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Robin hissed, rubbing his shoulder with one hand as he followed Kon through the winding passageways back out the way they had come, sneaking past guard posts now empty as the shifts changed, and passing through unmonitored rooms with convenient air ducts that could be snuck into. It was a simple mission, get in, get some information on the layout, guards, and security system, and get back out.
Apart from Kon accidentally slamming Robin shoulder first into a steel support beam on the way out, it went smoothly. A lot of climbing over steel catwalks and other support systems, hiding in spaces way too cramped for the both of them and getting dragged around as the brute unceremoniously pulled Robin into places he couldn’t normally reach without the ability to fly.
The lack of guards was surprising, as well as the lax security system, although Robin wasn’t sure what he expected. He definitely didn’t expect the constant up and down, climbing over things and pushing heavy objects as quietly as they could to clear some entrances and hide their exits.
Robin’s entire body felt tense, a buzzing sensation bubbling up just under his skin the longer they went without being detected as if one wrong move would throw the whole mission into the gutter. Kon didn’t seem to share the same concern.
Empty hallways passed, corners turned without detection, and walls scaled to get up into the ceiling. They maneuvered around the guards expertly and stayed well within their rights in the shadows.
Nothing ended up happening. It was easy, seamless, and got them valuable information that could be used on a future mission with all of them present. Just like the mission description had stated, it was a simple in and out, just with a lot of added exertion from all the tight corners and barely managed climbs.
Not to mention his now bruised shoulder thanks to Kon which made it difficult to pull himself up anywhere without some assistance.
They slipped out of the building undetected and took a moment to reconvene hidden behind some nearby foliage. Robin crouched down next to Kon, sharing the pictures he had taken and talking through some of the information they gathered, but it was really just a standard collection of thoughts to make sure they had what they needed before they left for good.
“Could have gotten more pictures of that guard there,” Kon said playfully, pointing to a picture of a female guard in uniform, her face partly obscured by shadows. Robin rolled his eyes and elbowed him in the ribs. Kon just laughed quietly, covering his mouth with one hand to stifle his giggles.
“Shut up, let's just go back,” Robin hissed, scrubbing his hand down his face and tucking the camera away.
“You’re right she’s probably not even that pretty under the uniform,” Kon continued, rubbing his chin as if deep in thought. Robin elbowed him again but he just swatted his hand away and laughed. Robin didn’t have the energy left to deal with his jokes.
“Come on,” Robin took a second to breathe and then pushed himself back up to his feet carefully, the adrenaline of the mission starting to drain from his body, leaving him shaky and feeling very much like a wet blanket had just draped over his shoulders.
“Yeah, yeah, I’m coming,” Kon pushed himself up, following after Robin while they walked a safe distance away to remain undetected. He nudged Robin with his shoulders every once in a while, making it seem like an accident. Robin didn’t acknowledge his playful annoyances.
They walked in silence for a few moments, only until they were far enough away that if Kon flew them out of there it would go unnoticed. They stopped once they were in a decent clearing, far enough away from the facility that no suspecting onlookers might notice them. It was pretty dark out anyway, even the moon was obscured by clouds.
“Your shoulder feeling any better?” Kon asked casually, tilting his head to the side and turning to glance at Robin briefly before he turned back to the bumpy ground, kicking a loose rock in the dirt.
“You nearly pulled it out of the socket,” Robin huffed, rubbing his injured shoulder again. It was still throbbing lightly and probably swollen, but he could still move it at least, not without some pain, but that was better than it being dislocated.
“Sorry,” Kon said so genuinely it nearly took Robin by surprise, “I’ll work on that.”
“It’s fine, it happens,” Robin tried to shrug although it fell short with a sharp pain in his shoulder. He tried not to let it show on his face, although he was sure that Kon noticed. He always seemed to notice and Robin hated that about him.
“Do you want to get on my back and I’ll carry you that way?” Kon suggested, awkwardly miming whatever carrying position he had in mind while Robin watched in awe of his horrible recreation. “That way I won’t be tugging on your shoulders at all.”
He must feel bad about the injury. It was written all over his face even though he liked to pretend that he was better at hiding his emotions than he was. His small playful smile didn’t fully reach his eyes, and the way he wouldn’t fully look at Robin told him everything.
“Sure,” Robin agreed because it really didn’t matter to him, they needed to get back to the base somehow. And whatever way would leave him the least injured would be preferable.
Kon smiled much more genuinely this time and knelt down with his back to Robin. Robin awkwardly climbed onto his back, he had never been embarrassed about Kon carrying him, since it was just a convenient way to get around, but that didn’t make it any less awkward every time. He threw his arms around Kon’s shoulders tightly, trying not to choke him while Kon hooked his arms around Robin’s thighs, making sure he was comfortably secured (or as comfortable as he could be).
“Ready?” Kon asked, standing up straight, Robin’s slight weight nothing to him.
“Yeah,” Robin tried not to dig his nails into Kon’s shoulders, pretending he trusted Kon not to drop him. He had never done so before—hell Kon had actually caught Robin a few times when he fell from something—but there was always the worry in the back of his mind before they fully got in the air.
Then Kon lifted them both up into the air, it was almost like taking off in a plane, except this time the pilot was an annoying teenager who was still growing into his powers. Robin tightened his grip around Kon, not used to being carried on Kon’s back like this. Normally it was much more sketchy, with Kon’s arms barely wrapped underneath his armpits, or Kon’s grasp on his arms the only thing holding him up.
Robin had to admit this was kind of nice, a lot more secure at least, he didn’t have to worry about Kon suddenly dropping him since honestly, it would be a lot more difficult to let go.
The wind felt cold on his face, gusts of air pushing his hair back away from his forehead, causing him to squint, his stomach doing small flips as they dipped and bobbed a bit until Kon got them both steady.
“Nice out tonight,” Kon mumbled, and Robin couldn’t tell if he was talking to himself or not, because usually he couldn’t ever hear Kon over the sound of the wind. Kon could usually hear Robin, but his responses were often lost to the open sky.
“A little chilly,” Robin commented, although the chill felt nice after however long of being cooped up in a building far too warm. His face was hot... the cold felt nice.
Kon said nothing at that, meandering casually through the air, fast enough to get them out of sight from the facility quickly, but then once he was far enough away he slowed down, allowing the breeze to carry them ever so softly. Robin tightened his grip around his shoulders and buried his face against the back of his neck, taking deep breaths to calm himself down from the excitement.
It had been a long few days, patrol at night, the occasional mission during the day, training, schoolwork, and barely any time to sleep (not that he ever really used that time for sleep anyway). He wondered if Kon was feeling the strain as well, although there was a lot less pressure on him, who only occasionally came on late-night missions with Robin and actually seemed to get a good night's sleep.
He could probably get a few hours of sleep tonight, all he had to do was compile the photos and evidence they had gathered from this mission into something easy to present to the group. That might only take him an hour or two, maybe less if he convinced Kon to help (although he doubted that would be accomplishable). It was a little bit past one in the morning at the moment, so he would have some time to get that done no problem.
The idea of sleep entered his mind, something he had been avoiding the past few days in favor of getting work, training, and patrol done. Something he already had a hard time indulging in without all the work piled on top of it.
Robin found that he was exhausted, something not unusual, but still annoying. He’d get some coffee or an energy drink once they got back to the base and that should get him through the night so he could finish what he needed and move on. Then he could rest for a few hours.
Kon adjusted his hold on Robin which suddenly jolted him out of his thoughts, he realized he had his face buried into Kon’s shoulders, his eyelids dangerously close to shutting. He looked up and glanced around at their surroundings, trying to make sure he hadn’t missed anything important.
It was just stars and clouds above them and a quiet city below. Robin could feel Kon’s heart beating in his chest through his spine, the muscle pumping rapidly with the exertion that he probably barely even felt. He tightened his grip but said nothing, his face angled forward, a look of concentration on his face.
Robin sighed, shivering in the cold air and doing his best to pop his ears when he felt the sounds muffle around him. He pressed himself further against Kon’s back, not wanting to throw off his flight too badly.
Surprisingly, Kon was warm. Not alarmingly so, at least not for Kon, but enough that it radiated from him like a small heater, warmth through his suit, through his jacket, and into Robin’s torso pressed tightly against his back. It made him think of Bart, who always seemed to hold a feverish warmth in his body.
“You cold?” Kon asked, projecting his voice to be heard over the wind, loud enough that it must have startled Robin because he flinched.
“No,” He lied.
Kon said nothing in response to that. Robin buried his face back against his shoulders, squeezing his eyes shut for no other reason than to keep the wind from drying them out. Not because he was tired or anything…
Kon hummed to himself idly, a tune that Robin barely recognized filtering in through the rush of wind in his ears. It rumbled in his chest and Robin had his face close enough to his throat that he more so felt it rather than heard it. He sighed, relaxing into Kon’s back.
Robin figured that Kon must have some reason unclear to him for why he was flying so slowly, this was nowhere near his top speed, but it wasn’t like Robin was complaining. The city was beautiful at night when he had the motivation to lift his head, and the wind felt nice combing through his hair. Sometimes, flying with Kon could be relaxing. Only sometimes. Normally it was too chaotic to be anything except uncomfortable.
He continued to hum softly, passing the time as he swayed with the wind every time it switched directions, following the current the best he could to make it easier on him. His hair flicked back and would have hit Robin in the face if not for him hiding it in Kon’s shoulder.
Every time Robin felt himself start to drift off, the exhaustion from the mission and the past few days trying to catch up with him, he jerked himself back awake. Now was not the time to be falling asleep. He could do that after they were back in the base and he had compiled all the evidence they had gathered. Then he could get some sleep. Not now, not when he was still flying on Kon’s back on their way home from the mission.
He shook his head slowly, lifting his head to face the wind, hoping the chill might wake him up. All it did was dry his eyes out and make his ears pop. He dropped his head back to Kon’s shoulder, tightening his grip around Kon for a few moments until he relaxed again.
Apart from the wind and Kon’s gentle humming, it was so much quieter in the sky rather than on the city streets below. They were just high enough that the sounds didn’t fully reach them, although Robin was sure Kon could still hear it all. Maybe that was why he was humming, trying to drown it all out. He did that sometimes, although it never seemed to work.
The swaying motion Kon seemed to be doing definitely didn’t help Robin’s task of staying awake. His thoughts were moving sluggishly, and maybe if he were more awake he would have yelled at Kon for doing so, although he was sure it was just Kon following the airstream.
“You falling asleep?” Kon suddenly asked and Robin realized that a few minutes had passed and that he had no idea what happened. He looked down and they were in a different part of the city than the last time he had peeked his head up.
“No,” He replied quickly, shaking his head and wishing he could rub his face, but he didn’t trust Kon that much in order to let go of one hand.
“Okay!” Kon replied, although his tone screamed disbelief. He didn’t say anything else though, even though Robin almost expected some other teasing quip or even an insult. He just kept flying in silence, except for the humming.
Every time he felt his body relax against his will, his brain sluggishly following his commands, Robin would jerk himself awake, shaking his head, twitching his arms (which ended up irritating his injured shoulder anyway), or facing the cold wind to shock his senses. Kon said nothing, although Robin could almost feel his chuckling from the vibrations in his chest where his hands were resting.
He sighed, buried his face, and told himself he wasn’t going to fall asleep, because he wasn’t tired, and he had more things to do once they got back to the base. He wasn’t going to fall asleep, even though Kon was so warm and the cool wind above him made a nice equilibrium temperature. Or that this was the most secure hold Kon had ever employed when taking someone else up in the air. Or that Robin knew that he would never drop him, he never had, and never would.
Trust wasn’t something easy for Robin to employ, and he wouldn’t call it trust, but he didn’t know how else to describe it. It didn’t matter anyway, he wasn’t relaxed, or trusting, and definitely not falling asleep.
Kon felt every time Robin started to relax, the tension draining from his muscles and the grip around his shoulders going slack, enough that Kon had to hold onto him harder just to make sure he didn’t slip. He held on tight, not wanting anything to happen to Robin.
But then he would suddenly tense up again, his body jerking and then he would sit up and look around, throwing Kon off a little bit. He would mumble something in response to Kon’s questions, “You okay?” “You sleeping?” “You tired?” and “You cold?” but then that was it. Man, he was stubborn.
Kon could hear it in his voice whenever he spoke, hear it in the way his heartbeat would slow and his breathing would start to even out. He could feel it in the way his muscles relaxed or when he melted against him, burying his face into his shoulder or shifting to be more comfortable.
Robin was exhausted. He had hit his limit, and even Kon knew that, even though it didn’t seem like Robin did, he never did.
Kon slowed down, finding the smoothest ways to get back to the base without the risk of bumping into harsh air streams or anything that might make him suddenly change course. It was easier that way, easier on his body (although a bit harder on his mind), and easier on the boy clinging to his back, pretending he wasn’t sleeping and drooling all over Kon’s shoulder.
“Rob, you asleep?” Kon asked once he felt Robin’s grip relax slightly around his shoulders.
“No,” Robin mumbled, his face still pressed against the back of Kon’s neck, not even bothering to pick his head up. He let out a small sigh and didn’t even tense when Kon jostled him only slightly.
Yeah, no, he was gone.
Smiling to himself, Kon just continued humming, meandering easily through the sky in the direction of their base, taking just an extra long route just in case Robin decided to wake back up once they got to the base. The other boy barely slept as it was, no matter how exhausted he was, and so Kon wasn’t going to be the one to wake him up.
They probably shouldn’t have gone on such a late mission when Robin had already gone a few days with less than ideal sleep. Although maybe it was good that the mission had gone so late, it wore him out sure enough, which was ideal for Kon. At least that meant he didn’t have to deal with Robin’s constant squirming whenever he carried him, and Robin could get some well-needed rest.
Even if he was drooling on his shoulder.
After a while of flying, Kon finally spotted the base. He did his best to gently lower them both to the ground, holding onto Robin’s thighs and hoisting him a bit higher onto his back. Robin didn’t even stir, even when Kon stumbled a bit as soon as his feet touched the ground, his foot catching on the uneven dirt path.
As soon as he entered, Kon heard the familiar vibrations and rush of air that he knew would be no one else coming to greet them.
“ Bart. ” Kon hissed, right as Bart appeared in the room, scattering some papers onto the table. He stared with wide eyes, blinking up at Kon confusedly.
“Wh—What I didn’t even do anything yet,” Bart fumbled, making gestures with his hands as he spoke, trying to fathom why he was already being yelled at.
Kon opened his mouth to reply, although it seemed that Bart had already spotted Robin fast asleep on his back, his face pressed into Kon’s shoulder. If it were possible, his eyes widened even more.
“Oh!” He straightened in a way that seemed like he had done a small hop backward, “Got it!” He gave Kon a wrong-handed salute, and then he was gone, scattering more papers as he left.
Kon let out a sigh of relief he didn’t even realize he had been holding. He hoisted Robin onto his back, getting a better grip of his hands around his thighs, and made his way over to the rooms they used as bedrooms even though it wasn’t really necessary. It was good for late-night missions like tonight's, and so Kon didn’t have to try and wrestle with getting Robin back home or somewhere else he might not freak out about waking up in.
Instead, he simply brought him to the room he claimed for himself in the base, walls scarcely decorated and bed neatly made with boring gray sheets.
As gently as he could, Kon laid Robin down on the bed, wincing a little as he shifted, making a noise in his sleep, worried that he had just woken him up. Thankfully, Robin settled easily, allowing Kon to pull the sheets up over him, tucking him comfortably into bed (who knew the last time he had been in one of these things).
Kon also retrieved the camera that Robin had used to take pictures of the facility, hopefully, he could start dealing with those in the morning before Robin woke up (if all went well and he stayed asleep until morning).
All that could be dealt with later, so could Robin’s annoyance at being allowed to sleep so long. It was better for him to get some sleep, maybe he wouldn’t be so serious and grumpy all the time if he actually slept.
As Kon left the room, he flicked the light off and shut the door behind him, ready to call it a night for himself as well. He wanted to maybe get some rest too before the real chaos of the day started in a few hours once everyone else was awake.