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Upon waking up that morning, Sportacus felt a bit… off.
He knew he had enough sleep and yet, there was this lingering sense of tiredness, like he only rested for a handful of hours. A tickle settled at the back of his throat, not enough to make him cough but prominent enough that he could feel it there. When he inhaled through his nose, a small sniffle accompanied it. There was also the slight twinge between his temples and like the tickle, it was small yet distracting enough.
A slight frown marred his features. While he didn’t know what this all meant, it shouldn’t stop him from going about his day. Sportacus went through the motions of his morning routine, this time taking a quick shower beforehand since he felt a little sticky in his clothes. Once he brushed his teeth and munched on an apple, he went out onto the deck.
Ignoring the small bout of dizziness when he glanced down, he took out his spyglass and checked the town below. It was easy to find the kids, who looked like they were in the midst of shooting some hoops. What surprised him was the sight of the local villain that was napping underneath a nearby tree. Robbie wasn’t the type to stay so close to what he deemed was a noisy bunch when he wanted to nap so he wondered what brought upon the change of heart today.
Oh well, he could probably ask him later. Sportacus placed away the spyglass before heading down. Today he opted for the ladder instead of jumping straight down. Just the thought of free falling made his stomach churn slightly for some reason.
Once he was safely on the ground, he started to flip towards the field. After about the fourth flip, the elf stopped, one hand cradling his head while his other supported himself on a nearby wall. Woah, that was dizzying. Sportacus had long since trained himself to withstand such sensations when he did his stunts but that didn’t seem like the case today.
Perhaps it had something to do with how off he felt since he woke up. Maybe his body felt more tired than usual. He did exert himself yesterday when he had to run through some heavy rain after he saved that adventurous little kitten. Well, he should probably take it a little easy today. No need to let that stop him from encouraging the children to be more active.
With that, Sportacus continued to make his way to the field, breaking out into a light jog this time. The moment he reached his destination, the hero waved at the kids.
“Hey Sportacus!” Stephanie greeted him first, pausing the game as to run up to him. The rest followed suit, giving their own greetings in the process.
He chuckled for a moment. “Hello everyone! What are you playing?”
“We’re playing basketball! Whoever gets the most points win!” Trixie answered, grinning widely. No doubt she was taking it quite seriously.
“Can I join in?” Of course he received a chorus of agreements. To make it fair for the kids, he gave himself a handicap by using only his non dominant hand and to shoot with one eye closed. With that, they resumed the match.
For the next twenty minutes, everyone was running around, trying to defend the ball or grab it. There were a lot of shots that missed but the few that did get in got praises from Sportacus. He felt proud of the kids for doing as well as they did even when he still had an advantage despite having one hand behind his back.
Though, that might be due to the increasing lightheaded feeling that he was getting the longer he played. Sportacus tried to ignore it, focusing more on the match at hand. Sometimes it felt like there were two balls instead of one and when he went to shoot, closing one eye made it a lot more disorienting than it should have been.
It reached a point where he completely missed a throw, his hand swiping at nothing but thin air. The ball bounced towards Robbie, who by then was awake and shooting glares at them. Surprisingly, he didn’t complain when Sportacus went up to grab the ball. Robbie’s expression shifted from annoyance to what looked like mild confusion when he looked up at him.
Sportacus didn’t get to question the odd look when the kids called for him. The hero returned to the game though it was obvious that he really was getting worse. He missed more throws, shoot the ball way over the net and generally ran a little less than the kids.
“Alright Sportacus, are you okay?” Stephanie, who had been watching the slow deterioration, finally voiced out her concern.
Sportacus found himself pinned by five pairs – though he felt like there was another at the back of his head – of eyes. The hero swallowed before plastering on what he hoped was an assuring smile.
“I’m fine! Don’t worry about me!”
“Are you really sure? You’re not acting like yourself,” Pixel asked this time.
Another okay was on his lips but upon seeing the surprisingly intense stares burrowing deep into his soul, his mouth suddenly felt dry. Truthfully, it was a bit of a lie when he claimed that he felt alright. The symptoms seemed to have worsen and while it wasn’t really bad, it did make him feel uncomfortable.
Sportacus flashed them a weak smile. “Maybe I do feel a bit tired. I didn’t get a good night’s rest. Really though, it’s fine!” There, that should do it.
The children looked unconvinced with his excuse. “Maybe you should go and sit down for a bit? Once you feel rested, you can join back in!” Stephanie suggested, her wide eyes staring pleadingly at him.
When faced with that look, Sportacus really stood no chance. “Okay then. I’ll go sit over there.” His smile was a bit smaller than before. “I’ll join all of you again a bit later.”
With that, he turned and headed towards Robbie’s tree. Sportacus felt bad that he had to leave a game like that but like Stephanie suggested, a little bit of rest should help him feel better.
Robbie was still sitting there, his gaze trained on him up until he sat down next to him. Sportacus didn’t sit too close, knowing how the other felt about personal space. Leaning back against the rough tree trunk, he finally let loose a quiet sigh. The slight dizziness was still there, as was the iron that weighed his body down.
Sportacus brought one hand up to knead his forehead to ease up the dull headache pounding almost sluggishly. With how he was feeling, doing flips and whatnot didn’t seem like the safest thing to do now. Well, he probably just needed some rest. Then he’d be right as rain and can continue on to play with the kids.
Too caught up in his own silent misery, he missed the way Robbie’s expression twisted into what looked like concern. A plan was formulating in his brilliant mind the longer he stared at the unwell hero.
When he made his decision, Robbie scooted a little closer.
“Hey Sportadork,” he called out, forcing him to frown as to throw off any suspicion. “You look like you did one flip too many. Something made the hero be like this? Why wasn’t I informed?”
Sportacus looked up in surprise, his hand falling limply on his lap. Once the shock of Robbie actually talking to him wore off, his lips formed a wan smile. “It’s nothing really. I just didn’t get enough sleep last night. Some rest would do me some good.” It would have been convincing if he wasn’t rubbing his arms to stave off the sudden chill.
Robbie raised one eyebrow, unimpressed. “Even a monkey can tell that you’re not feeling the best.” He brought his hands together and made a show of rubbing them gleefully. “Which means that if I kidnap you right now, you’d be powerless to resist.”
It was Sportacus’ turn to raise an eyebrow. He wasn’t worried with Robbie’s claim. If anything, he was curious as to where he was going with this. “For a possible kidnapping, it doesn’t look like a great start if you’re telling me about it.”
Robbie purposely ignored the statement. “Ah, I’ll take you back to my lair, where it’s cool and quiet. I don’t have any cages prepared but I can certainly improvise with my orange fuzzy chair and a wooly blanket. There’s nothing my brilliant mind can’t solve!”
By this point, Sportacus could tell what Robbie was up to and fought the urge to smile. He knew that Robbie was secretly a softy. To even extend this roundabout offer to him made him feel warm inside.
“Well, I suppose I am powerless if you were to kidnap me right now,” Sportacus mused out loud, hiding a grin at Robbie’s surprised look. “My body certainly feels sore and achy.” Here, the hero dropped all pretenses, wincing slightly when sitting up straighter caused his muscles to cry out.
Robbie smothered the concern before it colored his expression and instead, crossed his arms. “Well then, that makes things even easier. You can’t stop me if I drag you by the arm right now.” The man quickly got to his feet, looking expectantly at his rival.
Sportacus joined him, though slower and more careful. Once the ground stopped waving around, he extended his arm towards Robbie. The villain quickly grabbed hold, lightly tugging so Sportacus would follow. They walked at a steady pace, making it halfway before a thought crossed his mind. Sportacus slowed down, which made Robbie look back.
“Oh no, if I… get kidnapped, what would happen if the kids got in trouble?” He wore a worried frown, glancing over his shoulder at the field where the kids were at. Robbie heaved out a sigh, tugging once again.
“Once you’re trapped, I’ll wear my Sportafake suit and mingle with the brats. It’s easy to tell them to be lazy and stay out of trouble for the day,” Robbie spoke without looking back and once again, Sportacus felt warmth coursing through his veins. When he put it that way, it would be rude of him to waste Robbie’s effort. When you get kidnapped, you should follow the kidnapper’s orders, right?
It wasn’t long before the pair reached the hatch. Robbie let go of his arm, the sudden loss of touch making Sportacus feel sad for a moment. Then the villain ordered him to get in first ‘just so he couldn’t do any last minute escape’. The hero flashed him a quick smile before he climbed down. By the time his feet touched the floor, he was a little winded, his muscles aching something fierce.
The lair was cooler, causing him to shiver as he looked around. Robbie came in seconds later, walking past him towards his orange chair. He quickly pulled out the recliner, fluffing up the pillow before he turned back around.
“Take off your braces, vest and hat. Kidnapper’s orders,” he exclaimed, shooting him a pointed look at his hat in particular.
Sportacus chuckled nervously, his gaze flickering from Robbie to the chair. He was okay with everything else but his hat…
“Do I really have to?” He pleaded, baby blue eyes wide and hopeful.
Robbie looked unimpressed, though his cheeks did gain a reddish tint to it. “I know that you’re an elf, Sportanerd. It’s easy to make out based from all the evidence.” At Sportacus stunned look, he rolled his eyes with a huff. “If I wanted to use it against you, I wouldn’t have gone through the trouble of kidnapping you in the first place.”
Sportacus’ unnerving stare lasted a while longer before he blinked, looking almost bashful. “Well, okay then.” While he still felt a little nervous, Robbie was sincere with his statement. His instincts told him so. He then slowly unclasped his bracers, shrugged off his vest and after a moment’s hesitation, pulled off his hat.
Curly golden locks tumbled loose, his pointed ears on full display. Truthfully, leaving them out in the open in front of someone else for the first time in years ignited a sense of vulnerability though he was quick to stamp it down. Robbie wouldn’t do anything unsavory for him, not when he was showing that he cared, even if he tried to act like it wasn’t.
Looking at the villain in question, he found himself at the end of a curious stare. Again, his cheeks were tinged with red and when he realized he was caught, he coughed into his fist. He jerked a thumb at the chair.
“Go and sit so I can trap you properly.” Sportacus fought back the smile that crept up his features. He made himself comfortable on the chair, leaning back with a pleased sigh. The material felt soft and cozy underneath his weary body. No wonder Robbie loved to sit in it. For his smaller and shorter frame, the chair could almost pass off as a bed. Sleep tugged at his consciousness the longer he let his body relaxed.
Sportacus’ eyes fluttered open when he felt something draped over him. It was a purple blanket with orange stripes patterned on it. He sleepily watched as Robbie pulled it up to his chin before tucking him in. Once done, he took a step back and nodded in satisfaction.
“There. Even you will have a hard time breaking through those restraints.” It wasn’t like he even wanted to. Everything just felt so warm and comfortable that for the first time in a long while, Sportacus was content with simply staying still and be lazy.
“Yeah… I can’t free myself…” Sportacus murmured, his eyes sliding shut. “Your plan’s… success… feel… lazy…”
Before he completely slipped into slumber, Sportacus swore that he felt cool fingers brushing back his bangs, making him feel safe and comforted.
Robbie watched the steady rise and fall of his nemesis’ chest. Well, by this point, he didn’t even know if that was who Sportacus was to him. Over time, he found that his heart wasn’t really into his schemes to drive Sportanut out of town. He claimed himself to be a villain but in the face of someone who continuously showed nothing but kindness despite everything that he did, it made Robbie think.
Something had certainly changed in their relationship. He couldn’t tell exactly what it was but it didn’t feel unpleasant. Sportacus had extended his friendship many times before, only to be slapped aside each time. Still, he didn’t give up in his pointless endeavor, showing a fierce sort of determination yet still gentle in its essence.
Like a sun that shone its rays indiscriminately to all, its warmth eventually got to Robbie. The cold exterior that he kept up slowly melted. Robbie became more tolerant when it came to the elf, his plans no longer put him in any real danger and he found him to actually be likeable, when he didn’t flip around of course.
Robbie was feeling emotions he never thought he would and even more surprising, he was acting upon them. When he saw how Sportacus looked unwell, a desire to help sparked within him. The hero was always saving others, putting his own wellbeing below the needs of the people. When the roles reversed, who could be the hero to help him?
Seeing Sportacus like that was an unpleasant feeling. Even if he tried to ignore it, he couldn’t smother down his want to make him feel better. Which was why he concocted this whole ‘kidnapping’, even if was just a weak curtain to hide his true intentions. If it was anyone else, Robbie would have felt offended at their willingness to humor him.
Since it was Sportacus, he simply felt relieved that he didn’t have to do anything else to get him back to his lair.
His fingers unconsciously brushed back a few fringes before he stood to full height. Robbie turned to the display cases, where one of them held his fake Sportacus outfit. If he wanted to keep the elf trapped down here, he couldn’t let that crystal beep. Keeping the kids out of trouble should be easy enough, at least he hoped so.
Rubbing the back of his neck with a sigh, Robbie went to the cases. Taking out the suit, he changed into them with an easy sort of twirl and a dash of magic. The material stuck to his skin comfortably and he smoothed it down once before he went to the hatch, making sure to exit as quietly as possible.
Robbie took his time to go back to the field, letting his thoughts wander to just about everything. By the time he reached his destination, the kids were still at it, passing the ball around before one of them tried to shoot it into the hoop.
It was the pink girl who noticed him first. Her eyes found his, a strangely intense look that made a shiver travel down his spin before her face lit up with a huge smile.
“Sportacus!” She greeted, effectively stopping the game. The kids turned to him, their faces mirroring hers. They quickly went up to him, chatting excitedly by how they were glad that he was feeling better. Being crowded made him a tad uncomfortable but he managed to stay in character, even going so far as to absentmindedly pat the candy child on the head when he hugged his leg.
“I’m so happy that you look better!” Stephanie chirped, her hands clasped behind her back. Again, he had this strange feeling that she knew something that he didn’t but he pushed aside that thought. Robbie had a role to play and being the Master of Disguise meant that he shouldn’t make any mistakes if he wanted to hold on to that title.
Perhaps some part of him just wanted Sportacus to really stay down there and rest up but that was beside the point.
“Yes, well, just a quick rest was all I needed,” Robbie replied, injecting cheeriness in his tone as he awkwardly performed the hero’s standard pose.
“Do you think you feel okay enough to play with us?” The candy child asked hopefully, those big eyes staring up at him. “I want you on my team!”
That stirred up a round of complaints with the rest of the children wanting him to be on their team too. Robbie felt a strange feeling stirring within him, one that grew stronger after he gently suggested to them that he could take turns being on different teams. He never knew that he was even capable of being this… considerate, especially when it came to the noisy kids.
Well, if he was building up a tolerance to the loud elf, then he supposed it was only natural that he did the same with the children.
Robbie wasn’t given time to ponder on his thoughts. They started the game up and it wasn’t long before he was defending the ball from his opponents, who tried to dodge and weave as they waited for a chance to snatch the ball.
The villain found himself honestly enjoying the game. While it made his body ached, it was a pleasant kind of ache if that made any sense. He supposed it was the genuine good feeling that he had whenever one of them passed the ball to him, trusting that he would score their next point. When he did, he would be on the receiving end of congratulations and leg hugs, making him smile and laugh.
It took a while before Robbie realized that he was having fun.
They played until the sun started to set. As the kids slowly went back to their respective homes, Robbie still felt that warm fuzzy feeling within him, even as he was certain he’d crash for the next month. He waved goodbye until it was only the pink child left in his company. Just like him, she was sweaty and flushed from exertion but her expression spoke of nothing but happiness.
“That was really fun, wasn’t it?” She turned to ask him, her smile as bright as the sun.
“Yes… yes it was,” Robbie found himself responding, flashing her a small smile in return.
She didn’t say anything for a moment, simply smiling at him before she tucked a loose bit of hair behind her ear. “You know, I’ve been meaning to tell you this. Thank you very much for what you did today.”
“For playing? I do that everyday with all of you,” Robbie replied in character.
Stephanie giggled for a moment. “Well… Sportacus does. You, not so much.”
Before Robbie could even begin to say anything, she continued to speak. “I saw how you took Sportacus somewhere earlier. I know that you’re not going to hurt him so I was relieved because he really didn’t look well. When you came back, I just had a feeling that it was you and not him. It was easier to tell the longer we played and I think the others noticed too but we were having so much fun with you that we didn’t say anything.”
At the end of her explanation, Robbie felt a whole myriad of emotions. Surprise that the pink child could be so observant, annoyed at himself for having his disguise be seen through so easily, that odd warm feeling at the knowledge that despite that, the kids were having fun playing with him. They knew he wasn’t Sportacus and still wanted him to play with them.
“We like playing with you, Robbie. Sometimes your plans aren’t so fun but there’s plenty of times where we really like what you did. There’s never a boring time in LazyTown with you around and honestly, we want to see you outside more,” Stephanie spoke in a tone that was beyond her age, leaving Robbie a little speechless.
“Well, it’s time for me to head back. Uncle Milford will get worried if I stayed outside any longer.” Before he could stop her, she gave him a quick hug, pulled back with a grin and then heading back to her home.
“Tell Sportacus I hope he’ll feel better soon!” She called out before disappearing completely from view. Robbie merely stood where he was, his mind buzzing with thoughts as he took in everything that he just learnt.
This was going to keep him up, he just knew it. At least he didn’t have to use the chair for tonight. Judging from how he looked earlier, Robbie wouldn’t be surprised if the elf continued to sleep the rest of the night away.
(Well, it was time for him to return back to his lair. If he plucked off a few of those horrid sportscandy on the way back with the thought that the hero would be hungry later, it was just a way for him to stop the whining before it happened really).
While he had been surprised that he slept the entire day, he woke up the next morning feeling decidedly better. Still a little sore and achy but much better than before. And hungry as well, which was easily fixed when he found a couple of apples sitting on a nearby table.
Only one person could have done this and once more, he felt warmth flooding his system. Sportacus picked up one of the apples, inspected it for a moment before he took a bite. The crisp, sweet taste jumpstarted his body, sending a surge of energy that he desperately needed yesterday. Instead of eating just a bite, he ate most of the apple, chewing almost thoughtfully as his mind wandered to the person who showed him kindness when he needed it.
Where was Robbie, he wondered. Was the villain in his lair? Perhaps he was tinkering away somewhere. Sportacus felt certain that Robbie was safe so he didn’t get too worked up on his thoughts. After he finished off his apple, he got to his feet, stretching out the kinks before he eyed the hatch. He had already imposed on Robbie long enough but leaving without saying a word just didn’t feel right.
After a moment of thought, he decided he could repay breakfast by making something for Robbie. While Sportacus would have preferred to prepare a healthy meal for Robbie, he had limited options once he rummaged through the kitchen. In the end, he made a stack of pancakes through a premade mix and while he couldn’t taste the end creation, it looked edible enough.
He left it on the kitchen table with a cover on top, placing a thank you note beside it before he left the lair, a spring to his steps and a feeling like he was on top of the world.
About three weeks had passed since that day. Sportacus had found out through the kids that at the time he was confined in a fluffy prison, Robbie played with them, looking like he genuinely had fun. Everyone expressed similar thoughts, collectively agreeing that Robbie was a lot of fun to play with when he wasn’t scheming and they would absolutely love to have him as a playmate again.
That certainly gave Sportacus food for thought. While he wished he was there to see the villain have fun, it still made him happy to know that he was getting exercise and enjoying it at the same time. The kids told him that if Robbie ever wanted to play with them again, they would accept him with open arms. Sportacus doubted that he would do so on his own free will, even if they told him that directly.
When Sportacus and the kids noticed that they hadn’t seen Robbie outside in a while, he decided that it was time to give him a little push.
The next day, Sportacus made sure to make himself look tired. While his ears were still covered, he let a bit of hair fall out, given the impression that he didn’t bother to put it on properly. He then did around ten minutes of intense exercise until he felt that good kind of burn in his muscles. As one final touch, he rubbed his eyes till they became a little red.
Once his preparations were done, Sportacus entered the town, making sure he staggered past Robbie’s lair. Upon noticing the absence of the periscope he saw just seconds prior, he bit back the urge to celebrate. Robbie noticed then. Good.
Sportacus went to sit on a nearby bench, resting his head in his hands. All he needed to do now was wait, which didn’t take long at all. About a couple of minutes passed before he heard footsteps approaching.
“Sportadork?” He heard Robbie ask and felt a hand on his shoulder. Suppressing the urge to smile, Sportacus did his best to look tired when he turned to look up at the villain.
“Oh, hey Robbie,” he answered, flashing him a small smile. Ignoring the surprised (and concerned) look, he leaned back, letting his eyes droop. “What are you doing out here?”
There was a few seconds of silence, which stretched on for Sportacus. Maintaining his act was a bit difficult when he just wanted to smile but thankfully, Robbie finally gave an answer.
“Well, I saw that it’s the perfect opportunity to kidnap you again. You look like you can’t fight your way out of a paper bag.”
Biting his inner cheek, Sportacus impressively remained in character. “Another kidnapping? So soon after the last one? What if there’s trouble and I wasn’t there to save people?”
Robbie rolled his eyes as he let out a huff. “It’s very easy for me to disguise myself as you and make the kids lazy for the day. It’s nothing a villain of my caliber can’t handle.”
Sportacus acted like he was contemplating on it, even when he made this decision well before he came here. Letting loose a sigh, he slowly got to his feet, one hand cradling his head.
“As you say, I am powerless and completely at your mercy.” While he laid it on a little thick, Robbie still grabbed hold of his hand just like that day, going through the same motions until he was comfortably tucked into his orange prison.
“Mmm… I feel myself getting lazy…” Sportacus murmured, letting his eyes slide shut. He evened out his breathing, acting like he had fallen asleep. It really took a lot of willpower to not react at the soft touches that brushed back his bangs but he persevered.
Once he was absolutely certain that Robbie had left his lair, Sportacus opened his eyes and sat up, finally letting himself smile brightly. He got out of the chair and headed to the periscope. Waiting a couple of minutes just to be certain, he then used it to search for Robbie.
Sportacus looked at the park first and found the man in question. He was donning the replica of his suit, running around with Pixel and Trixie as they kicked a ball around. The other kids were cheering for them, each one sporting a smile that reminded him of his love for this town and its people.
The elf focused on Robbie, who genuinely looked like he was having a blast. Seeing him smile so freely sent another jolt of warmth through his body. He really looked like he was a part of the kids, playing around without a care in the world.
Robbie really should smile more. He looked really nice when he did, Sportacus thought with a silly smile on his lips.
Perhaps one day, he would be able to persuade Robbie to play together with them so that everyone could have fun. For now, he was content to watch the kids play with the enigmatic man that made him feel all warm and happy inside.