Epilogue

Things would return to normal... eventually, and not just within Titans tower, but as before, when Slade hadn't been such a fixture in their lives and Terra was still gone.

Slade had disappeared again, just three months away from serving a full sentence but the public had all but forgotten about him, save for the police department.

Raven didn't worry or expect to see him any time soon although Robin was as cautious as ever with him and Terra's whereabouts being unknown.

Starfire was back to being bright and optimistic as usual and constantly supporting and caring towards Raven.

Cyborg had managed to leave the confines of his garage and was also back in good spirits, although he did make an occasional threat to kill Slade if he ever saw him again.

Beastboy would still need more time, he was no longer angry at Raven, but the days he did feel ok enough to come out and socialize with the rest of the team he still had a far away and sad look in his eyes. Raven wished there was something she could say to make him feel better, but she had learned from experience that sometimes it was just better to let the pain run its course.

Dr. Adam Greg retired from counseling and was in the process of reconnecting with his family, the government was working on finding the Titans a new therapist, but many were unwilling after hearing that Dr. Greg's files had been stolen by a former Titan.

Raven didn't blame any of them for their reservations, but it did sting to know that she wouldn't be able to talk to a professional about her feelings and how to better manage them. She had become acutely aware of her emotions, taking in sessions from her time with Dr. Greg, and she felt a whole new maturity within herself.

As strange as the whole situation had seemed at the time, Raven still found herself reminiscent of her nights with Slade. The tension, the attraction, the hostility, the wanting and the unusual normalcy of it all.

She was starting to understand and accept the dynamic of her relationship with Slade and finally realized what Dr. Greg had meant by forgiving him.

It never meant forgiving him for all the horrible things he did to her, it didn't mean justifying or romanticizing him, and it never even meant being able to see him in a humane way from a hero's perspective.

What forgiveness meant for Slade was realizing that he would have done what he did because it was who he was. He was a man who sought power and dominance, a man without empathy, and man whose existence was to be a mercenary and leader.

There was nothing to be angry at if he did what he thought he should be doing, and in turn her doing what she had to do. It wasn't about one winning over the other, it was about balance.

And in the end that was all the government had been trying to achieve all these years with its new rules and regulations. It still wasn't perfect and maybe it never would be, but as Dr. Greg had always reminded her…Practice.

The only time Slade disrupted her now was when she dreamed about him, which was often. Sometimes it would be them eating dinner, sometimes it was them in a sparring match, once it had turned particularly violent where Slade tried squeezing the life out her and she woke up gasping for air.

But what never appeared in her dreams or even her memories of him was his mask. That mask that had haunted her from the start, that made him less human, she finally realized that Dr. Greg had already assessed what she had wanted from the beginning; To make Slade something real, something less terrifying. It was why she had tried reaching for his mask during their fight, she wanted a different face before her death.

She had seen Slade's human nature, and his nature was darker compared to hers, but he was still human, and one couldn't fault someone for being what nature intended them to be.

For the most part he was out of her head, but there was always the amused and threatening part of him that danced around in her brain each time she headed toward the entrance of her school.

Well, if it isn't my favorite Titan.

Robin would always be the one most obsessive in the prospects of bringing him down, but any future conflicts or battles with Slade, he was going to be focused on her. A year ago that would have scared her, now it just gave her motivation to keep up her training.

The ownership of his gym and many other businesses were in someone else's name nowadays, but Raven had remained a daily member of the same gym her and Slade had their matches. While not many were brave enough to actually get into a fighting cage with her, Raven was quickly adapting to intense workouts with free weights, climbing ropes and even some gymnastics equipment.

Having grown used to being fed so well by Slade also caused her to really commit to cooking, there had been multiple errors, she was no natural, but she soon became the go to chef in the tower. She mostly focused on making vegan meals for Beastboy since it seemed to help him come out of his stupor and t made her feel good to be taking care of everyone.

By far the worst habit she had developed was her taste for wine, something she didn't do for actual taste but for the feeling it gave her. The side effects of alcohol didn't have enough power to alter her mood or health since her healing abilities all but wiped the potency of the liquid out of her system. It helped her feel more powerful, more in control. Her last night with Slade she had been able to guzzle down the drink with the same confidence as him, without any anxiety or fear taking over.

Robin had told her once or twice how different she looked. She was different, in fact she felt better about herself than she had in long time and what she didn't want to admit was Slade's hand in helping her feel this way.

She had accused him so many times of bringing out the worst in her and yet here she sat feeling at her best and strangely gracious to him and all the tortures he put her through. Perhaps she had developed a small dose of Stockholm Syndrome, but overall she didn't feel used or victimized.

What struck her most was the idea of never seeing his physical face again, she felt deeply that Slade would return to his mask and often felt a twitch in her fingers as though they would reach out towards that mask again and try to rip it off.

She could still see his one lone eye studying her and the one other thing that still caused her hand to twitch was whatever lay under that eye patch, but some things were left best unknown. There were already too many things she didn't want to know, Slade and Terra for example.

Had there been others?

Worse yet would he ever invoke her again? Would Terra fall through in the same manner? Raven once remembered wondering what sex with Slade would be like, what impact it would leave on either of them. Now she was haunted by the thoughts of Slade toying with Terra's mind and body, and Raven was finally able to forgive Terra as well.

Slade found Terra at the perfect opportunity. Terra had been in such a vulnerable place, the biggest mistake hadn't been allowing her on the team, the real mistake was letting her run away from the team and into the arms of a madman.

Deep down Raven hoped Terra would eventually find peace, maybe one day even be able to reconcile with them on some small level. However just because you wanted things to get better, didn't mean they always did.

Raven had been lucky. She had gone through hell and back and came out stronger than ever. But sometimes…the fire doesn't let you go so easily, and sometimes even the best fall to the bottom of the pit. Sometimes you find yourself forever drowning in all the wrongs and sins you've committed, because sometimes the past catches up to you and sooner or later it always boils over.

And there was still a chance, always a chance, that Raven would fall. But if she was going to fall…she was going to take Slade with her.

A/N: Again, this story is a psychological exploration of Raven and her relationship with Slade as well as with Terra. This is purely a character development story and I hope you all enjoyed it. If you liked this one, please feel free to read my other Slade/Raven story "Unfinished." Thank you!