Curate, connect, and discover
“Were they good?” The villain asked from where they were sitting behind their desk, their legs propped up on the desk. Their eyes held a fire, and the hero swallowed painfully.
“Who?” They asked, pretending not to know who the villain was referring to. But, they knew. The villain was asking about the date they brought home last night, but they had no idea how the villain found out. They had made sure to disable the cameras located around their house before they went out. So, how? How did the villain know?
“You know who I’m referring to.” The villain said, calmly. But there was a hint of venom behind it, a possessiveness trailing along. The hero frowned, looking away. “Tell me, were they good? As good as me?”
“How did you know-” The hero began, the villain cut them off with a curt shake of their head as they took their legs off the table and stood up. The walk was slow, and deliberate, making sure to put pressure into each step as they came and stood right in front of the hero.
“I know, sweetheart. But that’s not important. I asked you a question.” The villain said, their hand twitched and they brought to the hero’s cheeks.
The hero faltered. What was happening? The villain knew and they didn’t seem to be mad, like previous times when they would lash out at the hero and tell them that they belong to them and them alone. But this? This was unexpected. They took a deep breath, and then: “No.” They answered.
And as if the villain could detect it, they spoke up: “You’re a terrible liar, darling.” They said and smiled, almost sadly. The hero raised a nervous eyebrow.
“You know…I wish you were honest with me. But, it’s okay. I’ll make sure it doesn’t happen again.” The villain said, their hand stoping the grazing on the hero’s cheek and falling down. They turned around and sauntered to the set of knives they had, packed away, in a glass cabinet attached to the wall. The hero took in a sharp breath, realizing what the villain was implying.
“You didn’t-” They mumbled, clenching their jaw.
“I already have. I’ll let you say goodbye to the body if you want.” The villain said, examining a knife that had hints of blood left on it, evidence that what they were saying was true. The hero stayed silent. Because that’s what they did. They couldn’t do anything, they were bound to the villain. Whether they liked it or not.
“You know what would get me going?” The hero asked, smiling slightly. “Another fight with you.”
The villain raised their eyebrows. “You’re literally on a bed in a hospital because you didn’t dodge my attack even though I warned you.”
The hero cracked a grin, a little painfully so. “I wanted to let you win for once.”
The villain’s eyes narrowed, they scanned the hero up and down before chuckling lowly. “You know, for someone who’s breathing with the help of an oxygen tank, you sure do have guts to say that.”
“Try me.” The hero replied, smug and a little cocky.
The next time they fought, the villain made sure to show the hero just how much they wanted the hero to “not win.”