IMPORTANT! This drabble is a continuation of drabble 34: "Beginnings" and you should really read that first, if only to refresh your memory. I have edited it a bit so it doesn't have QUITE as many spelling-errors as it used to. I have decided that Robin saw Slade mask-less in the original story, though it's not mentioned. Also note that Slade was wearing his original canon outfit and was known to Robin as "Wilson". I know there are several drabbles asking for sequls, and this might not be the most longed for or expected, but it has been stewing in my mind for a loooong time… so here it is.

"Beginnings" in short: Robin ran away when his parent's were killed. A week or so later, he is found by Slade, who is about to kill him as the boy had just witness him assassinate a man. Robin manages to impress the mercenary, however, and Slade takes him in. This only lasts a couple of days, before Slade gets a call about a job, and realizes that he has to leave Robin behind. Since the man knows about Bruce's secret, he sets it up so Batman finds Robin, but vows to keep an eye on…

His Boy

Robin had barely been able to sleep since Slade had first appeared in the city. The man hadn't even done anything, only watched, but the gossip among the shadier citizens of Jump was clear: the man was dangerous, deadly even. Why was he in Jump? Why was he watching the Titans? WHO WAS SLADE? Robin had a feeling he should know. Slade was like the answer to a riddle he had heard long ago, and just couldn't remember. It was almost driving him insane.

Slade watched the teen fight with satisfaction. He had returned to Gotham six months earlier to find the boy gone and Batman alone. For a chilling few hours he had thought Robin dead or, maybe, banned from doing what he was clearly born to do: fight. A night among the bars and alleys of the dark city told him the truth though: the kid had up and left. There were many tales, some more believable than others, of the bright bird and the dark knight arguing after, and even during, missions, and, in the end, the kid had had enough. Slade smiled grimly as he had heard this. He already knew that his little bird wasn't a mere follower, he was better than that…

He was a leader. Slade had been surprised at finding the teen in charge of a strange little group calling themselves the Teen Titans. He had expected him to stand alone, his strength and skill would make that possible, but that was not the case. Robin still shone brightly, however, a star, no, a super nova among these meta-humans. They were lucky to have him.

It hadn't taken long for the teen to spot him either. Lately the boy had chased him with a very determined expression on his face, but it didn't seem that Robin recognized him. Slade felt a slight twinge at that, but it had to be expected. They had spent three days together in the most overwhelming period of the then eight-year old boy's life, Robin probably didn't remember much from that traumatizing time. Still, it seemed to be something there… a spark… all it needed was some kindling… or maybe gasoline would work the best.

Robin woke up from that dream again, a dream he had had all his life, but could barely remember as he opened his eyes. There was a man, a mountain of a man, standing in front of him and touching his shoulder. "Very good, my boy." the man always said, and something about him having potential. Robin knew it wasn't Bruce. Not that his mentor had never encouraged him, but it wasn't his voice… and the words made him warmer than any Bruce had ever said to him. Sometimes he thought the man was a memory of his father, but that didn't match up to his other memories of a shorter, smiling man. The man in his dreams was darker, more dangerous.

Robin sat up in bed and ran a hand through his hair. The man of his dreams… he blushed a bit at that sentence before shaking off the thought. He couldn't waste time thinking of a mysterious dream-man when he had a very real one to deal with, one that was a possible threat to his friends and his city.

Just then the alarm went off.

"It's that Slade-guy!" Cyborg yelled. "He's triggered an alarm down by the docks."

Finally! Finally the man had made a move. Robin felt his blood flood with adrenaline.

"Titan's GO!"

It was supposed to be an easy mission. Intercept the villain and stop him from stealing whatever he was after, or, if it was too late, take the item back and put the bad guy in jail. Soon Robin found himself alone, however. His team had been broken up somehow, by detours, door which suddenly closed and, and this was a surprise, an army of robots. Robin wasn't too worried, though; his friends could take care of themselves. What he was, was annoyed. He kicked another door down and discovered an alley on the other side. Seeing a movement in a shadow, he spun around, just as a knife flew at him from the darkness. Before he knew what he was doing, he had caught it and thrown it back. For a second his heart stopped. He had just thrown a deadly weapon at another human being. What had made him do that? Then there was an amused chuckle from the darkness and a man, the man, stepped out.

"Very good, Robin. You've still got it."

The puzzle of his past suddenly started to click together in Robin's mind, so fast it left the teen dizzy. As the final piece found its place, Robin took a small, staggering step forwards.

"W-Wilson?"

"So you do remember? Good to see you, my boy."

What happened next surprised both of them, as Robin suddenly ran forwards and threw his arms around the man.

Slade felt stunned, not a common emotion for him, and could only close his own arms around the young man, letting his gloved hand stroke the teen's hair.

"I thought I'd never see you again." Robin mumbled into his chest, making the man smile behind his mask.

"I always kept an eye on you… whenever I could, I swung by Gotham to see how you were doing."

"I'm not in Gotham any more…" the teen said quietly, and then slowly let go of the man, his face flushed. Slade chuckled as he saw the blush, the boy must be embarrassed at showing this kind of emotion to someone who was practically a stranger… and a villain to boot.

"No, you're not. When I went there and didn't find you… I thought I'd lost you." Slade admitted, his hand now resting around the back of the teen's neck.

Surprisingly, Robin's blush only deepened slightly, before he seemingly thought of something.

"My team!" the teen turned towards the broken down door, and Slade caught his arm.

"They are fine. All the doors will unlock automatically in two minutes and the robots will shut down. I needed to distract them so we could talk."

Robin clearly heard that there wasn't anything apologetic about the man's tone of voice. Wi-no, Slade was probably telling the truth, though, his friends were in no danger. Nevertheless, he was their leader, and he wasn't about to abandon them on the spur of a moment.

"I'll meet you here tonight… at around eleven?" Robin suggested, getting a nod in return. Robin then dived back into the building, knocking out a few robots in pure joy.

Later that night, as he was getting ready to go to the meeting-point, Robin had had time to think, not just react. Why did this man make such a big impact on him? Was it because he had spared his life? Taught him the basics of his skills? Because he had offered safety and a strong male role model in a time when he desperately needed it? Robin finally understood why he had never truly connected with Bruce. The man was the second choice. The quick fix in a tight spot. The second best. Robin winced at thinking this about his mentor, he did love Bruce, but… the eight-year old inside him had wanted to stay with Slade.

Slade the mercenary and assassin. That was a not-so-little problem. They were on different sides now, Slade was the enemy. Bruce had early stomped down hard on Robin's more vengeful side, but the teen had watched the bat do quite a few things that wasn't exactly fitting for a superhero himself. The man seemed to be adamant about Robin keeping his nose clean, though… not that Robin wanted to hurt people, not at all! Certain people though… in certain situations… Robin sighed. He had mulled over the ethics of this for years. He didn't get anywhere; he just knew that he questioned the popular belief about what the term 'good' entailed. Why would the how matter almost more than the result…? Robin didn't buy into that, and still that was the life he had been living up until now. Having just turned seventeen, he thought it might be time to change.

Slade wasn't surprised when the teen showed up on time, but he was surprised at his own nervousness. Robin had impressed him, but he felt an undeniable urge to do the same to the young man. He managed to shake the strange feeling off, however, and only gestured for the teen to follow. They ran and jumped over the rooftops. 'Flew' Slade remembered Robin calling it, and it really looked like that was what the young man was doing. Effortlessly, like he was fearless, indestructible, immortal… He reached his hand out to the boy once, while crossing a particularly wide gap, and Robin jumped, grabbing it with the same complete trust he had so long ago. Normally Slade would snort at such gullibility, especially in their situation. How did the kid know that Slade hadn't been sent here to kill him? However, the man couldn't find it in him to feel any distain for the teen, he felt the connection too, and he knew he would have reached for Robin's hand as well.

"This reminds me of your place in Gotham" Robin said, looking around the murky rooms.

"You're hurting my feelings, this is much nicer." Slade smirked. "And talking about reminiscing… I have dinner ready."

Robin burst out laughing when he saw the meal.

"You made macaroni and cheese?"

"I seem to remember that you insisted that it was the best you've ever had." Slade grinned under his mask, a bit surprised as Robin blushed again.

"Yeah, I remember being very impressed when you didn't use the dry-mix stuff…" the teen said, and then removed his mask as he sat down.

"Still as blue? The city life didn't manage to dull them?" Slade teased, as he reached up to remove his own.

"Wow… you look exactly the same!" Robin gaped. "Only your hair is shorter…"

"Part of being more or less immortal." Slade shrugged, making Robin's eyes widen once more. The man felt the teen's eyes roam over his face, taking it all in, awakening more memories. Again the blush appeared, but Slade decided not to pay it any mind, he preferred the openness of Robin's expressions to a cold hard mask.

Robin could feel his face heat up and tried to stop it. The man was just gorgeous! Older, yes, rugged, not a "pretty"-gene to be detected, but Robin immediately decided that this was his ideal image of a man… not Slade, per se, because telling the man he was gay was something he feared. It had put even more distance between him and Bruce, not because Bruce was a homophobe, it just… had. The manliest of men could react the most childish to news like that, and when it came to manly… well, Slade pretty much took the cake.

They spent almost the whole night talking, mostly, Robin discovered afterwards, about him. His life with Bruce, the break, how he met the Titan's… Slade never criticized, but he did ask difficult questions, which brought the thoughts Robin had nursed for so long to the surface.

" I mean, what if I would say 'I didn't catch the killer, but at least no one got hurt in the process'?" Robin said. "If I know the guy is a killer and I know he'll kill again… why shouldn't I do whatever it takes?"

"You should." Slade nodded. "And I'll try not to take the killer-part personally."

"Ops. Sorry." The teen grinned. "Err… about that, Slade… It's amazing seeing you again, but would you mind… I mean… as long as you are in Jump…?"

"I promise. No business, just pleasure." The man grinned, and Robin felt his face turn into a furnace once more.

Slade almost wanted to ask what all the blushing was about, but decided against it. He had watched Robin for long enough to now that the boy didn't like to be cornered.

As the sun threatened to peek over the horizon, they parted, with the promise of seeing each other the next night. It continued like that for over a week. They met, they talked, they sparred, until one night, as Robin sat on a ledge, next to Slade, finishing off an ice-cream cone he had craved after a long day in the hot sun, he finally asked the question.

"What are you doing here, Slade?" The boy looked up at him, the blue eye's serious. They were in uniform, but none of them wore their masks as they were hiding away among the rooftops.

"Ow. Rude." The man said. "Did I overstay my welcome?"

"No! Not at all!" Robin hurriedly said and touched the man's arm. The teen was rather tactile, Slade had discovered, maybe because Bruce hadn't been the hugging type. "I mean, why did you let yourself be seen this time?"

"When I left you with Batman, I vowed to come back one day… to offer you a choice." The man said solemnly.

"What… what kind of a choice?" Robin asked, immediately more on his guard.

"Him or me." Slade answered simply.

Robin got to his feet, warily, and Slade followed suit.

"Slade, I-"

"I know." Slade raised a hand calmingly. "That was what I have planned to do. Not now. I've watched you grow up to an amazing young man, but you will never turn your back on your friends or those in need. You wouldn't be the man you are if you did… and to manipulate you or force you, out of selfishness… I wouldn't do that. The only reason for me to take you away from all this would be if I was convinced that it was wrong for you. I'm not. I still think you would flourish on your own, but I'm sure that opportunity in your life will come."

Robin smiled, coming closer again.

"Thank you. I would love to travel with you, learn from you… but I'll never hurt people for a living… no matter how much money you make…" Robin grinned.

"Maybe we could go away together… a Slade boot-camp, what do you think?" Slade grinned.

"Sounds great. Trust me, I can take it." the boy half purred.

Slade had noticed these suggestive, teasing tones in Robin's voice several times during the past week, but they always appeared as they were bantering, a favorite past-time for them, besides sparring. He didn't really think the teen meant to sound flirty, the very thought was rather foreign to him. Still, the idea of Robin using that voice with someone else, made the man want to go back on his promise and steal the young man away with force. The word mine kept appearing in his mind as he looked at the teen, even more so after getting to know him again.

Robin didn't know if it was the fact that he had been out in the sun all day, fighting green slimy monsters. Maybe it was. He might very well be imagining the possessive look in Slade's eye… but he hoped he wasn't.

"Whatever happens, I will stop by from time to time, though." The man promised. "If you promise not to arrest me."

"Hmmm…. All right. If you behave…" Robin grinned. "You really think I need looking after?"

"Of course you do… If things would have turned out differently…. Who knows… I might have been like a father to you…" Slade said, the thought not appearing as compelling to him as it once had been, for some reason.

"I already have a father." Robin answered, closed in on the man and kissed him.

Slade had barely felt the sting of rejection before the teen's lips closed over his. The surprise soon turned into desire, and he took over, deepening the kiss, demanding, and very willingly being granted, more access. Robin let him take a lead in a way which made Slade suspect that the boy didn't have much experience, something which filled him with a strange kind of satisfaction and sense of ownership.

Robin fought for breath as they parted, his body hotter than any sun could ever make it. He grinned up at the man he planned to spend the night with and whispered in a sultry voice:

"Just because I don't want you as a father, doesn't mean I would mind calling you daddy…"

The End.

A/N: I enjoyed writing a story where Slade was, more or less, content with being a male role model to Robin, but the hero wanted something more... It would be nice to expand on this more, with Slade being cluless and Robin flirty, but maybe I'll save that for another day, or, if I'm lucky, it might inspire someone to write a drabble on the subject? -hint-hint-

Speaking about drabbles, which one would you like to read a sequal on next? I'm talking about free-standing drabbles now, not story-connected ones... tell me and who knows... I might listen... ;)