6.59 pm.

Two knocks on the door.

Robin's heart nearly jolted out of his body. Even though he'd been expecting the knocks, to actually hear them was different. So much more tangible and scary. But also so damn exciting. There was no turning back now. It was time to soar on unproven wings toward freedom.

A sprint toward the door. A breath to calm nerves. A nervous flick of stray hairs. Then his hand moved toward the handle, which creaked slightly as he pushed it down.

Time to fly.

Blonde hair. Green eyes. A smile that could light up the darkest corners of space. The crutches were probably there but Robin didn't notice them anymore.

"Hi, Robby," Tyler said. "Sorry that I'm early, it was my aunt's fault."

"Well, I wasn't going to sit in the car and wait for you to think it was a good time to go inside."

Startled, Robin looked over to the side of Tyler. He hadn't realized there was someone else there. He only had eyes for Tyler.

The voice belonged to a woman who held a stack of pizza boxes. A floral dress flowed around her ankles and her hair was cut in a practical short hairstyle.

"Aunt Donna is just helping me carry the pizza boxes," Tyler explained quickly. "She's leaving now..." He glared at the woman beside him.

Immediately, Robin cursed himself for not checking with Tyler if he needed help carrying the pizzas when they texted before. Of course, that was a task that was difficult on crutches.

Aunt Donna smiled at her sullen nephew. "Let me at least say hi, Tyler," she said and nudged his shoulder. Tyler kept glaring, seemingly embarrassed that she wouldn't just leave, while Robin couldn't help but wish his mom embarrassed him in such delightful ways in front of his friends instead of just throwing spiteful looks at anyone who came close.

"Hi, I'm Donna," she said and reached out her hand toward Robin.

"I'm Robin." Robin took the warm hand in his. "Should I take those?" He pointed at the pizza boxes. There appeared to be four of them. Tyler probably planned to eat at least three of them.

"Alright, I'm leaving now, sweetheart." Donna gave Tyler an affectionate kiss on the cheek. He immediately wiped it away, looking like he wanted to sink through the floor. "Just call me if you want a ride home."

The notion of Tyler maybe not wanting a ride home made Robin's cheeks burn bright red.

"Just go," Tyler growled, seemingly just as mortified as Robin. "I'll see you later."

With a light tousle of her nephew's curls, Donna finally left.

Robin and Tyler were left all alone. They had the whole night to watch movies, eat snacks, and... who knew what else would happen? The possibilities whirled through Robin's head, each one more overwhelming than the other.

"Are you not going to invite me in, Robby?" Tyler asked, a nonchalant smile on his lips. But his flickering eyes gave away that the nonchalance was just a cover. Perhaps the whirling possibilities were just as overwhelming to Tyler as they were to Robin.

"Of course..." Robin stepped out of the way to put the pizza boxes on the kitchen counter. "Come on in."

Tyler entered the apartment and Robin quickly jumped behind him to close the door.

A click confirmed that the door was locked behind them. A light trickle of rain smattered against the windows. A cloud of nervous energy filled the room.

While Tyler sat down on the bed and neatly arranged his crutches to lean against the bedframe, Robin held onto the kitchen counter in front of him to focus. Tyler's charisma took over the whole room and made it hard for him to breathe. It was like the room was filled with sweet fluffy cotton candy.

"Should we... you know..." Robin pointed to one of the pizza boxes in front of him. "Pizza? Now?"

Apparently, having a cute boy in his room brought out the caveman in him.

A nod came from underneath blonde curls. "Pizza now sounds good!" Tyler replied excitedly, perhaps too excitedly even. "I haven't eaten since..." He pondered the question for a moment. "... before physiotherapy. Aunt Donna made me pancakes when I came home from school."

Robin wished his mom had ever greeted him with pancakes when he came home. Usually, he'd just been welcomed by harassing questions and bitter lies.

"What did you have on the pancakes?" Robin asked in an attempt to get the conversation flowing.

"Maple syrup and bacon," Tyler replied. His tongue flicked over his lips slightly at the thought. A tongue that had once touched Robin's own.

"I- I like blueberry jam on my pancakes," Robin stuttered as he tried to not think too much about that tongue. He carried one of the pizza boxes to the bed and placed it between them. A buffer that would perhaps help him focus, while his body and mind accustomed to the idea of Tyler being in his room for a date.

"Blueberry jam is good too," Tyler agreed. "I like pancakes with mostly everything. And waffles too. And french toast."

A goofy smile and a burst of nervous laughter ended his ramble. "I like most food," he concluded and opened the pizza box. He immediately shoved half a pizza slice in his mouth. Perhaps to shut himself up.

"I've noticed," Robin replied and grabbed a pizza slice as well. The room was quiet as the boys chewed.

It felt too quiet. Desperately, Robin looked for something to say. But his mind was blank. Pancakes were apparently the only thing he could think of to talk about.

"Should we... watch something?" he asked as the silence became unbearable. He nodded toward the TV in front of them. "Netflix maybe?"

"Netflix sounds good," Tyler replied. "Netflix and chill..." he mumbled and his cheeks turned bright red. "I don't mean... I mean... I like to chill."

Robin's cheeks flamed red as well as he fumbled to find the remote on his nightstand. After some struggles, he managed to turn on the TV and flipped through a couple of menus to get to the Netflix option. "What do you want to watch?"

Tyler shrugged. "Whatever you like, Robby." He put another pizza slice in his mouth. "I'm sure I'll like whatever you pick."

Nervously, Robin flipped through movies, TV shows, and documentaries. Nothing fit. Everything seemed like it would make Tyler judge him. Like his choice would reveal something secret about his personality.

Eventually, his finger clicked the play-button anyway and flashy credits started to roll. Robin had chosen the movie he always turned on when he needed a safe escape. Which was quite often.

"Is this the Lego Movie?" Tyler asked as colorful square figures danced across the screen.

"Yes..." Robin admitted. "I... like it."

"It's good." Tyler nodded excitedly. "I watch it with Emmie all the time."

Maybe a movie that Tyler watched with his little sister wasn't the best choice for a date though. Robin cursed himself for not making a more mature choice.

"I know it's a bit childish..." he admitted.

"Nothing wrong with being childish." Tyler tilted his head toward Robin and smiled sheepishly. "I might be the one who makes Emmie watch it... She'd rather watch Frozen."

The smile was calming, warm, and sweet. It laid itself like a soothing balm over Robin's nerves and made him feel just a little bit more assured. Being on a date didn't have to be scary. It could be exciting.

As the toy-based adventure played out on screen, the boys continued to eat their pizza. They laughed and smiled together. They finished the pizzas and moved the boxes away from the bed. Which meant they could sit closer together.

Shoulder against shoulder. Knee against knee. Elbow against elbow. Small nudges to explore the boundaries of their relationship.

As the drama ramped up on the screen, Robin felt a stroke against the back of his hand. Tyler's fingers slid over it. It must have been a mistake.

Then it happened again. It stayed a bit longer. A finger curled around his own.

Robin looked over at Tyler. A nervous look met his own. A panicked look. A scared look. The look of someone who had taken the first step and was terrified to be rejected. Who was prepared to jump up and flee if he had to, even though he couldn't actually run.

Robin didn't back away this time. He stayed. He turned his hand around and met Tyler's palm with his own.

Calloused skin from prolonged crutch usage met Robin's fingertips. He traced the creases and bumps gently before interlacing their fingers. Their hands fit perfectly together.

The room stood still. The whole world stood still. Everything waited in breathless anticipation for what was to happen next.

Interlaced fingers fiddled in a playful game.

Trembling bodies slowly scooted closer.

Heartbeats and breaths sped up.

Then...

A flash lit up the room.

A loud bang followed.

Startled, Robin looked around. Had the charged tension between them made the whole room explode in electric light and roaring thunder? But the pounding rain on the window told him that the light and noise probably came from outside. He hadn't noticed that the storm outside had picked up, since he'd been busy trying to tame the storm in his heart.

Another flash of light ignited and shortly thereafter another loud bang bellowed.

Tyler let out a yelp. Worried, Robin looked over toward the boy beside him. "Ty, are you alright?" he whispered and squeezed the hand in his.

Robin didn't get a reply, just a muffled sob.

But Tyler certainly didn't look alright. His chest heaved rapidly and his face was pale as porcelain.

"Ty, what's wrong?" Robin inquired while moving closer to try to peek into those hidden green eyes.

"Nothing," Tyler insisted in a weak voice.

That's when the whole room fell dark. The lightning must have hit a powerline.

The screen on the TV turned black. The AC fell silent. The distant music from the room next door stopped. All Robin could hear was the pounding rain and Ty's raspy breaths. It sounded like he gasped for air.

Nervousness replaced by concern, Robin scooted closer to Tyler. "It's alright." He flicked a few strands of hair away from a sweaty forehead. "It's just a power outage."

Ty nodded and made an effort to smile at Robin. But the smile couldn't hide his inner battle. Tyler's whole body shivered like he'd been submerged in ice water.

"The power will be back soon," Robin tried to assure the frightened boy beside him. "And the thunder will stop."

Robin felt powerless when faced with Tyler's sudden distress. He didn't know what was wrong or what to do. But he knew he had to do something. He had to make Tyler feel better.

In an attempt to stop the shivers, Robin grabbed a knitted blanket from the bed and draped it over Tyler's shoulders. This particular blanket was a home-crafted birthday gift from Des and had cat ears and a tail attached.

Once the blanket was in place, Robin put an arm over Ty's shoulder and rubbed in circular motions that would hopefully be soothing. Robin wasn't good at consoling--he was usually the one needing to be consoled--but he tried his best.

Just as it seemed the shivers were about to stop, another roaring boom of thunder made the whole building move. Ty whimpered and escaped further under the cat blanket.

There had to be a way for Robin to shield Tyler from the storm outside. To protect him from whatever scared him so much.

"Lay down," Robin whispered into messy blonde curls.

Ty obliged, curling up on one side of the bed. Robin placed the comforter atop the other boy and then crawled into the blanket cave as well. They were both fully clothed but it was still enticing to be so close, even under these circumstances.

"Do you want me to... hold you?" Robin asked in an uncertain tone. Because of course, he wanted to do that, but he wasn't sure it was the right thing to do, or if Ty would be fine with it. They had, after all, never been that close before. At least not since they kissed.

Robin got a faint nod in reply. Upon getting the go-ahead, he very awkwardly snaked his arms around Ty's torso. Tense muscles and sharp bones moved in symphony with the labored breathing. Blonde strands of hair tickled his nostrils and wrapped Robin in a scent of lemon drops.

Under the covers, the sound of the rain and thunder became muted and distant. It couldn't hurt them. Nothing could hurt them. Neither the roaring storm nor the all-reaching claws of Robin's mother.

In the soft embrace of darkness their breaths synced, their bodies blended together, and their minds drifted away into slumber.