Chapter Text
It's a rather beautiful evening. The sky is a pinkish-red with orange-red clouds and a red sunset. The red light basked the city landscape in its beautiful glow, the shadows a dark blue, purple, or navy. It's like viewing a painting you could walk into.
The short woman takes a deep breath, hoping the beauty of the sunset would travel into her nostrils and warm her chest. Instead, the air was chilly, as expected from such a height. Being on one of the taller buildings of Shibuya crossing, naturally the atmosphere was considerably colder. Her black suit was definitely not suited for the weather. Yet, here she found the tranquility she always sought. Away from the crowds, the loud busy streets, the rallies she held in the shopping mall, and the police.
The woman exhales softly, her muscles relaxing after a rather physicall exhausting day. Her legs were sore after running away from the city’s heros for what seemed like an eternity. They just kept coming out of nowhere! It's like they were purposely hunting her down. Perhaps they were.
She was the leader of the League of Villains, after all.
The villain's white hair is carried by the breeze, slapping against another surface. “Ouch,” the surface says. The woman turns her head, meeting the glossy white of a hero uniform and dark purple wavy hair in a high ponytail. The white-haired’s companion grabs the hair that had slapped her face, before tossing the ball behind herself. The villain can't help but smile at the annoyed look that had spread on her companion’s face. It was rare to see her react expressively, so the villain wanted to admire it fully. “Pardon me, my love,” She tells the latter. Her voice is soft, gentle. It was a voice specifically reserved for her companion’s ears only.
Well, they were more than companions. After all, in what scenario would a hero and a villain sit together in comfortable silence watching the sunset?
“It's okay, Instant Boss,” the hero says, her face returning to its usual blank stare. The hero struggled with expressing her emotions, often wearing a mask (literally and figuratively) to be able to exist within society. She always wore a friendly, cheerful smile, in which the villain despised with a burning passion. Her true self, this blank canvas, was something she only shared with the villain. And Instant Boss made sure to cherish it every second she could.
Instant Boss chuckles softly as her lover scrunches up, bringing her knees near her face and wraps her arms around her legs. Perhaps she also feels cold. It's hard to tell. Yet, judging by the body language, the villain is at her service. She scoots closer, until their arms brush against each other. The hero lightly shakes from the contact. No, flinches. Much to Instant Boss's dismay. But she ignores it, hesitantly sliding an arm up the white hero's back until it reaches her shoulder. The purple-haired shivers at the sensation, but doesn't pull away. Taking this as a good thing, Instant Boss pulls her lover to her, letting the hero relax onto her shoulder.
“Better?” She asks. She can hear her lover's heartbeat quickening. No, feel it.
“Not really.” Words so blunt it'll sting anyone else. Instant Boss is rather used to it.
“Would you like my coat then, Mafuyu?” The villain looks at the hero expectantly. She can feel Mafuyu open her mouth to reply, but the words do not come for a good while. It's okay, Instant Boss is willing to wait for an eternity if she must.
Only for Mafuyu.
Instead the hero pulls away from Instant's grasp and stands up. Instant Boss lets the smallest of whines as Mafuyu's warmth leaves her shoulder. “I think it's best I leave now,” Mafuyu mutters, the words being drifted away by the wind.
Those words make the villain’s heart sink. She rolls onto her knees, facing her lover. “Please, stay a little longer. Until the sun has fully set. Please?” To anyone else, this actually would have come out as pathetic. Though by now the purple-haired is rather used to this begging and puppy-like behavior.
Mafuyu's brows twitch slightly, her eyes become the only thing that expresses a somber gloom on her face. “You know I have a curfew,” she says, her brows twitching once more as she says those words, “And I… as White Crow, don't want to risk being caught.”
Instant Boss winces at those last words. The risk of being caught is what kept a distance between their relationship. The reason why White Crow refused to go on dates, disliked being anywhere near cameras, and only met up with Instant Boss once in a blue moon. It made sense, she was a hero. One of the most respected, if not the top hero of Shibuya. Everything she's working for could collapse at any moment when the world discovers she was the lover of the most (allegedly) dangerous and evilest villain to exist. And the villain understands. She knew how important White Crow was to Mafuyu. But sometimes, when White Crow would act extra distant, Instant Boss wanted to scream at her, “Is it really too painful to be with me?” But she never did. She never questioned the boundaries the hero had placed, the distance that stabbed her heart each and every time. She knew of Mafuyu's struggles outside of being a hero, how it was difficult for her to even understand what being in a relationship meant, so demanding more from her lover would be the shittest thing she could ever do. So Instant Boss, despite the pain in her chest, obliged to their short and hidden meetups.
Instant Boss stands, though refused to look Mafuyu in the eyes. Perhaps it's for the best. She didn't want her lover to experience guilt.
“Can I kiss you goodbye?” The words leave the villain's mouth before she could stop herself. She despised how pathetic she became when it came to Mafuyu. The hero was a stunning goddess that had Instant Boss weak on the knees. She became a little needy, sometimes pushy, for touch or words. For such reasons it took so long for the hero to fall in love with Instant Boss.
If she even did…
Mafuyu's eyes met hers. There was a twinkle in them Instant Boss could not decipher. But, it was the same twinkle each time Instant asked for something and White Crow was unable to deliver. “Instant…” Mafuyu's voice trails off, as if searching for the right words to say.
This always happens. The villain embraces herself for the rejection.
Instead, she feels gloved fingers lift her chin. The villainess blinks in surprise before soft lips press against hers. She can feel her cheeks warm up at the sensation. And just as she was about to melt into it, the kiss ended as quickly as it came. Instant Boss pouts at the loss, her body leaning towards the hero for more. However, Mafuyu holds her in place.
“I need to go,” Mafuyu says, her eyes avoidant. Perhaps it's because of the way Instant Boss's blue gaze is piercing her skin, enchanted by her beauty. It's hard to take her eyes off the hero, especially when she's flustered like that.
“Okay, when can we meet again?” The villain asks.
The hero sighs, letting her grip on Instant go. “I don't know. I have a few exams coming up that I have to study for. Maybe, two weeks from now?”
Two whole weeks?! Instant Boss stopped herself from protesting or showing any signs of discontent.
Instead she lets her head fall onto the hero's chest, relishing the warmth she won't be able to have until then. “Okay. Get home safe, dear,” The villain mumbles before sneaking a kiss on White Crow's neck. She knows the hero won't like that, so she refused to meet her eyes, “I love you, Mafuyu.”
“G- Goodbye… Kanade,” The hero says, before backing away. Instant Boss can only watch as Mafuyu walks to the edge of the building, only to then jump off. Instant Boss follows the white blur that is White Crow speeding away into the streets until she's gone.
Suddenly the air up here felt significantly colder. Her limbs begin shivering. Her teeth chattered.
Nonetheless, the villain stayed to watch the remainder of the sunset. She liked to imagine what it would be like if White Crow allowed for their meetups to last longer. If cameras or unwanted eyes weren't a threat. Would she allow herself to be cuddled? Would she kiss Instant Boss more tenderly? What if White Crow didn't have any responsibilities? Would White Crow stay with her for the night if she wasn't a model student? If she wasn't such a people pleaser. Would she smile more and also give Instant Boss embarrassing pet names? What would dating a hero truly be like? Where would she like to go? How daring would the two get if they had all the time in the world? Would the sunset be warmer?
Would Instant Boss finally hear the words “I love you” come from the hero's mouth?
Instant Boss nearly gags at that last thought. She shouldn't be thinking such terrible things. White Crow does love… but… No. Perhaps the cold was getting the best of her. Time to go home.
The villain turns her back to the last remaining sunlight. Now, the only thing that embraced her was the darkness and cold of the night.