Needy (Part 2)

This is super interesting ^^

You feel the emotions of anyone you touch. Today, you accidentally brushed hands with the charismatic barista when they handed you your coffee. You’re now the most scared you’ve ever been throughout your entire life.

God they're so cute <3

The Gift of Panic Pt 8

You guys really love this one, so here you go! Pt 9 is on it’s way! *accidentally had this one named part 7 at first* Find previous parts here

If Rhys had been asked whether or not he was scared of Silver, he would have said no. Of course not. How could he be afraid of someone he just had tea with? Someone he just told his real name to?

That was before they arrived at the Grandwell warehouse. None of Silver’s men were going in with them, just the villain and the hero, because Silver said he didn’t want any of his men getting hurt.

Rhys had seen silver in action before, or so he thought. But apparently, he’d never really seen him in action, because wow, was it something else.  It was terrifying, awe-inspiring, overwhelming, intimidating, scary, intoxicating and overall just breathtaking. It was like a fish in water, where the hero could see just how in his environment Silver was while fighting. His movements were so fluid, effortless. He barely even got hit; he was so good at dodging, blocking.

Admittedly, they had snuck in, taking out guards one by one at first. Silver had promised Rhys that were possible, he would knock them out instead of killing them, but that he wasn’t going to be getting thrown off his game or distracted because of it. Friendship is about compromise, the hero supposed.

Up until they got into the main warehouse, Silver actually hadn’t killed a single person, being able to sneak up behind them and either choke them or knock them out.

Rhys felt pretty glad he was on this side of the fighting for a change.

Once they entered the warehouse, it was very open. They split up, able to take out a few guards from weaving in between boxes, but eventually, they were noticed, and the full out brawl ensued.

That’s when the blood really started.

Now the hero wasn’t a perfect saint either; as much as he tried to be, he’d had to kill a few guards or criminals before, but it was always in self-defence. He had a rule in place for himself that he would always offer his opponent the option to surrender first if he felt they weren’t going to go down with a real fight. Even then, he always tried to only leave non-fatal wounds, but every person was different, and what didn’t kill one person might not always be survivable for the next.

Honestly, if someone asked Rhys whether he was scared of Silver now, the answer still probably would have been no, but it would have at least been a more hesitant no.

His thoughts were cut off when he was thrown to the ground by a criminal he hadn’t seen. They wrestled around, Rhys managing to get out of the other’s grip for a moment, only to be pushing back into a wall, fighting to hold the criminal’s knife back from stabbing into him.

The hero didn’t see the villain behind the other until the tip of a knife emerged on the other side of the criminal’s throat.

“You good?” Silver asked, pulling his knife back and pushing the criminal to the ground.

“Yeah,” The hero panted, catching his breath, “Thanks, though, you could have knocked him out,”

“Sorry, I wasn’t thinking about it when I saw you in trouble,” the villain shrugged. He wasn’t even very out of breath!

What got Rhys the most was that he also didn’t even use his powers!

The hero was 80% sure he had worked out the villain’s first power was metal-kenisis, and this place was full of metal objects! But Silver managed just fine, not needing to tap into them even once.

“Is that all of them?” Rhys asked, looking around.

“All but the Grandwells themselves, whom I assume heard the gunshots and have turned tail, but it’s worth checking anyway,”

“Where are they?”

“Most likely the top floor,” he replied as they walked over the elevator.

“Yeah, but we don’t have the passcode, do we?”

The villain raised an eyebrow, “Have you seriously not put together what my powers are yet?”

“It’s metal ken- oh,”

Silver chuckled, and with of wave of his hand, the elevator doors opened. Once they were in, he made an upwards motion, and Rhys could feel the elevator going up.

Once they were at the top, they stepped out, looking around the area.

“Tell me,” Silver said as they walked down the hallway, “If we spare them, which I’m admittingly not inclined to do, but if we do, will the police immediately investigate to clean up all their illegal activity?

"That depends; I now realize that I don’t really know what I’m going to do because I didn’t bring nearly enough handcuffs, and the guys downstairs will be awake before the police get to this side of town,”

“Don’t worry about it, I’ll have my men deal with it, but that answers my question anyway,”

When the two large doors at the end of the hall opened, the Grandwell twins were nowhere to be seen, but the emergency exit door was still open, sign above it blinking.

“Cowards,” the villain muttered, “They are probably long gone by now. Sacrificed the lives of their men to stall us long enough to escape. Unbelievable.”

“I-” Rhys paused, unsure how to respond, “No offence but isn’t that what, well ya'know, villains tend to do?”

Luckily Silver didn’t seem offended; he simply shrugged, “Most of them, yes probably. But not me; most of my men and women have family to feed. I’m not about to make any children lose their parents if I can help it. I may be a villain, but I have standards. You might notice I also always try to thank my men because using fear to scare your followers into loyalty isn’t even close to as valuable as truly earning it. I don’t expect them to be loyal to me if I treat them poorly. I may not care about them on a personal level, but working out of fear instead of free will makes for terrible work ethic among more instances of betrayal, etcetera,”

“Wow, I never thought about it like that, but, yeah that’s really smart. I’m sure your employees appreciate it,”

Rhys watched as Silver dug through the various different drawers of the main desks, rooting through the papers and other things.

“Now what?” the hero asked.

“Well, now that it’s safe, I’ll send my men in. They will round up all the survivors for you, and if you can guarantee them safety, I’ll even have them deliver them to the police station for you. They will comb through the rest of this place and take anything valuable, as well as gather all the information they can. We will still have to track down the Grandwells after all,”

“Wow, yeah, that would be perfect,”

Before the villain could reply, Rhys phone went off.

“Hello?” the hero answered, and suddenly his eyes widened, “Oh crap, yeah, I’ll be right there,”

“what’s wrong?”

“Thistle and some of her men are trying to rob the bank on main street. I’m going to have to run,”

“Hold on. Let me pass the go along to my men first, and then I can tag along with you to help,”

Rhy’s eyes widened in shock, mouth ajar slightly, “did-, are you offering to help fight crime?” he asked in disbelief.

Silver smirked that knowing, charming, yet mischievous smirk, “I consider taking out one of my competitors a very villainous thing to do,”

Rhys laughed, pulling out his phone again, “Alright, you make your call. I’ll call the station to let them know not to arrest your men when they drop off these criminals and that your tagging along to make sure they don’t try and shoot you or something,”

“Sounds like a plan to me, my friend,” the villain replied, dialling something on their phone. The ‘my friend’ comment made the hero stop for a second, heart-swelling in his chest. Even if it had been said as almost a joke, not as earnestly as the hero was taking it, it still meant a lot.

This was turning out much better than the Rhys would have ever imagined.

🍭

Thank you, that's so kind^^ 🌸 for you :)

Omg this is beautiful

This is a take on the supervillain handing hero’s sidekick over to regular villain. It’s a trope somewhere, I’m sure.

The villain clenched their jaw. Hero’s sidekick was a teenage girl for God’s sake. A teenage girl in the hands of the supervillain... the villain stomach jolted, they couldn’t let that happen.

“Hand her over.” The words were barely out of the villain’s mouth when the supervillain smirked. Villain’s own sidekick tensed up behind them, but the villain gave them a subtle placating gesture. If they could get out of this without a fight they would.

The supervillain noticed the interaction and merely grinned. “And what do I get in return? The girl here can give me information on her boss, her perfect little hero.” He mocked. “Might take a few days under the ringer but I’m sure she’ll talk.”

The girl’s eyes widened in fear. The villain could tell she was trying to steel herself, even shackled at the mercy of the supervillain. For all she knew she was surrounded by enemies on all sides, debating her fate, too far away from the hero for any magical rescues.

The villain opened their mouth again, an idea coming together. “Girl,” they snapped. “Have you been to your boss’s private apartments? Do you know the inner workings of the hero’s most secret base?”

As the villain spoke, they prayed, deny it deny it deny it. Say no. Say no.

“I don’t-“ the girl shook her head. “I didn’t know of any quarters, I’ve never been there-”

“Clearly the girl’s new,” the villain let contempt drip from their tongue, willing the supervillain to buy the uninterested facade. “You’re not going to get anything out of her besides leverage you don’t even need right now. I, on the other hand, can give you all the information you need.”

“Is that so?” The supervillain raised an eyebrow.

The villain merely shrugged, allowing a smile to play on their lips. “It’s intimacy of having a nemesis I suppose. In fact, I have it all on this flashdrive.” The villain produced one out of their pocket unceremoniously. Carrying empty flash drives was part of the territory when you were a tech- oriented villain.

The supervillain snorted. “Convenient that you carry around a flashdrive with your nemesis’s information on it? Do you really expect me to believe that?”

The villain smiled and cupped the drive in their hand. With a flash of light, all the information the villain knew of the hero’s private base was uploaded onto the little thing. “Call it a superpower... information generation and distribution is my superpower actually, though I’m sure you knew that already.”

The villain glanced to the girl, who, they realized with a jolt, was glaring daggers at them. “Surprised I’d rat out your hero so quickly?” The villain quipped sarcastically. “I want the hero gone as much as supervillain over here. I want you for my own reasons.”

The girl’s glare faltered, replaced with fear. The more the villain talked, the more their stomach sank at the disgusting facade they were putting up. But the supervillain had to buy it or else this girl was in grave danger. Hero would forgive the villain for outing their hideout if it was to keep their sidekick safe... the supervillain just needed to agree to the deal, dammit.

“Do we have a deal?” The villain stepped closer, twirling the flashdrive in their hands absentmindedly. Their heart pounded in their ears. “The girl does nothing for you, this drive on the other hand... this would be a significant blow to our resident righteous hero.”

“How do I know you’re not lying?”

The villain leveled their steely gaze, one that made lesser enemies run. “You have my word. You of all people know the importance of keeping your word.”

An unspoken agreement passed between the villain and the supervillain. Neither hero’s sidekick nor villain’s sidekick dared to breathe.

The villain barely dared to breathe after supervillain muttered, “deal.”

The villain merely turned to strut away, nodding to their sidekick. “Grab her.”

In a flash the drive was in supervillain’s hands and the villain’s sidekick used their magnetism to pull the girl’s chains into their arms.

“Pleasure doing business,” the villain called over their shoulder. Before the supervillain could reply, the villain and the teenage sidekicks teleported away.

By the time they landed back in the villain’s lair, the villain was off running. They only faltered for a moment at the sound of the girl’s voice.

“What are you going to do to me?”

The villain turned to see their their sidekick had already released the girl from her chains. “At the moment, nothing. We’re not going to hurt you. But I just royally screwed your hero over. They have about 5 minutes before supervillain destroys their base.” The villain’s heart beat in their throat. “I need to warn them.”

The villain was off to the communications department, leaving the girl and the villain’s own sidekick in the dust.

<33333

Hi! If you get this, answer with three random things about yourself and send this to the last seven blogs in your notifications – Anonymously or not! Let’s get to know the person behind the blog!

Three completely random things about me, huh? Okay, let's see...

1. My favourite animals are vultures. They're gorgeous!! I especially like those that are part of the genus Gyps. However, Gypaetus barbatus, the bearded vulture, is even more fascinating. Honestly, you should google that one! Not only does it look really cool, it also has a diet that consists mostly of bone!!

2. When I was 11 and watched Jurassic Park for the first time, I spontaneously decided that I would one day become a palaeontologist. Something about a grumpy guy running through a jungle, protecting children he finds annoying, trying not to get eaten by dinosaurs, somehow really appealed to 11-year-old me. I have to admit though, even today, having learned what palaeontologists actually do most of the time, a part of me is still hung up on that idea.

3. Despite being demiromantic, I recently managed to fall in love romantically with someone breathtakingly amazing!! Seriously, it's been years since the last time I felt any romantic feelings towards any real person. I so wasn't expecting something like this to happen, but somehow it did. And that isn't even the best part!! Because she is such a wonderful and lovely person and I'm absolutely thrilled to be able to call her my girlfriend <3

So I opened my Tumblr app around a minute ago because I realized I didn't look at it at all today and I found like 44 notifications?! (Sorry, seeing a lot of notifications scares me because idk what to expect lol) but as usual I find more sweet people liking what I wrote and it makes my heart warm. So, a HUGE THANK YOU-

To @a-very-huggable-platypus and @friiday-thirteenth for popping up in my notifs will all the love <3

Also a *hug* for you @a-very-huggable-platypus and a *high five* for you @friiday-thirteenth

(*Sweats* because my mind immediately starts overthinking if this is acceptable for a first convo 😂)

Anyways, hope you all are having a good day/night!!

Haikyuu characters singing summertime - scenarios

(Inspired by this video-)

• Sugawara Koushi:

Sugawara often finds himself humming summertime after intense matches, mainly to calm himself down. He'd just be casually vibing to the song in the lockeroom while changing, not bothering about his surroundings for a while. So when he turns back around, he's surprised everytime as he finds his teammates passed out in different places around the cramped room, sleeping peacefully. Suga finishes changing and sits in a free spot, waiting for Daichi to arrive and once Daichi does arrive, the man sits next to Suga, attempts to talk for a few minutes before dozing off on his shoulder, listening to Suga's soft voice. (Suga's voice is the unofficial lullaby for our Karasuno boys I swear-)

• Hinata Shouyou:

Hinata is the literal sunshine of the group, and so is his voice. One day Kageyama catches Hinata singing summertime (though Kags didn't have the slightest clue about what song it was) during a practice break and he scoots over closer to Hinata as inconspicuously as he could so that he was within hearing range. By the end of those four minutes, Kageyama couldn't care less about the identity of the song, he just wanted to keep listening to that annoyingly cheerful voice- something about it calmed him down.

The next time a practice break rolled around, Kageyama was well prepared with his phone clutched in his hand, ready to record the song the moment Hinata had started singing it (he didn't know if he would sing again, he could only hope that he did). Thank Kageyama's luck, Hinata sang summertime again and Kageyama pressed the fat looking red button on his phone, a smile on his face. Kageyama was enjoying the song secretly until Hinata turned around and screamed bloody murder looking at Kageyama's smile, calling it a "murderous look" with a "please don't hurt me Kageyama!". Kageyama huffed in annoyance, ending his recording session, happy for whatever part of the song that was now saved in his phone. He didn't stop glaring at Hinata though, his mind screaming "rude" at the human tangerine. (Kageyama was genuinely trying to smile though, poor boi)

While staring at his phone after practice, Kageyama remembers something that Atsumu said about having trouble sleeping. So he opens his chat, attaches Hinata’s recording and presses the send button. He has heard from Suga that people generally send songs to each other whenever they find it hard to sleep and since Kageyama didn't really listen to songs much, he sent Atsumu the only thing he had. His parents had taught him that caring is sharing , and he did care about him as a worthy rival.

Bonus : Atsumu looks at his phone after an intense practice regimen to find a message from Kageyama (Kags name is saved as 'goody two shoes' in his phone). He opens it excitedly to know what the younger setter had sent him and finds a recording with a single message attached to it - since you said you had trouble sleeping. He clicks the play button and is immediately bombarded by Hinata's cute voice. I'm definitely listening to this every night, Atsumu thinks, aggressively thanking Tobio back. (Hinata has no clue that he's become pretty famous with the Inarizaki high school volleyball team after that because Atsumu sets it as his ringtone and everyone wanted to know who sang it).

•Tsukishima and Yamaguchi :

Yamaguchi is over at Tsukishima’s house for a sleepover and finds summertime on YouTube. He's immediately addicted to the song, memorizing the lyrics in a matter of minutes and wants to sing it. But he wants to sing it with Tsukishima and spends about half an hour convincing him to do it.

Eventually Tsukishima gives in, according to him it's just "one stupid song" that he had to sing. Tsukishima goes first, and Yamaguchi could tell that he was making some effort, because he's awkwardly trying to touch the high notes while keeping in tune. The sight makes Yamaguchi feel all warm inside, as he stares at Tsukishima with starry eyes until he finishes the song.

Then it was Yamaguchi's turn and Tsukishima’s hooked onto his voice from the first syllable. He stares at him, eyes wide, heart thundering loudly in his chest as he wills it to slow down so that he can hear Yamaguchi above the ringing in his ears. Yamaguchi sounds angelic , Tsukishima thinks and instantly regrets that he's never heard the shorter boy singing much before now. Well now Tsukishima knows, and he was going to use this knowledge to the fullest. Yamaguchi finishes the song successfully, a wide, happy grin on his face. Tsukishima clears his throat,

"Yamaguchi?"

"Yes Tsukki?"

"From now on, everytime you come over, you're singing."

Yamaguchi stares at him baffled, feeling too many things at once because he doesn't know what to feel. After taking a few minutes to digest Tsukishima’s request, he replies with a meek "Okay Tsukki," chest clenching in utter joy.

• Kageyama and Oikawa:

Kageyama for the life of him couldn't understand Modern Japanese. Kanji was too hard and he would keep messing up the strokes, and by the time he ended up writing a character on the page, it would just look like a drawing made by a grade schooler- the subject was seriously driving him mad. The vending machine at school could vouch for that if it had a mouth, because it's exterior is covered with a few hand-shaped dents, all from Kageyama's enraged fist.

"Shit," he muttered, as he made his way towards the residence of the one person who he knew could help him, though the question of whether he would help him was still hanging in the air. Kageyama rang the bell to Oikawa's house and waited for someone to open the door. He waited and waited but nobody answered the door. Maybe he's not at home, Kageyama thinks dejectedly and turns around with a heavy sigh, ready to walk back to his own house, when the neighbor's door opens, revealing Iwaizumi- a surprised expression plastered on his face.

"Hey Kageyama, surprising to see you here." Iwaizumi greets his ex-junior, to which Kageyama bows in reply. "I came to meet Oikawa san, is he not at home?" Iwaizumi pauses, thinking about the current whereabouts of his childhood friend, " Oikawa said he's taking his nephew to the park in the neighborhood, so he should still be there." , he says. Kageyama thanks him and makes his way towards the park to meet his senior.

He was just a few feet away from the park and could already hear Oikawa's annoying voice, teasingly calling out to someone. Does this guy have to tease everyone? Kageyama thinks as he turns the corner, finally spotting that patch of hazelnut hair, perfectly styled even with the evening wind that was subtly blowing.

Kageyama cleared his throat before calling out, "Oikawa san." Oikawa turned, brown eyes widening in surprise, having not expected a sudden visit from Tobio. "Oya oya, look who we have here." , Oikawa stated, his signature smirk back on his face. His previous target was all forgotten about, as Oikawa focused on Tobio, who was his all time favorite person to tease.

Kageyama bowed respectfully, " I'm having some difficulty with Modern Japanese so I was hoping that you could help me..." , he paused, looking up for a brief second to meet with hazel/brown eyes, "please."

Oikawa observed his junior, hazel eyes trained on his bowing form. This boy's as awkward as usual, he should really learn to lighten up more, Oikawa thinks. Everytime Kageyama came to him for a favour, Oikawa was always secretly pleased. Even after going to a new school and meeting new seniors, when it came to something important, Tobio would always come to him and on days Oikawa felt particularly low, he would think back to his adorable but awkward junior and all of his unique behaviors. That always managed to cheer him up and make him feel giddy, and Oikawa would ride that high for hours. He smirked, looking forward to this encounter with Tobio already.

Oikawa knew that he would end up helping him in the end, it was always like that and he had a feeling that's how it would always be. I will help him, but not before I have my own fun, he thinks smugly- it's just ingrained as a part of his personality. "I will help you Tobio chan," Oikawa replies and he watches as Tobio's eyes light up for a brief moment, before continuing, " but not before you do something for me." Tobio's face had gone back to his usual poker face that he had these days, any semblance that Oikawa could see of the Tobio that he knew back in middle school completely gone now.

Kageyama had expected this, so he wasn't too surprised. With a sigh, he spoke up, " what do you want me to do Oikawa san?" Oikawa looked around, as if the answer to that question lay in the skies or the trees in the park. His eyes landed on his nephew who was happily jumping from one monkey bar to another. " If you can sing summertime better than me, then I'll help you with your work Tobio chan." Oikawa stated.

Kageyama stared at him, baffled. He had figured out the name of the song after hearing Hinata singing it on loop back in school. He just didn't understand why everyone was so obsessed with that song. "I know that you obviously don't know the song, so I'll let you look at the lyrics and sing." Oikawa added, clearly not expecting his junior to know the song, even if it was super popular.

Kageyama simply smirked, " I know the song Oikawa san, so I'll be fine." Oikawa stared at him, surprised once again. You never fail to surprise me Tobio chan, Oikawa thinks and chuckles. He had just listened to the song with his nephew while walking over to the park, so Oikawa remembered the lyrics too. "So, I'll go first," Oikawa says and begins to sing.

Kageyama's heart clenched, similar to how it did when he heard Hinata sing, but even more. He guesses it's because he has never heard Oikawa's voice like this- all soft, smooth, and silky, because whenever he was looking at him, he was always fooling around with people. I should've known that he was good at everything, shit, Kageyama cursed inside his head. How was he supposed to beat this? Oikawa finished, a smug smirk playing on his lips. "How was that Tobio chan? I could have a side profession as a singer right?" Oikawa playfully taunted Tobio like he always did, expecting to see Tobio's usual scowl, or the younger boy gritting his teeth in apparent frustration.

But what Oikawa was shown instead made him almost gasp out loud. Tobio was looking at him, all docile and shy, staring at him with starry eyes and it reminded Oikawa of how he would look at him back in middle school for a second. Oikawa's heart clenched but he didn't know why. He just balled his fists tight to hide his nervousness and wait for the younger boy to do anything, say anything.

Kageyama finally spoke up after what felt like eons, " Yes you can Oikawa san." , he said in a small whisper as a response to Oikawa's previous question and the sincere tone in which that was said made Oikawa's cheeks feel warm. He cleared his throat, desperate to change the topic, " Now it's your turn Tobio chan." , Oikawa said, genuinely interested in hearing Tobio sing. This would be the first time for Oikawa to hear him singing.

Little did he know that this was the first time that Tobio sang in front of anyone else either- he was strictly a bathroom singer, but now, desperate situations called for desperate measures. Tobio began singing, Oikawa staring at him intently, as if drinking every syllable that fell out of his lips. Oikawa thought it was very Tobio-like- a warm, sincere and honest voice- and he would never admit this out loud but Tobio sounded really good. Like really good. Oikawa lowkey wanted to record it but somehow managed to hold on to the last ember of pride in him. He would have to devise another plan for that someday.

Kageyama finished the song, sighing in relief that this torture was finally over. He then got up and turned around, putting one foot in front of the other- ready to go back home. He had lost in the sing-off battle that they had just had. Oikawa didn't say it, but he knew it himself, his voice was no good when compared to Oikawa's.

Oikawa stood up, slightly baffled but at the same time understanding why Kageyama did what he did. He's been watching him for years after all, and the boy has always been so foolishly stupid and straightforward- like an arrow that didn't know how to bend. Oikawa had come to understand that that was how Tobio showed his kindness, and it made him feel happy and irritated at the same time, that someone could be so painfully sincere in life. "Where do you think you're going Tobio chan?" Oikawa called out (even though he knew the answer) just as Kageyama was about to leave that park entrance. Kageyama simply looked back and replied, "home."

Oikawa sighed, calling out to his nephew, " Come on, let's go home! I have to help my junior with some of his work." Kageyama stood there with an expression that said "why?" Once his nephew came over, Oikawa walked over to Kageyama who was waiting for him at the gate. "Your summertime was pretty good Tobio chan, so I'll teach you as a reward for that." Tobio smiled at Oikawa's back as he walked behind him, Oikawa's nephew tagging by his side. "Oh, I didn't know that you helped people Tooru, that's news to me!" , the young boy chirped sarcastically and earned a karate chop to the back of his head from his uncle. He raced back home, leaving Oikawa and Kageyama walking side by side.

"That stupid brat!" Oikawa huffed out, slightly irritated, " I'll have to teach him proper manners sometime."

And just like that, Kageyama spent the evening in Oikawa's house mulling over his Kanji, while Oikawa tried to desperately the raven haired boy awake while learning the subject. (Oikawa is best tutor <3)

This is my first post here, I just felt like I had to write something after listening to all those versions of summertime. These were so fun to write and I hope you all enjoyed them! Please let me know if you want me to continue this.

REBLOG IF IT IS OKAY TO COME INTO YOUR INBOX AND SAY THE RANDOMEST SHIT I CAN THINK OF BECAUSE I REALLY WANT TO INTERACT WITH YOU.

The conflict and emotions in this one, lovely 🥺❤

Beautiful Lies

“It pains me to see my hero that way.” The villain said after a moment of silence.

And, oh god, didn’t that sound too soft? Too sad? So unlike the venomous words that usually dripped from the villain’s lips, burning themselves into the hero’s mind as if they were acid.

This seemed so different, so alien.

A flawless impression of sincere concern. Almost like the villain had actually meant it. Oh, it would have been so easy to believe those words. So tempting to trust a voice like the promise of a comforting embrace, a soothing touch.

Such beautiful lies,

but lies nonetheless.

This was wrong.

“I’m not yours!” The hero shot back, clutching at the anger churning up searing hot inside of them like it was their one and only lifeline. At least it was far more welcome than any of the other emotions currently coursing through them.

They didn’t want to have to deal with the villain right now.

They didn’t want this conversation.

They didn’t want these feelings.

All of this was so very wrong!

Years of experience in the field and a long acquaintance with the other had taught the hero better than to foolishly fall for any of that.

And yet nothing could have prepared them for how the villain’s face twisted into that pitiful frown they were now wearing. For how the villain’s hand flew to their own chest, clawed at the fabric of their shirt. How their voice cracked when they spoke.

“In my heart, we’ve always been each other’s.”

Oh, dear.

The hero had been mistaken, hadn’t they?

With all that burning fury so suddenly forgotten, an icy shiver crept down their spine as they recognised the villain’s words for what they truly were.

Not a beautiful lie,

but an ugly truth.

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