Hey There Fans! I love you guys for all the reviews, alerts, and fav's on OoP. Finally the long awaited sequel and I do mean LONG awaited. Life's been hectic but I'm back on a roll with my writing. Hopefully this is just as good. I was having major writers block on how to start this so that's why it's taking me forever. Oh and if you ask yourself 'where the hell is she going with this?' good you're supposed to.

Opinions matter people so I need to hear what you think and how much you love it, if you do. If you don't I NEED to know. Oh yeah, and if you noticed my little schemes with the chapters of OoP then I'll let you know now that the chapters for this one will all be oxymorons since Red X and Robin are one of my favorites.

Disclaimer: You know the drill. I don't own anything but the plot at this point in time.

Friendly Competitor

Pitch black had become more then just a shadow, no longer was it a time for thievery or heroics. Instead there was unknown possessive passion, a time for ferocity, and pointless jabs that were the closest thing one would get to whispered nothings. But neither of these beings was expecting anything like that. They were just in it for this something that none had the correct answer to, well, at least none of the two who were involved that is.

The room was cool against bare skin, but that skin was still warm and slick from its previous warmer activities. Neither of the two could see anything, not the other's face, not the other's torso, not even the dark outline of the other's lithe body. For one could see that neither was willing to reveal a most precious item: identity. After all, one was still a master thief and the other a boy wonder.

An ungloved hand slicked back the dark hair of his little treasure and grinned to himself as he stirred turning toward him, seeking warmth. Suddenly, as if noticing where he was and who he as with the 'treasure' lifted a hand and smacked the other male blindly on the forehead before lifting himself up into a crouch and then standing.

"Damnit kid. What was that for?" Red X muttered, rubbing the point of injury.

Robin was quiet for the moment, the only sound the rustling of the boy's clothes. Heaving a sigh the other stood also searching the dark area for his own wear and utilities. After the second rendezvous both males had made a deal that they would not take anything of the others -most importantly, in Red X's mind, the xenothium that powered his suit. So far neither has gone back on their word, not to say that there wasn't the presence of temptation.

Robin felt the thief prepare to ask again so instead began to mutter something inaudible to the other male.

"Come again?" X asked, leaning closer to the boy wonder till he felt him right in front of his torso.

"You woke me up." Robin muttered again, but louder.

"Oh is that all?" The thief chuckled reaching up to cup the boys cheek. X found the background tone of defiance set into the Hero's voice a rather endearing thing. After all if Robin had become weak, needy, submissive, or to compliant he'd most likely get bored with him. Fortunately his treasure was the right bit of everything, there was only ever one real problem, aside the major one of why he felt even a smidgen of anything while the Boy Wonder was around.

"What?" Robin voiced as he felt the thief's finger tips pause at the top of his cheekbone, just below the black mask (which he refused to take off, ever).

A grimace of sorts formed on Red X's lips, though the other wouldn't be able to see it at all. "Hate this thing." he finally replied as he dropped his hand and continued with pulling on his suit.

"Oh," Robin sighed, clipping on the cape the moment he found it. "And here I am thinking you'll say something that actually sounds intelligent." He turned away from the thief to look for a wall that would lead him out of the darkened meeting spot. It wasn't that the boy wonder was already tired of Red X, in fact he wondered if he ever would, but he was tired of the criminal thinking that he was so comfortable around him, that he would be submissive, that whatever Red X willed Robin would do; which was absolutely not true.

If Robin could have seen X's face chances are he wouldn't have been able to react to the grimace that placed itself on the thief's lips. "It does, or at least it does to me, Chuckles." he said the nickname fondly, his eyes searching out the frame of the boy he'd only moments ago had panting beneath him. Those guttural sounds haunted X's mind for a moment, and he wished more then anything he could have seen that look of ecstasy on the other male's face. "Don't you think that it would be okay if you took it off when we're somewhere like, I don't know, here? I can barely see a damn thing and you insist on hiding yourself."

Rolling his eyes Robin finally felt the doorknob under his now gloved hand and paused as he felt and heard X shift behind him, pulling on the mask that Robin knew every contour of. "All you have to do is flip on that light or pull on your mask for a second to see my face if I take it off, and it was for your safety that we don't turn on the light till we've reached the door."

"Which we have," X pointed out.

"Yeah," Robin's voice was a whisper, there was a reluctance that he hoped only he noticed. "I'm still not taking any chances. There are always tricks up your sleeve."

"Well, you know all you'd have to do was use a flashlight or something to see my face, Chuckles."

"That an invitation?"

"Not at all, but I'm trying to say that I am just as open as you are, or at least would be if you took that thing off."

"Maybe, but my mask is there for a reason. Besides, it's not like it's getting in the way or anything, right?"

A snarl sounded from X, one Robin found immensely unnecessary. Though the next thing he noticed he was being pinned to the door that he was actually about to open and walk out of. But it wasn't only just being pinned by an arm on either side, no, now he felt every inch of the other's slick uniform pressed up against him. The heavy breath that belonged to Red X was sounding in his ear but it was slightly distorted by the mask now on him. Breath caught in his throat Robin stood still, trying not let a single wisp of air past his lips.

Silence ensued, and finally Robin had to breathe, but his breaths were ragged, uneven, expecting something to happen without knowing exactly what it was. This disconcerted the Teen Titan but he was trained and able to keep his ground.

"Enough games, I've got to get back before they notice how long I've been gone."

Red X didn't budge; he stayed as he was and kept his breathing so low it was causing the tiniest tremble to go up Robin's spine. Had he made Red X angry? It wasn't as if they hadn't had the same little argument before, and each time it had been taken as foreplay. Perhaps the criminal was serious, but if that were so what was the point? What was the point in anything Red X did? That was a question yet to be answered since neither knew what either was doing together, in a darkened room, on a side of town where no one came around to. Perhaps they were just insane and didn't take into account the consequences of any of their actions.

The fact that Red X hadn't said anything was making Robin a little nervous and annoyed, so choosing to act on the later emotion he shoved the thief and snorted. Unfortunately as he made the movement to turn towards the door he was pressed against it once more this time one hand sliding down his torso and gripping his hip. The hold was possessive and dominating, a way of making sure the birdie stayed in its cage. His breaths were still sounding in Robin's ear putting the hero more on edge.

"Maybe that's just what we need a game." The master thief finally said. Robin quirked a brow and tried to push against the door to get the other off of him but only managed in amusing Red X who stood solid as a rock.

"Fine," Robin said finally. "What kind of game?"

"A guessing game." X said as if it were simple as two plus two.

Robin rolled his eyes and pressed his head against the door muttering about how stupid it all was. "We really shouldn't be playing games. I need to get back to my team, make sure that nothing is going on."

Beneath the mask Red X rolled his eyes and pressed himself closer to the hero to make sure he stayed where he wanted him to. "Listen here, kid, that handy communicator of yours woulda rung by now if they needed you so stop making excuses." The tone of his voice had almost become playful again which eased Robin up a bit. There was silence for another second before Robin pushed at the door unexpectedly hoping to push off the thief but only managed in bruising himself when the hand on his hip pinched him.

"Now, now, I haven't even told you the objective or even the rules yet." Red X said, laughter at the back of his throat. He was enjoying taking as long as he wanted since he didn't exactly have anyone waiting for him at home. A grimace fell on his lips as the thought passed him. Home what a stupid and meaningless word.

When Robin let pass a sigh the thief brought himself back to the boy before him and grinned widely; it would have been a charming and rather alluring smile had there not been a mask over it.

"The game is to guess the other's identity." Red X said simply. His tone was completely straight forward and honest, no beating around the bush. Besides, Red X was completely confident in this game that he would not lose. There was no guarantee he would win either but he would definitely not lose.

Robin's lip twitched once, then twice before opening his mouth to speak and close it after he realized he had nothing to say. What the hell was Red X trying to play at? Playing around with each other's secret identities didn't sound like any kind of fun to the Boy Wonder. There had to be something Red X wanted to play such a dangerous game. Wait, was he actually considering it? No way! He was not going to play this game. Pushing away from the hero once more unsuccessfully a growl akin to Red X's animalistic kind ripped through his throat and shocked the thief enough so that his grip slackened and Robin could pull free.

A brow rose beneath the skull mask but he merely watched through the enhanced sight of his mask as Robin put distance between them. "What?" he questioned almost innocently.

"Don't 'what' me! We aren't playing such a stupid game; I would never be such an idiot." Robin all but yelled, anger evident in every pore of his being.

"Never?" questioned the thief.

"Never."

"Well then I guess the game we've been playing for almost three weeks now isn't idiotic at all, and if that's true maybe your little friends wouldn't mind hearing about my most prized possession."

If it hadn't been so dark Red X would have been able to see all the color rush from Robin's face, but he did hear the slight rustle of his glove twisting into a clenched fist. This amused the thief and even more so when Robin started to speak again.

"You wouldn't dare." Robin growled between gritted teeth.

"Aw, c'mon, Chuckles, you don't think that was a bit cliché?" his tone too amused for Robin's liking.

"Whatever, I'm not playing." The Titan said with finality.

A sigh escaped the thief his lips quirking as he knew that Robin would act this way. "What if I told you that I would quit?" this stopped Robin mid-thought.

"Stop?" he asked.

"Yup, stop everything. If you can guess my real identity I'll give you back Red X and turn myself in to the police since you'll probably do that anyway." The thief could hear the cogs turning in Robin's head from across the room and felt a smirk overcome his features beneath the mask. "However, if I guess your identity, you have to tell your friends who you really belong to."

Red X eyed the hero who was bathed in red due to the infrared built into the mask. Watched as the blinded Titan thought over it for a moment and just as he began to speak the thief stealthily made his way across the pitch black room towards the hero.

"Belong to? I told you this before I don't belong to anyone but myself; I am nobody's possession." Just as the last syllable passed the Titan's lips his chin was caught in the Master Thief's gloved hand. A low breathy chuckle was heard through the other's mask and a chill ran down Robin's spine telling him that he was so very wrong. This was, again, an old argument that always ended with Robin wondering whether or not he was right or wrong.

"So what do you get out of my friends knowing anyway?" Robin asked tearing himself away from the thief.

"What does it matter? Maybe I just like games." The thief shrugged and crossed his arms before his slender torso.

Figures, the Titan thought, he never has much of a reason for anything he does and if he did telling me wouldn't exactly be high on his priority list. Robin sighed and leaned back into a wall following it to the door once again. "Well I don't like games so go find someone else to play."

Again Red X blocked the hero's way, this time by standing in front of the exit. "Fine, I can skip the whole thing, call it a forfeit, and head straight for GO collecting my two hundred." He snickered at his own analogy but sighed at the confused look on Robin's masked face. "Jeez you didn't play very many board games as a kid did you?"

"Chess, count?"

"No, not even a little." He said, his tone deadpanned at how wasted his perfect analogy had been. Nonetheless he picked himself right back up and turned to twist the doorknob. "So I guess I'll just go and tell your little friends and then maybe we can all sit down for a round of Monopoly."

Quick to react Robin gripped the taller male's wrist and pulled. "No, wait." They both paused one waiting for the other to continue the other wondering what exactly to wait for. This game was stupid, but he'd have to figure it out some way or risk his friends and maybe even the rest of Jump City figuring out what was going on between him and Red X. It was already evident the thief was trying to get something from winning and whatever it was Robin wasn't inclined to let the thief have it. The Titan let go of the other's wrist and held out his hand to accept the others. "Despite my lack of experience in board games I'm not new to games and I don't lose." He finally said.

A grin of triumph spread over the thief's visage as he took the younger's hand in his, "I expect not, kid, but just so you know I don't lose either."

Now that it was settled they would really be doing this the natural will to win that was practically hardwired into the Teen Titan started to kick in an skills he'd learned years ago began to shake off some dust. He was a detective, one to rival one of the world's greatest so he'd definitely be the one to win. All he needed was a place to start, unfortunately he'd been trying to figure out Red X's identity since he first showed up and hadn't even scratched the surface.

Due to the silence Red X finally twisted the doorknob to open the door letting shine in the dying red of a sunset. The two stood there outlined in the shadows of the room by the blood of the sun. The two would have to chalk up everything they'd ever heard or learned from the other since they met that might be a clue.

It was only one of them who would win. One of them had the upper hand. One of them had a plan. One of them knew exactly what move to play next. One of them was ready.

The two had learned things about the enemy they'd never expected to learn in the first place but now it was time to see what lie behind the mask. Now it was time to see what drove them so damn near the edge of insanity for the other. Red X was finally going to figure why when he was close to the Boy Wonder he could hardly control this obsession of possession he felt. Robin, the leader of the Teen Titans, was finally going to unmask the thing that was Red X, was finally going to understand the villain like he'd done many others over the years.

Thank you Fans for getting this far and I hope you can bare with me till the next post. Oh and I do update my profile even when I'm not updating posts so be sure to check that out for info on whatever you need to know. And any questions, don't hesitate to ask. If you ask some of my Reviewers I actually do respond to them.

:x: Anna Craft