Chapter Text
It was about time the hero tried a different tactic. They were tired of waiting for the villain to do something, then showing up to stop it. This time, the hero wanted to stop the villain before anything happened in the first place.
It was genius, really, and was something the hero really should have tried a long time ago.
The only problem, was *finding* the villain in the first place.
It wasn't like the hero had a home address.
He'd spent nearly two hours scouring the city, hopping from rooftop to rooftop with no sign of anything abnormal when he heard a faint, almost whimpering sound.
The hero was thankful they had heightened senses, otherwise they may not have heard it at all.
They used their super strength to climb up the tall building, continuing to hop a few more rooftops when they froze.
Their eyes landed on the villan. He was sitting on a slightly sloped roof, back against a brick wall where the building continued upward. Their knees where pulled taught to their chest, cape wrapped around them like a blanket to shield them from the chill of the cool night air. One arm was wrapped around their knees, holding their dagger while the other hand was wiping at their face, trying to disperse the tears- *they were crying*.
The hero suddenly felt uneasy. What were they supposed to do here? They always saw the villain as cold, heartless, emotionless but, clearly that wasn't the case. They weren't sure what to do, or even how to feel with that information.
Information they clearly weren't supposed to have, given how high up and secluded this spot was. The villain clearly wanted to be left alone.
But, they were a hero! They're job was to help people and this villain was clearly in distress! He couldn't just leave!
They jumped onto the same roof as the villain, who didn't seem to notice. They were still a good 7-10 meters away from them, but the villain was usually very in tune with the environment. The hero had never been able to get even near this close to them without the villain being fully aware.
They were now close enough to use their enhanced hearing to hear the ragged breathes and rapid heartbeat of the other.
The hero took a breath.
"Beautiful night out tonight," the hero offered in a friendly, conversational tone. They were smart enough to know that directly asking what was wrong wouldn't get them anywhere.
The villain's reply came in the form of a violent flinch and sharp inhale of breath. Their head snapped to look at the hero, shock and... was that *fear* written all over their face?
The villain never wore a mask, much like the hero, but they did usually have a hood down over their face, so being able to see it this clearly was strange.
However, with being able to see it this clearly, the hero could see how red and puffy the area around their eyes were, their cheeks thoroughly damp with tears, their eyes red.
The villain immediately directed their dagger at the hero, scrambling backwards across the roof frantically.
The hero held their hands up, "I come in peace,"
The villain stared at them in shock for a moment, "why are you... what... how long have you been..."
Before the hero could reply, the villain shook their head, steeling their features and pushing themselves to their feet. They wiped their face and took a deep breath, grasping for some sense of composure.
"What do you want?!" They snapped, "Why are you here?!"
Their grip tightened on their dagger.
"Theres no need for that, I come in peace, I swear," the hero tried.
"As if you would ever show up just to chat," the villain hissed.
The hero surveyed the situation. Clearly, the villain, who was usually overly composed and smooth, was distressed.
The villain was doing a good job faking composure, but it was obvious in the way their feet twitched, weight shifting from foot to foot, fingers flexing while their eyes darted all over the place. They were one wrong word away from taking off.
Right now, the hero was a threat, and he needed to be seen as not one.
Slowly- very slowly, so the villain could track their movements, the hero sat down on the roof, sliding themselves to sit back against the brick wall like the villain had previously. He bent a knee, resting his elbow on it as he looked out at the city. They didn't look over at the villain, trusting their super-hearing to tell them if they moved.
"The view from up here is pretty breathtaking," The hero commented casually.
"What?"
"My favourite spots are usually around the inner city, like the tops of the big office buildings, but this spot might be even better, with the already tall building being on a hill and all."
Finally the hero dared a glance at the villain.
They were standing in the same spot, though their posture was more relaxed. They were staring at the hero with a dumbstruck look on their face.
"What are you doing?" They asked, narrowing their eyes.
"I mean, we could talk about the weather if you'd rather?" The hero smirked.
The villain glanced away, seemingly considering running again.
"Come on," the hero added, "it's not like you have anything interesting going on tonight,"
"That's a rude assumption to make," The villain replied jokingly, crossing his arms and relaxing more as he glanced at his feet.
"Please, you know if you had something important going on tonight I would have been bat signaled already,"
The villain snorted at that. They gave the hero another look over, before caving and settling back down against the roof.
"Is this your way of telling me your bored? Have I not been active enough for you?"
"That's- not what I meant," the hero sputtered, causing the villain to chuckle slightly.
The hero glanced over, watching the villain twirl his dagger in the air mindlessly. Or, well, mindedly, considering they were using their telekinesis. But it was twirling in a non threatening way, just spinning in the air like a spin top.
"That's a pretty cool trick," the hero commented.
"What? Oh-" the villain blushed, plucking the dagger out of the air like he hadn't even realized hed been doing it.
"Sometimes I wish I had a cooler power," the hero started so the villain wouldn't have to explain themselves.
"Wait, really?" The villan asked, looking at the hero in shock.
"Yeah, I mean, don't get me wrong, enhanced senses and strength are certainly handy, but they aren't as cool as like flight,"
The villain hummed, fidgeting with the dagger in their hands, twirling the tip against their finger.
"Super senses also have their downsides, like when someone is trying to surprise you by baking you something, but you can smell it before you even get in the house,"
"I get the feeling there's a story there,"
"Friends tried to throw me a surprise party, I could hear them shuffling and whispering from down the hall, and I could smell the cake and such,"
"Only a hero would view not being able to be surprised as a *downside* " the villain replied, rolling their eyes.
"I guess I shouldn't complain though, it helps with being a hero a lot, without the hearing I probably wouldn't have heard you,"
Out of the corner of his eye, the hero saw the villain immediately tense, bristling slightly.
"Is that why your here? Doing this? You think I'm someone in need of saving?" They hissed.
"Partly," the hero admitted, "I don't think anyone deserves to be alone when there upset, but I'm also making sure you aren't up to anything dastardly,"
"Oh yeah, I'm always doing something villainous alright, like crying on a rooftop," they replied mockingly, before realizing they were admitting to crying.
"I wont pressure you into an answer, but you know I have to ask..." the hero replied after a moment of silence.
"Theres no way-"
"Before you turn me down," the hero interjected, "consider I'm one of the few people who may actually understand, considering the uh... line of work,"
The villain stared with a blank, unreadable expression for a few moments, before huffing and looking off to the horizon again.
"Its the anniversary of something. That's the only information your getting,"
The hero hummed in response, continuing to look off into the horizon.
They both stayed silent.
In the end, it was the villain who broke it.
"I need to go." They stated, standing up.
"oh really? Where are you off to?" The hero asked with genuine curiosity.
The villain shot them a baffled look, "you know I'm not going to tell you that... right?"
"Oh,"
"Your weird, hero,"
"Why, thank you," The hero joked.
"Until next time," The villain stated, before stepping backwards off the roof.
"Farewell!" The hero called.
Things were... different after that night.