Just For A Second
Hero stumbled into the room, shoulders drooped and bags beneath their eyes. They couldn’t wait to get some sleep. Oh, their bed sounded so alluring, with the soft silk sheets and the large, fluffy, cloud-like pillows. Just thinking about it made them want to plop down and never wake up again.
Hero was walking toward their bedroom when something hit their leg. Hissing, they grabbed their toe and turned to look under the table.
Villain’s sheepish face greeted them, “Heyyyyy Hero.”
Hero blinked once, then twice and thrice. Was this real? Or were they so sleep deprived that their brain was starting to make up hallucinations now?
They reached out and tapped Villain’s nose, making them scrunch up their face.
Well, turns out the demon was real and in their apartment.
Hero sighed and rubbed a hand over their face, “What on earth are you doing here?”
Villain’s previous sheepishness returned and they rubbed the back of their neck, avoiding looking at Hero. “Well, uh, you know. I thought that you wouldn’t mind if I came to um, do something. I swear I was going to clean it up before you came back.”
Hero only now registered the large baby blue blanket covering the back side of their dining table, tied to the table legs. Tiny lights — fairy lights — hung behind Villain, who was seated on so many fluffy pillows and blankets it seemed like a throne of clouds.
Hero could only imagine how comfortable it would be to sleep in there. They probably would never even wake up.
This was probably not the best choice in hindsight but the Hero Agency had overworked them so hard their brain had stopped working and gone into dumb-until-sleep mode.
“Scooch.”
Villain blinked, “I’m sorry?”
“Look, you either do as I say or I report you to the Agency.” They were not actually going to arrest them, they were too tired to even move a limb. But Villain didn’t need to know that.
Hero’s eyes drooped as Villain hesitantly scooted over and they immediately flopped down on the soft mattress. Finally, finally, they could sleep. What heavenly bliss. They searched around for a pillow and found Villain’s lap was a much better choice.
Fortunately, Hero had their eyes closed and couldn’t see the embarrassed blush around Villain’s cheeks. Villain frowned down at the sight of their nemesis resting peacefully in their lap.
“You’re a strange one, Hero.”
