They had stayed up way too late the night before. In an eager mania to introduce the other one to their world, Robin had shown Tyler a whole Jeopardy college tournament and afterward, Tyler had found the highlights from Liverpool's latest Champions League campaign and did a live commentary of it.

Two tubs of cookie dough ice cream had been devoured during the quiz and soccer mania. And somehow the boys had also found time for a lot of kissing. And touching. And cuddling.

This late-night excursion was the reason Robin was less than pleased when his morning slumber was disturbed by knocks on the door. The knocks were insistent and only increased in frequency as he tried to ignore them.

"Robin!" Des' voice called out from the outside. "You have to let me in!"

The tone in her voice told him something was wrong. Very wrong.

Without even bothering to put on clothes--which meant he only wore a pair of gray boxer briefs--Robin leaped the few steps to the door, leaving the warm bed, and the even warmer body that rested there, behind.

The draft from the outside chilled his exposed skin when he pushed the door open. But it was the words that came out of Des' mouth that chilled him to the core. "Your mom is coming!" she warned him. "I saw Liza pull up on the parking lot while I was out walking Pax so I ran here!"

Her panting breath verified her claims of running, and the very annoyed harness-wearing bunny in her arms confirmed her reason for being outside at this early hour.

Without saying a word, Robin quickly signaled for Des--clad in yoga pants with stray strawberries scattered all over them and an oversized black hoodie--to come inside before the Wicked Witch of the West saw them in the hall. Upon entering, his friend put Pax down on the floor, where he immediately found Robin's cellphone charger and started to chew on the cord. Perhaps his lie about his charger being broken was about to come true.

"Is Tyler here?" Des asked in a concerned tone.

A muffled gurgle from under the covers confirmed that Tyler was indeed in the room. The sheets moved and blonde curls surfaced. "What's-what's happening?" Tyler enquired as his sleepy brain tried to adjust to a state of wakefulness. "Des? Why are you here?"

"My mom's here!" Robin somehow prevented his voice from going into falsetto from the panic. "I'll explain more later, but I haven't told her about you. And I don't want her to find out like this."

"You have to hide, Tyler," Des insisted. "Now! She'll be here any minute."

Ty glanced across the room for a hiding spot and his eyes fell on the window. "I can climb out!" he proclaimed confidently.

Robin and Des both shook their heads in unison. The room might be on the bottom floor but there was still a fair few feet to the ground, so that seemed like an extraordinarily bad idea. Especially for someone who was already using crutches. They couldn't risk Ty losing the use of any additional limbs.

While Robin remained stumped for ideas, Des took charge. "Under the bed!" she ordered Ty and lifted the covers to reveal a hiding spot just big enough to conceal a grown-ish man. She forced the still sleep-groggy Ty into action by pulling the cozy covers off him and poking his shoulder. "Now!"

That's when another cannonade of knocks assaulted the doors. Stern and demanding knocks were delivered in a cadence that made Robin's heart race. "Robin, are you there?" Liza Erie called out and his heart seemed to flatline into one uninterrupted beat.

Luckily, the knocks came just as Des draped the sheets across the side of the bed, hiding any proof of a blonde boy being present. Well, except for one thing.

"Crutches," Robin whispered through gritted teeth to Des--afraid his mother would hear them through the door--and nodded toward the walking aids that leaned against the wall.

Without missing a beat, Des grabbed the crutches and stuffed them under the bed as well. "Ouch," Ty complained as a handle hit him in the nose.

"Be quiet," Des ordered him in a hushed voice. "We'll make her leave quickly."

The next moment, the door flew open and the storm entered. Because Liza Erie couldn't be bothered with such pesky things as privacy. She somehow had a key--despite Robin never giving her one--and she would use it.

"Are you not dressed yet?" were the first words that flew out of her mouth as she strode inside and peered at her almost-naked son, who tried to lean leisurely against the kitchen counter. "Put on some pants, Robin."

While Robin located a pair of sweatpants, as well as a matching hoodie, on the floor, his mom's gaze fell on Des, who had sat down on the bed, perhaps trying to cover any glimpse of what hid below. To Robin's surprise, she was only wearing a bra--with a pattern of cartoon pandas. She must have thrown her shirt off just as his mother entered. "And what are you doing here, Desirée?"

Showcasing Oscar-worthy acting skilling, Des twirled her hair between her fingers and giggled lightly as a blush rose on her face. "I-I," she stuttered. "I slept here. We were just eating ice cream and watching a movie together." She pointed toward the empty tubs in the kitchen "We went here after we set up for the fundraiser and I fell asleep! I swear nothing happened, Mrs. Erie!"

Liza's dark and all-seeing eyes--although they did fail to see a certain blonde boy mere feet from her--darted between her son and Des, trying to wager what to make of the situation.

"I didn't know you were coming," Robin mumbled. "What are you doing here, mom?"

"I have a meeting with the board at your father's office to sort out some things around the business," his mother replied. Robin wondered if perhaps the meeting was related to her threat of pulling him out of school. He wouldn't put it past his mother to try to finagle a way around the requirement in his father's will that said Robin needed to graduate to get his inheritance. "So I figured I would come to see my son as well while I was in town since I wouldn't get to see you otherwise. Is there something wrong with that, Robin?"

Her tone was perfectly pitched to induce the maximum amount of guilt in her offspring.

"No," he mumbled, unable to keep his gaze from straying toward the bed. "You just should have called first, mom. I might be busy."

"You shouldn't be busy with anything you need to hide from me, Robin," his mother countered sharply.

"I'm not hiding anything." Robin couldn't keep a blush from rising on his cheeks. He'd never been good at outright lying to his mom.

His mother's steely gaze seemed to peer right through him as well as the covers of the bed. Perhaps she possessed Superman's X-ray vision. "Well, it seems like you're trying to hide your bedmate..." Robin's heart sunk in his chest as his mother's hand pointed toward the bed. "But you can't hide anything from me, son. I can tell that you and Desirée were doing a lot more than just sleeping in that bed. I mean, look at the state of those sheets."

Judging from the satisfied grin on his mother's face, she was quite pleased about this revelation. Des was the match she'd always desired for her son. A pretty and smart girl from a wealthy family.

"Maybe we were... doing something." Robin was relieved that his mother seemed to buy their act. Well, truthfully it was mostly Des' act as Robin was too terrified to engage in any subterfuge.

"Well, I guess I can't stop young people from doing what they want." His mother sighed and turned away from the bed, hopefully preparing to leave the room. That's when her gaze fell on a red nylon shirt on the floor. The shirt emblazoned with Liverpool FC.

"What is this?" With a suspicious glare in her eyes, she investigated the object. "I know it's not yours, Robin. You don't wear garish sports jerseys like this."

Robin's mind was blank as he tried to think of a believable explanation.

"It's mine!" Des piped up and snatched the shirt from Liza. "It's the latest trend among girls on campus." She pulled the way-too-big shirt over her bra. The hem reached above her knees and the fit was tent-like. "We wear them as dresses, with a pair of tights underneath." Luckily the jersey matched her strawberry-covered yoga pants quite well.

Des strutted across the room to demonstrate, while Liza looked on without saying a word. It was an amusing display that should have brought a smile to her lips, but amusement and smiles did not seem to be in Liza Erie's repertoire.

"I guess I should leave you two alone," Robin's mom finally mumbled and took a step toward the door. But just as they thought the danger was averted, Liza turned toward the bed again. "But I really want to make that bed first, because I suspect you won't do it. You can't have it looking like that."

Time appeared to pass in slow motion as Robin's mother inched closer to Tyler's hiding spot. As soon as she lifted the sheets, he'd be revealed. Robin wished he could stop time but the discovery seemed inevitable.

That's when an unlikely hero stepped into action. A hero with long fluffy ears.

Like he was shot from a canon, Pax sped across the room and landed on top of Liza's shoe. "What? What is this?" she called out as the bunny latched on to her ankle.

"That's Pax!" Des proclaimed and quick like a cheetah stepped in to save the bunny from the witch's claws, or perhaps rather the witch from the bunny's paws. "You've met him before, Liza."

"He broke my pantyhose," Liza complained and bent down to inspect a giant gash created by surprisingly sharp rabbit teeth. "Control that rat of yours, Desirée."

"Pax is a rabbit," Des grumbled and stroked the fluffy creature's ears.

"Well, I guess I need to buy a new pair of hose before my meeting now." Liza surmised as she turned away from the bed and instead toward the door. "I'll have to leave so I'll have enough time to do that. But please, someone, make that bed!"

"I'll fix it, mom," Robin immediately volunteered. "Just go to your meeting!"

A moment later, the door closed behind Lisa Erie. The storm abated and was replaced by sunlight and birdsong.

"Can I come out?" Tyler asked and Robin immediately ran up to give him a hand as he dislodged himself from the snug spot. A kiss rewarded him for his troubles. A sweet kiss that wiped away the bitter imprint left on his soul from his mother's visit.

Exhausted from the early morning ordeal, all four of them--bunny included--collapsed on the bed, which still wasn't made. It probably never would be.

"I'm sorry," Robin said and put his arms around Ty's bare shoulders before leaning in to kiss a morning-stubbly cheek. "I haven't told her about you. She's kind of..." He wracked his brain for a proper word to describe his mother. "High-strung, I guess."

"It's fine," Ty assured him and placed soft lips on Robin's sweaty forehead. "I remember what you told me about her before. I understand if things are complicated."

Things were complicated indeed, and Robin didn't want to burden Ty with exactly how complicated. If his mother found out about them, things could get messy. But he was determined to figure out that issue by himself.

While the boys consoled each other, Des consoled the heroic bunny, who himself was mostly interested in chewing on the frame of Robin's bed. Probably ruining Robin's chances of getting his deposit back.

As Pax freed himself from Des' comforting efforts and ventured down on the floor to explore a whole room filled with chewing possibilities, Des turned to her friends. "After that, I think we all need to relax for a bit," she proclaimed.

"What do you suggest?" Robin asked suspiciously. He'd been convinced to tag along on too many of Des' fun outside excursions--which often turned hours longer than expected and sometimes involved getting chased by cows--to not be skeptical of her plans.

"Let's all go to the beach!" she suggested. "There have been seal sightings there lately." She pulled up her app--the same one that tracked sharks--to show Robin and Tyler a bunch of seal symbols on a beach not far from campus. "You know I've always wanted to see a seal in the wild, Robin!"

Robin couldn't remember Des ever mentioning a particular interest in seals. But she had talked about so many animals during the time he'd known her that it was hard to keep track. There seemed to be no animal on the planet that she didn't imagine a special connection with. Robin suspected Des would, if given the opportunity, try to befriend a poor seal who unsuspectingly lounged on the beach and bring it home to be buddies with Pax. Although a seal probably wouldn't fit under her bed.

"Beach and seals sound fun," Tyler agreed enthusiastically. "Although I'm quite hungry." His stomach growled in agreement with that statement. "I might need to eat first."

"I'll pack a picnic basket," Des assured him. "Then we can eat on the beach and relax all day."

"I guess we're going to the beach then..." Robin mumbled while stroking his hands through Tyler's unbrushed hair, carefully untangling small knots. Vast sandy beaches and fresh salty sea air were probably exactly what they needed after that nerve-wracking encounter with his mother.