The Thief and the Commander : Prologue
Jan. 2nd, 2001 02:15 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
manicdakPrologue: This is Utopia?
The dismal planet of Tarain was a perfect headquarters for the Inter-Galactic Action Squad: the first line of defense in galaxies full of criminals. Being stuck there had never been Robin's life plan. Assignment to headquarters meant either paperwork, endless meetings about I-GAS policy that never really amounted to much more than a waste of time, or the worst assignment of all: Training Commander. When he'd signed up Robin thought he would be spending his time in the organization out in the field, seeing the universe in all its varied colours and diversity. His work in the field had been short lived once he'd passed the recruit stage though. He had suffered a demotion of his own making and found himself back at HQ with the reduced rank of Training Commander Class C, and with the most recent incident regarding one thief, Feliu Viernes, he was sure that he was likely to remain there for the rest of his career if he managed not to get decommissioned completely.
Feliu had often told him that he was too kind and that one day it was going to prove to be his greatest weakness. Robin thought that was maybe why he was there in that moment, awaiting his punishment as he stared out the window onto a cold, muted landscape. He had tried his hardest to project an aura of authority around his charges, but his mistakes were a matter of public record. He was under no illusions that he could keep it a secret from them. He was in charge, though, and he was going to do things the correct way for once and not let his feelings muddle things up.
Yet there he was, awaiting punishment again for something that wasn't his fault, because he felt a responsibility for what had happened with the young Earthian Recruit, Ehrenfried Behrendt.
"Commander Grey?" The High Commander's assistant spoke out, distracting him from his thoughts.
"Yes, Sir." He stood and marched towards the desk.
"The High Commander will see you now." He gestured towards the unlocked door to the office.
Robin steeled himself and pushed his way through the barrier. The High Commander was seated behind his desk; a look of deep concern etched onto his face.
"What happened?" He said as Robin made his way forward.
"It was a mistake, Sir," Robin said. "I should not have left them alone. The Recruit doesn't have the experience."
"So what you're saying is that you lied when you said he was one of our best and brightest?" The High Commander arched a frazzled gray eyebrow at the junior officer.
"Absolutely not, Sir." Robin shook his head slightly. "Behrendt is very promising. He just wasn't ready. I shouldn't have let him come at all. It's just..."
"Just what, Robin?"
Robin pursed his lips and thought for a moment before speaking. "He's just a bit too smart for his own good, Sir."
"This was in no way a...ahhh...an intended mistake?"
Robin tried his best to keep his features impassive. Feliu Veirnes had been caught several times before, and Robin had assured his escape in each and every case. It wasn't hard to believe that he had intentionally let the son of the most wanted pirate in all of the galaxies go free yet again. That was how he had ended up stuck at HQ in the first place after all.
***
Robin Grey was fifteen years old when the trouble started. He had been walking along with his mothers on his way to his first day back at the posh private school that all the children of the Utopian aristocracy attended. He had been dreading it for the entirety of the Utopian season of rest, but it was an unavoidable obstacle. It wasn't that he had any objection to learning, or to having access to the most prestigious academy on the planet. He just didn't fit in with the other children, and he was sure that would have made no difference if he was there or at a common school. The other-world blood that coursed through his veins was becoming more and more visually apparent with each and every passing day, and a season of rest spent out of doors only exacerbated the problem. Just that morning, he had woken up and stared, terrified, at his reflection in the mirror.
He would always look like his father. His eyes were a warm brown, his skin bronzed, and his hair bleached blond by the ever-present rotating quadruple suns of Utopia. It was clear that he wasn't completely Utopian, and for that he was shunned by his peers. To be an other-worlder in their society was a fate worse than death as far as a teenage boy was concerned.
He glanced up at his mothers and cursed the fickle hand of genetics. They were both the epitome of their planet's race; a planet with an idealistic nick-name that never failed to fall short of its promise. Their skin reflected the suns harsh rays instead of absorbing them to create the tanned color and ruddy complexion that Robin felt he was cursed with. Galiana was green eyed and ginger, while Aina had dark hair and blue eyes. Yet there Robin was between them, seemingly every inch the son of a father he never even had the chance to meet.
His parents talked glowingly of the man. He was a highly decorated Time Detective and apparently an exemplary human that had disappeared one day on a routine mission to the past when Robin was only three years old. He hadn't been heard from since, presumably living his life in some forgotten corner of time gone by. It had been twelve years and his identity had been laid to rest in the Inter-Galactic database. Robin couldn't help but look up to the man. He was a hero in the son's eyes, and Robin always thought that one day his father might come back and take him away from Utopia to see the universe in all its wondrous diversity. It was only a dream, he knew, but it kept him going through all the torment the other kids put him through.
"I don't want to go." He tugged at the sleeve of Galiana's tunic. "Tell them I'm sick?"
She glanced momentarily at her wife who sighed and tapped her foot crossly. It was a daily struggle with Robin to get him to go to school, and Aina lacked the saintly patience of her lover.
"Just one moment?" Galiana held up a finger. Only one look at the concerned expression on her face made Aina powerless to resist.
"He's practically an adult," she muttered as she waved a hand towards their son, granting Galiana tacit permission to take a moment to speak to him despite the fact that they were already running late. "He shouldn't behave like such a child."
"I'm not a child." Robin grumbled. "I just don't like those Utopian bastards making fun of me. It's not my fault, is it? Can't you send me to I-GAS Academy? At least if I'm off world I won't look like such a big freak."
"You are not a freak, and you will do no such thing," Galiana chided. "Your education is important, and there is no better school on or off the planet. You will go to university and then, dear...then you may do as you please. If you want to join I-GAS..."
"He will not," Aina interrupted.
They were at odds about their son's aspirations to follow in his father's footsteps by joining the newly created inter-galactic law enforcement agency. His father had suffered the dangers of a life out in the field, and even though I-GAS had minimal jurisdiction in temporal crime, the dangers still existed. Dealing with criminals out in the wilds of space was not a future they wanted for their son.
They argued there on the street and for a moment were distracted enough not to notice the boy that had been trailing them in the shadows. Robin, doing his best to remain calm and not revert to stamping his feet in childish protest at his mothers' insistence on plotting out every inch of his life, noticed him right away.
"Mom?" Robin spoke up to gain her attention. She didn't respond at first so he repeated his efforts.
"Mom. Mom. Mom... Galiana!"
With the utterance of her given name their eyes were finally focused on their son, who was gesturing wildly behind them. His words having failed, he finally reached out and grabbed the wrist of the boy who had sneaked up on them with the intention of stealing the pocketbook from the unzipped purse that hung from Galiana's shoulder.
"Aha! Gotcha!" Robin pulled the boy into their midst. He was clearly Utopian. His ginger hair was wavy and brushed back haphazardly as though he had rolled out of bed and only ran his fingers through it. His pale skin radiated cold and his cheeks showed no color despite his clear surprise at getting caught with his hand in the proverbial cookie jar.
That was the first time Robin laid hands on Feliu Viernes; a thief in progress at the time. He was by no means the master pick-pocket that his father was, but he had never been caught before. The shock of it was enough to make his heart flutter wildly in his chest, and he stared wide eyed at the strange blond kid that had captured him.
Robin yanked Feliu fully into him and whispered, "Drop it!" in as deep and commanding a voice as he could muster at fifteen years of age. When Feliu didn't respond Robin wrenched his arm back behind him until he yowled in dismay.
"Give it back, thief!" Robin snarled at him "Unless you want to lose this arm!"
"Robin!" Aina gasped at him. "Where did you learn that? You let that boy go right this instant, young man! We do not hurt people!"
"But Ma!" Robin whined back at her. "He stole Mom's wallet!"
Feliu took the gap in Robin's attention to wriggle himself into a more comfortable position, but even with his arm unfurled and at his side, Robin's hand remain clamped around his wrist. It had already been a bad morning. He had barely managed to scrape together two gold pieces, and he hadn't even stolen those. He had found them lying in the gutter. Still, the ginger woman had been such an easy mark with her purse gaping open as she jabbered on at her wife that he had to wonder how Robin had managed to grab him before he could scuttle away.
"Is that true?" Galiana turned to Feliu.
He sighed in a resigned manner and put on his most pitiful face.
"Yes, Ma'am." He glanced up at her once with wide blue eyes, then bowed his head in deference towards the stones of the city walkway.
"That isn't very nice. Is it?" she said.
"No, Ma'am."
"What do you say for yourself?"
"I'm sorry, Ma'am." He reached into the pocket of the tattered waistcoat that he was wearing and handed over the pocketbook.
"Thank you." She nodded at him. "Now, are you going to steal anymore?”
"No, Ma'am." He shook his head vigorously in hopes that he would be able to extricate himself from the sticky situation that he had found himself in as soon as he possibly could.
"Be a dear and run along." She smiled at him and waved him away.
He would have run as far and as fast as his legs could have carried him if it weren't for the one thing holding him back. A hand that maintained its vise-like grip.
Robin.
Feliu glanced back at him. The boy had such an odd coloring for a Utopian, yet his fingers had been cool to the touch, and he spoke the language without pause or accent. There was something different about him that Feliu just couldn't put his finger on. It was a puzzle that he suddenly wanted to figure out.
"You can let me go," he said, even though he didn't quite mind Robin holding onto him.
"Go on." Galiana prodded him. Aina had moved to stand beside her, but she still looked cross.
"But Mom!" Robin whined. "We have to take him in!"
"No!" Feliu twisted in his grasp then and tried his best to wriggle away. There would be hell to pay if his father had to spring him from the Utopian Juvenile Detention Center. The man would be disappointed enough that he had been caught at all. Feliu would never tell his father, but somehow the man always knew when he messed things up.
"It's okay, Robin," she said.
Aina tapped her foot again and crossed her arms. "That kid is his father's son. I think Robin's right."
"Please no! I just...I...I can't! Please..." Feliu struggled harder, but it was to no avail.
"He's just a child." Galiana frowned. "Let him go, Robin."
Robin glanced at Aina who reluctantly nodded her head. "We're already late,” she murmured.
He finally released his grip on the thief, but Feliu remained rooted to the spot, staring at the family and rubbing his wrist where he still felt Robin's touch. They remained huddled around him despite Aina's claims of impending tardiness.
"Let's go." He nodded towards the early morning crowd beginning to mill around. Feliu looked at Robin then reached out and tugged on the sleeve of his uniform jacket.
"What?" Robin growled at him and snatched his arm back.
"Show me around," Feliu said. "I'm not really from this city."
Robin's face contorted itself into a confused and dismayed expression. Feliu's heart fell. He had no idea why he was intent on dragging a stranger along with him on his Utopian adventures. He only wanted to figure the kid out. He was Utopian in manner, son of some importance if the school uniform was any indication, yet he looked like an other-worlder. Most of all Robin had bested him where nobody else had. Maybe, Feliu thought, he could learn something.
"You're crazy!" Robin said. He frowned and crossed his arms.
"Come along, dear," Aina said. "We have to go. Leave that...leave him alone."
Robin huffed one last time at Feliu as he passed. Feliu wasted no time in following after them. They walked straight to the Academy and left Robin at the golden gates that walled it off from the rest of the city. He waited until the mothers were out of sight then caught up to Robin as he was crossing the courtyard.
"Robin!" He shouted at him before he could disappear into the building.
He turned around and did nothing to hide the look of annoyance that crossed his face.
"Why won't you leave me alone?" He yelled as Feliu ran up to him.
"You're interesting," he replied.
Robin cast his eyes around at the other students who were milling around.
"You've got to get out of here," he said. "Someone is going to see you." He grabbed Feliu by his shoulders and started pushing him backwards towards the street.
"Come on." Feliu pouted at him. "You're no fun!"
"Who are you?" Robin howled in exasperation. "Just leave me alone!"
Feliu only laughed at him and let himself be pushed. He was content to enjoy Robin's hands on him in any capacity. They had almost reached the gates when they were accosted by a particularly menacing looking group of students.
"Picking up streetlings now, half-breed?" The ringleader said.
Feliu dug his heels in and stood up his full height, indignant on behalf of Robin, who, distracted by bullies, plowed on ahead causing them both to tumble into a heap on the ground.
The other boys snickered and kicked loose gravel at them as they tromped past towards the school entrance.
It took a moment for the boys to gather their wits about them. They struggled into a seated position and regarded each other curiously.
"So that's it?" Feliu finally said. "You're half..."
"Shut-up," Robin muttered an interruption. "It's none of your business, Thief."
"You'll tell me the story one day."
Robin let out a frustrated whine and tugged on his hair. Feliu's heart skipped a beat.
Robin looked up to the sky then planted his gaze directly on Feliu. He was biting his lip and looking indecisive as if he were actually considering confiding. Feliu couldn't have been happier with this revelation.
"You know," he said. "Sometimes it's easier to talk to a stranger."
Robin snorted laughter and shook his head.
"Look," he said. "This has been fun, crazy-stalker-person, but I'm going to be late for class, okay?"
"Forget class." Feliu stood up and offered his hand.
"I have to..."
"One day won't kill you," he said. "Who needs these rigid schools; these golden towers? Not me; not when there's infinite galaxies and times to explore! Shit -- I'm sure there are corners of this shiny planet right here and now that you haven't even thought about!"
Robin stared at his hand and Feliu could practically see the gears in his mind working. The thief barely knew what he was doing himself. All he knew was that whatever it was, he wanted Robin beside him for as long as he could manage.
It took a few minutes of thought, but in the end his wish was granted. Robin reached up and grasped Feliu's hand in his own, and Feliu kept his grip firmly in place even after Robin was on his feet.
"You can let go of me now," Robin said. He wore a smirk on his face as he echoed the words that Feliu had spoken to him not even an hour before.
"Do you really want me to?" Feliu lofted an eyebrow at him.
Robin shrugged. He glanced shyly down at the ground before he spoke.
"Switch hands?" He offered. "So one of us doesn't have to walk backwards?"
"Really?" Feliu was sure he hadn't managed to hide the surprise and glee that leaped into his voice.
Robin only shrugged in response; his eyes firmly affixed to the top of his shoes.
"That was easier than I thought it was going to be." Feliu laughed. "To be honest I'm only half sure you're being serious. The other half of me thinks this is some sort of trick to get me to turn myself in."
"Yeah, no trick,” Robin murmured. "So?"
He gave no more indication as to what had triggered the about face in his attitude, and Feliu gave no further thought to it and only chalked it up to persistence and irresistible charm. They walked away from the school side by side, hands entwined. It was strange, Feliu thought, to be so intimate with a virtual stranger, but it filled him with a warmth that he never experienced when he was living on his father's time ship out in the dark cold discomfort of space.
"So, what now? What galaxies are you going to steal me away to, Thief?" Robin said after a while.
"I have a name, you know," Feliu replied.
"What is it?" Robin asked.
"You first."
"Robin Grey," he said. "But you knew that already."
Robin waited expectantly for Feliu to reciprocate information, but he was hesitant despite his bringing the subject up. His father had always taught him never to give away his name. The less people knew about the real him, the harder it would be for him to be caught. There had been something about Robin from the start, though. Feliu thought his family had been the easiest mark on the block, but that had turned out to be false. Feliu knew he shouldn't have gotten so involved, and if his father were to see him swanning around town, playing house with some boy that he had an inexplicable crush on, the man would surely have his head.
"My name is Feliu Viernes."
"Feliu...That's Utopian," Robin said.
"Robin is not," Feliu replied.
"I told you that's none of your business, Thief...Feliu."
"Okay, so you're a touchy half-breed."
Robin instantly dropped Feliu's hand and crossed his arms defensively.
"Sorry," Feliu murmured. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean that."
"I get a lot of shit because of a choice my parents made. I don't need it from an other-worlder too."
"I'm Utopian," Feliu replied. "You said it yourself just now."
"Your name is," Robin said. "But you have a funny accent. I notice things too. The way you speak, it's like you learned Utopian from...somewhere else."
"Yeah." Feliu bowed his head. "You're right. I grew up in space. My friend taught me. My parents barely ever speak the language any more. They're not very happy that I do either, especially since I speak it with a Biron accent, but I just wanted to know a little bit about where I'm from. You're the only one who's ever caught me, y'know?" He changed the subject. "How did you do that?"
Robin smiled, clearly pleased. "That's for me to know."
They walked along the street aimlessly for a while. Feliu watched Robin out of the corner of his eye.
"What are we doing?" Robin finally asked. "I've never skipped on school before. If I knew it was this easy, I would have done it a lot sooner."
"Nothing." Feliu chuckled. "Enjoying the day as a free man."
"Is that why you steal?" Robin said. "Because you think that's freedom?"
"I know it's not," Feliu replied. "But it's the only thing I know how to do. My father told me how this works though. I'd rather live outside the laws of time. I don't want to be in this system. I don't want a chip implanted in me."
"It's not that bad," Robin muttered as he unconsciously rubbed at his shoulder where his own subdermal info-plant was located. "It's just for everybody's good."
"Yeah, right," Feliu laughed. "You can keep your micro-mechanics. Now let's find a mark."
"What?" Robin stopped his forward progress forcing Feliu to turn around and face him.
"I'm working, and you've already wasted an hour of my time."
"So, I'm a waste of time now?" Robin said.
"No." Feliu reached forward and tugged Robin towards him. "You're going to help me. It'll be fun."
"This is your idea of fun?" Robin frowned.
Feliu stepped up to him, wrapping his hands in Robin's perfectly pressed uniform shirt.
"Have you got a better idea?"
Robin didn't give himself time to think about it. He kissed the boy then as Feliu figured he might. Though he had instigated the confrontation, he was still a bit hesitant as Robin's lips touched his. Being the youngest person on the ship, hopping from place to place and time to time, didn't give him much of an opportunity to spend time with people his own age, let alone spend time kissing people his own age. It was nice though, with Robin's arms around him. They stood there for a time, oblivious to the stream of Utopian pedestrians parting around them.
"Mmmm," Feliu murmured once they'd parted. "That is a better idea."
Robin smiled at him then; a crooked smile with an amused exasperation in his eyes.
"Give me back my wallet, Feliu."
He laughed and mock-pouted at Robin while stamping his foot.
"How do you do that, Grey?"
"I know all your secrets, Feliu," he said. With a laugh he stepped forward and kissed Feliu on the tip of his nose, distracting him momentarily as he nabbed the wallet from where it was hiding in Feliu's waistcoat pocket.
"Not bad," Feliu said. "I'll make a thief of you yet."
Robin chuckled at him and chewed thoughtfully on his lower lip as he considered Feliu's earlier proposal.
"My moms are going to murder me for this," he finally said.
Feliu couldn't help but smile then.
"Look," he said. "It will be easy. Might even make up for lost time. People are really going to trust you in that uniform..."
They plotted and planned and spent the day thieving their way through the city streets, laughing, and running, and having the best time. By the end of they day they found themselves up on the roof of the Council Building divvying up their day's work.
Robin told Feliu that his mothers worked there, and he'd had security clearance all the way to the top of the golden spires. Feliu had been right that morning when he deduced that Robin's family was important, but the possibility of such a connection only flickered across his mind for a moment. Feliu never had a friend before and he didn't think it was worth losing Robin. Robin must have been his friend, because he could see no other reason for the way his delinquencies were being indulged.
"How'd you do?" Robin asked. "Is your dad going to be okay with that?"
"Yeah," Feliu murmured. "It's fine. He'll have to be okay with it. It's only a little bit less than I usually take in on a good day."
"Here." Robin pushed a small pile of cash and jewels at him. "Does that help?"
Feliu shook his head at him. "Fifty-Fifty, Robin. You're my partner today. That is your half."
"I can't take that!" Robin chuckled. "I had fun today, but...my moms will wonder what I did to get all this money while I was skipping out on school. I want you to have it."
"You sure?" Feliu asked. "You could hide it, you know."
"No. Have my take. I mean it," Robin said. "It'll help you out with your dad, won't it?"
"Yeah." Feliu hung his his head. As much as he hated to admit it, his usual take never pleased his father. He was a perpetual disappointment to the man; a pitiful excuse for a pirate's son.
"Is it okay?" Robin asked, sensing the sudden shift in Feliu's disposition. "With your dad?" He scooted closer and hesitated. "I mean...do you really want to be doing this?"
"I don't question your life, okay?" Feliu snapped. "My dad is fine. I love my parents. I love my life. What I shouldn't be doing is hanging out all day with some privileged..."
"I see," Robin interrupted him before Feliu could land the verbal blow. "So it must be really awesome in space if you love it so much."
"It is!" Feliu nodded vigorously as if to convince himself as well as Robin.
"Okay," he replied sceptically. "It just seems like a bit of a shit thing to do; teaching a kid to steal."
"Please, don't question our morals," Feliu said. "We have to do it just to get by. We may be pirates, but at least we're honest, which is more than I can say about the politicians in this building."
"Like my moms?" Robin replied quietly.
"I didn't mean that!" Feliu said. "I really don't want to insult you. They seem like really nice ladies, but do you really think you know what goes on in these golden towers? My father says..."
Feliu could tell that Robin was getting angry. He had schooled his features into a blank slate but the hot flush rising to his face gave him away.
"My moms are the most caring, most wonderful..."
"Look, the sun change!" Feliu blurted out. In a desperate attempt to change the subject, he pointed at the sky.
Robin quieted the defense of his family as he watched one sun fall behind the horizon while another one peeked above it. The entire sky was alight with a soft orange glow as if the whole world was on fire. For once Feliu felt content, as Robin closed the final gap between them, argument forgotten, and placed an arm upon his shoulders.
"It's beautiful," he whispered as he played absently with Feliu's coppery hair.
"I'm sorry," Feliu said.
Robin didn't reply, and Feliu hadn't expected him to. It had been a whirlwind of a day, and Robin had his fair share of surprises for him as well. Connections in the Utopian Council or not, Feliu knew he wasn't going to take advantage. He sat upon one of the golden towers that his father so despised, settled in the embrace of an aristocrat's son as if he belonged there. The planet, those arms, it felt like home.
It was a feeling Feliu knew would never last.
The call back to the Time Ship Darkness came sooner than Feliu hoped it would, after they had gone from the friendly comfort of a hug, to furiously making out, sun change all but forgotten.
"I have to go," Feliu said, as he pushed Robin away and yanked his ICD from his pocket. He stared angrily at the bleating device and resisted the urge to pitch it over the side of the building.
"No, stay." Robin pushed forward and persisted in kissing Feliu's neck. "Stay. You taste like sun fruit!"
"I can't." Feliu stood up and jumped away hastily so he wasn't tempted to accept the offer. He didn't need a troop of pirates coming after him. "It's my dad. I can't..."
"Please?"
"Robin!" Feliu said. "I barely know you really. I can't stay!"
"But I like you," he said. "You don't need to be out there in space. What about school?'
"Robin?" Feliu smiled ruefully at him. "Are you trying to save me? Is that what's happening right now? Because I don't need saving."
"No. I think I'm just being selfish," he admitted. "I never in a million years thought I would ever get a Utopian guy to like me, the way I look...and now one does, and he lives on a flipping spaceship. It's not fair!"
"I'm sorry," Feliu said. "I'd rather live here. It's warm here, but I can't. I have to go home now. I'm sorry."
"Do you want me to walk..."
"No, I can see my way down to the street." Feliu pulled a teleportation key from his pocket and waved it at Robin with a shrug.
"The street? With a Port-Key?"
"Yeah," he said. "I'm not porting to the ship from a restricted area of the Council Tower, Robin. The treasury is in this building. You know that. My dad would see the coordinates I used to jump to the ship. He'd use that information..."
"Would you?" Robin looked suddenly worried.
"I might have at the beginning of the day," he admitted. "Not now though."
"Why not?"
"You're full of questions, aren't you?" Feliu scowled ponderously at him. "I like you, Robin. Isn't that enough? You have my word. It's all a pirate has to give, really."
"That's enough, I guess," he replied; his head down. "Will I see you again?"
"Absolutely," Feliu replied.
Robin's head shot up then, and he looked suddenly hopeful. "Really?"
"Yeah, this is my own time and place," he said. "My father's favorite target. I'll see you again. A pirate's word is true...except when it's not!"
Robin giggled at the joke then sighed with relief and hugged the thief one last time.
Feliu took the sky-ferry to a less densely populated area of the city and took one last look at the Utopian vista. Alpha Circadia, the brightest of the four suns, had fully emerged to replace Gamma Circadia overhead. The last rays of the twilight dawn flickered across the golden towers. He sighed in resignation and flicked the switch on the teleporter. Within moments he found himself in the dim false light of the Darkness.
***
Feliu was true to his word and visited Robin every time the ship visited Utopia. They were always pleased to see each other, and Feliu never left Utopia empty-handed again even though he would never spend another day stealing there. Robin decided that he morally objected to it and had felt so guilty for one day of delinquency that he had confessed to his mothers what he had done as soon as he'd gone home and caught sight of their angry faces. The school, it seemed, had been quick to inform them of his truancy.
They had forgiven him, but they hadn't forgiven Feliu. He could see suspicion in their eyes whenever Robin brought him to the house. Feliu could tell that they didn't approve of Robin spending his allowance money on a thief; the scum of the galaxies. Robin didn't care. He said he would rather enjoy Feliu's company in leisure than spend what little time they had running scams around town on innocent people. He eagerly handed over his allowance every time they got together.
As time wore on it became obvious that Feliu's biannual visits weren't quite enough to build a relationship on. It was hard on Robin, and though Feliu was disappointed, they had decided to remain only friends.
Still, the glare of jealousy that Robin had given him when he'd told the story of how he had lost his virginity to a Biron whilst visiting Yaretzi's home planet, was palpable enough for Feliu to feel guilt over it. (He was her brother, Berilo, and it had been a decidedly awkward and moist affair in his water bed after sharing several liters of lilly wine. Feliu didn't regret it though. It had been quite an experience. Birons glowed brighter when they were aroused, and he'd kept accidentally poking Berilo in the gills when they tried to kiss. Sex with otherworldly humans was always a learning experience, virgin or no, and Feliu thought he had been lucky to find one so remarkably patient.)
It took them approximately five years to come to the conclusion that they no longer were satisfied with being just friends. Feliu's rank among his father's crew had been increasing steadily through the years and he had won the privilege of his own small satellite transport ship. He could visit Utopia whenever he wanted and the increased frequency of his presence on the planet gave he and Robin a small chance at something approaching normal.
They talked about space. They talked about time, and their hopes for the future. Feliu envisioned happily traveling the galaxies together as his mother and father had. He would talk for ages about all the things he'd seen and all the beautiful things he wanted to show Robin, who had yet to venture off-planet. They would sit on the sofa in the apartment that Robin's mothers had given him upon turning eighteen. Robin would listen intently and nod along when he felt like a response was needed. Feliu should have realized something was wrong. Robin could be stubbornly tight lipped about things, like his father, and the fact that he had made a decision that was going to affect both of their lives forever. Feliu realized too late that in the end, that he couldn't give Robin what he wanted, whatever that was.
As far as ultimatums went it wasn't the most demanding one. It was a soft spoken request on his 23rd birthday for Feliu to stay. He had been quiet all night while Feliu had chatted his ear away, and the words had come as a complete surprise. Feliu had been excited to tell him that his father had given him his first real solo project with his own team and everything. He was happy to have won that kind of approval from the man. Robin had only smiled wanly at his enthusiasm and spent the rest of the evening looking mildly stressed out.
"I have a job to do," Feliu told him once the request had slid out of Robin's lips. "I'm expected back in ten hours, and it's going to take me most of that to get back to where the ship is. My satellite doesn't have porting capabilities, and father won't let me have a TTD. I could steal one, but he'd know..."
"I know," Robin interrupted him. "Just stay."
Feliu hadn't realized it until the words had been repeated that they held a sort of permanence. Robin was asking him to stay forever; to leave his old life behind.
Feliu hesitated, and that was enough of an answer. Before he could reply, Robin slammed a fist on this thigh and whined in frustration.
"I get it," he said. "I can't do this anymore, Feliu."
"What?"
"I'm joining I-GAS in the morning," he said.
"What!"
He looked down at his hands and shrugged.
I-GAS. It was the law enforcement agency that was the latest thorn in the interstellar pirate consortium's side. Robin knew that.
"Why?" Feliu said.
"I just... I have to."
"You don't have to," he replied. "You don't have to do anything! You..."
Feliu was panicking and stood up in alarm.
"Look," Robin said; his eyes remained fixed to a spot on the floor. "A lot of my friends are joining. Well...my only friend besides you is joining and my father was... I just..."
"I get it," Feliu muttered. "You want to fight the good fight. You're a good guy. You want to see the universe. I don't blame you. It's amazing. But what about us? What about our plans?"
"Your plans," he murmured.
Feliu bit his lip in an effort to keep his gut reaction in check, which was to fly into a rage and scream at Robin about how difficult it was for him to break away from the ship just to be with him as often as he could when all Robin had to do was live his life in one place and time. After taking a moment to calm down, Feliu was filled with a sad realization. He had always assumed Robin had been on the same page, but it just wasn't true. In his mind they had been together for years, but for all the time he managed away from space-bound duties, the actual number of days they were together couldn't have numbered more than a few months. It wasn't enough after all. He was holding Robin back, and it wasn't fair.
"Let's go to bed," Robin filled the silence in the room with the soft sound of his voice. He stood up and offered his hand. Feliu thought he should have been angry, and maybe he should have stomped out of the home in a huff and never spoken to him again, but he didn't. He couldn't. Instead he took Robin's hand and was led to the bedroom that they had shared whenever they had the chance. There would be time enough to hate everything in the morning.
It was a distracted evening. Robin did his best to make it a pleasant experience, but the only thing running through Feliu's mind was how it might be the last night they ever spent together. He might never touch Robin or see him again. It seemed an abrupt end to an affair that had never had a real chance to get going. Robin deserved more than an on again off again relationship with the son of a pirate. Feliu couldn't help but be disappointed. He had all the time in the universe, but it still hadn't left enough time for them.
Robin said goodbye to his mothers the next morning. Feliu stood waiting so they could fly together to the nearest I-GAS recruitment center on Birosphere while they told him how proud they were. From the looks they were giving Feliu, it was clear that they disapproved of his presence. He knew they thought he wasn't good enough for Robin, and he was just coming to that realization himself.
When they arrived at Birosphere, they stood outside the recruitment center there, Feliu with his head in Robin's hands while he rubbed his thumbs over Feliu's cheeks as if committing his face to memory. Robin smiled after a moment and tapped the side of the sunspecs that Feliu wore and laughed.
"I've never seen you wear these. I thought you'd have the lens implants. Deep space isn't exactly known for its abundance of sunlight."
"You don't have lenses." Feliu pouted at him. "Why should I?"
"I don't need them." He shrugged and looked suddenly forlorn. "Just another thing my father left me so I can feel like a freak of nature on my home planet."
"Well, I'd hardly be bitter about not inheriting Utopian night blindness." Feliu chuckled and wondered at how there were still so many things left to discover about Robin that he was never going to know. It was depressing.
"Mother Aina doesn't want me to go. She wants me to be a politician, maybe make it to council one day, but... Mother Galiana is supportive. It's just something I must do, Feliu. I don't mean to hurt your feelings. It was hard, but I had to make a decision with what to do with my life. I want to make a difference, and I don't want it to be talking in buildings all day to do it. I told you about my dad," he said.
Feliu nodded. "He was a detective. I see where this is going."
"I can't be stuck in a Utopian tower day after day; not after everything you've told me about what's out there. I've never even been off planet and look!"
He made a sweeping gesture towards the surroundings. The trees of the Biron rain forests rose up all around them, the humidity was hard to breath through, and it was generally a hot, wet and uncomfortable experience for non-Birons. Robin was standing there with his eyes filled with excitement at the prospect of heading off into even more uncomfortable spaces to take out bad guys one at a time.
"Join with me," he said; his head suddenly snapping back down to look Feliu in the eye with unbridled enthusiasm. "It'll be fun. You can still be in space and you won't have to do all that crap your father makes you do."
"No." Feliu shook his head.
"But Feliu..."
"I can't, Robin," he said. "It isn't that easy for me. You have a spotless record. I don't even have an infoplant. Do you realize how suspicious that is? One scan and I'd be found out before I could even sign the paperwork. I'd be incarcerated for the rest of my life. The things I've done... I have no choice. You're the one who has the choice, Robin."
He hugged Feliu close to him then, kissed his head, and stroked his hair.
"Make me a better offer then."
Feliu guessed that all he had to do was push the words out of his mouth. “ Come with me, Robin. Sign on with the Darkness; I'll show you the universe myself.” He couldn't bring myself to do it though.
Robin believed in everything good in the world and the only reason Feliu felt he even had a sense of right and wrong was because of him. He didn't want to take that away from Robin, so he let him go that morning. With one last kiss, Robin trudged towards the recruitment center, moving slowly as if waiting for Feliu to shout after him. Feliu only watched him go and waved as he reached the door and looked back.
The rainforest was depressing that day, and the thought of going back to the ship even more so.
Next
The dismal planet of Tarain was a perfect headquarters for the Inter-Galactic Action Squad: the first line of defense in galaxies full of criminals. Being stuck there had never been Robin's life plan. Assignment to headquarters meant either paperwork, endless meetings about I-GAS policy that never really amounted to much more than a waste of time, or the worst assignment of all: Training Commander. When he'd signed up Robin thought he would be spending his time in the organization out in the field, seeing the universe in all its varied colours and diversity. His work in the field had been short lived once he'd passed the recruit stage though. He had suffered a demotion of his own making and found himself back at HQ with the reduced rank of Training Commander Class C, and with the most recent incident regarding one thief, Feliu Viernes, he was sure that he was likely to remain there for the rest of his career if he managed not to get decommissioned completely.
Feliu had often told him that he was too kind and that one day it was going to prove to be his greatest weakness. Robin thought that was maybe why he was there in that moment, awaiting his punishment as he stared out the window onto a cold, muted landscape. He had tried his hardest to project an aura of authority around his charges, but his mistakes were a matter of public record. He was under no illusions that he could keep it a secret from them. He was in charge, though, and he was going to do things the correct way for once and not let his feelings muddle things up.
Yet there he was, awaiting punishment again for something that wasn't his fault, because he felt a responsibility for what had happened with the young Earthian Recruit, Ehrenfried Behrendt.
"Commander Grey?" The High Commander's assistant spoke out, distracting him from his thoughts.
"Yes, Sir." He stood and marched towards the desk.
"The High Commander will see you now." He gestured towards the unlocked door to the office.
Robin steeled himself and pushed his way through the barrier. The High Commander was seated behind his desk; a look of deep concern etched onto his face.
"What happened?" He said as Robin made his way forward.
"It was a mistake, Sir," Robin said. "I should not have left them alone. The Recruit doesn't have the experience."
"So what you're saying is that you lied when you said he was one of our best and brightest?" The High Commander arched a frazzled gray eyebrow at the junior officer.
"Absolutely not, Sir." Robin shook his head slightly. "Behrendt is very promising. He just wasn't ready. I shouldn't have let him come at all. It's just..."
"Just what, Robin?"
Robin pursed his lips and thought for a moment before speaking. "He's just a bit too smart for his own good, Sir."
"This was in no way a...ahhh...an intended mistake?"
Robin tried his best to keep his features impassive. Feliu Veirnes had been caught several times before, and Robin had assured his escape in each and every case. It wasn't hard to believe that he had intentionally let the son of the most wanted pirate in all of the galaxies go free yet again. That was how he had ended up stuck at HQ in the first place after all.
***
Robin Grey was fifteen years old when the trouble started. He had been walking along with his mothers on his way to his first day back at the posh private school that all the children of the Utopian aristocracy attended. He had been dreading it for the entirety of the Utopian season of rest, but it was an unavoidable obstacle. It wasn't that he had any objection to learning, or to having access to the most prestigious academy on the planet. He just didn't fit in with the other children, and he was sure that would have made no difference if he was there or at a common school. The other-world blood that coursed through his veins was becoming more and more visually apparent with each and every passing day, and a season of rest spent out of doors only exacerbated the problem. Just that morning, he had woken up and stared, terrified, at his reflection in the mirror.
He would always look like his father. His eyes were a warm brown, his skin bronzed, and his hair bleached blond by the ever-present rotating quadruple suns of Utopia. It was clear that he wasn't completely Utopian, and for that he was shunned by his peers. To be an other-worlder in their society was a fate worse than death as far as a teenage boy was concerned.
He glanced up at his mothers and cursed the fickle hand of genetics. They were both the epitome of their planet's race; a planet with an idealistic nick-name that never failed to fall short of its promise. Their skin reflected the suns harsh rays instead of absorbing them to create the tanned color and ruddy complexion that Robin felt he was cursed with. Galiana was green eyed and ginger, while Aina had dark hair and blue eyes. Yet there Robin was between them, seemingly every inch the son of a father he never even had the chance to meet.
His parents talked glowingly of the man. He was a highly decorated Time Detective and apparently an exemplary human that had disappeared one day on a routine mission to the past when Robin was only three years old. He hadn't been heard from since, presumably living his life in some forgotten corner of time gone by. It had been twelve years and his identity had been laid to rest in the Inter-Galactic database. Robin couldn't help but look up to the man. He was a hero in the son's eyes, and Robin always thought that one day his father might come back and take him away from Utopia to see the universe in all its wondrous diversity. It was only a dream, he knew, but it kept him going through all the torment the other kids put him through.
"I don't want to go." He tugged at the sleeve of Galiana's tunic. "Tell them I'm sick?"
She glanced momentarily at her wife who sighed and tapped her foot crossly. It was a daily struggle with Robin to get him to go to school, and Aina lacked the saintly patience of her lover.
"Just one moment?" Galiana held up a finger. Only one look at the concerned expression on her face made Aina powerless to resist.
"He's practically an adult," she muttered as she waved a hand towards their son, granting Galiana tacit permission to take a moment to speak to him despite the fact that they were already running late. "He shouldn't behave like such a child."
"I'm not a child." Robin grumbled. "I just don't like those Utopian bastards making fun of me. It's not my fault, is it? Can't you send me to I-GAS Academy? At least if I'm off world I won't look like such a big freak."
"You are not a freak, and you will do no such thing," Galiana chided. "Your education is important, and there is no better school on or off the planet. You will go to university and then, dear...then you may do as you please. If you want to join I-GAS..."
"He will not," Aina interrupted.
They were at odds about their son's aspirations to follow in his father's footsteps by joining the newly created inter-galactic law enforcement agency. His father had suffered the dangers of a life out in the field, and even though I-GAS had minimal jurisdiction in temporal crime, the dangers still existed. Dealing with criminals out in the wilds of space was not a future they wanted for their son.
They argued there on the street and for a moment were distracted enough not to notice the boy that had been trailing them in the shadows. Robin, doing his best to remain calm and not revert to stamping his feet in childish protest at his mothers' insistence on plotting out every inch of his life, noticed him right away.
"Mom?" Robin spoke up to gain her attention. She didn't respond at first so he repeated his efforts.
"Mom. Mom. Mom... Galiana!"
With the utterance of her given name their eyes were finally focused on their son, who was gesturing wildly behind them. His words having failed, he finally reached out and grabbed the wrist of the boy who had sneaked up on them with the intention of stealing the pocketbook from the unzipped purse that hung from Galiana's shoulder.
"Aha! Gotcha!" Robin pulled the boy into their midst. He was clearly Utopian. His ginger hair was wavy and brushed back haphazardly as though he had rolled out of bed and only ran his fingers through it. His pale skin radiated cold and his cheeks showed no color despite his clear surprise at getting caught with his hand in the proverbial cookie jar.
That was the first time Robin laid hands on Feliu Viernes; a thief in progress at the time. He was by no means the master pick-pocket that his father was, but he had never been caught before. The shock of it was enough to make his heart flutter wildly in his chest, and he stared wide eyed at the strange blond kid that had captured him.
Robin yanked Feliu fully into him and whispered, "Drop it!" in as deep and commanding a voice as he could muster at fifteen years of age. When Feliu didn't respond Robin wrenched his arm back behind him until he yowled in dismay.
"Give it back, thief!" Robin snarled at him "Unless you want to lose this arm!"
"Robin!" Aina gasped at him. "Where did you learn that? You let that boy go right this instant, young man! We do not hurt people!"
"But Ma!" Robin whined back at her. "He stole Mom's wallet!"
Feliu took the gap in Robin's attention to wriggle himself into a more comfortable position, but even with his arm unfurled and at his side, Robin's hand remain clamped around his wrist. It had already been a bad morning. He had barely managed to scrape together two gold pieces, and he hadn't even stolen those. He had found them lying in the gutter. Still, the ginger woman had been such an easy mark with her purse gaping open as she jabbered on at her wife that he had to wonder how Robin had managed to grab him before he could scuttle away.
"Is that true?" Galiana turned to Feliu.
He sighed in a resigned manner and put on his most pitiful face.
"Yes, Ma'am." He glanced up at her once with wide blue eyes, then bowed his head in deference towards the stones of the city walkway.
"That isn't very nice. Is it?" she said.
"No, Ma'am."
"What do you say for yourself?"
"I'm sorry, Ma'am." He reached into the pocket of the tattered waistcoat that he was wearing and handed over the pocketbook.
"Thank you." She nodded at him. "Now, are you going to steal anymore?”
"No, Ma'am." He shook his head vigorously in hopes that he would be able to extricate himself from the sticky situation that he had found himself in as soon as he possibly could.
"Be a dear and run along." She smiled at him and waved him away.
He would have run as far and as fast as his legs could have carried him if it weren't for the one thing holding him back. A hand that maintained its vise-like grip.
Robin.
Feliu glanced back at him. The boy had such an odd coloring for a Utopian, yet his fingers had been cool to the touch, and he spoke the language without pause or accent. There was something different about him that Feliu just couldn't put his finger on. It was a puzzle that he suddenly wanted to figure out.
"You can let me go," he said, even though he didn't quite mind Robin holding onto him.
"Go on." Galiana prodded him. Aina had moved to stand beside her, but she still looked cross.
"But Mom!" Robin whined. "We have to take him in!"
"No!" Feliu twisted in his grasp then and tried his best to wriggle away. There would be hell to pay if his father had to spring him from the Utopian Juvenile Detention Center. The man would be disappointed enough that he had been caught at all. Feliu would never tell his father, but somehow the man always knew when he messed things up.
"It's okay, Robin," she said.
Aina tapped her foot again and crossed her arms. "That kid is his father's son. I think Robin's right."
"Please no! I just...I...I can't! Please..." Feliu struggled harder, but it was to no avail.
"He's just a child." Galiana frowned. "Let him go, Robin."
Robin glanced at Aina who reluctantly nodded her head. "We're already late,” she murmured.
He finally released his grip on the thief, but Feliu remained rooted to the spot, staring at the family and rubbing his wrist where he still felt Robin's touch. They remained huddled around him despite Aina's claims of impending tardiness.
"Let's go." He nodded towards the early morning crowd beginning to mill around. Feliu looked at Robin then reached out and tugged on the sleeve of his uniform jacket.
"What?" Robin growled at him and snatched his arm back.
"Show me around," Feliu said. "I'm not really from this city."
Robin's face contorted itself into a confused and dismayed expression. Feliu's heart fell. He had no idea why he was intent on dragging a stranger along with him on his Utopian adventures. He only wanted to figure the kid out. He was Utopian in manner, son of some importance if the school uniform was any indication, yet he looked like an other-worlder. Most of all Robin had bested him where nobody else had. Maybe, Feliu thought, he could learn something.
"You're crazy!" Robin said. He frowned and crossed his arms.
"Come along, dear," Aina said. "We have to go. Leave that...leave him alone."
Robin huffed one last time at Feliu as he passed. Feliu wasted no time in following after them. They walked straight to the Academy and left Robin at the golden gates that walled it off from the rest of the city. He waited until the mothers were out of sight then caught up to Robin as he was crossing the courtyard.
"Robin!" He shouted at him before he could disappear into the building.
He turned around and did nothing to hide the look of annoyance that crossed his face.
"Why won't you leave me alone?" He yelled as Feliu ran up to him.
"You're interesting," he replied.
Robin cast his eyes around at the other students who were milling around.
"You've got to get out of here," he said. "Someone is going to see you." He grabbed Feliu by his shoulders and started pushing him backwards towards the street.
"Come on." Feliu pouted at him. "You're no fun!"
"Who are you?" Robin howled in exasperation. "Just leave me alone!"
Feliu only laughed at him and let himself be pushed. He was content to enjoy Robin's hands on him in any capacity. They had almost reached the gates when they were accosted by a particularly menacing looking group of students.
"Picking up streetlings now, half-breed?" The ringleader said.
Feliu dug his heels in and stood up his full height, indignant on behalf of Robin, who, distracted by bullies, plowed on ahead causing them both to tumble into a heap on the ground.
The other boys snickered and kicked loose gravel at them as they tromped past towards the school entrance.
It took a moment for the boys to gather their wits about them. They struggled into a seated position and regarded each other curiously.
"So that's it?" Feliu finally said. "You're half..."
"Shut-up," Robin muttered an interruption. "It's none of your business, Thief."
"You'll tell me the story one day."
Robin let out a frustrated whine and tugged on his hair. Feliu's heart skipped a beat.
Robin looked up to the sky then planted his gaze directly on Feliu. He was biting his lip and looking indecisive as if he were actually considering confiding. Feliu couldn't have been happier with this revelation.
"You know," he said. "Sometimes it's easier to talk to a stranger."
Robin snorted laughter and shook his head.
"Look," he said. "This has been fun, crazy-stalker-person, but I'm going to be late for class, okay?"
"Forget class." Feliu stood up and offered his hand.
"I have to..."
"One day won't kill you," he said. "Who needs these rigid schools; these golden towers? Not me; not when there's infinite galaxies and times to explore! Shit -- I'm sure there are corners of this shiny planet right here and now that you haven't even thought about!"
Robin stared at his hand and Feliu could practically see the gears in his mind working. The thief barely knew what he was doing himself. All he knew was that whatever it was, he wanted Robin beside him for as long as he could manage.
It took a few minutes of thought, but in the end his wish was granted. Robin reached up and grasped Feliu's hand in his own, and Feliu kept his grip firmly in place even after Robin was on his feet.
"You can let go of me now," Robin said. He wore a smirk on his face as he echoed the words that Feliu had spoken to him not even an hour before.
"Do you really want me to?" Feliu lofted an eyebrow at him.
Robin shrugged. He glanced shyly down at the ground before he spoke.
"Switch hands?" He offered. "So one of us doesn't have to walk backwards?"
"Really?" Feliu was sure he hadn't managed to hide the surprise and glee that leaped into his voice.
Robin only shrugged in response; his eyes firmly affixed to the top of his shoes.
"That was easier than I thought it was going to be." Feliu laughed. "To be honest I'm only half sure you're being serious. The other half of me thinks this is some sort of trick to get me to turn myself in."
"Yeah, no trick,” Robin murmured. "So?"
He gave no more indication as to what had triggered the about face in his attitude, and Feliu gave no further thought to it and only chalked it up to persistence and irresistible charm. They walked away from the school side by side, hands entwined. It was strange, Feliu thought, to be so intimate with a virtual stranger, but it filled him with a warmth that he never experienced when he was living on his father's time ship out in the dark cold discomfort of space.
"So, what now? What galaxies are you going to steal me away to, Thief?" Robin said after a while.
"I have a name, you know," Feliu replied.
"What is it?" Robin asked.
"You first."
"Robin Grey," he said. "But you knew that already."
Robin waited expectantly for Feliu to reciprocate information, but he was hesitant despite his bringing the subject up. His father had always taught him never to give away his name. The less people knew about the real him, the harder it would be for him to be caught. There had been something about Robin from the start, though. Feliu thought his family had been the easiest mark on the block, but that had turned out to be false. Feliu knew he shouldn't have gotten so involved, and if his father were to see him swanning around town, playing house with some boy that he had an inexplicable crush on, the man would surely have his head.
"My name is Feliu Viernes."
"Feliu...That's Utopian," Robin said.
"Robin is not," Feliu replied.
"I told you that's none of your business, Thief...Feliu."
"Okay, so you're a touchy half-breed."
Robin instantly dropped Feliu's hand and crossed his arms defensively.
"Sorry," Feliu murmured. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean that."
"I get a lot of shit because of a choice my parents made. I don't need it from an other-worlder too."
"I'm Utopian," Feliu replied. "You said it yourself just now."
"Your name is," Robin said. "But you have a funny accent. I notice things too. The way you speak, it's like you learned Utopian from...somewhere else."
"Yeah." Feliu bowed his head. "You're right. I grew up in space. My friend taught me. My parents barely ever speak the language any more. They're not very happy that I do either, especially since I speak it with a Biron accent, but I just wanted to know a little bit about where I'm from. You're the only one who's ever caught me, y'know?" He changed the subject. "How did you do that?"
Robin smiled, clearly pleased. "That's for me to know."
They walked along the street aimlessly for a while. Feliu watched Robin out of the corner of his eye.
"What are we doing?" Robin finally asked. "I've never skipped on school before. If I knew it was this easy, I would have done it a lot sooner."
"Nothing." Feliu chuckled. "Enjoying the day as a free man."
"Is that why you steal?" Robin said. "Because you think that's freedom?"
"I know it's not," Feliu replied. "But it's the only thing I know how to do. My father told me how this works though. I'd rather live outside the laws of time. I don't want to be in this system. I don't want a chip implanted in me."
"It's not that bad," Robin muttered as he unconsciously rubbed at his shoulder where his own subdermal info-plant was located. "It's just for everybody's good."
"Yeah, right," Feliu laughed. "You can keep your micro-mechanics. Now let's find a mark."
"What?" Robin stopped his forward progress forcing Feliu to turn around and face him.
"I'm working, and you've already wasted an hour of my time."
"So, I'm a waste of time now?" Robin said.
"No." Feliu reached forward and tugged Robin towards him. "You're going to help me. It'll be fun."
"This is your idea of fun?" Robin frowned.
Feliu stepped up to him, wrapping his hands in Robin's perfectly pressed uniform shirt.
"Have you got a better idea?"
Robin didn't give himself time to think about it. He kissed the boy then as Feliu figured he might. Though he had instigated the confrontation, he was still a bit hesitant as Robin's lips touched his. Being the youngest person on the ship, hopping from place to place and time to time, didn't give him much of an opportunity to spend time with people his own age, let alone spend time kissing people his own age. It was nice though, with Robin's arms around him. They stood there for a time, oblivious to the stream of Utopian pedestrians parting around them.
"Mmmm," Feliu murmured once they'd parted. "That is a better idea."
Robin smiled at him then; a crooked smile with an amused exasperation in his eyes.
"Give me back my wallet, Feliu."
He laughed and mock-pouted at Robin while stamping his foot.
"How do you do that, Grey?"
"I know all your secrets, Feliu," he said. With a laugh he stepped forward and kissed Feliu on the tip of his nose, distracting him momentarily as he nabbed the wallet from where it was hiding in Feliu's waistcoat pocket.
"Not bad," Feliu said. "I'll make a thief of you yet."
Robin chuckled at him and chewed thoughtfully on his lower lip as he considered Feliu's earlier proposal.
"My moms are going to murder me for this," he finally said.
Feliu couldn't help but smile then.
"Look," he said. "It will be easy. Might even make up for lost time. People are really going to trust you in that uniform..."
They plotted and planned and spent the day thieving their way through the city streets, laughing, and running, and having the best time. By the end of they day they found themselves up on the roof of the Council Building divvying up their day's work.
Robin told Feliu that his mothers worked there, and he'd had security clearance all the way to the top of the golden spires. Feliu had been right that morning when he deduced that Robin's family was important, but the possibility of such a connection only flickered across his mind for a moment. Feliu never had a friend before and he didn't think it was worth losing Robin. Robin must have been his friend, because he could see no other reason for the way his delinquencies were being indulged.
"How'd you do?" Robin asked. "Is your dad going to be okay with that?"
"Yeah," Feliu murmured. "It's fine. He'll have to be okay with it. It's only a little bit less than I usually take in on a good day."
"Here." Robin pushed a small pile of cash and jewels at him. "Does that help?"
Feliu shook his head at him. "Fifty-Fifty, Robin. You're my partner today. That is your half."
"I can't take that!" Robin chuckled. "I had fun today, but...my moms will wonder what I did to get all this money while I was skipping out on school. I want you to have it."
"You sure?" Feliu asked. "You could hide it, you know."
"No. Have my take. I mean it," Robin said. "It'll help you out with your dad, won't it?"
"Yeah." Feliu hung his his head. As much as he hated to admit it, his usual take never pleased his father. He was a perpetual disappointment to the man; a pitiful excuse for a pirate's son.
"Is it okay?" Robin asked, sensing the sudden shift in Feliu's disposition. "With your dad?" He scooted closer and hesitated. "I mean...do you really want to be doing this?"
"I don't question your life, okay?" Feliu snapped. "My dad is fine. I love my parents. I love my life. What I shouldn't be doing is hanging out all day with some privileged..."
"I see," Robin interrupted him before Feliu could land the verbal blow. "So it must be really awesome in space if you love it so much."
"It is!" Feliu nodded vigorously as if to convince himself as well as Robin.
"Okay," he replied sceptically. "It just seems like a bit of a shit thing to do; teaching a kid to steal."
"Please, don't question our morals," Feliu said. "We have to do it just to get by. We may be pirates, but at least we're honest, which is more than I can say about the politicians in this building."
"Like my moms?" Robin replied quietly.
"I didn't mean that!" Feliu said. "I really don't want to insult you. They seem like really nice ladies, but do you really think you know what goes on in these golden towers? My father says..."
Feliu could tell that Robin was getting angry. He had schooled his features into a blank slate but the hot flush rising to his face gave him away.
"My moms are the most caring, most wonderful..."
"Look, the sun change!" Feliu blurted out. In a desperate attempt to change the subject, he pointed at the sky.
Robin quieted the defense of his family as he watched one sun fall behind the horizon while another one peeked above it. The entire sky was alight with a soft orange glow as if the whole world was on fire. For once Feliu felt content, as Robin closed the final gap between them, argument forgotten, and placed an arm upon his shoulders.
"It's beautiful," he whispered as he played absently with Feliu's coppery hair.
"I'm sorry," Feliu said.
Robin didn't reply, and Feliu hadn't expected him to. It had been a whirlwind of a day, and Robin had his fair share of surprises for him as well. Connections in the Utopian Council or not, Feliu knew he wasn't going to take advantage. He sat upon one of the golden towers that his father so despised, settled in the embrace of an aristocrat's son as if he belonged there. The planet, those arms, it felt like home.
It was a feeling Feliu knew would never last.
The call back to the Time Ship Darkness came sooner than Feliu hoped it would, after they had gone from the friendly comfort of a hug, to furiously making out, sun change all but forgotten.
"I have to go," Feliu said, as he pushed Robin away and yanked his ICD from his pocket. He stared angrily at the bleating device and resisted the urge to pitch it over the side of the building.
"No, stay." Robin pushed forward and persisted in kissing Feliu's neck. "Stay. You taste like sun fruit!"
"I can't." Feliu stood up and jumped away hastily so he wasn't tempted to accept the offer. He didn't need a troop of pirates coming after him. "It's my dad. I can't..."
"Please?"
"Robin!" Feliu said. "I barely know you really. I can't stay!"
"But I like you," he said. "You don't need to be out there in space. What about school?'
"Robin?" Feliu smiled ruefully at him. "Are you trying to save me? Is that what's happening right now? Because I don't need saving."
"No. I think I'm just being selfish," he admitted. "I never in a million years thought I would ever get a Utopian guy to like me, the way I look...and now one does, and he lives on a flipping spaceship. It's not fair!"
"I'm sorry," Feliu said. "I'd rather live here. It's warm here, but I can't. I have to go home now. I'm sorry."
"Do you want me to walk..."
"No, I can see my way down to the street." Feliu pulled a teleportation key from his pocket and waved it at Robin with a shrug.
"The street? With a Port-Key?"
"Yeah," he said. "I'm not porting to the ship from a restricted area of the Council Tower, Robin. The treasury is in this building. You know that. My dad would see the coordinates I used to jump to the ship. He'd use that information..."
"Would you?" Robin looked suddenly worried.
"I might have at the beginning of the day," he admitted. "Not now though."
"Why not?"
"You're full of questions, aren't you?" Feliu scowled ponderously at him. "I like you, Robin. Isn't that enough? You have my word. It's all a pirate has to give, really."
"That's enough, I guess," he replied; his head down. "Will I see you again?"
"Absolutely," Feliu replied.
Robin's head shot up then, and he looked suddenly hopeful. "Really?"
"Yeah, this is my own time and place," he said. "My father's favorite target. I'll see you again. A pirate's word is true...except when it's not!"
Robin giggled at the joke then sighed with relief and hugged the thief one last time.
Feliu took the sky-ferry to a less densely populated area of the city and took one last look at the Utopian vista. Alpha Circadia, the brightest of the four suns, had fully emerged to replace Gamma Circadia overhead. The last rays of the twilight dawn flickered across the golden towers. He sighed in resignation and flicked the switch on the teleporter. Within moments he found himself in the dim false light of the Darkness.
***
Feliu was true to his word and visited Robin every time the ship visited Utopia. They were always pleased to see each other, and Feliu never left Utopia empty-handed again even though he would never spend another day stealing there. Robin decided that he morally objected to it and had felt so guilty for one day of delinquency that he had confessed to his mothers what he had done as soon as he'd gone home and caught sight of their angry faces. The school, it seemed, had been quick to inform them of his truancy.
They had forgiven him, but they hadn't forgiven Feliu. He could see suspicion in their eyes whenever Robin brought him to the house. Feliu could tell that they didn't approve of Robin spending his allowance money on a thief; the scum of the galaxies. Robin didn't care. He said he would rather enjoy Feliu's company in leisure than spend what little time they had running scams around town on innocent people. He eagerly handed over his allowance every time they got together.
As time wore on it became obvious that Feliu's biannual visits weren't quite enough to build a relationship on. It was hard on Robin, and though Feliu was disappointed, they had decided to remain only friends.
Still, the glare of jealousy that Robin had given him when he'd told the story of how he had lost his virginity to a Biron whilst visiting Yaretzi's home planet, was palpable enough for Feliu to feel guilt over it. (He was her brother, Berilo, and it had been a decidedly awkward and moist affair in his water bed after sharing several liters of lilly wine. Feliu didn't regret it though. It had been quite an experience. Birons glowed brighter when they were aroused, and he'd kept accidentally poking Berilo in the gills when they tried to kiss. Sex with otherworldly humans was always a learning experience, virgin or no, and Feliu thought he had been lucky to find one so remarkably patient.)
It took them approximately five years to come to the conclusion that they no longer were satisfied with being just friends. Feliu's rank among his father's crew had been increasing steadily through the years and he had won the privilege of his own small satellite transport ship. He could visit Utopia whenever he wanted and the increased frequency of his presence on the planet gave he and Robin a small chance at something approaching normal.
They talked about space. They talked about time, and their hopes for the future. Feliu envisioned happily traveling the galaxies together as his mother and father had. He would talk for ages about all the things he'd seen and all the beautiful things he wanted to show Robin, who had yet to venture off-planet. They would sit on the sofa in the apartment that Robin's mothers had given him upon turning eighteen. Robin would listen intently and nod along when he felt like a response was needed. Feliu should have realized something was wrong. Robin could be stubbornly tight lipped about things, like his father, and the fact that he had made a decision that was going to affect both of their lives forever. Feliu realized too late that in the end, that he couldn't give Robin what he wanted, whatever that was.
As far as ultimatums went it wasn't the most demanding one. It was a soft spoken request on his 23rd birthday for Feliu to stay. He had been quiet all night while Feliu had chatted his ear away, and the words had come as a complete surprise. Feliu had been excited to tell him that his father had given him his first real solo project with his own team and everything. He was happy to have won that kind of approval from the man. Robin had only smiled wanly at his enthusiasm and spent the rest of the evening looking mildly stressed out.
"I have a job to do," Feliu told him once the request had slid out of Robin's lips. "I'm expected back in ten hours, and it's going to take me most of that to get back to where the ship is. My satellite doesn't have porting capabilities, and father won't let me have a TTD. I could steal one, but he'd know..."
"I know," Robin interrupted him. "Just stay."
Feliu hadn't realized it until the words had been repeated that they held a sort of permanence. Robin was asking him to stay forever; to leave his old life behind.
Feliu hesitated, and that was enough of an answer. Before he could reply, Robin slammed a fist on this thigh and whined in frustration.
"I get it," he said. "I can't do this anymore, Feliu."
"What?"
"I'm joining I-GAS in the morning," he said.
"What!"
He looked down at his hands and shrugged.
I-GAS. It was the law enforcement agency that was the latest thorn in the interstellar pirate consortium's side. Robin knew that.
"Why?" Feliu said.
"I just... I have to."
"You don't have to," he replied. "You don't have to do anything! You..."
Feliu was panicking and stood up in alarm.
"Look," Robin said; his eyes remained fixed to a spot on the floor. "A lot of my friends are joining. Well...my only friend besides you is joining and my father was... I just..."
"I get it," Feliu muttered. "You want to fight the good fight. You're a good guy. You want to see the universe. I don't blame you. It's amazing. But what about us? What about our plans?"
"Your plans," he murmured.
Feliu bit his lip in an effort to keep his gut reaction in check, which was to fly into a rage and scream at Robin about how difficult it was for him to break away from the ship just to be with him as often as he could when all Robin had to do was live his life in one place and time. After taking a moment to calm down, Feliu was filled with a sad realization. He had always assumed Robin had been on the same page, but it just wasn't true. In his mind they had been together for years, but for all the time he managed away from space-bound duties, the actual number of days they were together couldn't have numbered more than a few months. It wasn't enough after all. He was holding Robin back, and it wasn't fair.
"Let's go to bed," Robin filled the silence in the room with the soft sound of his voice. He stood up and offered his hand. Feliu thought he should have been angry, and maybe he should have stomped out of the home in a huff and never spoken to him again, but he didn't. He couldn't. Instead he took Robin's hand and was led to the bedroom that they had shared whenever they had the chance. There would be time enough to hate everything in the morning.
It was a distracted evening. Robin did his best to make it a pleasant experience, but the only thing running through Feliu's mind was how it might be the last night they ever spent together. He might never touch Robin or see him again. It seemed an abrupt end to an affair that had never had a real chance to get going. Robin deserved more than an on again off again relationship with the son of a pirate. Feliu couldn't help but be disappointed. He had all the time in the universe, but it still hadn't left enough time for them.
Robin said goodbye to his mothers the next morning. Feliu stood waiting so they could fly together to the nearest I-GAS recruitment center on Birosphere while they told him how proud they were. From the looks they were giving Feliu, it was clear that they disapproved of his presence. He knew they thought he wasn't good enough for Robin, and he was just coming to that realization himself.
When they arrived at Birosphere, they stood outside the recruitment center there, Feliu with his head in Robin's hands while he rubbed his thumbs over Feliu's cheeks as if committing his face to memory. Robin smiled after a moment and tapped the side of the sunspecs that Feliu wore and laughed.
"I've never seen you wear these. I thought you'd have the lens implants. Deep space isn't exactly known for its abundance of sunlight."
"You don't have lenses." Feliu pouted at him. "Why should I?"
"I don't need them." He shrugged and looked suddenly forlorn. "Just another thing my father left me so I can feel like a freak of nature on my home planet."
"Well, I'd hardly be bitter about not inheriting Utopian night blindness." Feliu chuckled and wondered at how there were still so many things left to discover about Robin that he was never going to know. It was depressing.
"Mother Aina doesn't want me to go. She wants me to be a politician, maybe make it to council one day, but... Mother Galiana is supportive. It's just something I must do, Feliu. I don't mean to hurt your feelings. It was hard, but I had to make a decision with what to do with my life. I want to make a difference, and I don't want it to be talking in buildings all day to do it. I told you about my dad," he said.
Feliu nodded. "He was a detective. I see where this is going."
"I can't be stuck in a Utopian tower day after day; not after everything you've told me about what's out there. I've never even been off planet and look!"
He made a sweeping gesture towards the surroundings. The trees of the Biron rain forests rose up all around them, the humidity was hard to breath through, and it was generally a hot, wet and uncomfortable experience for non-Birons. Robin was standing there with his eyes filled with excitement at the prospect of heading off into even more uncomfortable spaces to take out bad guys one at a time.
"Join with me," he said; his head suddenly snapping back down to look Feliu in the eye with unbridled enthusiasm. "It'll be fun. You can still be in space and you won't have to do all that crap your father makes you do."
"No." Feliu shook his head.
"But Feliu..."
"I can't, Robin," he said. "It isn't that easy for me. You have a spotless record. I don't even have an infoplant. Do you realize how suspicious that is? One scan and I'd be found out before I could even sign the paperwork. I'd be incarcerated for the rest of my life. The things I've done... I have no choice. You're the one who has the choice, Robin."
He hugged Feliu close to him then, kissed his head, and stroked his hair.
"Make me a better offer then."
Feliu guessed that all he had to do was push the words out of his mouth. “ Come with me, Robin. Sign on with the Darkness; I'll show you the universe myself.” He couldn't bring myself to do it though.
Robin believed in everything good in the world and the only reason Feliu felt he even had a sense of right and wrong was because of him. He didn't want to take that away from Robin, so he let him go that morning. With one last kiss, Robin trudged towards the recruitment center, moving slowly as if waiting for Feliu to shout after him. Feliu only watched him go and waved as he reached the door and looked back.
The rainforest was depressing that day, and the thought of going back to the ship even more so.
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