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by r_priv16
by r_priv16
                                    
                                              The soft sound of sobbing made the villain freeze in place, their thoughts coming to a screeching halt. When they had seen them sitting all alone and unguarded on the edge of the building, they had felt a devious glee, fully intent on fucking with them a little bit before they called it a day. Now however, they weren't so sure.

                          Never before had they heard the hero sound so utterly broken, and it was only now, as they paused, that they finally noticed how fragile they looked in this moment. In the heat of a fight, they never really had the time to take in such things, not when they had a purpose to fulfil, and the hero was making things difficult.
                          Whilst they were a pain in the neck with their constant meddling, the villain had never truly hated the naive hero, not when their goals were often so similar, even if they did take separate routes to get to the end result. Unable to stand by any longer, they slowly approached them, doing nothing to muffle their steps anymore. It wouldn't do to startle them when they were already in range.
                          Instantly they stiffened up, choking back their sobs as they tried to silence themselves. A hasty glance at the villain made them stiffen even further, before pointedly looking away from them.
                          "What do you want?" They snapped out, voice hoarse from crying.

                          The villain simply let out a thoughtful hum and sauntered over, silently watching as the hero stiffened even further, the closer they came. Plopping down beside them, the villain leaned back on their hands, peering out over the city as the hero sat stiffly beside them, trying to disguise their sniffles.
                          "Nothing." They finally answered, ignoring the scoff they got in return.

                          "You wanna talk about it?" They asked after a few moments.

                          It stayed silent for a while, and the villain simply let them take their time, having a feeling they were going to break again anyway. Sure enough, after a good ten minutes, the hero broke down into choked sobs again, body curling in on themselves as they finally gave up trying to look strong. 
                          Taking the chance, the villain turned to look at them fully, stomach lurching as they absorbed everything they saw. 'Had they always looked so young?'. Letting out a deep sigh, they reached out and slowly gathered the hero into their arms, swallowing thickly at how small and broken they seemed in that moment. They remained silent as the hero finally let everything spill out, offering them silent comfort as they gave them a listening ear. 
                          It wasn't like they were keeping anyone waiting. They had time.