Robin doesn't want to go home.

Again, he has no idea if his parents know, but he's pretty sure they do. He already knows that, if they do, they're going to have a lot to say about it. Especially because it's Jude, and they haven't approved of him in years.

Margo drives him back, and upon arrival he finds his truck already there. This means that Margo most likely notified his parents and they went to pick it up.  So, yes, they definitely know.

"Good luck," Margo says, and Robin just nods. He feels jittery and he doesn't trust his voice not to give it away. He takes his time walking up to the front door, and Margo waits for him to finally enter before pulling away. He takes a deep breath upon entrance, and immediately starts to sneak up to his room. He didn't even remember to check if his parent's cars were here due to his nerves.

Robin gets about halfway up before he hears his mom's voice from the living room.

"Robin, come here."

Her voice doesn't sound happy, and Robin closes his eyes, sighing. He briefly contemplates just leaving again, but decides that that would only put off the inevitable.

Robin turns around and heads back down the stairs. He finds both his parents in the living room with the tv paused, seated together on the sofa. The recliner is free, adjacent to them, and Robin mentally prepares himself as he takes a seat.

"Margo called," Mary Rose notifies her son, who can't make eye contact. Robin really just wants to get this over with.

"Okay," Robin says, unsure what else to say. He wants this conversation to be over.

"Well, do you have an idea of what she had to say?"

"No." Robin lies, because he doesn't want to say it out loud. He doesn't want to voice the fact that he's given Jude his entire future. Sure, he'd planned on it anyway, but not... like this. He prefers taking things slow. He wanted them to just be friends, despite his stupid repressed feelings and, well, Jude's not so repressed feelings.

"You allowed Jude Silas to mate you." Charlie Rose states matter-of-factly. Robin gulps. Well, so much for stalling.

Mary purses her lips, and even if Robin was unable to see their faces right now it would still be glaringly obvious how disappointed they are.

"Yeah, well." Robin responds, trying to figure out how to respond to that. "If I didn't I'd still be in heat."

"Forgetting to take your medicine was your mistake." His mother says, still looking like she regrets having a son.

"Okay, and I fixed it." Robin replies, slightly defensive for some reason. He's starting to think that maybe he should act like he wanted this. Like getting mated to his best friend was the plan all along.

"Being in heat for a few days is nothing compared to being mated for life. That is something that you need to plan with your partner later—"

"Okay, well, we're gonna be in love forever. So." Robin states, and for some reason at saying that out loud he gets this... feeling in his stomach. Butterflies? Nerves? Excitement?

Love?

"No, you're not." Charlie Rose immediately disagrees, causing a spark of irritation within Robin. How could he possibly even know that? Just because this man is basically incapable of caring about anyone, even his own children, doesn't mean that said children are the same way. Robin has always loved Jude, it's just that now he has come to the realization it's not a platonic love.

He wonders when that changed.

"You don't know that." Robin replies, trying not to get upset. He's only gotten an attitude with his parents a handful of times, and it never ended well. It's been years since their last argument, but talking back just generally goes against his nature.

Still, he feels the urge.

"Yes I do. You got mated way too young for it to ever work out. Best thing you can do for the time being is stay away from him, so we're putting in place some new rules."

Robin stops at that. Wait, did these people just say they're going to keep him away from Jude? Like, by force? Sure, he knows that after getting mated it's a good idea to take some time and get used to it, but typically the mated couple does that together. The urge to be together after mating is overwhelming, and Robin has never heard of any sort of organized avoidance afterwards.

"Like what?" Robin asks out of pure curiosity.

"No more contact with him. Physical or digital. You're going to get a curfew. I'm also going to be scheduling you weekly doctor's appointments. We're limiting your video games as well."

Robin just stares at her for a moment. Are they serious? "So you're grounding me."

"I guess you could put it like that." His mother replies, and Robin raises an eyebrow. He wonders if his parents are aware of his age. "You know I'm eighteen, right?"

"We are treating you based off of how you act. Your actual age is irrelevant."

Wow, okay. The age Robin acts. He's genuinely beginning to wonder if these people know his age. Like, actually. Robin doesn't even understand how he acts immature at all. He's never viewed himself as childish, so he has no idea where this is coming from.

Robin doesn't feel like arguing, though. Honestly, he wishes them the best of luck. Trying to keep he and Jude separated? Jude is basically incapable of staying away from Robin. Especially with his rebellious streak, forbidding him from doing something almost guarantees disobedience.

"Okay." Robin responds simply. He's not sure what else to say without staring a whole argument. He'd prefer for this conversation to be over as soon as possible.

His parents exchange glances, obviously thinking that he gave in too easily. Well, Robin doesn't plan on following their 'rules' all that well, but it's Jude that will break them with no remorse. That's out of all their control, though.

"Go to your room." Mary finally says, and Robin begins obeying thoughtlessly. He pauses at the doorway to say one last thing. Something they said needs a correction.

"Also," he says, wondering if he will face any consequences for this. He decides he doesn't care. "I didn't let him mate me, I asked him to."

Robin continues walking to his room, hearing no response from his parents. Once he reaches his bedroom, he falls onto the bed and stares up at his ceiling, the fan on full blast and making him a bit cold. He genuinely has no idea what his life will be like now. To be completely honest, he wants to move out.

He doesn't have the money, though. Even if he did, he wouldn't trust himself to budget it well. He constantly gets hyper fixated on a video game or a tattoo or something and can't even restrain himself from buying it. So, he's stuck here.

Robin doesn't check his phone to see if Jude has contacted him, too scared of what he'd find. He doesn't want to open the device and find messages about how much Jude regrets it, despite how unlikely that is. He's just emotional and uncertain of where to go from here.

After a minute, Robin hears a faint knock at his door. He lifts up his head a bit, before laying it back down. He really hopes that isn't one of his parents.

"Yeah?" He calls, hearing Kat's voice a moment later.

"Can I come in?"

Robin sighs. Don't get him wrong, he loves his sister, but he constantly feels the need to act strong and all... big brother around her, and he's really not in the mood right now. Still, he doesn't have the heart to say no.

"Sure."

Robin hears the door open and shut a moment later, and he doesn't move from his spot. He sees Kat lay next to him on the bed, hardly dipping at the added weight. They both stare at the ceiling.

"They're mad." Kat says, referring to their parents. Robin sighs. He can only assume that they told her as well. It was bound to come up at some point, anyway.

"Yeah, well." Robin says, feeling kind of tired. "Do you know what happened?"

"Kinda. You got mated."

"That's basically it," Robin replies. "I think they're mostly upset that it's Jude."

Kat hums, scooting closer so she can rest her head against his arm. He wonders why she's so affectionate right now, considering how distant she's been lately.

"Well I like him."

Robin half smiles. "Thanks."

"He's cool. I like his car."

Robin decides not to tell her that Jude's mustang is currently in pieces. "Yeah. Pretty hot."

Kat snorts, humming her agreement.

Robin is really hoping that this whole thing works out. Sure, he didn't initially have any intention of getting mated to Jude, but this conversation with Kat has made him feel weirdly better about it. He did ask Jude to, and he's the one that forgot his medicine. When it comes down to it, this is entirely on Robin.

Who was Jude to say no? According to him, he's had bottled up feelings for a while now. Not to mention he was in a rut. Robin really can't blame him for any of this.

He is really curious about Jude's whole crush on him, though. Like, when did it start? Why didn't he ever say anything? Why?

Okay, maybe Robin can make sense of why Jude never told him. Most likely for the same reason Robin kept his own secret, scared of losing each other. However, Robin genuinely does not understand why Jude would feel this way. Sure, they've always been close, and their secondary genders are compatible, but...

Maybe Robin is putting him on a bit of a pedestal here, but Jude has always been so perfect to him. He's unbelievably smart, attractive, kind... to Robin. He's so good to Robin, but he also has just enough attitude and sarcasm to make himself even more desirable. His pale blue eyes have always been so captivating, and his hair is soft, and Robin just doesn't match.

Robin has been a complete mess for as long as he can remember. He and Jude have hardly anything in common. Robin basically always has a problem, and he's been in his emo phase for 3 years. He's always been lacking in the intelligence department, needing help with the most basic problems. He views himself as more of an inconvenience than anything. Robin and Jude just disagree.

Yet they compliment each other perfectly.

Robin supposes that Jude has never really been that subtle. They guy has always been touchy, has always had a bit of a staring problem. So, Robin can only assume that he's felt this way for a while.

He seemed serious about not wanting to talk about it, though. That's a bummer because Robin doesn't see his curiosity ever going away. They do have the rest of their lives, though, so maybe Jude will change his mind. There's plenty of time.

"They said they weren't going to let you see him."

Kat's voice startles Robin a bit, due to how deep in his head he'd been. He starts biting his cheek, continuing to stare at the ceiling. He half-shrugs.

"I don't think they will care for that long."

Honestly, nine times out of ten—on the rare occasion that Robin's parents punish their kids—they forget in like a week. Well, that or they stop caring. Robin is hoping that this time will be like the others, but he's not sure. He's never done anything this serious before.

"Probably not," Kat agrees, and Robin closes his eyes. He knows he woke up not too long ago, but for some reason he's beginning to feel sleepy again. He decides to blame it on his heat, getting mated, and his parent's fury.

Still, he doesn't fight it, and the last thing he registers is Kat covering him in a blanket before he loses consciousness.

[] [] []