by Emrys Apollo
“No, it’s okay,” Nic managed to say as he waved his hand. He felt very… chill. Like, this was fine, he was just… the calmest he’d ever been. Crane chuckled a little and the waiter poured more water into Nic’s glass. “Thank you, Mr. Crane.”
“You’re funny,” Crane said as his smile broadened. There was genuine delight in his eyes, and Nic grinned right back at him like an idiot. “You can call me Sebastian, alright? I think you’ve been under my care long enough that you can call me by my first name, yes?”
“Yes, Sebastian,” Nic said slowly. The name rolled off his tongue. He liked it better than just thinking of him as Crane. Nic definitely preferred it to his name of the Emperor.
As much as Nic wanted to go to the movie, he barely made it through the pasta before being half asleep in his chair. Dinner was delicious and he loved it, really. Sebastian giggled as he helped Nic up out of his seat, and by the time they reached the door he was carrying Nic like a princess. “Oh, you poor thing. I really do owe you a proper night out,” Sebastian said as he helped Nic into the car. Nic waved him off and he slipped in and out of consciousness as they drove.
He blinked. The car was stopped. Nic groaned as he sat up and he felt a pair of hands grabbing at him. Why is the car stopped? Did we make it back already? Where am I? He tried to swat at the pair of hands, and when he blinked again he didn’t see Crane in front of him, nor one of the guards.
“Wren,” the voice said. He blinked once more and there was a costumed man pulling him from the car. Nic cried out and he tried to strike the man, but in his drugged state his blows did nothing. “You little fool.”
“Patriot,” Nic managed to get out. He felt utterly pathetic as he was lifted from the ground, his feet dangling as the massive ‘hero’ held him up. Great Patriot looked like his name, a great mess of red, white, and blue with gold jingle jangles all over him. The man looked ridiculous, but his powers were simple: strength, speed, and flight. He was the ‘classic’ hero of the League, the Everyman Good Guy. Nic despised him now, to be honest, but there wasn’t much he could do about it.
“You’re a traitor, Wren. An absolute traitor.” He threw Nic against the car so hard that it dented. Nic screamed into the night and he fell to the ground. His entire body surged with pain when he tried to move.
“You let me get kidnapped,” Nic said. He trembled as he tried to get up, but the pain was too much. “I screamed for you to save me and you let it happen.”
“Well, you’re a freak,” Patriot sneered. “I’ll admit, I was honestly hoping the Emperor would kill you.” Nic’s heart turned to ice in his chest. I used to work with him and he wanted me dead? We went on missions together. I trusted him with my life on multiple occasions.
He hoped I would die?
“Your boyfriend won’t be able to save you in time,” Great Patriot said as he slowly walked across the pavement. “He’s too busy dealing with the Witch to take me on.”
“Think again.” Sebastian’s voice was as cool as ice as a head rolled into view. Nic hadn’t even heard the fight. His body felt cold, and he really wanted to lay down and go to sleep. The ground didn’t even feel all that hard, he could just lay down…
“Nicholas, stay awake.” Sebastian’s voice was sharp, but the concern in his voice was palpable. “And as for you, you are already dead.” Patriot turned and snarled, and Sebastian responded but driving his hand through his chest.
The Great Patriot stood in the street hacking and coughing, blood dribbling down his lips and his chin, the taste of it burning in his mouth. Sebastian’s face was like a mask of stone, his eyes seething with a rage that Nic had never seen before, not even when they’d fought against one another. Patriot tried clawing at Sebastian’s throat but to no avail, as his strength left him more and more with each second. Blood dripped heavily onto the pavement, and then the body fell to the ground with a squelch.
Sebastian stepped over the fallen hero to reach Nic. Nic twitched on the ground where he lay. His hands felt cold. Every bit of him felt cold. Sebastian rushed to his side, his grey eyes firmly on Nic’s face. “Hey. Stay with me. I’ll get you fixed up, I promise. Hey, Nicholas, hey! Don’t fall asleep.”
“I won’t,” Nic managed to say. He was trying really hard not to, but it was like his body wanted to betray him. “I won’t fall asleep.”
“Good,” Sebastian said. “Good. Help is coming. Just stay awake because help is coming, alright?” Nic nodded. Sebastian stroked his hair while they waited. His hand was warm and his gaze was tender, and Nic wondered if he’d chosen the dark side earlier if they could have been happy.
“Tell me something,” Nic said quietly. He felt strange. He could feel his grip slipping as he lay on the cold pavement. The ground snapped at his body heat and soon he’d be gone along with it. “Why did you become a villain?”
Sebastian managed a smile. “My whole life I had people claiming to own me, use me, hurt me. I desired power over myself. As I got older I saw how broken the world was, so… I desired power over it all.” Nic nodded. That made sense. Trauma often lent itself to actions of great… whatever the fuck. Nic could understand it. He’d essentially done the same in a different direction.
“Why did you become a hero?”
Nic was tired. He wanted to sleep. He missed his bed in his old apartment even though the bed in his cell was actually nicer. He wanted Mr. Business with him.
“I was a freak,” Nic said softly. “I was a freak, and I just wanted to help.”
He passed out.
CHAPTER 4
Sebastian Crane stared into the hospital room where his former enemy lay unconscious. He rubbed his temples and accepted the coffee from Baron. He’d slept well enough, but waking up to find Nicholas hadn’t woken up after surgery yet was concerning.
“When he wakes, bring the shark,” Sebastian ordered quietly. “It soothes him.”
“Will do. It’s in the dryer as we speak,” Baron said. This was probably the least serious conversation Sebastian had in a while, and he was a literal goddamn supervillain. Sebastian sighed to himself. Nicholas was starting to get him wrapped around his little finger. The younger man lay hooked up to tubes and wires, his olive skin pale from lack of sun and hospital air. His bracelet was smashed when Patriot threw him, much to Sebastian’s displeasure. That trinket hadn’t been inexpensive to create.
“He better pull through,” Sebastian said quietly. “We can’t lose him. He’s too precious.”
“What is he?”
“Not sure,” Sebastian said. “But evidence is growing about what he might be. If he dies we’ll lose our chance to confirm it.”
“You don’t think he’s… that , do you? The danger he’d be in if that turned out to be true.”
Sebastian exhaled through his nose and he dropped his arms, uncrossing them. “Deep down… I feel like I already know that he is. It’s all a matter of confirming it.”
“And will you tell him?” Baron seemed genuinely curious. Sebastian shrugged.
“When the time comes, and if I’m right.” Nic didn’t move. He was covered in bruises. The machine breathed for him as he still couldn’t, and Sebastian swallowed the lump in his throat.
“You care for him,” Baron said. “I can see it in your eyes.”
“I care for him as you do,” Sebastian said stiffly. He ignored the grin on Baron’s lips. They were friends so he allowed it. “Nicholas is lovely and a sweet thing, but I would never go that far with him.”
“And why not? I remember the days of him fighting you as Ghost. You’d return in the most outraged state I’ve ever seen you, yelling about how much you wanted to pin him down.”
“Do not make me do to you what I did to that patriotic idiot earlier,” Sebastian warned. Baron laughed and Sebastian shook his head.
“He needs to recover. I need to keep a focus on my work and the Order.”
“And when he’s recovered? What will you do then?” Baron was truly amused, and it took all of Seb
astian’s will to cram his feelings down.
“I’ll take him out for the movie I promised. And a proper dinner, one where he isn’t drugged so hard he can’t stay up. I can’t believe this is the second time we’ve overdosed him,” Sebastian said. The whole thing was utterly embarrassing. At least this time Nic wasn’t ill because of the medicine, although Sebastian would prefer that to this scenario.
“So, a date?”
“Maybe it will be,” Sebastian admitted. Baron looked positively triumphant. They both watched through the glass as Nic lay in bed, their gazes not leaving him for several minutes.
“Look on the bright side, you’ve killed three big heroes this week,” Baron said cheerily. Sebastian let his walls down and for a moment the pair quietly celebrated.
“Yes, that Patriot idiot has needed to go down for some time,” Sebastian said. He stared at the bruises on Nic’s face and he felt a flash of white hot anger run through him like lightning. “What he did to Nicholas was simply the last straw.” Things were quiet again for another few minutes. Sebastian finally remembered the coffee in his hand and he sipped it, enjoying the dash of cinnamon that crossed his tongue.
“I’ll leave you with him for a while,” Baron said at last. “If you need anything, give me a shout.”
He was gone. Sebastian tossed the paper cup when he was finished, and then he was at Nic’s bedside. He gently stroked Nic’s hair for a moment, hoping that maybe it would wake him like he’d done so many mornings. It didn’t, but he held out hope anyways.
“Come back to me,” Sebastian said softly. “You’re not a freak, Nicholas. You never have been. Under appreciated, yes. But anyone who sees you as a freak doesn’t appreciate your power.” His hand moved to stroke his cheek instead. Nic still didn’t move.
The Emperor tried not to think too hard about how he’d made this happen, even indirectly. He knew this was partially his fault, for drugging Nic, for not keeping a better lookout for the supers… There was much to think about as he waited for Nicholas to wake. He could only hope that Nic would actually wake up. Nicholas had to wake up, or Sebastian night not be able to see his plans through to the end, as selfish as that was. Oh, it was so very selfish of him, and yet…
Sebastian finally took Nic’s hand instead, and he was pleased to feel its warmth. “The world doesn’t deserve you,” Sebastian said. “Especially when you’re so far above it all.”
Sebastian pulled up a chair and sat beside him, his hand holding Nic’s until he woke up.
-fin?-
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