Well, here I am again, writing a story for all you wonderful readers out there! Aren't you so glad? Uh, yeah, I should be updating, but… I think I may have mentioned my inability to commit in one of my other many one-shots. Okay, so far for this, I've got… well, pretty much nothing, aside from inspiration and a serious desire to write… something new. (shrugs) I'm not sure where I'm going right now, but I got some motivation from my damnable fairy today. So I guess I'll just jump right into this. Make sure to drop a review on the way out… unless you do the smart thing, of course, and just leave before you actually start reading it. It's not like you should expect much from this. It may even end up being just drabble, who knows… although I sincerely doubt that since I seem to have such a problem with making my chapters too long. But whatever… Here you go, enjoy!

Moocow

Dedicated to: alena-chan, for being so awesome, and insensato, for… well, being so awesome.

Sadly, not beta-ed, since a certain somebody wouldn't answer me, but I wanted to get this out before a go on a short vacation...

Moonlit Desire, or How my Laundry Saved my Life

It had been an accident really… for me at least. Later I would look back and wonder if he really hadn't meant to catch me out in the hall, unaware and unprepared. It certainly looked like an accident, but then looks can be deceiving, especially when the boy in question wears a mask… especially when said masked boy isn't wearing a shirt… and especially when the shirtless masked boy just happens to be three floors and two hallways away from his room at one thirty in the morning for no apparent reason at all. Oh yeah, it was definitely an accident, Rob, definitely an accident.

I guess it started when he finally figured out my schedule, for doing my laundry at least, though how he did it I'll never know. Every Wednesday at one thirty in the morning I take all my dirty clothes to the laundry room and start the wash. I never really knew why, just that it was more peaceful than doing it at the same time as the others, I suppose. It wasn't as if it really took all that long, seeing as how I only wore one outfit. Ever.

I should have known that someone would intrude someday, but I fell into routine and didn't even give it a thought. So as I made my way down the hall with a small basket of dirty leotards, cloaks, and the like, I wasn't paying attention. This is the part of that night that just seems so cliché that it makes you sick. Yeah, that's right. He was following me, mystery novel-esque footsteps and all. But I, for once in my life, had pulled out my iPod and was listening to it in broad daylight. Well, maybe not daylight, but it was definitely in some kind of light.

So as Evanescence sang loudly about crimson regret and crying for deliverance, I trotted- er, walked along obliviously. Later he informed me I was humming along, but I deny any participation. It wasn't until I paused beside a window, admiring the full moon, that he finally made his move. He walked up from another direction and "accidentally" bumped into me. Visiting cliché-central, aren't we?

"Oh, Rae, I'm so sorry. I just didn't see you there! Here, let me help you," he exclaimed as my laundry flew across the hall, basket rolling into the shadows and clothes strewn all over the floor.

I glowered at him and muttered an unenthused "watch it" before bending down to collect my scattered garments. For a silent few moments, I remained in relative peace as I found nothing amiss with the situation. Then I heard him snicker.

"Nice thong, Rae," Robin teased. I'd like to think most girls, in response to that comment, would have mustered up a blush that would put a fire hydrant to shame. I on the other hand, just shrugged. Admittedly, my insides were spinning from the embarrassment, but he didn't need to know that.

"Glad you like it. I'll be sure to keep that in mind next time I decide to parade around in my underwear. Now if you'll just give those back, I'll be on my way," I responded dryly.

"Next time? So you've done this before, have you? Would you mind telling me why I wasn't invited? It's not like I wouldn't have appreciated the view…" he chuckled in answer.

"Don't worry, your imagination is obviously active enough to make up for it," I smirked haughtily. For a few moments he had no idea what I was talking about. It wasn't until I indicated the general region around his hips- which was clearly visible since he had squatted down to help gather my clothes- that he realized I had noticed. Oh, I had definitely noticed…

"Actually, my imagination's not all that active. You just don't leave much to the imagination in the clothing department. Not that I mind," he grinned. God, didn't this boy ever miss a beat?

"I'm glad you approve of my choice in clothing," I retorted, pulling my cloak closer about me self-consciously. "Now, if you'll just give me back my underwear…"

This is where Robin made his mistake. "No," he smirked.

For a moment, I suppose, I must have looked just like a fish, with my mouth opening and closing silently. How dare he defy me! "Wh-wha… What?" I sputtered. His ever-so-arrogant smirk grew wider.

"You heard me," came his reply as he bent and actually began to collect a few more garments from the floor. This was when I stopped my gold-fishing and reached forward to jerk a wrinkly cloak from his grip.

"Give me that now!" I ordered when he refused to yield the piece of laundry.

"Fine, take it," he laughed, and suddenly he released it, leaving me to stumble the short distance to the window.

I would like to take a moment to point out that, normally, I have excellent balance. Really, I do. But this particular incident doesn't exactly do justice to my finely honed sense of stability, doesn't do it any justice at all. So, as might be expected, when I staggered over to the window, I anticipated a barrier I could use to steady myself. I wasn't thinking about the unfortunate effects gravity has on falling; that's right, it makes you fall faster, doesn't it? Thus, one of the most clichéd events of the night, the window shattered. Oh yes, shattered. And what floor were we on? The first? Second? On no. The ninth. As in NINE floors ABOVE ground level. It doesn't really matter that I can levitate; you want to know why? Well, that would be because I forgot about it, of course.

Robin didn't forget, though. So when he expected me to just fly up and slap him across the face, he just got an earful of high-pitched screaming. Oh yeah, I was falling to my death, wasn't I? Remember those clichés I was complaining about? Here's one I absolutely love: my cape actually caught on the bits of glass still attached to the building. So when our brilliant detective finally realized that the only way I was getting off the window without his help was in the general DOWN direction, he got the bright idea of pulling me up. Gee, Rob, it sure took you long enough.

As he made sure I wasn't going to fall back out the window, he had the intelligence to look apologetic. He started handing me back my clothes, all the while muttering "I'm sorry"s and "Really, I am"s. When all my laundry was back in the basket, I finally turned to face him.

"Just shut up and I'll forgive you, for god's sake!" I exclaimed. I'm not normally so dramatic either, which was probably part of what did shut him up. "If it'll make you feel better, help me with my laundry and I'll forgive you. Deal?"

"Uh, sure. Deal," Robin agreed.

This actually turned out better than I thought. Not only did I get help with my laundry (I never know how much detergent to put in there. And why are there so many choices for the water temperature?), but I also got to have a long, intelligent, interesting talk with someone who wasn't staring at my boobs the whole time. He explained all the mysteries of washing clothes to me, gave me some tips on getting blood out (since so many people seem to like to hit us on a daily basis; you'd think they'd wise up and pick some other city eventually, wouldn't you?), and then just talked with me. About a little of everything, really. Books, karate, art, back-flips, candles, video games, sunrises, sunsets, you name it. We even talked about kissing briefly. That subject was considerably less explored, though, seeing as how I was rather lacking in this area. He actually offered to give me a quick lesson, but I just laughed and told him he was sleep-deprived. It didn't really occur to me that he was serious. At least, not yet.

It was a week later that I arrived at the laundry room to find it already occupied. And with whom, you might ask? Well, with Robin, of course! Who else would be stupid enough to intrude upon my privacy a second time, even after nearly causing my death the first time? Nobody but Robin…

"Hey. I figured I'd give you some company. Oh and by the way, do you have any thongs you'd like to show me tonight? Because I was really looking forward to that," he teased lightly.

"Sorry to disappoint, but there won't be any of that while you're in the room, so don't get you hopes too high," I responded with a roll of my eyes.

"Oh well, I guess I'll just settle for giving you that kissing lesson, won't I?" he pretended to sigh sadly.

"Is it that disappointing? I'd have thought you'd be jumping for joy at the very thought," I joked as I shoved some leotards into an empty washing machine. Silence. And then…

"Are you serious?" he choked out. "I never actually expected you to accept!"

"I- I- I thought you were ki-kidding," I stuttered idiotically. "But… but if you were serious… I guess I can stomach kissing you this one time…" Even in the most trying of circumstances, I keep my wit. Thank god for that!

He grinned and sauntered over to me slowly. "Well, I guess I should apologize now, huh?" he asked me lazily.

"For… for what?" I murmured. For some reason, his closeness made it hard to speak; my heart was pounding and my hands were suddenly sweating and my muscles were tensing in anticipation.

"Well, for being your first kiss. I mean, every kiss after this one will be completely ruined," he told me as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Oh? And why would that be?" I asked. I hoped this was a rational response to his question; I was having a hard time thinking rationally while he was so close, something that had never happened before.

"Because I'm the best kisser you'll ever know."

And then he kissed me. The moon came out from behind the clouds and shined through the window, illuminating his handsome profile and making the kiss even more wonderful and romantic. Don't you just love clichés?

Moocow

So… did it suck? I really don't know what I was trying to do with this. I just sat down and wrote. No plot, no theme, no thoughts really. Just a lot of random crap thrown together. Sad thing is, I think it turned out a bit better than some of the other things I've written, even considering I wrote this in first-person (collective gasp is heard). So if you don't really have anything else to do, maybe you could just drop a review on the way out. I mean, it's not like it takes that long… And who knows? Maybe if I get enough, I'll make a sequel. It's not like I wrote so much in here that I don't have any more ideas left; quite the opposite, in fact. So why don't you just go ahead and tell me how bad it was. /\/bats eyelashes/\/ Come on, you know you want to…

Ciao i miei amici

angelus abyssi