horrible way to start but you know what, there wasn't a manual for this, there wasn't a set of directions, he was allowed to make things up on the fly. "You do it when you - "
"Like someone," and Robin's mouth fell open a little as Superboy cut him off. Just. What. What. He was smiling, he was more amused, and what was going on?
"What-"
"Miss Martian went into great detail about personal relationships, once," he said, still with that bright-eyes grin.
"M'gann," Robin corrected automatically. Then he caught up with himself. "Hang on - what do you mean, went into great detail?" he asked, suspicious.
"Ah. Jealousy." And then one of his hands came up, and it touched him along the jaw - with the lower pads of his fingers, rather than the tips, but it was all Superboy and it was insane and it was wonderful. "She said you'd be the type."
"Hang on - you talked about me?"
His thumb - oh god - his thumb touched along Robin's lower lip. Thinking. Right out. "Yes."
"...Because you liked me."
"Yes."
"And you waited because....?"
"Because I didn't want you to think I didn't know what I was doing." The hand paused. "I could ask you the same question."
Robin didn't answer it. That is, he did, but not in words, because words, he decided, were overrated and way too easy to fuck up. He kissed Superboy, and when he kissed back, it was better, it was stronger, it was more.
fandom. Young Justice
pairing. Superboy/Robin, Superman/Batman
wordcount. 2,089
written for. this prompt @ yj_anon_meme
prompt. For all that I see and acknowledge and even like the Superboy/Aqualad subtext in the show, I have long been a fan of Superboy/Robin in the comics, and of Super/Bat pairings in general. So, I'd like to see someone figure out how to make that pairing work in the cartoon verse, too. Even just preslash or friendship, anything that focuses on the World's Finest mojo.
"Robin. Hack."
Not that he was staring or anything. Not that he was fascinated. Not that he'd always maybe sort of idolized Superman and looked up to him and Batman and their - not that he was thinking too much, and too fast. Nope. Didn't happen.
"Oh... right!"
And then he put it behind him.
+
"Orders? Taking orders, my ass." They were breaking in the couches at their new headquarters - that is to say, Robin was, rolling all over them and testing to find the very best spot to fight KF over (because that sucker was too lazy to get a head start, but sure as sun, he'd come up and try to take the best spot and then there would be shovies). Superboy was just sitting, on one of the couches. He seemed to be truly enjoying the show - and, Robin had to admit, if only to himself - he was basking in it. In the attention.
"Batman looks scary and he talks like he's the only authority in the world, but believe me, that's not what he really thinks."
As it turned out, the most comfortable spot was the one right next to Superboy, in the crack between cushions, where they dipped down and cradled his ass like it was a planetary treasure. Superboy, for his part, didn't even move. He hadn't been brought up, didn't know that there was such a thing as personal space and that Robin was flagrantly violating it.
"When you work with someone, even if you're just their sidekick, it's nothing like being controlled. You do what they say because you respect them - because you believe in their words and trust them. But you think for yourself. If I just followed Batman's orders because he told me to, what use would I ever be? He's got tools to do what he wants without talking back."
Superboy's eyes were so blue. Like Superman's, probably, but Superman's costume had always come first, bright and blaring and visible. With Superboy, it was all face, all lips, all eyes. He was listening to every single word.
(Robin wondered if this was what Batman saw, if this is what he saw in Superman when they were alone and beyond costumes and heroes and saving the world.)
"...So that's what I meant. When I told you to free Aqualad. And that's why we can listen to Batman, because he's not using us like pawns - he's guiding us. Get it?"
Superboy's brow furrowed, and Robin couldn't resist - he leaned in and ruffled his hair, just once, a simple backward-brushing motion.
"And I know Superman believes that too," he said, quietly.
+
This little crush was getting ridiculous. Kid Flash called him out on it, too, because KF was his bro and they talked about everything.
"Got the hots for Superboy, huh?"
"Shut up."
"Man, I don't blame you. Well, I sort of do. Isn't that a little weird?"
"Shut up."
"I mean, he's pretty much Superman, only like, sixteen weeks old, that's just - "
Robin finally rolled over and kicked up at the bottom of KF's bunkbed. "He's not. Superman."
There was a beat, then a fuzzy red head peered over the edge of the bed, one eyebrow raised. "Hate to break it to you, Robbie, but he's a clone. So yeah. He is."
Robin glared at him. "Superman isn't Superman because of what he's made of and what he's capable of. He's Superman because of what he's done and what he will do and what kind of life he's led and all sorts of stuff. And Superboy's ours. He's going to do his own thing, will you let up?"
KF rolled his eyes; he retreated back to the bunk with a loud huff. "Jeez. Be a little more sensitive."
Robin didn't even bother responding.
+
The thing about Superboy, the thing that he and everyone else kept reminding him constantly (Kid Flash. Never trust the guy with a secret.) was that Superboy didn't know the first thing about emotions. Or, you know, all that other stuff, because emotions was a big deal and Robin didn't want that - not yet - but he did want Superboy's attention and respect and smiles and time and maybe he wanted to be the one to show him what it was all about. Robin was a thinker, a planner, and unlike some people, he was patient.
Superboy made it very difficult for him to be patient.
He kept finding that they were alone together. Probably another conspiracy, but this one he blamed M'gann for (Miss Martian - way too cheerleader for her, she was actually really cool) because, of all of them, she was the one with the best sense of decency. (KF, for instance, would rather be watching with his cocky little grin, and Aqualad was kind of like an older brother to Superboy - and way, way too overprotective.) He'd just look up, and - everyone else was gone. Superboy would be reading or trying to figure out how something worked or - or sometimes just watching him. And Robin would get the shivers all over. In a good way. Which wasn't helping.
Then it was Batman's turn to call him out.
+
"Are we having this conversation? Really. Are we really having this coversation." Robin was curled in a ball, face buried in his hands, voice muffled. He couldn't see the screen but it wasn't like he needed to - Batman's face had the expressive variation of a brick.
"Yes, Robin. We are. I wanted to warn you, that - "
He looked up and glared. "That having a crush on a socially inept clone is a really, really bad idea? Thanks. I got that memo."
Batman's face, however, didn't move. He sighed, slowly, and Robin felt his heart sinking - because part of him, some small, stupid part, had been hoping that Batman would be the one person to tell him it was okay.
"No, not that."
Oh.
"I'll leave that to the experts."
Damn.
"....And since there aren't any experts, I really don't think anyone has an authority to talk you down on that front. But that's not why I'm worried."
Wh- did he just-
Robin gave up trying to process his reactions. Batman was Batman and he was never predictable, so really, he should have figured. He should have known.
"I'm here to tell you that loving - " he saw Robin's nose wrinkle, so he sighed and changed tack, " - liking Superman - any form of him, and yes, I know that he's different. It's the similarities I'm worried about.
"He's going to be stronger than you. He's going to be more powerful, more skilled, more proud, he's going to be more. He's going to think he's right all the time and he's going to do exactly what he wants to do, when he wants to do it, and woe to anyone who stands in his way."
Robin opened his mouth to say No he wouldn't! but then he thought about it, and - well, yes. He really would.
".....And he's going to be worth it."
Robin had never, ever heard Batman sound like this. He thought he knew him, thought he understood how Batman and Superman worked. But this was different. He understood nothing.
"No matter what, he's going to be worth it."
+
And still, through all of that, it still took a mission to finally tip the scales.
Robin had just gotten used to not getting hurt. He was the back support, he was the hacker and the gadgeteer and he didn't go in guns blazing. That was for everyone else, and it was Robin's job to freak out about them (internally) and make sure that someone, at least, had a good idea of what was going on everywhere. So he didn't expect to get charged at, forgot that he was, to all intents and purposes, vulnerable. He forgot, sometimes, that there was nothing 'super' about him.
But the monster didn't connect. He'd known it, that he couldn't get out of the way in time,t hat he hadn't noticed it fast enough. But someone else was quicker. Stronger. Faster. More.
Superboy, saving the day. And Robin realized, as he looked down at the map of the area, that he'd gone way, way far out of his way. This, right here, was gratuitous and unexpected ass-saving. And it wasn't just for anyone. It was for him.
+
Superboy ended up in the infirmary that evening, for the first time. He was, in actuality, fine, but Robin might have been worried and Batman might have been encouraging. When Robin stole down there, late at night, the door was unlocked and he didn't even have to disable the cameras.
"Hey," he said, and went right on over to sit at Superboy's side on the edge of the bed. Superboy just looked mildly confused.
"Why am I still here? I'm not injured."
"No, you're not." Robin ducked his head, bit his lip. He wasn't Batman. He wasn't nearly as good as keeping his thoughts off his face. "But, you know. Batman was worried."
"Hm." Superboy's eyebrows twitched. "Batman was worried. Right."
"Hey, who taught you sarcasm?" Robin laughed, shoving lightly at Superboy's rock-solid chest (and man, didn't that derail half a dozen thought trains, anyway).
But Superboy only smiled (and just for him). "You did."
That brought his mirth right up to a screeching halt, and without it, all the other thoughts just came tumbling through - days and nights of watching and waiting and trying to get close to him and thinking about the 'maybe someday's and quietly going insane. He thought about Superboy's eyes and how he'd always loved them (yeah, shut up. loved.) and how much he just wanted, more than anything, to be the one person that Superboy cared about more than anyone.
"I want to teach you something else," he said, the spilling from him in an overflow.
"What is it?" Superboy asked. He was almost amused, and Robin didn't know what to make of that, except that probably the boy wonder who always kept his cool was tripping all over himself and, yeah, that was a little bit funny.
"It's called a kiss," he said, and this was a horrible way to start but you know what, there wasn't a manual for this, there wasn't a set of directions, he was allowed to make things up on the fly. "You do it when you - "
"Like someone," and Robin's mouth fell open a little as Superboy cut him off. Just. What. What. He was smiling, he was more amused, and what was going on?
"What-"
"Miss Martian went into great detail about personal relationships, once," he said, still with that bright-eyes grin.
"M'gann," Robin corrected automatically. Then he caught up with himself. "Hang on - what do you mean, went into great detail?" he asked, suspicious.
"Ah. Jealousy." And then one of his hands came up, and it touched him along the jaw - with the lower pads of his fingers, rather than the tips, but it was all Superboy and it was insane and it was wonderful. "She said you'd be the type."
"Hang on - you talked about me?"
His thumb - oh god - his thumb touched along Robin's lower lip. Thinking. Right out. "Yes."
"...Because you liked me."
"Yes."
"And you waited because....?"
"Because I didn't want you to think I didn't know what I was doing." The hand paused. "I could ask you the same question."
Robin didn't answer it. That is, he did, but not in words, because words, he decided, were overrated and way too easy to fuck up. He kissed Superboy, and when he kissed back, it was better, it was stronger, it was more.