Picnic - Robin, John Stoker, Kira Burke, Cody Dayton

Robin leans back on the lawn and closes his eyes. It’s bright, almost too bright. It’s giving him a headache, and the birdsong he normally would enjoy seems overly loud.
Maybe he just hasn’t been out in the sun often enough. John and Kira look almost as uncomfortable in it as real vampires, clinging to the shade of trees for the most part. A life lived in the shadows may not make you a vampire by default, but it can certainly change a lot of things.
But normally, sunlight doesn’t bother Robin. In fact, he tends to be drawn to it, even now. His powers aren’t capable of working from nothing, and they’re always stronger if he’s spent time around heat or light he hasn’t created. But today, he feels like covering his eyes and hiding away.
He hasn’t had a headache like this since…
Since he was at Silver Blade. This isn’t the ache he felt when he was a host, switching back and forth between Arion’s control and his own. It isn’t the pounding, incessant squeezing like an audible heartbeat. It’s just a vague soreness at the bridge of his nose and behind his eyes. Like what happens if he eats something with preservatives or agriculture chemicals.
He’s always careful with his food. Even today, when John and Cody packed the picnic lunch (Cody in charge of the side dishes and John fixing their sandwiches) both of them would have been careful to make sure Robin’s food was clean. But he can’t deny that they ate less than an hour ago and now he’s feeling the effects of some kind of chemical. He thinks this is one of the bug sprays. Unfortunately common in California when crop dusters hit the orange groves and other growing things in the bargain.
Cody must notice him flinching, because he puts down the book he’s been reading and glances over.
“Robin, are you alright?”
Robin shrugs. He doesn’t want to mess up their one day off. He can just sleep it off, it’s not as bad as it could be. Not like the years and years of eating the same kinds of things at every meal (when he had the chance to eat in the first place).
“Hey, kiddo, that’s not a yes and you know it,” John says.
Busted.
Robin is pretty good at fooling people even though he can’t lie. John always seems to catch him. Maybe it’s got something to do with his second sight.
“It’s not that bad,” he whispers. “Just a headache.”
Something he’d lived with persistently for three years. One afternoon isn’t going to be so bad. And he’ll recover pretty well out here. “We don’t have to leave, I’ll just sleep it off.”
“Sure you don’t want to go home?” John persists.
“I’ll be more sensitive to the iron in your car now. I’ll just wait out the worst of it.”
WHAT BOTHER YOU? SOMEONE SPRAY LAWN HERE? Kira asks.
Robin shakes his head. He doesn’t like grass that’s been sprayed with weedkiller either, but thankfully this park tends to keep things on the low to no chemicals end. There’s a network of fae in the city who know the places to go and places to avoid, he asked them before picking today’s spot.
SOMETHING I ATE.
Kira immediately goes to the picnic basket to see if she can find the culprit, ever the scientist.
“Sorry, kid, I thought we were careful,” John says. “Guess not careful enough.”
Sometimes they can’t be. Labels can be deceiving and if you haven’t spent your whole life knowing what to look for, it’s easy to make a mistake. Thankfully, Robin’s allergies aren’t exactly life-threatening.
YOUR LETTUCE USUALLY GREEN BAND. Kira holds up the rubber band from the bottom of the picnic basket. NOT PURPLE.
“I grabbed it from the organic section I swear,” John says. “Someone musta changed their mind and just put this in there instead of bothering to go put it back.” He grimaces. “Can’t say I haven’t been guilty of doing things like that myself.” Robin figures he won’t do it again.
“Anything we can do to help?” Cody asks.
Robin shakes his head, wincing slightly as that makes the pain worse. “Just need to lay here for a bit.” He wraps his fingers around a couple tufts of grass. The more of his body that’s in contact with the ground and the plants, the faster he’ll feel better.
John sits down beside him and starts running his fingers gently through Robin’s hair. It feels good, like the warmth of the grass against him, and Robin leans into the touch.
He’s not sure when his head stops aching, only that it does. And by the time he’s woken up, he’s resting not on the ground but half on John’s legs, with the picnic blanket draped over him, and he can feel flowers someone (probably Kira) wove into his hair while he was asleep. Cody is sprawled out on the grass beside him, still reading his book, one hand rested over Robin’s fingers, where they’re still gripping the soft grass.
Robin smiles and just settles in a little closer. He’s with his family, so he’s going to be just fine.