Darkness enveloped Robin when he woke up. But it wasn't scary. Instead, it was soft, warm, and, cozy. Silky hair rested against his upper arm, body heat radiated from the back in front of him, and soft snores filled the blanket cave. It appeared Robin had succeeded in getting Tyler to calm down.

Carefully and slowly, to not wake the sleeping boy in his arms, Robin peaked out from under the blanket. It was quiet, except for infrequent drops of water hitting the windowsill, and very cold. Which made him want to escape into the alluring warm darkness again as fast as possible.

Robin had no idea how long he'd slept. It could be mere minutes or several hours. The darkness outside told him it wasn't morning yet. But the unlit display on the alarm clock next to the bed gave him no clues on the exact hour. The power must still be out.

Of course, he could have evacuated the bed and fetched his phone from the kitchen counter, to find out the time, but that would mean he had to leave the bed. And Robin had no wish whatsoever to get out of bed as long as it contained a certain blonde boy.

Time was unimportant anyway. The only time that mattered was the time spent next to Tyler.

So Robin nestled close to the warm shape next to him again. Tyler seemed to fit so well against his body like every bone and muscle was a puzzle piece made to fit his form. He inhaled the lemony scent of the blonde curls. The most beautiful scent in the world. Tyler was never allowed to change shampoo.

"You're so amazing," he whispered into a sleeping ear. In the quiet darkness, it felt like he could say anything. "You don't even know what you do to me."

His lips pressed gently against a scratchy cheek that smelled of aftershave and sleep.

The body in his arms started to stir. Limbs twitched slightly. Grunts came from the depths of the pillow. Eyes flickered awake.

Robin wondered if Tyler had heard the sweet nothings whispered in the guise of the night. He kind of hoped so.

"Where... What..." Tyler mumbled as he sleepily and confused tried to orient himself. The darkness of the blanket cave probably didn't make things easier.

"You're at my place, Ty." Robin hugged the restless body closer to let Tyler know he was there. "It started to rain and we... fell asleep."

Seemingly having recalled the events of the night before, Tyler's body relaxed and sank into Robin's arms. For a moment they just laid there, comfortable in each other's presence and warmth. It didn't feel weird to be so close, it felt natural.

"I'm sorry if I ruined our date, Robby," Tyler mumbled."I... just don't like rain."

"You didn't ruin anything, Ty," Robin assured his date and looked for Tyler's hand in the dark. He found the hand and squeezed it tight, bringing them back to where they had been when their awkward dance of flirting had been interrupted.

Firmly but softly Tyler squeezed back. "It rained that night," Tyler revealed with a sigh. "When I... you know..."

Robin did know what Tyler referred to. But he didn't want to badger Tyler with prying questions about it. "You don't have to talk about it." Robin placed a light kiss on a t-shirt-covered shoulder. A little sign of affection that just seemed to come naturally.

"I know, but I want you to know," Tyler replied. He fell silent for a moment, perhaps trying to find the right words to describe the traumatic events before he started to tell his story. "I had been at a party," he began. "I was upset about... some stuff that happened, so I drove off."

A short pause to gather thoughts followed. "I had a game the next day so hadn't been drinking," he added.

"I didn't think you had," Robin mumbled into blonde curls.

A nod and sob into a pillow. Robin loosened his grip on Tyler's hand and instead let it stroke a tear-covered cheek and comb through sleep-tangled curls.

"I didn't even notice the rain picking up," Tyler continued when he found his voice again. "My mind was distracted by... what had happened that night. I just drove for hours. I probably drove too fast. And when I crossed a bridge the car spun out of control and broke through the railing."

Short strained breaths made Robin lean his chin on the shoulder in front of him in an attempt to soothe.

"I landed in the shallow river underneath," Tyler continued after having gained control of his breathing again. "My leg got pinned by the smashed-in car door."

"You couldn't get out," Robin whispered in horror.

"I couldn't get out," Tyler confirmed in a low voice and curled even closer into Robin's embrace. "I was trapped in there for hours. I also had a concussion, so everything is a bit blurry. I mostly remember the excruciating pain and the rising panic. The water slowly rose around me and when the paramedics found me the next morning it reached my chest. I was quite out of it by then but I remember that they told me they would have to cut my leg to get me out of there alive. I must have passed out after that because the next thing I remember is waking up at the hospital without my left leg."

"That sounds horrible," Robin said, knowing no words were enough to describe the trauma. His lips placed light kisses all over blonde curls in an attempt to mend what couldn't be mended.

"It was horrible." Tyler sighed and couldn't hold back another sob. "And now I can't play soccer. I can't run. I can't even walk." He lifted Robin's hand and pressed it to his lips. "But I'm alive. I'm here. With you."

"You're here," Robin repeated and continued to kiss a trail along the jawline and neck, "with me."

He felt Tyler turn in his arms and suddenly they found themselves face to face. Nose tips touched. Breaths mixed. Foreheads bumped together.

They lingered there for a moment. Chests heaving in symphony. Breaths growing fast and jagged. Hearts pumping faster and faster.

A pair of green eyes met Robin's. Even in the darkness, he could see those eyes, with their promises of freedom.

They closed the gap slowly, until nothing remained. Shivering lips met shivering lips. The kiss was soft, warm, and welcoming, like sinking into a pool of pudding.

Robin didn't back away this time. Instead, he sank deeper and deeper into that pool. He never wanted to come up for air. He wanted to live there forever.

Hands fumbled over warm and soft skin. None of them quite knew what they were doing. They only knew they needed each other. They needed to be close.

"Can I?" Tyler asked and tugged at Robin's shirt.

For a moment Robin felt self-conscious, his chest was definitely not as chiseled as Tyler's, but the urge to feel hands on his skin took over and he helped Tyler pull the shirt over his head. It took some maneuvering but eventually, the clothing item came off and eager hands traveled over bony ridges and wiry muscles, leaving a trail of fire in their wake.

Robin let his own hands snake their way under Tyler's t-shirt to touch a body that was at the same time hard and soft. Silky skin covered hard edges of muscles and bone. Tyler rose his arms up to signal that Robin could pull off his shirt as well, leaving nothing between them.

Skin stuck together from sweat and emotion. Wild heartbeats met as chests pressed together. Hands explored ribs, abs, and hips. Every inch of skin unexplored like the lands of a heretofore unknown continent.

The exploration halted right above the waistline, as if they had a silent agreement to not go further. Not today. This was enough for tonight. They didn't need to rush things. But that didn't stop Robin from gasping at every nudge or stroke against a very sensitive and swollen area right below. He felt Tyler pressing against him in a similarly affected manner. Which of course only worsened his own condition.

Eventually, they paused their frantic exploration and just looked at each other. They needed to breathe. But breathing somehow felt less important than kissing. Their lips lingered so close they could feel the other one breathing. One breathe and then one kiss. And so on. Kissing was vital for their existence.

"I do know," Tyler whispered between kisses.

"What?" Robin managed to squeeze out before the next brief kiss.

"I do know what I do to you. Because you do the same thing to me."

It appeared the whispered sweet nothings had found their way to Tyler in his dreams.

Lips crashed against one another in a storm so much more powerful than the one that had raged outside.

They kissed until the sunlight started to peer in and students began to stir in the hallway outside. That's when they finally drifted into slumber again, entangled with hands, bodies, and minds.