Burning Ice & Freezing Fire

Memory?!

"...You said that you moved to LazyTown from Iceland...along with your parents when you were four years old..." Sportacus is sitting on the bed across from Robbie, his legs crossed while watches the villain carefully, knowing that he has to take slow, careful steps in this subject. Robbie, propped up by pillows in his back so he's sitting as well, his legs bend and slightly pulled up against his chest (despite the hero's short protest that he worries whether he won't get stomachaches because of this again), is still busy keeping himself from falling asleep and nods weakly now.

"...But...when I asked whether you've ever experienced any kind of love... I also asked..."

"They didn't love me," Robbie's voice is low but steady and after a short pause he continues with a weak shrug "...They never helped me against Number Nine. They didn't care one bit why I was crying and all alone most of the time, starting shortly after he showed up for the first time. Before, I was okay with their disinterest in me... I had found some friends in town shortly after we moved here and I had my hobby: inventing stuff. But...when Nine...motivated my friends to play outside all the time..." he wraps his arms around his knees a little tighter "...Let's just say...even when I tried to play with them and gave my best...I ended up getting laughed at by them...and...him... But my parents didn't care. They barely listened to me... And my brother..." he breaks up with a low groan and presses his palm against his forehead, swallowing hard. "Shush..." Sportacus reaches out and gently, soothingly runs his hands up and down the villain's bare arms. Once Robbie has recovered a little again, the hero asks softly "...You have a brother?..."

"Yes..." Robbie calms himself again "...He was older than me by five years... We never got along that well, but when Nine started with all these sports...it became worse... He was his biggest fan, you could say... And he was one of the older kids in town so he quickly became their leader... When Nine wasn't around he was the one ordering the others around, 'motivating' them to keep practicing and playing even when they were tired... And he..." Robbie lowers his eyes "...He even slapped me once...because one of my schemes against Nine...went wrong and turned out to be a little more dangerous for him than I intended... You know how this is sometimes..." he forces a laugh but at the same time quickly wipes a tear from his cheek. Sportacus gently cups his cheek, wiping the next tears away for him, his voice soft but firm "But he though mustn't have slapped you! I know that you would never hurt anybody on purpose! And I...never approved of Nine's methods, anyway... I don't know much about him, but when I was in my last semester at school he visited the students and told us about his...adventures... I realized at once that I didn't like him. That's why it didn't really surprise me when I met you and saw that you are not evil like he claimed, but incredible...lovable..." he blushes and clears his throat "...But tell me more about your parents, please..."

"There's not much to tell... As I said, they didn't care at all... Never told me why we left Iceland, either... And one day...they and Ray, my brother, were...gone..." Robbie shrugs again, a small part of his mind tells him that he should react on the hero calling him 'lovable', but he can't... "Gone?" Sportacus quirks a brow "What do you mean 'gone'?..."

"Well, I mean that they left me!" Robbie clenches his hands into fists "Like one day they're still there and when I wake up the next morning I'm alone in the house! Like they left me behind! No letter! No note! Not even a single word before!" he's never talked about this with anybody before, but now he feels something deep down inside him shatter into a million of pieces and he can't help a sob "I-I mean, it's not like it made a huge difference! I was able to take care of myself at this age, after all... I-I was just surprised... Although it only proved what I already knew - that nobody wants to live with me... B-But..."

"Robbie. Robbie! Hey," Sportacus gently lifts the other's chin up to look into his teary eyes "This is not true. You hear me?! This had absolutely nothing to do with you!..."