"Nervous?"
"Nope."
"Then why haven't your legs stopped bouncing since we left?"
Pause.
"It's a way to dissipate excess energy, duh."
"Of course." Slade agreed with an amused snort as he cast a brief glance at the kiddo (who was clearly nervous but excited at the same time) and then looked again at the road as he drove.
Slade and Wintergreen were able to create together Dick's new identity for use in public: Richard Wilson, adopted son of Slade Wilson, who was left an orphan after a tragic car accident.
It took the two men only a few days to create everything that was needed: the police report, some witness statements, the identity of the "parents" of Richard Wilson, formerly known as Richard Smith, etc.
This was probably one of the least illegal things Slade did. But it had certainly been worth it when Dick had given him a bone-crushing hug and a smile so bright it put the sun to shame.
Wintergreen had taken him aside in a moment when it was just the two of them, and with a deadly serious look and voice told him:
"Now Dick is legally your son. Don't screw this up because Dick needs you more than anyone else."
"I'm not going to do that." Slade solemnly promised and he would do his best to make his kiddo happy. "This time will be different."
And he intended to keep his promise at any cost.
Slade would be lying if he said he did not miss the role of parenting.
So Slade had enrolled his adopted son -the mercenary was secretly pleased with the way he sounded- to a private school (Slade wanted only the best for his kiddo and there was certainly no shortage of money) so that Dick could start in January. The principal told him to bring the boy to school during afternoons outside school hours so he could see the level he was in.
And that was why Dick was a nervous and excited mess all the way even though he denied it, much to Slade's hidden amusement.
"We're here." announced Slade as he parked one of his many cars in a parking lot near the school. He turned off the car and turned to the acrobat.
"Remember our lessons on how to manage your emotions." Dick nodded frantically and the man gave a small smile. "So are you ready, kiddo?"
"Born ready!" replied Dick enthusiastically and Slade was sure that if there was space the kiddo would have done some backflips.
The two got out of the car and headed toward the school building. Slade was briefly surprised when Dick timidly took his hand and the action warmed his heart. The man sent him a small smile and gently squeezed his hand, chuckling softly when Dick smiled brightly and his eyes quickly turned golden before returning to their natural blue.
Together they entered the school and headed for the principal's office. Waiting for them was his secretary, Mrs. Brooks as the nameplate on her small desk said.
She lifted her head from her phone and smiled. "You must be the Wilsons, I presume."
"Exactly." the super-soldier nodded shaking the woman's hand, who wavered slightly at his menacing, robust appearance.
Dick suppressed a giggle as the secretary quickly recovered by motioning for them to follow her. "This way."
Eventually they arrived in front of a wooden door and she knocked, waiting for permission before opening it. She let them in and closed the door behind her. "The Wilsons have arrived, sir."
The principal, Mr. Evans, was a man in his forties, thin, of average height, with brown eyes and dark hair. He smiled and, as expected by the two Wilsons, he too hesitated at Slade's imposing figure and menacing appearance.
Certainly the patch over his right eye did not help.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Wilson."
"Likewise." Slade said cordially, returning the handshake.
The principal cast a glance at his secretary. "Wait out here for a moment."
Once Mrs. Brooks came out, the principal's attention shifted to Dick. "You're supposed to be Richard. It's a pleasure."
Dick smiled and shook his hand firmly, surprising the principal a bit by the firmness in the handshake. "It's nice to meet you, Mr. Principal."
Evans smiled and stared at Slade, straightening up. "Before we can officially enroll Richard in our school he has to take some tests on the various school subjects to check his level of knowledge. This is a common practice and used in virtually all schools." he explained.
Slade nodded. "How long will it take?"
"Usually two to three hours." the principal replied and then he turned to Dick. "Mrs. Brooks will take you to a classroom where you can take tests in the various subjects."
Dick nodded in understanding and turned to Slade with a silent question in his blue eyes.
"I will wait for you. Take all the time you need. I'm not going anywhere." Slade reassured , mentally patting himself on the back when he saw Dick light up at his words.
Slade knelt down and hugged Dick tightly, who returned the embrace with equal strength. The hug lasted about ten seconds before the acrobat reluctantly pulled away and they both already missed the warmth of the physical gesture.
"See you later!"
"See you later, kiddo."
Dick sent him a bright smile and with a final nod to the principal he exited the office. Slade caught a glimpse out of the corner of his eye of Mrs. Brooks smiling at Dick before the door closed.
Although Dick was currently out of his control Slade was calm.
After all, he had given him permission to defend himself in case of danger and Slade was confident that Dick was only using a very small part of the Owl Court training.
"He's such a good boy."
Slade let a small but genuine smile appear between his lips. "True."
"You can sit and wait while I finish up here." Evans stated, gesturing toward the various papers lining his desk.
The former military man merely nodded and sat down in the chair indicated by the principal.
It took a few attempts at conversation starters for Evans to realize that Slade was not a talkative person, so he gave up and quietly dealt with the paperwork.
As he waited for Richard's return, Slade mentally went over every single detail of that night's contract and the various ways to carry it out. From time to time he would check the wristwatch he was wearing to see the time.
Eventually his concentration on the contract was abruptly interrupted when he heard footsteps approaching followed by a knock on the door.
"Come in!" the principal called and the next second Dick and Mrs. Brooks entered.
Dick's blue eyes lit up as soon as he saw Slade and he resisted the strong urge to pounce on the man, much to the super soldier's relief. "Slade! You waited for me!" he said instead, approaching his adoptive father with a huge, bright smile.
Slade chuckled good-naturedly and patted him on the head. "I promised you I wasn't going anywhere." he distractedly watched as a stunned-faced Brooks handed a set of papers, presumably the tests, to the principal. He focused his attention on his kiddo. "That took you quite a while. It hasn't even been two hours."
Dick simply shrugged, still smiling. Slade arched an eyebrow but before he could say anything Evans spoke.
"Unbelievable." he murmured in amazement, drawing everyone's attention. He cleared his throat at the combined glances of the two Wilsons and turned to the older man. "Richard is a little genius. He has done and passed easily and with flying colors virtually every test. As for English, he has made a couple of mistakes on both grammar and literature." he arched an eyebrow in silent question.
"He has been living in America for a little over a year." Slade lied easily.
Evans nodded, buying his lie. "What surprises me a lot is the fact that Richard has repeatedly expressed the simplicity of math questions. When the teacher had him do calculations that children his age learn in two years, Richard solved them with ease." he threw an impressed smile at Dick before turning back to look at Slade. "It would seem that Richard is a math prodigy."
Slade smiled, letting genuine pride shine through. "I'm not that surprised." he stated sincerely, not missing the blush that covered his adopted son's face.
"In the rest of the subjects he also excels, except for English, which is understandable, however, since Richard recently moved to America." the principal nodded understandingly and smiled at the older man. "The results don't lie: Richard is two years ahead of children his age. So if it's okay with both of us, I will enroll Richard in a class two years higher." he said, looking at both Wilsons.
Slade nodded and stared at Dick. "What do you think, kiddo? It's your free choice."
Dick smiled brightly, knowing that Slade knew how much those last words meant to him after all the ordeal without free will that he went through. "Fine with me!"
"Well then." Evans also smiled, starting to pick up several papers. "School will reopen in two weeks." he informed them and turned to the elder Wilson, handing him a sheet of paper. "Sign here, please."
Slade took the pen and signed. After a few more pleasantries the meeting ended and father and adopted son walked out of the school. As they headed to the car Dick recounted some questions from the different tests -complaining about the over-simplicity of math, to the man's amusement- and occasionally Slade nodded, showing that he was listening.
Dick interrupted in the car when he noticed that the road they were driving on did not lead to their home. He turned his head to look at the super soldier. "Where are we going?" he asked curiously.
"To get ice cream."
The acrobat blinked, not expecting that answer. The thought that his adoptive father -the world's most dangerous fucking mercenary- was taking him for ice cream would have made him laugh if he were not still so surprised.
He loved Slade -not only because he was legally his adoptive father but mostly because he literally saved his life and allowed him to have a new one- but he knew the man was not exactly the typical dad.
Dick knew, though, that Slade was genuinely trying with him and doing the best he could.
And that was fine with him.
So Dick swallowed the question he wanted to ask, which was asking if it had been Wintergreen's idea, and instead smiled brightly, his blue eyes flashing briefly in gold from the excitement of hanging out with his adoptive father.
He did not miss Slade's small smile.
Deathstroke the Terminator returned to his residence, using the darkness of the night to his advantage. He did not mind being a little loud with his footsteps, already knowing that Dick would not fall asleep until he saw Slade alive and well.
The mercenary headed for the kiddo's room and opened it.
His heart lost a beat when he did not see him.
His one eye squinted and he stared around at his adopted son's room. Everything was in order and there was no bloodshed, so he had not been kidnapped.
Moreover, he would probably have found the kidnapper's body directly, knowing firsthand Dick's actual abilities.
"Dick! Where the hell are you?" Slade shouted.
In response he heard Dick's typical giggle that would scare anyone.
Slade still did not understand how the laughter of a ten-year-old kiddo -almost eleven- could be so frightening, and the man was not ashamed to say that he had shuddered the first time he heard it.
It rivaled that of the Joker, for heaven's sake!
Slade followed the general direction from where the giggle came and ended up in the lobby. He looked around but saw no clue about Dick. Suddenly a thought flashed through his head and the mercenary took off his mask, rubbing his one eye wearily.
Don't fucking tell me.
Throwing a quick prayer to whatever entity existed he looked up and his face became impassive.
"Hello Slade!" Dick greeted him with a huge bright smile plastered on his face from above the chandelier.
Anyone who said that kiddo was an angel was a liar.
That kiddo was truly the son of Satan and Slade was proud to say that he had figured it out from their first meeting. Slade made a mental note to somehow contact Constantine and give him Dick's DNA to confirm his theory.
I'm too old for this crap.
Slade mentally counted to ten -and the reason was not at all related to how his heart lost a beat- before he spoke. "Hi, Dick."
Dick wrinkled his nose. "I'm not sure you're calling me by my first name, you know."
Slade gave a smirk that disappeared seconds later. "Can you please come down from there?"
He was not even surprised to find him above the chandelier. It had happened so many times that he had now lost count: including the times he had found Dick asleep on the chandelier as if it were an extremely normal thing.
"Catch me!"
Slade opened his eye wide and sprinted forward, catching Dick just in time as he threw himself off the chandelier. Still shaken by the sudden rush of adrenaline Slade stared at him hard. "Really, Dick?"
The kiddo had the audacity to shrug his shoulders with a mischievous smirk and snuggle up to the half-black half-orange armor. "Your heartbeat is a little faster than normal."
"I wonder whose fault it is." the mercenary snarled sarcastically, barely smiling when he felt the giggle bubble back into his chest. "I'm taking you to bed."
He took only one step forward when he was stopped by Dick. "Wait, Slade. I wanted to talk to you about something." the super soldier lowered his gaze to his blue eyes. "Put me down first."
Slade obeyed and put him down. "What did you want to talk to me about?" he asked, not missing as Dick began to fiddle nervously with his fingers.
"Well here it is, I've been meaning to ask you for a while but never found the time and courage to do so." Dick began, stammering a little. "You are a mercenary, right?" he smiled embarrassed at the flat look he received. "Sorry, stupid question."
"Get to the point, Richard."
Dick swallowed slightly and winced at the full name. Slade called him by his full name only when he was really annoyed or angry. In this case it was the former.
"I want to be your partner!" Dick blurted.
He stared in amusement at Slade's face losing all signs of annoyance and assuming total shock. He had never seen the man so shocked and surprised and was both curious and fearful about how he would react.
Within seconds the shock vanished from Slade's face, which took on a cold and indifferent look. "No."
"But-"
"I said no!" Slade roared, regretting his outburst almost immediately when he saw the kiddo wince violently. The ex-military man wearily rubbed a hand over his face before looking at Dick. "I will not change my mind." he said in a calmer but still firm and resolute voice.
Dick cowered a little in himself, taken aback by Slade's sudden outburst, but somehow it only strengthened his resolve and the last Flying Grayson straightened his shoulders, returning the stare. "I won't change my mind either."
The two stood in a stalemate until the super soldier narrowed his gaze. "Why do you want to be my partner?"
The idea was simply ridiculous and useless to him, especially since it would put his kiddo at risk.
He ignored his mind whispering that Dick possessed a better healing factor than his own.
"For a number of reasons. One of which is that I worry about you." Dick embarrassedly admitted.
Slade assumed an amused look. "I've been doing this before you were even born, kiddo."
Dick dismissively waved a hand. "I know you are more than capable of taking care of yourself but I still worry." he had a sadder, more frightened look on his face. "I'm afraid of losing my third parent too." Dick admitted in a whisper so soft that the mercenary had trouble hearing it despite his enhanced hearing.
Slade definitely did not expect this.
I'm afraid of losing my third parent too.
The phrase echoed in his head over and over again. He swallowed the automatic response that was about to come out of his throat.
I am not your parent.
It would have been so easy to say but he did not. Not only because it would definitely hurt Dick who would obviously see it as rejection and Slade would probably have to deal with the vengeful ghosts of John and Mary Grayson.
The other reason was…
It would have been a lie.
It would have been so easy for Slade to admit aloud that he was not Dick's parent and would never be.
It would have been so easy to erase any form of responsibility he had on the kiddo.
But it was a lie.
It was Slade who made him breakfast, lunch and dinner and occasionally even a snack.
It was Slade who gave him a home to live in.
It was Slade who never let him lack anything.
It was Slade who bought him whatever he wanted (it had taken some time to convince Dick that it was okay to ask him to buy anything since there was no shortage of money).
It was Slade who accompanied him and picked him up from school every day.
It was Slade who watched whatever cartoon, movie or TV series he wanted.
It was Slade who comforted him every night about nightmares.
It was Slade who hugged him and held him close whenever needed.
It was Slade who sometimes took him for ice cream, to go out for a while together, to play basketball or soccer in the garden and more.
It was Slade who wiped away his tears whenever he burst into tears, apologizing for every atrocity he had suffered and been forced to do.
It was Slade who took care of Dick and treated him as his son.
Dick was indeed his son in all but blood. Fuck what others said.
Slade faltered at this realization.
He had become a parent again and this time he was doing significantly better than the other times.
The thought of this warmed his heart and Slade would not lie if he said he felt more alive because of Dick. He put all his thoughts aside and focused his attention on the kiddo. "What's the other reason?"
They both ignored as his voice came out hoarse with emotion. Dick took a long breath and stared briefly at his hands before looking at the man again. "I want to do good in this world."
Slade immediately guessed. "You would want to accept contracts on people you think deserve to die."
Talon's pale cheeks warmed a little and he nodded. "I know I'm no one to decide who deserves to die or not but I still want to do my best to make this world less evil."
Slade raised an eyebrow curiously. "You would want to be some kind of anti-hero."
"Yes."
"You'd have to kill, though." Slade urged calmly, not knowing how the kiddo would react.
"I know." Dick hesitated for a moment before continuing. "I already have blood of innocents on my hands. I want to fix it. I want to make sure that what happened to me does not happen to others. Both in terms of becoming orphans and... the other thing."
The mercenary nodded, fully understanding him. "And in your opinion is killing the right way for your purpose?" he asked, curious about the answer and the kiddo's opinion.
Dick was silent for a while. "If you had asked me a few years ago, I would have said no. But after all I've suffered, I've realized that there are irredeemable people who are evil because they want to be evil. People like serial killers, rapists, corrupt people, etc. will never become good, especially not because of the justice system.
"And the only way to eliminate evil from the world is to get rid of it permanently."
Slade was once again surprised by the maturity and wisdom shown by his kiddo and was proud of it. He fully understood and accepted Dick's line of thought since it coincided with his own.
There was one more thing to discuss, however.
"What would you do if I said no to your offer to be my partner?"
Dick met the steely gaze in his one gray eye, determination radiating from his blue eyes that began to glow golden. "You won't be able to stop me. I'll go out on my own for all it's worth."
Slade huffed, unsurprised by that kind of response. He sighed and stared at him wearily. "There's no way to change your mind, is there?"
"That's right." Dick smirked, bringing out all his teeth and golden eyes.
Slade smiled proudly.
Not a year has passed yet and already my kiddo is growing up.
"I know I'm asking a lot," Dick continued. "and that I'm probably bringing back old memories you'd rather forget... but Slade, I'm not him."
Slade remained silent, his cold, calculating gaze aimed at the kiddo with his one gray eye scanning him analytically. Dick swallowed uncomfortably at the intense gaze and for a brief moment wondered if he had crossed the line.
Then, surprisingly Slade uttered the following words:
"All right, you will become my partner."
"YES!" Dick shouted excitedly raising his fist in the air in victory.
"But you will have to follow my orders." Dick nodded frantically with a huge grin on his face and both of them already knew that it would not always happen. "Your school grades must not get any worse." another nod. "I will start training you and you cannot go into the field until I deem you ready."
"But isn't my training already enough?" Dick asked genuinely confused.
"I am aware of how lethal and deadly you already are, despite your young age. However, you will need more than that, such as being able to master any kind of weapons." he chuckled at Dick's excitement. "Moreover, channeling both Court and Deathstroke's training will make you much more dangerous than you already are now." he stared at him intensely. "Don't think I will go easy on you. I will be very brutal and demanding but efficient."
"I've faced worse." Dick said simply and there was no need to add more. "When does the training start?"
Slade smiled, feeling himself mirroring the kiddo's excitement. "Tomorrow." he snorted in amusement as he saw him do several backflips in excitement and joy. "You have to go to sleep now, though."
"Okay!"
Slade smiled again, chuckling when Dick latched onto his back like an acrobatic koala. As they headed for their rooms, the mercenary had two thoughts on his mind.
I am Dick's parent.
And
Wintergreen will kill me.