Title: Perfect Enemy
Author: Ainahim
Rating: T for general darkness
Summary: Slade/Robin slash, reflection fanfic. Robin never wanted to love Slade, but there was no stopping his emotions once they started.
A/N: I was listening to the song 'Perfect Enemy' by Tatu, and it fit so many pairings so I knew I had to write a fanfic while listening to this song. But which pairing? Hmm…then it hit me. Slade/Robin angsty, mostly one-sided? PERFECT! Based on many events that happen throughout the whole series, but the most important ones being "The Apprentice" at the beginning and "The End Pt 3" at the end.
Disclaimer: Teen Titans is not mine. I don't own Robin and I don't own Slade. It is a dark, dark world. I mean, do you know how much it hurts actually admitting that I don't own these characters just so I can save my own ass from being sued? IT HURTS BIG TIME!
"You
don't turn me off
I will
never fail
Things
I loved before
Are now
for sale
Keep
yourself away
Far
away from me
I'll
forever stay
Your
perfect enemy"
-- Perfect Enemy by TATU
At first, Robin wasn't sure what it was. He assumed it was exactly as Slade had put it, that they were so much alike and that he just didn't want to admit it out loud or to himself. But then he admitted it to himself; then he admitted it to Starfire, though of course pointing out that they still had differences, he had still voiced the similarities between himself and Slade out loud. So that theory was gone.
"You won't admit it, but at some level you enjoyed stealing for me. It was a thrill, wasn't it?" Before he'd figured it out, those words had replayed over and over in Robin's mind. Why had those words affected him so much?
"…at some level you enjoyed stealing for me…"
That was why.
"…enjoyed stealing for me…"
It was because he had been stealing for Slade. Everything, no matter how much he tried to deny it, was for Slade. He hated the man, but underneath the cloak of hate there was love. There was dangerous love. His own realization had hit him so hard it was as if someone had punched him in the chest and knocked the breath out of him. When he finally came out of his realization spell, he screamed and kicked the wall, and everything that had been on a top shelf in the room was now on the floor. He hadn't ever wanted this. He hadn't wanted to love Slade.
His feelings hurt him for awhile, but he eventually got used to them being there. That is, until the encounters. There were so many. That villain was so irresistible and everything he said made Robin's blood boil with anger, but it also made his heart ache; so much, in fact, it hurt. It hurt inside, listening to Slade speak. Damn him. Damn every part of him.
Every time Robin thought he was rid of Slade, he always came back. The problem was, there was always part of him that missed the older man when he was gone, and that always bothered the Boy Wonder inside. The first time he thought he'd been gone for good, he had almost wanted to cry, but knew that this could be a time to heal because Slade wouldn't be there to tease him anymore.
But right when he was about to get over him, the goddamned bastard came back. It sent a river of hate through his body, but when the river came back it shot up his spine in a chill of lust and gratitude for just seeing him again. He was angry with himself for being grateful and angry with Slade for returning right when his heart could have been done with him.
Within a few fights, he knew that Slade had figured it out. Damn him, damn him! Robin's one deepest secret that he even tried keeping locked away inside himself had been figured out by the one person who could taunt him with it like no other. It hurt enough when Slade didn't know. But still…maybe there was a new chance now.
Unfortunately, that had been a glimmer of hope, one thing that someone like Robin always had with him. Slade had it too. It was one of those many things they had in common, and it was one of the things that drew Robin to Slade and made him understand evil. For you cannot be a true villain without that hope to drive your plan forward. Lackeys didn't have to have hope - they had to be miserable enough to follow behind ultimate evil - but that evil always did.
Robin cursed the man even more for making him understand.
Then the rare Robin and Slade fighting side-by-side came. It only hurt himself more inside that they could complete so much when they were forced to work together. He cursed Slade over and over again. It wasn't fair. It just wasn't fair that they were fated to be on opposite sides.
And yet at this moment, they stand facing each other; there is a silence that is hanging in the air, warning them both that the other wants to say something they just can't say. Yet another accursed thing they have in common.
What they have in common. That's when Robin figured out that Slade had felt the same way almost all along. Why it was so easy for Slade to figure out how Robin felt. They didn't need to say a damn thing, they just knew. It tore them both up inside.
He wanted to go over and touch him, but he couldn't. Neither of them could. They had to keep themselves away from their perfect enemies. Without saying anything and feeling as if they had said everything, they turned and walked down opposite paths once again.
Slade was untouchable. It was just that simple.
A/N: Slade/Robin angst is so much effing fun to write. The whole song "Perfect Enemy" fits, but I only included the best part (AKA: the chorus). If you haven't heard that song you should probably check it out. So yeah, hope this was good for at least one person's soul.