Dick woke abruptly with a choked scream that died in his throat. His eyes wandered frantically in the darkness and it took him a few seconds to realize that he was in his new bedroom. Realizing that he was now safe he took long deep breaths in an attempt to calm himself but he failed when fragments of the nightmare flashed through his head.
The acrobat shook his head and slumped lazily on the bed. He lay there for a couple of minutes and finally gave a defeated sigh, knowing that he was unlikely to fall asleep.
At least this time he had not woken Slade.
At the thought of the man an idea slowly made its way into the mind of the last Flying Grayson.
Maybe... maybe I can go to Slade's room and ask him if I can sleep with him... kind of like I did with my parents...
A knot formed in his throat at the thought of his parents and he did his best not to start crying.
He wanted to have his Mami and his Tati back but knew it was a utopian wish
He then shook his head both to have his mind directed elsewhere and to deny his previous thought.
I can't wake Slade just because I can't handle a nightmare. I would be pathetic and selfish if I woke him up just because of a nightmare. For heaven's sake, I've handled things a thousand times worse than a damn nightmare!
With that thought in his mind he closed his eyes in an attempt to fall asleep. More minutes passed and finally he groaned in defeat and sat up in bed, contemplating what to do.
He was pretty sure Slade would not be upset if he asked if he could sleep with him. After all, the man had done so much for Dick when he had no reason to help him and eventually helped him recover his memory, so this was a joke compared to what Dick put the man through when he was still stuck as Talon.
And for that Dick would be grateful to him for the rest of his life.
On the other hand, he had only known Slade for a few months, not counting his time while he was still stuck as Talon, but he had noticed that the man always had a calm, composed and collected attitude and never raised his voice even when Dick deserved to be scolded.
It probably stemmed from the fact that he was a mercenary and a former soldier.
In hindsight Dick should have been appalled that his future adoptive father (he absentmindedly wondered if he would ever get used to referring to Slade as his adoptive father) was the world's deadliest mercenary with the most kills.
He honestly was not and it did not bother him.
It would have been hypocritical of him after all that he himself had accomplished.
I am definitely going off topic. Dick reminded himself.
After a few minutes the emotional side of his mind that needed comfort from the man prevailed. He then got out of bed, silently opened his door and used all his Talon training to head for Slade's room without making a sound.
He opened the door just enough to peer inside and saw Slade deeply asleep wearing only his shorts. The acrobat opened it wider, sneaked inside and closed it again. When he turned around he leapt into the air startled when he saw Slade staring at him intently despite the darkness.
Either he was not asleep or my training must be revised. Or both.
"Kiddo?"
"Um..." Dick took a deep breath and hid the embarrassment he felt growing inside him. He began to fiddle nervously with his hands. "I couldn't sleep and I was hoping that I could sleep here with you."
It seemed an eternity before Slade answered him. "Nightmare?"
"Yes Ma-" he bit his tongue to keep from uttering the word "Master". "Yes." he only repeated.
Old habits were damnably hard to get rid of, no matter how much he wanted to.
Dick waited with bated breath for the answer and finally after about two minutes without receiving it he deflated, doing his best to hide his disappointment.
I knew that would be a bad idea. He mentally scolded himself as he struggled to keep his voice composed. "It's okay. S-sorry if I woke you up... I'll go now." he said awkwardly.
Dick was immediately stopped by the mercenary's voice. "No. You can... you can stay."
The Talon felt hope and excitement rising but had to keep them at bay. "Really? I don't want to bother you."
This time the answer came after about five seconds of silence. "No problem."
Dick saw Slade hesitate before awkwardly patting the part of the bed next to him. The acrobat did not let him repeat it twice and practically climbed onto the bed immediately, causing the man to snort in amusement.
Dick should have felt strange and uncomfortable sharing a bed with a shirtless old man in only shorts as very dangerous as Slade but he was not at all.
This was because his trust in Slade was already sky-high for helping him get through his mindless zombie killer phase that was extremely obedient to the court and it was increasing day by day.
Slade was doing so much for Dick, more than Slade himself could ever have imagined.
As soon as Dick found himself lying beside the mercenary immediately he felt safe and an involuntary yawn escaped from his lips.
"Good night Slade."
"Night kiddo."
Slade remained silent and watched Dick deeply asleep. He knew this because he could hear the kiddo's breathing regular and steady.
Seeing the kiddo so calm, so peaceful... warmed the heart of the mercenary who felt overwhelmed by many different emotions and he did not even want to dwell on them.
Suddenly the super soldier stiffened and lowered his gaze only to see Dick's head resting comfortably on his chest, and the man felt his tiny (but deadly, Slade quickly remembered) arms holding him close.
Slade took a deep breath, slowly raised one arm and hesitated before stroking the kiddo's dark hair. He could not help but smile softly when he heard him murmur contentedly and contentedly.
Maybe and just maybe... the emotions from before were not so bad, Slade decided.
Eventually he closed his eye to fall back asleep with one thought in mind.
The kiddo is really special.
When Dick woke up, the first thing he noticed was that he had not had any nightmares when he had fallen asleep with Slade and he regarded this as a great victory.
The second thing he noticed was that there was no sign of the man in the room but the acrobat was not surprised.
He had in fact realized that Slade always got up early, around 6:00 a.m. or even by 5:00 a.m. and when Dick had asked him why he had received as his answer:
"A habit I have never broken ever since I enlisted."
Dick was not at all surprised that the man was part of the army. Virtually everything about Slade screamed that he was former military. And the acrobat remembered the hug he gave the man when he told him how he became meta-human because of the experimental serum and how Slade had become practically a guinea pig.
He cast a lazy glance at the alarm clock resting on the nightstand and noticed that it was 8:25 a.m. He got out of bed and headed for the kitchen where he thought Slade was cooking breakfast.
And indeed he was not mistaken.
There Dick saw Slade practicing another of his rigid routines: drinking coffee while reading the newspaper.
By now Dick had become an expert on Slade's typical day and knew all his routines.
"Good morning Slade."
Slade looked up from his paper and gave him a small smile. "Good morning Dick. Sleep well?"
Dick nodded and in a few seconds reached his place on the table. He sat down and began to eat his breakfast, which this time consisted of milk and cereal. "I haven't had any more nightmares."
"Good."
Out of the corner of his eye Dick saw Slade staring intently at him with a frowning, thoughtful and slightly surprised look that made him slightly uncomfortable. "I know I'm irresistible but you're not my type, I'm sorry." he joked.
If Slade had been any other man at that moment he would have spit out his coffee in a typically comic scene. Instead he merely raised an eyebrow impassively, hiding within himself the shock and amusement he really felt. "I can say the same about you, kiddo." he said dryly, making him chuckle. He returned to reading the paper. "As soon as you go to the bathroom, look in the mirror." he said casually, confusing the acrobat who shrugged and nodded.
Breakfast passed quietly, with Dick chatting about whatever topic came to mind and Slade occasionally nodding or grunting, showing that he was listening.
It was easy to see that Slade was not very talkative or sociable, but Dick was fine with that.
Eventually Dick finished his breakfast and headed for the bathroom, wondering curiously why Slade would tell him to look in the mirror.
As soon as the acrobat looked at himself in the mirror he understood why and he gasped in amazement at his own reflection.
The most surprising thing was definitely the fact that his eyes were no longer golden but had returned to their natural blue color. In addition, the dark veins on his (still pale) face had almost completely disappeared, and those that still remained were less noticeable than before.
Dick brought a hand to his mouth, still surprised and shocked. He turned sharply and met the mercenary's smug gaze on the doorframe.
"How is that possible?" murmured the Talon, staring once more at his own reflection, completely stunned that his face had returned almost as it once was, except for the few dark veins visible and his face paler than it ever was.
"I have no idea." admitted the super soldier. "But I have a theory." he expounded it after the kiddo nodded impatiently without ever looking at him. "I assume you know that a very particular substance was injected into your body that gave you your superhuman abilities: electrum."
Now Dick stared at him, focusing all his attention on the man. "I was pretty sure they had injected me with something to turn me into a Talon after..." his voice trailed off and he finally shook his head. "Go ahead with your theory."
Slade curiously raised an eyebrow but did not press him on the subject. "Maybe electrum is a substance that needs to be injected every few years." he suggested but Dick immediately shook his head.
"I don't think that's the reason. I don't remember Cobb or the other Masters injecting me with anything during my time with them... sure, my memory is still not 100 percent and there are many details I don't remember but..." Dick absentmindedly drummed his fingers on the sink. "I doubt that electrum is a substance to be injected regularly. I still feel my abilities as before."
Slade also thought that once the electrum was injected on a person that person would permanently receive the abilities and typical appearance of a Talon, although he still could not explain why suddenly the kiddo had regained the natural color of his eyes and almost all the dark veins disappeared from his face, which, however, still remained pale.
"Then I don't know why this change occurred." Slade admitted. "Maybe somehow it has to do with the fact that you were exposed to the electrum when you were only seven years old." he speculated.
Dick pondered. "That may be it." he agreed slowly. "I'm pretty sure I was the only child turned into Talon. Maybe it's some side effect... I don't know." then he shook his head with a smirk. "Either way, I'm just glad my face is back to normal enough!"
Dick was so excited that he performed a backflip and Slade gave a small smile seeing him so happy.
This was definitely good news that Dick deserved so much after all he had been through. Besides, his eyes were probably the cutest shade of blue Slade had ever seen.
Not that he would ever admit it out loud, of course.
Slade slowly lost his smile when he saw Dick's eyes twinkle and frowned when he saw them turn almost immediately from natural blue to golden. Apparently Dick must have seen something he didn't like flash across the mercenary's face and he turned sharply toward the mirror.
All his earlier excitement quickly disappeared and he deflated, dejected and defeated.
Slade hated to see him so sad, especially after he had found something to be happy about. He began to think carefully about words to say to comfort the kiddo but stopped abruptly when he noticed another anomalous fact.
A few seconds after Dick's enthusiasm had died down, the golden in his eyes slowly faded, giving way to blue again. Eventually Dick noticed it too and turned around, staring at the man with a puzzled look. "Why the hell do my eyes change color faster than the lights in a disco?"
Slade huffed out a laugh. "Language." he scolded him slightly and chuckled at his flat look. "I noticed that they turned golden when you were very enthusiastic and turned blue again when your mood was down or when you were normal." he pointed out.
"Are you suggesting that my eyes change color according to my emotional state?"
"More like when you feel an emotion at a very intense and deep state." he corrected him. "Try to think of something that makes you very angry."
Dick nodded, also wanting to test Slade's theory. His first thought went to the Court of Owls but he did his best to discard it, not wanting to risk falling into one of his usual panic attacks. Next his mind flew to Tony Zucco and he felt a spark explode angrily in his chest. The acrobat gritted his teeth and looked up at Slade and given his slightly smug look he thought his eyes were golden.
He turned back to the mirror and his intuition proved correct. Continuing to stare at his own reflection the Talon took deep breaths to calm himself. He noticed how the golden slipped away and the blue took its place. He turned again toward the man.
"You're right. Apparently my eyes turn golden when I feel an emotion intensely."
"It all makes things easier for us." at the confused look Slade explained. "Your eyes have returned to their natural color and your face is almost completely free of those dark veins. Even if someone should see those remaining ones, they wouldn't think too much about it. Your complexion is a little pale, but we can say that it has always been that way. All this makes it easier for you to go to school or go out in general like a normal kiddo." then he gave a small smile. "Of course, you have to be careful to control your emotions but we can work on that."
Dick brightened at the words and the prospect of going out again. "Really?"
Slade nodded with a slight smile and without any warning the acrobat threw himself on the man who emitted a slight "Ouf!" from the sudden impact but still managed to wrap his arms around the kiddo, holding him easily.
Dick rested his head comfortably on the mercenary's shoulder. "Thank you, Slade."
Slade patted Dick's head a few times, a small but genuine smile between his lips.
Dick is truly a special kiddo. Slade thought fondly.
"...My eyes have turned golden, haven't they?"
"That's right."
"...I really think I need those lessons to better manage my emotions."