Title: Fifty Shades of Slade

Chapter Title: Question

Rating: M… I mean, at this point ya'll should know the drill.

Author's Notes: It's been a while since we've updated… Life has gotten in the way, but we'll finish this off…eventually. Thanks again to everyone for their reviews, faves, and follows! :D

Warnings: Apprentice fantasy fun

Please enjoy!

Sometimes, the way to move forward was to first step back.

In Slade's case, it was more like taking three steps back, then two more, and then five more, all for him to scramble desperately forward and end up in the same exact spot that he was in before.

It wasn't that he didn't know how to coax the relationship forward. Hell, he was a criminal mastermind with several degrees in ass-kicking, emotional manipulation, and blackmail with a minor in getting away with bloody murder—he could handle this… Or at least he should.

It was just that the actual execution of any of his plans were fraught with too many obstacles and uncertainties that even Slade—with his experience in manipulation and love—found that implementing any of theem might not be worth it.

(After all, the best laid plans of mice and men often go astray.)

And so, he did the next most logical thing—he struggled to just remain in place.

Slade could learn to be happy with whatever he and Raven were. He could learn to be satisfied with this. If he really put his mind to it, he could pretend that what they had was enough.

(But even he couldn't always play pretend.)

It was when he looked at her in the early hours of the morning, with the sun filtering in through the window, to dapple them both in sunlight, or when he woke up with her arm wrapped around his waist, her face nestled against his collarbone, or when her eyes would find his in a crowded place and her smile would light up the entire room, or when she held him close late in the evening while they languidly lounged on the couch while watching television.

It was the little things that got him when he least expected it. The small moments found in quiet corners that made him realize again and again that he couldn't learn to be satisfied with this endless loop, this never-ending chase.

It was in those moments that he couldn't pretend he wasn't in love with her. That he wanted her in his life for as long as she would have him. That this was no longer about satisfying some sick, perverted lust, but because he loved her for her.

The matter could have been resolved with a quick question: Do you want us to be more?

Key words: Could have. Spoiler Alert: It wasn't.

The reason was quite simple—fear.

He knew her mother's history. He knew of her failed dalliance with what turned out to be a dragon. He knew about what Trigon had done to her. He knew how fragile trust was. How nervous she was of romantic commitment.

It didn't take a rocket scientist to know her answer.

—

—

A life with her was infinitely better than a life without.

And so, he made sure that his question was always left unasked.

(Mostly because he couldn't find the courage to hear the answer.)

—

—

"Do you know why I am upset?" Slade asked, his voice soft, deadly. Raven stubbornly lowered her eyes to the floor, jutting out her lip defiantly. She was kneeling before him, head bowed submissively. She was clad in nothing but clothes of orange and black, tight fitting spandex that hugged her curves in all the right ways. The silver collar around her neck stood out against the orange and black of her midriff shirt and black pants.

His fingers seized her chin, forcing her to look up at him. His other hand pulled her hair, and she felt a small jolt of pain rush through her system.

"Do you know why I am upset?" he repeated. His voice was like before, only a hundred degrees colder and didn't look like it would warm up any time soon.

Raven glared back at him. "Why?"

"Why master?" Slade reminded her coldly.

"There's no need to call me master, Slade." She regretted her short-lived insolence immediately. No sooner had the words left her mouth, Slade's boot already collided with her stomach. She let out a ragged gasp as she felt the wind get knocked out of her. Collapsing onto her hands and knees, Raven felt his iron grip wrap itself around her throat.

"Oh, my sweet, insolent apprentice…" The hands clenched around her throat began to tighten. "Do not anger me further."

"Please. If you wanted me dead, you would have done that a long time ago," she managed to gasp as she fought for air. Her fingers wrapped around his, desperately trying to free herself from his grip.

"Did you forget your punishment last time you disobeyed me?" Slade crooned. He watched her struggling for breath with an ice blue eye. "Should I remind you?"

"Already being reminded," Raven laughed. Shit. It really was getting harder to breathe. She was beginning to see stars. "See how well that punishment worked."

Slade let out a humorless laugh. "Unfortunately, you have a point." The fingers around her throat relented. He yanked her up and pressed his ice cold mask to her face, causing her to gasp. His fingers ghosted over her cheek. "A different method then, I suppose, is in order."

"You have different methods?" She gave him a hollow smile. "Guess it's true about what they say teaching a dog new tricks."

"Oh, my sweet, little bird. Do you really think me so uncreative? If pain won't… persuade you…" he whispered, his voice husky. Slade's fingers delicately cupped her chin. "Perhaps pleasure will."

He relished in the way her expression just froze, her breath hitching slightly, and for a moment, the defiance glinting in her eyes was replaced by a hint of helplessness. But then her jaw set, and she was once again the apprentice that he hadn't yet succeeded in breaking.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Raven glared at him, but that only seemed to amuse him further.

"You will soon." His lone eye glittered dangerously. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw his hand slither into his tool pouch to pull out something shiny. She felt the prick of a needle before she actually saw it, and by the time she had noticed, the syringe was already empty.

"What did you inject me with?" she demanded. "Nanomachines? Mind control drugs?"

"Hardly. As if I'd need to use such means to convince you." Slade ran his hand through her hair before dipping lower to trace her collarbone. "In the end, you'll come to me." His fingers began to draw cold, meaningless patterns on her skin.

Flushing scarlet, Raven smacked his hand away. "Don't touch me!" she snarled.

Raven expected him to be furious beyond belief; she didn't expect him to just look at her and laugh. "We'll see how long that attitude lasts, my apprentice." Slade's eye darkened with desire. His breath tickled her cheek, and she felt shivers run down her spine all the way to her toes, reaching every nerve ending in her body. He smirked at her stupefied expression. "We'll see how long that lasts."

With that, he left her in the room, closing the door with an echoing slam. Raven flicked him off as soon as she heard the click of the lock. "Asshole."

She settled herself down on the only chair and Raven waited for him to return. Squirming in her seat, she clenched her legs tightly shut and felt a hot flash. Dear Azar, why was it so hot? Her body was flushed, with sweat dripping down her back and glutting to her skin-tight suit. Her hands were involuntarily to moving to rub her throat, her collarbone, her exposed midriff, any bit of exposed flesh that she could reach.

She shuddered as she felt a delightful shudder of pleasure rush up her spine. Raven squeezed her leg closed, savoring the way she felt moisture pooling between her thighs.

Oh Azar. This felt so damn good.

Whimpering softly, Raven began to glide her hands over her chest, kneading her breasts, rubbing her quickly hardening nipples through the material. Without even realizing it, Raven found that her hands had moved from her breasts, down to her sides to between her dripping thighs.

Tugging her pants down, she placed flesh on flesh, her fingers grazing her clitoris, swollen and taut with need, sensitive from her arousal, before dipping into her pussy and making her writhe with pleasure. She wanted more, needed more, to achieve that release she so desperately needed.

Oh God. So that's what that drug was.

She really shouldn't be doing this, sitting on the chair in the middle of Slade's interrogation room, with her hand down her pants, while any minute, Slade could return at any time. She really shouldn't be doing this, but then the need overwhelmed her once more, washing over her like a violent wave, drowning her in a sudden want for pleasure so intense she feared she might die unless she achieved release.

Raven groaned at the thought of Slade's icy eye widening with confusion, before he would approach her and press himself up against her, his hands reaching down to see how wet she was. He'd touch her, strong and unyielding, as he would bring her to orgasm again and again and take pleasure from her until he was satisfied.

She was falling into a sexual haze, her mind reduced to only a vehicle for sensation. The only coherent thought was so hot… need release… Master…

"Master…" she groaned, grinding against her hand even harder, arching her back as she ached to get that blissful release. "Master, please…"

"You called?" a chocolatey smooth voice asked in amusement.

Fuck.

Raven froze, her hand still down her pants, her fingers just curled against her pearl. A growing sense of horror was growing in the pit of her stomach, but in the deepest, darkest part of her, she just wanted more—anything to quell this burning need.

Reason, however, was the deciding factor today. She immediately stopped, flushed with embarrassment, quickly removing her offending hand. Raven stood up, eager to be gone, but Slade shut the door behind him. He settled himself in the chair she had just vacated, his eye narrowing at the wetness she had left there.

"Now, now apprentice… Come here." Slade patted his lap invitingly. Noticing her hesitation, he pulled her toward him. "Come now, little bird. Don't make me punish you more."

Raven felt the heat rise in her cheeks as she reluctantly rested herself against his lap so her back was pressed up to his chest. She could feel his cock pressed up against the curve of her ass.

For a terrifying moment, he was less of psychopathic supervillain and more like a man.

A very fuckable man.

The idea was both terrifying as it was arousing. She flushed scarlet, glad she was looking at anywhere but him.

"Ah, ah," he chided. Raven bit her lip as his fingers played with her hair before they dipped down to trace her collarbone. "I'd like to see that pretty face of yours."

Slade spun her around, so that she was facing him. His hands clasped around her slight waist, lowering her onto his lap. She straddled him, so her dripping slit was all his to see. "Much better."

Slade lightly placed his index finger on her throat and dragged it slowly down her neck, sliding it between her heaving breasts down her sternum and her belly, then over the rise of her hip. Raven couldn't stifle her moans as he moved upward, his fingers going underneath her shirt, to expose both breasts. His fingers began to worship them, squeezing her now erect nipples. She bucked against him, instinctively grinding her hips hard as the sensation shot straight between her legs.

"You like that?" he murmured darkly against her soft flesh. Raven gave an encouraging moan. "That's my apprentice. So wanton." He gently brought her hands up to her own chest. "Come now. Show me how you would touch yourself. Show me how you would come." Tentatively, she began to cup her full curves and tease her nipples, eliciting an appreciative groan from her master.

"Don't be shy, little bird. Show me…" He covered her hands with his. He gently began to guide her hands down her tapered waist to the curve of her full hip. Her eyes were glazed slightly as they followed the path of their hands, her lips parting as her breathing quickened. Slade coaxed her even further, so their fingers brushed against her cunt.

"How do you touch yourself when you're alone?" Slade whispered. He moved his legs apart, spreading her legs farther apart. He could feel the panic in her breathing, the fear mixed with the relentless want caused by the aphrodisiac. He ripped her pants to expose her pussy. "Like this?" He cupped a warm, reassuring hand over hers. He gently parted the flesh to give her access to herself, sliding their fingers into her pussy. "I know here…" Slade guided their fingers to her tender clit, and she bucked frantically, her eyes wide, as she slowly lost herself to desire.

"Master… Master…" she frantically murmured. Slade watched her face twist in pleasure, before she finally dropped her head onto his shoulder as her moans became more and more wanton. Raven rubbed hard, fast circles onto her clit, her body reaching a fever pitch. Slade mirrored her actions, spreading open her glistening lips.

She slid a single finger in and back out, slick with her juices. Raven was about to add in another when Slade deftly slipped his own finger alongside hers. His was longer, reached farther. He curled it, and she arched back wanting, needing more.

"Yes apprentice?" he asked, his voice lowering dangerously. "Is there something you want?"

"Let me come… Let me…" It was hypnotic the way her lips were parted, the way she bucked underneath their shared ministrations, the way her glazed eyes could only focus on him. "Master… Please… So close…"

She was abandoning herself to these new heavy waves of pleasure. The pressure slowly grew, too slowly, too intensely, so that it was overwhelming and unbearable. Raven was being consumed by desire.

And with that, he pulled their fingers away from her cunt. She whined at the loss of feeling, bucking her hips at in a vain attempt to feel something, anything to fill the void left by their fingers.

"Now, now little bird. Enough." She whined in protest as he attached a leash to her silver collar. "You are but the apprentice." Slade yanked her leash, pulling her back toward him, his whisper tickling her ear. She felt a heady rush of arousal as the collar around her neck began to tighten. "I'm your master. You are mine to command, mine to control, and you, my dear, will obey my every order—especially if you want to come tonight."

Slade ran his fingers down her spine, moving her so her ass was up in the air, her legs spread wantonly for him. She saw him reach into his belt and pull out a vibrator. Raven gasped as he shoved it up her tight heat, sending her in a sex-crazed haze.

She was completely at his mercy, writhing in pure, unadulterated pleasure with the most delicious noises coming out of her mouth. The vibrations from the toy were teasing her already wound up body. Slade could hear the buzzing from inside of her. She was bucking her hips, whining incoherently, her beautiful amethyst eyes so focused on him. So anxious to please him. So needy.

Generally, he would have loved to watch her eyes, watch how they widened in anticipation, closed with pleasure, lowered in submission. Today, however, was a lesson in control, a lesson in learning that she was his to use and discard however he wished.

Gently, Slade grabbed a silken cloth and tied it around her eyes. She fell to the darkness under his touch. Raven whimpered at the loss of her sight of him, but Slade stroked her head soothingly. "Behave…" he murmured, his voice laced with warning. She obediently settled down, bowing her head demurely.

"Don't come until I tell you to." Slade lifted her chin gently, his thumb parting her swollen lips. "Can you do that pet?"

Raven nodded her head frantically.

"We'll see…" He laughed. Helping her to the ground, he took hold of her leash. "Hands and knees, apprentice. Follow me." Slade yanked her collar, and she immediately crawled after him

She felt the heat flood her system, wanted so badly to give in. The dildo's vibrations caused her to feel the guttural need come up from her lower body to well in the pit of her stomach. She was so close. Just a little more. If she just reached down and…

Raven forced those thoughts out of her head. She had to obey her master. Another yank of the collar caused her to move faster. Raven desperately tried to keep up, tried to do anything but think of the burning between her thighs. She could feel the cool metal of her collar, the tightness of her spandex sticking to her skin. Her breasts heaved with every gasp for air, sweat beading down the valley of her breasts. She could hear Slade's calm, measured steps. She couldn't see him, but she could sense him, could feel his emotions rolling off him like a wave—the excitement, the sweet anticipation, and the dark desire to punish every part of her.

"Almost there, little bird." The collar tightened around her throat as he wrenched her back. She heard a clanking of his armor and the briefest snort of amusement. Raven felt his armor pressing up against her burning skin, his free hand giving her nipple a tantalizing squeeze. His fingers dipped down to brush her swollen clit.

Raven saw stars, falling to the floor from the frenzied pleasure, her hips still bucking wildly, as she became nothing more than a quivering mess on the floor. She was trying her best not to, to obey, but it's like the dam had broken and she found herself helplessly finding that much needed release. Slade held onto her, stroking her sweat-soaked face.

"Naughty girl. I did tell you not to come, didn't I?" He grabbed her hair, pulling her up to his eye level. She whimpered from the pain and the pulse of pleasure. "I see I have to punish you further."

Her face flushed. The idea made her even wetter.

She heard a rustle in front of her before she felt rope over her wrists, looping and wrapping around to form handcuffs. Slade gave it an aggressive tug, fingers running over her pulse points, before he aggressively tied a second rope to the cuffs before securing it to something. She strained to see beyond the blindfold, but all she could see was darkness.

"Hands above your head." Raven obediently raised her arms, and she heard a clink of a metal. Slade's hands fell away, releasing her so that her toes barely touched the ground. She dangled in the frigid air, hair cascading over her eyes, her body straining against the tightness of her apprentice uniform, the rope digging into her skin.

"Comfortable?" Slade slid both hands along her flanks. "Perhaps a bit too comfortable." She heard a ripping sound and suddenly, her constraining shirt fell away. Her pants were unceremoniously yanked down and discarded along with her soaked panties. Without her sight, her other senses were heightened. Raven strained her ears as she heard him walk away and back again, a heady mix of fear and anticipation shooting through her system with each echoing step.

"Do you deserve to be punished?" he asked huskily. She braced for impact of something, anything, but instead felt soft leather tails slithered down her back before stopping at the curve of her ass.

"Yes, master." Raven rubbed her legs together eagerly.

"Why?"

"Because I… disobeyed you." It was getting harder and harder to concentrate on his words as he rolled his hips, so she could feel how hard he was. Raven wanted to wrap her lips around his cock, fuck herself on it until she was sore. She arched his back against him. His lack of response prompted her to try to go on. "Because I… was… disrespectful," she managed to mumble.

"Close." Slade abruptly brought down the flogger across her upper back. She cried out from the blow, but as he continued to strike her, she began to familiarize herself with his rhythm, began to relish the biting sting of pain and pleasure.

"It's because you need to remember your place, little bird," he hissed in her ear. Slade grabbed her hair and wrenched her head back, causing her to gasp with surprise. "You need to remember what you are." He upped the force of his strikes, making her jump and twitch all over again. "You need to remember who you belong to."

The blows kept raining down, unrelenting, unyielding. The pain barely has time to dissipate before the next one arrived. The bone-deep agony began to run together with the pleasure as her senses began to become a blur.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you…" she moaned after every crack of the whip. Her arousal had burst into full flame. She could feel everything, hear everything. Feel the heat and pain of her abused back. The stiffness of her shoulders. The chafe of the rope at her wrists. The wetness trickling down her thighs. His breath, so steady, finally uneven. His blows becoming less rhythmic, more frantic, needier.

"Why are you thanking me?" Slade asked tightly, as if he was barely holding his own arousal.

She strained against her bonds, trying desperately to touch him. "Because I deserve to be punished for being such a disobedient apprentice."

He gave her another good whack, this time against her ass. "Good girl." She moaned at the sting, rolling her hips with the blow. Slade laughed, "It's impossible to punish you, isn't it?" He ran his hand lightly up her leg before resting on her hip. "You're such a dirty slut that you're getting off on your punishment. Aren't you?"

His fingers slid down to her folds and found her arousal dribbling down her legs. "Look at you. Such a fucking whore, practically cumming from pain alone." She gave a small noise of protest, but he just continued lower to use his fingers to slide deliciously over her clit. "You want to cum, don't you?"

"Yes, master," she moaned lewdly, spreading her legs wider. "Please… Please…"

"Did you learn your lesson?"

"Yes. Yes. Yes." His finger began to tentatively spread the folds of her pussy. She loathed how he could make her feel like this, reduce her to this incoherent mess of arousal and need. "I'll obey you," Raven babbled. "I'll do everything you ask of me. Please… Please… Please…"

"Who do you belong to?" he asked softly. Their minds were tangling together, wrapping around each other so the thoughts of lust and desire began to fall away and left something Raven didn't want to see.

"You. Only you."

"Good girl. As your reward…" Slade's fingers traced circles around her swollen flesh before his fingertips just brushed against her wet pussy. "Be a good girl and fuck yourself on my fingers."

She dutifully obeyed. Raven dragged herself down onto his fingers, pulling herself up with the ropes around her wrists. If she angled her hips just right, his fingers curled against her g-spot, and her body tightened around him, taking his fingers even deeper as she rolled her hips.

"That's it, apprentice." His mask pressed itself up against her chest. "Fuck yourself harder."

Her thighs burned, and her cheeks joined them as she tried to work herself up into a frenzy. Raven twisted against the rope, jerking her hips further down onto the filthy slip of his fingers.

"Cum for me" she heard through the haze. "Cum, little bird."

She didn't need to be told twice. She was sent spinning into her climax, grinding desperately against his hand, as her release tore through her in a dizzying rush. Raven collapsed against his solid chest, panting heavily, completely spent. Sweat sheened her body, her skin now a rosy red. "Mast..er…"

"Good girl." His hands slipped under her legs and raised them onto what she thought could be a sling. Deft fingers freed her bound hands, only to place them behind her back and into some sort of restraint. Raven felt him experimentally tug at the slings, checking that they were secure. "Learn your lesson?"

She lowered her head obediently. "Yes, master."

"Good." He reached down to press the pad of his thumbs against the slick bundle of nerves at the top of her slit until she was bucking against him. She pulled desperately against her restraints, already aching with the need to be fucked deliciously with his cock.

His baritone voice caressed her ears, his fingers wrapping around her waist with an iron grip. "In that case… I believe an incentive for next time is in order…"

She wasn't prepared for the sudden press of his flesh against her own, for the press of his cock against her entrance. He filled her with one sweet thrust, burying himself in her. Slade began to fuck her without regard, using her, filling her. His cock sunk into the folds of her deliciously wet pussy, reminding her with each thrust who she belonged to.

"You are perfection," he whispered frantically. "That's the way you fucking slut, fuck, fuck…" His desperation matched her own, and she lost herself to him, giving herself freely, rolling her hips in time to his rhythm. His mask had long since been abandoned as he sucked her tits and bit her neck, leaving hickeys along her collarbone to make sure everyone knew that she was undoubtedly his. She cried out as he nipped her earlobe before slamming his cock all the way to the hilt, his grip digging into her bruised back.

Raven bucked against him, her walls clamping against him. She spiraled out of control as the high clouded her brain and she came messily around his cock. It was enough to send him careening over the edge as he released inside of her.

"You're mine," he growled. His teeth sunk into her neck, drawing blood, as he marked her as his, his, his, his. "You belong to me, body and soul."

She collapsed against him, riding through the aftershocks. Slade caught her limp, gasping form, letting her catch her breath. "I'm yours, master," Raven murmured breathlessly in his ear. "Only yours."

"Good." He began to carefully ease her out of the restraints. He lifted her up, one arm looping under her legs, the other supporting the unmarked part of her back. "I doubt I will have to punish you again, will I?"

Raven wound her arms around his neck, nuzzling his collarbone. "No, master."

He pressed up against her, his finger brushing against her still dripping cunt. "Though I'm sure you wouldn't mind if I did." Slade smirked when she thrust her hips back to meet him, her lips letting out a groan.

"Lovely, my little bird," he chuckled. "But perhaps another time." Slade held her more tightly in his arms as he navigated his way through his base. Opening a nearby door, he entered his living quarters and lowered Raven to the bed, laying her so her back was exposed to him. He ran a finger down her spine before stopping at the curve of her ass, quietly admiring his handiwork.

"Enjoy that, Raven?" Slade asked, finally calling the game to a close. He gently unwound the blindfold and caressed her cheek before unbuckling her collar and tossing it carelessly away. Slade helped her stretch out on her stomach before he began to gingerly dab lotion over the garden of bruises on her back. As he began to knead her aching muscles, Raven moaned as the knots of tension began to unwind under his careful touch.

"I should certainly hope so," she laughed. Blinking from the sudden flood of light, Raven turned her head back to give him a cheeky grin. "Remind me to return the favor next time."

"I look forward to it." Slade settled himself next to her, pulling her toward him. "You were a very good apprentice," he murmured in her ear.

"I'm glad to be of service." Raven rubbed her nose against his. "Was it everything you wanted it to be?"

"And more." His fingers floated to touch her cheek before ghosting down to cup her chin. He leaned in closer and suddenly he was close, too close. She never realized how blue his eye was, how warm his hands could be, and Raven wanted nothing more than to lean in and close the distance that had settled between them.

But then he pulled away, and suddenly, Slade had never seemed so far. "We should get some sleep," he said, his eye trying to look at anywhere but her. The line that had blurred between the was now drawn once again.

"Right." There was something in her eyes that he couldn't quite read. Was it disappointment? Hurt? The emotion faded as soon as it had begun before he could right it. Raven gave him a small, sad smile before she kissed him on the corner of his mouth. She stroked his face tenderly, too tenderly. The way she touched him was like that of a lover's, sweet, gentle, kind.

"Good night, Slade." Raven's eyes were heavy with sleep as she pressed a kiss to his hair.

—

She fell asleep easily after that; Slade remained awake for a long, long time.

—

—

Sometimes, there was no way to find the answer to "What's wrong?" because nothing is right.

In Raven's case, it was easy to find the answer because she was the thing that was wrong.

Hell, she wasn't even supposed to be born—she was a child of stupidity and trickery, the bastard daughter of the Devil and a girl too foolish to know what she was getting herself into.

She most certainly wasn't supposed to be here after her father's (albeit temporary) return. The spell should have killed her, and yet here she was, still here, still alive with her father's powers at her fingertips and his demons at her command.

And by Azar and the Seven Circles of Hell, she sure wasn't supposed to think about pursuing a romantic relationship with anyone—much less her enemy who had tormented her and her friends and who had only fallen into her bed because of her father's dying, final joke.

But of all the things that were wrong with her, Slade was probably the least of all evils.

What they had wasn't wrong, but it sure as hell wasn't right.

It was just sex. (Or at least it was supposed to be.) No strings attached. No feelings. No messes to clean up. Just sex.

It was just supposed to be sex. (Right? Right? Right?)

Now, she wasn't so sure.

(Because she started wanting more.)

This should be enough. She had never thought that she would even be here past the End. Her life right now was good—stressful, tiring, frustrating, but good.

It would be okay to keep things like this.

(But the what if's seemed to have tattooed themselves onto her skin.)

It was selfish of her. Her life was good as it was. She had her kids, the Titans…even him.

She could live like this.

Around Slade, she didn't have to walk around egg shells. She didn't have to reign herself in and keep him at arm's length. She showed him everything and he accepted it in turn, the worst in her, the best in her, all of her—for better or worse.

Around him, she could just be herself. Not the spawn of Satan. Not a hero. Just Raven, pure and simple.

In turn, she saw him for who he was. Nothing more. Nothing less. Slade… Deathstroke… Slade Wilson… They were all one of the same. Parts of him, but not all of him.

In the end, she saw that he, like her, was just human underneath, and she cherished him for him, faults and all.

Raven wanted him to be in her life. Permanently.

She wanted him to stay by her side.

She kept having a recurring dream in which Slade, his blue eye shining with hope and love and everything in between, asks her softly if she ever wanted more with him. She would think of Malchior, of her father, of her mother, and she would say, "I don't know" and all the words she wished she had the courage to say just wouldn't come out.

The things she wanted to tell him would change every time—only three little words ever stayed the same. Dreams and reality would blur when Raven would look at him in the darkness and see all the mistakes they would make. (But when she looked at him, she wanted to make them all anyway.)

He wasn't Malchior, or her father—she could trust him with everything—her friends, her kids, her life, her heart. But she wasn't her mother. She wasn't Addie. At the end of the day, she was nothing more than a ticking time bomb that couldn't give him what he deserved.

His last failed relationship involved him losing an eye. A failed relationship with her would involve Hell on Earth. The stakes were just a bit higher, to say the least.

This shouldn't be happening. (But it was.)

It was like the End of the world all over again—there was nothing either of them could do to stop it.

But on nights like these, it was harder to answer the question: "What's wrong?" because everything seemed so right.

It was in the way that he held her close, with arms like castles wrapping around her waist, and in the way she would run her fingers down his cheek before tangling them in his hair, and in the way that his blue eye would only look at her. It was in the way he buried his face in her hair, reveling in her—her touch, her scent, her warmth, and in the way she reached out to intertwine their fingers together and closed the distance between them and the way that he would give her that piercing look again, that look that told her—even without her powers—that he would never do anything to hurt her.

And for the briefest, sweetest, bitterest moment, she realized that this had become so very real.

It was on those nights that she would look at him and think quietly to herself that maybe, just maybe falling in love with him wouldn't be so bad.

—

—

("I love you," she would whisper, on nights like these, when he was finally fast asleep. The words felt like hellfire on her tongue and a sin in her heart. Her voice would break. "I love you.")

—

She was terrified that he wouldn't say those words back.

—

And I oop—we caught feelings… Fun…

It'll be fun to start including more plot within these with interludes, especially as other things get in the way. That being said, I think I will stick to my rule of 1 interlude is only allowed if I post a new chapter, so stay tuned.

Questions? Comments? Concerns? Constructive Criticism? If so, drop a note in that abnormally large box below!