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Deep within the underworld was a hellish manor, belonging to the gods that ruled over the kingdom of the dead. Within that manor lie a garden, created and nurtured by none other than the queen himself. Today, all three royals have taken to spending the day there, for even the king of hell needs to take a day off from time to time to maintain peace within his family.
Currently, the king and queen were watching their daughter play from their spot sat upon a stone bench. The king watches as their daughter makes a mess of the pond, and leans over to whisper into his wife’s ear.
“Should we be worried about her?” Slade muttered, concern clear in his voice no matter how he may try to hide it.
“Leave her be and give her some space, lest she end up like me and run off with her own nefarious older gentleman.” Dick teased, but there was some truth to it. It would break Dick’s heart if they pushed Rose away the same way his parents had done to him. And while the man may not admit it, he knows Slade would be beside himself if he lost their little girl.
And she was theirs. Even humoring the alternative was sickening. To be so deeply betrayed, so deeply violated by the one who calls himself his father-
He doesn’t like to think about why he has a daughter. He tries not to linger on the rage that brought her into existence in the first place. Still, some days he fears his anger may have infected her. That by their association he has set her up for a life of pain and bitterness.
He has to take care of her. They both need to do right by her, in a way the neither Dick nor his husband ever experienced with their own immediate families.
“Mama! Daddy! Check this out!” Rose was running towards them, holding something in her hands. She had been playing in the garden for hours, climbing on just about anything, and not exactly being the most mindful of the plants she tramples underfoot. Such is the obliviousness of youth, so Dick is hardly one to hold it against her.
“Did you know we had frogs? At least I think it’s a frog. Mama! You’ve been to the surface, is this a frog?” It was, indeed, something resembling a frog.
“Well. It certainly bares a resemblance.” Honestly, Dick barely knew what half the fauna of the underworld were to begin with. Sometimes he learns the names from Slade, but all too often is he prone to just calling them ‘hell-animals’.
“It looks more like a toad to me. It’s got those weird bumps on it.” Slade took to poking the tiny creature held captive in their daughter’s hands, and Dick can’t help but feel a twinge of pity for the poor thing.
“Shouldn’t you know? It’s a creature of your domain.” Honestly, Dick would hope he would have something more educational to tell Rose.
“I have bigger things to worry about than toads, dear.” Slade’s arrogance seems to make itself known in the strangest of places lately. It’s much better than when he used to posture on and on about what a mighty king he was, but it can still annoy Dick when that attitude of his rears its ugly head.
“So you don’t know? My, and here I thought you were wise.” It’s a playful jab, meant to bother but not cut, and it does exactly what it’s meant to when Slade rolls his eyes and begins to examine the animal with proper scrutiny.
“It is odd. It can’t be from the surface, but I truly haven’t seen this before.” Well, isn’t that a thought? It’s either an incredibly hearty and determined surface creature, or an entirely new species.
“Could Rose name it?” Dick asks.
Slade almost scoffs, but catches himself. “I mean- if she wants to? I’m not sure what good that’ll do.” He’s trying. There’s still room for him to grow in the fatherhood department, but he’s certainly doing better than Dick’s own father had done.
“Name it? What, like George?” Rose talks while tilting the creature this way and that, examining its details with all her focus.”
“You should name the species itself. It doesn’t seem like a surface creature, and we don’t have a name for the kind of animal it is down here, so why don’t you try to come up with something?” Dick attempts to encourage her.
Rose looks at her mother briefly, before bringing all her focus back towards to creature in her grip. Her intensity was nothing short of adorable.
“Georgius.” Well, Dick isn’t sure if his own idea of ‘hell-toad’ would’ve been better or worse.
“That’s still just a human name, Rose.” Slade says. The man has no clue what it means to simply humor someone, and Dick can’t help the sigh of disappointment that he lets out.
“Well, what would you call it!” Rose snaps at her father.
Slade seems genuinely taken aback by her outburst. It’s not a very common look for him. Dick supposes that makes sense, given how few people around him are in a position where they can speak to him like that. Honestly, it’s good for him to experience things like this. Having a rambunctious child like Rose really suits the king more than he realizes.
“My… apologies.” Slade has never looked less sure of himself. Dick refrains from laughing at the strange stand-off that seems to have started between his husband and daughter.
“The best idea that I had come up with was hell-toad, and Georgius is certainly more creative.” Dick tells them.
“At least hell-toad isn’t-” Slade attempts to argue, but quickly shuts his mouth as Dick silently stomps on one of his feet.
“Hell-toad, yeah, that is boring.” Rose agrees with a prideful look on her face, happy to have won whatever debate she thought was being had over the name. They were always going to accept her answer, no matter how silly and no matter how apprehensive Slade would pretend to be.
“You should probably put it back where you found it now.” Dick suggests.
“Huh? But I thought we could keep it!” Rose protests, having apparently grown very attached to her new discovery.
“We can keep it in the garden. We don’t know how to take care of it inside, but it clearly knows how to take care of itself out here. And besides, you can always come visit it.” Dick tries to explain to her as gently as possible. He doesn’t know how it got into his garden or how it had survived this long, but it clearly had been managing without their interference. Dick also fears that it wouldn’t last long in his daughter’s care despite her good intentions.
“So you’ll help me find it again tomorrow?” Rose asks. Pleads, really. Dick and Rose both know who those wet eyes are meant to sway.
“I’ll be busy, but your mother will still be here, right?” He still thinks he can get out of this, but there’s one thing he wasn’t prepared for.
“Are you sure you can’t make the time, love, even just for a short break midday?” Dick turns his own pleading face on his husband, while laying a gentle hand upon his arm.
“...I have a very important job, dear, I can’t really…” He’s trying. He’s trying very hard to say no.
“You remember that you do not work alone, don’t you? I’m not saying you should take an entire day off again, but surely you can afford an hour or two?” Dick can see Slade’s objection die before it even reaches his throat. Good boy.
“...An hour.” Slade concedes.
“Yes!” Rose raises her arms in victory and- oh god, she’s still holding the georgius.
“Rose! Put it back, please.” Seriously, Dick’s not sure the animal, or his own heart, can handle much more rough treatment of the tiny thing.
“Okay, okay…” Rose is visibly disappointed to part with it, but she does as she’s told and returns the creature to it’s original place in the garden’s pond. Dick gives a small sigh of relief, both for the creature’s safety and for the opportunity to avoid a heartbroken child who may have lost track of her own strength. That may be a conversation he should have with her, that not all living things are immortal as they are.
“An eventful family trip, don’t you think?” Slade gently nudges him, a small smile gracing his face. That smile of his, it’s far too rare a sight.
Dick feels his own face crack into a grin. It’s been a good day. He hopes they’ll have many more like it.
“All thanks to you talking a day off, love.” Dick ends his thanks with a kiss to Slade’s cheek. The first of many displays of gratitude that he may grace upon the king, should he maintain this effort for their family.
Slade laughs, a low and warm noise, and Dick thinks that it was well worth biting into the pomegranate all those years ago.