The Routine

Robin came awake with a start. The room was still dark. Nobody else was up. Time to start the day. Waking at Four in the morning had become a habit to Robin, ever since he realized it was the only time nobody else in the house ever wanted to be awake. Through numerous girlfriends and years with his daughters, that two hour window before six was a blessed relief from responsibility.

He scrabbled for his ancient flip phone, quickly confirming that the time was indeed four twelve in the morning. He glanced at the window, noting that at some point during the night another note had been attached. He pushed aside the blankets, rubbing at his eyes with a groggy expression. A teal A-shirt with "Ravenclaw" written on it was the first item of clothing in the pile of clean clothes that came to hand. Robin admitted to being terrible about putting away clean clothes, but was very particular about making certain that they stayed separate from dirty. It was one little chore he never felt the urge to master, because the revolving nature of his wardrobe ensured that things were either just coming out of the wash or going in.

He pulled the shirt on, quickly in the dark, moving towards the window. By the time he had opened the window enough to retrieve the note, he had his boxers on. Darn. Getting on towards fall. Soon he was going to have to break out the big blankets. The house had decent heating... in the main room. Robin couldn't remember ever actually turning on the small space heaters installed near the floorboards in his own or daughter's rooms. Some part of him was still convinced that he'd leave it on one evening and return to a burned down house.

It was too dark to read the note, and far too... sleep stuff in his eyes... Carefully, Robin picked his way towards the bathroom, grabbing a towel and a pair of shorts on the way. He placed the note on the counter, making certain that no water splashed on it as he turned on the shower and rubbed a bit of water on his face. That helped. His hands flicked at the light switch and the bleary man with severe bed head in the mirror looked back.

He glanced at the note, after another moment. Reciprocate? His eyes scanned the rest and all doubt left his mind. Viola had definitely seen him and Lauren in bed... Hmmm, and that was in the middle of the night... He glanced at the closed blinds in the bathroom. Well, a shower scene isn't quite a solo girl act, but...

Was he really going to... Ok, it's Four, No way she's... He pulled the A-shirt from his body and dropped his deep red boxers to the ground. He gathered up the clothes, moving to the window. His knees came into contact with the lower sill, and his hand toyed with the drawstring of the blinds.

The thought that this was really crossing a line went through Robin's head. No way he could pretend that he wasn't doing this on purpose. His hand toyed with the small plastic cone on the end of the drawstring. He pulled down slowly, and the darkened wall of the building opposite came into view fully. He felt the cool window close to him, and knew that he wasn't fully illuminated, but it was a start. He glanced at the light right above the sink. He should... His hands flicked the switch, amplifying the light in the room.

Just go about your routine, he thought to himself, filling the sink with soap. He glanced at the door. It was locked, he'd remembered that at least. His hands found the safety razor and the bar of soap. He lathered his face quickly, knowing that he was now facing away from the window and what would be visible if Viola was looking.

"So, hope you don't mind passing me the soap..." he mumbled, imagining the lovely little redhead stepping into the shower behind him. Many of his sex fantasies often included little domestic goofs. He slid the razor over the skin of his face, imagining Lauren behind himself, stroking his chest from behind and kissing gently at his neck. Somehow the two fantasies seemed to merge as he shaved, and when he tapped the razor a final time on the sink he found that he'd actually gotten hard thinking about it. Massively hard.