@nuttynutcycle / nuttynutcycle.tumblr.com
"When did you become boring? You used to be the brightest star in the city."
The hero choked back the instinctive bite at the villain's words and shrugged instead, the chains rattling at her movement. Hopefully, one day she would lose that spark the villain found attractive.
Hopefully, one day she would be free.
"I feel stolkholm syndromed!" The villain pressed their face against the bars. "There's only one cure. Let me out so I can take you to dinner. I totally won't escape."
The prison guard sighed.
"Isn't it beautiful?" The villain gestured to the view below. "Your own window. See, when you're good you get treats."
“Stop crying, it won’t hurt for long,” they tightened the restraints sadistically. “When I’m done, you won’t ever run from me again.”
It only took two months for the hero to break.
"You don't have to keep me here anymore. I'll stay out of your way, I promise."
The villain didn't even look up from his paper. "No deal."
After another month, Hero realized she would give up nearly anything to be free again. The city will be fine, she told herself. Other heroes will pick up the slack.
Hero put down her book. "I'm ready to quit my night job." This was almost too painful to admit. "You win."
The villains eye twitched, refusing to meet her gaze. "It's not happening. Drop it."
"Uh, no." Hero gave a nervous laugh. "You said I was problematic, so you 'took me out of commission.' This is me getting out of your way. Compromise."
The villain turned a page, pointedly becoming very invested in the sports section. Anger flared up in her chest.
"Just because you waste your life doesn't mean I want to waste mine." Her cheeks burned. "Set me free and we both win. I go back to my civilian life and you get to commit crimes without coming home to someone who hates you."
At this the villain closed the paper, looking up with a curious expression on his face. "Do you still hate me?"
"No, never, it's not like you're holding me here against my will." she replied sarcastically.
He spoke carefully, hands tensing. "I suppose that's a natural reaction."
"Why won't you let me go? I said I'd stop being a hero. Do you not trust me?" Hero felt the familiar feeling of desperation clawing its way back up.
"Things have changed." The villains jaw clenched. "Stop asking and read your book."
She couldn't do another month of this. The thought of living here, always scheming and reading and crying brought bile to her mouth. Hero rose to her feet. "No. If I have to be in this hell then I deserve to know why."
"Fine." The newspaper closed, attention fully on her. "I don't want to."
Stubborn asshole. "I despise you." she hissed through her teeth.
"Perhaps, but not forever." He walked over to her, frowning at the flinch when he brushed an angry tear away. "The human brain has many ways of making captivity bearable."
Hero stared, refusing to flinch again when his fingers started to twine through her hair. "I know. I've already thought about killing you. Multiple times."
The fingers tightened and yanked her head upward, faces only inches apart. "You're relying on me, your only companion and source of survival. Reliance will turn to fondness and, eventually," his small smile made her stomach drop. "...to love."
"What a pathetic way to earn someone's heart." The words lacked her normal bite, tainted by the growing nausea. "I'll never care for you."
The villain leaned in, and for one horrifying moment Hero thought he was going to kiss her. Instead he touched his forehead to hers. "I don't mind waiting, even if it takes years."
He moved and this time he was kissing her. The tight hold on her hair kept her trapped in the horrifying position. She felt a smile form against her lips. "You're worth it."
