Defiant Leader x Confident Villain
Is it self indulgent? Yes.
Do I post team Whump anyways? Yes.
*ignoring all my other WIPs* I hope you enjoy
Leader grinned as they fell with villain, hands twisted into villain’s black shirt. Villain let out a soft breath as their back hit the ground. They moved to buck Leader off but Leader was faster. Leader was always faster. Leader settled their weight against Villain’s stomach keeping them pinned.
“Always so smug,” Villain said with an effort, moving their neck slightly to get more comfortable.
“What can I say?” Leader asked, flashing their signature smirk. “You always made it easy to best you.”
A flash of metal and Leader’s hand shot out, not breaking eye contact with Villain, as they held Villain’s wrist and squeezed.
“Nice try,” said Leader as they slammed Villain’s hand to the ground. They slammed it again, and again, until Villain let the knife go. Villain’s other hand shot up and Leader caught it, pinning Villain’s hands to the ground above their head.
Villain’s lips pursed before they got that glint in their eye that always made Leader nervous. “You know, I think you just like being on top,” Villain said and smiled at the warning squeeze Leader gave Villain’s wrists. “I’m right, am I?”
“Don’t flatter yourself, Villain.”
“Don’t get me wrong, Leader. I think you look good like this,” Villain raised their head off the ground, the blood on the side of their eye dripping from their previous scuffle. Leader wanted nothing more than to lean backwards away from them, but they stayed as still as they could.
“I just think you’d look perfect on your knees in front of me.”
Leader actually laughed despite themselves. “In your dreams.”
“Everynight,” said Villain without hesitation. “But I don’t know. Somethings telling me you’ll do it before the day’s out.”
Leader’s lip curled back into a snarl, “I’ll never kneel to the likes of—“
“Over here!” Leader said without looking away from Villain. They were a slippery sort, and Leader could never trust them when they turned their back.
Villain smiled, getting comfy on the ground again. “I think you should turn around.”
“I think you should shut up.”
Villain just smiled, that awful glint in their eye. Leader turned their head to look over their shoulder and their grip on Villain slacked. All of their teammates were behind them, but that’s not what shocked them to their core. It was that they were all currently disarmed and had knives to their throats from what must have been Villain’s henchmen.
But villain never had henchmen. They were always a solo act.
“You had your friends,” Villain said beneath them, and Leader tightened their grip on Villain’s wrists. They turned back to face Villain, eyes shining with hatred. “I was feeling left out of the bonding experience. So I got some friends of my own.”
“Let them go,” Leader said, voice coarse and brokering no leniency. Villain just smiled up at them.
Leader cursed, raising their fist in threat. Villain just cocked their head, a mimicry of Leader’s confident smirk mirrored on Villain’s lips. A hand caught Leader’s, another grabbing their arm still pining Villain to the ground, and was yanked back off of them.
For a single terrifying moment, Leader was suspended in the air from shock before their training kicked in. Leader threw their head back and found nothing but air. Eyes still on Villain as they slowly got to their feet, Villain’s eyes gleaming with a sick sort of glee.
Leader struggled furiously in the henchmen’s grip, but it was relentless. Every elbow Leader slammed backwards was met with resistance, subduing them until they quieted, feet on the ground taking in slow breaths as Villain stood. Villain stopped to pick up their knife, a pretty thing now that Leader could see it. Functional, deadly, and decorative — the exact things that Villain was made up of.
That Villain prided themselves on.
Villain stepped up to Leader, smile as deadly as the blade. “Can’t beat me on your own? You need your goons to do it for you?”
“I respect your skills too much to underestimate you,” said Villain honestly. Then their hand sliced up in a swift brutal arc and Leader suppressed a hiss as the warm blood started flowing down their face. “Now we match.”
There were shouts of protest from Leader’s team behind them. “I’m going to offer you a deal, dear Leader. In exchange for your precious little friends.”
“Go fuck yourself, Villain!” called Rogue from behind Leader, followed by a scuffle and a yell and a body hitting the ground.
Leader struggled harder against the bruising grip holding them back as Villain disappeared from sight. “Villain!” Leader called, the panic seeping into their voice. “Don’t touch them!”
Leader hooked their left leg in behind one of the henchmen’s and yanked it forward, tripping them. The henchmen was falling, grip loosened in surprise which Leader took to their advantage not wasting a second as they turned on the other one, punching them in the throat.
Leader hooked an arm around the henchmen’s neck and turned to face their group, their face going pale as they saw Villain standing in front of Rogue who was kneeling on the ground in front of them. Villain had Rogue’s dark hair in their grip and their pretty knife to Rogue’s throat, a smile on their face as they watched realisation dawn on Leader’s.
“Let him go,” Villain said and Leader obeyed. As soon as they did Villain’s henchmen turned and punched Leader before grabbing their arm again with both hands. The one on the floor stood and glared furiously at Leader, but just before he reached him Villain said: “hold on. Leave them free. Leader’s going to be a good little hero now for me, aren’t you?”
Leader swallowed thickly, eyes going to Medic and Sniper and their Second who shook their head slightly.
To not give into Villain.
But they didn’t know Villain. The real Villain. Not like Leader knew them. So Leader relented, their shoulders sagging in defeat and Villain could have singed at the hopelessness on Leader’s face.
“Let them go,” Leader said, voice thick with emotion.
Villain’s smile grew into a toothy grin, “oh I intend to, Leader. Right after you get on your knees and surrender yourself to me, that’s the deal.”
“Leader don’t d—“ Rogue cried, but was cut off by the hilt of Villain’s knife slamming against their temple.
“How stupid are you, Rogue? I honestly expected you to gain some brain cells since the academy days.”
“You’re not taking Leader,” said Medic coldly. Villain pursed their lips at that. Leader had to suppress a laugh, of everyone in their group, Villain only hated one and that was Medic, because Medic always saw right through Villain’s smiles and lies.
Before the rest of them had realised what Villain was.
Villain glanced back at Leader and shrugged, going to slit Rogue’s throat and Leader lunged forward but was caught by the arms again. It wasn’t only Leader who jumped. There was a cacophony of struggle as Villain drew blood from Rogue’s neck. A small knick. Just enough to show who has the power on their side.
Their biggest strength was each other. Villain just realised it was their biggest weakness too.
Leader should have come alone. Like Villain asked, but deep down they knew that their team would never let them.
“All paying attention now? Yes?” Villain asked, humour drained from their voice. Villain was all business now. Threats bleeding into promises as the cat showed it’s claws. “Another interruption from the peanut gallery and I slit little Rogue’s throat.”
Rogue went to speak, and Villain lifted the blade under their chin and closed their mouth. “That includes you too, Roguey.”
“Okay we get it,” said Leader and Villain looked at them again with a shark like smile. The henchmen holding Leader let go and Leader stepped forward again.
“If you want the rest of them to get out of here alive,” said Villain, voice soft. “Then get on your knees.”
Leader just looked at Villain. They didn’t break their gaze, because they knew if they looked at one of their teammates they’d lose the nerve of what they needed to do.
Slowly, Leader sank to their knees. They hit the rough ground, humiliation burning their lungs, their chest, in their gut, but to their knees they went.
A flash of silver and a pair of handcuffs landed heavy on the ground in front of leader and Second in command jerked forward before being wrestled into a forced calm.
A command like a dog. Like they knew Leader couldn’t refuse because they couldn’t. Not when Villain held Rogue like that. So tentatively Leader reached out and slapped a cuff loosely onto their wrist and was going to slap the other on but was interrupted by Villain again: “ah-ah. Behind your back, there’s a good little hero.”
Leader huffed a breath out their nose, their heart thumping beneath their chest, but they couldn’t not obey.
So Leader put their hands behind their back and slapped on the second cuff. Their eyes closed at the sound, like a judge’s gavel falling heavy on its podium.
Villain smirked, tossing Rogue aside and into the arms of one of Villain’s waiting henchmen, and advanced on Leader. Leader kept their eyes shut not wanting to look at Villain’s eyes. Not wanting to look at anyone.
Then a hand was on their chin, tilting their head up to look at Villain who stood above them. A knot tied in their throat that they tried to swallow down but couldn’t.
“Open your eyes, Leader.”
Trying to force every ounce of hatred into their glare. The grip tightened on their chin as Villain’s gaze turned hungry.
“Didn’t I tell you you’d look perfect on your knees,” said Villain, quiet enough so only leader could hear.
“Go fuck yourself Villain,” was the reply but there was no real bite in it.
Villain laughed. “We’ll have to work on your foul mouth, but we’ll have plenty of time for that.”
Villain’s eyes flicked up to the henchmen behind leader. “Get him up.”
Leader was yanked to their feet by the arms, a hand covering the loose cuffs on their wrist and tightening them until they bit into Leader’s skin. Leader pulled at the chain but there was barely any give on it before the chain snapped taut.
Leader looked past Villain’s shoulder to see their teammates unconscious on the ground and they lunged at Villain before being caught by the wrists and held in place.
“You said you’d let them go!” Leader barked, panic lacing their voice.
“Relax, Leader. They’re just passed out. A little failsafe so your friends don’t try and follow you. I intend to keep you out of my way for a long time, Leader,” Villain said, putting a hand on Leader’s cheek. Leader recoiled, chest heaving up and down as they were dragged away from their unconscious and vulnerable teammates.
They had failed. They had failed them all. Leader was supposed to be strong enough to protect them!
Leader continued struggling the whole way, until a henchmen handed Villain one last syringe. Leader struggled more, but the henchmen holding them kept them still and arched their neck so Villain could plunge the needle into the side of their throat.
Leader hissed, but Villain hushed them as they thumbed the liquid into Leader’s bloodstream. The effect was instant. The world swaying. Colours bleeding into blurs as they stumbled forward a step.
“Nighty, night Leader. Save your strength. You’re gonna need it for the foreseeable future.”
The weight of the day crashed down on Leader and they let themselves be whisked away by whatever drug was knocking them out. Shutting down their body.
Leader’s eyes fluttered shut. The last thing they saw was Villain grinning down at them.
