A Villain's Hero

Chapter 36 - Bonus - Rowan

He knew what Matteo was asking for when he gave him that look, falsely telling himself that it was the only reason he was even giving Max a chance to explain everything.

"I knew I made a mistake when I got the call that you'd disappeared." The irony was that the reason he'd run away was because he felt like no one understood him. Everyone around him was dealing with normal problems, while his mind kept going back to the superhero ones. Something no one understood and he was forbidden to talk about.

"I was better off alone anyway." He shrugged. There was a time when he would have given anything for Max to come for him and be able to live with him. But he'd given up on that dream after he'd stopped visiting him and been told that Max had decided to leave him alone in his new life.

"No, you weren't," Max protested. "You were still a child." He dared to take a step closer to him. "And not only that. You were a child with abilities that no one taught you how to use. I have no idea what the Legion leadership was thinking when they left you in the normal world, but the moment you disappeared, I knew it was a mistake. Before, I was blinded by grief and believed I was doing what was best for you, but I was wrong. I'll never be able to apologise to you enough."

"I don't want your apology." He crossed his arms over his chest.

"You want nothing to do with me, and I understand that." The hero nodded, though the troubled look remained in his eyes. "I know I can't fix this anymore. I know I've missed many years when I should have been there for you. I know that. And I can assure you that I've never forgotten you. You were always the person I let down the most in my life, and I hated myself for it."

Then Max gave a short, bitter laugh. "You hate me, and you have every right to."

Hate was a strong word. Just as Rowan avoided overly strong positive emotions, the same was true of negative ones. "I don't hate you," he admitted.

Max seemed taken aback by his confession. Before hope could appear in his eyes, however, Rowan decided to reveal more about how he felt. "You chose to forget me and I did the same." He shrugged. "I knew you as a child, Max. I'm not a child anymore."

"No, you're not." Max nodded, understanding, and Rowan thought the conversation had ended there. He was wrong. "But everyone needs someone, Rowan. Someone to turn to. I know you have no reason to trust me, but I want you to know that I'm always here for you. We don't have to talk if you don't want to, and you can keep avoiding me, but that doesn't change the fact that I care about you."

Rowan remained silent. He wanted to tell Max that he didn't need anything from him, but for some reason he couldn't get it out that easily. He blamed it on the lack of human contact over the years.

"I'll think about it," he finally replied.

It wasn't a no, and Max was well aware of that, judging by his soft smile. "If you'd like to talk more about it, you know where to find me." He was giving Rowan space, and that was the best he could do.

Rowan waited to see when he would make a mistake in this conversation. He hoped he would, but he didn't. Maybe that's why, as he walked past him, he said, "Thank you for calling me Rowan." He'd been waiting all this time for him to call him Tommy so he could scold him, but Max was clearly ready to respect his new life and everything that came with it.

"Of course." Max nodded, daring to put a hand on his shoulder for a second. "I'll be in my room." He walked past him, heading for the stairs. Rowan's eyes followed him for a moment before his gaze dropped to the floor and he was lost in thought.

When he finally forced his feet to move, he automatically headed for his room. He had no idea where Matteo, Sawyer and Ciara were, but he was glad they hadn't disturbed him and for a moment he could feel like he was alone. After two days here, he needed some time for himself.

His back hit the soft bed and his eyes rested on the white ceiling. Soon, though, his gaze moved lower and began to roam over the things in the room - the big bear on the chair, the children's books on the shelf, until it finally rested on the helicopter he'd long since lost the remote control for, but couldn't bring himself to throw away.

That stupid helicopter.

He didn't know how long he'd spent looking at it, but in the end it had almost driven him insane.

Max had left him once, there was no guarantee he wouldn't do it again. Besides, he hadn't needed him all these years and he was doing fine on his own, so why was he now considering his offer?

It was Matteo's fault for bringing out that soft side in him.

Matteo, who considered Max his second father and trusted him with his life. He was practically the perfect picture of what would have happened to Rowan if he had been able to grow up with Max. A hero with no regrets.

Rowan, however, was far from that. He was a criminal with no education, no family, no friends and almost no conscience. He'd like to say that he was much better off before he met Matteo and started to care about other people's feelings, but that was a lie.

Now his conscience was whispering to him that he'd been too hard on Max. He was angry at him because he had abandoned him. Because he'd thought he'd forgotten him. Because he hadn't cared for him as much as he'd hoped. At least, that's what fourteen-year-old Rowan had told himself before he had experienced the cruelty of the streets and decided to block out all memories of the past.

Now, however, he was no longer living on the streets. He no longer had to look out only for himself. But caring had its consequences, not to mention the risk it entailed.

Who was he trying to fool?

He stood up and automatically walked over to the shelf where the helicopter was displayed. Some of the paint was peeled off, a piece of the blade was torn off after he'd accidentally slammed it into the wall once, but otherwise it looked almost functional, if he still had the remote.

It was broken, but it was still functional. Maybe that was a sign.

Before he could think twice and stop himself, he left the room and headed for the stairs. As usual, he made his footsteps inaudible so that Max wouldn't even suspect he was coming, so when he stopped in front of his door, he still had time to change his mind. Not that he needed it.

He raised his hand and knocked on the door.

Max opened it almost immediately and seemed surprised by Rowan's presence, even though he'd told him to come to him if he wanted to talk.

"You said I could ask you for help," was the first thing Rowan said to him. He had no idea if Max would remember, but Rowan certainly hadn't forgotten those words. It was the first thing Max had said to him when he had finally seen him face to face and not in disguise. It had made the villain angry at the time, but he saw it differently now.

"I would always help you," Max replied without hesitation.

"Even if it goes against the principles of the Legion?" He was already doing something that went against the Legion's principles. Adding a villain to their team without telling anyone and not informing them of the progress of their investigation was a big deal.

"I've put the Legion's opinion before yours before, and I won't make the same mistake again," Max assured him. He looked into Rowan's face, and although the villain prided himself on always keeping his expression unreadable, Max had obviously found something in it that he was looking for, for he dared to say, "You are my family."

"I'm too old to call you Uncle Max," he replied, but it wasn't as harsh as when he'd spoken to him before.

His words touched Max, and unlike the villain, he was an open book. "You don't have to," he said in a soft tone that betrayed his emotional state.

"If you screw up again, I'll kill you myself," he warned him.

Despite the meaning of his words, Max smiled and took two steps forward to join the villain in the corridor. The moment he opened his arms, Rowan took the remaining step and hugged him.

He hugged his Uncle Max.

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I was worried it was too soft of Rowan, but Matteo is slowly but surely healing his inner child.