#and it was a nice fic to get Slade’s pov for once

[sinvulkt]

Never What You Were Before by Romiress (@hotdadslade)

Bruce Wayne is dead, and Gotham has moved on. Slade, for the most part, tries to stay out of it. He has enough work to do without having to take jobs near the Bats.

Until Red Hood calls him in to help, refusing to explain what he's found.

Maybe Wayne isn't as dead as he seems.

--

Heavily inspired by the first Gotham Knights trailer. Finished, 88k words.

* * ** *** ** * *

Part 1, Chap 1:

"Am I sitting on a former Bat?" Slade asks, twisting his head up to look at the door, where Jason waits outside. Below him, the Talon snarls furiously. Slade means it in the simplest way possible. He means a Bat. One of the pack. The herd. The answer he gets is somehow unexpected, even if it shouldn't be. "It's Bruce," Jason confirms. his features drawn and his voice low. Bruce. Bruce fucking Wayne. Slade's sitting on Bruce fucking Wayne, who's halfway fucking feral and out of his goddamn mind and a fucking Talon? He's supposed to be fucking dead, not like this. Slade would say he needs to sit down, only he already is.

Part 1, Chap 12:

Wayne moves into a gap in the cameras and vanishes. The hair on the back of Slade's neck stands up, the realization hitting him. Stupid. He's supposed to be better than this, and rather than being upset with Wayne he's instead angry at himself for falling for it. Slade turns in place, tilting his head back, and finds Wayne perched atop the cabinets in the corner of the room. It's a tiny space, one he's had to cram himself in, and yet Wayne seems perfectly content up near the ceiling, watching as Slade moves around.

Part 2, Chap 3:

So he does not stress Slade with his worry. He lets Slade settle him into his room and tell him that it will be okay. That he is safe. He nods his understanding, because he does understand. He simply does not agree. Slade calls it a home. The way he says it tells Bruce there is a difference. Before, they were in a house, but Slade has said the word home so many times that Bruce is sure that Slade is telling himself more than he is telling Bruce. He waits until Slade has gone to bed (he doesn't sleep well, Bruce can hear him at night) and then goes to scout the rest of the house. There are boxes everywhere. Bruce wonders if he should put things away, but does not know where things go. He would make a mess, so he leaves the boxes where they are. He finds the right place not long after starting. There is a window over the front door, and below it, a ledge. The ledge is not large, but it is hidden, which is what Bruce needs. He can slide himself onto it, make a little nest. A safe place to watch from. Well guarded. Enemies would not know to look for him there, and he would be able to leap down and catch them before they hurt Slade. As long as he goes back to his room in the morning, Slade won't know.

#I went and explored the ´slade & bruce’ tag section on ao3 on an impulse #and it was the right choice #bcs it allowed me to find this amazing pearl #feral!bruce was great! #and it was a nice fic to get Slade’s pov for once #I don’t know much about his character yet #anyway love talon!bruce #and how he kept craming himself in tiny spaces #that part was hilarious #Jason is sooo over his head in this #but at least he got a part of his father back? #and befriended this new version of him :3 #fragments of imagination #the bat dragon #batman #bruce wayne #dc #batfam #fanfic #snippet #slade wilson #jason todd #talon bruce wayne #but more importantly #feral bruce wayne #(that’s the fun part) #amazingly well written fic #court of owls #ao3 #deathstroke