The door clicked shut behind them as Raven and Slade reentered their room. Raven stood in the narrow hallway of the entry, the heat of Slade's palm still on her lower back, lingering.

"Nice job, partner," Slade whispered in her ear, his breath stirring the dangling hair.

Raven swallowed, taking a step forward and out of his immediate reach. The tips of his fingers grazed the small of her back as she moved, and she suppressed a shudder.

"We should have stayed," she sputtered out, striding into the main room with rushed steps. "To watch the other fights," she added as she deftly unhooked her cloak, draping it over a chair, needing to do something with her fidgeting hands.

"Why's that?"

His voice swept over Raven as she stood in the center of the bedroom. It was low, quiet, and daring. Raven glanced over her shoulder, peeking through purple strands as Slade removed his mask. His chin tilted up as he looked down at her with a closed-lip smirk slowly building.

Raven met his eye as he watched her. "Shouldn't we keep an eye on the other matches?" she said softly, her words slowing the longer she kept his stare.

"No," Slade drawled, "the other fights don't matter. We saw what we needed to see. Besides, I prefer this view."

What the fuck, Raven thought as a flush crept over her.

"Very funny," she said with as much hostility as she could manage.

Slade's grin widened, and it seemed to Raven that a completely different kind of insanity had come over him than what she was used to. It was like a challenge had been placed in front of him, and rather than the homicidal psychopathy that she was sure drove him on most days, now he seemed to be relishing in overcoming whatever obstacle Raven had set to deter him.

"You enjoyed yourself today," Slade continued, walking forward and tossing the mask onto a couch cushion. Raven instinctively stepped around to face him, unwilling to give him her back while that glimmer of madness touched his face.

Raven scoffed. "What are you talking about?"

Slade stopped in front of her, a few inches away and tilted his head down to look at her. "I'm talking about you enjoying embarrassing Zatanna. Throwing her across a room. Getting the best of her and leaving no doubt for anyone watching that you are the more powerful one."

The brows on Raven's head rose and she laughed once. "That's not…"

Before she could finish, Slade's finger was against her lips as if shushing her. "Don't lie, Raven," he whispered. "It doesn't suit you."

Raven's eyes dilated, the sensation of Slade's finger tingling the skin of her lip. The grin on Slade's face changed as they stared at each other, and his hand slowly moved, twisting so the finger on her lips swept across her cheek and under her chin while his thumb replaced it on her lips. The pad of his thumb gently pressed on her lower lip before pulling it down, opening her mouth just slightly. Raven's body felt light and yet she was anchored to her spot, unable to move as her blood stilled but her heart thundered.

Slade… bad guy. Bad guy. BAD GUY.

The rational thought was screaming at her as he leaned down, but images of him in their room flashed faster. The devil-may-care grin. The bright blue eye. The outline of muscles all over…

The moment his thumb left her lips another sensation replaced it, and even as rational thought was silenced, she couldn't quite believe what was happening. She felt the stirring in her stomach as lips pressed on hers, a hand snaking around her waist, drawing her into a hard wall of a body and gripping her back. Tension froze her body as the sudden silence was replaced by an ever faster torrent of conflicting thoughts, but Slade only pressed her closer, his mouth moving over hers until a feverish desire won out and Raven responded in kind.

The second Slade felt a returned pressure, they were moving. He lifted Raven off her feet, his hands gripping the bottom of her thighs with a nearly painful hold as he took three steps forward and slammed Raven's back against the nearest wall.

Raven grunted at the contact, but she didn't pull away as he pinned her there with his body. His hands moved deftly over the sides of her body, one going up and gripping her neck to deepen the kiss. She moaned softly as his hand squeezed her backside, and she felt the rush of excitement in him, the powerful emotion impossible to block out.

Distantly, in her mind, something whispered, bad guy.

In response, she bit down on Slade's lip, hard enough that he sucked in a sharp breath before bringing a hand to her throat, forcing her head back and breaking the contact. Raven looked up at him through lowered lids, an innocent smile twitching her lips upward. Slade's eye burned with amusement, and he ran his tongue over his lower lip where she had bitten him.

"Careful what games you play with me, Raven," he breathed. "You might regret it."

Raven's smirk was quickly replaced with a gasp as Slade moved on her, his mouth latching onto the nape of her neck, kissing and biting his way back up to her mouth as one hand fisted in her hair, pulling at the roots.

The sensations were overwhelming. Her head was emptying of the warnings trying desperately to get through as her own hands betrayed the rush of desire coursing through her. Heat built between them as they embraced, the almost violent nature of their interaction spilling over the room as Slade picked her up and moved her, bumping into chairs and knocking over a lamp as he threw them both onto the bed. Sheets twisted as hands moved, tugging at clothes and gripping body parts while lust took hold. Slade's torso was nearly bare, and Raven's top was being pulled away when the sound of three quick, forceful raps against the door shattered the rhythm of the breathing in their room.

Raven and Slade both froze, their eyes looking toward the entry, as if wondering if it had been a trick of the mind.

Then…

"Are you quite done in there?" the voice was light and sarcastic and muffled, but to Raven, it was clear as day.

"Constantine," she whispered in horror, looking at Slade above her. His hair and clothes were disheveled, and she could only imagine she looked the same.

"Get. Off," she hissed, pushing against his chest with as much force as she could without using her magic to send him flying.

Slade grunted, rolling his eyes but obliging. Raven launched herself from the bed, rearranging her clothes and patting the top of her head as she went to the door, taking a steady breath before gently pulling it open just enough to see Constantine leaning against the frame on the other side.

"Raven!" Constatine said jovially, a charming smile on his face. "Lovely to see you again, deary. Now, if you don't mind," he announced, pushing the door open and moving beneath Raven's outstretched arm and straight into the room.

"Constantine, wait!" Raven said, a fresh feeling of dread consuming her.

Without a second of hesitation, Constantine strode over to the small sofa, plopping himself onto it and kicking his feet up on the table.

"Well, this is quaint," Constantine said, his eyes scanning over the room. "I see you two got stuck with only one bed as well. Not that I've minded my arrangements with Z."

Raven's face had completely paled, her throat constricting. Slade sat on the bed, his mask off and the most annoyed expression she'd ever seen plastered on his face.

"What the hell do you want, Constantine?" Slade snapped at him.

"Such hostility," Constantine complained with mock hurt. "I simply came to talk. Didn't realize I'd be interrupting."

Raven thought she might throw up or pass out. "It… it's not what it looks like," she tried, but the words were pathetic even to her ears.

"Huh?" Constantine quirked a brow at her, his face genuinely confused, and then, "Ah! I suppose you aren't privy to the League gossips, though, honestly, Bats is the worst. Anyways, trust me, Raven, I am not one to judge. I'm not exactly strict about the company I keep. Normally I would've just come back later, but I'd rather no one else know I came by. And since everyone else is still watching the matches, this was the perfect opportunity."

"Opportunity for what?" Slade asked, and Raven's jaw was slack as she looked at them both.

Was he serious? she thought to herself. Constantine had just caught her with Slade. And he… didn't care?

"A warning," Constantine said, his face growing serious. "Something else is happening here, and I've got a pretty good feeling Faust is involved."

"And how do you know that?" Slade pushed.

Constantine smirked, an eerily similar grin to Slade's. "Because he's always involved, mate. Especially when it comes to powerful magic. Which that amulet definitely is."

This isn't real, Raven thought, still reeling. There was no way Constantine, a League member, just didn't care that Raven was about to get into bed with Slade Wilson.

"Very convincing," Slade snorted.

"It ought to be," Constantine fired back, "since I'm the one that usually has to deal with that twat. And this is exactly the kind of thing he and Neron would cook up. Don't tell me the notorious Slade hasn't noticed that all of Faust's fights have had his team at an advantage."

Slade was quiet for a moment, and when he didn't immediately respond, Constantine nodded.

"I didn't think so. Faust is being given advantages to ensure he advances. Everyone else seems to be on equal playing field, except…"

"Us," Slade finished.

Raven's brows raised. They had talked about the neutrality of the arena when preparing for the fight. It had seemed that it was setup to allow both teams to fully utilize it, and she had certainly counted on that today, but if Slade thought differently….

Slade's eye flicked towards her, and he frowned. "I suspected," he clarified to her, "but I wasn't certain, and the arena appears to be neutral for every other fight. I thought it was unrelated."

Constantine chuckled. "It's never unrelated. You were never supposed to win your first fight, Raven."

Raven turned to Constantine, a sudden anger in her. "Yeah, I heard enough about that the day of. I was supposed to throw the fight, I get it."

Constantine put his palms up, "Easy, that's not what I meant. And, while we're at it, I know Z's been… difficult to you. She's got her prejudices, no denying, but for me, you're hardly the first demon I've encountered, and as long as you don't go calling daddy back to Earth, I have no quarrel with you. Hell, my best friend is basically a demon.

"What I was referring to was that the so-called Master of Games didn't want you to advance. That first arena was built for Bane and Scarecrow. Not to mention pairing you with Slade. I doubt even he planned on the two of you working so well together. Which, I have to say, you really have been putting on quite the show. That entrance today," Constantine kissed the air like he was a chef after preparing a perfect dish.

"What exactly are you saying?" Raven asked, a twisting feeling in her stomach.

Constantine's cheery expression faded a bit. "Someone wanted you dead," he said simply. "They didn't just want you out of the tournament; they wanted you out of the way, permanently. Even today, that arena was better suited for magic, meaning only one of you really benefitted while both of us held the advantage, but again, the two of you outsmarted it, and you kept Slade in the fight. Not to mention, Z's been particularly set on throwing you off. Honestly, I'm not entirely sure why. And before you say it," he added, seeing the flicker of rage across Raven's features, "I don't think she's involved. At least not intentionally.

"More likely, she's being manipulated, and unfortunately, her bias is getting in the way of her seeing it. I tried reasoning with her, but after Scarecrow's death, there was nothing I could say that changed her mind. I knew she would use it against you during our match, so I made sure Robin told you before the fight."

"Your genius is truly inspiring, Constantine," Slade mocked, a disgusted look on his face. "You do realize that revelation nearly derailed everything for us, right?"

Constantine shot an annoyed expression at Slade. "You should have told her when she woke up," he snapped. "If she went into that arena without knowing, Zatanna would have sprung it on her. I know that for a fact. And how, oh strategic one, do you think that would have gone?"

Slade was about to fire back when Raven interrupted, "He's right, Slade," Raven said, her voice somber. "She tried to use it against me anyway, and even if we won, it still bothered me. I don't think I would've been able to focus if I hadn't already known."

Slade's teeth gritted as he stared daggers at Constantine, but he didn't argue. Constantine also didn't press it, but he did give Raven a sympathetic look.

"For what's it worth, Raven," he said, "I'm no angel, either, but that doesn't mean I like to be reminded of it. We do what we have to, and that's the cold truth. Sometimes, saving people isn't as pretty as my esteemed colleagues like to believe. Sometimes, it means cheating and lying and doing things that stain the soul, but that doesn't mean it isn't the right thing to do."

Raven nodded, but in her heart, she didn't know if she truly agreed. The road to hell is paved with good intentions. The classic line echoed in her head, but she ignored it, trying to focus on the problem at hand.

"If you think this is Neron and Faust," Raven asked, "then why did you throw the fight? You've dealt with them before, why not try to advance and fight them head on?"

Slade lifted an eyebrow, shooting her a curious look.

Constantine grinned widely, "Simple," he said, "because I don't want to do what they want. They wanted me and Z to move on. They didn't want you and Slade to move past round one. Which means, they don't want to fight the two of you. Why? I have no idea, but I suspect if I just sit back and let the two of you handle things from here, you'll do my job for me."

Slade and Raven both stared at him in disbelief.

"So!" Constantine said with his jovially voice, "best of luck, you two. I look forward to watching you win. Now, I need to get back to being hospitalized before someone notices." Constantine jumped to his feet, his trench coat flaring behind him as he walked to the door. Before he left, he called over his shoulder, "And you both need to get back to celebrating. Who knows, it might be your last chance!"

Then, the door to the room closed and Raven and Slade were left alone again.

Slade sighed, his hand rubbing his temple. He looked toward Raven with a frustrated expression. "I don't suppose you know who the fuck Neron is?"

Raven's shoulders sagged, and she nodded, "He's a demon-lord."

Slade closed his eye, a long breath exhaling as he clicked his tongue, "Perfect." His blue eye opened after a moment, scanning the fallen lamp, the twisted sheets before roaming slowly over Raven's body. With an annoyed sigh, he patted the space beside him on the bed. "Well, I guess you better tell me more."

Raven's mouth twitched in a smile briefly before she walked over and sat next to him, launching into everything she knew about Neron and the chaos he sowed. Slade listened intently, and a few hours later, they had readjusted their strategy to deal with the potentiality of Neron's interference. By the time they were prepared for sleep both were exhausted and frustrated, the day's fight and planning taking their toll.

Raven was sitting in the bed, watching Slade as he removed the last layers of his clothes. Flashes of heat crossed her skin as she saw the muscles move and flex. Her hand touched her neck, remembering the sensation of his mouth there.

"Slade," she said, her voice quiet but certain.

He turned his head to her, waiting.

Raven kept his stare before saying, "You know I can't let you win this, right?"

Slade chuckled once, his blue eye gleaming, "I wouldn't expect anything else."

Raven nodded, not breaking eye contact. "Good," she said, and her hand drifted to the mattress beside her before patting it twice, "just so we're clear."

Slade grinned, dropping the rest of his clothes before climbing into the bed beside her. With a snap of Raven's fingers, the light flicked off, and Raven let herself fully delve into the heat and rush, silently praying that Constantine could keep his damn mouth shut.

A/N: Hope y'all enjoy this chapter! As always, thanks for reading and interacting with the story. I have been so insanely busy the past several weeks, it took quite a while for me to even have a chance to write. I finally just sat down tonight and wrote until it was done. A bit of a spicy chapter today, but I do want to keep this rated T, so nothing too crazy.