When Hero woke up the room was still dark. Everything, except for the one candle burning at the other side of the iron bars. A soft orange glow filled the dark room and provided the only bit of light during the night. It had something cosy to it, even though everything else about the situation was not something you would call ideal.
Hero had no idea what time it was and with Villain taking away their phone and smartwatch they wouldn’t be able to know either.
They sighed and turned around pulling the blanket over their pounding head to keep the cold air away. They could feel their body shiver, their teeth clattering, but they didn’t give it too much attention. Villain somehow never really kept it warm in here, but then why would they? Hero was their prisoner and had been for weeks.
There was no way out. Not one that Hero had managed to find at least and so the days passed by slowly but surely.
Villain would visit them daily. Coming downstairs to give them the food they needed and bring them clean clothes. Sometimes Villain let them go upstairs to take a bath or a shower, but every single time they would be put back in the cell again. Escaping was impossible, even during those moments, because even though Villain would give them all the time and freedom in the world for their bath, they would wait outside and make sure there was nothing Hero could use.
The first week had passed without any words, most of the time Hero didn’t even know that Villain had been there. Other times they wondered what the villain was thinking about. But after that week some conversations had started. At least if that was what you wanted to call them.
Their conversations had been short, defensive and with a lot of arguing. Hero had tried every single argument to get them to freedom, every single technique they knew to get Villain to think about letting them go. Over time Hero gave up and slowly they got to know each other.
After two weeks Villain would carefully start to tell about their days and sometimes even share little bits about themselves. Hero learned about their dog and their love for tea and cooking. Villain in return learned about Hero’s favorite foods and book obsession. It took a while, but Villain seemed to like the company more and more.
Short conversations turned into longer ones, sometimes even more than an hour with Villain sitting on the other side of the bars as both of them ate. Both of them enjoyed each others company and Hero had to admit that they had a lot in common. They loved the same movies, the same parts of the city and even though Villain had killed, somewhere they cared.
Villain’s visits made sure that the days were less boring and sometimes Villain would look away from them with guilt written all over their face. "I'm sorry for keeping you here," they would say, but they wouldn't let Hero go. They never did.
One day Hero had asked about the outside world. Were they still searching, did they even try. Villain had not looked at them and tried to ignore the question. “I have to know, Villain,” Hero had said. Villain had not immediately given an answer, keeping quiet and eventually saying they didn’t know. A day later they couldn’t hold it anymore. “I’m sorry, Hero. I have never seen anyone try.”
At that moment, after all the effort that Villain had put into keeping the truth from them, Hero immediately knew that it wasn’t a lie. It had been one of the hardest things to hear and Hero hadn’t been able to hide that fact from Villain who had stayed with them all day to keep the tears away as best as they could. They had even made Hero’s favourite food to cheer them up.
Hero turned again to watch the flame dance on it’s candle. Something shifted in the corner of their eye and Hero quickly found someone laying at the other side of the bars. No blanket, no mattress or pillow. Just someone sleeping on the ground, using their arm to sleep on.
"Villain?" Hero asked, their voice hoarse and painful. All they were greeted with was a soft murmur. Hero smiled at seeing them asleep like that, but they couldn’t help but wonder why they would be there. Besides, it was cold and Villain slept on the ground without any blankets or pillows.
"Villain, what are you doing?" Hero asked again, louder this time, their voice still cracking. Villain turned around and looked up at them.
"Hm?" They asked while rubbing their eyes. Even their hair peaked out.
"Why are you here?"
"To keep an eye on you of course,” Villain exclaimed, “I was worried!" They got to their feet and opened the door to sit down at Hero's bedside.
"Why? I've been here for weeks and nothing has happened."
"But you fainted when I brought you back from the shower! You swayed on your feet and I couldn’t figure out what was wrong. Then I figured you were burning up and then you wouldn't wake up when I came back with cold water. I.. I thought you were dying!"
Hero blinked surprised. Then a cold hand gently touched their forehead and Hero leaned into it. They hadn't realised their skin was so hot while they felt so cold. They couldn’t stop themselves from shivering still.
"I'm fine," Hero muttered through clattering teeth, but they closed their eyes when Villain used the remote to turn the lights on. Their head felt like someone was testing their hammer on it.
"You're not and we both know it," Villain said. They took a glass from the bedside table and held it in front of Hero. "Please drink some, I want you to be okay again."
Hero thought about refusing. They weren’t thirsty or even hungry for that matter. But the pleading look in Villain's eyes made them reach out either way as they sat up.
Their head was pounding even more and sitting up took a lot more effort than Hero thought at first. They were swaying, but Villain quickly threw their arm around them to keep Hero in place. How did they not realise that they felt so sick.
"Do you need ice for your head? I couldn't catch you when you fell and you hit it quite hard." They looked away and added, "I already cooled it for about an hour when you were asleep, but I can imagine it still hurts."
"You care way too much for an enemy," Hero said quietly. They shifted in place and could feel their muscles protest at the movement. Their body screamed for them to lay down again, to sleep. But they were so freezing cold that they weren’t sure if they could manage to sleep through the shivering.
"I thought by now you would have figured it out," Villain said, a small but friendly smile playing around their lips.
"Figured out what?"
"I don't see you as my enemy, not anymore at least. I thought.. nevermind I dream too much. Just know I care and I want you to be okay."
Hero nodded but inside they were trying to get their mind together. What did they mean? At least they didn't want them dead, but that was already known otherwise they wouldn't be here. But then again, Villain cared so much, way too much.
"What time is it?" Hero asked, closing their eyes and holding a hand against their temple. They felt their heart beating with every painwave that went through their head.
Villain shrugged. "I don't know, 3 am or so?"
"And you're still here taking care of me?"
"I don't care about the time. I will even bring you to the bath if that's what you want. I will stay here with you to make sure you're okay."
A bath sounds nice, Hero thought. The warmth sounded even better. But Hero didn’t feel like drying themselves with a towel and being in the nice, calming warmth only to return to cold dark cell.
"Warmth does sound nice," Hero said, turning their gaze towards Villain. "It's always cold here."
"Sorry," Villain said quietly. "Didn't mean to." They took the glass over and put it back, helping Hero to lower themselves down. Hero closed their eyes again. Then they felt Villain’s hands underneath their back and legs, before they knew it Villain pulled them towards their chest.
Hero yelped surprised, but Villain held them firmly. "It's okay, I will just bring you to my room. It's warmer there."
"Sounds good," Hero mumbled, closing their eyes once again. Sweat was streaming down just beside their eye, but they were so cold that Villain’s body warmth almost felt like it was a nice burning fireplace. Hero could feel their head roll against Villain’s chest, but they didn't have the strength to move anymore or open their eyes. They felt the vibration of Villain’s soft chuckle, felt how their muscles and body were burning with pain now they had tried to move.
Felt.. soft lips against their forehead before Villain lowered them down and tugged them in some warm covers. Hero's brain was too sleepy to work properly for a moment but they could hear Villain walking away.
Warmth was slowly coming and not much later something even warmer was pressed against their chest, waking them up from their half sleep.
"Warm water bottle," Villain said when Hero managed to open their eyes for a questioning look. "Sorry for waking you again."
"I was awake," Hero said, their eyes closing, then opening again to see Villain’s shocked expression and the heat that had reached their cheeks but they said nothing.
"I will let you sleep now," they said as they walked away. Hero hugged the warm water bottle, pressing it against their cold body. Villain had done everything to keep them warm. To help them feel better.
"Stay."
"What?” Villain asked, surprised. “Do you need anything else?" Their voice turned to worried again. Their eyes wandered over Hero, looking for any signs of pain. Anything that they might need.
"Just stay,” Hero said.
Villain nodded and quietly sat down at the edge of the bed. Hero took their hand in their own. They were so warm. Hero held their hand against their cheek, there it felt cool which reminded Hero that after all they were still burning up.
"Sleep," Hero said, their voice soft. "Here. You're warm, nice." Hero could see them blushing again right before they turned their head away again to hide it.
"I can't," Villain said.
"Just do it, I'm cold." Villain shifted nervously, then sighed and lay down behind Hero.
"You felt that kiss, didn't you."
"Maybe I did."
