Chapter Text
Dick’s breath bloomed softly across Slade’s chest. A satisfied sigh shared between the two men after what felt like hours of carnal delight. The young hero was sprawled across the mercenary in post-coital bliss. A broad calloused hand gently tracing down his back in a soothing manner while their legs tangled together with a sheet feigning modesty across their waists. The air was serene.
The raven haired man slid his hand across the defined chest, caressing the sparse white hair there to curl around the larger man’s side, and hiked his knee up over his lover’s powerful thigh, gripping subconsciously, as if trying to hold onto this moment.
Were he to look up, he would see the older man’s face fully relaxed in rare form with his silver eye closed and a sated grin painted across his lips.
After only a moment a little line of tension grew between Dick’s shoulders and Slade sighed.
“You’re still tense,” his tone was hinting somewhere between disappointed and defeated.
Dick huffed and absurd laugh, “I think you’ll find I’m totally boneless right now, you heathen.”
Slade snorted affectionately, “Complaints, now? You didn’t have any when I had you bent in half a few minutes ago.”
Dick giggled with delight, “Never. I love your brutish methods.”
The older man let himself chuckle but didn’t let his bedmate deflect so easily, “You’re still worried about tomorrow,” he said enclosing his arm securely around the slender waist.
The young hero sighed, “It’s not everyday Earth faces such a dangerous threat, it makes Heros and Villains team up. It’s a bit stressful.”
Slade tutted, “You act like you’ve never saved the world before.”
Dick gave and exasperated sigh, “I guess…. But there’s always risk.”
“That’s why you’re here,” Slade said smugly, “Having mind-blowing end-of-the-world sex with your old rival like the sun will never rise instead of spending time with your cape friends.”
Dick looked like he was far away for a moment, “That’s because you…” he looked lost before shaking his head gently, “It’s just different with you.”
Slade knew though, “Because I treat you like a human. When you’re with me you’re not a leader, a savior, a Bat Boy. I don’t fall down and worship you. You need the balance.”
The acrobat threw him a sly grin, “I’d be remiss not to call what you were doing with your tongue an hour ago Worship.”
Slade brought his hand down on the kid’s ass, but smirked none the less. “When it’s us it’s just you and me, Little Bird.”
Something glittered in the blue eyes, “See? You like me. There’s no way you have cute nicknames for your other lovers.”
Slade guffawed, “You think I have time for other lovers when I have the most high-maintenance princess of a vigilante to entertain?” Dick quickly bit into the pectoral below his lips as his eyes mocked the larger man, making him grunt. “Menace,” he reached up and tugged on the kid’s soft hair until he let go, “No complaints though, I do enjoy how flexible you are, especially after a fight.”
When the kid didn’t rise to his banter this time, his face softened as he looked down at the barely masked expression. He could see anxiety growing there, “There’s risk in everything, Little Bird.”
Dick curled impossibly closer into his sometimes-lover’s side. There’s a beat of silence before, “Do you ever wonder what life would be like without the mask? Out of the life?”
“No.”
“What?” Dick said incredulously, looking up, “Never?”
“Nope.”
“I call bullshit,” Dick said cockily, his white teeth sparkling behind his sudden grin, “Come on. Do you ever think you’d booty-call a billionaire’s son if we didn’t occasionally beat the shit out of each other on rooftops?”
Slade rolled his eye, “You’ll hurt your own feelings asking questions like that, kid. We have a good thing between us, even when we cross blades. No need to get sentimental.”
Dick suddenly threw his leg over Slade, sitting up to straddle his waist and leaning forward to press his hands to either side of Slade’s head in a pose of faux intimidation, “Come on, tell me. Who would Slade Wilson be if he hung up the mask?”
The mercenary threw the kid a playfully dubious look before he flipped them both over in a flash, successfully pinning the former boy wonder to the bed, only to lay his entire weight on the slender body, punching an “Ooph” sound out of the hero. Dick managed to wriggle and throw his weight again so that they ended up side by side, facing each other, utterly tangled in the sheet with his arms linked behind Slade’s neck and both of Slade’s hands on his ass.
Slade gave an exaggerated but fond sigh before conceding, “Alright, alright. If I were to hang it all up…” he looked thoughtful, “I suppose I’d go back to my roots.”
“The army?” Dick said skeptically.
“The mountains,” Slade shot back,” Not necessarily Kentucky but somewhere in the wilds. Along the Appalachia,” When the kid said nothing he decided to close his eye and continue. He’d never spoken to anyone about this, rarely ever let himself imagine it. “Build a little place. A homestead. Something I’ve built with my own hands. Hunt. Fish. Grow our own food. Fresh air. Sunrises. Silence.” When he opens his eye to look for the mocking grin that is sure to be on the kid’s face all he sees is open wonder. He smirks, “Of course, if I want to stay out of trouble, I’ll need a distraction too. I’d take you with me,” Something shifted in his grey eye as he looked at the hero, “Take you out of that grimy city full of costumed madmen. You’d hate it at first. The silence, the peace. You love the lights and colors and having eyes on you-”
Dick grumbled, “I’m not THAT much of an attention whore.”
Slade hummed, “But I’d give you all the attention you can take,” he said with a wolfish smile.
Dick playfully slapped his chest with a toothy leer, “So… a farm in the wilderness…. Dami would be so jealous,” Dick suddenly gasped, “Can we get chickens?!”
Slade chuckled at his outburst, “Sure. A whole flock. Maybe a couple cows. Fresh milk is totally different than that processed store stuff.”
Dick gasped as an idea flooded his mind, “I want two- NO I want three baby goats! The ones that stay small! We could build a little playground for them. I’m going to name them Crash, Boom and Pow!” He said excitedly.
“I’m surprised you’re not naming them after your brothers.”
The boy’s face split in a goofy grin, “Middle names-”
“Ah, for when they’re in trouble,” Slade said sagely.
“YES! Pow Damian, Crash Tim, and Boom is definitely a Jason.”
“Clearly,” Slade said stifling a laugh at the Little Bird’s enthusiasm, “And we’ll need a dog to look after them.”
Dick perked up, “Lassie?”
“Shepherd.”
“Dane?”
“Rottweiler.”
“Oh! The… The black and white…. Border Collie!”
Slade tilted his head back and forth thoughtfully, “Deal.”
Dick hummed in satisfaction, the tension having fled in the wake of his enthusiasm, “That sounds great. Can you imagine,” the hero yawned deeply as he curled into the mercenary’s arms again, “Lying on the roof just stargazing. No international incidents, no killer robots, no invasions. Just us and the sky,” as he spoke his words slurred with sleep until he was breathing deeply.
Slade carefully wrapped his arms around his lover and breathed in the moment, “Us and the sky.”
TBC