Cain Valentine (:: Slain [ ♥ ])

Total accident. Same hotel, same auction, same target. Red Velvet is on scene to steal the show (and the old Egyptian urn rumored to have magical ashes within them), and the last person he expected to run into was Deathstroke. Everyone knows who Deathstroke is, the world's greatest mercenary, but Red Velvet's reputation is still fresh, still new, and a big gun like Slade wouldn't keep tabs on every new irrevelant psycho villain that's popped up. There is a skirmish between the two as Cain hides the urn within one of the cards in his deck, but ultimately hands it over to the serious business killer-for-hire when he is alerted by Alastair that the ashes were fradulent, possessing no magical properties. All of that fighting for no reason, a total shame, yet a totally fun time, leaving him with no regrets. With a flap of his velvet cape, the curtain is called, and that should have been the end of that.

Except they keep meeting. Coincidence after coincidence piles up. When they are both invited by an organization, The Light, to sit at the table, they are shocked to once again run into each other. Cain isn't a believer of fate, believes chaos should be the ruling force of the universe, but this is something different. It becomes a game to him now, popping up in the middle of Deathstroke's business affairs to spend his free time. Sometimes offering his services to help out in fulfilling Deathstroke's contracts, much to the latter's chagrin but secret appreciation concerning all the time and money saved. As annoying as the brat was, he was damn good at what he did, and magic sure as hell sped up the process, with the added bonus that he didn't even ask for a cut of the profits. And just like that, their destinies became intertwined, and the unlikely pair became partners in crime — and eventually, partners in everything else too.

On the surface, one would have great difficulty explaining how the pair could even function together, like water and oil. Cain is young, excitable, passionate, and Slade is older, jaded, phlegmatic. Cain wants the spotlight on him and Slade operates in the shadows. But instead of being a source of repellant, their contrasts draw them nearer, affecting their perspective and changing everything they thought they knew about themselves. The brightness Cain brings into Slade's world reminds him of the past, not in a grossly oversentimental or nostalgic way, certainly not in a "glory of ages past" sense, but in a way that makes the world seem simpler instead of the giant Rubik's cube he knows it to be. Cain enters his life with the subtlety of an explosion, rearranging it as he sees fit, from minor interior design changes to the way Slade conducts his business, and were it anybody else, they would have a bullet wound or ten to show for it. But no, as Wintergreen points out time and time again to his friend, Cain brings wonder and excitement and even joy into Slade's life, and the kid is so stubborn about staying that Slade's usual tactic of pushing out people he cares about cannot stick — "and thank God for that," Wintergreen would say.

As for Cain, the boy who's lived his entire life simultaneously wanting everyone to adore him while keeping them at a distance, a performer-and-his-audience relationship, he's more than familiar with trying to prevent attachments. And yet, all caution is thrown out the window concerning matters of Slade. It was adoration at first sight, though perhaps first shot would be more accurate. Slade becomes a grounding force for Cain, so constant, so infallible, so admirable, that he cannot help but attach to him like a parasite, looking for his approval long before they officially began working together. A "did you see that?" after performing a gaudy magic trick, or getting Slade out of the crosshairs and into safety just in the nick of time, showboating his capabilities and perceiving even a simple acknowledgement as praise. The best part is, he does get acknowledgement from Slade, and he gets addicted to the feelings and sensations that come with it: the hastened heartbeat, the fuzzy brain, and the stomach butterflies. Even years into their relationship, those feelings have never vanished, making Slade the one consistent person, place, and thing in Cain's life.

This does not mean their relationship is not without its rocks in the road. Slade is Cain's first in many things, most notably love, and the gap between their experience presents itself during arguments or disagreements. Cain is petty, selfish, and at times, downright childish. It's hard for him to explain how he feels when normally he doesn't feel at all, and Slade, who knows how he feels, can sometimes disregard him, insensitive to the boy's irregulated emotions. There are many instances where Slade feels like their relationship is a mistake, not on his own behalf but the other's, but then that's how he knows he's in deep, when he even bothers to consider someone else. The best way to deal with Cain when he's upset, he's found, is to disengage, give him space, then return shortly after to talk it out. Don't take too long or he'll throw a tantrum, except when Cain throws a tantrum, reality begins to distort, which is not a good time. Luckily, the pair's worst fights are few and far in-between, and they are more likely to argue about the decisions their favorite character makes in a shitty soap opera than they are to stand on opposing sides.

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• Their favorite TV program to watch together is a melodramatic 30-season-long soap opera titled "The Gallant and the Gorgeous," in which they make commentary throughout the entire thing.
• Slade had various nicknames for Red Velvet before they became formally acquainted, including but not limited to Houdini, Criss Angel, and Copperfield.