Slade Wilson x Reader
His Weapon
Summary: You return back to the bunker with Slade, will things return to normal?
Tags: Gender Neutral Reader, Metahuman!Reader, Violence, Torture, Rape/Non Con, Blood and Gore, Suicidal Thoughts, Angst, Bisexual Reader
Artwork: Slade x Reader & Reader's Suit & Slade x Reader + Meme by @mellosdrawings Comic Reader + Slade x Reader by @void-fluff
Chapters: One ⇒ Two ⇒ Three ⇒ Four ⇒ Five ⇒ Six ⇒ Seven ⇒ Eight ⇒ Nine ⇒ Ten ⇒ Eleven ⇒ Twelve ⇒ Thirteen ⇒ Fourteen ⇒ Fifteen ⇒ Sixteen ⇒ Read on AO3
˚✮⋆.🎧.⋆✮˚ Soundtrack ˚✮⋆.🎧.⋆✮˚ First two songs of Angelcore mix (Drain by plaguedoll & bulletrain and worry by LONOWN & riserayss) [Noted in chapter]
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Chapter Seventeen [Word Count 9.8k]
You never would have thought that you'd be grateful being back underground, but when you returned to the bunker that's exactly what you felt.
You were. . .you were home.
It felt like you'd been away for much longer than three weeks. You felt safe here, you didn't need to have your guard up all the time. A weight had lifted from your shoulders.
Two days had passed since you'd left Caracas and flown Slade back with all of his gear. You'd caught up on more sleep and the next morning Slade had debriefed you on the breakout and your time at the camp. In the afternoon, you were on a truncated schedule, completing combat training with Slade and navigation before dinner and then language training after that. The next day you were back on a full schedule.
Things with Slade weren't awkward but they weren't comfortable either. He wasn't angry like he'd been before, he wasn't berating you for making a small mistake, he treated you like normal. You sensed this tension on him though, brimming right under the surface, unquantifiable yet tangible. Was he still upset with you? After what happened with Joey?
Had you misinterpreted him making you believe Tovar was going to die and getting you to free those prisoners as a fucked up apology? Had it actually been punishment? With training done for the day, you headed out of the living room and into the infirmary to take the day's antidepressant. You had almost finished the month's supply and you'd be visiting Dr. Villain tomorrow for a refill and a health check.
When you'd swallowed the pill, you walked into the corridor and Slade suddenly called out for you. Your body almost stuttered to a complete stop, mind recalling with painful clarity the last time he'd called you into the security room and the fight that had followed. Reminding yourself that he didn't sound angry, you went inside where he was sitting at the desk. A metal case was positioned on the floor beside him and you sat down when he gestured to it.
“I have something for you,” he murmured, handing you his phone. As you hesitantly took it from him, you looked down and saw. . .it was a photo of Kon. He was grinning at the camera, the smile reaching his bright blue eyes. He wore a black t-shirt and his hair had grown, though it had been shaved at the sides. He seemed. . .happy. Your chest ached with warmth, eyes welling with tears at the sight of him.
“The boy looks happy, doesn't he?” Slade commented.
“Yeah,” you whispered, managing to hold in your emotion. “How did you. . .?”
“A favour.” You raised an eyebrow, knowing that his favours were more than meets the eye. Taking in the photo again, you wondered at the efforts he'd gone to to get this. It must have been through Nightwing, maybe Rose? This was him trying to clear the air with you, wasn't it? An apology in actions rather than words. Was he trying to make things right with you? Did he not really mean what he'd said?
The problem was that Slade was exceptionally skilled at damaging people, the things he'd call you, pathetic, stupid, lonely, they weren't lies. He was no holds barred, going for the jugular was where he began, not where he ended. He'd weaponised the truth against you because that's what would hurt you the most.
For someone who excelled at killing people and had 'the Terminator' as a nickname, for someone who had been turned into the perfect soldier, he could be. . .inept. Unable to think past his anger, incapable of truly admitting fault, failing to realise that his perception was marred, hurting people when he was trying to help, retaliating against those he believed harmed his family without thought and with extreme aggression.
Apologising to you by manipulating you, having people lie to you, making you believe Tovar was going to be executed because of you. Was it like what Joey had said before? That Slade's heart was in the right place? Even if that was expressed in the most fucked up ways?
Or was he simply placating you? Is that was this really was? Him getting that photo of Kon because he wanted to get himself back in your good graces so that you would continue being his compliant weapon?
“Thank you,” you told him, handing his phone back after a final look. “Can you. . .”
“I'll send it to you.” With a nod, you made yourself give him a small smile. You couldn't discern anything from his expression. You sat with him in silence for a few moments, the air between you continued to be filled with tension. Were you really home? You didn't feel. . .welcome. Did you really belong here? Not able to stand it any longer, you bade him goodnight and left the security room. Somehow you felt worse leaving than you had going in.
- - -
Slade had been watching you intently during breakfast and lunch the next day. You weren't eating quickly, you'd fallen out of that habit. You thought he'd be pleased considering his initial annoyance of it, but now it seemed like he wasn't pleased. He probably had a lot on his mind and you were incorrectly making it all about you.
Before you flew to New Jersey, you went to Vermont as Slade said Billy wanted to see you. While you were having tea with him, you recounted your time at the camp and the subsequent prison breakout.
“It appears that freeing people is becoming your forte,” Billy remarked with a smile on his face. Slade must have told him about Kon because you hadn't.
“Uhh. . .I guess.”
“And how are things between you and Slade?”
“They're fine.”
“After what passed between you?”
“He told you about that?”
“He did. I was most pleased that you were able to give as good as you get. He can be a real bastard when he wants to be.”
“Yeah. . .he can,” you muttered, trying not to think about how much his words had hurt and angered you.
“So?” Billy prompted gently.
“Things are. . .fine.”
“He's not acting untoward?”
“No.” Not anymore at least. “How's Joey?”
“He's doing better. Adeline's been a friend to him as well as a mother so it was difficult for him.”
“Is he still with Rose?”
“Yes and he's started a new role in Blüdhaven. That was Slade's doing and Joseph is aware that his father owns the company he now works for. Normally Joseph would have protested against such nepotism. After all he had to work his way up his mother's company. She made it a smooth ride of course but he paid his dues. At the moment he wishes to keep himself occupied and I encouraged him to take the position on a temporary basis so he can find his footing.”
“He likes it there?”
“He's enjoying the routine and his colleagues have been very welcoming.” You nodded at him and had a sip of tea. “I don't suppose Slade's told you but Joseph visited Dr. Villain quite a few weeks ago now on account of his migraines. They're not being caused by a physical ailment, instead it appears to be a mental one. Joseph now regularly meets with a psychiatrist that's been fully vetted by the Titans and the Martian Manhunter himself no less. And Slade, though that's by the by.
“Joseph is exploring taking antidepressant mediation as well and mentioned to me that you'd been very open in discussing the medication that you're taking.”
“I. . .mentioned it.”
“I believe that you helped to encourage him to look into them. Not explicitly, you made it a possibility for him.” You didn't know how to respond, you'd only mentioned the antidepressants because Joey had asked why you had painkillers from Dr. Villain.
It wasn't long before Billy was waving you off from the back porch and you were heading east to New Jersey. The health check went all fine, Dr. Villain was meticulous and professional as he always was. You liked being in his company, you understood what he expected of you. On the way back to the bunker, Rose texted you, she was inviting you to go to a club in New York with her and Joey tomorrow night. You replied to her text when you landed at the safehouse, apologising and saying that you couldn't make it because you had training.
It wasn't a lie but it wasn't exactly the truth either. It would be best if you stayed away from them, you'd caused enough trouble as it was. What Billy had told you as well only highlighted how much of an effect your words had. They weren't your family, or your friends. Billy was. . .was he your friend? Or just someone that spoke with you as a favour to Slade? You weren't really sure.
With Rose and Joey though, they definitely weren't your friends. You didn't need to be their friends in order to protect them and that's ultimately what Slade wanted. You didn't want to say the wrong thing again to his children and end up hurting them and him too. After pushing the air into the hole above the door frame and disarming the fail safes, you were about to unlock the back door with your key when the earpieces beeped as a call came through.
“What do you mean no?” Rose asked without a greeting.
“Hey uhh. . .I have training. I hope you and Joey have a great time though.”
“What time do you start?”
“What?”
“What time do you start training?”
“Five.”
“When do you finish?”
“Eight.”
“In the morning?”
“8pm.”
“You train for fifteen hours a day?!”
“Well. . .that includes meals so. . .”
“You train for fifteen hours a day and you can't possibly spare a couple to celebrate?”
“Tomorrow's Sunday so I don't train for-”
“Come on, S! You freed like two hundred people from a gulag, we need to celebrate, it'll be fun! When was the last time you had a day off?"
“Uhh. . .”
“Slade hasn't given you a day off?” She was starting to sound angry.
“I need to train, Rose. There are people that are trying to find me.”
“So you didn't go to that club in Berlin then?”
“Well. . .I. . .” you trailed off, you didn't know what to say.
“You're a shitty liar, S. We'll meet you behind the club at eleven thirty.”
“Rose, I'm not-” The line went dead, she'd hung up on you. With a frown, you opened up the back door and started texting her to make it clear that you couldn't make it and ended the message with another apology. You knew you were doing the right thing, this would be better for everyone. Rose and Joey both had lots of friends who they could ask to go with them. They weren't losing anything in your absence.
Later that evening, you were sitting at the wooden desk halfway through profile learning when Slade came into the living room. Your stomach rolled seeing the anger on his expression.
“You stood up my children?” He half-accused, half-questioned. You looked up at him without a clue as to how to respond. Surely he. . .wanted you to stay away from them? After you had blabbed your mouth and hurt Joey? Why was he acting like you did something wrong? You didn't understand.
“Rose is upset, she thinks I'm not allowing you to see them and Joey is threatening to have the Titans start hunting my ass. Why did you say no?”
“I. . .” Was he testing you? Is that what this was? He wanted you to do the right thing even in the face of his rage? He needed to see you hold firm and refuse to see his children despite the fact he was acting like he wanted the opposite? He would teach you this lesson until it was irrefutable, wouldn't he? They weren't your family. You didn't have a family. You didn't have anyone. “I have. . .training.”
“You have personal time, don't you? You said it yourself you can go wherever the fuck you want, and you did exactly that before, so what is the problem?” You couldn't swallow down the growing lump in your throat. Maybe this wasn't a test. Then again he liked to make things seem as real as possible in order to gauge your true reaction.
“I don't think it's a good idea,” you replied quietly, lowering your head and hoping that would be sufficient for him.
“You'll be in disguise and Rose and Joey are getting a ride from a speedster. There's nothing to be concerned about, alright?” Slade's tone had softened, it was like he was genuinely trying to convince you to go and see them. What were you supposed to say? “Go and tell my girl before she finishes plotting to skewer my eye.” You stared at the floor, your mind went blank.
“Kid. Kid, look at me.” Slade's face filled your vision, he was crouched down by you. You forced yourself to comply otherwise he'd be more upset. You had to look at him when he was talking to you. “Tell me what's going on.”
“I don't want to cause anymore problems,” you muttered, desperately hoping that he'd stop, that the test would be over.
“You're not going to cause any problems,” he replied gently, how could he seem so sincere? “If you really don't want to go, I'll tell them but you have to tell me why.” He wasn't going to stop until you told him explicitly, until he knew that you had learnt your lesson. Your heart was aching profusely.
“They're your family, not mine. I understand that. I'll stay away from them unless you want me to protect them. Can you. . .stop testing me like this?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Please. . .don't pretend. I. . .I'll get confused and I won't know what's real so. . .don't test me like this.”
“Kid. I swear that I'm not testing you right now.” You blinked at him in confusion. He was. . .he was giving you his word, he really meant it, didn't he?
“You. . .you swear?”
“I swear to you,” he promised, taking hold of your hand and firmly squeezing it. He wasn't. . .testing you? He was upset you'd declined Rose's invitation? Why would he be upset? You thought that's what he wanted. You'd hurt his children, why would he want you to be near them again?
“I don't. . . understand.”
“Can you explain to me why you don't want to go?”
“I. . .thought you didn't want me to.”
“Why did you think that?”
“Because I've hurt them.”
“You didn't mean to.”
“So? I still hurt them.”
“Kid, I. . .I forgive you, alright? I know you would never intentionally hurt them. You like Rose and Joey, don't you?”
“Yeah.”
“And do you want to see them tomorrow night?”
“Well. . .”
“Do you personally want to?”
“Yeah.”
“You can let Rose know that you'll see them tomorrow then.”
“You want me to go?”
“Yes, you've earned some R & R and they want to see you.”
“But what if I say the wrong thing again?”
“Promise me you won't intentionally hurt my children.”
“I swear to you, Slade.”
“Good.” He spoke again before you could reply. “And before you ask, yes I'm sure.” You pressed your lips together, he'd already known what you were going to ask. He raised your hand that he was holding and pressed a kiss against your knuckles, his facial hair grazing over your skin. You frowned at him for trying to placate you with kisses.
“What? This worked so well last time,” he teased playfully, a smirk pulling at his lips. He hadn't smirked at you since before the fight, all those weeks ago. He was trying to go back to how things were, he wanted to make amends with you, he was trying to clear the air.
All the doubt and confusion you'd felt attempting to understand his intentions, it was starting to become clear. Caracas, Tovar, the breakout, the photo of Kon, all of it was an apology. He really was trying.
As you settled down to sleep, you spent a good hour or two thinking over everything. He had seemed nervous in the Caracas safehouse. It couldn't have simply been because he knew you'd be upset, that wasn't enough of a justification. He'd come up with that poor excuse about there being lots of activity in their airspace because he'd wanted you to stay with him.
What would it have mattered if you'd slept at altitude? Why did he. . .did he think that you weren't going to come back? Did he think you'd be so angry that you'd leave him for good? After he manipulated you and lied to you? It explained his insistence for you to stay, it explained him holding your hand as you hovered in the living room, why his body had then relaxed. So why did he continue to be tense? Did he still think you'd leave? Was he clutching at straws trying to make things right with you? Incapable of simply apologising?
The next morning, your mind continued percolating with questions. You needed to understand exactly where Slade stood, you had to be sure.
“Why did you send me to the camp?” You asked him after you'd finished breakfast as he sat opposite you in the booth.
“For training,” he replied simply, your eyes narrowed at him.
“Slade.”
“They're do-gooders like you. It gave you a chance to socialise, train in a new environment and get real-world experience saving those prisoners. I knew it would do you good.”
“But you knew it wouldn't all be good.”
“Yes.”
“Did you think I was going to back down and admit that I was in the wrong?”
“It was a possibility.”
“You know better now though, don't you?”
“I do.”
“So you're not going to try that shit with me again. Are you.”
“It'd be futile.”
“Are you, Slade,” you pressed, not giving him any room to manoeuvre.
“I won't, kid.”
“Swear to me.”
“I swear to you.” Realising you'd been leaning forwards over the table, you shifted away, satisfied that Slade now understood that he couldn't push you to his thinking when you knew you were in the right.
“At the safehouse in Caracas, why did you come up with that piss poor excuse about there being lots of activity in their airspace?”
“It wasn't an excuse, they-”
“It was a piss poor excuse,” you reiterated slowly. His expression hardened and he stared at you unblinking without giving a response. “Did you think I was going to leave for good?”
“Perhaps,” he murmured after a few seconds.
“Do you still think I'm going to leave? Is that why you're being weird?”
“I'm not being weird.”
“You are and you keep staring at me when I'm eating.”
“You don't seem to be enjoying my food.”
“I am, I just. . .don't have much of an appetite.”
“Hmm.”
“I don't plan on leaving. I want to stay here, I want to stay with you. Do you want me to stay here with you?” He kept looking at you for a long moment before he blinked at you. “Okay.”
Standing up from the booth and stepping round to him, he took your hand when you reached out, his skin was so soft and warm.
“I guess it's your turn to interrogate me,” you joked, referring to the imminent check up he was about to give you. He raised an eyebrow, there was nothing but promise in his eye.
- - -
Rose and Joey hadn't arrived when you landed on the roof of a residential building less than a block from the club. It was several minutes before eleven thirty, time to take off the pony bottle and the suit, switch the boots for some shoes and put the wig on. With everything packed away, you armed the backpack and hid it in a ventilation shaft. You pulled down the cloud cover and dropped into the alleyway below, putting the small earpiece on. You barely made it a few steps when a call came through.
“They've just left, kid.”
“Okay,” you replied, heading out to the street.
“Keep them out of trouble.”
“I will.”
“If anything happens. . .”
“I'll call you and get them to the exfil point.”
“Good.”
“I'll see you in the morning.”
“Alright, kid.”
“Night, Slade.”
As you were approaching the back of the club, you sensed something extremely fast decelerating rapidly and then you could feel three people in the alleyway by the dumpsters. It was Rose, Joey and the speedster. Before you made it there, the speedster zipped away and you could feel the disturbance they'd left in the air for a good mile or so.
It was difficult to sense further with all the buildings and cars and people. If they were flying through the air you would have sensed them hundreds of miles away considering the speed they were moving.
“Hey S!” Rose called out as you approached, she was taking off the top part of her Ikon suit and Joey was doing the same, they both had clothes on underneath. The suits would have protected them while they travelled at such immense speeds.
You waved and saluted at them and had to avert your eyes when Rose stripped off the bottom part of the blue suit until she was down to her underwear.
“I bet you don't look away when Dad's walking around butt naked,” she teased and you couldn't bring yourself to respond or you'd end up embarrassing yourself no doubt. “Done.”
“Joey's not,” you replied, sensing that Joey had taken off the rest of his suit too as you were looking at the faded green paint peeling off the dumpster.
“Ooh you can tell?”
“Yeah.”
“What am I doing right now?” You shifted the air around her, she was standing still, arms were at her sides and you felt a protrusion coming out of her lower face.
“You're. . .sticking your tongue out at me.”
“And now?”
“The same. . .but less.” Rose giggled and you turned around when Joey was ready. They both looked very fashionable, they looked like models really. Rose had a purse with her which presumably had both of the suits in.
Joey held up his arm at his side, elbow facing down and clenching his fist as he signed S. You held out your little finger, moving it in the shape of the letter 'j' as you signed back J to him. Rose came up to you and started adjusting your wig a little.
“I knew Dad would see things our way,” she remarked as she fluffed up some of the wig's fringe.
Can I borrow your phone? Joey signed and you handed it over to him after unlocking it.
“He wanted me to see you both,” you replied, Rose's hand fell away from your face.
“What? So you didn't want to come?”
“I. . .last time I saw you both, I upset you and I. . .didn't want that to happen again.”
“It's not like it was your fault.”
“I know. I just. . . want you to both understand that Slade doesn't allow me or not allow me to do things. It doesn't work like that between us. I. . .couldn't make any choices for a long time and they're very important to me. No one is going to take them away again. So you don't need to. . .hunt his ass.”
“Can you hear me?” You heard Joey through the earpiece and you knocked twice with your fist in response. You tucked the phone back into your pocket when he handed it to you.
“If Dad becomes a problem, just let us or Uncle Billy know and we'll put him in check. Okay?” Rose told you firmly.
“That's not necessary, I'll handle him. If it came to that.”
“You can handle Pop?” Joey wanted to clarify. They were both looking at you incredulously, they didn't seem to believe you at all.
“Yeah,” you responded plainly.
“Do you know how many people on this planet can confidently say they can handle Deathstroke?” Rose asked, the question sounding partly rhetorical, but you answered it normally regardless.
“The Justice League, well. . .some of them.”
“Oh my god, S!” Rose started laughing while Joey was shaking his head at you in disbelief and his expression shifted like he was impressed.
“What?”
“I get why Uncle Billy said there's nothing for us to worry about. Come on.” Rose took you by the arm and you walked with her and Joey to the front of the club, the bass of the music getting louder. The queue was maybe ten people deep, but Rose skipped it entirely and let go of you as she chatted to the bouncer.
Rather than appearing to be scared, like what happened in Berlin, the bouncer laughed and waved her, you and Joey through. After paying the entrance fee and getting a stamp on the back of your hand, you headed into the club behind Rose and Joey. The bass of the music was loud and infectious, and the club looked pretty packed.
Rose took hold of Joey's elbow and made a beeline for the bar. You followed behind them and thinned out the air when Rose turned to you to hear her better.
“I'm getting a. . .” she trailed off, her voice wasn't as loud when she continued. “Huh that's handy, I forgot about that. I'm getting a Moonrise Deluxe, do you want one?”
“Does that have alcohol in? Because I can't drink.”
“If you mention some bullshit about training-”
“S is on medication,” Joey jumped in, giving her a pointed look.
“Not just for one night?” Rose asked and you shook your head at her. “How about a virgin one then?”
“Sure, thanks.”
“Wait. . .if you're not drinking, we should get shots!” Joey rolled his eyes at her and she excitedly flagged down the bartender.
She's going to. . .
You couldn't quite make out what he was signing. His hand was in a fist, thumb sticking out as his hand moved over the bottom half of his face and then went down, that meant drunk. The rest you weren't really sure. You shifted the thinned out air so Rose wouldn't hear.
“Uhh. . .does that mean shitfaced?” He smiled and nodded at you.
Do you mind not drinking?
“No, it's okay. I also don't want to displease Dr. Villain. He's been. . .really good to me.” He'd been supportive during the antipsychotics trial. It seemed like that happened only a few days ago, you pushed the thought of it aside.
Rose pulled Joey closer as the bartender was pouring out four shots. They downed two each in quick succession, both of them wincing slightly at the strength of whatever alcohol they were drinking. The bartender poured out the two Moonrise Deluxes which were dark blue and then a red-coloured cocktail which was for Joey. You took your drink and walked behind Rose and Joey to an empty table not too far from the dance floor.
As you sat down, you realised that your drink was twinkling under the flashing lights, was there glitter in this? The three of you clinked your glasses with a cheers and you took a sip, it was just the right amount of sweet. You chatted with them for a bit, catching up with them while you enjoyed the cocktail. Joey had patrolled Blüdhaven with Rose and Nightwing several times now.
“So you're settling in okay?” You asked Joey.
“Yeah I am. The weather's not as nice but it's better than I thought it'd be.”
“Urgh, you're gonna like complain non-stop in the winter. As soon as the leaves start falling, I'm shipping you back to smog city,” Rose teased him, drinking more of her cocktail through a straw.
“The smog smells better than wet rot," Joey countered as he pursed his lips.
“It's part of Blüd's charm, its maritime heritage spanning centuries.”
“Slaughtering whales is maritime heritage now?”
“At least it's not filled with fake plastic Hollywood wannabes trying to crawl their way to the top. Blüd doesn't have a top, it's a mostly flat shitheap.”
“It can be quite an endearing shitheap when you're sitting on it.”
“Aww Joey, really?”
“From a. . .very specific angle.”
“Hey! I look good from every angle!” Joey grimaced in disgust and shook his head. “Most! Most okay! I'm going to the bathroom, byeee.”
Joey grinned as Rose quickly stalked off, you could feel her moving through the crowd.
“I'm glad you're enjoying the. . .shitheap,” you remarked to him.
“It's been really fun spending more time with her. She loves it when I get her ready if she has to dance at the club. I've been roped into being her personal make-up artist and her hair stylist even though I'm not as good as her. She loves being pampered.”
“Have you been with her to the club?”
“Backstage yeah. I've met the dancers there too, they're nice.” You didn't reply as it looked as though Joey hadn't finished, he also looked a bit nervous. “Rose mentioned that you. . .like some of the dancers there? Johnny and Cherry I think?”
“They're both great.”
“So you're. . .into both of them?”
“I'm bi so, yeah.”
“Oh.”
“How about you? If you don't mind me asking.”
“Umm. . .well I like girls. . .and umm. . .I like. . .guys too, so I guess I'm. . .umm. . .” He looked like he was really struggling so you tried your best to reassure him.
“Labels are optional, not a requirement. It's whatever feels right to you, in your own time. Thanks for telling me.” You were glad that the nerves seemed to fade from his expression. “Do you want to dance when Rose gets back?”
He raised his index finger to his mouth before moving it away from him.
“How do you sign bisexual by the way?” He held up four fingers on one hand as they were pressed together with his thumb tucked over his palm and then held up just his pinky finger. It was simply signing the letter 'b' and the letter 'i' in sequence.
“I suppose I should have guessed that,” you joked and he gave you a small smile. When Rose came back, you all finished up your drinks and headed to the dance floor, you formed a little circle with her and Joey as you danced with them.
You were moving slow in time with the song and you sped up as the beat hit. Rose's dancing was this eclectic mix of smooth, fluid movements and then her just letting loose with the music. She spun her hands in the air, each hand imitating the other perfectly, it was mesmerising to watch. Joey didn't have Rose's fluidity. His movements effortlessly matched with the rhythm and the tempo of the song, inhabiting its mood with ease. It was really fun dancing with both of them, just enjoying the music together.
The song transitioned to a new one, the bass got even louder, the beat was infectious and you were enthusiastically bouncing up and down, nodding your head in time with the beat. Rose was amused by how much you were into the song, but she was clearly enjoying it too, as was Joey.
Holding out your arms and closing your eyes while you were moving the rest of your body, you sensed out to the skies above, the winds were dancing too. You could feel the trailing vortices of wake turbulence from a plane just taking off several miles away, from another plane was coming in to land, three more were stacked behind it in the queue, miles apart from each other. There were planes landing and taking off at another airport further out, a helicopter was flying over Manhattan, someone was flying a drone over the Hudson, a flock of birds was heading south, you could feel all of it.
You started spinning your index fingers, matching the opposite spins of the vortices, feeling out from one plane to another. The bass felt so good reverberating around your chest, it made you feel whole, like the winds were spinning around your heart. You sensed out to the winds, thankful to feel them unhindered, grateful for their protection. You wouldn't be here if it wasn't for the winds. You wouldn't be here if it wasn't for Slade.
After you told Slade yesterday that you wanted to stay with him, the tension had finally dissipated between you. He was relieved, he wasn't worrying that you'd leave him. He cared about you, not like you did of course, that wouldn't be possible, but he did care. Because of him you'd freed over a hundred political prisoners, you'd truly made a difference.
When the song built up again, your movements slowed. All these people dancing around you was a stark reminder that you were free too. You weren't just surviving against your will anymore, you were living.
You couldn't help but smile.
- - -
When you'd made it back to the bunker, you created vacuum behind the blast door and the secondary door as you opened them and closed them back up, not wanting to disturb the little sleep that Slade got. With vacuum surrounding your body, you silently flew down the corridor, passing the closed bedroom door. You could feel Slade breathing as he lay in bed. Really you should have slept in the clouds, but you were keen to come home.
Another day of training began less than two hours later and with such little sleep you were somehow feeling rather energised during general physical training. You told Slade about your time with Rose and Joey, omitting how drunk they both ending up getting. Neither of them threw up or caused any problems. Rose did struggle getting her Ikon suit on and you had to do it for her after she complained.
“Come on, S!” Rose had whined loudly. “You've literally seen everything but my pussy and my asshole. Stop thinking about my dad for five fucking seconds and help me!”
You described to Slade that you'd waited around the corner for the speedster to arrive and Rose called shortly after to confirm they were back in Blüdhaven.
Throughout the rest of the morning, you noticed that something was off with Slade. He wasn't tense like he had been, you couldn't exactly pin point what it was. You were probably tired and misreading him. At lunch, Slade mentioned that he'd bought peaches the other day.
“They're nice and ripe now. I'll make you peach cobbler later, would you like that?”
“Yeah, sounds great.” He nodded in response and didn't say anything for a few moments.
“I used tinned peaches last time so this one should be better,” he spoke quietly. The last time he'd made you a peach cobbler was when you were on antipsychotics and he'd hand fed it to you. That was the final day of the trial. You'd been pissed off that he'd listened to your conversation with Dr. Villain after you told him you wanted privacy.
Looking back at it, was the peach cobbler his way of apologising to you for that? Is that why he was making you one now? Come to think of it, he cooked you an apple pie the first day you were back at the bunker after leaving Venezuela, the day after that he made cookies. Was this apology by dessert?
It was after language training when Slade called you into the kitchen, the smell was more glorious in here. You sat down in the booth as he slid the plate in front of you. Gesturing for you to tuck in, you obliged him and hummed in delight at the taste. You shoved in another mouthful while Slade was asking whether you liked it.
“Mmmhmm,” you replied, nodding at him too. You continued tucking into it and tapped on the table to signal for him to eat too rather than stand there and stare. He took his seat and cut himself a slice of the peach cobbler. He barely had a few bites before he was cutting off another piece for you.
You sat eating with him, the silence between you was comfortable. You'd really missed things being like this with him, it was such a relief. When you'd both finished, Slade didn't get up to take the plates over to the sink. He seemed to be inspecting what was left of the peach cobbler before he made eye contact with you. He was acting off again, you hadn't been misreading him at all, had you? Whatever he was going to say was something that had been on his mind all day.
“You were right before. The things I said to you were vicious and cruel. I shouldn't have said them,” he told you sincerely. You weren't going to get an outright apology from him, this was the next best bet, but you needed a little more. You spun your finger, directing him to keep going.
“I was being an asshole.” You spun your finger again.
“I was being an unreasonable asshole,” he corrected and you signalled for him to continue once more. “I was a. . .bastard and I acted unfairly to you.”
“You hurt me.”
“I know.”
“You wanted to hurt me.”
“I did.”
“You are not doing that to me again,” you told him resolutely. “I know you were upset but you also knew that I never meant to hurt Joey. So next time you will control yourself. Do you understand?”
“I get it, kid.”
“If you do it again, I. . .I don't think I could stay with you anymore.”
“I understand.” You watched him for a while before you nodded. That had obviously been difficult for him to say, you hadn't been expecting it, especially not him admitting that he was at fault. He was trying so hard for you, he really was. Sliding out of the booth, you moved around the table until you were standing right by him.
“Are you going to wrestle me into a hug?” He joked, raising an eyebrow. You gently took hold of his face with both of your hands, feeling the stubble on his cheeks, his goatee on your palms, as you leaned down and pressed a soft kiss onto his forehead.
“No,” you muttered quietly as you pulled away but kept hold of his face. There was that look in his eye again, the one he had on the plane before you flew together, almost vulnerable.
“I forgive you,” you told him and he simply stared at you without any response. “Okay?” You prompted and he blinked at you. Running your fingers through his hair with both of your hands, you smiled at him and started tucking loose strands behind his ear.
When you pulled away, he took hold of one of your hands and kissed the back of it, his facial hair tickling at your skin again. Your smile widened even further.
“I want to show you something,” he murmured, keeping hold of your hand as he stood up from the booth and led you out of the kitchen. He guided you into the security room, setting you down in the chair and he sat on the case that was already positioned by it.
He brought up the designs of a new rebreather across multiple screens, explaining that this improved version will provide eighteen hours of air. Before you had the chance to thank him, he showed you more designs, this time of a new suit, helmet and boots. The new suit would look essentially the same, loose around the midsection so you could wear body armour underneath, the arms and legs wouldn't be as long as they would be tailored to your size rather than Slade's.
The suit would have an interwoven lead lining to protect you from the radiation of sub-orbital spaceflight.
“Sub-orbital?” You asked incredulously.
“I thought you liked going fast.”
“I do but that's. . .re-entry speeds. We're talking what. . .Mach 25?”
“Mach 25 plus.” You scoffed and shook your head in disbelief. “You can put vacuum around your body, can't you?”
“Yeah. . .”
“And what's stopping you from flying up to 400,000 feet?”
“Well. . .nothing. . .”
“Sub-orbital spaceflight,” he announced casually. He was right of course, you had the ability to fly up into the mesosphere, you wouldn't burn up on re-entry if you put vacuum around your body and the suit would protect you from radiation. Shit, were you really going to fly that fast?
He took you through the new design of the helmet, how the front would flip up, making it much easier to eat while you were in the air and saving you from taking the whole thing off. The glass visor has an adjustable tint and it will protect your eyes from direct sunlight while you were in the mesosphere, practically in space. The visor will also have a head-up display to show your speed, oxygen level and provide other information too.
The suit, helmet and the new boots would automatically darken in low light environments. The colours would go from mostly white, with greys and light blues, to mostly dark blue with faded blacks and dark greys.
Slade then brought up the proposed new aerial camoflauge design across the whole suit. You immediately grimaced at it and turned to Slade.
“Can't I have the same design?”
“This is an upgraded version that's been specifically designed for your suit.”
“But I want the one you did.” He looked at you for a moment and you saw his expression gradually lighten.
“Alright, kid,” he conceded and you grinned victoriously at him.
“You know I said I wasn't going to wrestle you into a hug. Well. . .” He rolled his eye at you and reluctantly shifted his body until he was facing you properly. You shot forwards, almost coming off the chair as you wrapped your arms around him.
“Thank you,” you mumbled against him. You grinned with joy and squeezed even more when you felt his arms around your shoulders. He was actually hugging you. Closing your eyes, you tried to memorise how good this felt, how warm his body was, how gratifying it felt that he was holding you when you weren't having a mental breakdown. He smelled so good, you couldn't help but breathe him in deeply.
You let go of him when his arms came away from you and after turning your head to face the screens, you pointed at your cheek.
“Placate me.”
“Kid,” he murmured, sounding put out, like you'd already pushed it far enough with the hug.
“You started this, it's your own fault,” you reminded him, tapping your cheek a couple more times to hurry him along.
“Hmm,” he grumbled in irritation, but he still complied and leaned forwards. Instead of giving you a quick peck, he hovered right by your face for a few seconds, his breath was hot and it almost made you shiver. He softly kissed your cheek, your heart lurched pleasantly at him being close like this. The sensation of his lips and his facial hair against your skin felt good to say the least.
“Satisfied?” He asked when he shifted back, you pondered the question for a moment.
“For now.” You couldn't help but tease. He tried to look annoyed but you glimpsed at the amusement he was trying to hold back.
“I have another job if you're interested.”
“For me or for us?”
“Us.”
- - -
You had taken his insults to heart, he knew that. He had, however, underestimated how deeply they had affected you. It was to the point you believed he was testing you about them, you thought he wanted to be certain that you had taken his word as gospel.
When he'd said those things to you, he'd been too angry, too upset to care about the consequences. He'd failed to maintain control. After you had made him swear that he wouldn't do that to you again, you had gauged that he didn't want you to leave, such was the obscene obviousness of his desire to keep you and reassert control over your dynamic with him.
You told Slade that you'd stay with him though he hadn't apologised to you and he hadn't truly conceded. He'd been preparing multiple options and justifications for you to stay with him and you'd rendered them all obsolete because he was the reason you wanted to stay.
The extent of your devotion to Slade continued to bewilder and unsettle him. Regardless of the fact you had said you'd forgive him in those unsent messages on your phone, he'd still been taken back when you actually did. You'd held his face like he was the most precious thing in the world to you, and the sad part was that he really was.
Your sincerity, your care for him, your mercy, all of it had cut right through him until he felt guilt, an unfamiliar emotion that he'd long since experienced. He had quickly taken you into the surveillance room, showing you the designs of your new gear. He had allowed you to hug him knowing that it would mean a lot, it was out of his respect for you, it was a minor act of contrition on his part too.
For someone who was so fragile you could be so fucking obstinate and unyielding. You had. . .demanded him to kiss you. With the way you were acting, it wouldn't be long before you had him on his knees and you'd be calling him a good boy.
He had sat there, cock stiff and starting to leak, as he leaned in and complied with your demand. It took him more than considerable effort to stop himself from mouthing at your neck and pulling you onto his lap so he could placate you some more.
Fucking Angelica obviously hadn't been sufficient. Perhaps he needed to give Talia a call, find out when one of her little 'gatherings' would take place. He didn't understand why they weren't simply called what they were, orgies. If he could fuck ten or fifteen people in one go, his libido would be satiated and his cock wouldn't get instantly hard at the thought of what you were going to make him do next.
The promise of a new job had distracted you and kept you from noticing how hard he was. You'd ignored his suggestion to drug Lawton's daughter when you retrieved her, insisting that you'd convince her to go with you.
It was less than forty-eight hours later when you did exactly that. As expected, Lawton had realised that his daughter was missing when they brought him to a facility which was several blocks from the American embassy in Hong Kong. He tore a hole through it and escaped, four were confirmed dead so far. If they didn't have his daughter, they didn't have him on a leash anymore and there was nothing holding him back.
It took Slade less than ten minutes to track Lawton down to the temporary bolthole he was regrouping in. Hiding in Kowloon as a tall black man wasn't exactly an easy feat, it's the reason why they based him in Hong Kong in the first place.
Slade scaled up the side of the apartment building with a case of gear on his back. No doubt he'd be spotted even though it was nighttime, but his armour and weapons were covered by a long trench coat and its hood. Lawton's heart rate was elevated, he was injured rather than simply stressed as Slade could smell blood through the very slightly open window.
Habit had him almost pulling out the Glock from his holster as he was about to breach. With his arm resting against his forehead, he smashed through the window feet first and jumped behind the closest available cover which was a shitty-looking sofa, keeping his arm raised. A round impacted the armour on his arm before he made it to cover.
“Lawton,” Slade called out as Lawton emptied the whole clip, most impacting the same spot on the armour plating on his back as they passed right through the sofa. Lawton reloaded before he responded, he sounded rather angry.
“Wilson?! We had an understanding!” Lawton seethed as Slade pulled out his phone but he didn't continue firing.
“You'll want to listen to this,” Slade told him, bringing up the audio recording from your phone.
“Zoe? Could you come with me please?” You asked over the echoing sounds of children talking down a corridor. You said nothing for a few moments, a door then closed shut and the noises from the corridor quietened. “You're not in any trouble. I'm a friend of your dad's.”
“You are?” Lawton's little girl replied.
“My name's Seraph, but you can call me S. Do you know what a Seraph is?” A short pause, presumably the girl shakes her head. “It's a type of angel.”
“Like a guardian angel?”
“Yeah exactly. I don't have wings but I can fly.”
“You can fly?”
“Mmmhmm. See.” The muted sound of moving air can be heard for a few seconds as you demonstrated.
“Cool! Do you look after my daddy then?”
“Not today. Today I'm looking after you and I'm here to take you to him, would you like that?”
“My daddy won't want to see me. I haven't. . .I haven't been good.”
“Zoe. Your dad will always want to see you because he loves you, no matter what, okay?” You reassured her calmly.
“They said I'm not allowed.”
“The people that look after you?” Another short pause. “I'm sorry they said that to you. But as your guardian angel, I'm overruling them. I promise you that your dad really wants to see you and he won't be mad.”
“He won't?”
“Not one bit. He can't wait to see you. We're going to have to leave right now though so you can't bring any of your things, okay?
“Okay,” the girl grumbles unhappily.
“You're going to have to put this on. You like purple, right?”
“Yeah!”
“Let's get this on. You'll need a helmet too.” Slade ended the recording and immediately called you up, putting the call on speaker phone so Lawton could hear.
“Hey, Slade.”
“Kid. How's the girl?”
“She's finally asleep. I. . .accidentally started playing with her and she kept wanting me to throw her around the plane. I think she needed to burn off the energy. Billy took a video of it, I'll send it over. Did you get Lawton out?”
“He made a break for it by himself. I've almost got my eye on him.”
“Oh okay. When you meet up with him, can you tell him Zoe's really excited to see him and make sure he says he's not mad at her. Those bastards made her believe it was her fault she couldn't see her own dad.”
“I'll pass along the message. I need to get back to work, kid.”
“I'll talk to you in a bit.” You sent over the video right away and he quickly skimmed over it, making sure that you were in it too. He slid the phone along the ground until it was within grabbing distance, Lawton snatched it off the floor and started watching the video. Slade heard the girl giggling and shouting 'again again' a few times.
“Is this. . .professional courtesy?” Lawton spat out angrily. “Making my daughter believe she's not being kidnapped?”
“That was the kid's idea, not mine. If it was me I would have drugged her.”
“I thought you worked alone.”
“I do. This isn't a contract.”
“Then what the fuck is it?”
“I need you off Waller's leash. Watch the video again, don't look at your little girl.” Lawton watched it again and responded a few moments later.
“You let my daughter near a fucking psycho meta?”
“You really believe everything Waller tells you?”
“We already had an understanding that we wouldn't take out contracts on each other's kids.”
“The kid's not related to me.”
“Fucking spell it out, Wilson.”
“You and your daughter are going into hiding. Start a new life with her. Retire or not, I don't care. In exchange, you don't take out any contracts on the kid and I'll ask for the occasional favour.”
“Favour?”
“I have multiple sites that need to be raided simultaneously, primarily for a data extraction. I need the manpower.”
“That's it?”
“For now.”
“Even if I believed you, I don't have the kind of resources to go into hiding. My accounts have been wiped, all of my assets have been liquidated.”
“I'll provide you with everything you need, think of it as a retainer.”
“If that meta isn't your kid, then who are they to you?”
“The kid isn't a particular fan of the US military. They're a do-gooder and wanted to help you and your little girl.”
“Why are you footing the bill?”
“They're making me a lot of money. It's not a concern.”
“You haven't answered my question.”
“I was captured and held for nearly two months. It had Waller's fingerprints all over it and I'm dismantling her little empire piece by piece.”
“And the meta?”
“The kid got me out.”
“I'm not buying it, Wilson. You've broken out of Belle Reve before. If you were held for that long it's because you wanted to be.”
“Unfortunately being paralysed doesn't pertain to prison escapes.”
“Paralysed?”
“Mmm.”
“You really pissed someone off, huh.” Lawton slowly shifted out of cover, his weapon drawn but no longer raised. Slade stood up from behind the sofa and caught his phone when Lawton threw it back. He heard vehicles racing towards the building.
“Do we have an agreement or not? We need to move.”
“I have your word that I'll be starting a new life with Zoe?”
“You have my word. And to be clear, if you ever hurt the kid, I will gut your little girl right in front of you. Bow to stern.” Lawton eyed him for only two seconds, he knew full well what the word of a mercenary meant.
“Alright, Wilson. I accept.”
- - -
You picked up Slade and Lawton from his safehouse in Macao four hours later. You didn't pick up on his wariness of you, presumably you thought he was simply anxious to reunite with his little girl. With Lawton in a stealth suit and strapped onto your back, you took hold of Slade's hand, pushed the air under his boot and flew them up into the clouds.
The flight to Bangkok took well under an hour and the humidity was worse than Hong Kong. After landing on the roof of the safehouse, you took Lawton's oxygen mask, goggles and helmet from him. He was hot on Slade's heels as they headed down a floor, it was to the point he might as well have been his shadow. Wintergreen was holding the front door open and Lawton stormed inside, rushing up to his daughter.
“Daddy!” The girl cried out in joy as Lawton pulled her into a tight hug.
“Sunshine! I missed you so much.” Slade glanced over, watching as you took in the scene, it was one that only you could have made possible. Elation was splayed across your features. Slade gestured for Wintergreen to come over and he headed into the kitchen, hearing him follow behind.
“Update?” Slade asked when Wintergreen joined him.
“I've made contact with the deputy inspector of police in Kathmandu. They can offer around thirty-two thousand.”
“Accept it and I know it's pittance before you point that out. It'll be good training for the kid.”
“This won't be training, Slade. You'll be going into a war zone. There's mass civil unrest, the protestors have taken up arms alongside the police after more than sixty of them were shot dead in the streets. The army will start launching airstrikes soon and they will secure the capital by force over the coming days.”
“Like I said, training.” Wintergreen didn't look convinced. “This is what the kid was made for.”
“Do you really think they're ready?”
“Yes.” He pressed his lips together, displeased but he wasn't going to object any further.
“I see that their appetite's improved.”
“Mmm.” It's about goddamn time it did.
“They tucked into the biscuits. Without prompting.”
“What point are you trying to make here?”
“You've reconciled with them.”
“If that's what you want to call it.”
“So you didn't want them to leave, hmm?”
“The kid doesn't want to leave me.”
“And why is that?”
“I'm irresistible.” Wintergreen scoffed loudly and gave Slade an annoyed, tired look. “Accept the job. ETA one hour.”
Slade watched as Wintergreen acquiesced and walked into the office to make the call. Lawton still hadn't let go of his little girl, Slade never knew Rose when she was that small.
“Thank you for getting Zoe back to me,” Lawton thanked you sincerely as he held her on his hip.
“Oh. . .uhh. . .well Zoe's very sweet and she's really brave too,” you replied to him. Slade thought you might have gotten the hang of people thanking you for helping them by now but you continued to act awkwardly.
“Kid,” he called out and you excused yourself from Lawton before approaching him. He gestured for you to thin out the air so Lawton couldn't eavesdrop. “An urgent job's just come up. How up to date are you on the situation in Nepal?”
“It's turning into a civil war, isn't it?”
“It is. The government's lost control of the capital and the Prime Minister has ordered the army to recapture it. The protestors have been joined by the police and some soldiers that have defected but they don't have the firepower to hold them back for long.”
“What's the job?”
“Defend the capital,” he answered, taking in the focus on your expression, you were primed and set for a new job even after just completing one. He knew you were ready for this. He had to hold back a smirk when you replied to him.
“Are we leaving now?”
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Taglist: @tenyasfangirl @okari-blackpaw @lordandmistress @jyaartist @shadowdoom20 @redhooduwu @celestia0473 @mewocc @ohhrats @bohdupibaba @repostingmyfavs
A/N - Thanks for reading! Do yall still wanna hurt Slade? Come on, he's trying! He wants to be your good boy. 😇😇😇 Can't wait to hear your thoughts hehehehe. Did you enjoy Rose and Joey in this chapter??? More coming soon 😊
