A/N: Happy B-day Animestar73! Okay, it's the evening of October 13'th here, so you are not allowed to read this until tomorrow, but I'll be working all day, so I thought better early than late… ;)

Animestar asked for a drabble where Robin was slightly older (though not necessarily Nightwing yet) and gets a chance to save Slade for once… with a bit of adventure and hotness following… I thought this was pretty straight-forward, but then the drabble ran away with me, and it turned out to be over 30 pages long! So… yeah… save or print or something… The inspiration for this is a mix of the cartoon, the Deathstroke comics and, you will notice, the original live-action tv-series! But don't worry, there will be no bat-dance in this… ;) I'll explain more about what I wanted to say with this in the bottom A/N… Oh, and the title is strange but I like it, so NYAH!

Hopeful Crushing

Robin had seen quite a few things in Gotham, but this took the prize. Well. It definitely won the 'crazy man-hunt' category.

Batman and he had been watching warily, not sure what to make of all this quite yet, but now it started to become obvious that the men needed to be stopped. There were at least thirty of them, all wearing ski-masks, against one. The men were in cars and the other on foot, and the weapons just being pulled out of the trunks were not simple guns. No. They were missile launchers.

Which is appropriate, considering who they are hunting… Robin thought dryly. The problem for these hunters, and for Gotham, was that the prey had just escaped into a building.

"Let's go." Batman finally said, and they were off.

Explosions were already rocking the neighborhood, and Robin was glad it was an industrial area, which should be practically abandoned at this time. Industries meant other dangers, however, and one of the missiles just hit one.

The explosion would have been quite impressive if the Joker hadn't succeeded in blowing up a whole warehouse down by the docks the week before, and Robin had been even closer to that one. He shuddered at the memory. Going swimming in that kind of water wasn't anything he wanted to do again soon. The good thing was that the madman was now back in Arkham with half his hair singed off.

This time, it was probably a few gas containers which had been hit, and debris was flying everywhere. Robin saw Batman, in front of him, get hit, but the man just carried on like it was dust and not a chunk of concrete.

The men spotted them and filed back into the cars in seconds, roaring down the street the next moment. The dynamic duo landed in front of the building, which was now half in ruins.

"Go look for him, I'll secure clues." Batman told him tensely, frowning at the ground.

"Yes, Sir." Robin snorted, and got a 'don't mess with me, kid'-glare in response.

Robin carefully made it into the wreck of the industry. He wasn't sure what had been made here, but the ceilings were high and there were a lot of conveyor-belts and crates… or what was left of them. The missiles and the blast had done quite a number on this place, and anyone in here would be very lucky to be alive, although this particular man always seemed to have the luck of the devil.

There was a slight groan coming from a pile of rubble and Robin made his way over there, looking down.

"Hi Slade. Lying around?" he smirked. Somehow, Slade managed to give him almost the exact kind of glare Batman had just given him. The man's right arm was caught under some heavy rubble, and his left arm and leg were pierced by dirty, twisted metal bars, about as thick as a man's thumb.

"Pull the reinforcing bars out." The man ordered him, again, very much like dear old Bats.

"What? No 'thank you for rescuing me, Robin?'" The teen smirked. "We chased those men away, you know… and besides, maybe I like seeing you pinned like a pretty little butterfly?"

"I'm feeling inclined to letting you try this out." Slade growled.

Robin snorted, but, swallowing thickly, did as the man asked. As soon as he could move his arm, although Robin had no idea how he actually managed that, Slade pushed the concrete boulders off his right one. Fortunately it didn't seem to be crushed or broken, merely bruised. "So, who were those guys who were clearly almost as tired of you as I am?" Robin continued with a grin, as he helped the man to stand.

"Later. I need to speak to Batman. It was good I found you." The man said as they slowly hobbled outside.

"Found us?" Robin gaped incredulously. "Slade, we found you! Well, I did. Remember the pile of rubble you were under a minute ago?"

"Robin, don't bother with semantics." Batman, who was suddenly standing in front of them, barked. "Deathstroke." The dark knight nodded in greeting.

"I'm just saying he wasn't exactly looking…" Robin muttered sullenly. Both the older men ignored him, and Robin started to feel like a kid. He snorted to himself and straightened up. Joking was one thing, but he was too old to be acting childish, especially in front of these two.

"Batman." Slade nodded back. "I need your help."

Robin knew Bruce had arched his eyebrows, if only by instinct. He hoped that he didn't look like a complete idiot himself, but he probably did, the way his mouth was hanging open. Robin got his lower jaw under control, and looked over at Batman expectantly.

"What do you need?" the man said.

"Somewhere to clean my wounds and a little peek around your database." Slade still had a hand on Robin's shoulder, leaning on it quite heavily.

"Call Alfred." Batman ordered his side-kick. "You'll get the first thing, Slade, but we'll see about the other… It all depends. I have quite a few questions for you."

"I figured you might. How's the arm? Broken?"

"What?" Robin looked up at his mentor, who had been standing with his cape fallen forwards over his shoulders, hiding him almost completely.

"Yes." Batman admitted, through clenched teeth. "Got Al on the line, yet, Robin?"

The teen quickly dialed.

As soon as they had arrived at the manor, Alfred sent Robin to take a shower and change, something he managed to do in just under ten minutes, while the butler dealt with Bruce and their guest. As the teen returned, not much had happened, however.

"Really, Sir, didn't we have a talk about being close to exploding buildings last week?" Alfred tutted, as he helped stabilize the break. Robin saw Slade smirk, before the butler turned in the man's direction. "I would be grateful if you tried not to get blood on my floors, Mr. Wilson." Alfred frowned. "Master Richard, would you be so good as to show the man to a guestroom and provide some towels for him?"

"Sure, Al, no prob." Robin nodded, grateful to get out of Bruce's presence. The millionaire wasn't particularly easygoing when he was wounded. Not that he was a joy at other times either…

He led Slade upstairs. It still felt weird to be unmasked around him. Almost a little naked, although they had all known each other's identities since Robin was fourteen. Almost as if Slade knew what he was thinking, the white-haired man smirked at him.

"So nice of you to take care of me." he purred. "Tell me… how old are you now?"

"Eighteen. You know that. You sent me a card." Robin blushed at the memory.

"Oh, yes, that I did. Remember what it said?"

"'Congratulations. You're legal'." Robin muttered. "Very heartfelt."

The man chuckled deeply. "I wasn't sure whether to send that card to you or to myself…" he said.

"Ha. Ha." Robin hissed. "Listen, Slade, it was just a stupid little crush, okay? I should never have said anything!"

"It was sweet. You were sixteen, though. Wasn't going to happen." The man still grinned a little. "Now, on the other hand…"

"Now I have outgrown stupid little crushes, and it's really not going to happen!" Robin snorted. "Here's your room. It has a connected bathroom."

"Nice. And towels?" the man said airily, like he didn't mind what the teen had just said… or ignored it.

"I'm on my way."

Each floor had a linen-closet, and as Robin returned from it, he heard the shower running.

"I have the towels!" he called through the door.

"It's all right, come on in. I'm decent." Slade called back.

Robin unsuspectingly opened the door to find Slade wet and naked, most of the grime and blood washed off.

"You are so mature." Robin said sarcastically and rolled his eyes.

"Why, thank you." Slade purred. "Why are you not running away screaming like a little girl?"

"Because I figured that if you are offering, I'm looking." Robin smirked, trying very hard to act like he appraised stark naked amazing male bodies on a daily basis.

"Consider it my thank you for pulling the bars out of me. You almost did it swiftly too." Slade snorted. "Now, I need you to get down on the floor."

"Excuse me?" Robin gaped, forgetting that he was supposed to play it cool, and stared at the man.

"I can't clean the wound on the back of my thigh properly; I need you to do that while I take care of my arm." The man explained, lifting his arm and looking at the wound in the mirror.

Robin opened his mouth but couldn't see anything particularly wrong about Slade's logic. Besides, the man was hurt, and a guest… He could get Alfred to do it, he supposed, but he had done worse for Batman. He could be professional about this… right...? His decision was made for him when he was handed some cleaning fluid and some tissues by Slade. Refusing to kneel on the floor, the teen sat down on the toilet-lid, and leaned over for a better look.

Ten embarrassing minutes later, the wound was as clean as it was going to get. It still looked rather angry, though.

"We can get a doctor to look at it, if you want?" he suggested as he dressed it.

"It will be mostly healed by tomorrow; don't worry so about me, honey." Slade said, as he put the finishing touches to the band aide around his arm.

"Delusional bastard… sure that some of those cement-blocks didn't bounce off your head?" Robin asked darkly, while Slade merely chuckled.

"If you don't want me naked, I would appreciate some clothes. Are there any I can borrow until I can send for my things?" the man asked.

"Yes, I'm sure we still have some after Bruce's mom. Is a flower-pattern your thing, Slade?" Robin was, again, feeling somewhat childish, but couldn't help it. The man always brought out the worst in him, and ever since he had confessed that bloody crush to him, getting a freaking pat on the head and a 'when you're older' as a reply, he never knew quite how to act around the bastard.

"Naked it is. I knew you would prefer it." The man smirked.

"In your drea- I'll get you the clothes." Robin managed to stop himself this time. He was an adult now, he should act his age.

Slade glanced at the young man by his side as they walked downstairs. His little bird was looking oh-so-serious, his back ramrod straight. The mercenary smirked. He enjoyed that he could still rile the boy up to the point of exploding, although there was another kind of explosion he wondered if he should pursue. There were pros and cons, of course, the cons being that he actually needed to be in Batman's good graces at the moment and that he wasn't looking for a relationship. He was alone now and he preferred it that way. It was the only way to insure that no one close to him would die because of him, and it had worked, up to now.

The pros were just as obvious, unfortunately, and if he was to be truthful to himself, he always got rather horny after a near-death experience. It was probably the testosterone and adrenaline in combination with some basic urge to make sure he reproduced before his time was up. Slade chuckled silently to himself. Yes, well, that particular aspect would be quite tricky to bring about with Robin, but his instincts didn't care about such small details.

Pros and cons. Slade let out a small sigh. Decisions, decisions. No matter. Work came first, especially in this case.

"What's so funny?" Robin muttered as they descended the stairs.

Slade gave the young man an amused look. Robin was always worried that he was being laughed at. Must be quite crippling for a circus-boy.

"I was thinking about how humans react after a close to fatal incident." Slade said, without touching the real reason for his mirth. He didn't quite think that Robin would find it funny.

"Oh, you mean shock?" Robin asked. "Or the rush?" he added with a small grin.

"The latter."

"I see." Robin nodded, clearly mulling things over, trying to analyze why Slade would be thinking about the subject.

"Do you like it?" the man couldn't help but ask. "The rush? How does it make you feel? Excited? Breathless? Hard?"

Robin's face had defiantly acquired a somewhat more pink hue, but Slade was actually impressed that the boy wasn't completely red. He even managed to give the man a rather level look.

"It seems you should have taken a longer shower, by yourself. I suggest you do that after dinner." the teen told him and walked on ahead into a cozy sitting-room, where Bruce and Alfred were waiting.

"So, what do you need?" Bruce asked Slade tensely, and the mercenary tried not to smirk.

Your ward on his back… he thought, careful not to look at the teen in question.

"Some time looking through your data-base, as I said. Maybe a day or two to heal."

"Why?"

"I'm hurt." Slade smirked, than raised a hand. "Forgive me. The reason is the attempted assassination on the president last week."

"The one you are being accused of." Bruce said, and Slade had to hide another smirk as the man clearly wanted to cross his arms, but couldn't, with one in a make-shift cast. He noticed Robin giving his mentor a surprised look, apparently the young man had no idea that Slade was on the wanted list for that crime.

"I'm innocent, of course." Slade told them, getting twin snorts in reply.

"And your proof?" Bruce said coldly.

Slade smirked.

"It was an attempt. I would have succeeded."

The two black-haired males gave each other a look. Robin's, Slade noticed with some delight, was rather amused.

Bruce sighed.

"I went through the details released about the case when you were cleaning up… I agree, they don't fit your profile."

"I was set up." Slade nodded. "And I'm rather… keen… to find out by whom. I have a few faces memorized and I think your database can help."

"Searching for just faces will take some time." Bruce muttered, clearly not thrilled about the subject.

"I know." Slade tried to put at least some hint of an apology into his voice.

"I'll help. It will be a good time to test my new facial recognition program." Robin suddenly offered, his eyes shining from the prospect.

"I'd be very grateful." Slade nodded. "Bruce?" he turned to the man for the final decision.

"Very well. Now, if you'd excuse me, I need to get my arm in a cast and prepare a press statement."

"What are you going to say?" Robin asked.

"That I've been skiing in the Alps… everyone knows Bruce Wayne is a klutz when it comes to skiing." The millionaire sighed sardonically.

"And still you keep it up." Robin grinned.

"Go to bed, Dick." Bruce muttered.

Slade couldn't hold back a chuckle this time.

As Robin didn't move from the comfy chair in front of the fire, neither did Slade. As soon as the Bat was out of earshot, Robin turned towards the mercenary and smirked.

"He's always like this."

"You mean when he's hurt?" Slade asked carefully.

"Nah." The teen shrugged. "Just… always."

They shared a grin.

"About that, why are you here and not back in Jump?" Slade asked. He had been curious about the matter since he had first seen the familiar grin above the rubble. Not that they met on a regular basis, but he hadn't heard anything about a fall-out amongst the super-teens.

"I'm on vacation, can't you tell?" Robin made a face. "Actually I'm taking a bit of a sabbatical from the hero-business… Finishing up some college-courses…"

"Doesn't look much like a sabbatical to me." Slade had raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"Well, can't study all the time… it would drive me crazy." The blue eyed youth shrugged.

"And your friends? They don't mind?" Slade pushed. If there was a crack developing here, he wanted to know about it. Not that he would do anything about it, necessarily, but it was important nonetheless. The soft smile on Robin's lips put that theory to shame, though.

"No, they understand that I need some time to myself… I've been talking about it for a while now, and, well... I felt ready. I'm only living here temporarily, mainly to catch up with Alfred, and because it's convenient… I don't know where I'll go next."

"Are you scared?" Slade asked. There was no teasing quality to his voice, only interest.

"No. I'm excited." Robin grinned back, and Slade joined in with the smile.

"You know… I knew you would be." The man said, almost proudly. "You will do very well on your own."

Robin gave him a surprised look, before it changed into a pleased smile.

"Thanks." The young man seemed slightly flustered, a look Slade found that he liked.

"Well, before that, would you like to join me in a joint effort and raid the kitchen?" Slade grinned, trying the put Robin more at ease.

"You are brave but foolish. Alfred's wrath is not to be taken lightly." Robin told him in a grave voice.

"So you're in?" Slade asked.

"Of course." The teen grinned.

As they returned to the room a bit later, successfully carrying the spoils of the raid, Slade realized something.

"I must admit, I'm not sure what to call you… Do you prefer Richard or Robin?"

"In your case..? Robin. Just remember yourself if we have other guests." The teen answered, taking a bite of his sandwich.

"Of course. I prefer it too. Robin…" Slade put a lot of suggestiveness in the name, making the hero glance up at him and raise an eyebrow.

"Maybe it's time for that shower now?" he suggested.

"Perhaps another joint effort…?" Slade asked hopefully.

"Now, Slade, you are more used to solo endeavors than I am." The teen smirked. "I'm sure you can handle it."

"There's a lot to handle…" Slade insisted.

"That's mostly your imagination." Robin snorted and stood up. "Good night, Slade." He added with a chuckle, and left the room.

Slade leaned back in his chair for a moment longer, grinning to himself. He had come to Gotham with only one goal; the database. He wondered if it wasn't time to set himself another one as well. Screw the cons…

Robin was shaken awake quite roughly, and sat up, gasping.

"What? What's wro- Slade? What the hell are you doing in my room? How did you even find-?"

"Get up, we're going for a run."

"Wait, what?" Robin stared at the man and then glanced at his alarm-clock. "It's five in the morning!"

"Yes?"

"I have a class in a few hours!"

"Yes?"

"What do you mean 'yes'?" Robin growled.

"You can't very well skip class to take a run with me, now, can you? Get up. Your clothes are on the bed."

"You went through my things?"

"Yes. Very boring. Honestly, Robin, not a single dildo? What is the youth coming to? The porn was slightly interesting, though."

"Get. Out."

"As soon as you agree. My leg has almost healed and is itching like hell. Unless you have another way to scratch that itch…?" the grin turned from taunting to suggestive in an instant. Or perhaps it never changed, Robin wasn't sure.

Staring at the man, Robin had the sudden urge to cry. Somehow he knew, however, that Slade would not give up, and might end up reading through the single gay-porn magazine he had here, aloud. He got up, snatched the clothes from the bed, gave Slade a death-glare and disappeared into the bathroom.

"You know…" the man told him through the door. "I never appreciated the fashion idea with low-hanging pants, but when there's no underwear, I quite like it."

Robin yanked his pajama-bottoms up, and, a second later, feeling like an idiot, he had to pull them off completely in order to get dressed.

"Yeah, well, when it comes to men, I prefer the mysterious, silent type." he muttered.

"I'll try to remember that." Slade, who apparently had amazing hearing, chuckled.

One and a half hours later, Slade was damp with sweat and Robin was soaked. The teen made his way to the already prepared breakfast table, legs shivering slightly, but his spirits high. It had actually been one of the best workouts he had had in a long time. The Titans weren't much for running, in fact, except for Beast Boy in dog-form, and whenever he could convince them to go for a jog, Robin was the one who urged them on. Now he had been the one being pushed, and he wowed to himself to go running more often from now on.

Alfred looked like he wanted to say something about showing up at the table in a presentable manner, but he kept quiet as Robin slumped in a chair with an apologetic grin on his face.

Bruce lowered the newspaper he had been reading and narrowed his eyes at the two.

"And what have you been up to?"

"Working up an appetite." Slade answered, helping himself to some oatmeal.

"Yeah, the bastard woke me up and wouldn't take no for an answer." Robin muttered, winning the race to the milk.

"Oh, you were willing enough after a while… once I got you panting…" Slade smirked.

"What?" Bruce growled. "What exactly are you insinuating?"

Robin looked up from the sandwich he was making and raised an eyebrow at his guardian.

"We went out running, Bruce. Really, you think my taste in men was that poor?"

This made the dark knight smirk, as Slade didn't look amused at all. The smirk vanished after a moment, though, and a suspicious frown took its place.

"I seem to remember a time when your taste in men was rather abysmal." Bruce muttered.

Robin sighed. It was true, Bruce knew of the whole thing. Shortly after Slade had rejected him, he had visited the manor. Bruce had asked him how he was and… well... truth be told he had broken down and cried like a little girl. The fact was that Slade had been his first and biggest crush; only crush, now when he thought about it, and since the disaster he had firmly put that part of his life on a shelf. It had hurt like hell. He had been so sure about everything and Slade has shooed him away like a bothersome little kid.

The newly awakened memories made Robin glare at the mercenary for a moment, before answering Bruce.

"Well. I'm sure your tastes have changed since you were sixteen." he shrugged.

The man seemed to consider this and then shrugged as well.

"Nah, I still like a nice waist and a good rack." he said, making poor Alfred spill the tea he was serving and the other occupants of the table snort with laughter.

"Funny. I thought you said he didn't have a sense of humor." Slade grinned.

"He doesn't. This is obviously an alien clone. They finally exchanged him… I've sent so many letters…" Robin grinned back.

"Dick. Go to your room." Bruce muttered.

After spending the morning in class, Robin had the rest of the day off. He was only studying half time, as of yet, not quite sure what direction to take.

As he came home he found the others in the Bat-cave, working away, although Bruce had to type with one hand.

"How long do you have to have the cast on?" Robin asked.

"Four weeks. I'm saying three." Bruce muttered and then sighed.

"We can always hope it will be quiet… the Joker is locked up, after all, and most of the other's as well." Robin tried the optimistic point of view. Batman was not a man who gave that much credit to optimism, and the teen got a doubtful look in reply. Then the man shrugged his unharmed shoulder.

"We might get lucky." he muttered.

"Speaking about getting lucky…" Slade cut in with a smirk and a look towards Robin, "I would like some help with that software you were bragging about." The man was dressed in a t-shirt and a pair of jeans which definitely didn't belong to Bruce; they fit all too well.

"I wasn't bragging, and it's a prototype. I'd like to test it, that's all." Robin snorted. "If it works, I'm going to do a paper on it."

"If it doesn't, you owe me." Slade claimed. "And I'll decide how you'll pay…" he added in a much quieter voice.

"Wow, did you pack some ego with your other things or what…?" Robin rolled his eyes, and then he spotted the man's uniform on a nearby table. "You're patching it up?"

"Yes. Although 'patching it up' is a slightly too simplistic term when it comes to mesh-woven Kevlar." the man said dryly.

Robin ignored him, studying the material. It was interesting, but a bit too heavy for him to wear himself, he thought. An open trunk on the floor had more of the man's belongings in it, seemingly more weapons than clothes.

"Are you thinking of going through my stuff to get back at me?" Slade still spoke quietly enough so Bruce wouldn't hear.

"It would serve you right." Robin muttered back.

"Well… feel free… But if I had any porn in there, it would be a hell of a lot more interesting than yours." The man smirked.

"I wasn't aware it was a competition." Robin said innocently.

Sometime later they sat together in front of a computer-screen. Robin was working on the program on a separate computer, because a half-done software running alongside the rest of the Bat-cave's processes could easily cause havoc in the system.

"I made a copy of the photo-database about three weeks back." Robin explained to the man, "So I'm afraid we only have those photos to work with."

"How many are there?" the man asked, studying Robin's notes for the program with interest.

"It takes up around fifty terabytes." Robin answered "but that's only what the screening-system has labeled as recognizable face-shots."

"All the police-records are included?"

"Please." Robin snorted. "Of course they are, national and international, as well as military, corporate, school-system, hell, If you ever posted a pic on Facebook, it's in here."

"You are aware that, for a civilian, to store personal information like this is highly illegal?" Slade smirked.

"I don't know. Are we aware?" Robin asked Bruce.

"Had no idea." The millionaire said. "I really should look into that someday… I'll put it on my to-do-list, right after 'ridding Gotham of crime'."

"Good. Now I feel much better." Slade chuckled. "Alright, let's get to work."

Being this close to the man, almost pressed together, was in no way easy for Robin. Seeing Slade again had brought back so many feelings, some good, some very bad. The man had broken his heart, but, being older now, Robin knew he had done the right thing. There was no way it would have worked out between them back then… sure, he had had rose-colored dreams of them working together. He would of course make Slade see that killing was wrong, and they would only use their skills to save people, while making passionate love between assignments, naturally. Now he could look back at those fantasies and almost laugh, he only wished the man had let him down just a bit more gently.

He had discovered, though, that he hadn't grown out of his feelings for the mercenary, although they might have become somewhat more realistic. He was still attracted to him, very attracted, but terribly afraid of being hurt again. What if Slade was only teasing? What if Robin told him 'yes' and got another chuckle and pat on the head? No, Robin figured, it was better to keep both the man and his feelings for him at arm's length, and be professional.

Being professional was something Slade was exceedingly good at. Every touch, every brush of his leg against Robin's seemed nothing more than accidental since they were forced to sit so close together. They talked, but only about the system and Slade's expectations, not a single joke or suggestive word was uttered.

The speaker phone suddenly buzzed, and Bruce's voice was heard.

"Alfred wants me to tell you that dinner's in an hour. You are expected to dress for it, he says." The man sounded somewhat smug, like he was enjoying the fact that the other two were in trouble with the butler at the moment.

Robin looked up and glanced around the room.

"I never noticed Bruce leaving, did you?"

Slade shook his head, and then stretched.

"Let's continue this after dinner. Or do you have homework?"

Robin grinned and shrugged.

"No, and we're practically doing homework as it is. You think this is going to work?"

"As a system; yes. It's rather brilliant. For me? Perhaps. I only saw a few faces for a second or two, but the more details I can remember…" the man looked at the screen thoughtfully.

Robin beamed with the praise, and as Slade glanced his way, the man chuckled.

"Come on, Batman must have already told you this, surely?"

"Well, Bruce is… Bruce." Robin squirmed, not really wanting to speak badly about his mentor. "He nodded, though… that's practically the same thing."

"It can't always be easy, living and working with him." Slade said. "He's a great man, granted, but better in the fighting department than the support, perhaps."

"He had been alone for too long when I came into the picture. He let me join, but I don't really think he ever enjoyed being a duo." Robin told the man quietly as they headed towards the stairs. There was no resentment in his voice; this was something he had come to terms with a long time ago. Bruce was a loner, and would most likely always remain so.

"I have to say I agree with him. Partners are a bad idea." Slade told him.

"Well, you've never had me." Robin grinned up at the man.

Slade merely looked down on the boy until Robin realized what he had just said, and this time the teen couldn't hold back the blush.

"That came out wrong." he muttered.

"Maybe. But it's still true." Slade grinned. "For now." he added as they reached the exit.

"See you at dinner." The young man mumbled and all but fled.

Slade watched him leave, the grin not vanishing. Working with Robin the whole afternoon had been very rewarding. Not only was the boy very bright and could answer every question, as well as back up his arguments, but he also seemed very in tune with Slade's needs. The man couldn't help but wonder if he would be that in tune with him in bed as well.

Dinner was a surprisingly pleasant affair, Robin thought. Slade was very good at choosing interesting but neutral subjects which even managed to engage Bruce.

Work was calling all of them, however, and soon they were down in the cave again. After only a few hours they were interrupted once more.

"Master Bruce, the Bat-signal." Alfred told them urgently over the intercom.

Robin got on his feet immediately.

"I'll go."

"I don't understand why the guy just doesn't use the phone." Slade snorted.

"It's psychological. He can call, but, this way, the criminals of Gotham knows I'm on the job." Batman explained. "The crime-rate drops almost sixty percent for about one hour after the signal is lit. They know I'm out there and might happen to pass by."

"That's, unfortunately, why it's important that someone actually shows up… if the signal is lit and no one is spotted, the crime rate increase instead." Robin added, coming out from partition hiding the dressing-room, adjusting his mask. "I'll let you know what he wants." he added and straddled his bike.

Later that night, after speaking to Commissioner Gordon, Robin stopped on a rooftop and pulled out his phone. Only one signal went through before Bruce picked up.

"What did he want? You're on speaker by the way."

"They think a large shipment of drugs is coming in tonight, but they don't have men enough to cover all of the docks. They asked if we could help."

"What did you tell him about me?"

"Just that you were busy with a case." Robin answered. He knew Batman wanted any injuries to be kept quiet. Gordon could be trusted, but there were ears everywhere.

"Good. And about the surveillance?"

"I said we'd try. I'll go, at least I'll be able to cover some of it."

The line was quiet for a moment.

"I'll send you Slade."

"What?" Robin gaped, and he heard another, similar, question, in the background.

"As long as he's leeching, he might as well do some good." Bruce sounded rather smug about the whole thing.

"I am right here." Robin heard the mercenary snort. He had come closer to the phone now, because he could hear him clearly.

"Well. The more the better." Robin admitted. "But should he be seen?" the teen hesitated for a moment, "Maybe… maybe if he wore the… the bat-su-"

"No." both men answered in unison, although Bruce found it necessary to add "way in hell."

"I, or that is, Deathstroke, could use some good PR." Slade admitted. "I'll borrow the extra bike. Where are you?"
Robin told him where to meet, and was about to end the call when Bruce spoke up.

"And Robin? You're in charge."

The teen grinned as he clipped the communicator to his belt. This might be fun.

This was boring. Robin muttered and stretched as the dawn was approaching and nothing at all had happened all night. Slade, stationed a few hundred meters further down the dock, had been in touch regularly to report pretty much the same thing.

Then there were gun-shots off to his other side, far away, so Robin set off towards it and could soon hear screams and orders being shouted. It was almost over when he got there, but he helped to round up a few runners, and congratulated the officers on a job well done. As he took off again, he met up with Slade.

"You seemed to be handling that well on your own." The mercenary nodded. "You could have left a few for me, though."

"You snooze, you lose." Robin grinned. "Let's head back." He stopped as the man was suddenly in front of him, mask in his hand, and smirking.

"Am I not getting any kind of reward for helping you?"

Robin snorted, irritated at the advances now. He wouldn't allow Slade to trick him into making a fool of himself again.

"You did, you got to ride my bike." he said coldly and brushed past the mercenary.

"Not the ride I was hoping for… I wanted something else of yours under me." The man purred behind him.

Robin spun around, spitting with anger.

"Back off, Slade! I'll help you with the program, nothing more! If you can't behave like a normal human being, then stay the hell away from me!"

Slade, however, seemed dangerously unimpressed.

"My, my, we have grown into a rather cheeky little thing, haven't we…? Such lip… Very well. If you can prove that you don't want me, I'll gladly stay away."

"Believe me." Robin seethed. "I. Don't. Want. You." He was about to turn his back on the man again, and continue, when he was seized by the shoulder and then thrown into a wall, back first. His upper arms were grabbed as he was pushed up against the cool bricks.

"Well, I don't believe what you say… I demand a test." Robin heard the dark voice whisper, and then lips claimed his.

There was only one thing to do when you were being kissed by your childhood crush: knee him in the groin. So Robin did.

Slade returned to the cave fifteen minutes after Robin did, and did not seem to be in the most chipper of moods.

The teen stood up when the man walked towards him and gestured to the chair next to him.

"Are you ready to continue working? All we have to do now is to register the data and we can do a preliminary search."

"I don't think so, kid. It's a school night after all." the man said coldly.

Robin narrowed his eyes. So he was back to being a child now, was he?

"Very well." he nodded. "Feel free to ask me tomorrow if you want to continue. Good night."

Slade watched the young man leave and swore quietly to himself. He had purposefully hit a very sore spot, but, on the other hand; so had Robin.

Bruce had watched the conversation with growing suspicion.

"What happened out there?" he asked coolly.

"Nothing. Nothing at all." Slade answered in the same tone, and stalked up the stairs himself. And that's the problem.

Slade muttered under his breath as he undressed in his room, getting ready to take a shower and head to bed himself. He had handled this whole thing horribly. Robin might have been the youngest, but Slade had been the most childish. He wondered if it was because he was in two minds about the whole deal, if he was unconsciously trying to sabotage himself. He continued to think it over in the shower, and then swore, pulling on a pair of sweatpants and a button-down shirt which he was in too much of a hurry to close. He couldn't let this fester until morning, Robin was famous for being able to hold on to a grudge once he found one, and, if nothing else, it would damage his chances of finding the people who had set him up.

He knocked on the teen's door firmly and waited until it creaked open. Robin blocked the doorway, dressed in only his sleeping-pants again, which still seemed to hang onto his hips by only a prayer.

"What, came to read me a bedtime-story"? the young men growled.

"No. I've come to apologize. May I come in?" Slade asked, in what was, for him, a humble voice.

Robin's eyes widened and then narrowed. The teen seemed to decide to give him a chance, however, because he stepped aside.

When the door closed, Slade tried to collect his thoughts briefly before he started speaking.

"I came to Gotham looking for help, nothing more. I didn't know that you were here, but when I saw you… to put it bluntly, Robin… you are a very desirable young man." Slade studied the teen to try to judge how he was doing, and by the faint blush he thought he was doing quite well. "On the other hand, I'm here on business, and I'm not looking for a relationship. I knew you used to… feel an attachment towards me, and I couldn't help but test the waters. On the other hand, I didn't want to be run down by the Batmobile, which was a possibility if I started something and it ended badly. Whatever my intentions and reservations were, I acted badly, and I apologize." With that Slade simply turned and left the room.

Robin took a few steps back and sat down heavily on his bed.

Slade had apologized? Slade? Clearly the aliens had gotten to him too. Robin wasn't sure what to think about the things the man had said… Slade was attracted to him, but didn't want a relationship? Should he be happy? Sad? Annoyed? Relived? Insulted? Robin let himself fall back, lying across the bed and staring up on the ceiling. Did he want a relationship? Well, some day, sure, but right now? And with Slade? He didn't think so… If it happened, it was okay, but right now he was about to stand on his own two feet for the first time; be independent… that was pretty hard to do when you were involved with someone, and the thought of being so with a man like Slade, who never stayed in the same place long, and had a job which was more than a little shady… That could be a nightmare.

Still, he wouldn't mind a test-run… Robin grinned to himself, his body heating up. He wanted the man too, and Slade was just very, very handy at the moment, just a few doors down the hall, after all... The fact that he had admitted to being a jerk was also in his favor. Robin started to feel somewhat guilty for certain things himself.

Slade looked up in surprise as there was a somewhat hesitant knock on his door. When he opened it Robin stood outside, looking nervous.

"I'm sorry I kicked you in the balls." The teen said and then promptly turned around again.

Slade closed the door, looking dazed for a moment, before he chuckled and shook his head. Heroes… He would never understand any of them. Then, suddenly there was a new knock. Slade opened the door once more, and, again, Robin stood outside.

"And I'm not looking for a relationship either… just so you know." he said this time.

"Do you want to come in… and talk?" Slade asked, carefully keeping his face and voice serious. The young man seemed to hesitate for a moment, but then shook his head a little, cheeks pink, and turned away.

Slade shut the door. Close but no cigar… he thought wryly to himself. Damn… his libido added. Robin had practically given him the green light, hadn't he? What could possibly be holding him back? What was he so afraid of?

Robin's heart was pounding pretty hard as he threw himself back on his bed. He had almost… almost… and damn, he wanted to! Why was he such a coward? He nearly yelped as there was a knock on the door again. He got up, almost afraid to open it, but did so anyway. He wasn't a hero for nothing.

Slade again wore the very serious expression.

"I just wanted to add that I am sorry about the insensitive way I treated you when you were sixteen." the man said. "That will not be repeated."

"Oh." Robin blinked, and then grinned a little. "Do you want to come in… to… talk?"

Slade's seriousness changed to a little smirk.

"Thought you'd never ask."

Robin let the man in and locked the door. You never knew with Alfred. He felt rather flustered and found it hard to even look at Slade, until the man spoke.

"Did you know that in certain cultures, 'talking' means kissing?" the man asked him innocently.

"Had no idea." Robin confessed. "So, if you misunderstood me-"

"Then I'd have a valid excuse to do this…" the man grinned and caught Robin's arm, pulling him close.

The kiss was better this time, Robin thought. Not that it had been bad before, but the circumstances helped. He felt a little clumsy and inexperienced, but that, he figured, was to be expected. He was a beginner, after all. He tried to follow Slade's lead, and the man seemed to appreciate it. He gasped as he was suddenly pushed down on the bed, and Slade stopped for a moment.

"Is it alright if we talk on the bed?" the man grinned. Maybe he was afraid of being kneed again.

"Yeah." Robin breathed, and the conversation continued.

Slade wasn't used to having shy lovers, but he found himself enjoying slowly coaxing Robin to try more things, kiss deeper, touch more. He helped the teen to get his shirt off his shoulders, when Robin tentatively started to do so, and that left them both with only trousers on. Robin's fingers happened to brush Slade's chest, touching a nipple, and the hand jerked like it had gotten a small shock. The man started to feel just slightly confused about the teen's jumpiness. Didn't Robin want this, after all? But, no, he seemed eager enough, just… Slade hesitated. It couldn't be…? Robin couldn't possibly be… a virgin? The thought seemed ridiculous to him, not because there weren't a good deal of eighteen year old virgins out there, of course, but because Robin was constantly surrounded by many attractive men and women, and he was simply gorgeous himself, not to mention outgoing, very likable and somewhat flirty… so how had he gotten away?

"Is… something wrong?" the teen asked, his uncertainty reflected in both his voice and his eyes.

"No… you are just such a treat, I can't decide where to start…" Slade grinned down on him. "But then again… I was always a man to go for the throat…" he added and lowered his head to taste the side of the hero's neck. The young man shivered beneath him, letting out a soft moan. Then the phone rang.

Robin almost sobbed on the inside as he reached for the damn noisy thing.

"Yeah?" he answered, hoping he didn't sound too flustered. Slade tried to kiss his neck again, but Robin pushed on his shoulder with a little shake of his head.

"You weren't asleep, were you?" Batman asked.

"No, not just yet." Robin answered. "Something's up?"

"No, but you left the system running down here." The man said. As Robin had constructed the program, he was the only one who could shut it off without risking losing some data or crashing the thing.

"Oh, yeah. Sorry, I'll be right down."

"I wasn't sure if it was supposed to keep running…" Bruce explained.

"No, it's better to turn it off until we start the search. You can leave, though, I'll lock down."

"All right. Good night, Richard… and…?"

"Yes?"

"You won't let Deathstroke bother you, will you? If he does, I'll kick him out."

"No, he doesn't… he doesn't bother me…" Robin said, trying to squirm away from the man who now had turned his attention to his chest. "But thanks… Night."

"Night."

Robin closed the phone and gasped as Slade's lips closed around a nipple.

"Ah… Slade… Slade stop… I need…"

The man looked glanced up at him with a leer which said 'I know what you need', but Robin pushed him away again, as gently as he could.

"I have to go down to the Batcave for a moment… I left the computer on… And Slade… I'm sorry… I… I don't think I can do this tonight, okay? The others… they are too close."

"Too close? In another wing?" Slade smirked. "They won't hear us, Robin, I promise… I'll try for it, though…"

Robin shook his head with an apologetic smile and got up from the bed. He fought his fears as he found himself a robe, feeling too lazy to dress. He was like a kid in a candy-store. A kid with weak morals but a big sweet-tooth… it was a possibility he would get caught with his hand in the jar, so to speak, but the risk was slim, and the reward…?

Slade could see the internal struggle Robin was going through, and was now almost completely sure he was either a virgin or at least not very experienced. Clearly his family hadn't been faced with the fact that he was an adult yet, and Robin didn't seem to want that to happen too soon either.

"Tell you what…" Slade said, and lazily rolled over on his back on the bed, stretching, and noticing Robin's eyes glued to his body. "I'll wait here. We'll spend the night being quiet together, if that's what you want."

"Oh-okay!" the young man, which in that instant sounded so much younger, maybe because of the relief in his voice, said.

When Robin returned to his bedroom the lights were out, although the dawn started to lighten the sky to the east, and for a moment he thought the man had left, before his eyes adjusted and he saw that the right side of his double bed was occupied. He smiled, slipped out of his robe and climbed in. Almost immediately he was pulled towards the other man.

"Do you have classes first thing tomorrow morning?" Slade asked quietly.

"M-hmm." Robin nodded.

"Pity. Then I suggest we sleep… we can always talk more tomorrow." The man said. "Sounds good?"

Robin had no idea how he would be able to sleep next to Slade, but he mumbled something affirmative, and the man pulled the covers over the both of them.

He soon got comfortable, his head resting on the man's chest, rising and falling with it, as Slade breathed. It almost rocked him to sleep, and before he knew it, it was morning.

Slade had been awake for a while, but had chosen not to move. He was on his side, with Robin curled up to him, the teen's back to his chest, fitting perfectly against him. Then the teen moved, mumbled something and yawned. Sleepy blue eyes blinked open and tried to focus on the alarm clock. Then the peace was shattered. Robin yelped something about being late and jumped out of bed and into the shower. Slade, not looking to ruin any chances of 'talking' later, settled for telling the teen through the door that he'd see him at breakfast. He put some clothes out for him on his bed, put his own shirt back on, and slipped out of the room.

The next he saw of Robin was as a blurry outline, running out the door, but Slade smirked as he noticed that he actually wore the things he had chosen. Not that the outfit was anything strange, just a pair of blue jeans and a white shirt. The man wondered if the young man had noticed that there hadn't been any underwear on the pile, though…

Robin muttered as he stuffed his notes into his bag on his way out of class. Current politics was not his favorite subject, not because he didn't get it, but because he knew how poorly the very clean strategies described, worked in reality. He felt like he was playing some pretend-game in that room.

"Hey, Dick, do you have classes after lunch too?" a guy in the small group around him asked. He had gained some study-buddies and they sometimes hung out after school as well, even though Robin did tend to hold back a little.

"Yeah, I do." The teen answered.

"Wanna grab something? We were thinking pizza?"

"Sure, I-" Robin looked up ahead and almost dropped his bag. "Oh, no, sorry. Just remembered I have plans. Rain check?"

"If you tell us who that is…" a girl in the group whispered and nodded ahead.

"Just… a friend. See ya!" the hero said and hurried up to Slade, who was leaning against the wall in the corridor, wearing rather casual clothes and a pair of sunglasses.

Still manages to look hot like hell, though… Robin thought, almost enviously, as he walked up to him.

"Hi… err… what are you doing here, Slade?"

"Taking you out to lunch. You didn't have any breakfast." The man said, put an arm around Robin's waist and started to herd him out onto the street. There, one of Bruce's motorcycles stood waiting, and the man handed him a helmet. Robin tried hard to look like it was nothing strange about being picked up by a somewhat affectionate man, but he had a feeling that Slade didn't really appear to be his uncle.

"Damn, people will talk…" Robin muttered. "If this gets into the papers…"

"If it does, we'll start a scrap-book… and I'll bet the next picture in it will be of us, in uniform, on a roof… talking…" the man added with a smirk before pulling on his helmet. "Now hop on, we have reservations."

"I have some reservations of my own…" Robin mumbled to himself, but did as he was told.

They went to a small Italian restaurant off the main streets, and Robin found himself enjoying a talk of the more traditional kind. When leaving, he looked up and down the street curiously. He rarely saw this part of town, it was a rather quiet area for Gotham, and when he did, it was almost always from the roof. It had been so long since he had visited the city as well, so many things had changed. He found himself glancing at one sign in particular.

"You have such a delicious dirty mind, Robin, but your next class starts in twenty minutes." Slade chuckled next to him, and Robin startled, looking up at the man wide-eyed.

"Wh-what? I … What do you mean?"

The man nodded towards the hotel-sign.

"I know what you were thinking of… but if you were worried about the press before…" the man leered.

"I'm not worried! I mean, I didn't…" Robin was lost for words, and probably looked the part too, since Slade had an expression of someone looking at a little abandoned puppy.

"Well, if you're not worried…" the man said, and caught the teen's chin.

The kiss was just long enough for people around to notice, but too short for anyone to bring out their cell-phones and start taking pictures.

Before Robin had caught his breath, Slade had pulled his helmet on and straddled the bike.

"Come on… you don't want to be late for school…" the man smirked at him.

They still had at least ten minutes left as Slade dropped him off, and Robin decided it was interrogation-time.

"What are you doing here out in the open without your weapons? Why didn't you stay at the manor? Aren't you afraid they will find you?"

Slade snorted at the onslaught.

"Firstly, being cooped up with a cranky, injured man and his tea-crazy butler is not my idea of fun… and about them finding me… I let them find me last time, to draw Batman's attention. I was in greater danger last night, wearing my uniform, than now, in any case."

Robin rolled his eyes about the mercenary letting men with missiles find him, and then he frowned. "Yeah… didn't think about that… it was really risky… sorry."

"Leaving me on the roof in the fetal-position was risky, nothing else." The man smirked, making the teen cough and turn a bit red. "They won't try to touch me as long as I seem to be under your protection."

"I don't get it… if you are being framed for the attempted assassination of the president; doesn't that mean that the guys chasing you work for the government? Why don't they just demand that we hand you over?"

"Because they know I am being framed." Slade shrugged. "And either they don't care, or, more likely, they are in on it. They are like hounds, following their prey whether it's right or wrong… obeying their master's voice… all I am interested in is who their master is."

"You think it's someone high up, don't you? An opposing candidate in the coming election, perhaps?" Robin frowned. Politics again.

"Maybe. I've seen a few men, as I said… I hope your program will point me in the right direction. I could go barging in, of course, but when it comes to the government, I like to be better prepared and just a tad more… delicate."

Robin burst out laughing at the thought of Slade being delicate about anything.

"I'll see you at home. Try not to argue with Bruce." he grinned.

"Can't make any promises…" Slade smirked back and started the bike-engine with a roar.

As soon as Robin came home he went down into the Batcave again, with a chicken sandwich in his hand, courtesy of Alfred. He found Batman glaring at a screen while Slade was elbows deep in the remains of an old totaled bike, which Robin had no idea why they had kept.

"Hi, Bruce, what are you doing?" Robin asked curiously.

"I've decided to use this time to tidy up our files and folders… care to explain the numerous pics of half naked men?"

"Err… research?" Robin tried, hating himself for not remembering to delete them.

"I shudder at the thought of what you might be researching at the time." The dark knight muttered.

"I'll gladly help him with whatever it was." Slade chuckled from behind them, earning himself two sets of death glares, one accompanied by a blush, and the other by a twitching eye. "Or not." he added. "Shall we get to work?"

"Yeah, sure." Robin nodded.

Four hours later, the search had been initiated, and Slade was entrusted to use the software himself while Robin sat next to him, doing homework. Suddenly an old-fashioned red phone lit up and started ringing.

"Retro." Slade commented as Bruce answered. Robin hushed him and listened.

"I see. No, I'm sorry, but Robin will be there, along with a…friend. I'll vouch for him, this once. Deathstroke. No, Commissioner, I have not suffered a stroke."

Slade chuckled at the annoyed look Batman was giving the receiver before he hung up.

"There's some sort of trouble down town, they weren't sure what." he let them know, and Robin was already on his feet. As he entered the changing-room, Slade came after him, however.

"What, I need to change too." The man smirked, unbuttoning his shirt.

Robin muttered but he couldn't really ask the man to wait, there might be lives at stake. When he came to his trousers, however, he remembered something vital. He wasn't wearing underwear. He had several extra pairs down here, but pulling down his trousers, and pulling them on, would still take too much time… god, he wished he was Superman… He glanced at Slade from the corner of his eye, and saw the man facing him, full on, already dressed, and with a leer on his face.

"What's taking so long?" Bruce asked from the other side of the wall, and Robin took a deep breath, turned around, and let his jeans fall to the ground.

Slade admired the view for all the three seconds he could. Not bad. Not bad at all. He tried to keep his leer under control as he came out from the changing-room, no use in making the Bat suspicious, after all.

He checked his belt and weapons as Robin got ready, and then pulled on a hood instead of his metal mask, so he could use a regular helmet. Those had communicators built in, he had discovered, and that might get useful. They would be taking the bat-cave's bikes again, but Slade found himself missing the classic hog he had driven that morning. Also, come to think of it, the way Robin's arms had felt around his waist.

As they were about to leave, Batman decided a few words were in order.

"Remember, I vouched for you, so don't kill anyone, Slade."

"That's like telling Picasso not to paint." the man snorted, putting on his helmet.

"Someone should have told him that…" Batman muttered.

"Bruce is not a fan of abstract art." Robin explained with a chuckle and straddled his own bike.

"Really? And who among the great classical names do you prefer?" Slade asked.

"I've always found Monet calming."

"So… water lilies?" Slade smirked and pulled his helmet on. "Very… gay." he grinned and was off before Batman had time to find an answer… or a weapon.

"Remember, you're in charge, Robin." Bruce told the snickering teen.

"Sure, Bats, no problem." Robin grinned, and started his own bike.

"And don't call me Bats!" his mentor shouted after him.

Robin was still snickering as he caught up to Slade, and the communicator in the helmet came to life.

"I heard that." Slade chuckled. "I bet, that between the two of us, we could give him an actual stroke within a week."

"Yeah… but let's not try. I love the guy after all." Robin smiled. "Now, let's go and have you play on the right side for once."

"I always do; mine." The man stated smugly.

They arrived at a ten storey department store which now happened to look like a giant Chia pet, with plants all over it.

"Great." Robin muttered. "I have a feeling that in the middle of all that, we are going to find a redheaded, insane, man-hating, toxic plant lover."

"Fantastic. And all we need to get in is a mower. Or a scythe." Slade answered. "Tell me, why are we going to go in there?"

"Because we're heroes." Robin snorted.

"The work hours are lousy, the pay nonexistent… is hero another word for gullible masochist?" Slade asked innocently.

"The woman in there kissed me once." Robin told him.

"Okay, let's go and kill her." Slade agreed.

"No killing. I'm the boss here. Now, did you have a scythe on you?" Robin asked and withdrew a few sharp bird-a-rangs.

"Will this do?" Slade grinned and unsheathed a huge sword he had been carrying on his back.

"It will be okay, I guess." Robin, who hadn't seen him bring it, shrugged. "Let's go!"

They had been making their way up about three floors without much interruption.

"The plants are surprisingly docile." Robin muttered, and hacked at a slim tendril which had gotten a bit too curious.

"Have you looked behind us?" Slade asked dryly. Robin did so and cursed. The plants were busy cutting off their retreat and now there was just a thick, green wall at their backs.

"Where is the herbicide-department when you need it?" the teen muttered.

"Any idea where this woman might be hiding?" Slade asked.

"Oh, she's not hiding. Poison Ivy does not hide… she is waiting for us somewhere… on the fifth floor." Robin said, studying a floor-plan of the department store.

"She marked it out?" Slade snorted, looking over Robin's shoulder, trying to figure out what the teen was seeing.

"Nope." Robin grinned. "Just trust me. She'll be right here." His finger landed in the middle of the makeup department.

"If you say s- damn!" the man suddenly swore, and Robin whipped around to see that a very small root, which had been sneaking up on the man from above, had gotten a grip on the man's mask and had now ripped the hood off.

"She's curious about you. You've never met?"

"No, I rarely hang around the insane ones. My life is interesting enough as it is." Slade growled, glaring at the mask which was now dangling twenty feet above his head.

"Let's go introduce you, then." Robin smirked. "There's no use in trying to be clever and take another route, she'll know where we are anyway, so let's just go."

"You're such and eager little lamb. Are you going to sharpen the knife for her as well?" Slade snorted, but, finding no alternative, he ended up following the teen despite his common sense scowling at him.

They reached the fifth floor quickly and it turned out Robin was right. On a large throne, made of plant vines, sat the dangerous beauty, smiling prettily at them.

"Hello little Robin… my, you've grown… has it really been so long?"

"Judging by the gray hairs in your hair, Ivy, yes." Robin smirked.

The woman gasped and ran a hand through her thick, immaculate red locks, trying to see what Robin claimed was there, before understanding that the young man was teasing her.

"Oh, you grew up to be as evil as the rest of them." She whined, before her eyes landed on Slade. "Who's your friend?"

"Well, if you don't like evil men, he's not for you." Robin snorted. "Poison Ivy, Deathstroke. Deathstroke, Poison Ivy." He introduced them. "Please don't become friends."

"I have some friends of my own. Oh, boys?" the woman called, and twenty or so thugs in green emerged from the foliage.

Robin withdrew his bo-staff and extended it.

"Remember, Slade, no killing." He hissed to his temporary partner.

"I would think this would count as weeding." The man snorted.

"Boys, please take care of the little hero while I speak to his companion here." The woman ordered, and Robin was suddenly very busy.

They were just ordinary cronies, trained to fight in a group and not particularly good on their own, but there were a lot of them. The teen tried to keep an eye on Slade as well; after all, the man might be caught up in the woman's seductiveness… or drown in her cleavage, whatever came first.

Slade had sheathed his sword, as it was far too easy to kill with that, and warily studied the woman swaying towards him. A very attractive woman, he had to admit. All curves, hooded eyes and alluring smile. Pity she was a crazy freak, or he wouldn't mind a piece of that some day.

"So… Deathstroke…" the woman purred as she got close to him. "I'd love to welcome you to Gotham… properly…"

"Watch out, Slade, she is fond of poisonous lipstick!" Robin called to him. "And stay away from her nails as well!"

Slade smiled at the redhead in front of him.

"A dangerous woman, aren't you? A real femme fatale… I have a weakness for those, I have to admit…"

"The only weakness you have, I bet…" the woman winked at him, coming increasingly closer, almost slithering.

"No, I'm also rather fond of little birds." Slade said and punched the woman in the face.

The room seemed to freeze around him, and Slade looked up from the crumpled heap at his feet with an arched eyebrow,

"What?" he asked a gaping Robin.

"You… you punched her?"

"Yes?" the man couldn't quite see the point.

"But… but... she's… a…"

"If you say 'a woman', I'm going to punch you too." Slade snorted and Robin closed his mouth. "How do you usually deal with her?"

"Well… I … we… we fight the cronies… and the plants… and… well… Batman tied her up once…"

"Kinky, I don't blame him at all." Slade smirked. "My way is more efficient, though. Need any help with those?" he asked, gesturing to said cronies, who had been frozen in place as well.

Robin's attention snapped back to them, just in time to block a punch.

"I've got them. Tie her up, don't use any vines, and find a weed-whacker or something."

Ivy's male companions didn't seem that interested in fighting now that their mistress was unconscious with a broken, bleeding nose, and Robin had very little trouble with rounding them up. After leaving the rest up to the police they headed home, Robin's stomach screaming for dinner. When they got there, however, a note was waiting for them in the Batcave.

'Robin.

Had to attend a board meeting with a following dinner. Alfred insisted in accompanying me due to my arm. Won't be home until after midnight. Dinner's in the fridge.

B.'

Robin shrugged as he left the note behind to go change, completely missing Slade's leer.

There was something to be said about Alfred's cooking when it still tasted great after being microwaved, Robin thought as he cut into the tender meat. It was just a bit after nine in the evening, and he had freshened up with a long shower, and now felt warm and almost cozy, curled up in an armchair with the plate balancing on a knee. If Alfred would find him eating in the lounge like this, he would demand a spanking, but as the other residents of the house were away, he felt pretty safe.

He put the last piece of food in his mouth, closed his eyes while chewing, savoring the taste, and then looked up to the sound of Slade putting his own plate aside. As Robin saw the look in the man's eye, he didn't feel quite as safe anymore.

He coughed, his eyes darting towards the door, wondering if he would have time to get through it. Probably not.

"Err… so…" he started. "Unless you want to continue working, maybe an early night…?" he suggested.

"It's Friday. No school tomorrow. Why don't we stay up and …talk?" Slade proposed in turn, standing up. "And no idle chatter… I'm looking forwards to an in depth conversation…"

"Look at this mess!" Robin suddenly exclaimed, indicating the two plates and glasses they had left on the coffee table. "I'll stay down here and clean up… we'll talk some other time, okay?"

"How about I take the plates to the kitchen and you get your ass up to your room and undress? It would save some time." Slade leered.

"Listen, thanks for the offer, but-" Robin started, but then Slade was right in front of him.

"Cold feet, Robin?" he asked, and the teen drew a deep breath as the man's fingers caressed his chin, tilting it upwards enough so he could look straight down on him, like an falcon piercing his prey with his eyes before using his claws. "Are you sure…?"

"I… I… no… I… the dishes…?" It had started out as a very good objection in Robin's mind, but something happened when it was about to pass his lips.

"Go upstairs." Slade's lips brushed his, not quite kissing. "Wait for me."

Robin blinked. He was suddenly in his room with only a vague idea about how he had gotten here. He idly considered locking his door when it opened.

"Not naked yet?" the man jokingly scolded him.

"No, I.. Oh, I got it!" Robin blurted out.

"No, but you will 'get it' in a moment." Slade smirked.

"No, not that!" the young man snorted and then looked rather uncomfortable for a moment, "I mean… with you. You got too close to Ivy, you probably got some of her pheromone-stuff on you. That's why I was all…"

"Horny? Easy? Hard?" Slade tried to help.

"Confused!" Robin declared, crossing his arms.

"That is a nice idea, Robin, but you forgot a few things; I've changed my clothes and showered after meeting Ivy. She also never touched me, and I wore gloves when I punched her… and I hadn't met her at all last night." The man smiled, almost kindly, as he approached and touched the teen's hair, caressing it. "I think there's another explanation… isn't there, Robin? I think you are nervous…"

"I'm not-"

"Yes… you are. I noticed a few things last night… I think you have to agree that this is a perfect opportunity, the question is… do you want it to be me?"

"Y-you?" Robin felt himself shivering slightly now.

"Yes. Do you want me to be your first?"

Robin opened his mouth to object, to call the man a liar, but in the end he couldn't. Slade knew, and he was right. Robin glanced at the door, thought of the enormous empty building surrounding them, and looked at Slade who was patiently awaiting his answer, knowing the man would leave if he said no.

"Yes." he answered.

Poison Ivy could learn a lot from Slade's smile at that moment.

Slade impatiently dragged the hand away from Robin's mouth where it was trying to stifle the gasps and moans seeping through the fingers.

"No one can hear you." The man promised, as he continued to kiss the naked body beneath him. "No one but me, and I want to." They were both nude now, lying on the bed, and Slade was very much enjoying his treasure hunt for Robin's most sensitive spots, as was Robin.

Slade had let the young man explore him first, partly to try to ease his nervousness, and partly because Slade thought that he stood the better chance of lasting longer himself, as he was much more experienced. That was until the moment when Robin timidly had asked if he could lick the man's cock. Slade had almost come from the question alone.

He was nipping at the teen's inner thighs at the moment, and Robin had apparently completely forgotten any embarrassment by now, judging by the way he spread his legs. Slade smiled as he left a particularly red mark on the sensitive soft skin, he loved bringing this sensuous part of Robin to the surface, for the first time ever. He suspected the teen would be a rather demanding, aggressive lover in time, and he was starting to hope to be around to enjoy that side of him too, but for now, he was still a virgin, however unashamedly he seemed to want that label to be ripped from him.

"Hmmm… Slade… please… suck me?" Robin begged.

"I will… in a minute…" the man promised and leaned over the bed to grab his trousers, and, especially, what was in his pocket. "I'm going to fuck you bareback. I know you're clean, and when it comes to STD's I'm like Teflon; nothing sticks to me." The man grinned. "But we'll need this." he said, and held up a tube of lubricant.

"Nooo…" Robin groaned. "My first time, and now I'll always remember your Teflon speech…" he looked to be suffering for a moment, before he smirked. "Suck me now?" It wasn't much of a question, really, but Slade liked to pretend that it was.

Slade carefully played the sensations he created in Robin's body against each other as he continued. He licked and sucked at the sensitive head, as he pushed a lubricated finger against the teen's twitching, tense entrance, making the pleasure and the unfamiliar feelings keep Robin in heaven without climaxing. He pushed part of his finger into the tight heat, making Robin gasp.

"Wow… that…. That feels… different." The teen said.

"What's the biggest thing you've ever had inside you?" Slade asked, knowing very well that no lack of living companions would ever stop a curious teenager from experimenting.

"Just… just about as thick as… as two fingers." Robin told him, clenching down on the intruder as he got embarrassed.

"Good… well then…" Slade smirked, withdrew his finger and then quickly pushed two in.

"Aaaah! As thick as my fingers, idiot, not yours!" Robin groaned.

"Did it hurt?" Slade asked, twitching the appendages inside the teen.

"No… no… it just… burns a bit." Robin admitted and pushed back.

Slade was secretly thrilled that the boy hadn't experimented with anything nearly as large as his cock, even though he knew that would mean he would have to take more time. He knew a shortcut, whoever, and he thought Robin would appreciate it.

He grabbed the lubrication-tube and slid the long nozzle inside the boy.

Robin jumped at the coldness.

"What… what are you doing?"

"Don't worry… you'll love this…" Slade promised and squeezed the tube hard.

Robin's back arched as he felt himself being filled with the cold slick goo.

"AAAH! GOD!" he cried, clutching the sheets.

"And we have barely gotten started yet…" the man above him purred, and then the two fingers returned. Robin squirmed and whimpered, trying to push back onto the digits. After a while he simply lifted his leg over Slade's head, turned around on his stomach, and got on his knees, so he could rock back harder and faster.

"You are making my cock jealous of my fingers…" Slade's chuckled as he continued to stretch the eager teen.

"Poor thing…" Robin panted, and looked back at the man over his shoulder. "Let him join in then…"

"Are you ready?" the man asked him and Robin burst out in a short desperate chuckle.

"Hell yeah!"

"You're not, but I'm not going to argue… I'm going to let you discover that yourself…" Slade promised him and removed his fingers. Robin soon felt the head of the man's cock held firmly against his entrance and felt pre-cum drip from his own aching length in anticipation.

"Push back… let's see how ready you are…" Slade urged him in a teasing tone which awakened the competitive side in Robin. The teen took a big breath and slowly started to impale himself.

Slade gasped in disbelief as he saw, and felt, his cock sink into the tight ass. Robin whimpered a little as the thick head popped into him, but after that, just ragged breaths were heard as the teen pushed further and further back, until his ass hit Slade's body.

"There… fuck me now." Robin gasped, and Slade couldn't even pretend that it was a question this time.

"Shhhh… we have time…" the man said, holding onto Robin's hips to keep him still and then bending over the teen to kiss his neck, while his hand found Robin's dripping cock. It hadn't softened at all, it seemed, which was a good sign. Still, Slade didn't want to do things too quickly, he didn't want to hurt the young man, and Robin had already proven a bit too impatient for his own good.

"I'm fine… just move… please?" the man under him begged, wriggling his ass to try to get free.

"I can't resist you when you beg…" Slade muttered.

"Your second weakness?" Robin smirked at him over his shoulder.

"My third. The second is you in general." the man admitted, giving the boy's ass a little playful slap.

"Oh… oh, yes, do that again!" the teen said. As Robin had clamped down on him in a very nice way from the slap, Slade obliged him, going a little harder this time.

"Guess I was right about the masochist-thing…" Slade smirked. "You want to be punished, Robin? You want me to fuck you so hard you'll scream?"

"Y-yes!" the teen moaned.

"Very well." the man drawled and slowly pulled out most of the way, before thrusting back in again. The body under him gasped and shuddered, but the gasp sounded like 'more!' rather than 'stop!'. A few thrusts later Slade knew that he wanted something else, and pulled out, despite Robin's guttural objections. "Turn over." he ordered, and watched Robin obey eagerly, the teen even lifting his hips so Slade could push into him again more easily.

The man watched his young lover with something close to fascination as he started fucking him for real. The way his mouth opened and closed, making the most delicious, needy, sounds the man had ever heard. The moans slipping between the lips which were pink and slightly swollen from the kissing-session they had had while getting undressed. The chest, small pink nipples painfully hard, skin glistening with sweat. The arms, outstretched to the sides, the palms turned downwards, and the fingers clawing at the sheets, trying to ground a body which seemed to only want to arch up with every movement Slade made. The taut stomach, muscles contorting with every gasp, and his eyes…. Those eyes brought Slade to the brink as they opened, glazed with pleasure and yet pleading for more. Slade knew that from the outside it might look like he was completely dominating the younger man under him, but at that moment he knew Robin owned him, every aspect of him, and it was unclear if he ever wanted to be free again.

Robin fought for breath, fought for some kind of balance, a grasp on reality. It was like every nerve-ending in his body had somehowgathered between his legs and at the base of his cock. He felt Slade pick up speed, the man's muscles bulging as he leaned over him, his skin, strangely flawless despite his hard life, glistening, his breath coming in animal-like grunts. The head of the teen's cock brushed the man's stomach again and again, the sensitive area almost burning. Robin grabbed the bedding harder, trying to push back, trying to give the man more of himself, anything, everything. The single eye seemingly so demanding, possessive, but Robin didn't mind, he'd willingly give himself to this man for as long as he'd have him, even if it was only for these short moments.

"Take me!" he panted. "Slade… I… please…!"

The man above him growled and bent his head down until his lips ghosted over Robin's ear.

"Yours." Robin heard the rough whisper, just before everything just got too much. He let the sheets go and clutched at the man's back instead, screaming out his release, marking both himself and Slade with white streaks. Right then he felt warmth flooding him, the man's hands tightening painfully, now around one hip and one arm, holding him down, making sure Robin took everything he had to offer. The hero felt himself milking the length inside him, his body eager for every drop.

"Slade…" he half gasped, half sobbed, his hands burying themselves in thick, white hair as he clung to the man. "Slade… yours…"

They stayed like that for over an hour, before Robin glanced at the clock.

"They will be home soon…" he mumbled, too tired to put any real meaning behind his words.

"You want me to leave?" Slade asked.

"No… but he'll kill you."

"Some things are worth dying for." The man chuckled.

"Agreed…" Robin joined with a quiet chuckle of his own.

At that moment Robin's cell rung.

"Mmm?" the teen answered.

"Did I wake you?" Bruce asked. "I just wanted to say that we'll be home in a moment. I thought you were still working."

"Nah, we gave up a while ago… was just going to go to sleep, actually." Robin mumbled.

"I'll see you in the morning, then." Bruce said. "Goodnight."

"Night." Robin said, idly wondering if it was common for family members to say goodnight over the phone as often as he and Bruce did. Well, at least they said goodnight… it could be worse. "Grab the comforter." The teen mumbled, already half asleep. "And don't you dare wake me up for a run tomorrow."

"I might wake you up for a limp." Slade offered.

"As long as you're not limp, I won't complain." The teen smirked slightly and then closed his eyes.

Alfred was very happy about the amount his young master was eating the next morning, and told him so, drawing Bruce's attention to the apparently starving teen.

"Tough night last night?" the man asked.

Robin coughed slightly with a sandwich half way down his throat, and Slade answered.

"It was quite demanding, actually. It turned out to be this rather interesting woman… Poison Ivy, was it?" the man looked over at Robin, who was busy chewing, but nodded.

"Ivy? She can be tricky…"

"Slade punched her in the face." Robin finally managed to say, and with quite an amount of pride in his voice too.

"Well, she was annoying." The man shrugged.

"Broke her nose." Robin added, his eyes glittering.

"She stole my mask… well, one of those disgusting roots did." Slade said again, preening a bit on the inside.

"I see." Bruce's eyes narrowed a little. "Good job, I guess."

As breakfast ended, Bruce rose and looked over at the mercenary.

"Slade, may I see you in my office for a moment?"

Robin glanced nervously at his mentor. Was Slade going to get yelled at for his rough treatment of Ivy? Was the criminal perhaps more seriously injured than it had appeared?

"I'll… I'll just go down to the cave and start working." Robin said.

"Do that, we won't be long." Bruce gave him a tight smile, which didn't ease Robin's worries at all.

As Bruce had promised, they weren't gone long. Robin had barely had time to sit down before Slade joined him.

"Richard?" Bruce's voice called out to him. "A word, please."

"I'm in trouble too?" he muttered and followed his mentor. Bruce took him far enough down the cave so they could speak freely, without being overheard.

"Robin… I don't know how to say this… is there something going on between you and Slade?" Bruce asked.

"Why… why would you think that?" Robin tried to sound appalled instead of caught.

"I've just seen the way you look at each other for the last few days, and, well… there has been some history, after all…" a heavy hand landed on Robin's shoulder, and he looked up at the man, his eyes unguarded for just a second, but that was all it took. "Damn it, Robin!" Bruce growled. "He's dangerous, he's a mercenary! He's wanted, for god's sake!"

"On false grounds!" Robin argued.

"On that charge, yes." Barman muttered. "He has a record which would barely fit in this cave, and he's very much guilty of most of it!"

"I know, but-" Robin stopped himself. He couldn't exactly find a way to defend what he had done and what he was feeling. "I'm just… an idiot, I guess." he muttered.

Bruce took a deep breath, which could mean that he was about to start screaming or that he was collecting himself. In this case the latter seemed to be true.

"He was your childhood crush… you met again, and… am I correct in assuming that you just need to get him out of your system?"

"Yeah… yeah, that might be it." Robin shrugged, feeling a bit empty. He didn't want that to be it. He wanted the feelings he had last night to be the truth, the hot shower and the quick caresses they had shared that morning to last, but he guessed that was just wishful thinking, just like the dreams he had had a few years ago.

"And is he? Out of it yet?" Bruce asked, almost gently.

"Not… not quite yet, I think." Robin looked down at his feet, not feeling like much of an adult at the moment.

"But soon?"

"Yeah. Soon." Robin mumbled.

"Good. Because I told him I'd hang his balls from the rearview mirror in the Batmobile if he ever hurt you again." The dark knight told him.

"Well… I guess they are fuzzy enough." Robin let slip before he escaped back to his impossible dream.

"Did he tell you what he planned to do with my balls?" Slade muttered as the teen sat back down next to him.

"Yes. But it will be worth the risk, right?" Robin asked innocently.

"Of course." Slade said, but glanced nervously at the car. Robin snickered beside him as he booted up the computer.

As Slade had predicted, Robin went from being timid to almost exhibitionistic, very quickly, sneaking kisses and caresses as soon as Bruce's back was turned. Slade had no objections to this, but he felt the urgency and neediness from his young lover and knew what it meant. They were on a deadline, and it would soon be upon them.

Two weeks passed. They worked with the system, going through millions of pictures, but, since it was a prototype, it needed work. Bruce started to use his arm more and more, and thankfully the weeks were pretty quiet. Slade and Robin went on a few missions, and got that make out-session on a roof Slade had predicted, although thankfully it didn't end up in the media. Then, one evening in the third week, the system suddenly came up with several matches. Slade looked at the images and nodded.

"It's them." He saw Robin's shoulder's slump a little out of the corner of his eyes, but then the teen's back straightened again within a second.

"Great! Good. Glad we could help!" the teen said, like he was a shopkeeper who had just helped Slade pick out a new suit… or a weapon of mass destruction, depending on the store. Actually, come to think of it, Slade knew a few places which carried both items. "I'll just print these for you, then…" Robin continued, and busied himself by the printer.

"Aren't you going to ask me what I'll do with the information? Although that is somewhat too late now…" the man said.

"I… I trust you will do the right thing." the young man said quietly. "Who are these guys, then?" he added in a more chipper tone.

"The less you know, the better. I'll deal with it." Slade said.

"You… you'll be leaving then?"

"I'll check the flights for tomorrow." the man nodded.

"Yeah." Robin gathered the printouts and put in a folder. "Here you are then! Happy hunting, I guess. Excuse me, I… I have some homework to do."

Slade watched him leave until he heard a dry voice behind him.

"Should I pick out a string to hang them by?" Batman asked coldly.

"I'll talk to him." Slade said and stood up.

"You better."

"You don't have to." Robin said as his door opened. "I knew what this was… I was just living a bit in fantasy-land again." He was sitting on his bed, not even pretending to do any homework.

Slade sat down behind him, and, to Robin's surprise, pulled him into his lap and buried his head against his neck.

"So was I." the man then admitted.

"It's impossible, isn't it?" Robin mumbled, letting his head fall back, his body already responding as they felt lips nibble at his neck.

"You were a famous circus artist at the age of eight, weren't you?" Slade asked him.

"Yeah?" Robin answered, wondering what that had to do with anything.

"You were raised by a man who has taken on a whole city full of criminals by himself, even though he's a normal human. And you helped him. Then you went on to become a leader of a team of aliens, shape-shifters, demon-spawns and half-metal men. Well, alright, only one of each, but anyway… you even helped create a team of another group of misfits in Steel City. You have saved the earth from destruction several times, and you save individual people's lives on a daily basis. Frankly, I'm insulted."

"Err… what?" Robin blinked up at the man he was now curled up against.

"I'm insulted that of all those things, you find the thought of us impossible."

Robin found a small smile trying to break free on his lips.

"You… you want to try?"

"No." Slade shook his head decisively. "I never try, I do. Make sure you are up for it."

"I am." Robin promised.

"I'll be away a lot."

"Well, I have to study a lot."

"You might not always agree with my decisions."

"As if you would agree with mine all the time…" Robin snorted.

"I might not always be able to tell you everything… where I'm going, what I'm doing… like now…"

"As long as you aren't 'doing' anyone else." Robin said. "Can I trust that?"

"Yes."

"Well, then that's enough for me. Are we going to tell Bruce?"

"Hell no." Slade smirked.

"Agreed."

"Well, at least not in the beginning. We'll tell him in ten years He ought to have mellowed down a bit by then, don't you think?"

"You might want to wait until he has to use a walker." Robin said thoughtfully, and then he looked up at the man, eyes glittering in a way Slade had learned to recognize by now.

"Soo… one last night…?"

"Yes."

"I guess you have a lot to do… and that you want to get some rest?" Robin asked wistfully.

"I don't dare. You might go complain to the Bat… I'm not leaving here until you are completely pleased." Slade promised.

"Well, you can try…" Robin challenged him.

"As I said…" Slade growled. "I never just try."

Robin grinned. He had a feeling that this wasn't exactly what Bruce had hoped for, but he had to admit… it was everything he had hoped for himself.

The End.

A/N: Poor Ivy. She was taken from the original live-action series, where the criminals were more funny and strange than scary. Sorry Ivy-lovers. And about Slade's reaction: well the man would not simply allow himself to be pulled into the whole "Bang!" and "Ka-BOOM!" cartoonish-style fighting, he has better things to do. Effectiveness, that's my Slady-boy…

About Robin and the ending: I wanted to write Robin a bit older, a bit more self assured, but that said, eighteen-year-olds are still kids, really, which meant that when their world is disrupted in any way, they don't quite know where to turn or act… so he TRIES not to be flustered, but you know Slade; the man wouldn't be happy if he couldn't make his bird blush at least a few times a day…

The ending, then… it IS an impossible romance, really, but… I wanted them to have some hope… I guess I'm just very fluffy at the moment, and I think they deserve it!

I know this dragged on, which means it's not well planned or thought out, I just wrote and wrote and wrote and just put anything I wanted in here… why? Because it was a nice change after writing 2060 which WAS planned from the start, and I had to scratch some ideas from it, because they didn't fit in… In this I just MADE everything fit in… -grin- A bit egotistical perhaps and not a sign of a good writer, but hey, I hope it was entertaining anyway!

/W