Green Eyed Firework

“Fancy running into you here, little bird,” Slade says, with teeth, as Dick blinks up at him with those wide blue eyes.  The kid had gotten into one of his self-righteous snits the last time they spoke and Slade’s been waiting months to resume their little dance.

And Dick looks especially attractive like this, snowflakes in his dark hair, half swallowed by his coat, mouth agape.

“It’s been awhile,” he smiles, leaning down to tuck a stray lock of hair behind Dick’s ears, to see him gulp, to see how long it takes the kid to get over his moral hang-ups and resume trying to climb Slade like a tree.

“Slade,” the kid breathes out, and he sounds so shocked Slade can’t hide his grin.

Someone bursts through the exit doors on the other end and Dick steadies his remaining escrima stick—if he can just get them off guard—but then another thug comes through the doors, gun out in shaking hands, and Dick stumbles to a stop.  Behind him, the other thug raises his gun, cursing as he holds his broken nose.

“Drop it,” the one with a cold stare says.

Dick’s heartbeat is in his ears.  His lower back is cramping.  The little bean is still.  “Please,” he says, quiet, level.  “Please don’t shoot.”

“Drop the stick,” Cold Stare repeats.  Shaky Hand’s finger is too close to the trigger.  Broken Nose looks malevolent.

“Please,” Dick repeats, an arm curling around his stomach in an instinct he doesn’t try to avoid.  The three men’s eyes are drawn to it.

“Oh,” Broken Nose says nasally.  “It’s the omega.”

Dick, for a moment, wishes the blow shattered his face and not just his nose.

“Please,” Dick says again, and gets cut off.

“Put it down and maybe we won’t shoot,” Cold Stare snaps impatiently.  Dick swallows, but he doesn’t have a choice.  He crouches as much as he’s able and drops the escrima stick with a clatter.  “Now get up,” Cold Stare motions with his gun.

“Please, I’m just here to get out of the storm,” Dick says, keeping his voice as even as he can with panic screaming in his ears.  He doesn’t have any other emergency beacon on him.  Why would he?  He was supposed to be driving home.  “I’m not involved in whatever’s going on.”

“I believe you, sweetheart,” Cold Stare says, lips twitching into a smirk.  “Unfortunately, I don’t think that’s going to save you.”

then he spots a new prisoner, a kid with startlingly blue eyes who hisses and spits at her captors in a very familiar way and tells all of them that when her Mommy and Daddy find her, they're all going to be sorry

Slade, for the first time in a long time, finds himself intrigued

anyway I need a Slade gets semi-attached to Mar'i Grayson while on the run around the world fic Dick: the man who blew up my city has my daughter meanwhile, Slade is braiding Mar'i's hair because she wanted it pinned back like his

(she took approximately seven seconds to have Slade wrapped around her little finger)

also the delicious whump that would come out of a fic of Slade, enhancements suppressed by a collar but still very fucking dangerous, trying to get this little girl home to her parents a Slade that's bitter and hurt, that's lost everything that kept him human, that hates the hero community and everything it stands for because it took away everyone from him

that Slade looking at this little six-year-old spitfire and seeing Grant. Joey. Rose. having one split second thought of if my kids were here

so the first time Dick sees Slade, he knows exactly how much shit he's in.

for some reason, Slade's accepted the bodyguarding job, Bruce is refusing to listen to Dick's extremely reasonably fears, and Dick is 100% sure Slade is here to torture/kill him.

Dick's found some dragon babies in the last lab that he's trying to return.

The next day, Deathstroke lands in Bludhaven. He's immediately arrested, but they don't have the evidence to charge him. Which means they have 24 hours to find his employer before they have to let him walk. And Deathstroke never misses his target.

The main tension is the interrogation room, between Officer Grayson and Deathstroke. Slade's the one in handcuffs, so why does Dick feel like prey?

There's nothing they can do, short of murdering Deathstroke, that will stop the mercenary. Luckily, they find the employer through other means, take them into custody, and break the contract.

The ending scene, where Dick gets to tell Deathstroke that his 'perfect record' has been broken--