Imagine Book 2

A Brother's Comfort- Warren Peace (Sky High)

As requested by Antisuperstar! Male Y/N

The library had always been Warren's sanctuary. Between the towering shelves of books, the subtle scent of aged paper, and the perpetual silence, it was the perfect place to escape the chaos that came with being a student at Sky High. But today, the sanctuary had become a refuge for a different reason.

Y/N's footsteps were nearly silent as he made his way through the library's maze-like aisles. He hadn't planned on visiting Sky High today – being a graduated student turned anti-hero meant he usually kept his distance from his alma mater. But something had felt off all day, a nagging sensation in his gut that he'd learned never to ignore. Now he knew why.

The sound was barely audible – a muffled sob coming from the far corner of the library, hidden behind the dusty volumes of "Advanced Power Control" and "Historical Villains: A Complete Encyclopedia." Y/N's heart clenched when he recognized who it belonged to.

Warren sat curled up against the wall, his leather jacket bunched up around him like armour, long dark hair hiding his face. But it couldn't hide the slight trembling of his shoulders or the way his hands were clenched into fists so tight that small wisps of smoke were rising from between his fingers.

"Warren?" Y/N kept his voice soft, not wanting to startle his younger brother.

Warren's head snapped up, eyes wide and red-rimmed before quickly narrowing into a glare. "What are you doing here?" he growled, but the usual fire in his voice was dampened by the crack in his words.

Y/N didn't answer immediately. Instead, he slid down the wall to sit beside his brother, their shoulders just barely touching. Blue flames flickered briefly across his fingers before he extinguished them – a nervous habit he'd never quite broken. "You know, for someone who can create fire, you're terrible at masking your heat signature when you're upset. I could feel your emotional flare-up from halfway across Maxville."

Warren scoffed, but didn't pull away from the slight contact. "That's not a real thing."

"No," Y/N agreed with a slight smile, "but big brother intuition is."

The library fell silent again, save for the distant sound of students in the hallways. Y/N waited patiently. Warren was like their father in many ways – not the villainy, thank goodness, but the stubborn pride, the need to appear strong at all times. Y/N had learned long ago that pushing Warren to talk only made him retreat further into himself.

Finally, Warren spoke, his voice barely above a whisper. "They found some old newspaper articles about Dad."

Y/N's jaw clenched, blue flames involuntarily dancing across his knuckles before he forced them down. "Who did?"

"Some seniors. They thought it would be hilarious to paste them all over the cafeteria walls. 'Baron Battle's Greatest Crimes.' They..." Warren's voice caught, and he swallowed hard. "They added captions. About how the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. How it's only a matter of time before I follow in his footsteps. How I'm probably just waiting for the right moment to..." He couldn't finish the sentence.

The temperature in the library rose several degrees as both brothers struggled to contain their powers. Y/N had always been the more controlled of the two, his blue flames running cool compared to Warren's explosive heat, but right now he wanted nothing more than to track down those seniors and show them exactly why he'd chosen the anti-hero path instead of the straight-and-narrow.

"Names," he said simply.

Warren shook his head. "Don't. It'll just prove them right."

"Warren—"