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Stepping through the apartment window, Slade narrowed his eyes when he heard no sighs of life. He checked his communicator to make sure of the time, and seeing that it was the one they'd agreed on clicked his tongue.Dick had sent him a hurried and concerning message half an hour before, telling him to meet him at his apartment as soon as he could and to make sure he wasn't followed. Being a professional, Slade didn't bother asking questions. Now he was here, but Dick didn't seem to be.He checked each room, looking for signs of a struggle, and found nothing outside of the usual abhorrent mess Dick somehow managed to live in. He wondered whether this had been a ploy or some kind of set up by one of his many, many enemies, but his gut instinct told him otherwise.He glanced back over the previous messages with mirth, his inner boyfriend making him restless and distracted.
Nice Ass: meet me at home, asap
Slade: for the usual?
Nice Ass: no, this is serious. make sure you're not followed
Slade: oh?
Nice Ass: can't talk. got my hands full. meet me in 30 mins, my place. need your help
Slade: alright pretty bird. Stay safe.Hearing scrabbling on the roof, followed closely by a grunt of pain and colourful curses, Slade tensed and immediately dashed back to the window. Sticking his head out and scanning the building above, he caught a glimpse of a familiar striped hand slipping over the edge before disappearing back over the ledge. "Pretty bird? What are you doing on the roof?"A harsh breath, and then a pained "Can you shut up and come help me?"To his immense surprise, as he began climbing through the window, a strange gurgling sound that was distinctly from a young child came from above him, and was quickly but tenderly shushed by Dick. His eyebrows shot up when he pulled himself up, only to see a very bruised and rattled Nightwing cradling a baby like it was made of glass. The infant was swaddled in white cloth, and was filthy."Pretty bird..." Slade found himself speechless.Dick sighed, and then twitched in pain. "Take him off me, will you? I don't want to drop him."He handed the small child over, who made an unhappy noise at being separated and then immediately burst into tears."Not again..." Dick rubbed at his face in frustration, face rapidly going grey."Where are you hurt?" He had to raise his voice over the angry yells.He grunted and shifted so that Slade could see his side, where a nasty gash had sliced open his suit, leaving the wound painfully open to the air."I'll bring...this into your apartment. Try not to collapse while I'm gone."Dick scoffed. "I can climb down on my own-""No. You can't. You're barely conscious. Lie back, pretty bird. I'll be back in a second." Slade cut in.He ignored the loud groan behind him as he lowered himself, and now the child, back through the window. He quickly gathered pillows and blankets and arranged them into a semi-crib, which was at least enough to keep the infant from rolling off the bed he'd placed him on and hurting himself. Then, he made a beeline back to the window.Dick was in a bad state, even worse than when he'd left him. He was on his back, shaking hands covering the bleeding wound on his side."Can you sit up?" Slade asked, hands stroking his hair back. The kid really needed a hair cut soon."I don't think so..." Came the quiet, pained reply.Slade wrapped an arm around Dick's legs, while the other snaked around his shoulders. He lifted him easily, being careful not to jar his side too much. Dick still let out a pained hiss, which he apologised for."You owe me after this, pretty bird."Dick just moaned mindlessly and slapped him pathetically on the back, almost delirious.He placed him carefully next to the child when he managed to squeeze them both into his apartment, who immediately began making grabby hands at him, desperate to be held again."Ok buddy, ok..." Dick stretched his hand over the pile of soft sheets so the kid could latch onto his fingers. The tears slowed down into snuffles, and the shouting stopped. Slade breathed a sigh of relief.He stood to get the medkit, sparing a glance at the surprisingly domestic picture on the bed, before he shook his head with a grin and walked away.When he came back, this time armed with gauze, stitches, and antiseptic wipes, they were both fast asleep.---"So, what's the deal with the baby?"They were all sat in the kitchen, Dick wearing one of Slade's t-shirts from the last time he was there and nothing else, the baby bouncing excitedly on the counter, and Slade making the three of them breakfast.Dick traced the line of stitches in his side almost absentmindedly, and he smiled at the infant when he blew a bubble at him and giggled. "I just sort of...took him."Slade paused from where he was stirring the pancake mix. "You took him?""I saw him being abandoned, Slade. What do you expect me to do in that situation?""Maybe, oh, I don't know, hand the kid over to the police and let them deal with it instead of taking him home?""This is Blüdhaven! You think the cops would care about a lost kid? The most they'd do is throw him into the system along with the hundreds of other children where he'd be forgotten."Slade sighed and went back to cooking. "Ok, fine. What about your side, then? I take it the mid didn't do that to you."The baby screamed happily as Dick tickled his stomach. "I was dealing with some other guys when I saw him. They all had some pretty sharp knives. When I stopped to check him over, one of them lunged at me. They would have hit him if I hadn't used myself as a shield.""Well, that was stupid.""Not all of us can have regeneration, Slade. I had to make a choice. And besides, I'm fine now, right?"Slade put down his spatula and grabbed Dick by the hips, pulling him against his chest. He put his mouth by his ear. "Fine isn't good enough, pretty bird. You could have died." he glanced at the baby, who was staring at him, unsure. "Both of you."Dick reached back to wrap his hand into his hair, and pulled him into a kiss.Slade pulled back when he smelt burning, and grimaced when he saw that the pancakes had gone black."I'll make more." He gave Dick a final peck on the cheek before walking back to the stove."That's what you get for being a possessive ass, Slade.""Cheeky." He reached over and gave him a quick slap on the ass, and enjoyed the yelp he got.They stood in silence for a while, with Dick's cheeks burning red and the baby squealing as they played. Eventually, the pancakes were done.Dick had the baby in his lap as he ate, with Slade sat next to him at the table, occasionally ruffling the kids hair, or wiping away any crumbs left around his mouth. "We can't keep him, you know."Dick pouted at him and batted his eyelashes."No. He's not a pet, pretty bird. Neither of us know the first thing about taking care of a baby.""You have three kids!""Do I have to bring up the fact that I didn't meet them until they were ten?"Dick looked surprised by this, but recovered quickly. "No parent knows how to raise a kid, not really. But we all turned out fine! Take Bruce as an example-""He's a billionaire with too much time on his hands. And I'd just like to point out that we definitely did not turn out fine.""Ok, ok... I just... I don't know. It just seems like the right thing to do."Slade's expression softened. "I know, pretty bird. But we can't take him in. The lives we live are dangerous, and our loved ones are the people most at risk. It wouldn't be fair to expose him to a life like that.""Then, what do we do?""Isn't there a clinic in Gotham for just this thing? Your friend owns it, right?""Leslie?" Dick looked thoughtful for a moment. "She usually helps young people stay out of crime, but maybe she could help him.""I have a car waiting three blocks from here.""Wait!" Looking startled, Dick clutched the baby to his chest. "We're leaving now?""You're already getting too attached. It's better for both of you if you let go early. It'll make it easier to say goodbye."Dick nodded solemnly, caressing the top of the infant's head."Come on, pretty bird. Get dressed."---Later that night, Slade stroked up and down Dick's arms as they lay in bed, holding him close. He'd stolen another one of his shirts before commanding him into bed with him for immediate comfort. He'd always loved cuddling."You ok?" He whispered, lips kissing along his slim neck.He got a sleepy hum as a response, and he chuckled at how calm his bird was when being spooned."You know, if you wanted kids so badly, you could have just told me."Dick snuggled further against him, muffling his voice when he said "I never knew I did, really.""Perhaps," Slade mused, seeing how tired Dick was "this is a conversation for another time."He reached across to his bedside table and turned off the light.