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“Hey, Alex, check this out. I stole it from a wizard,” Morgan stared at the clear orb in their hand with fascination. “Apparently, if you open it, it’ll curse you so that everyone who sees you will fall in love with you. And the only way to break the curse is true love’s kiss.” Morgan looked back to Alex grinning.
Alex stared blankly at Morgan.
Snap
“Hey! I worked hard to steal that.”
“And I worked hard to teleport it to the sun before you could accidentally open it,” Alex deadpanned.
‘“I wasn’t gonna open it.”
“No one ever intends to get cursed, but it always happens anyway. And I’m sorry, but I’m putting a stop to that story before it starts.”
“You’re no fun,” Morgan pouted and went to go make a cup of coffee knowing that arguing wouldn’t get them anywhere.
Alex knew they was disappointed. They’d had a lot of talks recently about understanding and respecting the time, effort, and dedication Morgan put into their heists. It took a while for Alex to finally understand considering how used they were to getting anything they wanted at a literal snap of their fingers. But the whole solo, no powers museum heist they had to do really opened their eyes.
“Look Morgan, I know you worked hard on stealing that, I just know those stupid curses always find a way and I don’t want you having to deal with it,” Alex followed them to the kitchen hoping to clear the air.
Morgan started the coffee maker and turned back to Alex, “I get it,” Morgan smiled at them. “I’m a little disappointed don’t get me wrong, but it’s fine. Gives me an excuse to go back and try to get his cursed amulet.”
As Morgan worked their way around the kitchen, grabbing a mug for each of them, they eagerly explained the details of the heist and how they would break back in to grab some less threatening loot. Alex settled onto the couch with their hot cup of coffee fully prepared to listen to Morgan plan for hours. A familiar tug at their heart and a soft smile on their face at Morgan’s excitement. Alex had long ago come to terms with their love for Morgan, love that would never be returned.
But this was enough. It would have to be.
Morgan strutted into their base the next day fully prepared for a normal day of heist planning, probably some theft, and what could only be described as tomfoolery. As they walked into their first meeting with Jay, their second-in-command, things took a turn for the worse.
“Alrighty, Morgan. The team is ready for another planning session on crashing your parent’s town hall later this month. You also mentioned wanting to go back to the wizard for something?” She looked up from her notes to Morgan. Jay’s entire face flushed, and she seemed to choke on whatever she was about to say next.
“Uh, um. Hmm. Morgan,” she squeaked out, “Did, uh, did something change since I last saw you? Maybe a haircut or something. You seem different,” Jay mumbled trying to look anywhere but at Morgan.
“No, same ol’ me. Are you okay?” Morgan laughed awkwardly.
“Yeah, I’m good,” she stood abruptly, “Actually, I need to go. Uh, something seems to have come up that I need to deal with. Can we meet about this later?”
She was out the door before Morgan even had the chance to respond. Strange. They made a mental note to message her girlfriend later and check that everything was okay. They took the mental health of their henchmen seriously and something was definitely wrong.
Morgan decided to head to their workspace to tinker with some new inventions before the full team meeting later that afternoon. Throughout the day a couple of their henchmen stuck their head in to ask a question or update them and every interaction seemed to immediately become awkward. Weirdest of all, one of their more straight laced and professional henchmen had spent their entire interaction flirting with them and trying to get them to go on a date. That had been strange and completely unexpected. After letting them down as gently as possible, Morgan put away their tools and went back into their office.
They sat eating the lunch Alex had insisted on sending with them and tried to figure out what could be going on. Maybe some elaborate prank? It was unclear and a little annoying since there were some big heists planned for the coming months and they couldn’t handle all these distractions. Maybe they should call up Barnaby, he was always great to vent with. Even better, if they video chatted, then they could say hi to Kotetsu!
Morgan whipped out their phone and called him. “Hey, Barnaby! What’s up? Catching any villains today?” Morgan greeted excitedly. Barnaby seemed to be in the middle of cooking lunch and had propped their phone up so they could continue prepping whatever they were making.
“G- good afternoon. It’s a s- slow day today. What have you been up to?” he glanced up from his chopping to look briefly at Morgan.
“Now, now. You won’t get me monologuing about my schemes that easily. You aren’t even in a death trap!”
Barnaby didn’t respond with his usual witty comeback; he didn’t respond at all. He looked away from Morgan and intensely went back to preparing his lunch.
“Are you good? Something’s wrong,” they had hoped for a lighthearted conversation, but something seemed to be bothering him.
“Umm, y- yes. O- of course. I- I- I’m f- fine,” he cleared his throat and tried again. “N- nothing’s wrong. Just, well. I- I’m, I always enjoy talking to you, b- but I think I need some space today. Nothing you did! I just d- don’t think I’m feeling, uh, feeling well.”
“Oh. Yeah, I’ll let you get back to what you were doing,” Morgan was disappointed but making sure Barnaby was comfortable was the priority. “Call me if you need anything. Or if someone needs to be taught a lesson”
“Ugh, M- Morgan. No. Th- thank you though, I don’t know what I would do without y- you,” he hung up leaving Morgan alone with their thoughts.
That was a kind of frustrating conversation. Barnaby was the best nemesis and best friend they could ask for, when something bothered him, Morgan tended to make it their problem too. But Barnaby hadn’t given them anything to work with. He could be a little cagey, but this was something else. A problem for another time. They had to get ready for the team meeting soon, hopefully that would go better.
It did not go better. The whole meeting was awkward, and it felt like nothing was getting done or properly discussed. As they pulled on their coat, all they wanted to do was to get back home to Alex and decompress.
Opening the door to their apartment, they heard Alex singing quietly to themselves from the kitchen presumably making dinner. Morgan quietly shut the door and put their stuff down hoping not to alert Alex to their presence. Alex never sung in front of them, one of the few things they were self-conscious about, even thought they had the most beautiful voice Morgan had ever heard. Morgan felt their heart clench as they realized it was a love song.
Nope. They immediately buried the rush of longing. If you pretend you aren’t in love with your partner in crime, then hopefully some day your heart will forget. Alex was everything they could ever hope for. Someone who believed in them despite everything, who spent the evenings laughing at the cooking channel with them and coming up with the most ridiculous ideas at 3AM. Not to mention they were objectively the hottest person on the planet.
Morgan shook their head, great job ignoring those feelings. “Hey, Alex, I’m home! Whatcha cooking?”
They had finished preparing and eating dinner together, then settled in to play Mario Kart before Morgan remembered what a weird day they had. They realized what a relief it was that Alex seemed to be acting completely normal.
“I totally forgot, but I had the weirdest day today. I’m trying to figure out what’s goin’ on, but I have no idea.”
Alex threw their controller across the room, smashing it, as they lost their third race in a row.
Snap
It appeared, undamaged, on the coffee table. “Weird how? Like the Fairness Association is unfairly targeting you again weird or your henchmen banded together to have a “self-care” day weird?”
“Weird like everyone was actin’ super awkward around me. Even Jay! She’s like the most confident person I know, after your egotistical ass, and she wouldn’t even look me in the eye. Manuel asked me on a date? And when I called Barnaby at lunch, he seemed super uncomfortable and basically hung up immediately,” Morgan’s frustration was evident in their tone. “Everyone was acting like, like, I don’t even know!”
Alex sat up straight and looked at Morgan with disbelief. “Like everyone was suddenly in love with you? Maybe because of a cursed orb?”
“Uhhh. No? How? You snapped that thing to the sun, and I was serious when I said I didn’t want to open it.” They racked their brain trying to think of an alternative, but it explained everything that had happened?
“Shit,” Morgan mumbled, “If say, there was an emergency during the heist and I threw the orb in my bag, hypothetically, do you think it could have opened? Would that count?”
“You left it unsecure in your bag! What part of curses find any way possible to get you are you missing?” Alex crossed their arms and stared at Morgan.
They stood and began pacing around the room. “Anyone who looks at me? No wonder everyone was being so weird today, out of nowhere everyone fell in love with me? Oh no! I needa call Barnaby and let him know, that explains why he was bein’ so awkward.”
Alex watched for a moment as Morgan continued ranting and was now debating the moral quandary of making people fall in love with them, even accidentally, and how to inform them of the current issue. Alex, on the other hand, was trying to come to terms with the fact that the only way things were going to go be fixed was to help Morgan find their true love. And Alex was truly a being of evil, but they wouldn’t get in the way of Morgan’s happiness.
“Wait!” Morgan froze in their tracks and turned on their heel to look at Alex. “You’re being completely normal! You should be,” they paused, eyes wide, “you should be in love with me too.”
Alex had never felt fear like this. Sure, they were a being of immense power and unmatched strength, but what exactly were they supposed to say to that. Yes, obviously they were in love with Morgan, however, that was not a new development, and they weren’t sure they could continue this conversation if they admitted it.
Snap
“Alex! Seriously! Where did you go?” Morgan stared in disbelief at the empty couch where Alex had been sitting a second ago. Great, now they had to figure this out themselves. They stumbled to the couch, overwhelmed.
It had been an uncomfortable couple of days. Morgan had called their team as soon as they had collected their thoughts to inform them. It didn’t change anyone’s feelings, but now at least they understood what was happening. They also were staying home to prevent any future issues until this was resolved. The talk with Barnaby luckily went well. He was relieved to not have to confront what he was feeling, and now he was having a lot of fun teasing Morgan for being so “irresistible.”
Alex was the problem. They hadn’t shown back up since they snapped away or responded to any messages. Morgan was frustrated and growing angry. They understood that Alex probably didn’t want to see them, especially since they were the one to warn them about the dangers of a curse. They couldn’t imagine how uncomfortable it would be to suddenly be forcefully in love with someone, but they were friends. They’d hoped Alex would be here to support them since Morgan couldn’t risk leaving the apartment for fear that someone would see them.
Although Alex had seen them that night after the heist, the following morning, and that afternoon until Morgan brought up everyone’s behavior without acting weird. And, despite everything, they couldn’t lie, even by omission. How could they have possibly kept something like that secret when literally everyone else had been immediately overcome by the curse?
Unless.
Perhaps it was wishful thinking. A flash of hope had stuck them at the idea that Alex could really love them back, but it was gone just as quickly. Morgan didn’t consider themselves to have self confidence issues, but they could be realistic. Alex could do so much better. But. Maybe Alex could be their true love without the sentiment being returned. They couldn’t think of anyone else the title of “True Love” could belong to, but it would be impossible for things to go back to normal after they had both been confronted with the truth. Sighing, they grabbed their phone to text Alex and ruin their friendship.
Hey, I know youve been avoiding me all week and I get it… But I think I figured it out and I need your help… please
Morgan only had to wait an hour before Alex appeared in their living room. It was a little annoying because it meant they had seen their other messages, but they already knew that. Not the point. Alex stood in front of them looking equally uncomfortable and guilty.
“Sorry, Morgan. I’ve been a terrible friend, but I’m here now. Whatever you need.” Alex shifted on their feet but didn’t look away from them.
Morgan didn’t say anything as they slowly walked up to Alex and stood in front of them. They reached up to cup Alex’s cheek and stared into their eyes. Their gorgeous golden eyes, they ran their thumb over the soft skin of Alex’s cheek, trying to savor the moment.
“I’m sorry,” they whispered before pulling Alex towards them. Morgan would like to say they kept it simple, just a quick peck to test their theory and pull away. But that would be a lie. This wouldn’t be the first time they took advantage of a situation to have an excuse to kiss Alex, but it would be the last, and they were going to make it worth it. They were a villain after all.
Morgan kissed them intensely, their free hand tangling itself in Alex’s hair pulling them closer. They felt Alex freeze in shock for only a moment before melting into Morgan’s arms. Alex wrapped their arms around them, and it was the safest Morgan had ever felt. Alex made a small, desperate sound as Morgan tugged on their hair and bit at their lip. Morgan’s heart felt like it was being ripped from their chest and they suddenly felt the curse surround them. It was strange, but they could feel the moment the effects had been lifted, that they had been freed.
Morgan ripped themselves from Alex’s grasp panting and terrified. They knew Alex had only kissed back because of the curse, and now they had to face the truth.
“I’m so sorry. I knew it would work, and I know,” Morgan was cut off by Alex’s lips as they wrapped themselves around Morgan fiercely.
Alex whispered against their lips, “Please, Morgan, I’m begging you, please don’t stop.”