Yin and Yang [A Superhero AU] - Book Three

Chapter Twenty-Two - Pain

Dan and Cry return to the institute, both shaking from the explosions. They hadn't wanted to blow up the bridge, but the boss demanded it. Dan would rather obey an order than possibly get killed by an old, cancer-consumed man. The two reenter the building and move towards the living room, where Stephanie sits on the couch with Matthew and sobs into her knees. Dan and Cry exchange a glance before looking to Matthew for answers.

"Um... she killed... Marzia," Matthew says, his eyes swimming with pain.

"He threatened to kill you if I didn't kill at least one hero," Stephanie cries, her fingers tightening against her knees. "I just... hardened my heart, I guess? I t-tried not to feel anything b-but I couldn't b-bear the thought of Matthew g-getting killed b-because of m-me..."

"I'm sorry, Steph," Matthew murmurs, pressing a kiss to her temple. "I'm so sorry."

Jack enters the room and stands quietly beside Dan, looking sick to his stomach. As Matthew struggles to calm Stephanie down, the other three villains sit down around her and stay quiet, the gravity of their mission hitting all of them hard. The boss calls each villain up to his office one by one, congratulating them on a job well done, and Dan finds himself wishing he was getting scolded instead. Getting congratulated on killing someone doesn't feel good at all.

A few hours pass in agonizing silence. Nobody wants to say anything or do much, so Matthew brings an emotionally compromised Stephanie to their room and locks the others out. Jack, Dan, and Cry sit in the living room, barely speaking. Nobody talks about what happened, and when evening rolls around and rain starts to pour outside, Jack drags Dan to his room. He flops onto Jack's bed and sighs, exhaustion gripping him.

"So, Stephanie killed Marzia?"

"And I stopped the heroes from saving her," Jack replies, looking at him with haunted blue eyes. "It was pretty much the worst thing I've ever done."

"Jesus..."

"How was your portion of the mission?"

"My ears only stopped ringing about two hours ago."

"My God."

Dan shudders and tucks his face against his knees. "How do you think the funeral's going to go?"

Jack shrugs. "No idea. It'll probably be pretty soon, though, if it's not already happening."

The Irishman starts stripping out of his super-suit, and Dan realizes that he never actually took his off. Jack tosses his suit aside and pulls a pair of pants on as Dan creates a ball of fire and starts tossing it up and down.

"Where are you going?"

"Mark's."

"On a night like this? After one of his teammates died?"

"Apparently. He insisted on it. He probably needs emotional support."

Dan nods and Jack pulls a hoodie on over his scarred chest. He looks away and tosses his ball of fire into the air again. "How are you going to get to his house?"

"Dunno. I think he has a plan."

Dan glances over, watching the Irishman fiddle with the hem of his sweater for a moment before he exits the room. Dan gets up and follows, extinguishing his fire with a snap.

"So where are you going to go?" the Brit asks.

"Outside," Jack replies without a moment of hesitation.

"And wait there? In the rain?"

"Yeah. The heroes have a general idea as to where our base is, so he might just stop by there."

Dan shrugs. "I guess I can't argue with that logic. But, like, it's raining."

They reach the doors and Jack steps outside, glancing up at the sky and allowing the raindrops to run down his face. Thunder rumbles overhead, and a second later a strike of lightning illuminates the darkness above.  Despite the eyepatch and the scars, he really is beautiful.  Dan understands fully why Mark is falling in love with him.  The Brit glances up at the sky, brown eyes shining from the dim street lights outside. 

"I'm heading back to my room," Dan states, but he knows it's a blatant lie. The moment Jack leaves, he's going to slip away and run off to Phil's house. Nobody needs to know that, however, so he keeps his eye trained on the downpour.

Jack nods and leans against the nearest building wall, and Dan takes that opportunity to head to his room and change out of his own suit. He drops it into a black bundle on the floor and digs through his dresser, pulling on black skinny jeans and a hoodie. He stares at himself in the mirror, realizing just how tired and sad he looks, and sighs. How could Phil have possibly fallen for this?

He heads back to the entrance, backpack hanging over one shoulder, and peers out. Jack is gone already, so Dan heads out into the rain and hurries to Phil's apartment. He knows he'll probably look like a soaked, sad puppy when he gets there, but he couldn't care less. Even if Phil blames him partially for what happened to Marzia, he probably needs Dan to be with him more than he cares about fault.

He reaches Phil's floor and pushes his door open, surprised to find it unlocked. He sets his bag down and kicks his shoes off, trying to shake some of the water from his hair.

"Phil?" he calls.

The hero rounds the corner and smiles weakly when he sees Dan, his eyes obviously reddened from crying. Dan opens his arms without hesitation and Phil obliges, hugging him close.

"I'm so, so sorry," Dan murmurs, pressing a kiss to his head.

"Did you plan for her to die?"

"No. The boss threatened to kill Matthew if she didn't get rid of at least one hero, and the rest of us didn't know he told her that until we got back."

Phil nods and then sobs, one hand tightening around the collar of Dan's hoodie while the other covers his mouth. Dan holds him closer, fingers tightening around a handful of Phil's shirt. After kissing his head, he lets the hero go and leads him over to the couch. He grabs a blanket, wraps it around Phil, and takes his chin between his thumb and pointer finger.

"You stay right here, okay? I'm going to make you some tea and then we can cuddle."

Phil nods weakly and Dan heads off, preparing two cups of hot tea as rain patters against the windows. When the tea is finished, he brings the cups into the living room and hands one to Phil before settling beside him.

"Thank you," Phil whispers. He sniffles, eyes welling with tears again, and sinks deeper into the couch.

Dan presses close, sipping his tea and listening to the rain patter against the windowpanes. Phil finds his free hand and holds it, their fingers intertwining. Out of the corner of his eye, Dan watches the hero sip his tea and look out the window, blue eyes haunted. He hates that expression. He wants Phil to be the happy person Dan knows he can be.

The moment the villain is finished his tea, he sets his cup down and wraps his arms around Phil's waist. Phil sets his own mug down, but before he can hug back Dan tugs him into his lap and holds him there. A small smile tugs at the hero's lips and he rests his head against Dan's chest, arms wrapping around his waist.

"I love you," Dan utters, kissing his temple.

"I love you too," Phil replies, nothing but sincerity in his tone.

Dan's heart leaps and he leans down in order to catch Phil in a genuine kiss. The hero wraps his arms around his neck and kisses back, even as tears start slipping down his cheeks again.

"You're safe, Phil," Dan whispers against his lips. "I won't let anyone hurt you."

Phil nods and buries himself against Dan's chest, exhaling heavily. Dan turns on the TV, but it's just background noise. His entire focus is on Phil, who slowly falls asleep with his head and fist resting against the villain's chest.