Title: Catch Me (I'm Falling)
Rating: T. Would've been K+ but there's some dark thoughts/dialog and a couple swear words. So, yeah. Better safe than sorry, right?
Real Summary: Maybe it's because he's the youngest one in the league, maybe it's because he's so darn small. Superboy wasn't sure what exactly it was, but something about Robin always seemed so…breakable. Which was weird, considering he was the breakable one. He just didn't seem to realize it yet. -Set directly after Schooled.
Genre: At first I thought hurt/comfort would be most closely related to what I was going for with this. Then I switched it to drama, but friendship was always there. :)
Pairing: None, really. More of a friendship than a real pairing, but its Superboy x Robin if you really want to see it.
Words: 2,998 (Wow, two short of 3,000...that is just failtastic. -_-)
Disclaimer: Because I'm sure people in big corporations who own these shows really check out this site and all its canon-warping stories. -_-
A/N: I'd seen exactly one half of one episode of this show when I started writing this. And Robin and Superboy didn't even talk to each other in it except for, maybe, four words altogether. So, I'm honestly not sure where the random urge to write for these two came from. But it's here, so I might as well use it. And besides, I freaking love Superboy; he's such a woobie. And I love woobies. They're amazing. :3 Plus I think he needs a hug. I'd hug him…if I could. (And yes, I did listen to the 80's song Catch Me (I'm Falling) by Pretty Poison while I wrote this, although it isn't based off it. It just came on my iPod while I was writing and I found it ironic and so I set it to repeat.)

Mount Justice
August 5
10:34 EDT

Robin peered into the large chrome refrigerator, searching for the carton of eggs he knew to be shoved somewhere in there and pulling them out once his hidden eyes found them. "Anyone for some scrambled eggs?" he asked, grinning as he turned to face the other occupants of the fairly large kitchen. "Or would you guys prefer them sunny-side up?" Wally made a face somewhere between horror and disgust, both of which were obviously feigned emotions.

"Eggs, dude? You're serious?" the redhead asked before turning to face Megan. "Get a load of the health freak," he jerked his thumb in Robin's direction, earning a small pity smile from the only female member of the league.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Robin drawled sarcastically as he shut the door to the fridge, "What would you prefer?"

"Pancakes, waffles, French toast, cinnamon buns, maybe some bacon…" Wally listed them off on his fingers.

"So basically anything as long as there's no nutritional value at all?" Robin raised one thin black eyebrow and sat the carton on the little island in front of him. Wally stuck his tongue out at him and crossed his arms before turning his nose up. Megan giggled lightly at the display till her attention was drawn to Robin when he asked her about how many eggs she thought they would need.

"Well, I'll only eat one…" she began her answer contemplatively. "Kaldur will maybe need two or three and Superboy looks like he could eat about the same or more. With Wally's appetite thrown in as well as yours…we might as well just cook the whole carton."

"You're probably right," Robin agreed, "I think I'll make some sausage to go along with the eggs." He left the carton sitting on the island and moved back to the fridge, opening the freezer portion and pulling out a long, wrapped chub of the spiced meat. As he shut the door, Superboy walking in from the hall came into his view. He looked irritated…well, more irritated than usual. Robin hummed thoughtfully to himself as Superboy stepped up to the island and leaned down, resting his elbows on the black marble surface and striking up a staring contest with his reflection.

"Hey," Robin suddenly spoke out to no one in particular. "If irritated is like angry, would tated be happy?" Superboy shot him a sideways glance at the same time Megan began tapping her chin thoughtfully and Wally just shook his head and rolled his eyes up to the ceiling.

"It should be, shouldn't it?" Megan finally replied as Robin got a frying pan out of a high cabinet that Wally was so close to pointing out Robin almost couldn't reach.

"I think so," he agreed, placing the pan on the stove and turning the heat on high. Megan smiled and flew over to the fridge, taking out a stick of butter and then grabbing a knife on her way back over to Robin. She cut off a thin slice and placed it in the pan, watching as it began to melt. Robin looked at her questioningly.

"It makes the eggs taste sweeter," she told him, shrugging. "Plus they won't stick to the pan this way." She sat the knife and remaining butter down on the countertop, still smiling. Robin nodded his head and grabbed the carton of eggs, taking a few out and cracking them open over the pan.

"I like mine scrambled," Superboy intoned suddenly, causing everyone to look at him. His own crystal blue eyes were fixed on the eggs sizzling in the pan.

"Oh, no problem." Robin opened a nearby cabinet, didn't find what he was looking for and shut it again. Megan, being the only one who knew where anything was in the kitchen, walked over to one in the corner and pulled a large bowl out of it. She handed it off to Robin and received a quick thank you as he started cracking eggs into it. "Anybody else take them scrambled?" Wally's arm was suddenly around his shoulders accompanied by the slightest gust of air.

"You know I do, dude," he told the shorter boy, giving him a squeeze.

"Yeah, yeah. Get off me." Robin shook his arm off and went back to cracking eggs. He left four more in the carton to fry sunny-side once the pan was free. Megan grabbed an eggbeater out of a drawer close to her hip and took the bowl from Robin, going to work on the poor eggs.

"I got the sausage!" Wally stated suddenly before rapidly going from drawer to drawer in search of a knife. He located one and began slicing the sausage into the thick slabs, going on to take a frying pan from the same cabinet Robin got his from, light an eye and stick as many as he could fit in the pan in there to cook. This was all done in under thirty seconds. Super speed; it was apparently useful while cooking.

Robin rolled his eyes while he examined the eggs to see if they were ready to be turned yet. He saw they were and was about to start looking for a spatula when Wally suddenly appeared beside him with one in hand. He looked at Robin, over at Megan – who didn't seem to notice – and back at Robin; his expression clearly reading 'Leave me alone with the pretty girl. Do it now. Oh, and please?'

Robin shrugged and walked away, noticing for the first time that Superboy had moved to sit on one of the green couches in the adjoining room. He decided to go sit with him, despite the fact that he apparently didn't want him to, considering he shifted away slightly as Robin gracefully plopped down next to him. And just when he thought they'd started to become friends… "So," Robin decided to ignore it, "How was training with Black Canary?"

Superboy glanced over at the boy briefly before going back to staring straight ahead. "Nonexistent."

Robin waited for him to elaborate. He didn't. So Robin urged him on by way of saying, "What do you mean?"

"Exactly what I said," Superboy responded, shrugging. "We haven't started yet. She said it was too late, or rather, early. Told me to get some sleep and we'd start sometime today."

"Oh. That makes since; you'll do better when you're rested," Robin mused. "Well, good luck."

"I don't need—" Superboy started, glaring at Robin, but broke off. He looked away again, frowned and changed what he was going to say. "Thank you."

Robin blinked, surprised he hadn't just been chewed out for insinuating Superboy might actually need a little luck. "You're welcome." Superboy nodded, clasping his hands together in front of him and leaning his elbows on his knees, seeming to get lost in thought. Robin stayed quiet, letting him do so, and glanced over at what was going on in the kitchen. Wally appeared to be attempting to flirt with Megan and she was smiling at him and talking back, but it didn't look like any of his attempts were working.

"Robin."

The boy in question turned his attention back to the glorified junior mountain sitting beside him. His blue eyes were boring into Robin, his mouth was set in a frown and his breathing seemed to have stilled. He was like a statue. A very perturbing statue who watched your every move like a bear stalking an unsuspecting deer. "Yeah?" Robin asked, fidgeting a little under the scrutinizing gaze. Superboy said nothing for a long time, continuing to just stare at Robin, who continued to fidget uncomfortably…until he finally broke. "Jeez, blink already!"

Superboy did as he was told, though Robin assumed it was more out of surprise than a wish to comply. "I'm sorry," he said after a second or so passed, still not breaking eye-to-shade contact.

"It's okay, man. Just don't stare like that," Robin shot him his usual overconfident grin, though it seemed forced. "It's a little creepy."

Superboy shook his head, brow furrowing in mild frustration. "No. I meant… I'm sorry for when we first met. I hurt you."

A memory flashed into Robin's mind of Superboy pressing him into the ground with his foot, cutting off his oxygen till he saw spots and nearly breaking all his ribs and rupturing a couple of internal organs. He shuddered, which the clone's hyperaware eyes did not miss; it made him feel guilty…well, guiltier. "Yeah, well… You kinda hurt all of us." This didn't seem to make Superboy feel any better. "Anyway, it's fine," Robin reassured him. "You weren't really in control, so it can't be considered your fault."

"Still. I apologize for hurting you."

"Okay," Robin looked away, rubbing the back of his neck, "I forgive you." When he felt a hand on his arm, Robin swore he must've jumped a mile in the air. He played it off and turned to look at Superboy again, who kept his hand where it was, opting to watch it rather than Robin's face.

"It'll never happen again. I promise. I'll never hurt you again."

Robin didn't really know what to say to that. For once he was at a complete loss for words, so he just stared dumbly at Superboy until the latter retracted his hand and stood from the green couch. "I'm…going for a walk," he informed his teammate, heading for the corridor on his right. Megan noticed him leaving and called out that breakfast would be ready in ten minutes.

"If you see Kaldur, let him know please."

"Will do."

Robin sat there on the couch for a minute after Superboy was gone in…was it shock? He supposed it was, but Robin didn't get shocked. So…

Shaking his head, he decided to go after the older– Er, younger boy– Um… Only a five months old, but with the body of a guy three years his senior…? It was confusing even to someone like Robin, so instead of giving it more thought right then he simply filed it away for later, got up and ran like everything after the confusingly aged clone.

He caught up to him at the other end of the hallway, just as he entered the aqua chamber. Robin reached out to grab his arm, about to say something, though he didn't know what, when they both noticed Kaldur coming out of the water from his morning swim.

"Ah, good morning." The Atlantian nodded his head at them as he approached.

"Morning," Superboy greeted as Robin continued to hang onto his arm while dazedly staring at Kaldur. "Breakfast will be ready in ten minutes. Megan wanted me to let you know."

"Excellent. I shall change into some dry clothes and…see you in the dining area?"

"Of course," Superboy confirmed, shaking his arm gently in an attempt to snap Robin out of whatever he had slipped into. It seemed to work, as he let go, coughed nonchalantly and looked away.

"Very well." Kaldur nodded again and walked from the room, the metal doors sliding shut behind him. Superboy turned to look at Robin, a quizzical look playing on his features.

Robin opened his mouth, found himself not knowing how to explain following the other boy and shut it again, turning his head to look at the water as he collected his thoughts. Superboy waited patiently until Robin finally came to a decision of what he wanted to know. He turned to look at Superboy again. "What made you apologize after so long?"

Superboy's eyebrows knit together and for a minute Robin wondered if he shouldn't have asked, but then… "You're small." It took Robin by surprise, to say the least.

"Oh…kay. Care to elaborate on that?"

Superboy frowned, opened his mouth, closed it and blew a breath out through his nose before finally answering. "You just look so…breakable. I know you're great at combat and I've seen how superior you are in the field, but…" He suddenly reached out and looped his fingers around Robin's arm just above the elbow, his fingertips having no trouble connecting around the appendage. "I could snap your arm like a twig right now if I wanted to. I could certainly do it by accident if I wasn't being careful. And when I think about that day, about trying to grind you into the ground with my foot…I could've killed you very easily." Robin had gone completely rigid, more than a little disturbed by the dark thoughts, no matter how lightly they were said. Superboy took his hand off Robin's arm and moved it to his neck, earning a small gasp of surprise as he wrapped his fingers around it. Again, they had no trouble connecting. "I could kill you very easily right now."

"Okay!" Robin's hands shot up to rip Superboy's fingers off his throat, and the Not-Quite-Man of Steel let him. "I get it. I'm small and breakable and you could probably crack me in half with one hand tied behind your back. Thanks so much for pointing that out." He was slowly backing away from the larger boy the whole time he was talking. Robin wasn't necessarily afraid of Superboy, he wasn't afraid of anyone. It was just that he was getting a little freaked out—

Robin's breath hitched in his throat as Superboy suddenly shot forward and grabbed him by his shoulders. Robin reached up and seized his hands, but Superboy didn't let him pull them off this time. Instead he turned the Boy Wonder around so that he could see he'd been about to walk off into the water's fairly deep edge. Robin supposed he should thank him, but if Superboy hadn't freaked the living daylights out of him in the first place, Robin never would've needed "saving". He shrugged the hands off his shoulders once Superboy's grip loosened and turned back around to face his teammate, finding him with a frown plastered on his face. He was doing a lot of frowning today, then again, Robin supposed he was, too.

"I didn't mean to frighten you," Superboy stated, the apology clear in his tone without him having to say it.

"You didn't frighten me!" Robin defended immediately, drawing himself up to full height…which still only reached Superboy's shoulders. "That was just…really messed up. You can't talk or act like that; it's sick and twisted. Why would you even think about how easy it would be to snap my neck anyway?"

Superboy looked away, hands balling themselves into fists at his sides. He looked angry, but more at himself than somebody else and his jaw clenched tightly as he shook his head vehemently.

Robin stopped seething as he took in Superboy's shaking arms and the almost tortured expression on his face; telltale sign something was wrong. And right then he couldn't help but think it was ironic how Superboy thought he was the breakable one, when it looked like it was the other way around. "You can tell me," Robin said softly, anger draining. "If something's wrong, I mean. I'll understand. I won't be mad." It was true, if Superboy had a reason – a good reason – for his behavior, Robin wouldn't be able to stay mad at him even a little.

Superboy shot him a sideways glance. "I went into the kitchen around two this morning, after we left the meeting room," he started, voice little above a whisper as he stared into the distance again. "I was hungry, so I got an apple. I just picked it up, held it in a normal grip; I wasn't angry or clenching my hand or anything…but as I brought it up to bite into it," he uncurled his hand, staring at it, "I crushed it," now he looked to Robin, "If I could do that accidentally while just holding onto something… I mean, what if I'd been holding onto a person?"

Oh.

Oh.

Now it made sense. Superboy was worried about the same thing Superman had always had a fear of; becoming too powerful and hurting those close to him. I was a real possibility actually, no one really knew how stable Superboy's…'condition' was. Because he was lacking flight and heat vision, more powers might develop later on, as well as what he had now increasing to a point beyond control. Cloning was dangerous for reasons like these.

"Superboy…" Robin reached out and touched Superboy on his arm; feeling the muscles there tighten in response, though the boy in question didn't move an inch. "You were just tired. I wouldn't know because I don't have any, but I'm sure it's hard to manage your powers when your exhausted." He smiled, but it dropped quickly once Superboy began speaking.

"Yeah, I figured. But I'm going to get tired again, it's kind of one those unavoidable things, you know? I don't think I could forgive myself if I ever did what I did to that apple to one of you."

"Well, you don't have to worry about that," Robin said forcefully, startling Superboy into looking up at him. "I know you'll never let it happen; because you can control it. Maybe it'll take some practice and it'll definitely take willpower, but I know you have that and I know you're willing to practice all you have to. And," Robin grinned, "if you do ever slip, I'll catch you."

Superboy looked stunned for a minute, but then a small smile broke out across his face. "Thanks, Robin."

"Don't thank me, because once I catch you…I'll drop you on your big ass so fast it'll make your head spin."

Superboy let out a short laugh and abruptly grabbed Robin, locking him in a sort-of brotherly hug. It only took Robin a second before he got over his surprise and returned the hug, leaning into Superboy's broad shoulder and inhaling his sent of… What the hell was that? Oh, Robin didn't really care; it smelled nice.

"We should probably get back to the kitchen, I'm pretty sure it's been ten minutes," Robin laughed, pulling away and starting toward the door.

"Yeah," Superboy agreed, starting after him. "Oh, and Robin?" he asked as they reached the door.

"Yeah?" Robin paused to look at him.

Superboy shot him a genuine smile, his eyes sparkling, and walked through the door. Over his shoulder as he went he declared, "I feel tated."

A/N the sequel: Well, Robin has that weird word-minus-its-prefix obsession thing in every episode. He had (over/under)whelmed, (dis)turbed, (dis)concerted, and (dis)aster. I heart Robin's Word of the Week. Although I do hope the next one is something without the 'dis' prefix. Anywho, I felt like playing with that here. Hope you all enjoyed reading. Drop me a review if you have the time. :)