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Despite living in the city for a while now, Minho had never been saved by a Super before. Well, not until today, anyway.
It should have been an entirely average working day - wake up; skip breakfast; stop in at the cafe across the street from the office for a coffee and, with increasing frequency, a cake or pastry of some kind courtesy of the cute smiley barista who seemed to have a sense for when Minho had skipped breakfast; consider - and chicken out of - asking the cute smiley barista for his phone number; go to work; squabble with the fax machine and answer emails for hours; go home; grab some takeout while binge-watching cheesy dramas; sleep and repeat. And most of it had played out according to schedule.
At least until Minho was waiting for his bus home from work, only to be hauled away from the bus stop by an unknown assailant in broad daylight , and dragged to the lair of the irritating neighbourhood supervillain to play Hostage Of The Day.
Minho had only distantly observed Supers and their theatrics over the past few months. He’d never directly witnessed any Super fights, or any heinous villainy, or even anybody just flying around the city like he’d been made to expect before moving there for his new job. Save for the occasional headline or hostage broadcast, Supers and their strange world never really factored into Minho’s life at all.
Not until today, right here, right now, Minho resting quietly against the shoulder of his masked savior who carried him bridal-style through the darkened city streets, only breaking the silence between them to give him directions to Minho’s home.
Even now, Minho’s heart was still racing, his pulse pounding right up in his throat. Sure, in theory he’d known he shouldn’t have been in danger - his captor had never been known to cause any major damage, and the city had been under the diligent protection of a dedicated group of Supers since long before Minho moved there. Someone was bound to come and rescue him eventually. Minho knew that.
And yet just for a moment, alone in the villain’s lair with his wrists bound and only his thoughts for company, Minho had almost felt a little scared. Not that anything would happen to him, no, but that nobody would come for him. That nobody would notice he was gone. That he was alone.
Of course, that had only been for a moment, before a trio of Supers on the right side of the law came literally crashing in through the wall, and everything had turned out okay. Everything was okay.
“You okay?” Minho almost replied next left on autopilot, realising just before the words left his mouth that he had in fact not been asked where to go next. The Super had been pretty quiet the entire journey, save for asking for directions, and as much as Minho had wanted to hear the boy’s voice just to be sure he’d heard what he thought he’d heard, there was something quite nice about the silence. Companionable even. Minho could feel the Super’s pulse speeding up whenever Minho held on a little tighter, could concentrate on the comforting press of his fingertips as he held Minho securely, careful not to let him fall as they made their way through the city. “You sure you don’t need to go to the hospital?”
“I just want to go home.” Any scrapes and bruises would heal on their own, anyway.
“I’ll get you there. You’re safe now.”
And Minho believed him, one hundred percent.
He could have made his own way home, and really tried to do so. However, as the other two Supers apprehended the villain of the day and carted him off to the authorities, the third insisted on staying by Minho’s side. “You’re shaking all over,” he’d said as he untied Minho’s ropes with a surprisingly delicate touch for someone who had punched through an entire wall just earlier. “Let me take you to the hospital. Or home. I’ll protect you.”
Minho, reeling from the whole ordeal and strangely soothed by something familiar in the other boy’s voice, could only accept the offer.
They were almost there now, just turning onto Minho’s street, and despite the overwhelming feeling of exhaustion threatening to overcome him, Minho managed to keep his eyes open. “That apartment block on the right. That’s it.” He whispered, still struggling a little for breath after everything that had happened.
He managed to keep his eyes open, trained on the Super’s throat as he swallowed hard, perhaps from the feeling of Minho’s words warm against his neck in contrast to the cool night air. Trained on the way his lips pressed together as he quietly glanced around the street for the apartment building in question.
Minho had to wonder what the point of the mask was, only covering the upper half of his face like that - was it another of those strange Super traditions as old as time itself, despite having no practical use? It wasn’t much good for concealing his identity, that was for sure.
Not when Minho found himself increasingly certain, from the moment they’d set eyes on each other back at the lair, exactly who he was looking at. Who had come to his aid. Who had insisted on carrying him home in a voice Minho was so used to hearing ask him what he wanted, but never like this.
The apartment building needed a passcode to enter, so the Super paused by a nearby streetlamp to set Minho back on his feet. He was gentle, resting his hands on Minho’s hips, his waist, his shoulders, to keep him steady.
“Will you be okay getting to your apartment on your own?” Minho could only nod in reply, leaning against the lamp a little to keep himself upright. The other boy didn’t seem convinced, removing his hands from Minho extremely reluctantly as his lips pressed into that firm little line once again. “Be gentle with yourself, okay? Get some rest. You probably shouldn’t go to work tomorrow- uh, assuming you have work tomorrow. Maybe you don’t. I don’t know. Aha.”
The boy’s embarrassed smile under the light of the streetlamp had Minho convinced. Minho knew - and the Super obviously knew it too. Perhaps they were both just as bad as each other.
He reached out to take the other boy’s hands before he really registered what he was doing. “You saved my life today-” he began, pausing as their eyes met once again. It was funny, but it was almost like the entire world ended at the edges of the light shining down onto them. Like time itself had stopped. Maybe it was a Super thing, or maybe Minho was way in over his head as his feelings raced to catch up with the realisation of who was in front of him. He could hear his own breath catch. Or was it his own…? “-sorry. Sorry I’m just. A little shaken up right now. You probably get this a lot.”
“It’s fine,” was his reply. One Minho was used to hearing when he didn’t have exact change for his coffee and had to break a note, or when he had to awkwardly ask if there was a power outlet he could use to finish working on a presentation due later that day. What Minho wasn’t used to was the rather bold step forward, step closer that accompanied it, this time, as he lowered his voice. “I’m guessing it’s the first time this kind of thing has ever happened to you, considering you’ve only been- ah. Crap. I-” Minho was so endeared .
So endeared, he found his hands had moved to rest on the sides of the other boy’s face almost on instinct. His thumbs teased lightly at the edges of his mask, and for a moment, Minho entertained the thought of taking it off. He wondered if the Super would even let him. “Thank you. So much.” He murmured.
The other boy tensed as little under Minho’s touch, but stayed mostly relaxed even as Minho’s hands stayed dangerously close to his mask. Almost like he was resigned to it being removed - maybe even okay with it. “Any time. Really. I’ll always save you.” He wetted his lips, silent for a just a beat as Minho’s thumbs slipped under the edges of his mask and ran lightly over his cheekbones. “I. Uh. I mean, all of us will, you know? Supers and all. That’s the job. But uh. Um.”
It was like he was waiting for something. Perhaps Minho had temporarily lost his mind, but he was sure as hell going to give him something, even if it wasn’t what he was expecting.
“Maybe you hear this a lot,” he leaned in, voice low, and watched as the Super’s eyes widened in surprise before fluttering shut, “but you’re a real hero.”
A soft oh against Minho’s lips, and he closed the gap between them.
Minho wasn’t sure what was wilder - the entire scenario leading up to this point, the fact he’d really gone for the kiss, or the fact the other boy was kissing him back . He was surprisingly gentle, restrained considering this was the same guy who had punched through walls and grappled questionably-dangerous villains into submission just hours earlier, but maybe it was a confidence thing.
Maybe heroism was his element, kissing less so. It was kind of adorable.
Leaving the mask in place, Minho lightly tilted the other boy’s head to one side to kiss him a little more deeply. But just a little. After all, they were in public, not to mention that they technically didn’t know each other . Minho fully intended to keep things mostly chaste.
Mostly.
He parted his lips slightly, the Super mirroring him soon after with a tiny shiver running through his whole body. No more than this , Minho would have thought were he capable of thinking in full sentences. No more than this - leave a little intrigue. Leave him wanting more, maybe.
Cupping the other boy’s jaw with one hand, Minho allowed his other hand to travel lightly down his neck and over his chest before linking their fingers. His hands had been resting at his sides the whole time, like he didn’t know quite what to do with them. Cute .
Still, all good things had to come to an end, and with a feather-light peck against the Super’s lips, Minho pulled away ever so slightly. He watched the other’s expression for a while, enamoured, as with half-lidded eyes and a tiny bite of his lip, the other boy finally breathed out another barely-there oh .
“The others will be wondering where you are by now, yeah?” Minho whispered. He hated to have to bring anyone else into this moment, this weird little world that just for now was only theirs, ending under that streetlamp. But it was late, and the other Supers probably would be wondering where their friend was, and Minho really needed to get inside and pass out before he collapsed right here. He’d had one hell of a day. “You should probably get going. I’ll see myself inside.”
“You sure you’ll be okay? By yourself?” And that was how Minho knew they were on the same page. He squeezed the other boy’s hand, unable to stop himself from smiling.
“Yeah. I’ll be fine.”
“Okay…” They were still so close, Minho able to feel the Super’s heart pounding at the close proximity, feel the slight stutter in his breath in the air itself. It made him feel brave, maybe even a little daring, and as the sweetness lingering on his lips had Minho’s head spinning and his heart overflowing with warmth like his morning coffee, there was just one thing left on his mind. One word. A name. Scrawled messily onto a nametag and pinned on a uniform that he knew all too well. “Goodnight.”
Minho moved to quickly press a light kiss beneath the other boy’s ear, and whispered. “Goodnight, Jisung.”
Jisung spluttered, and with a laugh Minho finally allowed himself to turn his back on the flustered Super and let himself into his apartment building. God, he’d had such a weird day. The bus had been late and the fax machine had jammed and he’d spilled coffee on himself and he’d been abducted by a supervillain but honestly, it ended on a high enough note that maybe all the other stuff was okay. Minho was okay.
Safely inside his apartment, Minho couldn’t help but peek out of the window, just out of curiosity. Jisung was still there, his back against the streetlamp, one hand against his own chest and the other lightly touching his lips. He didn’t stay for long, though - glancing around the empty street before finally disappearing into the night.
Minho watched him go, a longing sort of feeling in his chest. But still, he’d see him again soon, for sure - and this time without needing to be kidnapped and held hostage first.
After replying to a text from his extremely concerned boss confirming that yes, that was him on the TV earlier and no, he didn’t need the day off work, he’d do his best to come in tomorrow, Minho decided that tomorrow, he’d finally ask that cute smiley barista for his number.