Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans, or, in the case of this story, Slade, Robin and the name of William Wintergreen… I'm sadly not making any money from this either, so why the hell am I doing it? I have no idea… I hope I never figure it out… ;) Anyway, not mine, don't own, just messing with.
A/N: Happy Birthday to me! (one day early, as my b-day is on the 7'th… but I'll be busy eating cake tomorrow… ;) ) Apart from myself (I'm allowed to be narcissistic as it's my b-day) I'd also like to dedicate the first drabble in this collection to kitsunechibiko who was my 1.000:nd reviewer for '2060'.
As this is a drabble collection, don't expect regular updates. There are other differences as well, like in 2060 it was all, mostly, from Robin's P.O.V, but here we see quite a lot of Slade's thoughts as well… and it's not "divided" into "Robin's P.O.V" and "Slade's P.O.V", it's a mix, so please tell me if it's too hard to follow or something…
This is pretty much a re-introduction chapter to kick things off, so don't expect too much!
2061
It Begins…
Slade was working behind his desk when the intercom came to life.
"The Liberation Day spokesperson has arrived, Sir." William's voice told him, somewhat nervously.
"Let him in." Slade told his assistant, and collected his thoughts for the upcoming negotiation. The Mongrel community had changed rather drastically in the last year.
Slade stood up as the ambassador walked in, flanked by heavily armed guards. Four of them. Yes, things had changed indeed. He smiled as the man in the long white robe raised his hood.
"Hello Robin."
"You couldn't even have the decency to look even slightly surprised?" the teen snorted.
"Why would I? I knew you wouldn't allow anyone else to come." Slade shrugged. "Take a seat. William? Send for some refreshments."
"Pardon me, Sir." one of the guards said. "The Mon- the ambassador brought several parcels with him… they are being screened as we speak, but for your safety-?"
"Robin? What are they?" Slade asked the now seated teen.
"Liberation Day presents for the Wintergreens. They are safe, but some quite brittle." the young man answered in what Slade had come to call his 'upper class' voice. The man couldn't help but chuckle quietly as he heard it again after such a long time. He had never thought that he would miss Robin being snooty.
Slade turned to the guard.
"Bring them to the reception. And you can go. You are not needed."
After hesitating to the point of making their boss frown, the guards left.
Slade walked around his desk and sat down, noticing how Robin lounged comfortably in the chair he had chosen, while looking around the office.
"The cell is gone." The teen noted flatly.
"I saw no need for a display cabinet when I had nothing pretty to put inside it." Slade shrugged, earning a little smirk from Robin.
"I bet you thought that was flattering." the teen snorted.
"It wasn't? I must be out of practice."
"You never bothered to practice."
"Veni, vidi, vici." Slade concurred smugly.
"Says you." Robin snorted. "Anyway, I am not here to argue with you about your nonexistent decency, I'm here to do business." he continued.
"Certainly. As always at these meetings, I'm listening." Slade smirked.
"You'll do a whole lot more than that, I hope." Robin smirked back.
A knock on the door announced William with a tray with two glasses, as well as some cheese, crackers and fresh fruit. Robin's mouth watered as he smelled the cheese. A year ago he wouldn't have been particularly thrilled, but living slightly beyond the edge of society meant you had to go without many things and that others were severely limited.
"Something else you require before we begin?" Slade asked as Robin busied himself with the tray.
"A map of Manhattan would be good. A big one if you have it." he nodded.
"Oh, I have a big one." the man smirked and went over to a cabinet.
"How can you stand him, Will?" Robin grinned at the blond assistant. "Maybe I should offer you a job instead?"
"I doubt you have any health-insurance, and I think I'd need it." William grinned carefully back.
"Well… good to see you again, anyway." Robin shrugged. "I hope we can talk later? I'd love to meet everyone after this… I brought presents!"
"I'm sure mum would be bursting through the door as we speak if she knew you were here…" William said with a little sigh. "Sir?" he asked Slade.
"I'll let you know." The man told him, returning with the map. "If all goes well here… we'll see."
William nodded.
"Anything else, Sir?"
"No, that will be all. Thank you." the man nodded and William left.
Robin sat back in his chair, munching on a cracker so stuffed with cheese it could barelyhold its weight, and sipping on a glass of carbonated water. He did his best to look calm and collected, but his heart was racing.
He knew Slade held all the cards here. Sure, the man always had; even after escaping, Robin knew the man could have put a greater effort into catching him, or, if he chose too, simply wipe the Mongrel's territory off the face of the earth with one strike. Slade hadn't, though. Instead they had been playing this little game of cat and mouse, but now he had walked straight in between the cat's paws… and maybe Slade would be too tempted not to strike this time?
No matter. He had made his choice, and sending someone else in his place was, as the man had suspected, out of the question. Robin sat up straighter and snatched a pen up from Slade's desk before starting to draw on the map the man had just placed there.
"If I knew you were going to scribble on it I would have lent you a copy." Slade told him dryly as he sat down behind his desk again.
"Don't be so stingy, Slade." Robin chuckled. "I'm sure you can afford another one. Besides, we're making history here."
"Is that what we're making?" the man snorted amusedly. "I thought it was inane conversation."
"Well, to be fair, that's what you are doing." the teen laughed and then shoved the map across the desk to Slade. "Here, I marked out the Mongrel's current territory, do you agree that that's correct?"
Slade took a look at the map, studying it carefully.
"Yes. If I may ask, though… are they really calling themselves Mongrels?"
"Yes, we are." Robin stated decisively. "It started long before I ever joined; they took a derisive name and turned it into an identity, because you know what? Mongrels are stronger and more versatile than purebreds." Robin smirked.
"Oh, you really got me there." Slade grinned. "So, well, we have established what you call 'your' area. What about it?"
"We want to expand." Robin told him.
"No."
The teen rose to his feet in a collected manner and started to walk around the office, studying the amazing view. The areas closest to the building were not building-sites any more, but more or less completed buildings.
"I'd like to ask you to listen to me before you say no." Robin said. "We are not asking for something for nothing. We are a people outside of society. We don't want to be ruled by you, but we don't want to be outsiders either. As it is we are forced to steal what we can't make, and that's a lot, I'm afraid. We are not proud of this, it doesn't give us a sense of accomplishment. We don't want to be thieves. We don't want to be feared and loathed… if we can't get respected, we at least would like to be left alone." Robin turned around to calmly meet Slade's eye, to see if he was listening.
"You are escaped slaves and unregistered citizens. That makes you criminals in this world." the man answered, crossing his arms.
"By your laws. Change them."
"You must be prepared to offer quite a lot, my little bird…" The corner of Slade's mouth rose a little.
"Oh, yes." Robin smirked back. "Quite a lot… But of course, we ask quite a lot too, although I doubt you will think it much…" the teen came back to the desk and stood by Slade's chair, leaning over the map, drawing more lines. "Are you familiar with the Freetown Christiania in the Danish capital of Copenhagen?" Robin asked. "Well… in what used to be Denmark, anyway."
"It was a self-proclaimed independent community within the city… it even had its own flag and were governed by slightly different laws." Slade said.
"That's right. We're like that... but without the drugs." Robin added as an afterthought.
"Glad to hear it." Slade muttered. The man was slightly distracted by having Robin's hip and thigh touching the side of his chair, and sometimes his shoulder and arm.
"We would like to be more open, though, and as a start, we would like to expand like this…" Robin said and showed the new marks he had made on the map.
"This is currently a no-man's land, too dangerous for us to stay in, and too close to us for you to build in. The area to the other side is a rather large part of Central Park that has long since been overgrown and unused. Both areas are of little value to you, but could mean a lot to us."
"The board will love a suggestion about letting runaways legally not only occupy an area of New York, but also expand it." Slade snorted.
"A suggestion? From you? Do you even know how to make one?" Robin looked down on the man, with mocking, wide eyes.
"You thought you were cute now, didn't you?"
"I know I was." Robin tossed his hair, the formerly short locks now a lot longer, but still soft and still slightly curly at the ends. It now almost brushed his shoulders, but was cut a bit unevenly, maybe with a knife. It was a haircut made of necessity, not vanity, but Slade thought it suited the teen; it brought out his wild side.
"Well… you might be right." the man smirked. "So… how are you going to get me to agree to this insanity?"
"Through my great gift of persuasion… and by granting you rewards I don't think you can resist…" Robin purred.
"Stop trying to speak to my libido and make me an offer." the man's smirk got wider.
"I just wanted to address the biggest part of you… it's that that makes all the decisions anyway…" Robin almost pouted. A flat look from Slade, made the teen lower his head a little in a silent apology. "Very well… my offer… We are a community of about a little over two hundred and thirty individuals-"
"Don't bother trying to negotiate with me if you are going to lie." Slade cut the teen off abruptly in a cold voice.
"W-what?" Robin almost lost his composure, his heart skipping a few beats. He took a step away and his robe snatched a bit on the armrests of Slade's chair. It was by accident and his own fault, but it elevated his feelings of alarm, of danger, of being caught. He had to take a few quiet breaths to get back to a normal pulse.
"Would you care to tell me again how many of you there are?" Slade said, fingers tapping on the map where Robin had drawn.
"Okay… I don't know… about a hundred more perhaps?"
"One hundred and sixty three more. Give or take." Slade said.
"Four. Amanda just had a baby a few days ago." Robin said with a little smile.
"Not yours, I hope?" Slade asked.
"Of course not. No icky women-things, remember?" Robin snorted. He walked around the desk again, and now his foot almost got caught in the robe. He growled and pulled the thing over his head.
"Oh, are we at the stripping-part? Lovely, I thought that would take a while." Slade chuckled behind his back.
Robin, wearing his black outfit underneath, only snorted.
"Some day those delusions of yours will make you think you can fly, and you will drop from this building like a rock." he muttered.
"Maybe. How was that, by the way?" Slade asked in innocent curiosity.
"I didn't drop. I flew." Robin grinned and resumed his seat, and his pursuit of the snack. He felt Slade's eye on him He knew he looked good, of course, though the longevity-drug Slade had given him had stopped any aging, and therefore maturing, of his features, his body was in excellent condition. Maybe a bit leaner than he wanted it to be, but you didn't get fat, living as a Mongrel, and Robin always made sure the kids got what they needed first.
Slade made a sound like he was clearing his throat, probably coming back from thoughts of a very dirty and carnal nature, Robin thought, and to his own embarrassment felt his own groin stirring a bit in interest. As the man started speaking, however, Robin tried to suppress it.
"Well, getting back to the subject at hand. You were telling me how many of you there were, and I suspect you had a reason to do so?" the man said.
"Yes." Robin straightened again. "We offer you, first and foremost, peace. No more stealing, no more raids. Your deliveries will no longer be interrupted. We also will agree to a moderate amount of surveillance, and offer you workers. Twenty percent of the able adults, twenty hours a week and, on top of that, we have several younger people who would like to enter into apprenticeships in different areas. Yes, I knew you would love that term. They want to learn how to build, sew, farm, the basics of medicine… it's up to you what you can offer really. None of the Mongrels will work in the sex industry, however."
"And in exchange you only want the land?" Slade said.
"No… not just. We of course demand that no patrolling will take place, but that is pretty obvious, since we will be occupying the land legally… in return it will be safe for citizens to enter the area, in fact, we want them to. There are lots of things that we can do, but we lack many basics, which we have had to steal so far… from now on, we would like to trade instead. We have some amazing artists among us, as well as cooks and bakers. These people can create miracles out of nothing. We will share those for groceries, tools, fabric… anything and everything, really…" Robin said and then waited for any kind of reaction from Slade.
"Before we go any further…" the man said, "I caught something before that puzzled me… farming?"
"Yes, we plan to farm quite a large area of Central Park. Oh, and we want full and exclusive hunting-rights in the area, by the way… forgot to mention that." Robin told him.
"Hunting what? Squirrels?"
"You have no idea how good squirrel tastes when you're really hungry. And rat." Robin said coldly. "But as the war began, people set a lot of pets loose as they had to flee or couldn't provide for them. There's a large amount of rabbits, for one, even a small but stable herd of horses, although we will use them mainly for farm-work, if we can get someone to show us how to tame and train them."
"That's… ambitious." Slade quirked an eyebrow.
"Yeah, I know, big plans, but one step at the time. We need to be as self-sufficient as we can get, though…" Robin shrugged. "We need other things too, however, that we can't make; medical supplies, and, preferably a doctor… next time Rose screws up, why don't you send her over?" he added with a somewhat mean smirk.
"Marvelous idea." Slade admitted with a chuckle.
"Speaking about Rose, but really not, we also need birth-control drugs." Robin said, a faint blush on his cheeks.
"And why is that? Too much 'free love' around for your taste?" the man grinned.
"I doubt the 'free love' as you call it, would stop, but the results of it would." Robin said firmly. "We are a rather small community, and we have very few resources… we can't afford for our numbers to grow too much too quickly."
"Well, I do agree with that, of course." Slade nodded. "If nothing else, the birth-control drugs are yours. I'll supply you with disposable syringes with different time-intervals for the effectiveness of the drug from three months to two years."
"Perfect, thank you." Robin said with a smile which lit up his eyes. Of course, he knew that Slade knew that this was beneficial to him as well, and might not have agreed otherwise, but to Robin it still was a small, and welcomed, victory.
Slade mentally sighed as he saw that smile. That was something he had missed as well, because a real, warm one like that, had, of course, been rare. He wanted to see it again and had to pull in his own reins because if he fell for it, he would grant the boy a whole lot more than he had planned. It was time to make some demands on his own.
"About your growing numbers, I have a condition which must be fulfilled for these discussions to even continue." the man said. "I want an extradition treaty."
"No." Robin stood up. "Most of us are runaways, we can't turn them over to you!"
"The treaty will take effect from the time the drugs are delivered and what other suggestions I might agree with, begins." Slade said with a hint of steel in his voice. "It will state that you will be forced to turn over criminals, or all your privileges will be revoked."
"They are not criminals to us." Robin growled. "Seeking freedom is not a crime. If there was a case of an actual criminal trying to seek shelter with us, and you have proof, then we'll talk."
"Think about it, Robin. If I grant you the land, the news of this haven, if you really want to call it that, will spread like wildfire. People always think the grass is greener on the other side, and there might be a mass escape to reach you… you were talking about having trouble feeding everyone, how do you think three or four hundred additional adults would affect your resources?"
Robin frowned.
Fuck it… he makes sense.
He got up from the chair and started pacing. When he stopped, his shoulders sagged slightly.
"As you say the Mongrel community will suddenly become a reality instead of something of a myth… you agree it will be a big temptation for those who have the possibility to run, right?" Robin asked.
"Yes, undoubtedly." Slade agreed.
"Well, then we have to take precautions." Robin sighed, sinking down into the soft chair again. "First we will have to make it clear, on all fronts, that runaways will not be accepted, and secondly I don't want those who still try, to be punished beyond reason. No shooting people to prove a point."
"I might be able to agree to that… but you have to appear with me during the informational campaign, or the credibility will be very low."
"Sure, I'll check my calendar." Robin grinned and raised his glass of water to the man before emptying it. "This is something I have to discuss with the others though… they won't be happy."
"You'll make them see it our way." Slade almost purred. By the way… how is it?"
"How is what?" Robin asked, too distracted by the question to chew Slade out about the 'our way' remark.
"Being a leader." Slade smiled. "Do you like it?"
"I'm not a leader, we have a council." Robin snorted.
"And who leads that council?" Slade asked sweetly.
"That's just a formality! We make all major decisions together!" the teen snarled.
"And yet you are soon to present a suggestion to them that the majority won't like, and you will make it come true…" Slade was visibly enjoying himself.
"It's the right decision. For now." Robin muttered.
"Yes. And a major one. And yours. And I'm rather sure that this won't be the first time that happens by a long-shot." Slade chuckled.
"I'm only doing what's best for the community." the teen tried.
"Of course. Every good leader does, even if it means making difficult decisions and ignoring the needs of individuals… It's the big picture that matters."
Robin glared at the man across from him. He wanted to yell that he always thought about individuals, but the truth was that he didn't. It was impossible, in such a large group, to make sure everyone was happy about everything. He really hated it when Slade was right, though.
"At least I still consider them human beings." he muttered.
"Yes… you still have much to learn." Slade smirked.
"Ha-ha." Robin snorted. "Let's talk about things that would make me happy instead, alright? The land. Do you agree to our demands there?"
"I think I can grant you the areas of the park and the hunting-rights." Slade said, studying the map again. "As you say, it's mostly unkempt and unused areas anyway. The no-mans land, however, I'm not happy about letting you closer to the areas on the other side. I can agree to have that area be neutral, however, and therefore safe, but I don't want any buildings on it."
"We planned to use it as an open market-place." Robin told him. "If we can do that, we won't mind if it's neutral land, in fact, that might work out better."
"Then it's settled." Slade decided.
"Well, not quite. If it's neutral, it's only fair if you help us clear it. As it is, it's full of rubble and dangerous ruins about to collapse. We need knowledgeable demolition crews to help out… and we want the right to any salvageable material like bricks and pipes."
"You are very good at making demands. my little bird…" Slade smirked. "I will assign you a few team leaders and some crew, but you will be supplying the main work force. And, as long as we are on the subject, you were offering twenty percent of the able adults, twenty hours a week. I want seventy percent for a full forty hours a week."
"No can do, not when we have so much to rebuild ourselves, as well as trade-items to make." Robin shook his head. "So many working full time would make our progress slower, and I think you don't want it to be, or things might start to disappear again." Robin added the last with a smirk.
"Make no mistake, my dear boy… if I agree to 'free' you, or what you might want to call it, any breaking of the laws outside of your area will be severely punished, and I'll send in patrols to make sure the perpetrators are caught or killed… the extradition treaty will include those people too." Slade met Robin's dark look calmly. "That term is unconditional, I'm afraid."
"Fine." Robin growled. "I already promised no more raids, didn't I? But about the percentige… fourty-thirty."
"Sixty-thirty." Slade countered.
"Fifty-thirty." Robin said.
"I'll agree to that if you agree to a renegotiation in two years." Slade said. "You should be more settled then, and should be able to offer more people for more hours."
"Fine. We'll talk about it then." Robin agreed.
"Done."
Robin nodded with a small smile and leaned back slightly in his chair. He wanted to rub his neck and shoulders, he was so tense.
"I think we both need a break." Slade told him. "How about lunch?"
"Sounds lovely. I just need to wash up." Robin said.
"You can use the bathroom in the apartment." Slade told him, and Robin stood with a nod.
"Thanks. I'll be right back." The teen walked out the door and noticed William looking up sharply.
"I'm just going to use the bathroom." Robin explained with a smile.
"Would you hang on a moment?" the blond said in a pleasant way, but it was clear by his tone that he expects to be obeyed.
Hmmm… this is new… Robin chuckled to himself as he stopped and waited while William spoke into his earpiece.
"Sir, does Robin have clearance to go into the apartment? Yes, Sir." the assistant gave the teen in front of his desk a nod and a small smile. "It's okay, go ahead."
"You were double checking?" Robin grinned. "Good for you!"
"Well, I do try to learn from my mistakes…" the man muttered.
"Hey, Will, I didn't completely ruin your trust in humanity, did I?" Robin asked a bit worriedly.
"No, no, just in pretty ex-super heroes with huge blue eyes…" the man grinned back.
"Glad to hear it, you can never trust one of those…" Robin snickered. "Well, nature's calling. See you."
The apartment looked more or less exactly the same. Robin tried not to look at the bed, because he was afraid of his own reaction… mostly because he expected it to be at least some degree of arousal. He snorted and shook his head. He had wanted to walk into that office and feel nothing for Slade, nothing at all, and still, as soon as their eyes met, it all came rushing back… the anger at the betrayals and manipulations had long since blurred and weakened, not because they still mattered, but because they had been replaced by the more current and pressing need to fight for survival. That fact, however, made way for the happier memories to slither to the front of his mind… happy, and mostly dirty, memories. The first thing he had thought seeing Slade wasn't 'there's that bastard', it had been' oh, god, he's even hotter than I remember.' and Robin hated himself for that.
There was a connection between them however, and Robin didn't think it was just ghosts of the game of pretend he had played. He had even considered Stockholm syndrome, but it didn't quite fit… maybe some of it was, but he had made a decision to comply with Slade, and not because he liked the man or sympathized with him, but because of selfish reasons: to help himself escape... the thing that nagged him was that living with Slade was, at times, rather easy… he would have felt better if he could look back on that time and remember it only being trying and horrible, but instead he sometimes found himself smiling or chuckling, and that was just… sick.
Robin muttered again and finished up relieving himself. He then walked over to the sink to wash his hands and do what he really came here to do. He opened a cabinet and found a razor. After rummaging around a bit he found a new blade and made a small cut on the top of his hand. He wiped off the single drop of blood and smirked.
The longevity drug had probably been in the water, he figured. He had tested himself about once a month since his escape, and lately it had taken a full day for a small wound to completely disappear. That was still much faster than normal, of course, but now it had happened in seconds.
Robin knew Slade would make sure he got the drug, one way or another, but he had never imagined himself wanting it. After this year, however, he saw the benefits for it. He could go on longer, with less, than any other, and he didn't need to worry too much about getting hurt. He still wanted to grow up, but he could put that aside for now, as these abilities were better for the community.
Slade could go screw a wall-socket, Robin knew he was being a good leader. Sure he had to put his foot down now and then, but nobody feared him and he seemed to be well liked and respected… he would like to see Slade manage that, thank you very much.
He returned the blade, washed his hands again and left the bathroom. Immediately his nose was assaulted by the most amazing smell, and he saw that the dining table was laid out for lunch.
"I had steaks ordered." Slade told him. "Normally a bit heavy for lunch perhaps, but I thought you might appreciate it."
"I'm sure I will." Robin grinned hungrily. "Please tell me there is some form of potatoes too?"
"Roasted potato wedges, but I can order up anything you want." Slade smirked.
"Stop trying to lure me to the dark side with potatoes!" Robin chuckled.
"Oh, I wouldn't dream of it… incidentally we also have the chocolate and strawberry mousse you love."
"The Mongrels who?" Robin said quickly and sat down on a chair.
Slade chuckled and shook his head as he served the boy. He wished it could have been this easy…
They ate in silence for a while before Slade looked up at the young man across from him.
"May I ask something?"
"Is there a way for me to stop you?" Robin blinked. "Yeah, sure." he added when the man gave him a look.
"The man we found about six or seven months ago, hogtied outside a factory, that was one of yours, right?"
"Yes."
"May I ask why he ended up like that?"
"He didn't tell you?" Robin smirked a bit smugly.
"No, in fact he seemed terrified and wouldn't say a word of where he came from or what had happened… it was clear he was a mongrel, though, and he was on the wanted-list, so that's how I found out about it."
"Amazing. One thing he actually listened to." Robin murmured to himself.
"And the reason…?" Slade asked.
Robin glanced up at the man, and sighed.
"Let's just say that he couldn't keep his hands to himself, and didn't know how to take no for an answer." Robin muttered.
"Ah… I see." Slade mulled this over for a moment. "And have you given that answer to many?"
"To everyone who has asked." Robin shrugged.
"Is that so?"
"Well… no one compares to you, Slade." Robin said softly, looking the man straight in the eye.
"Right…" the man chuckled.
Robin grinned. It was so funny that Slade thought he had been joking... because he had never been more honest in his life.
"I'll keep snipers on standby just in case." the man added.
"You do that." Robin nodded. "And what about you? Have you slapped any hands away lately… or tied them to the headboard?" Robin asked, slightly worried about the answer.
"Been a bit too busy keeping an eye on you." Slade smirked.
"Awww… you work too hard. But it makes me feel so special." Robin grinned. "Oh, by the way, can you just ask me next time you decide I need a new dose? The carbon dioxide didn't really mask the flavor that well."
Slade inclined his head slightly with a small smirk.
"Noted. I'll tell the lab."
"No, tell me. That was the whole point, not making the lab work harder to trick me." Robin rolled his eyes.
"I'll just have to try to remember to do both." Slade said. "Ready for dessert?"
"Hell yes." Robin smiled.
"If I didn't think you would turn pervy on me, I would have asked to lie down a bit…" Robin yawned as they stood up from the table some time later. "Why do I always seem to OD on steak-dinners?"
"It was all in my plan to get you half comatose for the rest of the negotiations." Slade grinned and held the door to the apartment open for him.
"Bastard." Robin chuckled. "I actually believe you… you are so afraid of my negotiations skills."
"Yes, they are fearsome." Slade deadpanned. "I'm trembling."
They were walking through the lobby when the attack came.
"Robin!"
"Rebecca… I… Becky, please, I've just eaten!" Robin gasped as he was being hugged with a vengeance.
"Oh, sorry… it's so good to see you again… you don't call often enough!"
"Call?" Slade asked, arching an eyebrow.
"Damn… Rebecca, honey, it was a secret, remember?" Robin groaned. He had been using his cell phone now and then, and the battery was quite amazing. It only now started to run out, and, sure, Robin had kept the phone turned off and hidden at different locations when he wasn't using it, but still… something else to like about the future…
"Yes, but that doesn't matter, does it? You're back now!" the 'fifty plus' woman burbled.
"Only for today." Robin objected. "And I'd love to have a chat, but we are negotiating…"
"Oh, is that what the kids call it nowadays?" the woman laughed, completely ignoring the fact that Slade was old enough to be her grandfather.
Robin felt his face blush and heard Slade chuckle.
"Robin and I really must be going." the man then said, coming to the rescue. "If there's time later-"
"Oh, pish-posh! We'll get together now, and then you'll have dinner with us tonight, you can continue tomorrow! In fact, you have to stay for the whole holiday, of course. It's only for four days."
"But I have to-" Robin started.
"I'm sure whatever it is can wait, I mean what can possibly be needed to be done out there? And look at you, all skin and bones! You have had lunch, you said? How about some cookies?"
"Slade, help!" the teen complained, looking back at the man.
"You are welcome to stay, of course." Slade looked rather smug about the whole thing.
"There! See?" Rebecca said. "You can't leave… and this will give you plenty of time to 'negotiate' things too." she added in what she probably thought was a whisper.
Robin hung his head. He could fight Slade, even outsmart him on occasion, but he was powerless against Rebecca.
"Fine. I'd love to stay… but on some conditions… If Slade will grant them, that is?" the teen said and turned to the man.
"Of course he will, he'd love to have you here as well!" the woman immediately decided, and Robin smirked, as it was Slade's turn to look a little worried. Rebecca was an awesome weapon, yes, but a weapon could always be used on both sides.
"I hope so." Robin said with a fake sigh. "Slade I need one of your men to send a message to my people. He or she is to dress in all white. Also all hostile forces are to fall back for the duration of my stay, no matter how the negotiations are unfolding. Messengers, who will be wearing white, will be guaranteed safety and be allowed to deliver their messages to me personally."
"Is that all?"
"No, as a show of good will, I'll need food baskets prepared… you know… for Liberation-day. About three hundred of them would be enough… and maybe some other gifts like blankets, toys, books… I'm sure you can think of something…" Robin smiled pleasantly.
"We'd all love to help, of course!" Rebecca said and hugged Robin again. "I'll call some people I know right now, and you can come with me and write your message."
"Thanks. If all this is all right with Slade, of course?" Robin gave the man a rather triumphant look.
Slade sighed and threw out his arms.
"What choice do I have?" he said.
"None whatsoever… now how does that make you feel?" Robin snickered. "Alright, Rebecca, I'm coming…"
As the elevator doors closed on the teen and the woman, William nervously cleared his throat.
"I'm sorry Sir, but you did ask me to make sure mother would stop by after lunch."
"I did, and don't worry…" Slade grinned "It went exactly according to plan… well… apart from the blankets… but all in all… the games have begun…"
To be continued…
A/N: well, as I said at the top, it's pretty much an introduction. The drabbles will, I hope, follow this time-line with a few flashbacks and stuff perhaps… and I will write Will and Duncan's first time together, as I have promised before and look forwards to… For now, though, I'm going back to the Christmas-drabbles… I hope to have them all done before December starts, and I am on December 18'Th right now so it's looking good… ;)