Chapter One:

Unusual Encounter

She was the owner of a quaint little flower shop in downtown Jump City. Not the best or busiest area of town, but she was able to make ends meet by growing her own flowers behind the building. She dwelled in the housing unit above the shop and she was quite content with her current lifestyle. A little dull, perhaps, but lax to say the least. Occasionally crime would sprout up fairly close to her homestead, but whether it was The Hive Five, Mumbo Jumbo, or any other fiend, the Teen Titans would make quick work of them.

It was a gloomy evening, not unlike the usual days in Jump City. The sun had just begun dipping below the horizon, bathing the city in tarnished shades of orange and yellow. Toree began wiping down the counters and making sure the plants we're prepped for the next day. It was nearing closing time and she wanted to get upstairs to watch a couple shows on TV before bed. The welcome bell rang as a customer entered her humble shop. She glance up and instantly recognized one of her regulars. He came in every other week and bought a bouquet of orchids and jasmine, almost like clockwork.

"Closing up?" His voice was somehow soft and rough at the same time. He was an older gentleman, probably mid to late forties. He had brilliantly white hair and a matching goatee of sorts. A black leather patch covered his right eye; Toree wondered what happened, but wasn't nosy enough to ask. And honestly, he kind of scared the piss out of her. He walked with an air of confidence, but somehow gave off a feeling of exhaustion. She couldn't lie that she found him attractive; insanely mysterious and interesting, especially in that suit. He was intimidating to say the least, but he didn't particularly give her any reasoning to be scared. He was polite, usually punctual, aside from off days like today when he was rather late. They would make small talk as he paid and went on his way. Toree nodded at his inquiry.

"I was wondering when you'd stop by," she stated, hurrying to gather his usual order. She delicately rolled the flowers into a bouquet and wrapped them gently. He approached the counter and let out a barely audible sigh.

"It's been a long day." She nodded again, searching for something to say, to keep the conversation going. She dreaded silence. Usually she didn't have to worry about that with him. They would chat about current events or the news. Mildly desperate, she began pulling ideas from the air. Who could he be buying flowers for? Wife? Women typically like flowers, right? Maybe she was biased… She glanced to his left hand in search of a ring. Nothing. Toree glanced up at his face to see his stare focused on the small television she had mounted in the corner of her shop. It was playing the news channel; a story about the Teen Titans. His eye flicked back quickly and contacted her own. Startled and flustered she searched harder for a topic of conversation.

"You sure you don't want to mix it up a bit today?" She laughed nervously, "Add some roses? Maybe some mint?" His eyes moved down slowly to the item in question. He appeared to be thinking very hard, before finally shaking his head slightly. She wouldn't have caught it if she wasn't watching so intently.

"She was never much for change," he said just above a whisper, lost in thought. Dazed.

"I'm sorry?" She strained to hear him, slightly disappointed at the confirmation of a significant other. He straightened up, almost as if he forgot he wasn't alone. "If you're referring to your wife, I might be able to give some suggestions that are similar," She began slowly. "Change is not always bad…" She faltered as his gaze returned to her.

"She detested it in life; I can only assume she feels the same in death." Toree's mouth clammed shut, momentarily petrified, mortified by her assumption. She probably just made this man's day even worse.

"I-I'm so sorry," She covered her beet red face with her hands and shook her head slowly. "I should just mind my own business, but my stupid mouth… I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to... and while you're already having a poop day…!" She continued mumbling out apologies and stumbling over her words, eyes squeezed shut. Her mind was reeling, coming up with every possible negative outcome that could possibly happen at this moment. Did she forget to take her anxiety medication? He looks like a successful businessman, he could close down her shop with one phone call! What if he slaps her? What if he gets angry and yells and she starts crying and it becomes this huge mess? What if he starts crying? She was never good at comforting another crying individual. So many 'what if' scenarios ran through her head, she was about to actually cry in real life. She must've forgotten to take her pills today… Crap, she also forgot to call her mother!

She felt him touch her wrist from across the counter. Her mind stopped. Her anxiety influenced thoughts halted. He was gentle. Gentler that she imagined. He slowly pulled her hand away from her face and pressed a couple bills into the palm of her hand. Baffled, she searched his face for anger. He only gifted her a small half-smile, making her heart jump into her throat.

"It's fine. She passed a long time ago." With his debt paid and flowers in hand, she watched him exit the shop, turning the 'open' sign around as he left. "See you on the 5th." And that was that.

Once the shop was locked up, Toree returned home. This unusual encounter sat in the back of her mind as she went through her nightly routine. First things first, take off pants.

She made herself a bit to eat and stretched out on the couch for a little bit. Once she got sleepy, she retired to her room to shower. Discarding the rest of her clothing, she started the water and brushed her hair. Toree stared at her reflection in the fogging mirror. She was below average in height and a bit on the chubby side. She gently patted her thick thighs and tummy. She frowned in the mirror. She always went back and forth between thinking "man, what a fattie, I need to lose weight" to "dang, I'm cute as fuck, I love being soft and squishy". Her face was cute. Round rosy cheeks and big brown eyes. Her hair was a dark umber color and had gentle waves down to her breasts. Her waist was relatively tiny, thankfully, but her breasts were pretty average, aside from her pierced nipples that is. Her body was littered with tattoos as well, mostly on her arms and back. The couple on her legs were still healing a bit, however. She examined her piercing as well and noted that it was still healing too. She made a mental note to soak them in salt water soon.

She hopped in the shower, noticing the unopened pill case for today on the counter. She frowned at her forgetfulness and washed up. She thought upon her experience with the man today. She didn't even know his name. Always paid in cash, so she couldn't just look on a card. She was embarrassed about her comment still, but even more-so about her reaction. She also couldn't believe he showed her (not much, but a little bit of) actual emotion tonight. She became more and more curious every time they met. She wondered about his wife and him in general. She closed her eyes and finished her shower, resigning to bed naked and falling asleep shortly after.

Slade returned to his base after delivering the flowers to Adeline's grave. He sat back in his chair in front of the screens monitoring the Titan's activity. They were all sleeping. He ran his hands through his hair and over his face. He was exhausted from the back to back run-ins with said heroes this week. He decided it was best to turn in early tonight and went on his way. As he laid in bed, he thought back to the girl in the flower shop. Grabbing her wrist like that... Risky and certainly unlike him. Maybe his exhaustion was really taking a toll. However, he felt compelled to see her for some reason. He almost wanted to see her… for whatever reason. He was attracted to the girl, although young. Maybe he was simply lusting after her. He rolled on his back and gently rubbed his groin. He sighed, closing his eyes.

"Am I becoming a dirty old man?" He laughed softly as he questioned himself. He rubbed his growing erection through his briefs a bit harder and sighed again. It had been a long while since he'd had sex or even masturbated for that matter. Not really something that crosses your mind while trying to destroy your enemies.

Slade began to fantasize about this girl, seeing that she was the last object of (if you could even call it) affection on his mind. He imagined parts of her that he'd never even remotely thought of seeing before. Pushing his underwear off his hips, he grabbed hold of his cock and began to slowly stroke it. He thought of the noises she would make, how she would taste, how she would feel… He began to move his hand faster as he let out a soft groan of pleasure and disbelief. He didn't understand why he was doing this… He didn't know a thing about this girl, but the thought of her moaning his name popped into his head and made his heart beat quicken. He ran his free hand through his hair before resting it on his face and stopped his other hand abruptly. He gave his cock a quick squeeze and returned that hand to his face as well.

What was he doing?

Removing his hands, he frowned at the dark ceiling. He could barely make out the fan blades turning above him. Slade sighed in frustration, disgusted that he let himself give in to these primal urges. His cock throbbed, reminding him of the loss of stimulation.

He tried to ignore it and rolled over after pulling his briefs back up. He couldn't ignore it for long, however and ended up rolling on his back again, more irritated than before. He clenched his jaw momentarily.

Fuck it.

That was his final thought before returning his mind to the fantasies he had conjured earlier and his hand to his abandoned penis.

"Maybe I am becoming a dirty old man…"

AN: I do not own any DC characters. Only my OCs.