#just to make watbe intro

[epiclamer]

MELT ME MORE, BITCH

im sorry that's rude

have food 🍧🍧🍧🍧

that's right ice cream anon is

mean

ITS BACK!!!!!

@whump-headspace @hstoria @ajiansaa @letthebodyfall @equestrianwritingsstuff @i-am-overly-complicated @deadwhisper @sufferfictionalcharacters @wolfeyedwitch @kurocantcommunicate @those-damn-snippets @qualityrabbitsoup @alwaysalilhigh @thedeepvoidinmyheart

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8

Melting Pt. 9

Villain could barely believe what they were hearing. Sidekick, the one bravest, strongest and seemingly happiest sidekick of them all, had been hurt by none other than their very own mentor. To hear it was like a fever dream.

They just couldn’t bring themselves to trust it.

“No. You’re lying. You’re lying to get into my head and pretend like you and me are the same, when we’re not. You’re lying because you work for Hero and you work against me.” Saying their fears out loud helped them work through them, helped them categorize what was possible and what wasn’t.

At the moment, none of their fears even seemed plausible. Not with the sidekick’s genuine tone or watery eyes in the room.

“Villain,” they took a step forwards and the villain countered with a backwards one. “I’m not going to hurt you. I work for Hero as their sidekick, not their evil minion. Hero hurt me just like they hurt you, I would never lie about that.”

The confession left a burning acidic taste in the criminal's mouth; would the sidekick really be cruel enough to lie about pain?

They had seen it before, they knew it was possible.

But did they trust the other enough to believe for once in their life that there was a world without pain waiting for them?

Sidekick took a step back, allowing the other room to dwell, but that didn't extinguish the flame of desire in their heart to help. They couldn't pin point why exactly they wanted to help a villain of all people, but suffering together would always be better than alone.

One deep breath, a dry swallow and a shaky exhale later and the villain had made up their mind. If it cost them, they could deal with the consequences later.

"I trust you."

There was no relief in the room, no tension loosened, nothing changed. Villain wasn't even sure their opinion on the sidekick had. But they had committed themselves to the bit and they weren't about to double back. This was the choice they had made and if Sidekick decided to exploit them for it, they deserved it.

Sidekick smiled--only slightly--and it softened Villain's defences just as much. "Could I run you a bath? Or would you like to start slower than that?"

Villain appreciated the option, the control that the sidekick must've known they desperately needed. But some time to themselves to focus and get their thoughts straight seemed heavenly at the moment, so they nodded before giving it a second thought. "I would like that. The bath, I mean."

An expression of understanding washed over the minor hero's features and they left the villain to their own devices. Villain's eyes trailing after them as they disappeared down the hall and into the washroom. Against the simple decor and tidied surfaces they couldn't help the feeling of being out of place.

Blood stains against white carpet.

The lonely part of them hoped that the carpet hadn't always been so white.

Distantly they registered the sound of running water shaking through the pipes of the apartment, alongside the sporadic opening and shutting of what they recognized to be cabinet doors. But they felt their state to be too much dream-like to be able to process the movement around them.

In a blink, the sidekick had returned, towel in one hand (a pile of neatly folded clothes atop), a plain bar of white soap in the other. They said something as the villain took it gently from their arms, but the sound of water hitting acrylic was drowning it out.

Not literally of course, it was rooms over and a hallway across but to their own ears the villain was sure they were submerged already.

They nodded to move forwards, feet mindlessly following the path the other had taken just moments before. Dragging them into the bathroom and closing the door with a swift but soft kick.

Carefully the villain placed everything aside, stacking it in a neat pile on top of toilet for easiest access. Eyes glazing over the room in a daze as they began to strip down and out of their suit, shutting off the tap just in time to keep the water from spilling out of the tub.

Climbing in is what managed to pull them out of their stupor. The warm water engulfed their body and brought peace to their thoughts. They noted the slight hint of peppermint as they laid down, muscles relaxing at a single touch. Epsom salts had always been their remedy to stress; maybe Sidekick had something more to them than just being Hero's pet.

Maybe they had something else in common.

Villain could live with that, they decided, feeling themselves let go just a little bit more.