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There were many reasons why he became a hero. But if he had to single out one, it was probably because he liked to help people.
Whether it was by saving someone's life from an accident, helping an elderly lady cross the street or simply comforting a close friend after a hard day, he liked the feeling of helping someone and knowing he could do something for them. Maybe because it somewhat fueled his pride and ego whenever someone thanked him, but he did genuinely like making others happy.
Lately though, he's found himself helping others in another way: giving relationship advice.
He didn't know why so many people were coming to him asking for advice with crushes or partners or love in general. Maybe it was because he had two boyfriends and people just assumed he had more experience? (Though in all honesty, he wasn’t entirely sure how he and the other two started dating in the first place).
Either way, Vanta always wanted to help out people in any way that he could. And if it meant helping someone with their romance problems, so be it.
Today, he had the day off so he had taken the opportunity to do the week's groceries and treat himself to a small excursion to the local coffee shop. He smiled and nodded to the barista as he was handed his coffee, and was about to head out with it when he spotted someone familiar in the shop.
Sitting next to and staring out of the coffeshop window was Caelen, in uniform and seemingly not having noticed Vanta yet. With him being part of the police force, the two had met before and gotten along quite well, though usually never met outside of work due to their busy schedules.
"Hey, Caelen!!" Vanta called out to him, catching the officer's attention. The hero walked over to him, a grin on his face, "Mind if I sit with you or...?".
"Oh, not at all. Go ahead," Caelen replied, tail wagging a bit more at the prospect of company. Vanta set his grocery bags down as he sat down across from him. He also took the time to take a quite look at the food Caelen had ordered for himself. A cup of coffee as well as a sandwich and a croissant.
How painfully French of him..... Not that there was anything wrong with that, of course. It'd be hypocritical of Vanta if he did think that.
"So, Caelen? What're you doing out here?" Vanta asked him, taking a sip of his own coffee, "I thought these days were your patrol days?".
"I'm currently on lunch break. Marshall reccomended this place to me a while back," Caelen simply replied to him, "What about you? I assume it's your day off? Are Zali and Wilson not with you?".
"Yeah, they still got work to finish or something, so I took the liberty of getting the groceries for them," Vanta nodded to him, "Speaking of Zali, he told me he's been meaning to catch up with you. But you know how busy he can get sometimes".
"Oh, really? That's nice," Caelen let out a chuckle, eyes glancing away from him and out the window, "I hope I can meet up with him again sometime, the last time was really fun".
The pair fell silent then, and Vanta was slowly beginning to realise that something felt off about Caelen. He was more quiet than their previous encounters, and he seemed to be distracted by something, "Umm, Caelen? Is something wrong or-".
"How do you know if you like someone?".
"..... What?".
"Romantically, I mean," Caelen replied, finally turning back towards him, "You're dating both Zali and Wilson so I assume you'd know, right???".
Vanta's brows furrowed in confusion as he crossed his arms, but he still opted to entertain his question. "I mean, it took me a while to even realise I liked them as more than just co-workers or friends. I guess it was people assuming I was already dating them and then realising I wouldn't actually mind dating them," he replied to him, "Why do you ask??".
Caelen's cheeks seemed to notably blush at that, tail beginning to swish against the floor and ear twitching slightly as he bashfully looked to the side. "So, say there's this... guy you met," he began, "At first, you hated him, you're supposed to hate him. But over time, you felt... I don't know, different about him?".
Vanta gave him a nod, taking another sip of his coffee, "In what way though? That's what's important here".
Caelen's hands wrapped around his coffee cup, a finger tapping on it as he formulated a response. "I'm... not entirely sure," he told him, "I know I used to hate him, but for some reason everything just feels.. better when I see meet him. It feels like he actually understand me, nothing like my co-workers at the police force. And I actually start hoping that I do run into him more?? Is that weird???".
"Nah, I don't think that's weird at all. Your feelings towards the guy just changed, that's all," Vanta replied, "If he asked you out, would you accept it though?".
"I-If he asked me out?!?" Caelen gasped, face becoming more red and tail twitching a bit more erratically, "I mean, maybe?? I think?? I-I don't know, my job would make going out with him really complicated...".
"Really?? Surely you can't be that busy that you can't spare a day or two to go on a date??" Vanta said, raising a brow at him, "I mean, look at me! I'm a hero dating two other heroes! We're busy all the time yet I still manage to find time for them!".
"It's not the scheduling that's the problem, Vanta!" Caelen yelped at him, before looking down at his coffee bashfully as his ears drooped, "It's the fact that he's umm.... he's a wanted criminal".
Vanta stared at him in silence for a moment, and Caelen was beginning to regret telling him before the hero spoke up again, "I mean, he hasn't killed anyone, right???".
"Huh?? Umm, not according to the records we have on him, no?" Caelen replied with a shake of his head, "He's only committed bank robberies and a few museum heists. But nobody has ever died from them, at least I hope so".
"Then I say go for it!" Vanta told him, surprising Caelen.
The officer's eyes widened in shock. "You- Aren’t you at least a bit concerned about the fact he's a criminal though?" he asked him, arms crossed and ear twitching in confusion, "I've had to arrest him before, you know".
"Yeah, but it's not like he's hurt anyone or anything, right?" Vanta said, "He's just someone who steals from rich places. Besides, he could help provide, you know! The economy and housing are shit nowadays anyways, it'd help having someone like him around!!".
Caelen's ears tilted down a little as he narrowed his eyes at him, "You are seriously not defending a wanted criminal, are you???".
"I mean, you're the one crushing on a criminal, not me".
"Shit, you're right...", Caelen let out a deep sigh, burying his face in his hands, "You see how complicated it is now though?? What if I get into trouble with the department over this??".
"Hmm, I guess there is a possibility they could fire you if you two started dating," Vanta mused, finger on his chin as he thought, "Which would probably suck ass since you've been working with the police for so long and you really wouldn't have anywhere else to go".
"You're seriously not helping here, Vanta" Caelen told him, lifting his head up from his hands to give him a glare.
"My bad, dawg! I'm just saying!" Vanta nervously chuckled to him. He reached out and gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder, bringing Caelen out from his temporary slump. "Look, I say go for it, see what happens" he told him, giving him a warn smile, "You said he makes you feel happy and understood, right?".
Caelen bashfully looked off to the side, face flushed pink, "I-I mean, yeah, he does...".
"Then that's all that matters, right?" Vanta grinned to him, "You don't have to be public about the relationship anyways! Your secrets safe with me, Cae!!".
He finished that sentence off with a wink, and Caelen let out a small laugh at that. "They might kill you if they found out you're involved in something like this, but thanks, Vanta" Caelen smiled to him, "I really mean it".
"No problem, Cae! Anything to help out a friend of mine," Vanta laughed. He leaned back in his chair anf took a sip of his coffee, "And hey, not the first time I've almost been killed before. I could take another attempt on my life".
"..... I'm sorry, what?".
"Oh, did I not tell you? So one time, back when when I still worked as a mercenary...".
==========
The moon hung high in the city sky as Vanta walked back to his apartment. It was the end of another busy day for him. What was supposed to be just quick outing to buy some stuff turned into an hour stuck in traffic, then having to quickly stop some bad guys who were trying to rob the mall he was in. And suffice to say, he was glad that he was going to get some well-deserved rest.
"Man, I'm tired as fuck!" Vanta yawned to himself as he got out the keys to his apartment. He finally unlocked the door and stepped inside, only to be greeted by the lights already being on and someone standing right in the middle of his living room.
Liron turned around to face him, a grin on his face and a pastel pink cat in his arms, "Big bro!!!".
"Eh- Liron?!?!?" Vanta gasped. His relationship with Liron was a..... weird one to say the least. At first, Liron was simply just a name he saw a lot of times in the newspaper, someone that he knew was a well-known criminal but had never met in person. It wasn't until a couple months ago that he had one day found the criminal in his apartment, having broken in and before he could detain him, immediately started claiming they were half-brothers.
Was Vanta skeptical at first? Of course he was! He didn't know who his parents were! His birth was so awesome his parents couldn't be in the same room as him! Plus, the two looked nothing alike! But after Liron shoved a paper sheet of what looked like an ancestry test in his face, it did reveal that Liron was, in one way or another, related to Vanta.
So now here they were, having struck an unspoken deal where Liron would break out of prison and stay at Vanta's while he looked for a place to stay. And unfortunately Vanta was stuck with him because 'sure, he's a nuisance, but he isn't dangerous so I'll let him hang around, I guess'.
"How the hell did you even get in??" Vanta asked him, beginning to remove his coat and hang it up on the coat hanger, "I have a whole ass security system!?!".
"A thief never reveals their secrets!" Liron grinned to him before settling down on Vanta's couch and opening a bag of crisps. Princess hopped down from his arms, instead setting her eyes on chasing Kurococo around the apartment.
Vanta narrowed his eyes at Liron, "You didn't break my window again, right?".
"Hmm? Nope".
"Break my door without me realising somehow?".
"Nope!".
"Used, I don't know, magic???".
Liron raised a brow at him at that, "I didn't know I could do that. Maybe I should next time".
"Then how the hell did you get into my house!?!" Vanta yelled at him.
Liron popped another potato chip into his mouth, chewing and swallowing before replying, "One of your boyfriends left the spare key you gave him here the last time I visited and I may or may not have made a copy of it for my own use".
Vanta stared at him in shock for a moment, face blank as he processed what Liron had told him, "You... You stole my boyfriend's keys?".
"Borrowed it, actually. He got them back though, don't worry about it!" Liron said. He popped another potato chip into his mouth before picking up another one and offering it to Vanta, "You want one?".
Vanta looked down at the chip for a moment, before letting out a tired sigh and settling down on the couch next to Liron, taking the chip from him and eating it, "So, you're just crashing here for the night, I presume?".
"Yeah, until I find a neat place to stay. They compromised my last place so I'm gonna try search for another one" Liron replied. He fell silent then, simply watching as Princess chased after the floating crow AI.
It was honestly a bit unnerving and awkward. Usually after his prison breakouts, Liron would ramble to Vanta about how totally cool he looked breaking out and how totally dumb the security guards were. But Liron was quiet, and there was some sort of contemplative look in his eyes, like he was in deep thought.
Vanta gently nudged him, "Yo, Liron. You feeling good?".
"Hm? Of course I am! Why wouldn't I be feeling good?" Liron replied to him, letting out a small laugh as he ate another chip, "Never felt better, actually".
Vanta raised a brow at him, "You sure? You're being oddly quiet right now. You're usually rambling about how shit prison food is right now".
"Hey, sometimes prison and breakouts can get boring too!" Liron said, shrugging his shoulders, "I've done this hundreds of times now, it's no surprise sometimes they get stale". He went back to watching as Kurococo dodged all of Princess' attempts to catch it, eating his chips in silence.
Vanta had just about accepted that he wasn't going to get anything out of Liron, and went back to eating until Liron spoke up again, "How did you ask those two out, by the way?".
He almost choked on his chips at the question, immediately turning his head to face him, "Excuse me??? Why??????".
"I'm just curious!! I mean, you managed to get two boyfriends!! I'm just wondering how you all started dating is all!!" Liron told him, giving him a shrug.
"Well- it's... complicated, I think. We were pretty close and people just started assuming we were dating because of that," Vanta replied, scratching the back of his neck nervously, "And then we had this whole realisation that we wouldn't actually mind being a couple and it just... yeah".
"Huh, wow. You weren't joking when you said it was complicated," Liron laughed. He turned away from him to mumble something underneath his breath, something that Vanta managed to hear, "Damn, asking him out is gonna be harder than I thought...".
Vanta raised a brow at him, before the realisation finally sunk in and his eyes widened in shock, "Don't tell me... you actually like someone!?!".
"H-Huh??? What?!? No I don't!!!" Liron yelped, his face turning red immediately giving him away, "A criminal like me would never!!".
"You're bullshitting, I heard you say that!!" Vanta yelled at him, "You're not very slick, you know?".
"I didn't say anythi- Ouch, Princess!!!". The fluffy cat had decided to jump into their conversation and immediately jump onto Liron, beginning to swat at his face. Liron pried her off of him, though the cat kept on batting at him with her paw.
"See?? Even she agrees with me, and she's a cat!!" Vanta told him, pointing at her, "Princess, tell Liron he's a bad liar right now!!".
"Oh- Fine! Fine! Just- get off me, Princess!!!". Liron finally managed to wrangle Princess off of him, holding her tight in his arms so she wouldn't escape his grasp. The cat, not giving up or admitting defeat, simply decided to gnaw on the material of his jacket instead.
"Okay fine, I admit it. I came here for another reason..." the prisoner admitted, looking off to the side in a somewhat failed attempt to hide the blush on his face, "I asked you that cause I kinda... really need advice on this one guy".
Vanta let out a sigh as he sat back on the couch and crossed his arms. "Alright, I'll help you with him," he said, "Lemme hear about him. What's he like?".
Liron gave him a sheepish smile as he scratched the back of his neck, "Promise not to get mad at me?".
Vanta raised a brow at him, "Why would I possibly get mad at you?".
"So he's a cop".
An awkward silence filled the air then as Vanta stared at him in shock, "He's... You're... crushing on a cop".
"You say that as if it's a bad thing!!".
"It is when you're a convicted criminal!!" Vanta yelled at him, "I mean- he's part of the police!! You've been arrested by the police before!!!!".
"I know! I know! But I just can't help it, you know??" Liron whined, dropping his head in his hands, "He's just so cute and nice and sweet and honestly, having conversations with him doesn't feel like we're cop and criminal, you know? It feels more like... we're friends, or something more than that...".
Vanta stared at him in shock for a moment, and even glanced over at Princess, who was giving Liron a look of what looked like disappointment. He let out a deep sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose before turning back towards Liron, "You really like the guy, huh?".
Liron gave him a small nod, a bit of a pout on his face. "Yeah, I do..." he sighed, before leaning his head back on the couch, "Sometimes I find myself committing crimes just because I hope it'll be him that arrests me, and he always makes my robberies more fun. And I wanna know he likes me back too but he's a cop and I know it'd be dangerous for him to date me and I know he'd be afraid of what his bosses will do to him and AAAAHHH ITS JUST SO FRUSTRATIIIIING!!!!".
He screamed into the couch pillow, and Vanta simply watched him before he patted Liron on the shoulder. "You know, Liron. This'll probably sound pretty stupid, especially coming from me," he told him, "But I think you should at least tell him".
"Wait- what?!?" Liron yelped, head turning towards him with shock on his face, "Wait- are you sure???".
"Yeah! Totally, man!" Vanta replied, giving him his best grin, "I mean, you said you guys were close enough that you felt more like friends rather than a cop and criminal pair, right?".
Liron looked away bashfully, a flush still on his face before he nodded to him, "I don't know how he does it, really. But with him I can forget about all that. Forget how different we are, you know?".
"So there's a chance he might feel the same way that you do!!" Vanta told him, giving him a pat on the back, "And hey, you've robbed museums and banks before! You can't let a little crush scare you!!".
Liron thought about it for a moment, head tilting to the side before he came to a slow realisation, "Wait... you're right. I'm such a dumbass if I'm afraid of saying I like him but not of bombs!!".
"Yeah! That's the spiri- Wait, bombs?".
Not even paying attention to him, Liron jumped up from his seat and scooped up Princess in his arms, a new vigour and determination in his step. "I'm gonna make sure to tell him how I feel about him the next time I see him!!" Liron beamed, as Princess squirmed a little in his grasp, "I'm not gonna let the fact he's a cop stop me!!".
"You never mentioned the bombs before???".
Liron turned around to face him, his usual wide grin on his face. "Thank you so much, big bro!!" he grinned to him. Princess jumped out of his arms, and he took this opportunity to pull Vanta into a hug, "You really are the best brother I could've asked for!!".
Vanta was a bit caught off guard by the sudden hug, but let out a small laugh as he patted Liron on the back. "No problem, Liron. Just helping out in any way that I can, I guess," he smiled to him.
Liron finally pulled away from him and gently picked up Princess in his arms again, giving him a smile, "Anyways, I'm heading out for the night, bro! I'll see you in the morning!".
"Yeah, good night to you too, Liron" Vanta replied, giving him a wave from the couch, before a sudden realisation hit him, "Wait, where do you think you're going???".
"Umm- I don't know? Wherever there's a bed??".
"Oh hell no!! You're sleeping on the couch tonight!!"
"Oh, come on, Vanta!! Please???".
==========
It had been a couple weeks now since those two conversations, the memory of them tucked neatly somewhere in the back of Vanta's mind. It's not that his friends' love lives weren't important to him, but with hero work, his own love life and the need for a better home security system, there were a lot more important things that he had to prioritise first.
"Maybe I should just get a camera for the place? No, he'd probably find some way to disable it or some shit like that," Vanta muttered to himself underneath his breath as he approached his apartment. He was just coming home from a long overdue date with Wilson and Zali, one of those rare moments they were all free from hero duties and all that jazz.
The sun was just beginning to sink below the horizon as Vanta made his way to his door. He enjoyed today with his boyfriends, but he was looking forward to relaxing and resting the rest of the day.
Instead however, he was greeted with the sight of Liron seemingly making out with someone he had pinned to his couch, the man out of view from the angle Vanta was standing at.
Vanta stood there and stared for a while, either in shock or disappointment before he finally cleared his throat. "What the hell are you doing here!?!" Vanta shouted at him, causing the prisoner to flinch before he looked back up at him.
"O-Oh! Welcome back...?", Liron gave him a sheepish grin. The man underneath finally raised his head from the couch, revealing a head of dark blue hair and a distinct pair of German Shepherd ears.
Vanta's eyed widened even more, "Wait- Caelen?!?".
The officer flinched then, quickly turning around to look towards Vanta at the door. Caelen's hair was a mess now, his jacket and tactical vest gone and discarded somewhere. A couple buttons of his shirt were undone, and his collar was slightly looser than usual. "Vanta?! What are you doing here???" Caelen yelled, face already beginning to turn red.
Liron's brows furrowed in confusion, "Wait- you two know eachother???".
Vanta narrowed his eyes at him, "I thought you knew I worked with the police sometimes???".
"I didn't know you worked with this police officer though!!!" Liron retorted back, "Why didn't you tell me?!? I thought brothers told eachother everything!!".
"Wait- you two are brothers???" Caelen yelled, looking between the two, "I thought you guys were both orphans?!?".
Vanta let out a sigh, scratching the back of his neck, "It's a..... long story.....".
"I did a DNA test one time and found out we were related, and we've been brothers ever since!!" Liron explained to Caelen, a stupid smile on his face, "He even lets me crash over at his place after I've broken out of prison".
"Wait- really?!?" Caelen gasped, before turning back towards Vanta, "Vanta, you've been housing a criminal this entire time!? Do Zali and Wilson know about this?!".
"Why are you of all people judging me?!?" Vanta shouted back, hands up in mock surrender, "You two literally look like you're five seconds away from creating new life on my couch-".
"We were not!!!" Caelen shouted at him, his face blushing red from embarassment, "A-At least- I don't think we were, right...?".
Liron looked off to the side, "Honestly I was considering it, but it would've been awkward doing that with Vanta's pictures on the wall, you know?". He gestured his head in the direction of the wall next to the couch. And hanging right above the couch, was a selfie that Vanta seemed to have taken with Vezalius and Wilson on one of their rare vacations.
Caelen raised his brows, "Why do you have pictures of him in your place?".
At that, Vanta's eyes widened and he stared at Caelen in shock, "Wait- you think this is his house!?!?!".
Caelen looked back at him, ears lowered, "I mean, where else would Liron take me...?".
"Hello????? This place is FILLED with purple, Caelen!!!" Vanta yelled at him, "There are purple decorations on the walls and a purple rug on the floor and you're fucking on a purple couch-".
"We were not fucking!!!"
"That doesn't matter!! It's a purple couch!! Liron is a criminal dressed in pink and orange!! Why the fuck would he have a purple couch!?!?".
"I-I don't know!! I just... assumed.....". Caelen bashfully looked away from him, though the blush on his cheeks and neck couldn't be hidden.
Liron looked back at Vanta. "Hey, go easy on him, bro!!" he told him, "Cae was too distracted by me to think, weren't you?".
He reached down a hand to gently scratch behind Caelen's ear. The dogman's breath hitched in his throat at the contact, his face turning red. "Li-Liron, not in front of him..." he whined, though he did lean into his touch.
And while Liron delighted in the whimpers he pulled from Caelen, Vanta was left staring at them in a state of shock, confusion and disgust rolled into one. "You two are so weird..." he sighed, before closing and locking the door behind him, "I'm not gonna kick you two out".
Liron looked back up at him, genuinely surprised, "Wait, really???".
"I mean, it's not like I can. If you're seen leaving together, it makes you look suspicious. And it'll make me look suspicious too since you'll be leaving from my apartment," Vanta explained to them, "So we'll wait until it's night for me to drive Caelen back to his place. And Liron you... I don't know, leave in the morning and leave me alone?".
Liron grinned at him, "I can't promise I'll leave you alone, but thanks Vanta!!". He reached down to hug Caelen below him, "D'You hear that, Cae?? We get to spend more time together tonight!!".
"Liron..." Caelen muttered out, though he did eventually let out a small giggle and wrap his arms around Liron too, his tail wagging cheerfully.
Vanta let out a small chuckle of amusement. "I'm gonna go make dinner now," he told them, "No fucking while I'm gone, you do that at your own place-".
"I said we weren't going to!!!" Caelen yelped at him once again, and Vanta could only let out a laugh as he made his way to the kitchen. Even if he never expected to see them as a pair, he couldn't help but notice just how much more happier they seemed together.
He was glad he could help them get together, no matter how small his help was.