Continued from here
CW: Choking, stalker
Don't fall in love with me.
Why did they have to say it? Hero hadn't really been interested before. At least, they didn't think they were. Now that they thought about it, though...
Dammit, did they love Vigilante?
No. No, they just enjoyed working with them. And admired them. And found them absurdly attractive. And they were blushing.
"Shit..."
"Hero, you good?" Sidekick asked.
"What? Oh, yeah. I'm fine. Sorry."
Fine... they were fine...
—
"Shh."
Hero opened their mouth to yell as someone pulled them backwards of the street, but a hand clamped over their mouth as they were caught back against the person's chest. It was Vigilante. Hero recognized their scent. Wait, no, that was weird.
Hero could tell it was them from the way their body felt. Wait, that was worse.
Hero decided they actually had no way to tell who was holding them, but they simply 'chose' not to fight back. Yeah. That was better.
After several long minutes, Vigilante— er— the stranger— let Hero go.
"You were being followed." Vigilante explained.
"Um... by you..?"
Vigilante rolled their eyes with a huff. "No. I was following the person following you. A Villain. Low ranking. They lost you when I grabbed you. Walked straight past... And I lost them. Thanks for that."
Hero glanced out onto the street then turned back to Vigilante. "You... didn't have to lose them. You could've caught them, not me."
Vigilante's expression hardened. "What did I tell you."
"Shh?"
"Not that."
"I don't know what you mean." Hero said, feigning innocence.
"I told you not to fall in love with me."
"What makes you think I have?"
"For one," Vigilante turned away. "Your evasion of a truthful answer. You knew exactly what I was asking. Second, the way you look at me... changed."
"... Do you like it?" Hero asked, trying to keep their tone— and the mood— light. Unfortunately, Vigilante was not a 'light' person.
Before Hero had time to react, Vigilante had shoved them against a wall, hand around their throat. Hero grabbed Vigilante's wrist, eyes wide.
"Do I scare you?"
Hero tried to speak, but they could hardly breathe. Vigilante loosened their grip and Hero gasped.
"Jeez, Vigilante! Ch-chill!" Hero stopped, but Vigilante was still waiting for an answer. "Ah... you're... you're scaring me a little right now, but I get the feeling you're trying to. So... I guess not really?"
Vigilante scowled. "If you get too close to me, you're going to get yourself killed."
"Okay, but that still doesn't make you scary. I... I trust you. We work together often."
"That's part of why I warned you."
"Well... I think your warning came a little too late..?" Hero squirmed a little. They hadn't been certain before. After all, being attracted to someone hardly constituted being in love. Now, though...
Standing this close, Vigilante's hand around their throat, Hero realized they did love Vigilante. They trusted them more than anyone else.
"What am I supposed to do now..." Grumbled Vigilante, releasing Hero.
"Um... We could start with, 'is the feeling mutual'?"
"Of course it is." Vigilante snapped. "Why would I care if it was a one sided crush."
Hero felt their face flush. "W-wait— how long??"
With a shrug, Vigilante turned away. "How long have we known each other?"
"Hang on! You can't just say that and walk away!" Running forward, Hero caught Vigilante by the shoulder.
"Why not? I have a Villain to catch." Vigilante shrugged off Hero's hand and was gone.