Cold-Blooded: A DC Universe Fanfiction (#Wattys2015)

Chapter 56: Slade: Planning For The Future

By way of thanking them for their help, Slade invited the Titans to come to Tokyo with them for a day or two, and after a moment of intense private debate, they accepted. Apparently Rose's account of the fun she'd had there swayed them. Now they were down at the other end of the train car, talking quietly amongst themselves. The outing wouldn't cancel out the debt he owed them, but it was a good will gesture, a promise for the future.

Yukie fell asleep on his shoulder within fifteen minutes, and she was still sleeping. Well, she had earned it; new elementals didn't happen every day or even every decade. He looked at her peaceful face and smiled.

Life rarely just gave him good things out of the blue. In fact, it was usually the opposite. But finding out that the life partner he had already chosen couldn't be killed, plus soon he would very likely have a new apprentice, a new son-these were gifts. When he remembered how he had tried to convince the first Robin to leave Batman and train with him instead, and now the man's own son was being handed to him-that was another reason to smile.

His mind moved on to the practical aspects concerning these changes in his life. Slade pulled out his phone to compose a lengthy message to his lawyer about altering his will and adding Yukie's name to various accounts and deeds, starting with the house on the lake. Anything connected to her or to their family had to be above board and beyond reproach, so no matter what happened to him, no one could take it away from them. It would not do for the law to freeze or confiscate assets they might be relying on. A man who made his money the way he did had to be circumspect about his finances.

The small movements he made while coming up with the instructions jiggled his shoulder and woke Yukie. "Oh. How long was I asleep?" she asked.

"About an hour and a half," he replied. "There's a bottle of water in the bag there, if you want it."

"Thank you," she said, and drank about a third of the water. Capping the bottle again, she looked at him, her eyes huge and soft.

"Hmm?" he asked.

"I was just thinking that I am fortunate beyond measure. I am already with someone who accepts what I have become and the way I must restore my powers. Someone who doesn't see me as a monster or want to move heaven and earth to 'fix' the less pleasant aspect of the yuki-onna."

"You once told me you decided to accept what I do the moment before you kissed me, without conditions or reservation. Could I do any less?" he asked.

"Hmm," she said, and a smile lurked at the corner of her mouth. "Yet you haven't kissed me since you learned what I am."

"Let me correct that," he said, and put action to the words.

He made it a slow and deep kiss, leisurely, one that said, 'We have all day', and her mouth was as humanly soft, sweet, and warm as ever.

When they broke apart, her eyes were shining. "Any further doubts will have to wait until we're alone. Now, to change the subject," he said, "do you have a lawyer?"

She blinked. "Yes. What an effective change of subject."

"Thank you. Can I have his or her contact information? My lawyer will have a number of documents for them."

Yukie got out her phone and supplied him with the details.

"Good. We'll let them hash out the details. Now my next question for you," he said. "Would you be willing to adopt Rose legally as your daughter, and would you also be willing to be a legal guardian for Joseph, should some medical decision need to be made when I can't be contacted? You can take your time to think about if you want to, but 'adoptive mother' carries a lot more weight when it comes to issues of guardianship than 'father's wife' does."