#sick Supervillain

[sunnynwanda]

Supervillain gets sick. Very, VERY sick. Will someone help him or is life about to get much, much worse for the master criminal?

Supervillain is sick

The air feels cold against their clammy skin, sending chills down their spine and arms. Their chest movements are uneven as they try to suppress another fit of coughs choking on their throat. Supervillain squeezes their eyes shut, waiting for it to pass. Their eyelids are heavy as lead when they try to open their eyes. They attempt a deep breath but end up wheezing through another cough.

Superhero be damned. 

That ice-cold bath in the frozen river must have been the last straw. They had landed on the bridge to wipe the perspiration off their forehead and run a hand through their damp hair. Meningitis was the last thing they wanted to die from, not after such a brilliant career as a master criminal and head of everything underground. Superhero didn't entirely mind the state of affairs in the city either. Their battles were nothing more than a warning. A display of power on both their ends to ensure no one attempted to defy the balance they had achieved.

Supervillain huffs out a shuddering breath, pressing a palm against their chest. It hurts all the way up to their throat and head. Their back feels stiff despite the softness of their couch. They did not expect the push and had to regroup under the surface, loosing precious time and, apparently, their lungs to the water.

The room is getting too hot, so they throw their blanket off, allowing the air to touch their burning skin. They inhale sharply at the sensation before realising they are no longer alone in the room.

"That's not a good idea," Supervillain glances in the general direction of the voice. What an astute observation. Had they not been this exhausted, they would have jumped up or searched for a weapon. Superhero shakes their head, walking out of the shadows.

"I'm not known for good ones," Supervillain admits, earning a low chuckle from their nemesis.

"How long have you been burning up like this?" Superhero asks, seizing them up. Supervillain raises an eyebrow watching Superhero point at their eyes. Ah, yes. Thermal vision. 

"What day is it today?" They ask. Their mouth is dry, but when they take a gulp of water, it feels stale against their tongue. "I've been down since Monday night."

"Are you out of your mind?" Superhero's voice goes unusually high. It must be about a week then, Supervillain assumes. They suspect it is pneumonia, and judging from the frown in Superhero's brow, they must be correct in that diagnosis. They want to ask how bad it is but opt for a safer route.

"I didn't exactly throw myself into a goddamn frozen river, did I?" They retort before going into a violent coughing fit. Superhero pulls them into a sitting position, rubbing circles on their back until they calm down. "You did."

"I know," Superhero looks ashamed, which they thoroughly enjoy despite the fever and weakness. They lean back against the couch, resting their spinning head. Dehydrated, Superhero mutters under their breath. "What do we do?"

Supervillain has to suppress a laugh at the risk of going into another uncontrollable fit. Their chest hurts from constant coughing. "How would I know? You're the ex-doctor here."

"There's no such thing as an ex-doctor," Superhero smiles, collecting their thoughts. They need ibuprofen, coughing syrup, some antibiotics, rest and lots to drink. "I wish I could listen to your lungs."

"Can't you do that with your eyes?" Superhero can't help the laugh that escapes their lips.

"Just how clueless are you?" They don't wait for a reply, marching into the kitchen only to come back with a new glass of water and some medicine in their hand. "Take this. It'll help you sleep while I make run for the pharmacy."

For some unfathomable reason, Supervillain obliges without question. They must be really weak, Superhero figures. They drape the blanket over Supervillain's form and find another for when their fever drops and they start shaking. They make a cup of lemon tea and place it on the coffee table, ordering Supervillain to drink it before their return.

Superhero knows who is to blame for the ice water bath, yet they can't help but wonder why there's no one taking care of the master criminal. No henchmen, no followers, no minions. Just them, alone in their lair. Their life behind the curtains feels eerily identical to Superhero's.

They glance back, wondering who and what they are fighting for and find no answer. Would anyone notice if one day Supervillain went missing? Seeing them now, they could as well be gone, and no one would come looking for their lifeless body. They could die alone in their living room, and no one would know. Would anyone notice if it were Superhero? They didn't know. They didn't want to know.

Hi, lovely anon! I might have taken this into a slightly different direction from what you expected but I hope you still find it fun. Thank you for the request :)

Masterlist

[turn-the-tables-on-them]

Darkness Falls chapter 2- Broken.

Warnings: Torture, sickness, fear, begging, whipping aftermath, torture aftermath, whumper turned whumpee, scared whumpee, Supervillain whumpee, infected wounds, graphic infection.

Taglist: @purple-heart-x @kira-the-whump-enthusiast @oddsconvert @whumpsday @interdimensional-chaos @mylifeisonthebookshelf @elrys-creates, @wolfeyedwitch @whumpwillow @pigeonwhumps

Joey wasn’t actually expecting to find any members of the Rogues when he entered the warehouse. He was expecting it to be empty, they usually were by the time he got there. Over the past eight months, only 5 members had been arrested. However, once he got in the main door, it became clear that it hadn’t been abandoned for long. Fresh cigarette smoke hung in the air, and there was mud on the floor that was still drying. He’d been close to catching the bastards.

It wasn’t Vigilante’s that Joey had a problem with, hell, he was one himself, it was their use of excessive violence to those they deemed to deserve it.

Plain torture, there was no other way to describe what was done to their victims. Even the worst criminals shouldn’t be tortured, in Joey’s opinion.

He came to another door, which proved to be locked. Joey sighed, taking a step back, and kicking it in.

Joey strode in, only to freeze up in shock as he registered the scene before him.

In the corner, restrained to the wall by a leather collar, was one of the most vicious people he’d ever had the misfortune to encounter.

“Slipknot?” Joey breathed, immediately wary of a trap, even as the other man flinched back. He was covered in blood and bruises, with several long gashes across his muscular chest. The sharp smell of vomit hung in the air.

Joey shook his head. It wasn’t a trap. Slipknot would never willingly put himself in a position that made him seem vulnerable, let alone… this.

Releasing a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding, Joey approached the younger man, who cowered back into the wall.

“N-no.” He whimpered. His glazed blue eyes widened in terror as Joey continued towards him. There wasn’t even a shadow of the arrogance that had always surrounded him.

“No, I can’t- please, I wasn’t, I-I didn’t- no, no please!” He cried, trying to scramble back as Joey stopped a few steps away.

He was shivering like a leaf in a hurricane.

“Please.” He moaned, his voice thick with terror, and hoarse from screaming. “Please, no more. I c-can’t… mercy, please, I’m s-sorry.”

“Hey.” Joey said, fighting to keep his voice calm for the younger man’s sake. He carefully reached out, and touched the supervillain’s shoulder, and he jerked back with a yelp that was gut-wrenchingly similar to that of a wounded dog.

“Please!” Slipknot whined, sweat beading across his forehead as Joey sighed. Even through his glove, he had felt the heat of the supervillain’s fever.

Noticing a haphazard bandage around Slipknot’s lower abdomen, Joey reached out to remove it.

Trembling, the younger man, God, he was more a boy, tried to turn away, revealing his back to Joey, who sucked in a shocked breath.

The lashes on Slipknot’s chest were nothing compared to the ones on his back, which was, not to put too fine a point on it, in tatters. 

Layer upon layer of wounds marked him from his shoulders to his hips.

Joey grimaced, unable to imagine the pain the boy must have been in. He slowly reached out to unhook the chain from the leather collar around Slipknot’s neck.

The supervillain sobbed, trying to pull away, choking slightly as the collar tightened around his throat.

When the chain fell away, Joey reached out to him, intending to remove the collar as well, only for Slipknot to shy away from him, his arms gave, and he collapsed onto his side with a weak cry.

Joey took a deep breath, and began to unwind the hardened bandages around Slipknot’s waist, which were crusted with blood and pus.

"N-no please..." Slipknot moaned, squirming fitfully on the dusty floor. Joey could never have imagined Slipknot begging like this.

“Hush, you’re going to make things worse if you keep squirming like that.” He said, keeping his voice low and calm.

The last of the bandage finally peeled itself away from the wound on the supervillain’s side, causing Slipknot to cry out.

Joey stared in horror at the hideously infected wound that had been concealed beneath the soiled bandages.

"Please." Slipknot whimpered. "Please, it hurts, make it stop, please, I-I won’t hurt anyone ever a-again... please." He begged, breaking into a sweat as he struggled to sit up.

“Lie still.” Joey murmured, pushing him back down, eliciting a terrified sob.

"Please... please d-don’t hurt me. I-I know you have every reason too, but please- I-I can’t." He pleaded. 

"Easy there bud, calm down."

Slipknot sniffled, trying to curl up. He made a small noise of pure terror when Joey grabbed his arm, pulling it across his shoulders.

“Easy, easy. I’m getting you out of here.” Joey murmured. Slipknot was both tall and quite muscular, but Joey was even bigger than him, and lifting him wasn’t too much of a problem.

Slipknot trembled in his hold, crying freely now. Joey couldn’t help but wince as he again felt how badly the poor thing was burning up.

Joey adjusted his hold on the younger man, and made his way out of the warehouse, and out to his car.

The drizzle had turned to a downpour, and Joey noted how Slipknot’s shivering worsened, his pity for the supervillain running even deeper.

Joey opened the back door of the car, and propped Slipknot up against the back seat. It was abundantly clear by now that Slipknot was too terrified to see reason, and Joey wasn’t going to risk him injuring himself further in panic.

He closed the door, and went to the trunk, grabbing the bed sheet he’d taken to keeping in the car for road-trips, back when he was still in medical school.

Returning to his feverish ward’s side, Joey draped the blanket across his shoulders, before wrapping it as tightly as he dared around his chest. He repeated the process as Slipknot wriggled and sobbed.

“N-no.” He moaned.

“I know, bud.” Joey replied softly, tucking the last fold in, effectively cocooning Slipknot, and restraining him, just like he had done with Nemesis the night he found her.

Slipknot’s chest heaved, sweat shining on his face and neck as he writhed helplessly against the walls of his cloth prison.

“Shadowdancer, please…” He begged, tears flowing freely from his terrified eyes.

“Easy bud, you’re safe now.” Joey told him, gently pressing the back of his hand against the fallen supervillain’s damp, scorching forehead. Slipknot sobbed, trying to pull away.

Joey gave him a sad look, closing the door, and going around to the driver’s seat.

“Wh-what are you going to do to me?” Slipknot whimpered.

“I’m taking you somewhere safe.” Joey said, smiling softly as he looked back at Slipknot. One glance confirmed that the supervillain didn’t believe him.

“Ple-please, I’m s-sorry.” The fever-stricken boy stammered. “I’ll be good. I- please… mercy… I can’t t-take it anymore.”

Joey just sighed, and turned the key in the ignition.

___________

Nemesis stretched out on the bed, grinning as she pressed play on the tv, before popping a sour gummy worm into her mouth.

She was just adjusting her pillow when she heard a car door slam. Nemesis glanced at the clock, which read 11:24.

Joey was back earlier than she’d been expecting.

“Nem, come open the door!” He shouted.

Nemesis frowned, putting aside her gummy worms, and pausing her movie.

Jogging down the stairs, she unlocked the door.

“Did you forget your key or some-” She cut off as Joey rushed inside, out of the rain, carrying with him a shivering mess who was weakly begging not to be hurt anymore.

Her lips parted in shock as she recognized said shivering, begging mess.

Slipknot.

The Supervillain’s skin was deathly pale, aside from his cheeks, which were flushed with fever.

He was shaking uncontrollably, moaning incoherent words of distress.

Nemesis shook herself, looking up at Joey.

“What. The. Hell?” She hissed.

“The Rogues got their hands on him.”

“And?”

“I need your help.”

“No.” Nemesis snapped.

“Nem-”

“No. He’s a monster.”

In Joey’s arms, Slipknot sobbed, trying to hide his face.

“He needs help.” Joey said softly.

“Okay, so take him to the hospital..”

“We both know why I can’t.”

Nemesis crossed her arms, looking at the floor.

“We do not condone torture, and we are not about to start.” Joey said firmly, heading upstairs.

Nemesis sighed. “So much for a quiet night.” She muttered, before trotting up the stairs after Joey, and following him into the master bedroom.

She stood beside Joey as he lay the barely-conscious menace down.

Slipknot whimpered, shifting weakly in the blanket-cocoon he was enveloped in, just like she had once been. He was soaked in sweat, and obviously delirious. Or, close to, at least.

He flinched as Joey began to unwrap the sheet.

Slipknot’s glassy blue eyes were half-lidded, but still full of terror. Nemesis glanced down at the four lashes across his chest, clicking her tongue in dismay,

He groaned in protest as Joey turned him onto his side, revealing the countless lashes that were ten times worse across his back.

Despite her bitterness, Nemesis couldn’t help the pity that welled up inside her.

“Ple-please...” He mumbled, his voice weak and raspy. “D-don’t...”

“Nemesis.” Joey said, and she tore her eyes away from the horrible wounds. “I need you to put aside the resentment for now. I need you to help me treat him.”

Nemesis hesitated for only a split second, then, with a sigh, she nodded.

“What do you need me to do?” She asked.

[chaotic-orphan]

Defiant Leader x Confident Villain (6)

Read part one here! //Continued from here

TW: VERY INTIMATE CREEPY WHUMPER WHO DOESN’T RESPECT BOUNDARIES, WHUMPER WHO DOESN’T UNDERSTAND NO, boundary pushing whumper, close proximity whumper, whumper making whumpee uncomfortable, borderline SA? Kind of? Idk how to tag it, just kind of borderline implied douchebag but i think it can be triggering for people so beware

~*~*~*~*~*~

“Leader?” Villain asked, lunging forward and grabbing Leader’s face in their hands. “Hey, hey. Leader?”

There wasn’t anything except panic racing through their mind as Villain’s fingers trailed down to Leader’s neck, pressing in gently on his pulse. Only then did they relax, tension leaving their shoulders and calves as they pushed back on their heels and just stared at Leader.

“You scared me, you dick,” Villain muttered to nobody. Leader must have passed out from the pain. Doctor did warn them that that could happen when she was training them. Maybe it was a good thing Leader was passed out while his bones fused themselves together again.

Villain ran a hand through their hair, blowing a breath through their lips as they began to pack up their bag. They unclipped the used needle head and put it in the bag of disposables. Supervillain wouldn’t notice one more used anyways, the bag was half full.

No, their rational voice drawled, sarcasm thick. Supervillain wouldn’t notice something so minute at seeing Leader’s healed hand that he took the effort to break. He’ll never notice.

Villain ignored it as they stood, bag in hand. It would be fine. They’d burn that bridge when they came to it.

Villain cranked the metal door open and froze. Supervillain’s sharp eyes met theirs. Villain, the usually calm and cool, collected Villain froze like a child with their hand caught in the cookie jar. Their skulduggery was even childish, quickly hiding the bag behind their back as if Supervillain hadn’t just seen it in their hands.

“Villain,” Supervillain said with a winning smile. Supervillain held a hand up to the person he was talking to, muttering something Villain couldn’t hear before he started walking towards Villain. “So funny, I was just looking for you.”

“Oh, really?” Villain asked, their voice coming out higher than they would’ve liked so they cleared it and pitched it down. “Well, I was just doing my rounds, sir.”

“Were you? So vigilant. How about I inspect it? Like the old days?”

The lie died on their lips at Supervillain’s pointed look. The look that didn’t accept No for an answer. Villain swallowed and inclined their head.

“Of course, sir,” they said pushing the door to Leader’s room back open. Supervillain stepped in and told Villain to shut the door again. Villain didn’t hesitate, though their arms felt heavy as they cranked the door shut again until it sealed properly.

Villain turned to face Supervillain. Even he was dwarfed by the size of the room. It was a bunker from World War II, Supervillain told them when he first showed Villain around. It stored plane parts and guns, ammunition. It was a giant concrete void of space, that Supervillain had repurposed to be his interrogation room.

Villain was far less flashy. The more claustrophobic the better for his victims, though… Leader was able to find the flaw in that approach.

“Hmm,” Supervillain said, drawing Villain’s eyes to his face. “Would you look at that, Villain. Leader’s hand is miraculously healed.”

Villain stepped forward. It was better to admit their guilt now then draw it out and incur Supervillain’s wrath twice.

“I can explain.”

“Can you? I’d love to hear it.”

Villain swallowed and paused, searching for the words because what the fuck were they supposed to say? Villain was Supervillain’s second best interrogator, his best torturer and here they were floundering for words to defend healing Leader’s hand. Their enemy. Supervillain’s prisoner.

Supervillain tilted his head. “No? Do you want me to explain?”

“No, Supervillain… I— listen, I—”

“No, no, no, no,” Supervillain said, wagging a finger at Villain. Only gently scolding them. “I have an even better idea. How about we ask Leader what happened?”

Villain’s eyes shot to Leader, still slumped in his seat and back to Supervillain again. “He’s passed out.”

“I can rectify that,” Supervillain said sweetly. Villain shook their head, holding their hands up placatingly.

“Wait, wait, wait — Supervillain, please. I can—”

“Explain. Please,” Supervillain said, bending to pick up the hammer. His kind, pleasant smile still on his face as he swung the hammer between his fingers. “While I still have some semblance of patience.”

Villain gathered their composure, stuttering wouldn’t help them pacify Supervillain. Villain forced their body to relax before speaking. “You broke every bone in his hand,” Villain said. “The risk of infection was high and then you’d get nothing out of him.”

“And what do I want to get out of him?”

Villain shifted their stance. “He knows exactly who hired him from the commission. He knows who is gunning for you, personally. Shouldn’t we at least try to extract that information before we ki—”

Villain choked on the word. Desperate eyes realising their mistake flashed to Supervillain, searching for sympathy.

“And we can’t extract that information from someone with a broken hand, can we, Villain?” Supervillain asker, sarcasm coating every word. “You’re the expert after all. My expert.”

Supervillain walked around Leader’s chair towards Villain, hammer still in hand. Villain swallowed hard, forcing themselves to remain upright. Not to falter or show weakness. They had no reason to be afraid of Supervillain. Supervillain was their friend. Supervillain trusted them.

Now if they could just assure their heart of that fact maybe it would stop jack-rabbiting in their chest. Supervillain stopped in front of Villain, staring down at them. Villain couldn’t quite meet their gaze so instead they stared at his shoulder. Supervillain swung the hammer between their fingers, but Villain didn’t flinch. Then the metal head of the hammer was under their chin, forcing their head up to meet Supervillain’s icy eyes.

Every muscle in their thighs tensed and released, getting ready to run which was ridiculous because why would they run from Supervillain? If their body could just catch up to their brain that would help them a bunch in this moment.

“I want you to grab the medic bag and bring it back to the medbay,” Supervillain told them. The tension almost melted from their body at his words. See? There was nothing to worry about! Villain nodded, though it wasn’t very effective with the hammer under their chin.

“Of course, sir.” Villain said, moving to grab the bag. The hammer stopped them, this time lightly on their cheek, turning their attention back to Supervillain. Something else hid behind Supervillain’s eyes now, like glittering amusement.

“I’m not finished. When you return the bag, I want you to grab the other for me.”

Villain’s brows drew down over their eyes. “The other bag, sir?”

“Yes,” Supervillain said with a grin. His eyes seemed to glisten with malice, drawing Villain further and further into their crystal blue depths. “Your toolkit.”

Villain stiffened. Supervillain’s smile cut into his face.

“And bring it back here, hmm? I think you’re right, Vil. I think we need to get information from him. Leader seems like a tough nut to crack, but, well, I don’t have to tell you that. You probably know all the things that make him tick. Where to poke and prod, and slice.”

Villain’s hands started shaking at their sides, which they quickly balled, trying to hide the tremble from Supervillain. The reluctance. Fuck. Fuck!

Supervillain wanted Villain to torture Leader… that is not what he meant when he said interrogate him! Villain was just trying to come up with a way that would leave Leader still breathing.

Because you care for him, a nasty voice said in the back of Villain’s head. Even after everything, you still care for him, and Supervillain knows.

This is a test.

Villain nodded again. “I couldn’t agree more, sir. Leader would never turn on his team without incentive.”

Supervillain hummed his approval, dropping the hammer from Villain’s cheek. “My, my Villain. You’re going after the whole team now. I didn’t know you could be so vicious.”

Villain inclined their head, a coy smile on their lips that made themself sick. “Of course you did, sir. It’s one of the reasons you keep me around.”

“We’ll see, won’t we?” Supervillain’s smile was pleasant. His words held a very thinly veiled threat. We’ll see if you stay around after torturing Leader. “Don’t be long! I can’t wait to see this.”

Villain didn’t trust their voice so they nodded. It seemed satisfactory enough. Villain grabbed the bag and walked to the door, cranking it open and stepping out. They froze as the door closed behind them, for just a second. They had to do this. They had to do this. They had to torture Leader, or else they would both end up on Supervillain’s to-be-killed list.

Villain didn’t want to end up in a cell next to Leader. Not with how hard they worked to climb the ranks of Supervillain’s organisation. Not to mention some of the enemies Villain had made here who would just love to see them taken down a peg. Reduced to nothing, another prisoner for them to torture. No, Villain refused to put themself in that position. Not even Leader would get in their way of that.

They took their time bringing the bag back to the medbay, grateful that it was on the other side of the bunker, closer to the entrance. It made sense if anyone got injured in the field, but… it was also closer to Villain’s room. Or rather, their workshop, as Supervillain called it.

Villain’s footsteps seemed to echo down the halls, bouncing off the walls and back to their ears, as loud as gunshots. They shouldn’t have tried to help Leader in the first place! What kind of idiot were they? Healing a prisoner? One that Supervillain had personally seen to! They let their emotions get in the way once, they were not about to make the same mistake twice.

Villain opened the door to their workshop. It was a glorified shed of a room with all different torture devices hung perfectly on the wall. Everything was even from the hooks to the actual tools; sorted in groups that made sense to Villain, whips and blunt objects on one side, knives in a group of their own, and miscellaneous others, like tasers and pliers on the other.

Villain glared at the objects now, bending and grabbing his leather bag from under the metal table. Their mutinous brain was working against them, cataloging all the different things that would make Leader break. The knives were Villain’s favourite, but they doubted Leader would break under that kind of pain. It stung, but only for a little while. Still… It was Villain’s specialty and Supervillain would raise his brows if Villain came back without any.

Villain packed a few, and their nasty whip that left their victims screaming and sobbing in their restraints, begging for mercy.

Villain froze as a horrible thought crossed their mind. Leader would turn into one of their victims now. One of their actual victims. Villain was going to have to make Leader beg and plead and cry and scream— they screwed their eyes shut trying to scrub the image from their mind.

It would soon be undeniably in front of them as they caused the damage anyways. They just needed to retreat to that unemotional recess in their brain. Turn on survival mode, just do what they needed to do and hate themselves later for it.

It would be easy, they told themselves. Maybe if they told themselves that enough, they might actually start to believe it. Well… they could live in hope.

“Knock, knock,” Villain straightened, their back going rigid at the voice. “Hey Vil, I saw you sneak into your friend’s room earlier. Are you bringing them something to keep them entertained while they visit?”

Villain turned, not bothering to hide the look of revulsion that appeared on their face whenever they saw Rival. Rival was the definition of a piece of shit personified. He was tall, a creep that made Villain’s skin crawl, and handsome which automatically gave him a licence to be the world’s leading expert on how to not respect people’s boundaries. Rival thought everyone was in love with him, and could give a masterclass on: how to be a bastard while sucking up to your superiors.

“Yeah. Do you want to come? I can beat the shit out of you while they watch, that should keep them entertained.”

Rival smiled his horrible, handsome smile. He had to bend slightly to step through the door into Villain’s workshop. Villain glared at him as he walked over to the wall of knives and took one between his fingers.

“Oh, how I’d love to come and watch…” Rival said, shooting Villain a sideways glance. “You know how much I love to watch you work.”

Villain’s nose scrunched up in distaste. “You ratted me out to Supervillain.”

“Ratted you out? No. Never,” Rival said, turning his body to Villain’s and stepped closer. Rival pressed the flat of the blade under Villain’s chin, tilting their head up to look him in the eye. He had chocolate brown eyes that reminded Villain a little of Medic’s, but where Medic’s were cold and logical, Rival’s were a sickening kind of warm. “Supervillain just asked about your whereabouts and I told him the last place I saw you was in the medbay.”

Villain’s glare turned cutting. “Oh don’t look at me like that, Vil,” Rival said with a pout. “We’re on the same team here.”

Rival stepped impossibly closer, forcing Villain’s head up at an uncomfortable angle. “Why is it you can get along with everyone else but me, hmm?”

Villain’s arm twitched up but they stopped when they felt the blade knick their throat. Rival’s eyes got brighter as Villain felt a bead of blood surface.

“Maybe because not everyone here is a creep like you.”

Rival smirked down at Villain. “It’s just the two of us here, Vil,” Rival said with a honeyed voice, dragging the blade up, tracing the outline of Villain’s skull with the tip of the dagger. Rival’s hand replaced the blade at Villain’s throat, tightening when Villain tried to step away. “You like all the attention I give you. Admit it.”

Villain swallowed, feeling the weight of Rival’s hand like a collar as they did.

“Supervillain’s expecting me,” is all Villain replied, expression blank. The corner of Rival’s lips twitched up, but he let Villain go. Villain went back to packing their bag, as if Rival wasn’t there.

Villain was glad of the distraction, ignoring the slight tremble in their hands that usually followed an interaction with Rival. They walked over to the chemical cabinet. The drugs that drove Supervillain’s prisoners mad, that heightened all sensation and set nerves alight in agony.

Supervillain was more sadistic than Villain. He liked when people screamed and cried, and writhed in pain. Even when Villain told him it wasn’t necessary to get information. Especially traitors. He liked to sit in and watch them in their lowest moments, screaming and begging for help, for a mercy that Supervillain would never give.

Rival’s eyes never left Villain as they moved about, packing the last of the things they needed in their bag. They grabbed the handles of their bag in one hand, about to zip it up when Rival’s hand slid over Villain’s and stopped them.

“Take this one too, Vil,” Rival said, depositing the knife he used to knick Villain’s throat into the bag. Villain shivered as Rival brushed the small cut on their throat, ignoring his hungry gaze. “Trust me when I say it’s work is delightful.”

Villain didn’t say anything in return. They zipped up the bag and turned away from Rival, only focused on getting away from the monster beside them. Once they stepped out of the corridor of their workshop, Villain put their hand over their mouth and sucked in a startled breath, tears pricking the backs of their eyes. They wanted to be sick, but Supervillain…

Supervillain was… Supervillain was expecting them. They took the moment to gather themselves before straightening again and walking purposefully towards Leader’s cell.

Villain held their head high. They could compartmentalise that encounter until later. Right now they had to be Supervillain’s Villain. Supervillain’s protégé, his in house torture expert and interrogator. They had no time to be regular Villain.

Hell… Villain hadn’t seen that vulnerable side to themselves in a while. Maybe Leader did make them weak. Maybe they would have never reached their potential if they had stayed with Leader… and Medic and Rogue…

They steeled their heart once they turned down the hall of Leader’s cell. Reminiscing wouldn’t help them with what was to come. In fact, it would most likely hurt them and prevent them from doing what they had to do. What needed to be done. Their loyalty to Leader was dead and they had to prove it.

Villain wasn’t an idiot, this was a test. To see when it came down to it, who was Villain really? The pathetic nobody that Leader remembered or a valued member of Supervillain’s organisation?

Not only that, but which one served them better at this moment in time? This was the last thing that Villain wanted to do today, but whatever God that was watching them was a sadistic freak that liked to see Villain suffer. Maybe they deserved Rival’s attention, maybe it was their karma for what they were about to do.

Villain took a breath and opened the door then disappeared inside, the metal cranking closed behind them.

*~*~*~*~*

A.N — Sorry it’s short, and also a cliffhanger, it would have been too long if I continued it but next part soon!!! Thank you for reading :)

Orphanage roll-call (tag-list, lmk if you wanna be added or removed): @nameless-beanie @aarika-merrill @criohfreeze @bandnbookbag @gala1981 1 @theonewithallthefixations @libellule888 @cardboardarsonist @shywhumpauthor r r @written-by-jayy @memepsychowhowantsuperpower-blog @whump-is-love-whump-is-life @icarusignite @shirtzip @honeyed-euphrates @shameless-dumbass s @dutifullykrispyland @starlight-hope @thatlittlefirestarter @iskrapolumianka @withercat22 @elizaisnotokay @jumpywhumpywriter

[theshadowrealmitself]

My favorite type of oc/scenario is:

Hero who’s like, universally beloved, even tho they aren’t the type of hero who usually is

They wear a dark hood, rarely speak, and if they do it’s obviously an altered voice, and they always do what’s right but in a gruff way, they’d like to be nicer, but unlike some of the other heroes who have super speed, life threatening situations just don’t give them enough time to be polite and sweet

So they know they’re respected, they’ve been at this job for awhile and they’re good at it, but they have no idea they’re beloved, even by the villains

Till the one time they go undercover as a villain

[gingermintpepper]

So, now that Blood of Zeus has also been given its chance to tell the Demeter/Persephone story (and also, similarly, fundamentally misunderstood the themes of the Hymn to Demeter) can we finally, finally talk about Mother Love?

Because I can scream until I'm blue in the face about how modern, popular interpretations of the myth have become so focused on being 'empowering' to women by fixating on giving power to Persephone in her marriage with Hades and, in turn, disparaging Demeter, another woman, - the mother who grieves her lost daughter - that they've some how spun all the way around and gotten back to being misogynistic and reductive, but I feel like talking nebulously about the fact that it's Demeter and Persephone's story and not Hades and Persephone's story never gets the point across hard enough. So:

Anyone who was upset about Demeter's demonisation in Blood of Zeus S2? Read Mother Love. Anyone who is ever upset that retellings of the Homeric Hymn to Demeter constantly demonise, belittle, accuse and insult Demeter and her grief while making excuses to redeem and forgive her daughter's captor? Read Mother Love. Anyone who likes Hades and Persephone as a romantic tale but yearn for complexity outside of arbitrary romantic antagonists impeding the happiness of the couple? Read Mother Love!! Everyone who has even a passing interest in this tale whether it is for the romance, the mother-daughter connections, the themes of grief and loss and eventual comfort and compromise, the wrath of the mother transgressed, the justice that is served due to a mother's insistence in an unjust society, READ MOTHER LOVE!!!

Because it pains me that such a perfect retelling of Demeter and Persephone's story exists, that it focuses on the mother-daughter relationship by comparing it with the poet's own relationship with her mother and it is nearly obscure in the greek mythology community.

[hotchocolatewriting]

You felt that, didn’t you?

When Hero woke up the room was still dark. Everything, except for the one candle burning at the other side of the iron bars. A soft orange glow filled the dark room and provided the only bit of light during the night. It had something cosy to it, even though everything else about the situation was not something you would call ideal. Hero had no idea what time it was and with Villain taking away their phone and smartwatch they wouldn’t be able to know either. They sighed and turned around pulling the blanket over their pounding head to keep the cold air away. They could feel their body shiver, their teeth clattering, but they didn’t give it too much attention. Villain somehow never really kept it warm in here, but then why would they? Hero was their prisoner and had been for weeks. There was no way out. Not one that Hero had managed to find at least and so the days passed by slowly but surely. Villain would visit them daily. Coming downstairs to give them the food they needed and bring them clean clothes. Sometimes Villain let them go upstairs to take a bath or a shower, but every single time they would be put back in the cell again. Escaping was impossible, even during those moments, because even though Villain would give them all the time and freedom in the world for their bath, they would wait outside and make sure there was nothing Hero could use.

The first week had passed without any words, most of the time Hero didn’t even know that Villain had been there. Other times they wondered what the villain was thinking about. But after that week some conversations had started. At least if that was what you wanted to call them. Their conversations had been short, defensive and with a lot of arguing. Hero had tried every single argument to get them to freedom, every single technique they knew to get Villain to think about letting them go. Over time Hero gave up and slowly they got to know each other. After two weeks Villain would carefully start to tell about their days and sometimes even share little bits about themselves. Hero learned about their dog and their love for tea and cooking. Villain in return learned about Hero’s favorite foods and book obsession. It took a while, but Villain seemed to like the company more and more. Short conversations turned into longer ones, sometimes even more than an hour with Villain sitting on the other side of the bars as both of them ate. Both of them enjoyed each others company and Hero had to admit that they had a lot in common. They loved the same movies, the same parts of the city and even though Villain had killed, somewhere they cared. Villain’s visits made sure that the days were less boring and sometimes Villain would look away from them with guilt written all over their face. "I'm sorry for keeping you here," they would say, but they wouldn't let Hero go. They never did. One day Hero had asked about the outside world. Were they still searching, did they even try. Villain had not looked at them and tried to ignore the question. “I have to know, Villain,” Hero had said. Villain had not immediately given an answer, keeping quiet and eventually saying they didn’t know. A day later they couldn’t hold it anymore. “I’m sorry, Hero. I have never seen anyone try.” At that moment, after all the effort that Villain had put into keeping the truth from them, Hero immediately knew that it wasn’t a lie. It had been one of the hardest things to hear and Hero hadn’t been able to hide that fact from Villain who had stayed with them all day to keep the tears away as best as they could. They had even made Hero’s favourite food to cheer them up. Hero turned again to watch the flame dance on it’s candle. Something shifted in the corner of their eye and Hero quickly found someone laying at the other side of the bars. No blanket, no mattress or pillow. Just someone sleeping on the ground, using their arm to sleep on. "Villain?" Hero asked, their voice hoarse and painful. All they were greeted with was a soft murmur. Hero smiled at seeing them asleep like that, but they couldn’t help but wonder why they would be there. Besides, it was cold and Villain slept on the ground without any blankets or pillows. "Villain, what are you doing?" Hero asked again, louder this time, their voice still cracking. Villain turned around and looked up at them. "Hm?" They asked while rubbing their eyes. Even their hair peaked out. "Why are you here?" "To keep an eye on you of course,” Villain exclaimed, “I was worried!" They got to their feet and opened the door to sit down at Hero's bedside. "Why? I've been here for weeks and nothing has happened." "But you fainted when I brought you back from the shower! You swayed on your feet and I couldn’t figure out what was wrong. Then I figured you were burning up and then you wouldn't wake up when I came back with cold water. I.. I thought you were dying!" Hero blinked surprised. Then a cold hand gently touched their forehead and Hero leaned into it. They hadn't realised their skin was so hot while they felt so cold. They couldn’t stop themselves from shivering still. "I'm fine," Hero muttered through clattering teeth, but they closed their eyes when Villain used the remote to turn the lights on. Their head felt like someone was testing their hammer on it. "You're not and we both know it," Villain said. They took a glass from the bedside table and held it in front of Hero. "Please drink some, I want you to be okay again." Hero thought about refusing. They weren’t thirsty or even hungry for that matter. But the pleading look in Villain's eyes made them reach out either way as they sat up. Their head was pounding even more and sitting up took a lot more effort than Hero thought at first. They were swaying, but Villain quickly threw their arm around them to keep Hero in place. How did they not realise that they felt so sick. "Do you need ice for your head? I couldn't catch you when you fell and you hit it quite hard." They looked away and added, "I already cooled it for about an hour when you were asleep, but I can imagine it still hurts." "You care way too much for an enemy," Hero said quietly. They shifted in place and could feel their muscles protest at the movement. Their body screamed for them to lay down again, to sleep. But they were so freezing cold that they weren’t sure if they could manage to sleep through the shivering. "I thought by now you would have figured it out," Villain said, a small but friendly smile playing around their lips. "Figured out what?" "I don't see you as my enemy, not anymore at least. I thought.. nevermind I dream too much. Just know I care and I want you to be okay." Hero nodded but inside they were trying to get their mind together. What did they mean? At least they didn't want them dead, but that was already known otherwise they wouldn't be here. But then again, Villain cared so much, way too much. "What time is it?" Hero asked, closing their eyes and holding a hand against their temple. They felt their heart beating with every painwave that went through their head. Villain shrugged. "I don't know, 3 am or so?" "And you're still here taking care of me?" "I don't care about the time. I will even bring you to the bath if that's what you want. I will stay here with you to make sure you're okay." A bath sounds nice, Hero thought. The warmth sounded even better. But Hero didn’t feel like drying themselves with a towel and being in the nice, calming warmth only to return to cold dark cell. "Warmth does sound nice," Hero said, turning their gaze towards Villain. "It's always cold here." "Sorry," Villain said quietly. "Didn't mean to." They took the glass over and put it back, helping Hero to lower themselves down. Hero closed their eyes again. Then they felt Villain’s hands underneath their back and legs, before they knew it Villain pulled them towards their chest. Hero yelped surprised, but Villain held them firmly. "It's okay, I will just bring you to my room. It's warmer there." "Sounds good," Hero mumbled, closing their eyes once again. Sweat was streaming down just beside their eye, but they were so cold that Villain’s body warmth almost felt like it was a nice burning fireplace. Hero could feel their head roll against Villain’s chest, but they didn't have the strength to move anymore or open their eyes. They felt the vibration of Villain’s soft chuckle, felt how their muscles and body were burning with pain now they had tried to move. Felt.. soft lips against their forehead before Villain lowered them down and tugged them in some warm covers. Hero's brain was too sleepy to work properly for a moment but they could hear Villain walking away. Warmth was slowly coming and not much later something even warmer was pressed against their chest, waking them up from their half sleep. "Warm water bottle," Villain said when Hero managed to open their eyes for a questioning look. "Sorry for waking you again." "I was awake," Hero said, their eyes closing, then opening again to see Villain’s shocked expression and the heat that had reached their cheeks but they said nothing. "I will let you sleep now," they said as they walked away. Hero hugged the warm water bottle, pressing it against their cold body. Villain had done everything to keep them warm. To help them feel better. "Stay." "What?” Villain asked, surprised. “Do you need anything else?" Their voice turned to worried again. Their eyes wandered over Hero, looking for any signs of pain. Anything that they might need. "Just stay,” Hero said. Villain nodded and quietly sat down at the edge of the bed. Hero took their hand in their own. They were so warm. Hero held their hand against their cheek, there it felt cool which reminded Hero that after all they were still burning up. "Sleep," Hero said, their voice soft. "Here. You're warm, nice." Hero could see them blushing again right before they turned their head away again to hide it. "I can't," Villain said. "Just do it, I'm cold." Villain shifted nervously, then sighed and lay down behind Hero. "You felt that kiss, didn't you." "Maybe I did."

[bathylychnops]

this guy i made up in my brain again.. whaddahell..

[thepenultimateword]

Short Prompt #98

“You’ve long evaded me, Villain, but today is the day you meet your match!” Hero cried, bursting the door off its hinges in one powerful kick. The heavy piece of oak slammed flat against the floor with a resounding bang!

“Shhhh!” Villain hissed sharply as they burst around the corner. “Supervillain has the flu, and I just got them to sleep, if they wake up I swear—“

“Villlaaaain,” Supervillain’s voice whined pathetically from the other room.

Villain glared murderously at the hero. “You’ve doomed us both.”

[spearxwind]

Im sick of studying

[cold--carnage]

all of your fictives from the boys need to source separate because they're pretty problematic characters and problematic fictives should source separate /nm /gen

[mayoiayasep]

ok but like. is there going to be a ryuseitai event that addresses chiaki and the way he puts all the burdens onto himself and would rather people hit him when they're angry or like. am i just goin gto have to lay awake at night thinking about this until the end of time

[thegreatyin]

also i may not be spoiling myself on the specifics of evolution's endings but i have learned about the existence of the neon future and im obsessed? i just know the scoundrel aka herr gacha spiel is living it up down there

[em-writes-stuff]

mystery pill + gaslighting

day 13 of two weeks of whump @promptsforyourwhumpfic

672 words

villain and supervillain

warnings: drugging, gaslighting

---

“Villain?” Supervillain calls from her room. “Can you get me something for my migraine?” 

There’s no reply, but she can hear him shuffling around in the kitchen, the water running, and now he’s in her doorway. He hands her a glass and pill. 

“Thanks,” she says, popping the pill in her mouth and taking a sip of water. She finishes the rest of the water and hands the cup back to him. 

He nods and leaves her room, placing the cup in the sink and sitting back down in front of his computer. 

Two hours later, Villain stands up and checks on Supervillain, pushing the door open without a second thought. She’s slumped over her workbench, a pencil in hand, and the blueprints for a weapon laid out in front of her. Villain smiles and opens her computer, typing in the password and getting to work. 

Supervillain wakes up in her bed, how she got there? She has no idea. Her head isn’t any better, so she rolls over to face away from the window and draws the blanket up to her chin. 

The next day, Villain gives her the same kind of pill and she downs it without hesitation, hoping it would work. She gets back to work on her weapon, falling asleep after just two hours again. 

Villain wakes her up before dinner, “Are you feeling any better?” 

“No,” she groans. “I think I’m worse somehow. What have you been giving me?” 

He shakes his hands and mumbles, “Just whatever you usually take. The label’s worn off but it usually works. Do you think you’re sick?” 

He presses his hand to her forehead and frowns, “You’re a little warm. Why don’t I make you some tea?” 

“I have that thing with Hero later today. I have to make it there.” she tries to push herself up, but Villain stops her. He gently lays her back down and shakes his head. 

“Don’t be silly, you can’t do anything right now. I can go meet him. I helped you write the deal, so I know the whole thing by heart. Maybe better than you since I was typing it for you.” He lays a blanket over her and nods. 

“No, I have to…I should do it. Hero’s expecting me, so I should be there to meet him.” 

“Sure,” Villain says, taking a step back. “If you can get up and get ready alone, you can meet him. But if not, then can I do it for you?” 

She takes a deep breath and takes a moment to decide, but she nods. 

“Thank you. I’m going to make you tea, and if you’re able to get ready, I’ll pour it in a thermos, alright?” he leaves the room before she can give an answer. 

Villain puts a mug of water in the microwave and sets the timer, then leans against Supervillain’s doorway. He watches her try to get up, and fail three times before stopping her. 

“Supervillain,” He says softly. “You can’t do this. Not today, okay?”

She sighs and falls back against her pillow, breathing heavily. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I feel so weak. I don’t understand it.” 

He nods and brushes a strand of hair out of her face, “It’s probably just a 24-hour bug. You’ll be right as rain in the morning.” 

She nods, and lets him pull away with a sigh. He walks out of her room, a small, satisfied smile on his face. Quickly, he takes the mug out of the microwave and pulls apart a pill capsule above the boiling water. He tosses the empty capsule in the trash and dunks a tea bag into the steaming water. 

Villain sets the tea next to Supervillain’s bed and walks back out to meet with Hero. What Supervillain doesn’t know is that he’s not going over what they’d planned together. Supervillain wanted peace? After months of winning the important battles against Hero? It wasn’t smart, so she was going to do the right thing for them. 

[wormy-worm]

OK LAST ONE @bloojay I ACCIDENTALLY DELETED UR ASK BUT HERES AN ANDY

+ Bonus Mara and babies

[north-wilkesboro-moonshine-cave]

you know there's a real missed opportunity of not making versions of like the real housewives franchise in comics. you look me in the eyes and you goddamned tell me that the real housewives of gotham or central city doesn't fucking SMACK in the dc universe and give atlanta and rhony a run for the crown

[hotchocolatewriting]

You felt that, didn’t you #2

Part 1

Most of the night was easy enough. Hero managed to stay asleep for hours despite their sick body. Though when they woke up, their body felt heavy and every muscle was on fire. Beside them, Villain was still asleep. They lay at the edge of the bed with their back turned towards Hero. Somehow it was surprising to see that they hadn’t gotten up and walked away as soon as Hero had fallen asleep. Hero struggled to turn themselves on their other side and closed their eyes. Originally they had hoped to get out and wander around for a bit, see how far they would be able to come. But with a body as sick as theirs it was better to save some energy and not participate in some needless fights. Especially not now that Villain seemed to trust them enough to bring them here.. their room. Hero opened their eyes and tried to look around for a bit, wondering what they could find. But the curtains were closed and there was barely any light in the room. Hero could make out a big desk with lots of things on it, one shelf on the wall with books and a closet with a mirror on it. The rest was too dark to see.

It didn’t take too long for Villain to shift and turn around too. Hero had been trying to fall asleep, without any success but they didn’t move when they heard Villain and they didn’t when they couldn’t anymore, wondering what they were doing. Villain’s hand touched their forehead like they had done the other day and then stroked through their hair, gently, caring. The touch was light and felt good despite the fact that Hero’s head was still pounding. Then it stopped, just as Hero wanted to lean into it. They heard Villain mumbling to themselves, “Probably shouldn’t.” “But it was nice,” Hero said, turning their head to look at Villain who visibly jumped to sit straight up and then froze in place looking at Hero in utter shock. “Can you stop pretending to be asleep when you’re clearly not?!” Hero chuckled. “Not if that means you stop being adorable. Besides, I was.. well half.” “I am your enemy, you shouldn’t be calling me adorable,” Villain said as they got up and turned their head away. Hero turned around once again to watch Villain who opened the curtains now. Even with their back turned towards them, Hero could tell they were nervous. They could see Villain fidgeting with their shirt and knew they had barely looked them in the eyes since the kiss. Hero could even see a little bit of their face and ears that were bright red. It made them smile. Hero nestled themselves a bit further underneath the thick covers. Villain’s bed was actually very nice. Now Villain watched them, a small smile playing around their lips. “How are you feeling?” “Like I have been hit by a truck after running a whole marathon and more. Everything hurts.” “I think your fever has gone down at least,” Villain said quietly. “You didn’t feel like you were burning up anymore.” “I’m also not as cold anymore, thanks to you. Thank you for staying and.. for holding me.” Now it was Hero’s turn to blush as they realised what they were saying they had done. Villain grinned now, but they didn’t go into it. Instead they opened the other curtains and walked towards the door. “Would you like for me to prepare you a warm bath? I have bath salt that should help with your cold.” “That sounds nice,” Hero said. Villain nodded and stared at them as if they wanted to say something else. Doubt shimmering in their eyes just before they shook their head and walked away. What are they thinking? Hero wondered. Not much later Villain had guided them to the bathroom and given them a new stack of clean clothes. Again they had looked at Hero with such an intense gaze, opened their mouth to say something and then closed it again without letting any words pass. Somehow they gave Hero a confused impression, a sad one even, but Hero couldn’t quite figure out what it was. “What’s wrong?” Hero asked as they sat down on the edge of the bath. “Nothing, it’s just..Would you.. Nevermind it’s fine.” They turned away once again and all Hero wanted to do was throw their arms around them to comfort them. The only thing stopping them were their own morals, the knowledge that they had already taken this way too far. But once again Villain left and Hero sighed. Hero wished they could just push it on being sick, delirious even, but that wouldn’t be fair to either of them. Because even though it was stupid to fall for the villain that was keeping them locked up in here and probably got them sick in the first place, they had. Hero liked them and they wouldn’t have known, wasn’t it for Villain liking them back so obviously. For their friend, Hero did feel comfortable enough to call them that, to care so much. To worry about them, kiss them and be so damn gentle and sweet. Hero let their head rest on their knees as they sat in the hot water. “Dammit I fell for them,” they cursed to themselves. They’re way too nice for a villain, but then again they were also keeping them here, but they also comforted them way too many times and they had fun together anyway. And their meals! The meals were perfection! Hero smiled at the ridiculous thought. What does that have to do with any of this? They still killed people, only the bad ones according to Villain. They were a danger for everyone for the people of the city. But then the same people weren’t even trying to search for them. Those same people had hurt them and caused Villain to comfort them with everything they could have needed. Made Villain sad upon seeing Hero like that even. Villain might be a criminal, they had never really hurt them, not like that. And maybe that one day had been the start of this all. When Hero was fully rimpled and the water turned cold they finally decided to get out. Their muscles were still hurting, but the pain was a lot less and thanks to Villain’s special bath salt they could breathe through their nose. Villain was nowhere to be seen. Normally they would wait before the door or somewhere further in the hallway, but this time Hero didn’t see them. It gave them the opportunity to walk around and explore for a bit. When Hero made it to the living room Villain was still nowhere to be seen. The door to the outside garden wasn’t even that far away now. Hero still didn’t want to break Villain’s trust, knowing they could maybe use it to escape later with more chance of succeeding. “Less chance at breaking Villain’s heart too,” their mind screamed. But Hero was curious and wanted to breathe in some fresh air. They could just sit outside in the garden and wait for Villain to come back. Maybe walk around the house a bit and explore, get some sun even though it wasn’t that warm. They had only set two steps outside when they heard Villain’s voice from behind and froze. “I knew you would come here,” their voice was soft and there was not a single trace of anger or disappointment. Instead Hero felt a blanket being thrown around their shoulders. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to break your trust.” Hero said, turning to face Villain. They sat down again, their back against the wall. “You didn’t,” Villain said. Somehow those words were a bigger relief than they should be. Villain seemed to notice and gestured for Hero to sit down too. “It’s only fair. I didn’t realise how long you’ve had to miss this because of me.” Hero looked at them but Villain didn’t look back. They still had that frown on their face, that sadness and doubt in their eyes. So Hero didn’t say anything and let their head rest on Villain’s shoulder. “You know you’re only here so you wouldn’t stand in my way, right? Not because I want anything from you or to hurt you.. gosh I hate to see you hurt.” They fumbled with the cords of their hoodie. “I know I should have done it sooner, but then we started to get along even more and I enjoyed our time together. I was scared that it would go away. Selfish, I know. I’m your enemy, I know.. bad and all that stuff. But I should have let you go because I like you, not keep you all to myself because of that.” Villain looked at them. Hero hadn’t moved from their shoulder and only moved their eyes to look back at them. “Would you be able to.. forget.. well not forget, forgive is a better word I guess. Would you be able to forgive me if I-” Villain sighed and looked back at their hands. “If I turn everything around? If I try to do things differently, maybe I don’t know, help you?” Hero sat up now, surprised at Villain’s question or request even. “You want that?” “I know it sounds ridiculous. Sorry.” “No. No! It doesn’t!” Hero said. “I mean it’s unexpected but if you would want that, we can figure something out. But why?” Villain took both of their shoulders and stared them in the eyes, then slowly brought their face closer, closing their eyes and lightly pressed a kiss on Hero’s lips. When Hero looked at them again they saw a very shy, very red version of Villain staring down at their hands, then looking up at them again. “Because I would like to have a fair chance with you. If you are okay with that of course.” “Of course!” Hero said, taking Villain’s hands in their own so they would stop fidgeting. “As long as you want to be my personal cook too.” Villain laughed. “Sure, I can do that, my love.” “Love you too,” Hero said, kissing them back.