Snippet - Blog Posts

Secrets - part 1

Note : Adrian, Ash and Alex are all unisex names, so you're free to imagine your preferred gender in your head ^^

Adrian groans, staring at the blank notebook in front of them. They were supposed to write an essay which is to be submitted tomorrow but they can't seem to find the thing called motivation for the life of them. They've just been feeling so lazy and they can't figure out why.

Even though they may just look like any normal college student who's struggling with their classes, they had another, quite major role to play in society- they were the Hero, and as the title suggests, their job description consists of fighting off villains, rescuing normal civilians, smiling, and more smiling. Adrian wouldn't admit it, but it did get tiring at times. And recently, they've been having to go to these night escapades a lot, since their nemesis, Villain, true to their job description has been causing mischief the entire past week, making Adrian bite off more than they can chew. Thankfully they weren't any serious crimes and most of the time, Adrian felt like they were dealing with a child seeking attention.

And thus here they are, tired of being productive and procrastinating like tomorrow doesn't exist. Oh how they wished that being a hero gave them some leverages in college, but their superiors would bite their head off if word got out. Being a hero was sworn to secrecy, kind of like a secret agent, except in this case, Adrian has to play an entirely different persona.

They groan again, just in time as their friend /roommate walks into the room. "Hey, what's up? Did you get that homework done?"

Adrian gives them a look like they're staring into the void, "You think I'll look like this if I did?"

Their roommate Alex sighed, clearly to them it didn't look like Adrian was going to be done anytime soon and it was already 12 am. They just wanted to sleep, without having to listen to Adrian's groans of agony throughout the night.

"Okay, you clearly need a change of pace so I'll call up this other friend of mine who's great at studying. I met them during a group project and they're like so good!"

Adrian scoffs, but allows Alex to do whatever they want to. It's not like they were bad at studying, they just didn't feel like doing it right now.

Adrian almost dozes off when they hear a loud knock. Alex literally skips over to the door, opening it and eagerly welcoming their new friend into the room. Adrian manages to sit up, still groggy and shakes their head, trying to get themselves to wake up. Once their eyelids cooperate enough, they look up to find two pairs of worried expressions thrown towards them. They immediately whirl around, facing the opposite way, embarrassment eating up their cheeks.

"Uhm, are they okay?" A voice that Adrian has never heard before speaks up. They guess that they're the friend who studies oh so well.

"Well, they're generally better than this, just on lower spirits today." Alex tries to speak up for their roommate.

After explaining the situation to the newcomer, Alex disappears into the quarters of their room with a friendly, "just call out if you need anything!"

Adrian sighs, wanting nothing more then to curl up in their blankets and fall asleep while watching something on their laptop. They were so inside their head, that they failed to notice soft footsteps approaching them and nearly jumped out of their skin when they felt a gentle touch on their shoulders. The said person immediately took a few steps back, clearly flustered by Adrian's reaction.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to surprise you." They speak out, voice sincere.

Adrian immediately felt guilty. They were here for their sake, to help them finish their assignment and here they were, being most possibly the rudest person on the planet. "No no, it's my fault, I wasn't really paying attention."

The newcomer smiles at that and Adrian feels their chest tighten in a way that it has never done before. What the hell?

"I'm Adrian, by the way," they say, desperate to keep the conversation going, "and you are?"

"Ash. I guess Alex didn't tell you much about me?"

"Not much except for the fact that you study really well and that's why you would be the perfect inspiration for me to finish this essay."

Ash laughs at that, "I do handle my studies okay, but I don't know how good of an inspiration I can be, but I'll try my best."

Adrian looks at them, face soft, "You're really a nice person you know?"

Ash almost chokes on air, "Huh?"

Adrian realises that that was probably a really random thing to say, voice spluttering as they try to figure out a way to make this conversation less awkward than it already is.

"N-no, I just meant that you really have no reason to be here, you don't even know me and here you are, willing to help me with my essay and everything. "

Ash chuckles shyly and Adrian has to mentally punch themselves to remind them not to stare at how fine they look, standing under the yellowish lighting of their dorm, the shadows painting their face just right. And not to mention that silky voice... oh God.

" -ping people."

"Huh?" Adrian has to ask, as they just returned to reality from inside their head.

Ash just smiles, repeating again, "I guess it doesn't feel so bad helping people sometimes, and that's why I'm here."

Now it's Adrian's turn to smile, and they tell Ash to sit down and get comfortable, while they pop into the kitchen to make two cups of hot chocolate, Adrian and Ash falling into easy tunes of conversation soon after.

-

It's almost half past two and Ash is staring at Adrian, who is peacefully dozing off on their desk. They sigh, eyes fluttering close for a brief moment, just enjoying this tiny moment of peace. Life is anything but peaceful for Ash because of their other secret identity- they were a villain, and its been days since Ash has felt so at peace. It was getting harder to just stay alive every day, and it didn't help that the other villains around town just keep getting greedier, making them take part in reckless missions. A distressed sigh leaves their lips, as they force all the depressing thoughts back down. They didn't want to think about that right now. Right now, they were safe. For some reason, staying like this besides Adrian made them feel some sort of a familiar warmth settle in the pits of their stomach, though this is the first time that they've met them. It made Ash feel good.

I'm just overthinking this whole thing, as usual, they sigh, giving their head a little shake. They stand up from the couch and tiptoe over to the table where Adrian's sleeping to check on how much they've completed. They still have a page left, their eyes flicker to the clock that reads 4:45 am, so it'll be fine if I let them sleep in a bit more right? Ash did walk over to Adrian's desk with the intention of waking them up but after seeing that peaceful smile, and the way they're sleeping comfortably even on an arm chair, Ash guessed that maybe they really did need their sleep.

Okay, I'll wake them up a little later, and with one last glance, Ash walks back over to the couch, deciding to get some sleep of their own.

This is going to have two more parts I think / so stay tuned! / I was procrastinating so decided to let hero procrastinate too lol / well at least they have villain helping them out / I'm soft / also I played around with tenses for this snippet (you'll see in the upcoming parts) / I hope you all like it anyways:)

Stupid but feels so right

Villain is just having a nice time, leaning on a railing and staring up at the stars when he sees a silhouette blur past him and land on a rooftop about three buildings away from him. Instinct kicks in and he immediately hides behind the wall, because getting into some scuffle with another Villain would do him no good.

He hears no noises that sounds like a brawl, so he peeks out slowly from his spot behind the wall and catches sight of a blue costume that looks pale in the moonlight. He squints his eyes, trying to discern the figure further. The silhouette moves a little bit into the moonlight and Villain's eyes widen like baseballs.

Hero?! What the hell is he doing here, at this time of the night? Villain whisks his head back to hide away behind the wall, his brain running a mile per minute. Did he perhaps somehow figure out that I'm here? Am I being tracked? But wait, I'm not doing anything today so there's no reason to track me- Villain spends a good fifteen minutes racking his brain up but no matter what, he can't seem to arrive at an answer for the Hero's appearance. He peeks out again- and he’s still here, great. Furthermore, Hero had settled down nicely on that roof , pulling his blue cape further on himself.

Villain lets out a distressed sigh. He doesn't look like he's here to fight. Villain spends a few more minutes looking at Hero, and for some reason the longer he looks at Hero, the more he realises that Hero just looks incredibly lonely, sitting there all alone, curled up on himself, the pale moonlight making him look paler than usual. And Villain immediately makes a decision- he decides to go and give Hero some company, ignoring the warning bells going off in his head.

-

Hero jumps at the sound of footsteps behind him and looks just about ready to bolt after recognizing Villain's form behind him. Villain can literally see Hero's brain working, and so he stops, raising his hands up in a peaceful motion, hoping that the stubborn Hero understands that he’s not here to fight.

Hero's tense muscles calm down at the sight of Villain's hands raised up, and he sits back down, abandoning his instinct to flee. Villain plops down next to him, not making any other movement. Hero gives him a sideways glance, only to look back at the sky after.

"What are you doing here? Did you track me down?"

Villain tries to answer the question with a level voice, his internal self currently in chaos because that was exactly what he had thought around twenty minutes ago.

We're just so stupid aren't we?

"Don't flatter yourself Hero, I have other things to do."

"Like?"

Villain thinks for a moment and then answers, "like stargazing."

Hero whisks his head sideways so fast, Villain momentarily worries if his neck is okay.

"What?"

"You heard me, stargazing. And rooftops are the best spots for that."

Hero wants to laugh but something in Villain's voice tells him that he's not joking.

"Yeah, the stars look beautiful tonight."

It's silent again for a few minutes before Villain decides to speak up.

"So what is the Hero of justice doing here? Don't you guys have like a strict schedule to stick to? Wake up at 6 am and sleep by 9 pm-

He's cut off by Hero's chuckling. Villain just shrugs his shoulders, waiting for him to finish and give him an answer.

"We do have schedules, the waking up part at least. The sleeping part, not so much."

Villain turns to look at Hero and notices dark bags under his eyes. He turns back and stares at the sky.

" Are you on night duty or something?"

Hero chuckles again and Villain finds himself becoming slightly self conscious. What the hell's so funny?! , he screams internally.

"No, it's just that I can't sleep."

"Insomnia?"

"That too, but mostly nightmares."

Villain's heart tugs with a feeling of familiarity. Nightmares was definitely something that he could relate to. But he never imagined that Hero, the person who was the reason for peace existing in this town would get nightmares, and even more so, stay awake at night because of them. He had just assumed that the very fact that the Hero was fighting for all the good things would let him sleep easily at night. So he was wrong.

"And you're not able to sleep because you're scared of them?"

Hero turns to face Villain, giving him a look as if saying "duh."

Villain stammers, throat clammy and heart thundering in his chest. It had been a while since he had a normal conversation with anyone so he really wasn't sure if he was doing a good job. And for some weird reason, he cared.

But Hero understands and qualms his fears with just a few words, " It's fine, I'm not really offended, just confused." He says, and Villain stares at him, jaw dropping in amazement.

And Hero just smiles, and Villain is reminded of the honey words and sunny smiles that Hero showcases on his patrols every day. He suddenly feels sad? He wants Hero to smile only for him, if that even makes sense- and the words leave Villain's mouth before he can stop them,

"Don't smile like that. I'm not one of your precious civilians."

Hero stares back at him, horror and shock written plainly on his face.

(Oh, jealousy was such a dangerous thing. And if Villain was actually jealous, he's screwed, because Hero has thousands of people who love him. And whom does Villain have? None.)

Hero then chuckles once again, but this time it sounds lifeless and dry and Villain hates it.

"Sorry, I got lost in the moment. It has been a while since I smiled for real, I didn't even realize I was doing it."

Now it's Villain's turn to stare at Hero, all shocked and tongue tied.

It seems like Hero understood again, because he answered to the question that Villain wanted to scream out. " Well, it's kinda an embarrassing thing really," Hero mutters, " I smile at citizens because I have to, it's part of my job, not really because I want to."

Villain still seems to be in shock, so Hero just continues, " I- I mean, not all of my smiles are fake you know, I'm not heartless," Hero counters, " it's just that I have to smile even if I don't feel like smiling sometimes and I hate that, because who would want to see a Hero who's just about done with this society right?"

Hero turns to look at Villain and for the second time that night Villain wants to run, not because he's scared but because he's feeling so many emotions that he's never felt before and he doesn't know what to do with them- he feels like he’s going to be swallowed whole.

And more importantly, he can't hide away from Hero's gaze and it looks so heartbreaking. Villain would have cried, if he didn't have a reputation to maintain.

"So, what about the honey words?"

Hero looks at him like he's pleasantly surprised that that's the impression Villain has of him.

"Oh, those are just formalities again, you know, to gain public favour."

Just the thought makes Villain cringe. He definitely can't see himself telling people things that he doesn't mean.

"Then what about fear?" Villain begins, hesitant, " you do get scared right?"

"Of course I do!" Hero laughs, so tender and Villain is left to figure out whether it's real or fake.

Hero understands again, "it's real this time."

Villain is just baffled by this point, " are you psychic or something?!"

And Hero has the time of his life, alternating between chuckling and full blown laughing, clutching his stomach because he's been laughing too much and Villain just wants to disappear into the ground.

"Like I said, it's all a part of the profession. When you're on rescue missions, you have to judge people's mindsets so that you know what to say to them. Otherwise there'll be full blown panic everytime. "

Villain listens intently, finding every word that falls out of Hero's lips incredibly interesting and thought provoking. He had never imagined that being a Hero was such an intricate and delicate job.

"It's just that I've never seen you look scared before," Villain begins, "and all these things that you're telling me, it's all so new..."

Hero smiles and after listening to him, Villain can see the tiny difference. The 'sunny smiles' are usually stiff, where the Hero's lips just form a thin line. This one is more free and natural, making his cheeks pull just right and what the hell am I thinking-

"Well I've never really shared this with anyone." Hero says. " I guess it's more exact if I say that no one has really bothered to ask me about all this, so I never told anyone."

Villain feels his chest constrict because the more he listens to Hero, he feels like his own life is being told back to him, in another voice, and it's not just him talking in his own head, for once.

"You can share anything you want to, if you're okay with me."

A villain trying to offer a hero some solace, how ironic- Villain's mind sings to him.

But the grateful look that crosses Hero's face clears Villain's mind of any previous doubt, if only just for a moment.

"You know, heroes are never allowed to show fear on their faces. It's one of the things that I find hardest to do."

Villain tips his head sideways, as if pondering, "But why? Every human feels fear right? It's a pretty common emotion. Why hide that?"

Hero laughs but it sounds more like a wheeze, "Because according to my superiors, heroes are the symbol of peace. And a symbol of peace is not supposed to show raw despair on his face."

At that moment, Villain desperately wanted to whack Hero's superior hard on their head- whoever they were.

" The other day I was fighting downtown, there was this Villain who could control fire, and it was right in the middle of a pedestrian street."

Villain noticed that Hero's hands began to twitch slightly. It's not because it's cold right?

"I tried my best but I couldn't stop the Villain in time before the fires reached an elementary school right across the street, and there were children still inside the building...

Villain stares at Hero, his heart twisting and clenching in weird places as he sees him breaking down in front of him, his 'hero' mask crumbling.

He looked so much like a normal civilian now, crying for the lives that he couldn't save- except that no normal civilian would have to bear such a heavy burden.

"Even now, i- I can hear-

Hero doesn't speak after that, the sobs that wreck his frame don't let him speak. Villain inches closer to him- slowly, patiently, putting his hands on Hero's trembling ones and looks into his tear stained eyes, as if asking for permission-

"Can I hold you?"

Hero nods and it takes barely an instant for Villain's arms to engulf Hero's trembling figure, picking him up and cradling him close to his chest.

Hero chants, "I'm sorry, please forgive me, I'm so sorry," hands tightly clutching Villain's inky black shirt. Villain rocks back and forth gently, remembering that that's what his mother used to do for him when he was still a child.

Looking at Hero, Villain finally understands how vulnerable a human can be, it doesn't matter what they are, a hero or a villain. At the end of the day, they feel the same things. Loss. Pain. Guilt.

It's okay Hero, you've done enough.

Let me protect you from now on.

And throughout the whole conversation, Villain's mind was berating him, telling him that this was such a stupid decision.

And Villain knows that this may be stupid, that his intervention alone cannot protect the Hero from all the despair and fear that he has to face.

But it doesn't change the fact that it feels right.

And for once, Villain wants to do the right thing.

Lol I really can't write short stuff / I tried to make this more conversational /hope it makes sense/ villain definitely doesn't keep track of the hero's schedule nope / who am I kidding / he probably knows the best spot to watch hero's patrols from/ heroes have to handle so much mental baggage it's sad/ villain finally realizes that they're not so different at the core after all / this villain is not evil btw, doesn't kill people or anything /my writing tends to get so introspective xD

Taunts

" What are you waiting for?" Hero chuckled and it sounded dry and lifeless- it almost hurt Villain to listen.

"You have me in a chokehold and I clearly have nowhere to run." , they continued, as if taunting.

Villain opened their mouth, prepared to spit out a sarcastic retort but the next thing Hero said shut them up, the words dying in their throat.

"Go on, stab me." Hero said, their eyes daring them to.

And Villain would have believed them if not for the way their shoulders slumped against the cold wall, as if they were tired of standing and just wanted to fall down, tired of carrying the heavy weight on their shoulders and just wanted to let go.

And that's when Villain realized that these words were Hero's attempts at provoking them- like a devil whispering in your ear, Hero wanted Villain to listen to them, wanted Villain to stab them, to take their life, to relieve them of whatever it was that they wanted to get away from.

And there was no way Villain was having any of that. If the world didn't want Hero anymore, if Hero themselves didn't want them anymore then Villain would give them something to live for, because losing Hero wasn't worth anything.

So Villain stared back, gaze hard and firm, refusing to break eye contact, daring them as if saying "make me."

sorry this is short / just wanted to give you all something to read hehe / planning a series which I'll get to work on asap / poor Hero is just tired and Villain wants to help / hope you enjoyed:) / feel free to use as a prompt, but please tag or credit me

Red

The night breeze whisked past Villain, caressing their cheeks and making them feel colder than they were a minute ago.

"Ugh..." they groaned, pulling their red scarf further up so that it covered a better part of their chin. The fabric felt soft and warm against their cold fingertips, and it reminded Villain of Hero's cape. They had never thought that they would admit to liking how warm the cape felt, when Hero had covered them with it during one particularly cold night, quite like this one, and they were sitting on a high roof, facing the skyscrapers- Villain hadn't expected it to be that cold, so they hadn't worn any clothing that were designed to keep them warm. They were extremely grateful for that warm cape, much like it's owner and ended up buying a scarf that had the same shade to remind themselves about it (they would never tell Hero that though).

They smiled, the memory making them feel a little warm as two shadows zipped past them in a speed that didn't belong to a normal human. From the corner of their eyes, they caught sight of something red before it disappeared around the street corner. And who else other than Hero would wear bright red like that in the middle of the night , moving at a superhuman speed? It was definitely Hero, and they were chasing someone who wasn't them? That fact alone didn't sit well with Villain so they decided to follow them.

There have been new villains popping up here and there around town, not to mention the Supervillain as well... Villain mused, I'll just go take a quick look and then leave, it's not like I'm worried or anything... (Villain was dead set on denying it).

They turned a street corner there, and one more, leading to an alleyway with a dead end. It was pitch dark and the only source of light was a dilapidated lamp barely hanging onto the wall. Villain looked up to find some moonlight but nope, it just had to be a new moon night. They sighed, straining their eyes to spot even a glimpse of the two blurry figures that they had seen earlier and heard a loud crash to their left. They turned towards another lonely alleyway and followed it, heart hammering in their chest.

They hid themselves at the corner and peeped in, definitely not interested in getting involved in some unnecessary scuffle. They could see a figure slumped against a toppled trash can, trash littered eveywhere- so that's where the crashing sound came from. There was another figure looming over them, and even from there, Villain could feel bloodlust washing over their senses, making them freeze on spot. They pitied the person on the ground, unable to imagine the terror that must be coursing through their veins.

This alleyway had better lighting so Villain was able to see their faces a little better- the looming figure was definitely the Supervillain, that bloodlust was a dead giveaway. The slumped figure looked up and glared at the supervillain, eyes defiant and fierce, a symbol that they weren't going to give up that easily and Villain could feel their throat closing up, anxiety flaring up and burning their insides.

Hero... they knew, from the glimpse of red they knew from the start, a tiny inkling that it could've been Hero rushing through the streets in the dead of the night, chasing some terrible foe. Villain knew... but right now they wished that they were wrong, so wrong, because never did they really expect their foe to be the Supervillain. Villain had seen their powers firsthand and it had made them shiver, tremble to their bones. Never had they felt anxiety slap them in their face like that before. And now Hero was there, facing that devil with defiant eyes and a brave heart and Villain's chest almost felt full with something alien to them... was it pride?

Villain was jolted out of their thoughts by a scream that shattered their soul- it sounded so painful, wrecked, and hopeless and with every passing second, Villain thought that it sounded like Hero. They stared at the scene in front of them, immediately wishing that they didn't.

Red... why is there so much red?

To the Villain, red had become something that they associated with Hero- red cape, crimson cheeks, fiery passion, a warm heart, kind touches, sunny smile, and finally, the way they loved -it would put even Aphrodite to shame. Villain knew that too well, after all, they were the only recipient of that love. Hero was their lover and always will be.

Which only made their heart twist and turn with increasing agony because Hero's costume looked redder than usual and Villain refused to accept that it was blood- Hero's blood, their lover's blood.

You shouldn't do this.

Don't lose your cool.

If supervillain finds out that you've betrayed them, and worse, that you're in a relationship with their mortal nemesis, you're done for.

Don't worry, Hero will be fine.

They will be fine.

They-

Villain looked at Hero once again- bruised cheeks, a huge gash in their gut, bleeding out, shallow breaths, their head now leaning completely against the wall for support and Villain waited a couple more seconds, but Hero made no move to get up. And now there's more red, red... red... red... everywhere.

Before Villain could even think about reasoning with themselves again, their limbs moved and in a flash they stood in between their lover and Supervillain, whose face switched from surprise to amusement, as if they couldn't decide on which emotion to portray.

"Well well, Villain. What a pleasant surprise." Supervillain drawled and dread settled into Villain's veins- cold, gripping, merciless. They heard slight movement from behind them and glanced back coyly. Hero was looking at them, surprise written all over their face. Then they smiled (or at least tried to), to Villain, it looked more like a grimace. But they looked more alive than they did just a moment ago, and that single fact was enough to wash away the pooling dread and replace it with something else- courage.

Now, Villain was never a person who would do something so reckless, they were always the brains of their duo while Hero was the power, brains and power. That's how they had always worked together- and thanks to that, Villain got to know that Hero did not possess a single shred of self preservation whatsoever. It made their stomach crawl to think about how many times they had saved Hero from imminent death and Hero would just smile, all sweet and sunny, like they hadn't just almost died a second ago- and that's what they were doing now.

Ugh, the things I do for love, Villan mused, rolling their eyes at Hero.

"Ahem Villain, you alright there? You've been staring intensely at our nemesis for quite a few seconds now."

Villain heard a wheeze from Hero, which was probably meant to be a chuckle.

"Oh sorry, I was just distracted thinking about the numerous ways in which I could kill him."

Careful me. Supervillain cannot know about us- that would be like digging a grave and burying ourselves six feet deep in the ground. Careful.

Supervillain laughed out loud, acting like Villain had just told them the joke of the century and Villain had to hold themselves back from rolling their eyes at them.

" That's my Villain, always thinking about the best possible ways to kill someone."

Hero coughed abnoxiously and Villain wanted to smack them in their face- now is not the time to be getting jealous, idiot.

Supervillain glared at Hero and Villain subtly moved so that they were now blocking Hero completely from Supervillain's view. "I don't see why you have to think that much though, Hero looks like they're going to kick the bucket any minute."

The colour red flooded Villain's vision, making them stagger on their feet. How many more times did they have to see their lover dyed in red before the world would be satisfied?

"V-villain?" Hero croaked weakly and Villain flinched, feeling physical pain as if somebody had stabbed them. They stood back up straight, hoping that Hero got the message. They were okay. Now was no time to be getting distracted, they had to get Hero away from here, away to a safer place.

Supervillain crooked his head at Hero lying behind Villain, suddenly curious. Villain tensed, mind racing to bring back all of Supervillain's attention back on them. Look at me, don't look at them. Look at me, only me.

" Supervillain, I don't appreciate you giving that lowly Hero more attention than to me, you act as if I don't exist." Villain sneered, making their voice sound as deadly as they can. They desperately hoped that their voice didn't tremble.

"Oh, forgive me, I didn't mean to do that." Supervillain said but there was not a single ounce of sincerity in that. Villain simply glared, gaze sharp and cruel.

"Ouch, if only gazes could kill, I would certainly be dead right now Villain, I'm hurt." Supervillain mocked and Villain's brain was working overtime, trying to comprehend the change in Supervillain's attitude- why are they acting like they know something that I don't, they seem cockier than usual.

Villain decided to take a chance, "Why are you acting like this Supervillain, are you perhaps, hiding something from me? Some part of a plan that you don't want me to know about?"

Supervillain chuckled dryly, and Villain felt the temperature drop a few degrees at once, bloodlust making itself known once again. Hero whimpered from behind them and Villain's heart cried out.

"You tell me who's the one hiding things, Villain."

Villain barely had any time to react, their mind knew what was happening, but their body was too slow to comprehend.

A huge blast of power left the Supervillain's palm- right towards Hero.

Move... move... MOVE!!!

Villain was never in their life more thankful for their superspeed as they turned around, grabbed Hero in their arms and zipped past the blast, just as it connected with the concrete behind them, blasting it into pieces. Villain ran as fast as their legs could carry them, trying not to jostle the hurt Hero in their arms too much. They were going to turn around the next corner when they felt something digging into their side. They refused to acknowledge it, continuing to speed away, the only thing on their mind being getting Hero to safety.

Supervillain's coarse laughter echoed from far behind them, as they sped away.

"Llain... Villain... VILLAIN!!!"

Villain was forced to stop, crashing into a concrete wall. They made sure to turn around in the last second, so that their back came into contact with the wall and not Hero who they held in their arms.

Villain gasped out loud, any air residing in their lungs evicted, suddenly feeling more tired than they have felt in ages. They heard shuffling and peeked an eye open to see Hero crawling up to them- all bloody and bruised. Just stay put, idiot, you're hurt, they wanted to say but their voice refused to work.

"You're bleeding!" Hero wailed as loud as they could in their current state, but it sounded more like a whisper to Villain- am I becoming deaf?

Hero finally made it to them, hands clutching onto their leg and slowly pulling themselves up, touching everywhere and spreading warmth with their fingertips. Villain looked up at them from their bed of concrete, "You're so warm, Hero."

And Hero cried and cried and cried, fat tears rolling down their cheeks, just like the way they would cry after waking up from a nightmare (and oh how badly they wished that this was just another bad dream). Villain smiled at them and they cried more. Villain didn't want them to cry.

"S-stop crying, s-silly", Villain somehow managed to wheeze out, their body aching everywhere. Hero bent down, warm fingers touching their eyelids, cheeks and then lips. The next thing Villain could feel was a pair of lips on theirs, Hero's lips, warm just the way they remembered, kissing them like it was the last time they would ever get to do it. Hero pulled away, looking into Villain's eyes and began muttering strings of "sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry" and Villain wanted to keep staring at them but they just felt so tired.

They wanted to bring up their hand and wipe away those tears that had no business on their lover's face but their hand wouldn't move. They couldn't do anything.

"G-go and get yourself checked *cough cough* at a h-hospital okay?" Villain wheezed out, struck by another coughing fit.

And Hero just smiled, looking like the happiest person in the world which Villain scrunched their nose at because they were bleeding and this was no time to be happy.

" I will *wheeze*, I love you Villain, so so much." They burst into tears again.

"I l-love-

Villain closed their eyes.

Hero finally let themselves fall on their lover's bloody body- cold, lifeless, unmoving. They couldn't hear the heartbeats that they fell asleep to every night anymore. They knew that they themselves were beyond saving, and so they cried and wailed, wanting to spend the last moments of their life grieving- grieving for the only person who loved them and saw them for who they really were, not just as a hero.

"You kept worrying about me till your last breath huh? You were always too good for me Villain, you loved me too well, too much."

"Maybe if you didn't love me, you would still be alive."

Tears mingled with blood as Hero's warm hands found Villain's cold ones, interlacing their fingers together.

"So this is what they mean by being together until your last breath huh? I never really thought that it would happen to me because love just seemed like too good of a dream to be true."

Hero smiled, heart feeling full because they knew that they had the best lover that they could have ever asked for. And everything that had happened between them was true in every way.

"At least now, we don't have to see each other bleeding out and fighting to stay alive."

T-T

hero and villain really just wanna live life / but no, I had to go and make it angsty / I swear though, this was not how it played out in my head/ why do I do this to myself- /me playing with the word lover because it sounds so good / also let me know if you guys want an alternative HAPPY end for these two in the comments/ if you're okay with this, that's cool too.

3am(s)

"You know," Villain mused, "You're definitely the kind of person I want to spend my 3am(s) with."

Hero plopped down comfortably next to them and turned to face them, a smirk dancing on their lips, " is that your idea of a confession?"

Villain was now a blushing mess, trying to hide their rapidly reddening cheeks with a scarred hand. Hero was quick though, and grabbed the same hand, slowly bringing it towards their lips and the whole time, Villain's heart threatened to jump out of their chest.

Hero waited for a chaste moment, staring into Villain's eyes as they kissed along the scars on their palm- gentle, dedicated, firm. Villain felt like fainting under their touch.

"If you didn't already notice my dear Villain," Hero mocked playfully, "we've been doing that almost every night now- staying awake at ungodly hours that is." Their eyes gestured down to their wristwatch for a tiny moment to further emphasize their point.

Villain rolled their eyes, already used to Hero's smart mouth and they can't seem to decide for the life of them, whether to shut that mouth up or let them ramble, because they loved both and -

"Woah woah, I can literally see you running inside your head. Calm down." Hero tried, terribly amused by Villain's reactions.

Villain decided on the first option as they pulled Hero flush to their chest, taking all the breath out of them as their lips finally met. Hero didn't miss a beat, deepening the kiss the next instant.

And when they broke apart, eyes glazed, hand in hand and chest heaving, Villain was the personification of a tomato and for once, Hero faltered for words, tracing their lips with their index finger as if reliving the kiss.

Hero looked at Villain with a passion that made them weak.

"Wanna try that again?"

Villain met Hero halfway- they had always found it difficult to deny Hero and they didn't think that was ever going to change.

Just hero and villain having a good time/ this ended up being sweet and kind sexy somehow? /still very much adorable.

A silly dream

"Soooo~" , the villain drawled on for longer than necessary, "what does love mean to you?"

The hero groaned, hands on their head, hiding their face away in their palms. They really didn't want to engage in a conversation that was of no use to the critical mission which they were about to take on. (Yes, they had formed a truce with the villain, for the time being.)

But apparently the villlain was eager to continue the conversion, nudging the hero gently with their elbow a few times to make them look up at them with fake annoyance. The hero didn't want to admit it, but they really wanted to talk to the villain like this more, talk about silly things, like they didn't have to wake up the next morning and undertake a mission which they didn't know if they would come back alive from or not.

They sighed, " I don't really know, haven't thought of it much."

It's a lie, forgive me.

The villain accepted the answer, it wasn't really that weird considering both professions really didn't give them the time to think about things like love (which was just a silly dream, according to the villain.)

But as silly as it may be, the villain wanted to pursue more of it (and for once in their life, they had no regrets) with the hero.

The mission was over shortly, taken care of swiftly by the combined team work of the hero-villain combi.

"See you tomorrow?", the villain asked, eyes sprakling, as if they were two friends making a promise to meet after school.

The hero could only smile and prayed that the villain didn't notice it was fake, "Sure."

The villain turned around and walked away brisky and the hero just stood there, staring at their retreating back until they couldn't see them anymore.

You look so happy and that's why I can't tell you, that for me, love simply means one word-

You.

I tried angst this time/heroes are so bad at asking for help/I can relate though/poor villain doesn't know about the impending heartbreak/I feel bad for them.

Needy (Part 1)

Where the Hero is a greenie and meets with the famous Villain around town through a flurry of fists and curses. They have a rosy outlook on everything and it drives the Villain nuts.

"Heroes are such needy things," the Villain sneered, their dagger a breath away from the Hero's trembling throat.

"G-get away from me!" , the Hero attempted to push the Villain away, but they just couldn't muster the strength in their limbs anymore- their fight had stretched for far too long and the Hero has been running on a mere three hours of sleep for the entire week.

" Really such needy, needy things..." the Villain continued their taunts- taunts which the Hero would have blatantly ignored if they were in a better state of mind- but that they weren't.

The Hero shivered under the Villain's intense gaze, torn by the curiosity to know what they had meant and their moral compass which told them to steer clear from any words that fell out of a Villain's mouth. So the Hero decided to do something that didn't require too much energy- they had seen this happen in movies before (and they hoped desperately, that it applied to this situation)- they stared into the Villain's amber eyes.

The Villain stopped their taunting for a moment, meeting the Hero's stern gaze. "What's wrong? Is my favourite Hero tongue-tied?"

This voice laced with sarcasm, the Hero didn't want to believe that anything it said was true, but he really wanted to know- were heroes really needy creatures? If so, what exactly made them needy?

The Hero realised that they weren't supposed to go into an inner epiphany with a dagger pressed to their throat, but they were just unbelievably curious.

Curiosity kills the cat- they guessed that curiosity could kill heroes too.

Sucking in a sharp breath and relishing the feeling of oxygen, well aware that this might be the last breath of air that they could taste, the Hero made their decision-

"Explain what that means Villain."

The Villain smirked so wide, the Hero thought that their cheeks would split. "Quite the curious Hero aren't you?" , they said, abandoning their dagger, sheathing the metal object back into it's scabbard.

The Hero was perplexed, "what are you- AAGH!", they gasped as the Villain's long fingers wound around their throat, promptly cutting off their air supply . The Villain leaned in closer, just enough to hear the angry rasps that fell out of the Hero's abused throat, their eyes glaring down darkly at them.

"If you thought that I would give you the answer just because you asked me to, you have a long way to go greenie."

Black spots marred the Hero's vision and they could feel their eyelids become heavier by the second. But even on the edge of losing consciousness, the Hero couldn't help but think that the Villain's fingers were gentle in their own way- they weren't crushing their windpipe mercilessly in one go, but instead pressing down on it gently, slowly, like someone who preferred suffocating someone with a pillow rather than stabbing them with a dagger.

Or maybe I'm just finally losing my mind- the Hero thought, and reading way too many hero/villain fanfics.

The last ember of strength finally died and the Hero closed their eyes.

this was meant to be a prompt, but ended up turning into a snippet/i have no regrets/the hero is a hopeless romantic/villain has no clue what's happening in that little head of his nemesis/ part 2 will be up soon!

“I told you once that Ithaca was hell,” Lyris said softly, her head tilted. “She wasn’t hell, Judith. I found you there. She brought you home to me.”

Selkie Theon AU. Snippet below the cut.

The waves lapped at the shore, mere inches from Theon’s toes. He watched from his place on the beach, arms wrapped around his legs, chin rested on his bony knees, unable to look away from the grey water that stretched serene and peaceful to the horizon. The distant cawing of seabirds echoed across the waves in the early morning. They taunted him with their songs and harsh voices more mocking than that of his master.

Theon pushed that thought far into the back of his worn mind. Now was not the time for thinking of him. Now was not the time to bemoan what might have been. Now was the time for dreaming of what was. When he’d been a selkie.

A frown tightened his lips. He was still a selkie.

Although his pelt may now belong forever to his tormentor—lover—and kept permanently out of his reach, it changed nothing. The place Theon would truly always belong, was to the ocean. His ties to it were strong, the pull of them unbreakable. A constant presence in his being that was as unyielding as the moon and the tide, urging him to find his way back home.

Except he would never be permitted to answer its call.

Place Your Bets

There was a soft ‘tsk’ behind him. Theon tensed as, with a quiet grunt, a large body slid on with him. To his horror, a thick arm hooked around his stomach and pulled him flush against the person at his back, the warmth of it drawing forth immediate goosebumps across his flesh.

The knobs of his spine sank into the soft stomach, he felt them vibrate with the rumbling chuckle emanating from the chest behind him. He squirmed in the confinement.

He can’t be serious. Hasn't he mocked me enough tonight? The clear implication that he was incapable of doing this on his own nearly made him combust with the sheer force of his righteous anger.

Even worse, the man’s large metal belt buckle dug into his backside, drawing his attention to how unbearably close they were.

“Get away.” He pushed an elbow back into the other man’s side. It didn’t seem to have any effect whatsoever; he remained unmoved. Theon huffed and quickly gave it up as no use. That didn’t mean he had to take this treatment silently though. “I’m not a child,” he hissed through gritted teeth.

Lips at his ear, hair tickling the shell of it. “Then quit acting like one if you don’t want me to treat you like one.”

Theon’s lip curled of its own volition. “It’s not for you to say how I behave or don’t behave.” He hated the hint of truth in Ramsay’s words; he had been acting rather like a child tonight. But like hell was he ever going to admit that.

The arm around him tightened, pushing the air from his lungs. “Mmm,” Ramsay hummed, rubbing his other large hand down Theon’s arm. “Maybe not yet. But from that pitiful performance earlier, I think it’s obvious you need some guidance.”

Theon felt his stomach quiver at his use of the word ‘pitiful’; nearly everyone in his life had slung that descriptor at him at one point or another. But he refused to give in so easily here and now. “I can ride,” he snapped.

“Really?” There was an obvious smile in the other man’s voice. His tone dropped in register, breath ghosting across the back of his neck. “Then show me.”