#elani grayson

[robbinghisdick]

The problem with having a kid with Slade Wilson is knowing what happened to his other kids. Dick doesn’t trust him and Slade knows it :)

[robbinghisdick]

I've realized that Hal and Elani's dynamic would be stupidly funny.

Elani hates change! Babies don't do much so she has no problem with Finneas, but Hal is a grown man with a voice and personality :/

Bruce: what's going on here

Hal: staring content

Bruce:

Bruce: she's nine

Hal: sounds like someone who's lost to her before

Grown man beefing with a kid. All the Bat kids actually accepted Hal pretty quick! It's Bruce's granddaughter that's giving him such a hassle lmao

Hal: I think your daughter is plotting to kill me

Dick: aw she might plot but she does believe in our no kill rule :)

Bruce: Dick you're not helping

[robbinghisdick]

Putting a pause to hero work didn't help Dick get more rest like he thought it would. With no financial backing from Bruce, Dick was left working as many hours as he could to afford rent and time off once the baby came. He was exhausted beyond belief and sore all over. His due date was still a solid month away and it might as well have been an eternity. He was done.

Once home, he cooked and told himself he'd worry about the dishes later. As he went to the couch, something moved in his peripheral vision. His reaction time was slow, body jerking and tripping over his own feet. The bowl fell from his hands as he prioritized catching himself on the counter. The porcelain bowl shattered as it hit the ground.

Dick glanced to his side to see Slade staring at him and his head hung with a heavy sigh. Of course he invited himself over. Why not. Looking at the broken remains of his dinner, the only thing he could currently stomach, he felt his eyes burn with incoming tears. He should've been able to catch that.

Don't be ridiculous, Dick scolded himself, it's just some noodles and a bowl. Getting angry at himself only served to make his eyes water more. He straightened up and swallowed hard.

"It's not spilt milk, but are we really going to cry over this, Grayson?" Slade asked.

Dick squeezed his hands into fists, eyes closing and taking in a deep breath. "I'm not in the mood, Slade." He hadn't been in the mood for Slade's taunts for a while now.

"No kidding."

Something in Dick snaps. "Oh fuck you!" He snarled. "Get out!

Slade seemed taken aback, hands half raised. "As ease-"

"NO! Get the fuck out of my apartment!" Dick started to storm forward, ready throw Slade out by force. "How many times do I have to tell you-"

Slade's eye narrowed and rushed forward, grabbing Dick by the shoulder. He forced the other man back a step and Dick heard the crunch of Slade's boot against broken porcelain.

Dick stared down at the floor, at the remains of his dinner and how close he had been to stepping in it bare footed.

The anger deflates into a sob.

Once the tears spill he couldn't stop them, defeated and exhausted.

"Please just go," Dick begged, hating himself for crying in front of Slade, hating the way the man was looking at him.

Unsurprisingly, Slade didn't listen. He moved Dick around the broken plate and gently pushed him towards the couch. "Go sit down. I'll clean this up."

With his breath hiccuping with sobs, Dick wasn't in the place to argue, and he really didn't feel like bending down to clean up the mess himself. He sat on the couch but continued to watch Slade as he went to open up the pantry and grabbed a broom and dustpan.

"Your due date must be getting close if you're getting this worked up over nothing," Slade unhelpfully commented as he began to sweep.

Through tears, Dick glared at him. "Well maybe I'm just tired of some weird old man not listening to me when I tell him to leave me alone."

Slade gave Dick an unimpressed look. "You've sought me out before, don't give me that." The dustpan is emptied in a trashcan before a rag was grabbed, wiping up the remainder of the mess. "Did you really just make yourself plain boiled noodles?"

"They had butter and salt..." Dick said, tensing at the judgement he felt coming from Slade. "Listen, right now I will throw up if anything has too strong of a taste or a smell." He sighed heavily, fresh tears welling up in his eyes. "And I'm out of butter." So great. Couldn't even remake the meal Slade startled him into dropping.

He could hear Slade approaching, but didn't look up at him.

"Do you want me to go to the store or pick something up?"

Dick buried his face into his hands. "I want you to leave."

"Not one of the options I just gave you," Slade said, unbothered.

One of the last things Dick wanted to do was rely on Slade. He didn't want to owe him anything, he didn't want Slade to think he was needed. But Dick knew he wouldn't be able to drag himself to the store. Shame coiled heavy in his chest at the thought of reaching out to his friends for something so dumb. Slade was already here and couldn't think any lower of him.

Shoulders drooping and hands dropping away from his face, Dick relented. "Okay."

"Store?" Slade asked, continuing when Dick nodded, "Do you need anything else?"

Dick shook his head.

"The corner store is on a few minutes walk away, go ahead and boil the noodles, I won't take long."

///

Dick had calmed down by the time Slade returned and he finally got to eat. He was too tired to shrug Slade off as he joined him on the couch. Whether he liked to admit it or not, Slade was warm and was so easy to melt into.

He jolts slightly as Slade's hand touched his swollen stomach.

"When's your due date?"

Dick sighed heavily, not lifting his head from Slade's shoulder. "She's not yours," he said instead of answering the question. To be fair, there was a nearly non-existant chance that the father was a man Dick hooked up with for a one-night stand. They used protection, but that was never 100%. However... Dick knew she was Slade's. It was barely a doubt in his mind. All he could do was pray that she'd have dark hair and look nothing like Slade. Maybe if Dick kept telling him that the baby wasn't his, he'd loose interest.

"So it's a girl?"

Dick finally lifted his head to give Slade a stern look. "Whatever the baby is doesn't concern you."

Slade met Dick's gaze unwaveringly, reaching up to brush some hair out of Dick's face. "You keep telling yourself that, kid."

Dick grimaced. "Don't call me kid."

With a muttered, half-hearted apology, his hand cupped Dick's cheek and he pulled him close. Dick knew he should push Slade away, but leaned into the kiss.

More than he liked to admit, he missed being kissed. Dating and hook-ups were obviously off the table, but Dick wanted to feel the press of another body against his own. The stroke of a hand through his hair, the warm press of lips, and the caress of calloused fingers against him.

The guilt in indulging himself and Slade caught up a couple minutes later and he broke the kiss with a sigh and a turn of his head.

"Why are you here?"

"It doesn't seem like you and the Bat have made up and you're, what, seven? Eight months pregnant?" Slade tilted his head slightly. "And I imagine you haven't told many, if any, of your friends about me, so you've likely cut yourself off from them. Someone has to check on you."

At times like this, Dick was reminded how much he hated that Slade knew him, at least just enough to be entirely correct. The only people who knew about Slade were Roy and Donna. Things were already in a rough patch with Bruce before he got pregnant.

"Do you have a contract in Blüdhaven?" Dick asked, deciding to ignore what Slade said.

"No. I'm not taking contracts in Blüdhaven or surrounding cities right now."

Dick blinked, baffled. "Why?"

"You're pregnant, you can't be Nightwing," Slade answered.

For a moment, Dick stared at Slade as if waiting for the man to realize how ridiculous he sounded. Right now was literally the perfect time to take advantage of the fact that Dick physically couldn't stop him.

But there it was. With what Slade lacked in respecting boundaries, he made up for in respecting Dick as a hero. A thorn in his side he'd never actually try to take out for reasons Dick couldn't entirely understand.

"What?"

Dick felt the urge to cry again, but this time his eyes didn't water. "Why are doing this?"

Slade huffed. "You could just say thank you." He doesn't seem particularly annoyed.

You make it hard to hate you, are the words that don't leave Dick's mouth. Slade had done unforgivable things. He's hurt him, he's hurt his friends. But they've also worked together, he's seen Slade draw lines and do good. If he were a full blooded monster, it'd be easy for Dick to hate him enough to shut him out. Maybe then Slade would take him seriously when he asked him to stay away.

It wasn't love... so why was this so hard?

[robbinghisdick]

Slade: for the kid’s first Halloween, can she be a pumpkin?

Dick: … why do you care about was she dresses up as on Halloween?

Slade: listen, you’ve decided everything about this kid and I’ve let you, I’m just asking for one thing

/on Halloween

Roy: that’s… a lot of orange and black

Dick: yeah? It’s a pumpkin costume—wait… OOOH MOTHER FUCKER

[robbinghisdick]

Damian and Elani’s dynamic is very special to me but also they’re extremely annoying

[robbinghisdick]

Slade had rarely ever stayed the night, even before they had a kid. Dick and Slade would get tangled up for a few hours at most and go their separate ways, shame settling heavy in Dick's chest. "It's just sex" never seemed make him feel any better.

Ever since Elani had been born, they saw each other even less. Dick wasn't keen on giving her a sibling, so he often rejected any advances Slade made when he supposedly stopped by to see his daughter.

But last night he had been so tired and drained. They put Elani to bed and Slade's approach was softer than usual. Dick had mostly stopped seeing anyone, sexual or romantic, in fear of how Slade might react. He was weak for some physical contact and attention.

Slade had decided to stay that night, and Dick didn't have it in him to chase the man off.

It was nice to wake up in someone's arms. Slade was warm and stirred not too long after Dick woke up. Neither of them spoke. Faintly he could hear Slade sigh, arms slightly squeezing around Dick and pressing kisses against his shoulder and the back of his neck. Affection like this from Slade was rare, and even rarer that Dick didn't shrug him off.

They laid like that for a long while before Dick could hear the footsteps of a toddler who hadn't quite yet figured out how to walk quietly.

Elani managed to enter the room without slamming the door against the wall, quick to start dragging herself up from the foot of the bed.

She froze when she saw Slade, frowning at him.

She's never seen her parents share a bed.

"Good morning, Dove."

Elani smiled at Dick, quickly toddling across the bed and flopping down on top of the two, earning a small oof! from Slade as she forced her way in between them. She kicked until the man let go of Dick and made room for her.

Rolling over, Dick smiled as Elani quickly settled down between them. One thing he loved is that while she'd always wake him up coming into bed with him, she'd lay down quietly until Dick was ready to get up.

Curiosity over Slade seemed to override her usual quiet morning behavior.

"Why are you here?" she asks with all the bluntness of three year old.

Slade snorts, reaching over and pinching her cheek. "Because I wanna be, brat."

She giggles and reaches over to pinch him back, giggles rising to a shriek as he yanks closer.

"No! Your beard!" She pushes his face away, still laughing as he rubs his face against hers.

They settle a moment later, Slade loosening his grip on her and Elani staying snuggled against his chest.

Dick felt like he was suffocating.

Is this what other people got to wake up to? Was Slade ever like this with Grant and Joey when they were little?

Oftentimes it felt like Slade only ever interacted with Elani to make sure she liked him. He'd bring her toys and treats, idly listen as she babbled, but his attention would always turn towards Dick.

There's an expression Slade's face he's never seen before as the man sighs and kisses the top of Elani's head.

Such a sweet moment of a life Dick would never actually have, nor one he could ever give Elani.

[Prev]

[robbinghisdick]

Woe Elani doodle dump,,, most of these are at least a year old

(Elani and her red heads <3)

[robbinghisdick]

As Dick looked down at his white haired baby, he wondered if her genetics knew that black hair was a dominant trait and by all accounts should've trumped Slade's silver hair (which wasn't even natural to begin with).

At the hospital, he said it probably wasn't white, just a very pale blonde and would darken as Elani aged. He could tell that Bruce was mentally listing any man he could think of with white hair, even as Dick told him sternly that he didn't want to know who the father was, so let it be.

Dick doubted Bruce would listen for very long.

Roy accompanied him home from the hospital, the only person Dick had told the full truth to. Considering Lian, Roy didn't have much room to judge, though he made relentless jabs about daddy issues. Slade was Bruce's age, after all.

In some time, Dick would allow the other Titans to come over and meet Elani, but he knew they'd likely piece things together quick once they saw her. He wasn't quite ready yet for their reactions. Slade had tormented them, and here Dick had just carried and birthed his child.

Roy helped Dick settle back home, pointing to the fridge full of meals the team had prepared for him as a gift. He told Dick to get some rest and to not be afraid to reach out for help.

The loneliness was felt immediately, his apartment painfully silent and empty. Normally it was a blessing to come home to. He loved his team mates, but it was nice to have a little space just for him.

Dick mostly rested, keeping Elani in his arms as he sat on the couch and mindlessly watched TV. He was restless but exhausted, a frustrating mixture that left to overthink.

He knew despite his scathing remarks to Slade to stay away, it wouldn’t matter. The man had yet to respect a single boundary Dick had ever tried to set. It was only a matter of time.

That thought alone made it hard to put Elani down in her crib. He chose this apartment so he could make the room without windows a nursery. He didn't want access to her to be easy, and yet he was sure Slade would find a way.

It got late and exhaustion wore out. He put Elani to bed, left his bedroom door open, and cranked the baby monitor volume all the way up. He sporadically got up to feed and take care of her as the soft cries came through the baby monitor.

He had only been laying down for a few minutes when his hair stood on end and he found himself suddenly awake. For a minute he didn't move, ears pricked for any sort of sound. No noise came, but Dick got to his feet, reaching just under his bed for a bat.

Soundlessly he slipped down the hall to the nursery. It didn't matter if he immediately recognized that the man in the nursery was Slade, seeing someone hold his baby left him chilled.

He froze, but Slade noticed him a moment later.

"At ease, Grayson. We both know you're not going to hit me while I'm holding her," his voice was quiet. Dick couldn't tell if it was for the sake of the sleeping baby or if it was because he was being treated like a startled animal. Possibly both.

"I thought I said I didn't want to see you again," Dick said, relaxing his hold on the bat but not putting it down altogether as he entered the nursery.

Slade laughs, unimpressed. "You also said the baby wasn't mine." One finger flicks a white curl on Elani's head. "I know when you're lying."

Dick scowled in return.

Slade's gaze turns down to the baby in his arms. "What's her name?"

"Elani Marie Grayson."

Slade makes a small noise of acknowledgement. "Thought your mother's name was Mary?"

"Marie sounded better." Dick hated that Slade remembered that detail about him. The voice in his head that sounded like his friends told him that Slade was weird and obsessed. It wasn't because there was anything more to their fucked up dynamic.

After a beat of silence, Dick sighed. "What do you want, Slade?"

"Just wanted to see my daughter."

"You already have one," Dick reminded him. "Elani is my daughter, not yours." He closed the distance between them. "If you care for her at all, you won't be in her life. You get people killed."

Slade's eyes scan over Dick's face, cracking a smile. "I don't recall your track record being much better."

Dick's lips press into a hard line, refusing to react. Not a day has gone by since Dick got pregnant that he didn't dread all the terrible things that could happen to Elani purely because she was his daughter. He knew he was just as big of a threat to Elani as Slade was.

But without further arguing, Slade pushed Elani into Dick's arms, ignoring the way Dick jerked his head away to give him a kiss.

"I'll come see you once you've recovered."

Dick didn't bother telling him not to.

[Prev]