Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans.

A/N:

Sorry for the delay! For those who didn't get the Tumblr/DA message I got a nasty Trojan that put my laptop out of commission for a few days. There are still a few issues that I need to work out since the virus seriously fudged up my laptop, but my programs are working again and the virus is gone.

However, since I wasn't really on the laptop for the past 3 days I re-read through Northern Star again on my kindle. Wow, it took me a while and I noticed mistakes in EVERY SINGLE CHAPTER.

…

YOU GUYS NEED TO TELL ME THESE THINGS. Ugh, now I want to go back and fix them all.

This scene was deleted for reasons discussed at the end.

-SW-

Cabin

Rockies

Slade stepped back into the main room. It was getting late. Despite the late hour he saw Wintergreen sitting at the kitchen table still reading his book.

"Where is he?" Slade asked.

"He's sleeping," Wintergreen replied quietly.

Wintergreen turned and left the room. Sighing, Slade took off his mask and set it upon the table. After arguing with his contacts all over the country he felt mentally worn out. He ran a hand through his white hair and rubbed the back of his neck.

Slade bent to stoke the fire, slowly coaxing the dying embers back into flames. His back stiffened as he heard a slight noise behind him. He turned around and—to his great surprise—saw Dick curled up in a ball on the couch.

When Will said that he was asleep I didn't realize…Slade thought, his thoughts drifting away as he watched Dick sleep.

The kid was so quiet that Slade didn't even notice him. Dick must have been so tired from hunting that afternoon that he simply collapsed on the couch when he got back. Slade had other things to worry about and trusted that Wintergreen would take care of him. He honestly thought that he had been the only one left alone in the room.

His back was turned to Slade, but now that Slade noticed him he could hear Dick's steady breathing. Slade took a few steps towards him. Dick hadn't even taken off his shoes. There was some dirt on his cloths. He must have been really exhausted from today's hunting trip. Far more exhausted than he wanted to admit to Slade.

Even though Slade didn't comment much on this, he knew that Dick was also becoming mentally exhausted. The full weight of the situation seemed to be crashing down on him.

Slade hadn't really watched him sleep before. He knew that it was beyond creepy to do so anyway. Wintergreen must have found him here and decided to leave him alone without telling Slade. He felt a bit antsy since he was standing here without his mask on, but still he stayed there. What would happen if Slade decided to show Dick his true identity?

Can I really trust him? Slade thought. Or have I just been deluding myself into thinking that I can make him blindly trust me?

Dick's behavior was surprisingly good, but did Slade really expect him to be defiant forever? No, if Dick didn't accept this apprenticeship then Slade intended to wear him down, just as he was doing now. Slade always assumed that Dick would have to be the one who changed, but Wintergreen thought otherwise.

What do I see him as? Slade asked himself.

He hadn't given Dick a good answer. When Dick began asking him these rather personal questions Slade deliberately avoided giving him a direct answer. Although Slade told himself that he saw Dick only as an apprentice, he was beginning to question even that. Was he truly looking for a surrogate son in Dick? Looking down on him now, Slade saw Dick for what he really was at the moment: a child.

He's just a kid, Slade thought. Maybe I shouldn't be so hard on him.

Instead of waking him up Slade took a blanket and draped it over him. Dick fidgeted slightly from the sudden weight of the blanket. He opened his eyes wearily. A few seconds later his eyes snapped open when he saw Slade standing over him. Dick looked up at him, utterly speechless as he realized that Slade was unmasked. Slade, beginning to feel a bit uncomfortable, turned and walked away.

A/N:

The main reason this was deleted was because…I was paranoid of the slashers. Ok, I've cracked a few slash jokes before so I know what tips off slashers. However, I do not like reading or writing slash so when I went to revise the chapter this was in I cut it.

I wanted another father/son scene thrown into the story, but after writing this and looking it over I just hesitated. This was the original ending to part 1 and the original way Slade was going to reveal his identity to Dick.

Review!