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They were a villain. No two ways around it. In fact, they were the greatest villain this city had ever seen. Because of that, other low-grade villains who liked to think highly of their abysmal skills routinely challenged them for authority over the city. Obviously, the villain won every time, but about two years ago it got old.
That was when the lovely hero showed up. The darling hero stopped the petty weaklings before they ever got to the villain. After a month of lazing around, they were ready for a good fight. The incredible hero did not disappoint. It was the first thrilling fight the villain had in years. In fact, after that the villain could never quite follow their plans to completion. The fantastic hero was just that competent.
For two years the wonderful hero and the dastardly villain wove an intricate dance of fights, insults, and compliments. Gradually, without realizing it, the villain considered the bright hero their closest friend. Of course, they knew it wasn’t reciprocated. The hero was too virtuous and smart to befriend the great evil villain, but they were the only one who could relieve the villain’s boredom.
Unlike other heroes in other cities, this amazing hero treated the villain’s henchmen like actual people rather than disposable goods. This charming hero had a strict no-killing policy and would always foot the medical bills if they exceeded what the henchmen could afford. In all, even the street thugs liked the generous hero. Accordingly, crime rates plummeted. What was left was petty theft or crimes of passion. All the long-time thugs and criminals had grown attached to the hero and would rather cut their own foot off than face the marvelous hero’s disappointed look and lecture.
Admittedly, most of the reason they preferred the sweet hero was their far more gentle approach to crime fighting than other heroes. If they made them look good, another hero wouldn’t be sent in their place. There were horror stories among the henchmen that had served in other cities. Some of the other heroes killed or severely crippled henchmen on a daily basis. Thus, this city became one of the safest cities despite housing one of the greatest villains.
See, the villain was fond of inconveniencing the thoughtful hero or designing grant schemes or bullying the rich and arrogant. They weren’t a fan of needless bloodshed or terror. If that happened, the city would fall back into ruin like before the unique hero showed up or they would send more heroes to the city as backup. If they did that, there was no telling what kind of damage could befall the villain’s beloved city.
No, it was best if the splendid hero was the only hero around, and for that, the villain needed to lie low.
The villain was in the middle of musing about their next grand plan as they were making breakfast, when the doorbell went off rapidly. The villain sighed and took off their frilly apron—a gift from the funny hero a while back—and opened their front door, ready to tell off whoever was making a commotion this early in the morning.
However, when they opened the door, a chill traveled down their spine. The strong hero was there, crumpled up in pain, bleeding, gasping. Before the villain could say or ask anything, the battered hero muttered, “Sorry…didn’t know…where else to go,” before collapsing into the villain’s outstretched arms.
The villain thanked every lucky star out there that they were able to catch the delicate hero in time. They carried the unconscious hero to the couch where they proceeded to inspect their injuries. Bruises, cuts, burns. Perhaps a few broken ribs as well. Anger laced through the villain, white-hot. This was their hero, no one could touch them.
They didn’t know who did this, but they were sure as hell going to find out. And when they did, they would remind the world why they were named a villain. The careful hero never sustained these kinds of injuries, not even while fighting the villain. There was no one else in the city who would willingly do this either, which meant one thing: there was an intruder in this city.
***
When the hero came to, the villain was in their kitchen, chopping away at something. It was bright out, which meant the hero hadn’t slept all day. Good.
The hero tried to get up, wincing as they quickly laid back down. Earlier, they weren’t quite aware of all their injuries. Now, they could see and feel plenty of bandages and smell a particularly strong herbal scent coming from under most of them. They supposed the villain must have treated them.
The hero smiled softly. Of course, the villain did this. That was why they came here, after all. For all their talk of being a dastardly villain, they were always gentle with the hero. Even their henchmen weren’t that bad. For all the time the hero had lived here, they had never run into a crazed villain like some of the other heroes.
At first, the hero worried about this. When they first came here, it was rife with criminal activity. There was a powerful villain here, after all, and that always attracted danger. Everyone thought that if they could just beat the villain, they would rule the city. And then the hero stepped in. The hero set to work cleaning the streets, working their way up. It’d be stupid to try to go against the final boss first thing. However, after they started working, the villain went strangely quiet.
Eventually, the two met and confronted. However, it took just the span of that one fight for the hero to realize the villain wasn’t particularly dangerous to them or the city. It was all entirely by choice, they knew. They had seen and heard plenty on this particular villain. So, the hero resolved right then and there to regularly engage the villain for the good of the city and to keep an eye on them, just in case they changed their mind.
After a certain point, though, they came to rather like the villain. They were courteous and surprisingly gentle and considerate of those around them. When they fought, they contained their destruction to uninhabited areas. On the two occasions where the destruction reached civilian areas, the hero found the damages paid for before they could even offer. Once, the villain even stopped mid-fight to get a lost puppy to safety before continuing the fight.
It surprised the hero for a while, but after two years of fighting this person at least once a week, they had come to know each other pretty well, even if it was largely by accident.
The villain came into the room sometime later, probably to check on how the hero was doing. When they rounded the corner, they froze as they met the hero’s eyes. Quickly collecting themself, they said, “You look awful.”
Normally, when the hero saw the villain, they were high on emotions and adrenaline and were very passionate. Now, they sounded cool and collected, like how they were when they were worried about something.
The hero smiled just thinking about the villain being worried for them. What a weird concept, yet here they were. The hero opened their mouth to make some sort of retort, but nothing came out. Confused, they tried again. Nothing.
The villain’s brows crinkled as the worry finally showed on their face. It was cute. However, the hero had only seen that expression once before. It was the first time the hero failed to stop a murder, just seconds too late. The failure devastated them, and the villain made the same face when the hero lost their composure. If the villain was making that face again, things were truly bad.
The rising panic the hero had been desperately holding back finally crashed through all of their barriers and tears welled up even as their breath quickened. They couldn’t talk. They couldn’t make a single sound. What happened? Were their vocal cords damaged? Was the damage permanent? What would happen if they couldn’t talk? They couldn’t sign. They didn’t how else to communicate. How—?
The feeling of the villain’s hands gently cradling their face killed their train of thought. They met the villain’s eyes through their tears and saw worry and something else there. Anger, maybe?
The hero desperately wanted to apologize to the villain for inconveniencing them like this, to thank them for patching them up, to just be held and told it’ll all be ok.
“There,” the villain finally said. “You’ve stopped overthinking. Just breathe slowly, in and out. Good, just like that.”
Eventually, the hero’s breathing evened out. The hero felt better, just a little lightheaded, though they were sure that was from whatever painkiller the villain gave. The hero raised one tightly bandaged hand and gave the villain’s hand a small squeeze. It was barely there since their hand was so bad, but they had to show their appreciation somehow.
The villain gave the hero a small smile and stood up. “Lunch is ready, if you’d like any,” they offered.
The hero nodded. They needed to build up their strength. Plus, they could never say no to a free meal.
The villain brought out their lunches on ridiculous animal shaped dishes that were advertised to kids. There was soup and the hero’s favorite small finger sandwiches. The hero smiled in thanks and let the villain help them eat. Normally, the hero would be upset at their own uselessness, but there was something about the villain that made them feel safe and appreciated.
As they ate, the hero suddenly noticed the villain’s apron. It was frilly and the most obnoxious neon orange color they had ever seen. The hero bought it forever ago after the villain let slip the fact that they had an orange phase as a kid. The hero inwardly smiled at the fact that the villain had not only kept something like that, but also seemed to regularly use it.
About halfway through the hero’s soup, the villain finally spoke. They had never been this quiet before, and under normal circumstances it would be unnerving. But now, the quiet was relaxing and calm. “You…how are you so unguarded that you’d eat anything just anyone offered?” they asked. “What if I poisoned your food?”
The hero paused a moment before snatching a bite of sandwich out of the villain’s outstretched hand, purposefully accidentally grazing their fingers with their lips. They really wished they could tell the villain they knew they would never do that to them, especially not in their current state. However, without words that was near impossible, so in the end they just shrugged.
The villain sighed, “You’re impossible.”
The hero laughed. The villain really was cute all worried and fussy like this. If anyone else saw this side to them they would probably faint from shock. In all honesty though, the villain’s actions were soft and tender and almost…affectionate.
The hero shook their head to clear it when the villain stood up with a huff to clear their dishes. They really needed to stop their wishful thinking. After all, no matter how docile they had been recently, they were still a powerful villain, and they were a hero. They were meant to be enemies.
Besides, one really shouldn’t want what one can’t have.
***
The villain scrubbed the dishes in the sink as much as they scrubbed their hands. They could still feel the warmth of the lovely hero’s lips from when they fed the broken hero. Alright, maybe finger foods hadn’t been their brightest idea, but after last year when the loveable hero tried their finger sandwiches and proclaimed them their favorite food, how could the villain feed them anything else?
Though, the oblivious hero seemed to think nothing of it. Perhaps it was an accident? That’s probably what it was. After all, they were the pristine and virtuous hero. There was no way they would want the villain; at least not in the same way they wanted the honorable hero.
The villain flushed at their own thoughts and scrubbed harder at an already clean bowl as if they could clean out their own brain like that. That very hero was passed out on the couch injured, for Christ’s sake. Which ultimately was a good thing. The villain did give them a powerful painkiller after all, and it made the adorable hero a little loopy.
They spent the next few weeks like that. The fortunate hero healed faster than most people, but due to the sheer number of injuries they sustained it still took time to heal. Within that time, the villain’s favorite henchman Frank finally found the information they were looking for. The villain tried asking the brave hero about it once, but they went into another panic attack immediately, so the villain never brought it up again.
To the villain’s shock and dismay, it wasn’t the work of another villain. Or well, not a conventional villain. Every villain was registered in the villain network and was identifiable to every other villain. That’s how they recruited henchmen and even weaker villains to do their dirty work. It was a very sophisticated network. However, the culprit was not among their numbers.
Luckily Frank found full video evidence of what occurred that night. Unfortunately, it was brutal, and the villain forced themself to watch the entire thing with their blood boiling for vengeance. The video showed the stern hero talking to some man who looked a lot like them. The man was visibly upset and grew more heated by the second. For some reason, the strong hero had their hands up in an attempt to placate or surrender. They were clearly on the receiving end of a verbal beatdown. But that didn’t make sense. The brilliant hero could trade words with almost anyone and come out on top. Who was this man to make them tremble like that?
After a certain point the video glitched a froze, but when it resumed, the man had the powerful hero on the ground, helpless to the storm of fists and kicks the man rained down on them. The capable hero was fully conscious but was solely on the defensive with no move to fight back.
The villain’s confusion was only dampened by their anger. Who the hell was this man to hurt their precious hero like that? The next day, Frank finally found the man’s identity.
Of all the twists and turns this case could have taken, the villain wasn’t prepared for the man to be the dashing hero’s father. In the two years they had been rivals, the courageous hero had never once mentioned family. In fact, because of that the villain assumed they were an orphan like them. But this, this was so much worse.
Anger scalding through their veins, the villain left a short note for the sleeping hero and slipped out into the night.
The world would wake up the news of what they had done, but they didn’t care. Someone dared to hurt their precious hero, and they were still a villain despite the world wishing otherwise.
After all, one really shouldn’t want what one can’t have.
***
The hero woke up that morning to a silent house. For some reason, that unnerved them. They were still on the villain’s couch, even after a couple weeks. It was funny really, the villain had at least two spare rooms the hero knew of, and yet, they hadn’t been offered one. Of course, the villain hadn’t slept in their own room either. Their mess blankets were on the other couch, not folded neatly for once.
The hero stretched and sighed before heaving themself off the couch. Their ribs were still a little tender, but everything else seemed to have healed just fine. On the kitchen table where the hero had grown used to eating all their meals was a little sticky note saying, ran some errands, breakfast in the fridge. Love, V
The hero smiled softly. Even when they were busy the villain still made sure to take care of them. The hero couldn’t remember the last time they were able to rely on someone like this. It was a nice, rather soft feeling that they cherished very much.
Unfortunately, nothing good lasts long. The hero knew this. So, when they turned on the news, they weren’t exactly surprised to see the villain’s name being mentioned. They had been lying low, too low, for too long. They were bound to explode sooner or later. The hero just hoped no one had died or been seriously injured.
Despite being a villain, the hero knew they didn’t relish in torture or unearned pain. The hero even jokingly called them Robin Hood on occasion for only targeting those who deserved it.
However, as they continued watching the news, the hero’s blood ran cold. It didn’t make sense, but the news anchor mentioned the villain and a horrifically brutal murder in the same sentence. They implied, or rather said outright, that it was the villain who did this. That couldn’t be the case though, right? The villain wasn’t like that. The villain had never done something like this before. But…what if they were right?
The hero knew they were a villain, but one of the reasons they got along so well was the fact that they saw eye to eye about a lot of things, including but not limited to their shared hatred for needless bloodshed. Which meant, if they really did do this, the villain thought this victim deserved every ounce of torment. But what on earth did this person do? The hero had been here for weeks with the villain. Unless that guy killed the villain’s henchmen or something…and then it struck them when the news anchor identified the victim.
The man who had been literally ripped to pieces after being brutally tortured was the hero’s father. Just the man’s name was enough to send them into near panic. But…but he was dead. How did the villain find him? How did they even know he existed? The hero’s hands trembled as they thought of what their father could have done to the villain. He was a terrifying man, more terrifying than any villain the hero had faced.
This was why the hero avoided saying anything about their father. Not this specifically, they certainly didn’t know the villain would go this far, but because they were embarrassed to be so scared of him. They were a hero; they were supposed to be brave. They weren’t supposed to tremble like a leaf at the very mention of someone’s name. They didn’t think the villain would use this against them, after all they liked a fair fight, but if word of this got out…
The sound of the front door interrupted their thoughts. The villain strode in and stopped dead when they saw the TV. Shit. The hero hadn’t meant for the villain to know that they knew. They hadn’t expected the villain to be back so soon.
The villain looked from the TV to the hero to the hero’s trembling hands and back to the TV. Any expression they might have had disappeared under their pristine mask of indifference. They were clearly worried, and the hero’s heart ached. They really didn’t want them to misunderstand, but no words came to the hero.
“Well, since you’re better you may want to go home,” the villain said in a clipped tone.
“Wait, no that’s not—”
“Don’t strain yourself,” the villain murmured. “Your voice isn’t fully healed, but your body should be. Get plenty of rest. And don’t worry, I won’t be making any big scenes until you get back into the swing of things.”
“Please wait—”
“Well then, excuse me,” the villain excused themself and, on the way, out, the hero noticed their hands trembling.
“Wait, god please wait,” the hero croaked out. They surged ahead and grabbed onto the villain’s arm after turning the TV off.
“Why?”
“If you leave now, I have a feeling I won’t see you again.”
***
“If you leave now, I have a feeling I won’t see you again.”
That had certainly been the villain’s intentions. After all, why should the upright hero want anything to do with a murderer like that?
In any case, no matter how awful he was, the villain did just tear apart the lonely hero’s father. The brave hero’s hands had been trembling and the fear was immediately evident in their eyes. The villain wished they could’ve had just one more day with the lovely hero, but everything that’s good in life must come to an end. In any case, they were a villain. They didn’t deserve such niceties. But why did the virtuous hero sound so broken up about it?
“Why should that matter?” the villain practically spat. It was far harsher than they meant it to be, but if the hero was leaving anyway…
“You idiot, why did you do that?” the compassionate hero cried.
“What, kill that scumbag? Who knows?” they sneered.
“Please,” the vulnerable hero squeezed their arm, “please just tell me you’re alright.”
The villain froze. “…Why should that matter?” they echoed their earlier question, this time in a much softer tone.
“Why do you think, moron, that man is psychotic!”
The villain hesitated. So…the trembling hero wasn’t scared…of them? Were they worried?
“I’m…fine,” the villain said, battling their confusion.
“Thank god,” the relieved hero slumped, and their grip relaxed.
Well. The villain had been prepared to apologize for killing their father but…it didn’t seem like that was necessary. “How…how are you feeling?” they asked instead.
The charming hero smiled at them and said, “Honestly, a little weak in the knees. Think we could sit a moment?”
The villain reached up and grabbed the smiling hero’s hand and led them to the couch where they still didn’t release their hand. Instead, the villain absently fiddled with the fearless hero’s hand.
After a while, the persistent hero tried again. “So, why did you kill him?”
The villain scrunched their brows. They had never lied to the honest hero once in their life, and they certainly weren’t about to start now, but…they didn’t think the moral hero would exactly appreciate the reason.
“Hey,” the tender hero softly called to the villain and squeezed their hand. “Talk to me?”
The villain chuckled and shook their head. There really was no winning against the kind hero, huh?
“I…he hurt you.” The villain was surprised by the venom in their own voice.
The warmhearted hero squeezed the villain’s hand tighter and laid their head on the villain’s shoulder. “You…didn’t have to do that for me,” the humble hero whispered. “But…thank you.”
Every cell in the villain’s body vibrated and a wave of relief crashed through them. “You aren’t upset?” the villain asked in disbelief.
“Why should I be? The world is a better place without that man in it.”
The villain laughed as they squeezed the remarkable hero’s hand tighter. “Are you allowed to say that as a hero?”
“I’ll say whatever I damn well please,” the stubborn hero huffed. “That man was a menace, I just feel sorry I couldn’t deal with him on my own.”
The villain studied the proud hero’s face. They were good at hiding certain things, but their fear of their father was not one of those things.
“There’s no shame in asking for help,” the villain said softly. “You always do everything alone. Let me help you sometimes.” As soon as they said it, they knew those words were dangerous. They were a villain and a hero. Out of every possible scenario, the villain shouldn’t be offering to help the hero. And the hero should definitely not take them up on it. Aside from that though, the villain was offering so much more, though they weren’t sure if the smart hero picked up on that or not.
The contemplative hero took the villain’s hand into their own lap and started drawing on it with their free hand. For a long time, they said nothing. Eventually though, the confident hero brought the villain’s hand up to their lips and kissed it oh so gently. A bashful smile lit up their face as they said, “Thank you, I mean it.”
***
“There’s no shame in asking for help,” the villain said softly. “You always do everything alone. Let me help you sometimes.”
The hero thought about the villain’s words and the hidden meanings behind them. The villain had spent the last few weeks helping the hero with literally everything. Not once did they complain. Not once did they get annoyed with the hero. Not once did they act as if the hero were an inconvenience. In fact, it was quite the opposite.
The villain wasn’t one for words, especially when it came to their innermost feelings, but they could always be seen through their actions. Over the last few weeks, they had been by the hero’s side, diligently taking care of them. They made all of the hero’s favorite foods, watched all of the hero’s comfort shows, and talked to the hero to fill up the silence before the hero could speak again. The amount of love and dedication was readily apparent to those who were observant enough to see.
One really shouldn’t want what one can’t have. But…what if they could have what they wanted? Was that too much to ask?
With a start, the hero realized they had been quiet for far too long. However, the villain sat there, patient as ever. With overflowing affection, they lifted the villain’s hand up to their lips and kissed it. “Thank you,” they murmured. “I mean it.”
They looked up to meet the villain’s eyes and were greeted with a lovely sight. A pretty blush spread across the villain’s face even as they looked bewildered, like they hadn’t expected that sort of answer.
The hero just smiled and kissed the villain’s hand again while maintaining eye contact. They let their lips linger a bit, just long enough to see the villain blush impossibly redder and swallow thickly.
“You’ve been wonderful to me,” the hero murmured. “So attentive, so gentle.”
“You were injured,” the villain said.
The hero shook their head. “Before that, too. Sure, I had scrapes and bruises from our fights, but not anything serious or life threatening.” The hero chuckled. “I got more injuries from a petty bank robbery than our massive fights.”
The villain surprised the hero and cradled their head with their hand. “How could I possibly hurt someone as good as you?” They ran a tender thumb along the hero’s cheek and looked into their eyes, not even bothering to hide their affection anymore.
The hero’s heart hammered in their chest. Could they…could they afford to be a little selfish? What would happen? What would the consequences be? Would this negatively affect the villain in any way?
Then the villain pressed a kiss to their forehead and murmured, “You’re so good, too good for me.”
Consequences be damned, the hero wanted more of the villain’s gentle affection. The hero grabbed the villain’s collar and brought them into a kiss. The villain was obviously surprised but wasted no time in returning the kiss. Their hands traveled down to the hero’s waist as the hero wrapped their arms around the villain’s neck.
“Is this really alright?” the villain asked. “Can you really do this?”
The hero chuckled. This damn, loveable fool. They were probably thinking the same things as the hero. The hero pressed their foreheads together and whispered, “For you love, I’d do anything.”
The villain shuddered and kissed the hero again, hungrier this time.
Finally, the hero thought, as they melted into the love of their life.
***
All good things come to an end, but this time the villain was desperately hoping for this good thing to last a while. After the villain killed the wonderful hero’s despicable father, the excited hero decided to move in. Perhaps it was a bit fast, but they had been living together for weeks with no problems already.
The hardworking hero returned to work and the villain’s henchmen called in complaints that they hadn’t seen the kind hero in a long time. Some confessed they thought the villain kidnapped the dutiful hero, but after the news that day it made far more sense. After all, the brave hero had some new scars that weren’t there previously.
Most of the complaints came in the form of henchmen who were angry that they didn’t get a turn to beat the dead man’s skull in as well. Frank was among those who desperately wished to kill a dead man again. Somehow, probably through Frank, word traveled among the henchmen that the hero had permanently moved in with the villain.
After that, both the honorable hero and the villain’s henchmen made each other’s jobs easier. The villain was over the moon to have their most precious people get along relatively well. The compassionate hero got to know more of the henchmen personally, and the henchmen started treating the hero like a boss. They dutifully went to jail without resisting only for the villain to get them back out the next day.
Sometimes the villain had to rescue them personally, other times they could just pay bail. When that happened, the generous hero offered to pay bail themself, but the villain always refused.
“They’re my employees, love. Therefore, it’s my responsibility to take care of them.” The villain would say.
“Yes, but it’s my fault they’re there!”
“But they could be in urgent care and they’re not. You’re already doing plenty. Let me help, darling.”
It took about a month for trouble to find them, about three weeks later than the villain expected. This trouble came in the form of a new hero.
“They claim I’m not doing my job properly,” the cranky hero groused.
“Because I’m not in jail?”
“Because you’re not in the hero’s custody or dead! This new bastard is here for you and you only, and she’s out for blood. Please be careful, sweetheart.”
“I always am, love.”
That conversation replayed in the villain’s mind as they lay face down on the gravel. It was the last conversation they had had with their beloved hero. What irony.
“Are you ready to finally give up?” the new hero asked with a kick to the villain’s ribs. The villain grunted in pain and couldn’t say anything. There was a dark look in this hero’s eyes. Something not very heroic. Smoke and ash clung to the air. Hard evidence of the destruction their fight had caused. About half the city had burned and been turned to rubble.
Ah, this is why the villain detested heroes for so long. Most of them were like this. Only theirs was good. Only their hero was a true hero. Thank god they got everyone out safely.
This new hero loomed over the defeated villain with a sadistic smirk on her face. “See, that wasn’t hard. I don’t know what that incompetent fool was doing, and they aren’t really all that heroic, but they are a hero I suppose. I had to step in you see.” She pressed a boot to the villain’s face. “Now, what to do with you, hm?”
The villain grunted as she pressed harder.
“There’s no escape, bastard,” she growled. “You and all your friends will rot in hell.”
The villain fought to stay conscious, but it was hard. They were in so much pain, and the darkness that clung to the sides of their vision was so inviting. There it wouldn’t hurt. There they couldn’t feel the bitter disappointment of letting their darling hero down, of letting their henchmen down. This new hero would bring chaos upon their beloved city, more than she already had. She would hurt the villain’s family and everything they held dear. If they succumbed to the darkness, they wouldn’t have to worry so much over it.
But…their one regret was not being able to say goodbye to their shining hero, their wonderful recently made fiancé. If they could just see their face one last time…ah, well, one really shouldn’t want what one can’t have.
With that final thought, the villain slipped into the inviting darkness.
***
The hero stood with the city’s people at the evacuation sight. Luckily, the villain’s henchmen had been sent to help evacuate the people when the new hero attacked the villain. The hero knew the villain was strong, but they worried, nonetheless.
A while after the explosions finally stopped, the new hero strode up to the hero with the villain’s limp form flung over her shoulder.
“You’re welcome,” she said even as the hero’s blood ran cold. “Now that I’ve gotten rid of your pest for you, you should really send me a thank you gift. Make it expensive, the bastard scratched my pretty face.”
The hero stood frozen in shock. The villain…lost. That…shouldn’t have been possible. They were stronger than that hero. They should know, they had fought both before. Did she surprise the villain? What happened? Why did they look so beat up when she was only mildly mussed up?
“Well, I’ll be on my way. Make sure to report into headquarters, looking forward to it!”
The hero stood dumbfounded until Frank came up and clapped them on the shoulder, hard.
“Excuse me,” he said gruffly, obviously holding back emotion, “we…we have to get our boss back. It’s our duty, as his henchmen.”
The hero nodded slowly, an idea forming. It was dangerous. Very dangerous. It would also get them blacklisted as a hero forever, possibly even getting categorized as a villain, but…they really didn’t have a choice.
“Wait, Frank,” the hero called as Frank shuffled away. “Could I…could I help you free them?”
Frank’s eyes widened. He wasn’t stupid, he had to know the consequences of this, and in the end, he nodded, gratitude shining in his eyes.
Earlier, when they had told the villain that they would do anything for them, they had meant it. And now, it was time to show their precious villain just how sincere their words were.
Before they could do anything though, a banker and a jeweler came up to the hero. These two were the most frequent targets of the villain’s henchmen’s robberies. Expecting them to be excited over the new hero’s deeds, the hero was pleasantly surprised when they cursed her.
“That damn hero!” the banker fumed. “She just comes in here and destroys our city?”
“How dare she!” the jeweler shrieked. “She upset the careful balance we had! What are we supposed to do now?”
“That so-called villain did far more good than any hero ever did, excluding you of course,” the banker said. “So please, get them back for us?”
“They scare off the other villain’s,” the jeweler explained. “Our city has never been safer since they showed up. Of course, you helped with that too.”
“Since they showed up, I haven’t been shot once!” the banker proudly exclaimed. “Their henchmen don’t even point guns at me anymore.”
“That’s right,” the jeweler jumped in. “I’d much rather have Frank and his goons steal my excess jewelry and a small fee than be threatened and shot again!”
The hero laughed. Perhaps it was a tad hysterical, but it was a laugh, nonetheless. They already knew the ins and outs of how the villain ran the city. For some reason, the villain was kind enough to explain it all shortly after the hero arrived in the city. Since there was no reason to disrupt a system that was clearly working, the hero only got involved if they got sloppy and too obvious about it or when the crossed the line.
It turns out though, the city was aware of this all along. The hero really loved the city, and they knew the villain did too, but it was nice to see the citizens express their love and appreciation for the villain as well.
Well, they would have to share this delightful discovery with the villain when they got them back. In the meantime…
“Frank let’s go; we have a rescue to plan.”
***
The villain awoke to agonizing pain. They were crumpled on a cold concrete floor, blood pooling around them. One of their injuries must have reopened when that pretentious ass threw them in here.
They weren’t sure how long they had been out for or if anyone was coming. Of course, they hoped their darling hero or Frank would come, but they were deep in the heroes’ headquarters. If the hero rescued them from here, they would be blacklisted as a villain faster than they could blink.
That wasn’t so much the problem, as was the fact that if they did blacklist the hero, they would have to send another hero into the city, and the villain really didn’t want that, especially after this most recent fiasco.
This bastard hero fought dirty and got the drop on them, knocking them out fairly quickly and getting the upper hand. They were stronger than her, they knew that, but it had been so long since they had had a serious fight, they were kind of rusty.
However, as strong as they were, they knew they couldn’t escape the heroes’ headquarters alone, especially in their current condition. They had no choice but to wait for help to arrive, or else wait weeks to recover and attempt a solitary escape. They were scared. And that scared them even more. Fear does things to people; it makes them unpredictable. The villain didn’t want to lose their rationality.
And so, they slipped back into the darkness.
For days, they slipped in and out of consciousness, only occasionally eating some bread and cold soup. It was nothing like when the precious hero was in their home recuperating. Ah, they missed their beautiful hero.
As the villain took a shuddering breath and coughed, they realized they may have punctured a lung. That wasn’t good. Guilty, they wondered if they would ever see their beloved hero again. Just when the villain found something good and permanent in their life, the universe had to remind them they were a villain and didn’t deserve anything good that came their way.
This was their karma for horribly mutilating that man. An eye for an eye, as the saying goes.
After a few days of being there, just as the villain was starting to give up hope of anyone coming for them, a loud explosion boomed from overhead, jolting the villain to their senses. Apprehension crept into their awareness. If that was the reckless hero…
The door to the prison hall burst open and in streamed the villain’s elite henchmen followed by the righteous hero.
Except, said righteous hero was dragging a corpse behind them by the hair. As the villain got a better look, they realized it was the hero that caused this mess.
“Darling…?” the villain croaked in confusion.
“Don’t worry sweetheart, you’re safe now,” the radiant hero said. “She won’t ever hurt you again, no one will, I promise.”
“What—?”
“Shh,” the gentle hero comforted them even as they ripped the cell door clean off its hinges. “I’ve got you, you’re safe now,” they said as they scooped the villain off the floor.
The villain let themself sink back into the darkness waiting for them, comforted by the fact that their strong hero now held them in their capable hands.
***
In the weeks that followed, the hero happily nursed the villain back to health much like they had done before. Like everyone expected, the hero was blacklisted from the heroes and put on the official villain registry for killing their fellow hero in cold blood. The hero didn’t regret it one bit though. This meant they were free to be with their lovely villain and run the city as they pleased.
Truthfully though, not much changed. The hero and the villain and their henchmen still helped the community. The henchmen still worked in the grey area of morality and law, and the hero still stopped them if they got carried away and went too far. The people even celebrated the villain’s safe return.
Once the villain was fully recovered, they held a small wedding for the entire city to come to. Neither of them had felt so happy and relieved in a very long time.
However, now that the city was technically under two powerful villains, the heroes tried sending even more heroes to ‘liberate’ the city. The first hero was stoned and chased out by the civilians. The second one was killed by the villain for killing some of their henchmen. The third tried to be diplomatic and talk to the happy couple, but they wanted nothing to do with heroes anymore, so they kicked him out.
“I just want to save the city!” the third guy shouted as they pushed him out of town. “Is that so wrong?”
“Ah, but you see,” the hero said with a smirk, one arm around their spouse’s waist, “One really shouldn’t want what one can’t have.”