Ch. 3: The Bad Kitty and The Candy Man

Namjoon had called a meeting up in the conference room with the V-Puff and Golden Boy-Shade sub-teams to start off the new morning.

"Apparently there's a notorious thief on the loose. They call him 'The Candy Man.' He's been hitting up several candy shops around town and stealing loads of candy. Suspect is said to be armed and dangerous." Namjoon explained.

"Why would he need a gun to steal candy?" Jungkook asked, not understanding adults these days.

Aerin narrowed her eyes in judgement. "That's a really lame name. Why would anyone steal candy in the first place?"

Getting to the point, Namjoon said, "No one knows why he's stealing the candy. He's probably just a psychopath, but anyway, the Heroes Association has given the case to Golden Boy and Shade. You guys are to patrol the local candy shops over the next few days."

Aerin gasped at his words. "What?! Oppa, please. Taehyung and I really need points. We are so behind."

Taehyung nodded his head vigorously in agreement. 

"Noona, I'm sorry." Jungkook said, not wanting her to be upset with him.

"It's okay. Not your fault." Aerin reassured him.

Jimin ran a lazy hand through his hair while groaning because of the tedious mission. "Hey, I'd give this to you guys in a heartbeat. Having a stakeout at a bunch of candy shops sounds boring A. F."

"You know I would vouch for you guys, but I gotta follow the Big Man's rules. I do have another case for you though." Namjoon handed her a folder, which she promptly opened to read the confidential documents.

"Are you kidding me? Find granny's lost kitten?" Aerin raised an eyebrow.

"Aw. It's so cute. Look at those eyes. Who's a good little kitty? It's you, kitty. You adorable little thing." Taehyung cooed at the picture of the kitty attached to the mission profile. Aerin closed the file and used it to smack him in the face. "Ow!" Taehyung held his cheek, looking at her with a hurt expression.

"You know the code: a citizen in need will always be saved by a hero. Sorry, but it's a one-pointer mission." Namjoon looked at them apologetically. The Heroes Association generally gave low-point missions to pairs that were already lacking in points. High grade missions that were worth some solid points were usually left to the pairings that already accumulated a large point pool. The reason for the bias was simply reputation, and Taehyung and Aerin had somewhere between no reputation and a pretty bad one. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer.

Aerin rolled her eyes. "Well the code can go fu--"

"Language!" Taehyung smothered and told Namjoon, "Okay. We'll go find kitty!"

"Mrmph mmmrpph!" Aerin tried to complain, but was whisked away by Taehyung.

Since finding the cat was not that big of an issue, Aerin and Taehyung decided to go to morning classes at their university while they had the time. Well, it was more like Aerin had forced Taehyung to go to morning classes. 

Taehyung trudged behind Aerin with reluctant steps as they walked to campus. "Why do we have to go to class?" He whined, feeling sleepy already at the thought of sitting in a cramped lecture hall.

Aerin saw how slowly he was walking and tugged at his arm to get him on the same pace as her. "We've already ditched too many times because of missions. We can't afford to miss another class."

"I don't understand why you actually want your degree. It's all just for show anyways! We're born super. The Heroes Association will take care of us as long as we work for them." Taehyung sighed as he continued to complain.

Her feet came to a stop, causing him to halt with her. "What if I don't work for them anymore?" She mumbled in a barely audible voice.

"What? I couldn't hear what you said. Could you say it louder?" Taehyung didn't quite catch her words.

"Nothing! Let's go!" Aerin brushed off his question and continued walking with a whiney Taehyung following begrudgingly.

They eventually got to their last class for the day, and Aerin was diligently taking notes as Taehyung slept peacefully beside her. The lecture hall was in a large auditorium, where the seats were theater-style. The narrow space in between each seat allowed Taehyung to use Aerin's shoulder as his personal pillow. Thankfully for her, they sat way in the back and the room was dimly lit for the professor to showcase a powerpoint, so no one noticed how embarassing this was. Aerin hated that she unwillingly developed a soft spot for Taehyung over the years, but regardless, she let him sleep on her for now. He better not drool on her though.

 "Taehyung, wake up." Aerin poked the side of his head to get it off her shoulder. Class had been over for five minutes and he was still sleeping like an overgrown baby.

Taehyung lifted his head and looked around in a daze to see an empty lecture hall. "Finally. Is it time to leave?" He asked with a yawn.

"Honestly, how could you just sleep throughout the entire lecture? I cannot with you." Aerin packed up her notebook and pen into her backpack.

He chuckled and shamelessly said, "Hee. I'll just use your notes later. You'll give them to me, right? Because you love me." 

Aerin sent him a death-glare. Not in this lifetime, buddy. She resisted the urge to hit him with her backpack and they both stood up to leave. It was time to go look for granny's kitten.

They started their search around the grandmother's neighborhood, hoping that the cat would have stayed in familiar ground. Aerin was currently in an alleyway, watching in disgust as Taehyung opened a dumpster to inspect its contents.

"I don't think the cat could have lifted the lid and crawled in." She told him in monotone.

"Hey, cats can do crazy things. You never know." He responded, but shut the dumpster lid because there was no kitty to be found.

Aerin looked up at the clear, blue skies and sighed. "Why do we always get stuck with these stupid one-pointers? Where did my life go wrong?" She asked the heavens.

"Look at the bright side, Rin. It's a beautiful day, and at least we didn't have to wear spandex for this mission. It's easy to move in, but it gets kind of itchy." Taehyung scratched his arm, feeling a phantom itch at the thought. 

"Meow~" 

The both of them turned towards the noise, seeing a familar-looking cat walking leisurely past them. It froze when it noticed them and they froze when it stared them down. Their was a slight pause until Taehyung dived towards the cat, only to have it leap out of the way because it had faster reflexes than he did. He crashed into the ground with a thud. Aerin immediately went to block its path, but it dodged her and dashed out of the alleyway and into the streets.

"V, let's go!" Aerin yelled as she ran after it. Taehyung lifted himself off the ground and dusted his hands. Seeing as how Aerin had taken off, he quickly got to his senses and joined her in the chase.

Aerin had followed the cat to a park and stopped at a tall tree, where it sat on a high branch, taunting her. She had already begun climbing the tree when Taehyung arrived, panting heavily as he hunched over in exhaustion from sprinting. 

"Puff, be careful!" He told her, wincing at how high up she was going. The fall would be nasty. Not wanting her to get hurt, he steadied his breathing and with utmost concentration, he reached out his hand to generate a force field right underneath the branch she was clinging on, as she slowly inched her way towards the cat. 

"Here kitty. Come to mama." Aerin muttered as she tried to coax the cat into approaching her.

"Meow." The cat turned its head in the opposite direction, ignoring her and flashing her its instead.

Aerin scoffed at how it was giving her sass. "Why you little..." She stuck out her hand, but lost her balance and slipped. "AH!" She screamed as she smacked into Taehyung's sturdy force field. "Oh my god. This hurts just as much as falling to the ground. Can't you change the consistency of this thing?" She called out to Taehyung as she rubbed her back. 

"Um. I'll try." Taehyung said and tried to imagine the glassy material changing into a softer, cushion-like substance.

Aerin went wide-eyed when she saw the force field turn transparent and start to disappear. "V!" She yelped when she felt gravity tug her down.

"Oh, shoot!" Taehyung ran to catch her with open arms. She collided into him and they both tumbled to the grass. He had broken her fall and held her in his arms as they tried to recover from the scare. "You okay?" He asked in concern.

"Yeah." Aerin went limp as he hugged her. She settled her the side of her head on his chest, too tired to care anymore. The cat jumped down from the tree, landing gracefully on its feet. It walked up to them and snuggled into Taehyung's face, purrring with glee. Taehyung giggled at the ticklish feeling. "Aw. It likes me!"

Aerin looked up to see it smother him with love. "Are you kidding me? Why does it like you, but hate me?"

"Are you jealous? I like you. Isn't that enough?" Taehyung squeezed her tighter, causing her to recoil and wrestle her way out of his grasp. He was always saying such stupid things.

"Stop playin'. Let's hurry up and give the cat back to granny." She heaved herself up and grabbed the cat, which hissed at her in response. She held it back before it could scratch her face. "Bad kitty!" She scolded it and then handed it off to Taehyung when he got up.

Taehyung petted the cat and used baby talk to communicate with it. "Puff doesn't mean it. You're a good kitty. Yes, you are."

After they returned the kitten to the old lady, they headed off to the nearby mall to grab a late lunch. Sitting in the food court, Aerin slurped at her soba noodles while Taehyung devoured his burger. Noticing that he had sauce on his cheek, she took a napkin and wiped it off for him, earning her a cute grin from him.

"Can you please eat like a civilized being?" She asked before getting another mouthful of noodles.

"Yes, mom." Taehyung responded promptly, accustomed with her nagging ways. 

Aerin slammed down her chopsticks. "I am not your mo--"

"AHHH!" A high-pitched scream rang though the area, followed by the sound of a gunshot. Taehyung and Aerin left their food and got up to inspect the source of the commotion. They rushed towards an area as people ran past them, trying to get away from where a man in a black full-face ski mask was trying to rob a candy shop. He had a pistol pointed at a lady, who was obviously the shop's owner. 

Aerin had gotten to him first because she was more physically apt than Taehyung. She tried to slowly sneak up on the man, but when he sensed Aerin approaching, he turned around and shot at her. Before the bullet could hit her, a flash of red and gold snatched her away. She held on to muscular shoulders as she was carried by a princess-hold and looked up to see her savior. "Jungkook?" Golden Boy was here to save the day.

Jungkook was decked out in his Hero's outfit and had his mask on, but she could easily recognize him. "Noona, are you okay?" He gently set her down on her feet. 

The robber went after them and sent a ricochet of bullets flying at them with careless aim, but the bullets never made it close to them and bounced off a force field instead.

"You guys owe me!" Taehyung declared as he stepped in between them and the robber.

Suddenly, the pistol was knocked out of the robber's hands without warning. The robber moved frantically in a circle, trying to catch a glimpse of the person who dared to assault him, but saw nothing.

"I'm over here." Jimin cheekily called out as he stayed invisble.

"What the hell?" The robber muttered in confusion. The pistol seemed to float in the air and before the robber could dodge, the handle of the gun went smacking into the back of his head, rendering him unconscious.

Next to the robber's fallen form, Jimin made himself visible in the full glory of his dark green and gold spandex suit, and tossed the gun aside. "I win! Did you guys see that? I am so awesome!" Jimin turned towards Jungkook and Taehyung, who were both ignoring him and fussing over Aerin.

"Really, guys?" Jimin scoffed at the sight.

"How could you just run in like that? You could have gotten hurt." Jungkook held both of her arms and continued to examine her to make sure their were no visible injuries.

Aerin waved off his concern. "I'm fine. I could've taken care of him, but thanks for saving me."

"And how would you have taken care of him? God, Rin. You could've been shot. You idiot." Taehyung pulled her away from Jungkook to give her a hug. "I could've lost you." He said with a sniffle.

"I said I was fine! Let go of me!" Aerin struggled against him.

"Ah, hyung! Let go of her." Jungkook whined because he wanted a hug as well.

"Excuse me? What about me? I did all the real work here!" Jimin exclaimed indignantly to no avail.

After the cops came to clean up the mess, the four of them headed back their base. Once they arrived, Taehyung headed straight towards the couch in the living room and the TV. Jimin plopped down next to him and kicked his feet up on their coffee table. Their leader wasn't home yet, so the mission report could wait until later.

Aerin was about to head to her room, but was stopped by Jungkook, who was holding something behind his back. Taehyung saw them from the corner of his eye, but continued to face the TV in a aloof manner. 

"The owner of the candy shop wanted to reward us, so she gave us some peach rings. I don't really like them, so you take them." Jungkook said as casually as possible and presented her with a pretty bag of peach rings that had a pink bow tied at the top.

The owner had actually offered him a gigantic tub of jelly beans, but Jungkook specifically requested for the peach rings because Aerin seemed to be obsessed with peaches. He had noticed how she always smelled like peaches because of her peach-scented shampoo and lotion. But it wasn't like he ever sniffed her intentionally because he liked the way she smelled… Okay, maybe just once.

Jungkook also made sure that the candy was gift-wrapped nicely. But don't get him wrong, its not like he had a crush on her or anything. Psh. That's not it at all. He was just showing some camaraderie. 

"Oh, I love peach rings!" Aerin happily took the bag from him. "Thank you. As expected, I only have the wonderful Golden Boy looking out for me." 

Jungkook blushed when he saw her smile brightly in appreciation. She was so prett-- Uh, what he meant was that he had always thought she was cool after she beat him at a no-powers sparring match back in the academy days. He had already picked Jimin as his sidekick so he couldn't switch to her… Not that he ever thought of doing so.

Taehyung frowned when he witnessed the semi-flirtatious exchange from the couch. Unable to help himself, he swooped in to intervene. "Peach rings? Jungkook, you shouldn't have. How did you know that hyung liked peach rings?" He grinned as he snatched the candy bag out of Aerin's hands.

"Wait, hyung!" Jungkook began to protest, but Taehyung had already carelessly tore open the bag and shoved a handful of the peach rings in his mouth. Jungkook gaped at the older boy and then started sulking with a pout. So unfair. 

"What the hell? Give me back my peach rings, you stupid jerk!" Aerin looked like she was going to end him.

After Taehyung had swallowed the first mouthful of candy, he took another peach ring and placed it between his lips. He gave her y eyes as he leaned towards her face and used his tongue to roll the piece of candy into his mouth. "If you want it, then give me a kiss." He said with a smug wink.

Jungkook deeply sighed in resignation when he observed Taehyung's gross attempt at seduction. Aerin pressed her lips to a thin line of disapproval before suggesting, "How about I give you a beating instead?"

"Woah!" He dodged her fist that went flying towards his face and involuntarily put up a force field, causing her to punch into what felt like hard glass.

She winced and shook her hand in pain. "OW! This idiot. I'M GOING TO HURT YOU!" She threatened as she lunged for him.

Taehyung quickly ran for the staircase, hoping that he would make it to the safety of his room. "Catch me if you can~" He sang to . She was so cute when she's angry at him.

"Jungkook, grab him." Aerin ordered, knowing that the younger boy would easily comply.

"Leave him to me." Jungkook used his superpowers and Taehyung was lifted off his feet in an instant. Jungkook brought him back to the center of the living room, holding him by his arms from behind. "Sorry, hyung." He said, but it sounded like an insincere apology. 

Taehyung gulped as Aerin approached him, unable to escape from Jungkook's hold. "Oh, crap." Never mind, she's not cute anymore.

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Author's Note

Yay! I finally updated. I was having writer's block for this fic (which is weird because I write The Misconception so easily), but I got suddenly inspired today. There weren't any jelly beans, but someone got jelly. ;) I hoped you liked the chapter.