Chapter Text
There was a knock on the door to the Villain’s office.
“You may enter.” He said.
After a moment’s pause, the door opened to reveal a henchmen.
“Ah, Frank. Good to see you. How may I help you?” The Villain said.
“Hey boss…you…uh..have a…visitor?” Frank said with evident confusion.
“Oh really? I wasn’t expecting anyone. Is it the Toilet Destroyer in the next town saying they’ll take my alliance?”
“No..”
“What about the small-time thief the Pocket Snatcher?”
“Also no..”
“Oh God, don’t tell me it’s my mother? I’ve told her several times I will not be moving back home!”
“No no no! This is much worse than her.”
“Well then, who is it?”
Frank took a deep breath. “The Hero.” He said.
The Villain immediately jumped up from his desk chair and slammed his hands down.
“WHAT?! WHY DIDNT YOU MENTION THIS SOONER? IS THE HIDEOUT UNDER ATTACK? MORE IMPORTANTLY, HOW DID HE FIND US?!” The Villain yelled.
He dashed across the room to a shelving unit that held a large stash of weapons and picked up a knife to shove into his belt holster.
“Boss, wait!” Frank commanded, “The hideout isn’t under attack. The Hero found us because he approached Philip while at Walmart and asked to meet with you peacefully. Apparently, there’s something really important he must ask you.”
The Villain paused, confusion furrowing his brows.
“He..wants a…peaceful meeting?” The Villain asks.
“Yeah. The Hero said it wasn’t very urgent and that he didn’t mind waiting until you had some free time.” Frank replied.
The Villain turned to the clock on the wall and frowned. “Well, I guess now's a good time.” He mumbled.
The Villain returned the knife to the shelf and then turned to Frank and said, “Bring him in. Make sure he’s unarmed. I swear if this is some stupid trick and we’ve fallen head first into it I’m blowing up something. Most likely him.”
“Yes sir!” Frank saluted and quickly slipped out of the room.
The Villain walked back to his desk and sat down. He took a deep breath and neutralized his features.
This would be a difficult conversation.
A few minutes later there was a knock at the door.
“Enter.” The Villain said.
The door slowly creaked open. It was clear that the person on the other side was second guessing themself. Eventually, the Hero slipped in.
It was odd to see the Hero without his standard brightly-colored latex body suit. In civilian clothes, it’s nearly impossible to recognize him. His blond hair sat beautifully on his head and looked as if it was spun from cotton candy, and he was wearing a simple white T-shirt and black jeans.
“Welcome, Hero.” The Villain said coldly.
“Uh..Hey man,” The Hero replied, giving an awkward little wave before folding his hands in front of him.
“Have a seat. I assume this will be quite the taxing conversation.” The Villain says while jestering to the chair opposite his.
“Oh, no thanks. I don’t plan to be here long. I’ve just come to ask a favor of you.” The Hero says, refusing to look at the Villain.
The Villain gave a dark chuckle, “You? Ask a favor? Of me? We've been mortal enemies for years ever since we started fighting for control over the city. How in the world could you possibly think that I owe you a favor?”
The Hero started shifting his weight. “Yes. I’m well aware of that fact, but I’m still going to ask you anyway. My best friend’s wedding is next month and she said to bring a plus one. Obviously, as the town hero, I can’t bring a normal relationship into my life. I did once, and it ended terribly. She was a horrible person, and that woman is going to be at the wedding. I’m worried that she’ll attempt to manipulate me or publicly shame me. So, will you please come to the wedding with me and pretend we’re dating? It doesn’t need to be an over the top performance and I promise to make it up to you and we’ll never speak of it again.” His face was bright red and his light blue eyes roamed the shelves of weapons, looking as if he’d rather be anywhere but here.
The Villain’s face completely lit up. “You should’ve said from the start that this was a petty revenge plot. I love seeing awful people finally get their just desserts. I would’ve done this without any compensation, but since you offered it, I will be expecting something.” He was now smirking.
The Hero’s head whipped to the desk and stared at the Villain. “You’re…fine with it?” He said while cocking his head to one side.
“Yes, I’m fine with it. You said nothing over the top, we’re getting revenge on a bad person, and I’m being compensated. I’d say this is a pretty good deal. Although, I do have one question, why me?”
“Ah, that,” The Hero started while looking at the floor, “I would’ve asked my sidekick, but he’s an intern and a minor, so he’s out. My ex and I were part of the same friend group, and all of those friends have partners that she knows about, so they’re all out. I could’ve paid a stranger to do it, but I feel it would’ve been difficult to fake a well-established relationship with them. You see, I’m a terrible actor.” He slowly looked up and finished with a small smile.
“I understand. Since we have a history and are familiar with one another, the “fake dating” aspect would be easier. Very well, I shall come to this wedding as your plus one.”
“Awesome! Thank you so much. This seriously means a lot to me.”
“When is the wedding?”
“Oh!” The Hero sticks a hand into his right pocket and pulls out an invitation. Then, he takes a few steps to the Villain’s desk and slides the paper over.
“Here. Does the date and time work for you?”
The Villain picks up the invitation and reads:
You’re invited to the celebration of
Rosalie Founder & James Williams
Location
The Grapeyard Vinary on Madison Street in Satis
City, California.
Time
August 28th 2016
5:00pm-10:00pm (After parties not included)
Dress Code
Please no white
The theme is nature, so dark/neutral colors are preferred. If you must go against this, it isn’t a problem.
Menu
Vegan options will be available
All parties attending will receive a copy of the catered menu. If you have any allergies or preferences, please contact the bride or groom so they can alert the restaurant of the situation and they’ll provide accommodations.
We hope to see you there!
Ps: All guests are encouraged to bring a plus 1
Contact Information
Rosalie Founder- [email protected]
James Williams- [email protected]
After reading through the invitation, the Villain places it back on the desk before digging around in his back pocket for his phone.
“One moment please. I need to check my schedule.”
“No problem.” The Hero replies, still standing there awkwardly.
The Villain pulls out his phone, unlocks it, and opens the calendar app.
“Hm. Looks like my moon stealing gun will be ready on the 27th and I have a citywide takeover planned for the 28th. I might not be able to make it.” The Villain says, feigning sadness.
“Uh, should you be telling me your super secret evil master plans?” The Hero questioned.
The Villain sighs and rolls his eyes. “Obviously I’m joking. Yes, I’m available that day. I’ll be able to come.” He set his phone down on the desk.
“Oh, right.” The Hero says while grinning. “I wouldn’t have taken you as a person who tells jokes.”
“I’m always full of surprises. It’s my specialty, actually. You should know that. I’m continuously coming up with new ideas to unseat your party from power.”
“That's true. Every time you fail you’re always back with something bigger and better.”
The Hero folded his hands behind his back, “Well, I guess I should get going. Thanks again for agreeing to do this.” And he started toward the door.
“Wait.” The Villain called.
The Hero stopped and turned back around. He came back up to the desk. “What’s up?”
Now it was the Villain’s turn to look embarrassed. The tips of his ears turned pink and he looked up at the Hero as he said, “Have you ever dated a man before?”
The Hero thought for a moment before saying, “Nope. Just a woman. Why is this important?”
The Villain was silent for a bit before replying, “Since this would be a new thing for you, you’ll essentially be coming out at the wedding. This event could take away the spotlight for the couple getting married. They might get mad at you. I suggest you call them now and ask if it’s ok to bring me along.”
The Hero broke out into a relieved smile. “Man, you do always think of everything. I see now how it could be seen as rude to do that. Alright, I’ll call them.”
The Hero pulled his phone out of his left front pocket. He did some tapping and held the phone up to his ear.
“Put it on speaker.” The Villain said.
The Hero did so. After a few rings, a woman’s voice came through the device.
“Hey hey, how are you bestie?”
This time, the Hero’s smile was genuine. The Villain could now see that he had dimples. For some reason, they really suited the Hero.
“Hey Rosey. So, about the plus one thing for your wedding,”
“Oh my god, you have someone? Who?”
The Hero shot the Villain a nervous glance. The Villain gave an encouraging nod.
“Yeah, I do. I have a..boyfriend I wish to bring. I wanted to call and make sure that’s ok with you guys since it’s basically me coming out at your wedding. I didn’t want to accidentally take the..uh..spotlight away from you.”
“That’s totally fine with me. I’m sure James will be fine with it too. Now to your guy, what’s his name? Is he nice?”
“Actually, can you go ask James? I really want to make sure you both are ok with it.”
“Alright, you worrier.”
The sound of shifting came from the phone. A bit later Rosalie’s voice came back through the receiver.
“Babe. Baby. Joshua is wondering if it’s ok for him to bring his boyfriend to the wedding.”
“Wait what? Josh has a boyfriend? Since when?” This voice was male. The Villain guessed that this was James.
“I know, I know. I have questions too. Just answer mine.” Rosalie said.
“Sorry, what was the question again?”
“Is it ok if Josh brings his boyfriend? He’s worried that coming out at the wedding will take attention away from us, and he wanted to make sure we’re ok with that outcome.”
“Oh yeah that’s totally fine. Now put him on speaker so we can interrogate him!”
“Alright Josh, you’re on speaker. Spill everything.”
The Hero, or Josh apparently, swallowed.
“I…won’t be telling you guys anything. You’ll have to wait until the wedding to get information.”
A simultaneous shout of “WHAT?!” came through the phone.
He grinned.“Yep. I won’t be spilling anything. I’ll answer any questions at the ceremony and you can determine if you like him yourselves, ok?”
“Fine.” Rosalie said as James replied “You’re no fun.”
“Great, thanks you two. Enjoy the month you have of just being engaged. I can’t wait for the event. Talk to you guys later.”
“Cya Josh.” Was both of their answers.
Before Joshua could hang up the phone, the Villain waved his hand in a “bring it here” gesture. Josh did so and held the phone close to the Villain.
“It was lovely to listen to this conversation. I look forward to meeting you both. Have a wonderful day.” The Villain said and immediately hung up.
Josh sighed. “Seriously? Now they’ll just blow up my phone demanding information about you.”
As if on cue, his phone started ringing. He quickly declined the call and silenced it.
The Villain gave a sly grin. “My apologies. I couldn’t help myself. Unrelated topic, your name is Joshua? I had no idea. Despite you being my enemy for, what is it, five years? It makes me feel as if I don’t know you as well as I thought.”
“If it makes you feel any better, I don’t know your name either.”
The Villain thought for a second before answering, “It’s Silas.”
“What?”
“My name is Silas.”
“Oh uh…cool. Good to know.”
“Before you put your phone away, we should exchange contact information. It’ll be easier to communicate this way. Additionally, we should meet up several times before the wedding so we can learn facts about each other.”
“So, you want to set up dates?”
The Villain started blushing slightly again and grabbed his phone off the desk. “I suppose you could call it that. Walking into the reception without even having basic knowledge of each other would look suspicious. We would also need to come up with some sort of backstory for our “relationship” as people will likely ask.”
“That’s so much workkkkk”
“This whole thing was your idea. If you wish to back out, it’s not too late.”
“No, no. It’s fine. Here.” Josh flipped his phone around and showed Silas his number. They copied each other's numbers and made contacts.
“I think that's about it. One more thing, though.” Silas started.
“What?”
“I propose a truce. Starting today, and ending September 1st. During that time period, I will launch zero attacks against you, your crew, your stronghold, or do anything typically categorized as “evil”. In return, you will do the same, but you won’t do anything “hero like”. Let’s do our best to get along civilly, with as few death threats as possible. Does that seem acceptable?” Silas stood up then and held out his hand.
“Yes. I accept those conditions.”
They shook hands.
Josh then glared at Silas for a minute before exclaiming, “Wait, are you taller than me?!”
Silas smirked and answered, “If you’re shorter than 6’3, then yes, I would be taller.”
Josh frowned and mumbled “Unfair…”
Silas gave a small laugh and said, “You can go now. We’ll discuss the details of future meetups later.” And he sat back down in his chair.
“Yeah, I should get going. Thanks again.” He walked to the door, opened it, and before going through it, he turned around and said “You might want to find another hobby. I imagine this peaceful time will be hard on you.”
“I’m well aware.” Silas sighed.
Josh smiled and left.